Monday, December 13, 2010

INDIA- My Country

India, Republic of India (Hindi: भारत गणराज्य), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Mainland India is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east; and it is bordered by Pakistan to the west; Bhutan, the People's Republic of China and Nepal to the north; and Bangladesh and Burma to the east. In the Indian Ocean, mainland India and the Lakshadweep Islands are in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives, while India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share maritime border with Thailand and the Indonesian island of Sumatra in the Andaman Sea. India has a coastline of 7,517 kilometres (4,700 mi).
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism,Jainism and Sikhism—originated here, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam arrived in the first millennium CE and shaped the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by the British East India Company from the early 18th century and colonised by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence which was marked by a non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.
India is a federal constitutional republic with a parliamentary democracy consisting of 28 states and seven union territories. A pluralistic, multilingual and multiethnic society, India is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The Indian economy is the world's eleventh largest economy by nominal GDP and the fourth largest by purchasing power parity. Since the introduction of market-based economic reforms in 1991, India has become one of the fastest growing major economies in the world; however, the country continues to face several poverty, illiteracy, corruption and public health related challenges. India is classified as a newly industrialised country and is one of the four BRIC nations. It is the world's sixth de facto nuclear weapons state and has the third-largest standing armed force in the world, while its military expenditure ranks 10th in the world.India is a regional power in South Asia.
It is a founding member of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the World Trade Organisation, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the East Asia Summit, the G20 and the G8+5; a member of the Commonwealth of Nation; and an observer state in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
 

Etymology:-

The name India is derived from Indus, which is derived from the Old Persian word Hindu, from Sanskrit  सिन्धु Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi (Ινδοί), the people of the Indus. The Constitution of India and common usage in various Indian languages also recognise Bharat  as an official name of equal status. The name Bharat is derived from the name of the legendary king Bharata in Hindu scriptures. Hindustan, originally a Persian word for “Land of the Hindus” referring to northern India, is also occasionally used as a synonym for all of India.

History:-
Stone Age rock shelters with paintings at the Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh are the earliest known traces of human life in India. The first known permanent settlements appeared about 8,500 years ago and gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation, dating back to 3400 BCE in western India. It was followed by the Vedic period, which laid the foundations of Hinduism and other cultural aspects of early Indian society, and ended in the 500s BCE. From around 550 BCE, many independent kingdoms and republics known as the Mahajanapadas were established across the country.
Damaged brown painting of a reclining man and woman.


Paintings at the Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, 6th century
In the 3rd century BCE, most of South Asia was united into the Maurya Empire by Chandragupta Maurya and flourished under Ashoka the Great. From the 3rd century CE, the Gupta dynasty oversaw the period referred to as ancient "India's Golden Age". Empires in southern India included those of the Chalukyas, the Cholas and the Vijayanagara Empire. Science, technology, engineering, art, logic, language, literature,mathematics, astronomy, religion and philosophy flourished under the patronage of these kings.
Following Islamic invasions from Central Asia between the 10th and 12th centuries, much of northern India came under the rule of the Delhi Sultanate and later the Mughal Empire. Under the rule of Akbar the Great, India enjoyed much cultural and economic progress as well as religious harmony. Mughal emperors gradually expanded their empires to cover large parts of the subcontinent. However, in northeastern India, the dominant power was the Ahom kingdom of Assam, among the few kingdoms to have resisted Mughal subjugation. The first major threat to Mughal imperial power came from a Hindu Rajput king Maha Rana Pratap of Mewar in the 16th century. By early 1700s, the Sikh Empire and the Marathas had emerged as formidable foes of the Mughals. Following the death of Aurangzeb, the Mughal Empire entered a period of gradual decline and by mid-18th century, a large portion of the Mughal territory came under the control of the Hindu Maratha Empire.
From the 16th century, European powers such as Portugal, the Netherlands, France, and Great Britain established trading posts and later took advantage of internal conflicts to establish colonies in the country. By 1856, most of India was under the control of the British East India Company. A year later, a nationwide insurrection of rebelling military units and kingdoms, known as India's First War of Independence or the Sepoy Mutiny, seriously challenged the Company's control but eventually failed. As a result of the instability, India was brought under the direct rule of the British Crown.
 
