Prakrriti

Geography
The Indian subcontinent, of which India the country, takes up by far the greatest part, lies between Africa and Arabia to the west and South East Asia (Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia) to the east.

India has a long coastline, washed by the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. In the north the Himalaya mountain range separates it from China and Nepal. The island of Sri Lanka, once called Ceylon, lies a short distance to the south and east of the southernmost tip of India.

Countries sharing borders with India are Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma).

The capital is New Delhi; other major cities are Mumbai (Bombay), Kolkata (Calcutta), Chandigarh, and Chennai (Madras).

The country's longest river is the Brahmaputra; the second longest is the Ganges.

India has a variety of geographical features: mountain ranges, valleys, desert regions, tropical rain forests, fertile plains and a dry plateau.

There are wide climatic variations from snow-covered mountains in the north through cool hill country to dry plains and jungles with extreme tropical heat. India has a monsoon season which begins in the south in June, moving north to cover the whole country by the end of the month.

Environment
The variety of the terrain is reflected in the many species of flora and fauna of India.

Some of the different types of trees are banyans, figs, oak, teak, palms, cedar and pine. Bamboo is one of the many plant species; flowering plants include magnolias, orchids and rhododendrons. The lotus flower is India's spiritual flower.

The tiger is India's national animal. Other animals are antelopes, buffalo, deers, goats, bears, leopards, elephants, monkeys, wolves, crocodiles, and snakes.

There are hundreds of species of butterflies and over two thousand species of birds: cranes, storks, kingfishers, herons, pelicans, ospreys and parrots. The peacock is India's national bird.

Many trees have been cut down for fuel and for industrial and agricultural development. Deforestation has contributed to soil erosion: soil is washed into the rivers.

Many of India's rivers are polluted by sewage and pesticides. Water borne diseases like cholera and typhoid are a danger to people using the water.

The government has intervened to cut down on air pollution. There is a tree planting programme and a number of national parks.

The first laws governing conservation of particular animals and forests were issued by Emperor Ashoka in the third century BC.

Tigers have been hunted for many years and by 1970 it was estimated that only seven hundred existed. The tiger, is now a protected species; the rhinoceros is also endangered but the Indian cheetah is now extinct. (2000)

Architecture
The early Indian civilization of the Indus valley produced the great cities of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro (now part of Pakistan), built from mud brick. Mohenjo Daro is famous for its giant granaries, drainage systems and the Great Bath which measured thirty-nine by twenty-three feet.

The lavishly decorated Hindu temples, such as those at Hoysala in Karnataka are representative of one of the most famous styles of Indian architecture. Islam, though opposed to the representative sculpture of Hindu art, brought its own architectural style, typified by mosques, minarets and geometric decoration.

The Moghuls built many beautiful palaces and gardens. The Moghul Emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal and India's largest mosque as well as many other buildings.

European style architecture is a reminder of the days of the British Raj. One of the most famous examples of modern architecture is the town of Chandigarh, built in the 1950s from plans made by Le Corbusier, the French architect. Lutyens was responsible for the planning of New Delhi.

Population
India is the world's second most populous country (after China). The population was estimated at 1,129,866,154 in 2007. Over eighty percent of the people are Hindus. Hindus are separated into different castes: there are priests (Brahmins), soldiers and governors; traders; servants and untouchables. Untouchability was abolished in 1950.

Languages
India has more languages than any other country - fifteen main languages and hundreds of other languages and dialects. The most important language is Hindi, spoken by around one in five of the population. The other main languages are Bengali, Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil and Telegu. Hindi is mostly a language of the north and regional political differences have produced opposition to its adoption as a national language.

Religion
India's diversity of languages is matched by its diversity of religions. It was also the birthplace of two of the world's great religions: Buddhism and Hinduism.

Around eighty percent of the people are Hindus; Muslims are the largest religious minority. The other religious groups include Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Zoroastrians (or Parsees), Jews and Christians.

Zoroastrians follow a very ancient religion and worship one god symbolized by fire.

Hinduism was brought to India by the Aryans about 1500 BC. Hinduism brings with it a social order: the caste system. Hindus believe in a Supreme Spirit who works through Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the preserver and Shiva the destroyer and generator of new life.

Buddhists are followers of the Buddha (the Enlightened One) - Siddhartha Gautama - who was born about 500 BC near the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains (Nepal). Today there are Buddhists in many parts of the world.

Jainism was founded the same time as Buddhism. Jains are strict vegetarians and try to avoid injuring any living thing.

