{{Short description|Country in South Asia}} {{About|the country}} {{Featured article}} {{pp-move}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{CS1 config|mode=cs1}} {{Use Indian English|date=September 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}} {{Infobox country | conventional_long_name = Republic of India | common_name = India | native_name = {{transliteration|hi|ISO|Bhārat Gaṇarājya}} | image_flag = Flag of India.svg | alt_flag = Horizontal tricolour flag bearing, from top to bottom, deep saffron, white, and green horizontal bands. In the centre of the white band is a navy-blue wheel with 24 spokes. | image_coat = [[File:Emblem of India.svg|class=skin-invert-image|60px]] | symbol_width = 60px | alt_coat = 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". | symbol_type = [[State Emblem of India|State emblem]] | other_symbol_type = National song: {{nobold|{{native phrase|sa-Latn|[[Vande Mataram]]|italics=on}}{{efn|Written in a mixture of Sanskrit and [[Sadhu bhasha|Sanskritised Bengali]]}}}} | other_symbol = "I Bow to Thee, Mother"{{lower|0.2em|{{efn|"[...] ''Jana Gana Mana'' is the National Anthem of India, subject to such alterations in the words as the Government may authorise as occasion arises; and the song ''Vande Mataram'', which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honoured equally with ''Jana Gana Mana'' and shall have equal status with it."{{sfn|Constituent Assembly of India|1950}}}}{{sfn|National Informatics Centre|2005}}}}
[[File:Vande Mataram on Mohan Veena.ogg]]
| national_motto = {{native phrase|sa-Latn|[[Satyameva Jayate]]|italics=on}} | national_anthem = {{native phrase|hi-Latn|[[Jana Gana Mana]]|italics=on}}{{efn|Originally written in [[Sadhu bhasha|Sanskritised Bengali]] and adopted as the national anthem in its Hindi translation}}{{Cite web |title=National Symbols | National Portal of India |url=https://india.gov.in/india-glance/national-symbols |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204121208/https://india.gov.in/india-glance/national-symbols |archive-date=4 February 2017 |access-date=1 March 2017 |publisher=[[India.gov.in]] |quote=The National Anthem of India Jana Gana Mana, composed originally in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India on 24 January 1950.}}{{Cite news |date=14 August 2012 |title=National anthem of India: a brief on 'Jana Gana Mana' |publisher=[[News18 India|News18]] |url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/national-anthem-of-india-a-brief-on-jana-gana-mana-498576.html |access-date=7 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417194530/https://www.news18.com/news/india/national-anthem-of-india-a-brief-on-jana-gana-mana-498576.html |archive-date=17 April 2019}}
"Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All People"{{lower|0.2em|{{sfn|Wolpert|2003|p=1}}}}
[[File:Jana Gana Mana instrumental.ogg]]
| image_map = India (orthographic projection).svg | map_width = 250px | alt_map = Image of a globe centred on India, with India highlighted. | map_caption = {{Legend|#336830|Territory controlled by India}}{{Legend|#61E760|[[Disputed territories of India|Territory claimed but not controlled]]}} | capital = [[New Delhi]] | coordinates = {{Coord|28|36|50|N|77|12|30|E|type:city_region:IN-DL}} | admin_center = [[Mumbai]] | admin_center_type = Largest city {{normal|by [[List of cities in India by population|city proper population]]}} | largest_city = | largest_settlement = [[Delhi]] | largest_settlement_type = city {{normal|by metropolitan area population}} | official_languages = {{hlist |[[Hindi]]|[[Indian English|English]]{{efn|According to [[Part XVII of the Constitution of India]], [[Standard Hindi|Hindi]] in the [[Devanagari]] script is the [[official language]] of the Union, along with [[Indian English|English]] as an additional official language.{{sfn|National Informatics Centre|2005}}{{sfn|Ministry of Home Affairs 1960}}{{Cite web |title=Profile | National Portal of India |url=https://india.gov.in/india-glance/profile |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130830064815/https://india.gov.in/india-glance/profile |archive-date=30 August 2013 |access-date=23 August 2013 |publisher=[[India.gov.in]]}} [[States and union territories of India|States and union territories]] can have a different official language of their own other than Hindi or English.}}{{Cite web |title=Constitutional Provisions – Official Language Related Part-17 of the Constitution of India |url=https://rajbhasha.gov.in/en/constitutional-provisions |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418112326/https://rajbhasha.gov.in/en/constitutional-provisions |archive-date=18 April 2021 |access-date=18 April 2021 |website=[[Department of Official Language]] via [[Government of India]]}}}} | regional_languages = {{collapsible list |titlestyle = background:transparent;color: inherit; text-align:left; |title = [[Languages with official status in India#Official languages of states|State level]] {{nowrap|and [[Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India|Eighth Schedule]]{{Cite web |title=50th Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India (July 2012 to June 2013) |url=https://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM50thReport.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160708012438/https://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM50thReport.pdf |archive-date=8 July 2016 |access-date=26 December 2014 |publisher=Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities, [[Ministry of Minority Affairs]], [[Government of India]]}}}} |1= Eighth Schedule {{hlist | [[Assamese language|Assamese]] | [[Bengali language|Bengali]] | [[Boro language (India)|Boro]] | [[Dogri language|Dogri]] | [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] | [[Hindi]] | [[Kannada]] | [[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]] | [[Konkani language|Konkani]] | [[Maithili language|Maithili]] | [[Malayalam]] | [[Meitei language|Manipuri]] | [[Marathi language|Marathi]] | [[Nepali language|Nepali]] | [[Odia language|Odia]] | [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] | [[Sanskrit]] | [[Santali language|Santali]] | [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] | [[Tamil language|Tamil]] | [[Telugu language|Telugu]] | [[Urdu]] }} |2= State level{{efn|Not all the state-level official languages are in the eighth schedule and not all the scheduled languages are state-level official languages. For example, the [[Sindhi language]] is an 8th scheduled but not a state-level official language.}} {{hlist | [[Bhujel language|Bhujel]] | [[Garo language|Garo]] | [[Khasi language|Khasi]] | [[Kokborok]] | [[Lepcha language|Lepcha]] | [[Limbu language|Limbu]] | [[Magar language|Magar]] | [[Mizo language|Mizo]] | [[Newar language|Newar]] | [[Kiranti languages|Rai]] | [[Sherpa language|Sherpa]] | [[Sikkimese language|Sikkimese]] | [[Sunwar language|Sunuwar]] | [[Tamang language|Tamang]] | all the 8th scheduled languages – except [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]], [[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]] and [[Dogri language|Dogri]]{{efn|[[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]] and [[Dogri language]] are the official languages of [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]] which is currently a [[union territory]] and no longer the [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|former state]].}} }} }} | languages_type = Native languages | languages = [[List of languages by number of native speakers in India|424 languages]]{{efn| * According to [[Ethnologue]], there are 426 living indigenous languages in India, in contrast to 11 extinct indigenous languages. In addition, there are 32 living non-indigenous languages.{{Cite web |last1=Eberhard |first1=David M. |last2=Simons |first2=Gary F. |last3=Fennig |first3=Charles D. |year=2025 |title=India |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/IN/ |website=[[Ethnologue]]: Languages of the World |edition=28 |access-date=10 November 2024 |archive-date=3 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250303233113/https://www.ethnologue.com/country/IN/ |url-status=live }} * Different sources give widely differing figures, primarily based on how the terms "language" and "dialect" are defined and grouped. }} | religion_ref = {{cite press release |title=RGI releases Census 2011 data on Population by Religious Communities |publisher=Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=25 August 2015 |url=https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/printrelease.aspx?relid=126326 |id=Release ID: 126326}}{{cite web |title=C-01: Population by religious community, India – 2011 |author=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India |work=2011 Census of India |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/11361}} | demonym = {{hlist|[[Indian people|Indian]]|[[Names for India|others]]}} | government_type = Federal [[parliamentary republic]] | leader_title1 = [[President of India|President]] | leader_name1 = [[Droupadi Murmu]] | leader_title2 = [[Vice President of India|Vice President]] | leader_name2 = [[C. P. Radhakrishnan]] | leader_title3 = [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] | leader_name3 = [[Narendra Modi]] | legislature = [[Parliament of India|Parliament]] | upper_house = [[Rajya Sabha]] | lower_house = [[Lok Sabha]] | sovereignty_type = [[Indian independence movement|Independence]] | sovereignty_note = from the [[United Kingdom]] | established_event1 = [[Dominion of India|Dominion]] | established_date1 = [[Independence Day (India)|15 August 1947]] | established_event2 = [[Republic]] | established_date2 = [[Republic Day (India)|26 January 1950]] | area_km2 = 3,287,263 | area_footnote = {{efn|"The country's exact size is subject to debate because some borders are disputed. The Indian government lists the total area as {{convert|3287260|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} and the total land area as {{convert|3060500|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}; the United Nations lists the total area as {{convert|3287263|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} and total land area as {{convert|2973190|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}."{{sfn|Library of Congress|2004}} }} | area_rank = 7th | area_sq_mi = 1,269,346 | percent_water = 9.6 | population_estimate = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 1.48 billion{{Cite web |title=India population 2026 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/263766/total-population-of-india/ |access-date=2026-05-04 |website=Statista |language=en |archive-date=30 April 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260430102727/https://www.statista.com/statistics/263766/total-population-of-india/ |url-status=live }} | population_estimate_year = 2026 | population_estimate_rank = 1st | population_census = {{increaseNeutral}} 1,210,854,977{{Cite web |title=Population Enumeration Data (Final Population) |url=https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/population_enumeration.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522213913/https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/population_enumeration.html |archive-date=22 May 2016 |access-date=17 June 2016 |website=2011 Census Data |publisher=[[Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India|Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India]]}}{{Cite web |title=A – 2 Decadal Variation in Population Since 1901 |url=https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/A-2_Data_Tables/00%20A%202-India.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430213141/https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/A-2_Data_Tables/00%20A%202-India.pdf |archive-date=30 April 2016 |access-date=17 June 2016 |website=2011 Census Data |publisher=[[Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India|Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India]]}} | population_census_year = 2011 | population_census_rank = 2nd | population_density_km2 = {{Pop density|{{Indian population clock}}|3287263|km2|disp=num|prec=1}} | population_density_sq_mi = {{Pop density|{{Indian population clock}}|1269219|sqmi|disp=num|prec=1}} | population_density_rank = 30th | GDP_PPP = {{increase}} {{nowrap|$18.902 trillion}}{{cite web |url=https://data.imf.org/en/Data-Explorer?datasetUrn=IMF.RES:WEO(9.0.0) |title=World Economic Outlook Database (April 2026 Edition) |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=www.imf.org |date=14 April 2026 |access-date=18 April 2026 |archive-date=22 October 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251022132817/https://data.imf.org/en/Data-Explorer?datasetUrn=IMF.RES:WEO(9.0.0) |url-status=live }} | GDP_PPP_year = 2026 | GDP_PPP_rank = 3rd | GDP_PPP_per_capita = {{increase}} $12,801 | GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 121st | GDP_nominal = {{increase}} {{nowrap|$4.153 trillion}} | GDP_nominal_year = 2026 | GDP_nominal_rank = 6th | GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $2,813 | GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 148th | Gini = 25.5 | Gini_year = 2022 | Gini_change = decrease | Gini_ref = {{Cite web |title=Gini index (World Bank estimate) – India |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=IN |publisher=[[World Bank]] |access-date=31 January 2022 |archive-date=2 September 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250902023243/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=IN |url-status=live }} | HDI = 0.685 | HDI_rank = 130th | HDI_year = 2023 | HDI_change = increase | HDI_ref = {{Cite web |date=6 May 2025 |title=Human Development Report 2025 |url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506051232/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2025 |access-date=6 May 2025 |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]}} | currency = [[Indian rupee]] ([[₹]]) | currency_code = INR | time_zone = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]] | utc_offset = +05:30 | date_format = {{ubl | {{nowrap|{{abbr|dd|day}}-{{abbr|mm|month}}-{{abbr|yyyy|year}}}}{{efn|See [[Date and time notation in India]].}} }} | calling_code = [[Telephone numbers in India|+91]] | cctld = [[.in]] ([[.in#Internationalised domain names and country codes|others]]) | englishmotto = "Truth Alone Triumphs"{{lower|0.2em|{{sfn|National Informatics Centre|2005}}}} | religion_year = 2011 | religion = {{ubl | 79.8% [[Hinduism in India|Hinduism]] | 14.2% [[Islam in India|Islam]] | 2.3% [[Christianity in India|Christianity]] | 1.7% [[Sikhism in India|Sikhism]] | 0.7% [[History of Buddhism in India|Buddhism]] | 0.4% [[Jainism in India|Jainism]] | 0.23% [[Irreligion in India|unaffiliated]] | 0.65% [[Religion in India|other]] }} | official_website = | today = | iso3166code = IN }} '''India''', officially the '''Republic of India''',{{efn|[[ISO 15919]]: {{transliteration|hi|ISO|Bhārat Gaṇarājya}}}} *{{citation |author=John Da Graça |title=Heads of State and Government |year=2017 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]] |location=London |isbn=978-1-349-65771-1 |page=421}} "Official name: Republic of India; Bharat Ganarajya (Hindi)"; *{{citation |last=Bradnock |first=Robert W. |title=The Routledge Atlas of South Asian Affairs |year=2015 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-317-40511-5 |page=108}} "Official name: English: Republic of India; Hindi: Bharat Ganarajya" is a country in [[South Asia]]. It is the world's [[List of countries and dependencies by area|seventh-largest country by area]] and the [[List of countries and dependencies by population|largest by population]].{{cite book|last1=Poston|first1=Dudley L.|last2=Sullivan|first2=Teresa A.|title=Population and Society: An Introduction to Demography|location=Cambridge, UK and New York, NY|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2026|edition=3rd|isbn=978-1-009-69695-1|page=76|quote=Up until a few years ago, China was the largest country in the world. But in 2021 India surpassed China and became the world's largest population}} Bounded by the [[Indian Ocean]] on the south, the [[Arabian Sea]] on the southwest, and the [[Bay of Bengal]] on the southeast, it shares land borders with [[Pakistan]] to the west;{{efn|1 = The [[Government of India]] also regards [[Afghanistan]] as a bordering country, as it considers all of [[Kashmir]] to be part of India.{{cite web |title=Ministry of Home Affairs (Department of Border Management) |url=https://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/BMIntro-1011.pdf |access-date=1 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317182910/https://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/BMIntro-1011.pdf |archive-date=17 March 2015}} However, this is [[Kashmir conflict|disputed]], and the region bordering Afghanistan is administered by Pakistan.}} [[China]], [[Nepal]], and [[Bhutan]] to the north; and [[Bangladesh]] and [[Myanmar]] to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is near [[Sri Lanka]] and the [[Maldives]].{{efn|India's [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]] share a [[Maritime boundary|maritime border]] with Myanmar, [[Thailand]] and [[Indonesia]].}} [[Modern humans]] had arrived on the [[Indian subcontinent]] from [[Africa]] by 55,000 years ago. Their long, isolated occupation as hunter-gatherers made the region highly diverse. [[Neolithic|Settled life]] emerged on the western margins of the [[Indus River|Indus]] [[river basin|basin]] 9,000 years ago, evolving into the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]] by the third millennium BCE. By {{BCE|1200}}, an [[Proto-language|archaic form]] of [[Sanskrit]] had [[Trans-cultural diffusion|diffused]] into India from the northwest, [[Rig Veda|its hymns]] recording the [[Historical Vedic religion|early dawnings]] of [[Hinduism]].* {{Harvard citation no brackets|Jamison|Brereton|2020|pp=2, 4–5}}: "The Ṛgveda is one of the four Vedas, which together constitute the oldest texts in Sanskrit and the earliest evidence for what will become Hinduism. [...] Although Vedic religion is very different in many regards from what is known as Classical Hinduism, the seeds are there." * {{Harvard citation no brackets|Flood|2020|p=4, see note 4}}: "I take the term 'Hinduism' to meaningfully denote a range and history of practice characterised by a number of features, particularly reference to Vedic textual and sacrificial origins, ..." * {{Harvard citation no brackets|Michaels|2017|pp=|p=86}}: "Almost all traditional Hindu families observe until today at least three ''samskaras'' (initiation, marriage, and death ritual). ...Although ''samskaras'' vary from region to region, from class (''varna'') to class, and from caste to caste, their core elements remain the same owing to the common source, the Veda, and a common priestly tradition preserved by the ''Brahmin'' priests." India's pre-existing [[Dravidian languages]] were supplanted in the northern regions.{{harvnb|Dyson|2018|p=25]}}. "Dravidian languages were once spoken throughout much of the subcontinent. ... it is notable that the boundary which separates Indo-Aryan from Dravidian-speaking areas still runs on a slightly south-west to north-east gradient. ... But the origin of this process of Indo-Aryan expansion may well lie before the first millennium BCE." By {{BCE|400}}, social differentiation by [[caste]] had consolidated within Hinduism. Around the same time, [[History of Buddhism in India|Buddhism]] and [[History of Jainism|Jainism]] had arisen, proclaiming [[social order]]s unlinked to [[heredity]].{{harvnb|Fisher|2018|pp=67–68}}. "These two religious movements advocated similar social structures for humans, with individual achievement of total nonviolence and compassion toward all living creatures as the basis of status. ... Consequently, any individual who practices nonviolence and [[Dāna|dana]] could rise socially and morally." The emergence of the loose-knit [[Maurya Empire|Maurya]] and [[Gupta Empire]]s, * {{harvnb|Dyson|2018|pp=16–17}} "Pataliputra became the centre of the loose-knit Mauryan ‘Empire’". * {{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=67}} "Even in the Gangetic plain, ... most of this vast territory was ruled by largely autonomous kings who nominally recognized or just paid tribute to the Gupta emperor." * {{harvnb|Robb|2011|pp=56–57}} "Nevertheless the Gupta empire remained more of a confederacy than a centralized state." * {{harvnb|Ludden|2014|pp=29–30}}. "The geography of the Mauryan Empire resembled a spider with a small dense body and long spindly legs." gave rise to wide-ranging cultural and scientific creativity, * {{harvnb|Ludden|2014|pp=28–29}} "A creative explosion in all the arts was a most remarkable feature of this ancient transformation, a permanent cultural legacy. Mauryan territory was created in its day by awesome armies and dreadful war, but future generations would cherish its beautiful pillars, inscriptions, coins, sculptures, buildings, ceremonies, and texts, particularly later Buddhist writers." * {{citation |author=Glenn Van Brummelen |title=Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine: An Encyclopedia |pages=46–48 |year=2014 |editor=Thomas F. Glick |chapter=Arithmetic |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=77y2AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA46 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-135-45932-1 |editor2=Steven Livesey |editor3=Faith Wallis}} "The story of the growth of arithmetic from the ancient inheritance to the wealth passed on to the Renaissance is dramatic and passes through several cultures. The most groundbreaking achievement was the evolution of a positional number system, ... Roughly speaking, this began in India, was transmitted to Islam, and then to the Latin West." but their eras also witnessed a steady erosion of women's rights, * {{harvnb|Dyson|2018|p=20}} "Therefore, by the time of the Mauryan Empire the position of women in mainstream Indo-Aryan society seems to have deteriorated." * {{harvnb|Stein|2010|p=90}} "Darkness can be said to have pervaded one aspect of society during the inter-imperial centuries: the degradation of women." * {{harvnb|Ramusack|1999|pages=27–29}} "The legal rights, as well as the ideal images, of women were increasingly circumscribed during the Gupta era." and, by the end, the rigid institutionalisation of [[untouchability]].{{efn|"[[Faxian]] ... also recorded evidence of the caste system as he could observe it. According to this evidence the treatment meted out to untouchables such as the Chandalas was very similar to that which they experienced in later periods. This would contradict assertions that this rigid form of the caste system emerged in India only as a reaction to the Islamic conquest."{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2016|pp = 125–126}}}}{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2016|pp=122–123}} Across the first millennium CE, the [[Middle kingdoms of India#The Deccan plateau and South|Middle kingdoms]] of [[South India]] transmitted Dravidian language scripts and cultures to [[Southeast Asia]]. *{{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2022|p=20}}"The victory of the Chola fleet ... was the apex of Indian influence in Southeast Asia, which had assimilated many elements of Indian civilization over the past six or more centuries, including the Sanskrit language, South Indian scripts, and the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism." *{{harvnb|Dyson|2018|p=40}} "On the east coast, the kingdoms of the Pallavas and Cholas were important in ... the ‘Indianization’ of south-east Asia. ... the emergence of ‘Indian kingdoms’ in what are now Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam." *{{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=83}} " South Indian kings, trade, and culture continued to extend overseas as far east as Java (today in Indonesia) where Buddhist and Hindu architecture and cultural features remain."" Well before the millennium's end, [[History of the Jews in India|Judaism]], [[Christianity in India|Christianity]], [[Islam in India|Islam]] and [[Zoroastrianism in India|Zoroastrianism]] had become established on India's southern and western coasts. * {{harvnb|Ludden|2014|p=52}} "All along the Indian Ocean coast, Zoroastrians, Christians, Arabs, and Jews became well established." * {{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2022|pp=91–92]}} "... maritime trade along the Malabar coast had always been in the hands of immigrant trading communities. Two ... were the Syrian Christians and the Jews, who had been resident in Kerala probably hundreds of years before ... the ninth and late tenth centuries, respectively." * {{harvnb|Fisher|2018|pp=88–89}} "Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities within ports often prospered through Indian Ocean trade diaspora networks." Early in the [[2nd millennium]], Muslim armies from [[Central Asia]] intermittently overran India's northern plaints, * {{harvnb|Ludden|2014|p=86}} "Central Asian warriors became supreme during South Asia’s medieval transition by deploying swift-horse cavalry skilled in firing arrows at full gallop, volley after volley; ..." * {{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2022|pp= 22, 31–32}}."(p.22) Due to their nomadic background, the Turkic peoples were skilled at cavalry warfare. (p.31–32) Employing a classic nomadic tactic of the Central Asian steppes, their light cavalry could fan out and flank the enemy from all sides,..." eventually establishing the [[Delhi Sultanate]], and drawing India into the [[Islamic Golden Age|cosmopolitan networks of medieval Islam]].{{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2022|p=60}} "In the long term, however, the cultural and social enrichment that resulted from participation in the world’s most cosmopolitan civilization of the middle ages was to become an inextricable part of India’s greatness" The [[Vijayanagara Empire]] created a long-lasting composite South Indian culture.{{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2022|p=85}}. "Its longest lasting legacy ... was the formation of an elite culture that spanned the southern Deccan and the Tamil country ... Much of the growing cosmopolitanism of South India occurred because people increasingly moved around within the large area where Vijayanagara power held sway." The religion of [[Sikhism]], founded by [[Guru Nanak]], emerged in the [[Punjab]].{{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2022|p=343}} " ... founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak (1469–1539). Like Kabir, Guru Nanak was part of the Sant tradition ... that rejected institutionalized forms of religion. The [[Mughal Empire]] ushered in two centuries of economic expansion and relative peace,{{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2022|p=187}} "Above all, the long period of relative peace ushered in by Akbar's power, and maintained by his successors throughout the seventeenth century, contributed to India's economic expansion." leaving [[Mughal architecture|a rich architectural legacy]].{{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=106}} " For nearly four centuries, the Taj Mahal has stood as an architectural masterpiece, famous worldwide for the technology of its construction, and, even more, for the quality of its workmanship and the exquisite balance and proportion of its forms."{{Sfn|Asher|1992|p=[https://archive.org/details/architectureofmu0000ashe/page/250/mode/2up 250]}} Gradually expanding [[Company rule in India|rule of the British East India Company]] turned India into a colonial economy, * {{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2022|p=368}} "An increasing number of historians consider the 1820s or 1830s to be the true beginning of the colonial period, on the other hand, for it was only then that fundamental transformations in economic and political structures occurred." * {{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=120}} "India became its prime periphery, supplying capital ... labor, artisanal goods, and raw materials, while becoming a market for finished British manufactures." but by the end had consolidated its [[sovereignty]].{{Harvnb|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|p=127–128}} " Changes essential to the modern state, including the unification of sovereignty, ... introduced during the same period ... The date 1848 as starting point for the ‘modern state’ in India ..." [[British Raj|British Crown rule]] began in 1858. The rights promised to Indians were granted slowly,{{Citation |last=Taylor |first=Miles |title=Crowns and Colonies: European Monarchies and Overseas Empires |pages=38–39 |year=2016 |editor-last=Aldrish, Robert |chapter=The British royal family and the colonial empire from the Georgians to Prince George |publisher=[[Manchester University Press]] |isbn=978-1-5261-0088-7 |editor2-last=McCreery, Cindy}} ""When the governance of India was transferred from the East India Company to the Crown in 1858, she (Queen Victoria) and Prince Albert intervened in an unprecedented fashion to turn the proclamation of the transfer of power into a document of tolerance and clemency. ... known in the Indian subcontinent as 'the Magna Carta of Indian liberties', a phrase which Indian nationalists such as Gandhi later took up as they sought to test equality under imperial law" (pages 38–39)"{{Harvnb|Peers|2013|p=76}} "... (the proclamation) kept faith with the principles of liberal imperialism and appeared to hold out the promise that British rule would benefit Indians and Britons alike. But as is too often the case ... the failure on the part of the British to live up to the wording of the proclamation would later be used by Indian nationalists as proof of the hollowness of imperial principles" but [[Industrial Revolution|technological changes]] were introduced,{{Harvnb|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|pp=127–128}} "Modern technological changes, among them canals, railways, and telegraph were introduced into India within years of their introduction in Europe" and modern education and the public life took root.{{Citation |last1=Embree |first1=Ainslie Thomas |title=Sources of Indian Tradition: Modern India and Pakistan |page=85 |year=1988 |chapter=Nationalism Takes Root: The Moderates |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XoMRuiSpBp4C&pg=PA85 |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=978-0-231-06414-9 |last2=Hay |first2=Stephen N. |last3=Bary |first3=William Theodore De}} "Under these circumstances, it was not long before the seed idea of nationalism, planted by their reading of Western books, began to take root in the minds of intelligent and energetic Indians." [[Indian independence movement|A nationalist movement]] emerged in India, the first in the non-European [[British Empire]].{{Citation |last=Marshall |first=P. J. |title=The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire |url={{Google books|S2EXN8JTwAEC |page=PA179 |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}} |page=179 |year=2001 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-00254-7 |quote=The first modern nationalist movement to arise in the non-European empire, and one that became an inspiration for many others, was the Indian Congress.}}{{Citation |last=Chiriyankandath |first=James |title=Parties and Political Change in South Asia |url={{Google books|c4n7CwAAQBAJ |page=PA2 |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}} |page=2 |year=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-58620-3 |quote=South Asian parties include several of the oldest in the post-colonial world, foremost among them the 129-year-old Indian National Congress that led India to independence in 1947}} Noted for nonviolent resistance after 1920,{{harvnb|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|p=202}}: "The year 1919 was a watershed in the modern history of India. [...] By its end the Montagu–Chelmsford reforms... were enacted. [...] The year, however, also brought the repressive Rowlatt bills and the catastrophe of the Amritsar massacre. For many, if not most, Indians the reforms had become a poisoned chalice. They chose instead a novel course of political action, that of 'non-violent non-cooperation', and a new leader, Mohandas K. Gandhi, only recently returned from twenty years in South Africa. Gandhi would endure as a lasting symbol of moral leadership for the entire world community." it became the primary factor in ending British rule.