History of Indian Tricolor

"A flag is a necessity for all nations. Millions have died for it. It is no doubt a kind of idolatry which would be a sin to destroy. For, a flag represents an Ideal The unfurling of the Union Jack evokes in the English breast sentiments whose strength it is difficult to measure. The Stars and Stripes mean a world to the Americans. The Star and the Crescent will call forth the best bravery in Islam." "It will be necessary for us Indians Muslims, Christians Jews, Parsis, and all others to whom India is their home-to recognize a common flag to live and to die for." - Mahatma Gandhi Interesting Facts about India y y y India never invaded any country in her last 100000 years of history. When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization) The name 'India' is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu. The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name 'Hindustan' combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus. Chess was invented in India. Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies, which originated in India. The 'Place Value System' and the 'Decimal System' were developed in India in 100 B.C. The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara Temple at Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu. The shikhara of the temple is made from a single 80-tonne piece of granite. This magnificent temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD) during the reign of RajarajaChola. India is the largest democracy in the world, the 7 th largest Country in the world, and one of the most ancient civilizations. The game of Snakes & Ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called 'Mokshapat'. The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. In time, the game underwent several modifications, but its meaning remained the same, i.e. good deeds take people to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births. The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pr adesh. Built in 1893 after leveling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level. India has the largest number of Post Offices in the world.

y y y y y

y y

y y

y y

The largest employer in India is the Indian Railways, employing over a million people. The world's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The Father of Medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. India was one of the richest countries till the time of British rule in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus, attracted by India's wealth, had come looking for a sea route to India when he discovered America by mistake. The Art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh over 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word 'NAVGATIH'. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'. Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the Sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. According to his calculation, the time taken by the Earth to orbit the Sun was 365.258756484 days. The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, long before the European mathematicians. Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus also originated in India.Quadratic Equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*5 3 (i.e. 10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C.during the Vedic period.Even today, the largest used number is Terra: 10*12(10 to the power of 12). Until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds in the world (Source: Gemological Institute of America). The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982. Sushruta is regarded as the Father of Surgery. Over2600 years ago Sushrata& his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones, plastic surgery and brain surgeries. Usage of anaesthesia was well known in ancient Indian medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism,physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts. India exports software to 90 countries. The four religions born in India - Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population. Jainism and Buddhism were founded in India in 600 B.C. and 500 B.C. respectively. Islam is India's and the world's second largest religion. There are 300,000 active mosques in India, more than in any other country, including the Muslim world. The oldest European church and synagogue in India are in the city of Cochin. They were built in 1503 and 1568 respectively.

y y

y y

y y y y y y

y y y

Jews and Christians have lived continuously in India since 200 B.C. and 52 A.D. respectively The largest religious building in the world is Angkor Wat, a Hindu Temple in Cambodia built at the end of the 11th century. The Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the 10th century, is the world's largest religious pilgrimage destination. Larger than either Rome or Mecca, an average of 30,000 visitors donate $6 million (US) to the temple everyday. Sikhism originated in the Holy city of Amritsar in Punjab. Famous for housing the Golden Temple, the city was founded in 1577. Varanasi, also known as Benaras, was called "the Ancient City" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C., and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today. India provides safety for more than 300,000 refugees originally from Sri L anka, Tibet, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who escaped to flee religious and political persecution. His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, runs his government in exile from Dharmashala in northern India. Martial Arts were first created in India, and later spread to Asia by Buddhist missionaries. Yoga has its origins in India and has existed for over 5,000 years.

y y

y y y

India India is about 1/3 the size of the United States, yet it is the second most populous country in the world, with a population of 1,166,079,217. India is the seventh largest country in the world, at 1.27 million square miles. g 2. India is the largest democracy in the world. i 3. The KumbhMela (or Grand Pitcher Festival) is a huge Hindu religious festival that takes place in India every 12 years. In 2001, 60 million people attended, breaking the record for the worlds biggest gathering. The mass of people was photographed from space by a satellite. c 4. Many Indians find toilet paper repellent and consider it cleaner to splash water with the left hand in the appropriate direction. Consequently, the left hand is considered unclean and is never used for eating. f 5. To avoid polluting the elements (fire, earth, water, air), followers of Zoroastrianism in India dont bury their dead, but instead leave bodies in buildings called Towers of Silence for the vultures to pick clean. After the bones dry, they are swept into a central well. f 6. It is illegal to take Indian currency (rupees) out of India. f 7. India leads the world with the most murders (32,719), with Russia taking second at 28,904 murders per year.j 8. India has one of the worlds highest rates of abortion.e 9. More than a million Indians are millionaires, yet most Indians live on less than two dollars a day. An estimated 35% of Indias population lives below the poverty line.l It is illegal for foreigners to import or export Indian 10. Cows can be found freely wandering the streets of Indias cities. They are currency (rupees) considered sacred and will often wear a tilak, a Hindu symbol of good fortune. Cows are considered one of humankinds seven mothers because she offers milk as does ones natural mother. k 11. Dancing is one of Indias most highly developed arts and was an integral part of worship in the inner shrines 1.

12. 13.

14.

15. 16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21. 22.

23. 24. 25. 26.

27.

28.

29. 30.