Islam arrived in India during the eighth century. Moslems believe in one god, Allah, and follow the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed, contained in the Koran.

The Sikh religion was founded by Guru Nanak (1469-1533) the first of ten gurus or teachers. The word Sikha means disciples. The Sikhs sacred book is kept in the Golden Temple of Amritsar.

Food
Indian food is as varied as its terrain and its people.

Religion also has a major impact on regional food. Many Hindus are strict vegetarians although some eat fish and chicken. The cow is sacred to Hindus around the world. Moslems do not eat any pig products.

As in regional cooking around the world, recipes depend on what is grown, caught or otherwise available locally. Rice, millet and bread (nan, chapattis) are staple foods. Food is flavoured with spices such as chilli, coriander, ginger and tumeric. Milk-based desserts and gulab jamuns are popular.

Tea, which is also one of the country's major exports, is universally available; in some areas the tea is flavoured with spices.

History
India has over five thousand years of history. The earliest civilization was in the Indus Valley. The major cities of this civilization were well planned and laid out with complex drainage and water systems.

The country was influenced by many invasions: the Aryans in 1500BC; Alexander the Great of Macedonia in 327BC. Although Alexander crossed the Indus and defeated an Indian king, he turned back without pressing on with his conquests. The first great Indian empire was that of the Mauryas which reached its peak around 260 BC under the Emperor Ashoka. The Muslim invasions began towards the end of the 12th century. In the sixteenth century Babur from Fergana (Uzbekistan), a descendant of Genghis Khan and Timur (Tamburlaine) invaded, beginning the great Moghul Empire.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to settle in India, in Goa, in the fifteenth century. The arrival of the French and the British led to much rivalry between the two countries over India. (In 1613 the British East India Company started its first trading post in Gujarat). At the Battle of Plassey Robert Clive, an employee of the British East India Company, defeated the French and the Nawab of Bengal, an important step towards the eventual British dominance of the country. After the 1857 Indian Mutiny - First War of Independence - the British government took over control of India from the East India Company. Queen Victoria became the Empress of India.

Eventually demand grew for Indian independence. One of the leaders of the movement was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948), a lawyer who believed in non violent protest (civil disobedience). In 1919 a national day of mourning was proclaimed. This was meant to be a peaceful protest but the British were worried about unrest and sent troops to Amritsar. At the Amritsar Massacre hundreds of people were killed.

Mahatma (Great Soul) Gandhi continued his peaceful protests and was arrested many times. Gandhi worked with Jawaharlai Nehru, the secretary of the Indian National Congress. Mohammed Ali Jinnah led the Muslim League which wanted an independent Muslim state.

Indian independence was granted in 1947. The Muslims were given the separate state of Pakistan (which initially included present-day Bangladesh). During the separation of Pakistan from India many people were killed. Gandhi spoke against the violence: he was assassinated by a Hindu. Nehru became the first Prime Minister of independent India. Nehru's daughter, Indira Gandhi, eventually became prime minister. She was assassinated in 1984. Her son, Rajiv Gandhi who succeeded her, was killed in 1991 by a Tamil suicide bomber.

Economy
After independence the Indian government's aim was to build up the country's industrial sector - this was done through a mixed economy, the state playing an important role. Today, India has a sound industrial base, is self-sufficient in providing food for its population and has a well developed service sector.

India has a good transport system which includes one of the largest railway systems in the world, a legacy from the British Raj. The major cities are connected by a good communications network of roads and much investment has been made in telephones and telecommunications.

Agriculture, forestry and fisheries employ about sixty percent of the population. Most of the farms are small. The soil is fertile and there is plenty of water.

Tea and cotton are important exports. Rice is a main crop and other locally grown foodstuffs are wheat, barley, corn, maize, millet, sorghum, beans, chick peas, lentils, nuts, oil seeds, spices, sugarcane and fruit. Many farmers produce dairy products.

Silk, cotton and jute are important textile crops: cotton goes to the clothing industries, jute is used to make hessian and sacking. Hemp, whose stem fibres make tough materials such as canvas and rope, is also grown. Other crops include rubber and tobacco.

India's long coastline supports a substantial fishing industry and the deep sea catch is a significant earner of export revenues.

About twenty per cent of India's land is covered with forest; some of the timber is exported; some is used as firewood.

India is rich in minerals: iron, bauxite, copper, limestone, magnetite, manganese, mica, nickel, lead, lignite, zinc, phosphate, some gold, silver and diamonds are all found in exploitable quantities. Coal is an important source of energy: hydo-electric power is used as well as thermal and nuclear power. India has some petroleum and gas resources.

