»»»All About Our India
#Indian must read about India#
>Official Name : Republic of India
>Capital : New Delhi
>Nationality : Indian
>Geographical Area (Sq. Km.) : 32,87,263
Official Website : http://india.gov.in/
Population
Literacy
Density of population
Sex ratio
Total 1,210,193,422
Males 623,724,248
Females 586,469,174
Total 74.04%
Males 82.14%
Females 65.46%
per km2 382
per 1000 males
942 females Child Sex ratio
(0-6 age group) per 1000 males 914 females
Child Sex ratio (0-6 age group) per 1000 males 914 females
The history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinentfrom c. 3300 to 1300 BCE, was the first major civilization in India. A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture developed in the Mature Harappan period, from 2600 to 1900 BCE. This Bronze Age civilization collapsed before the end of the second millennium BCE and was followed by theIron Age Vedic Civilization, which extended over much of the Indo-Gangetic plain and which witnessed the rise of major polities known as theMahajanapadas. In one of these kingdoms, Magadha, Mahavira and Gautama Buddha were born in the 6th or 5th century BCE and propagated theirśramanic philosophies.
Almost all of the subcontinent was conquered by the Maurya Empire during the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. It subsequently became fragmented, with various parts ruled by numerous Middle kingdoms for the next 1,500 years. This is known as the classical period of Indian history, during which India has sometimes been estimated to have had the largest economy of the ancient and medieval world, controlling between one third and one fourth of the world's wealth up to the 18th century. India a glance
India is one of the oldest civilizations in the world with a kaleidoscopic variety and rich cultural heritage. It has achieved all-round socio-economic progress during the last 64 years of its Independence. India has become self-sufficient in agricultural production and is now one of the top industrialized countries in the world and one of the few nations to have gone into outer space to conquer nature for the benefit of the people. It covers an area of 32,87,263 sq. km, extending from the snow-covered Himalayan heights to the tropical rain forests of the south. As the 7th largest country in the world, India stands apart from the rest of Asia, marked off as it is by mountains and the sea, which give the country a distinct geographical entity. Bounded by the Great Himalayas in the north, it stretches southwards and at the Tropic of Cancer, tapers off into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west.
Lying entirely in the northern hemisphere, the mainland extends between latitudes 8° 4' and 37° 6' north, longitudes 68° 7' and 97° 25' east and measures about 3,214 km from north to south between the extreme latitudes and about 2,933 km from east to west between the extreme longitudes. It has a land frontier of about 15,200 km. The total length of the coastline of the mainland, Lakshadweep Islands and Andaman & Nicobar Islands is 7,516.6 km.
Economic transformation
Under the policies initiated by Late Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and his Finance minister Manmohan Singh, India's economy expanded rapidly. The Rao administration initiated the privatization of large, inefficient, and loss-inducing government corporations. The UF government had attempted a progressive budget that encouraged reforms, but the 1997 Asian financial crisis and political instability created economic stagnation. The Vajpayee administration continued with privatization, reduction of taxes, a sound fiscal policy aimed at reducing deficits and debts, and increased initiatives for public works. The Golden Quadrilateral project aimed to link India's corners with a network of modern highways. Cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad have risen in prominence and economic importance, becoming centres of rising industries and destination for foreign investment and firms. Strategies like forming Special Economic Zones - tax amenities, good communications infrastructure, low regulation - to encourage industries has paid off in many parts of the country.
Mountain Ranges :
1. The Himalayas
2. The Patkoi and other ranges bordering India in the north and north-east
3. The Vindhyan
4. The Aravalli
5. The Satpura
6. The Sahyadri
7. The Eastern Ghats.
Main Watersheds :
1. Himalyan range with its Karakoram branch in the north,
2. Vindhyan and Satpura ranges in Central India, and
3. Sahyadri or Western Ghats on the West Coast.
Physical Characteristics : The mainland consists of four well-defined regions : 1. The great mountain zone 2. The Indo-Gangetic plain 3. The desert region 4. The Southern Peninsula
Rivers :
The rivers of India may be classified as follows : 1. The Himalayan rivers 2. The Deccan rivers 3. The Coastal rivers 4. The rivers of the inland drainage basin
Climatic Conditions :
The Indian meteorological department recognizes four seasons viz., 1. The Cold Weather (Dec. – Feb.) 2. The Hot Weather (March – May) 3. The Rainy Season (June – Sept.) 4. The season of the retreating monsoon (Oct. – Nov.)