of every temple. It is notable for its expressive hand movements. f Rabies is endemic in India. Additionally, Delhi Belly or diarrhea is commonplace due to contaminated drinking water.f Many Indian wives will never say her husbands name aloud, as it is a sign of disrespect. When addressing him, the wife will use several indirect references, such as ji or look here or hello, or even refer to him as the father of her child. f A widow is considered bad luckotherwise, her husband wouldnt have died. Elderly women in the village might call a widow the one who ate her husband. In some orthodox families, widows are not allowed near newlyweds or welcomed at social gatherings. b India is the birthplace of chess. l The original word for chess is the Sanskritchaturanga, meaning four members of an armywhich were mostly likely elephants, horses, chariots, and foot soldiers. d The Indian flag has three horizontal bands of color: saffron for courage and sacrifice, white for truth an d peace, and green for faith, fertility, and chivalry. An emblem of a wheel spinning used to be in the center of the white band, but when India gained independence, a Buddhist dharma chakra, or wheel of life, replaced the spinning wheel.m The temples of Khajuraho are famous for their erotic sculptures and are one of the most popular tourist attractions in India. Scholars still debate the purpose of such explicit portrayals of sexual intercourse, which sometimes involves animals. a The earliest cotton in the world was spun and woven in India. Roman emperors would wear delicate cotton from India that they would call woven winds. Mogul emperors called the fabrics Khajurahos exotic art may suggest that sex was a step for morning dew and cloth of running water.i attaining ultimate liberation In ancient and medieval India, suttees, in which a recently widowed or moksha woman would immolate herself on her husbands funeral pyre, were common.b The Himalayasfrom the Sanskrit hima, meaning snow, and alaya, meaning abodeare found in the north of India. They extend 1,500 miles and are slowly growing taller, by al most an inch (2.5 cm) a year. Several ancient Indian monasteries are found nestled in the grandeur of these mountains. m India is the worlds largest producer of dried beans, such as kidney beans and chickpeas. It also leads the world in banana exports; Brazil is second. l In India, the fold and color of clothing are viewed as important markers of social classification. Addit ionally, women will be viewed as either a prostitute or a holy person depending on the manner in which she parts her hair.k With 150,000 post offices, India has the largest postal network in the world. However, it is not unusual for a letter to take two weeks to travel just 30 miles. f In India, grasping ones ears signifies repentance or sincerity. f The Bengal tiger is Indias national animal. It was once ubiquitous throughout the country, but now there are fewer than 4,000 wild tigers left. m Indians hold prominent places both internationally and in the United States. For example, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems (VinodKhosla), the creator of the Pentium chip (VinodDahm), the founder/creator of Hotmail (Sabeer Bhatia), and the GM of Hewlett -Packard (Rajiv Gupta) are all Indian. h Alexander the Great of Macedon (356-323 B.C.) was one of the first important figures to bring India into contact with the West. After his death, a link between Europe and the East would not be restored until Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (1460-1524) landed in Calicut, India, in 1498. l The British Raj, or British rule, lasted from 1858 to 1947 (although they had a strong presence in India since the 1700s). British influence is still seen in Indian architecture, education system, transportation, and politics. Many of Indias worst famines are associated with British rule in India. i Every major world religion is represented in India. Additionally, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism all originated in India. f About 80% of Indians are Hindu. Muslims are the largest minority in India and form approximately 13% of

31.

32. 33.

34.

35.

36. 37.

the countrys population. In fact, India has the third largest population of Muslims in the world, after Indonesia and Pakistan.i India has the worlds largest movie industry, based in the city of Mumbai (known as the City of Dreams). The B in Bollywood comes from Bombay, the former name for Mumbai. Almost all Bollywood movies are musicals. l Mumbai (Bombay) is Indias largest city, with a population of 15 million. In 16 61, British engineers built a causeway uniting all seven original islands of Bombay into a single landmass. l Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) is known around the world as Mahatma, which is an honorific title meaning Great Soul in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit. He devoted his life to free India from British rule peacefully and based his campaign on civil disobedience. His birthday, October 2, is a national holiday. He was assassinated in 1948. m The lotus is sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists. The Bah' house of worship in Delhi, known as the Lotus Temple, is shaped like a lotus flower with 27 gigantic petals that are covered in marble. i The banyan, or Indian fig tree, is considered a symbol of immortality and is mentioned in many Indian myths and legends. This self-renewing plant is Indias national tree. m The Lotus temple is one of Marigold flowers are used as decoration for Hindu marriages and are a the most visited temples in symbol of good fortune and happiness.i the world, with over 50 million visitors per year The official name of India is the Republic of India. The name India derives from the River Indus, which most likely is derived from the Sanskrit sindhu, meaning river. The official Sanskrit name of India is Bharat, after the legendary king in the epicMahabharata.m Introduced by the British, cricket is Indias most popular sport. Hockey is considered the national sport, and the Indian field hockey team proudly won Olympic gold in 1928.i Indians made significant contributions to calculus, trigonometry, and algebra. The decimal system was invented in India in 100 B.C. The concept of zero as a number is also attributed to India. m The national fruit of India is the mango. The national bird is the peacock, which was initially bred for food. m Most historians agree that the first recorded account of plastic surgery is found in ancient Indian Sanskrit texts.b Hindi and English are the official languages of India. The government also recognizes 17 other languages (Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Nepali, Manipuri, Konkani, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu). Apart from these languages, about 1,652 dialects are spoken in the country.l Indias pastoral communities are largely dependent on dairy and have made India the largest milk-producing country in the world. l India has the worlds third largest road network at 1.9 million miles. It also has the worlds second largest rail network, which is the worlds largest civilian employer wi th 16 million workers. f Rivers have played a vital role in Indias popular culture and folklore they have been worshipped as goddesses because they bring water to an otherwise dry land. Bathing in the Ganges in particular is thought to take away a persons sins. It is not unusual to spread a loved ones ashes in the Ganges.f Raziya Sultana (1205-1240) was the first woman leader of India. She was Though the Ganges is one considered a great leader, though she ruled for only three years before of the dirtiest rivers in the being murdered.b world, bathing in the river Most Indians rinse their hands, legs, and face before eating a meal. It is is thought to wash away considered polite to eat with the right hand, and women eat after everyone ones sins is finished. Wasting food is considered a sin. i During the Vedic era in India, horse sacrifice sanctioned the sovereignty of the king.a It is traditional to wear white, not black, to a funeral in India. Widows will often wear white in contrast to

38. 39. 40. 41. 42.

43. 44. 45.

46.

47.

48. 49.

50. 51. 52.

53. 54. 55.

56.

57.

58.

59.