There are many small manufacturing businesses whose products make up the country's main exports: textiles, handicrafts, leather products, carpets, machinery, transport equipment, electronic and engineering products, chemicals, iron and steel and processed foods.

India is a major exporter of software services and software workers.

Tourism is an important part of the service sector of the economy. People come to visit buildings such as the Taj Mahal, temples and mosques. There are beaches, mountains, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Walking, trekking and climbing in the Himalayas are popular. (2007)

Arts
The traditional art of India is heavily influenced by religion. Moghul influence is also seen throughout India.

Art is part of the Indian heritage: not only are there Hindu and Buddhist murals, sculptures, carvings and Islamic and Moghul decoration, but artistic expression is also seen in the village crafts of rug and textile design. India has a wealth of literature: the sacred writings, the Vedas, date back to 1200 BC. There are many significant modern Indian writers and many famous western authors have written some of their best works about India. Rabindranath Tagore who wrote poems, plays and novels in Bengali won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.

Classical Indian dancing was traditionally part of religious ritual. Dancers tell the stories of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. There is meaning in all gestures and movements, for example, hand gestures and facial expressions. Kathakali dancing originates from Kerala (katha means story, kali means play). The dancers are male and portray gods and demons. Dancers must have a lot of stamina as some performances go on all night. Kathakali is said to be the forerunner of Eastern martial arts.

Indian music is intrinsically woven into Indian culture and is very unlike western music. Ravi Shankar is perhaps one of India's most known musicians.

It is not surprising that as the tradition of theatre is part of Indian life, India was one of the first countries to make films. The Indian film industry started at the end of the nineteenth century and is very popular with India producing hundreds of films each year.

Sport
Throughout India many different types of sports are popular: hockey, football, tennis, golf, fishing and mountaineering and skiing in the north. In Rajastan camel racing is popular.

Cricket is a very popular sport and was introduced to India by the British. India's national teams have been particularly successful in both cricket and hockey. Polo is a traditional Eastern game originating in Persia and developed in India which is now played around the world.

Snooker was invented in 1875 by a British officer stationed in India.

Holidays
India observes the festivals of all its major religions. Other national holidays are Republic Day, Independence Day and the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.

Key Facts

India is a very diverse country with many different religions, hundreds of languages and climate varying from tropical to snowbound.

The Himalayas (Himalayas means home of snow) are the highest range of mountains in the world and were formed by collision between the great plates of the earth's crust.

It is said that there are remains of a "lost city" in the Bay of Cambay, twenty-five miles off the coast of the Gujarat State. It is thought that such a city may have pre-dated the Indus Valley civilization.

The practice of yoga dates back to the Indus Valley civilization. Yoga and meditation are techniques used to attain Enlightenment.

The study of mathematics in India dates back to ancient times.

The Sumerians and the Phoenicians were the first Western traders in India. Merchants bought Indian spices: cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger. The value of many spices was higher in weight than that of gold.

One of the Jain pilgrimage centres (Sravanabelagola) is the site of a seventeen metre high statue of a Jain religious figure - said to be the world's tallest monolithic statue.

The River Ganges is a sacred river and thought to wash away sins.

Emperor Ashoka was converted to Buddhism in 262 BC. He sent out missionaries, among them his brother who was sent to Sri Lanka.

In the sixteenth century Bobur from Fergana (Uzbekistan), a descendant of Genghis Khan and Timur (Tamburlaine), invaded India, beginning the great Moghul Empire.

The Taj Mahal, the tomb Shah Jehan built for his wife, took twenty-two years to build employing twenty thousand labourers.

The Se Cathedral built in Goa Velha in 1619 is the largest Christian church in Asia.

India's largest mosque is the Jama Masjid in Delhi. It can hold over twenty-five thousand worshippers.

The Koh-i-Noor, one of the world's most famous diamonds, is set in one of the crowns of the British crown jewels.

Indian independence from the UK was granted in 1947. The Muslims were given the separate state of Pakistan (which initially included present-day Bangladesh).

India is a member of the Commonwealth.

Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India; his daughter Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi also served as Prime Minister.

In 1986 Indira Gandhi was assassinated by a Sikh bodyguard. In 1984 she had ordered the army into the Golden Temple of Amritsar, the Sikh's holiest shrine, in search of illegal arms.

The Portuguese occupation of Goa continued until 1961, when India claimed the territory.