Our National Flag:-
Horizontal tricolour flag (deep saffron, white, and green). In the centre of the white is a navy blue wheel with 24 spokes.
Our National Emblem:-
Three lions facing left, right,and toward viewer, atop a frieze containing a galloping horse, a 24-spoke wheel, and an elephant. Underneath is a motto "सत्यमेव जयते".
Our National Anthem:-
Jana gana mana adhināyaka jaya he
Bhārata bhāgya vidhātā
Punjāba Sind Gujarāta Marāthā
Drāvida Utkala Banga
Vindhya Himāchala Yamunā Gangā
Ucchala jaladhi taranga
Tava śubha nāme jāge
Tava śubha āśisa māge
Gāhe tava jaya gāthā
Jana gana mangala dāyaka jaya he
Bhārata bhāgya vidhāta
Jaya he jaya he jaya he
Jaya jaya jaya jaya he!

 
Its English Version:-
Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,
Dispenser of India's destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind,
Gujarat and Maratha,
Of the Dravida and Orissa and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of Jamuna and Ganges and is
chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.
The saving of all people waits in thy hand,
Thou dispenser of India's destiny.
Victory, victory, victory, Victory to thee.
 
…………..//////…………………////////………………………………..
 
Our National Song:-
vande mātaram
sujalām suphalām
malayajaśītalām
śasya śyāmalām
mātaram
vande mātaram
śubhra jyotsnā
pulakita yāminīm
phulla kusumita
drumadalaśobhinīm
suhāsinīm
sumadhura bhāsinīm
sukhadām varadām
mātaram
vande mātaram

Its English Version:-
I bow to thee, Mother,
richly-watered, richly-fruited,
cool with the winds of the south,
dark with the crops of the harvests,
the Mother!
Her nights rejoicing
in the glory of the moonlight,
her lands clothed beautifully
with her trees in flowering bloom,
sweet of laughter,
sweet of speech,
The Mother,
giver of boons, giver of bliss!

 
Details:-
Capital:-  New Delhi
Largest city:- Mumbai
Official Language:- Hindi, English
Its Regional Language:- 1)Assamese
                    2) Bengali
                     3) Bodo
                   4) Dogri
                   5) Gujarati
                      6) Hindi
                   7) Kannada
                     8) Kashmiri
                    9) Konkini
                     10) Maithili
                   11)Malayalam
                      12) Manipuri
                    13) Marathi
                   14)Nepali
                       15) Oria
                  16)Punjabi
                    17)Sanskrit
                  18) Santali
                      19)Sindhi
                    20) Tamil
                     21)Telugu
                      22) Urdu
Its National Language:- HINDI
Demonym:- Indian
Government:-
President- Pratibha Patil
Prime Minister- Manmohan Singh( INC- Indian National Congress)
Speaker of the House- Meira Kumar(INC) [ She is also the 1st Indian Woman Speaker)
Chiefe Justice- S. H. Kapadia
 
Legislature:-Sansad
Upper house- Rajya Sabha
Lower House- Lok Sabha
Independence:-  from the United Kingdom
Declared- 15 August 1947
Republic- 26 January 1950
 
AREA:-
             3,287,240 Square Killometer
Water- 9.56%
 
Its Currency:- Indian Rupee
 
GDP(PPP):-2010 estimate
Total- $3.862 trillion
Per Capita- $3,176
 
GDP(nominal):- 2010 estimate
Total- $1.367 trillion
Per Capita- $1,124
 
 
Animal:-
Royal Bengal Tiger
Bird:-
Indian Peacock
Aquatic animal:-
Dolphin
Flower:-
Lotus
Tree:-
Banyan
Fruit:-
Mango
Sport:-
Field hockey
Game:-
Pachisi
Calendar:-
Saka
River:-
Ganges

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