Interesting Facts about India
India is a large country and has rich cultural heritage. It is the birthplace of several tribes, religions and cultures. Here are some interesting facts about India.
1. Origin of the Name ‘India’: The origin of the name ‘India’ is derived from River Indus, which was worshiped by the Aryans and they referred the river as the Sindhu. It was later converted into ‘Hindu’ by the Persian Invaders.
2. Bharat: India is also called Bharat and even recognized as the official name by the Indian constitution. The term Bharat has been taken from Ancient Indian texts.
3. First Urban culture: The Indus Valley Civilization in India is more than 3000 years old and is considered to be the first Urban Culture in South Asia.
4. Religion: India is the birth place of major religions including Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism.
5. Independence Day: India got freedom on 15th August, 1947 and hence Independence Day is celebrated every year on this day.
6. Father of the Nation: Mahatma Gandhi is known as Father of Indian Nation.
7. Land area: India is the seventh largest country in the world with an area of 3287263 sq. km, which is actually 2.42% of the world’s area.
8. Population: India has the second largest population in the world with a total population of over 1.20 billion, which is actually 17.31% of the World’s Population. (27th September, 2013)
9. Secularism: India never makes partiality between any two religions and no one religion is considered supreme over the other.
10. Economy: India is third largest economy in the world in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) and tenth largest economy in terms of notional GDP.
11. Taj Mahal: Taj Mahal, the white marble mausoleum at Agra, is considered among the Seven Wonders of the World.
12. Largest Postal Network: India has more than 150000 post offices which is the largest in the world, even larger than that of China and Russia.
13. Second Largest Labour force: The labour force of more than 468 million workers ranks second in the world.
14. Army: India has the 3rd largest standing army in the world.
15. Billionaires: India had 122 billionaires in 2012 and is ranked 5th in the world in terms of number of Billionaires.
16. Oceans around India: India is surrounded by Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal on the south, southwest and southeast respectively.
17. Largest Democracy: India is the largest democratic country in the world, even larger than USA. Indian Constitution says that India is a “sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic”.
18. English Speakers: India has more than 121 million English speaking people. It is the second largest English speaking country in the world, next only to USA.
19. Federal Country: There are 29 states and 7 Union territories in India. India is a federal country and the powers are divided between the Central and State Governments of India. The States of India remain independent in the Internal Affairs.
20. Railway Network: The Indian Railway network is fourth largest in the world with a network length of 65000 kms.
21. Geography: India is a country in south East Asia. Its North-South extension and East-West extension is 3214 km and 2933 km respectively. Its latitudes are 8o4’ and 37o6’North and longitudes are 68o7’ and 97o25’ East.
22. River Ganga: The Sacred and holy river, Ganga, is longest in India and 34th in the World. River Ganga is worshiped by all the Hindus in India as the spirit of God. The water of River Ganga is traditionally used to wipe off all the bad deeds of the past.
23. Animal Cow: In India, Cow is considered as the sacred animal among the Hindus and worshiped as a Holy Spirit.
24. Food Products: India is the largest producer of mango, papaya, millet, pulses, dry bean, chick peas, cumin, ginger and chili pepper, milk, in the world.
25. Twins: Many Indians still believe in the superstition that if a girl eats a twin fruit before getting pregnant, she will give birth of twins.
