History

  

India is the world's largest, oldest, continuous civilization

Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of development, India was the richest country on earth until the time of British invasion in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth. 

India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history.

India is the world's largest democracy. 

The four religions born in India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population

Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.

Varanasi, also known as Benares, was called "the ancient city" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C.E, and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.

The art of Navigation was born in the river Sindh 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from Sanskrit 'Nou'.

Medicine

Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted complicated surgeries like cesareans, cataract, artificial limbs, fractures, urinary stones and even plastic surgery and brain surgery. Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India. Over 125 surgical equipment were used. Deep knowledge of anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts.

Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in our civilization. 

Math

The value of "pi" was first calculated by 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 mathematician.

India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.

Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: (5th century) 365.258756484 days.

Academic

The World's first university was established in Takshashila in 700 BCE. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BCE was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.

Grammar constitutes one of India's greatest contributions to Western philology. Panini, the Sanskrit grammarian, who lived between 750 and 500 BCE, was the first to compose formal grammar through his Astadhyai.

 India – Country Profile, Facts, News and Original Articles

India and Indian civilization have played a major part in human development, world history and international relations.  With roughly 1.2 billion people, India is the world’s largest democracy and second largest country by population.  In recent decades, rapid economic growth and globalization have led to higher living standards and greater integration with the world economy.  From 1980 to 2010, India’s Human Development Index (HDI) rose by 62 percent, and life expectancy at birth in India increased from 42.4 to 63.7 years from 1960 to 2008.

Key Facts about India

Population: 1.2 billion people (2010)
Total area: 1.269 million sq. miles (3.287 million sq. km)
Capital city: New Delhi
Largest cities (by population, from most to fewest people): Mumbai (Bombay), Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata (Calcutta), Chennai (Madras), Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat, Kanpur, Jaipur
Languages and ethnic groups of India: Hindi (primary official language), English (secondary official language), Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Tamil, Nepali, other
Currency: Indian rupee
UNDP Human Development Index (HDI): 0.519 (2010, 119th in the world; 62% increase from 1980 value of 0.32)
GDP per capita (International $, PPP): $3,270 (2009)
GDP annual growth rate: 6.0% (1980-2009), 8.2% (forecast, 2011-2015)
Life expectancy at birth: 63.7 years

Mega-Cities, Urbanization and Economic Growth

India’s rapid economic growth and development is accompanied by the dramatic rise and growth of so-called mega-cities.  People across India and other developing countries flock to cities and urban areas in search of greater opportunity and higher living standards.  The fruits of their labors and the economic advantages of cities’ financial, human and social capital help fuel India’s development and urbanization.

India will have more than 68 cities with populations of more than one million people by 2030, and more than 40 percent of Indians will live in cities of greater than one million people by 2025 according to the McKinsey Global Institute.

Indian Society, Culture and Language

India’s society is organized by a hierarchical caste system of four tiers: priests (Brahmins), warriors (kshatriyas), creators of wealth (vaishyas) and laborers and peasants (shudras).  A fifth group has long been excluded from the formal caste system for performing dirty jobs that previously branded them as “untouchables.”

Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi was a leading champion of the poor and untouchables, whom he renamed harijan (“children of god”) and also go by the term dalits (“the oppressed”).  While economic development has gradually chipped away at the rigidity of India’s class structure, the class system still plays an important role in many areas of civil society and daily life in India from politics to marriage.

India is a highly ethnically and linguistically diverse country.  As of 2001, 29 languages were spoken by more than one million people in India, and more than 122 languages were spoken by at least 10,000 people.  India’s primary and secondary official languages are Hindi and English, respectively.  Click on the image below to see a full-size version of a map of the usage of India’s major languages.

History – Colonization, Independence and Partitioning

India’s lucrative foreign trade opportunities attracted companies from Portugal, the Netherlands, England, France and Denmark.  The most famous of these commercial interests, the British East India Company, was chartered by Queen Elizabeth on December 31, 1600.  By 1665, the enclave of Bombay became property of the crown and was leased to the British East India Company by 1668.  The East India Company’s settlement at Fort William in eastern India near the current national border with Bangladesh eventually became Calcutta (present-day Kolkata).

By the time Britain consolidated control over India around 1852, the new British dominion was already in a state of economic and social collapse due to a hundred years of nearly continuous disputes and conflict.  British forces succeeded in putting down the so-called Indian Mutiny or First War of Independence, which began with their own Indian soldiers revolting against the cow and pig grease used on new rifle cartridges.  India officially became a British colony in 1858 when the British army put down the rebellion, and the British crown assumed administration of India through an appointed Viceroy.

The civil disobedience of Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi and the opposition of Jawaharlal Nehru of the Indian National Congress eventually led to the Government of India Act of 1935, which moved toward but fell short of full independence.  India finally achieved its independence when the Indian subcontinent was officially partitioned into the separate nation states of India and Pakistan on August 15, 1947.

Politics and Democracy in India

India became the world’s largest democracy when it adopted universal suffrage (right to vote) for all adults in 1951 following the enactment of the Constitution for India’s “Sovereign Democratic Republic and Union of States” on January 26, 1950.