60. 61.

the colorful clothes of married or single women. k All of India is under a single time zone. g On Indias Independence Day, August 15, 1947, the country was split into India and Pakistan. The partition displaced 1.27 million people and resulted in the death of several hundred thousand to a million people. g In recent years, Indian authors have made a mark on the world with such novels as Salman Rushdies The Satanic Verses (1988), Vikram Seths Suitable Boy (1993), and Arundhati Roys The God of Small Things (1997).i India experiences six seasons: summer, autumn, winter, spring, summer monsoon, and winter monsoon. m India is the worlds largest tea producer, and tea (chai) is its most popular beverage. f The TajMahal (crown palace) was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1592-1666) for his beloved wife MumtazMahal (1593-1631). This architectural beauty has been called marbled embroidery for its intricate workmanship. It took 22,000 workmen 22 years to complete it. m The first and greatest civilization in ancient India developed around the valley of the Indus River (now Pakistan) around 3000 B.C. Called the Indus According to legend, to Valley civilization, this early empire was larger than any other empire, prevent the builders from including Egypt and Mesopotamia. l ever replicating the beauty After the great Indus Civilization collapsed in 2000 B.C., groups of Indo of the TajMahal, their Europeans called Aryans (noble ones) traveled to northwest India and hands were cut off reigned during what is called the Vedic age. Aryans spoke and imported Sanskrit into India, which is the mother of all European languages. The mingling of ideas from the Aryan and Indus Valley religions formed the basis of Hinduism, and the gods Shiva, Kali, and Brahma all have their roots in Aryan civilization. The Aryans also recorded the Vedas, the first Hindu scriptures, and introduced a caste system based on ethnicity and occupation. l Alexander the Great invaded India partly because he wanted to solve the mystery of the ocean, which he had been told was a huge, continuous sea that flowed in a circle around the land. When he reached the Indian Ocean, he sacrificed some bulls to Poseidon for leading him to his goal. m Greek sculpture strongly influenced many portrayals of Indian gods and goddess, particularly after the conquest of Alexander the Great around 330B.C. In fact, early Indian gods had Greek features and only later did distinct Indian styles emerge. m Chandragupta Maurya (340-290 B.C.), a leader in India who established the Mauryan Empire (321 -185 B.C.), was guarded by a band of women on horseback. a When the first independent prime minister of India, pacifist Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 -1964), was featured in Vogue, his distinctive close fitting, single-breasted jacket briefly became an important fashion statement for the Mod movement in the West. Named the Nehru jacket, the prime ministers coat was popularized by the Beatles and worn by such famous people as Johnny Carson (1925-2005) and Sammy Davis Jr. (19251990).n

PAGE LAST UPDATED ON JUNE 14, 2011

(CONTAINS DESCRIPTION) CLICK FLAG OR MAP TO ENLARGE

V IE W 23 PHOTOS O F IN D IA CLICK MAP TO ENLARGE EXPAND ALL | COLLAPSE ALL

Introduction ::INDIA Background : The Indus Valley civilization, one of the world's oldest, flourished during the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C. and extended into northwestern India. Aryan tribes f rom the northwest inf iltrated onto the Indian subcontinent about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maur ya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. - which reached its zenith under ASHOKA - united much of South Asia. The Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynast y (4th to 6th centuri es A.D.) saw a flowering of Indian science, art, and culture. Islam spr ead across the subcontinent over a period of 700 years. In the 10th and 11th centuries, Turks and Af ghans invaded India and established the Delhi Sultanate. In the early 16th century, t he Emperor BABUR established the Mughal Dynasty which ruled India f or more than three centuries. European explor ers began establishing f ootholds in India during the 16th centur y. By the 19th century, Gr eat Britain had become the dominant political power on the subcontinent. The British Indian Army played a vital role in both World Wars. Nonviolent resi stance to British rule, led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU, eventually br ought about independence in 1947. Communal violence led to the subcontinent ' s bloody partition, which resulted in the creation of two separate states, India and Pakistan. The two countries have f ought three wars since independence, the last of which in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. Indi a's nuclear weapons test s in 1998 caused Pakistan to conduct its own test s that same year. In Novem ber 2008, terrorist s allegedly originating f rom Pakistan conducted a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital. Despite pressing pro blem s such as significant overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive

poverty, and widespread corruption, rapid economic development is f ueling India's rise on the world stage. In January 2011, India assum ed a nonpermanent seat in the UN Security Council f or the 2011-12 term.

Geography :: INDIA Location : Southern A sia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan Geographic coordinates : 20 00 N, 77 00 E Map references : Asia Area: total: 3,287,263 sq km country comparison to the world: 7 land: 2,973,193 sq km water: 314,070 sq km Area - comparati ve : slightly more than one -third the size of the US Land boundaries : total: 14,103 km border countries: Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km Coastline : 7,000 km Maritime claims : territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin Climate: varies f rom tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north Terrain : upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, f lat to rolling plain along the Ganges, desert s in west, Himalayas in north

levation extrem es :

lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m Natural resources : coal (f ourth -largest reser ves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, rare earth elements, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land Land use : arable land: 48.83% permanent crops: 2.8% other: 48.37% (2005) Irrigated land : 622,860 sq km (2008) Total renewable water resources : 1,907.8 cu km (1999) Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) : total: 645.84 cu km/yr (8%/5%/86%) per capita: 585 cu m/yr (2000) Natural hazards : drought s; f lash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding f rom monsoonal rains; severe thunder storm s; earthquakes volcanism: Barren I sland (elev. 354 m) in the Andaman Sea has been active in recent year s n vironment - current issues : def orestation; soil erosion; overgr azing; desertification; ai r pollution f rom industrial effluents and vehicle emissions; water pollution f rom raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap water is not potable throughout the countr y; huge and growing population is overstraining natur al resources n vironment - international agreements : party to: Antarctic -Environmental Protocol, Antarctic -Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiver sity, Climate Change, Climate Change -K yoto Protocol, Desertif ication, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal

