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{{About|the country}}
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{{Featured article}}
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{{Use Indian English|date=September 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Republic of India <!--Do NOT change the name to Bharat without discussion in the talk page for consensus and multiple reliable citations. -->
| common_name = India
| native_name = <!-- Do not remove this from the infobox as infobox translations and transliterations do not fall under [[WP:Manual of Style/India-related articles#Indic scripts in leads and infoboxes]].--> {{transliteration|hi|ISO|Bhārat Gaṇarājya}}
| image_flag = Flag of India.svg
| alt_flag = Horizontal tricolour flag bearing, from top to bottom, deep saffron, white, and green horizontal bands. In the centre of the white band is a navy-blue wheel with 24 spokes.
|
| symbol_width = 60px
| alt_coat = Three lions facing left, right, and toward viewer, atop a frieze containing a galloping horse, a 24-spoke wheel, and an elephant. Underneath is a motto: "सत्यमेव जयते".
|
| other_symbol_type = National song: {{nobold|{{native phrase|sa|[[Vande Mataram]]|italics=on}}{{efn|Written in a mixture of Sanskrit and [[Sadhu bhasha|Sanskritised Bengali]]}}}}
| other_symbol = "I Bow to Thee, Mother"{{lower|0.2em|{{efn|"[...] ''Jana Gana Mana'' is the National Anthem of India, subject to such alterations in the words as the Government may authorise as occasion arises; and the song ''Vande Mataram'', which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honoured equally with ''Jana Gana Mana'' and shall have equal status with it."{{sfn|Constituent Assembly of India|1950}}<!--end efn:-->}}{{sfn|National Informatics Centre|2005}}<!--end lower:--><ref name="india.gov.in" />}}<br />
<div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">[[File:Vande Mataram on Mohan Veena.ogg]]</div>
| national_motto = {{native phrase|sa|[[Satyameva Jayate]]|italics=on}}
| national_anthem = {{native phrase|hi|[[Jana Gana Mana]]|italics=on}}{{efn|Originally written in [[Sadhu bhasha|Sanskritised Bengali]] and adopted as the national anthem in its Hindi translation}}<ref name="india.gov.in">{{Cite web |title=National Symbols | National Portal of India |url=https://india.gov.in/india-glance/national-symbols |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204121208/https://india.gov.in/india-glance/national-symbols |archive-date=4 February 2017 |access-date=1 March 2017 |publisher=[[India.gov.in]] |quote=The National Anthem of India Jana Gana Mana, composed originally in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India on 24 January 1950.}}</ref><ref name="tatsama">{{Cite news |date=14 August 2012 |title=National anthem of India: a brief on 'Jana Gana Mana' |publisher=[[News18 India|News18]] |url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/national-anthem-of-india-a-brief-on-jana-gana-mana-498576.html |access-date=7 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417194530/https://www.news18.com/news/india/national-anthem-of-india-a-brief-on-jana-gana-mana-498576.html |archive-date=17 April 2019}}</ref><br />"Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All People"{{lower|0.2em|{{sfn|Wolpert|2003|p=1}}<ref name="india.gov.in" />}}<br />
<div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">[[File:Jana Gana Mana instrumental.ogg]]</div>
| image_map = India (orthographic projection).svg
| map_width = 250px
| alt_map = Image of a globe centred on India, with India highlighted.
| map_caption = {{Legend|#336830|Territory controlled by India}}{{Legend|#61E760|[[Disputed territories of India|Territory claimed but not controlled]]}}
| capital = [[New Delhi]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|28|36|50|N|77|12|30|E|type:city_region:IN}}
| admin_center = [[Mumbai]]
| admin_center_type = Largest city {{normal|by [[List of cities in India by population|city proper population]]}}
|
| largest_settlement = [[Delhi]]
| largest_settlement_type = city {{normal|by metropolitan area population}}
| official_languages = {{hlist |[[Hindi]]|[[Indian English|English]]{{efn|According to [[Part XVII of the Constitution of India]], [[Standard Hindi|Hindi]] in the [[Devanagari]] script is the [[official language]] of the Union, along with [[Indian English|English]] as an additional official language.{{sfn|National Informatics Centre|2005}}{{sfn|Ministry of Home Affairs 1960}}<ref name="india.gov.in2">{{Cite web |title=Profile | National Portal of India |url=https://india.gov.in/india-glance/profile |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130830064815/https://india.gov.in/india-glance/profile |archive-date=30 August 2013 |access-date=23 August 2013 |publisher=[[India.gov.in]]}}</ref> [[States and union territories of India|States and union territories]] can have a different official language of their own other than Hindi or English.}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Constitutional Provisions – Official Language Related Part-17 of the Constitution of India |url=https://rajbhasha.gov.in/en/constitutional-provisions |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418112326/https://rajbhasha.gov.in/en/constitutional-provisions |archive-date=18 April 2021 |access-date=18 April 2021 |website=[[Department of Official Language]] via [[Government of India]]}}</ref>}}
| regional_languages = {{collapsible list
|titlestyle = background:transparent;color: inherit; text-align:left;
|title = [[Languages with official status in India#Official languages of states|State level]] and [[Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India|{{nowrap|Eighth Schedule}}]]<ref name="langoff">{{Cite web |title=50th Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India (July 2012 to June 2013) |url=https://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM50thReport.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160708012438/https://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM50thReport.pdf |archive-date=8 July 2016 |access-date=26 December 2014 |publisher=Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities, [[Ministry of Minority Affairs]], [[Government of India]]}}</ref>
|1= Eighth Schedule {{hlist
| [[Assamese language|Assamese]]
| [[Bengali language|Bengali]]
| [[Boro language (India)|Boro]]
| [[Dogri language|Dogri]]
| [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]
| [[Hindi]]
| [[Kannada]]
| [[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]]
| [[Konkani language|Konkani]]
| [[Maithili language|Maithili]]
| [[Malayalam]]
| [[Meitei language|Manipuri]]
| [[Marathi language|Marathi]]
| [[Nepali language|Nepali]]
| [[Odia language|Odia]]
| [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]
| [[Sanskrit]]
| [[Santali language|Santali]]
| [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]]
| [[Tamil language|Tamil]]
| [[Telugu language|Telugu]]
| [[Urdu]]
}}
|2= State level{{efn|Not all the state-level official languages are in the eighth schedule and not all the scheduled languages are state-level official languages. For example, the [[Sindhi language]] is an 8th scheduled but not a state-level official language.}} {{hlist
| [[Kokborok]]
| [[Lepcha language|Lepcha]]
| [[Mizo language|Mizo]]
| [[Sikkimese language|Sikkimese]]
| all the 8th scheduled languages – except [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]], [[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]] and [[Dogri language|Dogri]]{{efn|[[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]] and [[Dogri language]] are the official languages of [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]] which is currently a [[union territory]] and no longer the [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|former state]].}}
}}
}}
| languages_type = Native languages
| languages = [[List of languages by number of native speakers in India|424 languages]]{{efn|
* According to [[Ethnologue]], there are 424 living indigenous languages in India, in contrast to 11 extinct indigenous languages. In addition, there are 30 living non-indigenous languages.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Eberhard |first1=David M. |last2=Simons |first2=Gary F. |last3=Fennig |first3=Charles D. |year=2025 |title=India |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/IN/ |website=[[Ethnologue|Ethnologue: Languages of the World]] |edition=28}}</ref>
* Different sources give widely differing figures, primarily based on how the terms "language" and "dialect" are defined and grouped.
}}
| religion_ref = <ref name="Census2011religion" />
| demonym = {{hlist|[[Indian people|Indian]]|[[Names for India|others]]}}
| government_type = Federal [[parliamentary republic]]
| leader_title1 = [[President of India|President]]
| leader_name1 = [[Droupadi Murmu]]
| leader_title2 = [[Vice President of India|Vice-President]]
| leader_name2 = [[C. P. Radhakrishnan]]
| leader_title3 = [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name3 = [[Narendra Modi]]
| legislature = [[Parliament of India|Parliament]]
| upper_house = [[Rajya Sabha]]
| lower_house = [[Lok Sabha]]
| sovereignty_type = [[Indian independence movement|Independence]]
| sovereignty_note = from the [[United Kingdom]]
| established_event1 = [[Dominion of India|Dominion]]
| established_date1 = [[Independence Day (India)|15 August 1947]]
| established_event2 = [[Republic]]
| established_date2 = [[Republic Day (India)|26 January 1950]]
| area_km2 = 3,287,263
| area_footnote = <ref name="india.gov.in" />{{efn|"The country's exact size is subject to debate because some borders are disputed. The Indian government lists the total area as {{convert|3287260|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} and the total land area as {{convert|3060500|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}; the United Nations lists the total area as {{convert|3287263|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} and total land area as {{convert|2973190|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}."{{sfn|Library of Congress|2004}} }}
| area_rank = 7th
| area_sq_mi = 1,269,346
| percent_water = 9.6
| population_estimate = {{increaseNeutral}} 1,428,627,663<ref name="WPP UN">{{Cite web |title=World Population Prospects |url=https://population.un.org/wpp/ |access-date=2 July 2023 |website=Population Division – United Nations }}</ref>
| population_estimate_year = 2023
| population_estimate_rank = 1st
| population_census = {{increaseNeutral}} 1,210,854,977<ref>{{Cite web |title=Population Enumeration Data (Final Population) |url=https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/population_enumeration.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522213913/https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/population_enumeration.html |archive-date=22 May 2016 |access-date=17 June 2016 |website=2011 Census Data |publisher=[[Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India|Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=A – 2 Decadal Variation in Population Since 1901 |url=https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/A-2_Data_Tables/00%20A%202-India.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430213141/https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/A-2_Data_Tables/00%20A%202-India.pdf |archive-date=30 April 2016 |access-date=17 June 2016 |website=2011 Census Data |publisher=[[Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India|Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India]]}}</ref>
| population_census_year = 2011
| population_census_rank = 2nd
| population_density_km2 = {{Pop density|{{Indian population clock}}|3287263|km2|disp=num|prec=1}}
| population_density_sq_mi = {{Pop density|{{Indian population clock}}|1269219|sqmi|disp=num|prec=1}}
| population_density_rank = 30th
| GDP_PPP = {{increase}} {{nowrap|$17.647 trillion}}<ref name="IMFWEO.IN">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2025/april/weo-report?c=534,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2023&ey=2030&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2025 Edition. (India) |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=www.imf.org |date=22 April 2025 |access-date=26 May 2025}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year = 2025
| GDP_PPP_rank = 3rd
| GDP_PPP_per_capita = {{increase}} $12,132<ref name="IMFWEO.IN" />
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 119th
| GDP_nominal = {{increase}} {{nowrap|$4.187 trillion}}<ref name="IMFWEO.IN" />
| GDP_nominal_year = 2025
| GDP_nominal_rank = 4th
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $2,878<ref name="IMFWEO.IN" />
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 136th
| Gini = 25.5 <!--number only-->
| Gini_year = 2021
| Gini_change = decrease<!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| Gini_ref = <ref>{{Cite web |title=Gini index (World Bank estimate) – India |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=IN |publisher=[[World Bank]]}}</ref>
| HDI = 0.685
| HDI_rank = 130th
| HDI_year = 2023<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year. -->
| HDI_change = increase
| HDI_ref = <ref name="UNHDR">{{Cite web |date=6 May 2025 |title=Human Development Report 2025 |url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506051232/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2025 |access-date=6 May 2025 |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]}}</ref>
| currency = [[Indian rupee]] ([[₹]])
| currency_code = INR
| time_zone = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset = +05:30
| date_format = {{ubl
| {{nowrap|{{abbr|dd|day}}-{{abbr|mm|month}}-{{abbr|yyyy|year}}}}{{efn|See [[Date and time notation in India]].}}
}}
| drives_on = left<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 May 2020 |title=List of all left- & right-driving countries around the world |url=https://www.worldstandards.eu/cars/list-of-left-driving-countries/ |access-date=10 June 2020 |website=worldstandards.eu}}</ref>
| calling_code = [[Telephone numbers in India|+91]]
| cctld = [[.in]] ([[.in#Internationalised ___domain names and country codes|others]])
| englishmotto = "Truth Alone Triumphs"{{lower|0.2em|{{sfn|National Informatics Centre|2005}}}}
| religion_year = 2011
| religion = {{ubl
| 79.8% [[Hinduism in India|Hinduism]]
| 14.2% [[Islam in India|Islam]]
| 2.3% [[Christianity in India|Christianity]]
| 1.7% [[Sikhism in India|Sikhism]]
| 0.7% [[History of Buddhism in India|Buddhism]]
| 0.4% [[Jainism in India|Jainism]]
| 0.23% [[Irreligion in India|unaffiliated]]
| 0.65% [[Religion in India|other]]
}}
| official_website = <!-- do not add www.gov.in – The article is about the country, not the government – from Template:Infobox country, do not use government website (e.g. usa.gov) for countries (e.g. United States) -->
| today =
| iso3166code = IN
}}
<!--Overly detailed information or infobox data duplication such as listing random examples, numbered statistics or naming individuals should be reserved for the body of the article-->
'''India'''<!--Do NOT add pronunciation as per [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section]].-->, officially the '''Republic of India''',<!--Do NOT change the name to Bharat without discussion in the talk page for consensus and multiple reliable citations. -->{{efn|[[ISO 15919|ISO]]: {{transliteration|hi|ISO|Bhārat Gaṇarājya}}}}<!--Do NOT add pronunciation as per [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section]].--><ref>
* {{citation|title=The Essential Desk Reference |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yjcOAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA76|year=2002|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-512873-4|page=76}} "Official name: Republic of India.";
* {{citation|author=John Da Graça|title=Heads of State and Government|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M0YfDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA421 |year=2017|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]] |___location=London |isbn=978-1-349-65771-1|page=421}} "Official name: Republic of India; Bharat Ganarajya (Hindi)";
* {{citation|author=Graham Rhind |title=Global Sourcebook of Address Data Management: A Guide to Address Formats and Data in 194 Countries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iGdQDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA302|year=2017|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |isbn=978-1-351-93326-1|page=302}} "Official name: Republic of India; Bharat.";
* {{citation|last=Bradnock|first=Robert W.|title=The Routledge Atlas of South Asian Affairs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zzjbCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA108|year=2015|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-1-317-40511-5|page=108}} "Official name: English: Republic of India; Hindi:Bharat Ganarajya";
* {{citation|title=Penguin Compact Atlas of the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pLw-ReHIgvQC&pg=PA140|year=2012|publisher=[[Penguin Group|Penguin]] |isbn=978-0-7566-9859-1|page=140}} "Official name: Republic of India";
* {{citation|title=Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Co_VIPIJerIC&pg=PA515|year=1997|isbn=978-0-87779-546-9 |edition=3rd |publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]]|pages=515–516}} "Officially, Republic of India";
* {{citation|title=Complete Atlas of the World: The Definitive View of the Earth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O5moCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA54-IA10 |edition=3rd|year=2016|publisher=[[DK Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-4654-5528-4|page=54}} "Official name: Republic of India";
* {{citation|title=Worldwide Government Directory with Intergovernmental Organizations 2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CQWhAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA726|year= 2013|publisher=[[CQ Press]]|isbn=978-1-4522-9937-2|page=726}}</ref> is a country in [[South Asia]]. <!--PLEASE DO NOT change the lead sentence: it is the result of a talk page consensus.--> It is the [[List of countries and dependencies by area|seventh-largest country by area]]; the [[List of countries by population (United Nations)|most populous country]] since 2023;<ref>{{cite book |last1=James |first1=K. S. |last2=Sekher |first2=T. V. |editor1-last=James |editor1-first=K. S. |editor2-last=Sekher |editor2-first=T. V. |title=India Population Report |date=2024 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |___location=Cambridge |isbn=978-1-009-31886-0 |pages=1–18 |edition=1st |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009318846.003 |chapter=India's Population Change: Critical Issues and Prospects.|doi=10.1017/9781009318846.003 }}</ref> and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy.<ref>{{harvnb|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|p=327}}: "Even though much remains to be done, especially in regard to eradicating poverty and securing effective structures of governance, India's achievements since independence in sustaining freedom and democracy have been singular among the world's new nations."</ref><ref name="stein-arnold">{{Citation |last=Stein |first=Burton |title=A History of India |year=2012 |editor-last=Arnold |editor-first=David |series=The Blackwell History of the World Series |edition=2nd |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |quote=One of these is the idea of India as 'the world's largest democracy', but a democracy forged less by the creation of representative institutions and expanding electorate under British rule than by the endeavours of India's founding fathers – Gandhi, Nehru, Patel and Ambedkar – and the labours of the Constituent Assembly between 1946 and 1949, embodied in the Indian constitution of 1950. This democratic order, reinforced by the regular holding of nationwide elections and polling for the state assemblies, has, it can be argued, consistently underpinned a fundamentally democratic state structure – despite the anomaly of the Emergency and the apparent durability of the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty. |author-link=Burton Stein |editor-link=David Arnold (historian)}}</ref>{{sfn|Fisher|2018|pp=184–185|ps=: "Since 1947, India's internal disputes over its national identity, while periodically bitter and occasionally punctuated by violence, have been largely managed with remarkable and sustained commitment to national unity and democracy."}} Bounded by the [[Indian Ocean]] on the south, the [[Arabian Sea]] on the southwest, and the [[Bay of Bengal]] on the southeast, it shares land borders with [[Pakistan]] to the west;{{efn|1 = The [[Government of India]] also regards [[Afghanistan]] as a bordering country, as it considers all of [[Kashmir]] to be part of India.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ministry of Home Affairs (Department of Border Management) |url=https://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/BMIntro-1011.pdf|access-date=1 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317182910/https://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/BMIntro-1011.pdf|archive-date=17 March 2015}}</ref> However, this is [[Kashmir conflict|disputed]], and the region bordering Afghanistan is administered by Pakistan.}} [[China]], [[Nepal]], and [[Bhutan]] to the north; and [[Bangladesh]] and [[Myanmar]] to the east. In the [[Indian Ocean]], India is near [[Sri Lanka]] and the [[Maldives]]; its [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]] share a [[Maritime boundary|maritime border]] with Myanmar, [[Thailand]], and [[Indonesia]].
[[Modern humans]] arrived on the [[Indian subcontinent]] from [[Africa]] no later than 55,000 years ago.<ref name="PetragliaAllchin">{{harvnb|Petraglia|Allchin|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Qm9GfjNlnRwC&pg=PA10 10]}}: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. [...] Coalescence dates for most non-European populations average to between 73 and 55 ka."</ref><ref name="Dyson2018p1">{{harvnb|Dyson|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 1]}}: "Modern human beings—''Homo sapiens''—originated in Africa. Then, intermittently, sometime between 60,000 and 80,000 years ago, tiny groups of them began to enter the north-west of the Indian subcontinent. It seems likely that initially they came by way of the coast. [...] it is virtually certain that there were ''Homo sapiens'' in the subcontinent 55,000 years ago, even though the earliest fossils that have been found of them date to only about 30,000 years before the present."</ref><ref name="Fisher2018p23">{{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23 23]}}: "Scholars estimate that the first successful expansion of the ''Homo sapiens'' range beyond Africa and across the Arabian Peninsula occurred from as early as 80,000 years ago to as late as 40,000 years ago, although there may have been prior unsuccessful emigrations. Some of their descendants extended the human range ever further in each generation, spreading into each habitable land they encountered. One human channel was along the warm and productive coastal lands of the Persian Gulf and northern Indian Ocean. Eventually, various bands entered India between 75,000 years ago and 35,000 years ago."</ref> Their long occupation, predominantly in isolation as hunter-gatherers, has made the region highly diverse.<ref name="Dyson2018-28a">{{harvnb|Dyson|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 28]}}.</ref> [[Neolithic|Settled life]] emerged on the subcontinent in the western margins of the [[Indus River|Indus]] [[river basin]] 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]] of the third millennium BCE.<ref name="Combined-2">
* {{harvnb|Dyson|2018|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4 4–5]}}.
* {{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23 33]}}.</ref> By {{BCE|1200}}, an [[Proto-language|archaic form]] of [[Sanskrit]], an [[Indo-European language]], had [[Trans-cultural diffusion|diffused]] into India from the northwest.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lowe|2015|p=|pp=1–2}}: "[[Rigveda|It]] consists of 1,028 hymns (''sūktas''), highly crafted poetic compositions originally intended for recital during rituals and for the invocation of and communication with the Indo-Aryan gods. Modern scholarly opinion largely agrees that these hymns were composed between around 1500 BCE and 1200 BCE, during the eastward migration of the Indo-Aryan tribes from the mountains of what is today northern Afghanistan across the Punjab into north India."</ref><ref name="Combined-4-Rigveda">
* {{harvnb|Witzel|2003|pp=68–70}}: "It is known from internal evidence that the Vedic texts were orally composed in northern India, at first in the Greater Punjab and later on also in more eastern areas, including northern Bihar, between ca. 1500 BCE and ca. 500–400 BCE. The oldest text, the Rgveda, must have been more or less contemporary with the Mitanni texts of northern Syria/Iraq (1450–1350 BCE); [...] The Vedic texts were orally composed and transmitted, without the use of script, in an unbroken line of transmission from teacher to student that was formalised early on. This ensured an impeccable textual transmission superior to the classical texts of other cultures; it is in fact something of a ''tape-recording'' of ca. 1500–500 BCE. Not just the actual words, but even the long-lost musical (tonal) accent (as in old Greek or in Japanese) has been preserved up to the present. [...] The RV text was composed before the introduction and massive use of iron, that is before ca. 1200–1000 BCE."
* {{Harvnb|Doniger|2014|pp=xviii, 10}}: "A Chronology of Hinduism: ca. 1500–1000 BCE Rig Veda; ca. 1200–900 BCE Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda [...] Hindu texts began with the ''Rig Veda'' ('Knowledge of Verses'), composed in northwest India around 1500 BCE; the first of the three Vedas, it is the earliest extant text composed in Sanskrit, the language of ancient India."
* {{harvnb|Ludden|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=pBq9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA19 19]}}: "In Punjab, a dry region with grasslands watered by five rivers (hence 'panch' and 'ab') draining the western Himalayas, one prehistoric culture left no material remains, but some of its ritual texts were preserved orally over the millennia. The culture is called Aryan, and evidence in its texts indicates that it spread slowly south-east, following the course of the Yamuna and Ganga Rivers. Its elite called itself Arya (pure) and distinguished themselves sharply from others. Aryans led kin groups organized as nomadic horse-herding tribes. Their ritual texts are called Vedas, composed in Sanskrit. [[Vedic Sanskrit]] is recorded only in hymns that were part of Vedic rituals to Aryan gods. To be Aryan apparently meant to belong to the elite among pastoral tribes. Texts that record Aryan culture are not precisely datable, but they seem to begin around 1200 BCE with four collections of Vedic hymns (Rg, Sama, Yajur, and Artharva)."
