INDIA COUNTRY

Its capital is New Delhi, built in the 20th century just south of the historic hub of Old Delhi to serve as India’s administrative centre. With roughly one-sixth of the world’s total population, India is the second most populous country, after China. Its government is a constitutional republic that represents a highly diverse population consisting of thousands of ethnic groups and likely hundreds of languages. India, country that occupies the greater part of South Asia.From that period on, India functioned as a virtually self-contained political and cultural arena, which gave rise to a distinctive tradition that was associated primarily with Hinduism, the roots of which can largely be traced to the Indus civilization. Other religions, notably Buddhism and Jainism, originated in India—though their presence there is now quite small—and throughout the centuries residents of the subcontinent developed a rich intellectual life in such fields as mathematics, astronomy, architecture, literature, music, and the fine arts. It is known from archaeological evidence that a highly sophisticated urbanized culture—the Indus civilization—dominated the northwestern part of the subcontinent from about 2600 to 2000 BCE.Especially important was the coming of Islam, brought from the northwest by Arab, Turkish, Persian, and other raiders beginning early in the 8th century CE. Only after the arrival of the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama in 1498 and the subsequent establishment of European maritime supremacy in the region did India become exposed to major external influences arriving by sea, a process that culminated in the decline of the ruling Muslim elite and absorption of the subcontinent within the British Empire. Throughout its history, India was intermittently disturbed by incursions from beyond its northern mountain wall. Eventually, some of those raiders stayed; by the 13th century much of the subcontinent was under Muslim rule, and the number of Muslims steadily increased.Religious minorities, including Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains, still account for a significant proportion of the population; collectively, their numbers exceed the populations of all countries except China. Earnest attempts have been made to instill a spirit of nationhood in so varied a population, but tensions between neighbouring groups have remained and at times have resulted in outbreaks of violence. At independence, India was blessed with several leaders of world stature, most notably Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, who were able to galvanize the masses at home and bring prestige to India abroad. Yet social legislation has done much to alleviate the disabilities previously suffered by formerly “untouchable” castes, tribal populations, women, and other traditionally disadvantaged segments of society. Apart from its many religions and sects, India is home to innumerable castes and tribes, as well as to more than a dozen major and hundreds of minor linguistic groups from several language families unrelated to one another. When British rule came to an end in 1947, the subcontinent was partitioned along religious lines into two separate countries—India, with a majority of Hindus, and Pakistan, with a majority of Muslims; the eastern portion of Pakistan later split off to form Bangladesh. Many British institutions stayed in place (such as the parliamentary system of government); English continued to be a widely used lingua franca; and India remained within the Commonwealth. Three other Indian cities—Bengaluru (Bangalore), Chennai (Madras), and Hyderabad—are among the world’s fastest-growing high-technology centres, and most of the world’s major information technology and software companies now have offices in India. The country has played an increasing role in global affairs.

Contemporary India’s increasing physical prosperity and cultural dynamism—despite continued domestic challenges and economic inequality—are seen in its well-developed infrastructure and a highly diversified industrial base, in its pool of scientific and engineering personnel (one of the largest in the world), in the pace of its agricultural expansion, and in its rich and vibrant cultural exports of music, literature, and cinema. Though the country’s population remains largely rural, India has three of the most populous and cosmopolitan cities in the world—Mumbai (Bombay), Kolkata (Calcutta), and Delhi. Direct administration by the British, which began in 1858, effected a political and economic unification of the subcontinent. Hindi became the official language (and a number of other local languages achieved official status), while a vibrant English-language intelligentsia thrived. India remains one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world.Bangladesh to the east is surrounded by India to the north, east, and west. It is bounded to the northwest by Pakistan, to the north by Nepal, China, and Bhutan; and to the east by Myanmar (Burma). Land India’s frontier, which is roughly one-third coastline, abuts six countries. The island country of Sri Lanka is situated some 40 miles (65 km) off the southeast coast of India across the Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar.In area, India ranks as the seventh largest country in the world. The land of India—together with Bangladesh and most of Pakistan—forms a well-defined subcontinent, set off from the rest of Asia by the imposing northern mountain rampart of the Himalayas and by adjoining mountain ranges to the west and east.Continued rapid erosion of the Himalayas added to the sediment accumulation, which was subsequently carried by mountain streams to fill the subsidence zone and cause it to sink more. India’s present-day relief features have been superimposed on three basic structural units: the Himalayas in the north, the Deccan (peninsular plateau region) in the south, and the Indo-Gangetic Plain (lying over the subsidence zone) between the two. Between those extremes the mountains fall across India, southern Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan. When the two finally collided (approximately 50 million years ago), the northern edge of the Indian-Australian Plate was thrust under the Eurasian Plate at a low angle. The collision reduced the speed of the oncoming plate, but the underthrusting, or subduction, of the plate has continued into contemporary times.

