By. Natalia Carolina Nieves Martínez India

India is a federal constitutional republic with a parliamentary democracy consisting of 28 states and seven union territories. Its capital is New Delhi.

India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.18 billion people.

Country Population

Bombay 21,347,412

Delhi 18,639,762

Calcuta 15,414,859

Chennai 7,305,169

Bangalore 6, 466, 271

Hyderabad 6, 290, 397

Ahmedabad 5, 334, 314

Pune 5, 273, 211

Kanpur 3, 494, 275

Surat 3, 196, 799

Important cities:

History of the country:

Stone Age rock shelters with paintings at the Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh are the earliest know traces of human life in India.

The Indus Valley civilization, flourished during the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C.

It was followed by the Vedic period, which laid the foundations of Hinduism and other cultural aspects of early Indian society.The Maurya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. united much of South Asia. The Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty saw a flowering science, art, logic, language, literature, mathematics, astronomy, religion and philosophy. Islam spread across the subcontinent over a period of 700 years.

By 1856 , most of India was under the control of the British East India Company. A year later a nationwide insurrection of rebelling military units and kingdoms, know as Indian‘s First War of Independence. As an result of the instability, India was brought under the direct rule of the British Crown.

In the 10th and 11th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded India and established the Delhi Sultanate and later, the Emperor Babur established the Mughal Dynasty which ruled India for more than three centuries.

From the 16th century, European powers such as Portugal, the Netherlands, France and Grain Britain established trading posts and later took advantage of internal conflicts to establish colonies in the country.

In the 20th century, a nationwide struggle for independence was launched by the Indian National Congress and other political organizations. Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi led millions of people in several national campaigns of non-violent civil disobedience.

On 15 August 1947, India gained independence from British rule, but at the same time the Muslim-majority areas were partitioned to from a separate state of Pakistan. On 26 January 1950, India became a republic and a new constitution came into effect.

Since independence, India has faced challenges from religious violence, casteism, naxalim, terrorism and regional separatist insurgencies. India has unresolved territorial disputes with the People’s Republic of China and with Pakistan. India is a founding member of the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement.

Actual government of the country: The Constitution of India, the longest any independent nation in the world, entered into force on January 26, 1950. The preamble of the Constitution defines India as a sovereign republic, socialist, secular and democratic. India is democracy most populous in the world.

The President of India, is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. Each president serves for five years. The 12th President of India is Her Excellency Pratibha Devisingh Patil, the first woman to serve in the office, who was sworn in on 25 July 2007.

Economic:

The economy of India is the fourth largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity.

The economy shows high diversity encompassing agriculture, handicrafts, textile manufacturing and many services. Although the livelihood of two thirds of the employed population still depend directly or indirectly on agriculture. The arrival of the digital age and the existence of a large number of educated and fluent in English, is making this country one of favorite places for the location of the internal activities of the company. Likewise, India is the largest exporter of highly skilled computer and financial services. India has the largest workforce in the world.

The main agricultural and livestock products include rice, wheat, oilseeds, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry and fish. The main industries are textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transport equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery and software trade.

The rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. Its emission is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India.

In India still has the largest concentration of poor people in the world and has a high rate of malnutrition.

Holidays celebrated on the country: India, being a culturally and religiously diverse society, celebrates various holidays and festivals. There are three national holidays in India:

January 26 Republic DayAugust 15 Independence DayOctober 2 Mahatma Gandhi‘s Birthday

States and regions have local festivals depending on prevalent religious and linguistic demographics. Popular religious festivals include the Hindu festivals of Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Holi, Dussehra and the Islamic festivals. They also celebrate Christian holidays like Christmas and Good Friday.

Culture:The culture of India has been shaped not only by its long history, unique geography and diverse demography, but also by its ancient heritages, which were formed during the Indus Valley Civilization and evolved further during the Vedic age, rise and decline of Buddhism, the Golden age, invasions from Central Asia, European colonization and the Indian independence movement.

India's languages, religions, dance, music, architecture and customs differ from place to place within the country, but nevertheless possess a commonality. The culture of India is an amalgamation of these diverse sub-cultures spread all over the Indian subcontinent and traditions that are several millennia old.

Regarded by some historians as the "oldest living civilization of Earth". Several elements of India's diverse culture such as Indian religions, yóga and Indian cuisine have had a profound impact across the world.

India is one of the most religiously diverse nations in the world, with some of the most deeply religious societies and cultures. Religion still plays a central and definitive role in the life of most of its people.

Religion

India is the birth place of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, collectively known as Indian religions and which keep large doctrinal similarities, for example, the Belief in reincarnation, karma and vegetarianism. However, they differ in other respects, for example, is polytheistic Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, non-theistic and monotheistic Sikhism.

The religion of 80.5% of the people is Hinduism, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, Buddhists 0.8%, Jains 0.4%, Bahá'ís 0.18%, others 0.32% and unspecified 0.1%.

