India

From ArticleWorld


The name India is derived from the river Indus, also known as Bharat & Hindustan commonly. It is the origin of four religions, namely – Hindu, Jain, Sikh & Buddhism. Many ancient civilizations have been known to have originated and flourished from this country.

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Political India

It is a sovereign, socialists, democratic republic with elected representatives forming a council of ministers headed by a Prime Minister, forming the Central Government. The Indian republic consists of 28 States and 6 Union Territories. Each of the states has a government of its own of elected representatives headed by a Chief Minister. The state governments are headed by Governors who are apolitical, similarly the Central Government is headed by the President of India. Thus India is a mix of federal and sovereign styles of governance. The Indian political system consists of mainly two national parties, the Indian National Congress and The Bhartiya Janata Party. A couple of factions of the Communist Party and a plethora of regional parties constitute the remaining political canvas.

Demography

Broadly India can be identified as Aryan & Dravidian cultures, languages and living styles. With over 80% of its 100 million population being Hindus, it still has an equal justice and tolerance practiced towards all other religions. Hindi is the National language and 23 regional languages are recognized as State languages.

It is the seventh largest country in terms of geographic area. The Indian peninsula is covered on three sides – South, East & West by The Indian Ocean, The Bay of Bengal & the Arabian Sea respectively. From the North to the North east lie the Himalayan ranges. Ganges, Brahmaputra & Yamuna are amongst the most important of the many rivers flowing in the country. India has a vast cover of forests and a wide range of flora and fauna. On the west lies the huge Thar Desert. The central and southern part of India comprise of the Western Ghat ranges and the Deccan plateau.

Economy

India is still a primarily agricultural country with about 70% of its population dependent for its livelihood on farming. However in the last few decades it is fast emerging as an R&D technological and industrial economy and a military might.

Sports

Field Hockey is the National game of India. Cricket though has been the most popular and followed game. There are many home grown games like kabaddi, kho-kho, martial arts etc. Indians have not made a huge mark in the field of athletics and track and field events on the world stage.

Holidays

With the varied cultures & religions practiced in India, the religious holidays and festivals too are quite a few. However there are three Official national holidays – 26th of Jan, the Republic Day, 15th of Aug, The Independence Day & 2nd of Oct, being Gandhi Jayanti (birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi).