India History and Facts

India History and Facts

The Republic of India is a country located in South Asia. With an area of ​​3,287,263 square kilometers, India is the 7th largest country in the world. With this area, India occupies most of South Asia.

 The country is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the south, the Arabian Sea to the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal to the southeast. As for the land area, India shares land borders with Pakistan in the west, with China, Nepal and Bhutan in the north, and with Bangladesh and Myanmar in the east. In addition, India also has an area bordering the sea with Thailand, Myanmar and Indonesia, namely the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

India is a country with the second largest population in the world. It is estimated that the population of India in 2022 will reach 1,375,586,000 people, or account for about 17% of the world's population. India is home to more than two thousand different ethnic groups.

 However, the country's national census does not recognize any racial or ethnic groups in India, and broadly speaking Indian residents or citizens are known as Indians. Religion in this country is characterized by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices. The constitution of India, declares India to be a secular state with no state religion. But at the same time, the Republic of India is advocating Hinduism as a state sponsored religion through constitutional, legislative and cultural means.

 According to the census, Hinduism or Hinduism is the largest religion in India, with more than 79% of adherents, Islam is the second largest religion with around 14% of adherents, and the rest are adherents of other religions, such as Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism. , Jainism and others.

The large number of ethnic groups in India, makes this country has many languages ​​spoken. This country has the 4th highest number of languages ​​in the world which is around 447 languages. However, Hindi is the language with the largest number of speakers in India, it is the language of unity and the official language of government.

In addition to Hindi, English is also widely used in business and administrative activities, therefore English has the status of a subsidiary official language or a second official language. India's form of government is a federal parliamentary constitutional republic. India is a federation with a parliamentary system governed by the Indian constitution. According to article 300 of the Indian constitution, the government of India is also known as the Union of India.

The form of government of this country is largely modeled based on the Westminster system which was first developed by the British Empire. The president of India is the head of state and commander in chief of the Indian armed forces. The powers of the president are mostly nominal and ceremonial, except in emergencies, and the president usually acts on the advice of the prime minister. The prime minister elected acts as the chief executive, and is responsible for running the government. Most of the political and governmental activities of this country are concentrated in the city of New Delhi, which is the capital city of India.

India has one of the largest and most diverse economies in the world, the country has become one of the major fast-growing economies and a hub for information technology services, with a growing middle class. According to the International Monetary Fund or IMF, this country is the world's sixth largest economy by market exchange rate.

 However, due to its very large population, India in terms of income and gross national product per capita is still categorized as one of the poorest countries, the country is ranked 139th in the world in nominal GDP per capita. History of India The history of India begins with the Indus Valley civilization. The Indus civilization is an ancient civilization that lived along the Indus River in what is now Pakistan and West India.

 The Indus civilization developed between 2500 BC and 1900 BC, this civilization is one of the early civilizations of the Old World, which was contemporaneous with the civilizations of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The period from 2000 to 500 BC, was the period of migration of the Indo-Aryans to the Indian subcontinent from the northwest. They are also known as the Vedas or Aryans. Most historians think that Hinduism and the caste system began to emerge during this period.

During the classical period, various parts of India were ruled by many dynasties, among them the Gupta Empire in North India. During this period, Hinduism experienced a religious and intellectual revival, known classically as the golden age of India. During this period, aspects of Indian civilization, administration, culture and religion spread to most of Asia. The influence of Indian culture was also spread in many parts of Southeast Asia, which later led to the establishment of Indianized kingdoms in Southeast Asia.

 Early Medieval India began after the end of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century AD. This early Middle Ages was also marked by the emergence of many kingdoms and cultural diversity in the Indian subcontinent. The most significant event that occurred in the medieval period was the Kannauj Triangle War or what is known as the tripartite struggle. This is a war that took place between the Pratihara Empire, the Nutmeg Empire and the Rashtrakuta Empire to fight over the territory of North India.

