COUNTRY PROFILE

Know India
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The subcontinent of India lies in south Asia, between Pakistan, China and Nepal. To the north it is bordered by the world's highest mountain chain, where foothill valleys cover the northernmost of the country's 26 states. Further south, plateaus; palm-fringed beaches border tropical rain forests and sandy deserts.

Side by side with the country's staggering topographical variations is its cultural diversity, the result of the coexistence of a number of religions as well as local tradition. Thus, the towering temples of south India, easily identifiable by their ornately sculptured surface, are associated with a great many crafts and performing arts of the region.
In the desert of Kutch, Gujarat, on the other hand, a scattering of villages pit themselves against the awesome forces of nature, resulting in Spartan lifestyles made vibrant by a profusion of jewelry and ornamental embroidery used to adorn apparel and household linen. In the extreme north is the high altitude desert of Ladakh. Local culture is visibly shaped by the faith - Buddhism -as well as by the harsh terrain. Yet another facet of Indian culture is observed in the colorful tribal lifestyles of the northeastern states of Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura and Manipur with their folk culture.

In the central Indian states of Orissa and Madhya Pradesh tribal village life has resulted in a variety of artistically executed handicrafts.
India's mountains provide heli skiing, river running, mountaineering and trekking. Its beaches provide lazy sunbathing as well as wind surfing and snorkeling, and its jungles provide shooting wildlife -with a camera.

India's history goes back to 3,200 BC when Hinduism was first founded. Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism. Judaism. Zoroashtrianism, Christianity and Islam all exist within the country today. As a consequence of India's size, the history of the country has seldom been the same for two adjoining territories, and its great natural wealth has lured a succession of traders and foreign influences to it, each having left their imprint in the country, however faint or localized. Thus, Chinese fishing nets in Kerala are a throwback to that country's ancient maritime trade, while in the north; terra-cotta figurines of the centuries BC bear distinctly Greek traces.

Modern India is home alike to the tribal with his anachronistic lifestyle and to the sophisticated urban jetsetter. It is a land where temple elephants exist amicably with the microchip. Its ancient monuments are the backdrops for the world's largest democracy where atomic energy is generated and industrial development has brought the country within the world's top ten nations. Today, fishermen along the country's coastline fashion simple fishing boats in a centuries old tradition while, a few miles away. Motor vehicles glide off conveyor belts in state-of-the-art factories.

National Emblem of India

The National emblem is a symbol of contemporary India's reaffirmation of its commitment to world peace and goodwill.

NATIONAL BIRD OF INDIA: PEACOCK

NATIONAL ANIMAL OF INDIA: TIGER

National Song “Vande maataraM”

sujalaaM suphalaaM malayaja shiitalaaM SasyashyaamalaaM maataram ||

Shubhrajyotsnaa pulakitayaaminiiM pullakusumita drumadala shobhiniiM suhaasiniiM sumadhura bhaashhiNiiM sukhadaaM varadaaM maataraM ||

Koti koti kantha kalakalaninaada karaale koti koti bhujai.rdhR^itakharakaravaale abalaa keno maa eto bale bahubaladhaariNiiM namaami taariNiiM ripudalavaariNiiM maataraM ||

Tumi vidyaa tumi dharma tumi hR^idi tumi marma tvaM hi praaNaaH shariire Baahute tumi maa shakti hR^idaye tumi maa bhakti tomaara i pratimaa gaDi mandire mandire ||
TvaM hi durgaa dashapraharaNadhaariNii kamalaa kamaladala vihaariNii vaaNii vidyaadaayinii namaami tvaaM Namaami kamalaaM amalaaM atulaaM SujalaaM suphalaaM maataraM ||

ShyaamalaaM saralaaM susmitaaM bhuushhitaaM DharaNiiM bharaNiiM maataraM |"

