Fact Sheet Help
India is in south Asia.
India lies between Pakistan, China and Nepal.
Quick Facts:
· The normal customary greeting in India is made by putting your hands “palms” together, and with a slight nod of the head, saying "namaste."
· A lot of films are made in India. Many more films are made in India ('Bollywood') than in the USA ('Hollywood')!
· India lies in south Asia, between Pakistan, China and Nepal. To the north it is bordered by the world's highest mountain chain.
· The capital of India is New Delhi, and the country’s largest cities are Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Delhi, and Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).
· India is the seventh largest country in the world.
· India's population is one billion making it the second most populous country after China. That is:
100 000 000 000 people. Wow that’s a lot.
· India is the largest democracy (Government by the people, like the UK is) in the world.
· India is mainly an agricultural country, though it also has a large iron and steel industry and produces every type of manufactured goods.
Geographic coordinates: 20 00 N, 77 00 E
Total: 3,287,590 sq km
Land: 2,973,190 sq km
Water: 314,400 sq km
Capital City: New Delhi
About 13 million people live in the capital, New Delhi.
Population in New Delhi:
1,065,070,607 (July 2004 est.)
India's population is one billion (one thousand million), making it the second most populous country after China. It is more than three times the population of the United States though its area is only about one-third.
17 major languages, 844 dialects
The two main religions are Hinduism (80%) and the Muslim religion (10%) but there are also small numbers of Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Parsees and Jains.
The Climate in India varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
Federal republic
President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh
India has about 15 major languages and 844 different dialects.
Hindi, spoken by about 45 per cent of the population, is the official language. The other official language is English.
India's history goes back to 3,200 BC when Hinduism was first founded. Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Judaism, Zoroashtrianism, Christianity and Islam all exist within the country today.
India is a land of festivals and fairs. The most widely known and popular celebrations include the Hindu festivals of Diwali, Holi, and Dussehra.
India's flag was adopted on July 22, 1947, after India became independent from Great Britain.
India's flag is a horizontal tricolour in equal proportion of deep saffron (orange) on the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom.
Each colour represents something different:
Saffron represents stands for courage and sacrifice
White represents peace, unity and truth.
Green stands for faith and fertility.
The blue symbolizes the sky and the ocean. It name is Dharma Chakra
In the center of the white band is a blue wheel with 24 spokes. This is the Dharma Chakra (or "Wheel of Law") , the wheel of law in the Sarnath Lion Capital. The Chakra represents the continuing progress of the nation and the importance of justice in life. This center symbol or the 'CHAKRA', is a Buddhist symbol dating back to 200th century BC.
Rice and wheat (in bread forms) are the staple foods of India.
The food of India is extremely diverse, as ingredients, spices and cooking methods all vary from region to region. Spicy food and sweets are popular in India.
Life in India:
When you think of India, what do you see?
A land full of poverty?
Mud huts and people collecting water from nearby wells and streams?
A land of fairy tales and magical palaces like the Taj Mahal?
India is mainly an agricultural country, however it also has a large iron and steel industry and produces every type of manufactured goods.
Life in India is very different in the villages than it is in the towns and cities.
Families tend to be bigger than in the UK. There are generally more children in a family.
In some places girls do not attend schools
The Taj Mahal is considered one of the wonders of the world. It is a monument.
The most famous part of the monument is the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal with its white marble dome.
It stands amid acres of gardens on the banks of the Yamuna River in the city of Agra in north India.
Agra is a city within the northern state of Uttar Pradesh in India.
Taj Mahal was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his queen Mumtaz Mahal at Agra, India.
The building of the Taj Mahal began around 1632 and it was completed about 21 years later in 1653. About 22,000 workmen built the Taj Mahal.
The Taj Mahal is made from whte marble stone with precious gems and stones pressed into its walls.
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