Welcome to the portal of the world’s largest democracy, i.e., India. You all know many facts about this great country, but many of us are unaware of hundreds of other significant facts about India. Through this article, we will take you on a tour of India and provide you amazing and interesting facts about India.
India, as the name suggests, is derived from the river Indus which flows in the northern-western part of the country. Apart from India, it is also known as Hindustan, Bharat, and Aryavarta. It is the world’s seventh-largest country in terms of the area stretching over 3.3 million sq. Km. It is home to a population of 1.2 billion people, thereby making it the world’s second most populated country. The Union of India has twenty-nine states and seven union territories. It is the world’s largest democracy and the number of people who cast their vote in the General Election of 2014 was equivalent to 4 times the total population of Brazil. It is located in the south of Asia and the Himalaya Mountain Range act as a boundary between the Indian mainland and the rest of Asia.
In terms of latitude and longitude, it extends from 6° 44’N to 35° 30′ N and 68° 7’E to 97° 25’E. Indian Standard Time(I.S.T.). The Indian Standard Time is calculated from 82° 5′ E longitude which passes through the city of Allahabad in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Indian Standard Time is 5 hours, 30 minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (G.M.T.).
India is a very diverse nation in terms of geography, culture, tradition, and language. It is the birthplace of 4 major religions of the world, i.e., Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and it has the world’s third-largest Muslim population. As per the Indian Constitution, India has 22 scheduled languages, apart from this it has 122 major languages and 1599 other languages. Hindi is the most widely spoken language of Indians, and after the U.S.A., English is the second most spoken language in India. Bengali and Tamil are two other Indian languages that come in the top 10 most spoken languages of the world.
Indian history has seen a large number of rulers, dynasties, and invaders. Indus Valley Civilization was one of the oldest civilizations in the world that flourished here. The country came under the rule of emperors like Ashoka, Prithviraj Chauhan, Krishna Deva Rai, Akbar, etc. After the end of the Mughal Dynasty, India was ruled by East India Company and then directly by the British Crown. India achieved independence in the year 1947 after 200 years of struggle, and Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister of the country. India is officially known as the “Republic of India [Bharat Gaṇarajya],” and its capital is New Delhi.
The Constitution of India is the main source of all the laws governing the country. It came into effect when India became Republic on January 26th, 1950. Since then January 26th is celebrated as Republic Day of India. Indian Constitution is the longest written Constitutions in the world, and it took two years 11 months and 18 days to write the Constitution. The whole Constitution has 448 articles divided into 25 parts and 12 schedules and five appendices.
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Interesting Facts About India
Invention and Discovery
- Indian mathematician Aryabhatta invented zero. Many Jain religious texts have evidence of the use of zero, and later it was adopted by Arabs.
- Chess was invented in India, and it was known as Shataranja in India. Also, the game of Snakes & Ladders was developed in India, and evidence shows that it was played during the 13th century.
- Ayurveda, regarded as the earliest school of medicine known to humans, originated in India. Takshila was the world’s first university, and now its ruins are in Pakistan. India has one more ancient university, Nalandain the Indian state of Bihar.
- According to the Gemological Institute of America, India was the only source of Diamonds until 1896.
- Indian mathematician Aryabhatta invented zero. Many Jain religious texts have evidence of the use of zero, and later it was adopted by Arabs.
- Chess was invented in India, and it was known as Shataranja in India. Also, the game of Snakes & Ladders was developed in India, and evidence shows that it was played during the 13th century.
- Ayurveda, regarded as the earliest school of medicine known to humans, originated in India. Takshila was the world’s first university, and now its ruins are in Pakistan. India has one more ancient university, Nalanda in the Indian state of Bihar.
- According to the Gemological Institute of America, India was the only source of Diamonds until 1896.
Religion and Gathering
- The Vishnu Temple in Tirupathi, also known as Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, situated in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Considered as the world’s largest religious pilgrim destination, with devotees ranging from 30-40 million annually, it surpasses Rome and Mecca.
- World’s largest religious building, Angkor Wat is a Hindu Temple in Cambodia dedicated to Lord Vishnu.
- Every 12 years, a religious gathering Kumbh Mela takes place in India. It is the world’s largest peaceful gathering. On February 10th, 2013, the day of “Mauni Amavasya,” 30 million people bathed in the holy water of Ganges River.
- Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala is the richest temple in the world. The temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu of Hinduism has assets worth more than 19 billion U.S. dollars or 1.2 trillion INR.
The Greatest And Largest Facts About India
- India has the largest number of post offices in the world. Indian Postal Service with 154,900 post offices is the most distributed postal system in the world.
- Indian Railways has the world’s 4th most extensive rail network, and it employs 1.6 million people. The number of people traveling in Indian Railways is roughly 25 million per day, which is like shifting the entire population of Australia. Annually 8 billion people travel in Indian Railways, which is almost equal to the whole world’s population.
- Baily Bridge at an elevation of 5062 meters is the highest bridge in the world. Located in the state of Jammu & Kashmir between the Dras River and the Suru River.
- Siachen Glacier is the highest battlefield in the world, and it is under the control of the Indian Army. It is 5000 m above sea level.
- In terms of Economy, the Indian Economy is 10th largest by nominal G.D.P. and 3rd largest in Purchasing Power Parity (P.P.P.).
- It has the world’s third-largest active military with an estimated expenditure of 48 billion U.S. dollars every year. India got the status of a nuclear weapon state in 1975.
- It has the world’s third-largest active military with an estimated expenditure of 48 billion U.S. dollars every year. India got the status of a nuclear weapon state in 1975.
- MALAYALAM, a language spoken in the state of Kerala, is the longest palindrome in the world.
- The Indian Ocean the only ocean in the world named after a country, i.e., India.
- Indian former president Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam visited Switzerland on May 26th since then this day is celebrated as Science Day in Switzerland.
Albert Einstein once said: “We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been possible.” It shows the importance of India in the world Map.
The post can be assumed as a tip of the iceberg when compared to the facts about India that I have provided in this article. In reality, India is a diverse nation, and only the entire African continent is ahead of India in terms of linguistic, genetic and cultural diversity, and therefore, the entire globe refers it as a country with “Unity in diversity.” We would be covering more amazing and interesting facts about India in our upcoming articles.
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