This document provides an overview of India, including:
- India's official name is the Republic of India or Bharat Ganrajya. Its capital is New Delhi and largest city is Mumbai.
- It has over 20 official languages and a federal parliamentary constitutional republic government.
- India has significant geographic, cultural, and biological diversity due to its location in Southern Asia spanning the Indian subcontinent.
- India has a long and rich history as the site of ancient civilizations and was later occupied by British colonial rule before gaining independence in 1947.
5. Motto: "Satyameva Jayate" (Sanskrit)
"Truth Alone Triumphs"
Anthem: Jana Gana Mana
"Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All People"
National song: Vande Mataram
"I Bow to Thee, Mother"
Capital: New Delhi
Largest city: Mumbai (population/area)
6. Official languages: Hindi, English
Recognized regional languages:
Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, G
ujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri,
Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Man
ipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punja
bi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil,
Telugu, Urdu
Government: Federal parliamentary
constitutional republic
7. Legislature: Parliament of India
- Upper house: Rajya Sabha
- Lower house: Lok Sabha
Independence from the United
Kingdom
- Dominion: 15 August 1947
- Republic: 26 January 1950
12. Indus,
originates from the Old
Persian word Hinduš
Sindhu (Sanskrit word), historical
local appellation for the Indus
River
Indoi, term ancient Greeks used
to refer to the Indians; translates
as "the people of the Indus"
15. North
◦ China
◦ Nepal
◦ Bhutan
East
◦ Bangladesh
◦ Myanmar
◦ Bay of Bengal
South
◦ Palk Strait
◦ Gulf of Mannār
◦ Indian Ocean
West
◦ Arabian Sea
◦ Pakistan
16.
17. comprises
the bulk of the
Indian subcontinent
lies atop the minor Indian
tectonic plate
India's coastline measures
7,517
kilometers
(4,700 mi) in length
41. Asiatic Lion
The Gīr National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in
Gujarāt, India, is the only remaining habitat of
the Asiatic lion, a species that was nearly
extinct in the early 1900s.
44. human
encroachment of recent
decades has critically endangered
wildlife
1972-India enacted the Wildlife
Protection Act and Project Tiger to
safeguard crucial wilderness
1980-Forest Conservation Act was
enacted
1988-amendments added in Forest
Conservation Act
45.
46. federation
with a parliamentary
system governed under the
Constitution of India
a constitutional republic and
representative democracy
federalism
defines
power
distribution
47. federal
government comprises
three branches:
◦ Executive
President-head of state
Prime
Minister-head
of
government
consists of the president, the
vice-president, and the Council
of Ministers headed by the
prime minister
51. ◦ Legislative
bicameral parliament
operates under a Westminsterstyle parliamentary system
comprises of:
the upper house called the Rajya
Sabha ("Council of States") with
245 members
the lower called the Lok Sabha
("House of the People")with 545
members
54. 2500
B.C.
The
Indus Valley civilization
developed around the valley of
the Indus River (now in Pakistan).
2000
B.C.
The
Indus
collapsed.
Valley
civilization
55. Around
1500 B.C.
The Aryan people invaded India
from the north.
326
B.C.
Alexander the Great of Macedon
(northeastern Greece) crossed the
Indus River into India.
56. A.D.
50
Trade flourished between India
and the Roman Empire.
320-550
India
was ruled by the Gupta
Empire.
57. 1526
The
rule of the Mogul Empire
began.
1600s
Holland,
Great Britain and France
established key trading posts in
India.
58. 1638
Mogul
Emperor Shah Jahan began
the construction of the Taj Mahal
in memory of his wife Mumtaz.
1858
The
British had overthrown the
Moguls and took control of India.
59. 1915
Mohandas
Gandhi launched a
campaign of nonviolent resistance
against the British rule in India.
1947
India
gained its independence
from the British and was divided
into two countries, India and
Muslim-controlled Pakistan.
60. 1948
Mahatma
Gandhi was assassinated.
1966
Indira
Gandhi (not related to
Mahatma)
became
the
Prime
Minister and one of the first women
elected to lead a nation.
61. 1983
India
won the cricket world cup.
1998
India
tested its first nuclear
weapon, one of only seven
nations to have done so.
62. 2000
India's
billion.
population exceeded one
2004–2005
A
series
of
natural
disasters,
including
floods,
earthquakes
and
tsunamis, brought destruction to
southern coastal communities.
71. The North Block in New Delhi
This houses key government
offices, built along with Lutyens' Delhi.
72. The Taj Mahal in Agra
One of the world's most famous structures
which Shah Jahan built as a memorial to his
wife.
73. The earliest literary writings in
India, composed between 1400 BCE
and 1200 CE, were in the Sanskrit
language.
