India

India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in <a href="/facts/South_Asia/7gTqe3hY">South Asia</a>. It is the <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_area/XQWaBfYo">seventh-largest country by area</a>; the <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_by_population_(United_Nations)/6YcM0lKw">most populous country</a> since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the <a href="/facts/Indian_Ocean/Kv0crwKG">Indian Ocean</a> on the south, the <a href="/facts/Arabian_Sea/JM6V0y3s">Arabian Sea</a> on the southwest, and the <a href="/facts/Bay_of_Bengal/xqKAj4bJ">Bay of Bengal</a> on the southeast, it shares land borders with <a href="/facts/Pakistan/cbIsvJy1">Pakistan</a> to the west; <a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p">China</a>, <a href="/facts/Nepal/yWCzTBR2">Nepal</a>, and <a href="/facts/Bhutan/fSRsLss9">Bhutan</a> to the north; and <a href="/facts/Bangladesh/NXk4f78Y">Bangladesh</a> and <a href="/facts/Myanmar/zcqQH2oE">Myanmar</a> to the east. In the <a href="/facts/Indian_Ocean/Kv0crwKG">Indian Ocean</a>, India is near <a href="/facts/Sri_Lanka/VtTBmysE">Sri Lanka</a> and the <a href="/facts/Maldives/sC2HeXby">Maldives</a>; its <a href="/facts/Andaman_and_Nicobar_Islands/jSM58Eyr">Andaman and Nicobar Islands</a> share a <a href="/facts/Maritime_boundary/1369gqHz">maritime border</a> with <a href="/facts/Thailand/GCUnN4JK">Thailand</a>, <a href="/facts/Myanmar/zcqQH2oE">Myanmar</a>, and <a href="/facts/Indonesia/vQnWU3IW">Indonesia</a>.
<a href="/facts/Modern_humans/AxD254MP">Modern humans</a> arrived on the <a href="/facts/Indian_subcontinent/0XUWGXpx">Indian subcontinent</a> from <a href="/facts/Africa/XkqQUP9s">Africa</a> no later than 55,000 years ago. Their long occupation, predominantly in isolation as hunter-gatherers, has made the region highly diverse. <a href="/facts/Neolithic/wRS0Bnh4">Settled life</a> emerged on the subcontinent in the western margins of the <a href="/facts/Indus_River/7vTRHA4t">Indus</a> <a href="/facts/River_basin/lzsx0XJS">river basin</a> 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the <a href="/facts/Indus_Valley_Civilisation/6xM4aK23">Indus Valley Civilisation</a> of the third millennium BCE. By 1200 BCE, an <a href="/facts/Proto-language/BkXHmE3J">archaic form</a> of <a href="/facts/Sanskrit/ychfjhlx">Sanskrit</a>, an <a href="/facts/Indo-European_language/L34TfgSr">Indo-European language</a>, had <a href="/facts/Trans-cultural_diffusion/EURDJKVV">diffused</a> into India from the northwest. <a href="/facts/Rig_Veda/7dyqIlsJ">Its hymns</a> recorded the <a href="/facts/Historical_Vedic_religion/CLhJ6Au6">early dawnings</a> of <a href="/facts/Hinduism/oxV9YvQh">Hinduism</a> in India. India's pre-existing <a href="/facts/Dravidian_languages/s8pMU64e">Dravidian languages</a> were supplanted in the northern regions. By 400 BCE, <a href="/facts/Caste/J2qr75PV">caste</a> had emerged within Hinduism, and <a href="/facts/History_of_Buddhism_in_India/0Gfu4Cf5">Buddhism</a> and <a href="/facts/History_of_Jainism/b7DTKP98">Jainism</a> had arisen, proclaiming <a href="/facts/Social_order/dmGpaE6s">social orders</a> unlinked to heredity. Early political consolidations gave rise to the loose-knit <a href="/facts/Maurya_Empire/STQagR1r">Maurya</a> and <a href="/facts/Gupta_Empire/KbMVInGv">Gupta Empires</a>. Widespread creativity suffused this era, but the status of women declined, and <a href="/facts/Untouchability/E2cCjrVY">untouchability</a> became an organized belief. In <a href="/facts/South_India/XqkE3NdU">South India</a>, the <a href="/facts/Middle_kingdoms_of_India/fEv32C9L">Middle kingdoms</a> exported Dravidian language scripts and religious cultures to the kingdoms of <a href="/facts/Southeast_Asia/VafwT517">Southeast Asia</a>.
