Info about India

Subject: Info about India Sat 15 Mar 2008, 00:29

India

India (Hindi: भारत Bhārat; see also other names), officially the Republic of India (Hindi: भारतीय गणराज्य Bhāratiya Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh largest country by geographical area, the second most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world.[12] Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east, India has a coastline of 7,517 kilometers (4,671 mi).[13] It borders Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Bangladesh and Burma to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Indonesia.

Home to the Indus Valley Civilization and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam arrived in the first millennium CE and shaped the region's diverse culture.

Capital: New Delhi.

The history of India begins with the Indus Valley Civilization, which flourished in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent from 3300 to 1700 BCE. This Bronze Age civilization was followed by the Iron Age Vedic period, which witnessed the rise of major kingdoms known as the Mahajanapadas. In two of these, in the 6th century BCE, Mahavira and Gautama Buddha were born.

The subcontinent was united under the Maurya Empire during the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. It subsequently became fragmented, with various parts ruled by numerous Middle kingdoms for the next ten centuries. Its northern regions were united once again in the 4th century CE, and remained so for two centuries thereafter, under the Gupta Empire. This period was known as the "Golden Age of India." During the same time, and for several centuries afterwards, India, under the rule of the Chalukyas, Cholas, Pallavas and Pandyas, experienced its own golden age, during which Hinduism and Buddhism spread to much of south-east Asia.

Islam arrived on the subcontinent early in the 8th century CE with the conquest of Baluchistan and Sindh by Muhammad bin Qasim. Islamic invasions from Central Asia between the 10th and 15th centuries CE brought most of northern India under the rule at first of the Delhi Sultanate and later of the Mughals. Mughal rule, which ushered in a remarkable flowering of art and architecture, came to cover most of the northern parts of the subcontinent. Nevertheless, several independent kingdoms, such as the Maratha Empire and the Vijayanagara Empire, flourished contemporaneously, in Western and Southern India respectively. Beginning in the mid-18th century and over the next century, India was gradually annexed by the British East India Company. Dissatisfaction with Company rule led to the First War of Indian Independence, after which India was directly administered by the British Crown and witnessed a period of both rapid development of infrastructure and economic decline.

The geography of India is diverse, with landscape ranging from snow-capped mountain ranges to deserts, plains, rainforests, hills, and plateaus. India comprises most of the Indian subcontinent situated on the Indian Plate, the northerly portion of the Indo-Australian Plate. Having a coastline of over 7,000 kilometres (4,350 mi), most of India lies on a peninsula in Southern Asia that protrudes into the Indian Ocean. India is bounded in the southwest by the Arabian Sea and in the east and southeast by the Bay of Bengal.

The fertile Indo-Gangetic Plain occupies most of northern, central, and eastern India, while the Deccan Plateau occupies most of southern India. To the west of the country is the Thar Desert, which consists of a mix of rocky and sandy desert. India's east and northeastern border consists of the high Himalayan range. The highest point in India is disputed due to a territorial dispute with Pakistan; according to India's claim, the highest point (located in the disputed Kashmir region) is K2, at 8,611 metres (28,251 ft). The highest point in undisputed Indian territory is Kangchenjunga, at 8,598 m (28,209 ft). Climate ranges from equatorial in the far south, to Alpine in the upper reaches of the Himalayas.

India is bordered by Pakistan to the north-west, China, Bhutan and Nepal to the north, Myanmar to the east and Bangladesh to the east of West Bengal. Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia are island nations to the south of India. Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow channel of sea formed by Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.Politically, India is divided into 28 states, and seven federally administered union territories. The political divisions generally follow linguistic and ethnic boundaries rather than geographic transitions.

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