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INDIA: THE MOST ATTRACTIVE DESTINATION

INTRODUCTION (a) Geography, Climate & Population (b) Unity in Diversity (c) 7th Largest country in the world (d) Multiplicity of Climates (e) Best Time to visit India (f) Population and Ethnic Composition (g) Major Religions (h) Brief History of India

1. INTRODUCTION

(a) Geography, Climate & Population

Geography:

Historically, this vast landmass that we call it modern ‘India’, was known as Bharat-Varsha, or the land of Bharata, a king, who was famous in Puranic tradition. This large territorial area was formed a part of a larger area and called Jambu-dvipa, which was the innermost of seven concentric island-continents, as conceived by the Hindu cosmographers, was supposed to have been divided. The Greeks, who were the first, applied the name ‘India’ to the country. It corresponds to the “Hi(n)du” of the old Persian epigraphs. Like “Sapta sindhavah” and “Hapta Hindu”- the appellations of the Aryan country in the Veda and the Vedinand - it is derived from Sindhu (Indus), the great river that constitutes the most imposing feature of that part of the sub-continent, which seems to have been the cradle of its earliest known civilizations. It is rising in southwestern Tibet, at an altitude of 16,000 feet, Indus enters the Indian territory near Leh in Ladakh. The river has total drainage area of about 4,50,000 square miles, of which 1,75,000 square miles lie in the Himalayan Mountain sand foothills. Geographically, India is located in Southern Asia and also bordering the Arabian Sea in the west, the Bay of Bengal in the east. On the north, northeast, and northwest are the Himalayans. Kanyakumari constitutes the southern tip of the Indian peninsula, which narrows before ending into the Indian Ocean. Cape Comorin is the southernmost point in mainland India. India lies to the north of the equator between 8 degree 4 minutes and 37 degree 6 minutes north latitude and 68 degrees 7 minutes and 97 degrees 25 minutes east longitude. It is the seventh-largest country in the world, with a total land area of 3,287,263 km² (1,269,219 square miles). India measures 3,214 km (1,997 miles) from north to south and 2,933 km (1,822 miles) from east to west. She has a land frontier of 15,200 km (9,445 miles). The total length of the coastline of the mainland, Lakshadweep group of Islands and Andman and Nicobar group of Islands is 7,5165.5 km. (4,670.5 miles). India was ranked 7th in position area wise in the world. It is accounted 90.44% land area and 9.56 % is covered by water. More specifically, the country is surrounded by Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and Bhutan in the northern side, Myanmar in the east and Sri Lanka in the south. It was accounted that the total land boundaries with surrounding countries is 14,103 km ((8,763 miles) of which, 4,053 km (2,518 miles) with Bangladesh, 605 km (376 miles) with Bhutan, 1,463 km (909 miles) with Myanmar, 3,380 km (2,100 miles) with China, 1,690 km (1,050 miles) and 2,912 km (1,809 miles) with Pakistan. So, Bangladesh and China emerged first and second position respectively in bordering to India. The maritime claims of the country as; contiguous zone is 24 nm, continental shelf is 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin, exclusive economic zone is 200 nm and territorial sea is 12 nm. Out of land mass available to country, arable land is 55 per cent, permanent crops is 1 per cent, meadows and pastures is 4 per cent, the forest and woodland is 23 per cent and other is 17 per cent. It is estimated that the irrigated land is found 590,000 sq km. The natural resources found in India are coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromites, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, and limestone, which are major. India is divided into seven geographic regions as; the northern mountains including the Himalayas and the northern mountain ranges, Indo-Gangetic plains, Thar Desert, Central highlands and Deccan Plateau, East Coast (Coromandel Coast in south), West Coast (Konkan, Kankara, and Malabar coasts), and Bordering seas and islands. The fertile Indo-Gangetic plain occupies most of northern, central and eastern India, while the Deccan Plateau occupies most of southern India. To the west of the country is the Thar Desert, which consists of a mix of rocky and sandy desert. The Vindhya Mountains cut right across the country, from West to East, and form the boundary between North and South India. India is also fortunate in possessing one of the world’s most extensive and fertile lands, made up of the alluvial Soil brought down in the form of fine silt by the mighty rivers. Lying south of the Himalayas, these Great North Indian Plains consist of the Indus basin, Ganga-Brahmaputra basin, and the tributaries of these mighty river systems. The Great Plateau of Peninsular lies to the south of the Great Plains of northern India, which is divided into two parts, viz., the Malwa Plateau and the Deccan Plateau. The Malwa plateau has been bounded by the Aravalli hills in the northwest and the Vindhyas in the Vindhyas form the northern half of this peninsula. Chhota Nagpur region forms the northeastern part of this plateau and is the richest minerals producing region of India. The valley of the Narmada River forms the southern boundary of this plateau. The Deccan plateau extends from the Satpura hills in the north to Kanniyakumari, the southern most point in India, finally ending in the Indian Ocean. The Western Ghats lies in the west of this plateau that comprise of the Sahyadri, the Nilgiri, the Annamalai and the Cardamom Hills. On the eastern side, this plateau merges into a layer of discontinuous low hills known as the Mahendra Giri hills, which comprise of the Eastern Ghats. Narrow coastal plains along the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal flank the Deccan Plateau, on its eastern and western sides, respectively. The Western coastal plains lie between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, further split into the northern Konkan Coast and the southern Malabar Coast. The eastern coastal plains, on the other hand lie between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal and like the western plains are divided into two parts - the Coromandel Coast as the southern part and the Northern Sircaras as the northern. A part of these mainland areas, India has two groups of islands i.e. the Andaman and Nicobar in the Bay of Bengal and the Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea. The highest point in India is disputed due to a territorial dispute with Pakistan; according to India’s claim, the highest point (located in the disputed Kashmir territory) is K2, at 8,611 m (28,251 feet). The highest point in undisputed Indian territory is Kanchenjunga, at 8,598 m (28,208 feet).

Climate:

The geography is extremely diverse, with landscape ranging from snow-capped mountain ranges to deserts, plains, hills and plateaus. Climate ranges from equatorial in the far south, to tundra in the Himalayan altitudes. So, it is difficult to generalize it through out the country due to the country’s large geographic size and varied topography. There are such many regions, where we found microclimates (e.g. in mountain tops), and the mean climatic conditions in Kashmir (extreme north) are very different from those in the extreme south. India's climate is strongly influenced by the Himalaya and the Thar Desert. The Himalaya ensure, by acting as a barrier to the cold north winds from Central Asia, that northern India is warm or mildly cool during winter and hot during summer. So, although the Tropic of Cancer (the dividing line between the tropical and sub-tropical regions) passes almost through the middle of India, India as a whole is considered to be a tropical country. India has three main distinct seasons as; Summer, which starts in March and ends in June; the Rainy season (Monsoons), which starts in June and ends in October and also is notified as southwest monsoons and northeast monsoons; Winter season is cold seasons, which starts in November and ends in March. In general, we can say that between October and March the temperatures come down and so, it is considered as a better period to visit India. During this time, the temperature can go as low as below 00 C in the Northern Mountains of India. However, in most other parts of the country, it is normally ranges 5-250C. Indian summers, which start from April to June, can be very hot, with the temperature reaching 500C in many locations like eastern part Maharashtra State, Orisa, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, and some part of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhatisgarh . The Summer in northwestern India lasts from April to June, and in the rest of the country from March to June. The temperatures in the north rise as the vertical rays of the Sun reach the Tropic of Cancer. The hottest month for the western and southern regions of the country is April, while for the northern regions it is May. By May, most of interior India experiences mean temperatures over 32°C and maximum temperatures exceeding 40°C. Near the coast the temperature hovers around 36°C, and the proximity of the sea increases the level of humidity. In southern India, the temperatures are higher on the east coast by a few degrees compared to the west coast. It is found that altitude affects the temperature to a large extent, with the higher parts of the Deccan plateau and hills being relatively cooler. The Himalayan and Nilgiri hill stations offer some respite from the heat with a temperate high of 25°C. Northeastern India also has a much milder climate with temperatures rarely exceeding 32°C. The temperature gradually falls in the country after September. As the vertical rays of the sun move south of the equator, the country experiences cool weather, with temperatures decreasing by about 0.5°C for every 1° latitude moved north. December and January are typically the coldest months with mean temperatures of 10 to 15°C in the north-west and the Himalayan region. The northern part always colder than the sourthern part of India. The mean temperatures increase as one moves east and south, where it can be between 20 to 25°C. In the northwestern India, October and November are cloudless and the least dusty months in the year, with feeble winds. This leads to a high diurnal range of temperatures during these months. It ranges between 16 to 20°C in north-western India, while it is nearly 5°C lower in central India and 10°C lower on the coastal strip. Northern India doesn't receive snow, except for the mountains and the temperature in the plains rarely falls below freezing. Highs in Delhi range between 12° to 18°C. Night time temperatures fall to between 2 to 6°C. Further, in the north in Punjab region, temperatures fall below the freezing in the plains around (-6°C), it was recorded in Amritsar. Frost sometimes occurs, but the hallmark of the season is the notorious fog which disrupts daily life. Eastern India has a much milder climate. It has mild days and cool nights. Highs range from 17- 21°C. Nights average 9°C. The northeast rainfall brings rain to this region. The cold winds over the Brahmaputra River lower the temperatures. In southern India, the weather is cooler only in the central part of the Indian plateau, the Karnataka plateau and hilly areas. This only lasts for a short period of time. These interior areas can fall to about 16°C. Coastal areas and low-level interior tracts are warm with highs of 30°C and lows of 21°C. The Nilgiri range is the exception, where the lows can fall below freezing. The highest temperature recorded in India was 50.6 °C (123.08 °F) in Alwar (district in Rajasthan) in 1955. The lowest was −45 °C (−49 °F) in Kashmir. Recent claims of temperatures touching 55 °C (131 °F) in Orissa have been met with some scepticism by the meteorological department, based largely on the method of recording of such data.

Population:

According to 2001 census, the population of India was 1,027,015,247 of which male population was 531,277,078 and female population was 495,738,169. The most populous state in the country is Uttar Pradesh that has 166,052,859 population and Maharashtra stands in the second position i.e. the population is 96,752,247. These two states followed by Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The sex ratio (females per 1000 males) at national level was 933. The highest sex ratio was found in the state of Kerala that was 1,058 females per 1000 males and the highest sex ratio found in union territory is Pondicherry that has 1001. The lowest sex ratio was found in Haryana state, it was 861 females per 1000 males. The union territory Daman and Diu has the lowest sex ratio (709) and Chandigarh stands in the second position. Religion-wise sex ratio shows at the national level that the Christian population has the highest sex ratio i.e. 1009 females per thousand males, followed by ‘Other Religions and Persuasions’ (992), Buddhists (953) and Jains (940). Sex ratio of Sikh population is 893, which is the lowest among the different religious communities. Sex ratio among Muslim population at national level is 936 which is just above the national average of 933 for all religions while a shade lower is the Hindu population sex ratio of 931. Further, it is found that the sex ratio among the Sikh population is below 900. Chhattisgarh has the highest sex ratio among the Buddhist (1012), followed by West Bengal (981). Maharashtra and Jammu & Kashmir reporting substantial Buddhist population have sex ratio of 961 and 941 respectively. Majority of the states and union territories (twenty) reported the sex ratio of less than 900 among the Buddhist population. Among the major states Kerala has reported the highest sex ratio of 996 for Jains. In Gujarat and Rajasthan also sex ratio of Jains is high at 969 and 960 respectively. In twenty states Jain population has sex ratio between 901-950 while this pattern is seen in ten states for Hindus and twelve for Muslims. This census also showed at national level that there was 21.34 decadal growth rate of population. The highest decadal growth rate was found in Nagaland, followed by Sikkim and Manipur. Among the union territories, Dadara and Nagar Haveli was found highest decadal growth rate, followed by Daman and Diu. (For details see the Table No. 1.) The Census has given some surprised figures. It was recorded that Sikh population has the lowest decadal growth rate of 16.9 percent during 1991-2001 and has also shown declining trend in growth since 1961-1971. Also, the growth rate of Hindu population has come down from 22.8 percent in 1981-91 to 20.0 percent in 1991-2001. Similar trends are observed among Buddhists that declined from 36.0 percent in 1981-1991 to 23.2 percent during 1991-2001. The Muslim growth rate was declined from 32.9 percent during 1981-91 to 29.3 percent during 1991-2001,while for Christians it would increase from 17.0 percent to 22.1 percent during 1991-2001. In addition, Jain population also has registered growth rate of 26.0 percent against very low growth rate of 4.6 percent during 1981-1991. Abnormally low population growth of Jains in the last decade appears to be an aberration when compared with the previous decades. Overall adjusted growth rate among the ‘Other Religion and Persuasions’ has been very high during 1991-2001 Census at 113.1 percent followed by ‘Religion Not Stated’ (75.1 percent). In brief, emergence of ‘Other Religions and Persuasions’ is one of the key findings of Census 2001. The density of population in the country in an average is 324. The highest density of population is found in West Bengal, followed by Bihar and Kerala. Among the union territories, Delhi and Chandigarh stands first and second respectively. If we review the religion-wise population at the national level, as per 2001 census, out of total 1,028,610,328 population, 827,578,868 (80.5 percent) have written their religion as Hindus, followed by Muslims 138,188,240 (13.4 percent) and Christians 24,080,016 (2.3 percent), 19,215,730 (1.9 percent) persons follow Sikh religion; 7,955,207 (0.8 percent) are Buddhists and 4,225,053 (0.4 percent) are Jains. In addition to these, 6,639,626 belong to ‘Other Religions and Persuasions’ including tribal religions which are not part of the six main religions stated above. About 727,588 (0.7 million) persons have not stated their religion. (For details see Table No. 3) According to 2001 census, the literacy rate of the country was 65.38. The male literacy rate was 75.85 and female literacy was 54.16. The highest literacy rate is found in Kerala (90.92), followed by Mizoram (88.49), Lakshadweep (87.52), Goa (82.32), National Capital Delhi (81.82), Chandigarh (81.76), Daman and Diu (81.09). Among these, Lakshadweep, Chandigarh, and Daman and Diu are union territories. The lowest literacy rate is found in Bihar, it was 47.53 and also found the lowest female literacy rate. (For details see Table No. 2) As compared to this, the literacy rate among the Jains is the highest at 94.1 percent followed by Christians 80.3 percent and Buddhists 72.7 percent. Hindus and Sikhs have reported a marginally higher literacy rate than the national average. The lowest literacy has been recorded for ‘Other Religions & Persuasions’ at 47.0 percent. Muslims are the other religious community, which reported lower than the national average, literacy rate at 59.1 percent. About 16.2 per cent of India’s population is Scheduled Castes i.e. (166,635,700) and about 8.2 per cent of Scheduled Tribes i.e. 84,326,240. The State with highest proportion of Scheduled Castes is Punjab about 28.9 per cent and the lowest proportion of Scheduled Castes is Mizoram. Union Territories with highest proportion of Scheduled Castes is Delhi, which recorded 16.9 per cent. State with highest proportion of Scheduled Tribes is Mizoram i.e. 95 per cent. Union Territory with highest proportion of Scheduled Tribes is Lakshadweep (93.1 per cent). Khasi Hill District of Meghalya recorded highest Scheduled Tribes population (98 per cent) in the country. It can be seen from Table No. 4 that the number of persons living in urban area for every hundred population of the country increased from about 11 to 28 between 1901 and 2001, registering an increase of 17 per hundred during the time span of a century. When it was measured in terms of urban-rural ratio, only 12 persons lived in urban areas for every 100 persons living in rural areas in 1901, and this number increased to 39 in rural areas in 2001. While during the first half of the century, the proportion of urban population increased by 6 per hundred, during the second half, the increase registered was significantly higher being 11 per hundred. It is, therefore, clear that levels of urbanization, which were low at the beginning of the twentieth century, did not alter significantly even at the dawn of the twenty first century. One should not be misled by the fact that in 2001, the size of the urban population is a little over 10 times than it was in 1901, whereas the corresponding increase in the size of the rural population is only 3.5 times. If we rank the state as per urbanization rate in 2001 among the major states, Tamil Nadu has climbed up the ladder substantially by occupying the seventh position from its tenth position in 1991. Haryana is another State that has substantially improved its ranking from 19 in 1991 to 14 in 2001. It would be important to reiterate that a large part of improvement in the degree of urbanisation in Tamil Nadu is explained by the large number of newly notified towns having been added to its urban frame of the Census 2001. Total urban population in the country as per 2001 Census was about 285 million. Maharashtra has by far the largest urban population in the country being about 41 million followed by Uttar Pradesh (34.5 million) and Tamil Nadu (27.2 million). It would be interesting to note that the urban population of Maharashtra is larger than the total population of major states like Punjab, Assam, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhatisgarh and Kerala.

(b) Unity in Diversity:

The country has 5000 years old civilization and cultural history than any other country in the world. So, the cultural origins of the Indian subcontinent can be traced back to the Indus Valley Civilizations, the remains of which are cherished today as archaeological treasures. Such treasures were found at various places on the rocks, temples, caves etc., which are specifically mentioned on Indian Sculpture. For the long the period, India has been rich in cultural heritage. Though, the country has different religions, beliefs, customs, languages, castes and way of life, the people always live happily and maintain communal harmony among them except few cases. Such cultural diversity is also marked by 28 states and 7 union territories with religions, practices, marriages, worships, heterogeneous festivals, etc Though having different religions, the people always come together and celebrate the various festivals of all religions enthusiastically and also try to follow their customs. It is the result of the coexistence of a number of religions as well as local traditions. If we look at the customs and beliefs of the some community found that in the desert of Kutch, Gujarat, the local folk pit themselves against the awesome forces of nature. These people have made their lifestyles vibrant by a profusion of jewellery and ornamental embroidery used to adorn apparel and household linen. In the extreme north is the high altitude desert of Ladakh, Local culture is visibly shaped by the faith on Buddhism as well as by the harsh terrain. Yet another facet of Indian culture is observed in the colourful lifestyles of the northeastern states of Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur, Meghalaya and Sikkim with their tribal folk culture. In the central Indian states of Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, tribal village life has resulted in a variety of artistically executed handicrafts. With over one billion citizens, India has been the second most populous nation in the world. It is impossible to speak of any one Indian culture, although there are deep cultural continuities that tie its people together. Unless a cultural integration among these different sections of people takes place, unless every Indian considers himself an Indian first, the integration of India is incomplete. Religion plays as a central role to Indian culture, and its practice can be seen in virtually every aspect of life in the country. Hinduism is the dominant faith of India as majority of the people follow the Hindu tradition however, there are not same tradition to all castes even in Hindu religion. Among the Hindu tradition also, people prefer to follow local tradition, which exist in their respective areas. Buddhists, Jains, Muslims, Christians, Sikh, Parsis, Bahais etc follow and enjoy their learning about the festivals, culture and cuisines. In its quest for modernization, India has preserved its ancient civilization and never lost sight of the ideals that gave her strength through countless centuries. Science and technology has been steadily raising the living standard and prosperity of its people, but the nation of more than one billion people - one sixth of humanity - continues to live with some of its traditional values that go back 4,000 years and more. One can see this synthesis of tradition and modernity in the new life of Indians. In a world where nations, big and small, are breaking into micro entities, often with disastrous consequences, India has demonstrated its inherent strength. This strength comes from its composite culture that has made India a truly vibrant democracy, the largest in the world - a country where unity thrives on diversity. Many languages, religions, costumes flourish in India. Even the division into states is basically according to this cultural/language diversity. Most of the states have their own language. There are 30 different languages, which are main languages in various offcial purposes and also around 2000 dialects, i.e. a variety of a language spoken by people from a particular geographic area. The Constitution of India has stipulated the usage of Hindi and English to be the two languages for official communication to the various central and state government’s offices. However, English ceased to exist as an official language (on par with Hindi) in 1965, after which it was intended to continue as an “associate additional official language” until such time that a duly appointed committee can decide on a full-scale transition to Hindi, based on a periodic review. However, due to protests from some states like Tamil Nadu where there is low Hindi penetration, the “twin language” system is still in vogue. Due to rapid industrialization, and a bustling multinational influence in the economy, English continues to be a popular and influential means of communication in the government and day-to-day business, and moves to replace it have effectively been shelved. In addition to these two official languages, there are 22 other languages, which were incorpoarted in the eight scheduled of the Constitution of India from time to time as regional languages and also allowed to take as medium of language in the competative examination. The languages are: Assamese (official language of Assam), Bengali (official language of Tripura and West Bengal), Bodo (official language of Assam), Dogri (official language of Jammu and Kashmir), Gujarati (official language of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, and Gujarat), Hindi (official language of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal) , Kannada (official language of Karnataka) , Kashmiri (spoken in the Jammu and Kashmir), Konkani (official language of Goa), Maithili (official language of Bihar), Malayalam (official language of Kerala and Lakshadweep), Manipuri (Meithei) (official language of Manipur), Marathi (official language of Maharashtra), Nepali (official language of Sikkim), Oriya (official language of Orissa), Punjabi (official language of Punjab), Sanskrit (not official language of any state), Santali (not official language of any state), Sindhi (not official language of any state), Tamil (official language of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry), Telugu (official language of Andhra Pradesh), and Urdu (official language of Jammu and Kashmir). There are other popular languages, which are being spoken by over 5 million speakers but do not have official status. These are: Awadhi (often considered a sub-variety of Hindi), Bhili (spoken by Bhil tribals), Bhojpuri (language of Bihar, often considered a sub-variety of Hindi), Bundeli (often considered a sub-variety of Hindi), Chhattisgarhi (language of Chhattisgarh, often considered a sub-variety of Hindi), Gondi ( spoken by Gond tribals in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh), Hariyanavi (Haryanvi) (language of Haryana, often considered a sub-variety of Hindi), Hindustani (A mixture of Hindi and Urdu. Spoken largely in the Northern part of India.), Kanauji (language of Uttar Pradesh, often considered a sub-variety of Hindi), Kodava, spoken in the Kodagu district of Karnataka, Kutchi (language of Kutch, a region in Gujarat), Magadhi (language of southern Bihar, often considered a sub-variety of Hindi), Marwari (language of Rajasthan, often considered a sub-variety of Hindi), Tulu (spoken by Tulu people of Karnataka and Kerala). The official figure of ‘mother tongues’ spoken in the country is 1,683, of which an estimated 850 are in daily use. About 387 languages is considered as living languages for India. If we order by number of speakers, the Hindi stand at first position; Hindi (180 million), Urdu: 100 million, Telugu: 70 million (Dravidian), Bengali: 67 million, Tamil: 66 million (Dravidian), Marathi: 65 million, Gujarati: 43 million, Kannada: 35 million (Dravidian), Malayalam: 34 million (Dravidian), Oriya: 30 million, Punjabi: 26 million , Bhojpuri: 23 million, Maithili: 22 million, Awadhi: 20 million, Assamese: 15 million, Haryanvi: 13 million, Marwari: 12 million , Chhattisgarhi: 11 million, Magahi: 11 million, Dakkhini (also known as Deccani): 11 million Diversity characterises everything that makes up the natural world, not excluding human beings or our societies. Human culture and civilisation has always aimed at finding a greater purpose in all this to fulfil it. Without the many sorts of human activity, the ever changing pattern of occupations, enterprises and pastimes, the present level of world development could not have been achieved. Thus, variety is clearly ‘the spice of life’. Unity means true understanding of other put into action, which makes it an expression of love. An idea of unity is somehow present in the human mind, just as is the idea of good and God (even though a person denies that these ideas are true). We are constantly reminded of that reality to some extent by the diverse phenomena of the sensory world in which we are repeatedly reborn. The higher ideas, such as those of beauty, virtue, truth and goodness, are gradually developed and enlarged in our minds when we see examples of them in the outer world. Our perception becomes purified through such ideas or ideals of unity, until the oneness of humanity, of all creation and of God becomes increasingly evident to us. Practising the ideas of unity involves repeatedly seeing ourselves as part of a greater unit, be it a team, a nation, an organisation, a nation, the world civilisation or God and acting according to it. By making room for others' progress rather than pushing oneself ahead, by competing only so as to excel and not to beat other and also by self-control and avoidance of selfish individualisation, unity with others comes to be an experience and a reality. Diversity is not in contradiction to unity, but to division and disharmony. Unity is found precisely in diversity and vice-versa.

(c) 7th Largest country in the world:

Area-wise, India is the seventh largest country in the world. Area of the country is 3,287,590 km2 i.e. 1,269,345.60 miles2. Of which, 90.44 per cent is land area and 9.56 per cent is covered by water. Russia stood first as she has 17,075,200 km2 area, Canada came next as she has 9,984,670 km2 area, next to Canada is United States, which has 9,631,418 km2 area, then People’s Republic of China, which has 9,596,960 km2 area, Brazil stood at fifth position and Australia stood at sixth position, having area 8,514,876,599 km2 and 7,686,850 km2 respectively. The coastline is measured 7,516 km i.e. 4,670.23 miles. Specifically, India lies to the north of the equator between 8 degree 4 minutes and 37 degree 6 minutes north latitude and 68 degrees 7 minutes and 97 degrees 25 minutes east longitude. India measures 3,214 km (1,997 miles) from north to south and 2,933 km (1,822 miles) from east to west. It has a land frontier of 15,200 km (9,445 miles). The total length of the coastline of the mainland, Lakshadweep group of Islands and Andman and Nicobar group of Islands is 7,5165.5 km. (4,670.5 miles). The Physical Boundaries with neighboring countries show the vastness of the country. The Himalayas and other lofty mountains Muztagh Ata, Aghil Kunlun mountains to the north of Kashmir and south eastern portion of Zanskar mountains to the east of Himachal Pradesh form India's northern boundary, except in the Nepal region. She is bordering in the north with China, Nepal and Bhutan too. A series of mountain ranges, which are located in the east, separate India from Burma. Also, in the east, Bangladesh is bounded by Indian States of the West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. In the north-west, India is bordering to Afghanistan and Pakistan. In the extreme south, the Gulf of Manner and the Palk Straits separate India from Sri Lanka. The Andman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea are parts of the Indian territory of India. Indira Point (earlier called Pygmalion point) in Great Nicobar in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the southernmost territory of India. India is mainly an agricultural country, though it also has a large iron and steel industry and produces every type of manufactured goods. In the last few years India has gotten more and more involved in information technology and every year over 100,000 software professionals leave India to work in other countries, mainly the United States.

(d) Multiplicity of Climates: The climate of India is varied from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and from Mumbai to Imphal in north east of the country. So, it is difficult to generalize it through out the country due to the country’s large geographic size and varied topography. There are such many regions, where we found microclimates (e.g. in mountain tops), and the mean climatic conditions in Kashmir (extreme north) are very different from those in the extreme south. India’s climate is strongly influenced by the Himalaya and the Thar Desert. The Himalaya ensure, by acting as a barrier to the cold north winds from Central Asia, that northern India is warm or mildly cool during winter and hot during summer. So, although the Tropic of Cancer (the dividing line between the tropical and sub-tropical regions) passes almost through the middle of India, India as a whole is considered to be a tropical country. India has three main distinct seasons as; Summer, which starts in March and ends in June; the Rainy season (Monsoons), which starts in June and ends in October and also is notified as southwest monsoons and northeast monsoons; Winter season is cold seasons, which starts in November and ends in March. We can discuss in more details in the following paragraphs. In general, we can say that between October and March the temperatures come down and so, it is considered as a better period to visit India. During this time, the temperature can go as low as below 00 C in the Northern Mountains of India and sometimes falls to minus degree for several days. Once it was recorded -450C (-490 F) in Kashmir. However, in most other parts of the country, it is normally ranging 5-250C. Indian summers, which start from April to June, can be very hot, with the temperature reaching 500C in many locations like central India. However, the climate of Kashmir is different from other parts of the country as close to Himalayas. Altitude determines the degree of coolness and elevation the form of precipitation and summer temperature. Winter is cold and of long duration. When the monsoons are strong, rain is caused. In higher mountains round the valley of Kashmir, winter is very cold and there is snow-fall. Summer is very short and milder. The climate in the Valley of Kashmir has its own peculiarities. Winter is very cold. It lasts from November to March. During these months strong winds bring snow and rain from the Mediterranean depressions. These come over from Iran and Afghanistan. Spring begins after 15th of March when rain falls heavily. It causes landslides. But for sowing crops this rain is extremely useful. Rainfall in July and August is as high as 70 per cent. With summer temperature, it causes discomfort. The lakes and waterways make the atmosphere damp and oppressive. The entire valley is covered with a haze that hides the surrounding mountains from view. The seasons are marked with sudden change and the year is divided into six seasons of two months each as; Spring starts from March 15 to May 15, Summer starts from May 15 to July 15, Rainy Season starts from July 15 to September 15, Autumn starts from September 15 to November 15, Winter starts from November 15 to January 15, and Ice Cold falls from January 15 to March 15. From December 24 to March 8 temperature is often below zero degree. Strong winds blow from south and southeast. It snows during winter and there are thick black clouds in the sky. Annual rainfall of the valley recorded is about 75 cms. It rains in July and August and also in March and April. August is the warmest month. January is the coldest month. Temperature falls down to below zero. Longest sunshine hours are in September, October and November.

Summer: The Summer in northwestern India lasts from April to June, and in the rest of the country from March to June. The temperatures in the north rise as the vertical rays of the Sun reach the Tropic of Cancer. The hottest month for the western and southern regions of the country is April, while for the northern regions it is May. By May, most of interior India experiences mean temperatures over 32°C and maximum temperatures exceeding 40°C. Temperatures of 49°C and higher have been recorded in Central part of India during this season. Near the coast the temperature hovers around 36°C, and the proximity of the sea increases the level of humidity. In southern India, the temperatures are higher on the east coast by a few degrees compared to the west coast. It is found that altitude affects the temperature to a large extent, with the higher parts of the Deccan plateau and hills being relatively cooler. The Himalayan and Nilgiri hill stations offer some respite from the heat with a temperate high of 25°C. Northeastern India also has a much milder climate with temperatures rarely exceeding 32°C.

Monsoons: The monsoons come as a relief from the heat and parched landscape. The rains bring down the temperature, and make the surroundings lush and green. It is the best season to go hiking and trekking. The monsoons are intricately linked to the economy as a good monsoon results in a booming economy. The rains fill the ground water tables and reinvigorate rivers and lakes.

Southwest Monsoons: The southwest monsoons supply over 80 percent of India’s annual rainfall. There are two branches to the monsoon, one is the Bay of Bengal source, and second is the Arabian Seasource, extending to the low pressure area over the Thar desert in Rajasthan. It is believed that the Arabian Sea branch is roughly three times stronger than the Bay of Bengal branch. The monsoon makes its presence felt by the end of May. It starts around the 29 May, hitting the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. It strikes the mainland in Kerala by 1 June. By 9 June, it reaches Mumbai and by 12 June it reaches all paert of Maharahstra. It hits Delhi by 29 June. The Bay of Bengal monsoon moves in a northwest direction whereas the Arabian Sea monsoon moves north-northeast. By the first week of July, the entire country experiences rain. But usually southern India receives more rainfall than northern India. During this season, cyclones occur, causing widespread devastation to coastal regions. Cherrapunji is a town in Meghalaya, India, which is credited as being one of the world's wettest places. It holds two Guinness world records: • For receiving the maximum amount of rainfall in a single year: 22,987 mm (904.9973 inches) of rainfall between August 1860 and July 1861 • For receiving the maximum amount of rainfall in a single month: 9299.96 mm (366.14 in) in July 1861. In an average, yearly rainfalls in Cherrapunji stand at 11,430 mm (450 inches). This figure places it behind only nearby Mawsynram, Meghalaya, whose average is 11,873 mm (467 in), and Mount Wai'ale’ale on the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i, whose average is 11,684 mm (460 in). The monsoons start withdrawing by the last week of August. By mid-September, they have withdrawn from Mumbai and by October, the southwest monsoons have completely withdrawn from India.

Northeast Monsoons: After the withdrawal of the monsoons, the northeast monsoons begin by November. Supplying 20 percent of India's rainfall, they don't cover the entire country but only the states of Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Meghalaya. Cold mountain air travelling along the Brahmaputra river brings rain to the northeast region of India.

Winter: The temperature gradually falls in the country after September. As the vertical rays of the sun move south of the equator, the country experiences cool weather, with temperatures decreasing by about 0.5°C for every 1° latitude moved north. December and January are typically the coldest months with mean temperatures of 10 to 15°C in the north-west and the Himalayan region. However, in places it was recorded below minus and some places came down upto 3-4 degree celsious. The northern part always colder than the sourthern part of India. The mean temperatures increase as one moves east and south, where it can be between 20 to 25°C. In the northwestern India, October and November are cloudless and the least dusty months in the year, with feeble winds. This leads to a high diurnal range of temperatures during these months. It ranges between 16 to 20°C in north-western India, while it is nearly 5°C lower in central India and 10°C lower on the coastal strip. Northern India doesn't receive snow, except for the mountains and the temperature in the plains rarely falls below freezing. Highs in Delhi range between 12° to 18°C. Night time temperatures fall to between 2 to 6°C. Further north in the Punjab region the low does fall below freezing in the plains: to around -6°C in Amritsar. Frost sometimes occurs, but the hallmark of the season is the notorious fog which disrupts daily life. Northern India does receive some rainfall. The source is from the western disturbances originating in the Mediterranean Sea. As these disturbances travel eastwards, unable to "climb" the Himalaya they drop their rain and snow over northern India. Eastern India has a much milder climate. It has mild days and cool nights. Highs range from 17- 21°C. Nights average 9°C. The northeast rainfall brings rain to this region. The cold winds over the Brahmaputra River lower the temperatures. In southern India, the weather is cooler only in the central part of the Indian plateau, the Karnataka plateau and hilly areas. This only lasts for a short period of time. These interior areas can fall to about 16°C. Coastal areas and low-level interior tracts are warm with highs of 30°C and lows of 21°C. The Nilgiri range is the exception, where the lows can fall below freezing.