In the early medieval era, <a href="/facts/Christianity/nKyJHlqq">Christianity</a>, <a href="/facts/Islam/zDLbL45C">Islam</a>, <a href="/facts/Judaism/tjQ5Tgs6">Judaism</a>, and <a href="/facts/Zoroastrianism/rM0QUMtg">Zoroastrianism</a> became established on India's southern and western coasts. Muslim armies from <a href="/facts/Central_Asia/rB8k0CyT">Central Asia</a> intermittently overran India's northern plains in the second millennium. The resulting <a href="/facts/Delhi_Sultanate/19oLzpBF">Delhi Sultanate</a> drew northern India into the cosmopolitan <a href="/facts/Islamic_Golden_Age/yAeG2rBA">networks of medieval Islam</a>. In south India, the <a href="/facts/Vijayanagara_Empire/aVcSqnBj">Vijayanagara Empire</a> created a long-lasting composite Hindu culture. In the <a href="/facts/Punjab/gyyuKVSp">Punjab</a>, <a href="/facts/Sikhism/obh7aQIr">Sikhism</a> emerged, rejecting institutionalised religion. The <a href="/facts/Mughal_Empire/yRg2kAy5">Mughal Empire</a> ushered in two centuries of economic expansion and relative peace, leaving a rich <a href="/facts/Mughal_architecture/nC0bQTXE">architectural legacy</a>. Gradually expanding <a href="/facts/Company_rule_in_India/Y4EqFHr0">rule of the British East India Company</a> turned India into a colonial economy but consolidated its <a href="/facts/Sovereignty/QnYhTTem">sovereignty</a>. <a href="/facts/British_Raj/hBe6wvPS">British Crown rule</a> began in 1858. The rights promised to Indians were granted slowly, but <a href="/facts/Industrial_Revolution/B6E3Fasm">technological changes</a> were introduced, and modern ideas of education and the public life took root. A <a href="/facts/Indian_independence_movement/0n35LRk8">nationalist movement</a> emerged in India, the first in the non-European <a href="/facts/British_empire/hrsz0j7A">British empire</a> and an influence on other nationalist movements. Noted for nonviolent resistance after 1920, it became the primary factor in ending British rule. In 1947, the British Indian Empire was <a href="/facts/Partition_of_India/c8xmUWfG">partitioned</a> into two independent <a href="/facts/Dominion/uJGVYft4">dominions</a>, a Hindu-majority <a href="/facts/Dominion_of_India/slRebax7">dominion of India</a> and a Muslim-majority <a href="/facts/Dominion_of_Pakistan/wxKwlwEk">dominion of Pakistan</a>. A large-scale loss of life and an unprecedented migration accompanied the partition.
India has been a <a href="/facts/Federal_republic/ImClIYsI">federal republic</a> since 1950, governed through a democratic <a href="/facts/Parliamentary_system/HAsnSsRz">parliamentary system</a>. It is a <a href="/facts/Pluralism_(political_philosophy)/hpDWGPqW">pluralistic</a>, <a href="/facts/Multilingualism/WgzhSW6h">multilingual</a> and <a href="/facts/Multiculturalism/jDbm9eo5">multi-ethnic society</a>. India's population grew from 361 million in 1951 to over 1.4 billion in 2023. During this time, its nominal <a href="/facts/Per_capita_income/cJJwwhRY">per capita income</a> increased from US$64 annually to US$2,601, and its literacy rate from 16.6% to 74%. A comparatively destitute country in 1951, India has become a <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_by_real_GDP_growth_rate/ISMTpDKS">fast-growing</a> major economy and <a href="/facts/Information_technology_in_India/TKb7zwMv">hub for information technology services</a>; it has an expanding middle class. <a href="/facts/Cinema_of_India/5RuW3fUU">Indian movies</a> and <a href="/facts/Music_of_India/yFwovhbY">music</a> increasingly influence global culture. India has reduced <a href="/facts/Poverty_in_India/o7nHNGNp">its poverty rate</a>, though at the cost of increasing economic inequality. It is a <a href="/facts/List_of_states_with_nuclear_weapons/urhNKh4Q">nuclear-weapon state</a> that <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures/QJemgRxr">ranks high in military expenditure</a>. It has disputes over <a href="/facts/Kashmir/Rok34JM5">Kashmir</a> with its neighbours, Pakistan and China, unresolved since the mid-20th century. Among the socio-economic challenges India faces are <a href="/facts/Gender_inequality_in_India/dxNnRrQH">gender inequality</a>, <a href="/facts/Malnutrition_in_India/gh4vp5bH">child malnutrition</a>, and rising levels of <a href="/facts/Air_pollution_in_India/meP3bzkj">air pollution</a>. India's land is <a href="/facts/Megadiverse_country/BE8PrlT7">megadiverse</a> with four <a href="/facts/Biodiversity_hotspots/rGVdhvvG">biodiversity hotspots</a>. <a href="/facts/Wildlife_of_India/5IyPoHEF">India's wildlife</a>, which has traditionally been viewed with tolerance in <a href="/facts/Culture_of_India/GjHPLXPR">its culture</a>, is supported in <a href="/facts/Protected_areas_of_India/nHKTx38K">protected habitats</a>.

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India