India

India, also known as the Republic of India, is a Country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country in terms of size and, since 2023, the most populous country in the world and the largest democracy. India shares its borders with Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. It is also surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, and the Bay of Bengal. This has made India an important hub in the Asian continent due to its location and long coastline.

The Indian subcontinent has been home to human beings for over 55,000 years. The Indus Valley Civilization, one of the oldest civilizations in the world, existed in this region in the third millennium BCE. India has been the birthplace of some of the world’s greatest religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Other religions like Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism also have strong roots in the country. The Mauryan, Gupta, Delhi Sultanate, Mughal, and British empires have left their impression on the country’s politics, society, and culture. India became an independent nation in 1947 after a long struggle and a federal democratic republic in 1950.

Currently, India is a plural, multilingual, and multi-ethnic state with a population of over 1.4 billion people. Since gaining independence, the country has changed from a low-income economy to one of the fastest-growing large economies in the world, especially in the field of information technology and services. Although the country has made considerable progress in reducing poverty, illiteracy, and economic development, it still faces challenges such as inequality, environmental issues, and regional conflicts. The country’s biodiversity, culture, and democratic system make it one of the most powerful countries in today’s world.

Etymology

The origin of the name India is the result of many centuries of linguistic and cultural contact. The Oxford English Dictionary states that the English name “India” comes from the Latin India, which is a general term for a large area of South Asia. The name has its roots in the Greek words Indía and Indós, which referred to the Indus River, and the Old Persian Hindu, which was the name of an eastern province of the Achaemenid Empire. Its oldest known root is the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which means “river” in general, and specifically the Indus River and the area around it. The ancient Greeks knew the inhabitants of this area as the Indoi, which means “people of the Indus.”

Another commonly used name is Bharat (Bhārat), which is used in ancient Indian epics and is also used in the Constitution of India. It comes from the name Bharatavarsha, which is a historical name for a large area of the Indian subcontinent, and has been in increasing use in the 19th century as a native name for the country.

The word Hindustan, which has its roots in Middle Persian, came into popular usage during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal periods. The word has been used to describe either the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent or the whole of India at various points in history. Currently, all three names—India, Bharat, and Hindustan—are a part of the rich cultural heritage of the country.

Ancient India

The early history of humans in the Indian subcontinent is traced to tens of thousands of years ago. Genetic studies based on the mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome show that anatomically modern humans migrated to the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 80,000 and 50,000 years ago, probably around 55,000 years ago. Their long stay in the subcontinent, in some cases in isolation, as hunter-gatherers, added to the region’s remarkable genetic diversity, second only to Africa. The oldest known modern human fossils in South Asia have been found to be around 30,000 years old.

Around 7000 BCE, Neolithic cultures appeared in the northwestern parts of the subcontinent, especially in Mehrgarh (in modern-day Pakistan), where the beginnings of farming and livestock domestication were noticed. These cultures developed into the Indus Valley Civilization (around 2500-1900 BCE), one of the oldest urban civilizations in the world. It was based in the cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.

Between 1500 BCE and 1200 BCE, Indo-Aryan-speaking peoples brought the early form of Sanskrit to northern India. Their hymns were collected in the Rig Veda, one of the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism. Gradually, there was settlement in the Ganges valley, made easier by agriculture and ironworking. Social patterns grew more organized, and by 400 BCE, the varna (caste) system emerged in more defined form. During this period, Jainism and Buddhism arose, both of which emphasized non-violence and rejected ritual hierarchies.

The Maurya Empire emerged in the 4th century BCE, and under Ashoka, there was a brief period of unity for much of the subcontinent, during which Buddhist ideals were promoted. Later, the Gupta Empire (4th to 5th centuries CE) saw significant developments in administration, literature, science, and art, which marked a golden age in northern India. Meanwhile, in the south, the Tamil kingdoms of Chera, Chola, and Pandya were in full bloom, and they made substantial contributions to trade, literature, and temple art.

These early achievements formed the civilizational basis of India, which would influence the linguistic, religious, political, and cultural landscape of the subcontinent for many centuries to come.

Medieval India

The early medieval period in India (approx. 600-1200 CE) was characterized by the rise of regional kingdoms and a great deal of cultural diversity. There was no ruler who could exercise lasting dominance over the whole subcontinent, and the result was a politically fragmented land. During this period, nomadic and newly settled peoples were gradually absorbed into the caste system, which began to show regional differences.

The 6th and 7th centuries CE witnessed the development of devotional (bhakti) Tamil hymns, which would later spread over the whole of India, giving rise to a revival of Hindu religious practices. Temple-based urbanization grew, and temple towns became centers of economic and cultural activity. The Indian cultural and political influence extended to Southeast Asia through trade, scholarship, and religious missions, and this region includes modern-day Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, and others.

