Official Name

Republic of India

Southern Asia, south of the Himalayas, the southern peninsula bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. India shares borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan to the north-west, China, Nepal and Bhutan to the north, Myanmar and Bangladesh to the east. Sri Lanka is separated from the southernmost tip of India by the narrow Palk Straits and the Gulf of Mannar.

Area

3.29 million sq. km

Population

1.027 billion (2001 census)

Capital

New Delhi

Climate

Varied continental climate. Spring from March-April, summer from May-October, winter from November-February. Tropical monsoon from June-August, and post-monsoon or north-east monsoon season (Oct-Dec). Most of the rainfall is brought by the south-west monsoon. Owing to the geographical diversity of India, regional climatic conditions in the extreme north, east and west can be different.

Religion

Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census)

Administrative Division

There are 28 states and 6 union territories (UTs) besides the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The states are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. The UTs are Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep and Pondicherry.

Republic Day

26th January (The Indian Constitution was adopted and Republic formed on this day in 1950.)

Independence Day

15th August (The British Raj ended on this day in 1947.)

National flag

Three equal horizontal bands of saffron on top, white in the middle and green in the bottom with a blue Dharma Chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band. The ratio of the width to the length of the flag is two is to three. The saffron stands for courage and sacrifice; the white, for purity and truth; the green for growth and auspiciousness. The Chakra intends to show that there is life in movement and death in stagnation.

National Emblem

The National Emblem of India is a replica of the Lion of Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh State. The Lion Capital was erected in the 3rd century BC by Emperor Ashoka to mark the spot where Lord Buddha first proclaimed his gospel of peace and emancipation. It is symbolic of India's reaffirmation of its ancient commitment to world peace and goodwill. In the original, there are four lions, standing back to back, mounted on an abacus with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and a lion separated by intervening wheels over a bell-shaped lotus. In the state emblem adopted by the Government of India on 26 January 1950, only three lions are visible, the fourth being hidden from view. The wheel appears in relief in the center of the abacus with a bull on the right and a horse on the left and the outlines of the other wheels on extreme right and left. The bell-shaped lotus has been omitted.

The four lions (one hidden from view) - symbolising power, courage and confidence - rest on a circular abacus. The abacus is girded by four smaller animals - guardians of the four directions: the lion of the north, the elephant of the east, the horse of the south and the bull of the west. The abacus rests on a lotus in full bloom, exemplifying the fountainhead of life and creative inspiration. The motto 'Satyameva Jayate' inscribed below the emblem in Devanagari script means 'truth alone triumphs'.

National Language

Hindi is the most widely spoken language and primary tongue of 41% of the people; there are 21 other official languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. English enjoys associate status but is one of the most important languages for national political, and commercial communication.

National Calendar

Based on the Saka Era with Chaitra as its first month and a normal year of 365 days, the national calendar has a permanent correspondence with the Gregorian calendar with 1st Chaitra falling on 22nd March (21st March in leap years).

National Anthem

"Jana Gana Mana" ---- Thou Art the Ruler of All Minds ---- The Indian National anthem, composed originally in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India on 24 January 1950. It was first sung 27 December 1911 at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress.

To listen:
http://www.hcilondon.org/Jana%20Gana(Vocal).wav

National Animal

The Tiger

National Bird

The Peacock

National Flower

The Lotus

Time Zone

Indian Standard Time is GMT+5 and1/2 hrs. It is two and a half hours behind Beijing Time.

Form of State

Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic

Head of State

Hon'ble President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil

Head of Government

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh