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This article is about the Republic of India. For other uses, see India (disambiguation).

Republic of India
Bhārat Gaṇarājya
(see other local names)

Flag

State emblem

Motto: "Satyameva Jayate" (Sanskrit)
"Truth Alone Triumphs"[1]

Anthem: "Jana Gana Mana"[2][3]

"Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All People"[4][2]

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National song
"Vande Mataram" (Sanskrit)
"I Bow to Thee, Mother"[a][1][2]
 Area controlled by India shown in dark green; regions
claimed but not controlled shown in light green

Capital New Delhi

28°36′50″N 77°12′30″E
Largest city Mumbai (city proper)
Delhi (metropolitan area)

Official languag Hindi
es English[b][7]
Recognised None[8][9][10]
national languag
es
Recognised show
regional languag State level and Eighth Schedule[11]
es

Native 447 languages[c]

languages

Religion  79.8% Hinduism
(2011) 14.2% Islam
2.3% Christianity
1.7% Sikhism
0.7% Buddhism
0.4% Jainism
0.23% Unaffiliated
0.65% Others[14]

Demonym(s) Indian

Government Federal parliamentary republic

• President Ram Nath Kovind
• Vice President Venkaiah Naidu
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi
• Chief Justice N. V. Ramana
• Lok Sabha Om Birla
Speaker

Legislature Parliament
• Upper house Rajya Sabha
• Lower house Lok Sabha

Independence 
from the United Kingdom
• Dominion 15 August 1947
• Republic 26 January 1950

Area
• Total 3,287,263[2] km2 (1,269,219 sq mi)[d] 
(7th)
• Water (%) 9.6

Population
• 2018 estimate  1,352,642,280[15][16] (2nd)
• 2011 census 1,210,854,977[17][18] (2nd)
• Density 414.1/km2 (1,072.5/sq mi) (19th)

GDP (PPP) 2022 estimate
• Total  $11.353 trillion[19] (3rd)
• Per capita  $8,079[19] (122nd)

GDP (nominal) 2022 estimate
• Total  $3.25 trillion[19] (6th)
• Per capita  $2,313[19] (145th)

Gini (2011) 35.7[20]
medium · 98th

HDI (2019)  0.645[21]
medium · 131st

Currency Indian rupee (₹) (INR)

Time zone UTC+05:30 (IST)

DST is not observed
 Date format dd-mm-yyyy[e]

Mains 230 V–50 Hz

electricity

Driving side left[22]

Calling code +91

ISO 3166 code IN

Internet TLD .in (others)

India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: Bhārat Gaṇarājya),[23] is a country in South

Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and
the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south,
the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares
land borders with Pakistan to the west;[f] China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north;
and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity
of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime
border with Thailand, Myanmar and Indonesia.
Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000
years ago.[24][25][26] Their long occupation, initially in varying forms of isolation as hunter-
gatherers, has made the region highly diverse, second only to Africa in human genetic
diversity.[27] Settled life emerged on the subcontinent in the western margins of
the Indus river basin 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the Indus Valley
Civilisation of the third millennium BCE.[28] By 1200 BCE, an archaic form of Sanskrit,
an Indo-European language, had diffused into India from the northwest,[29][30] unfolding as
the language of the Rigveda, and recording the dawning of Hinduism in India.
[31]
 The Dravidian languages of India were supplanted in the northern and western
regions.[32] By 400 BCE, stratification and exclusion by caste had emerged within
Hinduism,[33] and Buddhism and Jainism had arisen, proclaiming social orders unlinked
to heredity.[34] Early political consolidations gave rise to the loose-knit Maurya and Gupta
Empires based in the Ganges Basin.[35] Their collective era was suffused with wide-
ranging creativity,[36] but also marked by the declining status of women, [37] and the
incorporation of untouchability into an organised system of belief.[g][38] In South India,
the Middle kingdoms exported Dravidian-languages scripts and religious cultures to the
kingdoms of Southeast Asia.[39]
In the early medieval era, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism put down
roots on India's southern and western coasts. [40] Muslim armies from Central
Asia intermittently overran India's northern plains,[41] eventually establishing the Delhi
Sultanate, and drawing northern India into the cosmopolitan networks of medieval
Islam.[42] In the 15th century, the Vijayanagara Empire created a long-lasting composite
Hindu culture in south India.[43] In the Punjab, Sikhism emerged, rejecting
institutionalised religion.[44] The Mughal Empire, in 1526, ushered in two centuries of
relative peace,[45] leaving a legacy of luminous architecture.[h][46] Gradually expanding rule
 of the British East India Company followed, turning India into a colonial economy, but
also consolidating its sovereignty.[47] British Crown rule began in 1858. The rights
promised to Indians were granted slowly,[48][49] but technological changes were
introduced, and ideas of education, modernity and the public life took root. [50] A
pioneering and influential nationalist movement emerged, which was noted for
nonviolent resistance and became the major factor in ending British rule. [51] In 1947 the
British Indian Empire was partitioned into two independent dominions, a Hindu-
majority Dominion of India and a Muslim-majority Dominion of Pakistan, amid large-
scale loss of life and an unprecedented migration. [52]
India has been a federal republic since 1950, governed in a democratic parliamentary
system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society. India's population grew
from 361 million in 1951 to 1.211 billion in 2011.[53] During the same time, its nominal per
capita income increased from US$64 annually to US$1,498, and its literacy rate from
16.6% to 74%. From being a comparatively destitute country in 1951, [54] India has
become a fast-growing major economy and a hub for information technology services,
with an expanding middle class.[55] It has a space programme which includes several
planned or completed extraterrestrial missions. Indian movies, music, and spiritual
teachings play an increasing role in global culture. [56] India has substantially reduced its
rate of poverty, though at the cost of increasing economic inequality. [57] India is
a nuclear-weapon state, which ranks high in military expenditure. It has disputes
over Kashmir with its neighbours, Pakistan and China, unresolved since the mid-20th
century.[58] Among the socio-economic challenges India faces are gender
inequality, child malnutrition,[59] and rising levels of air pollution.[60] India's land
is megadiverse, with four biodiversity hotspots.[61] Its forest cover comprises 21.7% of its
area.[62] India's wildlife, which has traditionally been viewed with tolerance in India's
culture,[63] is supported among these forests, and elsewhere, in protected habitats.

Contents

 1Etymology
 2History
o 2.1Ancient India
o 2.2Medieval India
o 2.3Early modern India
o 2.4Modern India
 3Geography
 4Biodiversity
 5Politics and government
o 5.1Politics
o 5.2Government
o 5.3Administrative divisions
 6Foreign, economic and strategic relations
 7Economy
 o 7.1Industries
o 7.2Energy
o 7.3Socio-economic challenges
 8Demographics, languages, and religion
 9Culture
o 9.1Visual art
o 9.2Architecture
o 9.3Literature
o 9.4Performing arts and media
o 9.5Society
o 9.6Education
o 9.7Clothing
o 9.8Cuisine
o 9.9Sports and recreation
 10See also
 11Notes
 12References
 13Bibliography
 14External links

Etymology
Main article: Names of India
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (third edition 2009), the name "India" is
derived from the Classical Latin India, a reference to South Asia and an uncertain
region to its east; and in turn derived successively from: Hellenistic
Greek India ( Ἰνδία); ancient Greek Indos ( Ἰνδός); Old Persian Hindush, an eastern
province of the Achaemenid empire; and ultimately its cognate, the Sanskrit Sindhu, or
"river," specifically the Indus River and, by implication, its well-settled southern basin. [64]
[65]
 The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi (Ἰνδοί), which translates as "The
people of the Indus".[66]
The term Bharat (Bhārat; pronounced [ˈbʱaːɾət] ( listen)), mentioned in both Indian epic
poetry and the Constitution of India,[67][68] is used in its variations by many Indian
languages. A modern rendering of the historical name Bharatavarsha, which applied
originally to northern India,[69][70] Bharat gained increased currency from the mid-19th
century as a native name for India.[67][71]
Hindustan ([ɦɪndʊˈstaːn] ( listen)) is a Middle Persian name for India, introduced during
the Mughal Empire and used widely since. Its meaning has varied, referring to a region
encompassing present-day northern India and Pakistan or to India in its near entirety.[67]
[71][72]

History
Main articles: History of India and History of the Republic of India
Ancient India
A 19th-century manuscript of the Rigveda, composed orally, 1500–1200 BCE;[29] the manuscript uses
a 14th-century script style.