* {{harvnb|Dyson|2018|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA14 14–15]}}: "Although the collapse of the Indus valley civilisation is no longer believed to have been due to an 'Aryan invasion' it is widely thought that, at roughly the same time, or perhaps a few centuries later, new Indo-Aryan-speaking people and influences began to enter the subcontinent from the north-west. Detailed evidence is lacking. Nevertheless, a predecessor of the language that would eventually be called Sanskrit was probably introduced into the north-west sometime between 3,900 and 3,000 years ago. This language was related to one then spoken in eastern Iran; and both of these languages belonged to the Indo-European language family. [...] It seems likely that various small-scale migrations were involved in the gradual introduction of the predecessor language and associated cultural characteristics. However, there may not have been a tight relationship between movements of people on the one hand, and changes in language and culture on the other. Moreover, the process whereby a dynamic new force gradually arose—a people with a distinct ideology who eventually seem to have referred to themselves as 'Arya'—was certainly two-way. That is, it involved a blending of new features which came from outside with other features—probably including some surviving Harappan influences—that were already present. Anyhow, it would be quite a few centuries before Sanskrit was written down. And the hymns and stories of the Arya people—especially the Vedas and the later Mahabharata and Ramayana epics—are poor guides as to historical events. Of course, the emerging Arya were to have a huge impact on the history of the subcontinent. Nevertheless, little is known about their early presence."
* {{harvnb|Robb|2011|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GQ-2VH1LO_EC&pg=PA46 46–]}}: "The expansion of Aryan culture is supposed to have begun around 1500 BCE. It should not be thought that this Aryan emergence (though it implies some migration) necessarily meant either a sudden invasion of new peoples, or a complete break with earlier traditions. It comprises a set of cultural ideas and practices, upheld by a Sanskrit-speaking elite, or Aryans. The features of this society are recorded in the Vedas."</ref> [[Rig Veda|Its hymns]] recorded the [[Historical Vedic religion|early dawnings]] of [[Hinduism]] in India.<ref name="Combined-3">
* {{Harvard citation no brackets|Jamison|Brereton|2020|pp=2, 4–5}}: "The Ṛgveda is one of the four Vedas, which together constitute the oldest texts in Sanskrit and the earliest evidence for what will become Hinduism. [...] Although Vedic religion is very different in many regards from what is known as Classical Hinduism, the seeds are there. Gods like Viṣṇu and Śiva (under the name Rudra), who will become so dominant later, are already present in the Ṛgveda, though in roles both lesser than and different from those they will later play, and the principal Ṛgvedic gods like Indra remain in later Hinduism, though in diminished capacity."
* {{Harvard citation no brackets|Flood|2020|p=4, see note 4}}: "I take the term 'Hinduism' to meaningfully denote a range and history of practice characterised by a number of features, particularly reference to Vedic textual and sacrificial origins, belonging to endogamous social units (''jāti''/''varṇa''), participating in practices that involve making an offering to a deity and receiving a blessing (''pūjā''), and a first-level cultural polytheism (although many Hindus adhere to a second-level monotheism in which many gods are regarded as emanations or manifestations of the one, supreme being)."
* {{Harvard citation no brackets|Michaels|2017|pp=|p=86}}: "Almost all traditional Hindu families observe until today at least three ''samskaras'' (initiation, marriage, and death ritual). Most other rituals have lost their popularity, are combined with other rites of passage, or are drastically shortened. Although ''samskaras'' vary from region to region, from class (''varna'') to class, and from caste to caste, their core elements remain the same owing to the common source, the Veda, and a common priestly tradition preserved by the ''Brahmin'' priests."
* {{Harvard citation no brackets|Flood|1996|p=35}}: "It is this Sanskrit, vedic, tradition which has maintained a continuity into modern times and which has provided the most important resource and inspiration for Hindu traditions and individuals. The Veda is the foundation for most later developments in what is known as Hinduism."</ref> India's pre-existing [[Dravidian languages]] were supplanted in the northern regions.<ref name="Combined-4">{{harvnb|Dyson|2018|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16 16], [https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA25 25]}}.</ref> By {{BCE|400}}, [[caste]] had emerged within Hinduism,<ref name="Dyson2018-16a">{{harvnb|Dyson|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16 16]}}.</ref> and [[History of Buddhism in India|Buddhism]] and [[History of Jainism|Jainism]] had arisen, proclaiming [[social order]]s unlinked to heredity.<ref name="Fisher2018-59">{{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 59]}}.</ref> Early political consolidations gave rise to the loose-knit [[Maurya Empire|Maurya]] and [[Gupta Empire]]s.<ref name="Combined-5">
* {{harvnb|Dyson|2018|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16 16–17]}}.
* {{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 67]}}.
* {{harvnb|Robb|2011|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GQ-2VH1LO_EC&pg=PA56 56–57]}}
* {{harvnb|Ludden|2014|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=pBq9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA29 29–30]}}.</ref> Widespread creativity suffused this era,<ref name="Combined-6">
* {{harvnb|Ludden|2014|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=pBq9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 28–29]}}.
* {{citation |author=Glenn Van Brummelen |title=Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine: An Encyclopedia |pages=46–48 |year=2014 |editor=Thomas F. Glick |chapter=Arithmetic |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=77y2AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA46 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-135-45932-1 |editor2=Steven Livesey |editor3=Faith Wallis}}</ref> but the status of women declined,<ref name="Combined-7">
* {{harvnb|Dyson|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA20 20]}}.
* {{harvnb|Stein|2010|p=90}}.
* {{citation |last=Ramusack |first=Barbara N. |title=Women in Asia: Restoring Women to History |pages=27–29 |year=1999 |editor1=Barbara N. Ramusack |chapter=Women in South Asia |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CNi9Jc22OHsC&pg=PA27 |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |isbn=0-253-21267-7 |editor2=Sharon L. Sievers}}</ref> and [[untouchability]] became an organised belief.{{efn|"A Chinese pilgrim also recorded evidence of the caste system as he could observe it. According to this evidence the treatment meted out to untouchables such as the Chandalas was very similar to that which they experienced in later periods. This would contradict assertions that this rigid form of the caste system emerged in India only as a reaction to the Islamic conquest."{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|p = 93}}}}{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|p=93}} In [[South India]], the [[Middle kingdoms of India#The Deccan plateau and South|Middle kingdoms]] exported Dravidian language scripts and religious cultures to the kingdoms of [[Southeast Asia]].<ref name="AsherAsher2006-17">{{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA17 17]}}.</ref>
In the early medieval era, [[Christianity]], [[Islam]], [[Judaism]], and [[Zoroastrianism]] became established on India's southern and western coasts.<ref name="Combined-8">
* {{harvnb|Ludden|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=pBq9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA54 54]}}.
* {{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2006|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA78 78–79]}}.
* {{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA76 76]}}.</ref> Muslim armies from [[Central Asia]] intermittently overran India's northern plains in the second millennium.<ref name="Combined-13">
* {{harvnb|Ludden|2014|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=pBq9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 68–70]}}.
* {{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2006|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA19 19], 24}}.</ref> The resulting [[Delhi Sultanate]] drew northern India into the cosmopolitan [[Islamic Golden Age|networks of medieval Islam]].<ref name="Combined-10">
* {{harvnb|Dyson|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA48 48]}}.
* {{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA53 52]}}.</ref> In south India, the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] created a long-lasting composite Hindu culture.<ref name="AsherAsher2006-74">{{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA74 74]}}.</ref> In the [[Punjab]], [[Sikhism]] emerged, rejecting institutionalised religion.<ref name="AsherAsher2006-267">{{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA267 267]}}.</ref> The [[Mughal Empire]] ushered in two centuries of economic expansion and relative peace,<ref name="AsherAsher2006-152">{{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA152 152]}}.</ref> leaving [[Mughal architecture|a rich architectural legacy]].<ref name="Fisher2018-106">{{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA106 106]}}.</ref><ref name=asher-mughal-architecture>{{cite book|last=Asher|first=Catherine B.|title=Architecture of Mughal India|series=New Cambridge History of India series|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1992|isbn=0-521-26728-5|page=250|quote=Just as the symbolic content of Mughal architecture peaks under Shah Jahan, so, too, the style favored by this ruler introduces a new classicism in form and medium. Favored is white marble or burnished stucco surfaces that emulate marble. While marble had been used sparingly by Akbar and Jahangir, it dominates Shah Jahan's palace pavilions, mosques, and the most important tomb he constructed, the Taj Mahal. The marble on secular structures, most notably palace pavilions, often is elaborately inlaid with multi-colored precious stones and at times ornately carved. By contrast, the marble surface of religious buildings, especially mosques, remains considerably more austere, suggesting a division between secular and sacred arts not seen previously. Even enormous public structures, such as his Jami mosque of Shahjahanabad, while faced primarily with red sandstone, were profusely inlaid with white marble.}}</ref> Gradually expanding [[Company rule in India|rule of the British East India Company]] turned India into a colonial economy but consolidated its [[sovereignty]].<ref name="Combined-11">
* {{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA289 289]}}.
* {{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA120 120]}}.</ref> [[British Raj|British Crown rule]] began in 1858. The rights promised to Indians were granted slowly,<ref name="Combined-12">{{Citation |last=Taylor |first=Miles |title=Crowns and Colonies: European Monarchies and Overseas Empires |pages=38–39 |year=2016 |editor-last=Aldrish, Robert |chapter=The British royal family and the colonial empire from the Georgians to Prince George |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iR3GDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 |publisher=[[Manchester University Press]] |isbn=978-1-5261-0088-7 |editor2-last=McCreery, Cindy}}</ref>{{sfn|Peers|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dyQuAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA76 76]}} but [[Industrial Revolution|technological changes]] were introduced, and modern ideas of education and the public life took root.<ref name="EmbreeHay1988">{{Citation |last1=Embree |first1=Ainslie Thomas |title=Sources of Indian Tradition: Modern India and Pakistan |page=85 |year=1988 |chapter=Nationalism Takes Root: The Moderates |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XoMRuiSpBp4C&pg=PA85 |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=978-0-231-06414-9 |last2=Hay |first2=Stephen N. |last3=Bary |first3=William Theodore De}}</ref> [[Indian independence movement|A nationalist movement]] emerged in India, the first in the non-European [[British Empire]] and an influence on other nationalist movements.<ref name="Marshall2001">{{Citation |last=Marshall |first=P. J. |title=The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire |url={{Google books|S2EXN8JTwAEC|page=PA179|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |page=179 |year=2001 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-00254-7 |quote=The first modern nationalist movement to arise in the non-European empire, and one that became an inspiration for many others, was the Indian Congress.}}</ref><ref name="Chiriyankandath2016">{{Citation |last=Chiriyankandath |first=James |title=Parties and Political Change in South Asia |url={{Google books|c4n7CwAAQBAJ|page=PA2|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |page=2 |year=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-58620-3 |quote=South Asian parties include several of the oldest in the post-colonial world, foremost among them the 129-year-old Indian National Congress that led India to independence in 1947}}</ref> Noted for nonviolent resistance after 1920,<ref name="metcalf-metcalf-gandhi-1920">{{harvnb|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|p=202}}: "The year 1919 was a watershed in the modern history of India. [...] By its end the Montagu–Chelmsford reforms... were enacted. [...] The year, however, also brought the repressive Rowlatt bills and the catastrophe of the Amritsar massacre. For many, if not most, Indians the reforms had become a poisoned chalice. They chose instead a novel course of political action, that of 'non-violent non-cooperation', and a new leader, Mohandas K. Gandhi, only recently returned from twenty years in South Africa. Gandhi would endure as a lasting symbol of moral leadership for the entire world community."</ref> it became the primary factor in ending British rule.<ref name=stein-arnold-successful-nationalism>{{harvnb|Stein|2010|p=289}}: "Gandhi was the leading genius of the later and ultimately successful campaign for India's independence"</ref> In 1947, the [[British Raj|British Indian Empire]] was [[Partition of India|partitioned]] into two independent [[Dominion#India and Pakistan|dominions]],<ref name="fisher-partition">{{harvnb|Fisher|2018|pp=173–174}}: "The partition of South Asia that produced India and West and East Pakistan resulted from years of bitter negotiations and recriminations [...] The departing British also decreed that the hundreds of princes, who ruled one-third of the subcontinent and a quarter of its population, became legally independent, their status to be settled later. Geographical ___location, personal and popular sentiment, and substantial pressure and incentives from the new governments led almost all princes eventually to merge their domains into either Pakistan or India. [...] Each new government asserted its exclusive sovereignty within its borders, realigning all territories, animals, plants, minerals, and all other natural and human-made resources as either Pakistani or Indian property, to be used for its national development... Simultaneously, the central civil and military services and judiciary split roughly along religious 'communal' lines, even as they divided movable government assets according to a negotiated formula: 22.7 percent for Pakistan and 77.3 percent for India."</ref><ref name="chatterji-partition">{{Citation |last1=Chatterji |first1=Joya |title=Routledge Handbook of the South Asian Diaspora |year=2013 |editor-last=Chatterji |editor-first=Joya |chapter=Introduction: Concepts and Questions |place=London and New York |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-48010-9 |quote=[[Joya Chatterji]] describes how the partition of the British Indian empire into the new nation states of India and Pakistan produced new diaspora on a vast, and hitherto unprecedented, scale, but hints that the sheer magnitude of refugee movements in South Asia after 1947 must be understood in the context of pre-existing migratory flows within the partitioned regions (see also Chatterji 2013). She also demonstrates that the new national states of India and Pakistan were quickly drawn into trying to stem this migration. As they put into place laws designed to restrict the return of partition emigrants, this produced new dilemmas for both new nations in their treatment of 'overseas Indians'; and many of them lost their right to return to their places of origin in the subcontinent, and also their claims to full citizenship in host countries. |last2=Washbrook |first2=David |editor2-last=Washbrook |editor2-first=David}}</ref><ref name="talbot-sing">{{Citation |last1=Talbot |first1=Ian |title=The Partition of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=utKmPQAACAAJ |year=2009 |access-date=15 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213073754/https://books.google.com/books?id=utKmPQAACAAJ |url-status=live |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-85661-4 |quote=When the British divided and quit India in August 1947, they not only partitioned the subcontinent with the emergence of the two nations of India and Pakistan but also the provinces of Punjab and Bengal. ... Indeed for many the Indian subcontinent's division in August 1947 is seen as a unique event which defies comparative historical and conceptual analysis |archive-date=13 December 2016 |last2=Singh |first2=Gurharpal}}</ref><ref name="khan-great-partition">{{Citation |last=Khan |first=Yasmin |title=The Great Partition: The Making of India and Pakistan |page=1 |year=2017 |orig-date=2007 |edition=2nd |place=New Haven and London |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-23032-1 |quote=South Asians learned that the British Indian empire would be partitioned on 3 June 1947. They heard about it on the radio, from relations and friends, by reading newspapers and, later, through government pamphlets. Among a population of almost four hundred million, where the vast majority live in the countryside, ploughing the land as landless peasants or sharecroppers, it is hardly surprising that many thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, did not hear the news for many weeks afterwards. For some, the butchery and forced relocation of the summer months of 1947 may have been the first that they knew about the creation of the two new states rising from the fragmentary and terminally weakened British empire in India |author-link=Yasmin Khan}}</ref> a Hindu-majority [[dominion of India]] and a Muslim-majority [[dominion of Pakistan]]. A large-scale loss of life and an unprecedented migration accompanied the partition.<ref>
* {{harvnb|Copland|2001|pp=71–78}}.
* {{harvnb|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p=222}}.</ref>
India has been a [[federal republic]] since 1950, governed through a democratic [[parliamentary system]]. It is a [[Pluralism (political philosophy)|pluralistic]], [[Multilingualism|multilingual]] and [[Multiculturalism|multi-ethnic society]]. India's population grew from 361 million in 1951 to over 1.4 billion in 2023.<ref name="Dyson2018-219">{{harvnb|Dyson|2018|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA219 219], 262}}.</ref> During this time, its nominal [[per capita income]] increased from US$64 annually to US$2,601, and its literacy rate from 16.6% to 74%. A comparatively destitute country in 1951,<ref name="Fisher2018-8">{{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 8]}}.</ref> India has become a [[List of countries by real GDP growth rate|fast-growing]] major economy and [[Information technology in India|a hub for information technology services]], with an expanding middle class.<ref name="MetcalfMetcalf2012-265">{{harvnb|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mjIfqyY7jlsC&pg=PA265 265–266]}}.</ref> [[Cinema of India|Indian movies]] and [[Music of India|music]] increasingly influence global culture.<ref name="MetcalfMetcalf2012-266">{{harvnb|Metcalf|Metcalf|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mjIfqyY7jlsC&pg=PA266 266]}}.</ref> India has reduced [[Poverty in India|its poverty rate]], though at the cost of increasing economic inequality.<ref name="Dyson2018-216-a">{{harvnb|Dyson|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA216 216]}}.</ref> It is a [[List of states with nuclear weapons|nuclear-weapon state]] that [[List of countries by military expenditures|ranks high in military expenditure]]. It has disputes over [[Kashmir]] with its neighbours, Pakistan and China, unresolved since the mid-20th century.<ref name="kashmir-disputes">
* {{citation |title=Kashmir, region Indian subcontinent |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Kashmir-region-Indian-subcontinent |access-date=15 August 2019 |url-access=subscription |quote=Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent{{nbsp}}... has been the subject of dispute between India and Pakistan since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813203817/https://www.britannica.com/place/Kashmir-region-Indian-subcontinent |archive-date=13 August 2019 |url-status=live}}
* {{citation |last1=Pletcher |first1=Kenneth |title=Aksai Chin, Plateau Region, Asia |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Aksai-Chin |access-date=16 August 2019 |url-access=subscription |quote=Aksai Chin, Chinese (Pinyin) Aksayqin, portion of the Kashmir region, ... constitutes nearly all the territory of the Chinese-administered sector of Kashmir that is claimed by India |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402090308/https://www.britannica.com/place/Aksai-Chin |archive-date=2 April 2019}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|title=Kashmir|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Americana]]: Jefferson to Latin |publisher=[[Scholastic Library Publishing]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l_cWAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA328 |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7172-0139-6 |page=328 |first=C. E |last=Bosworth |quote=KASHMIR, kash'mer, the northernmost region of the Indian subcontinent, administered partly by India, partly by Pakistan, and partly by China. The region has been the subject of a bitter dispute between India and Pakistan since they became independent in 1947}}</ref> Among the socio-economic challenges India faces are [[Gender inequality in India|gender inequality]], [[Malnutrition in India|child malnutrition]],<ref name="NarayanJohn2018-lead">{{Cite journal |last1=Narayan |first1=Jitendra |last2=John |first2=Denny |last3=Ramadas |first3=Nirupama |year=2018 |title=Malnutrition in India: status and government initiatives |journal=[[Journal of Public Health Policy]] |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=126–141 |doi=10.1057/s41271-018-0149-5 |issn=0197-5897 |pmid=30353132 |s2cid=53032234}}</ref> and rising levels of [[Air pollution in India|air pollution]].<ref name="BalakrishnanDey2019-lead">{{Cite journal |last1=Balakrishnan |first1=Kalpana |author-link=Kalpana Balakrishnan |last2=Dey |first2=Sagnik |display-authors=etal |year=2019 |title=The impact of air pollution on deaths, disease burden, and life expectancy across the states of India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 |journal=[[The Lancet Planetary Health]] |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=e26–e39 |doi=10.1016/S2542-5196(18)30261-4 |issn=2542-5196 |pmc=6358127 |pmid=30528905}}</ref> India's land is [[megadiverse country|megadiverse]] with four [[biodiversity hotspots]].<ref name="IUCN-India">{{Citation |title=India |url=https://www.iucn.org/asia/countries/india |year=2019 |access-date=21 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101033802/https://www.iucn.org/asia/countries/india |publisher=[[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN) |archive-date=1 November 2020}}</ref> [[Wildlife of India|India's wildlife]], which has traditionally been viewed with tolerance in [[Culture of India|its culture]],{{sfn|Karanth|Gopal|2005|p=374}} is supported in [[Protected areas of India|protected habitats]].