{{harvnb|Stein|2010|p=289}}: "Gandhi was the leading genius of the later and ultimately successful campaign for India's independence" In 1947, the British Indian Empire was [[Partition of India|partitioned]] into two independent [[Dominion#India and Pakistan|dominions]], a Hindu-majority [[dominion of India]] and a Muslim-majority [[dominion of Pakistan]]. A large-scale loss of life and an unprecedented migration accompanied the partition. * {{harvnb|Copland|2001|pp=71–78}}. * {{harvnb|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p=222}}. Since 1950, India has been a [[federal republic]], governed through a democratic [[parliamentary system]]. It is a [[Pluralism (political philosophy)|pluralistic]], [[Multilingualism|multilingual]] and [[Multiculturalism|multi-ethnic society]]. India's population grew from 361 million in 1951 to over 1.4 billion in 2023.{{harvnb|Dyson|2018|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA219 219], 262}}. Its [[List of countries by real GDP growth rate|fast-growing]] [[Economy of India|economy]] is [[Information technology in India|a hub for information technology]], with an expanding middle class.{{harvnb|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mjIfqyY7jlsC&pg=PA265 265–266]}}. India has reduced [[Poverty in India|poverty]], though alongside increasing economic inequality.{{harvnb|Dyson|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA216 216]}}. It is a [[List of states with nuclear weapons|nuclear-weapon state]], with [[List of countries by military expenditures|high military expenditure]], and holds unresolved mid-20th-century disputes over [[Kashmir]] with its neighbours, Pakistan and China. * {{citation |title=Kashmir, region Indian subcontinent |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Kashmir-region-Indian-subcontinent |access-date=15 August 2019 |url-access=subscription |quote=Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent{{nbsp}}... has been the subject of dispute between India and Pakistan since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813203817/https://www.britannica.com/place/Kashmir-region-Indian-subcontinent |archive-date=13 August 2019 |url-status=live}} * {{citation |last1=Pletcher |first1=Kenneth |title=Aksai Chin, Plateau Region, Asia |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Aksai-Chin |access-date=16 August 2019 |url-access=subscription |quote=Aksai Chin, Chinese (Pinyin) Aksayqin, portion of the Kashmir region, ... constitutes nearly all the territory of the Chinese-administered sector of Kashmir that is claimed by India |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402090308/https://www.britannica.com/place/Aksai-Chin |archive-date=2 April 2019}} * {{cite encyclopedia |title=Kashmir |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Americana]]: Jefferson to Latin |publisher=[[Scholastic Library Publishing]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l_cWAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA328 |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7172-0139-6 |page=328 |first=C. E |last=Bosworth |quote=KASHMIR, kash'mer, the northernmost region of the Indian subcontinent, administered partly by India, partly by Pakistan, and partly by China. The region has been the subject of a bitter dispute between India and Pakistan since they became independent in 1947}} Socio-economic challenges include [[Gender inequality in India|gender inequality]], [[Malnutrition in India|child malnutrition]],{{Cite journal |last1=Narayan |first1=Jitendra |last2=John |first2=Denny |last3=Ramadas |first3=Nirupama |year=2018 |title=Malnutrition in India: status and government initiatives |journal=[[Journal of Public Health Policy]] |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=126–141 |doi=10.1057/s41271-018-0149-5 |pmid=30353132 }} and rising [[Air pollution in India|air pollution]].{{Cite journal |last1=Balakrishnan |first1=Kalpana |author-link=Kalpana Balakrishnan |last2=Dey |first2=Sagnik |display-authors=etal |year=2019 |title=The impact of air pollution on deaths, disease burden, and life expectancy across the states of India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 |journal=[[The Lancet Planetary Health]] |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=e26–e39 |doi=10.1016/S2542-5196(18)30261-4 |pmc=6358127 |pmid=30528905}} India's [[megadiverse country|megadiverse]] land features four [[biodiversity hotspots]]. Its [[Wildlife of India|wildlife]] is supported in [[Protected areas of India|protected habitats]] and traditionally viewed with [[Culture of India|cultural]] tolerance.{{sfn|Karanth|Gopal|2005|p=374}} == Etymology == {{Main|Names for India}} According to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', the English proper noun "India" derives most immediately from the [[Classical Latin]] ''India'', a reference to a loosely-defined historical region of Asia stretching from [[South Asia]] to the borders of China. Further [[etymon]]s are: [[Hellenistic Greek]] {{tlit|grc|India}} ({{lang|grc|Ἰνδία}}); [[Ancient Greek]] {{tlit|grc|Indos}} ({{lang|grc|Ἰνδός}}), or the River [[Indus]]; Achaemenian [[Old Persian]] {{tlit|peo|[[Hindu]]}} (an eastern province of the [[Achaemenid Empire]]); and [[Sanskrit]] {{tlit|sa|Sindhu}}, or "river," but specifically the Indus river, and by extension its well-settled basin.{{Cite OED|India (n)|3183874375}} The [[Ancient Greeks]] referred to South Asians as {{tlit|grc|Indoi}}, 'the people of the Indus'.{{sfn|Kuiper|2010|p=86}} The term ''[[Names for India#Bharat|Bharat]]'' ({{transliteration|hi|ISO|Bhārat}}; {{IPA|hns|ˈbʱaːɾət|pron|hi-Bharat.ogg}}), mentioned in both [[Indian epic poetry]] and the [[Constitution of India]],{{sfn|Clémentin-Ojha|2014}}{{Citation |title=The Constitution of India |date=1 December 2007 |url=https://lawmin.nic.in/coi/coiason29july08.pdf |access-date=3 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140909230437/https://lawmin.nic.in/coi/coiason29july08.pdf |publisher=[[Ministry of Law and Justice (India)|Ministry of Law and Justice]] |quote=Article 1(1): India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States. |archive-date=9 September 2014}} is used in its variations by [[Names for India|many Indian languages]]. A modern rendering of the historical name {{tlit|sa|Bharatavarsha}}, which applied originally to [[North India]],{{Citation |last=Jha |first=Dwijendra Narayan |title=Rethinking Hindu Identity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dqDgBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 |page=11 |year=2014 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-317-49034-0}}{{sfn|Singh|2017|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dYM4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA253 253]}} ''Bharat'' gained increased currency from the mid-19th century as a native name for India.{{sfn|Clémentin-Ojha|2014}}{{sfn|Barrow|2003}} ''[[Hindustan]]'' ({{IPA|hns|ɦɪndʊˈstaːn||Hindustan.ogg}}) is a [[Middle Persian]] name for India that became popular by the 13th century,{{Cite book |last1=Paturi |first1=Joseph |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oCo5DAAAQBAJ |title=World Religions & Cults Volume 2: Moralistic, Mythical and Mysticism Religions |last2=Patterson |first2=Roger |date=2016 |publisher=New Leaf Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-89051-922-6 |editor-last=Hodge |editor-first=Bodie |location=United States |pages=59–60 |chapter=Hinduism (with Hare Krishna) |quote=The actual term Hindu first occurs as a Persian geographical term for the people who lived beyond the Indus River. The term Hindu originated as a geographical term and did not refer to a religion. Later, Hindu was taken by European languages from the Arabic term al-Hind, which referred to the people who lived across the Indus River. This Arabic term was itself taken from the Persian term Hindū, which refers to all Indians. By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as a popular alternative name for India, meaning the "land of Hindus." |editor-last2=Patterson |editor-first2=Roger}} and was used widely since the era of the [[Mughal Empire]]. The meaning of ''Hindustan'' has varied, referring to a region encompassing the northern [[Indian subcontinent]] (present-day northern India and [[Pakistan]]) or to India in its near entirety.{{sfn|Clémentin-Ojha|2014}}{{sfn|Barrow|2003}}{{Citation |title=Hindustan |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266465/Hindustan |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=17 July 2011 |archive-date=17 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717105344/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266465/Hindustan |url-status=live }} == History == {{Main|History of India}} === Ancient India === [[File:Battle at Lanka, Ramayana, Udaipur, 1649-53.jpg|thumb|right|Manuscript illustration, {{circa|1650}}, of the Sanskrit epic [[Ramayana]], composed in story-telling fashion {{circa|{{BCE|400}}|{{CE|300}}}}{{Cite book |last=Lowe |first=John J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nSgmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA58 |title=Transitive Nouns and Adjectives: Evidence from Early Indo-Aryan |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-19-879357-1 |page=58 |quote=The term 'Epic Sanskrit' refers to the language of the two great Sanskrit epics, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa. ... It is likely, therefore, that the epic-like elements found in Vedic sources and the two epics that we have are not directly related, but that both drew on the same source, an oral tradition of storytelling that existed before, throughout, and after the Vedic period.}}]] [[File:Cave 26, Ajanta.jpg|thumb|right|Cave 26, a [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] shrine, of the rock-cut [[Ajanta Caves]]]] Based on [[Coalescent theory|coalescence]] of [[Mitochondrial DNA]] and [[Y Chromosome]] data, it is thought that the earliest extant [[lineage (evolution)|lineage]]s of anatomically modern humans or ''[[Homo sapiens]]'' on the Indian subcontinent had reached there from Africa between 80,000 and 50,000 years ago, and with high likelihood by 55,000 years ago.{{harvnb|Petraglia|Allchin|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Qm9GfjNlnRwC&pg=PA10 10]}}: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. [...] Coalescence dates for most non-European populations average to between 73 and 55 ka."{{harvnb|Dyson|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 1]}}: "Modern human beings—''Homo sapiens''—originated in Africa. Then, intermittently, sometime between 60,000 and 80,000 years ago, tiny groups of them began to enter the north-west of the Indian subcontinent. It seems likely that initially they came by way of the coast. [...] it is virtually certain that there were ''Homo sapiens'' in the subcontinent 55,000 years ago, even though the earliest fossils that have been found of them date to only about 30,000 years before the present."{{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23 23]}}: "Scholars estimate that the first successful expansion of the ''Homo sapiens'' range beyond Africa and across the Arabian Peninsula occurred from as early as 80,000 years ago to as late as 40,000 years ago, although there may have been prior unsuccessful emigrations. Some of their descendants extended the human range ever further in each generation, spreading into each habitable land they encountered. One human channel was along the warm and productive coastal lands of the Persian Gulf and northern Indian Ocean. Eventually, various bands entered India between 75,000 years ago and 35,000 years ago."{{harvnb|Mattern|2019|pp=146–147}} All non-African human populations share a common ancestry in the recent past, about 80,000 to 50,000 years ago. Some time within this period, a group of modern humans migrated from Africa, traversed southern Asia, and crossed the sea to the ancient continent of Sahul (now Australia, Tasmania, and Papua New Guinea), picking up Neanderthal and Denisovan genes along the way; branches reached Europe somewhat later, and Americas last. This was not the first migration of anatomically modern humans out of Africa. ... But for the most part, earlier populations of humans around Eurasia sputtered out, returned to Africa, or were replaced by humans from the last migration out of Africa. Their long occupation, initially in varying forms of isolation as hunter-gatherers, has made the region highly diverse, second only to Africa in human [[genetic diversity]].{{harvnb|Dyson|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 28]}} However, the earliest known modern human fossils in South Asia date to about 30,000 years ago. Evidence for the [[neolithic period]] in the western margins of the [[Indus River|Indus]] [[river basin]], at [[Mehrgarh]] in [[Balochistan, Pakistan]], dates to after {{BCE|7000}}. Domestication of grain-producing plants (including [[barley]]) and animals (including [[Zebu|humped zebu]] cattle) occurred here. These cultures gradually evolved into the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]], which flourished during {{BCE|2500–1900}} in Pakistan and western India.{{sfn|Wright|2010|pp=45–51}} * {{harvnb|Dyson|2018|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4 4–5]}}. * {{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23 33]}}. Centred around cities such as [[Mohenjo-daro]], [[Harappa]], [[Dholavira]], [[Ganweriwala]], and [[Rakhigarhi]],{{sfn|Wright|2010|p=107}} its characteristic features included standardised weights, [[soapstone|steatite]] [[Indus Valley Civilisation#Seals|seals]], a written script, urban planning, public works, and arts and crafts including pottery styles, terracotta human figures and animal statuettes.{{sfn|Wright|2010|p=107}} Networks of towns and villages grew around the cities in a new [[agriculture|agro]]-[[Animal husbandry|pastoral]] economy.{{sfn|Wright|2010|pp=145–146}} Between {{BCE|1500}} and {{BCE|1200}}, an [[Proto-language|archaic form]] of [[Sanskrit]], an [[Indo-European language]], [[Trans-cultural diffusion|diffused]] into India from the northwest. Its evidence today is found in the [[Rig Veda]]—the oldest [[scripture]] associated with what later became [[Hinduism]]—which was composed by [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]-speaking tribes migrating east from what is today northern [[Afghanistan]] and across the [[Punjab region]].{{cite book |last1=Jamison |first1=Stephanie W. |last2=Brereton |first2=Joel P. |title=The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India |volume=1 |year=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-19-517918-7 |page=5 |url=https://google.com |quote="For the northwest, which comprises the geographic horizon of the R̥gveda, iron began to be manufactured around 1200–1000 bce. The R̥gvedic hymns, therefore, would have to have been composed no later than this period... The R̥gveda is the surface of a very long tradition."}}{{Harvnb|Lowe|2015|p=|pp=1–2}}: "[[Rigveda|It]] consists of 1,028 hymns (''sūktas''), highly crafted poetic compositions originally intended for recital during rituals and for the invocation of and communication with the Indo-Aryan gods. Modern scholarly opinion largely agrees that these hymns were composed between around 1500 BCE and 1200 BCE, during the eastward migration of the Indo-Aryan tribes from the mountains of what is today northern Afghanistan across the Punjab into north India."{{harvnb|Witzel|2003|pp=68–70}}: "The RV text was composed before the introduction and massive use of iron, that is before ca. 1200–1000 BCE." The settling of the [[Ganges river|Ganges]] [[river plain]] took place during the next millennium, when large swathes of the river system's adjoining regions were deforested, at times by setting fires, or later by employing iron implements, and prepared for agriculture. The settlement may have involved driving the preexisting people out or enslaving them.{{sfn|Dyson|2018|pp=16, 25}} The [[Dravidian languages]] of India were supplanted in the north, creating a broad [[language family]]-divide, with the Indo-Aryan languages being spoken mainly in the [[North India|north]] and [[West India|west]], and the Dravidian in some parts of [[east India]] and most of the [[South India|south]]. [[Classical Sanskrit]], a refined and standardised grammatical form would emerge in the mid-1st millennium BCE and was codified in the ''[[Aṣṭādhyāyī]]'' ('Eight chapters') of [[Pāṇini]].{{efn|"All these achievements are dwarfed, though, by the Sanskrit linguistic tradition culminating in the famous grammar by Pāṇini, known as the Aṣṭhādhyāyī. The elegance and comprehensiveness of its architecture have yet to be surpassed by any grammar of any language, and its ingenious methods of stratifying out use and mention, language and metalanguage, and theorem and metatheorem predate key discoveries in western philosophy by millennia."{{cite book |last=Evans |first=Nicholas |author-link=Nicholas Evans (linguist) |title=Dying Words: Endangered languages and what they have to tell us |year=2009 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-631-23305-3 |pages=27– |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kjXnDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA27}}}} The two major Sanskrit epics, the [[Mahābhārata]] and the [[Rāmāyaṇa]], however, were composed in a range of oral storytelling registers called [[Epic Sanskrit]] which was used in northern India between 400 BCE and 300 CE, and roughly contemporary with classical Sanskrit.{{cite book |last=Lowe |first=John J. |title=Transitive Nouns and Adjectives: Evidence from Early Indo-Aryan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nSgmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA58 |year=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-879357-1 |page=58 |quote=The term 'Epic Sanskrit' refers to the language of the two great Sanskrit epics, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa. ... It is likely, therefore, that the epic-like elements found in Vedic sources and the two epics that we have are not directly related, but that both drew on the same source, an oral tradition of storytelling that existed before, throughout, and after the Vedic period.}} A second [[urbanisation]] had taken place in [[South Asia]] by {{BCE|400}}, this time on the Ganges plain. In fortified cities, [[social differentiation]] by [[caste]], or [[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]], had emerged.{{harvnb|Dyson|2018|p=16}} "a widespread process of urbanization ... began to occur in the Ganges basin between about 600 and 400. Thus, by the latter date, there were a number of significant—mostly riverside—cities scattered throughout the basin.... they became the centres for social, economic, political, and religious developments. They were also places of evident social differentiation. Thus, by 400 BCE, the essential structural features of the caste system already existed." By the mid-millennium two new ethical and social systems had arisen: [[History of Jainism|Jainism]] based on the teachings of [[Mahavira]] and [[History of Buddhism in India|Buddhism]] on those of [[the Buddha]]. Both religions stressed non-violence and abjured animal sacrifices conducted in [[Historical Vedic religion#Brahmanism|Brahmanism]],{{efn|the historic religion of the [[Vedas]], and the precursor to [[Hinduism]]}} and birth into a fixed hereditary ''varna''. By living ethically, lay people could rise socially and morally in these religions.{{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 59]}}. Chronicling the life of the Buddha was central to the beginnings of recorded history in India.{{sfn|Stein|2010|pp = 21, 61–62}} The rise of the two religions was a backdrop to the emergence of the first loose-knit geographically extensive power in South Asia, the [[Maurya Empire]]. During the rule of the founder's grandson, [[Ashoka]] (ca. 268–232 BCE), the empire briefly controlled the major urban hubs and arteries of the subcontinent, except in the deep south.{{sfn|Dyson|2018|pp=16–17}}{{efn|The Mauryan economy was helped by the rise of Buddhism and Jainism, creeds that promoted nonviolence, proscribed ostentation, or superfluous sacrifices and rituals, and reduced the costs of economic transactions; by coinage that increased economic accommodation in the region; and by the use of writing, which might have boosted more intricate business dealings.{{sfn|Roy|2012|p=28}}}}{{efn|To promote movement and trade, the Mauryans built roads, most prominently a chiefly winter-time road—the Uttarapath—which connected eastern Afghanistan to their capital [[Patliputra|Pataliputra]], during the time of year when the water levels in the intersecting rivers were low, and they could be easily [[ford (crossing)|forded]].{{sfn|Iori|2023|pp=184,219}}}} The empire's period was notable for creativity in art, architecture, inscriptions, and produced texts,{{sfn|Ludden|2014|pp=28–29}} but also for the declining rights of women in the mainstream [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan speaking]] regions.{{sfn|Dyson|2018|p=19}} Following his [[Kalinga War|conquest of Kalinga]], in which his forces caused immense loss of life, Ashoka adopted [[Buddhism]], subsequently adopting a policy of ''dhamma'' and commissioning numerous [[Edicts of Ashoka|rock and pillar edicts]] throughout the Maurya Empire to promote ethical conduct, non-violence, and social welfare.{{sfn|Stein|2010|p=73}} As the edicts forbade both the killing of wild animals and the destruction of forests, Ashoka is seen by some modern environmental historians as an early embodiment of that ethos.{{cite book|last=Elverskog|first=Johan|title=The Buddha's Footprint: An Environmental History of Asia|location=Philadelphia|publisher = University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-5183-8|year=2020|page=56|quote=The imperial edicts of Asoka echo this commodity view of trees. In Pillar Edict V, Asoka decreed that "forests must not be burned without reason." The Buddhist community took this mandate further by declaring that in order to protect forests from such conflagrations monks were allowed to set counterfires}}{{sfn|Fisher|2018|p=72}} By the 4th and 5th centuries, the [[Gupta Empire]] had created a complex system of administration and taxation in the greater Ganges Plain;{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2016|pp=118,126}} this system became a model for later Indian kingdoms.{{sfn|Robb|2011|pp=68–69}} Under the Guptas, a renewed Hinduism based on devotion, rather than the management of ritual, began to assert itself.{{sfn|Stein|2010|pp = 93–94}} The renewal was reflected in a flowering of art, literature, and science.{{sfn|Gilbert|2017|pp=54–55}}{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2016|pp=122–123}} In South India, the [[Sangam literature]] of the [[Tamil language]] reveals that, between {{BCE|200}} and {{CE|200}}, the southern peninsula was ruled by the [[Chera dynasty|Cheras]] and the [[Chola dynasty|Cholas]], along the western and eastern plains, respectively, of the [[Kaveri river]] valley, and the [[Pandya]]s farther south along the [[Vaigai river]] valley.{{sfn|Stein|2010|p = 98}} By the sixth century, the [[Pallava]]s had grown into a regional power. Simultaneously, Buddhism and Jainism, which had favoured a conservative [[transactionalism]], were replaced by kingly devotion to the gods of particular places, which became a characteristic of the [[Bhakti movement]].{{sfn|Stein|2010|pp = 100–101}} The Pallavas, in particular, [[Indo-Roman trade relations|traded extensively with the Roman Empire]] and with [[Western Asia|West]] and [[Southeast Asia]].{{sfn|Stein|2010|p = 99}} === Medieval India === {{Main|Medieval India}} [[File:Brihadisvara Temple during Maha Shivaratri-WUS03611 (edit).jpg|thumb|right|The [[Brihadisvara Temple]], built by [[Chola Empire|Chola monarch]] [[Rajaraja I]] between 1003 and 1010 CE]] [[File:Close view and art work of Qutb Minar.jpg|thumb|right|Calligraphy on the [[Qutb Minar]], built in the [[Delhi Sultanate]] from 1199 CE to 1220 CE]] The Indian early medieval age, from {{CE|600 to 1200}}, was defined by regional kingdoms and cultural diversity.{{sfn|Stein|2010|p = 116}} No ruler of this period was able to create an empire and consistently control lands much beyond their core region.{{efn|When [[Harsha]] of [[Kannauj]], who ruled much of the Indo-Gangetic Plain from {{CE|606 to 647}}, attempted to expand southwards, he was defeated by the [[Chalukya dynasty|Chalukya]] ruler of the Deccan. When his successor attempted to expand eastwards, he was defeated by the [[Pala Empire|Pala]] king of [[Bengal]]. When the Chalukyas attempted to expand southwards, they were defeated by the [[Pallava dynasty|Pallavas]] from farther south, who in turn were opposed by the [[Pandya dynasty|Pandyas]] and the [[Chola dynasty|Cholas]] from still farther south.{{sfn|Stein|2010|pp = 115–116}}}}{{sfn|Stein|2010|pp = 115–116}} During this time, pastoral peoples, whose land had been cleared to make way for the growing agricultural economy, were accommodated within caste society, as were new non-traditional ruling classes.{{sfn|Stein|2010|pp = 116–117}} The caste system consequently began to show regional differences.{{sfn|Stein|2010|pp = 116–117}} In the 6th and 7th centuries, the first [[Bhakti|devotional hymns]] were composed in Tamil.{{sfn|Stein|2010|p = 118}} They were imitated all over India and led to both the resurgence of Hinduism and the development of all [[Languages of India|modern languages of the subcontinent]].{{sfn|Stein|2010|p = 118}} Indian royalty, big and small, and the temples they patronised drew citizens in significant numbers to the capital cities, which became economic hubs as well.{{sfn|Stein|2010|pp = 118–119}} Temple towns of various sizes began to appear everywhere as India underwent another urbanisation.{{sfn|Stein|2010|pp = 118–119}} By the 8th and 9th centuries, the effects were felt in Southeast Asia, as South Indian culture and political systems were exported to lands that became part of modern-day [[Myanmar]], [[Thailand]], [[Laos]], [[Brunei]], [[Cambodia]], [[Vietnam]], [[Philippines]], [[Malaysia]], and [[Indonesia]].{{sfn|Stein|2010|pp = 121–123}} Indian merchants, scholars, and sometimes armies were involved in this transmission; Southeast Asians took the initiative as well, with many sojourning in Indian seminaries and translating Buddhist and Hindu texts into their languages.{{sfn|Stein|2010|pp = 121–123}} After the 10th century, Muslim Central Asian nomadic clans, using [[courser (horse)|swift-horse]] cavalry and raising vast armies united by ethnicity, repeatedly overran South Asia's north-western plains,{{efn|Central Asian warriors became supreme during South Asia's medieval transition by deploying swift-horse cavalry skilled in firing arrows at full gallop, volley after volley.{{sfn|Ludden|2014|p=87}}}} leading eventually to the establishment of the Islamic [[Delhi Sultanate]] in 1206.{{sfn|Ludden|2014|p = 85}} The sultanate was to control much of North India and to make many forays into South India. Although at first disruptive for the Indian elites, the sultanate largely left its vast non-Muslim subject population to its own laws and customs.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2022|p = 54}}{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|p = 41}} By repeatedly repulsing [[Mongol Empire|Mongol raiders]] in the 13th century, the sultanate saved India from the devastation visited on West and Central Asia,{{sfn|Ludden|2014|p = 85}} setting the scene for centuries of [[Human migration|migration]] of fleeing soldiers, learned men, mystics, traders, artists, and artisans from that region into the subcontinent, thereby creating a syncretic Indo-Islamic culture in the north.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2022|pp = 58–59}} The sultanate's raiding and weakening of the regional kingdoms of South India paved the way for the indigenous [[Vijayanagara Empire]].{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2022|p = 62}} Embracing a strong [[Shaivism|Shaivite]] tradition and building upon the military technology of the sultanate, the empire came to control a large portion of peninsular India,{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|p = 47}} and was to influence South Indian society for long afterwards.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2022|p = 62}} === Early modern India === [[File:Shaikh Salim Chishti Ka Maqbara.jpg|The ''[[dargah]]'' of [[Sufi]] [[Salim Chisti]], built by [[Mughal Empire|Mughal emperor]], [[Akbar]], early 17th century|thumb|right]] [[File:India 1835 2 Mohurs.jpg|An [[Company rule in India|East India Company rule]] gold [[mohur]], issued during the reign of [[William IV|William IIII]]|thumb|right]] In the early 16th century, northern India—then mainly under Muslim rulers,{{sfn|Robb|2011|pp = 97–98}}—fell again to the superior mobility and firepower of a new generation of Central Asian warriors.{{sfn|Stein|2010|p = 159}} The resulting [[Mughal Empire]] did not stamp out the local societies it came to rule. Instead, it balanced and pacified them through new administrative practices{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2022|p = 136}}{{sfn|Robb|2011|pp = 108–109}} and diverse and inclusive ruling elites.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|p = 15}} This led to more systematic, centralised, and uniform rule.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2022|pp = 136, 151–152}} By departing from tribal bonds and exclusive Islamic identity, particularly under Akbar, the Mughals united their vast empire through personal loyalty to a near-divine emperor.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|p = 17}} It was expressed through a shared Persianised culture.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|p = 17}} The Mughal state derived most revenue from agriculture.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2022|p = 195}} Its economic policies mandated tax payments in a well-regulated silver currency,{{sfn|Stein|2010|pp = 164}} and integrated peasants and artisans into larger markets.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2022|p = 187}} The relative peace maintained by the empire across much of the 17th century was a factor in India's economic expansion.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2022|p = 187}} Mughal ruling classes fostered extensive patronage of the arts, including [[Mughal painting|painting]], literary forms, textiles, and [[Mughal architecture|architecture]].{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2022|p = 231}} Newly coherent social groups in northern and western India, such as the [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]], the [[Rajput]]s, and the [[Sikh Empire|Sikhs]], gained governing ambitions during Mughal rule.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|pp = 58–59}} Through collaboration or adversity, the Mughals gave them recognition and military experience.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|pp = 58–59}} Expanding commerce gave rise to new Indian commercial and political elites along the coasts of southern and eastern India.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|pp = 58–59}} From the late 17th century, the Mughal empire gradually began to disintegrate, and these local elites and communities frequently gained greater autonomy and self-governance.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2022|p = 330}} By the early 18th century, the lines between commercial enterprise and political sovereignty had become increasingly blurred.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2022|p = 331–335}} European chartered companies solidified their presence in India through fortified coastal outposts; most notable was the [[East India Company|English East India Company]].{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2022|p = 331–335}}{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|pp = 78–82}} Its control of the seas, greater resources, and more advanced military training and technology led it to assert its military strength increasingly and caused it to become attractive to a portion of the Indian elite; these factors were crucial in allowing the company to gain control over the [[Bengal]] region by 1765 and sideline the other European companies.{{sfn|Robb|2011|pp = 115–117}}{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2022|p = 365}}{{sfn|Ludden|2014|pp = 151–154}}{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|pp = 85–90}} Its further access to the riches of Bengal and the subsequent increased strength and size of its army enabled it to annexe or subdue most of India by the 1820s.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|pp = 103–110}} India no longer exported manufactured goods as it had long, but instead supplied the [[British Empire]] with raw materials. Many historians consider this to be the onset of India's colonial period.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2022|p = 368}} By this time, with its economic power severely curtailed by the British Parliament and having effectively been made an arm of British administration, the East India Company began more consciously to enter non-economic arenas, including education, social reform, and culture.