Prominent works of this Sanskrit
literature
include
epics
as
the
Mahābhārata
and
the Ramayana, the dramas of
Kālidāsa
such
as
the
Abhijñānaśākuntalam
(The
Recognition of Śakuntalā)
74. Mahabharata
A 16th-century manuscript of the Mahabharata
portrays a chariot fight between two related noble
families, the Kauravas and the Pandavas.
75. Radha and Krishna in the Grove
In this painting, Radha and Krishna have met in
a grove. The painting, (1780), is in the Victoria
and Albert Museum in London, England.
80. 19th
century-Indian writers took a
new interest in social questions
and psychological descriptions.
20th century-Indian literature was
influenced by the works of Bengali
poet and novelist Rabindranath
Tagore
82. Indian
music ranges over various
traditions and regional styles
Classical music encompasses two
genres and their various folk
offshoots:
◦ northern Hindustani
◦ southern Carnatic schools
Indian
dance also features diverse
folk and classical forms
83. Theatre
in
India
melds
music, dance, and improvised or
written dialogue
Indian dance also features diverse
folk and classical forms
Theatre
in
India
melds
music, dance, and improvised or
written dialogue
90. Traditional
Indian society is defined
by social hierarchy.
Indian
caste system embodies
much of the social stratification
and many of the social restrictions
found in the Indian subcontinent.
91. pervasive
in India
encompasses non-Hindus as well
A caste (jati in Sanskrit) is a social
class to which a person belongs at
birth and which is ranked against
other castes, typically on a
continuum of perceived purity and
pollution.
92. In
order of hierarchy
◦ Brahmins (priests and scholars)
◦ Kshatriyas (warriors and rulers)
◦ Vaisyas (merchants, farmers, and
traders)
◦ Sudras
(laborers,
including
artisans, servants, and serfs).
◦ Untouchables or Harijans (“People of
God,” a term first used by Indian
leader Mohandas Gandhi).
94. Child
marriages
are
common, especially in rural areas
many women in India wed before
reaching 18
Almost all Hindu marriages in India
are arranged
almost all arranged marriages occur
between people of the same caste
only a handful of young people make
“love
marriages”
across
caste
lines, and many suffer socially when
they do so
97. popularly
known as the "festival of
lights"
a five-day Hindu festival
involves the lighting of small clay
lamps filled with oil to signify the
triumph of good over evil
In the Gregorian calendar, Diwali
falls between mid-October and
mid-November
99. Hindu
festival celebrated on the
birthday
(rebirth)
of
Lord
Ganesha, the son of Shiva and
Parvati
also
known
as
Ganeshutsav
(festival of Ganesh)
lasts for 10 days
the date usually falls between 19
August and 20 September
102. a harvest festival celebrated in South
India at the end of the harvest season
marks the beginning of the northward
journey of the Sun from its
southernmost-limit
coincides with the festival Makara
Sankranthi
usually held from January 13–16 in
the Gregorian calendar
105. one
of the most auspicious occasions for
the Hindus
a harvest festival
perhaps the only Indian festival whose
date always falls on the same day every
year:
14
January,
with
some
exceptions,
when
the
festival
is
celebrated on 13 January or 15 January
also believed to mark the arrival of
spring in India
107. a spring festival celebrated as a
festival of colors
as per the Hindu calendar, Holi is
celebrated
on
the
Phalguna
Purnima
(Full
Moon), which comes in February or
March in the Gregorian Calendar
110. Group pose for a
photo at a Holi
celebration in
Vashi, Navi
Mumbai, India
111. marks the victory of Goddess Durga
over
the
evil
buffalo
demon
Mahishasura
epitomizes the victory of Good over
Evil
includes the worship of Shiva, who is
Durga's consort (Durga is an aspect of
Goddess Parvati)
113. a state holiday in India, although
Christianity in India is a minority
in many of the schools that are run by
the Christian missionaries, children
actively participate in the program
in many non-religious schools, there
is tradition of Christmas celebration
also known as bada din (the big day)
114.
115. also
known
as Baisakhi, Vaishakhi, or Vasakhi
a
festival celebrated across the
northern Indian subcontinent
usually celebrated on 13 April, and
occasionally on 14 April, in the
different regions across the world as
the Sikhs migrated overseas
118. Hinduism
and Buddhism both
originated here.
Most people in India practice
Hinduism with Islam a distant
second.
Other important religions include
Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, a
nd Jainism.
120. Buddhism
◦major world religion, founded
in northeastern India
◦based on the teachings of
Siddhartha Gautama
121. Traditional
Indian dress varies in
color and style across regions and
depends on various factors.
Popular styles of dress include
draped garments such as the sari
for women and the dhoti or lungi
for men.
131. India
is
also known for its
tandoori preparations.
The tandoor, a clay oven used in
India for almost 5,000 years, grills
meats
to
an
“uncommon
succulence” and produces the
puffy flatbread known as naan.
