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Contents

General facts

page 1

Languages

page 2

Religions

page

3

History

page 5

Political

structure page

7

Reference

page 7

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General facts

Capital: New

Delhi

Area:

3.165.596 km²

Population:

984.003.683

in

1998

Growth rate:

1,71

%

Population density:

311 inhabitants / km²

Distribution:

27 % in the city

73

%

in

the

country

Life expectancy:

63 years

Infant mortality rate:

6,3 %

Degree of alphabetization: Men

65,5

%

Women 37,7

%

Ethnic Groups: Indian

72

%

Dravidians (South India)

25 %

Mongolids

3 %

States:

27

(Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Goa,

Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir,

Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur,

Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry, Punjab,

Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West

Bengal)

1

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Languages

In India there are 24 languages spoken, each by more than one million people, and 15 of these

are recognized as national languages by the Constitution. In addition to that there are over

1600 other, foreign tongues and dialects.

Hindi is the official language in India, but English remains the official working language.

Indian languages have two different origins: First there is the Indo-European group which is

to be lead back to the Aryans who invaded India. These are the "Indic" languages. Then there

is the Dravidian section that is native to the South of India, but the different tongues are

clearly influenced by Hindi and Sanskrit. The majority of the languages have a seperate script

and also a respective state where they are spoken along with English.

The national languages are:

· Hindi (spoken by 20 % of the population as a mother language)

· Assamese (spoken in Assam by 60 % of the Assamese inhabitants)

· Begali (spoken by 200 million people worldwide ­ and in West Bengal)

· Gujarati (in the state of Gujarat. It branched out from the Indic languages.)

· Kannada (State language of Karnataka where 65 % speak it)

· Kashmiri (written ­ as Hindi ­ in Devnagri script, in Jammu and Kashmir)

· Konkani (mainly derived from Sanskrit - spoken at the South-west coast)

· Malayalam (Thousands of years old ­ Dravidian ­ spoken in the very

South)

· Marathi (official language of Maharashtra, dating back to the 13th century)

· Oriya (spoken by 87 % of Orissa′s population)

· Punjabi (Indic tongue in Punjab)

· Sanskrit (one of the world′s and definitely India′s oldest language -

classical literature and Indian epics have been written in S.)

· Sidhi (spoken in India′s North-west and Pakistan, but written in different

scripts)

· Tamil (older than 2000 years ­ spoken by over 65 million people)

· Telugu (Dravidian language that is spoken in Andhra Pradesh)

· Urdu (is adopted by most Muslims and contains many Persian words)

2

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Religions

In India, Religion is very important. It is a way of life, forms huge parts of the Indian

tradition and enters into almost every sector of the lives of most Indians. This may range from

ordinary habits and education to politics. The Hindus make up the largest part of Indian

believers with 82 % of the whole population. The Muslims are the second group with 12 %,

followed by the Christians and the Sikhs (c. 2 %) and the Buddhists and J ainists (less than

1 %).

Hinduism

Hinduism is one of the most important religions of southern Asia. It has more than 650

million members all over the world and developed from a large number of religious groups

and customs over 4000 years ago. So it is not based on a specific foundation neither is there a

"Holy Book" as a written guide. There are at best the "Rig Veda", "Upanishads" and the

"Bhagwad Gita" that can be compared to the Bible or the Koran.

Hinduism represents the theory of

karma

(destiny) and

reincarnation

(rebirth) according to

which each creature (God, man and animal) travels through the world in different forms of

rebirth depending on its good or bad deeds. The aim of this is to break through the endless

circulation of rebirth (

samsara

) and find redemption. Hindus also endeavour their spiritual

release by asceticism, i.e. the constant relinquishment of secular goods.

A single god which is believed in doesn′t exist either, rather is it possible to `choose` a god to

worship, e.g. Brama, Vishnu or Shiva who are the most important gods. Brama has four heads

that stand for the directions of the compass and created the whole universe and the life in it.

Vishnu is the preserver leading the cycle of birth and rebirth and together with Shiva he

prevents many reincarnations to protect the world from evil forces. You can also believe in

the `Indestructible Soul` within each individual or follow cults worshippig spirits, animals,

trees...