The effects of the collision and continued subduction are numerous and extremely complicated. India’s landmass, which forms the northwestern portion of the Indian-Australian Plate, began to drift slowly northward toward the much larger Eurasian Plate several hundred million years ago (after the former broke away from the ancient southern-hemispheric supercontinent known as Gondwana, or Gondwanaland). An important consequence, however, was the slicing off of crustal rock from the top of the underthrusting plate. Those slices were thrown back onto the northern edge of the Indian landmass and came to form much of the Himalayan mountain system. The new mountains—together with vast amounts of sediment eroded from them—were so heavy that the Indian-Australian Plate just south of the range was forced downward, creating a zone of crustal subsidence. That great, geologically young mountain arc is about 1,550 miles (2,500 km) long, stretching from the peak of Nanga Parbat (26,660 feet [8,126 metres]) in the Pakistani-administered portion of the Kashmir region to the Namcha Barwa peak in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The width of the system varies between 125 and 250 miles (200 and 400 km). Much of India’s territory lies within a large peninsula, surrounded by the Arabian Sea to the west and the Bay of Bengal to the east; Cape Comorin, the southernmost point of the Indian mainland, marks the dividing line between those two bodies of water. Further information on the geology of India is found in the article Asia. The Himalayas of India The Himalayas (from the Sanskrit words him “snow,” and alay, “abode”), the loftiest mountain system in the world, form the northern limit of India. India has two union territories composed entirely of islands: Lakshadwee, in the Arabian Sea, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which lie between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Relief It is now generally accepted that India’s geographic position, continental outline, and basic geologic structure resulted from a process of plate tectonics—the shifting of enormous, rigid crustal plates over the Earth’s underlying layer of molten material.Within India the Himalayas are divided into three longitudinal belts, called the Outer, Lesser, and Great Himalayas. Those in the west lie wholly within Pakistan and Afghanistan, while those to the east straddle India’s border with Myanmar (Burma). At each extremity there is a great bend in the system’s alignment, from which a number of lower mountain ranges and hills spread out. North of the Himalayas are the Plateau of Tibet and various Trans-Himalayan ranges, only a small part of which, in the Ladakh union territory (in the Indian-administered portion of Kashmir), are within the territorial limits of India.In 2001 another tremor (the Bhuj earthquake), farther from the mountains, in Gujarat state, was less powerful but caused extensive damage, taking the lives of more than 20,000 people and leaving more than 500,000 homeless. Crests in the Siwaliks, averaging from 3,000 to 5,000 feet (900 to 1,500 metres) in elevation, seldom exceed 6,500 feet (2,000 metres). As a result, the mountains are still rising, and earthquakes—often accompanied by landslides—are common. Notable among those is Kanchenjunga (28,169 feet [8,586 metres]) on the border of Nepal and the state of Sikkim, which is the world’s third tallest peak and India’s highest point. The mountains are composed of both ancient crystalline and geologically young rocks, sometimes in a reversed stratigraphic sequence because of thrust faulting. Because of the continued subduction of the Indian peninsula against the Eurasian Plate, the Himalayas and the associated eastern ranges remain tectonically active. To the south of the range is the Indo-Gangetic Plain. The Lesser Himalayas are traversed by numerous deep gorges formed by swift-flowing streams (some of them older than the mountains themselves), which are fed by glaciers and snowfields to the north. The Great Himalayas The northernmost Great, or Higher, Himalayas (in ancient times, the Himadri), with crests generally above 16,000 feet (4,900 metres) in elevation, are composed of ancient crystalline rocks and old marine sedimentary formations. The Great Himalayas lie mostly above the line of perpetual snow and thus contain most of the Himalayan glaciers. The relatively high frequency and wide distribution of earthquakes likewise have generated controversies about the safety and advisability of several hydroelectric and irrigation projects. The Outer Himalayas (the Siwalik Range)