Withdrawal of Monsoons: This is not a true season as such. Many text books however, refer to this as a separate season. This season lasts between September and December depending on its location. The weather turns more dry and the grass starts to dry up. This season marks the transition from wet to dry climate in most parts of India. Highs range between 34°C and 28°C.

Autumn and Spring: Autumn and spring seasons only occur in the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir and Sikkim. These regions have a temperate season and experience 5 seasons annually.

Highest Temperature: The highest temperature recorded in India was 50.6 °C (123.08 °F) in Alwar ( disctrict in Rajasthan) in 1955. The lowest was −45 °C (−49 °F) in Kashmir. Recent claims of temperatures touching 55 °C (131 °F) in Orissa have been met with some scepticism by the meteorological department, based largely on the method of recording of such data.

(e) Best Time to visit India: As we discussed in the climate section, India has three major seasons viz, monsoon, winter, and summer. The winter season (November to February) is pleasant throughout the country. However, the northern India is colder than southern part of India as it is closer to Himalayas. So, naturally, the regions of north India remain moderately to extremely cold during winter season. That’s why Kashmir became a place of tourist attraction during winter season from all over the world. The tourists from other countries often visit Kashmir valley to enjoy various views, facets, ice trekking, boat house etc. Though the summer season (April to June) is hot in most parts of the country, Kashmir valley enjoys its beauty, calmness, bosom atmosphere. Tourists can visit hill stations in Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, and some part of Northern India. Even, in southern India, some places are hill stations and places of attraction. The popular hill stations are Shimla, Mussoorie, Nainital, Kullu and the Kashmir Valley (North India), Darjeeling and Shillong (North East), Ooty, Yearcad and Kodaikanal (South India), Panchmari, Mount Abu and Khandala (central and western India) provide cool respite. It is in these six months (October to March) that the country is in a celebratory mood and India Travel becomes more festive. Most of India’s well-known festivals take place around this time. Generally Dassehra is celebrated for two reasons, one is for burning effigy of Ravana. So, it became a popular festival celebrated by Hindus all over India. It is also known as Vijayadashmi (‘Vijay’ meaning victory and ‘Dashmi’ meaning tenth day) as it is believed that it was on this day that Lord Rama killed the demon-king, Ravana and won over Lanka, his kingdom. On that day, huge effigies of Ravana, his giant brother Kumbhkarna and son Meghnad are placed in vast open grounds. Fireworks and crackers are placed inside these and actor dressed as Rama, his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana enact the final moments of the battle. The character playing Rama then shoots an arrow with a flaming tip at the effigies from a safe distance and the crowd bursts up in cheer as the crackers catch fire. The enthusiasm and the cheers sometimes even drown the deafening blast. Merriment ensues as people indulge themselves in fairs and games, dance and music. Drama is famous in the North while in the East, the Durga Puja is celebrated to depict the conquest of good over evil. Diwali comes after three weeks from Dassehra that festival is great one for the brother and sister, business community, the festival of light, and there are a lot of lamps and firecrackers. Holi is the colour festival and it comes in the month of March. The people celebrate with colour, which is thrown on the friends for enjoying this festival. All Indian festivals are celebrated with lots of sweets. In addition to these major festivals, there are a number of local festivals, which are being celebrated by various communities in the different part of the country, like the Rathyatra or the Chariot festival in Orissa, the harvest festivals in most parts of India, dance festivals at heritage sites, and a host of others held towards the end of the year. The largest camel fair is held in Rajasthan's Pushkar in November while Goa has its own version of the Mardi Gras in February which tourists can enjoy on India Travel. Then, Muslim festival like Id, the Christian community celebrates the Easter, Christmas. There are also regional festivals, which are celebrated by regional people. The tropic of cancer passes through the central part of India so the temperature is hot in the southern part, which is near to equator and moderate to minus temperature in the northern part of the country as far away from the equator. The months of March to May are hot and humid in most parts of the country and are unbearable for most Westerners. This is the time to take off to the hills and see another facet of the fascinating country called India. March to May and September and November are months for trekking in the Himalayas. So, if you have plans to do some serious mountain climbing or trekking or even take part in some adventure sports, plan your India Travel around this time. India has such a wide range of climatic factors that it's impossible to pin down the best time to visit weather-wise with any certainty, though broadly speaking October to March tend to be the most pleasant months over much of the country. In the far south, the monsoonal weather pattern tends to make January to September more pleasant, while Sikkim and the areas of north-eastern India tend to be more palatable between March and August, and Kashmir and the mountainous regions of Himachal Pradesh are at their most accessible between May and September. The deserts of Rajasthan and the north-western Indian Himalayan region are at their best during the monsoon. The trekking season in the Indian Himalaya runs roughly from April to November, though this varies widely depending on the trek, altitude and region. The ski season is between January and March.

(f) Population and Ethnic Composition:

According to 2001 census, the population of India was 1,027,015,247 of which male population was 531,277,078 and female population was 495,738,169. The most populous state in the country is Uttar Pradesh that has 166,052,859 population and Maharashtra stands in the second position i.e. the population is 96,752,247. These two states followed by Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Religion-wise sex ratio shows at the national level that the Christian population has the highest sex ratio i.e. 1009 females per thousand males, followed by ‘Other Religions and Persuasions’ (992), Buddhists (953) and Jains (940). Sex ratio of Sikh population is 893, which is the lowest among the different religious communities. Sex ratio among Muslim population at national level is 936 which is just above the national average of 933 for all religions while a shade lower is the Hindu population sex ratio of 931. Further, it is found that the sex ratio among the Sikh population is below 900. Chhattisgarh has the highest sex ratio among the Buddhist (1012), followed by West Bengal (981). Maharashtra and Jammu & Kashmir reporting substantial Buddhist population have sex ratio of 961 and 941 respectively. Majority of the states and union territories (twenty) reported the sex ratio of less than 900 among the Buddhist population. Among the major states Kerala has reported the highest sex ratio of 996 for Jains. In Gujarat and Rajasthan also sex ratio of Jains is high at 969 and 960 respectively. In twenty states Jain population has sex ratio between 901-950 while this pattern is seen in ten states for Hindus and twelve for Muslims. It was recorded that Sikh population has the lowest decadal growth rate of 16.9 percent during 1991-2001 and has also shown declining trend in growth since 1961-1971. Also, the growth rate of Hindu population has come down from 22.8 percent in 1981-91 to 20.0 percent in 1991-2001. Similar trends are observed among Buddhists that declined from 36.0 percent in 1981-1991 to 23.2 percent during 1991-2001. The Muslim growth rate was declined from 32.9 percent during 1981-91 to 29.3 percent during 1991-2001,while for Christians it would increase from 17.0 percent to 22.1 percent during 1991-2001. In addition, Jain population also has registered growth rate of 26.0 percent against very low growth rate of 4.6 percent during 1981-1991. Abnormally low population growth of Jains in the last decade appears to be an aberration when compared with the previous decades. Overall adjusted growth rate among the ‘Other Religion and Persuasions’ has been very high during 1991-2001 Census at 113.1 percent followed by ‘Religion Not Stated’ (75.1 percent). In brief, emergence of ‘Other Religions and Persuasions’ is one of the key findings of Census 2001. If we review the religion-wise population at the national level, as per 2001 census, out of total 1,028,610,328 population, 827,578,868 (80.5 percent) have written their religion as Hindus, followed by Muslims 138,188,240 (13.4 percent) and Christians 24,080,016 (2.3 percent), 19,215,730 (1.9 percent) persons follow Sikh religion; 7,955,207 (0.8 percent) are Buddhists and 4,225,053 (0.4 percent) are Jains. In addition to these, 6,639,626 belong to ‘Other Religions and Persuasions’ including tribal religions which are not part of the six main religions stated above. About 727,588 (0.7 million) persons have not stated their religion. (For details see Table No. 3) As compared to this, the literacy rate among the Jains is the highest at 94.1 percent followed by Christians 80.3 percent and Buddhists 72.7 percent. Hindus and Sikhs have reported a marginally higher literacy rate than the national average. The lowest literacy has been recorded for ‘Other Religions & Persuasions’ at 47.0 percent. Muslims are the other religious community, which reported lower than the national average, literacy rate at 59.1 percent. About 16.2 per cent of India’s population is Scheduled Castes i.e. (166,635,700) and about 8.2 per cent of Scheduled Tribes i.e. 84,326,240. The State with highest proportion of Scheduled Castes is Punjab about 28.9 per cent and the lowest proportion of Scheduled Castes is Mizoram. Union Territories with highest proportion of Scheduled Castes is Delhi, which recorded 16.9 per cent. State with highest proportion of Scheduled Tribes is Mizoram i.e. 95 per cent. Union Territory with highest proportion of Scheduled Tribes is Lakshadweep (93.1 per cent). Khasi Hill District of Meghalya recorded highest Scheduled Tribes population (98 per cent) in the country. The people of India seem to be belonging to different Ethnic groups as we see in other part of the Asian countries. According to Dr. B.S. Guha, the population of the country is maily belong to six ethnic groups. The six groups are Negritos, Pro-Australoids or Austrics, Mongoloids, Mediterranean or Dravidian, Western Brachycephals and Nordics. Of which the larget ethnic is Indo-Aryan, which is 72 percent. The second largest ethnic group is Dravidian, which is 25 percent. The Mongoloid and others accounts 3 percent. The Negritos or the Brachycephalic (broad headed) people from Africa were the earliest people to inhabit India. They have still survived in their original inhabitat in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The tribes Jarawa, Onge, Sentinelese, and the Great Andamanese are some of the examples of this group. There are also some hill tribes like Irulas, Kodars, Paniyans, and Kurumbas are found in some patches in Southern part of mainland India. Pro-Australoids or Austrics were next inhabitant groups, which migrated to India after the Negritos. They represent a race with wavy hair plentifully distributed over the brown bodies, long heads with low foreheads and prominent eye ridges, noses with low and broad roots, thick jaws, large palates and teeth and small chins. These tribes spread all over India and other parts of the South Asian coutries like Myanmar and the islands of South-East Asia and are said to “form the bedrock of the people”. Evidently it is said that Austries were the main builders of the Indus Vallay Civilization. The historical evidences mentioned and noted that they used to cultivate rice, various kind of vegitables, other foodgrains etc. and also they knew how to prepare sugar from sugarcane. It is said that still their language has been found in the Kol or Munda (Mundari) tribes in the Eastern and Central part of India. The next ethnic group is Mongoloids, whose origin similar to those people who have features common to the people of Mongolia, China and Tibet. These origin people are found mostly in the North eastern part of India in the states of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Tripura. They are also found in Northern parts of West Bengal, Sikkim, and Ladakh. The Dravidians became the next group to India. These origin of people are mostly settled in the South India. The hostorical evidences showed that they migrated India before the Aryans arrival. They are classified into different sub-groups like the Paleo-Mediterranean, the true Mediterranean, and the Oriental Mediterranean. The Western Bracycephals is the next group, which includes the Alpinoids, Dinarics and Armenoids. The Parsis (who came long after the Indo-Aryans) and Kodavas also fall in this category. The Indo-Aryans were the last group who migrated in India somewhere between 2000 and 1500 B.C. They are now mainly found in the northern and central parts of India. The idea of the 'Aryan race' arose when linguists identified Sanskrit and the Avestan (ancient languages of Northern India and Persia, respectively) as the oldest known relatives of all the major European languages, including Latin, Greek, and all Germanic and Celtic languages. They argued that the speakers of these languages originated from an ancient people who must have been the ancestors of all the European peoples. The Aryan Invasion Theory claimed that Aryans migrated into India, around 1800 BC-1500 BC, possibly waging war against the declining Harappan civilization. The Rig-Veda describes warfare and struggle for control of territory, but whether this resulted from a migration or not is unclear. However the archaeological and historical record can be interpreted to indicate a gradual migration around the end of the 2nd millennium BC of Indo-Aryan speakers to the east from the vicinity of Kurdistan. Nevertheless, the evidence is weak. It is also possible to argue that the Indo-Aryan speaking cultures had much older roots in the area. At any rate, modern India is divided into two main language families, one Indo-European, its speakers possibly linguistic descendants of Aryans, and the other Dravidian, its speakers possibly linguistic descendants of the Harappans.