However, from the 10th century AD onwards, the incursions of Muslim forces from Central Asia into Northwestern India led to the founding of the Delhi Sultanate in 1206. The Delhi Sultanate covered large areas of Northern India and brought about new systems of administration and culture, although they generally allowed non-Muslims to administer their own laws and customs. Their resistance to the Mongol invasions saved the region from the destruction that was caused in the rest of Asia.

In the Southern parts of the Indian subcontinent, the reduction in power of the regional rulers led to the emergence of the Vijayanagara Empire, which was a major force in Peninsular India. Based on robust Shaivite traditions and with highly developed military structures, it left an indelible mark on the society and culture of South India.

Early Modern India

In the early 16th century, the Mughal Empire, founded by Central Asian rulers who made use of superior cavalry tactics and gunpowder weapons, ruled over northern India. Instead of destroying the existing social structure, the Mughals established a centralized administrative system that included various regional elites. During the reign of emperors like Akbar, the Mughal Empire developed a Persianized court culture and a system of loyalty to the emperor, which allowed for relatively stable and uniform administration over a large area.

The Mughal economy was primarily agrarian, with land revenue being the mainstay of the empire’s finances. The use of standardized silver coins and a stable administration facilitated trade, market development, and urbanization. The 17th century was a period of economic prosperity and achievements in art, architecture, textiles, and literature. During this time, various regional groups like the Marathas, Rajputs, and Sikhs emerged as major political and military forces.

However, by the end of the 17th Century and early 18th centuries, the Mughal Empire began to decline, giving rise to the emergence of regional powers. During this period, European trading companies, particularly the East India Company, began to establish coastal towns. With the acquisition of control over Bengal in 1765, the Company began to exercise its political and military power over a vast area of India by the early 19th century. This marked the beginning of the colonial era of India, as it gradually changed from being a large exporter of manufactured products to a supplier of raw materials to the British Empire.

Post-Independence India (1947–present)

In 1848, Lord Dalhousie became the Governor-General of the East India Company, marking the beginning of large-scale administrative and territorial reforms in India. The railways, canals, and telegraph were introduced, revolutionizing communication and transport. But rising discontent with the Company's policies, such as excessive taxation, annexations, and social reforms, culminated in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, a massive uprising in northern and central India.

With the suppression of the Indian Rebellion in 1858, the rule of the Company came to an end, and India was brought directly under the British Crown, thus beginning the British Raj era. Small-scale parliamentary reforms were introduced, and the traditional princes and landowners were maintained as allies. The awakening of political consciousness led to the establishment of the Indian National Congress in 1885.

The late 19th century was marked by economic shifts due to the commercialization of agriculture and the expansion of the railway network, but also by periodic famines and a lack of industrial development. Following World War I, the demand for self-rule strengthened. A mass non-violent movement against British rule was led by Mahatma Gandhi. Constitutional reforms were introduced in the 1930s, but tensions escalated during World War II, together with the growing political mobilization of Muslims.

In 1947, British rule came to an end, and the Indian subcontinent was divided into the independent states of India and Pakistan, with accompanying violence and migration. The Indian Constitution was adopted in 1950, defining India as a sovereign, secular, democratic republic.

Since the country gained independence, India has strived to achieve economic development and, especially since the economic liberalization of the 1990s, has been one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies. However, it still has to deal with challenges such as poverty, social inequality, regional insurgencies, and border conflicts with Pakistan and China.

Geography

India covers most of the Indian subcontinent and rests on the Indian tectonic plate, which is part of the larger Indo-Australian Plate. About 70 million years ago, the Indian Plate started moving towards the north as it split from the supercontinent Gondwana. Its subsequent collision with the Eurasian Plate resulted in the formation of the Himalayas, which are one of the youngest and highest mountain ranges in the world, and the Tibetan Plateau. South of the Himalayas, the Indo-Gangetic Plain, one of the most densely populated and productive areas in the world, was created by the deposition of sediment from large rivers.

To the west of India is the Thar Desert, which is partially enclosed by the ancient Aravalli Range. The Deccan Plateau, which is geologically the oldest and most stable part of India, makes up Peninsular India. It is flanked by the Western and Eastern Ghats and is home to some of the oldest rocks on Earth, which are over a billion years old.

India ranges in latitude from 6°44′ to 35°30′ north and in longitude from 68°7′ to 97°25′ east, and it is completely in the Northern Hemisphere. The principal rivers of the Himalayas, such as the Ganges and Brahmaputra, discharge into the Bay of Bengal, while the peninsular rivers, such as the Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri, also discharge into the Bay of Bengal on the eastern side. The rivers Narmada and Tapti discharge into the Arabian Sea on the western side.

The total length of the Indian coastline is approximately 7,517 kilometers (4,700 miles), including the mainland and the islands. The important coastal features are the Rann of Kutch in the west and the Sundarbans delta in the east, which is shared with Bangladesh. India comprises two major island chains: the Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Andaman Sea.