World Lit

• India


  Country in South Asia
• Name India


  Derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, which stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, the historical local appellation for the Indus River
• India


  • Seventh largest country by geographical area
  • Second most populous country with over 1.2 billion people
  • Most populous democracy in the world
• Bounded by


  • Indian Ocean on the south
  • Arabian Sea on the south-west
  • Bay of Bengal on the south-east
• Land borders


  • Pakistan to the west
  • China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east
  • Burma and Bangladesh to the east
• Vicinity


  • Sri Lanka and the Maldives
  • Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia
• Indian subcontinent


  • Ancient Indus Valley Civilisation
  • Historic trade routes and vast empires
  • Identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history
• Indian religions


  Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, collectively known as Indian religions or Dharmic religions
• Indian religions


  • Major form of world religions along with Abrahamic ones
  • Hinduism and Buddhism are the world's third and fourth-largest religions respectively, with over 2 billion followers altogether, and possibly as many as 2.5 or 2.6 billion followers
• Other faiths


  Lin-gayat and Ahmadiyya faiths
• India


  One of the most religiously diverse nations in the world, with some of the most deeply religious societies and cultures
• India comes under direct rule of the British crown after the failed Indian mutiny


  1858
• The Indian National Congress was founded as forum for emerging nationalist feeling

  1885
• Nationalist figurehead Mahatma Gandhi launches anti-British civil disobedience campaign


  1920
• The Government of India Act and the creation of a new constitution emerged


  1935
• British and Indian leaders agrees to divide the country into India and Pakistan, and India became independent on August 15


  1947
• Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by Hindu extremist


  1948
• A new Indian Constitution was ratified and Jawaharial Nehru became India's first Prime Minister


  1950
• Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi was elected as the first woman Prime Minister of India


  1964
• Gandhi's Congress Party loses general elections, but returns to power three years after


  1977
• Indira Gandhi was assassinated by Sikh bodyguards, and her son Rajiv took over


  1984
• Pratibha Patil becomes first woman to be elected president of India


  2007
• India successfully launches its first mission to the moon, the unmanned lunar probe Chandrayaan-1


  2008