People :: INDIA Population : 1,189,172,906 (July 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 2 Age structure : 0-14 years: 29.7% (male 187,450,635/f emale 165,415,758) 15-64 years: 64.9% (male 398,757,331/f emale 372,719,379) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 30,831,190/f emale 33,998,613) (2011 est.) Median age : total: 26.2 year s male: 25.6 year s female: 26.9 year s (2011 est.) Population growth rate: 1.344% (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 86 Birth rate: 20.97 births/1,000 population (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 84 Death rate : 7.48 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 117 Net migration rate : -0.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 118 Urbanization : urban population: 30% of total population (2010) rate of urbanization: 2.4% annual rate of change (2010 - 15 est.) Major cities - population : NEW DELHI (capital) 21.72 million; Mumbai 19.695 million; Kolkata 15.294 million; Chennai 7.416 million; Bangalore 7.079 million (2009) Sex ratio : at birth: 1.12 male(s)/f emale under 15 years: 1.13 male( s)/f emale 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/f emale 65 years and over: 0.91 male( s)/f emale total population: 1.08 male(s)/f emale (2011 est.) Infant mortality rate :

total: 47.57 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 51 male: 46.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 49.14 death s/1,000 live births (2011 est.) Life expectancy at birth : total population: 66.8 year s country comparison to the world: 161 male: 65.77 year s female: 67.95 year s (2011 est.) Total fertilit y rate : 2.62 children born/woman (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 79 HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate : 0.3% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 82 HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS : 2.4 million (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 4 HIV/AIDS - deaths : 170,000 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 3 Major infectious diseases : degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid f ever vectorborne diseases: chikungunya, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria animal contact disease: rabies water contact disease: leptospirosis note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian inf luenza has been identif ied in this countr y; it poses a negligible risk with e xtremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009) Drinking water source : improved: urban: 96% of population rural: 84% of population total: 88% of population unimproved: urban: 4% of population rural: 16% of population total: 12% of population (2008) Sanitation facility access :

improved: urban: 54% of population rural: 21% of population total: 31% of population unimproved: urban: 46% of population rural: 79% of population total: 69% of population (2008) Nationality : noun: Indian(s) adjective: Indian t hnic groups : Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)

Religions : Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%, unspecif ied 0.1% (2001 census) Languages : Hindi 41%, Bengali 8.1%, Telugu 7.2%, Marathi 7%, Tamil 5.9%, Urdu 5%, Gujarati 4.5%, Kannada 3.7%, Malayalam 3.2%, Oriya 3.2%, Punjabi 2.8%, Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.2%, other 5.9% note: English enjoys the status of subsidiary of ficial language but is the most important language f or national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the most widely spoken language and primary tongue of 41% of the people; there are 14 other off icia l languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout norther n India but is not an official languag e (2001 census) Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 61% male: 73.4% female: 47.8% (2001 census) School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) : total: 10 year s male: 11 year s female: 10 year s (2007) d ucation expenditures : 3.1% of GDP (2006) country comparison to the world: 130

Country name :

Government :: INDIA

conventional long form: Republic of India conventional short form: India local long form: Republic of India/BharatiyaGanarajya local short form: India/Bharat Government t ype : f ederal republic Capital : name: New Delhi geographic coordinates: 28 36 N, 77 12 E time difference: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hour s ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) Administrati ve divisions : 28 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Chhattisgar h, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Har yana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Puducherr y*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal Independence : 15 August 1947 (f rom the UK) National holiday : Republic Day, 26 Januar y (1950) Constitution : 26 Januar y 1950; amended many times Legal system : common law system based on the English model; separate per sonal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hi ndus; judicial review of legislative acts International law organization participation : accepts com pulsor y ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non -party state to the ICCt Suffrage : 18 year s of age; univer sal x ecutive branch : chief of state: President PratibhaDevisingh PA TI L (since 25 Jul y 2007); Vice President Mohammad Hamid ANSARI (since 11 August 2007) head of government: Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH (since 22

May 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister ) (For more inf ormation visit the World Leaders website elections: president elected by an electoral college consi sting of elected members of both houses of Parliament an d the legislatures of the states f or a five -year term (no term limits); election last held in July 2007 (next to be held in July 2012); vice president elected by both houses of Parliament f or a f ive -year ter m; election last held in August 2007 (next to be held August 2012); prime minister chosen by parliamentar y member s of the majority part y f ollowing legislative elections; election last held April - May 2009 (next to be held no later than May 2014) election results: Pratibha PATIL elected president; percen t of vote - Pratibha PATIL 65.8%, Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT - 34.2% Legislative branch : bicameral Parliament or Sansad consist s of the Council of States or RajyaSabha (a body consisting of not more than 250 member s up to 12 of whom are appointed by the president, the remainder are chosen by the elected member s of the state and territorial assem blies; member s ser ve si x- year term s) and the People's Assembl y or LokSabha (545 seats; 543 members elected by popular vote, 2 appointed by the president; member s serve five - year term s) elections: People's Assembly - last held in five phases on 16, 22 23, 30 April and 7, 13 May 2009 (next must be held by May 2014) election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by part y NA; seat s by part y - INC 206, BJP 116, SP 23, BSP 21, JD (U) 20, AITC 19, DMK 18, CPI -M 16, BJD 14, SS 11, AIADMK 9, NCP 9, other 61, vacant 2; note - seats by party as November 2009 - INC 207, BJP 116, SP 22, BSP 21, JD (U) 20, AITC 19 , DMK 18, CPI -M 16, BJD 14, SS 11, AIADMK 9, NCP 9, other 61, vacant 2 Judicial branch : Supreme Court (one chief justice and 25 associate justices are appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the age of 65 or are removed f or "proved misbehavior") Political parties and leaders : All India Anna DravidaMunnetraKazhagam or A IADMK [J. JAYALALI THAA]; All India Trinamool Congress or AITC [Mamata BANERJEE]; BahujanSamaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI]; BharatiyaJanata Part y or BJP [Nitin GADKARI]; BijuJanata Dal or BJD [Naveen PA TNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI [B. BARDHAN]; Communist Party of In dia-Marxi st or CPI-M [Prakash KARA T]; DravidaMunnetraKazhagam or DMK [Kalaignar M.KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National Congress or INC [Sonia GANDHI]; Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) [Sharad YADAV]; Lef t Front (an alliance of Indian lef tist parties); Nationalist Con gress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]; RashtriyaLok Dal or RLD [Ajit SINGH]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV ]; ShiromaniAkali Dal or SAD [Parkash Singh BADAL]; Shiv Sena or SS [Bal THACKERA Y]; Telugu Desam Part y or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU]; note - India has dozens of national and regional political parties; only parties or coalitions with f our or more seats in the People's

