General background: The Indus Valley civilization,
one of the oldest in the world, goes back at least 5,000
years. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded about
1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier inhabitants
created the classical Indian culture. Arab incursions
starting in the 8th century and Turkish in 12th were
followed by European traders beginning in the late 15th
century. By the 19th century, Britain had assumed political
control of virtually all Indian lands. Nonviolent resistance
to British colonialism under Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal
NEHRU led to independence in 1947. The subcontinent
was divided into the secular state of India and the
smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between
the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan
becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. Fundamental
concerns in India include the ongoing dispute with Pakistan
over Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental
degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious
strife, all this despite impressive gains in economic
investment and output.
Area comparative:
Slightly more than one-third the size of the US.
Climate: Varies from tropical monsoon in
south to temperate in north.
Terrain: Upland
plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain
along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north
Population: 1,045,845,226 (July 2002 est.)
Ethnic groups: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%,
Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)
Religions: Hindu 81.3%, Muslim 12%, Christian
2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other groups including Buddhist,
Jain, Parsi 2.5% (2000)
Language: English enjoys associate status
but is the most important language for national, political,
and commercial communication; Hindu is the national
language and primary tongue of 30% of the people;
there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu,
Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada,
Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit;
Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken
widely throughout northern India but is not an official
language.
Government type: Federal republic
Capital: New Delhi
Legal system: Based on English common law;
limited judicial review of legislative acts; accepts
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations.
Economic overview: India's economy encompasses
traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts,
a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude
of support services. About a quarter of the population
is too poor to be able to afford an adequate diet.
India's international payments position remained strong
in 2001 with adequate foreign exchange reserves, and
moderately depreciating nominal exchange rates. Growth
in manufacturing output has slowed, and electricity
shortages continue in many regions. India has large
numbers of well-educated people skilled in English
language; India is a major exporter of software services
and software workers.
Communication/Telephone system: Mediocre service;
local and long distance service provided throughout
all regions of the country, with services primarily
concentrated in the urban areas; major objective is
to continue to expand and modernize long-distance
network to keep pace with rapidly growing number of
local subscriber lines; steady improvement is taking
place with the recent admission of private and private-public
investors, but, with telephone density at about two
for each 100 persons and a waiting list of over 2
million, demand for main line telephone service will
not be satisfied for a very long time.
Places of interest:
Travel tips: In light of the escalating dispute
over Kashmir and the possibility of deteriorating
relations between India and Pakistan, many governments
are urging against travel to the Jammu and Kashmir
regions. Travelers to India are urged to register
with their embassy.
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