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2022|p = 369}} === Modern India === {{Main|History of India (1947–present)}} [[File:Mahatma Gandhi leaves Presidency Jail in Calcutta.jpg|Mahatma Gandhi after a visit to the Presidency Jail, [[Calcutta]], April 1938|thumb|right]] [[File:Palace of Assembly Chandigarh 2006.jpg|thumb|The [[Chandigarh Capitol Complex|Capitol Complex]] in [[Chandigarh]], commissioned after India's [[Partition of India|1947 partition]]]] The appointment in 1848 of [[James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie|Lord Dalhousie]] as Governor General of the East India Company set the stage for changes essential to a modern state: the consolidation and demarcation of sovereignty, the surveillance of the population, and the education of citizens. Technological changes—among them, railways, canals, and the telegraph—were introduced not long after their introduction in [[Europe]].{{sfn|Robb|2011|pp = 169–171}}{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 94–99}}{{sfn|Brown|1994|p = 83}}{{sfn|Peers|2006|p = 50}} Disaffection with the company also grew during this time, culminating in the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]]. Fed by diverse resentments and perceptions, including invasive British-style social reforms, harsh land taxes, and summary treatment of some wealthy landowners and princes, the rebellion rocked many regions of northern and central India and shook the foundations of Company rule.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 100–103}}{{sfn|Brown|1994|pp = 85–86}} After the rebellion was suppressed in 1858, the East India Company was disbanded, and the British government began to [[British Raj|directly administer India]]. Proclaiming a [[unitary state]] and a gradual but limited British-style parliamentary system,{{sfn|Stein|2010|p = 227}} the new rulers also protected princes and landed gentry as a feudal safeguard against future unrest.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 103–108}} In the decades following, public life gradually emerged across India, eventually leading to the founding of the [[Indian National Congress]] in 1885.{{sfn|Robb|2001|p = 183}}{{sfn|Sarkar|1983|pp = 1–4}}{{sfn|Copland|2001|pp = ix–x}}{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 123}} The rush of technology and the commercialisation of agriculture during the second half of the 19th century was marked by economic setbacks, and many small farmers became dependent on the whims of faraway markets.{{sfn|Stein|2010|p = 249}} There was an increase in the number of large-scale [[Famine in India|famines]],{{sfn|Stein|2010|p=245|ps=: An expansion of state functions in British and in princely India occurred as a result of the terrible famines of the later nineteenth century, ... A reluctant regime decided that state resources had to be deployed and that anti-famine measures were best managed through technical experts.}} and, despite the risks of infrastructure development borne by Indian taxpayers, little industrial employment was generated for Indians.{{sfn|Stein|2010|pp = 247–248}} However, commercial cropping, especially in the newly canalled Punjab, led to increased food production for internal consumption.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 126}} The railway network provided critical famine relief,{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 97}} notably reduced the cost of moving goods,{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 97}} and helped nascent Indian-owned industry.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 126}} After [[World War I]], in which more than [[Indian Army during World War I|1.3 million Indians served]],{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 163}} a new period began. It was marked by [[Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms|British reforms]] but also [[Rowlatt act|repressive legislation]], by more strident Indian calls for self-rule, and by the beginnings of a [[nonviolent]] movement of non-co-operation led by [[Mahatma Gandhi]].{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 167}} During the 1930s, the British enacted slow legislative reform; the Indian National Congress won victories in the resulting elections.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 195–197}} The next decade was beset with crises: [[India in World War II|Indian participation in World War II]], the Congress's final push for non-co-operation, and an upsurge of [[Muslim nationalism in South Asia|Muslim nationalism]]. All were capped by the advent of independence in 1947, but tempered by the [[partition of India]] into two states: India and Pakistan.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 203}} India's constitution was adopted in 1950 and established a secular, democratic republic.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 231}} Economic liberalisation has created a large urban middle class and transformed India into a [[List of countries by GDP (real) growth rate|fast growing economy]].{{cite book | last1 = Javalgi| first1 = Rajshekhar (Raj) G. | last2 = Grossman| first2 = David A.| chapter = 7 Understanding the Characteristics and Entrepreneurial Activities of Middle-Class Consumers in Emerging Markets: The Case of India| title = The Middle Class in Emerging Societies: Consumers, Lifestyles and Markets| editor1-last= Marsh| editor1-first= Leslie L.| editor2-last= Li| editor2-first= Hongmei| publisher = Routledge| series = Routledge Research in Cultural and Media Studies Series|year = 2016 | isbn = 978-1-138-85882-4|doi=10.4324/978135717692-10| doi-broken-date = 19 July 2026 |quote = Between now and 2039, India is projected to add over 1 billion people to the global middle class creating the world's fifth-largest consumer market (Dobbs). ... India's middle class saw its largest growth during the early 1990s when economic reforms led to integration into global markets. As Western countries were experiencing economic contraction, India's economy continued to grow above 5 percent.}} However, India has been hamstrung by persistent poverty, both rural and urban;{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006 |pp=265–266}} [[Religious violence in India|religious]]- and [[Caste-related violence in India|caste-related violence]];{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 266–270}} [[Naxalite–Maoist insurgency|Maoist-inspired Naxalite insurgencies]];{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 253}} and [[Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir|separatism in Jammu and Kashmir]] and [[insurgency in Northeast India|in Northeast India]].{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 274}} India has unresolved territorial disputes with [[China–India relations#1960s|China]] and with [[Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts|Pakistan]].{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 247–248}} == Geography == {{See also|Geography of India}} India accounts for the bulk of the Indian subcontinent, lying atop the [[Indian Plate|Indian tectonic plate]], and a part of the [[Indo-Australian Plate]].{{sfn|Ali|Aitchison|2005}} India's defining geologic processes began approximately 70 million years ago, when the Indian Plate, then part of the southern supercontinent [[Gondwana]], began a north-eastward [[Plate tectonics|drift]] caused by [[seafloor spreading]] to its south-west, and later, south and south-east.{{sfn|Ali|Aitchison|2005}} Simultaneously, the vast [[Tethys Ocean|Tethyan]] [[oceanic crust]], to its northeast, began to [[subduction|subduct]] under the [[Eurasian Plate]].{{sfn|Ali|Aitchison|2005}} The [[Indian plate|Indian continental crust]], however, was obstructed and was sheared horizontally. Its lower crust and mantle slid under, but the upper layer piled up in sheets (or [[nappe]]s) ahead of the subduction zone.{{sfn|Molnar|2015|p=117}} This created the [[orogeny]], or process of mountain building, of the Himalayas.{{sfn|Molnar|2015|p=118}} The middle and stiffer layer continued to push into Tibet, causing [[Thrust tectonics|crustal thickening]] of the [[Tibetan Plateau]].{{sfn|Molnar|2015|p=128}} Immediately south of the emerging Himalayas, plate movement created a vast crescent-shaped [[trough (geology)|trough]] that rapidly filled with river-borne sediment{{sfn|Dikshit|Schwartzberg|2023|p=7}} and now constitutes the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]].{{sfn|Prakash et al.|2000}} The original Indian plate makes its first appearance above the sediment in the ancient [[Aravalli range]], which extends from the [[Delhi Ridge]] in a southwesterly direction. To the west lies the [[Thar Desert]], the eastern spread of which is checked by the Aravallis.{{harvnb|Kaul|1970|p=160}}, " The Aravalli range boldy defines the eastern limit of the arid and semi-arid zone. Probably the more humid conditions that prevail near the Aravallis prevented the extension of aridity towards the east and the Ganges Valley. It is noteworthy that, wherever there are gaps in this range, sand has advanced to the east of it."{{harvnb|Prasad|1974|p=372}}, " The topography of the Indian Desert is dominated by the Aravalli Ranges on its eastern border, which consist largely of tightly folded and highly metamorphosed Archaean rocks."{{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=83}}, " East of the lower Indus lay the inhospitable Rann of Kutch and Thar Desert. East of the upper Indus lay the more promising but narrow corridor between the Himalayan foothills on the north and the Thar Desert and Aravalli Mountains on the south. At the strategic choke point, just before reaching the fertile, well-watered Gangetic plain, sat Delhi. On this site, where life giving streams running off the most northern spur of the rocky Aravalli ridge flowed into the Jumna river, and where the war-horse and war-elephant trade intersected, a series of dynasties built fortified capitals." The remaining Indian Plate survives as [[South India|peninsular India]], the oldest and geologically most stable part of India. It extends as far north as the [[Satpura Range|Satpura]] and [[Vindhya Range|Vindhya]] ranges in central India. These parallel chains run from the Arabian Sea coast in Gujarat in the west to the coal-rich [[Chota Nagpur Plateau]] in Jharkhand in the east.{{sfn|Dikshit |Schwartzberg|2023|p=8}} To the south, the remaining peninsular landmass, the [[Deccan Plateau]], is flanked on the west and east by coastal ranges known as the [[Western Ghats|Western]] and [[Eastern Ghats]];{{sfn|Dikshit |Schwartzberg|2023|pp=9–10}} the plateau contains the country's oldest rock formations, some over one billion years old. Constituted in such fashion, India lies to the north of the equator between 6° 44′ and 35° 30′ north latitude{{efn|The northernmost point under Indian control is the disputed [[Siachen Glacier]] in [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]]; however, the [[Government of India]] regards the entire region of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, including [[Gilgit-Baltistan]] administered by Pakistan, to be its territory. It therefore assigns the latitude 37° 6′ to its northernmost point.}} and 68° 7′ and 97° 25′ east longitude.{{sfn|Ministry of Information and Broadcasting|2007|p = 1}} Major Himalayan-origin rivers that substantially flow through India include the [[Ganges]] and the [[Brahmaputra River|Brahmaputra]], both of which drain into the [[Bay of Bengal]].{{sfn|Dikshit|Schwartzberg|2023|p=15}} Important tributaries of the Ganges include the [[Yamuna]] and the [[Kosi River|Kosi]]. The Kosi's extremely low gradient, caused by long-term silt deposition, leads to severe floods and course changes.{{sfn|Duff|1993|p = 353}}{{sfn|Basu|Xavier|2017|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=nXmLDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA78 78]}} Major peninsular rivers, whose steeper gradients prevent their waters from flooding, include the [[Godavari River|Godavari]], the [[Mahanadi River|Mahanadi]], the [[Kaveri River|Kaveri]], and the [[Krishna River|Krishna]], which also drain into the Bay of Bengal;{{sfn|Dikshit|Schwartzberg|2023|p=16}} and the [[Narmada River|Narmada]] and the [[Tapti River|Tapti]], which drain into the [[Arabian Sea]].{{sfn|Dikshit|Schwartzberg|2023|p=17}} India's coastline measures {{Convert|7517|km|mi|-2}} in length; of this distance, {{Convert|5423|km|mi|-2}} belong to peninsular India and {{Convert|2094|km|mi|-2}} to the Andaman, Nicobar, and Lakshadweep island chains.{{sfn|Kumar|Pathak|Pednekar|Raju|2006}} According to the Indian naval hydrographic charts, the [[Coastal India|mainland coastline]] consists of the following: 43% sandy beaches; 11% rocky shores, including cliffs; and 46% [[mudflat]]s or marshy shores.{{sfn|Kumar|Pathak|Pednekar|Raju|2006}} Coastal features include the marshy [[Rann of Kutch]] of western India and the alluvial [[Sundarbans]] delta of eastern India; the latter is shared with Bangladesh.{{sfn|Dikshit|Schwartzberg|2023|p=12}} India has two [[archipelago]]s: the [[Lakshadweep]] [[Atoll|coral atolls]] off India's south-western coast; and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a volcanic chain in the [[Andaman Sea]].{{sfn|Dikshit|Schwartzberg|2023|p=13}} India has [[States and union territories of India|28 states and 8 union territories]]. {{Main|Geography of India|Himalayas}} File:Panorama of Himalayas from Ranikhet, Uttarakhand, India.jpg|A panoramic view of the Garhwal and Kumaon Himalayas. Peaks rising above their surroundings are, among others, [[Trisul]], [[Nanda Devi]], the highest peak entirely within India's borders, and [[Nanda Kot]]. The [[Tibetan Plateau]] lies behind these mountains, as does the part of the [[Indus-Yarlung suture zone]], the contour along which the [[Indian Plate]] has welded to the [[Eurasian plate]]. [[Mount Kailash]] and [[Lake Manasarovar]] in the [[Transhimalaya|Tibet Trans-Himalaya]]—sacred in Hindu and Buddhist mythology—lie immediately behind to the right. The [[Indus]] and [[Yarlung Tsangpo]] (the upper [[Brahmaputra]] river), which mark the western and eastern limits of the Himalaya range, rise near the lake. File:Tungabhadra River and Coracle Boats.JPG|The [[Tungabhadra River|Tungabhadra]], with rocky outcrops, flows into the peninsular [[Krishna River]].{{sfn|Mcgrail|Blue|Kentley|Palmer|2003|p=257}} File:Ganges Delta ESA22274217.jpeg|The [[Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta]] in a [[Sentinel-3B]] image. The [[Ganges]] to the left, the Brahmaputra to the right. File:Havelock Island, Mangrove tree on the beach, Andaman Islands.jpg|A [[mangrove]] tree on a beach on [[Havelock Island]], the [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]] === Climate === {{Main|Climate of India}} The Indian climate is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar Desert, both of which drive the economically and culturally pivotal summer and winter [[monsoon]]s.{{sfn|Chang|1967|pp = 391–394}} The Himalayas prevent cold Central Asian [[katabatic wind]]s from blowing in, keeping the bulk of the Indian subcontinent warmer than most locations at similar latitudes.{{sfn|Posey|1994|p = 118}}{{sfn|Wolpert|2003|p = 4}} The Thar Desert plays a crucial role in attracting the moisture-laden south-west summer monsoon winds that, between June and October, provide the majority of India's rainfall.{{sfn|Chang|1967|pp = 391–394}} Four major climatic groupings predominate in India: [[Climate of India#Tropical wet|tropical wet]], [[Climate of India#Arid and semi-arid regions|tropical dry]], [[Climate of India#Subtropical humid|subtropical humid]], and [[Climate of India#Mountain|montane]].{{sfn|Heitzman|Worden|1996|p=97}} Temperatures in India have risen by {{convert|0.7|C-change|1|abbr=on}} between 1901 and 2018.{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Vibha |date=15 June 2020 |title=Average temperature over India projected to rise by 4.4 degrees Celsius: Govt report on impact of climate change in country |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/average-temperature-over-india-projected-to-rise-by-4-4-degrees-celsius-govt-report-on-impact-of-climate-change-in-country-99583 |access-date=30 November 2020 |website=[[The Tribune]] |archive-date=21 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921173504/https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/average-temperature-over-india-projected-to-rise-by-4-4-degrees-celsius-govt-report-on-impact-of-climate-change-in-country-99583 |url-status=live }} [[Climate change in India]] is often thought to be the cause. The [[Retreat of glaciers since 1850|retreat of Himalayan glaciers]] has adversely affected the [[Volumetric flow rate|flow rate]] of the major Himalayan rivers, including the [[Ganges]] and the [[Brahmaputra]].{{Cite web |last=Sethi |first=Nitin |date=3 February 2007 |title=Global warming: Mumbai to face the heat |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/global-warming-mumbai-to-face-the-heat/articleshow/1556662.cms |access-date=11 March 2021 |website=[[The Times of India]] |archive-date=23 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023235353/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2007-02-03/india/27877261_1_climate-change-global-warming-gdp-growth |url-status=live }} According to some current projections, the number and severity of droughts in India will have markedly increased by the end of the present century.{{Cite journal |last1=Gupta |first1=Vivek |last2=Jain |first2=Manoj Kumar |year=2018 |title=Investigation of multi-model spatiotemporal mesoscale drought projections over India under climate change scenario |journal=[[Journal of Hydrology]] |volume=567 |pages=489–509 |bibcode=2018JHyd..567..489G |doi=10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.10.012 }} File:Coral Tree Monsoon Mallalli Falls Hassan Jun24 A7CR 01575.jpg|[[Indian coral tree]] in bloom in the mist of the [[Southwest Monsoon]], [[Mallalli Falls]], [[Hassan, Karnataka|Hassan]], Karnataka File:Dromedary in Thar desert.jpg|A [[dromedary]] in the [[Thar Desert]] File:Baspa Valley at Sangla, Himachal Pradesh, India.jpg|New snow in [[Baspa Valley]], [[Sangla, India|Sangla]], [[Himachal Pradesh]] === Biodiversity === {{Main|Forestry in India|Wildlife of India}} India is a [[megadiverse country]], a term employed for 17 countries that host high [[biological diversity]] and contain many species [[indigenous (ecology)|indigenous]], or [[endemic]], to them.{{Citation |title=Megadiverse Countries |url=https://www.biodiversitya-z.org/content/megadiverse-countries |access-date=17 October 2021 |publisher=Biodiversity A–Z, [[World Conservation Monitoring Centre|UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre]] |archive-date=3 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903011526/http://www.biodiversitya-z.org/areas/26 |url-status=live }} India is the [[habitat]] for 8.6% of all [[mammal]]s, 13.7% of [[bird]] species, 7.9% of [[reptile]] species, 6% of [[amphibian]] species, 12.2% of [[fish]] species, and 6.0% of all [[flowering plant]] species.{{Cite web |year=2012 |title=Animal Discoveries 2011: New Species and New Records |url=https://zsi.gov.in/right_menu/Animal_disc/Animal%20Discovery%202011.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116214754/https://zsi.gov.in/right_menu/Animal_disc/Animal%20Discovery%202011.pdf |archive-date=16 January 2013 |access-date=20 July 2012 |publisher=[[Zoological Survey of India]]}}{{Citation |last=Puri |first=S. K. |title=Biodiversity Profile of India |url=https://ces.iisc.ernet.in/hpg/cesmg/indiabio.html |work=ces.iisc.ernet.in |access-date=20 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111121153614/https://ces.iisc.ernet.in/hpg/cesmg/indiabio.html |archive-date=21 November 2011}} Fully a third of Indian plant species are endemic.{{sfn|Basak|1983|p = 24}} India also overlaps four of the world's 34 [[biodiversity hotspot]]s,{{Citation |title=India |url=https://www.iucn.org/asia/countries/india |year=2019 |access-date=21 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101033802/https://www.iucn.org/asia/countries/india |publisher=[[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN) |archive-date=1 November 2020}} or regions that display significant habitat loss in the presence of high endemism.{{efn|A biodiversity hotspot is a [[biogeography|biogeographical]] region which has more than 1,500 [[vascular plant]] species, but less than 30% of its primary habitat.}}{{Citation |last1=Venkataraman |first1=Krishnamoorthy |title=Indian Hotspots: Vertebrate Faunal Diversity, Conservation and Management |page=5 |year=2018 |editor-last=Sivaperuman, Chandrakasan |chapter=Biodiversity Hotspots in India |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8kFKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 |publisher=[[Springer Publishing|Springer]] |isbn=978-981-10-6605-4 |last2=Sivaperuman |first2=Chandrakasan |editor2-last=Venkataraman, Krishnamoorthy}} India's most dense forests, such as the [[tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest|tropical moist forest]] of the [[Andaman Islands]], the [[Western Ghats]], and [[Northeast India]], occupy approximately 3% of its land area.{{Citation |last=Jha |first=Raghbendra |title=Facets of India's Economy and Her Society Volume II: Current State and Future Prospects |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9n9SDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA198 |page=198 |year=2018 |publisher=[[Springer Publishing|Springer]] |isbn=978-1-349-95342-4}}{{Cite web |title=Forest Cover in States/UTs in India in 2019 |url=https://www.frienvis.nic.in/Database/Forest-Cover-in-States-UTs-2019_2478.aspx |access-date=16 October 2021 |publisher=[[Forest Research Institute (India)|Forest Research Institute]] via [[National Informatics Centre]] |archive-date=19 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019155758/http://www.frienvis.nic.in/Database/Forest-Cover-in-States-UTs-2019_2478.aspx |url-status=live }} ''Moderately dense forest'', whose canopy density is between 40% and 70%, occupies 9.39% of India's land area. It predominates in the [[temperate coniferous forest]] of the [[Himalaya]]s, the moist deciduous ''[[Shorea robusta|sal]]'' forest of eastern India, and the dry deciduous [[teak]] forest of central and southern India.{{sfn|Tritsch|2001|pp=11–12}} India has two natural zones of [[deserts and xeric shrublands|thorn forest]], one in the [[Deccan Plateau]], immediately east of the Western Ghats, and the other in the western part of the Indo-Gangetic plain, now turned into rich agricultural land by irrigation, its features no longer visible.{{sfnq|Tritsch|2001|p=12|q=India has two natural zones of thorn forest, one in the rain shadow area of the Deccan Plateau east of the Western Ghats, and the other in the western part of the Indo-Gangetic plain. Growth is limited only by moisture availability in these areas, so with irrigation the fertile alluvial soil of Punjab and Haryana has been turned into India's prime agricultural area. Much of the thorn forest covering the plains probably had savannah-like features now no longer visible.}} Among the Indian subcontinent's notable indigenous trees are the [[astringent]] ''[[Azadirachta indica]]'', or ''neem'', which is widely used in rural Indian [[herbal medicine]],{{Citation |last=Goyal |first=Anupam |title=The WTO and International Environmental Law: Towards Conciliation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UTGQAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA295 |page=295 |year=2006 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-567710-2}} Quote: "The Indian government successfully argued that the medicinal ''neem'' tree is part of traditional Indian knowledge. (page 295)" and the luxuriant ''[[Ficus religiosa]]'', or ''peepul'',{{Citation |last=Hughes |first=Julie E. |title=Animal Kingdoms |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RL8qWNmpkc0C&pg=PT106 |page=106 |year=2013 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |isbn=978-0-674-07480-4 |quote=At same time, the leafy pipal trees and comparative abundance that marked the Mewari landscape fostered refinements unattainable in other lands.}} which is displayed on the ancient seals of [[Mohenjo-daro]],{{Citation |last=Ameri |first=Marta |title=Seals and Sealing in the Ancient World: Case Studies from the Near East, Egypt, the Aegean, and South Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SklVDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA156 |pages=156–157 |year=2018 |editor-last=Ameri |editor-first=Marta |chapter=Letting the Pictures Speak: An Image-Based Approach to the Mythological and Narrative Imagery of the Harappan World |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-108-17351-3 |editor2-last=Costello |editor2-first=Sarah Kielt |editor3-last=Jamison |editor3-first=Gregg |editor4-last=Scott |editor4-first=Sarah Jarmer}} Quote: "The last of the centaurs has the long, wavy, horizontal horns of a markhor, a human face, a heavy-set body that appears bovine, and a goat tail ... This figure is often depicted by itself, but it is also consistently represented in scenes that seem to reflect the adoration of a figure in a pipal tree or arbour and which may be termed ritual. These include fully detailed scenes like that visible in the large 'divine adoration' seal from Mohenjo-daro." and under which [[Gautama Buddha|the Buddha]] is recorded in the [[Pāli Canon|Pali canon]] to have sought enlightenment.{{Citation |last=Paul Gwynne |title=World Religions in Practice: A Comparative Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tdsRKc_knZoC&pg=RA5-PT195 |page=358 |year=2011 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |isbn=978-1-4443-6005-9 |quote=The tree under which Sakyamuni became the Buddha is a peepal tree (''[[Ficus religiosa]]'').}} Many Indian species have descended from those of [[Gondwana]], the southern [[supercontinent]] from which India separated more than 100 million years ago.{{sfn|Crame|Owen|2002|p = 142}} India's subsequent collision with Eurasia set off a mass exchange of species. However, [[Deccan Traps|volcanism]] and [[Climate variability and change|climatic changes]] later caused the extinction of many endemic Indian forms.{{sfn|Karanth|2006}} Still later, mammals entered India from Asia through two [[Zoogeography|zoogeographic]] passes flanking the Himalayas.{{sfn|Tritsch|2001|p=14}} This lowered endemism among India's mammals, which stands at 12.6%, contrasting with 45.8% among reptiles and 55.8% among amphibians. Among endemics are the vulnerable{{cite iucn |author=Singh, M. |author2=Kumar, A. |author3=Molur, S. |year=2008 |title=''Semnopithecus johnii'' |volume=2008 |article-number=e.T44694A10927987 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T44694A10927987.en |access-date=26 April 2025}} [[Nilgiri Langur|hooded leaf monkey]]{{Cite web |last=Fischer |first=Johann |author-link=Johann Baptist Fischer |title=Semnopithecus johnii |url=https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=944270#null |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829072131/https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=944270#null |archive-date=29 August 2018 |access-date=27 August 2018 |publisher=[[ITIS]]}} and the threatened [[Duttaphrynus beddomii|Beddome's toad]]{{cite iucn |author=Biju, S.D. |author2=Dutta, S. |author3=Ravichandran, M.S. |author4=Vasudevan, K. |author5=Vijayakumar, S.P. |author6=Srinivasulu, C. |author7=Dasaramji Buddhe, G. |year=2004 |errata=2016 |title=''Duttaphrynus beddomii'' |volume=2004 |article-number=e.T54584A86543952 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T54584A11155448.en |access-date=26 April 2025}}{{Cite web |last=Frost, Darrel R. |year=2015 |title=''Duttaphrynus beddomii'' (Günther, 1876) |url=https://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Anura/Bufonidae/Duttaphrynus/Duttaphrynus-beddomii |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721092639/https://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Anura/Bufonidae/Duttaphrynus/Duttaphrynus-beddomii |archive-date=21 July 2015 |access-date=13 September 2015 |website=Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0 |publisher=[[American Museum of Natural History]]}} of the Western Ghats. India contains 172 [[World Conservation Union|IUCN]]-designated [[List of endangered animals in India|threatened animal species]], or 2.9% of endangered forms.{{sfn|IUCN|1994|p = xli}} These include the endangered [[Bengal tiger]] and the [[South Asian river dolphin|Ganges river dolphin]]. [[Critically endangered]] species include the [[gharial]], a [[crocodilian]]; the [[great Indian bustard]]; and the [[White-rumped vulture|Indian white-rumped vulture]], which has become nearly extinct by having ingested the carrion of [[diclofenac]]-treated cattle.{{Citation |last1=Lovette |first1=Irby J. |title=Handbook of Bird Biology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OGyQDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA599 |page=599 |year=2016 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |isbn=978-1-118-29105-4 |last2=Fitzpatrick |first2=John W.}} Before they were extensively used for agriculture and cleared for human settlement, the thorn forests of Punjab were mingled at intervals with open grasslands that were grazed by large herds of [[Blackbuck Conservation Area|blackbuck]] preyed on by the [[Asiatic cheetah]]; the blackbuck, no longer extant in Punjab, is now severely endangered in India, and the cheetah is extinct.{{sfnq|Tritsch|2001|p=15|q=Before it was so heavily settled and intensively exploited, the Punjab was dominated by thorn forest interspersed by rolling grasslands which were grazed on by millions of Blackbuck, accompanied by their dominant predator, the Cheetah. Always keen hunters, the Moghul princes kept tame cheetahs which were used to chase and bring down the Blackbuck. Today the Cheetah is extinct in India and the severely endangered Blackbuck no longer exists in the Punjab.}} The pervasive and ecologically devastating human encroachment of recent decades has critically endangered Indian wildlife. In response, the system of [[National parks of India|national parks]] and [[protected areas of India|protected areas]], first established in 1935, was expanded substantially. In 1972, India enacted the [[Wildlife Protection Act of 1972|Wildlife Protection Act]]{{sfn|Ministry of Environment and Forests 1972}} and [[Project Tiger]] to safeguard crucial wilderness; the Forest Conservation Act was enacted in 1980 and amendments added in 1988.{{sfn|Department of Environment and Forests|1988}} India hosts [[Wildlife sanctuaries of India|more than five hundred wildlife sanctuaries]] and [[Biosphere reserves of India|eighteen{{Nbsp}}biosphere reserves]],{{Cite web |title=Biosphere |url=https://moef.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/biosphere.pdf |access-date=28 June 2023 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326030821/http://moef.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/biosphere.pdf |url-status=live }} four of which are part of the [[World Network of Biosphere Reserves]]; its [[List of Ramsar sites in India|eighty-nine wetlands]] are registered under the [[Ramsar Convention]].{{cite web |title=Annotated List of Wetlands of International Importance {{!}} India |url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/sites/default/files/rsiswp_search/exports/Ramsar-Sites-annotated-summary-India.pdf |website=rsis.ramsar.org |publisher=Ramsar Sites Information Service |access-date=16 April 2025 |archive-date=3 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250703084811/https://rsis.ramsar.org/sites/default/files/rsiswp_search/exports/Ramsar-Sites-annotated-summary-India.pdf |url-status=live }} File:Attacus taprobanis-Kadavoor-2018-07-07-001.jpg|An ''[[Attacus taprobanis]]'' moth from [[Kadavoor]], [[Kerala]] File:Bengal tiger in Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve December 2024 by Tisha Mukherjee 11.jpg|India has the majority of the world's wild [[tiger]]s, approximately 3,170 in 2022.{{Citation |title=Reviving the Roar: India's Tiger Population Is On the Rise |date=13 April 2023 |url=https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/india-tiger-population-good-news |access-date=15 April 2023 |archive-date=15 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415102930/https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/india-tiger-population-good-news |url-status=live }} File:003 Purple sunbird in Jim Corbett National Park Photo by Giles Laurent.jpg|A [[purple sunbird]] perched on an [[Indian coral tree]], [[Jim Corbett National Park]], [[Uttarakhand]] File:Crested hawk-eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus cirrhatus) with Indian garden lizard.jpg|A [[Crested hawk-eagle]] with an Indian [[garden lizard]] in [[Satpura National Park]], Madhya Pradesh File:Saltwater crocodile in Sundarbans National Park November 2024 by Tisha Mukherjee 03.jpg|[[Saltwater crocodile]] in [[Sundarbans National Park]], [[West Bengal]] == Government and politics == === Politics === {{Main|Politics of India}} {{See also|Democracy in India}} India is a [[parliamentary republic]] with a [[multi-party system]].