Location:

The world's largest democracy, India lies in south of Asia and north of Indian ocean. It's geographical location is 20 00 N, 77 00 E. With its unique diversity India is considered a continent (the Sub-continent) in itself. Total land area in today's India is 3,287,590 Square kilometers with a coastline of 7000 kilometers. India Image is the official site of the Government of India.

People:

With 1,088,056,200 people according to 2004 census, India is the second most populous country in the world. With its unique diversity it is considered a continent (the Sub-continent) in itself. Major ethnic groups are Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Mongoloid and tribal and aborigines. Major religions of India are Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, animism and atheism.

Languages:

India is the world's richest nation as far as languages are concerned. There are at least 500 full-fledged languages spoken in India. The federal government recognizes 22 languages as the National Languages ofIndia. Hindi is the official language of the Union of India.

1. Assamese.
2. Bengali.
3. Bodo
4. Dogri
5. Gujarati.
6. Hindi (Also the official language of the Union of India).
7. Kannada.
8. Kashmiri.
9. Konkani.
10. Maithili.
11. Malayalam.
12. Manipuri.
13. Marathi.
14. Nepali.
15. Oriya.
16. Punjabi.
17. Sanskrit.
18. Santhali
19. Sindhi.
20. Tamil.
21. Telugu.
22. Urdu.

Constitution:

According to the Constitution, India is a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic. The Constitution of India consists of 395 articles and 12 schedules in 117369 words in English. It was passed by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949. and has been in effect since January 26, 1950, which is celebrated as Republic Day in India. It establishes three main organs of the government - the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. The President is the constitutional head of the country in whom all executive powers are vested. Mr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is the current president of India. He became the 11th president of India when he succeeded outgoing president Mr. K. R. Narayan. The legislature is divided into two houses: Upper (Rajya Sabha) and Lower (Lok Sabha). The election for Lok Sabha takes place every five years from from 543 constituencies. The Rajya Sabha never gets dessolved though election for one third of its members takes place every year. The real administrator of the country is the Prime Minister who is choosen by the elected representatives of both the legislative houses. Two members from the Anglo-Indian community are nominated to the Lower House by the President. President is also the head of the defence forces, judiciary and the legislature.

Administrative Divisions:

India is divided into 28 states and 7 union territories (UTs). The title of the administrative head of the state is the Governor. The governors are nominated by the president. The government is run by the elected representatives from constituencies within the state. The state legislature is divided into two houses named as Vidhan Sabha (Lower house) and Vidhan Parishad (Upper House). The state elections for the Lower House where most of the legislature activities happen take place every five years.

States(28):  Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh,   Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal.

UTs (7): Andaman and Nicobar, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Delhi, Lakshadweep, Pondicherry.



Neighbours:

Indian borderline is large and it touches Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet and China in the north, Myanmar (Formerly Burma) and Bangladesh in the East besides Sri Lanka and Maldives as its southern neighbors in the Indian ocean. Most of these regions have been a part of Indian confederation from time  immemorial culturally, ethnically and historically. The land borders shared with following countries:

Bangladesh : 4,053 km

Tibet and China: 3,380 km

Pakistan: 2,912 km

Nepal: 1,690 km

Myanmar : 1,463 km

Bhutan: 605 km 

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© Anurag Sharma