Translation by Shree Aurobindo

Mother, I bow to thee! Rich with thy hurrying streams, bright with orchard gleams, Cool with thy winds of delight, Dark fields waving Mother of might, Mother free. Glory of moonlight dreams, over thy branches and lordly streams, Clad in thy blossoming trees, Mother, giver of ease Laughing low and sweet! Mother I kiss thy feet, Speaker sweet and low! Mother, to thee I bow.
Who hath said thou art weak in thy lands when the sword flesh out in the seventy million hands And seventy million voices roar Thy dreadful name from shore to shore? With many strengths who art mighty and stored, to thee I call Mother and Lord! Though who saves, arise and save! To her I cry who ever her foeman drove back from plain and Sea and shook herself free.
Thou art wisdom, thou art law, Thou art heart, our soul, and our breath though art love divine, the awe in our hearts that conquers death. Thine the strength that nerves the arm, Thine the beauty, thine the charm. Every image made divine in our temples is but thine.
Thou art Durga, Lady and Queen, With her hands that strike and her swords of sheen, Thou art Lakshmi lotus-throned, And the Muse a hundred-toned, Pure and perfect without peer, Mother lend thine ear, Rich with thy hurrying streams, Bright with thy orchard gleams, Dark of hue O candid-fair
In thy soul, with jeweled hair and thy glorious smile divine, Loveliest of all earthly lands, Showering wealth from well-stored hands! Mother, mother mine! Mother sweet, I bow to thee, Mother great and free!

India: The land of Unity in Diversity
GEOGRAPHY: As part of South Asia, India has Pakistan, China, Tibet, Nepal, Burma and Bangladesh as neighbors to its north and the Island nation of Srilanka to its south. The northern part of the country is walled in by the Himalayan Range (‘Him’ meaning snow), the world’s highest mountain range. These mountains give way to the gangetic plains, the Deccan plateau and even a desert, before culminating at Cape Camorin (Kanyakumari), where two oceans and a sea meet.

India is about 1/3rd the size of USA and roughly 1/4th size of Europe. Measuring 3,214 K.M. Horizontally India covers a total land is of almost 3.3 Million square kilometers.

India has more than 1000 million inhabitants of which, 72% of the total population live in rural areas and 28% of the total population live in urban areas.

CLIMATE: The climate in India is broadly described as salubrious and very agreeable. The climate of the country is classed as the seasonally dry tropical savanna climate, with four seasons. The cold weather season, from December to February is a period of generally fine cool weather with mainly clear blue skies. It is a period of little or no rainfall; the hot weather season begins in March. March is a dry month with low humidity. April and May are the months of considerable thunderstorm activity. The Southwest monsoon from June-September, is a moist, cloudy and rainy period, it is also a period of fairly strong and steady winds. Climatic conditions vary depending on the geography.

HISTORY: Though the modern recorded history puts India as over 5,000 years old, Indian epics and other literature point to all most times immemorial in its portrayal. According to the Government of India almanac, India just completed 5000 years on 19th March 1999 to enter its 5001st year since the day of the close of Mahabharatha war to mark the beginning of one of its phases in its long drawn out past. In fact Mahabharatha was written about 600 years earlier before to its war by the all knowing sage Vedavyasa in the same way as it was to occur later then, in fact to its last minutest details.

The recent excavations of the Indus valley civilization pertaining to Harappa & Mohenjodaro (now a part of Pakistan after the partition of India) however points to a civilization much older than the recorded history putting it across 3,000 - 4,000 BC.

India as an English word derives its modern name from the river Indus that flows right across the extreme northwest of the country. Bharat is the name in Hindi.

According to one version the original settlers were the Dravidians who subsequently moved over to Southern India following the massive influx of Aryans who entered the country around 2000 BC.

In 544 BC Prince Gouthama attained Nirvana (Enlightenment) and became “Buddha”, the religion of Buddhism taught by Buddha went out the country of its origin to spread over most other parts of Asia Minor including China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma & so on.

In 326 BC Alexander from Rome sought to conquer India.

In 232 BC the Indian Empire even bigger than the Indian sub-continent of today in its size was formed to last for more than 150 years. Called the Maurya Empire one of its Emperor Ashoka has built many relics as a living symbol of India till to date.

Another great dynasty to come in order after Maurya was the Gupta Empire between 320 and 495 AD, this period is still known as the golden age of Indian history during which period the Arts flourished. Fine frescoes and sculpture are still to be seen at Ajantha and Ellora as a mark to this day.

It was nearly 1,500 years later than Islam entered India in the eight century A.D. first via the Arab traders followed by Turkish and Afghan invasions. By the 10th Century the Muslims were able to establish a kingdom with the modern Delhi as its capital.

POLITICS: India is a secular, sovereign republic, and the world’s largest democracy. Similar to the British System, Indian Parliament has two houses: the Lok Sabha (Lower House) and the Rajya Sabha (Upper House). Elections to the Lower House are held every five years and the Prime Minister is the head of the government and the President is the head of the state.