An illustration from an early-modern manuscript of the Sanskrit epic Ramayana, composed in story-

telling fashion c. 400 BCE – c. 300 CE.[73]

By 55,000 years ago, the first modern humans, or Homo sapiens, had arrived on the
Indian subcontinent from Africa, where they had earlier evolved. [24][25][26] The earliest
known modern human remains in South Asia date to about 30,000 years ago. [24] After
6500 BCE, evidence for domestication of food crops and animals, construction of
permanent structures, and storage of agricultural surplus appeared in Mehrgarh and
other sites in what is now Balochistan, Pakistan.[74] These gradually developed into
the Indus Valley Civilisation,[75][74] the first urban culture in South Asia,[76] which flourished
during 2500–1900 BCE in what is now Pakistan and western India.[77] Centred around
cities such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Dholavira, and Kalibangan, and relying on varied
forms of subsistence, the civilisation engaged robustly in crafts production and wide-
ranging trade.[76]
During the period 2000–500 BCE, many regions of the subcontinent transitioned from
the Chalcolithic cultures to the Iron Age ones.[78] The Vedas, the oldest scriptures
associated with Hinduism,[79] were composed during this period,[80] and historians have
analysed these to posit a Vedic culture in the Punjab region and the upper Gangetic
Plain.[78] Most historians also consider this period to have encompassed several waves
of Indo-Aryan migration into the subcontinent from the north-west.[79] The caste system,
which created a hierarchy of priests, warriors, and free peasants, but which excluded
indigenous peoples by labelling their occupations impure, arose during this period. [81] On
the Deccan Plateau, archaeological evidence from this period suggests the existence of
a chiefdom stage of political organisation.[78] In South India, a progression to sedentary
life is indicated by the large number of megalithic monuments dating from this period,
[82]
 as well as by nearby traces of agriculture, irrigation tanks, and craft traditions.[82]
Mauryan Empire, c. 250 BCE.[i]

Gupta Empire, c. 450 CE

Cave 26 of the rock-cut Ajanta Caves, 5th century CE

In the late Vedic period, around the 6th century BCE, the small states and chiefdoms of
the Ganges Plain and the north-western regions had consolidated into 16 major
oligarchies and monarchies that were known as the mahajanapadas.[89][90] The emerging
urbanisation gave rise to non-Vedic religious movements, two of which became
independent religions. Jainism came into prominence during the life of its
exemplar, Mahavira.[91] Buddhism, based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha,
attracted followers from all social classes excepting the middle class; chronicling the life
of the Buddha was central to the beginnings of recorded history in India. [92][93][94] In an age
of increasing urban wealth, both religions held up renunciation as an ideal,[95] and both
established long-lasting monastic traditions. Politically, by the 3rd century BCE, the
kingdom of Magadha had annexed or reduced other states to emerge as the Mauryan
Empire.[96] The empire was once thought to have controlled most of the subcontinent
except the far south, but its core regions are now thought to have been separated by
large autonomous areas.[97][98] The Mauryan kings are known as much for their empire-
building and determined management of public life as for Ashoka's renunciation of
militarism and far-flung advocacy of the Buddhist dhamma.[99][100]
The Sangam literature of the Tamil language reveals that, between 200 BCE and
200 CE, the southern peninsula was ruled by the Cheras, the Cholas, and the Pandyas,
dynasties that traded extensively with the Roman Empire and with West and South-East
Asia.[101][102] In North India, Hinduism asserted patriarchal control within the family, leading
to increased subordination of women.[103][96] By the 4th and 5th centuries, the Gupta
Empire had created a complex system of administration and taxation in the greater
Ganges Plain; this system became a model for later Indian kingdoms. [104][105] Under the
Guptas, a renewed Hinduism based on devotion, rather than the management of ritual,
began to assert itself.[106] This renewal was reflected in a flowering
of sculpture and architecture, which found patrons among an urban elite.[105] Classical
Sanskrit literature flowered as well, and Indian science, astronomy, medicine,
and mathematics made significant advances.[105]
Medieval India

A map of India in 1022 CE

Brihadeshwara temple, Thanjavur, completed in 1010 CE

The Indian early medieval age, from 600 to 1200 CE, is defined by regional kingdoms
and cultural diversity.[107] When Harsha of Kannauj, who ruled much of the Indo-Gangetic
Plain from 606 to 647 CE, attempted to expand southwards, he was defeated by
the Chalukya ruler of the Deccan.[108] When his successor attempted to expand
eastwards, he was defeated by the Pala king of Bengal.[108] When the Chalukyas
attempted to expand southwards, they were defeated by the Pallavas from farther
south, who in turn were opposed by the Pandyas and the Cholas from still farther south.
  No ruler of this period was able to create an empire and consistently control lands
[108]

much beyond their core region.[107] During this time, pastoral peoples, whose land had
been cleared to make way for the growing agricultural economy, were accommodated
within caste society, as were new non-traditional ruling classes. [109] The caste system
consequently began to show regional differences. [109]
In the 6th and 7th centuries, the first devotional hymns were created in the Tamil
language.[110] They were imitated all over India and led to both the resurgence of
Hinduism and the development of all modern languages of the subcontinent.[110] Indian
royalty, big and small, and the temples they patronised drew citizens in great numbers
to the capital cities, which became economic hubs as well. [111] Temple towns of various
sizes began to appear everywhere as India underwent another urbanisation. [111] By the
8th and 9th centuries, the effects were felt in South-East Asia, as South Indian culture
and political systems were exported to lands that became part of modern-
day Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, and Java.
[112]
 Indian merchants, scholars, and sometimes armies were involved in this
transmission; South-East Asians took the initiative as well, with many sojourning in
Indian seminaries and translating Buddhist and Hindu texts into their languages. [112]

India in 1398 CE, during the Delhi Sultanate (labelled "Afghan empire")

The Qutub Minar, 73 m (240 ft) tall, completed by the Sultan of Delhi, Iltutmish

After the 10th century, Muslim Central Asian nomadic clans, using swift-horse cavalry
and raising vast armies united by ethnicity and religion, repeatedly overran South Asia's
north-western plains, leading eventually to the establishment of the Islamic Delhi
Sultanate in 1206.[113] The sultanate was to control much of North India and to make
many forays into South India. Although at first disruptive for the Indian elites, the
sultanate largely left its vast non-Muslim subject population to its own laws and
customs.[114][115] By repeatedly repulsing Mongol raiders in the 13th century, the sultanate
saved India from the devastation visited on West and Central Asia, setting the scene for
centuries of migration of fleeing soldiers, learned men, mystics, traders, artists, and
artisans from that region into the subcontinent, thereby creating a syncretic Indo-Islamic
culture in the north.[116][117] The sultanate's raiding and weakening of the regional
kingdoms of South India paved the way for the indigenous Vijayanagara Empire.
[118]
 Embracing a strong Shaivite tradition and building upon the military technology of the
sultanate, the empire came to control much of peninsular India, [119] and was to influence
South Indian society for long afterwards. [118]
Early modern India

India in 1525 at the onset of Mughal rule

India in 1605 during the rule of Akbar

A distant view of the Taj Mahal from the Agra Fort

In the early 16th century, northern India, then under mainly Muslim rulers, [120] fell again to
the superior mobility and firepower of a new generation of Central Asian warriors. [121] The
resulting Mughal Empire did not stamp out the local societies it came to rule. Instead, it
balanced and pacified them through new administrative practices [122][123] and diverse and
inclusive ruling elites,[124] leading to more systematic, centralised, and uniform rule.
[125]
 Eschewing tribal bonds and Islamic identity, especially under Akbar, the Mughals
united their far-flung realms through loyalty, expressed through a Persianised culture, to
an emperor who had near-divine status.[124] The Mughal state's economic policies,
deriving most revenues from agriculture[126] and mandating that taxes be paid in the well-
regulated silver currency,[127] caused peasants and artisans to enter larger markets.
[125]
 The relative peace maintained by the empire during much of the 17th century was a
factor in India's economic expansion,[125] resulting in greater patronage of painting,
literary forms, textiles, and architecture.[128] Newly coherent social groups in northern and
western India, such as the Marathas, the Rajputs, and the Sikhs, gained military and
governing ambitions during Mughal rule, which, through collaboration or adversity, gave
them both recognition and military experience.[129] Expanding commerce during Mughal
rule gave rise to new Indian commercial and political elites along the coasts of southern
and eastern India.[129] As the empire disintegrated, many among these elites were able to
seek and control their own affairs.[130]
India under British East India Company rule
India in 1795