== Etymology ==
{{Main|Names for India}}
According to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' (2009), the name "India" is derived from the [[Classical Latin]] ''India'', a reference to [[South Asia]] and an uncertain region to its east. In turn, "India" derived successively from [[Hellenistic Greek]] {{tlit|grc|India}} ({{lang|grc|Ἰνδία}}), [[Ancient Greek]] {{tlit|grc|Indos}} ({{lang|grc|Ἰνδός}}), [[Old Persian]] {{tlit|peo|[[Hindush]]}} (an eastern province of the [[Achaemenid Empire]]), and ultimately its [[cognate]], the [[Sanskrit]] {{tlit|sa|Sindhu}}, or 'river'—specifically the [[Indus River]], and by extension its well-settled southern basin.<ref>{{Citation |title=India (noun) |url=https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/94384#eid677811 |work=[[Oxford English Dictionary]] |year=2009 |edition=3rd}} (subscription required)</ref>{{sfn|Thieme|1970|pp=447–450}} The [[Ancient Greeks]] referred to the Indians as {{tlit|grc|Indoi}}, 'the people of the Indus'.{{sfn|Kuiper|2010|p=86}}
[[File:Hathigumpha inscription (2020).jpg|thumb|[[Hathigumpha inscription|Hāthigumphā inscription]] of [[Kharavela|King Kharavela]] (2nd century BCE), containing one of the earliest known references to the name 'Bharat' for India|303x303px]]
The term ''[[Names for India#Bharat|Bharat]]'' ({{transliteration|hi|ISO|Bhārat}}; {{IPA|hns|ˈbʱaːɾət|pron|hi-Bharat.ogg}}), mentioned in both [[Indian epic poetry]] and the [[Constitution of India]],{{sfn|Clémentin-Ojha|2014}}<ref>{{Citation |title=The Constitution of India |date=1 December 2007 |url=https://lawmin.nic.in/coi/coiason29july08.pdf |access-date=3 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140909230437/https://lawmin.nic.in/coi/coiason29july08.pdf |publisher=[[Ministry of Law and Justice (India)|Ministry of Law and Justice]] |quote=Article 1(1): India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States. |archive-date=9 September 2014}}</ref> is used in its variations by [[Names for India|many Indian languages]]. A modern rendering of the historical name {{tlit|sa|Bharatavarsha}}, which applied originally to [[North India]],<ref name="Jha2014">{{Citation |last=Jha |first=Dwijendra Narayan |title=Rethinking Hindu Identity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dqDgBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 |page=11 |year=2014 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-317-49034-0}}</ref>{{sfn|Singh|2017|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dYM4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA253 253]}} ''Bharat'' gained increased currency from the mid-19th century as a native name for India.{{sfn|Clémentin-Ojha|2014}}{{sfn|Barrow|2003}}
''[[Hindustan]]'' ({{IPA|hns|ɦɪndʊˈstaːn||Hindustan.ogg}}) is a [[Middle Persian]] name for India that became popular by the 13th century,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Paturi |first1=Joseph |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oCo5DAAAQBAJ |title=World Religions & Cults Volume 2: Moralistic, Mythical and Mysticism Religions |last2=Patterson |first2=Roger |date=2016 |publisher=New Leaf Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-89051-922-6 |editor-last=Hodge |editor-first=Bodie |___location=United States |pages=59–60 |chapter=Hinduism (with Hare Krishna) |quote=The actual term Hindu first occurs as a Persian geographical term for the people who lived beyond the Indus River. The term Hindu originated as a geographical term and did not refer to a religion. Later, Hindu was taken by European languages from the Arabic term al-Hind, which referred to the people who lived across the Indus River. This Arabic term was itself taken from the Persian term Hindū, which refers to all Indians. By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as a popular alternative name for India, meaning the "land of Hindus." |editor-last2=Patterson |editor-first2=Roger}}</ref> and was used widely since the era of the [[Mughal Empire]]. The meaning of ''Hindustan'' has varied, referring to a region encompassing the northern [[Indian subcontinent]] (present-day northern India and [[Pakistan]]) or to India in its near entirety.{{sfn|Clémentin-Ojha|2014}}{{sfn|Barrow|2003}}<ref>{{Citation |title=Hindustan |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266465/Hindustan |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=17 July 2011}}</ref>
== History ==
{{Main|History of India}}
=== Ancient India ===
[[File:Battle at Lanka, Ramayana, Udaipur, 1649-53.jpg|thumb|Manuscript illustration, {{circa|1650}}, of the Sanskrit epic [[Ramayana]], composed in story-telling fashion {{circa|{{BCE|400}}|{{CE|300}}}}<ref name="Lowe2017-epic">{{Cite book |last=Lowe |first=John J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nSgmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA58 |title=Transitive Nouns and Adjectives: Evidence from Early Indo-Aryan |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-19-879357-1 |page=58 |quote=The term 'Epic Sanskrit' refers to the language of the two great Sanskrit epics, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa. ... It is likely, therefore, that the epic-like elements found in Vedic sources and the two epics that we have are not directly related, but that both drew on the same source, an oral tradition of storytelling that existed before, throughout, and after the Vedic period.}}</ref>]]55,000 years ago, the first modern humans, or ''[[Homo sapiens]]'', arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa.<ref name="PetragliaAllchin" /><ref name="Dyson2018p1" /><ref name="Fisher2018p23" /> The earliest known modern human remains in South Asia date to about 30,000 years ago.<ref name="PetragliaAllchin" /> After {{BCE|6500}}, evidence for domestication of food crops and animals, construction of permanent structures, and storage of agricultural surplus appeared in [[Mehrgarh]] and other sites in [[Balochistan, Pakistan]].{{sfn|Coningham|Young|2015|pp=104–105}} These gradually developed into the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]],{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|pp=21–23}}{{sfn|Coningham|Young|2015|pp=104–105}} the first urban culture in South Asia,{{sfn|Singh|2009|p=181}} which flourished during {{BCE|2500–1900}} in Pakistan and western India.{{sfn|Possehl|2003|p=2}} Centred around cities such as [[Mohenjo-daro]], [[Harappa]], [[Dholavira]], and [[Kalibangan]], and relying on varied forms of subsistence, the civilisation engaged robustly in crafts production and wide-ranging trade.{{sfn|Singh|2009|p=181}}
During the period {{BCE|2000–500}}, many regions of the subcontinent transitioned from the [[Chalcolithic]] cultures to the [[Iron Age]] ones.{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 255}} The [[Vedas]], the oldest scriptures associated with [[Hinduism]],{{sfn|Singh|2009|pp = 186–187}} were composed during this period,{{sfn|Witzel|2003|pp = 68–69}} and historians have analysed these to posit a [[Vedic period|Vedic culture]] in the [[Punjab region]] and the upper [[Indo-Gangetic Plain|Gangetic Plain]].{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 255}} Most historians also consider this period to have encompassed several waves of [[Indo-Aryan migration]] into the subcontinent from the north-west.{{Sfn|Singh|2009|pp=186–187}} The [[caste system]], which created a hierarchy of priests, warriors, and free peasants, but which excluded indigenous peoples by labelling their occupations impure, arose during this period.{{Sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|pp=41–43}} On the [[Deccan Plateau]], archaeological evidence from this period suggests the existence of a chiefdom stage of political organisation.{{Sfn|Singh|2009|p=255}} In [[South India]], a progression to sedentary life is indicated by the large number of [[megalith]]ic monuments dating from this period,{{Sfn|Singh|2009|pp=250–251}} as well as by nearby traces of [[agriculture]], [[irrigation tanks]], and craft traditions.{{Sfn|Singh|2009|pp=250–251}}
[[File:Cave 26, Ajanta.jpg|thumb|Cave 26 of the rock-cut [[Ajanta Caves]]]]
In the late Vedic period, around the 6th century BCE, the small states and chiefdoms of the Ganges Plain and the north-western regions had consolidated into 16 major oligarchies and monarchies that were known as the ''[[mahajanapadas]]''.{{sfn|Singh|2009|pp = 260–265}}{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|pp = 53–54}} The emerging urbanisation gave rise to non-Vedic religious movements, two of which became independent religions. [[Jainism]] came into prominence during the life of its exemplar, [[Mahavira]].{{sfn|Singh|2009|pp = 312–313}} [[Buddhism]], based on the teachings of [[Gautama Buddha]], attracted followers from all social classes excepting the middle class; chronicling the life of the Buddha was central to the beginnings of recorded history in India.{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|pp = 54–56}}{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 21}}{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 67–68}}
In an age of increasing urban wealth, both religions held up [[Nekkhamma|renunciation]] as an ideal,{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 300}} and both established long-lasting monastic traditions. Politically, by the 3rd century BCE, the kingdom of [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]] had annexed or reduced other states to emerge as the [[Maurya Empire]].{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 319}} The empire was once thought to have controlled most of the subcontinent except the far south, but its core regions are now thought to have been separated by large autonomous areas.{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 78–79}}{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|p = 70}} The Mauryan kings are known as much for their empire-building and determined management of public life as for [[Ashoka]]'s [[renunciation]] of militarism and far-flung advocacy of the Buddhist ''[[Dharma (Buddhism)|dhamma]]''.{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 367}}{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|p = 63}}
The [[Sangam literature]] of the [[Tamil language]] reveals that, between {{BCE|200}} and {{CE|200}}, the southern peninsula was ruled by the [[Chera dynasty|Cheras]], the [[Chola dynasty|Cholas]], and the [[Pandya dynasty|Pandyas]], dynasties that [[Indo-Roman trade relations|traded extensively with the Roman Empire]] and with [[Western Asia|West]] and [[Southeast Asia]].{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 89–90}}{{sfn|Singh|2009|pp = 408–415}} In North India, Hinduism asserted patriarchal control within the family, leading to increased subordination of women.{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 92–95}}{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 319}} By the 4th and 5th centuries, the [[Gupta Empire]] had created a complex system of administration and taxation in the greater Ganges Plain; this system became a model for later Indian kingdoms.{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|pp = 89–91}}{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 545}} Under the Guptas, a renewed Hinduism based on devotion, rather than the management of ritual, began to assert itself.{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 98–99}} This renewal was reflected in a flowering of [[Sculpture in the Indian subcontinent|sculpture]] and [[Architecture of India|architecture]], which found patrons among an urban elite.{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 545}} [[Sanskrit literature#Classical Sanskrit literature|Classical Sanskrit literature]] flowered as well, and [[History of science and technology in the Indian subcontinent|Indian science]], [[Indian astronomy|astronomy]], [[Ayurveda|medicine]], and [[Indian mathematics|mathematics]] made significant advances.{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 545}}
=== Medieval India ===
{{
[[File:Gopuram Corner View of Thanjavur Brihadeeswara Temple..JPG|thumb|right|[[Brihadeshwara temple]], [[Thanjavur]], completed in {{CE|1010}}]]
[[File:Qutb minar ruins.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Qutub Minar]], {{convert|73|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} tall, completed by the [[Sultan of Delhi]], [[Iltutmish]]]]
The Indian early medieval age, from {{CE|600 to 1200}}, is defined by regional kingdoms and cultural diversity.{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 132}} When [[Harsha]] of [[Kannauj]], who ruled much of the Indo-Gangetic Plain from {{CE|606 to 647}}, attempted to expand southwards, he was defeated by the [[Chalukya dynasty|Chalukya]] ruler of the Deccan.{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 119–120}} When his successor attempted to expand eastwards, he was defeated by the [[Pala Empire|Pala]] king of [[Bengal]].{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 119–120}} When the Chalukyas attempted to expand southwards, they were defeated by the [[Pallava dynasty|Pallavas]] from farther south, who in turn were opposed by the [[Pandya dynasty|Pandyas]] and the [[Chola dynasty|Cholas]] from still farther south.{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 119–120}} No ruler of this period was able to create an empire and consistently control lands much beyond their core region.{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 132}} During this time, pastoral peoples, whose land had been cleared to make way for the growing agricultural economy, were accommodated within caste society, as were new non-traditional ruling classes.{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 121–122}} The caste system consequently began to show regional differences.{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 121–122}}
In the 6th and 7th centuries, the first [[Bhakti|devotional hymns]] were created in the Tamil language.{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 123}} They were imitated all over India and led to both the resurgence of Hinduism and the development of all [[Languages of India|modern languages of the subcontinent]].{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 123}} Indian royalty, big and small, and the temples they patronised drew citizens in great numbers to the capital cities, which became economic hubs as well.{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 124}} Temple towns of various sizes began to appear everywhere as India underwent another urbanisation.{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 124}} By the 8th and 9th centuries, the effects were felt in Southeast Asia, as South Indian culture and political systems were exported to lands that became part of modern-day [[Myanmar]], [[Thailand]], [[Laos]], [[Brunei]], [[Cambodia]], [[Vietnam]], [[Philippines]], [[Malaysia]], and [[Indonesia]].{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 127–128}} Indian merchants, scholars, and sometimes armies were involved in this transmission; Southeast Asians took the initiative as well, with many sojourning in Indian seminaries and translating Buddhist and Hindu texts into their languages.{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 127–128}}
After the 10th century, Muslim Central Asian nomadic clans, using [[courser (horse)|swift-horse]] cavalry and raising vast armies united by ethnicity and religion, repeatedly overran South Asia's north-western plains, leading eventually to the establishment of the Islamic [[Delhi Sultanate]] in 1206.{{sfn|Ludden|2002|p = 68}} The sultanate was to control much of North India and to make many forays into South India. Although at first disruptive for the Indian elites, the sultanate largely left its vast non-Muslim subject population to its own laws and customs.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 47}}{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 6}}
By repeatedly repulsing [[Mongol Empire|Mongol raiders]] in the 13th century, the sultanate saved India from the devastation visited on West and Central Asia, setting the scene for centuries of [[Human migration|migration]] of fleeing soldiers, learned men, mystics, traders, artists, and artisans from that region into the subcontinent, thereby creating a syncretic Indo-Islamic culture in the north.{{sfn|Ludden|2002|p = 67}}{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|pp = 50–51}} The sultanate's raiding and weakening of the regional kingdoms of South India paved the way for the indigenous [[Vijayanagara Empire]].{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 53}} Embracing a strong [[Shaivism|Shaivite]] tradition and building upon the military technology of the sultanate, the empire came to control much of peninsular India,{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 12}} and was to influence South Indian society for long afterwards.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 53}}
=== Early modern India ===
[[File:Agra Fort DistantTaj.JPG|thumb|A distant view of the [[Taj Mahal]] from the [[Agra Fort]]]]
[[File:India 1835 2 Mohurs.jpg|thumb|A two-[[mohur]] Company gold coin, issued in 1835, the [[Obverse and reverse|obverse]] inscribed "[[William IV|William IIII]], King"]]
In the early 16th century, northern India, then under mainly Muslim rulers,{{sfn|Robb|2001|p = 80}} fell again to the superior mobility and firepower of a new generation of Central Asian warriors.{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 164}} The resulting [[Mughal Empire]] did not stamp out the local societies it came to rule. Instead, it balanced and pacified them through new administrative practices{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 115}}{{sfn|Robb|2001|pp = 90–91}} and diverse and inclusive ruling elites,{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 17}} leading to more systematic, centralised, and uniform rule.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 152}} Eschewing tribal bonds and Islamic identity, especially under [[Akbar]], the Mughals united their far-flung realms through loyalty, expressed through a Persianised culture, to an emperor who had near-divine status.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 17}}
The Mughal state's economic policies, deriving most revenues from agriculture{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 158}} and mandating that taxes be paid in the well-regulated silver currency,{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 169}} caused peasants and artisans to enter larger markets.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 152}} The relative peace maintained by the empire during much of the 17th century was a factor in India's economic expansion,{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 152}} resulting in greater patronage of [[Mughal painting|painting]], literary forms, textiles, and [[Mughal architecture|architecture]].{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 186}} Newly coherent social groups in northern and western India, such as the [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]], the [[Rajput]]s, and the [[Sikh Empire|Sikhs]], gained military and governing ambitions during Mughal rule, which, through collaboration or adversity, gave them both recognition and military experience.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 23–24}} Expanding commerce during Mughal rule gave rise to new Indian commercial and political elites along the coasts of southern and eastern India.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 23–24}} As the empire disintegrated, many among these elites were able to seek and control their own affairs.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 256}}
By the early 18th century, with the lines between commercial and political dominance being increasingly blurred, a number of European trading companies, including the [[East India Company|English East India Company]], had established coastal outposts.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 286}}{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 44–49}} The East India Company's control of the seas, greater resources, and more advanced military training and technology led it to increasingly assert its military strength and caused it to become attractive to a portion of the Indian elite; these factors were crucial in allowing the company to gain control over the [[Bengal]] region by 1765 and sideline the other European companies.{{sfn|Robb|2001|pp = 98–100}}{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 286}}{{sfn|Ludden|2002|pp = 128–132}}{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 51–55}} Its further access to the riches of Bengal and the subsequent increased strength and size of its army enabled it to annexe or subdue most of India by the 1820s.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 68–71}} India was then no longer exporting manufactured goods as it long had, but was instead supplying the [[British Empire]] with raw materials. Many historians consider this to be the onset of India's colonial period.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 286}} By this time, with its economic power severely curtailed by the British parliament and having effectively been made an arm of British administration, the East India Company began more consciously to enter non-economic arenas, including education, social reform, and culture.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 289}}
=== Modern India ===
{{Main|History of India (1947–present)}}
[[File:British Indian Empire 1909 Imperial Gazetteer of India.jpg|thumb|A 1909 map of the [[British Indian Empire]]|left]]
[[File:Nehru Ghandi AP 18050506381948 (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Jawaharlal Nehru]] sharing a light moment with [[Mahatma Gandhi]], Mumbai, 6 July 1946]]
Historians consider India's modern age to have begun sometime between 1848 and 1885. The appointment in 1848 of [[James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie|Lord Dalhousie]] as Governor General of the East India Company set the stage for changes essential to a modern state. These included the consolidation and demarcation of sovereignty, the surveillance of the population, and the education of citizens. Technological changes—among them, railways, canals, and the telegraph—were introduced not long after their introduction in [[Europe]].{{sfn|Robb|2001|pp = 151–152}}{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 94–99}}{{sfn|Brown|1994|p = 83}}{{sfn|Peers|2006|p = 50}} Disaffection with the company also grew during this time and set off the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]]. Fed by diverse resentments and perceptions, including invasive British-style social reforms, harsh land taxes, and summary treatment of some rich landowners and princes, the rebellion rocked many regions of northern and central India and shook the foundations of Company rule.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 100–103}}{{sfn|Brown|1994|pp = 85–86}}
Although the rebellion was suppressed by 1858, it led to the dissolution of the East India Company and the [[British Raj|direct administration of India]] by the British government. Proclaiming a [[unitary state]] and a gradual but limited British-style parliamentary system, the new rulers also protected princes and landed gentry as a feudal safeguard against future unrest.{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 239}}{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 103–108}} In the decades following, public life gradually emerged all over India, leading eventually to the founding of the [[Indian National Congress]] in 1885.{{sfn|Robb|2001|p = 183}}{{sfn|Sarkar|1983|pp = 1–4}}{{sfn|Copland|2001|pp = ix–x}}{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 123}}
The rush of technology and the commercialisation of agriculture in the second half of the 19th century was marked by economic setbacks, and many small farmers became dependent on the whims of far-away markets.{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 260}} There was an increase in the number of large-scale [[Famine in India|famines]],{{sfn|Stein|2010|p=245|ps=: An expansion of state functions in British and in princely India occurred as a result of the terrible famines of the later nineteenth century, ... A reluctant regime decided that state resources had to be deployed and that anti-famine measures were best managed through technical experts.}} and, despite the risks of infrastructure development borne by Indian taxpayers, little industrial employment was generated for Indians.{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 258}} There were also salutary effects: commercial cropping, especially in the newly canalled Punjab, led to increased food production for internal consumption.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 126}} The railway network provided critical famine relief,{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 97}} notably reduced the cost of moving goods,{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 97}} and helped nascent Indian-owned industry.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 126}}
After [[World War I]], in which approximately [[Indian Army during World War I|one million Indians served]],{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 163}} a new period began. It was marked by [[Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms|British reforms]] but also [[Rowlatt act|repressive legislation]], by more strident Indian calls for self-rule, and by the beginnings of a [[nonviolent]] movement of non-co-operation, of which [[Mahatma Gandhi]] would become the leader and enduring symbol.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 167}} During the 1930s, slow legislative reform was enacted by the British; the Indian National Congress won victories in the resulting elections.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 195–197}} The next decade was beset with crises: [[India in World War II|Indian participation in World War II]], the Congress's final push for non-co-operation, and an upsurge of [[Muslim nationalism in South Asia|Muslim nationalism]]. All were capped by the advent of independence in 1947, but tempered by the [[partition of India]] into two states: India and Pakistan.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 203}}