(g) Major Religions: As a multi religious country, India has six major religions. They are Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Muslim, Christian, and Zoroastrian. The oldest religion is Hinduism, which was also followed by the Indus valley people. At that time the priests propagated the idea of man- god relation and thought that Hindu religion is a tool to achieve a one to one communication between god and man. However, Hinduism became too ritualistic; and in the 6th B.C., a great social upheaval took place in the country and out of these two religions, Buddhism and Jainism were born. Buddhism was spread to the far east, although its philosophy was almost snuffed out in the land of its origin. An iconoclastic faith like Buddhism could not compete with ritualistic Brahmanism that cleverly co-opted Buddha into their ‘holy pantheon of gods’. Jainism place self-conquest above all else – it is one of the most ascetics of faiths, with its votaries living in the most spartan manner imaginable. Muslim religion came with invaders and forced the people to adopt it. Sikh religion is Indian origin and it covered the part of Punjab state and westerners brought the Christian with their missionaries. Zoroastrian came from Persia, which is identified as Parsis. The census of the country has recorded that 80.46 per cent of population is belonging to the Hinduism. The second largest group is Muslim, which accounts 13.43 per cent. Christian accounts 2.34 per cent and Sikh is accounted 1.87 per cent. Buddhists population is accounted 0.77 per cent and that of Jains is 0.41 per cent. The others account 0.72 per cent, which are not still identified. Despite these religions, there are other sub sects, which many people are following through out India. Among Hindus itself, there are so many religious rituals that followed by the different communities in India. Looking at the features of the religions that justified that India is the only country in the world where a large number of religions have not only evolved but also flourished and have grown. The people made religions an integral aspect of life and have a great impact on the personal lives of people on a daily life. That’s why India became a secular state and the constitution of the country also honors all religions equally. India is one of the few countries of the world where the social and religious identity of the nation has remained intact despite numerous invasions, persecution, colonialism and political upsurges. In the following paragraphs, we discuss about religious teaching in brief. Hinduism Hinduism is the ancient religion since then it was being followed by the people. It constitutes the majority in the country. Religious scripts like the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Puranas enlighten scholars. So, different texts deal with the different rituals, practice, worships, and ceremonies. The Vedas are hymns, which praise the different Gods. There are four Vedas viz, the Rig Veda is the book of Mantra., the Sama Veda is the book of song, the Yajur Veda is the book of ritual and the Atharva Veda is the book of spell. The Rig Veda is a collection of songs or hymns and it is a main source of information on the Rig Vedic civilization. It is considered as the oldest book in any Indo-European language and contains the earliest form of all Sanskrit mantras that date back to 1500 B.C. - 1000 B.C. The Rig-Vedic ‘samhita’ or collection of mantras consists of 1,017 hymns or ‘suktas’, that covered about 10,600 stanzas, which divided into eight ‘astakas’ and each having eight ‘adhayayas’ or chapters, which again are sub-divided into various groups. The hymns were not the work of single person but contributed by the many authors or seers called ‘rishis’. At least seven seers, who contributed for Vedas, are Atri, Kanwa, Vashistha, Vishwamitra, Jamadagni, Gotama and Bharadwaja. The Rig Veda deals in detail about the social, religious, political and economic background of the Rig-Vedic civilization. The Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda were compiled after the age of the Rig Veda and are ascribed to the Vedic period. The Sama Veda is purely a collection of melodies. The hymns, which are in the Sama Veda, used as musical notes, were almost completely drawn from the Rig Veda and have no distinctive lessons of their own. Hence, its text is a reduced version of the Rig Veda. The Yajur Veda is also collection of hymns and was made to meet the demands of a ceremonial religion. The Yajur Veda practically served as a guidebook for the priests who execute sacrificial acts muttering simultaneously the prose prayers and the sacrificial formulae. There are no less than six complete recessions of Yajur Veda - Madyandina, Kanva, Taittiriya, Kathaka, Maitrayani and Kapishthala. The last of the Vedas is the Atharva Veda. This is completely different from the other three. A different spirit pervades this Veda. Its hymns are of a more diverse character than the Rig Veda and are also simpler in language. The Atharva Veda consists of spells and charms prevalent at its time, and portrays a clearer picture of the Vedic society. The Upanishads are another sacred religious books, where discourses between a guru (spiritual guide) and a shishya (disciple), are given and also stressed upon the unity of the God, the concept of atma (soul), life after death and karma. After all, the ultimate goal of every Hindu is to attain moksha, which is deliverance from the cycle of birth & rebirth. Thus, Hinduism is more of a way of life, rather than a religion. Its tolerance and flexibility has helped to preserve its sanctity under successive invasions and to embrace alien beliefs. The main divine principle of Hinduism is that God is one, but his avatars or incarnations are many. Hinduism states three paths to self-realization - knowledge, devotion (bhakti) and work (karma). One could realize if they follow the path of religion and attain the salvation. However, the Hindu religion was classified people into four categories as the priests (Brahmins), soldiers (the Kshatriyas), traders (Vaishyas) and the unskilled labourers (Shudras). It was practiced for long time but castes classification was very severe than others. It was continued till independence of the country, when the Constitution of India specifically banned on the untouchability by under Article 17. The Hindu religion followed the four stages of life and also defined ideally for a Hindu. The first stage of life is a student i.e. bachelor (brahmacharya). The second stage of life is as the householder (grihsthya). The third stage of life is meditator in the forest (vanaprastha). The final of the life is the sanyas i.e. the renunciation of material life for a spiritual one. These four stages of life throw the light on the life cycles of a man. The Buddhism, Jainism & Sikhism are all breakaways from Hinduism.

Buddhism: According the Ceylonese chronicles, the Buddha died some 218 years before the coronation of Ashoka. It means that the date of Ashoka’s coronation might be taken as c 269 B.C. So, the date of birth of Gautama or Siddhartha was 567 B.C. and he died after 80 years of his birth then we get the year of the death of Buddha as 487 B.C. He was the son of Suddhodana, the elected Raja (or noble) of Kapilvasthu and head of the republican clan of the Sakyas. His mother’s name was Mayadevi, a princess of Devadaha, a town in the Sakya territory. He was born at Lumbinigram, near Kapilvasthu, at the foothills of Nepal. Gautama saw for the first in his life the four conditions of a man as a decrepit old man, a severely ill man, and a corpse being carried to the funeral pyre by mourners. These impacted deeply on the mind of Gautama and tried to find out the causes. It was traumatic experience for him. After these three scenes, he saw a wandering ascetic with serene, he thought that he would leave his home and took up the life of a wandering ascetic himself. To learn and find out the exact causes of sufferings he sacrificed his luxurious life. He was wandering for the knowledge from one place to other places but he could not be satisfied. After all, he sat under the Pipal tree at Bodhgaya to know the causes of human sufferings. He made a final resolve: “Let only skin, sinew and bone remain, let the flesh and blood dry in my body, but I will not give up this seat without attaining complete awakening.” On the day of full moon day (Vaishak Pournima), he was enlightened and came to know the causes of sufferings. At the dawn of the forty-ninth day, he came to know the truth. Then, Buddha delivered his first public address at Sarnath Deer park in Benares, where he spoke of the four noble truths which are, (i) the world is full of suffering (ii) suffering is caused by desire (iii) suffering can be removed (iv) in order to remove suffering one has to overcome desire. According to Buddha the ‘eight fold path’ can achieve these noble truths, which are: Right view, Right thought, Right speech, Right action, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, and Right concentration. He founded the religion of Buddhism after he attained true wisdom under a Pipal tree at Bodhgaya and later came to be known as the Buddha or ‘The Enlightened One’. The main spiritual goal of Buddhism is to attain ‘Nirvana’, which means the spiritual liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth. Buddhism religion does not believe in the existence of god and also Buddha started questioning the Hindu practice of elaborate ceremonies, image worship, suppression of women and the elevation of Brahmins. King Ashoka (250 B.C) was one of its chief followers and propagators. He used to visit the Buddha’s important places that related to the Buddha life and erected there Viharas for the Buddhist Monks and Stupas for the memories of Buddha. After Buddha’s death, Buddhism was divided into two major sects i.e. Hinayana (travellers by a lesser vehicle) & Mahayanas (travellers by a greater vehicle). Hinayana Buddhism flourished in Sri Lanka, Burma and South East Asia, while Mahayana Buddhism flourished in India, China, Japan, Tibet and Central Asia. The followers and Buddhist Monks constructed monasteries for praying and preaching the principles of Buddha. The paintings of his life, Viharas, and Stupas can be seen in different places in India. The paintings at Ajanta and Ellora, and caves are world class still today and protected and declared by the UNESCO as the world heritage. The university at Nalanda and Vikramshila in Bihar and Vaishali in Gujarat were famous centers of learning. Ashwaghosha and Nagarjuna were responsible for the spread of Buddhism after Buddha's death to the different countries. Teachings of Buddha were first compiled in the Pali script as the ‘Tripitakas’.