Islam

Islam was brought to India by Arab traders in the 8th century. It took 400 years to be distinctly

represented in the sub-continent. Islam is based on the religious theory of the prophet

Muhammad who was born in Makkah in 570 AD. He was supposed to have been called by

Allah in order to proclaim his revelation and to invite the people to belive in the only and

almighty God Allah. The Koran (or Qur′an) forms the basis of this religion and its conception

of right is determined in the sharia. The seven heavens of paradise are promised to the

religious Muslim if he or she keeps the laws containing at least five prayers per day, alms,

observance of Ramadan, the month of fasting and a pilgrimage to Makkah.

In the beginning Islam was aggressive but the spirit of brotherhood spread by various

preachers helped to loosen the strictness of the caste system. After initial conflicts the faiths

are now accepted by each other and their interaction even led to a mutual enrichment today.

In the present approximately one billion people declare themselves as Muslims.

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Christianity

There are two theories how Christianity came to India. The first says that Saint

Thomas, an apostle of Jesus Christ spent some years in India and possibly died there.

Others belive that it arrived by a missionary. The first one who was historically

verified was Saint Francis Xavier in 1544 followed by more European missionaries.

The Cristian doctrines influenced the social improvement as well as Indian

education.

Sikhism

The Sikh religion was founded by Guru Nanak in the 16th century. He was of the

opinion that Hinduism and Islam had the same roots and so Sikhism is a combination

of both religions but with several own ideas: it propounds monotheism and rejects the

Indian caste system with the thought that all men are born equal. Yet it assumes the

ideas of karma and reincarnation.

Buddhism

The basic ideas of Buddhism are equal to those of Hinduism: the priciple of birth and

rebirth. But it says that suffering caused by desire dominates life and that this harm

can only be elimiated by eliminating desire. Following these rules one can attain

nirvana

or complete enlightenment.

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History

The first settlements in India were about the 4th millennium BC in the north-west.

Archaeological excavations showed that the first civilisation dates back to 3000 BC and was

situated in parts of today′s Pakistan. The urban development of these civilisations was

remarkable: the houses of the well planned cities were built with uniform bricks, there were

drainage systems, public buildings and by finds of furnaces the production of various metals

was proven. Besides there is evidence of the existance of domestic animals, the growing of

several kinds of grain and of trading relations with other regions in their surroundings.

By 1700 BC this culture gradually declined because of floods in the cities situated near rivers

and ecological changes. It also cannot be ruled out that invasions of barbarian tribes caused

the fall of this civilisation.

The successors of this culture were the Aryans who came into the "country" by 1500 BC and

assumed their predecessors` lifestyle. The horses they had brought with them helped them a

lot in going to war and so it was possible to arise large empires. They are also said to have

developed the Sanskrit language and influenced the religious customs which determined the

shaping of Indian culture. The Aryans` settled lifestyle brought about elaborate forms of

social life and gouvernment and played an important role in the evolution of the caste system.

The specialisation of different branches shaped the caste lines of the Aryan society. Priests,

warriors, agriculturists and workers were the main groups. Initially it was only an economic

idea to devide up the people into groups because of their occupation and so castes were open

and flexible but by the centuries the caste limits became more and more insurmountable and it

was hardly possible to change the occupation.

By the end of the third century BC, the Mauryan empire by Chandragupta Maurya covered

almost the complete north of India and his son Bindusara even managed to enlarge it over

nearly the whole subcontinent. The economy of the country was mainly agricultural with

enormous farms where work was principally done by slaves. In 327 BC, Alexander of

Macedonia invaded India and left Greek governors with the task to control the lands he won.

But these territories gradually returned to Indian property. In 232 BC the Mauryan emperor

Ashoka the Great died and the empire began to decline which invited Central Asian invaders

to enter India. Some small kingdoms arose and soon they disappeared again.

The Guapta empire in the 4th century AD lasted for more than 200 years and covered great

parts of the subcontinent. This era brought enermous progress in art and culture to India,

especially in literature, mathematics and astronomy. Kalidasa was the most important writer

and Aryabhatta the greatest astronomer of this period. The White Huns started several

attempts to invade the Gupta empire. At first they were beaten but as they managed to win,

the empire split into various Hindu kingdoms which were disunited until the Muslims came.

The Muslims were attracted by the tale of fertile plains in Punjab and wealthy Hindu temples

and attacked India the first time 1000 AD but only in order to rob the treasures. In 1192

Mohammed of Ghori established the first permanent Muslim settlement. From then on Islam

permanently

influenced

every

sector

of

life

in

India,

e.g.

language,

dress, art, architecture, social values a.s.o.