Vital to India's self-image as an independent nation was its constitution, completed in 1950, which put in place a secular and democratic republic.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 231}} Economic liberalisation, which [[Economic liberalisation in India|began in the 1980s]] and with the collaboration with Soviet Union for technical knowledge,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Role of Soviet Union in India's industrialisation: a comparative assessment with the West |url=http://ijrar.com/upload_issue/ijrar_issue_20544196.pdf |website=ijrar.com}}</ref> has created a large urban middle class, transformed India into one of the [[List of countries by GDP (real) growth rate|world's fastest-growing economies]],<ref>{{Citation |title=Briefing Rooms: India |url=https://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/India/ |work=[[Economic Research Service]] |year=2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520002800/https://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/India/ |publisher=[[United States Department of Agriculture]] |archive-date=20 May 2011}}</ref> and increased its geopolitical influence. Yet, India is also shaped by persistent poverty, both rural and urban;{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006 |pp=265–266}} by [[Religious violence in India|religious]] and [[Caste-related violence in India|caste-related violence]];{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 266–270}} by [[Naxalite–Maoist insurgency|Maoist-inspired Naxalite insurgencies]];{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 253}} and by [[Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir|separatism in Jammu and Kashmir]] and [[insurgency in Northeast India|in Northeast India]].{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 274}} It has unresolved territorial disputes with [[China–India relations#1960s|China]] and with [[Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts|Pakistan]].{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 247–248}} India's sustained democratic freedoms are unique among the world's newer nations; however, in spite of its recent economic successes, freedom from want for its disadvantaged population remains a goal yet to be achieved.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 304}} As of 2025, poverty in India declined sharply, mainly due to government welfare programs.<ref name=Sunitha>{{cite news |last1=Natti |first1=Sunitha |title=The number of poor are falling in India; is it time to shift the poverty line now? |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/web-only/2025/May/27/the-number-of-poor-are-falling-in-india-is-it-time-to-shift-the-poverty-line-now |access-date=22 July 2025 |agency=The New Indian Express |date=27 May 2025}}</ref>
==
{{
[[File:Tungabhadra River and Coracle Boats.JPG|thumb|The [[Tungabhadra River|Tungabhadra]], with rocky outcrops, flows into the peninsular [[Krishna River]].{{sfn|Mcgrail|Blue|Kentley|Palmer|2003|p=257}}]]
[[File:Parked boats at Anjarle Creek.jpg|thumb|Fishing boats lashed together in a [[creek (tidal)|tidal creek]] in [[Anjarle]] village, Maharashtra]]
India accounts for the bulk of the Indian subcontinent, lying atop the [[Indian Plate|Indian tectonic plate]], a part of the [[Indo-Australian Plate]].{{sfn|Ali|Aitchison|2005}} India's defining geological processes began 75 million years ago when the Indian Plate, then part of the southern supercontinent [[Gondwana]], began a north-eastward [[Plate tectonics|drift]] caused by [[seafloor spreading]] to its south-west, and later, south and south-east.{{sfn|Ali|Aitchison|2005}} Simultaneously, the vast [[Tethys Ocean|Tethyan]] [[oceanic crust]], to its northeast, began to [[subduction|subduct]] under the [[Eurasian Plate]].{{sfn|Ali|Aitchison|2005}} These dual processes, driven by convection in the Earth's [[Mantle (geology)|mantle]], both created the Indian Ocean and caused the Indian [[continental crust]] eventually to under-thrust Eurasia and to uplift the [[Himalayas]].{{sfn|Ali|Aitchison|2005}} Immediately south of the emerging Himalayas, plate movement created a vast crescent-shaped [[trough (geology)|trough]] that rapidly filled with river-borne sediment{{sfn|Dikshit |Schwartzberg|2023|p=7}} and now constitutes the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]].{{sfn|Prakash et al.|2000}} The original Indian plate makes its first appearance above the sediment in the ancient [[Aravalli range]], which extends from the [[Delhi Ridge]] in a southwesterly direction. To the west lies the [[Thar Desert]], the eastern spread of which is checked by the Aravallis.<ref name="aravalli">{{harvnb|Kaul|1970|p=160}}, " The Aravalli range boldy defines the eastern limit of the arid and semi-arid zone. Probably the more humid conditions that prevail near the Aravallis prevented the extension of aridity towards the east and the Ganges Valley. It is noteworthy that, wherever there are gaps in this range, sand has advanced to the east of it."</ref><ref name="prasad-aravalli">{{harvnb|Prasad|1974|p=372}}, " The topography of the Indian Desert is dominated by the Aravalli Ranges on its eastern border, which consist largely of tightly folded and highly metamorphosed Archaean rocks."</ref><ref name="fisher-aravalli">{{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=83}}, " East of the lower Indus lay the inhospitable Rann of Kutch and Thar Desert. East of the upper Indus lay the more promising but narrow corridor between the Himalayan foothills on the north and the Thar Desert and Aravalli Mountains on the south. At the strategic choke point, just before reaching the fertile, well-watered Gangetic plain, sat Delhi. On this site, where life giving streams running off the most northern spur of the rocky Aravalli ridge flowed into the Jumna river, and where the war-horse and war-elephant trade intersected, a series of dynasties built fortified capitals."</ref>
The remaining Indian Plate survives as [[South India|peninsular India]], the oldest and geologically most stable part of India. It extends as far north as the [[Satpura Range|Satpura]] and [[Vindhya Range|Vindhya]] ranges in central India. These parallel chains run from the Arabian Sea coast in Gujarat in the west to the coal-rich [[Chota Nagpur Plateau]] in Jharkhand in the east.{{sfn|Dikshit |Schwartzberg|2023|p=8}} To the south, the remaining peninsular landmass, the [[Deccan Plateau]], is flanked on the west and east by coastal ranges known as the [[Western Ghats|Western]] and [[Eastern Ghats]];{{sfn|Dikshit |Schwartzberg|2023|pp=9–10}} the plateau contains the country's oldest rock formations, some over one billion years old. Constituted in such fashion, India lies to the north of the equator between 6° 44′ and 35° 30′ north latitude{{efn|The northernmost point under Indian control is the disputed [[Siachen Glacier]] in [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]]; however, the [[Government of India]] regards the entire region of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, including the [[Gilgit-Baltistan]] administered by Pakistan, to be its territory. It therefore assigns the latitude 37° 6′ to its northernmost point.}} and 68° 7′ and 97° 25′ east longitude.{{sfn|Ministry of Information and Broadcasting|2007|p = 1}}
India's coastline measures {{Convert|7517|km|mi|-2}} in length; of this distance, {{Convert|5423|km|mi|-2}} belong to peninsular India and {{Convert|2094|km|mi|-2}} to the Andaman, Nicobar, and Lakshadweep island chains.{{sfn|Kumar|Pathak|Pednekar|Raju|2006}} According to the Indian naval hydrographic charts, the [[Coastal India|mainland coastline]] consists of the following: 43% sandy beaches; 11% rocky shores, including cliffs; and 46% [[mudflat]]s or marshy shores.{{sfn|Kumar|Pathak|Pednekar|Raju|2006}} Major Himalayan-origin rivers that substantially flow through India include the [[Ganges]] and the [[Brahmaputra River|Brahmaputra]], both of which drain into the [[Bay of Bengal]].{{sfn|Dikshit|Schwartzberg|2023|p=15}}
Important tributaries of the Ganges include the [[Yamuna]] and the [[Kosi River|Kosi]]. The Kosi's extremely low gradient, caused by long-term silt deposition, leads to severe floods and course changes.{{sfn|Duff|1993|p = 353}}{{sfn|Basu|Xavier|2017|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=nXmLDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA78 78]}} Major peninsular rivers, whose steeper gradients prevent their waters from flooding, include the [[Godavari River|Godavari]], the [[Mahanadi River|Mahanadi]], the [[Kaveri River|Kaveri]], and the [[Krishna River|Krishna]], which also drain into the Bay of Bengal;{{sfn|Dikshit|Schwartzberg|2023|p=16}} and the [[Narmada River|Narmada]] and the [[Tapti River|Tapti]], which drain into the [[Arabian Sea]].{{sfn|Dikshit|Schwartzberg|2023|p=17}} Coastal features include the marshy [[Rann of Kutch]] of western India and the alluvial [[Sundarbans]] delta of eastern India; the latter is shared with Bangladesh.{{sfn|Dikshit|Schwartzberg|2023|p=12}} India has two [[archipelago]]s: the [[Lakshadweep]], [[Atoll|coral atolls]] off India's south-western coast; and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a volcanic chain in the [[Andaman Sea]].{{sfn|Dikshit|Schwartzberg|2023|p=13}}
=== Climate ===
[[File:Munnar 25-10-10 13-52-43-764.jpg|thumb|[[Munnar]] tea estates in [[Idukki district]], a major tea-growing area of the Western Ghats]]
The [[Climate of India|Indian climate]] is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar Desert, both of which drive the economically and culturally pivotal summer and winter [[monsoon]]s.{{sfn|Chang|1967|pp = 391–394}} The Himalayas prevent cold Central Asian [[katabatic wind]]s from blowing in, keeping the bulk of the Indian subcontinent warmer than most locations at similar latitudes.{{sfn|Posey|1994|p = 118}}{{sfn|Wolpert|2003|p = 4}} The Thar Desert plays a crucial role in attracting the moisture-laden south-west summer monsoon winds that, between June and October, provide the majority of India's rainfall.{{sfn|Chang|1967|pp = 391–394}}
Four major climatic groupings predominate in India: [[Climate of India#Tropical wet|tropical wet]], [[Climate of India#Arid and semi-arid regions|tropical dry]], [[Climate of India#Subtropical humid|subtropical humid]], and [[Climate of India#Mountain|montane]].{{sfn|Heitzman|Worden|1996|p=97}} Temperatures in India have risen by {{convert|0.7|C-change|1|abbr=on}} between 1901 and 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Vibha |date=15 June 2020 |title=Average temperature over India projected to rise by 4.4 degrees Celsius: Govt report on impact of climate change in country |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/average-temperature-over-india-projected-to-rise-by-4-4-degrees-celsius-govt-report-on-impact-of-climate-change-in-country-99583 |access-date=30 November 2020 |website=[[The Tribune]]}}</ref> [[Climate change in India]] is often thought to be the cause. The [[Retreat of glaciers since 1850|retreat of Himalayan glaciers]] has adversely affected the [[Volumetric flow rate|flow rate]] of the major Himalayan rivers, including the [[Ganges]] and the [[Brahmaputra]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sethi |first=Nitin |date=3 February 2007 |title=Global warming: Mumbai to face the heat |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/global-warming-mumbai-to-face-the-heat/articleshow/1556662.cms |access-date=11 March 2021 |website=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref> According to some current projections, the number and severity of droughts in India will have markedly increased by the end of the present century.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gupta |first1=Vivek |last2=Jain |first2=Manoj Kumar |year=2018 |title=Investigation of multi-model spatiotemporal mesoscale drought projections over India under climate change scenario |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002216941830773X |journal=[[Journal of Hydrology]] |volume=567 |pages=489–509 |bibcode=2018JHyd..567..489G |doi=10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.10.012 |issn=0022-1694 |s2cid=135053362|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
=== Biodiversity ===
{{Main|Forestry in India|Wildlife of India}}
[[File:Panthera tigris tigris Tidoba 20150306.jpg|thumb|right|India has the majority of the world's wild [[tiger]]s, approximately 3,170 in 2022.<ref>{{Citation |title=Reviving the Roar: India's Tiger Population Is On the Rise |date=13 April 2023 |url=https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/india-tiger-population-good-news |access-date=15 April 2023}}</ref>]]
[[File:Axis axis (Nagarhole, 2010).jpg|thumb|right|A [[chital]] (''Axis axis'') stag in the [[Nagarhole National Park]] in a region covered by a moderately dense{{efn|A forest cover is ''moderately dense'' if between 40% and 70% of its area is covered by its tree canopy.}} forest]]
[[File:Maharajah Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo with cheetah kill 1948 BNHS.jpg|thumb|right|Three of the last [[Asiatic cheetah]]s in India were shot dead in 1948 in [[Surguja district]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Central India]], by Maharajah [[Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo]]. The young male [[cheetah]]s, all from the same litter, were sitting together when they were shot at night.]]
India is a [[megadiverse country]], a term employed for 17 countries that display high [[biological diversity]] and contain many species exclusively [[indigenous (ecology)|indigenous]], or [[endemic]], to them.<ref>{{Citation |title=Megadiverse Countries |url=https://www.biodiversitya-z.org/content/megadiverse-countries |access-date=17 October 2021 |publisher=Biodiversity A–Z, [[World Conservation Monitoring Centre|UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre]]}}</ref> India is the [[habitat]] for 8.6% of all [[mammal]]s, 13.7% of [[bird]] species, 7.9% of [[reptile]] species, 6% of [[amphibian]] species, 12.2% of [[fish]] species, and 6.0% of all [[flowering plant]] species.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2012 |title=Animal Discoveries 2011: New Species and New Records |url=https://zsi.gov.in/right_menu/Animal_disc/Animal%20Discovery%202011.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116214754/https://zsi.gov.in/right_menu/Animal_disc/Animal%20Discovery%202011.pdf |archive-date=16 January 2013 |access-date=20 July 2012 |publisher=[[Zoological Survey of India]]}}</ref><ref name="Puri">{{Citation |last=Puri |first=S. K. |title=Biodiversity Profile of India |url=https://ces.iisc.ernet.in/hpg/cesmg/indiabio.html |work=ces.iisc.ernet.in |access-date=20 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111121153614/https://ces.iisc.ernet.in/hpg/cesmg/indiabio.html |archive-date=21 November 2011}}</ref> Fully a third of Indian plant species are endemic.{{sfn|Basak|1983|p = 24}} India also contains four of the world's 34 [[biodiversity hotspot]]s,<ref name="IUCN-India" /> or regions that display significant habitat loss in the presence of high endemism.{{efn|A biodiversity hotspot is a [[biogeography|biogeographical]] region which has more than 1,500 [[vascular plant]] species, but less than 30% of its primary habitat.<ref name="SivaperumanVenkataraman2018" />}}<ref name="SivaperumanVenkataraman2018">{{Citation |last1=Venkataraman |first1=Krishnamoorthy |title=Indian Hotspots: Vertebrate Faunal Diversity, Conservation and Management |page=5 |year=2018 |editor-last=Sivaperuman, Chandrakasan |chapter=Biodiversity Hotspots in India |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8kFKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 |publisher=[[Springer Publishing|Springer]] |isbn=978-981-10-6605-4 |last2=Sivaperuman |first2=Chandrakasan |editor2-last=Venkataraman, Krishnamoorthy}}</ref>
India's most dense forests, such as the [[tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest|tropical moist forest]] of the [[Andaman Islands]], the [[Western Ghats]], and [[Northeast India]], occupy approximately 3% of its land area.<ref name="Jha2018">{{Citation |last=Jha |first=Raghbendra |title=Facets of India's Economy and Her Society Volume II: Current State and Future Prospects |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9n9SDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA198 |page=198 |year=2018 |publisher=[[Springer Publishing|Springer]] |isbn=978-1-349-95342-4}}</ref><ref name="indiaforest">{{Cite web |title=Forest Cover in States/UTs in India in 2019 |url=https://www.frienvis.nic.in/Database/Forest-Cover-in-States-UTs-2019_2478.aspx |access-date=16 October 2021 |publisher=[[Forest Research Institute (India)|Forest Research Institute]] via [[National Informatics Centre]]}}</ref> ''Moderately dense forest'', whose canopy density is between 40% and 70%, occupies 9.39% of India's land area.<ref name="Jha2018" /><ref name="indiaforest" /> It predominates in the [[temperate coniferous forest]] of the [[Himalaya]]s, the moist deciduous ''[[Shorea robusta|sal]]'' forest of eastern India, and the dry deciduous [[teak]] forest of central and southern India.{{sfn|Tritsch|2001|pp=11–12}} India has two natural zones of [[deserts and xeric shrublands|thorn forest]], one in the [[Deccan Plateau]], immediately east of the Western Ghats, and the other in the western part of the Indo-Gangetic plain, now turned into rich agricultural land by irrigation, its features no longer visible.{{sfn|Tritsch|2001|p=12|ps=India has two natural zones of thorn forest, one in the rain shadow area of the Deccan Plateau east of the Western Ghats, and the other in the western part of the Indo-Gangetic plain. Growth is limited only by moisture availability in these areas, so with irrigation the fertile alluvial soil of Punjab and Haryana has been turned into India's prime agricultural area. Much of the thorn forest covering the plains probably had savannah-like features now no longer visible.}} Among the Indian subcontinent's notable indigenous trees are the [[astringent]] ''[[Azadirachta indica]]'', or ''neem'', which is widely used in rural Indian [[herbal medicine]],<ref name="Goyal2006">{{Citation |last=Goyal |first=Anupam |title=The WTO and International Environmental Law: Towards Conciliation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UTGQAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA295 |page=295 |year=2006 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-567710-2}} Quote: "The Indian government successfully argued that the medicinal ''neem'' tree is part of traditional Indian knowledge. (page 295)"</ref> and the luxuriant ''[[Ficus religiosa]]'', or ''peepul'',<ref name="Hughes2013">{{Citation |last=Hughes |first=Julie E. |title=Animal Kingdoms |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RL8qWNmpkc0C&pg=PT106 |page=106 |year=2013 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |isbn=978-0-674-07480-4 |quote=At same time, the leafy pipal trees and comparative abundance that marked the Mewari landscape fostered refinements unattainable in other lands.}}</ref> which is displayed on the ancient seals of [[Mohenjo-daro]],<ref name="AmeriCostello2018">{{Citation |last=Ameri |first=Marta |title=Seals and Sealing in the Ancient World: Case Studies from the Near East, Egypt, the Aegean, and South Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SklVDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA156 |pages=156–157 |year=2018 |editor-last=Ameri |editor-first=Marta |chapter=Letting the Pictures Speak: An Image-Based Approach to the Mythological and Narrative Imagery of the Harappan World |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-108-17351-3 |editor2-last=Costello |editor2-first=Sarah Kielt |editor3-last=Jamison |editor3-first=Gregg |editor4-last=Scott |editor4-first=Sarah Jarmer}} Quote: "The last of the centaurs has the long, wavy, horizontal horns of a markhor, a human face, a heavy-set body that appears bovine, and a goat tail ... This figure is often depicted by itself, but it is also consistently represented in scenes that seem to reflect the adoration of a figure in a pipal tree or arbour and which may be termed ritual. These include fully detailed scenes like that visible in the large 'divine adoration' seal from Mohenjo-daro."</ref> and under which [[Gautama Buddha|the Buddha]] is recorded in the [[Pāli Canon|Pali canon]] to have sought enlightenment.<ref name="Gwynne2011">{{Citation |last=Paul Gwynne |title=World Religions in Practice: A Comparative Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tdsRKc_knZoC&pg=RA5-PT195 |page=358 |year=2011 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |isbn=978-1-4443-6005-9 |quote=The tree under which Sakyamuni became the Buddha is a peepal tree (''[[Ficus religiosa]]'').}}</ref>
Many Indian species have descended from those of [[Gondwana]], the southern [[supercontinent]] from which India separated more than 100 million years ago.{{sfn|Crame|Owen|2002|p = 142}} India's subsequent collision with Eurasia set off a mass exchange of species. However, [[Deccan Traps|volcanism]] and [[Climate variability and change|climatic changes]] later caused the extinction of many endemic Indian forms.{{sfn|Karanth|2006}} Still later, mammals entered India from Asia through two [[Zoogeography|zoogeographic]] passes flanking the Himalayas.{{sfn|Tritsch|2001|p=14}} This lowered endemism among India's mammals, which stands at 12.6%, contrasting with 45.8% among reptiles and 55.8% among amphibians.<ref name="Puri" /> Among endemics are the vulnerable<ref>{{cite iucn |author=Singh, M. |author2=Kumar, A. |author3=Molur, S. |year=2008 |title=''Semnopithecus johnii'' |volume=2008 |article-number=e.T44694A10927987 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T44694A10927987.en |access-date=26 April 2025}}</ref> [[Nilgiri Langur|hooded leaf monkey]]<ref name="itis">{{Cite web |last=Fischer |first=Johann |author-link=Johann Baptist Fischer |title=Semnopithecus johnii |url=https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=944270#null |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829072131/https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=944270#null |archive-date=29 August 2018 |access-date=27 August 2018 |publisher=[[ITIS]]}}</ref> and the threatened [[Duttaphrynus beddomii|Beddome's toad]]<ref name="IUCN">{{cite iucn |author=Biju, S.D. |author2=Dutta, S. |author3=Ravichandran, M.S. |author4=Vasudevan, K. |author5=Vijayakumar, S.P. |author6=Srinivasulu, C. |author7=Dasaramji Buddhe, G. |year=2004 |errata=2016 |title=''Duttaphrynus beddomii'' |volume=2004 |article-number=e.T54584A86543952 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T54584A11155448.en |access-date=26 April 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Frost, Darrel R. |year=2015 |title=''Duttaphrynus beddomii'' (Günther, 1876) |url=https://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Anura/Bufonidae/Duttaphrynus/Duttaphrynus-beddomii |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721092639/https://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Anura/Bufonidae/Duttaphrynus/Duttaphrynus-beddomii |archive-date=21 July 2015 |access-date=13 September 2015 |website=Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0 |publisher=[[American Museum of Natural History]]}}</ref> of the Western Ghats.
India contains 172 [[World Conservation Union|IUCN]]-designated [[List of endangered animals in India|threatened animal species]], or 2.9% of endangered forms.{{sfn|Mace|1994|p = 4}} These include the endangered [[Bengal tiger]] and the [[South Asian river dolphin|Ganges river dolphin]]. [[Critically endangered]] species include the [[gharial]], a [[crocodilian]]; the [[great Indian bustard]]; and the [[White-rumped vulture|Indian white-rumped vulture]], which has become nearly extinct by having ingested the carrion of [[diclofenac]]-treated cattle.<ref name="LovetteFitzpatrick2016">{{Citation |last1=Lovette |first1=Irby J. |title=Handbook of Bird Biology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OGyQDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA599 |page=599 |year=2016 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |isbn=978-1-118-29105-4 |last2=Fitzpatrick |first2=John W.}}</ref> Before they were extensively used for agriculture and cleared for human settlement, the thorn forests of Punjab were mingled at intervals with open grasslands that were grazed by large herds of [[Blackbuck Conservation Area|blackbuck]] preyed on by the [[Asiatic cheetah]]; the blackbuck, no longer extant in Punjab, is now severely endangered in India, and the cheetah is extinct.{{sfn|Tritsch|2001|p=15|ps=Before it was so heavily settled and intensively exploited, the Punjab was dominated by thorn forest interspersed by rolling grasslands which were grazed on by millions of Blackbuck, accompanied by their dominant predator, the Cheetah. Always keen hunters, the Moghul princes kept tame cheetahs which were used to chase and bring down the Blackbuck. Today the Cheetah is extinct in India and the severely endangered Blackbuck no longer exists in the Punjab.}} The pervasive and ecologically devastating human encroachment of recent decades has critically endangered Indian wildlife. In response, the system of [[National parks of India|national parks]] and [[protected areas of India|protected areas]], first established in 1935, was expanded substantially. In 1972, India enacted the [[Wildlife Protection Act of 1972|Wildlife Protection Act]]{{sfn|Ministry of Environment and Forests 1972}} and [[Project Tiger]] to safeguard crucial wilderness; the Forest Conservation Act was enacted in 1980 and amendments added in 1988.{{sfn|Department of Environment and Forests|1988}} India hosts [[Wildlife sanctuaries of India|more than five hundred wildlife sanctuaries]] and [[Biosphere reserves of India|eighteen{{Nbsp}}biosphere reserves]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Biosphere |url=https://moef.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/biosphere.pdf |access-date=28 June 2023}}</ref> four of which are part of the [[World Network of Biosphere Reserves]]; its [[List of Ramsar sites in India|eighty-nine wetlands]] are registered under the [[Ramsar Convention]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Annotated List of Wetlands of International Importance {{!}} India |url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/sites/default/files/rsiswp_search/exports/Ramsar-Sites-annotated-summary-India.pdf |website=rsis.ramsar.org |publisher=Ramsar Sites Information Service |access-date=16 April 2025}}</ref>
== Government and politics ==
=== Politics ===
{{Main|Politics of India}}
{{See also|Democracy in India}}
[[File:Rajagopal speaking to 25,000 people, Janadesh 2007, India.jpg|thumb|right|As part of [[Janadesh 2007]], 25,000 pro–[[land reform in India|land reform]] [[landless]] people in [[Madhya Pradesh]] listen to [[Rajagopal P. V.]]<ref name="Johnston2019">{{Citation |last=Johnston |first=Hank |title=Social Movements, Nonviolent Resistance, and the State |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hSiFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT83 |page=83 |year=2019 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-429-88566-2}}</ref>]]
[[File:Barack Obama at Parliament of India in New Delhi addressing Joint session of both houses 2010.jpg|thumb|right|US president [[Barack Obama]] addresses [[Member of Parliament (India)|the members]] of the [[Parliament of India]] in [[New Delhi]] in November 2010.]]
