India

Official name: Republic of India Capital: New Delhi Largest city: Mumbai Other large cities: Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune 28 states with 7 Union Territories GEOGRAPHY Population: 1.21 billion in 2011 3.29 million sq. kilometers 382 people per square mile India is one third the size of the U.S with almost 4 times the population. Second largest country in population after China.
 * __Size and Population__**

The geography of India impacts its behavior because it is very heavily populated and there is not enough room for everyone. Because of this there are many homeless or poor people in India. The nation provides a tourist economy because of its old culture, architecture, and attractions. It's a challenging environment in which to establish a society because it is very hard to govern so many people but India still has an improving democracy. CULTURE __**Language and Religion**__ Over 1000 languages and dialects which is more than any other part of the world. National Language is Hindi - understood by about 2/3 of the population. Common North Indian languages - Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi Common South Indian languages - Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu 80% of Indians are Hindus 13% of Indians are Muslims 7% of Indians practice other religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Jainism, and Sikhism

Currency: Rupee 1 dollar = about 49 rupees Major trading partners: U.S., China, U.A.E., E.U., Russia, Japan GDP: $1.095 trillion Natural Resources: Coal, iron ore, manganese, limestone, diamonds and many more Type of government: Democracy India has the 4th largest economy in the world Current Prime Minister: Manmohan Singh
 * __Economy__**

The economy is on the rise and the nation is very powerful because of highly educated workers. Many Information technology jobs from the US have moved to India because of cheaper labor.

Diwali - festival of lights - one of the most important festivals of the year for Hindus ( In 2011 it was on Wednesday, October 26 ) Holi - festival of colors - celebrates the arrival of spring - throw color at others ( In 2011 it was on Saturday, March 19 ) Onam - celebrated by the people of Kerala - usually have a family lunch on banana leaves. ( In 2011 it was on Friday, September 9 )
 * __Festivals__**

India's official national sport is field hockey but its most popular sport is cricket. Other popular sports include football( Soccer ), tennis, chess, badminton, golf, and many others. Bollywood is the Hindi cinema which is the largest film production in India and one of the largest in the world. In many of these movies, the actors speak in English or mixed Hindi and English. Some famous movies are Kal Ho Naa Ho, Doom 2, and 3 idiots. Some famous actors are Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, and Kareena Kapoor.
 * __Entertainment__**
 * Sports
 * Movies

The particular culture, with religions, social norms, values, etc. impact the behavior of the nation because some religions such as Hindism used to follow a caste system. If you were in a lower caste, because you were very poor or "not important" then you probably wouldn't get the best jobs. Although this is now abolished, it still affects life today. Poor people sometimes expect less of themselves and rich people sometimes think they deserve everything. The culture of the country is tied to the culture of Britian because India was once it's colony. Many names of cities were changed during British rule and only now are they starting to change them back. India's government is also influenced by Britian. India and Britian are still trading partners today. India is a heterogeneous country because of its diverse population, culture and language.

HISTORY

Although traces of early modern humans in India can go back 80,000 years the first civilization recorded was in 3300 B.C. From the 900s to the 19th century, most of India was under Islamic rule. Then, during the mid 1850s the British east India company started taking over most of India. In 1858, India became a British colony. In 1919 Mohandas Gandhi ( later known as Mahatma Gandhi, Mahatma meaning great soul ) led a non - violent protest to end british rule. He used methods like the salt march, laying in front of British horses because horses don't step on people, and fasting. On August 15, 1947 India gained independence from Britian.

Some conflicts that persist over generations are disputes between India and Pakistan and disputes between Hindus and Muslims. These conflicts are currently are trying to be solved. The history of the nation is important because India is one of the oldest civilizations which has an impact on government and culture.

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