Incredible India- The Mystical Land of Culture & Dreams

Know about the Incredible India and feel proud about this nation. The name ‘India’ is derived from ‘Indus’ which is the word that originates from the Old Persian word Sindhi. The geographical term ‘Bharat’ is the modernization of the ancient name ‘Bharatavarsha’. It is believed to have been named after the Vedic tribe of ‘Bharatas’ in the 2^nd  millennium B.C.E. ‘Hindustan’ is Persian name that was introduced by the Mughals and is widely used since then.

The country of India lies in South Asia, which is the seventh largest country by area and the largest democracy in the world. The population of India is over over 1.3 billion, and it is the second most populous country in the world. The country is bordered by Indian Ocean on the south, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east and the Arabian Sea on the south-west.

Indian Civilization: The History of India

The history of India is owes its origin to much back in time. India was the home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilization around 2500 B.C., which was a bountiful region that was blessed with historic trade routes and enormous empires. The downfall of the ancient Indian civilization was brought on due to change in ecology. The 2^nd millennium saw the migration of the ‘Aryan’ tribes, who then pro created the new milieu. Aryans founded India. By 500 B.C, the political scenario of India consisted of numerous independent regions known for its commercial and cultural wealth. Such regions were united under the rule of the Gupta Dynasty, whose rule was considered as the golden era of India. By 600 B.C, 16 dynasties have ruled the regions of Kosla, Magadha, Kuru, and Gandhara.

The Mughal Emperor Babar popularized the religion of Islam in India, and his worthy descendants like Akhbar, glorified the history of India and Mughal Empire through their keen sense of ruling. Towards the end of 19^th century, the Britishers came to India as traders and ended up as rulers for 200 years. Indian freedom fighters like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bhagat Singh, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, struggled hard to achieve freedom from the British rule. Mahatma Gandhi, an ardent supporter of non violence and communal harmony, revived the virtues of ‘Swadeshi’ and ‘Non Corporation’ to win over the British rule in a non violent way. India obtained its independence in 1947, and since then it has been a federal republic country, which is under a parliamentary system of government and consists of 29 states and 7 union territories. India observes its independence day on the 15^th of August every year.

The Geography of India

At the north of the country lays the great Himalayas, which makes passages for the rapidly flowing rivers that flow through India including- the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, both of which flow into the Bay of Bengal, which comprises the Indo-Gangetic plains that is filled with river-borne sediment. The main tributaries of the Ganges include the Yamuna and the Kosi. Other prominent rivers include – the Godavari, the Mahanadi, the Kaveri, and the Krishna, which flows into the Bay of Bengal; and the Narmada and the Tapti that flows into the Arabian Sea. In the west of the subcontinent lies the Thar Desert that is cut off from the plain by the ancient Aravalli Range.

The original Indian plate is known as the peninsular India. It extends from the Satpura in the north to the Vindhya ranges in central India and runs parallel to the Arabian Sea coast in the west to the coal laden Chota Nagpur Plateau in the east. The Deccan Plateau is bordered by the Western and Eastern Ghats. This region comprises of oldest rock formations, some of which are over one billion years old. The coastline of India extends from the peninsular region to the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep island chains. There are still lesser known facts about India which are still left to be unveiled.

The Climatic Conditions in India

The climate of India is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar Desert, both of which is extremely important for the onset of summer and winter monsoons. The Himalayas prevent cold from blowing in, keeping the Indian subcontinent warmer. The Thar Desert plays a crucial role in attracting the moisture-laden south-west summer monsoon winds that bring most of the region’s rainfall in the months of June- September.