India is a [[parliamentary republic]] with a [[multi-party system]].{{sfn|Burnell|Calvert|1999|p = 125}} It has six{{Nbsp}}recognised [[List of political parties in India#National parties|national parties]], including the [[Indian National Congress]] (INC) and the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP), and over 50{{Nbsp}}[[List of political parties in India#State parties|regional parties]].{{sfn|Election Commission of India}} Congress is considered the [[Centrism|ideological centre]] in Indian [[political culture]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sáez |first1=Lawrence |last2=Sinha |first2=Aseema |year=2010 |title=Political cycles, political institutions and public expenditure in India, 1980–2000 |journal=[[British Journal of Political Science]] |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=91–113 |doi=10.1017/s0007123409990226 |s2cid=154767259|issn = 0007-1234 }}</ref> whereas the BJP is [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]] to [[Far-right politics|far-right]].{{sfn|Malik|Singh|1992|pp=318–336}}{{sfn|Banerjee|2005|p=3118}}<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Davies |first1=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1-iXGKN1AK4C&q=%22Bharatiya+Janata+Party%22%22far-right%22 |title=The Routledge Companion to Fascism and the Far Right |last2=Lynch |first2=Derek |date=16 August 2005 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-60952-9 |page=103 |language=en}}</ref> From 1950 to the late 1980s, Congress held a majority in [[Parliament of India|India's parliament]]. Afterwards, it increasingly shared power with the BJP,{{sfn|Sarkar|2007|p=84}} as well as with powerful regional parties, which forced multi-party [[coalition government]]s at the centre.{{sfn|Chander|2004|p=117}}
In the general elections in [[1951 Indian general election|1951]], [[1957 Indian general election|1957]], and [[1962 Indian general election|1962]], Congress, led by [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], won easy victories. On Nehru's death in 1964, [[Lal Bahadur Shastri]] briefly became prime minister; he was succeeded in 1966, by Nehru's daughter [[Indira Gandhi]], who led the Congress to election victories in [[1967 Indian general election|1967]] and [[1971 Indian general election|1971]]. Following public discontent with the [[The Emergency (India)|state of emergency]] Indira Gandhi had declared in 1975, Congress was voted out of power in [[1977 Indian general election|1977]]; [[Janata Party]], which had opposed the emergency, was voted in. Its government lasted two years; [[Morarji Desai]] and [[Charan Singh]] served as prime ministers. After Congress was returned to power in 1980, Indira Gandhi was [[Assassination of Indira Gandhi|assassinated]] and succeeded by [[Rajiv Gandhi]], who won comfortably in the elections [[1984 Indian general election|later that year]]. A [[National Front (India)|National Front]] coalition led by the [[Janata Dal]] in alliance with the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)|Left Front]] won the [[1989 Indian general election|1989 elections]], with the subsequent government lasting just under two years, and [[V.P. Singh]] and [[Chandra Shekhar]] serving as prime ministers.{{sfn|Bhambhri|1992|pp=118, 143}} In the [[1991 Indian general election]], Congress, as the largest single party, formed a [[minority government]] led by [[P. V. Narasimha Rao]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 December 2004 |title=Narasimha Rao Passes Away |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=https://www.hindu.com/2004/12/24/stories/2004122408870100.htm |access-date=2 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213181659/https://www.hindu.com/2004/12/24/stories/2004122408870100.htm |archive-date=13 February 2009}}</ref>
After the [[1996 Indian general election]], the BJP formed a government briefly; it was followed by [[United Front (India, 1996)|United Front]] coalitions, which depended on external political support. Two prime ministers served during this period: [[H.D. Deve Gowda]] and [[I.K. Gujral]]. In [[1998 Indian general election|1998]], the BJP formed a coalition—the [[National Democratic Alliance]] (NDA). Led by [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]], the NDA became the first non-Congress, [[coalition government]] to complete a five-year term.{{sfn|Dunleavy|Diwakar|Dunleavy|2007}} In the [[2004 Indian general election]]s, no party won an absolute majority. Still, the Congress emerged as the largest single party, forming another successful coalition: the [[United Progressive Alliance]] (UPA). It had the support of [[Left-wing politics|left-leaning]] parties and MPs who opposed the BJP. The UPA returned to power in the [[2009 Indian general election|2009 general election]] with increased numbers, and it no longer required external support from [[List of Communist Parties in India|India's communist parties]].{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|p = 384}} [[Manmohan Singh]] became the first prime minister since [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] in [[1957 Indian general election|1957]] and [[1962 Indian general election|1962]] to be re-elected to a consecutive five-year term.{{sfn|Business Standard|2009}} In the [[2014 Indian general election|2014 general election]], the BJP became the first political party since 1984 to win an absolute majority.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 May 2014 |title=BJP first party since 1984 to win parliamentary majority on its own |work=[[Daily News and Analysis|DNA]] |agency=Indo-Asian News Service |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-bjp-first-party-since-1984-to-win-parliamentary-majority-on-its-own-1988981 |access-date=20 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140521032413/https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-bjp-first-party-since-1984-to-win-parliamentary-majority-on-its-own-1988981 |archive-date=21 May 2014}}</ref> In the [[2019 Indian general election|2019 general election]], the BJP regained an absolute majority. In the [[2024 Indian general election|2024 general election]], a BJP-led NDA coalition [[Third Modi ministry|formed the government]]. [[Narendra Modi]], a former [[Chief minister (India)|chief minister]] of [[Gujarat]], is in his third term as the prime minister of India and has served in the position since 26 May 2014.<ref>{{cite web|title=Modi Wins 3rd Term in India Election With Closer Results Than Expected|work=The New York Times|date=4 June 2024|last=Mashal|first=Mujib|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/04/world/asia/modi-india-election.html}}</ref>
=== Government ===
{{Main|Government of India}}
{{See also|Constitution of India}}
{{multiple image|perrow=1|total_width=220|image_style = border:none;| align = right|image1=Rashtrapati Bhavan Wide New Delhi India.jpg|caption1=[[Rashtrapati Bhavan]], the official residence of the [[President of India]], was designed by British architects [[Edwin Lutyens]] and [[Herbert Baker]] for the [[Viceroy of India]], and constructed between 1911 and 1931 during the [[British Raj]].<ref name="Bremner2016">{{Citation |last=Bremner |first=G. A. |title=Architecture and Urbanism in the British Empire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mjRADQAAQBAJ&pg=PA117 |page=117 |year=2016 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-102232-6}}</ref>}}
India is a [[federation]] with a [[parliamentary system]] governed under the [[Constitution of India]]. [[Federalism in India]] defines the power distribution between the union and the [[States and territories of India|states]]. India's form of government, traditionally described as "quasi-federal" with a strong centre and weak states,{{sfn|Wheare|1980|p = 28}} has grown increasingly federal since the late 1990s as a result of political, economic, and social changes.{{sfn|Echeverri-Gent|2002|pp = 19–20}}{{sfn|Sinha|2004|p = 25}}
The Government of India comprises three branches: the [[Executive (government)|Executive]], [[Legislature]], and [[Judiciary]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Constitution of India |url=https://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/COI-updated-as-31072018.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416044642/https://www.legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/COI-updated-as-31072018.pdf |archive-date=16 April 2019 |access-date=16 July 2016 |website=legislature.gov.in}}</ref> The [[President of India]] is the ceremonial [[head of state]],{{sfn|Sharma|2007|p = 31}} who is elected indirectly for a five-year term by an [[Electoral College (India)|electoral college]] comprising members of national and state legislatures.{{sfn|Sharma|2007|p = 138}}{{sfn|Gledhill|1970|p = 112}} The [[Prime Minister of India]] is the [[head of government]] and exercises most [[executive (government)|executive power]].{{sfn|Sharma|1950}} Appointed by the president,{{sfn|Sharma|2007|p = 162}} the prime minister is supported by the [[political party|party]] or [[political alliance]] with a majority of seats in the lower house of parliament.{{sfn|Sharma|1950}} The executive of the Indian government consists of the president, the [[Vice President of India|vice-president]], and the [[Union Council of Ministers]]—with the [[Cabinet (government)|cabinet]] being its executive committee—headed by the prime minister. Any minister holding a portfolio must be a member of one of the houses of parliament.{{sfn|Sharma|2007|p = 31}} In the Indian parliamentary system, the executive is subordinate to the legislature; the prime minister and their council are directly responsible to the lower house of the parliament. [[Civil Services of India|Civil servants]] act as permanent executives and all decisions of the [[Executive (government)|executive]] are implemented by them.{{sfn|Mathew|2003|p = 524}}
The legislature of India is the [[bicameralism|bicameral]] [[Parliament of India|parliament]]. Operating under a [[Westminster system|Westminster-style]] parliamentary system, it comprises an upper house called the [[Rajya Sabha]] (Council of States) and a lower house called the [[Lok Sabha]] (House of the People).{{sfn|Gledhill|1970|p = 127}} The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body of 245{{Nbsp}}members who serve staggered six-year terms with elections every 2 years.{{sfn|Sharma|2007|p = 161}} Most are elected indirectly by the [[States and union territories of India|state and union territorial]] legislatures in numbers proportional to their state's share of the national population.{{sfn|Sharma|2007|p = 162}} The Lok Sabha's 543{{Nbsp}}members are elected directly by popular vote among citizens aged at least 18;{{sfn|Madhavan|2024|pp=17–18}} they represent [[Single-member constituency|single-member constituencies]] for five-year{{Nbsp}}terms.{{sfn|Sharma|2007|p = 143}} Several seats from each state are reserved for candidates from [[Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes]] in proportion to their population within that state.{{sfn|Madhavan|2024|pp=17–18}}
India has a three-tier{{Nbsp}}unitary [[Judicial independence|independent judiciary]]{{sfn|Neuborne|2003|p = 478}} comprising the [[Supreme Court of India|supreme court]], headed by the [[Chief Justice of India]], 25{{Nbsp}}[[High courts of India|high courts]], and a large number of trial courts.{{sfn|Neuborne|2003|p = 478}} The supreme court has [[original jurisdiction]] over cases involving [[Fundamental rights in India|fundamental rights]] and over disputes between states and the centre and has [[appellate jurisdiction]] over the high courts.{{sfn|Sharma|2007|pp = 238, 255}} It has the power to both strike down union or state laws which contravene the constitution{{sfn|Sripati|1998|pp=423–424}} and invalidate any government action it deems unconstitutional.{{sfn|Pylee|2003b|p = 314}}
=== Administrative divisions ===
{{Main|Administrative divisions of India}}
{{See also|Political integration of India}}
{{Indian states and territories image map|image-width=200}}
India is a federal union comprising 28 [[States and union territories of India|states]] and 8 [[Union territory|union territories]].{{sfn|Library of Congress|2004}} All states, as well as the union territories of [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]] and the [[Delhi|National Capital Territory of Delhi]], have elected legislatures and governments following the [[Westminster system]]. The remaining five union territories are directly ruled by the central government through appointed administrators. In 1956, under the [[States Reorganisation Act, 1956|States Reorganisation Act]], states were reorganised on a linguistic basis.{{sfn|Sharma|2007|p = 49}} There are over a quarter of a million local government bodies at city, town, block, district and village levels.<ref>{{Cite web |title=India |url=https://www.clgf.org.uk/regions/clgf-asia/india/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715203036/https://www.clgf.org.uk/regions/clgf-asia/india/ |archive-date=15 July 2019 |access-date=7 September 2019 |website=[[Commonwealth Local Government Forum]]}}</ref>
==== States ====
{{columns-list |colwidth=18em|
* [[Andhra Pradesh]]
* [[Arunachal Pradesh]]
* [[Assam]]
* [[Bihar]]
* [[Chhattisgarh]]
* [[Goa]]
* [[Gujarat]]
* [[Haryana]]
* [[Himachal Pradesh]]
* [[Jharkhand]]
* [[Karnataka]]
* [[Kerala]]
* [[Madhya Pradesh]]
* [[Maharashtra]]
* [[Manipur]]
* [[Meghalaya]]
* [[Mizoram]]
* [[Nagaland]]
* [[Odisha]]<!--Do not change this per [[WP:COMMONNAME]].-->
* [[Punjab, India|Punjab]]
* [[Rajasthan]]
* [[Sikkim]]
* [[Tamil Nadu]]
* [[Telangana]]
* [[Tripura]]
* [[Uttar Pradesh]]
* [[Uttarakhand]]
* [[West Bengal]]
}}
==== Union territories ====
{{columns-list |colwidth=18em|
* [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]]
* [[Chandigarh]]
* [[Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu]]
* [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]]
* [[Ladakh]]
* [[Lakshadweep]]
* [[Delhi|National Capital Territory of Delhi]]
* [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]]
}}
=== Foreign relations ===
{{Main|Foreign relations of India}}
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru, Nasser and Tito at the Conference of Non-Aligned Nations held in Belgrade.jpg|thumb|In the 1950s and 60s, India played a pivotal role in the [[Non-Aligned Movement]].<ref name="Dinkel2018">{{Cite book |last=Dinkel |first=Jürgen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YqOODwAAQBAJ |title=The Non-Aligned Movement: Genesis, Organization and Politics (1927–1992) |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |year=2018 |isbn=978-90-04-33613-1 |pages=92–93}}</ref> From left to right: [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] of [[United Arab Republic]] (now Egypt), [[Josip Broz Tito]] of [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] and [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] in Belgrade, September 1961.]]
India became a republic in 1950, remaining a member of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]].<ref name="storm-india-commonwealth">{{cite book|last = Storm| first = Eric|title=Nationalism: A World History|year=2024|isbn=978-0-691-23309-3|lccn=2024015293|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YfEIEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA234|publisher=Princeton University Press|quote=The whole constellation changed when India and Pakistan gained independence as dominions, which was a solution that made possible a speedier withdrawal of the British. In the end, India decided to become a republic, although the leadership preferred to remain within the Commonwealth.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=26 April 1949 |title=The London Declaration |url=http://www.thecommonwealth.org/document/181889/34293/35468/214257/londondeclaration.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706045924/http://www.thecommonwealth.org/document/181889/34293/35468/214257/londondeclaration.htm |archive-date=6 July 2010 |access-date=4 July 2013 |publisher=Commonwealth of Nations}}</ref> India strongly supported decolonisation in Africa and Asia in the 1950s; it played a leading role in the Non-Aligned Movement.{{sfn|Rothermund|2000|pp = 48, 227}} After initially cordial relations, India suffered a humiliating military defeat to China in a [[Sino-Indian War|1962 war]].<ref name=62-humiliation>(a) {{citation|last=Guyot-Rechard|first=Berenice |title=Shadow States: India, China and the Himalayas, 1910–1962|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=235|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FbktDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA235|year=2017|isbn=978-1-107-17679-9|quote= By invading NEFA, the PRC did not just aim to force a humiliated India to recognise its possession of the Aksai Chin. It also hoped to get, once and for all, the upper hand in their shadowing competition. }}
<br />(b) {{citation|last=Chubb|first=Andrew|chapter=The Sino-Indian Border Crisis: Chinese Perceptions of Indian Nationalism|title=Crisis|editor1-last=Golley|editor1-first=Jane|editor2-last=Jaivan|editor2-first=Linda|editor3-last=Strange|editor3-first=Sharon|publisher=Australian National University Press|year=2021|pages=231–232|isbn=978-1-76046-439-4|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D1crEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA230|quote=The ensuing cycle of escalation culminated in the 1962 Sino-Indian border war in which Mao Zedong's troops overran almost the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern sector before unilaterally withdrawing, as if to underline the insult; most of the war's several thousand casualties were Indian. The PLA's decisive victories in the 1962 war not only humiliated the Indian Army, they also entrenched a status quo in Ladakh that was highly unfavourable for India, in which China controls almost all of the disputed territory. A nationalistic press and commentariat have kept 1962 vivid in India's popular consciousness.}}
<br />(c) {{citation|last=Lintner|first=Bertil|title=China's India War: Collision Course on the Roof of the World|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2018|isbn=978-0-19-909163-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-L9DDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT106|quote=Lin Biao was put in charge of the operation and that alliance between Mao and his loyal de facto chief of the PLA made the attack on India possible. With China's ultimate victory in the war, Mao's ultra-leftist line had won in China; whatever critical voices that were left in the Party after all the purges fell silent.}}
<br />(d) {{citation|last=Medcalf|first=Rory|title=Indo-Pacific Empire: China, America and the contest for the world's pivotal|publisher=Manchester University Press|year=2020|isbn=978-1-5261-5077-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RCjXDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT81|quote=From an Indian perspective, the China-India war of 1962 was a shocking betrayal of the principles of co-operation and coexistence: a surprise attack that humiliated India and personally broke Nehru.}}
<br />(e) {{citation|last=Ganguly|first=Sumit|title=The Crisis in Kashmir: Portents of War, Hope of Peace|publisher=Woodrow Wilson Center Press and Cambridge University Press|year=1997|page=44 |isbn=978-0-521-65566-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fi66mjIqR1IC&pg=PA44|quote=In October 1962 India suffered the most humiliating military debacle in its post-independence history, at the hands of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). The outcome of this conflict had far-reaching consequences for Indian foreign and defence policies. The harsh defeat that the Chinese PLA had inflicted on the Indian Army called into question some of the most deeply held precepts of Nehru's foreign and defence policies.}}
<br />(f) {{citation|last=Raghavan|first=Srinath|chapter=A Missed Opportunity? The Nehru-Zhou Enlai Summit of 1960|title=India and the Cold War|editor-last=Bhagavan|editor-first=Manu|publisher=University of North Carolina Press |page=121|year=2019|isbn=978-1-4696-5117-0|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h-yoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA121|quote=The 'forward policy' adopted by India to prevent the Chinese from occupying territory claimed by them was undertaken in the mistaken belief that Beijing would be cautious in dealing with India owing to Moscow's stance on the dispute and its growing proximity to India. These misjudgments would eventually culminate in India's humiliating defeat in the war of October–November 1962.}}</ref> Another [[Nathu La and Cho La clashes|military conflict followed in 1967]] in which India successfully repelled a Chinese attack.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brahma Chellaney |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZCmFAAAAMAAJ |title=Asian Juggernaut: The Rise of China, India, and Japan |date=2006 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |isbn=978-81-7223-650-2 |page=195 |language=en |quote=Indeed, Beijing's acknowledgement of Indian control over Sikkim seems limited to the purpose of facilitating trade through the vertiginous Nathu-la Pass, the scene of bloody artillery duels in September 1967 when Indian troops beat back attacking Chinese forces. |author-link=Brahma Chellaney}}</ref>
India has had [[Indo-Pakistani relations|uneasy relations with its western neighbour, Pakistan]]. The two countries went to war in [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947|1947]], [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965|1965]], [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971|1971]], and [[Kargil War|1999]]. Three of these wars were fought over the [[Kashmir conflict|disputed territory of Kashmir]]. In contrast, the 1971 war followed India's support for the [[Bangladesh Liberation War|independence of Bangladesh]].{{sfn|Gilbert|2002|pp = 486–487}} After the 1965 war with Pakistan, India began to pursue close military and economic [[India-Soviet Union relations|ties with the Soviet Union]]. By the late 1960s, the Soviet Union was its largest arms supplier.{{sfn|Sharma|1999|p=56}} India has played a key role in the [[South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation]] and the [[World Trade Organization]]. The nation has supplied 100,000 [[Indian Armed Forces|military]] and [[Law enforcement in India|police]] personnel in 35 [[United Nations peacekeeping|UN peacekeeping operations]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2025}}
China's [[596 (nuclear test)|nuclear test of 1964]] and threats to intervene in support of Pakistan in the 1965 war caused India to produce nuclear weapons.{{sfn|Perkovich|2001|pp = 60–86, 106–125}} India conducted its [[Smiling Buddha|first nuclear weapons test]] in 1974 and carried out [[Pokhran-II|additional underground testing]] in 1998. India has signed neither the [[Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty]] nor the [[Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty]], considering both to be flawed and discriminatory.{{sfn|Kumar|2010}} India maintains a "[[no first use]]" nuclear policy and is developing a [[nuclear triad]] capability as a part of its "[[Minimum Credible Deterrence]]" doctrine.{{sfn|Nair|2007}}{{sfn|Pandit|2009}}
Since the end of the [[Cold War]], India has increased its economic, strategic, and military cooperation with the [[India–United States relations|United States]] and the [[India–European Union relations|European Union]].{{sfn|European Union 2008}} In 2008, a [[U.S.–India Civil Nuclear Agreement|civilian nuclear agreement]] was signed between India and the United States. Although India possessed nuclear weapons at the time and was not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it received waivers from the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] and the [[Nuclear Suppliers Group]], ending earlier restrictions on India's nuclear technology and commerce; India subsequently signed co-operation agreements involving [[Nuclear power in India|civilian nuclear energy]] with Russia,{{sfn|British Broadcasting Corporation 2009}} France,{{sfn|Rediff 2008 a}} the [[India–United Kingdom relations|United Kingdom]],{{sfn|Reuters|2010}} and [[Canada–India relations|Canada]].{{sfn|Curry|2010}}
=== Military ===
{{Main|Indian Armed Forces}}
[[File:Indian Air Force contingent as a part of the Bastille Day Parade of France, in Paris on July 14, 2009.jpg|thumb|The [[Indian Air Force]] contingent marching at the 221st [[Bastille Day military parade]] in Paris, July 2009. The parade at which India was the foreign guest was led by India's oldest regiment, the [[Maratha Light Infantry]], founded in 1768.<ref name="guardian-muir-diary-maratha">{{Citation |last=Muir |first=Hugh |title=Diary |date=13 July 2009 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/jul/14/bbc-peter-salmon-trevor-mcdonald |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=17 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019165743/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/jul/14/bbc-peter-salmon-trevor-mcdonald |quote="Members of the Indian armed forces have the plum job of leading off the great morning parade for Bastille Day. Only after units and bands from India's navy and air force have followed the Maratha Light Infantry will the parade be entirely given over to ... France's armed services." |archive-date=19 October 2014}}</ref>]]
The President of India is the supreme commander of the nation's armed forces. With 1.45 million active troops, they are the [[List of countries by number of troops|world's second-largest military]]. It comprises the [[Indian Army]], the [[Indian Navy]], the [[Indian Air Force]], and the [[Indian Coast Guard]].{{sfn|Central Intelligence Agency}} The official Indian [[List of countries by military expenditures|defence budget]] for 2011 was US$36.03 billion, or 1.83% of GDP.{{sfn|Behera|2011}} Defence expenditure was pegged at US$70.12 billion for fiscal year 2022–23 and, increased 9.8% on the previous fiscal year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ministry wise Summary of Budget Provisions, 2022–23 |url=https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/eb/sumsbe.pdf |access-date=3 February 2022 |website=Ministry of Finance, Government of India}}</ref>{{sfn|Pandit|2022}} India is the world's second-largest arms importer; between 2016 and 2020, it accounted for 9.5% of the total global arms imports.{{sfn|Pandit|2021}} Much of the military expenditure was focused on defence against Pakistan and countering growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean.{{sfn|Miglani|2011}}
{{Clear}}
== Economy ==
{{Main|Economy of India}}
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| caption1 = In 2019, 43% of India's total workforce was employed in agriculture.<ref name="worldbank-ilo-total-agriculture">{{Citation |title=Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS?most_recent_value_desc=false&view=map |work=[[The World Bank]] |year=2019 |access-date=26 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822193854/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS%3Fmost_recent_value_desc%3Dfalse%26view%3Dmap |url-status=live |archive-date=22 August 2019}}</ref>
| image3 = Women at work, Gujarat (cropped).jpg
| caption3 = 55% of India's female workforce was employed in agriculture in 2019.<ref name="worldbank-ilo-female-agriculture">{{Citation |title=Employment in agriculture, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate) |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.AGR.EMPL.FE.ZS?most_recent_value_desc=false&view=map |work=[[The World Bank]] |year=2019 |access-date=26 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822193855/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.AGR.EMPL.FE.ZS%3Fmost_recent_value_desc%3Dfalse%26view%3Dmap |url-status=live |archive-date=22 August 2019}}</ref>
| image2 = ILRI, Stevie Mann - Villager and calf share milk from cow in Rajasthan, India.jpg
| caption2 = India is the [[List of countries by milk production|world's largest producer of milk]], with the largest population of cattle. In 2018, nearly 80% of India's milk was sourced from small farms with herd size between one and two, the milk harvested by hand milking.<ref name="milk-sourcing">{{Citation |last=Kapoor |first=Rana |title=Growth in organised dairy sector, a boost for rural livelihood |date=27 October 2015 |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/growth-in-organised-dairy-sector-a-boost-for-rural-livelihood/article7810689.ece# |work=[[Business Line]] |access-date=26 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720215652/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/growth-in-organised-dairy-sector-a-boost-for-rural-livelihood/article7810689.ece |url-status=live |quote="Nearly 80 per cent of India's milk production is contributed by small and marginal farmers, with an average herd size of one to two milching animals." |archive-date=20 July 2019}}</ref>
}}
According to the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF), the Indian economy in 2024 was nominally worth $3.94 trillion; it is the [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|fifth-largest economy]] by market exchange rates and is, at around $15.0 trillion, the [[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|third-largest]] by [[purchasing power parity]] (PPP).<ref name="IMFWEO.IN" /> With its average annual GDP growth rate of 5.8% over the past two decades, and reaching 6.1% during 2011–2012,{{sfn|International Monetary Fund 2011|p = 2}} India is one of the [[List of countries by real GDP growth rate|world's fastest-growing economies]].{{sfn|Nayak|Goldar|Agrawal|2010|p = xxv}} However, due to its low GDP per capita—which ranks 136th in the world in nominal per capita income and 125th in per capita income adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP)—the vast majority of Indians fall into the low-income group.{{sfn|International Monetary Fund}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kochhar |first=Rakesh |date=18 March 2021 |title=In the pandemic, India's middle class shrinks and poverty spreads while China sees smaller changes |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/03/18/in-the-pandemic-indias-middle-class-shrinks-and-poverty-spreads-while-china-sees-smaller-changes/ |access-date=22 October 2024 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref>
Until 1991, all Indian governments followed [[protectionism|protectionist]] policies that were influenced by socialist economics. Widespread [[Licence Raj|state intervention and regulation]] largely walled the economy off from the outside world. An acute [[1991 Indian economic crisis|balance of payments crisis in 1991]] forced the nation to [[Economic liberalisation in India|liberalise its economy]];{{sfn|Wolpert|2003|p = xiv}} since then, it has moved increasingly towards a free-market system{{sfn|Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2007}}{{sfn|Gargan|1992}} by emphasising both foreign trade and direct investment inflows.{{sfn|Alamgir|2008|pp = 23, 97}} India has been a member of [[World Trade Organization]] since 1 January 1995.{{sfn|World Trade Organization 1995}}
The 522-million-worker [[Labour in India|Indian labour force]] is the [[List of countries by labour force|world's second largest]], {{As of|2017|lc=y}}.{{sfn|Central Intelligence Agency}} The service sector makes up 55.6% of GDP, the industrial sector 26.3% and the agricultural sector 18.1%. India's [[Remittance|foreign exchange remittances]] of US$100 billion in 2022,<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 December 2022 |title=Remittances to India set to hit record $100bn this year, 25% higher than FDI flows |work=The times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/remittances-to-india-set-to-hit-record-100bn-this-year-25-higher-than-fdi-flows/articleshow/95894938.cms |access-date=5 December 2022}}</ref> highest in the world, were contributed to its economy by 32 million Indians working in foreign countries.<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 November 2021 |title=India received $87 billion in remittances in 2021: World Bank |work=[[Business Standard]] |url=https://wap.business-standard.com/article-amp/economy-policy/india-received-87-billion-in-remittances-in-2021-world-bank-121111800329_1.html |access-date=3 February 2022}}</ref> In 2006, the share of external trade in India's GDP stood at 24%, up from 6% in 1985.{{sfn|Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2007}} In 2008, India's share of world trade was 1.7%;<ref>{{Citation |title=Exporters Get Wider Market Reach |date=28 August 2009 |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Exporters-get-wider-market-reach/articleshow/4942892.cms?referral=PM |work=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=23 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912002353/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Exporters-get-wider-market-reach/articleshow/4942892.cms?referral=PM |url-status=live |archive-date=12 September 2014}}</ref> In 2021, India was the [[List of countries by imports|world's ninth-largest importer]] and the [[List of countries by exports|sixteenth-largest exporter]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=1999–2019 |title=Trade Map: Trade statistics for international business development |url=https://www.trademap.org/Country_SelProduct_TS.aspx?nvpm=1%7c%7c%7c%7c%7cTOTAL%7c%7c%7c2%7c1%7c1%7c1%7c2%7c1%7c2%7c1%7c%7c1 |access-date=30 September 2022 |website=[[International Trade Centre]]}}</ref> Between 2001 and 2011, the contribution of petrochemical and engineering goods to total exports grew from 14% to 42%.{{sfn|Economist 2011}} India was the [[List of countries by textile exports|world's second-largest textile exporter]] after [[China]] in the 2013 calendar year.{{sfn|Economic Times 2014}}
Averaging an economic growth rate of 7.5% for several years before 2007,{{sfn|Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2007}} India has more than doubled its hourly wage rates during the first decade of the 21st century.{{sfn|Bonner|2010}} Some 431 million Indians have left poverty since 1985; India's middle classes are projected to number around 580 million by 2030.{{sfn|Farrell|Beinhocker|2007}} In 2024, India's consumer market was the [[List of largest consumer markets|world's third largest]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.CON.PRVT.CD?most_recent_value_desc=true&year_high_desc=true|title=Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current US$)|website=World Bank Open Data}}</ref> India's nominal [[GDP per capita]] increased steadily from US$308 in 1991, when economic liberalisation began, to US$1,380 in 2010, to an estimated US$2,731 in 2024. It is expected to grow to US$3,264 by 2026.<ref name="IMFWEO.IN" />
=== Industries ===
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| caption1 = A tea garden in Sikkim. India, the [[List of countries by tea production|world's second-largest producer of tea]], is a nation of one billion tea drinkers, who consume 70% of India's tea output.
