India
The name India is derived from Indus, which is derived from the Old Persian word Hindu, from Sanskrit Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the Indus River.
The Constitution of India and common usage recognise Bharat as an official name;
India is also recognized with equal status. A third name, Hindustan (Persian: Land of the Hindus) has been used since the twelfth century.
Bharat-varsh meaning,"The kingdom of Bharat", it has nine regions, and was named after king Bharat from vedic times who was the ancestor of Kauravas & Pandava's.
India (Hindī: भारत Bhārat), officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second most populous country, and the largest democracy in the world. India has a coastline of over seven thousand kilometres[1] and borders Afghanistan[2] and Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. India is adjacent to the Indian Ocean island nations of Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia.
History
Stone Age rock shelters with paintings at Bhimbetka in the state of Madhya Pradesh are the earliest known traces of human life in India. The first known permanent settlements appeared over 9,000 years ago and gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilization, dating back to 3300 BCE in western India.
It was followed by the Vedic Civilization which laid the foundations of Hinduism and other cultural aspects of early Indian society. From around 550 BCE, many independent kingdoms and republics known as the Mahajanapadas were established across the country laying the foundations of ancient India.
The empire built by the Maurya dynasty under Emperor Ashoka the Great united most of modern Southern Asia except the Dravidian kingdoms in the south. From 180 BCE, a series of invasions from Central Asia into the north-western Indian Subcontinent followed, including the Indo-Greeks, Indo-Scythians, Indo-Parthians and the Kushans. From the third century CE, the Gupta dynasty oversaw the period referred to as ancient India's "Golden Age."
While the north had larger, fewer kingdoms, in the south there were several dynasties such as the Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas, Cheras, Cholas, Pallavas and Pandyas in different times and regions. The political influence of these mighty southern kingdoms, though felt to a lesser extent by north India, extended into Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka and deeply influenced their culture.
The southern kingdoms remained relatively more stable and carried out maritime trade in spices and precious gems with the Arabia, China and Europe from ancient times. Science, engineering, art, literature, mathematics, astronomy, religion and philosophy flourished under the patronage of these kings.
The Sanchi stupa in Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh built by emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCFollowing the invasions from Central Asia, between the tenth to the twelfth centuries, much of north India came under the rule of the Delhi Sultanate, and later the Mughal dynasty, who gradually expanded their reign through most of the Indian subcontinent. Nevertheless, several indigenous kingdoms flourished,in the west and the south, such as the Maratha Empire and Vijayanagara Empire.
From the sixteenth century onwards, several European countries, including Portugal, Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom, started arriving as traders, later taking advantage of the fractious nature of relations between the kingdoms, to establish colonies in the country. By 1856, most of India came under control of the British East India Company.
A year later, a failed nationwide insurrection of rebelling military units and kingdoms, known locally as the First War of Indian Independence (known as the Sepoy Mutiny elsewhere) broke out, leading to India being under the direct control of the British Crown as a colony of the British Empire.
Mahatma Gandhi with India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal NehruIn the early twentieth century, a nationwide struggle for independence was launched by the Indian National Congress, and various revolutionary groups.
The movement was largely led by Mahatma Gandhi, with Maulana Azad, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak,Shaheed Bhagat Singh,Shaheed Sukhdev,Shaheed Rajgure, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bipin Chandra Pal and Subhash Chandra Bose playing important roles. Millions protested in various mass campaigns of civil disobedience with a commitment to ahimsa or non-violence.
Finally, after the Quit India massive civil disobedience movement during WWII, and a number of mutinies in the armed forces after the war, India gained independence from British rule on 15 August 1947. Three years later, on 26 January 1950, India ratified a new Constitution, and became a republic.
Since it gained independence, India has seen sectarian violence and insurgencies in various parts of the country, but has maintained its unity and democracy. It has unresolved territorial disputes with China, which escalated into the brief Sino-Indian War in 1962; and with Pakistan, which resulted in wars in 1947, 1965, 1971 and in 1999 war in Kargil.
India is a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the United Nations (at the time as part of British India). In 1974, India conducted an underground nuclear test. This was followed by five more tests in 1998. Significant economic reforms beginning in 1991 have transformed India into one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
