Studying world culture and history can never be complete without studying India. The rich history and wonderful culture of India can never be undermined. The contribution of its people to the different genres of arts, literature, politics and religion can never be underestimated. From India came two of the world’s greatest epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata; also, two political world figures, Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru came from India; in religion, it produced one of the world’s most popular religion Hinduism and also, it was in India where the great founder of Buddhism was born, Gautama Sidharta Buddha.

          India is the seventh largest country in the world. Also, it is the second most populated country in the whole world. People see India more as a sub-continent rather than a country. In the different parts of India exist different cultures, languages, manners historical backgrounds and influences. Officially, it is named Republic of India. However, there are two other names for India which are less known outside India. These names are Bharat and Hindustan. (The World Fact Book, 2005)

          The history of India, starting from the Indus Valley civilization, dates back to as far as 5,000 years ago. The Indus Valley civilization is one of the oldest in the world. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded At about 1500 B.C, the Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded and their merger with the earlier inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish in the 12th were followed by European traders which began in the late 15th century. At around19th century, Britain had assumed political control of all Indian lands. The Indian armed forces in the British army played a vital role in both World Wars. The Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism under the popular world figures Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru led to India’s independence in 1947. India was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. East Pakistan became a separate nation, now known as Bangladesh, because of the war in 1971. Presently, the fundamental concerns in India include the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife. These problems are still apparent in India, despite the impressive gains in economic investment and output. (The World Fact Book, 2005)

          India supports over 15% of the world's population Almost 40% of Indians are younger than 15 years of age and about 70% of the people live in more than 550,000 villages, and the remainder in more than 200 towns and cities. The population in India as of March 2001 stood at 1,027,015,247. Between 1991 and 2001, the population of India rose by 21.34 %. The increase in population of India can be seen in the fact that its increase adds almost the total population of Australia or Sri Lanka every year. During the twentieth century, India is seen to have been in the midst of a demographic transition. At the beginning of the century, the different diseases and epidemics kept the death rate high which was enough to balance out the high birth rate. However, the increasing impact of curative and preventive medicine brought a steady decline in the death rate. During the mid-1990s, the birth rate had fallen to twenty-eight per 1,000, and the estimated death rate had fallen to ten per 1,000. (Indianchild.com, 2005)

          The economic growth of India is continuing its recovery from its slowdown which took place in 2002. the slowdown was attributable to the weak demand for manufactured exports and the effects of a drought on agricultural output. Real growth in the country's gross domestic product (GDP) was 4.0% for 2002, surging to 8.2% in 2003 and a projected 6.4% for 2004 and 6.2% for 2005. Also, India has made a substantial progress as regards reduction of political tensions with Pakistan, restoring trade and travel links, and resuming high-level contacts between the two governments. In the energy sector, the largest impact is seen in the abandonment of full privatization of the state-owned petroleum sector. (www.eia.doe.gov, 2005)

          The natural sources of India include iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum and limestone. India has the fourth largest reserves of coal in the whole world. Also, 54.4% of India’s land is arable. (The World Fact Book, 2005)

          It is considered that India’s greatest resource is its people, which, in many ways are the most neglected and most poorly developed. This huge reservoir of manpower, which is more important and valuable than soils, minerals, forests, fisheries, or any other natural resources, receives very little care and conservation. (Chandrasekhar, S., 1946)

References:

Chandrasekhar, S. “India's Population: Fact and Policy” 1946. Indianchild.com.           (http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/india.html), 2005.

The World Fact Book, 2005.