{{sfn|Burnell|Calvert|1999|p = 125}} There are six{{Nbsp}}recognised [[List of political parties in India#National parties|national parties]] in the country, including the [[Indian National Congress]] (generally, "the Congress") and the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP); there are over 50{{Nbsp}}[[List of political parties in India#State parties|regional parties]].{{sfn|Election Commission of India}} The Congress is considered the [[Centrism|ideological centre]] in Indian [[political culture]];{{Cite journal |last1=Sáez |first1=Lawrence |last2=Sinha |first2=Aseema |year=2010 |title=Political cycles, political institutions and public expenditure in India, 1980–2000 |journal=[[British Journal of Political Science]] |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=91–113 |doi=10.1017/s0007123409990226 }} the BJP is [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]] to [[Far-right politics|far-right]]. Following independence on August 15, 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru served as prime minister of the [[Dominion of India]], remaining caretaker until 1951, shortly after India became a republic in 1950. Led by Nehru, the Congress won the [[1951 Indian general election|1951]], [[1957 Indian general election|1957]], and [[1962 Indian general election|1962]] general elections comfortably. After Nehru died in May 1964, [[Lal Bahadur Shastri]] became prime minister. Shastri passed away in January 1966, shortly after signing the [[Tashkent Declaration|Tashkent Peace Declaration]] following the [[India–Pakistan war of 1965]].{{cite book |last=Guha |first=Ramachandra |title=India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy |edition=3rd |publisher=Routledge |year=2023 |isbn=978-1032371900 |pages=12–45, 388–402}} The Congress chose [[Indira Gandhi]] as prime minister, leading the party to election victories in [[1967 Indian general election|1967]] and [[1971 Indian general election|1971]]. In 1975, she declared a [[The Emergency (India)|state of emergency]], suspending civil liberties, which led to Congress being voted out in [[1977 Indian general election|1977]]. The opposing [[Janata Party]] government lasted two years under [[Morarji Desai]] and [[Charan Singh]], before Congress returned to power in 1980. Following a [[Operation Blue Star|military operation]] at the [[Golden Temple]] in [[Amritsar]], Indira Gandhi was [[Assassination of Indira Gandhi|assassinated]] by her [[Sikh]] bodyguard on October 31, 1984.{{cite book |last1=Corbridge |first1=Stuart |last2=Harriss |first2=John |last3=Teitelbaum |first3=Jeffrey |title=India Today: Economy, Politics and Society |publisher=Polity/Wiley-Blackwell |year=2021 |isbn=978-0745661629 |pages=67–98}} Indira Gandhi's son, [[Rajiv Gandhi]], succeeded her and won the [[1984 Indian general election|late 1984 elections]]. In 1989, a [[National Front (India)|National Front]] coalition won the [[1989 Indian general election|general elections]], forming a two-year government led by [[V. P. Singh]] and [[Chandra Shekhar]]. During the [[1991 Indian general election|general election]], Rajiv Gandhi was [[Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi | assassinated]] by a [[Sri Lankan Tamils|Sri Lankan Tamil]] [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam|separatist]]. Congress emerged from the elections as the largest party, and [[P. V. Narasimha Rao]] formed a [[minority government]] that completed a full five-year term. [[File:The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing the inaugural function of the WCIT India 2018 at Hyderabad via video conferencing from Misuru, on February 19, 2018 (1).jpg|thumb|right|[[Narendra Modi]] has been India's Prime Minister since 2014.]] In 1996, after winning the [[1996 Indian general election|general election]], the BJP briefly formed a government before [[United Front (India, 1996)|United Front]] governments took over under [[H. D. Deve Gowda]] and [[I. K. Gujral]]. After the [[1998 Indian general election]], the BJP’s [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]] became prime minister, but his initial government was short-lived. Following the [[1999 Indian general election|1999]] elections, Vajpayee led a [[National Democratic Alliance]] (NDA) coalition, becoming the first non-Congress prime minister to complete a five-year term.{{cite book |last=Hasan |first=Zoya |title=Politics of Inclusion: Castes, Minorities, and Affirmative Action |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-0192866950 |pages=112–148}} The NDA was defeated in [[2004 Indian general election|2004]] by the Congress-led [[United Progressive Alliance]] (UPA). Proposed by [[Sonia Gandhi]], [[Manmohan Singh]] served as prime minister with external support, returning with increased, independent numbers in [[2009 Indian general election|2009]]. Singh was the first prime minister re-elected since Nehru in 1962. In [[2014 Indian general election|2014]], the BJP led by [[Narendra Modi]] won an [[absolute majority]], in the Indian parliament, and expanded it in [[2019 Indian general election|2019]].{{cite book |last=Jaffrelot |first=Christophe |title=Modi's India: Hindu Nationalism and the Rise of Ethnic Democracy |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0691206806 |pages=244–291}} The party joined an NDA coalition after losing its single-party majority in the [[2024 Indian general election|2024 general election]]. Modi remains the longest-serving non-Congress prime minister.{{cite journal |last=Chacko |first=Priya |date=2025 |title=Decoding Election Mandate 2024 and Party System Change in India |journal=Journal of Asian and African Studies |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=145–162 |doi=10.1177/00219096251357298}} === Government === {{Main|Government of India|State governments of India|Local government in India}} {{See also|Constitution of India}} [[File:Constitution of India.jpg|right|The original preamble of the [[Constitution of India]] in 1950. In 1976, during the tenure of Indian prime minister [[Indira Gandhi]], the first sentence was changed to "Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic".|thumb|upright]] The Constitution of India was drafted by the [[Constituent Assembly of India]] with uncommon speed and absence of irregularities between 1946 and 1949.{{sfn|Spear|1990|p=242}} The [[Government of India Act 1935]] was used as a model and framework.{{sfn|Spear|1990|p=242}} Long passages from the Act were included. The constitution describes a federal state with a parliamentary system of democracy.{{sfn|Spear|1990|p=242}} The federal structure was conspicuous for the strength of the central government, which exclusively exercised control of defence, foreign affairs, railways, ports, and currency.{{sfn|Spear|1990|p=242}} The President, the constitutional head of state, has reserve powers for taking over the administration of a state.{{sfn|Spear|1990|p=242}} The central legislature has two houses: the ''[[Lok Sabha]]'', whose delegates are directly elected by the people in general elections every five years, and the ''[[Rajya Sabha]]'', whose members are nominated by the elected representatives in the states.{{sfn|Spear|1990|p=242}} There are also features not to be found in the Act of 1935. The definition of fundamental rights is based on the [[Constitution of the United States]], and the constitutional directives, or goals of endeavour, are based on the [[Constitution of Ireland]].{{sfn|Spear|1990|p=243}} An Indian institution recommended by the constitution is the ''[[Panchayati raj in India|panchayat]]'' or village committees.{{sfn|Spear|1990|p=243}} [[Untouchability]] is illegal (Article 17) and caste distinctions are derecognised (Articles 15(2) and 16(2)).{{sfn|Spear|1990|p=243}} The promulgation of the Indian constitution transformed India into a republic within the Commonwealth.{{sfn|Spear|1990|p=243}} The [[Prime Minister of India|prime minister of India]] is the [[head of government]] and exercises most [[executive (government)|executive power]].{{sfn|Sharma|1950}} Appointed by the president,{{sfn|Sharma|2007|p = 162}} the prime minister is supported by the [[political party|party]] or [[political alliance]] with a majority of seats in the lower house of parliament.{{sfn|Sharma|1950}} The executive of the Indian government consists of the president, the [[Vice President of India|vice-president]], and the [[Union Council of Ministers]]—with the [[Cabinet (government)|cabinet]] being its executive committee—headed by the prime minister. Any minister holding a portfolio must be a member of one of the houses of parliament.{{sfn|Sharma|2007|p = 31}} In the Indian parliamentary system, the executive is subordinate to the legislature; the prime minister and their council are directly responsible to the lower house of the parliament. [[Civil Services of India|Civil servants]] act as permanent executives and all decisions of the executive are implemented by them.{{sfn|Mathew|2003|p = 524}} India has a three-tier{{Nbsp}}unitary [[Judicial independence|independent judiciary]]{{sfn|Neuborne|2003|p = 478}} comprising the [[Supreme Court of India|supreme court]], headed by the [[Chief Justice of India]], 25{{Nbsp}}[[High courts of India|high courts]], and a large number of trial courts.{{sfn|Neuborne|2003|p = 478}} The supreme court has [[original jurisdiction]] over cases involving [[Fundamental rights in India|fundamental rights]] and over disputes between states and the centre and has [[appellate jurisdiction]] over the high courts.{{sfn|Sharma|2007|pp = 238, 255}} It has the power to both strike down union or state laws which contravene the constitution{{sfn|Sripati|1998|pp=423–424}} and invalidate any government action it deems unconstitutional.{{sfn|Pylee|2003b|p = 314}} === Administrative divisions === {{Main|Administrative divisions of India}} {{See also|Political integration of India}} {{Indian states and territories image map|image-width=220}} India is a federal union comprising 28 [[States and union territories of India|states]] and 8 [[Union territory|union territories]].{{sfn|Library of Congress|2004}} All states, as well as the union territories of [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]] and the [[Delhi|National Capital Territory of Delhi]], have elected legislatures and governments following the [[Westminster system]]. The remaining five union territories are directly ruled by the central government through appointed administrators. In 1956, under the [[States Reorganisation Act, 1956|States Reorganisation Act]], states were reorganised on a linguistic basis.{{sfn|Sharma|2007|p = 49}} There are over a quarter of a million local government bodies at city, town, district, block and village levels.{{Cite web |title=India |url=https://www.clgf.org.uk/regions/clgf-asia/india/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715203036/https://www.clgf.org.uk/regions/clgf-asia/india/ |archive-date=15 July 2019 |access-date=7 September 2019 |website=[[Commonwealth Local Government Forum]]}} ==== States ==== {{columns-list |colwidth=15em| * [[Andhra Pradesh]] * [[Arunachal Pradesh]] * [[Assam]] * [[Bihar]] * [[Chhattisgarh]] * [[Goa]] * [[Gujarat]] * [[Haryana]] * [[Himachal Pradesh]] * [[Jharkhand]] * [[Karnataka]] * [[Kerala]] * [[Madhya Pradesh]] * [[Maharashtra]] * [[Manipur]] * [[Meghalaya]] * [[Mizoram]] * [[Nagaland]] * [[Odisha]] * [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] * [[Rajasthan]] * [[Sikkim]] * [[Tamil Nadu]] * [[Telangana]] * [[Tripura]] * [[Uttar Pradesh]] * [[Uttarakhand]] * [[West Bengal]] }} ==== Union territories ==== {{columns-list |colwidth=15em| * [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]] * [[Chandigarh]] * [[Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu]] * [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]] * [[Ladakh]] * [[Lakshadweep]] * [[Delhi|National Capital Territory of Delhi]] * [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]] }} === Foreign relations === {{Main|Foreign relations of India}} [[File:Jawaharlal Nehru, Nasser and Tito at the Conference of Non-Aligned Nations held in Belgrade.jpg|thumb|In the 1950s and 60s, India played a pivotal role in the [[Non-Aligned Movement]].{{Cite book |last=Dinkel |first=Jürgen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YqOODwAAQBAJ |title=The Non-Aligned Movement: Genesis, Organization and Politics (1927–1992) |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |year=2018 |isbn=978-90-04-33613-1 |pages=92–93}} From left to right: [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] of the [[United Arab Republic]] (now Egypt), [[Josip Broz Tito]] of [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] and [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] in Belgrade, September 1961.]] India remained a member of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] after becoming a republic in 1950.{{cite book |last=Storm |first=Eric |title=Nationalism: A World History |year=2024 |isbn=978-0-691-23309-3 |lccn=2024015293 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YfEIEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA234 |publisher=Princeton University Press |quote=The whole constellation changed when India and Pakistan gained independence as dominions, which was a solution that made possible a speedier withdrawal of the British. In the end, India decided to become a republic, although the leadership preferred to remain within the Commonwealth. |archive-date=20 March 2025 |access-date=18 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250320070147/https://books.google.com/books?id=YfEIEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA234 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |date=26 April 1949 |title=The London Declaration |url=http://www.thecommonwealth.org/document/181889/34293/35468/214257/londondeclaration.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706045924/http://www.thecommonwealth.org/document/181889/34293/35468/214257/londondeclaration.htm |archive-date=6 July 2010 |access-date=4 July 2013 |publisher=Commonwealth of Nations}} It strongly supported decolonisation in Africa and Asia in the 1950s, and played a leading role in the Non-Aligned Movement.{{sfn|Rothermund|2000|pp = 48, 227}} After cordial relations with China during the greater part of the 1950s, India and China went to [[Sino-Indian War|war in 1962]]; India was widely thought to have been decisively defeated.(a) {{citation |last=Guyot-Rechard |first=Berenice |title=Shadow States: India, China and the Himalayas, 1910–1962 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=235 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FbktDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA235 |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-107-17679-9 |quote=By invading NEFA, the PRC did not just aim to force a humiliated India to recognise its possession of the Aksai Chin. It also hoped to get, once and for all, the upper hand in their shadowing competition.}}
(b) {{citation |last=Chubb |first=Andrew |chapter=The Sino-Indian Border Crisis: Chinese Perceptions of Indian Nationalism |title=Crisis |editor1-last=Golley |editor1-first=Jane |editor2-last=Jaivan |editor2-first=Linda |editor3-last=Strange |editor3-first=Sharon |publisher=Australian National University Press |year=2021 |pages=231–232 |isbn=978-1-76046-439-4 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D1crEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA230 |quote=The ensuing cycle of escalation culminated in the 1962 Sino-Indian border war in which Mao Zedong's troops overran almost the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern sector before unilaterally withdrawing, as if to underline the insult; most of the war's several thousand casualties were Indian. The PLA's decisive victories in the 1962 war not only humiliated the Indian Army, they also entrenched a status quo in Ladakh that was highly unfavourable for India, in which China controls almost all of the disputed territory. A nationalistic press and commentariat have kept 1962 vivid in India's popular consciousness.}}
(c) {{citation |last=Lintner |first=Bertil |title=China's India War: Collision Course on the Roof of the World |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-19-909163-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-L9DDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT106 |quote=Lin Biao was put in charge of the operation and that alliance between Mao and his loyal de facto chief of the PLA made the attack on India possible. With China's ultimate victory in the war, Mao's ultra-leftist line had won in China; whatever critical voices that were left in the Party after all the purges fell silent.}}
(d) {{citation |last=Medcalf |first=Rory |title=Indo-Pacific Empire: China, America and the contest for the world's pivotal |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-5261-5077-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RCjXDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT81 |quote=From an Indian perspective, the China-India war of 1962 was a shocking betrayal of the principles of co-operation and coexistence: a surprise attack that humiliated India and personally broke Nehru.}}
(e) {{citation |last=Ganguly |first=Sumit |title=The Crisis in Kashmir: Portents of War, Hope of Peace |publisher=Woodrow Wilson Center Press and Cambridge University Press |year=1997 |page=44 |isbn=978-0-521-65566-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fi66mjIqR1IC&pg=PA44 |quote=In October 1962 India suffered the most humiliating military debacle in its post-independence history, at the hands of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). The outcome of this conflict had far-reaching consequences for Indian foreign and defence policies. The harsh defeat that the Chinese PLA had inflicted on the Indian Army called into question some of the most deeply held precepts of Nehru's foreign and defence policies.}}
(f) {{citation |last=Raghavan |first=Srinath |chapter=A Missed Opportunity? The Nehru-Zhou Enlai Summit of 1960 |title=India and the Cold War |editor-last=Bhagavan |editor-first=Manu |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |page=121 |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-4696-5117-0 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h-yoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA121 |quote=The 'forward policy' adopted by India to prevent the Chinese from occupying territory claimed by them was undertaken in the mistaken belief that Beijing would be cautious in dealing with India owing to Moscow's stance on the dispute and its growing proximity to India. These misjudgments would eventually culminate in India's humiliating defeat in the war of October–November 1962.}} By 1967, however, India was able to fend off [[Sino-Indian War of 1967|Chinese excursions into Sikkim]].{{Cite book |last=Brahma Chellaney |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZCmFAAAAMAAJ |title=Asian Juggernaut: The Rise of China, India, and Japan |date=2006 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |isbn=978-81-7223-650-2 |page=195 |quote=Indeed, Beijing's acknowledgement of Indian control over Sikkim seems limited to the purpose of facilitating trade through the vertiginous Nathu-la Pass, the scene of bloody artillery duels in September 1967 when Indian troops beat back attacking Chinese forces. |author-link=Brahma Chellaney}} India has had [[Indo-Pakistani relations|uneasy relations]] with its western neighbour, Pakistan. The two went to war in [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947|1947]], [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965|1965]], [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971|1971]], and [[Kargil War|1999]]. Three wars were fought over the [[Kashmir conflict|disputed territory of Kashmir]].{{sfn|Gilbert|2002|pp = 486–487}} After the 1965 war, India began to pursue close military and economic [[India-Soviet Union relations|ties with the Soviet Union]]. By the late 1960s, the Soviet Union was India's largest arms supplier.{{sfn|Sharma|1999|p=56}} China's [[596 (nuclear test)|nuclear test of 1964]] and threats to intervene in support of Pakistan in the 1965 war caused India to produce nuclear weapons.{{sfn|Perkovich|2001|pp = 60–86, 106–125}} India conducted its [[Smiling Buddha|first nuclear weapons test]] in 1974 and carried out [[Pokhran-II|additional underground testing]] in 1998. India has signed neither the [[Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty]] nor the [[Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty]], considering both to be flawed and discriminatory.{{sfn|Kumar|2010}} India maintains a "[[no first use]]" nuclear policy and possesses a [[nuclear triad]] as a part of its "[[Minimum Credible Deterrence]]" doctrine.{{sfn|Nair|2007}}{{cite book | last=Hagerty | first=Devin T. | title=Nuclear Weapons and Deterrence Stability in South Asia | publisher=Springer International Publishing | publication-place=Cham | date=2020 | isbn=978-3-030-21397-8 | doi=10.1007/978-3-030-21398-5 | url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-21398-5 | pages=1–9}} Since the end of the [[Cold War]], India has increased its economic, strategic, and military [[India–United States relations|cooperation with the United States]] and the [[India–European Union relations|European Union]].{{sfn|European Union 2008}} In 2008, a [[U.S.–India Civil Nuclear Agreement|civilian nuclear agreement]] was signed between India and the United States. Although India possessed nuclear weapons at the time and was not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it received waivers from the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] and the [[Nuclear Suppliers Group]], ending earlier restrictions on India's nuclear technology and commerce; India subsequently signed co-operation agreements involving [[Nuclear power in India|civilian nuclear energy]] with Russia,{{sfn|British Broadcasting Corporation 2009}} France,{{sfn|Rediff 2008 a}} the [[India–United Kingdom relations|United Kingdom]],{{sfn|Reuters|2010}} and [[Canada–India relations|Canada]].{{sfn|Curry|2010}} == Economy == {{Main|Economy of India}} === Economic history === The economic history of colonial India and early postcolonial India began with [[Extractivism|colonial extraction]] and ended with [[Economic_planning#In_socialism|state planning]]. During [[British Raj|British rule]], the [[Indian subcontinent]] underwent [[deindustrialisation]].{{cite book |last=Broadberry |first=Stephen |last2=Gupta |first2=Bishnupriya |title=The Cambridge Economic History of the Modern World: Volume 2 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2021 |pages=144–146 |isbn=978-1107159457}} After India's independence in 1947, it adopted a [[State of socialist orientation|socialist-oriented]] [[economic model]] that relied on [[state ownership|government-owned]] [[heavy industries]] and [[five-year plan]]s which took their cues from those of the [[Soviet Union]] of the 1930s.{{cite book |last=Tomlinson |first=B. R. |title=The Economy of Modern India: From 1860 to the Twenty-First Century |edition=2nd |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2013 |pages=182–185 |isbn=978-1-107-60547-3}} Although the [[Green Revolution in India|Green Revolution]] of the 1960s eventually helped India to attain some [[food security|self-sufficiency]] in food, India's economic growth in real terms remained low.{{cite book |last=Roy |first=Tirthankar |title=The Economic History of India, 1857–2010 |edition=4th |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2020 |pages=230–234 |isbn=978-0-19-012829-6}} A [[balance of payments]] crisis in 1991 forced the government's hand, and led it to embracing [[Regulatory economics|economic deregulation]].{{cite book |last=Panagariya |first=Arvind |title=India: The Emerging Giant |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |pages=82–89 |isbn=978-0-19-531503-5}} The reduction in the government's control over the economy opened the [[domestic market]] to [[foreign direct investment]] and sped up the growth of [[private enterprise]].{{cite book |last=Ahluwalia |first=Montek Singh |title=Backstage: The Story Behind India's High Growth Years |publisher=Rupa |year=2020 |pages=130–142 |isbn=978-93-5333-821-3}} ===Modern economy=== Today, India is a large [[emerging market]] with strong [[domestic demand|local buying]].{{cite chapter |last=Nayyar |first=Gaurav |last2=Dasgupta |first2=Sukti |chapter=Services-Led Growth |editor-last=Goyal |editor-first=Ashima |title=The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Economy in the 21st Century |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2014 |pages=310–314 |isbn=978-0-19-809753-2}} Its expanding [[economic output]] ranks among the largest in the world both by [[market exchange rate]]s and [[purchasing power parity]].{{cite book |last=Nayar |first=Baldev Raj |title=The Myth of the Shrinking State: Globalization and the State in India |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2009 |pages=165–168 |isbn=978-0-19-569939-5}} Although [[agricultural production]] remains the main source of employment for nearly half the population, the overall economy is led predominantly by the [[service sector]].{{cite book |last=Balakrishnan |first=Pulapre |title=Economic Growth in India: History and Prospect |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2010 |pages=142–145 |isbn=978-0-19-806547-0}} India relies on [[financial technology]], [[information system]]s, and [[professional services]] both for its export earnings and [[urban development]].{{cite book |editor1-last=Mukherjee |editor1-first=Arpita |editor2-last=Chanda |editor2-first=Rupa |editor3-last=Goyal |editor3-first=Tanu M. |title=Trade in Services and Trade Agreements: Perspectives from India and the European Union |publisher=SAGE Publications India |year=2016 |isbn=978-93-515-0324-8 |pages=35–72}} Recent government initiatives have emphasized [[physical infrastructure]] and manufacturing programmes designed to increase indigenous [[industrial capacity]].{{cite report |author=NITI Aayog |title=Key Sectors to Position India as a Global Manufacturing Hub |publisher=Government of India |year=2026 |url=https://www.niti.gov.in/node/2394}}{{cite book |last=Panagariya |first=Arvind |title=India's Trade Policy: The 1990s and Beyond |publisher=HarperBusiness |year=2024 |isbn=978-93-5489-933-1 |pages=145–160}} Even though India's economy is strong and expanding rapidly, it wrestles with problems built into the very foundation of its system.{{cite book |last1=Drèze |first1=Jean |last2=Sen |first2=Amartya |title=An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-691-16552-3 |pages=45–49}} The [[per capita income]] remains low relative to other large emerging economies, and shows large imbalances in the [[wealth distribution|distribution of wealth]].{{cite book |last2=Subramanian |first2=Arvind |last1=Kapur |first1=Devesh |title=A Sixth of Humanity: Independent India's Development Odyssey |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2026 |isbn=978-0-19-783725-2 |pages=180–215}} The official [[labour market]] struggles to generate enough stable jobs to account for the expanding, youthful workforce; this leaves a large proportion of the population to rely on [[informal sector|informal employment]].{{cite report |author=International Labour Organization |title=India Employment Report 2024: Youth employment, education and skills |publisher=ILO and Institute for Human Development |year=2024 |url=https://www.ilo.org/publications/india-employment-report-2024-youth-employment-education-and-skills}} Significant gaps exist in regional growth within India: less developed states lag considerably behind advanced cities in [[human capital]] development and how swiftly their governments can clamp down on those who flout rules and regulations.{{cite journal |last1=Nandan |first1=Amit |last2=Mallick |first2=Hrushikesh |year=2022 |title=Do growth-promoting factors induce income inequality in a transitioning large developing economy? An empirical evidence from Indian states |journal=Economic Change and Restructuring |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=1109–1139 |doi=10.1007/s10644-021-09340-w}} File:Plowing the land in India - modern and traditional.jpg|In 2019, 43% of India's total workforce was employed in agriculture.{{Citation |title=Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS?most_recent_value_desc=false&view=map |work=[[The World Bank]] |year=2019 |access-date=26 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822193854/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS%3Fmost_recent_value_desc%3Dfalse%26view%3Dmap |url-status=live |archive-date=22 August 2019}} File:Fields Akoni Nilgiris Tamil Nadu Nov24 A7CR 05287.jpg|A woman growing radish in the foreground and garlic to the right in a village in the [[Nilgiris]], Tamil Nadu. In 2019, 55% of India's female workforce was employed in agriculture.{{Citation |title=Employment in agriculture, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate) |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.AGR.EMPL.FE.ZS?most_recent_value_desc=false&view=map |work=[[The World Bank]] |year=2019 |access-date=26 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822193855/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.AGR.EMPL.FE.ZS%3Fmost_recent_value_desc%3Dfalse%26view%3Dmap |url-status=live |archive-date=22 August 2019}} File:ILRI, Stevie Mann - Villager and calf share milk from cow in Rajasthan, India.jpg|India is the [[List of countries by milk production|world's largest producer of milk]], with the largest cattle population. In 2018, nearly 80% of India's milk came from small farms with herds of one to two, and it was harvested by hand [[milking]].{{Citation |last=Kapoor |first=Rana |title=Growth in organised dairy sector, a boost for rural livelihood |date=27 October 2015 |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/growth-in-organised-dairy-sector-a-boost-for-rural-livelihood/article7810689.ece# |work=[[Business Line]] |access-date=26 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720215652/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/growth-in-organised-dairy-sector-a-boost-for-rural-livelihood/article7810689.ece |url-status=live |quote="Nearly 80 per cent of India's milk production is contributed by small and marginal farmers, with an average herd size of one to two milching animals." |archive-date=20 July 2019}} === Industries === {{Main|Industry in India|Energy in India}} {{See also|Energy policy of India}} [[File:Bagmane Tech Park, Bangalore (2024) 196.jpg|thumb|right|An entrance to [[Bagmane Group|Bagmane Tech Park, Bangalore]], showing some of the major corporate offices hosted therein]] India is a worldwide centre for [[information technology]] and [[business process management|business services]], which add 7.5% to GDP and over 35% to [[service export|services sold abroad]].{{cite report |author=Press Information Bureau |title=From Stability to New Frontiers: India’s Services Exports Growth More Than Doubled |publisher=Ministry of Finance, Government of India |date=January 29, 2026 |url=https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2219981}}{{cite web |author=India Brand Equity Foundation |title=Indian Information Technology Sector and Its Growth |url=https://www.ibef.org/industry/information-technology-india |publisher=Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India |date=May 15, 2026}} This sector is sustained by a large English-speaking skilled labour force, with revenues surpassing $300 billion in Fiscal Year 2026.{{cite report |author=NASSCOM |title=Technology Sector in India: Strategic Review – 2026 |publisher=National Association of Software and Services Companies |date=February 24, 2026 |url=https://nasscom.in/knowledge-center/publications/technology-sector-india-strategic-review-2026}} Although the industry once relied on basic [[call centre]]s and simple software fixes, it has shifted toward [[cloud computing]], [[artificial intelligence]], and international [[tech hub]]s.{{cite journal |last=D'Costa |first=Anthony P. |title=State, Business Association, and Diaspora: The Structure of Governance in the Indian IT-BPM Sector |journal=[[Studies in Comparative International Development]] |date=March 2025 |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=412–440 |doi=10.1007/s12116-025-09459-1|doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |last1=Ahlfeldt |first1=Gabriel M. |last2=Burchardi |first2=Konrad B. |last3=von Gaudecker |first3=Hans-Martin |title=Globalization, internal migration, and public goods provision in India |journal=[[American Journal of Political Science]] |date=December 2025 |volume=70 |issue=1 |pages=112–134 |doi=10.1111/ajps.70029|doi-access=free }} Bangalore has grown from a cheap offshore site into a top centre for corporate research, making it one of the largest technology hubs outside Silicon Valley.