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|0=[[File:Bombay Stock Exchange 3.jpg|thumb|alt=Street-level view looking up at a modern 30-story building.|The [[Bombay Stock Exchange]], founded in 1875, is Asia's oldest stock exchange.<ref name="Armijo1999">{{Cite book |last=Echeverri-Gent |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LOEYDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA211 |title=Financial Globalization and Democracy in Emerging Markets |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan UK]] |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-333-99489-4 |editor-last=L. Armijo |pages=211–232, 211 |chapter=India: Financial Globalization, Liberal Norms, and the Ambiguities of Democracy}}</ref>]]
|1=[[File:Infosys Leadership Institute.jpg|thumb|Infosys Leadership Institute in [[Mysuru]] built by India's [[information technology]] giant [[Infosys]].]]
|2=[[File:DelhiMetroBlueLineBombardier.jpg|thumb|Coaches of the [[Delhi Metro]] Blue Line, manufactured by [[Bombardier Transportation]], Canada.]]
|3=[[File:A photo on power loom.JPG|thumb|Power Loom used inside a house in a village near [[Salem, Tamil Nadu]]. The [[Power loom]] accounts for more than 60% of [[Textile industry in India|textile production in India]].]]
|4=[[File:Computerlabxaviers.jpg|thumb|A computer lab being conducted at [[St. Xavier's College, Kolkata]], September 2012]]
|5=[[File:Colourful vegetables.jpg|thumb|A vegetable retailer in the state of [[Tamil Nadu]]. Almost all the [[Retailing in India|retail industry]] in India, which accounts for 10% of India's GDP, and 8% of its employment, belongs to the unorganised sector of individual and family-owned businesses.<ref name="BartlettBeamish2018">{{Citation |last=Bartlett |first=Christopher A. |title=Transnational Management: Text and Cases in Cross-Border Management |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QAxMDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA393 |page=393 |year=2018 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-108-52744-6 |last2=Beamish |first2=Paul W.}}</ref>]]
|6=[[File:Small Hydroelectric Dam on Ganges Canal at Nagla Kabir UP.jpg|thumb|A small hydro-electric dam on the [[Ganges Canal]] at Nagla Kabir, UP. The [[electricity sector in India]] has an installed capacity of 205.34 [[Gigawatt]] (GW), the world's fifth largest. Coal-fired plants account for 56% of India's electricity capacity, renewal [[hydropower]] for 19%.]]
|7=[[File:Cargo Ship leaving Diamong Harbour West Bengal.jpg|thumb|A [[feeder ship]] in Diamond Harbour, [[West Bengal]]. [[International trade]] accounted for 14% of India's GDP in 1988, 24% in 1998, and 53% in 2008. ]]
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The [[Automotive industry in India|Indian automotive industry]], the world's second-fastest growing, increased domestic sales by 26% during 2009–2010,{{sfn|Business Line 2010}} and exports by 36% during 2008–2009.{{sfn|Express India 2009}} In 2022, India became the world's third-largest vehicle market after China and the United States, surpassing Japan.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 January 2023 |title=India beats Japan to become world's third-largest vehicle market |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/auto/news/india-beats-japan-to-become-worlds-third-largest-vehicle-market/articleshow/96874402.cms |access-date=7 June 2023 |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> At the end of 2011, the [[Information technology in India|Indian IT industry]] employed 2.8 million professionals, generated revenues close to US$100 billion equalling 7.5% of Indian GDP, and contributed 26% of India's merchandise exports.{{sfn|Nasscom 2011–2012}}
The [[pharmaceutical industry in India]] includes 3,000 pharmaceutical companies and 10,500 manufacturing units; India is the world's third-largest pharmaceutical producer, largest producer of generic medicines and supply up to 50–60% of global vaccines demand, these all contribute up to {{USD}}24.44 billions in exports and India's local pharmaceutical market is estimated up to {{USD}}42 billion.<ref name="Phamra1">{{Cite news |date=16 September 2021 |title=Indian Pharma: a strategic sector from 'Make in India' to 'Make and Develop in India' |work=[[The Financial Express (India)]] |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/health/indian-pharma-a-strategic-sector-from-make-in-india-to-make-and-develop-in-india/2331377/ |access-date=18 October 2021}}</ref><ref name="Pharma2">{{Cite web |date=12 October 2021 |title=Indian Pharmaceutical Industry |url=https://www.ibef.org/industry/pharmaceutical-india.aspx |access-date=18 October 2021 |website=[[India Brand Equity Foundation]]}}</ref> India is among the top 12 biotech destinations in the world.<ref>Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Sector in India: sector briefing by the UK Trade and Investment 2011, utki.gov.uk</ref>{{sfn|Yep|2011}} The Indian biotech industry grew by 15.1% in 2012–2013, increasing its revenues from {{INR}}204.4 billion ([[Indian rupee]]s) to {{INR}}235.24 billion (US$3.94 billion at June 2013 exchange rates).<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 June 2013 |title=Biotechnology in India – 2013 "biospectrum-able" Survey |url=https://www.differding.com/page/biotechnology_in_india_2013_biospectrum_able_survey/f1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223203715/https://www.differding.com/page/biotechnology_in_india_2013_biospectrum_able_survey/f1.html |archive-date=23 February 2014 |access-date=4 April 2014 |publisher=Differding.com}}</ref>
=== Energy ===
{{Main|Energy in India}}
{{See also|Energy policy of India}}
India's capacity to generate electrical power is 300 gigawatts, of which 42 gigawatts is renewable.<ref name="Par">{{Cite web |date=1 August 2016 |title=India's Total Power Generation Capacity Crosses 300 GW Mark |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/indias-total-power-generation-capacity-crosses-300-gw-mark-1438906 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170616181350/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/indias-total-power-generation-capacity-crosses-300-gw-mark-1438906 |archive-date=16 June 2017 |access-date=17 October 2021 |publisher=[[NDTV India|NDTV]]}}</ref> [[Coal in India|The country's usage of coal]] is a major cause of [[Climate change in India#Greenhouse gas emissions|India's greenhouse gas emissions]], but [[Renewable energy in India|its renewable energy]] is competing strongly.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rowlatt |first=Justin |date=12 May 2020 |title=India's carbon emissions fall for first time in four decades |language=en-GB |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-52614770 |access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source takes much of its data from the fall during the start of covid lockdowns, which was a period where carbon emissions fell globally. This and the additional data given is not enough to conclude that the countries renewable energy is "competing strongly" ([[WP:NOTRS]])|date=July 2025}} India emits about 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This equates to about 2.5 tons of [[carbon dioxide]] per person per year, which is half the world average.<ref name="USAID2018">{{cite web|last=USAID|date=September 2018|title=Greenhouse Gas Emissions in India|url=https://www.climatelinks.org/sites/default/files/asset/document/India%20GHG%20Emissions%20Factsheet%20FINAL.pdf|access-date=10 June 2021|website=|archive-date=14 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200214194144/https://www.climatelinks.org/sites/default/files/asset/document/India%20GHG%20Emissions%20Factsheet%20FINAL.pdf}}</ref><ref name="UNEP2019">{{cite web|last=UN Environment Programme |year=2019 |title=Emissions Gap Report 2019|url=https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2019|access-date=10 June 2021|website=UNEP – [[UN Environment Programme]]}}</ref> Increasing [[Electrification|access to electricity]] and [[clean cooking]] with [[liquefied petroleum gas]] have been priorities for energy in India.<ref>{{cite web|title=India 2020 – Analysis|date=9 January 2020 |url=https://www.iea.org/reports/india-2020|access-date=3 December 2020|publisher=[[International Energy Agency]]|language=en-GB}}</ref>
=== Socio-economic challenges ===
{{Main|Poverty in India|Income inequality in India|Debt bondage in India}}
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| caption1= Health workers about to begin another day of immunisation against infectious diseases in 2006. Eight years later, and three years after India's last case of polio, the [[World Health Organization]] declared India to be polio-free.<ref name=who-chan-14-feb-2014>{{citation|last1=Chan|first1=Margaret |title=Address at the 'India celebrates triumph over polio' event|___location=New Delhi, India|publisher=[[World Health Organization]]|date=11 February 2014|url=https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-celebrates-polio-free-india|access-date=17 October 2021}}</ref>
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Despite economic growth during recent decades, India continues to face socio-economic challenges. In 2006, India contained the largest number of people living below the [[World Bank]]'s international poverty line of US$1.25 per day.<ref>{{citation|date=29 May 2006|title=Inclusive Growth and Service Delivery: Building on India's Success|publisher=[[World Bank]]|url=https://siteresources.worldbank.org/SOUTHASIAEXT/Resources/DPR_FullReport.pdf|access-date=7 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514143037/https://siteresources.worldbank.org/SOUTHASIAEXT/Resources/DPR_FullReport.pdf|archive-date=14 May 2012}}</ref> The proportion decreased from 60% in 1981 to 42% in 2005.<ref>{{citation|title=New Global Poverty Estimates – What It Means for India|publisher=[[World Bank]]|url=https://www.worldbank.org.in/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/INDIAEXTN/0,,contentMDK:21880725~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:295584,00.html|access-date=23 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120506043711/https://www.worldbank.org.in/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/INDIAEXTN/0,,contentMDK:21880725~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:295584,00.html|archive-date=6 May 2012}}</ref> Under the World Bank's later revised poverty line, it was 21%-22.5 in 2011.{{efn|In 2015, the World Bank raised its international poverty line to $1.90 per day.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kenny|first1=Charles|last2=Sandefur|first2=Justin|title=Why the World Bank is changing the definition of the word "poor"|url=https://www.vox.com/2015/10/7/9465999/world-bank-poverty-line|publisher=[[Vox Media|Vox]]|access-date=26 February 2017|date=7 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170114175442/https://www.vox.com/2015/10/7/9465999/world-bank-poverty-line|archive-date=14 January 2017}}</ref>}}<ref name="WB2015">{{cite web|title=Poverty headcount ratio at $1.90 a day (2011 PPP) (% of population)|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.DDAY?locations=IN|publisher=[[World Bank]]|access-date=26 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215021227/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.DDAY?locations=IN|archive-date=15 February 2017}}</ref><ref name=povini>{{cite web | title=Poverty in India Has Declined over the Last Decade But Not As Much As Previously Thought| url=https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099249204052228866/pdf/IDU0333e60f901267045600be83093783b77e67a.pdf | access-date=25 June 2025}}</ref> In 2019, the estimates had gone down to 10.2%.<ref name=povini/> In 2014, 30.7% of India's children under the age of five were underweight.<ref>{{cite web|title=India's rank improves to 55th position on global hunger index|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/indias-rank-improves-to-55th-position-on-global-hunger-index/articleshow/44802193.cms|date=13 October 2014|website=[[The Economic Times]]|access-date=18 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019030848/https://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-10-13/news/54970880_1_nutrition-mission-india-ghi|archive-date=19 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> According to a [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] report in 2015, 15% of the population was undernourished.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-is-home-to-194-million-hungry-people-un/article7255937.ece|title=India is home to 194 million hungry people: UN|author=Internet Desk|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202044027/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-is-home-to-194-million-hungry-people-un/article7255937.ece|archive-date=2 December 2016|date=28 May 2015|access-date=17 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1184959/india-home-to-worlds-largest-number-of-hungry-people-report|title=India home to world's largest number of hungry people: report|website=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529132938/https://www.dawn.com/news/1184959/india-home-to-worlds-largest-number-of-hungry-people-report|archive-date=29 May 2015|date=29 May 2015|access-date=17 October 2021}}</ref> The [[Midday Meal Scheme]] attempts to lower these rates.{{sfn|Drèze|Goyal|2008|p = 46}}
A 2018 [[Walk Free Foundation]] report estimated that nearly 8 million people in India were living in different forms of [[modern slavery]], such as [[bonded labour]], [[child labour]], human trafficking, and forced begging.<ref name="Pandit 2018">{{cite web | last=Pandit | first=Ambika | title=modern slavery in india: 8 million people live in 'modern slavery' in India, says report; govt junks claim – India News | website=The Times of India | date=20 July 2018 | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/8-million-people-live-in-modern-slavery-in-india-says-report-govt-junks-claim/articleshow/65060986.cms | access-date=28 May 2022}}</ref> According to the 2011 census, there were 10.1 million child labourers in the country, a decline of 2.6 million from 12.6 million in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---sro-new_delhi/documents/publication/wcms_557089.pdf|title=Child labour in India|publisher=[[International Labour Organization]]|access-date=21 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201030715/https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---sro-new_delhi/documents/publication/wcms_557089.pdf|archive-date=1 December 2017}}</ref>
Since 1991, [[List of Indian states by GDP|economic inequality between India's states]] has consistently grown: the per-capita [[Net domestic product|net state domestic product]] of the richest states in 2007 was 3.2 times that of the poorest.{{sfn|Pal|Ghosh|2007}} [[Corruption in India]] is perceived to have decreased. According to the [[Corruption Perceptions Index]], India ranked 78th out of 180 countries in 2018, an improvement from 85th in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|first=Vidya|last=Ram|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/india-improves-its-ranking-on-corruption-index/article8159155.ece|title=India improves its ranking on corruption index|date=27 January 2016|work=[[Business Line]]|access-date=21 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820162154/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/india-improves-its-ranking-on-corruption-index/article8159155.ece|archive-date=20 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.transparency.org/files/content/pages/CPI_2018_Executive_Summary_EN.pdf |title=Corruption Perceptions Index 2018 |website=transparency.org |publisher=[[Transparency International]] |access-date=15 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421141719/https://www.transparency.org/files/content/pages/CPI_2018_Executive_Summary_EN.pdf |archive-date=21 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>
As of 2025, poverty in India declined sharply. According to the World Bank report, extreme poverty fall from 16.2% in 2011-12 to 2.3% in 2022-23. In rural areas it fell from 18.4% to 2.8%, and in urban areas, from 10.7% to 1.1%. 378 million peopole were lifted from poverty and 171 million from extreme poverty. The main reason, according to the World Bank, is not economic growth but different government welfare programs, like transferring food and money to the people with low income, improving their access to services.<ref name=Sunitha/>
== Demographics ==
{{Main|Demographics of India}}
{{See also|South Asian ethnic groups}}
{{multiple image|perrow=1|total_width=220|image_style = border:none;|align = right |image1=Sikh pilgrim at the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) in Amritsar, India.jpg|caption1=A Sikh pilgrim at the [[Harmandir Sahib]], or Golden Temple, in [[Amritsar]], Punjab }}
{{multiple image|perrow=1|total_width=220|image_style = border:none;| align = right |image1=Interior of San Thome Basilica.jpg|caption1=The interior of [[San Thome Basilica]], [[Chennai]], [[Tamil Nadu]]. Christianity is believed to have been introduced to India by the late 2nd century by [[Christianity in India#Early Christianity in India|Syriac-speaking Christians]].}}
With an estimated 1,428,627,663 residents in 2023, India is the world's most populous country.<ref name="WPP UN" /> 1,210,193,422 residents were reported in the [[2011 Census of India|2011 provisional census report]].{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=160}} Its population grew by 17.64% from 2001 to 2011,{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=165}} compared to 21.54% growth in the previous decade (1991–2001).{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=165}} The human sex ratio, according to the 2011 census, is 940 females per 1,000 males.{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=160}} The median age was 28.7 in 2020.{{sfn|Central Intelligence Agency}}
The first post-colonial census, conducted in 1951, counted 361 million people.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indiabudget.nic.in/es2006-07/chapt2007/tab97.pdf|title=Population Of India (1951–2001)|website=[[Census of India]]|publisher=[[Ministry of Finance (India)|Ministry of Finance]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812042806/https://indiabudget.nic.in/es2006-07/chapt2007/tab97.pdf|archive-date=12 August 2011|access-date=13 February 2013}}</ref> Medical advances made in the last 50 years as well as increased agricultural productivity brought about by the "[[Green Revolution in India|Green Revolution]]" have caused India's population to grow rapidly.{{sfn|Rorabacher|2010|pp = 35–39}} The life expectancy in India is 70 years to 71.5 years for women, and 68.7 years for men.{{sfn|Central Intelligence Agency}} There are around 93 physicians per 100,000 people.<ref>{{cite web|title=Physicians (per 1,000 people) – India|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.MED.PHYS.ZS?locations=IN&most_recent_value_desc=true|publisher=[[World Bank]]|year=2019|access-date=27 March 2022}}</ref>
=== Urbanisation ===
{{Main|Urbanisation in India}}
Migration from rural to urban areas has been an important dynamic in India's recent history. The number of people living in urban areas grew by 31.2% between 1991 and 2001.{{sfn|Garg|2005}} In 2001, over 70% lived in rural areas.{{sfn|Dyson|Visaria|2005|pp = 115–129}}{{sfn|Ratna|2007|pp = 271–272}} The level of urbanisation increased further from 27.81% in the 2001 census to 31.16% in the 2011 census. The slowing down of the overall population growth rate was due to the sharp decline in the growth rate in rural areas since 1991.{{sfn|Chandramouli|2011}} In the 2011 census, there were 53 [[List of million-plus urban agglomerations in India|million-plus urban agglomerations in India]]. Among them [[Mumbai]], [[Delhi]], [[Kolkata]], [[Chennai]], [[Bangalore|Bengaluru]], [[Hyderabad]] and [[Ahmedabad]], in decreasing order by population.<ref name="censusindia 2011">{{cite web | url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2/data_files/India2/Table_3_PR_UA_Citiees_1Lakh_and_Above.pdf | title=Urban Agglomerations/Cities having population 1 lakh and above | publisher=[[Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner]], India | access-date=12 May 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017153124/https://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2/data_files/India2/Table_3_PR_UA_Citiees_1Lakh_and_Above.pdf | archive-date=17 October 2013}}</ref>
=== Languages ===
{{Main|Languages of India}}
Among speakers of the [[languages of India|Indian languages]], 74% speak [[Indo-Aryan languages]] (the easternmost branch of the [[Indo-European languages]]), 24% speak [[Dravidian languages]] (indigenous to [[South Asia]] and spoken widely before the spread of Indo-Aryan languages), and 2% speak [[Austroasiatic languages]] or the [[Sino-Tibetan languages]]. India has no national language.{{sfn|Dharwadker|2010|pp = 168–194, 186}} [[Hindi]], with the largest number of speakers, is the official language of the government.{{sfn|Ottenheimer|2008|p = 303}}{{sfn|Mallikarjun|2004}} [[English language|English]] is used extensively in business and administration and has the status of a "subsidiary official language";{{sfn|Ministry of Home Affairs 1960}} it is important in [[Education in India|education]], especially as a medium of higher education. Each state and union territory has one or more official languages, and the constitution recognises in particular 22 "scheduled languages".