Assembl y are listed Political pressure groups and leaders : All Parties Hurriyat Conf erence in the Kashmir Valley (separatist group); Bajrang Dal (religious organi zation); National Socialist Council of Nagaland in the northeast (separatist group); RashtriyaSwayam sevakSangh [Mohan BHAGWAT] (religious organi zation); Vishwa Hindu Parisha d [Ashok S INGHAL] (religious organi zation) other: numerous religious or militant/chauvinist ic organizations; various separatist groups seeking greater com munal and/or regional autonom y International organization participation : ADB, Af DB (nonregional member), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIMSTEC, BIS, C, CD, CERN (obser ver), CICA, CP, EAS, FAO, FATF, G-15, G-20, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, I TU, I TUC, LAS (obser ver), M IGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (obser ver), OP CW, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC, SACEP, SCO (obser ver), UN, UN Security Council (temporar y), UNCTA D, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITA R, UNMIS, UNMI T, UNOCI, UNW TO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Diplomatic representation in the US : chief of mission: Ambassador Meera SHANKA R chancery: 2107 Massachusetts A venue NW, Washington, DC 20008; note - Consular Wing located at 2536 Massachusett s Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939 -7000 FAX: [1] (202) 265 - 4351 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, San Fra ncisco Diplomatic representation from the US : chief of mission: Ambassador Timothy J. ROEMER embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [91] (011) 2419 -8000 FAX: [91] (11) 2419 -0017 consulate(s) general: Chennai (Madras), Hyderabad; Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay ) Flag description : three equal horizontal bands of saff ron (subdued orange) (top), white, and green, with a blue chakra (24 - spoked wheel) centered in the white band; saff ron represent s cour age, sacrifice, and the spirit of renunciation; white signif ies purity and truth; gree n stands f or f aith and f ertility; the blue chakra symbolizes the wheel of lif e in movement and death in stagnation note: similar to the f lag of Niger, which has a small orange disk centered in the white band National anthem :

name: "Jana-Gana-Mana" ( Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All People) lyrics/music: Rabindranath TAGORE note: adopted 1950; Rabindranath TAGORE, a Nobel laureate, also wrote Bangladesh's national anthem

Economy :: INDIA Economy - overvi ew : India is developing into an open -market economy, yet traces of its past autarkic policies remain. Economic liberalization, including industrial deregulation, privatization of state -owned enterprises, and reduced controls on f oreign trade and investment, be gan in the early 1990s and has served to accelerate the countr y's growth, which has averaged more than 7% per year since 1997. India's diver se econom y encompasses traditional village f arming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industri es, and a multitude of services. Slightly more than half of the work f orce is in agriculture, but services are the major source of economic growth, accounting f or more than half of India's output, with only one -third of its labor f orce. India has capitaliz ed on its large educated English-speaking population to become a major exporter of inf ormation technology ser vices and sof tware workers. In 2010, the Indian econom y rebounded robustly f rom the global financial crisis in large part because of strong domes tic demand - and growth exceeded 8% year -on- year in real terms. Merchandise export s, which account f or about 15% of GDP, returned to pre -financial crisis levels. An industrial expansion and high f ood prices, resulting f rom the combined eff ects of the weak 2009 monsoon and inefficiencies in the governm ent 's f ood distribution system, f ueled inf lation which peaked at about 11% in the first half of 2010, but has gr adually decreased to single digits f ollowing a series of central bank interest rate hikes. In 2010 New Delhi reduced subsidies f or f uel and f ertilizers, sold a small percentage of its shares in some state owned enterprises and auctioned off rights to radio bandwidth f or 3G telecommunications in part to lower the government 's def icit. The Indian Governm ent seeks to reduce its budget def icit to 5.5% of GDP in FY 2010 -11, down f rom 6.8% in the previous f iscal year. India's long term challenges include widespr ead poverty, inadequate physical and social inf rastructure, limited non agricultural employment opp ortunities, insuf ficient access to quality basic and higher education, and accommodating rural -to-urban migration. GDP (purchasing power parity) : $4.06 trillion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 5 $3.679 trillion (2009 est.) $3.447 trillion (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars GDP (official exchange rate) : $1.538 trillion (2010 est.)

GDP - real growth rate : 10.4% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 5 6.8% (2009 est.) 6.2% (2008 est.) GDP - per capita (PPP) : $3,500 (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 163 $3,200 (2009 est.) $3,000 (2008 est.) note: data are i n 2010 US dollars GDP - composition by sector : agriculture: 16.1% industry: 28.6% services: 55.3% (2010 est.) Labor force : 478.3 million (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 2 Labor force - by occupation : agriculture: 52% industry: 14% services: 34% (2009 est.) Unemployment rate : 10.8% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 118 10.7% (2009 est.) Population below povert y line : 25% (2007 est.) Household income or consumption by percentage share : lowest 10%: 3.6% highest 10%: 31.1% (2005) Distribution of family income - Gini index : 36.8 (2004) country comparison to the world: 79 37.8 (1997) Investm ent (gross fixed) : 32% of GDP (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 15 Budget : revenues: $170.7 billion

expenditures: $268 billion (2010 est.) Public debt : 55.9% of GDP (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 45 57.3% of GDP (2009 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices) : 11.7% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 201 10.9% (2009 est.) Central bank discount rate : 6% (31 December 2009) country comparison to the world: 73 6% (31 December 2008) Commercial bank prime lending rate : 12.19% (31 December 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 56 13.31% (31 December 2008 est.) Stock of narrow money : $328.4 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 15 $268.4 billion (31 December 2009 est.) Stock of broad money : $1.29 trillion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 14 $1.04 trillion (31 December 2009 est.) Stock of domestic credit : $1.164 trillion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 14 $938.8 billion (31 December 2009 est.) Market value of publicly traded shares : $1.179 trillion (31 December country comparison to the $645.5 billion (31 De cember $1.819 trillion (31 December Agriculture - products : rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, lentils, onions, potatoes; dairy product s, sheep, goat s, poultry; f ish Industries : textiles, chemicals, f ood processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, sof tware, 2009) world: 15 2008) 2007)

pharmaceuticals Industrial production growth rate : 9.7% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 21 Electricit y - production : 723.8 billion kWh (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 6 Electricit y - consumption : 568 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 6 Electricit y - exports: 810 million kWh (2009 est.) Electricit y - imports: 5.27 billion kWh (2009 est.) Oil - production : 878,700 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 24 Oil - consumption : 2.98 million bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 5 Oil - exports: 738,600 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 23 Oil - imports: 2.9 million bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 6 Oil - proved reserves : 5.8 billion bbl (1 January 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 23 Natural gas - production : 38.65 billion cu m (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 22 Natural gas - consumption : 51.27 billion cu m (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 16

