Coordinates: 21°N 78°E

India
India (official name: the Republic of India;[19] Hindi: Bhārat
Gaṇarājya) is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest
Republic of India
country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most Bhārat Gaṇarājya
populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on
the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal
on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the
west;[d] China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh
and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the
vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Flag
State emblem
Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Motto: "Satyameva Jayate" (Sanskrit)
Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no "Truth Alone Triumphs"[1]
later than 55,000 years ago.[20] Their long occupation, initially in Anthem: "Jana Gana Mana"[2][3]
varying forms of isolation as hunter-gatherers, has made the region "Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All
highly diverse, second only to Africa in human genetic diversity.[21] People"[4][2]

Settled life emerged on the subcontinent in the western margins of 0:00 MENU

the Indus river basin 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the
National song
Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BCE.[22] By 1200 "Vande Mataram" (Sanskrit)
BCE, an archaic form of Sanskrit, an Indo-European language, had "I Bow to Thee, Mother"[a][1][2]
diffused into India from the northwest, unfolding as the language
of the Rigveda, and recording the dawning of Hinduism in
India.[23] The Dravidian languages of India were supplanted in the
northern regions.[24] By 400 BCE, stratification and exclusion by
caste had emerged within Hinduism,[25] and Buddhism and
Jainism had arisen, proclaiming social orders unlinked to
heredity.[26] Early political consolidations gave rise to the loose-
knit Maurya and Gupta Empires based in the Ganges Basin.[27]
Their collective era was suffused with wide-ranging creativity,[28]
but also marked by the declining status of women,[29] and the
incorporation of untouchability into an organized system of
belief.[e][30] In south India, the Middle kingdoms exported
Dravidian-languages scripts and religious cultures to the kingdoms
Area controlled by India shown in dark
of southeast Asia.[31]
green;
regions claimed but not controlled shown
In the early medieval era, Christianity, Islam, Judaism and in light green
Zoroastrianism put down roots on India's southern and western
Capital New Delhi
coasts.[32] Armies from Central Asia intermittently overran India's 28°36′50″N
plains,[33] eventually establishing the Delhi sultanate, and drawing 77°12′30″E
northern India into the cosmopolitan networks of medieval Largest city Mumbai
Islam.[34] In the 15th century, the Vijayanagara Empire created a 18°58′30″N
long-lasting composite Hindu culture in south India.[35] In the 72°49′33″E
Punjab, Sikhism emerged, rejecting institutionalized religion.[36] Official languages Hindi · English[b][7]
The Mughal empire, in 1526, ushered in two centuries of relative Recognised State level and
peace,[37] leaving a legacy of luminous architecture.[f][38] Gradually regional languages Eighth Schedule[8]
expanding rule of the British East India Company followed, turning
India into a colonial economy, but also consolidating its National language None[9][10][11]
sovereignty.[39] British Crown rule began in 1858. The rights Religion 79.8% Hinduism
promised to Indians were granted slowly,[40] but technological 14.2% Islam
changes were introduced, and ideas of education, modernity and 2.3% Christianity
the public life took root.[41] A pioneering and influential nationalist 1.7% Sikhism
movement emerged,[42] which was noted for nonviolent resistance 0.7% Buddhism
and led India to its independence in 1947. 0.4% Jainism
0.23% Not stated
India is a secular federal republic governed in a democratic
0.65% others[12]
parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi- See Religion in
ethnic society. India's population grew from 361 million in 1951 to India
1,211 million in 2011.[43] During the same time, its nominal per
Demonym(s) Indian
capita income increased from US$64 annually to US$2,041, and its
Membership UN, WTO, BRICS,
literacy rate from 16.6% to 74%. From being a comparatively
SAARC, SCO,
destitute country in 1951,[44] India has become a fast-growing G8+5, G20,
major economy, a hub for information technology services, with an Commonwealth of
expanding middle class.[45] It has a space programme which
Nations
includes several planned or completed lunar missions. Indian Government Federal
movies, music, and spiritual teachings play an increasing role in parliamentary
constitutional
global culture.[46] India has substantially reduced its rate of republic
poverty, though at the cost of increasing economic inequality.[47]
• President Ram Nath Kovind
India is a nuclear weapons state, which ranks high in military • Vice President Venkaiah Naidu
expenditure. It has disputes over Kashmir with its neighbours, • Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Pakistan and China, unresolved since the mid-20th century.[48] • Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi
Among the socio-economic challenges India faces are gender • Speaker of the Om Birla
Lok Sabha
inequality, child malnutrition,[49] and rising levels of air
pollution.[50] India's land is megadiverse, with four biodiversity Legislature Parliament
hotspots.[51] Its forest cover comprises 21.4% of its area.[52] India's • Upper house Rajya Sabha
• Lower house Lok Sabha
wildlife, which has traditionally been viewed with tolerance in
India's culture,[53] is supported among these forests, and Independence from the United Kingdom
elsewhere, in protected habitats. • Dominion 15 August 1947
• Republic 26 January 1950
Area
• Total 3,287,263[6] km2
Contents (1,269,219 sq mi)[c]
(7th)
Etymology
• Water (%) 9.6
History
Ancient India Population
Medieval India • 2016 estimate 1,324,171,354[13]
(2nd)
Early modern India
• 2011 census 1,210,854,977[14][15]
Modern India
(2nd)
Geography • Density 403.2/km2
Biodiversity (1,044.3/sq mi)
(31st)
Politics and government
Politics GDP (PPP) 2019 estimate
Government • Total $11.468 trillion[16]
Administrative divisions (3rd)
• Per capita $8,484[16] (119th)
Foreign, economic and strategic relations
Economy GDP (nominal) 2019 estimate
Industries • Total $2.972 trillion[16]
(5th)
 Socio-economic challenges • Per capita $2,199[16]
(142nd)
Demographics, languages, and religion
Culture Gini (2013) 33.9[17]
Art, architecture and literature medium · 79th
Performing arts and media HDI (2017) 0.640[18]
Society medium · 130th
Clothing
Currency Indian rupee (₹)
Cuisine
(INR)
Sports and recreation
Time zone UTC+05:30 (IST)
See also
DST is not observed
Notes
Date format dd-mm-yyyy
References
Bibliography Driving side left

