This article is about the Republic of India. For other uses, see India (disambiguation).
Republic of India
Bhārat Ganarājya
Horizontal tricolor flag bearing, from top to bottom, deep saffron, white, and green horizontal bands. In the center of the white band is a navy-blue wheel with 24 spokes. Three lions facing left, right, and toward viewer, atop a frieze containing a galloping horse, a 24-spoke wheel, and an elephant. Underneath is a motto: "सत्यमेव जयते".
Flag Emblem
Motto: "Satyameva Jayate" (Sanskrit)
"Truth Alone Triumphs"[1]
Anthem: Jana Gana Mana
"Thou art the rulers of the minds of all people"[2][3]
0:00
National song
Vande Mataram
"I Bow to Thee, Mother"[a][1][3]
Image of a globe centred on India, with India highlighted.
Area controlled by India shown in dark green;
claimed but uncontrolled regions shown in light green.
Capital New Delhi
28°36.8′N 77°12.5′E
Largest city Mumbai
18°58′30″N 72°49′33″E
Official languages
Hindi
English[6][7]
Hindi in the Devanagari script is the official language of the Union. English is an additional language for government work.[4][1][5]
Recognised regional languages
8th Schedule
Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali
Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu[8]
National language None[9][10]
Religion 79.8% Hinduism
14.2% Islam
2.3% Christianity
1.72% Sikhism
[11] 0.24% Others[12]
Demonym Indian
Government Federal parliamentary
constitutional republic[1]
• President Pranab Mukherjee
• Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi
• Chief Justice T.S. Thakur[13]
• Speaker of the House Sumitra Mahajan
Legislature Parliament of India
• Upper house Rajya Sabha
• Lower house Lok Sabha
Independence from the United Kingdom
• Dominion 15 August 1947
• Republic 26 January 1950
Area
• Total 3,287,590[14] km2[b] (7th)
1,269,346 sq mi
• Water (%) 9.6
Population
• 2015 estimate 1,276,267,000[15] (2nd)
• 2011 census 1,210,193,422[16] (2nd)
• Density 385.9/km2 (31st)
999.5/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2015 estimate
• Total $8.027 trillion[17] (3rd)
• Per capita $6,209[17] (124th)
GDP (nominal) 2015 estimate
• Total $2.182 trillion[17] (7th)
• Per capita $1,688[17] (141st)
Gini (2009) 33.9[18]
medium · 79th
HDI (2014) Increase 0.609[19]
medium · 130th
Currency Indian rupee (₹) (INR)
Time zone IST (UTC+05:30)
• Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+05:30)
Date format dd-mm-yyyy (CE)
Drives on the left
Calling code +91
ISO 3166 code IN
Internet TLD .in
other TLDs
.ভাৰত
.ভারত
.ભારત
.भारत
.ਭਾਰਤ
.இந்தியா
.భారత్
بھارت.
India, officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya),[20][21][c] is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. India is a federal constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system consisting of 29 states and 7 union territories. A pluralistic, multilingual, and multi-ethnic society, the country is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;[d] China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Myanmar (Burma) and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history.[22] Four major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism and the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the first millennium CE and also shaped the region's diverse culture. Gradually brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence led by Mahatma Gandhi that was marked by non-violent resistance. Upon the promulgation of its constitution, India became a republic on 26 January 1950.
Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the fastest-growing major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. The Indian economy is the world's seventh-largest by nominal GDP and third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP).[17] It has the third-largest standing army in the world and ranks ninth in military expenditure among nations, while being recognised as a nuclear weapons state and regional power. However, it continues to face the challenges of widespread poverty, corruption, malnutrition and inadequate public health.
Contents
1 Etymology
2 History
2.1 Medieval India
2.2 Early modern India
2.3 Modern India
3 Geography
4 Biodiversity
5 Politics
5.1 Government
5.2 Subdivisions
6 Foreign relations and military
7 Economy
7.1 Sectors
7.2 Poverty
8 Demographics
9 Culture
9.1 Art and architecture
9.2 Literature
9.3 Performing arts
9.4 Motion pictures, television
9.5 Society
9.6 Clothing
9.7 Sports
10 See also
11 Notes
12 References
13 Bibliography
14 External links
Etymology
Main article: Names of India
The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hinduš. The latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River.[23] The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi (Ινδοί), which translates as "the people of the Indus".[24]
The geographical term Bharat (Bhārat, pronounced [ˈbʱaːrət̪] ( listen)), which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country,[25] is used by many Indian languages in its variations. It is a modernisation of the historical name Bharatavarsha, which gained increasing currency from the mid-19th century onwards as a native name of India.[20] Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in Punjab in the second millennium B.C.E.[26] It is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata.[27] Gaṇarājya (literally, people's State) is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for "republic" dating back to the ancient times.[28][29][30]
Hindustan ([ɦɪnd̪ʊˈst̪aːn] ( listen)) is an ancient Persian name for India dating to 3 century B.C.E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then, often being thought of as the "Land of the Hindus." Its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety.[20][31][32]