Natural gas - exports : 0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 113 Natural gas - imports: 12.62 billion cu m (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 17 Natural gas - proved reserves : 1.075 trillion cu m (1 Januar y 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 26 Current account balance : $-26.91 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 182 $-26.63 billion (2009 est.) Exports : $201 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 23 $168.2 billion (2009 est.) Exports - commodities: petroleum product s, precious stones, machiner y, iron and steel, chemicals, vehicles, apparel Exports - partners: UAE 12.87%, US 12.59%, China 5.59% (2009) Imports: $327 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 13 $274.3 billion (2009 est.) Imports - commodities : crude oil, precious stones, machinery, f ertilizer, iron and steel, chemicals Imports - partners : China 10.94%, US 7.16%, Saudi Arabia 5.36%, UAE 5.18%, Australia 5.02%, Germany 4.86%, Singapore 4. 02% (2009) Reserves of foreign exchange and gold : $284.1 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 7 $274.7 billion (31 December 2009 est.) Debt - external : $237.1 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

country comparison to the world: 29 $221.3 billion (31 December 2009 est.) Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: $191.1 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 23 $157.9 billion (31 December 2009 est.) Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad : $89.04 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 26 $76.62 billion (31 December 2009 est.) Exchange rates : Indian rupees (INR) per US dollar 46.163 (2010) 48.405 (2009) 43.319 (2008) 41.487 (2007) 45.3 (2006)

Communications :: INDIA Telephones - main lines in use : 35.77 million (2010) country comparison to the world: 8 Telephones - mobile cellular : 670 million (2010) country comparison to the world: 2 Telephone system : general assessment: supported by recent der egulation and liberalization of telecommunications laws and policies, India has emerged as one of the f astest growing telecom markets in the world; total telephone subscriber ship base reached 700 million, an overall teledensity of 60 %, and subscriber ship is currentl y growing more than 15 million per month; urban teledensity has reached 100% and rural teledensit y is about 20% and st eadily growing domestic: mobile cellular ser vice introduced in 1994 and or gani zed nationwide into f our me tropolitan areas and 19 telecom circles each with multiple private ser vice provider s and one or more state -owned ser vice provider s; in recent years signif icant trunk capacity added in the f orm of fiber -optic cable and one of the world's largest domestic satellite system s, the Indian National Satellite system (INSA T), with 6 satellites supporting 33,000 ver y small aperture terminals (VSAT) international: country code - 91; a number of major international submarine cable system s, including Sea -Me-We-3 with la nding sites at Cochin and Mumbai (Bombay), Sea -Me-We-4 with a landing site at Chennai, Fiber -Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) with a landing site at Mumbai (Bombay), South Af rica - Far East (SAFE) with a landing site at Cochin, the i2i cable network link ing to

Singapore with landing sites at Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai (Madras), and Tata Indicom linking Singapore and Chennai (Madras), provide a signif icant increase in the bandwidth available f or both voice and data traffic; satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmar sat (Indian Ocean region); 9 gateway exchanges operating f rom Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), Chennai (Madras), Jalandhar, Kanpur, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, and Ernakulam (2010) Broadcast media : Doordar shan, India's public TV network, operat es about 20 national, regional, and local services; large number of privately -owned TV stations are distributed by cable and satellite service provider s; government controls AM radio with All India Radio operating domestic and exter nal networks; news broadcast s via radio are limited to the All In dia Radio Network; since 2000, privately - owned FM stations are permitted but limited to broadcasting entertainment and educational content (2007) Internet country code : .in Internet hosts : 4.536 million (2010) country comparison to the world: 18 Internet users : 61.338 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 6

Transportation :: INDIA Airports: 352 (2010) country comparison to the world: 23 Airports - with paved runways : total: 249 over 3,047 m: 21 2,438 to 3,047 m: 57 1,524 to 2,437 m: 75 914 to 1,523 m: 81 under 914 m: 15 (2010) Airports - with unpaved runways : total: 103 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 43 under 914 m: 48 (2010)

Heliports : 40 (2010) Pipelines : condensate/gas 2 km; gas 9,596 km; liquid petroleum gas 2,152 km; oil 7,448 km; refined products 10,486 km (2010) Railways : total: 63,974 km country comparison to the world: 4 broad gauge: 54,257 km 1.676 -m gauge (18,927 km electrifie d) narrow gauge: 7,180 km 1.000 -m gauge; 2,537 km 0.762 -m gauge and 0.610 -m gauge (2010) Roadways : total: 3,320,410 km (includes 200 km of expressways) (2009) country comparison to the world: 3 Waterways : 14,500 km (5,200 km on major river s and 485 km on canals suitable f or mechanized vessels) (2008) country comparison to the world: 9 Merchant marine : total: 324 country comparison to the world: 29 by t ype: bulk carrier 94, cargo 78, chemical tanker 23, container 15, liquef ied gas 11, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 12, petroleum tanker 87 foreign -owned: 8 (China 1, Hong Kong 1, Jersey 1, Malaysia 1, UAE 4) registered in other countries: 56 (Cyprus 2, Dominica 2, Liberia 1, Malta 4, Marshall Islands 8, Niger ia 1, Panama 17, Singapore 19, unknown 2) (2010) Ports and terminals : Chennai, Jawaharal Nehru, Kandla, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay), Sikka, Vishakhapatnam

Military :: INDIA Military branches : Army, Navy (includes naval air arm), Air Force, Coast Guard (2011) Military servi ce age and obligation : 17 year s 6 months of age f or voluntar y military ser vice; no conscription; women may join as off icers, but for noncombat roles only (2010) Manpower available for military service :

males age 16 -49: 319,129,420 females ag e 16-49: 296,071,637 (2010 est.) Manpower fit for military service : males age 16-49: 249,531,562 females age 16 -49: 240,039,958 (2010 est.) Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually : male: 12,151,065 female: 10,745,891 (2010 est.) Military expenditures : 2.5% of GDP (2006) country comparison to the world: 62

