India

Magali Irigoitia, Antonella Denis and Sebastian Dargain

The Republic of India, or most widely known as India, is a south-eastern country of Asia,
which has one of the highest populations around the globe. It shares its borders with
Afghanistan and Pakistan on the northwest, Nepal, China and Bhutan to the northeast
and, Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. The Indian Ocean is located in the south and
the Arabian Sea on the southwest. Furthermore, India borders Sri Lanka and The
Maldives. [1]

Geography

India resides in the Indian plate which was formed by a serie of plates movement million
years ago; this led to the rising of the Himalayas mountains. [2] Two of the main rivers
such as the Ganges and the Brahmaputra drain into the Bay of Bangles. [3] When it
comes to climate, it is considered a tropical country, due to its high temperatures, dry
winters and rainfalls throughout the four seasons; including a monsoon season. [4] The
most important cities are its capital New Delhi and Mumbai, which is the biggest metropolis
and the main field for commerce and financial activities. This country is well-known for its
architectural tomb called Taj Mahal, which is considered a world heritage site by
UNESCO. Another interesting place to visit is the city of Rishikesh, the worldwide capital of
yoga, and besides the river Ganges has a special attraction for meditation. Not less
important is the city of Jaisalmer or also named The Golden City due to the colour of the
Thars desert. [5]

Culture
The people of India are a mix of different and unique religions, languages and old
communities. The principal influence is Dharma, to simplify, this concept they have
adopted is a way of life and has many connotations but, it can be said that these are
behaviours that are considered helpful for maintain the order of life and universe. It
contains duties, rights, laws and conduct. It is a proper form to live and practice the
religion. [6]
Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, are known as the Indian religions. The
believers of the Hinduism are the 80-82% of the population of the country but not less
important are the Muslims which are the 13%, the rest of the percentage are divided into
Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Christians, among others. Nowadays, Hinduism and
Buddhism are the third and fourth-largest religions in the whole world, having over 2 billion
followers.
Indian inhabitants have a devotion to religion, that is why it has a serious weight in India
and in addition they see it as one of the main things on their lives. [7]

Language

There are 22 officials languages in India that have been recognized by the Constitution,
being Hindi and English the most important ones.
Sanskrit is one of the oldest Indo-Aryan languages and one of the earliest members of the
Indo-European languages. Scientific studies have recognised that Sanskrit and many
others Indian derivative languages come from English, German, French, and Italian among
others. Hindi, which is the most spoken, is a standardised and Sanskritised register. [8]

Two languages that had an important influence in the country had been Persian and
English, Persian was the court language during the Mughal period and currently English is
used in higher education and in some areas of the Indian government. [9]

History
India is one of the oldest civilizations of the world with a kaleidoscopic variety and rich
cultural heritage. In ancient times, people from all over the world were keen to go to India.
The Persians followed by the Iranians and Parsis immigrated to India. Then came the
Moghuls [10]. Colonial India was one of the main catalysts for the period of European
exploration. Near the XV century, Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama became the first
European to re-establish direct trade links with India since roman times [11]. Lastly, the
British went and ruled over India for nearly 200 years. After the battle of Plassey in 1757,
the British achieved political power in India. [10]
First War of Indian independence.
The rebellion of 1857 was a result of accumulation of many factors over time [12]. The
Revolt had been preceded by a series of disturbances in different parts of the country [13].
The revolt was controlled by the British within one year; it began from Meerut on 10 May
1857 and ended in Gwalior on June 1858. [10]
The foundations of the Indian National Movement were laid by Suredranath Banerjee with
the formation of Indian Association at Calcuta in 1876. Meanwhile in 1909, the British
government announced certain reforms to the structure of government in India which are
known as Morley-Minto Reforms. The massacre of 1919 was one of the most inhuman
acts of the British rulers in India. After the First World War, Gandhi developed the
technique of non-violent agitation. The non-cooperation movement failed. On 26th January
1930, meetings were held all over the country and the Congress tricolour was hoisted. The
British Government tried to repress the movement and resorted to brutal firing, killing
hundreds of people. India became free at the stroke of midnight, on August 14, 1947.
Earlier on January 26, 1950 the Constitution came into force. [10]

References
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India
[2] https://www.britannica.com/place/India#toc46359
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Bengal
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_India#Climate
[5] https://www.britannica.com/place/India
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_India#Culture
[8] https://www.britannica.com/place/India/People#toc46398
[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_India
[10] https://www.india.gov.in/india-glance
[11] https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_India
[12] https://www.indiatoday.in/lite/story/indias-first-war-of-independence/1/664227.html
[13] https://www.historydiscussion.net/history-of-india/the-revolt-of-1857-the-first-war-of-
independence/1581