India in 1848

A two mohur Company gold coin, issued in 1835, the obverse inscribed "William IV, King"

By the early 18th century, with the lines between commercial and political dominance
being increasingly blurred, a number of European trading companies, including the
English East India Company, had established coastal outposts.[131][132] The East India
Company's control of the seas, greater resources, and more advanced military training
and technology led it to increasingly assert its military strength and caused it to become
attractive to a portion of the Indian elite; these factors were crucial in allowing the
company to gain control over the Bengal region by 1765 and sideline the other
European companies.[133][131][134][135] Its further access to the riches of Bengal and the
subsequent increased strength and size of its army enabled it to annexe or subdue
most of India by the 1820s.[136] India was then no longer exporting manufactured goods
as it long had, but was instead supplying the British Empire with raw materials. Many
historians consider this to be the onset of India's colonial period. [131] By this time, with its
economic power severely curtailed by the British parliament and having effectively been
made an arm of British administration, the company began more consciously to enter
non-economic arenas like education, social reform, and culture. [137]
Modern India
Main article: History of the Republic of India
1909 map of the British Indian Empire

Historians consider India's modern age to have begun sometime between 1848 and
1885. The appointment in 1848 of Lord Dalhousie as Governor General of the East
India Company set the stage for changes essential to a modern state. These included
the consolidation and demarcation of sovereignty, the surveillance of the population,
and the education of citizens. Technological changes—among them, railways, canals,
and the telegraph—were introduced not long after their introduction in Europe.[138][139][140]
[141]
 However, disaffection with the company also grew during this time and set off
the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Fed by diverse resentments and perceptions, including
invasive British-style social reforms, harsh land taxes, and summary treatment of some
rich landowners and princes, the rebellion rocked many regions of northern and central
India and shook the foundations of Company rule. [142][143] Although the rebellion was
suppressed by 1858, it led to the dissolution of the East India Company and the direct
administration of India by the British government. Proclaiming a unitary state and a
gradual but limited British-style parliamentary system, the new rulers also protected
princes and landed gentry as a feudal safeguard against future unrest. [144][145] In the
decades following, public life gradually emerged all over India, leading eventually to the
founding of the Indian National Congress in 1885.[146][147][148][149]
The rush of technology and the commercialisation of agriculture in the second half of
the 19th century was marked by economic setbacks and many small farmers became
dependent on the whims of far-away markets. [150] There was an increase in the number
of large-scale famines,[151] and, despite the risks of infrastructure development borne by
Indian taxpayers, little industrial employment was generated for Indians. [152] There were
also salutary effects: commercial cropping, especially in the newly canalled Punjab, led
to increased food production for internal consumption. [153] The railway network provided
critical famine relief,[154] notably reduced the cost of moving goods, [154] and helped nascent
Indian-owned industry.[153]
Jawaharlal Nehru sharing a light moment with Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Mumbai, 6 July 1946

After World War I, in which approximately one million Indians served,[155] a new period
began. It was marked by British reforms but also repressive legislation, by more strident
Indian calls for self-rule, and by the beginnings of a nonviolent movement of non-co-
operation, of which Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi would become the leader and
enduring symbol.[156] During the 1930s, slow legislative reform was enacted by the
British; the Indian National Congress won victories in the resulting elections. [157] The next
decade was beset with crises: Indian participation in World War II, the Congress's final
push for non-co-operation, and an upsurge of Muslim nationalism. All were capped by
the advent of independence in 1947, but tempered by the partition of India into two
states: India and Pakistan.[158]
Vital to India's self-image as an independent nation was its constitution, completed in
1950, which put in place a secular and democratic republic. [159] It has remained a
democracy with civil liberties, an active Supreme Court, and a largely independent
press.[160] Economic liberalisation, which began in the 1990s, has created a large urban
middle class, transformed India into one of the world's fastest-growing economies,
[161]
 and increased its geopolitical clout. Indian movies, music, and spiritual teachings
play an increasing role in global culture. [160] Yet, India is also shaped by seemingly
unyielding poverty, both rural and urban; [160] by religious and caste-related violence;
[162]
 by Maoist-inspired Naxalite insurgencies;[163] and by separatism in Jammu and
Kashmir and in Northeast India.[164] It has unresolved territorial disputes
with China[165] and with Pakistan.[165] India's sustained democratic freedoms are unique
among the world's newer nations; however, in spite of its recent economic successes,
freedom from want for its disadvantaged population remains a goal yet to be achieved.
[166]

Geography
Main article: Geography of India
India's orographical features

India's summer monsoon

India accounts for the bulk of the Indian subcontinent, lying atop the Indian tectonic
plate, a part of the Indo-Australian Plate.[167] India's defining geological processes began
75 million years ago when the Indian Plate, then part of the southern
supercontinent Gondwana, began a north-eastward drift caused by seafloor
spreading to its south-west, and later, south and south-east. [167] Simultaneously, the
vast Tethyan oceanic crust, to its northeast, began to subduct under the Eurasian Plate.
[167]
 These dual processes, driven by convection in the Earth's mantle, both created
the Indian Ocean and caused the Indian continental crust eventually to under-thrust
Eurasia and to uplift the Himalayas.[167] Immediately south of the emerging Himalayas,
plate movement created a vast trough that rapidly filled with river-borne sediment[168] and
now constitutes the Indo-Gangetic Plain.[169] Cut off from the plain by the ancient Aravalli
Range lies the Thar Desert.[170]

The Tungabhadra, with rocky outcrops, flows into the peninsular Krishna river.[171]

Fishing boats lashed together before a monsoon storm in a tidal creek in Anjarle village,

Maharashtra.

The original Indian Plate survives as peninsular India, the oldest and geologically most
stable part of India. It extends as far north as the Satpura and Vindhya ranges in central
India. These parallel chains run from the Arabian Sea coast in Gujarat in the west to the
coal-rich Chota Nagpur Plateau in Jharkhand in the east.[172] To the south, the remaining
peninsular landmass, the Deccan Plateau, is flanked on the west and east by coastal
ranges known as the Western and Eastern Ghats;[173] the plateau contains the country's
oldest rock formations, some over one billion years old. Constituted in such fashion,
India lies to the north of the equator between 6° 44′ and 35° 30′ north latitude [j] and 68°
7′ and 97° 25′ east longitude.[174]
India's coastline measures 7,517 kilometres (4,700 mi) in length; of this distance, 5,423
kilometres (3,400 mi) belong to peninsular India and 2,094 kilometres (1,300 mi) to the
Andaman, Nicobar, and Lakshadweep island chains. [175] According to the Indian naval
hydrographic charts, the mainland coastline consists of the following: 43% sandy
beaches; 11% rocky shores, including cliffs; and 46% mudflats or marshy shores.[175]
Major Himalayan-origin rivers that substantially flow through India include
the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, both of which drain into the Bay of Bengal.
[176]
 Important tributaries of the Ganges include the Yamuna and the Kosi; the latter's
extremely low gradient, caused by long-term silt deposition, leads to severe floods and
course changes.[177][178] Major peninsular rivers, whose steeper gradients prevent their
waters from flooding, include the Godavari, the Mahanadi, the Kaveri, and the Krishna,
which also drain into the Bay of Bengal; [179] and the Narmada and the Tapti, which drain
into the Arabian Sea.[180] Coastal features include the marshy Rann of Kutch of western
India and the alluvial Sundarbans delta of eastern India; the latter is shared with
Bangladesh.[181] India has two archipelagos: the Lakshadweep, coral atolls off India's
south-western coast; and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a volcanic chain in
the Andaman Sea.[182]
The Indian climate is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar Desert, both of
which drive the economically and culturally pivotal summer and winter monsoons.
[183]
 The Himalayas prevent cold Central Asian katabatic winds from blowing in, keeping
the bulk of the Indian subcontinent warmer than most locations at similar latitudes. [184]
[185]
 The Thar Desert plays a crucial role in attracting the moisture-laden south-west
summer monsoon winds that, between June and October, provide the majority of India's
rainfall.[183] Four major climatic groupings predominate in India: tropical wet, tropical
dry, subtropical humid, and montane.[186]
Temperatures in India have risen by 0.7 °C (1.3 °F) between 1901 and 2018.[187] Climate
change in India is often thought to be the cause. The retreat of Himalayan glaciers has
adversely affected the flow rate of the major Himalayan rivers, including
the Ganges and the Brahmaputra.[188] According to some current projections, the number
and severity of droughts in India will have markedly increased by the end of the present
century.[189]

Biodiversity
Main articles: Forestry in India and Wildlife of India
A 1909 map showing India's forests, bush and small wood, cultivated lands, steppe, and desert.