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The Islamic Mughal empire was the most important of all. This

was a dynasty from Central Asia which was founded by Babur in

the 16th century. Babur′s grandson, Akbar the Great (1562-1605),

the Indo-Islamic culture was as tolerant and harmonious as never

before. Under the rule of Shahjehan, Akbar`s grandson, who was

enthusiastic about art Mughal culture, attained its top.

He made Delhi the Indian capital and had the Taj Mahal built. Under Aurangzeb, the last major

Mughal, the empire covered the whole subcontinent except India′s southern end. But this empire

started declining, too. At the latest when the Marathas under Nadir Shah of Persia attacked Delhi in

1739.

The Marathas had a small but a well organised, clever fighting force led by Shivaji. They were very

fast ­ always faster than their opponents ­ and struck in places no adversary had thought of,

sometimes more than 100 miles away from their homes, but the effort was worthwhile since they

regularly returned with lots of plunder. By the time states paid them money so that they would spare

them the plunderings. By about 1775 the Marathas ruled over sufficient land to call it "the Maratha

Empire" but it never reached the extent of the Mughal empire. They wanted to expand further to the

west but Ahmad Shah Durrani from Afganisthan defeated them at Panipat where the expansion

stopped. They did not yet lose their territories in central India but soon India`s last imperial power ­

the British - were to conquer the subcontinent.

.

However the British were not the first Europeans who settled in India. Vasco da Gama landed at

Calicut in 1498 and early in the 16th century they already had their first colony. During the next 200

years the British, the French and the Dutch established outposts on the coasts in order to trade with

all kinds of spices. But soon conflicts among the newcomers developed which was the reason for

them to ally themselves with local rulers to strengthen their position. They also started to strive for

political power and larger territories, so they put up their allies against one another to profit of it. In

the end the British won and after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 they dominated eastern India. They

extended their rule until the complete country was under British control. India was needed by the

East India Company to provide Britain cheap raw materials which were of great importance with the

Industrial Revolution springing up in England and in addition to that India was a good market for

British products.

During the next century hardly anything changed and this suppression culminated in the Indian

mutiny of Sepoys in the British army, in 1857. This was the starting signal for the princely rulers,

landed aristocarcy and peasantry who started revolting agaist the Britons and stuck to Bahadur Shah,

the last Mughal emperor. But the uprising was put down violently. In 1859 Shah was expelled to

Burma where he soon died which ended the Mughal era. But the failed mutiny of 1857 caused a

freedom movement that led to the formation of the Indian National Congress in 1885.

Then came Mohandas Karamchand ­ called Mahatma ­ Gandhi. He was head of the Congress and

launched several movements against the British rule. The masses followed him and his influece grew.

After the Second World War the British recognized that it would become hard to maintain the empire

and initiated several constitutional moves to create a sovereign State of India. On August 15,1947

India achieved independence.

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Political structure

On January 26, 1950 India became a Republic. The Indian Constitution, protects all its

people from discrimination because of race, religion, creed or sex. Freedom of speech,

expression and belief, assembly and association, migration, acquisition of property and

choice of occupation or trade are guaranteed. All adults are allowed to vote the

members of the Lok Sabha (House of Representatives) which consists of 543 members

elected by the States and Union Territories. The other house in India is the Rajya Sabha

(Council of States) that is made up of 250 members of which 235 are elected indirectly

and 15 are nominated by the President. The Vice-President is its President. The two

Houses form the Parliament and both must approve if a law is to be passed.

The President is the Head of State, appointed by an electoral college that consists of

elected members of both Houses and Legislative Assemblies of the states. The leader of

the greatest party in the Lok Sabha is simultaneously the Prime Minister, i.e. the head of

the Government. Ministers are appointed by the President. The Constitution is guarded

by an independent judiciary. The highest tribunal in the land is the Supreme Court.

Reference

http://library.thinkquest.org/11372/data/index.htm
http://www.kamat.com
1994 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Production Yearbook
World Population Prospects (The 1994 Revision)

UN

1993 Statistical Yearbook

UN

1995 Statistical Yearbook

UNESCO

World Urbanization Prospects (The 1994 Revision)

UN

1995 World Factbook

CIA

(Central Intelligence Agency)

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