{{cite journal |last1=Chaminade |first1=Cristina |last2=Vang |first2=Jan |year=2008 |title=Globalisation of knowledge production and regional innovation policy: Supporting specialized hubs in the Bangalore software industry |journal=[[Research Policy]] |volume=37 |issue=10 |pages=1684–1696 |doi=10.1016/j.respol.2008.08.014 }}{{cite report |author=CBRE India |date=May 27, 2025 |title=Bengaluru Joins Top 12 Global Tech Hubs as Tech Talent Market Surpasses 1 Million |publisher=[[CBRE Group]] |url=https://www.cbre.co.in/press-releases/bengaluru-joins-top-12-global-tech-hubs-as |access-date=September 3, 2026 }} India's automotive sector comprises 7.1% of its economy. It produces 28 million vehicles every year{{cite web |author=[[Press Information Bureau]] |date=April 14, 2025 |title=Powering India's Participation in Global Value Chains (GVCs) |publisher=Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India |url=https://www.pib.gov.in/FactsheetDetails.aspx?Id=149205 |access-date=September 3, 2026 }} of which the vast majority are two-wheelers (77%) followed by passenger cars (18%).{{cite web |author=[[Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers]] (SIAM) |date=September 3, 2026 |title=Auto industry remains key driver of India's economic growth |publisher=DD News |url=https://ddnews.gov.in/en/auto-industry-remains-key-driver-of-indias-economic-growth-siam/ |access-date=September 3, 2026 }} In 2022, 8 per cent of Indian households owned a car, 55 per cent owned a bicycle, and 54 per cent a motor cycle or scooter.{{cite web|last=Rampal|first=Nikhil| title= Only 8% Indian families own cars, NFHS finds. Over 50% still use bicycles, bikes, and scooters”| date=May 27, 2022|publisher= The Print|url=https://theprint.in/india/only-8-indian-families-own-cars-nfhs-finds-over-50-still-use-bicycles-bikes-scooters/971413/|access-date=September 3, 2026}} “National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 suggests that onlyabout 8 per cent of Indian households — or 1 in 12 households — own cars. ... as many as 55 per cent of Indian households have a bicycle, while those with scooters and motorcycles come a close second at 54 per cent” In 2023, India became the third-largest automobile market in the world, with buyers, many of whom are in their 30s, increasingly preferring SUVs.{{cite web|last=Shah|first = Aditi| title= Insight: Suzuki’s no-frills cars once ruled India. Then buyers demanded frills|date=July 20, 2026|url=https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/suzukis-no-frills-cars-once-ruled-india-then-buyers-demanded-frills-2026-07-20/| publisher = Reuters| access-date= September 3, 2026}} India's pharmaceutical sector relies on a vast network of production facilities focused on low-cost manufacturing. Thousands of individual factories and domestic firms comprise this sector and together make India the main worldwide source of generic medications and vaccines by volume.{{cite web |last=Indian Brand Equity Foundation |title=Indian Pharmacy: Pharma Companies in India |url=https://www.ibef.org/industry/pharmaceutical-india |website=IBEF |date=May 2026 |access-date=September 4, 2026}} However, the sector faces supply line vulnerabilities, especially a reliance on China for over 70% of its raw [[Active ingredient|active pharmaceutical ingredient]]s (APIs).{{ cite web|last=Shah|first=Kinjal|publisher=Pharmaceutical Ingredients Review|title=India’s API strength endures, China reliance persists| url=https://www.icra.in/Media/GetNewsFile/24508|date=December 2025|access-date=September 3, 2026}} Although India faces international quality-control audits in its factories, adverse outcomes have dropped fromn 12 per cent in 2015 to 8 per cent in 2025, and 80% of those were in small firms not the top 20 companies.{{cite news |last=Singh |first=Anjali |title=Indian drugmakers notch cleaner USFDA inspections as global outcomes worsen |url=https://www.business-standard.com/industry/news/indian-drugmakers-notch-cleaner-usfda-inspections-as-global-outcomes-worsen-126022200167_1.html |work=Business Standard |date=February 22, 2026 |access-date=September 4, 2026}} India's capacity to generate electrical power is 300 gigawatts, of which 42 gigawatts is renewable.{{Cite web |date=1 August 2016 |title=India's Total Power Generation Capacity Crosses 300 GW Mark |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/indias-total-power-generation-capacity-crosses-300-gw-mark-1438906 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170616181350/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/indias-total-power-generation-capacity-crosses-300-gw-mark-1438906 |archive-date=16 June 2017 |access-date=17 October 2021 |publisher=[[NDTV India|NDTV]]}} [[Coal in India|The country's usage of coal]] is a major cause of [[Climate change in India#Greenhouse gas emissions|India's greenhouse gas emissions]], but [[Renewable energy in India|its renewable energy capacity]] is growing.{{Cite news |last=Rowlatt |first=Justin |date=12 May 2020 |title=India's carbon emissions fall for first time in four decades |publisher=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-52614770 |access-date=3 December 2020 |archive-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125143650/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-52614770 |url-status=live }} India emits about 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This equates to about 2.5 tonnes of [[carbon dioxide]] per person per year, which is half the world average.{{cite web |last=USAID |date=September 2018 |title=Greenhouse Gas Emissions in India |url=https://www.climatelinks.org/sites/default/files/asset/document/India%20GHG%20Emissions%20Factsheet%20FINAL.pdf |access-date=10 June 2021 |website= |archive-date=14 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200214194144/https://www.climatelinks.org/sites/default/files/asset/document/India%20GHG%20Emissions%20Factsheet%20FINAL.pdf}}{{cite web |last=UN Environment Programme |year=2019 |title=Emissions Gap Report 2019 |url=https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2019 |access-date=10 June 2021 |website=UNEP – [[UN Environment Programme]] |archive-date=21 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421155030/https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2019 |url-status=live }} Increasing [[Electrification|access to electricity]] and [[clean cooking]] with [[liquefied petroleum gas]] have been priorities for energy in India.{{cite web |title=India 2020 – Analysis |date=9 January 2020 |url=https://www.iea.org/reports/india-2020 |access-date=3 December 2020 |publisher=[[International Energy Agency]] |archive-date=16 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316072614/https://www.iea.org/reports/india-2020 |url-status=live }} File:2019_MG_Hector_at_the_MG_Motor_India_manufacturing_plant_in_Halol,_Gujarat.png|A vehicle on the assembly line at a [[MG cars|MG Motors]] manufacturing plant in [[Halol]], Gujarat. India is the world's third-largest automobile market by sales.{{cite web |date=2023-01-08 |title=India surpasses Japan to become 3rd largest auto market globally |url=https://www.thehindu.com/business/india-surpasses-japan-to-become-3rd-largest-auto-market-globally/article66352753.ece |website=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=2026-07-27}} File:Cherry Resort inside Temi Tea Garden, Namchi, Sikkim.jpg|A tea garden in Sikkim. India, the [[List of countries by tea production|world's second-largest producer of tea]], is a nation of one billion tea drinkers, who consume 70% of India's tea output. File:Chinese Fishing Net Raising Birds Sunrise Ashtamudi Kollam Mar22 A7C 01784.jpg|A [[Chinese fishing nets|Chinese fishing net]] being raised in [[Kochi]]. Fishing contributes 1.07% to India's total [[Gross domestic product|GDP]],{{Cite news |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/indias-blue-economy-net-getting-bigger-country-ranks-third-in-fisheries-and-second-in-aquaculture/1867607/ |title=India's Blue Economy net getting bigger |publisher=Financial Express |date=14 February 2020 |access-date=18 July 2020}} and supports over 28 million people, especially within vulnerable communities.{{Cite web |title=Page 279 - economic_survey_2021-2022 |url=https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/economicsurvey/ebook_es2022/files/basic-html/page279.html |access-date=2022-07-18 |website=www.indiabudget.gov.in |archive-date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250226052506/https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/economicsurvey/ebook_es2022/files/basic-html/page279.html |url-status=live }} == Demographics == {{Main|Demographics of India}} With an estimated 1,428,627,663 residents in 2023, India is the world's most populous country.{{Cite web |title=World Population Prospects |url=https://population.un.org/wpp/ |access-date=2 July 2023 |website=Population Division – United Nations |archive-date=5 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205234912/https://population.un.org/wpp/ |url-status=live }} 1,210,193,422 residents were reported in the [[2011 Census of India|2011 provisional census report]].{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=160}} The median age was 28.7 in 2020.{{sfn|Central Intelligence Agency}} Medical advances made in the last 50 years as well as increased agricultural productivity brought about by the "[[Green Revolution in India|Green Revolution]]" have caused India's population to grow rapidly,{{sfn|Rorabacher|2010|pp = 35–39}} though India's decennial rates of growth are decreasing: its population grew by 17.64% from 2001 to 2011,{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=165}} compared to 21.54% growth in the previous decade (1991–2001).{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=165}} The first post-colonial census, conducted in 1951, counted 361 million people.{{cite web |url=https://indiabudget.nic.in/es2006-07/chapt2007/tab97.pdf |title=Population Of India (1951–2001) |website=[[Census of India]] |publisher=[[Ministry of Finance (India)|Ministry of Finance]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812042806/https://indiabudget.nic.in/es2006-07/chapt2007/tab97.pdf |archive-date=12 August 2011 |access-date=13 February 2013}} The [[life expectancy]] at birth has increased from 49.7 years in 1970–1975 to 72.0 years in 2023.{{Cite web |url=https://www.gapminder.org/tools/#$chart-type=bubbles |title=Gapminder |last=Rosling |access-date=5 September 2018 |archive-date=4 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904041729/https://www.gapminder.org/tools/#$chart-type=bubbles |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/life-expectancy?country=OWID_WRL~IND |title=Life expectancy at birth: World, India |publisher=[[Our World in Data]] |access-date=7 September 2025 |archive-date=12 November 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251112080632/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/life-expectancy?country=OWID_WRL~IND |url-status=live }} The under-five [[Infant mortality|mortality]] rate for the country was 113 per 1,000 live births in 1994, and had declined to 41.1 per 1,000 live births by 2018. The human sex ratio, according to the 2011 census, is 940 females per 1,000 males.{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=160}} [[Female infanticide in India]], and lately [[female foeticide in India|female foeticide]], have created lop-sided gender ratios; the number of [[missing women]] in the country quadrupled from 15 million to 63 million during the period 1964–2014, faster than the population growth during the same period.{{cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/indias-missing-women/article5670801.ece |title=India's missing women |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |date=10 February 2014 |last1=Kapoor |first1=Mudit |last2=Shamika |first2=Ravi |access-date=17 November 2019 |quote=In the last 50 years of Indian democracy, the absolute number of missing women has increased fourfold from 15 million to 68 million. This is not merely a reflection of the overall population growth, but rather a worsening of the dangerous trend over time. As a percentage of the female electorate, missing women have gone up significantly — from 13 per cent to approximately 20 per cent |archive-date=9 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309094641/https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/indias-missing-women/article5670801.ece |url-status=live }} According to an Indian government study, an additional 21 million girls are unwanted and do not receive adequate care.{{cite web |date=30 January 2018 |title=More than 63 million women 'missing' in India, statistics show |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/30/more-than-63-million-women-missing-in-india-statistics-show |access-date=17 November 2019 |newspaper=[[Associated Press]] via [[The Guardian]] |archive-date=9 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309044247/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/30/more-than-63-million-women-missing-in-india-statistics-show |url-status=live }} Quote: "More than 63 million women are "missing" statistically across India, and more than 21 million girls are unwanted by their families, government officials say. The skewed ratio of men to women is largely the result of sex-selective abortions, and better nutrition and medical care for boys, according to the government's annual economic survey, which was released on Monday. In addition, the survey found that "families where a son is born are more likely to stop having children than families where a girl is born". Despite a government ban on sex-selective foeticide, the practice has far from stopped.{{cite web |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/08/15/a-generation-of-girls-is-missing-in-india/ |title=A Generation of Girls Is Missing in India – Sex-selective abortion fuels a cycle of patriarchy and abuse. |newspaper=[[Foreign Policy]] |first=Ira |last=Trivedi |date=15 August 2019 |access-date=17 November 2019 |archive-date=9 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309041410/https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/08/15/a-generation-of-girls-is-missing-in-india/ |url-status=live }} Quote: "Although it has been illegal nationwide for doctors to disclose the sex of a fetus since the 1994 Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, the ease of ordering cheap and portable ultrasound machines, especially online, has kept the practice of sex-selective abortions alive." Migration from rural to urban areas has been an important dynamic in India's recent history. The number of people living in urban areas grew by 31.2% between 1991 and 2001.{{sfn|Garg|2005}} In 2001, over 70% lived in rural areas.{{sfn|Dyson|Visaria|2005|pp = 115–129}}{{sfn|Ratna|2007|pp = 271–272}} The level of urbanisation increased further from 27.81% in the 2001 census to 31.16% in the 2011 census. The slowing down of the overall population growth rate was due to the sharp decline in the growth rate in rural areas since 1991.{{sfn|Chandramouli|2011}} In the 2011 census, there were 53 [[List of million-plus urban agglomerations in India|million-plus urban agglomerations in India]], among them [[Mumbai]], [[Delhi]], [[Kolkata]], [[Chennai]], [[Bangalore]], [[Hyderabad]] and [[Ahmedabad]], in decreasing order by population.{{cite web |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2/data_files/India2/Table_3_PR_UA_Citiees_1Lakh_and_Above.pdf |title=Urban Agglomerations/Cities having population 1 lakh and above |publisher=[[Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner]], India |access-date=12 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017153124/https://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2/data_files/India2/Table_3_PR_UA_Citiees_1Lakh_and_Above.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2013}} File:Panoramic view of Taj Palace Hotel and Taj Tower with the iconic Gateway of India in the background.jpg|[[Mumbai]] is the largest urban agglomeration in India. Shown here are the [[Taj Mahal Palace Hotel]] to the left and the [[Gateway of India]]. File:Bangalore Panorama edit1.jpg|A panorama of [[Bangalore]], the fifth-largest urban agglomeration. In the 1980s, when the first [[multinational corporation]]s began to set up centres in India, they chose Bangalore because of the large pool of skilled graduates in the area, in turn due to the many science and engineering colleges in the surrounding region.{{Citation |last1=Scott |first1=Allen J. |title=Development on the Ground: Clusters, Networks and Regions in Emerging Economies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GUCUAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA208 |page=208 |year=2007 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-135-98422-9 |last2=Garofoli |first2=Gioacchino}} === Languages === {{Main|Languages of India}} Languages of India belong to several [[language family|language families]]. The [[2011 Census of India]], the last conducted by the Indian government, gives the following breakdown:{{cite book |last1=Jolad |first1=Shivakumar |last2=Agarwal |first2=Aayush |chapter=Mapping India's Linguistic Diversity and Exclusion in the Indian Census 1 |title=Practices of Digital Humanities in India: Learning by Doing |editor1-last=Dodd |editor1-first=Maya |editor2-last=Menon |editor2-first=Nirmala |publisher=Routledge India |year=2024 |doi=10.4324/9781003325239 |isbn=978-1-003-32523-9 }} {| class="wikitable" style="margin-right:auto; margin-left:auto;" ! style="background:#ddd;" colspan="6"| Language families and speakers in India |- ! Rank !! Language family !! Sub-family !! Number of languages !! Number of speakers !! Percentage of speakers |- style="text-align:center;" | rowspan="3" | 1 || style="text-align:center;" rowspan="3 in | [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] || style="text-align:center;"| [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] || style="text-align:center;"| 21 || style="text-align:center;"| 945,052,555 || style="text-align:center;"| 78.05% |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:center;"| [[Iranian languages|Iranian]] || style="text-align:center;"| 1 || style="text-align:center;"| 21,677 || style="text-align:center;"| 0%{{efn|The 0% results from rounding to two decimal places.}} |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:center;"| [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] || style="text-align:center;"| 1 || style="text-align:center;"| 259,678 || style="text-align:center;"| 0.02% |- style="text-align:center;" || 2 || style="text-align:center;"| [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] || style="text-align:center;"| || style="text-align:center;"| 17 || style="text-align:center;"| 237,840,116 || style="text-align:center;"| 19.64% |- style="text-align:center;" || 3 || style="text-align:center;"| [[Austro-Asiatic languages|Austro-Asiatic]] || style="text-align:center;"| || style="text-align:center;"| 14 || style="text-align:center;"| 13,493,080 || style="text-align:center;"| 1.11% |- style="text-align:center;" || 4 || style="text-align:center;"| [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman]] || style="text-align:center;"| || style="text-align:center;"| 66 || style="text-align:center;"| 12,257,382 || style="text-align:center;"| 1.01% |- style="text-align:center;" || 5 || style="text-align:center;"| [[Afroasiatic languages|Semito-Hamitic]] || style="text-align:center;"| || style="text-align:center;"| 1 || style="text-align:center;"| 54,947 || style="text-align:center;"| 0% |} There are also small numbers of speakers of [[Kra–Dai languages|Tai–Kadai]], [[Andamanese languages|Andamanese]], and minor language families and [[language isolate|isolates]].{{cite book |last=Moseley |first=Christopher |title=Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p-7ON7Rvx_AC&pg=PT528 |date=10 March 2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-79640-2}}{{rp|283}} [[File:India_new_500_INR,_MG_series,_2016,_reverse.jpg|thumb|right|On the reverse of each of India's [[paper money|paper money notes]], the denomination is listed in a panel on the left in 15 languages, in addition to Hindi and English, which appear more prominently elsewhere. These are from top to bottom: 1. Assamese, 2. Bengali, 3. Gujarati, 4. Kannada, 5. Kashmiri, 6. Konkani, 7. Malayalam, 8. Marathi, 9. Nepali, 10. Oriya, 11. Punjabi, 12. Sanskrit, 13. Tamil, 14. Telugu, 15. Urdu.{{citation |last=Gautam |first=Vanya |title=Did You Know? Indian Rupee Notes Feature 15 Languages, Here's The List |publisher=India Times |date=5 January 2024 |url=https://www.indiatimes.com/worth/news/did-you-know-indian-rupee-notes-feature-15-languages-heres-the-list/articleshow/122444265.html}}]] The official language of India's federal government was chosen by the [[Constituent Assembly of India]] in September 1949 after three years of debate between two opposing camps. [[Hindi language]] protagonists wanted Hindi in the [[Devanagari script]] to be the sole "national language" of India whereas delegates from South India preferred English to have a place in the Constitution.{{citation |last=Lerner |first=Hanna |chapter=The Indian Founding: A Comparative Perspective |title=The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution |editor1-first=Sujit |editor1-last=Choudhry |editor2-first=Madhav |editor2-last=Khosla |editor3-first=Pratap Bhanu |editor3-last=Mehta |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2016 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d0knDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA64 |pages=63–64 |isbn=978-0-19-870489-8 |quote=Ultimately, it was the pragmatic consensus-seeking approach that triumphed. On 14 September 1949, after three years of debate, the assembly overwhelmingly approved a compromise resolution, known as the Munshi—Ayyangar formula, which later became Articles 343-51 of the Indian Constitution. Instead of declaring a 'national language', Hindi was labelled the 'official language of the Union', while English was to continue to be used 'for all official purposes'. It was decided that this arrangement would apply for a period of fifteen years, during which time Hindi was to be progressively introduced into official use. What would happen at the end of this interim period was left undetermined, with the Constitution providing for the establishment of a parliamentary committee to examine the issue in the future. In addition, the Constitution recognised fourteen other languages for official use (listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution). ... Fifteen years after the enactment of the Constitution, Hindi was still not widely used by the Union government. Following a series of violent riots in non-Hindi-speaking States in the 1960s, Parliament renounced the ideal of an Indian national language. In 1965, when the fifteen-year interim period prescribed by the Constitution elapsed, the government announced that English would remain the de facto formal language of India.}}{{citation |last=Isaka |first=Riho |title=Language, Identity, and Power in Modern India: Gujarat, c. 1850–1960 |series=Routledge New Horizons in South Asian Studies |year=2021 |publisher=Routledge |pages=126–197 |isbn=978-1-000-46858-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3F5CEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA127 |quote=Partition may have 'killed' Hindustani, but it had a marked effect on the debates regarding the position of English and provincial languages in the Constitution. The Hindi protagonists became even more insistent on establishing Hindi as the sole national language and imposing it on the non-Hindi-speaking regions to enhance 'national unity'. In addition, these leaders even began to argue that the Devanagari form of numerals should be used instead of the international form. This was firmly opposed by members from South India. To solve the continuing dispute among the Assembly members, (K. M.) Munshi and N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar, a Tamil member of the Assembly, drew up detailed language provisions. These, in the words of the latter, represented a 'compromise between opinions not easily reconcilable' (Constituent Assembly Debates 1X 1966: 1319). The provisions were proposed to the Congress on 2nd September 1949 and engendered a heated discussion. It was eventually decided that they would be proposed in the Assembly by Munshi, Ayyangar, and Bhimrao Ambedkar (the Chairman of the Drafting Committee) in their personal capacities, not as an official proposal on behalf of the Drafting Committee.}} The compromise reached declared (i) Hindi to be the "official language" of India's federal government; (ii) English to be an associate official language for 15 years during which Hindi's formal lexicon would be developed; and (iii) the international form of [[Hindu–Arabic numeral system|Hindu–Arabic numerals]] to be the official numerals. The compromise resolution became articles 343–351 of India's constitution, which came into effect on 26 January 1950. In 1965, after bitter opposition from [[South India]] to Hindi becoming the sole official language, a compromise was reached to where English would continue to be an "associate official language" indefinitely.{{Cite journal |last=Forrester |first=Duncan B. |date=1966 |title=The Madras Anti-Hindi Agitation, 1965: Political Protest and its Effects on Language Policy in India |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2755179 |journal=Pacific Affairs |volume=39 |issue=1/2 |pages=19–36 |doi=10.2307/2755179 |jstor=2755179 |issn=0030-851X |url-access=subscription |archive-date=7 March 2023 |access-date=19 April 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307053155/https://www.jstor.org/stable/2755179 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Sandipan |date=2026-01-26 |title=1965: When Republic Day became a morning of mourning in Madras |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/1965-anti-hindi-agitation-madras-student-protests-indira-gandhi-intervention-tamil-nadu-language-policy-2857880-2026-01-26 |access-date=2026-04-19 |website=India Today |language=en |archive-date=26 January 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260126150904/https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/1965-anti-hindi-agitation-madras-student-protests-indira-gandhi-intervention-tamil-nadu-language-policy-2857880-2026-01-26 |url-status=live }} The [[Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India|Eighth Schedule of India's Constitution]] also recognises 22 languages, including Hindi but not English, which the government is obligated to develop. These are sometimes called "scheduled languages". This list includes major regional languages, but also others—such as [[Sanskrit]], which no longer has [[first language]] speakers in India, and [[Urdu]], which is not region-specific—because of their value to India's cultural heritage.{{cite book |last=Annamalai |first=E. |editor=Braj B. Kachru |editor2=Yamuna Kachru |editor3=S. N. Sridhar |title=Language in South Asia |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O2n4sFGDEMYC&pg=PA223 |year=2008 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-46550-2 |pages=223– |chapter=Contexts of multilingualism |quote=Some of the migrated languages ... such as Sanskrit and English, remained primarily as a second language, even though their native speakers were lost.}}{{cite book |last1=Gazzola |first1=Michele |last2=Wickström |first2=Bengt-Arne |title=The Economics of Language Policy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C4snDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA469 |year=2016 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-03470-8 |pages=469– |quote=The Eighth Schedule recognizes India's national languages as including the major regional languages as well as others, such as Sanskrit and Urdu, which contribute to India's cultural heritage. ... The original list of fourteen languages in the Eighth Schedule at the time of the adoption of the Constitution in 1949 has now grown to twenty-two.}}{{cite book |last=Groff |first=Cynthia |title=The Ecology of Language in Multilingual India: Voices of Women and Educators in the Himalayan Foothills |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qLc7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA58 |year=2017 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |isbn=978-1-137-51961-0 |pages=58– |quote=As Mahapatra says: "It is generally believed that the significance for the Eighth Schedule lies in providing a list of languages from which Hindi is directed to draw the appropriate forms, style and expressions for its enrichment" ... Being recognized in the Constitution, however, has had significant relevance for a language's status and functions.}} In 1950, there were 14 scheduled languages: [[Assamese language|Assamese]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Hindi]], [[Kannada]], [[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]], [[Malayalam]], [[Marathi language|Marathi]], [[Odia language|Oriya]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], Sanskrit, [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]] and Urdu. In the following decades constitutional amendments added others: [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] (1967), [[Nepali language|Nepali]], [[Meitei language|Manipuri]], and [[Konkani language|Konkani]] (1992), [[Maithili language|Maithili]], [[Dogri language|Dogri]], [[Santali language|Santali]] and [[Boro language (India)|Bodo]] (2004). File:Language Map of India.jpg|Map of India by dominant spoken native language File:Indian Languages Map.jpg|The main languages of India by relative numbers of speakers === Religion === {{Main|Religion in India}} India has had a long history of [[religious pluralism]] that shapes its modern society.{{cite book|last1=Chana|first1=Subhadra Mitra|last2=Lobo|first2=Nancy|editor1-last=Chana|editor1-first=Subhadra Mitra|editor2-last=Lobo|editor2-first=Nancy|chapter=Introduction|title=Religious Pluralism in India: Ethnographic and Philosophical Evidences, 1886–1936|publisher=Routledge|year=2023|isbn=978-1-032-37305-8|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Religious_Pluralism_in_India/pSqzEAAAQBAJ|access-date=September 4, 2026}} Hinduism is the majority faith followed by nearly 80% of the population; Islam is the largest minority at over 14%.{{cite journal| last1 = Padilla y Sotelo| first1 = Lilia Susana| last2 = Acharya| first2 = Arun Kumar| year = 2006| title = Religion and India's Growing Population: Evidence from Some Selected States of India| journal = Caminhos de Geografia| volume = 6| issue = 15| pages = 1–12 | doi = 10.14393/RCG61515382}} [[Gavin Flood]] has defined Hinduism to be "a range and history of practice" which references the texts and sacrifices in the [[Vedas]]; whose adherents belong to [[endogamy|endogamous]] social units ([[jāti]]/[[varna (Hinduism)|varna]]); participate in rituals in which offerings are made to a deity and blessings received in return ([[puja (Hinduism)|puja]]); and profess an outwardly polytheism, but sometimes also an inwardly monotheism in which many gods are considered manifestations of one supreme being.{{cite book|last=Flood|first=Gavin|editor-last=Flood|editor-first=Gavin|chapter=Introduction: A History of Hindu Practise|title=Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Practice|publisher = Oxford University Press|page = 1–19|doi=10.1093/oso/9780198733508.003.0001}} [[Axel Michaels]] has echoed the assessment, "I propose that Hindu India is special in that rituals surpass belief ...." Islamic religious life in India, according to [[Barbara D. Metcalf]], has a central [[Sufism|Sufi]] tradition of inner spirituality, "cultivation of ethical norms," and a reverence for holy guides. There is also text-based scholarship, especially the study of prophetic traditions in the [[hadith]].{{cite book |last=Metcalf |first=Barbara D. |author-link=Barbara D. Metcalf |editor-last=Metcalf |editor-first=Barbara D. |contribution=Preface |title=Islam in South Asia in Practice |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |year=2009 |page=xviii |isbn=978-0-691-04421-7}} India also has populations of [[Christians]] and [[Sikhs]] in the tens of millions, [[Buddhists]] and [[Jains]] fewer than 10 million, and historical populations of [[Parsis|Zoroastrians]] in the tens of thousands and [[Jews]] less than ten thousand. The [[Saint Thomas Christians]] in South India trace their history to the arrival ashore in India of [[Saint Thomas (Apostle)|St Thomas the Apostle]] in the 1st century CE; they have their distinctive [[liturgy|liturgical traditions]].