India

India occupies the central portion of South Asia, where its landmass extends from the broad plains of the north to the peninsula that projects into the Indian Ocean. As the world’s seventh-largest country by area and, since June 2023, its most populous, it has combined size and density in a way that shapes every aspect of its character. Democracy, introduced at independence in 1947, has matured even as the nation remains marked by diversity—in language, ethnicity, religion and terrain.

Archaeological evidence places modern humans on the subcontinent by at least 55,000 years ago. For millennia they lived in small, mobile communities, preserving genetic lineages second only to those of Africa. Around 9,000 years before the present era, people along the western margins of the Indus basin settled into farming life. Over the next few millennia the Indus Valley civilisation arose, with sophisticated urban planning, drainage systems and trade routes linking distant regions.

By about 1200 BCE Sanskrit, an Indo-European tongue, arrived from the northwest. Hymns composed in archaic Sanskrit document beliefs that later coalesced into what is now called Hinduism. In northern regions older Dravidian languages gave way, while in the south they persisted. Around the mid-first millennium BCE rigid social strata emerged within Hindu tradition. At the same time, alternative paths appeared: Buddhism and Jainism rejected hereditary status and called for ethical practice and personal insight.

The first large-scale polities—the Maurya and Gupta empires—united vast territories in the north. Intellectual life flourished: scholars elaborated mathematics and astronomy; artists produced sculptures in stone and bronze. Yet social inequalities deepened, and notions of untouchability became more entrenched.

In southern India, kingdoms such as the Chola and Pallava exported scripts, literature and religious forms across the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia. Trade carried spices, textiles and philosophies to the Indonesian archipelago and beyond.

From the early medieval period, the subcontinent’s western and southern shores welcomed new faiths. Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Islam took root in port cities. In the north, successive incursions by armies from Central Asia led to the Delhi Sultanate—an Islamic polity that wove northern India into transcontinental networks.

Meanwhile, the Vijayanagara Empire in the south affirmed Hindu cultural frameworks. In the Punjab, Sikhism formed around the rejection of religious hierarchy. In 1526 the Mughal dynasty established a realm that, for two centuries, oversaw relative stability. Patronage of architecture gave rise to monuments whose domes, arches and inlaid marble now draw visitors world-wide.

From the early 1600s, the British East India Company extended its control. Local economies were reoriented to supply raw materials and purchase imported goods. By 1858, following an uprising against company rule, the Crown assumed direct governance. Infrastructure investments introduced railways, telegraphs and universities.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Indian thinkers synthesized modern political ideas with critiques of imperialism. A movement committed to nonviolent resistance gradually mobilized millions across social strata. In August 1947 the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two dominions—India and Pakistan—on religious grounds. Mass migration and communal violence followed, taking hundreds of thousands of lives.

On January 26, 1950, India became a sovereign republic with a parliamentary system. Its constitution enshrined universal adult suffrage, fundamental rights and the separation of powers. States were reorganized in 1956 along linguistic lines, balancing local identity with national unity.

Since the first census in 1951, when the population numbered 361 million, India has grown to over 1.4 billion residents by 2023. Literacy rose from 16.6 percent to 74 percent, and annual per-capita income climbed from roughly US $64 to more than US $2,600. Economic reforms after a 1991 balance-of-payments crisis dismantled many protectionist measures. Growth averaged nearly 6 percent per year over two decades, positioning India among the fastest-expanding major economies.

Poverty has declined even as inequality increased. A burgeoning middle class fuels demand for services, notably in information technology, where Indian firms rank among global leaders. Film and music exports—especially from the Hindi-language film industry—have extended the country’s cultural reach.

India rests atop the Indian Plate, once part of Gondwana. Beginning some 75 million years ago, the plate drifted northward, colliding with Eurasia and lifting the Himalayas. To their south, sediments washed from those young mountains formed the flat Indo-Gangetic Plain. Further west, the ancient Aravalli range marks where the original plate still protrudes above the plains, curbing the spread of the Thar Desert.

The peninsular block—geologically stable and older—reaches north to the Satpura and Vindhya ranges. Southwards it forms the Deccan Plateau, flanked by the Western and Eastern Ghats, whose slopes hold rock formations over a billion years old.

Coastlines extend for 7,517 kilometres, two-thirds along the mainland and one-third on island chains. Nearly half consist of mudflats and marshes; the remainder splits between sandy bays and rocky shores. Offshore lie the coral atolls of Lakshadweep and the volcanic Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, which shares maritime boundaries with Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia.

Rivers born in the Himalayas—the Ganges with its tributaries Yamuna and Kosi, and the Brahmaputra—drain into the Bay of Bengal. Their low gradients and heavy silt loads produce flood-prone floodplains. In peninsular India rivers such as the Godavari, Krishna, Mahanadi and Kaveri flow east; the Narmada and Tapti head westward. Coastal features include the Rann of Kutch’s seasonal marshlands and the Sundarbans delta, a mangrove labyrinth shared with Bangladesh.

India’s climate pivots on two geographic drivers: the Himalayas block cold continental winds, and the Thar Desert draws moisture-laden monsoon currents. Between June and October the southwest monsoon provides most annual rainfall. Four major climate types appear: tropical wet, tropical dry, subtropical humid and montane.