Transnational Issues :: INDIA Disputes - international : since China and India launched a security and foreign policy dialogue in 2005, consolidated discussions related to the dispute over most of their rugged, militarized boundar y, regional nuclear prolif eration, Indian claims that China transf erred missiles to Pakistan, and other matter s continue; various talks and conf idence building measures have cautiously begun to def use tensions over Kashmir, particularly since the October 2005 earthquake in the region; Kashmir nevertheless remains the site of the world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de f acto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (A zad Kashmir and Nor thern Areas); India and Pakistan have maintained the 2004 cease fire in Kas hmir and initiated discussions on def using the armed stand -off in the Siachen glacier region; Pakistan protest s India's f encing the highly militarized Line of Control and construction of the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir, which is p art of the larger dispute on water sharing of the Indus River and its tributaries; UN Military Obser ver Group in India and Pakistan ( UNMOGIP) has maintained a small group of peacekeeper s since 1949; India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding hi storic Kashm ir lands to China in 1964; to def use tensions and prepar e f or discussions on a maritime boundar y, India and Pakistan seek technical resolution of the disputed boundar y in Sir Creek estuar y at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch in the Arabian Sea; Pakistani map s continue to show its Junagadh claim in Indian Gujarat State; discussions with Bangladesh remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundar y, to exchange territory f or 51 Bangladeshi exclaves in India and 111 Indian exclaves in Bangladesh, to all ocate divided villages, and to stop illegal cross - border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh pr otests India's f encing and walling -off high -traffic sections of the porous boundar y; a joint Bangladesh -India boundar y commission agr eed to f ully demarcate the Bangladesh -India boundar y in the Dhubri Kruigram sector; Bangladesh ref erred its maritime boundar y claims with Burma and India to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea; f encing along the Ind ia-Burma international border at

Manipur's Mor eh town is in progress to check illegal drug trafficking and movement of militants; Bhutan cooper ates with India to expel Indian Nagaland separatist s; Joint Border Committee with Nepal continues to examine cont ested boundar y sections, including the 400 squar e kilometer dispute over the source of the Kalapani River; India maintains a strict border regime to keep out Maoist insurgents and control illegal cross - border activities f rom Nepal Refugees and internally displaced persons : refugees (country of origin): 77,200 ( Tibet/China); 69,609 (Sri Lanka); 9,472 (Af ghanistan) IDPs: at least 600,000 (about half are Kashmiri Pandits f rom Jammu and Kashmir) (2007) Trafficking in persons : current situation: India is a source, destination, and transit country f or men, women, and children trafficked f or the purposes of f orced labor and commercial sexual exploitation; internal f orced labor may constitute India's largest trafficking problem; men, women, and children are held in debt bondage and f ace f orced labor wor king in brick kilns, rice mills, agriculture, and embroidery f actories; women and girls are trafficked within the country f or the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and f orced marriage; children are subjected to f orced labor as f actory workers, dom estic ser vant s, beggar s, and agriculture workers, and have been used as armed combatant s by som e terrorist and insurgent groups; India is also a destination f or women and girls f rom Nepal and Bangladesh trafficked f or the purpose of commercial sexual explo itation; Indian women are trafficked to the Middle East f or commercial sexual exploitation; men and women f rom Bangladesh and Nepal are trafficked through India f or f orced labor and commercial sexual exploitation in the Middle East tier rating: Tier 2 Watc h List - India is on the Tier 2 Watch List f or a fifth consecutive year f or its f ailure to provide evidence of increasing ef f orts to combat human trafficking in 2007; despite the reported extent of the trafficking crisis in India, government authorities ma de uneven ef f orts to prosecute traffickers and protect trafficking victims; government authorities continued to rescue victims of commercial sexual exploitation and forced child labor and child armed combatants, and began to show pr ogress in law enf orcemen t against these f orms of trafficking; a critical challenge overall is the lack of punishment f or traffickers, eff ectively resulting in impunity f or acts of human trafficking; India has not ratif ied the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008) Illicit drugs : world's largest producer of licit opium f or the pharmaceutical trade, but an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets; transit point f or illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries and throughout Southwest As ia; illicit producer of methaqualone; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through the hawala system; licit ketamine and precur sor production

Basic Facts about India India has a rich and vibrant history, and there is always more to discover about the country. These basic facts are a good place to start. y y y y y In Sanskrit, one of the national languages in India, the country is called Bharat. The countrys name comes from the Indus River. The earliest civilizations in India were concentrated in the valleys around the Indus. India is home to the worlds largest university. Located in Takshila, the university was founded in 700 B.C. Religion is a central part of Indian culture. Jews began living in India in 200 B.C. and Christians settled there in 52 A.D. Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism all count India as a birthplace. Further, there are more mosques in India approximately 300,000 than the entire Muslim world combined. India has never invaded a country. Before Britain colonized the country in the 17th century, India was one of the worlds wealthiest countries. India is the most populous country in the world to have a democratic government. The worlds largest employer is Indias national rail system. That company employs over one million people. India was the worlds only source of diamonds until 1896, when diamonds were discovered in Africa.

y y y y y

Fun Facts about India: Math and Sciences Indian mathematicians and scientists have contributed enormously to their respective disciplines. Here are just a few of the discoveries and inventions for which India deserves credit: y Surgery and the use of anesthesia during surgery both originated in India. An Indian doctor named Sushruta began performing surgeries over 2600 years ago, and there are records indicating he was performing complex operations, including brain surgery and attaching artificial limbs. He used herbs as anesthesia during his surgeries. Algebra, trigonometry and calculus can all be traced back to India. Indian mathematicians adopted the Pythagorean Theorem before European mathematicians. Quadratic equations have been used in Indian since the 11th century. The decimal system and system of place value were first used in India in 100 B.C. Ayurveda, the worlds first school of medicine, was born in India. The concept of pi originates in India and was discovered by mathematician Budhayana. India is the worlds largest exporter of computer software.

y y y y

Ads by Google Kids Fat Camp - Kids have fun & lose weight. As seen on MTV's 'Fat Camp' series www.NewImageCamp.com Country Pick - Free online money management game from Nikko Asset Management. sekaino.toshinou.jp $33.33 Overstock Laptops? - Today: Website Selling Laptops for as low as $33.33! Buy Yours Today? QuiBids.com/Blowout