=== Religion ===
{{Main|Religion in India}}
The 2011 census reported the [[religion in India]] with the largest number of followers was [[Hinduism in India|Hinduism]] (79.80% of the population), followed by [[Islam in India|Islam]] (14.23%); the remaining were [[Christianity in India|Christianity]] (2.30%), [[Sikhism in India|Sikhism]] (1.72%), [[History of Buddhism in India|Buddhism]] (0.70%), [[Statistics of Jainism|Jainism]] (0.36%) and others{{efn|name=remaining religions}} (0.9%).<ref name="Census2011religion">{{cite web|url=https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW00C-01%20MDDS.XLS |title=C −1 Population by religious community – 2011 |publisher=[[Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner]] |access-date=25 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150825155850/https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW00C-01%20MDDS.XLS |archive-date=25 August 2015}}</ref> India has the [[List of countries by Muslim population#List|third-largest Muslim population]]—the largest for a non-Muslim majority country.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/religion/global-muslim-population-estimated-at-157-billion/article30568.ece|title=Global Muslim population estimated at 1.57 billion|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601012428/https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/religion/global-muslim-population-estimated-at-157-billion/article30568.ece|archive-date=1 June 2013|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=8 October 2009|access-date=18 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2012ARChapters/india%202012%20two-pager.pdf|title=India Chapter Summary 2012|publisher=[[United States Commission on International Religious Freedom]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407100620/https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2012ARChapters/india%202012%20two-pager.pdf|archive-date=7 April 2014|access-date=18 October 2021}}</ref>
=== Education ===
{{Main|Education in India}}
{{See also|Literacy in India|History of education in the Indian subcontinent}}
[[File:47 Raika School - eating together (3384824242).jpg|thumb|Children awaiting school lunch in Rayka (also Raika), a village in rural Gujarat. The salutation ''[[Jai Bhim]]'' written on the blackboard honours the jurist, social reformer, and [[Dalit]] leader [[B. R. Ambedkar]].]]
The literacy rate in 2011 was 74.04%: 65.46% among females and 82.14% among males.{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=163}} The rural-urban literacy gap, which was 21.2 percentage points in 2001, dropped to 16.1 percentage points in 2011. The improvement in the rural literacy rate is twice that of urban areas.{{sfn|Chandramouli|2011}} [[Kerala]] is the most literate state with 93.91% literacy; while [[Bihar]] the least with 63.82%.{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=163}} In the 2011 census, about 73% of the population was literate, with 81% for men and 65% for women. This compares to 1981 when the respective rates were 41%, 53% and 29%. In 1951, the rates were 18%, 27% and 9%. In 1921, the rates 7%, 12% and 2%. In 1891, they were 5%, 9% and 1%,<ref>{{cite journal|first=Rajni|last=Pathania|title=Literacy in India: Progress and Inequality|url=https://www.bangladeshsociology.org/LiteracyinIndiaBEJS17.1.pdf|volume=17|website=bangladeshsociology.org|publisher=Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology|date=January 2020|issue=1|access-date=18 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Dandapani|last=Natarajan|title=Extracts from the All India Census Reports on Literacy|url=https://lsi.gov.in:8081/jspui/bitstream/123456789/366/1/26501_1971_CEN.pdf|publisher=[[Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India|Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India]]|year=1971|access-date=18 October 2021}}</ref> According to Latika Chaudhary, in 1911 there were under three primary schools for every ten villages. Statistically, more caste and religious diversity reduced private spending. Primary schools taught literacy, so local diversity limited its growth.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chaudhary |first1=Latika |title=Determinants of Primary Schooling in British India |journal=The Journal of Economic History |date=March 2009 |volume=69 |issue=1 |pages=269–302 |doi=10.1017/S0022050709000400 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-economic-history/article/abs/determinants-of-primary-schooling-in-british-india/59982D3DACF7D318E8D69DD7A0CDEF93 |access-date=30 May 2024 |language=en |issn=0022-0507|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
The education system of India is the world's second-largest.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.studyinindia.gov.in/whyindiaeducation|title=Study in India|website=studyinindia.gov.in|access-date=18 October 2021}}</ref> India has over 900 universities, 40,000 colleges<ref name="highered1">{{cite web |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/hrd-to-increase-nearly-25-pc-seats-in-varsities-to-implement-10-pc-quota-for-poor-in-gen-category/articleshow/67545006.cms |title=HRD to increase nearly 25 pc seats in varsities to implement 10 pc quota for poor in gen category |newspaper=[[The Economic Times]] |date=15 January 2019|access-date=18 October 2021}}</ref> and 1.5 million schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dashboard.udiseplus.gov.in/#/home|title=UDISE+ Dashboard|website=dashboard.udiseplus.gov.in|publisher=[[Ministry of Education (India)|Ministry of Education]]|access-date=18 October 2021}}</ref> In India's higher education system, a significant number of seats are reserved under [[Reservation in India|affirmative action]] policies for the historically disadvantaged. In recent decades India's improved education system is often cited as one of the main contributors to [[economic development in India|its economic development]].<ref name=Sify>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=1475704|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220170624/https://www.sify.com/finance/india-achieves-27-decline-in-poverty-news-news-jegxaXgfcab.html|title=India achieves 27% decline in poverty|work=[[Press Trust of India]] via [[Sify.com]]|date=12 September 2008|archive-date=20 February 2014|access-date=18 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=N. Jayapalan|title=History of Education in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IDNeW78fedkC|year=2005|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distributors|isbn=978-81-7156-922-9}}</ref>
=== Health ===
{{Main|Health in India}}
The [[life expectancy]] at birth has increased from 49.7 years in 1970–1975 to 72.0 years in 2023.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=https://www.gapminder.org/tools/#$chart-type=bubbles|title=Gapminder|last=Rosling|access-date=5 September 2018|archive-date=4 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904041729/https://www.gapminder.org/tools/#$chart-type=bubbles|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/life-expectancy?country=OWID_WRL~IND |title=Life expectancy at birth: World, India |language=en |publisher=[[Our World in Data]] |access-date=7 September 2025}}</ref> The under-five [[Infant mortality|mortality]] rate for the country was 113 per 1,000 live births in 1994 whereas in 2018 it reduced to 41.1 per 1,000 live births.<ref name=":5" />
India bears a disproportionately large burden of the world's [[Tuberculosis in India|tuberculosis]] rates, with [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) statistics for 2022 estimating 2.8 million new infections annually, accounting for 26% of the global total.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 September 2024 |title=Global Tuberculosis Report 2024 - 1.1 TB incidence |url=https://www.who.int/teams/global-programme-on-tuberculosis-and-lung-health/tb-reports/global-tuberculosis-report-2024/tb-disease-burden/1-1-tb-incidence |access-date=23 August 2025 |website=World Health Organization |language=en}}</ref> It is estimated that approximately 40% of the population of India carry [[Latent tuberculosis|tuberculosis]] infection.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chauhan |first1=Arohi |last2=Parmar |first2=Malik |last3=Dash |first3=Girish Chandra |last4=Solanki |first4=Hardik |last5=Chauhan |first5=Sandeep |last6=Sharma |first6=Jessica |last7=Sahoo |first7=Krushna Chandra |last8=Mahapatra |first8=Pranab |last9=Rao |first9=Raghuram |last10=Kumar |first10=Ravinder |last11=Rade |first11=Kirankumar |last12=Pati |first12=Sanghamitra |date=3 May 2023 |title=The prevalence of tuberculosis infection in India: A systematic review and meta-analysis |journal=Indian Journal of Medical Research |language=en |volume=157 |issue=2–3 |pages=135–151 |doi=10.4103/ijmr.ijmr_382_23 |doi-access=free |issn=0971-5916 |pmc=10319385 |pmid=37202933}}</ref>
In 2018 [[chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]] was the leading cause of death after [[Heart disease in India|heart disease]]. The 10 [[List of most-polluted cities by particulate matter concentration|most polluted cities in the world]] are all in northern India with more than 140 million people breathing air 10 times or more over the WHO safe limit. In 2017, air pollution killed 1.24 million Indians.<ref>{{cite news|date=11 December 2018|title=Dirty air: how India became the most polluted country on earth|newspaper=Financial Times|url=https://ig.ft.com/india-pollution/|access-date=22 January 2019|archive-date=30 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930130506/https://ig.ft.com/india-pollution/|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Culture ==
{{Main|Culture of India}}
=== Society ===
{{Main|Caste system in India|Gender inequality in India}}
{{multiple image|perrow=1|total_width=220|image_style = border:none;| align = right |image1=Muslims praying in mosque in Srinagar, Kashmir.jpg|caption1=Muslims offer ''[[Salah|namaz]]'' at a mosque in [[Srinagar]], Jammu and Kashmir.}}
The Indian caste system embodies much of the social stratification and many of the social restrictions found on the Indian subcontinent. Social classes are defined by thousands of [[endogamous]] hereditary groups, often termed as ''[[jāti]]s'', or "castes".{{sfn|Schwartzberg|2011}} India abolished [[untouchability]] in 1950 with the adoption of [[Constitution of India|the constitution]] and has since enacted other anti-discriminatory laws and social welfare initiatives.{{efn|"Untouchability" is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of "Untouchability" shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.constitutionofindia.net/articles/article-17-abolition-of-untouchability/ |title=Article 17: Abolition of Untouchability - Constitution of India |website=constitutionofindia.net |access-date=9 June 2025}}</ref>}} However, the system continues to be dominant in India, and caste-based inequality, discrimination, segregation, and [[Caste-related violence in India|violence]] persist.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Teltumbde |first=Anand |title=The Persistence of Caste: The Khairlanji Murders and India's Hidden Apartheid |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-84813-449-2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Sarah |date=28 June 2022 |title=The struggle to challenge India's caste system remains real, still |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-28/struggle-to-challenge-indias-caste-system/101185772 |website=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]]}}</ref>
Multi-generational [[patrilineal]] [[joint family|joint families]] have been the norm in India, though [[nuclear family|nuclear families]] are becoming common in urban areas.{{sfn|Makar|2007}} An overwhelming majority of Indians have [[Arranged marriage in the Indian subcontinent|their marriages arranged]] by their parents or other family elders.{{sfn|Medora|2003}} Marriage is thought to be for life,{{sfn|Medora|2003}} and the divorce rate is extremely low,{{sfn|Jones|Ramdas|2005|p = 111}} with less than one in a thousand marriages ending in divorce.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-37481054|title=What divorce and separation tell us about modern India|first=Soutik|last=Biswas|date=29 September 2016|access-date=18 October 2021|work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> [[Child marriage]]s are common, especially in rural areas; many women wed before reaching 18, which is their legal marriageable age.{{sfn|Cullen-Dupont|2009|p = 96}} [[Female infanticide in India]], and lately [[female foeticide in India|female foeticide]], have created skewed gender ratios; the number of [[missing women]] in the country quadrupled from 15 million to 63 million in the 50 years ending in 2014, faster than the population growth during the same period.<ref name="The Hindu_November_17_2019c">{{cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/indias-missing-women/article5670801.ece |title=India's missing women|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=10 February 2014|last1=Kapoor|first1=Mudit|last2=Shamika|first2=Ravi |access-date= 17 November 2019 |quote=In the last 50 years of Indian democracy, the absolute number of missing women has increased fourfold from 15 million to 68 million. This is not merely a reflection of the overall population growth, but rather a worsening of the dangerous trend over time. As a percentage of the female electorate, missing women have gone up significantly — from 13 per cent to approximately 20 per cent}}</ref> According to an Indian government study, an additional 21 million girls are unwanted and do not receive adequate care.<ref name="The_Guardian_November_17_2019c">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/30/more-than-63-million-women-missing-in-india-statistics-show |title=More than 63 million women 'missing' in India, statistics show |newspaper=[[Associated Press]] via [[The Guardian]] |date= 30 January 2018 |access-date= 17 November 2019}} Quote: "More than 63 million women are "missing" statistically across India, and more than 21 million girls are unwanted by their families, government officials say. The skewed ratio of men to women is largely the result of sex-selective abortions, and better nutrition and medical care for boys, according to the government's annual economic survey, which was released on Monday. In addition, the survey found that "families where a son is born are more likely to stop having children than families where a girl is born".</ref> Despite a government ban on sex-selective foeticide, the practice remains commonplace in India, the result of a preference for boys in a patriarchal society.<ref name="Foreign_Policy_November_17_2019c">{{cite web |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/08/15/a-generation-of-girls-is-missing-in-india/ |title=A Generation of Girls Is Missing in India – Sex-selective abortion fuels a cycle of patriarchy and abuse.|newspaper=[[Foreign Policy]] |first=Ira|last=Trivedi |date=15 August 2019 |access-date= 17 November 2019}} Quote: "Although it has been illegal nationwide for doctors to disclose the sex of a fetus since the 1994 Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, the ease of ordering cheap and portable ultrasound machines, especially online, has kept the practice of sex-selective abortions alive."</ref> The payment of [[Dowry system in India|dowry]], although [[Dowry law in India|illegal]], remains widespread across class lines.<ref>{{cite news|first=Dean|last=Nelson|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10280802/Woman-killed-over-dowry-every-hour-in-India.html|title=Woman killed over dowry 'every hour' in India|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=10 February 2014|date=2 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323074436/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10280802/Woman-killed-over-dowry-every-hour-in-India.html|archive-date=23 March 2014}}</ref> [[Dowry deaths|Deaths resulting from dowry]], mostly from [[bride burning]], are on the rise, despite stringent anti-dowry laws.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/rising-number-of-dowry-deaths-in-india-ncrb/article4995677.ece|title=Rising number of dowry deaths in India: NCRB|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=10 February 2014|first=Ignatius |last=Pereira|date=6 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140207050439/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/rising-number-of-dowry-deaths-in-india-ncrb/article4995677.ece|archive-date=7 February 2014}}</ref>
=== Visual art ===
{{Main|Indian art}}
India has a very ancient tradition of art, which has exchanged many influences with the rest of [[Eurasia]], especially in the first millennium, when [[Buddhist art]] spread with Indian religions to [[Central Asia|Central]], [[East Asia|East]] and [[Southeast Asia]], the last also greatly influenced by Hindu art.<ref>Rowland, 185–198, 252, 385–466</ref> Thousands of [[Indus Valley civilisation#Seals|seals from the Indus Valley civilisation]] of the third millennium BCE have been found, usually carved with animals, but also some with human figures. The [[Pashupati seal]], excavated in [[Mohenjo-daro]], Pakistan, in 1928–29, is the best known.{{Sfn|Craven|1997|pp=14–16}}{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=17–18}} After this there is a long period with virtually nothing surviving.{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=17–18}}{{Sfn|Rowland|1970|pp=46–47}} Almost all surviving ancient Indian art thereafter is in various forms of religious [[Indian sculpture|sculpture]] in durable materials, or coins. There was probably originally far more in wood, which is lost. In north India [[Mauryan art]] is the first imperial movement.{{Sfn|Craven|1997|pp=35–46}}{{Sfn|Rowland|1970|pp=67–70}}{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=22–24}}
In the first millennium CE, [[Buddhist art]] spread with Indian religions to [[Central Asia|Central]], [[East Asia|East]] and [[Southeast Asia]], the last also greatly influenced by [[Hindu art]].{{Sfn|Rowland|1970|pp=185–198, 252, 385–466}} Over the following centuries a distinctly Indian style of sculpting the human figure developed, with less interest in articulating precise anatomy than [[ancient Greek sculpture]] but showing smoothly flowing forms expressing ''prana'' ("breath" or life-force).{{Sfn|Craven|1997|pp=22, 88}}{{Sfn|Rowland|1970|pp=35, 99–100}} This is often complicated by the need to give figures multiple arms or heads, or represent different genders on the left and right of figures, as with the [[Ardhanarishvara]] form of Shiva and [[Parvati]].{{Sfn|Craven|1997|pp=18–19}}{{Sfn|Blurton|1993|p=151}}
Most of the earliest large sculpture is Buddhist, either excavated from Buddhist [[stupa]]s such as [[Sanchi]], [[Sarnath]] and [[Amaravati Stupa|Amaravati]],{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=32–38}} or is rock cut [[relief]]s at sites such as [[Ajanta Caves|Ajanta]], [[Karla Caves|Karla]] and [[Ellora]]. Hindu and Jain sites appear rather later.{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=43–55}}{{Sfn|Rowland|1970|pp=113–119}} In spite of this complex mixture of religious traditions, generally, the prevailing artistic style at any time and place has been shared by the major religious groups, and sculptors probably usually served all communities.{{Sfn|Blurton|1993|pp=10–11}} [[Gupta art]], at its peak {{circa|{{CE|300}}|{{CE|500}}}}, is often regarded as a classical period whose influence lingered for many centuries after; it saw a new dominance of Hindu sculpture, as at the [[Elephanta Caves]].{{Sfn|Craven|1997|pp=111–121}}{{Sfn|Michell|2000|pp=44–70}} Across the north, this became rather stiff and formulaic after {{circa|{{CE|800}}}}, though rich with finely carved detail in the surrounds of statues.{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=212–216}} But in the South, under the [[Pallava dynasty|Pallava]] and [[Chola dynasty|Chola dynasties]], sculpture in both stone and bronze had a [[Chola art and architecture#Sculpture and bronzes|sustained period of great achievement]]; the large bronzes with Shiva as [[Nataraja]] have become an iconic symbol of India.{{Sfn|Craven|1997|pp=152–160}}{{Sfn|Blurton|1993|pp=225–227}}
Ancient paintings have only survived at a few sites, of which the crowded scenes of court life in the [[Ajanta Caves]] are some of the most important.{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=356–361}}{{Sfn|Rowland|1970|pp=242–251}} Painted manuscripts of religious texts survive from Eastern India from 10th century onwards, most of the earliest being Buddhist and later Jain. These significantly influenced later artistic styles.{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=361–370}} The Persian-derived [[Deccan painting]], starting just before the [[Mughal miniature]], between them give the first large body of secular painting, with an emphasis on portraits, and the recording of princely pleasures and wars.{{Sfn|Craven|1997|pp=202–208}}{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=372–382, 400–406}} The style spread to Hindu courts, especially [[Rajput painting|among the Rajputs]], and developed a variety of styles, with the smaller courts often the most innovative, with figures such as [[Nihâl Chand]] and [[Nainsukh]].{{Sfn|Craven|1997|pp=222–243}}{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=384–397, 407–420}} As a market developed among European residents, it was supplied by [[Company painting]] by Indian artists with considerable Western influence.{{Sfn|Craven|1997|p=243}}{{Sfn|Michell|2000|p=210}} In the 19th century, cheap [[Kalighat painting]]s of gods and everyday life, done on paper, were urban [[folk art]] from [[Calcutta]], which later saw the [[Bengal School of Art]], reflecting the art colleges founded by the British, the first movement in [[modern Indian painting]].{{Sfn|Michell|2000|pp=210–211}}{{Sfn|Blurton|1993|p=211}}
<!---Galleries of images are generally discouraged in summary articles as they cause undue weight to one particular section and may cause accessibility problems.--->
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
File:Bhutesvara Yakshis Mathura reliefs 2nd century CE front.jpg|[[Bhutesvara Yakshis]], Buddhist reliefs from [[Mathura]], {{CE|2nd century}}
File:MET DT5237 (cropped).jpg|[[Gupta art|Gupta]] [[terracotta]] relief, [[Krishna]] Killing the [[Keshi (demon)|Horse Demon Keshi]], 5th century
File:Elephanta Caves (27804449706) (cropped).jpg|[[Elephanta Caves]], triple-[[bust (sculpture)|bust]] (''trimurti'') of Shiva, {{convert|18|ft|m}} tall, {{circa|550}}
File:Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja).jpg|[[Chola art and architecture#Sculpture and bronzes|Chola bronze]] of [[Shiva]] as [[Nataraja]] ("Lord of Dance"), [[Tamil Nadu]], 10th or 11th century
File:Jahangir Receives Prince Khurram at Ajmer on His Return from the Mewar Campaign.jpg|''[[Jahangir]] Receives [[Shah Jahan|Prince Khurram]] at [[Ajmer]] on His Return from the [[Mewar]] Campaign'', Balchand, {{circa|1635}}
File:Unknown, Kangra, India - Krishna Fluting to the Milkmaids - Google Art Project.jpg|''Krishna Fluting to the Milkmaids'', [[Kangra painting]], 1775–1785
</gallery>
=== Clothing ===
{{Main|Clothing in India}}
[[File:India School.jpg|thumb|right|Women in [[sari]] at an adult literacy class in [[Tamil Nadu]]]]
[[File:Strolling Shoppers in Paltan Bazaar.jpg|thumb|right|Women (from left to right) in [[churidar]]s and [[kameez]] (with back to the camera), jeans and sweater, and pink [[shalwar kameez]]]]
From ancient times until the advent of the modern, the most widely worn traditional dress in India was [[Draped garment|draped]].<ref name="Tarlo1996-26">{{harvnb|Tarlo|1996|p=26}}</ref> For women it took the form of a [[sari]], a single piece of cloth many yards long.<ref name="Tarlo1996-26" /> The sari was traditionally wrapped around the lower body and the shoulder.<ref name="Tarlo1996-26" /> In its modern form, it is combined with an underskirt, or Indian [[Petticoat#Asian petticoats|petticoat]], and tucked in the waist band for more secure fastening. It is also commonly worn with an Indian [[blouse]], or [[choli]], which serves as the primary upper-body garment, the sari's end—passing over the shoulder—covering the midriff and obscuring the upper body's contours.<ref name="Tarlo1996-26" /> For men, a similar but shorter length of cloth, the [[dhoti]], has served as a lower-body garment.<ref name="Tarlo1996-26-28">{{harvnb|Tarlo|1996|pp=26–28}}</ref>
The use of stitched clothes became widespread after Muslim rule was established at first by the [[Delhi sultanate]] ({{Circa|1300 CE}}) and then continued by the [[Mughal Empire]] ({{Circa|1525 CE}}).<ref name="Rahman-Alkazi2002">{{citation |last=Alkazi |first=Roshen |editor=Rahman, Abdur |title=India's Interaction with China, Central and West Asia |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZvpAAAAMAAJ |year=2002 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-565789-0 |pages=464–484 |chapter=Evolution of Indian Costume as a result of the links between Central Asia and India in ancient and medieval times}}</ref> Among the garments introduced during this time and still commonly worn are: the [[shalwar]]s and [[pyjama]]s, both styles of trousers, and the tunics [[kurta]] and [[kameez]].<ref name="Rahman-Alkazi2002" /> In southern India, the traditional draped garments were to see much longer continuous use.<ref name="Rahman-Alkazi2002" />