{{cite book|last=Rose|first=S.|editor1-last=Brunn|editor1-first=S.S.|year=2024|chapter= The St. Thomas Christian Community of South India: Evolution and Expansion of an Early Christian Community from Inception to Contemporary Times|title= Geography of Time, Place, Movement and Networks|volume=3|publisher=Springer Nature|url= https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-58033-8_12}} Sikhism is a monotheistic tradition founded by [[Guru Nanak]] in the late 15th-century Punjab; it grew into a tight-knit fellowship under later [[Sikh gurus|guru]]s, the last guru ceding authority to the holy book [[Guru Granth Sahib]].{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Pashaura |last2=Fenech |first2=Louis E. |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0199699308 |pages=441–443}} Although Buddhism, founded by the [[Buddha]] in the mid-5th-century BCE, eventually spread away from India to Southeast Asia and East Asia, its statues and [[stupa]]s, stone realisations of the Buddha, are well-marked across the [[Indian subcontinent|subcontinent]].{{cite book |last=Trainor |first=Kevin |title=Relics, Ritual, and Representation in Buddhism: Rematerializing the Sri Lankan Theravāda Tradition |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0521582803 |pages=33–35}} Jainism, also founded in the mid-5th-century BCE, protects all forms of life meticulously, including the microscopic.{{cite book |last=Long |first=Jeffery D. |title=Jainism: An Introduction |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=978-1845116262 |pages=105–107}} Zoroastrianism is followed by the [[Parsis]] who arrived on the western coast of India from Iran late in the first millennium CE, and rose in trade and industry, becoming early leaders of [[Indian independence movement|Indian nationalism]]. The [[Qissa-i Sanjan]] records their legendary arrival and welcome in India.{{cite book |last=Jacobsen |first=Knut A. |title=Routledge Handbook of South Asian Religions |publisher=Routledge |year=2019 |isbn=978-0367150778 |pages=7–9}} Judaism, which had become established in India by the 8th-century CE, was never subject to [[antisemitism]] from Hindus, Christians, or Parsis, nor to ethnic tensions from Indian Muslims; it has preserved distinctive [[History of the Jews in India|Indo-Judaic]] customs.{{cite book|last=Weil|first=Shalva|editor-last=Weil|editor-first=Shalva|chapter=1. Super-diversity among Baghdadi Jews of India|title=The Baghdadi Jews of India: Maintaining Communities, Negotiating Identities and Creating Super-Diversity|series=Routledge South Asian Religion Series|year=2019 |publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-367-20325-2}}{{efn|The vast majority of India’s 1.4 billion population are Hindus; 13.4 per cent are Muslims, 80 per cent of whom are Sunni Muslims; 2.5 per cent are Christian; and less than 0.0004 per cent are Jews. The majority of the 3,000 Jews remaining in India today live in Maharashtra, namely in Mumbai, the Konkan villages and Pune. There are small remnants of Jewish communities in Ahmedabad, New Delhi and Calcutta; only five Jews remain in 'Jew Town' in Mattancherry, Cochin, and a dozen or so more are scattered around Kerala. Even in their heyday before 1950, the Indian Jews from all three Jewish groups – Cochin Jews, Bene Israel and Baghdadis – only numbered 28,000 souls. They neither suffered from anti-Semitism at the hand of their fellow countrymen – Hindu, Christian, Parsee or other – nor experienced ethnic tensions with Indian Moslems. Somehow, they created and maintained unique Indo-Judaic customs, which they enacted in the multi-religious and complex society of India. The Baghdadi Jews never numbered more than 8,000 souls; today, just 70 remain in all of India”}} As of 2019, there were 3,000 [[Jews]] in India, down from 28,000 in 1950. India is a [[secular state]] and guarantees the [[fundamental right]] to [[freedom of religion]]{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Donald Eugene |title=India as a Secular State |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |year=2015 |orig-year=2008|pages=100–115 |isbn=978-0-691-62324-5}} ("Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship").{{cite web |url=https://www.mygov.in/campaigns/read-preamble |title=Preamble: The Constitution of India|access-date=September 3, 2026}} A large majority of Indian Muslims, Christians, and Sikhs participate in customs, or hold dear beliefs, that were once only a part of Hinduism (e.g. ''[[karma]]'').{{cite report |last1=Sahgal|first1=Neha|last2=Evans|first2=Jonathan|last3=Salazar|first3=Ariana Monique|last4=Starr|first4=Kelsey Jo|last5=Corichi|first5=Manolo |title=Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/06/29/religion-in-india-tolerance-and-segregation/ |date=June 29, 2021 |publisher=Pew Research Center}} Sikh [[gurdwara]]s and Sufi [[dargah]]s often attract both visitors and worshippers from other religions. India has monastic traditions such as that of [[Jain monasticism|Jain ascetic]]s some of whom practice an extreme form of [[nonviolence]] (''[[ahimsa]]'') and Buddhist [[sangha|communities]] who have preserved [[Lineage (Buddhism)|ancient styles of meditation]]s.{{cite book |last=Dundas |first=Paul |title=The Jains |publisher=Routledge |year=2002 |pages=160–175 |isbn=978-0-415-26605-5}} The religious kaleidoscope coexists with religious [[endogamy]]—people rarely marry outside their faith—and [[religious segregation]] in housing—many religious groups live together either by choice or by the lack of a better option; thus India's religious picture has both intermixing and clear divisions. [[Birth rate]]s, [[population growth]], and access to education commonly vary across religions.{{cite report |last=Kramer|first=Stephanie |title=Causes of Religious Change |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/09/21/causes-of-religious-change/ |date=September 21, 2021 |publisher=Pew Research Center}} These influence how communities mobilise politically to preserve their [[place of worship|places of worship]], to manage [[charitable trust]]s, and to protect their [[family law]]s. Differences in states' laws, especially those prohibiting [[religious conversion]]—usually from Hinduism to other faiths—colour the daily lives of minority communities.{{cite report |author=USCIRF |title=India's State-Level Anti-Conversion Laws |url=https://www.uscirf.gov/publications/indias-state-level-anti-conversion-laws |date=March 2023 |publisher=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom}} Providing [[Constitutionalism|constitutional protections]] for [[minorities]] in the face of [[majoritarian]] pressure remains a fraught challenge.{{cite chapter |last=Bhargava |first=Rajeev |chapter=Political Secularism |editor-last=Dryzek |editor-first=John S. |editor2-last=Honig |editor2-first=Bonnie |editor3-last=Phillips |editor3-first=Anne |title=The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |pages=636–655 |isbn=978-0-19-954843-9}} File:Gomateswara, Shravanabelagola.jpg|[[Jainism|Jain]] pilgrim, [[Shravanabelagola]] File:Front Judes Church Chinnathurai Tamil Nadu crop Mar24 A7C 10007.jpg|The exterior of St Judes Church, [[Chinnathurai]] File:Maneckji Seth Agiary in Fort, Mumbai.jpg|[[Maneckji Seth Agiary|Zoroastrian agiary]], Mumbai File:Sikh pilgrim at the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) in Amritsar, India.jpg|A Sikh pilgrim at the [[Golden Temple]] in [[Amritsar]] File:Magen David Synagogue Interiors after restoration.jpg|Interior of the [[Magen David Synagogue (Kolkata)|Magen David Synagogue]], Kolkata === Education === {{Main|Education in India}} {{See also| Literacy in India|History of education in the Indian subcontinent}} In 1911, there were three primary schools for every ten villages in [[British India]].{{cite journal |last1=Chaudhary |first1=Latika |title=Determinants of Primary Schooling in British India |journal=The Journal of Economic History |date=March 2009 |volume=69 |issue=1 |pages=269–302 |doi=10.1017/S0022050709000400 }} Early literacy was low: It was 5% in 1891 (9% for men and 1% for women) and 7% in 1921 (12% for men and 2% for women). Historically, local diversity limited literacy growth in India because caste and religious fragmentation reduced private spending. {{cite journal |first=Rajni |last=Pathania |title=Literacy in India: Progress and Inequality |url=https://www.bangladeshsociology.org/LiteracyinIndiaBEJS17.1.pdf |volume=17 |website=bangladeshsociology.org |publisher=Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology |date=January 2020 |issue=1 |access-date=18 October 2021 |archive-date=10 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010044811/http://www.bangladeshsociology.org/LiteracyinIndiaBEJS17.1.pdf |url-status=live }}{{cite web |first=Dandapani |last=Natarajan |title=Extracts from the All India Census Reports on Literacy |url=https://lsi.gov.in:8081/jspui/bitstream/123456789/366/1/26501_1971_CEN.pdf |publisher=[[Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India|Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India]] |year=1971 |access-date=18 October 2021 |archive-date=28 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628052820/http://lsi.gov.in:8081/jspui/bitstream/123456789/366/1/26501_1971_CEN.pdf |url-status=live }} Literacy rates rose to 18% in 1951 (27% for men and 9% for women) and 41% in 1981 (53% for men and 29% for women). By 2011, literacy reached 74.04% (82.14% for men and 65.46% for women). They ranged from Kerala's 93.91% to Bihar's 63.82%. Meanwhile, rural gains reached twice the level of urban, narrowing the rural-urban gap from 21.2 percentage points in 2001 to 16.1 in 2011.{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=163}} The central, state, and local governments manage education in India.{{cite report |author=[[NITI Aayog]] |title=School Education System in India |publisher=Government of India |date=May 2026 |url=https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2026-05/School-Education-System-in-India.pdf |access-date=September 4, 2026}} Every child between the ages of 6 and 14 has a right to education, which is free and compulsory.{{cite web |title=Right to Education |url=https://master-dsel-education.digifootprint.gov.in/documents/acts-and-policies/right-to-education-AjM5ATMtQWa?pageTitle=Right-to-Education|date=August 27, 2009 |access-date=September 4, 2026}} Traditionally, children had spent eight years in primary school before moving on to high school.{{cite report |author=[[Ministry of Education (India)|Ministry of Human Resource Development]] |title=National Education Policy 2020 |publisher=Government of India |date=2020 |pages=11–12 |url=https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/userfiles/NEP_Final_English_0.pdf |access-date=September 4, 2026}} In 2020, the [[National Education Policy 2020|National Education Policy]] changed this division to one based on developmental stages: a foundational stage: five years of pre-school and [[Educational stage|standard]]s 1–2, for ages 3–8; a preparatory stage: standards 3–5; a middle stage: standards 6–8; and a secondary stage: standards 9–12. Critics argue that the new plan, although progressive, suffers from public underfunding and inadequate school infrastructure.{{cite journal |last1=Jha |first1=P. |last2=Parvati |first2=P. |title=National Education Policy, 2020: Long on Rhetoric and Short on Substance |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |date=2020 |volume=55 |issue=34 |pages=14–17|url=https://www.epw.in/journal/2020/34/commentary/national-education-policy-2020.html}} The first universities in India were founded in Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras in 1857, the last year of [[Company rule in India|East India Company rule]].{{harvnb|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|p=154}} "They were in part the product of Sir Charles Wood's Education Dispatch of 1854, further evidence of Dalhousie's modernizing impulse that had also set in place the first three Indian universities, one in each presidency capital, inaugurated in the fateful year of 1857." India now has one of the world's largest systems of post-secondary education.{{cite report |author=Ministry of Education |title=All India Survey on Higher Education 2022–2023 |publisher=Government of India |date=January 2024 |url=https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s392049debbe566ca5782a3045cf300a3c/uploads/2026/07/20260708401535366.pdf |access-date=September 4, 2026}} Recent college reforms envisage offering more flexible degrees, creating online learning tools, and inviting foreign universities to set up campuses in India. However, large gaps remain between rural and urban areas.{{cite journal |last=Das |first=S. |last2=Mishra |first2=P. |date=2024 |title=Education Inequality in India: An Empirical Analysis Using National Sample Survey Data |journal=Journal of Social and Economic Development |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=112–115 |doi=10.1177/09737030241280145 |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] }} School quality, campus building conditions, and computer access vary substantially based on a student's gender and family's wealth.{{cite journal |last=Srivastava |first=A. |last2=Roy |first2=A. |date=2022 |title=Intersectional inequalities in digital access and school infrastructure across Indian households |journal=Frontiers in Education |volume=7 |doi=10.3389/feduc.2022.871043 |doi-access=free|publisher=Frontiers Media}} Poor job prospects for graduates and uneven rule enforcement across different states have faced criticism from researchers and the public alike.{{cite journal |last=Agrawal |first=Tushar |date=2014 |title=Educational inequality in rural and urban India |journal=International Journal of Educational Development |volume=34 |pages=11–19 |doi=10.1016/j.ijedudev.2013.05.002 |publisher=[[Elsevier]]}} File:47 Raika School - eating together (3384824242).jpg|Children await school lunch in Rayka (also Raika), a village in Gujarat. The salutation ''[[Jai Bhim]]'' on the blackboard honours the jurist, social reformer, and [[Dalit]] leader [[B. R. Ambedkar]]. File:Madrasah1.jpg|The [[Madrasah]] of the [[Masjid-i-Ala]] mosque in [[Srirangapatna]], Karnataka, built in the period 1786–87, during the rule of [[Tipu Sultan]] File:ThomasonCollegeOfEngineeringRoorkeeEst1847.jpg | [[IIT Roorkee]], formerly the Thomason College of Civil Engineering, is the oldest engineering college in India.{{citation |last=Subramanian |first=Ajantha |title=The Caste of Merit: Engineering Education in India |location=Cambridge, MA and London |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-674-98788-3 |publisher=Harvard University Press |pages=30–31 |quote=Before the 1854 despatch, there was already one engineering college in operation: the Thomason College of Civil Engineering at Roorkee.}} It was founded in 1847 during [[Company rule in India|East India Company rule]] to train men employed in the construction of the [[Ganges Canal]].{{citation |last=Headrick |first=Daniel R. |title=The Tentacles of Progress: Technology Transfer in the Age of Imperialism, 1850–1940 |location=New York |year=1988 |isbn=0-19-505115-7 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=317 |quote=The first engineering college was an outgrowth of the Ganges Canal. Named after the lieutenant governor of the North-Western Provinces who founded it in 1847, the Thomason Engineering College at Roorkee trained employees for the irrigation branch of the Public Works Department. It offered different curricula for different types of students: an engineering class for domiciled Europeans and a few Indians, an upper subordinates class to train British noncommissioned officers as construction foremen, and a lower subordinates class to train Indian surveyors. By the mid-1880s, the school has a hundred students, substantial buildings, and a reputation as an important center for the study of hydraulic engineering.}} File:Students from All Over India protesting against 2026 NEET UG paper leak place Jantar Mantar on 20 July 2026 ahead of Parliament March 30.jpg|Students protesting [[Indian examination paper leaks]]—the illegal sharing or selling of official exam questions before the test begins—in Delhi, July 2026{{cite news |last1=Pragati |first1=K. B. |last2=Sengupta |first2=Somini |date=2026-07-28 |title=‘We Are Not Learning Anything’: India’s Gen Z Rage Is a Test for Modi |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/world/asia/india-education-protests-cockroach-genz.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=2026-09-04}} === Health === {{Main|Health in India}} [[File:Anganwadi center at Ada village cropped.jpg|thumb|The [[Anganwadi]] centre in Ada village, [[Asifabad district]], [[Telangana]] in July 2022. [[Undernutrition in children|Child undernutrition]] and [[Stunted growth|stunting]] rates have steadily declined in India, despite a slowing rate over the last decade.{{cite journal |last1=Kavishwar |first1=A. |last2=Joe |first2=W. |title=Progress in child nutrition outcomes: insights from India's national surveys |journal=BMC Public Health |volume=25 |pages=2443 |year=2025 |doi=10.1186/s12889-025-24436-y |doi-access=free}}{{cite journal |last1=Rao|first1=N|last2=Bala|first2=M|last3= Ranganathan |first3=N|last4=Anand |first4=U|last5=Dhingra|first5=S|last6=Costa |first6=JC |title=Trends in the prevalence and social determinants of stunting in India, 2005–2021 :findings from three rounds of the National Family Health Survey|journal=BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health |volume=6 |issue=2 |year=2023 |url=https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjnph-2023-000648}} Anganwadi centres play a central role by providing localised supplementary nutrition and health counselling.{{cite journal |last1=Mondal |first1=A |last2=Manivannan |first2=J.R. |last3=Bhatnagar |first3=G. |title=Evaluation of India's Supplementary Nutrition Programme for children aged 36–72 months and opportunities for improvement using linear programming|journal=Journal of Nutritional Science |volume=13 |pages=e6 |year=2026 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/2EE527BEC2C8BA3C16605A1EA4E0FD2F/S2048679026100950a.pdf/evaluation-of-indias-supplementary-nutrition-programme-for-children-aged-36-72-months-and-opportunities-for-improvement-using-linear-programming.pdf}}{{cite journal |last1=Das |first1=S. |last2=Mishra |first2=P. |title=Malnutrition among children in India: exploring the contribution of the Integrated Child Development Services |journal=Discover Social Science and Health |volume=15 |issue=e6 |pages=8 |year=2024 |doi=10.1007/s43545-023-00811-7}}]] Since its 1947 independence, India has significantly reduced historically [[endemic]] diseases, though some remain intractable. The country was certified smallpox-free in April 1977 following two years of surveillance after its last ''[[Variola major]]'' case.{{cite journal |last1=Bhattacharya |first1=S. |title=Uncertain advances: a review of the final phases of the smallpox eradication program in India, 1960–1980 |journal=American Journal of Public Health |year=2004 |volume=94 |issue=11 |pages=1875–1883 |url=https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.94.11.1875?download=true}}{{cite journal |last1=Bhattacharya |first1=S. |last2=Dasgupta |first2=R. |title=A tale of two global health programs: Smallpox eradication's lessons for the antipolio campaign in India |journal=American Journal of Public Health |date=2009 |volume=99 |issue=7 |pages=1174–1184 |doi=10.2105/AJPH.2008.135624 |pmid=19528668 |pmc=2696658}} It was officially certified polio-free by the [[World Health Organisation]] on March 27, 2014, after successfully completing three consecutive years without recorded cases of [[wild poliovirus]].{{cite journal |last1=John |first1=T. J. |last2=Vashishtha |first2=V. M. |title=Eradicating poliomyelitis: India's journey from hyperendemic to polio-free status |journal=Indian Journal of Medical Research |date=2013 |volume=137 |issue=6 |pages=1041–1048 |pmid=23852285 |pmc=3734678}}{{cite journal |last1=Kloeger |first1=S. |last2=Kloeger |first2=A. |last3=Sahu |first3=P. K. |last4=Dixit |first4=S. |title=Involvement of Civil Society in India's Polio Eradication Program: Lessons Learned |journal=Journal of Global Health Reports |date=2019 |volume=3 |pages=e2019042 |doi=10.29392/joghr.3.e2019042 |pmc=6776100}} In contrast, cholera remains [[endemic]] to [[Ganges Delta|Ganges-Meghna Delta]] [[estuary|estuaries]],{{cite journal|last1=Alam |first1=Munirul| last2=Sultana| first2=M|last3=Nair|first3=G.B. |last4=Sack|first4=R.B.| last5=Sack|first5=R.B.| last6=Sack|first6=D.A.|last7=Siddique|first7=A.K.|last8=Ali|first8=A.|last9=Huq|first9=A|last10=Colwell|first10= Rita R.|author-link10=Rita R. Colwell| title = Biofilms comprise a component of the annual cycle of Vibrio cholerae in the Bay of Bengal estuary| journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America| volume = 104| issue = 47| pages = 18742–18747| date = November 2007| doi = 10.1073/pnas.0709947104}} resulting in seasonal outbreaks caused by monsoons and [[water supply network]] shortcomings.{{cite journal|last1=Kanungo |first1=S. |last2=Sah |first2=B. K. |last3=Ali |first3=M. |title=Spread and Endemicity of Cholera in India: Factors Beyond the Numbers |journal=Frontiers in Public Health |date=2021 |volume=9 |pages=783054 |doi=10.3389/fpubh.2021.783054 |doi-access=free|pmid=34957018 |pmc=8687089}}{{cite journal |last1=Tantadas |first1=M. |last2=Deb |first2=A. |last3=Kanungo |first3=S. |title=Cholera Outbreaks in India, 2011–2020: A Systematic Review |journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |date=2022 |volume=19 |issue=9 |pages=5738 |doi=10.3390/ijerph19095738 |doi-access=free|pmid=35565132 |pmc=9099871}} [[Tuberculosis]] is a major concern; India bears a quarter of the global tuberculosis [[disease burden]].{{cite report |title=Global tuberculosis report 2025 |chapter=1.1 TB incidence|publisher=[[World Health Organization]] |date=12 November 2025 |location=Geneva |isbn=978-92-4-011692-4 |url=https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240116924 |access-date=25 August 2026}}{{cite journal |last1=Khatri |first1=P. |title=Critical Perspectives on Global Health Policy, Diagnostic Access and Implementation Gaps for Tuberculosis Control in India |journal=Journal of Global Health Policy and Primary Care |year=2024 |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39855743/ }} Historical [[malaria]] cases have dropped from millions to hundreds of thousands annually, but India experiences localised seasonal increases caused by [[drug resistance|drug-resistant]] variants of the ''[[Plasmodium falciparum]]'' and ''[[Plasmodium vivax]]'' [[disease vector|vectors]].{{cite journal |last1=Bhowmick |first1=I. |title=Mapping malaria risk in India between 2019 and 2023: a tool for the public to track malaria |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=15 |date=2025 |doi=10.1038/s41598-025-25671-4 |doi-access=free|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-25671-4 }} [[Patient]]s in India often face a stark choice: use basic, free, [[publicly funded health care]] or pay high [[Out-of-pocket expense|out-of-pocket fee]]s for better-equipped care from private doctors and hospitals.{{cite journal |last1=Kumar |first1=A. |last2=Prasad |first2=S. |last3=Shivananda |first3=S. |date=2024 |title=Private hospitals generally offer better treatment and facilities: A qualitative analysis of out-of-pocket expenditure and healthcare preferences in South Karnataka |journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |volume=21 |issue=10 |pages=1287 |doi=10.3390/ijerph21101287 |doi-access=free}} This divide is particularly severe outside cities, as public clinics in rural areas rarely have enough doctors or nurses to meet local demands.{{cite journal |last=Thiagarajan |first=K. |year=2021 |title=How to fix India's depleted rural workforce |journal=BMJ |volume=373 |pages=1564|url=https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1564}} When serious medical emergencies occur, poorer families are often forced to sell land or take out high-interest loans to pay for private care.{{cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=A.R |last2=Sahu |first2=S.K |last3=Dash|first3=U|year=2025 |title=Illness to poverty in India: a qualitative exploration of hardship financing for healthcare |journal=International Journal for Equity in Health |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=307 |url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12939-025-02666-1.pdf}} This resulting medical debt pushes approximately 55 million people into poverty every year.{{cite journal |last1=Soni |first1=Neeraj |last2=Nayak |first2=Rajabushan Jagadish |last3=Blon |first3=Prasant |last4=Singh |first4=Ashish |date=July 2026 |title=Can a bigger budget shrink the bill at the bedside? Public financing and household health costs in India |journal=Frontiers in Public Health |volume=14 |pages=1903360 |doi=10.3389/fpubh.2026.1903360 |doi-access=free|url=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1903360/full}} Long-term exposure to outdoor and indoor [[air pollution]] adds a major environmental risk to [[public health]] in India.{{cite journal |last1=Saraf |first1=S. |last2=Khanna |first2=A. |last3=Dharmadhikari |first3=A. |year=2024 |title=Estimating the effect of annual PM2·5 exposure on mortality in India: a nationwide 1-km spatial cohort study |journal=The Lancet Planetary Health |volume=8 |issue=12 |pages=e941–e949 |doi=10.1016/S2542-5196(24)00248-1}} [[Particulate matter]] emissions from [[vehicle]]s and [[factory|factories]] are linked to a rise in [[Chronic condition|chronic]] [[respiratory disease]]s, [[stroke]]s, and [[cardiovascular disease]], together adding an estimated 1.7 million [[Death#premature death|premature death]]s annually.{{cite journal |last1=Romanello |first1=M. |last2=Walawender|first2=M |last3=Hsu |first3=S.C.|last4=Moskeland|first4=A.|last5=Palmeiro-Silva|first5=Y|last6=Scamman|first6=F |year=2025 |title=The 2025 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: climate change action offers a lifeline. |journal=[[The Lancet]] |volume=406 |issue=10521 |pages=2804–2857 |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rpe2u2wVmXm4WVyYjWjryKIujFN6_oxn/view}} India's early [[COVID-19 lockdowns|COVID-19 lockdown]] bought time to rapidly increase local testing and protective gear production; however, later waves of the virus overwhelmed the healthcare system, leading to severe shortages of oxygen and intensive care beds.{{cite journal |last1=Kaur |first1=A. |last2=Singh |first2=H. |last3=Asghar |first3=A. |year=2023 |title=Impact of COVID-19 on healthcare system in India: A systematic review |journal=Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care |volume=12 |issue=7 |pages=1242–1244 |doi=10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_2321_22 |doi-access=free|pmc=10345816}}{{cite journal |last1=Patel |first1=V. |last2=Kalita |first2=A. |last3=Melo Furtado |first3=K. |year=2026 |title=The Lancet Commission on a citizen-centred health system for India |journal=[[The Lancet]] |volume=407 |issue=10526 |pages=392–398 |url=https://cppg.gim.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lancet-India-Commission_full-report_compressed.pdf}} Post-[[COVID-19 pandemic|pandemic]] [[Epidemiology#Types of studies|epidemiological studies]] estimate that cumulative [[excess death]]s in India reached between 3.2{{cite journal |last1=Jha |first1=P. |last2=Deshmukh |first2=Y. |last3=Tumbe |first3=C. |year=2022 |title=COVID mortality in India: National survey data and health facility deaths |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=375 |issue=6581 |pages=667–671 |doi=10.1126/science.abm5154 |pmid=34990212}} and 4.7 million.{{cite journal|last1=Msemburi|first1=W.|last2=Karlinsky|first2=A.|last3=Knutson|first3=V.|last4=Aleshin-Guendel|first4=S.|last5=Chatterji|first5=S.|last6=Wakefield|first6=J.|year=2023|title=The WHO estimates of excess mortality associated with the COVID-19 pandemic|journal=Nature|volume=613|issue=7942|pages=130–137|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05522-2.pdf}} == Culture == {{Main|Culture of India}} === Society === {{Main|Caste system in India|Gender inequality in India|Islam in India}} Although sometimes applied to other cultures and religions, caste is a uniquely Indian, and Hindu, social institution.{{efn|Caste is a form of [[social stratification]] characterised by [[endogamy]], hereditary transmission of an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction or exclusion defined by cultural notions of purity and pollution.* {{citation |editor=Lagasse, Paul |title=The Columbia Encyclopedia |chapter=Caste |chapter-url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/caste.aspx#3 |access-date=24 September 2012 |year=2007 |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-231-14446-9 |archive-date=1 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001133425/https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/anthropology-and-archaeology/anthropology-terms-and-concepts/caste#3 |url-status=live }} Quote: "'''caste''' [Port., casta=basket], ranked groups based on heredity within rigid systems of social stratification, especially those that constitute Hindu India. Some scholars, in fact, deny that true caste systems are found outside India. The caste is a closed group whose members are severely restricted in their choice of occupation and degree of social participation. Marriage outside the caste is prohibited. Social status is determined by the caste of one's birth and may only rarely be transcended." * {{citation |last1=Madan |first1=T. N. |author-link1=T. N. Madan |title=caste |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/98395/caste |date=2012 |access-date=23 November 2025 |archive-date=30 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130130130911/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/98395/caste |url-status=live }} Quote: "'''caste''', any of the ranked, hereditary, endogamous social groups, often linked with occupation, that together constitute traditional societies in South Asia, particularly among Hindus in India. Although sometimes used to designate similar groups in other societies, the "caste system" is uniquely developed in Hindu societies." * {{citation |last=Gupta |first=Dipankar |chapter=Caste |editor-last=Schaefer |editor-first=Richard T. |title=Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YMUola6pDnkC&pg=PA246 |location=Thousand Oaks |access-date=5 August 2012 |year=2008 |publisher=SAGE |isbn=978-1-4129-2694-2 |pages=246–250 }} Quote: "'''Caste''': What makes Indian society unique is the phenomenon of caste. Economic, religious, and linguistic differentiations, even race-based discrimination, are known elsewhere, but nowhere else does one see caste but in India." * {{harvnb|Béteille|2002|pages=136–137|ps=. Quote: "'''Caste''': Caste has been described as the fundamental social institution of India. Sometimes the term is used metaphorically to refer to rigid social distinctions or extreme social exclusiveness wherever found, and some authorities have used the term 'colour-caste system' to describe the stratification based on race in the United States and elsewhere. But it is among the Hindus in India that we find the system in its most fully developed form although analogous forms exist among Muslims, Christians. Sikhs and other religious groups in South Asia. It is an ancient institution, having existed for at least 2,000 years among the Hindus who developed not only elaborate caste practices hut also a complex theory to explain and justify those practices (Dumont 1970). The theory has now lost much of its force although many of the practices continue."}} * {{citation |last=Mitchell |first=Geoffrey Duncan |title=A New Dictionary of the Social Sciences |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-a4vvdBrSVgC&pg=PA194 |access-date=10 August 2012 |date=2006 |publisher=Aldine Transaction Publishers |isbn=978-0-202-30878-4 |pages=194–195 |chapter=Castes (part of SOCIAL STRATIFICATION) |location=New Brunswick, NJ }} Quote:"'''Castes''' A pure caste system is rooted in the religious order and may be thought of as a hierarchy of hereditary, endogamous, occupational groups with positions fixed and mobility barred by ritual distances between each caste. Empirically, the classical Hindu system of India approximated most closely to pure caste. The system existed for some 3,000 years and continues today despite many attempts to get rid of some of its restrictions. It is essentially connected with Hinduism." * {{citation |chapter=caste, n. |title=Oxford English Dictionary, Second edition; online version June 2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, UK |chapter-url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/28546 |access-date=5 August 2019 |year=1989 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924123226/http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/28546 |url-status=live }} Quote: "'''caste, n.''' 2a. spec. One of the several hereditary classes into which society in India has from time immemorial been divided; ... ''This is now the leading sense, which influences all others''."