India

India is one of the most ancient countries having old civilizations in the world. India is rich in its culture and history. India is one of the 7 largest countries in the world. India is bounded by The great Himalayas in the north, the Indian Ocean in the east to south, and the Arabic Ocean in the west part. India is one-third of the country of the USA and has the world’s 2nd highest population after China.

Nature
India has varied climates a zone from the Himalayas to the sea level. So having a unique landscape India provides varieties of flora and fauna. India is the land of the different types of birds and animals. It has about 65000 animals and bird species and 12,000 types of flower plants.

People and Cultures
Almost 81 % of Indians are Hindu, 13 % Muslim, and other Buddhism, Sikhism, Christian, and Jainism. There is a caste system in India that determines the social rank norms and values. The cat system is determined by the marriage and birth system. High caste people were Priests, and big landowners, and others were minor and lower castes.

History
The civilization of India was about 5000 years ago on the Indus River place called Indus civilization is now in Pakistan. About 1700 B.C. Aryan people had arrived in India from the Caspian Sea and they spoke the Sanskrit language. Sanskrit is one of the oldest languages in the world. The Vedic scriptures were written during the Aryan reign on the basis of the Hindu religion.

Next, about 200 years GUPTA EMPIRE ruled in India about 4 century A.D. However, arts, architecture, and science were rising during this time. During this time Indian astronomer Aryabhatta announced the Earth was around the sun it was the longest period the world accepted the truth till the Gallielo period.

In the 16 century Muslims forced a Mongol leader and expand the Mughal Empire. The Mughal ruling period was the golden period in the history of art architecture and literature about 1500 to 1700 A.D. During the Mughal empire, they built roads, temples even the Taj Mahal.

Likewise, in the 14 century Europeans arrived in India and started to set up many trading companies. In 1757 Britain colonized most of the country of the world. During the mid-18th and 19th centuries, the British ruled in India too. Later in 1920 Mahatma Gandhi began protests against the British and India gained independence in 1947.

Government and Economy
India has had a parliamentary government system since 1947 after independence. Congress is the major leading party in India and the Nehru family has led the politics in India for decades. There is the fastest-growing economy, education, and technology in the world.

Facts and the figure of India
President- Pranab Mukherjee (2012)
Prime Minister- Narendra Modi (2014)
Land area – 1147949 sq. miles (2973190 sq.)
Population- 1,236,344,631
Largest cities of India – Mumbai 19 million, Kolkata 14 million, Chennai 9 million, Bangalore 9 million, Hyderabad 8 million
Major languages of India – Hindi 41%, Bengali 9%, Telugu 6%, Urdu 5%, Gujarati 6 %, Kannada 4% Malayalam 3%, Oriya 3%, Panjabi 3%Assamese, 2%, Maithili 1%, other 6 %. However, English is spoken as an official and Hindi is widely spoken too. Race- Indo Aryan 72 %, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other mixed 3% according to the data collection 2000 ) Religious – Hindu 81 %, Muslim 13% Christian 2%, Sikh 2 %, others 2 % Literacy rate – 63 %