Biodiversity of India

There are three biodiversity hotspots in India and the country lies inside the Indo-Malaya Ecozone.  Approximately 21.2% of India’s landmass is covered in forests. The natural habitat extends from the tropical rainforest of the Andaman Islands, North-East India and Western Ghats, to the coniferous forest of the Himalayas. The existence of deciduous sal forest, the dry deciduous teak forest, and the babul-dominated thorn forest are also prevalent in the country. India contains 172 IUCN-designated endangered, including the Snow Leopard, Asiatic Lion, the Indian White-Rumped Vulture, and the Bengal Tiger.  India has more than 500 wildlife sanctuaries and 13 biosphere reserves out of which 4 are a part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves and of the 25 wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention.

Some interesting facts about India include:

• Though India has Hindi as national language, but still there are about 22 major languages and 720 dialects. Hindi and English are the official language of the country.
• The game of chess was invented in India.
• The national bird of India is the Peacock.
• The Lotus is India’s National Flower and the Royal Bengal Tiger is its National Animal.
• Algebra and geometry were originated in India.
• The Indian Railways is the largest railway network in the entire Asia.
• The first ever university is said to have been in Taxila in 700 B.C.
• The Taj Mahal, built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, is considered one of the 7 wonders of the world. It is one of the most famous Indian tourist places in the world.
• The Pentium chip and the Hotmail was created by Indians.
• Cherapunji, in Meghalaya is the wettest region on Earth.
• The 1/3 of the Sundarbans in West Bengal is the largest single block of the tidal halophytic mangroves in the entire world.
• The vibrant culture, existence of ancient architecture in forms of temples and museums, beautiful hill stations and picturesque beaches draw large percentage of tourism in India.
• The game of hockey is India’s national sports.
• Many martial art forms originated in India, which were later learned and popularized by the monks from other Asian countries

Culture of India

India is a pluralistic, multilingual, and a multi-ethnic society and the history of Indian culture extends more than 4,500 years ago. The spiritual land of India is diverse in nature. It gave birth to Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, whereas other influential religion like Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam arrived here in the 1st millennium. The base of Hindu philosophy, literature, mythology, theology and many others beliefs originated in the vedic period and still manages to exist today. The major festivals in India that emerge as the main reason of Indian celebration, find their base in religion. The major Indian festivals include – Holi, Diwali, Durga Puja, Ganesh Chaturthi, Thai Pongal, Eid ul-Fitr, Bakr-Id, Christmas, and Baisakhi.

The Traditional Indian mentality is mostly defined by social hierarchy. The Indian caste system, child marriage, dowry system, female infanticides are some of the evils of the Indian society. However, education and modernized thoughts of the citizens of India, has improved the social condition to a large extent. Family value is an important part of the Indian traditions, and multi-generational joint families have been a common phenomenon in the Indian culture, though nuclear families are becoming common in urban areas, the bond of family still remains strong. Rate of literacy is also on the rise which ensures an overall development in the entire Indian society and the country.

Clothing- Indian Clothing

Traditional Indian dress varies in color and style which is mainly to do with the climate and faith of the people. Indian dresses include sari for women and the dhoti or lungi for men. Clothing trends in India include shalwar-kameez for women and kurta–pyjama  or trousers and shirts for men. Western clothes are also favored by both men and women in almost all modern towns and cities.

Indian Food

The Indian cuisine is known for its wide platter of regional and traditional foods. Foreign invasion, colonialism and trade relations have considerably impacted the taste of Indian people. Delicacies like chola bhatura, alu paratha, biryani, butter chicken, ilish macher paturi, misti pulao, chaat, daal baati churma, dum aloo, gulab jamun, rasogulla, rabdi, jalebi, gajar ka haluwa, etc are indispensible part of the Indian food platter.

Present Scenario

Present scenario of Indian market is ever growing. India’s telecommunication industry has left Japan behind to become the 3rd largest smart phone market in the world after China and the US. The privatization of media and television industry in India, the expansion of business emporiums in form of textile production, automobile industry, IT industry, pharmaceutical industry and bio-pharmaceutical industry are flourishing at a rapid speed and tend to show promising future aspects to bring development in India. In the era of growth and technology, India is among the world’s top 12 biotech destinations, making it a hub of foreign investments.

States of India

Union Territories of India