}} All Hindus fall broadly into four castes, or ''[[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]]s'': [[Brahmin]], or priests, at the top; below them [[Kshatriya]], or warriors; further below, [[Vaishya]], or merchants and farmers; and at the bottom, [[Shudra]], or the service class. Outside the caste system, and therefore of traditional Hinduism, lie people formerly called "outcastes" or "untouchables," and now [[scheduled caste]] (a term used in India's constitution) or [[Dalit]], a later self-description of pride, meaning "broken" or "downtrodden". Each caste is further divided into sub-castes, or [[Jāti|jati]]s, many of which are tied to occupations. The custom of [[endogamy]], or marrying within one's subcaste, however, makes caste a hereditary label, not of one occupational choice, and has caused the caste system, therefore, to become entrenched.{{cite book| last = Atrey | first = Shreya | title = Intersectional Discrimination| location = Oxford, UK and New York, NY | publisher = Oxford University Press| year = 2019 | isbn = 978-0-19-884895-0 | page = 63–64}} The [[Constituent Assembly of India]] abolished untouchability in 1947,{{cite news|title=Indians Outlaw 'Untouchability' In Formal Action by Assembly; UNTOUCHABILITY' FORMALLY BANNED|date=April 30, 1947|publisher=Reuters/New York Times|quote=NEW DELHI, India, April 29 -- India's Constituent Assembly, discussing the Fundamental Rights Committee's report, today adopted this provision: "Untouchability in any form is abolished and the imposition of any disability on that account shall be an offense.}} the [[Republic of India]] did more formally in 1950, and India has since enacted other anti-discriminatory laws and social welfare initiatives related to caste. Still, caste-based inequality, discrimination, segregation, and [[Caste-related violence in India|violence]] persist.{{Cite book |last=Teltumbde |first=Anand |title=The Persistence of Caste: The Khairlanji Murders and India's Hidden Apartheid |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-84813-449-2}}{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Sarah |date=28 June 2022 |title=The struggle to challenge India's caste system remains real, still |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-28/struggle-to-challenge-indias-caste-system/101185772 |website=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] |access-date=11 July 2025 |archive-date=13 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240713213206/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-28/struggle-to-challenge-indias-caste-system/101185772 |url-status=live }} Multi-generational [[patrilineal]] [[joint family|joint families]] have been the norm in India, though [[nuclear family|nuclear families]] are becoming common in urban areas.{{sfn|Makar|2007}} A very large majority of Indians have [[Arranged marriage in the Indian subcontinent|their marriages arranged]] by their parents or family elders.{{sfn|Medora|2003}} Marriage is thought to be for life;{{sfn|Medora|2003}} and the divorce rate is extremely low;{{sfn|Jones|Ramdas|2005|p = 111}} less than one in a thousand marriages end in divorce.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-37481054 |title=What divorce and separation tell us about modern India |first=Soutik |last=Biswas |date=29 September 2016 |access-date=18 October 2021 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |archive-date=21 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321061012/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-37481054 |url-status=live }} Many women marry before reaching 18, which is their legal marriageable age; [[child marriage]]s are not uncommon, especially in rural areas.{{sfn|Cullen-Dupont|2009|p = 96}} In large parts of Hindu northern India, moreover, a form of territorial [[exogamy]] is observed in which a bride marries out of her natal village and her parents do not visit her in her married home; the annual rite [[raksha bandhan]], during which married women return to their [[Birth|natal]] homes, has served both to affirm bonds with their natal families and offer a recourse in times of marital stress.{{citation |last=Agarwal |first=Bina |author-link=Bina Agarwal |title=A Field of One's Own: Gender and Land Rights in South Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z3pdP30OnEUC&pg=PA264 |year=1994 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-42926-9 |page=264 |quote=Mayer's (1960: 219) observation for central India would not be inaccurate for most communities in the subcontinent: "A man's tie with his sister is accounted very close. The two have grown up together, at an age when there is no distinction made between the sexes. And later, when the sister marries, the brother is seen as her main protector, for when her father has died to whom else can she turn if there is trouble in her conjugal household.(Adrian C. Mayer, ''Caste and kinship in Central India'' (1960)" The parental home, and after the parents' death the brother's home, often offers the only possibility of temporary or longer-term support in case of divorce, desertion, and even widowhood, especially for a woman without adult sons. Her dependence on this support is directly related to economic and social vulnerability.}}{{citation |last=Coleman |first=Leo |title=A Moral Technology: Electrification as Political Ritual in New Delhi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6YDTDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT127 |year=2017 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-1-5017-0791-9 |page=127}} Quote: Rakhi and its local performances in Kishan Garhi were part of a festival in which connections between out-marrying sisters and village-resident brothers were affirmed. In the "traditional" form of this rite, according to Marriott, sisters exchanged with their brothers to ensure their ability to have recourse—at a crisis, or during childbearing—to their natal village and their relatives there even after leaving for their husband's home. For their part, brothers engaging in these exchanges affirmed the otherwise hard-to-discern moral solidarity of the natal family, even after their sister's marriage. Muslims, India's largest religious minority, have contributed greatly to a shared, blended culture that deeply shaped India’s classical music, literature, and celebrated architecture.{{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2006|pp=144,196}} "(p.144) Chronicles, both visual and written, tell us that instrumentalists from Khurasan and Central Asia as well as singers from India resided in Akbar’s court ... By far the most famous singer was the legendary Tansen (p.196) Whatever its larger meaning, the extensive use of white marble must have been intended to evoke a sense of divine presence, ... Shah Jahan, more than any other Mughal emperor, employed architecture as a way to accentuate his own semi-divine status.}}{{efn|"The poems of [[Mirza Ghalib|Ghālib]] and [[Mir Taqi Mir|Mīr]] represent the best of the Urdu ghazal; and the Urdu ghazal, as an anonymous wit has remarked, is the Muslims’ greatest gift to India, after the Tāj Mahal."{{citation|last=Naim|first=C.M.|author-link=C.M. Naim|chapter=South Asian Literatures: Islamic|title=Encyclopaedia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/South-Asian-arts/Islamic-literatures-11th-19th-century|access-date=August 30, 2026}}}} Modern Indian Muslim society is highly diverse, divided by local languages, distinct cultural backgrounds, and internal social classes.{{cite book |last=Assadi |first=Muzaffar |year=2024 |title=Colonial and Post-Colonial Identity Politics in South Asia: Zaat/Caste Among Muslims |publisher=Routledge |pages=3–5 |isbn=978-1-032-60663-7}} However, Indian Muslims have much lower college enrollment, less access to banking services, and far fewer formal jobs than average.{{cite book |last1=Jaffrelot |first1=Christophe |last2=Kalaiyarasan |first2=A. |date=2023 |chapter=Post-Sachar Indian Muslims: Facets of Socio-Economic Decline|title=Marginalities and Mobilities among India’s Muslims: Elusive Citizenship |editor1-last=Fazal|editor1-first=Tanweer |editor2-last=Vaid |editor2-first=Divya |editor3-last=Jodhka|editor3-first=Surinder S.|publisher=Routledge |pages=19–41 |isbn=9781032077895}} Additionally, due to safety worries and unfair housing practices, many urban Muslims have been forced to move into separated neighbourhoods that often lack basic public services.{{cite journal |last1=Parwez |first1=S.|last2=Khan|first2=G|last3=Khan|first3=T |date=2024 |title=Communal ghettoisation in urban India: A process of informal but systematic segregations |journal=GeoJournal |volume=89 |issue=4 |pages=123–135 |doi=10.1007/s10708-024-11148-w}} Muslim families regularly see higher rates of child survival compared to other religious and social groups.{{cite journal |last=Bhalotra |first=Sonia |last2=Valente |first2=Christine |last3=Van Soest|first3=Arthur|year=2016 |title=The puzzle of Muslim advantage in child survival in India|journal=Journal of Health Economics |volume=29 |pages=191–204 |doi=10.1016/j.jhealeco.2009.11.002}} File:Closeup at Gussadi dance performer.jpg|A [[Gondi people|Gond]] tribe member during the [[Gussadi dance|Dandari]] festival in [[Jainoor]], Telangana. Gonds account for 13.45% of India's [[scheduled caste]] population.{{cite journal |last=Prusty |first=Jayashree |date=2025 |title=Socio-cultural life and transition of Gond tribe, Nawarangpur, Odisha |journal=Antrocom Journal of Anthropology |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=115–128 |url=https://antrocom.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/prusty-socio-cultural-life-gond-nawarangpur-odisha.pdf }} File:A smiling member of the Ramnami Samaj (edited).jpg|A member of the [[Ramnami Samaj]], a movement among [[Dalit]]s, whose members worship the Hindu deity [[Rama]] and tattoo their bodies with his name{{cite book |last=Lamb |first=Ramdas |date=2002 |title=Rapt in the Name: The Ramnamis, Ramnam, and Untouchable Religion in Central India |series=SUNY Series in Hindu Studies|publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0791453858 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.18255109}} File:Hindu Bride, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.jpg|A Hindu bride, [[Ahmedabad]], Gujarat, during a marriage ritual{{efn|"According to Gujarati traditional rituals, it is customary for a bride to present a coconut to the groom at the time of marriage and to be preserved by the respective husband throughout his life. It is given as a marriage proposal, a betrothal sign, a bride’s welcome, and to protect against evil."{{cite journal|last1=Devi|first1=M.|last2=Ghatani|first2=K.|title=The use of coconut in rituals and food preparations in India: a review|journal=Journal of Ethnic Foods|publisher=Springer|volume=9|issue=37|year=2022|url=https://doi.org/10.1186/s42779-022-00150-7}}}} File:Mumtaz Ahmed Khan.jpg|[[Mumtaz Ahmed Khan (humanitarian)|Mumtaz Ahmed Khan]] founder, [[Al-Ameen Educational Society|Al-Ameen Movement]]{{efn|"In India, the Al-Ameen Movement helps in the education of the young in the socially and economically deprived sections of the society in the region of Bangalore."{{cite journal|last=Rogerson|first= S|year=2014|title=Preparing IT professionals of the future|journal=Mondo Digitale|volume=50|issue=2}}}} === Visual art === {{Main|Indian art|Indian painting|Architecture of India}} India has a very ancient tradition of art, which has exchanged many influences with the rest of [[Eurasia]], especially in the first millennium. During this period [[Buddhist art]] spread with Indian religions to [[Central Asia|Central]], [[East Asia|East]] and [[Southeast Asia]], the last also greatly influenced by Hindu art.{{Sfn|Rowland|1970|pp=185–198, 252, 385–466}} Thousands of [[Indus Valley civilisation#Seals|seals from the Indus Valley civilisation]] of the third millennium BCE have been found, usually carved with animals, but also some with human figures. The [[Pashupati seal]], excavated in [[Mohenjo-daro]], Pakistan, in 1928–29, is the best known.{{Sfn|Craven|1997|pp=14–16}}{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=17–18}} Virtually no art survives from a long period following the Indus Valley Civilisation.{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=17–18}}{{Sfn|Rowland|1970|pp=46–47}} Almost all surviving ancient Indian art thereafter is in various forms of religious [[Indian sculpture|sculpture]] in durable materials, or coins. There was probably originally far more in wood, which is lost. In north India [[Mauryan art]] is the first imperial movement.{{Sfn|Craven|1997|pp=35–46}}{{Sfn|Rowland|1970|pp=67–70}}{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=22–24}} Over the following centuries a distinctly Indian style of sculpting the human figure developed, with less interest in articulating precise anatomy than [[ancient Greek sculpture]] but showing smoothly flowing forms expressing ''prana'' ("breath" or life-force).{{Sfn|Craven|1997|pp=22, 88}}{{Sfn|Rowland|1970|pp=35, 99–100}} This is often complicated by the need to give figures multiple arms or heads, or represent different genders on the left and right of figures, as with the [[Ardhanarishvara]] form of Shiva and [[Parvati]].{{Sfn|Craven|1997|pp=18–19}}{{Sfn|Blurton|1993|p=151}} Most of the earliest large sculpture is Buddhist, either excavated from Buddhist [[stupa]]s such as [[Sanchi]], [[Sarnath]] and [[Amaravati Stupa|Amaravati]],{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=32–38}} or is rock cut [[relief]]s at sites such as [[Ajanta Caves|Ajanta]], [[Karla Caves|Karla]] and [[Ellora]]. Hindu and Jain sites appear rather later.{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=43–55}}{{Sfn|Rowland|1970|pp=113–119}} In spite of this complex mixture of religious traditions, generally, the prevailing artistic style at any time and place has been shared by the major religious groups, and sculptors probably usually served all communities.{{Sfn|Blurton|1993|pp=10–11}} [[Gupta art]], at its peak {{circa|{{CE|300}}|{{CE|500}}}}, is often regarded as a classical period whose influence lingered for many centuries after; it saw a new dominance of Hindu sculpture, as at the [[Elephanta Caves]].{{Sfn|Craven|1997|pp=111–121}}{{Sfn|Michell|2000|pp=44–70}} Across the north, this became rather stiff and formulaic after {{circa|{{CE|800}}}}, though rich with finely carved detail in the surrounds of statues.{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=212–216}} But in the South, under the [[Pallava dynasty|Pallava]] and [[Chola dynasty|Chola dynasties]], sculpture in both stone and bronze had a [[Chola art and architecture#Sculpture and bronzes|sustained period of great achievement]]; the large bronzes with Shiva as [[Nataraja]] have become an iconic symbol of India.{{Sfn|Craven|1997|pp=152–160}}{{Sfn|Blurton|1993|pp=225–227}} Ancient paintings have only survived at a few sites, of which the crowded scenes of court life in the [[Ajanta Caves]] are some of the most important.{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=356–361}}{{Sfn|Rowland|1970|pp=242–251}} Painted manuscripts of religious texts survive from Eastern India from 10th century onwards, most of the earliest being Buddhist and later Jain. These significantly influenced later artistic styles.{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=361–370}} The Persian-derived [[Deccan painting]], starting just before the [[Mughal miniature]], between them give the first large body of secular painting, with an emphasis on portraits, and the recording of princely pleasures and wars.{{Sfn|Craven|1997|pp=202–208}}{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=372–382, 400–406}} The style spread to Hindu courts, especially [[Rajput painting|among the Rajputs]], and developed a variety of styles, with the smaller courts often the most innovative, with figures such as [[Nihâl Chand]] and [[Nainsukh]].{{Sfn|Craven|1997|pp=222–243}}{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=384–397, 407–420}} As a market developed among European residents, it was supplied by [[Company painting]] by Indian artists with considerable Western influence.{{Sfn|Craven|1997|p=243}}{{Sfn|Michell|2000|p=210}} In the 19th century, cheap [[Kalighat painting]]s of gods and everyday life, done on paper, were urban [[folk art]] from [[Calcutta]], which later saw the [[Bengal School of Art]], reflecting the art colleges founded by the British, the first movement in [[modern Indian painting]].{{Sfn|Michell|2000|pp=210–211}}{{Sfn|Blurton|1993|p=211}} File:Bhutesvara Yakshis Mathura reliefs 2nd century CE front.jpg|[[Bhutesvara Yakshis]], Buddhist reliefs from [[Mathura]], {{CE|2nd century}} File:MET DT5237 (cropped).jpg|[[Gupta art|Gupta]] [[terracotta]] relief, ''[[Krishna]] Killing the [[Keshi (demon)|Horse Demon Keshi]]'', 5th century File:Unknown, Kangra, India - Krishna Fluting to the Milkmaids - Google Art Project.jpg|''Krishna Fluting to the Milkmaids'', [[Kangra painting]], 1775–1785 File:Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja).jpg|[[Chola art and architecture#Sculpture and bronzes|Chola bronze]] of [[Shiva]] as [[Nataraja]] ("Lord of Dance"), [[Tamil Nadu]], 10th or 11th century ===Mathematics=== {{main|Indian mathematics|Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics}} Significant mathematics began in India in the first millennium BCE. The ''[[Shulba Sutras|Śulba Sūtras]]'' (literally, "Aphorisms of the Chords" in [[Vedic Sanskrit]]) (c. 700–400 BCE) contain the earliest extant verbal expression of the [[Pythagorean theorem]] (although very likely it had been known to the [[First Babylonian dynasty|Old Babylonians]].){{Harvnb|Hayashi|2005|p=363}}{{efn|Ancient and medieval Indian mathematical works, all composed in [[Sanskrit]] usually consisted of two sections: ''[[sutra]]s'' in which a set of rules or problems were stated with economy in verse, and a prose commentary that explained the problem in more detail and provided justification for the solution.{{Harvnb|Plofker|2007|p=1}}{{Harvnb|Filliozat|2004|pp=140–143}}}} All mathematical works were orally transmitted until approximately 500 BCE; thereafter, they were transmitted both orally and in manuscript form. The oldest extant mathematical document produced on the Indian subcontinent is the birch bark [[Bakhshali manuscript]] from the 7th century CE.{{Harvnb|Hayashi|1995}}{{Harvnb|Plofker|2007|p=6}} In the classical period of Indian mathematics (400 CE to 1200 CE), important contributions were made by [[Aryabhata]], [[Brahmagupta]], [[Bhaskara II]], [[Varāhamihira]], and [[Madhava of Sangamagrama|Madhava]]. The [[Decimal|decimal number system]] in use today{{Harvnb|Ifrah|2000|p=346}}: "The measure of the genius of Indian civilisation, to which we owe our modern (number) system, is all the greater in that it was the only one in all history to have achieved this triumph. Some cultures succeeded, earlier than the Indian, in discovering one or at best two of the characteristics of this intellectual feat. But none of them managed to bring together into a complete and coherent system the necessary and sufficient conditions for a number-system with the same potential as our own." was first recorded in Indian mathematics.{{Harvnb|Plofker|2009|pp=44–47}} Indian mathematicians made early contributions to the study of the concept of [[0 (number)|zero]] as a number,{{Harvnb|Bourbaki|1998|p=46}}: "...our decimal system, which (by the agency of the Arabs) is derived from Hindu mathematics, where its use is attested already from the first centuries of our era. It must be noted moreover that the conception of zero as a number and not as a simple symbol of separation) and its introduction into calculations, also count amongst the original contribution of the Hindus." [[negative numbers]],{{Harvnb|Bourbaki|1998|p=49}}: Modern arithmetic was known during medieval times as "Modus Indorum" or method of the Indians. [[Leonardo of Pisa]] wrote that compared to method of the Indians all other methods is a mistake. This method of the Indians is none other than our very simple arithmetic of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Rules for these four simple procedures was first written down by [[Brahmagupta]] during the 7th century AD. "On this point, the Hindus are already conscious of the interpretation that negative numbers must have in certain cases (a debt in a commercial problem, for instance). In the following centuries, as there is a diffusion into the West (by intermediary of the Arabs) of the methods and results of Greek and Hindu mathematics, one becomes more used to the handling of these numbers, and one begins to have other "representation" for them which are geometric or dynamic." [[arithmetic]], and [[algebra]]. [[Trigonometry]]{{Harvnb|Pingree|2003|p=45}} Quote: "Geometry, and its branch trigonometry, was the mathematics Indian astronomers used most frequently. Greek mathematicians used the full chord and never imagined the half chord that we use today. Half chord was first used by Aryabhata which made trigonometry much more simple. In fact, the Indian astronomers in the third or fourth century, using a pre-Ptolemaic Greek table of chords, produced tables of sines and versines, from which it was trivial to derive cosines. This new system of trigonometry, produced in India, was transmitted to the Arabs in the late eighth century and by them, in an expanded form, to the Latin West and the Byzantine East in the twelfth century." was further advanced in India, and the modern definitions of [[sine]] and [[cosine]] were developed there.{{Harvnb|Bourbaki|1998|p=126}}: "As for trigonometry, it is disdained by geometers and abandoned to surveyors and astronomers; it is these latter ([[Aristarchus of Samos|Aristarchus]], [[Hipparchus]], [[Ptolemy]]) who establish the fundamental relations between the sides and angles of a right angled triangle (plane or spherical) and draw up the first tables (they consist of tables giving the ''chord'' of the arc cut out by an angle \theta < \pi on a circle of radius ''r'', in other words the number 2r\sin\left(\theta/2\right); the introduction of the sine, more easily handled, is due to Hindu mathematicians of the Middle Ages)." These mathematical concepts were transmitted to the Middle East, China, and Europe."algebra" 2007. [https://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-231064 ''Britannica Concise Encyclopedia''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929134632/http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-231064|date=29 September 2007}}. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 16 May 2007. Quote: "A full-fledged decimal, positional system certainly existed in India by the 9th century (AD), yet many of its central ideas had been transmitted well before that time to China and the Islamic world. Indian arithmetic, moreover, developed consistent and correct rules for operating with positive and negative numbers and for treating zero like any other number, even in problematic contexts such as division. Several hundred years passed before European mathematicians fully integrated such ideas into the developing discipline of algebra." A later landmark in Indian mathematics was the development of the [[Series (mathematics)|series]] expansions for [[trigonometric function]]s (sine, cosine, and [[arc tangent]]) by mathematicians of the [[Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics|Kerala school]] in the 15th century CE. Their work, completed two centuries before the invention of [[calculus]] in Europe, provided the first example of a [[power series]].{{efn|Apart from geometric series}}{{Harvnb|Stillwell|2004|p=173}} In the modern era [[Srinivasa Ramanujan]] made fundamental contributions to [[number theory]].{{cite book |last=Hardy |first=G. H. |author-link=G. H. Hardy |chapter=Notice |title=Collected papers of Srinivasa Ramanujan |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=xxi–xxxv |year=2015 |orig-year=1927 |isbn=978-1-107-53651-7 |quote=It was his insight into algebraical formulae, transformation of infinite series, ... that was most amazing. On this side most certainly I have never met his equal, and I can compare him only with [[Leonhard Euler|Euler]] and [[Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi|Jacobi]]. He worked, far more than the majority of modern mathematicians, by induction from numerical examples. ... But with his memory, his patience, and his power of calculation, he combined a power of generalisation, a feeling for form, and a capacity for rapid modification of his hypotheses, that were often really startling, and made him, in his own peculiar field, without a rival in his day.}} === Music === {{Main|Music of India}} India contains a wide array of musical practices, including many different [[Indian folk music|folk musics]] from different regions. [[Indian classical music]] has Vedic origins, and split in the 13th century into the two main traditions of [[Hindustani classical music|Hindustani]] and [[Carnatic music|Carnatic]] music. Hindustani is associated with North India and is more [[Musical improvisation|improvisational]], featuring instruments such as the [[sitar]] and [[tabla]], and Carnatic is South Indian and more focused on written [[Musical composition|compositions]] such as the ''[[Kriti (music)|kriti]]'', while both styles contain common elements such as the [[raga]] melodic framework and [[Tala (music)|tala]] rhythmic meter.{{Cite book |last=Capwell |first=Charles |title=Excursions in World Music |publisher=[[Pearson plc|Pearson]] |year=2012 |edition=6th |pages=31, 52 |chapter=The Music of India}} Indian music has influenced western genres, including [[Rock music|rock]] and [[jazz]] musicians during the [[Counterculture of the 1960s|1960s counterculture]].{{cite book |last1=Lavezzoli |first1=Peter |title=The Dawn of Indian Music in the West |date=24 April 2006 |page=14}} [[Indian film music]] is music written for [[Cinema of India|Indian cinema]], generally composed by [[List of Indian film music directors|music directors]] and sung by [[playback singers]]. Modern [[Indian pop]] takes influences from classical, folk, and western [[pop music]].{{Cite book |last=Sarrazin |first=Natalie |title=Focus: Popular Music in Contemporary India |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-429-99931-4}} File:Sakunthala 1940 filmposter (2).jpg|[[M. S. Subbulakshmi]], Carnatic music vocalist File:Facets_Of_Our_Music,_Our_Instruments.webm|A short documentary on Indian classical music and some instruments: [[Veena]], [[Sitar]], [[Tabla]], and [[Bansuri]] File:Ravi Shankar.jpg|[[Ravi Shankar]] at the [[Woodstock music festival]], 1969 ===Dance=== {{main|Dance in India}} Dance in India has drawn heavily from [[Indian classical dance]] traditions. Many of these in turn arose in temples or other religious contexts. Their sponsorship and promotion, however, has continued in secular, modern India.{{citation|last1=Vatsyayan|first1=Kapila|last2=Lord|first2=Maria (revision)|chapter=India, subcontinent of, IX. Dance|title=Grove Music Online|publisher=Oxford University Press|year = 2020|orig-year=2001}}{{efn|Among young urban middle-class women, for example, a proficiency in classical dance is sometimes a sought-after social achievement.}} India also has local and modern dance traditions. Whether a dance is classical is determined by the [[Sangeet Natak Academi]], the Indian government's organisation for performing arts.{{efn|The classical status increases a dance's visibility and attracts more funding from agencies and ticket purchases from audiences.}} Although more dances could perhaps meet the criteria for classical, the Akademi has chosen eight.{{efn|Given the geographical distribution of the chosen dances and their stylistic range, the choices could be seen as a facet of India's ethos of national integration.}} {| class="wikitable" style="margin-right:auto; margin-left:auto;" |+ Classical Dances of India{{cite book |author1=Bishnupriya Dutt |author2=Urmimala Sarkar Munsi |title=Engendering Performance: Indian Women Performers in Search of an Identity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uNaGAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA216 |year=2010 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-81-321-0612-8 |page=216}} |- ! Dance !! Origin state !! Region !! Type or origin !! Musical accompaniment |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:center;"| [[Bharatanatyam]] || style="text-align:center;"| [[Tamil Nadu]] || style="text-align:center;"| [[South India]]|| style="text-align:center;"| Temple dance || style="text-align:center;"| [[Melam|Cinna Melam]], [[Carnatic music]] |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:center;"| [[Kathak]] || style="text-align:center;"| [[Uttar Pradesh]] || style="text-align:center;"| [[North India]] || style="text-align:center;"| [[Historical dance]]|| style="text-align:center;" | [[Hindustani music]] |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:center;"| [[Kathakali]] || style="text-align:center;"| [[Kerala]] || style="text-align:center;"| South India || style="text-align:center;"| Dance-drama || style="text-align:center;"| [[Madhalam]] drum ensembles; [[Sopana Sangeetham|Sopana]] vocal music |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:center;"| [[Kuchipudi]] || style="text-align:center;"| [[Andhra Pradesh]] || style="text-align:center;"| South India || style="text-align:center;"| Dance-drama|| style="text-align:center;"| Carnatic music ensemble |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:center;"| [[Manipuri dance|Manipuri]] || style="text-align:center;"| [[Manipur]] || style="text-align:center;"| [[Northeast India]] || style="text-align:center;"| Temple/ritual dance || style="text-align:center;"| Ensemble comprising [[Pung Cholom]], flutes, trumpets, [[Tanbur|Tambura]], [[Pena (musical instrument)|Pena]], and cymbals |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:center;"| [[Mohiniattam]] || style="text-align:center;"| Kerala || style="text-align:center;"| South India || style="text-align:center;"|Dance-drama || style="text-align:center;"| Carnatic ensemble |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:center;"| [[Odissi]] || style="text-align:center;"|[[Odisha]] || style="text-align:center;"| [[East India]] || style="text-align:center;"| Temple dance || style="text-align:center;"|Ensemble of Hindustani music instruments: [[pakhavaj]], [[sitar]], flute, cymbals, [[harmonium]] |- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:center;"| [[Sattriya]] || style="text-align:center;"|[[Assam]] || style="text-align:center;"| Northeast India || style="text-align:center;"| Dance-drama || style="text-align:center;"| [[Borgeet]] accompanied by [[khol]] drums and cymbals. |} The best-known classical dance is Bharatanatyam, which began in the temple dances of [[Tamil people|Tamil]] [[devadasi]]s. Identified with "prostitutes and courtesans", their dancing was formally banned in 1947.{{efn|As per the [[Madras Devadasis (Prevention of Dedication) Act]] after agitation from the Indian middle and upper classes.}} Concurrently, the dance was rehabilitated as a "pure" art form, with [[Rukmini Devi Arundale]] as a prominent figure. A devdasi who went on to attain national and international prominence was [[Balasaraswati|Thanjavur Balasaraswati]]. Some sources consider the dance-dramas [[Chhau dance|Chhau]] of [[Jharkhand]], [[West Bengal]], and [[Odisha]] and [[Yakshagana]] of [[Karnataka]] to also belong to the classical tradition.