Care & Community - INDIA Country Facts

India

Population: 1.1 billion (UN, 2005) Capital: New Delhi Area: 3.1 million sq km (1.2 million sq miles), excluding Indian-administered Kashmir (100,569 sq km/38,830 sq miles) Major languages: Hindi, English and 17 other official languages Major religions: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism Life expectancy: 62 years (men), 65 years (women) Monetary unit: 1 Indian Rupee = 100 paise Main exports: Agricultural products, textile goods, gems and jewellery, software services and technology, engineering goods, chemicals, leather products GNI per capita: US $720 (World Bank, 2006) International dialing code: +91

Geography

Located in Southeast Asia, India has 7000km of coastline bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. It is roughly one-third the size of the US and shares borders with six countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, China, Nepal and Pakistan. These land borders total 14103 km. The terrain varies from flat or rolling plains in the south and along the Ganges, to desert in the west, and the Himalayas in the north. The climate varies from tropical monsoon in the south to temperate in the north. India experiences natural hazards including droughts, flash floods, thunderstorms and earthquakes. India's natural resources include coal, iron ore, natural gas, diamonds and petroleum.

People

The population of India is made up of 72% Indo-Aryan, 25% Dravidian, and 3% Mongoloid and other. The major religion is Hinduism which is followed by over 80% of the population. With 13.4% following Islam, India is has the third largest Muslim population in the world. Hindi is the national language, while English is the most important language for national, political and commercial communication. In addition to Hindi, there are 14 other official languages and over 1600 dialects. India's literacy rate remains low at 64.4%; however the state of Kerala has managed to achieve a 94% literacy rate through effective social policies. India has a rich culture of religion, food, music, film, literature and festivals.

Brief History

The discovery of kiln-baked bricks in the 1800's lead archaeologists to believe that the land now called India has been inhabited for roughly 5000 years. India's first civilization, the Indus, is one of the world's oldest. It was in existence for roughly 1500 years until the first invaders of India arrived. The Aryans came to India in 1500BC, but instead of dominating the Indus, they lived alongside them. The Aryans, like the Indus, had their own spoken and written language, Sanskrit, which is still used in India today. They introduced to India the caste system and the basis of the Indian religions. Between 500BC and the 1800's, India was invaded by a series of people: Persians, Greeks, Chinese nomads, Portuguese and British. This period added many diverse cultural aspects to India: the founding of the Buddhist religion in the 5th century BC by Siddhartha Gautama, the building of some of India's most incredible temples, the introduction of the Muslim religion, and the creation of the colossal monuments of the Mughal empire, including the Taj Majal, the Pearl Mosque, the Royal Mosque, and the Red Fort. The presence of Western Europeans in India began in the early sixteenth century, and after years of competition between the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and the British, by 1769 Britain's East India Company had managed to gain control of all European trade in India. In 1858, India came under direct rule of the British crown which ruled for the next two centuries. During this time infrastructure was implemented, administration was established, and an entire structure of governance was founded. Under the British Raj India became very profitable, and the British were loath to allow the Indian population any power in a system that they viewed as their own accomplishment. The Indian population were unhappy with the state of affairs and in the 20th century steps towards independence began. Gandhi came onto the scene in 1915 and managed to lead India to independence by 1947 through an entirely non-violent mass movement. However, independence did not bring peace. Instead it was the beginning of years of violence caused by Britain's creation of the separate state of Pakistan for the Muslim population who wanted independence from Hindu rule. The partition of India has resulted the initial death of half a million people followed by a series of wars with Pakistan over the disputed territory of Kashmir. The 21st century has seen the birth of India's billionth citizen, the death of 30,000 caused by an earthquake in Gujarat, suicide squad attacks on parliament in New Delhi by Kashmir militant groups, the death of 800 in revenge attacks after Muslims set fire to train carrying Hindus, a war of words with Pakistan, a Kashmir ceasefire, the death of thousands in the 2004 Tsunami, deaths caused by monsoon rains in Mumbai and an earthquake in Kashmir, bomb blasts in Delhi, Varanasi and Mumbai, and continued disputes over Kashmir.

Politics

India is a federal republic with a constitutional system based on that of the United Kingdom, and with over 600 million voters in 2004, its has been called the largest democracy in the world. India has both a president and a prime minister, but the president has few actual powers and is instead mainly involved in ceremonial duties. India held its first elections in 1951, four years after gaining independence, and the election was won by the Congress Party under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, who lead the nation through a period of peace. Nehru died in 1964 and was succeeded in 1966 by his daughter Indira who managed to make some positive economic and political changes. Indira was assassinated in 1984 and succeeded by her son Rajiv who in 1991 was also assassinated. From 1996 until 2004, India was ruled by the BJP party under Vajpayee. The current prime minister is Manmohan Singh who won the May 2004 election as leader of the Congress Party. Singh aims to reduce poverty and continue with economic reforms.

Economy

After gaining independence in 1947 India's economy has expanded rapidly, and since 1994 has been growing at an average annual rate of 7%. Poverty, unemployment and illiteracy have also decreased, but they remain serious problems; unemployment is at 9%, about one quarter of the population live below the poverty line, and the literacy rate is low at 64.4%. The root of these problems is the vast and rapidly expanding population, which is fundamental to most social, economic and environmental issues. While over half the population are employed in agriculture, India's major source of economic growth is provided by services, including an impressive cinema industry whose films are among the most widely watched in the world. India has recently become popular with international companies looking to outsource work due to its large, skilled workforce. This has also aided the successful exporting of software services and software workers.