Also known as Dharmic religions are a major form of world religions along with Abrahamic ones. India is also the birthplace for Lingayat and Ahmadiyya faiths.

Family: For generations, India has had a prevailing tradition of the joint family system. It is a system under which extended members of a family. Usually, the eldest male member is the head in the joint Indian family system. He makes all important decisions and rules, and other family members abide by them.

Society

Marriage: For centuries, arranged marriages have been the tradition in Indian society. Even today, the vast majority of Indians have their marriages planned by their parents and other respected family-members, with the consent of the bride and groom. Arranged matches are made after taking into account factors such as age, height, personal values and tastes, the backgrounds of their families, their castes and the astrological compatibility of the couples' horoscopes.

India, being a multi-cultural and multi-religious society, celebrates holidays and festivals of various religions. The three national holidays in India are the Independence Day, the Republic Day and the Gandhi Jayanti, are celebrated with zeal and enthusiasm across India. In addition, many states and regions have local festivals depending on prevalent religious and linguistic demographics. Popular religious festivals include the Hindu festivals of Navratri Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga puja, Holi, Rakshabandhan and Dussehra. Several harvest festivals, such as Sankranthi, Pongal and Onam,"Nuakhai" are also fairly popular.

Festivals

The principal official language of the Republic of India is Hindi while English is the secondary official language. According to the most recent census of 2001, in India speaks 29 languages such as: Bengali, Telegu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Guajarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assemese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit.

Language

The multiple varieties of Indian cuisine are characterized by their sophisticated and subtle use of many spices and herbs. Though a significant portion of Indian food is vegetarian, many traditional Indian dishes also include chicken, goat, lamb, fish, and other meats. Indian cuisine varies from region to region, reflecting the varied demographics of the country.

Cuisine

The most important ingredients used in Indian cuisine are rice, atta which is a special type of whole wheat flour that is made with bread, and at least five dozen varieties of pulses. The most important is the peas, black lentils and green lentils. The most important spices used in Indian cuisine are chilli, black mustard seed, cumin, turmeric, fenugreek, ginger, coriander or cilantro and saffron.

Traditional clothing in India greatly varies across different parts of the country and is influenced immensely by local culture, geography and climate.

In India, a person's social status is perceived to be symbolized by his or her attire. Indian dress etiquette discourages exposure of skin and wearing transparent or tight clothes. Most Indian clothes are made from cotton which is ideal for the region's hot weather. Since India's weather is mostly hot and rainy, majority of Indians wear sandals. Worn by women on their forehead, the bindi is considered to be a highly auspicious mark in Hindu religion. Traditionally, the red bindi was worn only by the married Hindu women, but now it has become a part of women's fashion. Some Indian traditions consider the bindi to be representative of the third eye.

Clothing

Music: The music of India includes multiple varieties of religious, folk, popular, pop, and classical music. The oldest preserved examples of Indian music are the melodies of the Samaveda that are still sung in certain Vedic Śrauta sacrifices. India's classical music tradition is heavily influenced by Hindu texts. It includes two distinct styles: Carnatic and Hindustani music.

Arts:

Dance: Indian dance too has diverse folk and classical forms. Eight dance forms, many with narrative forms and mythological elements, have been accorded classical dance status by India's National Academy of Music, Dance, and Drama. These are: bharatanatyam of the state of Tamil Nadu, kathak of Uttar Pradesh, kathakali and mohiniattam of Kerala, kuchipudi of Andhra Pradesh, manipuri of Manipur, odissi of the state of Odisha and the sattriya of Assam.

Sports: India's official national sport is field hockey. Chess is commonly believed to have originated in northwestern India during the Gupta empire, where its early form in the 6th century was known as chaturanga. Other games which originated in India and continue to remain popular in wide parts of northern India include kabaddi, gilli-danda, and kho kho. Traditional southern Indian games include snake boat race, kuttiyum kolum and martial arts.

India also has its, television programs, radio, and cinema.

Flag : The Indian flag was adopted on July 22, 1947. Just before India received independence from Britain, the nationalist political party, the Indian National Congress, which included Mahatma Gandhi, adopted the design for the national flag of India. The Indian flag was based on a flag first introduced by the Indian National Congress in 1931. The flag was designed by Pingali Venkayya, an agriculturist from Machilipatnam.

At the time of its initial introduction, in 1931, the Indian flag's colors represented the two main ethnic groups of India: the saffron stripe represented the Hindu people; and the green stripe represented the Muslim people. The white stripe white represented the peace desired between them and the truth. An updated meaning has interpreted the saffron symbol as representing courage and sacrifice; the white representing purity and truth; and the green standing for faith, fertility and chivalry. The Wheel of Law's 24 spokes are said to represent each hour of the day, as well as the endless circle of life.

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