Designated one of seventeen megadiverse nations, India hosts 8.6 percent of world mammal species, 13.7 percent of birds, and substantial shares of reptiles, amphibians and plants. One-third of its flora is found nowhere else. Four global biodiversity hotspots overlap its borders: regions with exceptional endemism under threat from habitat loss.

Protected areas shelter Bengal tigers, Asiatic lions, Asian elephants and countless lesser-known species. Keibul Lamjao on Loktak Lake floats on phumdis, supporting the endangered Sangai deer. The Shirui National Park harbours a terrestrial lily that blooms only on its slopes. Ranthambhore and Bandhavgarh offer glimpses of wild tigers; Gir preserves the last Asiatic lions; Kaziranga sustains a thriving one-horned rhinoceros population.

The Republic of India comprises 28 states and 8 union territories. All states and some territories elect legislatures and governments; others remain under direct federal administration. Local bodies at village, block, district and municipal levels exceed a quarter-million, reflecting a commitment to grassroots governance.

With some 1.43 billion people in 2023, India accounts for nearly one in six of all humans. From 2001 to 2011 its population rose by 17.6 percent. The sex ratio, 940 females per 1,000 males in 2011, and median age near 29 years in 2020, point to a young population. Health and agricultural advances, including the Green Revolution, drove rapid growth in the late twentieth century.

Multiple languages and scripts link to ancient roots and newer arrivals. Religious communities—Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Zoroastrian and others—coexist amid regional customs. Despite legal prohibitions against caste discrimination, social stratification persists. Gender inequality and child malnutrition remain challenges. Rapid urbanization and industrialization have elevated air pollution, especially in the Indo-Gangetic belt.

By 2024 India’s nominal GDP approached US $4 trillion, ranking fifth globally; on purchasing-power terms it stood near US $15 trillion. Yet per-capita income places most citizens in lower-income brackets. Services—particularly IT and finance—drive growth; agriculture still employs a third of the workforce but contributes less than 15 percent of output. Manufacturing accounts for about a quarter of GDP. Foreign trade and investment have expanded since joining the World Trade Organization in 1995.

Civilisation in India spans over 4,500 years. During the Vedic age (c. 1700–500 BCE) foundational concepts—dharma, karma, yoga, moksha—took shape. Philosophical schools debated metaphysics and ethics; epic poetry recounted moral dilemmas. Over centuries religious movements—Bhakti devotion, Tantric practice, and Buddhist and Jain scholasticism—diversified spiritual discourse.

Architecture expresses these currents. Temples follow Vastu Shastra principles, aligning human dwellings with cosmic patterns. The Taj Mahal’s white marble symmetry reflects Mughal refinement; in South India, Dravidian gopurams rise in layered tiers. Indo-Saracenic Revival blended colonial and indigenous forms in civic buildings and palaces.

Traditionally, women wore the sari, a length of cloth draped around the body, paired with a choli blouse and petticoat. Men’s lower-body garment, the dhoti, gave way to stitched trousers—pyjamas and churidars—after fourteenth-century Muslim rule. Today urban professionals favor trousers and shirts; formal occasions revive sherwanis, bandhgalas and saris.

Meals center on a cereal base—rice or chapati—accompanied by spiced lentils, vegetables, meat or fish. Blends of coriander, cumin, turmeric, cardamom and other spices define regional profiles. South Indian breakfasts feature idli and dosa; northern thalis present an array of breads, curries and sweets.

Behavior varies sharply by region. What seems courteous in Mumbai—using a taxi meter and accepting change—might differ in Delhi or smaller towns. Visitors must remain adaptable. In conversation Indians tend to be direct; euphemisms risk confusion. Personal questions about family, salary or education often signal warmth.

Addresses of respect (“sir,” “ma’am”) suit elders. Family extends beyond the nuclear unit, and living with parents reflects mutual support. The caste system no longer carries legal weight but colors social interactions. Skin-tone biases persist both toward foreigners and among Indians themselves. Minority communities—such as the Siddis of African descent and Anglo-Indians—face distinct challenges of recognition and inclusion.

Monuments such as the Taj Mahal in Agra, Delhi’s Qutb Minar and Red Fort, and Jaipur’s palaces testify to India’s layered past. Nalanda’s ruins evoke early Buddhist scholarship; Gandhi’s ashram in Ahmedabad preserves records of political struggle.

Temple complexes range from Khajuraho’s carved walls to Meenakshi Amman’s pillared halls in Madurai. Varanasi’s ghats along the Ganges host rituals of birth and death that echo millennia-old traditions. Hill stations—Srinagar, Darjeeling, Shimla, Ooty, Gangtok—offer relief from summer heat.

Coastal retreats include Goa’s beaches and the Andaman Islands’ coral reefs. In western Rajasthan the Thar Desert yields camel safaris from Jaisalmer. Wildlife reserves—from Gir’s lions to Kaziranga’s rhinoceroses—invite those who seek natural encounters, though success depends on patience and timing.

India’s complexity defies simple summary. Its terrain ranges from snow-clad peaks to tropical isles; its languages count in the hundreds; its faiths encompass philosophies from ritual devotion to stark asceticism. Centuries of invention, conquest, exchange and adaptation have left traces in stone, text and custom. As a federal republic of over a billion citizens, it wrestles with growth, inequality and environmental pressures even as it sustains traditions older than most modern states. To grasp India is to attend to its contrasts—in land and language, in prosperity and penury, in epochal monuments and everyday rituals—and to recognize a society that continually redefines itself without erasing its past.