A 2010 map showing India's forest cover averaged out for each state.

India is a megadiverse country, a term employed for 17 countries which display

high biological diversity and contain many species exclusively indigenous, or endemic,
to them.[190] India is a habitat for 8.6% of all mammal species, 13.7% of bird species,
7.9% of reptile species, 6% of amphibian species, 12.2% of fish species, and 6.0% of
all flowering plant species.[191][192] Fully a third of Indian plant species are endemic. [193] India
also contains four of the world's 34 biodiversity hotspots,[61] or regions that display
significant habitat loss in the presence of high endemism. [k][194]
According to official statistics, India's forest cover is 713,789 km2 (275,595 sq mi), which
is 21.71% of the country's total land area.[62] It can be subdivided further into broad
categories of canopy density, or the proportion of the area of a forest covered by its tree
canopy.[195] Very dense forest, whose canopy density is greater than 70%, occupies
3.02% of India's land area.[195][196] It predominates in the tropical moist forest of
the Andaman Islands, the Western Ghats, and Northeast India.[197] Moderately dense
forest, whose canopy density is between 40% and 70%, occupies 9.39% of India's land
area.[195][196] It predominates in the temperate coniferous forest of the Himalayas, the
moist deciduous sal forest of eastern India, and the dry deciduous teak forest of central
and southern India.[197] Open forest, whose canopy density is between 10% and 40%,
occupies 9.26% of India's land area,[195][196] and predominates in the babul-
dominated thorn forest of the central Deccan Plateau and the western Gangetic plain.[197]
Among the Indian subcontinent's notable indigenous trees are
the astringent Azadirachta indica, or neem, which is widely used in rural Indian herbal
medicine,[198] and the luxuriant Ficus religiosa, or peepul,[199] which is displayed on the
ancient seals of Mohenjo-daro,[200] and under which the Buddha is recorded in the Pali
canon to have sought enlightenment.[201]
India has the majority of the world's wild tigers, nearly 3,000 in 2019. [202]

Many Indian species have descended from those of Gondwana, the

southern supercontinent from which India separated more than 100 million years ago.
[203]
 India's subsequent collision with Eurasia set off a mass exchange of species.
However, volcanism and climatic changes later caused the extinction of many endemic
Indian forms.[204] Still later, mammals entered India from Asia through
two zoogeographical passes flanking the Himalayas.[197] This had the effect of lowering
endemism among India's mammals, which stands at 12.6%, contrasting with 45.8%
among reptiles and 55.8% among amphibians. [192]} Notable endemics are the
vulnerable[205] hooded leaf monkey[206] and the threatened[207] Beddom's toad[207][208] of the
Western Ghats.

A Chital (Axis axis) stag attempts to browse in the Nagarhole National Park in a region covered by
a moderately dense[l] forest.[197]

India contains 172 IUCN-designated threatened animal species, or 2.9% of endangered

forms.[209] These include the endangered Bengal tiger and the Ganges river
dolphin. Critically endangered species include: the gharial, a crocodilian; the great
Indian bustard; and the Indian white-rumped vulture, which has become nearly extinct
by having ingested the carrion of diclofenac-treated cattle.[210] The pervasive and
ecologically devastating human encroachment of recent decades has critically
endangered Indian wildlife. In response, the system of national parks and protected
areas, first established in 1935, was expanded substantially. In 1972, India enacted
the Wildlife Protection Act[211] and Project Tiger to safeguard crucial wilderness; the
Forest Conservation Act was enacted in 1980 and amendments added in 1988. [212] India
hosts more than five hundred wildlife sanctuaries and thirteen biosphere reserves,
[213]
 four of which are part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves; twenty-five
wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention.[214]

Politics and government

Politics
Main article: Politics of India

Social movements have long been a part of democracy in India. The picture shows a section of
25,000 landless people in the state of Madhya Pradesh listening to Rajagopal P. V. before their
350 km (220 mi) march, Janadesh 2007, from Gwalior to New Delhi to publicise their demand for
further land reform in India.[215]

India is the world's most populous democracy.[216] A parliamentary republic with a multi-

party system,[217] it has eight recognised national parties, including the Indian National
Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and more than 40 regional parties.
[218]
 The Congress is considered centre-left in Indian political culture,[219] and the
BJP right-wing.[220][221][222] For most of the period between 1950—when India first became a
republic—and the late 1980s, the Congress held a majority in the parliament. Since
then, however, it has increasingly shared the political stage with the BJP, [223] as well as
with powerful regional parties which have often forced the creation of multi-
party coalition governments at the centre.[224]
In the Republic of India's first three general elections, in 1951, 1957, and 1962,
the Jawaharlal Nehru-led Congress won easy victories. On Nehru's death in 1964, Lal
Bahadur Shastri briefly became prime minister; he was succeeded, after his own
unexpected death in 1966, by Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi, who went on to lead the
Congress to election victories in 1967 and 1971. Following public discontent with
the state of emergency she declared in 1975, the Congress was voted out of power in
1977; the then-new Janata Party, which had opposed the emergency, was voted in. Its
government lasted just over two years. Voted back into power in 1980, the Congress
saw a change in leadership in 1984, when Indira Gandhi was assassinated; she was
succeeded by her son Rajiv Gandhi, who won an easy victory in the general elections
later that year. The Congress was voted out again in 1989 when a National
Front coalition, led by the newly formed Janata Dal in alliance with the Left Front, won
the elections; that government too proved relatively short-lived, lasting just under two
years.[225] Elections were held again in 1991; no party won an absolute majority. The
Congress, as the largest single party, was able to form a minority government led by P.
V. Narasimha Rao.[226]
At the Parliament of India in New Delhi, US president Barack Obama is shown here addressing
the members of Parliament of both houses, the lower, Lok Sabha, and the upper, Rajya Sabha, in a
joint session, 8 November 2010.
A two-year period of political turmoil followed the general election of 1996. Several
short-lived alliances shared power at the centre. The BJP formed a government briefly
in 1996; it was followed by two comparatively long-lasting United Front coalitions, which
depended on external support. In 1998, the BJP was able to form a successful coalition,
the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the NDA became
the first non-Congress, coalition government to complete a five-year term.[227] Again in
the 2004 Indian general elections, no party won an absolute majority, but the Congress
emerged as the largest single party, forming another successful coalition: the United
Progressive Alliance (UPA). It had the support of left-leaning parties and MPs who
opposed the BJP. The UPA returned to power in the 2009 general election with
increased numbers, and it no longer required external support from India's communist
parties.[228] That year, Manmohan Singh became the first prime minister since Jawaharlal
Nehru in 1957 and 1962 to be re-elected to a consecutive five-year term. [229] In the 2014
general election, the BJP became the first political party since 1984 to win a majority
and govern without the support of other parties. [230] The incumbent prime minister
is Narendra Modi, a former chief minister of Gujarat. On 20 July 2017, Ram Nath
Kovind was elected India's 14th president and took the oath of office on 25 July 2017. [231]
Government
Main articles: Government of India and Constitution of India

Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the President of India, was designed by British
architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker for the Viceroy of India, and constructed between 1911
and 1931 during the British Raj.[232]

India is a federation with a parliamentary system governed under the Constitution of