Jainism: Mahaviara was born in 550 B.C. while his father was a head of a famous Kshatriya clan and his mother a Lichchavi princess. Mahavira became an ascetic at the age of 30 and attained 'Kaivalya' (perfect knowledge) by the age of 42 that he took almost 13 years to attain enlightenment and founded the Jainism He was known as Jina by his conquerors and thus his followers were called Jains.. In 420 B.C., he committed the act of Salekhana, which was fasting to death. Each Jina has “conquered love and hate, pleasure and pain, attachment and aversion, and has thereby freed his soul from the karmas obscuring knowledge, perception, truth, and ability...” He died at Pavapuri near Rajgir. The main philosophy of Jainism is total renunciation and the right faith, right knowledge and right action are the three jewels of good living. The preachers of Jainism after the death of Mahavira are known as 'Tirthankaras'. Before Vardhamana, there were 24 Jinas (“those who overcome”, or conqueror) in ancient East India. It is believed that the first Jina have been a giant who lived 8.4 million years ago. The last Jina was Vardhamana (a.k.a. Mahavira, “The Great Hero”) Jainists believe that the universe exists as a series of layers, both heavens and hells. It had no beginning and will have no ending. It consists of: The supreme abode that is located at the top of the universe and is where Siddha, the liberated souls, live. The upper world means 30 heavens where celestial beings live. The Middle world means the earth and the rest of the universe. The Nether world means 7 hells with various levels of misery and punishments. The Nigoda, or base means where the lowest forms of life reside. Universe space means layers of clouds which surround the upper world. Space beyond means an infinite volume without soul, matter, time, medium of motion or medium of rest. Everyone is bound within the universe by one's karma (the accumulated good and evil that one has done). Moksha (liberation from an endless succession of lives through reincarnation) is achieved by enlightenment, which can be attained only through asceticism. They are also expected to follow five principles of living: • Ahimsa: “non violence in all parts of a person -- mental, verbal and physical.” 3 Committing an act of violence against a human, animal, or even vegetable generates negative karma which in turn adversely affects one's next life. • Satya: speaking truth; avoiding falsehood. • Asteya: to not steal from others • Brahma-charya: (soul conduct); remaining sexually monogamous to one’s spouse only. • Aparigraha: detach from people, places and material things. Avoiding the collection of excessive material possessions, abstaining from over-indulgence, restricting one's needs, etc. • Jains follow a vegetarian diet. (At least one information source incorrectly states that they follow a frutarian diet -- the practice of only eating that which will not kill the plant or animal from which it is taken. e.g. milk, fruit, nuts.) The core of Jainism is non-violence (ahimsa) and therefore killing is strongly forbidden. Conforming to this faith, most Jains are vegetarians and cover their mouths to avoid accidental swallowing of germs & insects. Jainism is rigorous and preaches self- control and asceticism. The teachings of Jainism are recorded in the ‘Angas’ that were last edited in the fifth century A.D. Jains are broadly divided into two major: Digambaras (sky clad) and the Shvetambaras (white-clad). Digambaras live in monasteries and do not wear clothes as they spurn material possessions. They believe that there is no other god except Mahavira and do not accept the 12 ‘Angas’ as authentic. Shvetambaras are further subdivided into 2 subsects - (i) Deravasi and (ii) Sthanavasi. Shvetambaras believe Mahavira to be a great man but do not worship him as God. While Deravasis believe in idol worship and Sthanavasis do not. Islam The Islam religion was founded by Muhammad ibn Abd Allah in the city of Mecca (present day Saudi Arabia). He was born in 570 A.D. at Mecca (now in Saudi Arabia) and got his first revelation of ‘Allah’ (God) in 610 A.D. All these revelations or visions are compiled in the ‘Quran’, which is the Muslim holy book. Prophet Mohammed did not believe the idol worship and also he used to preach that not to follow ‘idol worship’. The followers of the Muslim religion even today believe that the search of God through image worship is considered as a sin. Muslim followers give important to Friday as the holy day for Muslims. The prayer is the heart and essence of Islam. Any Muslim who willfully avoids prayer is considered to have forsaken Islam. This is clearly stated in the Hadith, where the Prophet is reported to have said, “ He, who abandons prayer, demolishes the very pillar of religion”. The spiritual goal of each Muslim is to make the pilgrimage to Mecca (the Hajj) and to become a Hajji. The principle texts of Islam are the Quran and the Hadith. Islamic beliefs and practices are contained in the Shari’a, the Sunna, and the “Five Pillars.” The two major groups of Muslims are the Sunnis and the Shi’ites. There are also two other minority groups but important groups are the Sufis and the Wahhabis. Currently, Islam is the second largest religion in the world, with about 20 per cent of the world’s population calling themselves Muslims after the Christians, which is 33 per cent. It is considered that Islam is the fastest growing religion, and estimates suggest that they will out number Christians sometime around the year 2020. Islam was first brought to Sind, and Western India in the 8th century by seafaring Arab traders in the 10th century. At the same time, Muslim invaders were raiding India from the north side. From 999 A.D. to 1026 A.D. Mohammed of Ghazani attacked several times, breached Rajput and also plundered India. Mohammed Ghori carried out successive raids on India and plundered the gold, silver and valuable things from the Indian kings. At the same time, they tried to convert people into Islam. After that the Muslim religion flourished in the country. India saw numerous conversions to Islam during 1200 to 1707 A.D., which is said the era of Muslim domination. Some historians mentioned that the Muslim invaders forced the people to embrace into Islam, however some people adopted Islam voluntarily, which mostly from lower castes and other sections. There are other category of Indian Muslims consists of foreigners, who came here and settled down during invasions.

Sikhism: Shri. Guru Nanak Dev Ji, (1469-1538) founded the Sikhism in India, who was born in Punjab area now in Pakistan. He received a vision to preach the way to enlightenment and God at Sultanpur. He did not believe the caste discrimination and was also responsible for the saying “There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim” which has become one of the pillars of Sikhism. He taught a strict monotheism, the brotherhood of humanity. He rejected idol worship, and the Hindu concept of caste. Guru Nanak and Panth (his followers) later built the first Sikh temple at Katarpur. A succession of nine Gurus (regarded as reincarnations of Guru Nanak) led the movement during the period from Guru Nanak’s death until 1708. At that time, the functions of the Guru passed to the Panth and to the holy text, considered the 11th Guru. When Sikh religion was full swing in the country that time Mughal emperors were also ruling and had control over a large area of South Asia from 16th century until the end of the 18th century. The successive emperors also attempted to convert the Sikhs to Islam, however, the Sikhs resisted to convert into other religion. Successive Gurus of Sikh religion wrote Sikh holy texts in later period . The fifth guru, Shri Arjan Dev Ji, initially compiled the holy granth, the Shri Guru Granth. Subsequently, it was updated to include the writings of the sixth to ninth gurus. The tenth guru, Gobind Singh Ji assembled his writings separately into a number of books, including “Dasam Granth”. The holy granth consists of hymns and writings by the first nine Gurus, along with religious text from different Muslim and Hindu saints like: Kabir, Baba Sheik Farid, Bhagat Namdev, Bhagat Rav Dass etc. The Shri Guru Granth itself is considered the 11th and final Guru, and the Sikh’s holiest religious text. It was made so by Shri Guru Gobind Singh. Guru Nanak not only preached the importance of “Satnam & Waheguru” (true name or one god) but also that having a right guru (teacher) is important for self realisation. He neither believed in idol worship nor in casteism or asceticism and was a believer in 'Karma' as the only means of attaining 'moksha'. He introduced the concept of a common kitchen (the langar) to feed the poor. Guru Angad, the follower of Nanak Sahib, popularised the Gurumukhi script while Guru Ram found Amritsar and the Golden temple and Guru Arjun Dev made the Granth Sahib, their holy book. However, it was Guru Govind Singh, the tenth Guru, who made Sikhs into a militant group in an attempt to halt persecution of Sikhs in the 16th century. A brotherhood known as Khalsa was formed. Guru Govind Singh introduced five symbols or kakars of identification, which the Sikhs always carry. They are (i) Kesh - Long hair tied in a turban (ii) Kangha - (symbol of saintliness), the wooden or ivory comb - (symbol of cleanliness) (iii) Kuchha - shorts (symbol of alertness) (iv) Kara - the steel bracelet (symbol of determination) and (v) kripan - the sword (for the defense of the weak). The turban worn by the Sikh men is to hide the long hair that they wear in a knot. They practice tolerance & love of others and are firm believers in accepting the situations of life and getting on with them. Sikhism does contain many unique postulates and principles that are quite different from both Hinduism and Islam. Joseph D. Cunningham (1812-1851), the author of ‘A History of the Sikhs’ (1848), observed: “It has been usual to regard the Sikhs as essentially Hindu... yet in religious faith and worldly aspiration, they are wholly different from other Indians, and they are bound together by an objective unknown elsewhere.”

Christianity: The source of information about the life of Jesus comes from the Bible, which is considered the holy book for the Christian community. According to the Bible, Jesus was born during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus, about 4 B.C. He was born in Israel, in the town of Bethlehem and he grew up near Bethlehem, in Nazareth. When he was about 30, in the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius, Jesus took to preaching in public. Jesus had many new ideas to talk about. He told people that after the last Judgment at the end of time they would either go to Heaven or go to Hell. He told people that faith in God, and in Jesus as the son of God, were the most important ways of getting into Heaven. He said that God no longer wanted animal sacrifices, because Jesus himself was going to be the biggest sacrifice ever, and if you believed in Jesus then his sacrifice would be for you too. It was believed that Jesus raised the dead man Lazarus back to the living world. Like some other men of his time, Jesus acted like a holy man. He wore simple clothes, and wouldn't take money for anything. It was also belief that he healed sick people. After a few years of preaching, Jesus got in trouble with the Jewish leaders in Israel. They didn't believe he was the son of God, and so they didn't like him going around telling people. The Jewish leaders asked the Roman governor of the province, Pontius Pilate, to get rid of Jesus, and, afraid that Jesus might be leading a rebellion against Rome, Pilate ordered his soldiers to hang Jesus from a cross until he was dead (this was a normal Roman punishment for criminals). He kept up with his work of relieving the distressed and helping the poor, performing miracles that he attributed solely to his faith until the day, one of his own followers gave him away on the fateful evening of the Last Supper, where Jesus distributed wine as his blood and bread as his flesh to his many followers on Holy Thursday. He was crucified the very next day, now known as Good Friday, where he bled to death as a penance for all the sins of the mankind. He resurrected on the Easter Sunday, is perhaps the most joyous occasion in the list of religious celebrations of Christianity. The teachings of Jesus gave birth to Christianity that started off from the Roman province of Palestine and spread to the rest of Europe and finally to the entire world. With time, Christianity has divided into three major branches - the Roman Catholics who trace their spiritual history to the early disciples of Jesus, Eastern Orthodox Church that was formed in the 4th century due to the political reasons, though, the two churches became officially separate in 1054 and the Protestants that split up from Roman Catholicism during the Reformation because of the differences and reformations that were introduced in the sixteenth and seventeenth century series in the doctrines and practices of the Church. Christianity was the first religion to insist that not only should you worship only one god, but the other ones were not really even gods at all, but demons. The Jews of Kochi (Cochin), in Kerala are of special interest because a group claims that they have arrived here in 587 BC. The Jewish Synagogue at Mattancherry and the Jew street are among the major tourist attractions in Kerala. Christians account as the 3rd largest community in India. There have been Christian communities in Kerala since the coming of Christianity to Europe (St. Thomas, the Apostle is supposed to have arrived here in 54 A.D.). The Portuguese, who unlike the English were as enthusiastic about spreading their brand of Christianity as making money from trade, left a large Christian community in Goa. Generally, however, if success is counted in number of converts, Christianity has not been greatly successful in India. The first round of Indian converts to Christianity was generally those from the ruling classes, and subsequently they were mainly from the lower castes. There are, however, two small states (Mizoram and Nagaland) where Christians form a majority of the population. A quarter of the population of Kerala and a third of Goa are also Christian. India has around 22 million Christians. Some say Christianity came to India with St. Bartholomeo, others insist it was St. James but it was St. Francis Xavier who spread Christian missionary activity in the country. He arrived in the 16th century and whose body still lies in a church in Goa. Their work in the fields of reform and education continues to be admired.

Zoroastrians: The origin of the Zoroastrian was from Persia, where the Prophet, Zarathustra also known as Zoroaster founded this religion in that country during 6th century B.C. He was born in Mazar-i-Sharif (now in Afghanistan). The followers of this religion are known as Parsis as they hail from Persia, from where they fled to escape persecution. It is the first religion to claim and spread the belief that god is omnipresent and is invisible. ‘Zend-Avesta’, their holy scripture, also described the conflict between good & evil forces. Ahura Mazda, their God is symbolized by fire. The essence of the religion is the philosophy that the goodwill win over evil by following the principles of Humata (good thoughts), Harkta (good words) and Huvarshta (good deeds). Parsis worship fire in fire temples and wear a sadra or sacred shirt and a kasti or sacred thread because of their belief in the purity of elements. Unlike any other community, Parsis do not bury or cremate their dead but leave the bodies in 'towers of silence' where they are eaten by vultures, which is believed to be the ultimate good deed of the human being. In order to be a true Parsi, it is necessary that the father & mother both should be Parsis and this is the reason that their numbers are gradually declining. Though, there was a time when Zoroastrianism was spread from the Mediterranean to India, but now it is found only around Shiraz in Iran, Karachi in Pakistan, and Mumbai in India. A number of world religions were originated in India, and others that started elsewhere strengthened here. To understand India, it is important to understand its religions as religion casts its shadow on every Indian, right from their birth.