{{cite book |author=Frank Burch Brown |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8g8BAAAQBAJ |title=The Oxford Handbook of Religion and the Arts |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-19-972103-0 |pages=195–196}}, Quote: All of the dances considered to be part of the Indian classical canon (Bharata Natyam, Chhau, Kathak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Manipuri, Mohiniattam, Odissi, Sattriya, and Yakshagana) trace their roots to religious practices (...) the Indian diaspora has led to the translocation of Hindu dances to Europe, North America and the world." Local dance traditions vary widely across India. In addition to the dance-dramas Chhau and Yakshagana, they include dance-dramas [[Raslila]] of western [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Terukkuttu]] of Tamil Nadu; calendrical and festival dances such as the [[Bhangra (dance)|Bhangra]] of Punjab, especially at [[Vaisakhi]], the onset of spring, and [[Garba (dance)|Garba]] of [[Gujarat]] during [[Navratri]]; and tribal or [[Adivasi]] dances, such as those of the [[Santal]] and [[Toda people]], the latter, for example, in honour of the god [[Toda people#Religion|Ön]] who brought buffalo to earth. Among 20th-century directions is the [[modern dance]] of [[Uday Shankar]] in which classical styles were employed but not adhered to rigidly. Examples are dance-dramas based on the ancient Indian [[animal fable]]s, ''[[Panchatantra]]'', and Nehru's mid-century meditation on Indian history, ''[[The Discovery of India]]''. Dance has been an essential aspect of Indian films from the first [[talkies]] of the 1930s. The individual and group dances of [[Bollywood]], for example, show a broad range of influences, including classical, local, and Western popular dance. Towards the end of the 20th century, innovations in [[British South Asian]] music and dance, such as [[Music of the United Kingdom (1990s)#Post-Bhangra|Post-Bhangra]], fed back into dance in India. File:Kathakali of Kerala at Nishagandhi dance festival 2024 (266).jpg|The ''Kathakali'' dance of [[Kerala]] File:Bharata Natyam Performance DS.jpg|The ''Bharatanatyam'' dance of [[Tamil Nadu]] File:Kathak Solo Performance (8).jpg| The ''Kathak'' dance of northern India absorbed Persian and Central Asian influences during [[Mughal Empire|Mughal rule]]. === Clothing === {{Main|Clothing in India}} From ancient times until the advent of the modern, the most widely worn traditional dress in India was [[Draped garment|draped]].{{harvnb|Tarlo|1996|p=26}} For women it took the form of a [[sari]], a single piece of cloth many yards long. The sari was traditionally wrapped around the lower body and the shoulder. In its modern form, it is combined with an underskirt, or Indian [[Petticoat#Asian petticoats|petticoat]], and tucked in along the waist band for more secure fastening. It is also commonly worn with an Indian [[blouse]], or [[choli]], which serves as the primary upper-body garment, the sari's end—passing over the shoulder—covering the midriff and obscuring the upper body's contours. For men, a similar but shorter length of cloth, the [[dhoti]], has served as a lower-body garment.{{harvnb|Tarlo|1996|pp=26–28}} The use of stitched clothes became widespread after Muslim rule was established by the [[Delhi Sultanate]] ({{Circa|1300 CE}}) and continued by the [[Mughal Empire]] ({{Circa|1525 CE}}).{{citation |last=Alkazi |first=Roshen |editor=Rahman, Abdur |title=India's Interaction with China, Central and West Asia |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZvpAAAAMAAJ |year=2002 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-565789-0 |pages=464–484 |chapter=Evolution of Indian Costume as a result of the links between Central Asia and India in ancient and medieval times}} Among the garments introduced during this time and still commonly worn are: the [[Shalwar kameez|shalwar]]s and [[pyjama]]s, both styles of trousers, and the tunics [[kurta]] and [[kameez]]. Shalwars are atypically wide at the waist but narrow to a cuffed bottom. They are held up by a drawstring, which causes them to become pleated around the waist.{{citation |last1=Stevenson |first1=Angus |last2=Waite |first2=Maurice |title=Concise Oxford English Dictionary: Book & CD-ROM Set |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4XycAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA1272 |year=2011 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |access-date=3 September 2019 |isbn=978-0-19-960110-3 |page=1272}} When the pants are cut quite narrow, on the [[Grain (textile)#Bias|bias]], they are called [[churidar]]s. The kameez is a long shirt or tunic.{{citation |last1=Stevenson |first1=Angus |last2=Waite |first2=Maurice |title=Concise Oxford English Dictionary: Book & CD-ROM Set |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4XycAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA774 |year=2011 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-960110-3 |page=774}} Its side seams left open below the waistline.{{citation |url=https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/platts_query.py?page=418 |author=Platts, John T. (John Thompson) |title=A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English |location=London |page=418 |publisher=[[W. H. Allen & Co.]] |year=1884 |access-date=26 August 2019 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224204345/https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/platts_query.py?page=418}} (online; updated February 2015) The kurta is traditionally collarless and made of cotton or silk; it is worn plain or with embroidered decoration, such as [[chikankari]]; and typically falls to either just above or just below the wearer's knees.{{citation |last=Shukla |first=Pravina |title=The Grace of Four Moons: Dress, Adornment, and the Art of the Body in Modern India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MlObCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA71 |year=2015 |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |isbn=978-0-253-02121-2 |page=71}} In the last 50 years, fashion has changed a great deal in India. Increasingly, in urban northern India, the sari is no longer the apparel of everyday wear, though they remain popular on formal occasions. The traditional shalwar kameez is rarely worn by younger urban women, who favour churidars or jeans. In office settings, ubiquitous air conditioning allows men to wear sports jackets year-round. For weddings and formal occasions, men in the middle and upper classes often wear bandhgala, or short [[Nehru jackets]], with pants, with the groom and his [[groomsmen]] sporting [[sherwani]]s and churidars.{{citation |last=Dwyer |first=Rachel |title=Bollywood's India: Hindi Cinema as a Guide to Contemporary India |pages=244–245 |year=2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DqwBBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA244 |publisher=[[Reaktion Books]] |isbn=978-1-78023-304-8 |author-link=Rachel Dwyer}} File:Water pump, Varanasi (15563170660) Cropped.jpg|A man in [[dhoti]] and woollen shawl in [[Varanasi]] File:GroupFromNorthEastIndiaAtTaj.jpg|Female tourists from [[Manipur]] in shawl and [[phanek]]—a lower-body garment similar to a [[sarong]]{{cite book|last=Haripriya|first = Soibam| chapter = Irom Sharmila's Poetry and the Problem of Anthologizing Indian Literature| title = The Oxford Handbook of Modern Indian Literatures|editor1-last = Anjaria| editor1-first = Ulka|editor2-last = Nerleker| editor2-first = Anjali= |publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 2024 | page = 423 | isbn = 978-0-19-764791-2}} File:Women of Puducherry.jpg|Women in [[shalwar-kameez]] in [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]] === Cuisine === {{Main|Indian cuisine}} [[File:Making Khameeri Roti in Tandoor in Turkman Gate Old Delhi.webm|thumb|right|160px|A tandoor chef in [[Turkman Gate]], [[Old Delhi]], makes ''khameri roti'', a Muslim-influenced style of [[Bread#Leavening|leavened bread]].{{efn|The [[Central Asia]]n custom of buying bread outside the home accompanied the [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]] to India.{{cite book |last=Kohli |first=Megha |editor1-last=Taylor Sen |editor1-first=Colleen |editor2-last=Bhattacharyya |editor2-first=Sourish |editor3-last=Saberi |editor3-first=Helen |chapter=Breads |title=The Blooomsbury Handbook of Indian Cuisine |location=London, New York, and Dublin |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-3501-2863-7 |page=60 |quote=''Khamiri roti'' is the Indian version of [[sourdough bread]]. "Khamir" means yeast or starter in [[Urdu]]. ... It is made in a tandoor. ... The culture of purchasaing breads from outside is Central Asian and came to India with the Mughals. The best ''khamiri roti'' is sold in various shops in [[Old Delhi]] run by people who claim to be the direct descendants of the cooks who worked for the Mughals and use the same recipe as their ancestors.}}}}{{citation |last=Panjabi |first=Camellia |title=The Great Curries of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TYCFJMLZ_-4C&pg=PA158 |year=1995 |publisher=[[Simon and Schuster]] |isbn=978-0-684-80383-8 |pages=158– |quote=The Muslim influenced breads of India are leavened, like ''naan'', ''Khamiri roti'', ...}}]] The foundation of a typical Indian meal is a cereal cooked plainly and complemented with savoury dishes.{{citation |last=Davidson |first=Alan |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RL6LAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA409 |year=2014 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-967733-7 |page=409}} The cooked cereal could be steamed rice; [[chapati]], a thin unleavened bread;{{citation |last=Davidson |first=Alan |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RL6LAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA161 |year=2014 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-967733-7 |page=161 |quote=Chapatis are made from finely milled whole-wheat flour, called chapati flour or atta, and water. The dough is rolled into thin rounds which vary in size from region to region and then cooked without fat or oil on a slightly curved griddle called a tava.}} [[idli]], a steamed breakfast cake; or [[Dosa (food)|dosa]], a griddled pancake.{{citation |last1=Tamang |first1=J. P. |last2=Fleet |first2=G. H. |editor1-last=Satyanarayana |editor1-first=T. |editor2-last=Kunze |editor2-first=G. |chapter=Yeasts Diversity in Fermented Foods and Beverages |title=Yeast Biotechnology: Diversity and Applications |publisher=Springer |page=180 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jLFmiervaqMC&pg=PA180 |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4020-8292-4 |quote=Idli is an acid-leavened and steamed cake made by bacterial fermentation of a thick batter made from coarsely ground rice and dehulled black gram. Idli cakes are soft, moist and spongy, have desirable sour flavour, and is eaten as breakfast in South India. Dosa batter is very similar to idli batter, except that both the rice and black gram are finely grounded. The batter is thinner than that of idli and is fried as a thin, crisp pancake and eaten directly in South India.}} The savoury dishes might include [[lentil]]s, [[pulses]], vegetables, meat, poultry and fish commonly spiced with [[ginger root|ginger]] and [[garlic]], but also [[coriander]], [[cumin]], [[turmeric]], [[cinnamon]], [[cardamom]] and others. In some instances, the ingredients may be mixed during the cooking process.{{citation |last=Jhala |first=Angma Day |title=Royal Patronage, Power and Aesthetics in Princely India |publisher=Routledge |page=70 |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-317-31657-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WGpECgAAQBAJ&pg=PA70 |quote=With the ascent of the Mughal Empire in sixteenth-century India, Turkic, Persian and Afghan traditions of dress, 'architecture and cuisine' were adopted by non-Muslim indigenous elites in South Asia. In this manner, Central Asian cooking merged with older traditions within the subcontinent, to create such signature dishes as biryani (a fusion of the Persian pilau and the spice-laden dishes of Hindustan), and the Kashmiri meat stew of Rogan Josh. It not only generated new dishes and entire cuisines, but also fostered novel modes of eating. Such newer trends included the consumption of Persian condiments, which relied heavily on almonds, pastries and quince jams, alongside Indian achars made from sweet limes, green vegetables and curds as side relishes during Mughlai meals.}} India has distinctive vegetarian cuisines, each a feature of the geographical and cultural histories of its adherents.{{citation |last=Davidson |first=Alan |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RL6LAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA410 |year=2014 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-967733-7 |page=410}} About 20% to 39% of India's population consists of vegetarians.{{Cite web |last=Biswas |first=Soutik |date=4 April 2018 |title=The myth of the Indian vegetarian nation |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-43581122 |website=[[BBC]] |access-date=16 July 2025 |archive-date=8 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808011417/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-43581122 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=29 June 2021 |title=Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation {{!}} Religion and food |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/06/29/religion-and-food/ |website=[[Pew Research Center]]}} Although meat is eaten widely, the proportional consumption of meat is low.{{citation |last1=Sahakian |first1=Marlyne |last2=Saloma |first2=Czarina |last3=Erkman |first3=Suren |title=Food Consumption in the City: Practices and patterns in urban Asia and the Pacific |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TBIxDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT50 |year=2016 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |isbn=978-1-317-31050-1 |page=50}} The most significant import of cooking techniques into India during the last millennium occurred during the [[Mughal Empire]], spreading into northern India from regions to its northwest,{{citation |last=Collingham |first=Elizabeth M. |title=Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pH88DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA25 |year=2007 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-532001-5 |page=25}} along with dishes such as [[pilaf]].{{sfn|Roger|2000}}{{citation |last=Sengupta |first=Jayanta |editor=Freedman, Paul |editor2=Chaplin, Joyce E. |editor3=Albala, Ken |title=Food in Time and Place: The American Historical Association Companion to Food History |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNQkDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA74 |year=2014 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=978-0-520-27745-8 |page=74 |chapter=India}} Onions, garlic, almonds, and spices were added to the simple yogurt marinade of Persia. Rice was partially cooked and layered alternately with sauteed meat, the pot sealed tightly, and slow cooked according to another Persian cooking technique, to produce [[biryani]], a feature of festive dining in many parts of India.{{citation |last1=Nandy |first1=Ashis |author-link=Ashis Nandy |title=The Changing Popular Culture of Indian Food: Preliminary Notes |journal=[[South Asia Research]] |volume=24 |issue=1 |year=2004 |pages=9–19 |doi=10.1177/0262728004042760 }} The diversity of Indian food served worldwide has been partially concealed by the dominance of [[Punjabi cuisine]]. The popularity of [[tandoori chicken]]—cooked in a [[tandoor]] oven, which had traditionally been used for baking bread in the rural Punjab and the Delhi region, especially among Muslims, but which is originally from [[Central Asia]]—dates to the 1950s, and was caused in large part by an entrepreneurial response among people from the Punjab who had been displaced by the 1947 partition. File:South Indian Thali Cropped.jpg|South Indian vegetarian [[thali]], or platter File:Pabda Jhaal - Home- Kolkata - West Bengal.jpg|[[Machher jhol]], a spicy fish curry eaten in eastern India, Nepal, and Bangladesh File:Khairdeen, alias Pritam, relishing a mango at the dusk of his life 05.jpg|[[Mango]], the national fruit of India, is eaten widely in the summer months.{{cite book|last1 = Haidar | first1 = Sakina | last2 = Hussain | first2 = Sajjad | last3 = Naz | first3 = Safina | last4 = Ali |first4 = Sajid | last5 = Noor | first5 = Anam | chapter = Introduction and History of Mango | title = Handbook of Research on Mango Fruit: Postharvest Science, Production, Nutrition, and Processing Technology |editor1-first = Sajjad | editor1-last = Hussain | editor2-last = Nahar| editor2-first = Kamrun| editor3-last = Rajwana| editor3-first = Ishtiaq A.| editor4-last = Ercisli|editor4-first= Sezai| editor5-last= Ahmad| editor5-first = Shakeel| publisher = CRC Press, Routledge | year = 2025 | page = 1–2 |isbn = 978-1-77964-338-4}}{{efn|Genetic studies have shown that mangos were first domesticated in the region between northeastern India, northwestern Myanmar, and Bangladesh.{{cite journal |last1=Kuhn |first1=David N. |last2=Bally |first2=Ian S. E. |last3=Dillon |first3=Natalie L. |last4=Innes |first4=David |last5=Groh |first5=Amy M. |last6=Rahaman |first6=Jordon |last7=Ophir |first7=Ron |last8=Cohen |first8=Yuval |last9=Sherman |first9=Amir |title=Genetic Map of Mango: A Tool for Mango Breeding |journal=Frontiers in Plant Science |date=20 April 2017 |volume=8 |article-number=577 |doi=10.3389/fpls.2017.00577 |pmid=28473837 |pmc=5397511 |bibcode=2017FrPS....8..577K |doi-access=free}}{{cite journal |last1=Warschefsky |first1=Emily J. |last2=Wettberg |first2=Eric J. B. |title=Population genomic analysis of mango (''Mangifera indica'') suggests a complex history of domestication |journal=New Phytologist |date=June 2019 |volume=222 |issue=4 |pages=2023–2037 |doi=10.1111/nph.15731 |pmid=30730057 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019NewPh.222.2023W}}}} === Sports === {{Main|Sport in India}} Sport in modern India is a nexus for both little-known, indigenous traditions and commercial sporting spectacles that now have a worldwide reach.{{cite book |editor1=Prakash, Padma |editor2=Gopal, Meena |title=Sports Studies in India: Expanding the Field |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |date=2021 |pages=3–6 |isbn=978-0-19-013064-0 |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/39018 |access-date=September 4, 2026}} Traditional sports such ''[[kabaddi]]'' and ''[[kho-kho]]'' have had an impressive rebirth caused by a large television audience;{{cite book |editor1=Mukhopadhyay, Surajit C. |editor2=Dasgupta, Lovely |title=Sport in Contemporary India: Society, Culture and Governance |publisher=[[Routledge]] |date=2026 |pages=12–15 |isbn=978-1-032-48457-0 |url=https://www.routledge.com/Sport-in-Contemporary-India-Society-Culture-and-Governance/Mukhopadhyay-Dasgupta/p/book/9781032484587 |access-date=September 4, 2026}} on the other hand, ''[[kushti]]'' wrestling in rural ''[[akhara]]s''—often regarded by its adherents as not so much a sport as a physical and moral regimen—has continued to survive away from the glare.{{cite book |last=Alter |first=Joseph S. |title=The Wrestler's Body: Identity and Ideology in North India |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |date=1992 |pages=11–14 |isbn=978-0-520-07697-6}} [[Cricket]] is India's most watched sport, and a multi-billion dollar industry.{{cite book |editor1=Mukhopadhyay, Surajit C. |editor2=Dasgupta, Lovely |title=Sport in Contemporary India: Society, Culture and Governance |publisher=[[Routledge]] |date=2026 |pages=45–48 |isbn=978-1-032-48458-7 |url=https://www.routledge.com/Sport-in-Contemporary-India-Society-Culture-and-Governance/Mukhopadhyay-Dasgupta/p/book/9781032484587 |access-date=September 4, 2026}} Chess has succeeded stunningly among children in southern India, the apex of its rise represented by eighteen-year-old [[Gukesh Dommaraju]] claiming the undisputed World Chess Championship title.{{cite news |last=Datta |first=Devangshu |title=How the Indian teenager became youngest world chess champion |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c23vn7x4012o |work=[[BBC News]] |date=December 13, 2024 |access-date=September 4, 2026}} [[Company rule in India|British intervention]] reshaped India’s athletic landscape.{{cite book |last=Sen |first=Ronojoy |title=Nation at Play: A History of Sport in India |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |date=2015 |pages=45–48 |isbn=978-0-231-16490-0}} {{cite journal|last=Dutta| first=S.|title=The Limits of the History of Western Sport in Colonial India|journal=Transactions of the Royal Historical Society|year=2023|volume=1|pages=315–326|doi=10.1017/S008044012300004X|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/transactions-of-the-royal-historical-society/article/limits-of-the-history-of-western-sport-in-colonial-india/5F6EE80CA15E292A60A79928ADA868C4 |access-date=September 4, 2026}} It introduced cricket, [[Association football|football]] and [[field hockey]] and institutionalised [[polo]]—a sport whose history is a case of reverse migration from ancient [[northeastern India]] to the West.{{cite book |last=Sen |first=Ronojoy |title=Nation at Play: A History of Sport in India |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |date=2015 |pages=34–37 |isbn=978-0-231-16490-0}} Today, at the rural [[grassroots]] level, government initiatives like "[[Khelo India]]" have democratised athletics for traditionally overlooked youth.{{cite journal |last=Kohli |first=Sneha|year=2026 |title=Khelo India (2016): A Policy Review of Its Evolution, Performance and Recent Reforms |journal=Policy Update, Public Policies, Programs and Schemes |url=https://www.impriindia.com/insights/policy-update/khelo-india-2016/ |access-date=September 4, 2026}} Rural soccer programs have employed teamwork to break down old [[caste]] barriers.{{cite journal |last=Philip |first=Biju |last2=Hoye |first2=Russell |last3=Sherry |first3=Emma |date=2022 |title=Sport-for-development and social inclusion in caste-ridden India: opportunities and challenges |journal=Soccer & Society |volume=23 |issue=8 |pages=970–986 |doi=10.1080/14660970.2021.1993199}} State initiatives such as the [[Target Olympic Podium Scheme]] have expanded resources for female athletes; meanwhile, the prominent international victories of figures like boxer [[Mary Kom]] and badminton player [[P. V. Sindhu]] have challenged traditional gender stereotypes in sports.{{cite journal |last=Savani |first=Dharti P. |date=June 2025 |title=Indian Sports Policy and the Politics of Women's Sports and Women in Sports |journal=International Journal of Progressive Research in Engineering Management and Science (IJPREMS) |volume=5 |issue=6 |pages=1640–1643 |url=https://www.ijprems.com/ijprems-paper/indian-sports-policy-and-the-politics-of-womenand039s-sports-and-women-in-sports |access-date=September 4, 2026}} [[India national cricket team|India]] has won eight men's cricket [[International cricket#International competitions|ICC tournament]] titles: two [[Cricket World Cup]]s, three [[Men's T20 World Cup|T20 World Cup]]s, and three [[Champions Trophy]] titles.{{Cite web |last=Vishnu |first=P. N. |date=2026-03-09 |title=India retain T20 World Cup 2026; Here's the complete list of teams with most ICC tournament victories |url=https://www.livemint.com/sports/cricket-news/india-retain-t20-world-cup-2026-heres-the-complete-list-of-teams-with-most-icc-tournament-victories-11772993232480.html |access-date=2026-08-14 |website=mint |language=en}} [[India men's national field hockey team|India]] has won a record eight men's field hockey gold medals in the [[Field hockey at the Summer Olympics|summer Olympics]], the last in [[Field hockey at the 1980 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament|1980]].{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-58067121| title=India men's hockey ends 41-years Olympic drought| website=BBC News| date=5 August 2021| access-date=1 September 2026}} File:Indian-Hockey-Team-Berlin-1936.jpg|The Indian hockey team, captained by [[Dhyan Chand]] (standing second from l.), after winning the finals at the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] – their third of six consecutive Olympic golds{{efn|(Standing l. to r.: [[Earnest Goodsir-Cullen]] (centre half); Major [[Dhyan Chand]] (Captain and centre-forward); [[Sayed Jaffar (field hockey)|Syed Mohammad Jaffar]] (Vice-captain & Left Wing); [[Peter Paul Fernandes]] (Left Forward/Inside Left); [[Richard Allen (field hockey)|Richard John Allen]] (Goalkeeper), standing dead centre; [[Baboo Nimal|Baburao Narsoo Nimal]] (Centre Half); [[ Carlyle Tapsell|Carlyle Carroll Tapsell]] (Full-back)). (Sitting l. to r.: [[Joseph Phillips (field hockey)|Joseph Philips]] (Inside Right); [[Roop Singh]] (Left Inside Forward); [[Mirza Masood|Mirza Nasir-ud-din Masud]] (Inside Forward); and [[Ali Iqtidar Shah Dara]] (Right Inside Forward))}} File:Virat Kohli after his century at Trent Bridge (cropped).jpg|Indian batsman, [[Virat Kohli]], after his [[century (cricket)|century]] at [[Trent Bridge]], August 20, 2018 File:Gukesh in 2025.jpg|[[Gukesh Dommaraju]] from Chennai, the reigning world chess champion and the youngest ever{{citation|last=Graham |first = Bryan Armen| title = Gukesh Dommaraju becomes youngest world chess champion after horrific Ding Liren blunder | journal = The Guardian | date = 12 December 2024|url= https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/dec/12/gukesh-dommaraju-india-wins-world-chess-championship-youngest-champion-ding-liren}} File:P V SINDHU with Olympics silver.jpg|[[P. V. Sindhu]], after winning the silver medal in [[Badminton]] at the [[2016 Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics]] in [[Rio de Janeiro]], August 2016 File:Mary Kom with young sportsperson.jpg|A young athlete after felicitating [[Mary Kom]]—a [[2012 Summer Olympics|2012 London Summer Olympics]] boxing medal winner—New Delhi, August 16, 2012 == See also == {{Portal|India|Countries|Asia }} *[[Greater India]] * [[Outline of India]] {{Clear}} == Notes == {{notelist}} == References == {{Reflist}} == Bibliography == ===Overview=== {{refbegin|33em}} * {{citation |title=India |work=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/india/ |access-date=10 July 2021 |ref={{sfnRef|Central Intelligence Agency}} |archive-date=11 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111023536/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/india/ |url-status=dead }} * {{citation |date=December 2004 |title=Country Profile: India |edition=5th |work=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]] |publisher=Library of Congress [[Federal Research Division]] |url=https://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/India.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927131058/https://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/India.pdf |archive-date=27 September 2011 |access-date=30 September 2011 |ref={{sfnRef|Library of Congress|2004}} }} * {{citation |last1=Heitzman |first1=James |last2=Worden |first2=Robert L. |year=1996 |title=India: A Country Study |series=Area Handbook Series |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |place=Washington, D.C. |isbn=978-0-8444-0833-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/indiacountrystud0000unse }} * {{citation |title=Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India |publisher=[[Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India|Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner]] |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/prov_results_paper1_india.html |ref={{sfnRef|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India}} |access-date=18 October 2021 |archive-date=9 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909032654/https://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/prov_results_paper1_india.html |url-status=live }} * Robinson, Francis, ed. ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives'' (1989) * {{citation |date=24 January 1950 |title=Constituent Assembly of India – Volume XII |publisher=[[National Informatics Centre]], [[Government of India]] |url=https://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/vol12p1.htm |access-date=17 July 2011 |ref={{sfnRef|Constituent Assembly of India|1950}} |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721173243/https://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/vol12p1.htm |archive-date=21 July 2011 }} {{refend}} ===Etymology=== {{refbegin|33em}} * {{cite journal |last=Barrow |first=Ian J. |title=From Hindustan to India: Naming change in changing names |journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies |volume=26 |pages=37–49 |number=1 |year=2003 |doi=10.1080/085640032000063977}} * {{cite journal |last=Clémentin-Ojha |first=Catherine |title='India, that is Bharat...': One Country, Two Names |journal=South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal |volume=10 |year=2014 |doi=10.4000/samaj.3717 }} {{refend}} ===History=== {{refbegin|33em}} * {{cite book |last1=Asher |first1=C. B. |author-link=Catherine B. Asher |last2=Talbot |first2=C. |year=2006 |title=India Before Europe |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-80904-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC}} * {{cite book |last1=Asher |first1=C. B. |last2=Talbot |first2=C. |year=2008 |title=India Before Europe t |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-51750-8}} * {{cite book |last1=Asher |first1=C. B. |last2=Talbot |first2=C. |year=2022 |title=India Before Europe |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-108-42816-3}} * {{cite book |last=Brown |first=J. M. |author-link=Judith M. Brown |year=1994 |title=Modern India: The Origins of an Asian Democracy |edition=2nd |series=[[The Short Oxford History of the Modern World]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-873113-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PaKdsF8WzbcC}} * {{cite book |last=Copland |first=I. |year=2001 |title=India 1885–1947: The Unmaking of an Empire |publisher=[[Longman]] |isbn=978-0-582-38173-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dw1uAAAAMAAJ}} * {{cite book |last=Doniger |first=Wendy |title=On Hinduism |pages=xviii, 10 |year=2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fUnaAgAAQBAJ&pg=PR18 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-936009-3}} *{{cite book |last=Elverskog |first=Johan |title=The Buddha's Footprint: An Environmental History of Asia |location=Philadelphia |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-5183-8 |year=2020}} * {{cite book |last=Flood |first=Gavin D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KpIWhKnYmF0C&pg=PA35 |title=An Introduction to Hinduism |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-521-43878-0}} * {{cite book |last=Gilbert |first=Marc Jason |title=South Asia in World History |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2017 |series=The New Oxford World History series |pages=54–56 |isbn=978-0-19-517653-7}} * {{cite book |last1=Judd |first1=Denis |year=2004 |title=The Lion and the Tiger: The Rise and Fall of the British Raj, 1600–1947 |publisher=Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. Pp. xiii, 280 |isbn=978-0-19-280358-0}} * {{cite book |last1=Kulke |first1=H. |last2=Rothermund |first2=D. |author1-link=Hermann Kulke |year=2004 |title=A History of India |series=4th |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-32920-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V73N8js5ZgAC}} * {{cite book |last1=Kulke |first1=H. |last2=Rothermund |first2=D. |author1-link=Hermann Kulke |year=2016 |title=A History of India |series=6th |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-138-96114-2}} * {{cite book |last=Lowe |first=John J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L07CBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA2 |title=Participles in Rigvedic Sanskrit: The Syntax and Semantics of Adjectival Verb Forms |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-19-100505-3 |pages= |quote=}} * {{cite book |last=Ludden |first=D. |year=2002 |title=India and South Asia: A Short History |publisher=[[Oneworld Publications]] |isbn=978-1-85168-237-9}} * {{cite book |last=Ludden |first=D. |year=2014 |title=India and South Asia: A Short History |publisher=[[Oneworld Publications]] |isbn=978-1-85168-936-1 |edition=2nd, revised |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pBq9DwAAQBAJ}} * {{cite book |last1=Metcalf |first1=Barbara D. |last2=Metcalf |first2=Thomas R. |author1-link=Barbara Metcalf |author2-link=Thomas R. 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Flood |title=The Blackwell companion to Hinduism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qSfneQ0YYY8C |access-date=15 March 2012 |year=2003 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |isbn=978-0-631-21535-6 |chapter=Vedas and Upanișads}} * {{cite book |last=Wolpert |first=S. |author-link=Stanley Wolpert |year=2003 |title=A New History of India |edition=7th |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-516678-1}} *{{cite book |last=Wright |first=Rita P. |author-link=Rita P. Wright |title=The Ancient Indus: Urbanism, Economy, and Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gAgFPQAACAAJ |access-date=29 September 2013 |year=2010 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press & Assessment|Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-57219-4}} {{refend}} ===Geography=== {{refbegin|33em}} * {{cite journal |last1=Ali |first1=J. R. |last2=Aitchison |first2=J. 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''[[The World Factbook]]''. 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