India—the country's supreme legal document. It is a constitutional republic
and representative democracy, in which "majority rule is tempered by minority
rights protected by law". Federalism in India defines the power distribution between the
union and the states. The Constitution of India, which came into effect on 26 January
1950,[233] originally stated India to be a "sovereign, democratic republic;" this
characterisation was amended in 1971 to "a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic
republic".[234] India's form of government, traditionally described as "quasi-federal" with a
strong centre and weak states,[235] has grown increasingly federal since the late 1990s as
a result of political, economic, and social changes. [236][237]

National symbols[1]
 Flag Tiranga (Tricolour)

Emblem Sarnath Lion Capital

Anthem Jana Gana Mana

Song "Vande Mataram"

Language None[8][9][10]

Currency ₹ (Indian rupee)

Calendar Saka

Bengal tiger
Animal
River dolphin
Indian peafowl

Flower Lotus

Fruit Mango

Tree Banyan

River Ganges

The Government of India comprises three branches:[238]

 Executive: The President of India is the ceremonial head of state,[239] who is elected

indirectly for a five-year term by an electoral college comprising members of national
and state legislatures.[240][241] The Prime Minister of India is the head of
government and exercises most executive power.[242] Appointed by the president,
[243]
 the prime minister is by convention supported by the party or political
alliance having a majority of seats in the lower house of parliament. [242] The executive
of the Indian government consists of the president, the vice president, and the Union
Council of Ministers—with the cabinet being its executive committee—headed by
the prime minister. Any minister holding a portfolio must be a member of one of the
houses of parliament.[239] In the Indian parliamentary system, the executive is
subordinate to the legislature; the prime minister and their council are directly
responsible to the lower house of the parliament. Civil servants act as permanent
executives and all decisions of the executive are implemented by them.[244]
 Legislature: The legislature of India is the bicameral parliament. Operating under
a Westminster-style parliamentary system, it comprises an upper house called
 the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and a lower house called the Lok
Sabha (House of the People).[245] The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body of
245 members who serve staggered six-year terms.[246] Most are elected indirectly by
the state and union territorial legislatures in numbers proportional to their state's
share of the national population.[243] All but two of the Lok Sabha's 545 members are
elected directly by popular vote; they represent single-member constituencies for
five-year terms.[247] Two seats of parliament, reserved for Anglo-Indian in the article
331, have been scrapped.[248][249]
 Judiciary: India has a three-tier unitary independent judiciary[250] comprising
the supreme court, headed by the Chief Justice of India, 25 high courts, and a large
number of trial courts.[250] The supreme court has original jurisdiction over cases
involving fundamental rights and over disputes between states and the centre and
has appellate jurisdiction over the high courts.[251] It has the power to both strike down
union or state laws which contravene the constitution, [252] and invalidate any
government action it deems unconstitutional.[253]
Administrative divisions
Main article: Administrative divisions of India
See also: Political integration of India
India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories (listed below as 1–
28 and A–H, respectively).[254] All states, as well as the union territories of Jammu and
Kashmir, Puducherry and the National Capital Territory of Delhi, have elected
legislatures and governments following the Westminster system of governance. The
remaining five union territories are directly ruled by the central government through
appointed administrators. In 1956, under the States Reorganisation Act, states were
reorganised on a linguistic basis.[255] There are over a quarter of a million local
government bodies at city, town, block, district and village levels. [256]
A clickable map of the 28 states and 8 union territories of India

1. Andhra Pradesh
2. Arunachal Pradesh
3. Assam
4. Bihar
5. Chhattisgarh
6. Goa
7. Gujarat
8. Haryana
9. Himachal Pradesh
10. Jharkhand
11. Karnataka
12. Kerala
13. Madhya Pradesh
14. Maharashtra
15. Manipur
16. Meghalaya
17. Mizoram
18. Nagaland
19. Odisha
20. Punjab
21. Rajasthan
 22. Sikkim
23. Tamil Nadu
24. Telangana
25. Tripura
26. Uttar Pradesh
27. Uttarakhand
28. West Bengal

A. Andaman and Nicobar Islands

B. Chandigarh
C. Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
D. Jammu and Kashmir
E. Ladakh
F. Lakshadweep
G. National Capital Territory of Delhi
H. Puducherry

Foreign, economic and strategic relations

Main articles: Foreign relations of India and Indian Armed Forces
During the 1950s and 60s, India played a pivotal role in the Non-Aligned Movement.[257] From left to
right: Gamal Abdel Nasser of United Arab Republic (now Egypt), Josip Broz
Tito of Yugoslavia and Jawaharlal Nehru in Belgrade, September 1961.

In the 1950s, India strongly supported decolonisation in Africa and Asia and played a

leading role in the Non-Aligned Movement.[258] After initially cordial relations with
neighbouring China, India went to war with China in 1962, and was widely thought to
have been humiliated.[259] India has had tense relations with neighbouring Pakistan; the
two nations have gone to war four times: in 1947, 1965, 1971, and 1999. Three of these
wars were fought over the disputed territory of Kashmir, while the fourth, the 1971 war,
followed from India's support for the independence of Bangladesh.[260] In the late 1980s,
the Indian military twice intervened abroad at the invitation of the host country: a peace-
keeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990; and an armed intervention to
prevent a 1988 coup d'état attempt in the Maldives. After the 1965 war with Pakistan,
India began to pursue close military and economic ties with the Soviet Union; by the late
1960s, the Soviet Union was its largest arms supplier. [261]
Aside from ongoing its special relationship with Russia,[262] India has wide-
ranging defence relations with Israel and France. In recent years, it has played key roles
in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and the World Trade
Organization. The nation has provided 100,000 military and police personnel to serve in
35 UN peacekeeping operations across four continents. It participates in the East Asia
Summit, the G8+5, and other multilateral forums.[263] India has close economic ties with
countries in South America,[264] Asia, and Africa; it pursues a "Look East" policy that
seeks to strengthen partnerships with the ASEAN nations, Japan, and South Korea that
revolve around many issues, but especially those involving economic investment and
regional security.[265][266]
The Indian Air Force contingent marching at the 221st Bastille Day military parade in Paris, on 14
July 2009. The parade at which India was the foreign guest was led by the India's oldest regiment,
the Maratha Light Infantry, founded in 1768.[267]

China's nuclear test of 1964, as well as its repeated threats to intervene in support of

Pakistan in the 1965 war, convinced India to develop nuclear weapons. [268] India
conducted its first nuclear weapons test in 1974 and carried out additional underground
testing in 1998. Despite criticism and military sanctions, India has signed neither
the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty nor the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,
considering both to be flawed and discriminatory. [269] India maintains a "no first use"
nuclear policy and is developing a nuclear triad capability as a part of its "Minimum
Credible Deterrence" doctrine.[270][271] It is developing a ballistic missile defence
shield and, a fifth-generation fighter jet.[272][273] Other indigenous military projects involve
the design and implementation of Vikrant-class aircraft carriers and Arihant-class
nuclear submarines.[274]
Since the end of the Cold War, India has increased its economic, strategic, and military
co-operation with the United States and the European Union.[275] In 2008, a civilian
nuclear agreement was signed between India and the United States. Although India
possessed nuclear weapons at the time and was not a party to the Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty, it received waivers from the International Atomic Energy
Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers Group, ending earlier restrictions on India's nuclear
technology and commerce. As a consequence, India became the sixth de facto nuclear
weapons state.[276] India subsequently signed co-operation agreements involving civilian
nuclear energy with Russia,[277] France,[278] the United Kingdom,[279] and Canada.[280]

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India (left, background) in talks with President Enrique Peña
Nieto of Mexico during a visit to Mexico, 2016