Random Facts about India In a country with a population of over one billion people, there is always more to learn. These fun facts about India will help you delve deeper. y Do you like to play the game Snakes and Ladders? It started out as a morality lesson in India. It was created in the 13th century by a poet named Gyandev. In the game, the ladders represented virtues while the snakes represented bad habits. The game was designed to deliver the message that virtue can lead you to heaven while vices take you further away from reaching it. Did You Know? India recognizes 22 languages as national languages. y y y Likewise, credit India if you enjoy playing chess. India is the place to be if you want to mail a letter. According to the Indian government, the country has more post offices than any country in the world. If you dont like heights, watch out for Indian bridges. The countrys Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is 18,379 above sea level and is in the Himalayan Mountains over the Dras and Suru Rivers. Hollywood might get more press, but Bollywood rules the film world. Indias film industry is the worlds largest. Arranged marriage is still very common in India, and the divorce rate is low. Over half of all women in India are married by the time they reach 18.

y y

Heather McDonald

http://www.infoqueenbee.com/2009/03/list-of-internationally-popular-indians.html
The following is a list of popular persons of India, who are internationally popular, whom the Indians and the

people all over the world will remember for ever. 1. Mahatma Gandhi/Mohandas Karam Chand Gandhi popularly known as the father of the nation/India-who took active part

in freedom struggle against the British rule in India and paved the way to independence. Jawaharlal Nehru-first Prime Minister of India-who took India in the path of growth by Five Year Plans.

2.

3. Indira Gandhi-the first and the only lady Prime Minister of India till date, who led India in crucial moments- who nationalized commercial banks in India and made a revolution in the field of banking from

Class Banking to Mass Banking. 4. Mother Theresa-a Nobel Prize winner-social worker who dedicated her body and soul for the sick people, especially for those affected by leprosy.

5. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam- An atomic engineer a non-political- ExPresident of India- known for his simplicity and dedication to the nation as a whole and the field of education in particular. He came to the RashtrabathiBhavan while taking charge as the President of India with only two suitcases with his attire and returned after relinquishing office with the same personal luggage. He is

stillworking for the students of engineering in India. 6. A.R. Rahman- The Man of Music- who is with a long list of awards received including Two Oscar awards recently for his

achievement in the field of music 7. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar- One of the best batsmen in Cricket, holding the records for the most cumulative runs in One-Day Internationals, and the most number of centuries scored in both One-day Internationals and Test

cricket. 8. ViswanathanAnand- Indian Chess Grandmaster and Undisputed World Chess Champion in 2007 and 2008.

9. Swamy Vivekananda- a Philosopher, who spread the rare and the best of Indian thinking to western countries.

10. SatyajitRay-A Special Oscar Award winner in film direction, who showed the interiors of India to the entire

world. 11. MukeshAmbani& Anil Ambani-Business Magnets of Reliance and two of the Indias/Worlds richest persons, who are making their father DhurubaiAmbani's dreams into reality. Today every common man and woman in India is having a mobile phone, due to introduction of mobile phones in a cheap and easy way.

12. NarainKarthikeyan-Achiever in Formula one car race in International levels-Now he is an A1GP Driver

13. Kapildev- A good cricket player all rounder and captain who brought World cup to India in

the year 1983 14. SivajiGanesan- who was not having basic school education- acted in 281 films mostly in Tamil-became the model in action in films He was awarded the prestigious title of Chevalier , the Order of Arts and Literature by the

Ministry of Culture, Government of France.

15. JRD Tata- who developed

steel industry and various other industries in India

16. BK Birla who developed many industries in India comparable to Tata 17. Sir CV Raman/ChandrasekarVenkata Raman- A famous Indian Physicist and Nobel Laureate in Physics for his research and findings on the molecular scattering of light and for the discovery of the Raman Effect which is

named after him. 18. SrinivasanRamanujam- a popular Indian Mathematics Genius who was proved to be faster than the computers in calculating during his times

Tag India Read more: List of Internationally Popular Indians for ever

History of TajMahal
The TajMahal of Agra is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, for reasons more than just looking magnificent. It's the history of TajMahal that adds a soul to its magnificence: a soul that is filled with love, loss, remorse, and love again. Because if it was not for love, the world would have been robbed of a fine example upon which people base their relationships. An example of how deeply a man loved his wife, that even after she remained but a memory, he made sure that this memory would never fade away. This man was the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who was head-over-heels in love with MumtazMahal, his dear wife. She was a Muslim Persian princess (her name ArjumandBanu Begum before marriage) and he was the son of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir and grandson of Akbar the Great. It was at the age of 14 that he met Mumtaz and fell in love with her. Five years later in the year 1612, they got married. MumtazMahal, an inseparable companion of Shah Jahan, died in 1631, while giving birth to their 14th child. It was in the memory of his beloved wife that Shah Jahan built a magnificent monument as a tribute to her, which we today known as the "TajMahal". The construction of TajMahal started in the year 1631. Masons, stonecutters, inlayers, carvers, painters, calligraphers, dome-builders and other artisans were requisitioned from the whole of the empire and also from Central Asia and Iran, and it took approximately 22 years to build what we see today. An epitome of love, it made use of the services of 22,000 laborers and 1,000 elephants. The monument was built entirely out of white marble, which was brought in from all over India and central Asia. After an expenditure of approximately 32 million rupees (approx US $68000), TajMahal was finally completed in the year 1653. It was soon after the completion of TajMahal that Shah Jahan was deposed by his own son Aurangzeb and was put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort. Shah Jahan, himself also, lies entombed in this mausoleum along with his wife. Moving further down the history, it was at the end of the 19th century that British Viceroy Lord Curzon ordered a sweeping restoration project, which was completed in 1908, as a measure to restore what was lost during the Indian rebellion of 1857: Taj being blemished by British soldiers and government officials who also deprived the monument of its immaculate beauty by chiseling out precious stones and lapis lazuli from its walls. Also, the British style lawns that we see today adding on to the beauty of Taj were remodeled around the same time. Despite prevailing controversies, past and present threats from Indo-Pak war and environmental pollution, this epitome of love continuous to shine and attract people from all over the world.