Each state has it’s own government (along the same lines as the centre), which interacts with the Central Government. Interestingly, the State Government of state of Bengal is a Communist Government. Although illiteracy is high in India, Indians are very astute voters. Voter participation in the elections is said to be amongst the highest in the world, stand at app. 60%.

RELIGION: India is a confluence of all the major religions in the world and many more also. Hinduism, Islam and Christianity are the major religions in the Country with notable population; Hindus constituting around 82% followed by Muslims with 12.5% and others, including Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Christians, Parsis etc., of the total population. Hinduism is the oldest living religion of the world and predominates India. Other religions like Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism native to India and with a common cultural base also co-exist side by side in consonance.

“Hinduism is a way of life” It is a very secular religion, which accepts other religions and faiths and treats everybody with equal respect and tolerance. Indian philosophy and spirituality is deep rooted and takes intense study and meditation to understand. India’s rich cultural diversity, traditions, lifestyles is deeply influenced by religion.

LANGUAGES: There are 18 major languages and over 800 dialects. Each state has it’s own language and associated dialect. The average city-dweller normally speaks at least three languages English, Hindi and the regional language. North Indian languages have an Indo-European origin; South Indian languages are Dravidian, East Indian are Sino-Tibetan and Mon-khmer based.

FOOD: If Curry is the limit of your knowledge of Indian food, then you have a long way to go. India boasts of one of the most exotic and varied cuisine’s in the world. Curry dishes spiced with red pepper, garlic, ginger and numerous other assorted spices and masalas. This is served along with rice or Indian bread (rotis), these curries, at times pack enough power to send you to the Moon! The ‘curry’ you sprinkle on your French fries (Pommer-frites) has nothing to do with the Indian curry. Be prepared to face a bewildering array of names like chapati, Nan, paratha (all types of unleaven bread), pullav, biriyani (rice preparations), or dosa, idli, vada, sambar, papad, uttapam, raitha, or even sweets like jilebi, barfi, gulab-jamun, faluda, rasogolla, peda (all made from milk), etc. Again each state has it’s own special cuisine.

TRANSPORTATION: Indian Railways rates amongst the largest undertaking in the world. The railways carry around 9 million people every day; the network covers a distance of over 60,000-km. Road cover almost 5.5 million kilometers and there are over 10,000 Kms, of navigable waterways. Using both train and bus services, one can reach almost any point on the Indian map, though not always on time. Most large cities are serviced by domestic air services.

Economy: The Indian economy is a mixed economy with agriculture, industry and services constituting the mainstay. In terms of GDP according to World Bank, Indian economy is the 5th largest in the world. However in terms of wealth distribution there is wide disparity in terms of Urban-Rural and geography.

You will find slums next to huge skyscrapers, cows brushing along with the latest Mercedes. India is a land of fascinating contradictions and it will take time to realize that though most Indians are poor economically by western standards they are a happy lot

After the labialisation and economic reforms since 1992, Indian economy has grown at an annual rate of 6%. People living poverty line has declined.

Information technology has grown exponentially at over 40% and continues to grow in spite of the global recession.

SOME PRICES YOU WOULD WANT TO KNOW

Bread (450 gems.) Coffee / Tea (per cup) Soap Minimum Bus Fare Minimum Rickshaw fare Inland Mail (Min.) Aerogramme Airmail Envelope Local Call Cigarettes (10’s) Beer (750 ml.) Toothpaste 100grms Sanitary Napkins Movie Ticket Salwar - Kameez Slippers Doctor’s Consultation Tooth Filling Tooth Extraction Internet Browsing Monthly Bus pass A decent meal at an Indian Fast food Restaurant

Rs.12.00 Rs. 5.00 Rs.15.00 Rs. 8.00 Rs. 12.00 Rs. 2.50 Rs.17.00 Rs.18.00 Rs. 2.00 Rs.30.00 Rs.50.00 Rs.30.00 Rs.40.00 Rs.50.00 Rs.250.00 onwards Rs.50.00 Rs.100.00 Rs.200.00 Rs.150.00 Rs.20.00 (Per Hour) Rs.480.00 Rs.30.00

