India gained independence from British colonialism in 1947 through nonviolent resistance led by Nehru and Gandhi. It is the seventh largest country in the world, second in population, and has 14 official languages. The majority of the population is Hindu, and the economy is driven by the service sector. Indian cuisine is known for its regional specialties and vegetarian options.
India, a country located primarily on the Asian subcontinent, has been independent since 1947, when it was liberated from British colonialism through the nonviolent resistance movement led by Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohandas Mahatma Gandhi. It was at this time that the state of India which is secular and the state of Pakistan which is Muslim were formed and there have been several wars between them one of which resulted in the formation of the nation of Bangladesh in 1971.
India is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the southwest, Pakistan to the northwest, Nepal, China and Bhutan to the north, Myanmar or Burma to the east, and the Bay of Bengal to the east, with Bangladesh nestled in the its northeastern arm. It has an area of 1,269,345.6 square miles (3,287,590 sq km), making it the seventh largest country in the world, after Russia, Canada, the United States, China, Brazil and Australia.
Although it is seventh in size, India is second in population, after China, with an estimated population of 1,147,995,904 people. While the majority of the population is ethnically Indo-Aryan (72%), 25% are Dravidian and 3% are Mongoloid or other. The people of India are mainly Hindus (80.5%); with 13.4% Muslim, 2.3% Christian and 1.0% Sikh.
The population is more diverse when it comes to languages. The country has 14 official languages, with Hindi being the most widely spoken native language (41%), but English has associate status and is used for politics and business. Other official languages include Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Kahmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Orriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil and Telugu. The literacy rate is 61%.
Locally, the country is known as Bharatiya Ganarajya and is a federal republic, divided into 28 states and seven entities known as union territories. In addition to a state legal system with roots in English common law, there are separate codes of personal law for the three main religious groups: Hindus, Muslims and Christians.
Most of the population, 60%, is engaged in agriculture, although this area contributes least to the gross domestic product, ahead of both industry and the service sector, which contributes most at 53.7%, while comprising only the 12% of the workforce. Exports include chemicals, gems and jewellery, engineering and textiles, petroleum products and leather.
India is known for regional food specialities, including Tandoori-style foods and Bengali specialities. Many Indians are vegetarians and spices in various combinations including garam masala and curry are popular. There is also a spiced tea called chai. Bean dishes, spinach and rice dishes, as well as a variety of breads, some of which are filled and called by names such as chapatis, samosas, pakoras and pobres, are common.
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