Boundaries :
North : The Himalayan range and Nepal separate India from Tibet. The protected state of Bhutan also lies in the north-east. The boundary line between India and China is called the MacMohan Line. India's holder with Nepal spans for (1,752 km); with Bhutan (587 km); and with China (3,917 km). East : Myanmar (Burma) and Bangladesh form an enclave within India and the Bay of Bengal. Its international boundary with Myanmar is 1,458 km long and with Bangladesh is 4,096 km long. West : In the north-west India shares a boundary mainly with Pakistan and the Arabian Sea on the west. North-West : Afghanistan and Pakistan are situated on the north-west of India. India- Afghanistan border is only 80 km long whereas Indo-Pakistan border is 3,310 km long. South : To the south of India are the Indian Ocean and Sri Lanka. The Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait separate India from Sri Lanka on the eastern side.
Partition of India
The partition of India was set forth in the Indian Independence Act 1947 and resulted in the dissolution of the British Raj. It resulted in a struggle between the new states of India and Pakistan and displaced up to 12.5 million people in the former British Indian Empire, with estimates of loss of life varying from several hundred thousand to a million. The violent nature of the partition created an atmosphere of mutual hostility and suspicion between India and Pakistan that plagues their relationship to this day.
The partition included the geographical division of the Bengal province of British India into East Bengal, which became part of the Dominion of Pakistan (from 1956, East Pakistan). West Bengal became part of India, and a similar partition of the Punjab province became West Punjab (later the Pakistani Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory) and East Punjab (later the Indian Punjab, as well as Haryana and Himachal Pradesh). The partition agreement also included the division of Indian government assets, including the Indian Civil Service, the Indian Army, the Royal Indian Navy, the Indian railways and the central treasury, and other administrative services.
1950s and 1960s
India held its first national elections under the Constitution in 1952, where a turnout of over 60% was recorded. The National Congress Party won an overwhelming majority, and Jawaharlal Nehru began a second term as Prime Minister. President Prasad was also elected to a second term by the electoral college of the first Parliament of India.
1970s
In 1971, Indira Gandhi and her Congress (R) were returned to power with a massively increased majority. The nationalization of banks was carried out, and many other socialist economic and industrial policies enacted. India intervened in Bangladesh Liberation War a civil war taking place in Pakistan's Bengali half, after millions of refugees had fled the persecution of the Pakistani army. The clash resulted in the independence of East Pakistan, which became known as Bangladesh, and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's elevation to immense popularity. Relations with the United States grew strained, and India signed a 20-year treaty of friendship with the Soviet Union - breaking explicitly for the first time from non-alignment. In 1974, India tested its first nuclear weapon in the desert of Rajasthan. Meanwhile, in the Indian protectorate of Sikkim, a referendum was held that resulted in a vote to formally join India and depose the Chogyal. On 26 April 1975, Sikkim formally became India's 22nd state.
1980s
Indira Gandhi and her Congress party splinter group, Congress (Indira) party were swept back into power with a large majority in January, 1980.
But the rise of an insurgency in Punjab would jeopardize India's security. In Assam, there were many incidents of communal violence between native villagers and refugees from Bangladesh, as well as settlers from other parts of India. When Indian forces, undertaking Operation Bluestar, raided the hideout of self-rule pressing. Khalistan militants in the Golden Temple- Sikhs' most holy shrine - in Amritsar, the inadvertent deaths of civilians and damage to the temple building inflamed tensions in the Sikh community across India. The Government used intensive police operations to crush militant operations, but it resulted in many incidents of abuse of civil liberties. Northeast India was paralyzed owing to the ULFA's clash with Government forces.
2000s and 2010s
Under Bharatiya Janata Party
In 2000 May, India's population exceeded 1 billion. President of the United States Bill Clinton made a groundbreaking visit to India to improve ties between the two nations. In January, massive earthquakes hit Gujarat state, killing at least 30,000.
Prime Minister Vajpayee met with Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf in the first summit between Pakistan and India in more than two years in middle of 2001. But, the meeting failed without a breakthrough or even a joint statement because of differences over Kashmir region.
Congress rule returns
In January 2004 Prime Minster Vajpayee recommended early dissolution of the Lok Sabha and general elections. The Congress Party-led alliance won an surprise victory in elections held in May 2004. Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister, after the Congress President Sonia Gandhi (born Antonia Edvige Albina Maino), the widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi declined to take the office, in order to defuse the controversy about whether her foreign birth should be considered a disqualification for the Prime Minister's post. The Congress formed a coalition called the United Progressive Alliance with Socialist and regional parties, and enjoyed the outside support of India's Communist parties. Manmohan Singh became the first Sikh and non-Hindu to date to hold India's most powerful office. Mr. Singh continued economic liberalization, although the need for support from Indian Socialists and Communists forestalled further privatization for sometime.
By https://m.facebook.com/EEE.POWER.SURYA