External links Calling code +91

ISO 3166 code IN
Internet TLD .in (others)
Etymology
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (Third Edition 2009), the name "India" is derived from the Classical Latin
India, a reference to South Asia and an uncertain region to its east; and in turn derived successively from: Hellenistic
Greek India ( Ἰνδία); ancient Greek Indos ( Ἰνδός); Old Persian Hindush, an eastern province of the Achaemenid
empire; and ultimately its cognate, the Sanskrit Sindhu, or "river," but especially the Indus river and, by implication,
its well-settled southern basin.[54][55] The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi (Ἰνδοί (https://www.loc.go
v/standards/iso639-2/php/langcodes_name.php?code_ID=)), which translates as "The people of the Indus".[56]

The term Bharat (Bhārat; pronounced [ˈbʱaːɾət] ( listen)), mentioned in both Indian epic poetry and the Constitution of
India,[57][58] is used in its variations by many Indian languages. A modern rendering of the historical name
Bharatavarsha, which applied originally to a region of the Gangetic Valley,[59][60] Bharat gained increased currency
from the mid-19th century as a native name for India.[57][61]

Hindustan ([ɦɪndʊˈstaːn] ( listen)) is a Middle Persian name for India, introduced during the Mughal Empire and
used widely since. Its meaning has varied, referring to a region encompassing present-day northern India and
Pakistan or to India in its near entirety.[57][61][62]

History

Ancient India
By 55,000 years ago, the first modern humans, or Homo sapiens, had arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa,
where they had earlier evolved.[63][64][65] The earliest known modern human remains in South Asia date to about
30,000 years ago.[66] After 6500 BCE, evidence for domestication of food crops and animals, construction of
permanent structures, and storage of agricultural surplus appeared in Mehrgarh and other sites in what is now
Balochistan.[67] These gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation,[68][67] the first urban culture in South
Asia,[69] which flourished during 2500–1900 BCE in what is now Pakistan and western India.[70] Centred around
cities such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Dholavira, and Kalibangan, and relying on varied forms of subsistence, the
civilization engaged robustly in crafts production and wide-ranging trade.[69]

During the period 2000–500 BCE, many regions of the subcontinent transitioned from the Chalcolithic cultures to the
Iron Age ones.[71] The Vedas, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism,[72] were composed during this
period,[73] and historians have analysed these to posit a Vedic culture in the Punjab region and the upper Gangetic
 (Top) A pre-14th century CE manuscript of the Rigveda, which was composed from 1500 BCE to
1200 BCE and subsequently orally transmitted. (Bottom) The "Battle at Lanka," a scene from the
Sanskrit epic Ramayana—composed between 700 BCE and 200 CE—was illustrated by Sahibdin, an
artist of the 17th century.