The President of India is the supreme commander of the nation's armed forces; with
1.45 million active troops, they compose the world's second-largest military. It
comprises the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, the Indian Air Force, and the Indian Coast
Guard.[281] The official Indian defence budget for 2011 was US$36.03 billion, or 1.83% of
GDP.[282] For the fiscal year spanning 2012–2013, US$40.44 billion was budgeted.
[283]
 According to a 2008 Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
report, India's annual military expenditure in terms of purchasing power stood at
US$72.7 billion.[284] In 2011, the annual defence budget increased by 11.6%, [285] although
this does not include funds that reach the military through other branches of
government.[286] As of 2012, India is the world's largest arms importer; between 2007 and
2011, it accounted for 10% of funds spent on international arms purchases. [287] Much of
the military expenditure was focused on defence against Pakistan and countering
growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean. [285] In May 2017, the Indian Space
Research Organisation launched the South Asia Satellite, a gift from India to its
neighbouring SAARC countries.[288] In October 2018, India signed a US$5.43 billion
(over ₹400 billion) agreement with Russia to procure four S-400 Triumf surface-to-air
missile defence systems, Russia's most advanced long-range missile defence system.
[289]

Economy
Main article: Economy of India

A farmer in northwestern Karnataka ploughs his field with a tractor even as another in a field beyond
does the same with a pair of oxen. In 2018, 44% of India's total workforce was employed in
agriculture.[290]

India is the world's largest producer of milk, with the largest population of cattle. In 2018, nearly 80%
of India's milk was sourced from small farms with herd size between one and two, the milk harvested
by hand milking.[292]

Women tend to a recently planted rice field in Junagadh district in Gujarat. 57% of India's female
workforce was employed in agriculture in 2018.[291]
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Indian economy in 2020 was
nominally worth $2.7 trillion; it is the sixth-largest economy by market exchange rates,
and is around $8.9 trillion, the third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP).[293] With its
average annual GDP growth rate of 5.8% over the past two decades, and reaching
6.1% during 2011–2012,[294] India is one of the world's fastest-growing economies.
[295]
 However, the country ranks 139th in the world in nominal GDP per capita and 118th
in GDP per capita at PPP.[296] Until 1991, all Indian governments
followed protectionist policies that were influenced by socialist economics.
Widespread state intervention and regulation largely walled the economy off from the
outside world. An acute balance of payments crisis in 1991 forced the nation
to liberalise its economy;[297] since then it has moved slowly towards a free-market
system[298][299] by emphasising both foreign trade and direct investment inflows. [300] India
has been a member of WTO since 1 January 1995.[301]
The 522-million-worker Indian labour force is the world's second-largest, as of 2017.
[281]
 The service sector makes up 55.6% of GDP, the industrial sector 26.3% and the
agricultural sector 18.1%. India's foreign exchange remittances of US$70 billion in 2014,
the largest in the world, were contributed to its economy by 25 million Indians working in
foreign countries.[302] Major agricultural products include: rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton,
jute, tea, sugarcane, and potatoes.[254] Major industries include: textiles,
telecommunications, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, food processing, steel,
transport equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, and software. [254] In 2006,
the share of external trade in India's GDP stood at 24%, up from 6% in 1985. [298] In 2008,
India's share of world trade was 1.68%;[303] In 2011, India was the world's tenth-largest
importer and the nineteenth-largest exporter.[304] Major exports include: petroleum
products, textile goods, jewellery, software, engineering goods, chemicals, and
manufactured leather goods.[254] Major imports include: crude oil, machinery, gems,
fertiliser, and chemicals.[254] Between 2001 and 2011, the contribution of petrochemical
and engineering goods to total exports grew from 14% to 42%. [305] India was the world's
second largest textile exporter after China in the 2013 calendar year.[306]
Averaging an economic growth rate of 7.5% for several years prior to 2007, [298] India has
more than doubled its hourly wage rates during the first decade of the 21st century.
[307]
 Some 431 million Indians have left poverty since 1985; India's middle classes are
projected to number around 580 million by 2030.[308] Though ranking 51st in global
competitiveness, as of 2010, India ranks 17th in financial market sophistication, 24th in
the banking sector, 44th in business sophistication, and 39th in innovation, ahead of
several advanced economies.[309] With seven of the world's top 15 information
technology outsourcing companies based in India, as of 2009, the country is viewed as
the second-most favourable outsourcing destination after the United States. [310] India was
ranked 48th in the Global Innovation Index in 2020, it has increased its ranking
considerably since 2015, where it was 81st. [311][312][313][314] India's consumer market, the
world's eleventh-largest, is expected to become fifth-largest by 2030.[308]
Driven by growth, India's nominal GDP per capita increased steadily from US$329 in
1991, when economic liberalisation began, to US$1,265 in 2010, to an estimated
US$1,723 in 2016. It is expected to grow to US$2,191 by 2021. [19] However, it has
remained lower than those of other Asian developing countries such as Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and is expected to remain so in the near
future.

A panorama of Bangalore, the centre of India's software development economy. In the 1980s, when
the first multinational corporations began to set up centres in India, they chose Bangalore because
of the large pool of skilled graduates in the area, in turn due to the many science and engineering
colleges in the surrounding region. [315]

According to a 2011 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report, India's GDP at purchasing

power parity could overtake that of the United States by 2045. [316] During the next four
decades, Indian GDP is expected to grow at an annualised average of 8%, making it
potentially the world's fastest-growing major economy until 2050. [316] The report
highlights key growth factors: a young and rapidly growing working-age population;
growth in the manufacturing sector because of rising education and engineering skill
levels; and sustained growth of the consumer market driven by a rapidly growing
middle-class.[316] The World Bank cautions that, for India to achieve its economic
potential, it must continue to focus on public sector reform, transport infrastructure,
agricultural and rural development, removal of labour regulations, education, energy
security, and public health and nutrition.[317]
According to the Worldwide Cost of Living Report 2017 released by the Economist
Intelligence Unit (EIU) which was created by comparing more than 400 individual prices
across 160 products and services, four of the cheapest cities were in
India: Bangalore (3rd), Mumbai (5th), Chennai (5th) and New Delhi (8th).[318]
Industries

A tea garden in Sikkim. India, the world's second largest-producer of tea, is a nation of one billion tea
drinkers, who consume 70% of India's tea output.

India's telecommunication industry is the second-largest in the world with over 1.2 billion

subscribers. It contributes 6.5% to India's GDP.[319] After the third quarter of 2017, India
surpassed the US to become the second largest smartphone market in the world after
China.[320]
The Indian automotive industry, the world's second-fastest growing, increased domestic
sales by 26% during 2009–2010,[321] and exports by 36% during 2008–2009.[322] At the
end of 2011, the Indian IT industry employed 2.8 million professionals, generated
revenues close to US$100 billion equalling 7.5% of Indian GDP, and contributed 26% of
India's merchandise exports.[323]
The pharmaceutical industry in India emerged as a global player. As of 2021, with 3000
pharmaceutical companies and 10,500 manufacturing units India is the world's third-
largest pharmaceutical producer, largest producer of generic medicines and supply up
to 50%—60% of global vaccines demand, these all contribute up to US$24.44 billions in
exports and India's local pharmacutical market is estimated up to US$42 billion.[324]
[325]
 India is among the top 12 biotech destinations in the world. [326][327] The Indian biotech
industry grew by 15.1% in 2012–2013, increasing its revenues from ₹204.4 billion
(Indian rupees) to ₹235.24 billion (US$3.94 billion at June 2013 exchange rates). [328]
Energy
Main articles: Energy in India and Energy policy of India
India's capacity to generate electrical power is 300 gigawatts, of which 42 gigawatts
is renewable.[329] The country's usage of coal is a major cause of greenhouse gas
emissions by India but its renewable energy is competing strongly.[330] India emits about
7% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This equates to about 2.5 tons of carbon
dioxide per person per year, which is half the world average. [331][332] Increasing access to
electricity and clean cooking with liquefied petroleum gas have been priorities for energy
in India.[333]
Socio-economic challenges

Health workers about to begin another day of immunisation against infectious diseases in 2006.
Eight years later, and three years after India's last case of polio, the World Health
Organization declared India to be polio-free. [334]