(h) Brief History: The Indus valley civilization was considered as one of the earliest civilizations of the world. It was the most ancient in the Indian subcontinent that flourished between 2500 B.C. and 1700 B.C. The remains that found at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa have shown that these two centers were urban settlement. It was considered an extensive and highly sophisticated culture and had trade relations with other countries like Greece, Persia, Afghanistan, Egypt and other Asian countries. Some evidences have shown that the agriculture must have been practiced in Harappan villages, which were situated mostly near the floods plains. Textile industry, brick industry, metal industry, and pottery were the main industries that flourished during that period. However, the causes of the decline of the Indus Valley civilization might have many possible reasons sometimes, stated as progressive desiccation of the lower Indus valley, climatic fluctuation, foreign invasions, and earthquake might bury the cities. The cities thus became more vulnerable to raiding activity. At the same time, Indo-Aryan peoples were also migrating into the Indian subcontinent through the northwestern mountain passes, and were settling in the Punjab and the Ganges valley. After that the Indo-Aryans had developed a Brahmanic civilization to dominate the lower class of the aborigines. Then, Hinduism was evolved from the transition of cultural changes. These people propagated the idea among the people that they were superior to all and they started to spread it from Punjab to east over the Gangetic plain. By 800 B.C. the domination was established in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Bengal. It was considered that the first important Aryan kingdom was Magadha with its capital near present-day Patana. It was flourished during the reign of Bimbisara (540–490 B.C.). Kosala was another kingdom of the period. In between 327 and 325 B.C., Alexander, the Great, invaded the province of Gandhara in North Western India that had been a part of the Persian empire and attempted to expand his empire. The Greek invaders used to attack the Indian territories however, they were eventually driven out by Chandragupta of Magadha, the founder of Mauryan empire. The Mauryan emperor Asoka (232 B.C.), Chandragupta’s grandson, perhaps the greatest ruler of the ancient period, unified all of India and expanded his empire except the southern tip. While expanding empire, Ashoka attacked territories of the others and declared the parts of his empire. When he attacked Kalinga in Orisa, he felt very bad as there were many solders of opponent were killed that was a shock to him and decided not attack any territories of others. Then, he decided to embrace into Buddhism, which was peaceful religion in those days. He personally paid attention to propagate it widely and sent his missionaries to South and South eastern countries. His brother and sister were sent to spread Buddhism to Sri Lanka. They went there with a branch of Pipal tree from Bodh Gaya, where Buddha became enlightened and planted at Anuradhana Puram in Sri Lanka. After his death, the Maurayan empire was falling and followed the collapse of the Mauryan state (185 B.C.). With the support from king Ashoka, the Buddhism was spread through out India and then Buddhism started declining in India. South India enjoyed greater prosperity than the north, despite almost incessant warfare; among the Tamil-speaking kingdoms of the south were the Cheras, who were ruling over coast of Tamilakam and its hinterland. The first king of this dynasty known to history was Udiyancheral. The Cholas, who ruled east Tamil nadu, was the greatest dynasty in the south. The Pandya dynasty ruled the extreme south of the Tamil land and maintained an overseas trade with the Roman Empire. With the trade relation with different countries, the traders from the South Indian kingdoms also spread Indian culture through the Malay Archipelago and Indonesia. Meanwhile, Greeks had also settled in Bactria (in the area of present-day Afghanistan) following path of Alexander, and established an Indo-Greek kingdom. After the collapse (1st century B.C.) of Bactrian power, the Scythians, Parthians, Afghans, and Kushans swept into North West India. However, the small kingdoms were disappeared and only Kushans reign under its sovereign Kanishka enjoyed its power and survived by second century A.D. and made great prosperity during that period. In the 4th and 5th century A.D., North India experienced a golden age under the Gupta dynasty as Indian art, literature, architectural designs, paintings, music, astrology, mathematics, reached at a high level. Gupta splendor rose again under the emperor Harsha of Kanauj (606–647 A.D.), and North India enjoyed a renaissance of art, letters, and theology. During his reign, the noted Chinese pilgrim Hsüan-tsang visited India and documented his memories. The Guptas dynasty ruled the north India, the Pallava kings of Kanchi held sway in the south, and the Chalukyas controlled the Deccan. During the medieval period i.e. 8th –13th century several independent kingdoms, notably the Palas of Bihar and Bengal, the Sen, the Ahoms of Assam, a later Chola empire at Tanjore, and a second Chalukya dynasty in the Deccan, waxed powerful. In North Western India, beyond the reach of the medieval dynasties, the Rajputs had grown strong and were able to resist the rising forces of Islam. Islam was first brought to Sind, and Western India in the 8th century by seafaring Arab traders in the 10th century. At the same time, Muslim invaders were raiding India from the north side. From 999 to 1026, Mahmud of Ghazanai attacked several times, breached Rajput and also plundered India. In 1192, the legions of Ghor defeated the forces of Prithivi Raj, and the Delhi Sultanate was established that was the first Muslim kingdom in India. The sultanate eventually reduced to vassalage almost every independent kingdom on the subcontinent, except that of Kashmir and the remote kingdoms of the south. The task of ruling such a vast territory proved impossible; difficulties in the south with the state of Vijayanagar, the great Hindu kingdom, and the capture (1398) of the city of Delhi by Timur finally brought the sultanate to an end. The Muslim kingdoms that succeeded it were defeated by a Turkic invader from Afghanistan, Babur, a remote descendant of Timur, who after the battle of Panipat in 1526, founded the Mughal empire. The great Mughal emperor Akbar expanded his territories under his rule with the help of Rajputs in the North and Muslim local rulers in the South and reached its greatest territorial extent and the control of almost all of India. Under Aurangzeb (ruled 1659–1707) also Mughal rule extended up to the south and there were clashes between rulers in the South among them, the most important with the Maratha king Shivaji. Under the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal empire a large Muslim religion was expanded and grew its culture and a new culture was evolved in India.

Arrival of the Europeans A few years before Babur’s triumph, Vasco da Gama a Portuguese traveler with his colleagues had landed at Calicut in 1498 and had conquered Goa in 1510. The splendor and wealth of the Mughal empire were attracted to British, Dutch, and French competition for the trade that Portugal had at first monopolized. The British East India Company, which was established in 1600, had trading stations at Surat (1613), Bombay (1661), and Calcutta (1691), soon became dominant and with its command of the sea drove off the traders of Portugal and Holland. While the Mughal empire remained strong, the British East India company sought trade relations with emperor with some token amount. In the 18th century, the Indian rulers became weak due to an Afghan invasion, dynastic struggles, and incessant revolts of Hindu elements, especially the Marathas and started rending the empire. Great Britain and France seized the opportunity to increase trade and capture Indian wealth, and each attempted to oust the other. From 1746 to 1763, India was a battleground for the forces of the two powers, each attaching to itself as many native rulers as possible in the struggle.

India under British Rule: Ali Vardi Khan, the Nawab of Bengal, died in 1756 A.D. and confusion was started to rule the Bengal and the country. Siranj-ud-daulah, who was son-in law of Ali Vardi, ascended the throne without any difficulty. Although his succession was unopposed, his troubles were great. During his rule, the relation between British and the Nawab became strained on the question of additional fortification of Calcutta. In 1757, it became a turning in the history of India that British army under Robert Clive marched against the Nawab of Bengal and at Plassey British army defeated Nawab’s army and control over the rule. It was beginning of the British Empire in India. The next successor of Clive, Warren Hastings became the first governor-general of the company’s domains to be appointed by Parliament and he did much to consolidate Clive's conquests. By 1818, the British controlled nearly all of India south of the Sutlej River and had reduced to vassalage their most powerful Indian enemies, the state of Mysore Haidar Ali and Tippoo Sahib and the Marathas. Only Sind and Punjab (the Sikh territory) remained completely independent. The East India Company, overseen by the government’s India Office, administered the rich areas with the populous cities; the rest of India remained under Indian princes, with British residents in effective control. Great Britain regarded India as an agricultural reservoir and a market for British goods, which were admitted duty free. However, the export of cotton goods from India suffered because of the Industrial Revolution and the production of cloth by machine. On the other hand, the British initiated projects to improve transportation and irrigation. British control was extended over Sind in 1843 and Punjab in 1849. Social unrest, added to the apprehensions of several important native rulers about the aggrandizing policies of Governor-General Dalhousie, led to the bloody Indian Mutiny of 1857 that was called as the First War of Independence to free nation from the foreign dominations, which was indication to the British rule. However, it was suppressed. However, by the India Act 1858, power was transferred to British Government to prevent a recurrence and initiated long-needed reforms. The crown took over the power for effective control of the administration and trade expansion. Britishers learned the lesson from Indian Mutiny of 1857, and started appointing the common soldiers in the British army in India from among the Indians, and these troops were later also used overseas. Sikhs and Gurkhas became famous as British soldiers. Native rulers were guaranteed the integrity of their domains as long as they recognized the British as paramount. In 1861 the first step was taken toward self-government in British India with the appointment of Indian councillors to advise the viceroy and the establishment of provincial councils with Indian members. But the power of Britain was symbolized and reinforced when Queen Victoria was crowned empress of India in 1877.