 As for the South Indian region, the Middle Ages was marked by the emergence of several imperial powers such as the Chalukya, Chola, Pallava, Chera, Pandyan and Western Chalukya kingdoms. The period of late medieval India, marked by repeated invasions by Muslim nomadic clans from Central Asia.

 In 1206, the sultanate of delhi was founded. This sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi. and ruled most of the Indian subcontinent. The weakening of the power of the sultanate of delhi at the end of the 14th century, provided the opportunity for the emergence of several new kingdoms, such as the deccan sultanate and the sultanate of bengal in north india. And also the emergence of several strong Hindu states in South India, especially the states of Vijayanagara and Mewar.

 India's early modern period began in the 16th century, when the Mughal empire conquered most of the Indian subcontinent. The period of the Mughal Empire is often characterized as a proto-industrialist period, during which the country became a global economic power and the largest manufacturing power of that era.

In the early 18th century, the Mughal Empire began to experience a decline in power, which then provided an opportunity for other kingdoms such as the Marathas, Sikhs, Mysoreans, Nizams and Nawabs to exercise control over the Indian subcontinent. Meanwhile, in the early 18th century, a number of European trading companies, including the British East India Company, had established their trading posts in the coastal areas of India.

And from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century, most of India's territory was gradually annexed by the British East India Company. The expansion of British corporate power in the region took two forms. The first, was the direct annexation of the states of India and the administration of their territories, which then collectively formed British India.

 The second form, is the assertion of East India's corporate power by involving agreements, in which the Indian rulers must recognize corporate hegemony in exchange for limited internal autonomy. In 1857, dissatisfaction with the rule of the East India Company in this region led to the Indian Uprising of 1857. A major revolt that rocked this region of North and Central India, led to the dissolution of the British East India Company.

After being dissolved, the territory of India was then ruled directly by the British Empire in the form of the British Empire, also known as British India. At the end of the 19th century, India's national independence struggle movement was launched for the first time by the Indian National Congress Party.

In the 1920s, the party led by Mahatma Gandhi started a mass movement against British rule using non-violent methods. The movement spearheaded by this party greatly influenced other anti-colonial nationalist movements in the British Empire. Meanwhile, in the same period the conflicts that often occurred between the Muslim and Hindu communities also could not be resolved by the British Indian government.

 The Muslims, who are a minority in the Indian subcontinent, are wary of independence, fearing the prospect of an exclusive Hindu government. Therefore, since 1930, the All India Muslim League has been advocating and voicing for the establishment of a separate Muslim-majority nation state.

Finally, after a series of uprisings and conflicts that occurred in 1946. In August 1947 the British India Kingdom was partitioned into two parts, namely the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. These two regions are divided according to their religious majority, India with a Hindu majority and Pakistan with a Muslim majority. On August 14, 1947, Pakistan was given full independence, following the next day on August 15, 1947, it was India's turn to get its independence.

On January 26, 1950, through its new constitution, the government of India officially established this country as a secular and democratic republic. That is a summary of the history of the founding of the Indian state as we know it today. And to know more about this country, here are 20 facts about the country of India. The name India comes from the ancient Greek language and has been in use since the 5th century BC.

The name India refers to the name of the Sindhu river or the Indus river. At that time, the Greeks called the Indians with the term Indoi which translates as the Indus people. The term then appeared in Old English in the early 9th century and reappeared in modern English in the 17th century.

Meanwhile, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the name India comes from classical Latin, this name refers to the South Asian region and the region to the east. Meanwhile, in the Indian language, the name of this country is called Bharat. This name is a derivative of the name Bharatavarsha which was originally used to refer to the western part of the Ganges River in North India.

 The term Hindustan which is also often used to refer to the territory of India, is derived from the Central Persian language. The term hindustan was introduced during the period of the mughal empire and has been widely used since then. The meanings vary, referring to the area that included northern India and present-day Pakistan or India as a whole. The design of the national flag of this country consists of 3 main colors, namely the color of saffron or also known as the color of Indian turmeric, white and green.