International Relations and Foreign Policy

India’s relationship with neighboring Pakistan has a defining influence on India’s role in international politics and security.  India’s and Pakistan’s often uneasy relationship with one another stems from the post-WWII partitioning of the India subcontinent, ongoing territorial disputes, particularly over Kashmir, and divided cultural allegiances between Hinduism and Islam.  The goals of maintaining peace and stability and preventing any escalation of nuclear armaments guide many countries’ foreign policies in the region, particularly those of the U.S. and other highly developed, western nations.

It is the land of Shiva and Krishna, the Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi. India - my beloved country - which produced the greats of modern times in the world - has a proud place in my droughts.

The biggest democracy, the land of temples and one of the oldest civilisations of the world, the second most populous country in the world after China, my country has produced warriors like Rana Pratap and Shivaji; leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh and Lala Lajpat Rai.

In literature and science it has produced persons like Rabindra Nath Tagore, Prem Chand, Saratchandra, C.V. Ramman, Jagdish Chandra Bose and Dr. Homi Baba.

India is a land of villages and fields. Its fields are fed by the mighty rivers like the Ganga, Yamuna, Brahmaputra, Godavari, Narmada and Kaveri. The Gangetic Valley is the most fertile region of our land.

The oceans that guard her coasts on three sides and the mighty Himalayas on the north have given my country natural frontiers from all sides.

Ours is a secular state and various religions bloom here without hindrance. We have inherited our culture through the centuries. There is unity in diversity. We speak many languages, worship many gods and yet we have the same spirit, the spirit of India, running through the country, binding us together.

My country is a tourists' delight. The Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri, The Qutab and the Red Fort are a few of the many wonders which attract people from all over the world. Kashmir has been described as a paradise on earth. The country of mountains, valleys, rivers and lakes is a fit abode for the gods. Ooty, Nilgiris and the temples of South India, as also Kajuraho, Ajanta and Ellora caves are the places one can boast of.

10 measures for developing the Agricultural sector in India 

Since the dawn of independence, several steps have been taken to develop the agricultural sector of the country. The major break through has been achieved in food grains production.

The production of food grains which was 550 lakh tonnes in 1950 substantially moved to 1991 lakh tonnes in 1995. However, the various measures employed from time to time can be discussed as: The various technical measures employed to develop agriculture are as under:

1. Multiple Cropping:

Multiple cropping aims at maximizing production per unit of land and per unit of time by taking three or four crops in a year. By adopting multiple cropping, there are two advantages as of getting increased returns and economy of the farm resources.

2. Expansion of Irrigation Facilities:

Irrigation facilities have increased manifold over time. Several, minor, medium and major irrigation projects have been launched in the country. At the inception of First Five Year Plan, India had only 18% of total irrigated area which at present increased to about 33.9 percent.

Moreover, dry farming has also been introduced in those areas where means of permanent irrigation cannot be installed. In 1994-95 the country witnessed total irrigated area of 876 lakh hectares.

3. Use of HYV Seeds:

HYV seeds have absolutely revolutionized Indian agriculture by increasing yield per acre. Among these, mention may be made of dwarf varieties of wheat PU-18, Kalyan Sona 227, Sona Lika, Hybrid maize, Vijay, Rice I R-8, Jhona 351, Padma and Jaya etc.

4. Plant Protection:

Considerable efforts have been made to protect the crops from the insects and pests. For this purpose, 14 Central Plant Protection Centres have been set up by the Govt.

5. Scientific Methods of Cultivation:

In the planning period, stress has been laid on the scientific methods of cultivation. It has been emphasized to adopt superior agricultural technology in respect of crop rotation, selection of quality seeds, use of proper manure, treatment of soil, selection of crops etc.

In this regard, Govt has initiated Intensive Agricultural Area Programme. Moreover, several Agricultural research centers and universities have also been established.

In this regard, Haryana Agricultural University Hissar, Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana, Himachal Agricultural University Palampur, ICAR, Delhi is playing a pioneer role to develop agriculture.

6. Use of Mechanization:

Mechanization is another noteworthy step employed to develop agriculture. Small farmers are assisted with cheap credit facilities through co-operative societies, community development blocks to purchase machinery and other modern equipments.

7. More Use of Chemical Fertilizers:

Use of chemical fertilizers has also contributed significantly to the growth of agricultural output. Several steps have been taken to encourage the use of cow-dung as manure rather than as fuel.

In 1950-51, 0.13 million tonnes of chemical fertilizers was used which in 1980-81 increased to 5.52 million tonnes and further to 12.54 million tonnes in 1990-91. In 1995-96, the use of chemical fertilizers was recorded to the tune of 15.7 million tonnes.

8. Development of Agricultural Land:

Efforts have been made to develop agricultural land during the five year plans. Major success has been achieved in the leveling of land, terracing of fields and contour building. Land surveys are also being conducted.

9. Animal Husbandry:

Animal husbandry has assumed a much broader role in the overall agricultural development. Presently, this sector accounts for 25% of gross value of agricultural output. India's vast livestock population offers tremendous potential for meeting domestic demand for milk, egg, meat, wool, etc.

10. Land Reforms:

In a bid to increase agricultural productivity, land reforms are of immense use. Since the dawn of independence, Govt, of India has undertaken several land reform measures. For instance, Abolition of zamidari system, Fixation of ceilings on Land Holdings, Consolidation of Land Holdings, co-operative farming etc.