Despite economic growth during recent decades, India continues to face socio-
economic challenges. In 2006, India contained the largest number of people living
below the World Bank's international poverty line of US$1.25 per day. [335] The proportion
decreased from 60% in 1981 to 42% in 2005.[336] Under the World Bank's later revised
poverty line, it was 21% in 2011.[m][338] 30.7% of India's children under the age of five are
underweight.[339] According to a Food and Agriculture Organization report in 2015, 15%
of the population is undernourished. [340][341] The Mid-Day Meal Scheme attempts to lower
these rates.[342]
According to a 2016 Walk Free Foundation report there were an estimated 18.3 million
people in India, or 1.4% of the population, living in the forms of modern slavery, such
as bonded labour, child labour, human trafficking, and forced begging, among others. [343]
[344][345]
 According to the 2011 census, there were 10.1 million child labourers in the
country, a decline of 2.6 million from 12.6 million in 2001.[346]
Since 1991, economic inequality between India's states has consistently grown: the per-
capita net state domestic product of the richest states in 2007 was 3.2 times that of the
poorest.[347] Corruption in India is perceived to have decreased. According to
the Corruption Perceptions Index, India ranked 78th out of 180 countries in 2018 with a
score of 41 out of 100, an improvement from 85th in 2014. [348][349]

Demographics, languages, and religion

Main articles: Demographics of India, Languages of India, and Religion in India
See also: South Asian ethnic groups
India by population density, religion, language

The population density of India by natural divisions, based on the Indian census of 1901

Population density of India by each state, based on the Indian census of 2011
The prevailing religions of South Asia based on district-wise majorities in the 1901 census

The language families of South Asia

With 1,210,193,422 residents reported in the 2011 provisional census report,[350] India is

the world's second-most populous country. Its population grew by 17.64% from 2001 to
2011,[351] compared to 21.54% growth in the previous decade (1991–2001). [351] The
human sex ratio, according to the 2011 census, is 940 females per 1,000 males. [350] The
median age was 28.7 as of 2020.[281] The first post-colonial census, conducted in 1951,
counted 361 million people.[352] Medical advances made in the last 50 years as well as
increased agricultural productivity brought about by the "Green Revolution" have
caused India's population to grow rapidly.[353]
The average life expectancy in India is at 68 years—69.6 years for women, 67.3 years
for men.[354] There are around 50 physicians per 100,000 Indians. [355] Migration from rural
to urban areas has been an important dynamic in India's recent history. The number of
people living in urban areas grew by 31.2% between 1991 and 2001. [356] Yet, in 2001,
over 70% still lived in rural areas.[357][358] The level of urbanisation increased further from
27.81% in the 2001 Census to 31.16% in the 2011 Census. The slowing down of the
overall population growth rate was due to the sharp decline in the growth rate in rural
areas since 1991.[359] According to the 2011 census, there are 53 million-plus urban
agglomerations in India; among
them Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, in
decreasing order by population.[360] The literacy rate in 2011 was 74.04%: 65.46%
among females and 82.14% among males.[361] The rural-urban literacy gap, which was
21.2 percentage points in 2001, dropped to 16.1 percentage points in 2011. The
improvement in the rural literacy rate is twice that of urban areas. [359] Kerala is the most
literate state with 93.91% literacy; while Bihar the least with 63.82%.[361]

The interior of San Thome Basilica, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Christianity is believed to have been
introduced to India by the late 2nd century by Syriac-speaking Christians.

India is home to two major language families: Indo-Aryan (spoken by about 74% of the

population) and Dravidian (spoken by 24% of the population). Other languages spoken
in India come from the Austroasiatic and Sino-Tibetan language families. India has no
national language.[362] Hindi, with the largest number of speakers, is the official language
of the government.[363][364] English is used extensively in business and administration and
has the status of a "subsidiary official language"; [5] it is important in education, especially
as a medium of higher education. Each state and union territory has one or more official
languages, and the constitution recognises in particular 22 "scheduled languages".
The 2011 census reported the religion in India with the largest number of followers
was Hinduism (79.80% of the population), followed by Islam (14.23%); the remaining
were Christianity (2.30%), Sikhism (1.72%), Buddhism (0.70%), Jainism (0.36%) and
others[n] (0.9%).[14] India has the third-largest Muslim population—the largest for a non-
Muslim majority country.[365][366]

Culture
Main article: Culture of India

A Sikh pilgrim at the Harmandir Sahib, or Golden Temple, in Amritsar, Punjab

Indian cultural history spans more than 4,500 years.[367] During the Vedic period (c. 

1700 BCE – c. 500 BCE), the foundations of Hindu
philosophy, mythology, theology and literature were laid, and many beliefs and practices
which still exist today, such as dhárma, kárma, yóga, and mokṣa, were established.
[66]
 India is notable for its religious diversity,
with Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, and Jainism among the nation's
major religions.[368] The predominant religion, Hinduism, has been shaped by various
historical schools of thought, including those of the Upanishads,[369] the Yoga Sutras,
the Bhakti movement,[368] and by Buddhist philosophy.[370]
Visual art
Main article: Indian art
South Asia has an ancient tradition of art, which has exchanged influences with the
parts of Eurasia. Seals from the third millennium BCE Indus Valley
Civilization of Pakistan and northern India have been found, usually carved with
animals, but a few with human figures. The "Pashupati" seal, excavated in Mohenjo-
daro, Pakistan, in 1928–29, is the best known. [371][372] After this there is a long period with
virtually nothing surviving.[372][373] Almost all surviving ancient Indian art thereafter is in
various forms of religious sculpture in durable materials, or coins. There was probably
originally far more in wood, which is lost. In north India Mauryan art is the first imperial
movement.[374][375][376] In the first millennium CE, Buddhist art spread with Indian religions
to Central, East and South-East Asia, the last also greatly influenced by Hindu art.
[377]
 Over the following centuries a distinctly Indian style of sculpting the human figure
developed, with less interest in articulating precise anatomy than ancient Greek
sculpture but showing smoothly-flowing forms expressing prana ("breath" or life-force).
[378][379]
 This is often complicated by the need to give figures multiple arms or heads, or
represent different genders on the left and right of figures, as with
the Ardhanarishvara form of Shiva and Parvati.[380][381]
Most of the earliest large sculpture is Buddhist, either excavated from
Buddhist stupas such as Sanchi, Sarnath and Amaravati,[382] or is rock-cut reliefs at sites
such as Ajanta, Karla and Ellora. Hindu and Jain sites appear rather later.[383][384] In spite
of this complex mixture of religious traditions, generally, the prevailing artistic style at
any time and place has been shared by the major religious groups, and sculptors
probably usually served all communities.[385] Gupta art, at its peak c. 300 CE – c. 500 CE,
is often regarded as a classical period whose influence lingered for many centuries
after; it saw a new dominance of Hindu sculpture, as at the Elephanta Caves.[386]
[387]
 Across the north, this became rather stiff and formulaic after c. 800 CE, though rich
with finely carved detail in the surrounds of statues. [388] But in the South, under
the Pallava and Chola dynasties, sculpture in both stone and bronze had a sustained
period of great achievement; the large bronzes with Shiva as Nataraja have become an
iconic symbol of India.[389][390]
Ancient painting has only survived at a few sites, of which the crowded scenes of court
life in the Ajanta Caves are by far the most important, but it was evidently highly
developed, and is mentioned as a courtly accomplishment in Gupta times. [391][392] Painted
manuscripts of religious texts survive from Eastern India about the 10th century
onwards, most of the earliest being Buddhist and later Jain. No doubt the style of these
was used in larger paintings.[393] The Persian-derived Deccan painting, starting just
before the Mughal miniature, between them give the first large body of secular painting,
with an emphasis on portraits, and the recording of princely pleasures and wars. [394]
[395]
 The style spread to Hindu courts, especially among the Rajputs, and developed a
variety of styles, with the smaller courts often the most innovative, with figures such
as Nihâl Chand and Nainsukh.[396][397] As a market developed among European residents,
it was supplied by Company painting by Indian artists with considerable Western
influence.[398][399] In the 19th century, cheap Kalighat paintings of gods and everyday life,
done on paper, were urban folk art from Calcutta, which later saw the Bengal School of
Art, reflecting the art colleges founded by the British, the first movement in modern
Indian painting.[400][401]

Bhutesvara Yakshis, Buddhist reliefs from Mathura, 2nd century CE

 

Gupta terracotta relief, Krishna Killing the Horse Demon Keshi, 5th century

 
 

Elephanta Caves, triple-bust (trimurti) of Shiva, 18 feet (5.5 m) tall, c. 550

 

Chola bronze of Shiva as Nataraja ("Lord of Dance"), Tamil Nadu, 10th or 11th century.