Salwars are atypically wide at the waist but narrow to a cuffed bottom. They are held up by a drawstring, which causes them to become pleated around the waist.<ref name="StevensonWaite2011">{{citation|last1=Stevenson|first1=Angus|last2=Waite|first2=Maurice|title=Concise Oxford English Dictionary: Book & CD-ROM Set|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4XycAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA1272|year=2011|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|access-date=3 September 2019|isbn=978-0-19-960110-3|page=1272}}</ref> The pants can be wide and baggy, or they can be cut quite narrow, on the [[Grain (textile)#Bias|bias]], in which case they are called [[churidar]]s. When they are ordinarily wide at the waist and their bottoms are hemmed but not cuffed, they are called pyjamas. The kameez is a long shirt or tunic,<ref name="StevensonWaite2011-b">{{citation|last1=Stevenson|first1=Angus|last2=Waite|first2=Maurice|title=Concise Oxford English Dictionary: Book & CD-ROM Set|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4XycAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA774|year=2011|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-960110-3|page=774}}</ref> its side seams left open below the waistline.<ref>{{citation|url=https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/platts_query.py?page=418|author=Platts, John T. (John Thompson)|title=A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English|___location=London|page=418|publisher=[[W. H. Allen & Co.]]|year=1884|access-date=26 August 2019|archive-date=24 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224204345/https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/platts_query.py?page=418}} (online; updated February 2015)</ref> The [[kurta]] is traditionally collarless and made of cotton or silk; it is worn plain or with embroidered decoration, such as [[chikankari]]; and typically falls to either just above or just below the wearer's knees.<ref name="Shukla2015">{{citation|last=Shukla|first=Pravina|title=The Grace of Four Moons: Dress, Adornment, and the Art of the Body in Modern India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MlObCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA71|year=2015|publisher=[[Indiana University Press]]|isbn=978-0-253-02121-2|page=71}}</ref>
In the last 50 years, fashions have changed a great deal in India. Increasingly, in urban northern India, the sari is no longer the apparel of everyday wear, though they remain popular on formal occasions.<ref name="Dwyer2014">{{citation|last=Dwyer|first=Rachel|author-link=Rachel Dwyer|title=Bollywood's India: Hindi Cinema as a Guide to Contemporary India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DqwBBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA244|year=2014|publisher=[[Reaktion Books]]| isbn=978-1-78023-304-8|pages=244–245}}</ref> The traditional shalwar kameez is rarely worn by younger urban women, who favour churidars or jeans.<ref name="Dwyer2014" /> In office settings, ubiquitous air conditioning allows men to wear sports jackets year-round.<ref name="Dwyer2014" /> For weddings and formal occasions, men in the middle and upper classes often wear [[Jodhpuri|Jodhpuri bandhgala]], or short [[Nehru jackets]], with pants, with the groom and his [[groomsmen]] sporting [[sherwani]]s and churidars.<ref name="Dwyer2014" /> The dhoti, once the universal garment of Hindu males, the wearing of which in the homespun and handwoven [[khadi]] allowed Gandhi to bring [[Indian nationalism]] to the millions,<ref name="BruzziGibson2013">{{citation|last=Dwyer|first=Rachel|author-link=Rachel Dwyer|editor=Stella Bruzzi, Pamela Church Gibson|title=Fashion Cultures: Theories, Explorations and Analysis|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FYGMAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA178|year=2013|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-1-136-29537-9|pages=178–189|chapter=Bombay Ishtyle}}</ref>
is seldom seen in the cities.<ref name="Dwyer2014" />
=== Cuisine ===
{{Main|Indian cuisine}}
[[File:South Indian Thali Cropped.jpg|thumb|right|South Indian vegetarian [[thali]], or platter]]
The foundation of a typical Indian meal is a cereal cooked plainly and complemented with flavourful savoury dishes.<ref name="Davidson2014-p409">{{citation|last=Davidson|first=Alan|title=The Oxford Companion to Food|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RL6LAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA409|year=2014|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-967733-7|page=409}}</ref> The cooked cereal could be steamed rice; [[chapati]], a thin unleavened bread;<ref name="Davidson2014-p161">{{citation|last=Davidson|first=Alan|title=The Oxford Companion to Food|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RL6LAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA161|year=2014|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-967733-7|page=161|quote=Chapatis are made from finely milled whole-wheat flour, called chapati flour or atta, and water. The dough is rolled into thin rounds which vary in size from region to region and then cooked without fat or oil on a slightly curved griddle called a tava.}}</ref> the [[idli]], a steamed breakfast cake; or [[Dosa (food)|dosa]], a griddled pancake.<ref name=tamang-yeast-idlidosa>{{citation|last1=Tamang|first1=J. P.|last2=Fleet|first2=G. H.|editor1-last=Satyanarayana|editor1-first=T.|editor2-last=Kunze|editor2-first=G.|chapter=Yeasts Diversity in Fermented Foods and Beverages|title=Yeast Biotechnology: Diversity and Applications|publisher=Springer|page=180|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jLFmiervaqMC&pg=PA180|year=2009|isbn=978-1-4020-8292-4|quote=Idli is an acid-leavened and steamed cake made by bacterial fermentation of a thick batter made from coarsely ground rice and dehulled black gram. Idli cakes are soft, moist and spongy, have desirable sour flavour, and is eaten as breakfast in South India. Dosa batter is very similar to idli batter, except that both the rice and black gram are finely grounded. The batter is thinner than that of idli and is fried as a thin, crisp pancake and eaten directly in South India.}}</ref> The savoury dishes might include [[lentil]]s, [[pulses]] and vegetables commonly spiced with [[ginger root|ginger]] and [[garlic]], but also with a combination of spices that may include [[coriander]], [[cumin]], [[turmeric]], [[cinnamon]], [[cardamon]] and others.<ref name="Davidson2014-p409" /> They might also include poultry, fish, or meat dishes. In some instances, the ingredients may be mixed during the cooking process.<ref name=jhala-princely-biryani>{{citation|last=Jhala|first=Angma Day|title=Royal Patronage, Power and Aesthetics in Princely India|publisher=Routledge|page=70|year=2015|isbn=978-1-317-31657-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WGpECgAAQBAJ&pg=PA70|quote=With the ascent of the Mughal Empire in sixteenth-century India, Turkic, Persian and Afghan traditions of dress, 'architecture and cuisine' were adopted by non-Muslim indigenous elites in South Asia. In this manner, Central Asian cooking merged with older traditions within the subcontinent, to create such signature dishes as biryani (a fusion of the Persian pilau and the spice-laden dishes of Hindustan), and the Kashmiri meat stew of Rogan Josh. It not only generated new dishes and entire cuisines, but also fostered novel modes of eating. Such newer trends included the consumption of Persian condiments, which relied heavily on almonds, pastries and quince jams, alongside Indian achars made from sweet limes, green vegetables and curds as side relishes during Mughlai meals.}}</ref>
A platter, or [[thali]], used for eating usually has a central place reserved for the cooked cereal, and peripheral ones for the flavourful accompaniments. The cereal and its accompaniments are eaten simultaneously rather than a piecemeal manner. This is accomplished by mixing—for example of rice and lentils—or folding, wrapping, scooping or dipping—such as chapati and cooked vegetables.<ref name="Davidson2014-p409" />
[[File:Making Khameeri Roti in Tandoor in Turkman Gate Old Delhi.webm|thumb|A tandoor chef in the [[Turkman Gate]], [[Old Delhi]], makes ''Khameeri roti'' (a Muslim-influenced style of [[Bread#Leavening|leavened bread]]).<ref name="Panjabi1995">{{citation|last=Panjabi|first=Camellia|title=The Great Curries of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TYCFJMLZ_-4C&pg=PA158|year=1995|publisher=[[Simon and Schuster]]|isbn=978-0-684-80383-8|pages=158–|quote=The Muslim influenced breads of India are leavened, like ''naan'', ''Khamiri roti'', ...}}</ref>]]
India has distinctive vegetarian cuisines, each a feature of the geographical and cultural histories of its adherents.<ref name="Davidson2014-p410">{{citation|last=Davidson|first=Alan|title=The Oxford Companion to Food|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RL6LAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA410|year=2014|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-967733-7|page=410}}</ref> About 20% to 39% of India's population consists of vegetarians.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Biswas |first=Soutik |date=4 April 2018 |title=The myth of the Indian vegetarian nation |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-43581122 |website=[[BBC]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=29 June 2021 |title=Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation {{!}} Religion and food |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/06/29/religion-and-food/ |website=[[Pew Research Center]]}}</ref> Much of this stems from [[Caste system in India|caste hierarchy]], as upper castes, such as the [[Brahmin]]s, consider vegetarian food to be "pure".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Waghmore |first=Suryakant |date=6 April 2017 |title=In charts: Vegetarianism in India has more to do with caste hierarchy than love for animals |url=https://scroll.in/article/833178/vegetarianism-in-india-has-more-to-do-with-caste-hierarchy-than-love-for-animals |website=[[Scroll.in]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pattanaik |first=Devdutt |date=17 November 2024 |title=Uniting Hindus with pure food |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/magazine/voices/2024/Nov/16/uniting-hindus-with-pure-food |website=[[The New Indian Express]]}}</ref> Although meat is eaten widely in India, the proportional consumption of meat in the overall diet is low.<ref name="SahakianSaloma2016-50">{{citation|last1=Sahakian|first1=Marlyne|last2=Saloma|first2=Czarina|last3=Erkman|first3=Suren|title=Food Consumption in the City: Practices and patterns in urban Asia and the Pacific|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TBIxDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT50|year=2016|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|isbn=978-1-317-31050-1|page=50}}</ref> Unlike China, which has increased its per capita meat consumption substantially in its years of increased economic growth, in India the strong dietary traditions have contributed to dairy, rather than meat, becoming the preferred form of animal protein consumption.<ref name="OECDNations2018">{{citation|author1=OECD|author2=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|title=OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2018–2027|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JuBiDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA21|year=2018|publisher=[[OECD Publishing]]|isbn=978-92-64-06203-0|page=21}}</ref>
The most significant import of cooking techniques into India during the last millennium occurred during the [[Mughal Empire]]. Dishes such as the [[pilaf]],{{sfn|Roger|2000}} developed in the [[Abbasid caliphate]],<ref name=sengupta-74>{{citation|last=Sengupta|first=Jayanta |editor=Freedman, Paul |editor2=Chaplin, Joyce E. |editor3=Albala, Ken |title=Food in Time and Place: The American Historical Association Companion to Food History|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNQkDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA74|year=2014|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|isbn=978-0-520-27745-8|page=74|chapter=India}}</ref> and cooking techniques such as the marinating of meat in yogurt, spread into northern India from regions to its northwest.<ref name="CollinghamCollingham2007">{{citation|last=Collingham|first=Elizabeth M.|title=Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pH88DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA25|year=2007|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-532001-5|page=25}}</ref> To the simple yogurt marinade of Persia, onions, garlic, almonds, and spices began to be added in India.<ref name="CollinghamCollingham2007" /> Rice was partially cooked and layered alternately with the sauteed meat, the pot sealed tightly, and slow cooked according to another Persian cooking technique, to produce what has today become [[biryani]],<ref name="CollinghamCollingham2007" /> a feature of festive dining in many parts of India.<ref name=nandy2004>{{citation|last1=Nandy|first1=Ashis|author-link=Ashis Nandy|title=The Changing Popular Culture of Indian Food: Preliminary Notes|journal=[[South Asia Research]]|volume=24|issue=1|year=2004
|pages=9–19|issn=0262-7280|doi=10.1177/0262728004042760|citeseerx=10.1.1.830.7136|s2cid=143223986}}</ref>
In the food served in Indian restaurants worldwide, the diversity of Indian food has been partially concealed by the dominance of [[Punjabi cuisine]]. The popularity of [[tandoori chicken]]—cooked in the [[tandoor]] oven, which had traditionally been used for baking bread in the rural Punjab and the Delhi region, especially among Muslims, but which is originally from [[Central Asia]]—dates to the 1950s, and was caused in large part by an entrepreneurial response among people from the Punjab who had been displaced by the 1947 partition.<ref name="Davidson2014-p410" />
=== Sports ===
{{Main|Sport in India}}
{{See also|Indian physical culture}}{{multiple image
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| caption1 = Girls play [[hopscotch]] in [[Jaora]], Madhya Pradesh. Hopscotch has been commonly played by girls in rural India.<ref name="SrinivasanJermyn2001">{{citation|last1=Srinivasan|first1=Radhika|last2=Jermyn|first2=Leslie|last3=Lek|first3=Hui Hui|title=India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zoVby4OJWhYC&pg=PA109|year=2001|publisher=Times Books International|isbn=978-981-232-184-8|page=109}} Quote: "Girls in India usually play jump rope, or hopscotch, and five stones, tossing the stones up in the air and catching them in many different ways ... the coconut-plucking contests, groundnut-eating races, ... of rural India."</ref>
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Several [[Traditional games of India|traditional sports]], such as ''[[kabaddi]]'', ''[[kho kho]]'', [[pehlwani]], ''[[gilli-danda]],'' [[hopscotch]] and [[Indian martial arts|martial arts]] such as ''[[Kalarippayattu]]'' and ''[[marma adi]]'', remain popular in India. [[Chess in India|Chess]] is commonly held to have [[History of chess#India|originated in India]] as ''[[Chaturanga|chaturaṅga]]'';{{sfn|Wolpert|2003|p=2}} in recent years,{{When|date=September 2025}} there has been a rise in the number of Indian [[Grandmaster (chess)|grandmasters]]{{sfn|Rediff 2008 b}} and world champions.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Graham |first=Bryan Armen |date=12 December 2024 |title=Gukesh Dommaraju becomes youngest world chess champion after horrific Ding Liren blunder |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/dec/12/gukesh-dommaraju-india-wins-world-chess-championship-youngest-champion-ding-liren |access-date=12 December 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> [[Parcheesi]] is derived from ''[[Pachisi]]'', another traditional Indian pastime, which in early modern times was played on a giant marble court by [[Mughal Empire|Mughal emperor]] [[Akbar]].{{sfn|Binmore|2007|p=98}}
[[Cricket in India|Cricket]] is the most popular sport in India.<ref>{{citation |last=Shores |first=Lori |title=Teens in India |date=15 February 2007 |page=78 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CPQmbyiS-iEC |access-date=24 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617050252/https://books.google.com/books?id=CPQmbyiS-iEC |archive-date=17 June 2012 |url-status=live |publisher=[[Compass Point Books]] |isbn=978-0-7565-2063-2}}</ref> [[India national cricket team|India]] is one of the most successful cricket teams in the world, having won two [[Cricket World Cup]]s, two [[Men's T20 World Cup|T20 World Cups]], three [[ICC Champions Trophy|Champions Trophies]], and finished as runners-up twice in the [[World Test Championship]]. [[India men's national field hockey team|India]] has won a record eight field hockey gold medals in the [[Field hockey at the Summer Olympics|summer Olympics]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/other-sports/story/independence-day-india-at-70-cricket-football-hockey-kabaddi-1029624-2017-08-14|title=What India was crazy about: Hockey first, Cricket later, Football, Kabaddi now?|website=India Today|date=14 August 2017 }}</ref>
== See also ==
* [[Administrative divisions of India]]
* [[Outline of India]]
== Notes ==
{{notelist|refs={{efn|name=remaining religions|Besides specific religions, the last two categories in the 2011 census were "Other religions and persuasions" (0.65%) and "Religion not stated" (0.23%).}}|33em}}
== References ==
{{Reflist|22em}}
== Bibliography ==
===Overview===
{{refbegin|33em}}
* {{citation|title=India|work=[[The World Factbook]]|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/india/|access-date=10 July 2021|ref={{sfnRef|Central Intelligence Agency}}}}
* {{citation|date=December 2004|title=Country Profile: India|edition=5th|work=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]]|publisher=[[Library of Congress]] [[Federal Research Division]]|url=https://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/India.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927131058/https://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/India.pdf|archive-date=27 September 2011|access-date=30 September 2011|ref={{sfnRef|Library of Congress|2004}}}}
* {{citation|last1=Heitzman|first1=James|last2=Worden|first2=Robert L.|year=1996|title=India: A Country Study|series=Area Handbook Series|publisher=[[Library of Congress]]|place=Washington, D.C.|isbn=978-0-8444-0833-0|url=https://archive.org/details/indiacountrystud0000unse}}
* {{citation|title=India|publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]]|url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2009&ey=2016&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=534&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr1.x=88&pr1.y=9|access-date=14 October 2011|ref={{sfnRef|International Monetary Fund}}}}
* {{citation|title=Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|publisher=[[Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India|Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner]]|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/prov_results_paper1_india.html|ref={{sfnRef|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India}}|access-date=18 October 2021}}
* Robinson, Francis, ed. ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives'' (1989)
* {{citation|date=24 January 1950|title=Constituent Assembly of India – Volume XII|publisher=[[National Informatics Centre]], [[Government of India]]|url=https://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/vol12p1.htm |access-date=17 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|Constituent Assembly of India|1950}}|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721173243/https://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/vol12p1.htm|archive-date=21 July 2011}}
{{refend}}
===Etymology===
{{refbegin|33em}}
* {{cite journal |last=Barrow |first=Ian J. |title=From Hindustan to India: Naming change in changing names |journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies |volume=26 |pages=37–49 |number=1 |year=2003 |doi=10.1080/085640032000063977|s2cid=144039519}}
* {{cite journal |last=Clémentin-Ojha |first=Catherine |title='India, that is Bharat...': One Country, Two Names |journal=South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal |volume=10 |year=2014 |url=https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/3717 |archive-date=28 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928035644/https://samaj.revues.org/3717}}
* {{cite book |last=Thieme |first=P. |chapter=Sanskrit ''sindu-/Sindhu-'' and Old Iranian ''hindu-/Hindu-'' |editor1=Mary Boyce |editor2=Ilya Gershevitch |year=1970 |title=W. B. Henning Memorial Volume |publisher=[[Lund Humphries]] |isbn=978-0-85331-255-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e3UBAAAAMAAJ}}
{{refend}}
===History===
{{refbegin|33em}}
* {{cite book|last1=Asher|first1=C. B.|last2=Talbot|first2=C.|year=2006|title=India Before Europe |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-80904-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC}}
* {{cite book|last1=Asher|first1=C. B.|last2=Talbot|first2=C.|year=2008|title=India Before Europe t|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-51750-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Brown|first=J. M.|author-link=Judith M. Brown|year=1994|title=Modern India: The Origins of an Asian Democracy|edition=2nd|series=[[The Short Oxford History of the Modern World]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-873113-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PaKdsF8WzbcC}}
* {{cite book|last1=Coningham|first1=Robin|last2=Young|first2=Ruth|title=The Archaeology of South Asia: From the Indus to Asoka, c. 6500 BCE – 200 CE|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hB5TCgAAQBAJ|year=2015|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-84697-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Copland|first=I.|year=2001|title=India 1885–1947: The Unmaking of an Empire|publisher=[[Longman]]|isbn=978-0-582-38173-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dw1uAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{cite book |last=Doniger |first=Wendy |title=On Hinduism |pages=xviii, 10 |year=2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fUnaAgAAQBAJ&pg=PR18 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-936009-3}}
* {{cite book|last1=Kulke|first1=H.|last2=Rothermund|first2=D.|author1-link=Hermann Kulke|year=2004|title=A History of India|series=4th|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-0-415-32920-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V73N8js5ZgAC}}
* {{cite book |last=Lowe |first=John J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L07CBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA2 |title=Participles in Rigvedic Sanskrit: The Syntax and Semantics of Adjectival Verb Forms |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-19-100505-3 |pages= |quote=}}
* {{cite book|last=Ludden|first=D.|year=2002|title=India and South Asia: A Short History|publisher=[[Oneworld Publications]]|isbn=978-1-85168-237-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Ludden|first=D.|year=2014|title=India and South Asia: A Short History|publisher=[[Oneworld Publications]]|isbn=978-1-85168-936-1|edition=2nd, revised|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pBq9DwAAQBAJ}}<!--ISBN and year from book pages-->
* {{cite book|last1=Metcalf|first1=Barbara D.|last2=Metcalf|first2=Thomas R.|author1-link=Barbara Metcalf |author2-link=Thomas R. Metcalf|year=2006|title=A Concise History of Modern India|edition=2nd|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-68225-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iuESgYNYPl0C}}
* {{cite book|last1=Metcalf|first1=Barbara D.|last2=Metcalf|first2=Thomas R.|year=2012|title=A Concise History of Modern India|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-107-02649-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mjIfqyY7jlsC}}
* {{cite book |last=Flood |first=Gavin D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KpIWhKnYmF0C&pg=PA35 |title=An Introduction to Hinduism |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-521-43878-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Peers|first=D. M.|year=2006|title=India under Colonial Rule: 1700–1885 |publisher=[[Pearson Education|Pearson Longman]]|isbn=978-0-582-31738-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6iNuAAAAMAAJ}}
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{{refend}}
===Geography===
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{{refend}}
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{{refend}}
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'''Government'''
* [https://www.india.gov.in/ Official website of the Government of India]
* [https://goidirectory.nic.in/index.php Government of India Web Directory]
'''General information'''
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/india/ India]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].
* {{GovPubs|India}}
* [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12557384 India] from [[BBC News]]
* {{wikiatlas|India}}
* {{osmrelation-inline|304716}}
* [https://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=IN Key Development Forecasts for India] from [[International Futures]]
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