* Prices may vary from place to place

TRAVEL: Some spots of interest to travel in India

Cultural Tours of India
India is an immensely rich cultural treasure trove in the world. Rich in myth and legend, with musical, culinary and handicraft traditions that have been passed down for generations. The special cultural tours of India help you discover these facets of India.
The cultural tour of North India takes you to the periodic cities of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. Marvel at majestic monuments, be enchanted by the beautiful Taj Mahal, and immerse yourself in the colour and vibrance of Jaipur, in Rajasthan. The historical monuments at various places in India reflect the deep-rooted culture and tradition within India.
The traditional dances of India like Bharatnatyam, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Mohini Attam, Kathak, Bihu, Kathakali etc. make up the variety of classical dances in India.The cultural tour of traditional songs and dances in India presents all the hues and colours of the Unity in Diversity. The festivals and fairs in Rajasthan, Goa and Kerala are the major attractions. The Gangaur festival, Pushkar festival, International Kite Festival, Camel fair etc in Rajasthan; Carnival in Goa; Holi in Malwa (Madhya Pradesh); Ganesh Chaturthi in Maharashtra; Elephant festival, Boat carnival and Onam in Kerala etc complete your cultural odyssey in India.
The tourist places famous for the musical gharanas in India governing the Indian classical music of North India and Karnatic music of South India are worth visiting. The group dances of North East India like Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh have their own distinct features making them an indigenous hallmark of India.
The Taj Mahotsav in Agra, the Khajuraho Festival in Khajuraho, the Konark Festival in Konark, the Puri Festival in Jagannath Puri, Kumbh Mela in various places in India are the cultural festivals that make an indelible mark.
The churches of Goa, temples of Khajuraho and South India, forts and palaces of Rajasthan, the tribes of Central India, the ancient caves of Maharashtra, the Buddhist monasteries and Vihars in Bihar and Ladakh, the verdant gardens and beautiful lakes of Kashmir; all draw a cultural panorama before you.

Capital: NEW DELHI     
Form of Government: Federal Republic
Official Name: INDIA / BHARAT
Head of the State : President
Head of Government: Prime Minister
Parliament: Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha
Official Language: Hindi

Area: 1,269,219 sq. (3,287,263 Sq. Km.)
Greatest distance-north-south about 2000 miles (3,200 Km)

Elevation: Highest Peak- Kanchenjunga – 28,208 Ft. (8,598 M) above Sea level.

Population: Estimated population over 1.1 billion, density – 672 Persons per sq. mile
(260 per Sq. Km)
Demographic distribution – 72% rural, 28% Urban

Namaste --How we greet each other in India
To greet a friend or another Indian, We join our hands (palms together), bow down in front of the other person, and say Namaste, Namaskar
                              
The Lord dwells in the heart of every human being. This joining of hands symbolizes the meeting of two souls, our real self actually meets Itself. This signifies reverent Salutations and Unity of Souls.

Bowing down & joining hands symbolizes humility and also makes us humble. Thus when we joins our hands and say Namaskar, we actually see the Lord in the other persons and believe, "I bow with deep respects to the all-loving, all-powerful and omnipresent (present everywhere) Lord in you."

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT INDIA
The name `India’ is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu. The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name `Hindustan’ combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus.

The number system was invented by India. Aryabhatta was the scientist who invented the digit zero.

Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages. This is because it is the most precise, and therefore suitable language for computer software. ( a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987 ).

Chess was invented in India. Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies which originated in India.

The' place value system' and the 'decimal system' were developed in 100 BC in India.
The first six Mogul Emperor's of India ruled in an unbroken succession from father to son for two hundred years, from 1526 to 1707.

The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara temple at Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The shikhara is made from a single ' 80-tonne ' piece of granite. Also, this magnificient temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD) during the reign of Rajaraja Chola.

India is.......the Largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest country in the world AND one of the most ancient and living civilizations (at least 10, 000 years old).

The game of snakes & ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called 'Mokshapat.' The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. Later through time, the game underwent several modifications but the meaning is the same i.e good deeds take us to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births.

The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh.
Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.
India has the most post offices in the world !

The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people !.

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

Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The father of medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.

Although modern images & descriptions of India often show poverty, India was one of the richest countries till the time of British in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth and was looking for route to India when he discovered America by mistake.

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

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

The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, which was long before the European mathematicians.

Algebra, trigonometry and calculus also orignated from India. Quadratic equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53 ( i.e 10 to the power of 53 ) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C. during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera: 10*12  ( 10 to the power of 12 ).

Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world. ( Source . Gemological Institute of America )

The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982.

Sushruta is regarded as the father of surgery. Over 2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones and also plastic surgery and brain surgeries.

Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism, physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.