 


 Jahangir Receives Prince Khurram at Ajmer on His Return from the Mewar Campaign,
Balchand, c. 1635
 

Krishna Fluting to the Milkmaids, Kangra painting, 1775–1785

Architecture
Main article: Architecture of India

The Taj Mahal showing the Yamuna river behind and the Mughal garden in front

Much of Indian architecture, including the Taj Mahal, other works of Mughal

architecture, and South Indian architecture, blends ancient local traditions with imported
styles.[402] Vernacular architecture is also regional in its flavours. Vastu shastra, literally
"science of construction" or "architecture" and ascribed to Mamuni Mayan,[403] explores
how the laws of nature affect human dwellings; [404] it employs precise geometry and
directional alignments to reflect perceived cosmic constructs. [405] As applied in Hindu
temple architecture, it is influenced by the Shilpa Shastras, a series of foundational texts
whose basic mythological form is the Vastu-Purusha mandala, a square that embodied
the "absolute".[406] The Taj Mahal, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by orders of
Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, has been described in the UNESCO World
Heritage List as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired
masterpieces of the world's heritage". [407] Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture, developed
by the British in the late 19th century, drew on Indo-Islamic architecture.[408]
Literature
Main article: Indian literature
The earliest literature in India, composed between 1500 BCE and 1200 CE, was in
the Sanskrit language.[409] Major works of Sanskrit literature include the Rigveda (c. 
1500 BCE – c. 1200 BCE), the epics: Mahābhārata ( c. 400 BCE – c. 400 CE) and
the Ramayana ( c. 300 BCE and later); Abhijñānaśākuntalam (The Recognition of
Śakuntalā, and other dramas of Kālidāsa ( c. 5th century CE) and Mahākāvya poetry.[410]
[411][412]
 In Tamil literature, the Sangam literature (c. 600 BCE – c. 300 BCE) consisting of
2,381 poems, composed by 473 poets, is the earliest work. [413][414][415][416] From the 14th to
the 18th centuries, India's literary traditions went through a period of drastic change
because of the emergence of devotional poets like Kabīr, Tulsīdās, and Guru Nānak.
This period was characterised by a varied and wide spectrum of thought and
expression; as a consequence, medieval Indian literary works differed significantly from
classical traditions.[417] In the 19th century, Indian writers took a new interest in social
questions and psychological descriptions. In the 20th century, Indian literature was
influenced by the works of the Bengali poet, author and philosopher Rabindranath
Tagore,[418] who was a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Performing arts and media
Main articles: Music of India, Dance in India, Cinema of India, and Television in India

India's National Academy of Performance Arts has recognised eight Indian dance styles to

be classical. One such is Kuchipudi shown here.

Indian music ranges over various traditions and regional styles. Classical

music encompasses two genres and their various folk offshoots: the
northern Hindustani and southern Carnatic schools.[419] Regionalised popular forms
include filmi and folk music; the syncretic tradition of the bauls is a well-known form of
the latter. Indian dance also features diverse folk and classical forms. Among the better-
known folk dances are: the bhangra of Punjab, the bihu of Assam,
the Jhumair and chhau of Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal, garba and dandiya of
Gujarat, ghoomar of Rajasthan, and the lavani of Maharashtra. Eight dance forms,
many with narrative forms and mythological elements, have been accorded classical
dance status by India's National Academy of Music, Dance, and Drama. These
are: bharatanatyam of the state of Tamil Nadu, kathak of Uttar
Pradesh, kathakali and mohiniyattam of Kerala, kuchipudi of Andhra
Pradesh, manipuri of Manipur, odissi of Odisha, and the sattriya of Assam.[420]
Theatre in India melds music, dance, and improvised or written dialogue. [421] Often based
on Hindu mythology, but also borrowing from medieval romances or social and political
events, Indian theatre includes: the bhavai of Gujarat, the jatra of West Bengal,
the nautanki and ramlila of North India, tamasha of Maharashtra, burrakatha of Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana, terukkuttu of Tamil Nadu, and the yakshagana of Karnataka.
[422]
 India has a theatre training institute the National School of Drama (NSD) that is
situated at New Delhi It is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of
Culture, Government of India.[423] The Indian film industry produces the world's most-
watched cinema.[424] Established regional cinematic traditions exist in
the Assamese, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marath
i, Odia, Tamil, and Telugu languages.[425] The Hindi language film industry (Bollywood) is
the largest sector representing 43% of box office revenue, followed by the South
Indian Telugu and Tamil film industries which represent 36% combined. [426]
Television broadcasting began in India in 1959 as a state-run medium of communication
and expanded slowly for more than two decades. [427][428] The state monopoly on television
broadcast ended in the 1990s. Since then, satellite channels have increasingly shaped
the popular culture of Indian society.[429] Today, television is the most penetrative media
in India; industry estimates indicate that as of 2012 there are over 554 million TV
consumers, 462 million with satellite or cable connections compared to other forms of
mass media such as the press (350 million), radio (156 million) or internet (37 million).[430]
Society
Main article: Culture of India

Muslims offer namaz at a mosque in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.

A Jain woman washes the feet of Bahubali Gomateswara at Shravanabelagola, Karnataka.

Traditional Indian society is sometimes defined by social hierarchy. The Indian caste

system embodies much of the social stratification and many of the social restrictions
found on the Indian subcontinent. Social classes are defined by thousands
of endogamous hereditary groups, often termed as jātis, or "castes".[431] India
declared untouchability to be illegal[432] in 1947 and has since enacted other anti-
discriminatory laws and social welfare initiatives.
Family values are important in the Indian tradition, and multi-generational patrilineal joint
families have been the norm in India, though nuclear families are becoming common in
urban areas.[433] An overwhelming majority of Indians, with their consent, have their
marriages arranged by their parents or other family elders.[434] Marriage is thought to be
for life,[434] and the divorce rate is extremely low,[435] with less than one in a thousand
marriages ending in divorce.[436] Child marriages are common, especially in rural areas;
many women wed before reaching 18, which is their legal marriageable age. [437] Female
infanticide in India, and lately female foeticide, have created skewed gender ratios; the
number of missing women in the country quadrupled from 15 million to 63 million in the
50-year period ending in 2014, faster than the population growth during the same
period, and constituting 20 percent of India's female electorate. [438] Accord to an Indian
government study, an additional 21 million girls are unwanted and do not receive
adequate care.[439] Despite a government ban on sex-selective foeticide, the practice
remains commonplace in India, the result of a preference for boys in a patriarchal
society.[440] The payment of dowry, although illegal, remains widespread across class
lines.[441] Deaths resulting from dowry, mostly from bride burning, are on the rise, despite
stringent anti-dowry laws.[442]
Many Indian festivals are religious in origin. The best known include: Diwali, Ganesh
Chaturthi, Thai Pongal, Holi, Durga Puja, Eid ul-Fitr, Bakr-Id, Christmas, and Vaisakhi.
[443][444]

Education
Main articles: Education in India, Literacy in India, and History of education in the Indian
subcontinent

Children awaiting school lunch in Rayka (also Raika), a village in rural Gujarat. The salutation Jai
Bhim written on the blackboard honours the jurist, social reformer, and Dalit leader B. R. Ambedkar.

In the 2011 census, about 73% of the population was literate, with 81% for men and
65% for women. This compares to 1981 when the respective rates were 41%, 53% and
29%. In 1951 the rates were 18%, 27% and 9%. In 1921 the rates 7%, 12% and 2%. In
1891 they were 5%, 9% and 1%,[445][446] According to Latika Chaudhary, in 1911 there
were under three primary schools for every ten villages. Statistically, more caste and
religious diversity reduced private spending. Primary schools taught literacy, so local
diversity limited its growth.[447]
The education system of India is the world's second-largest. [448] India has over 900
universities, 40,000 colleges[449] and 1.5 million schools.[450] In India's higher education
system, a significant number of seats are reserved under affirmative action policies for
the historically disadvantaged. In recent decades India's improved education system is
often cited as one of the main contributors to its economic development.[451][452]
Clothing
Main article: Clothing in India
Women in sari at an adult literacy class in Tamil Nadu

A man in dhoti and wearing a woollen shawl, in Varanasi

From ancient times until the advent of the modern, the most widely worn traditional