Plain.[71] Most historians also consider this period to have encompassed several waves of Indo-Aryan migration into
the subcontinent from the north-west.[72] The caste system, which created a hierarchy of priests, warriors, and free
peasants, but which excluded indigenous peoples by labeling their occupations impure, arose during this period.[74]
On the Deccan Plateau, archaeological evidence from this period suggests the existence of a chiefdom stage of political
organisation.[71] In South India, a progression to sedentary life is indicated by the large number of megalithic
monuments dating from this period,[75] as well as by nearby traces of agriculture, irrigation tanks, and craft
traditions.[75]

In the late Vedic period, around the 6th century BCE, the small states and chiefdoms of the Ganges Plain and the
north-western regions had consolidated into 16 major oligarchies and monarchies that were known as the
mahajanapadas.[76][77] The emerging urbanisation gave rise to non-Vedic religious movements, two of which became
independent religions. Jainism came into prominence during the life of its exemplar, Mahavira.[78] Buddhism, based
on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, attracted followers from all social classes excepting the middle class; chronicling
the life of the Buddha was central to the beginnings of recorded history in India.[79][80][81] In an age of increasing
urban wealth, both religions held up renunciation as an ideal,[82] and both established long-lasting monastic
traditions. Politically, by the 3rd century BCE, the kingdom of Magadha had annexed or reduced other states to
emerge as the Mauryan Empire.[83] The empire was once thought to have controlled most of the subcontinent except
the far south, but its core regions are now thought to have been separated by large autonomous areas.[84][85] The
Mauryan kings are known as much for their empire-building and determined management of public life as for
Ashoka's renunciation of militarism and far-flung advocacy of the Buddhist dhamma.[86][87]

The Sangam literature of the Tamil language reveals that, between 200 BCE and 200 CE, the southern peninsula was
ruled by the Cheras, the Cholas, and the Pandyas, dynasties that traded extensively with the Roman Empire and with
West and South-East Asia.[88][89] In North India, Hinduism asserted patriarchal control within the family, leading to
increased subordination of women.[90][83] By the 4th and 5th centuries, the Gupta Empire had created a complex
system of administration and taxation in the greater Ganges Plain that became a model for later Indian
kingdoms.[91][92] Under the Guptas, a renewed Hinduism based on devotion, rather than the management of ritual,
began to assert itself.[93] This renewal was reflected in a flowering of sculpture and architecture, which found patrons
among an urban elite.[92] Classical Sanskrit literature flowered as well, and Indian science, astronomy, medicine, and
mathematics made significant advances.[92]
 Clockwise from upper left: (a) A map of the rough extent of the empire of Ashoka, ca 250 BCE; (b)
The map of India, ca 350 CE; (c) Cave 26 of the rock-cut Ajanta Caves, fifth century CE

Medieval India

(left) A map of India in 1022 CE; (right) Brihadeshwara temple, Thanjavur, completed in 1010 CE

The Indian early medieval age, 600 CE to 1200 CE, is defined by regional kingdoms and cultural diversity.[94] When
Harsha of Kannauj, who ruled much of the Indo-Gangetic Plain from 606 to 647 CE, attempted to expand southwards,
he was defeated by the Chalukya ruler of the Deccan.[95] When his successor attempted to expand eastwards, he was
defeated by the Pala king of Bengal.[95] When the Chalukyas attempted to expand southwards, they were defeated by
the Pallavas from farther south, who in turn were opposed by the Pandyas and the Cholas from still farther south.[95]
No ruler of this period was able to create an empire and consistently control lands much beyond his core region.[94]