 Meanwhile, in the center of the flag, there is a symbol known as the Ashoka Chakra. This flag design was first used on July 22, 1947, and became the official flag of the Union of India on August 15, 1947. The meanings contained in the design include, the saffron color symbolizes courage and sacrifice, the white color symbolizes peace and truth, and the green color symbolizes faith and chivalry.

 While the symbol of the Ashoka chakra in the center of the flag symbolizes the wheel of eternal law. The Indian Rupee is the official currency used by India. However, apart from India this currency is also widely used in several other countries such as Bhutan, Nepal and in Zimbabwe.

 Indian rupees are internationally encoded with INR, if we convert to our country's currency, 1 Indian rupee has an exchange rate of around 188 rupiahs. Mahatma Gandhi or also commonly referred to as Bapu, is the most famous figure from India. Mahatma Gandhi is revered all over the world for his philosophy. his nonviolent passive resistance, In the years following World War I, Mahatma Gandhi became a leading figure in India's struggle for independence from Great Britain.

 Even after India's independence in 1947, Mahatma Gandhi continued to work for peace between Hindus and Muslims until the end of his life. Gandhi's influence on India, until his figure is immortalized in all denominations of Indian rupee notes. As mentioned earlier, India's economy is one of the largest and most diverse in the world.

However, despite having high economic growth over the last few decades, the country still continues to face challenges related to socio-economic problems. Especially the economic gap between the upper and lower classes. In 2019, it is estimated that the richest 10% of India's population owns around 80.7% of the wealth, and the top 1% of the population in terms of wealth earns about 21% of the total income of the country.

This country has the third highest number of billionaires in the world after the United States and China. In total, India claims to have nearly 7,000 extremely high net worth individuals with assets of over 30 million US dollars, and around 140 billionaires across the country.

While other data mentions, such as a report from the Walk Free Foundation in 2018, which estimated that nearly 8 million people in India live in various forms of modern slavery, such as forced labor, child labor, human trafficking, and forced begging. India is the second largest English speaking country in the world.

 With around 125 million speakers or about 10% of the population, India is the second largest after the United States, which currently has more than 300 million English speakers. With a large population, India is the country with the largest Hindu population in the world.

 With more than 2 million Hindu temples spread across the country, India is the country with the largest number of Hindu temples in the world. Based on the findings of documents dating from 5,500 years BC, Hinduism is considered the oldest religion in the world. However, it is not known exactly when and who first introduced Hinduism.

 However, the majority of Hindus refer to their religion as sanatana dharma or eternal dharma, which refers to the idea that its origins lie outside of human history, as expressed in Hindu texts. Due to the large number of Hindus in this country, it is not surprising that then the cow is considered a sacred animal in India.

 In Hinduism, it is believed that cows are sacred creatures. It is believed that the goddess bhoomi who represented the earth was often shown in the form of a cow. India is the only country in the world with a declaration of rights to cows, also known as a bill of rights for cows. The country's constitution has a set of rules that prohibit the sale and killing of cows. Hence the cows in this country have the freedom to roam wherever they want without fear of being disturbed by humans.

With its vast territory, India has very varied natural features. The natural beauty of this country can be seen from the coastline to the forests and mountains India is also home to more than 8% of the world's biodiversity. This high biodiversity makes India one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world. India is ranked as the 7th most beautiful country in the world, according to the website money.co.uk. The country has diverse landscapes, such as the Himalayas, the Kaas Plateau which is also known as the Valley of Flowers, Munnar, Ladakh, Lake Loktak, Darjeeling and many more.

 It's not surprising if then this country is included in the top 10 most beautiful countries in the world, as we have discussed in the previous video. The bengal tiger is India's national animal. One of the subspecies of the mainland Asian tiger has been designated as a national symbol of India since 1977. The Bengal tiger is thought to have inhabited the Indian subcontinent. Unfortunately, the existence of this animal which is considered the largest wild cat is threatened with extinction.