Freedom Movement: With the setting up of government universities, an Indian middle class had begun to emerge and to advocate further reform. In 1885, Indian National Congress was founded by Allan Octavian Hume, retired from the Indian Civil Service to unite all Indians and strengthen bonds with Britain. Other leaders were Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, and W. C. Bonnerjee. Later in the century, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Surendranath Banerjea, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Rabindranath Tagore, and Aurobindo Ghose also rose to prominence. The nationalist movement had been foreshadowed earlier in the century in the writings of Rammohun Roy. Popular nationalist sentiment was perhaps most strongly aroused when, for administrative reasons, Viceroy Curzon partitioned Bengal in 1905 into two presidencies; newly created Eastern Bengal had a Muslim majority to please the Muslim. In 1906, All India Muslim League was founded to promote Muslim political interests in the country and started bargaining their interest. However, in 1909, the British revoked the partition of Bengal that created anti-British and anti-Hindu sentiments among the Muslims as they lost their majority in the East Bengal. In the early 1900s the British had widened Indian participation in legislative councils (the Morley-Minto reforms). Separate Muslim constituencies, introduced for the first time, were to be a major factor in the growing split between the two communities. Muslim nationalist sentiment was expressed by Sayyid Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Iqbal, and Muhammad Ali. At the outbreak of World War I, all elements in India were firmly united behind Britain, hoping that India would get independence and autonomy, but discontent arose as the war dragged on. In 1916, the Congress and the League was united in demand for greater self-government called as Lucknow Pact. However, the British denied their demands. The British held out the promises of eventual self-government, which were given in the Montagu declaration (1917) and later in the Montagu-Chelmsford report (1918). The Rowlatt Acts (1919) or black acts passed over opposition by Indian members of the Supreme Legislative Council. The Act enabled the authorities to dispense with juries, and even trials, in dealing with agitators. Their passage caused further disaffection with the British government and led to protests through out the country. At Amritsar, when the people assembled to protest against the Rowlatt Acts, General Dyer ordered to open fire on 20,000 unarmed Indian civilians at a political demonstration. The Congress and the Muslim League lost their faith to get peaceful solution for the self-rule. Other problems like crop failures, which caused famine, affected the large number of people and an influenza epidemic also killed millions of people in 1918–19. In response, Mohandas K. Gandhi organized the first of his many passive-resistance campaigns. Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms committee report came in 1919, but it was implemented in 1921. This Act set up provincial legislatures with “dyarchy,” which meant that elected Indian ministers, responsible to the legislatures, had to share power with appointed British Governors and Ministers. Communal representation institutionalized for the first time as reserved legislative seats are allocated for significant minorities. Although the act also provided for periodic revisions, Gandhi felt too little progress had been made, and he organized new protests. In 1920, Gandhi launched a non-violent, non-cooperation movement, or Satyagraha, against the British rule. When Congress supporters killed twenty-one policemen at Chauri-Chaura in 1922, Gandhiji decided to suspend non-cooperation movement. He was imprisoned. The Simon Commission was set up in 1928 to recommend further measures in the constitutional devolution of power. When commission came to India for its recommendations, all parties boycotted it. The main contention was that the British had not appointed a single Indian member to the commission outraged the Congress and others, and, as a result, they boycotted it throughout India, carrying placards inscribed “Simon, Go Back.” In response to it, in 1929, the Congress started drafting its own constitution under the guidance of Motilal Nehru demanding full independence (purna swaraj) by 1930 and also the Congress went so far as to observe January 26, 1930, as the first anniversary of the first year of independence. Gandhi continued his agitation against the British rule and also he started Civil Disobedience Movement against the Salt Laws by which the British had a monopoly over production and sale of salt. Another demand came for a separate Muslim homeland from Dr. Allama Iqbal, a poet-politician, who called for a separate homeland at the Allahabad session of the Muslim League in 1930. During 1930-31, the British Government called the Round Table conferences in England to consider dominion status for India. The Congress representatives did not attend the conferences because Congress’s main contention was that British government invited various interest groups that was objected by Gandhi and Congress as they claimed that only Congress represented all of India. In 1931, Mr. Irwin met Gandhi and convinced him that his demands would be conceded at the Round Table conferences. This agreement between them was called as Irwin-Gandhi Pact. This pact displeased to the Muslim League and further isolated Muslim League from the Congress and the British. As result, Muslim League boycotted the Third Round Table Conference, which was held in1932. Gandhi re-started civil disobedience movement. The British Government outlawed the Congress and its leaders. In 1935, Government of India Act proposed a federal India of political provinces with elected local governments but British control over foreign policy and defence. As per this act, the election was held in 1937 and Congress gained the majority. However, after few years in 1939, Congress ministries resigned. In 1939, the World War II broke out. There was even an “Indian national army” of anti-British extremists, led by Subhas Bose, which fought in Myanmar on the Japanese side. During war period too, the agitations against the government continued. Again, in 1940, Jinnah called for establishment of Pakistan in an independent country and suggested to have partition of India. Cripps Mission came to India in 1942 to conduct negotiations between all political parties and to set up a cabinet government. However, the Congress adopted ‘Quit India Resolution’, and wanted immediate freedom from British rule. During 1942-43, Muslim League gained more power and formed ministries in Sind, Bengal and North-West Frontier Province and had greater influence in the Punjab. In 1945, the new Labour Government in Britain decided that India was strategically indefensible and began to prepare for Indian independence. Direct Action Day riots convinced British that Partition was inevitable. In 1946, Muslim League participated in Interim Government that was set up according to the Cabinet Mission Plan. In 1947, the government decided to announce Lord Mountbatten’s plan for partition of India accordingly on 3rd June it was declared that partition of India and Pakistan would be on 15th August. And Radcliffe Award of boundaries of the nations was carried out on 16th August. At the time of independence, there were more than 550 princely states. They had been given freedom to determine their own status, but realistically they were unable to stand alone. Partly by persuasion and partly by coercion, they joined one or the other of the new dominions.

After independence: After independence of the country, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister of India for the interim government and Jinnah became Governor-general of Pakistan. Partition left large minorities of Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan and Muslims in India and created troubles and widespread hostilities that erupted among the communities. A large numbers of people about 16 million in all fled across the borders for seeking safety. More than 500,000 people were died in the disorders. Partition of the country displeased to some Hindus orthodox and caused to murder of M. Gandhi, who was killed by a Hindu fanatic in January 1948. The hostility between India and Pakistan was aggravated when warfare broke out in 1948 over their conflicting claims to jurisdiction over the princely state of Kashmir. India became a sovereign republic in 1950 under the new constitution that was adopted late in 1949. In addition to staggering problems of overpopulation, economic underdevelopment, and inadequate social services, India had to achieve the integration of the former princely states into the union and the creation of national unity from diverse cultural and linguistic groups. The states were reorganized several times along linguistic lines. India consolidated its territory by acquiring the former French settlements Pondicherry in 1956 and also India included the Portuguese enclaves of Goa and Daman and Diu in December 1961. In 1987, Goa became a separate state and Daman and Diu became a union territory. In world politics, India has been a leading exponent of non-alignment and various bodies.

Border Problems: After independence of the country, country had major border problems. Border dispute with China was first surfaced in 1957 and also had continual difficulties with Pakistan. The Chinese controversy over border climaxed on October 20, 1962, when the Chinese launched a massive offensive against Ladakh in Kashmir and in areas on the North Eastern Indian border. After few days fighting and gaining some territory claimed by India, the Chinese announced a cease-fire on November 21. In the late 1960s there was a tense relation with Nepal, which accused India of harboring Nepalese politicians hostile to the Nepalese monarchy. In August 1965, there was a fighting between India and Pakistan that broke out in the Rann of Kachchh frontier area and in Kashmir. The United Nations interfered and proclaimed a cease-fire in September, but clashes continued. India’s Prime Minister Shri. Lal Bahadur Shastri, who succeeded Nehru after the latter's death in 1964, and Pakistan's President Ayub Khan met in 1966 under Soviet auspices in Tashkent, USSR (now in Uzbekistan), to negotiate the Kashmir problem. They agreed on mutual troop withdrawals to the lines held before August 1965. Shri. Shastri died in Tashkent and was succeeded, after bitter debate within the Congress party, by Mrs. Indira Gandhi. The Congress party was suffered a setback in the elections of 1967 and also reduced its parliamentary majority and it lost control of several state governments. In 1969 the party split in two segments. Mrs. Gandhi and her followers formed the New Congress party, and her opponents on the right formed the Old Congress party. In the elections of March 1971, the New Congress won an overwhelming victory.

Other Issues: In mid-1973, India and Pakistan signed an agreement for the release of prisoners of war captured in 1971 and agreed for peace and friendship on the Indian subcontinent. India also developed cordial relations with USSR. In 1973, India made agreement with the USSR for strengthening her relations and had a new aid agreement that considerably increased Soviet economic assistance. At the same time, relations with the United States was improved India also achieved progress in nuclear field and exploded an underground nuclear device in the Thar Desert in Rajasthan state and became the world’s sixth nuclear power. In 1980’s, the Sikh in Punjab started struggling for separate identity in the form of Sikh autonomous state. It became very serious in 1984, when some anti-India elements entered into the Golden temple at Amritsar and attempted to pressurize the government to create an autonomous Sikh state in the Punjab. The government of India took very seriously and sent army troops to storm the Golden Temple, the Sikh’s holiest shrine and the center of the independence movement. Sikh community protested across India and created the political tension. Sikh community thought that it was humiliation of the particular community. That time Mrs. Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India. After few days of this dilemma, her two personal guards, who belonged to Sikh community, assassinated Mrs. Indira Gandhi in October 1984, the resulting anti-Sikh riots through out the country that prompted the government to appoint Mrs. Gandhi’s eldest son, Rajiv Gandhi, as the Prime Minister. Mr. Rajiv Gandhi moved to control riots quickly and thereafter pursued a domestic policy emphasizing conciliation among India’s various conflicting ethnic and religious groups. Under his rule, India had to help neighboring country Sri Lanka from 1987 to 1990 to solve the ethnic conflict and problem. The government sent Indian military, on the request from Sri Lanka, and occupied the northern area of Sri Lanka however it was an unsuccessful attempt to quell the Tamil separatist insurgency. Economic performance of India was generally stable in the 1980s. However, country experienced continuing political problems, including border and immigration disputes with Bangladesh, internal agitation by Tamil separatists, violent conflicts in Assam, strife caused by the Sikh question, and continued antagonism between Hindus and Muslims. In election of 1989, the Congress was defeated. The Janata Dal party under the leadership of Vishwanath Pratap Singh assumed the office of the Prime Minister. In 1990, Singh resigned as the Prime Minister and called for fresh elections. The following year Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated during an election campaign rally. After Gandhi’s death, Shri. P. V. Narasimha Rao took over as the head of the Congress party and won the election. He became next Prime Minister. He immediately instituted sweeping economic reforms, moving away from the centralized planning that had characterized India's economic policy since Nehru to a market-driven economy, greatly increasing its foreign investment and trade. In 1990’s the religious conflict sparked by militant Hindus and exploited by Hindu political parties was a persistent problem that led to bloody riots in 1992. In early 1996, a bribes-for-favors corruption scandal dating back to the early 1990s, described by some as the worst since independence and Rao’s administration was tremble. Several ministers were compelled to resign. The Congress party, which had governed the country since 1947 except few years, found itself in crisis during Rao’s administration. Rao himself was rumored to be involved in the scandal, and the main opposition political group, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), was also implicated. The general elections, which were held in May 1996, proved a debacle for the Congress party. The BJP won the most parliamentary seats but fell well short of a majority, and the government it formed lasted for less than two weeks. An uneasy coalition government of leftist, regional, and lower-cast parties was then formed under the Prime Ministership of Shri. H. D. Deve Gowda. In his United Front government, lower-caste Indians, southerners, and religious minorities assumed more important roles but the coalition was dependent on the tacit support of the Congress party. Within a year in April 1997, the leadership was changed and Shri. I. K. Gujaral became the Prime Minister. He resigned seven months later. Following elections held early in 1998, the BJP and its allies won the most seats and BJP leader Shri. Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the Prime Minister. His government fell after losing a vote of confidence in April 1999, but following a solid victory in the elections in September, he formed a new coalition government. For proving India as a nuclear power, in May 1998, the country detonated three underground nuclear explosions. It was objected by United States and subsequently imposed economic sanctions on the country. In May 1999, India launched a military campaign against Islamic guerrillas who were occupying strategic positions Kargil in the Indian-held part of Kashmir. The rebels withdrew by the end of July. To solve the Kashmir problem, there was a talk between Vajpayee and Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s military ruler in July 2001, but ended without any progress. Meantime, United States removed the economic sanctions as the Bush administration pursued closer relations with India. Indian parliamentary elections in 2004 resulted in an unexpected victory for the Congress party, which subsequently formed a 20-party coalition government. Sonia Gandhi, Congress’s leader, declined to become Prime Minister instead Manmohan Singh, the former finance minister, led the new government. He continued his policy of reforms in various fields in the country. He hopes that in coming years, India would achieve the high growth rate, enough foreign exchange reserve, exports etc.

For details you may contact to Dr. Kailash Thaware, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Deccan, Pune-411004 (MS), INDIA email: kailash_thaware@rediffmail.com