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INDIA OVERVIEW

India is a mystical land of seductive images. Hinduism is practiced by 85 per cent of Indians, the religious rites and red-letter days woven into the fabric of everyday life. It is also India’s vastness that challenges the imagination: the subcontinent is home to one sixth of the world’s population, a diverse culture and an intoxicatingly rich history.

Perhaps this is because Indian civilization can be traced back to at least 2500 BC. The first known civilization settled along the Indus River in what is now Pakistan. Between 521 and 486 BC, under Darius, the area became part of the Persian Empire. India’s two great religions, Hinduism and Buddhism, developed, and various dynasties emerged.

The invasion of the White Huns fragmented northern India, only reunified with the arrival of Muslims from the west. The next major influx was the Moghuls in the 1520s from Central Asia, who maintained effective control of the north until the mid-18th century. But by the time of the British conquest, at the end of the 18th century, the Moghul Empire was already in severe decline. The British, motivated by trade and geopolitics, managed to take effective control of the subcontinent using the telegraph and the railways – both of which they built; for the first time, the many and varied provinces of India were administered by a single alien power. The indigenous campaign for independence began with the formation of the Indian National Congress in 1885, but it made little progress until after the end of World War I, when Mahatma Gandhi led the Congress and began the policy of non-cooperation with the British. The colonial authorities were gradually persuaded that reforms were needed, but the Congress itself was split on a key issue – the Muslims, under Muhammad Ali Jinnah, claimed a separate homeland in provinces such as the Punjab and East Bengal, where they formed a majority, but Gandhi wanted India to be a unified and secular state. Jinnah’s view prevailed and in August 1947, the independent states of India and Pakistan came into being (Pakistan was divided into two parts, East and West). Since this time, India has been a democratic republic.

Such a rich history has spawned palaces, temples and monuments. Indeed, the most frequently visited part of India is the Golden Triangle. The unfairly maligned great cities of Mumbai and Kolkata have a bustling, colorful charm, while the holy city of Varanasi or the awe-inspiring temples of Tamil Nadu are worthy objects of pilgrimage. For those who prefer more sybaritic pleasures, tackle the palm-fringed beaches of Goa. And for solitude, India ripples with mountains and hills, from the towering beauty of the Himalayas to pine forests, lakes and babbling streams.

One of the fascinations of India is the juxtaposition of old and new; centuries of history rubbing shoulders with the computer age; and Bangalore's ‘Silicon Valley’ is as much a part of the world's largest democracy as its remotest village.

General Information

Area : 3,166,414 sq km (1,222,582 sq miles).

Population : 1.1 billion (UN, 2005).

Population Density : 347 per sq km.

Capital : New Delhi. Population: 19,817,439 (2001).

GEOGRAPHY : India shares borders to the northwest with Pakistan, to the north with China, Nepal and Bhutan, and to the east with Bangladesh and Myanmar. To the west lies the Arabian Sea, to the east the Bay of Bengal and to the south the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka lies off the southeast coast, and the Maldives off the southwest coast. The far northeastern states and territories are all but separated from the rest of India by Bangladesh as it extends northwards from the Bay of Bengal towards Bhutan. The Himalayan mountain range to the north and the Indus River (west) and Ganges River (east) form a physical barrier between India and the rest of Asia. The country can be divided into five regions: Western, Central, Northern (including Kashmir and Rajasthan), Eastern and Southern.

Government : Republic since 1947.
Head of State: President APJ Abdul Kalam since 2002.
Head of Government: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh since 2004.

Language : The official language is Hindi which is spoken by about 30 per cent of the population; English is also often used for official or commercial purposes. In addition, 17 regional languages are recognized by the Constitution. These include Bengali, Gujarati, Oriya and Punjabi which are widely used in the north, and Tamil and Telegu, which are common in the south. Other regional languages are Kannada, Malayalam and Marathi. The Muslim population largely speaks Urdu.

Religion : About 82 per cent Hindu, 11 per cent Muslim with Sikh, Christian, Jain and Buddhist minorities.

Electricity : Usually 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Some areas have a DC supply. Plugs used are of the round two- and three-pin type.

Social Conventions : The Indian Hindu greeting is to fold the hands and tilt the head forward to namaste. Indian women prefer not to shake hands. All visitors are asked to remove footwear when entering places of religious worship. The majority of Indians remove their footwear when entering their houses. Because of strict religious and social customs, visitors must show particular respect when visiting someone’s home. Many Hindus are vegetarian and many, especially women, do not drink alcohol. Sikhs and Parsees do not smoke. Small gifts are acceptable as tokens of gratitude for hospitality. Women are expected to dress modestly. Short skirts and tight or revealing clothing should not be worn, even on beaches. Business people are not expected to dress formally except for meetings and social functions. English-speaking guides are available at all important tourist centers. Guides speaking French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian or Spanish are available in some cities. Photography: Formalities mainly concern protected monuments and the wildlife sanctuaries. Special permission of the Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi, is necessary for the use of tripod and artificial light to photograph monuments. Photography at many places is allowed on payment of a prescribed fee, which varies.