The southernmost of the three mountain belts are the Outer Himalayas, also called the Siwalik (or Shiwalik) Range. Their ancient name is Himachal (Sanskrit: hima, “snow,” and acal, “mountain”). Still others—notably the 2005 quake in Pakistani-administered Kashmir and the 2015 temblor in Nepal—principally affected those regions but also caused widespread damage and hundreds of deaths in adjacent parts of India. Several since 1900 have been devastating, including one in 1934 in what is now Bihar state that killed more than 10,000 people. The range narrows as it moves east and is hardly discernible beyond the Duars, a plains region in West Bengal state. The highest in the range, Mount Everest (at 29,035 feet [8,850 metres]; see Researcher’s Note: Height of Mount Everest), is on the China-Nepal border, but India also has many lofty peaks. Interspersed in the Siwaliks are heavily cultivated flat valleys (duns) with a high population density. Between the Great and Lesser Himalayas are several fertile longitudinal vales; in India the largest is the Vale of Kashmir, an ancient lake basin with an area of about 1,700 square miles (4,400 square km). Other high mountains in India include Nanda Devi (25,646 feet [7,817 metres]), Kamet (25,446 feet [7,755 metres]), and Trisul (23,359 feet [7,120]) in Uttarakhand. Weakly indurated, largely deforested, and subject to heavy rain and intense erosion, the Siwaliks provide much of the sediment transported onto the plain. The Lesser Himalayas To the north of the Siwaliks and separated from them by a fault zone, the Lesser Himalayas (also called the Lower or Middle Himalayas) rise to heights ranging from 11,900 to 15,100 feet (3,600 to 4,600 metres). The Great Himalayas, ranging from 30 to 45 miles (50 to 75 km) wide, include some of the world’s highest peaks.Associated ranges and hills In general, the various regional ranges and hills run parallel to the Himalayas’ main axis. Also in the Kashmir region is the Pir Panjal Range, which, extending along the southwest of the Great Himalayas, forms the western and southern flanks of the Vale of Kashmir. Those are especially prominent in the northwest, where the Zaskar Range and the Ladakh and Karakoram ranges (all in India-administered Kashmir) run to the northeast of the Great Himalayas.Collectively, the latter group is also designated as the Shillong (Meghalaya) Plateau. Within the Naga Hills, the reedy Logtak Lake, in the Manipur River valley, is an important feature. Branching off from those hills to the northwest are the Mikir Hills, and to the west are the Jaintia, Khasi, and Garo hills, which run just north of India’s border with Bangladesh. At its eastern extremity, the Himalayas give way to a number of smaller ranges running northeast-southwest—including the heavily forested Patkai Range and the Naga and Mizo hills—which extend along India’s borders with Myanmar and the southeastern panhandle of Bangladesh.The majestic Indian, or Bengal, tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), the national animal of India, is known for its rich colour, illusive design, and formidable power. The Indian rhinoceros is protected at Kaziranga National Park and Manas Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam. Mysore, Karnataka, India: elephant in Kabani River Mysore, Karnataka, India: elephant in Kabani River Elephant and rider in the Kabani River near Mysore, Karnataka, India. Gerald Cubitt Examples of ruminants include the wild Indian bison, or gaur (Bos gaurus), which inhabits peninsular forests; Indian buffalo; four-horned antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis), known locally as chousingha; blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), or Indian antelope; antelope known as the nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), or bluebuck; and Indian wild ass (Equus hemionus khur), or ghorkhar. Once on the verge of extinction, Indian tigers have increased to several thousand, thanks largely to Project Tiger, which has established reserves in various parts of the country. Tigers are found in the forests of the Tarai region of northern India, Bihar, and Assam; the Ganges delta in West Bengal; the Eastern Ghats; Madhya Pradesh; and eastern Rajasthan. Among the animals of prey, the Asiatic lion—now confined to Gir National Park, in the Kathiawar Peninsula of Gujarat—is the only extant subspecies of lion found outside of Africa. There are also several species of deer, such as the rare Kashmir stag (hangul), swamp deer (barasingha), spotted deer, musk deer, brow-antlered deer (Cervus eldi eldi; an endangered species known locally as the sangai or thamin), and mouse deer. Among the primates are various monkeys, including rhesus monkeys and gray, or Hanuman, langurs (Presbytis entellus), both of which are found in forested areas and near human settlements. Among other cats are leopards, clouded leopards, and various smaller species. Animal life India forms an important segment of what is known as the Oriental, or Sino-Indian, biogeographic region, which extends eastward from India to include mainland and much of insular Southeast Asia. The only ape found in India, the hoolock gibbon, is confined to the rainforests of the eastern region. Its fauna are numerous and highly diverse. Mammals Mammals of the submontane region include Indian elephants (Elephas maximus)—associated from time immemorial with mythology and the splendour of regal pageantry—the great one-horned Indian rhinoceroses, a wide variety of ruminants, and various primates. Lion-tailed macaques of the Western Ghats, with halos of hair around their faces, are becoming rare because of poaching. The country’s carnivores include cats, dogs, foxes, jackals, and mongooses. There are also numerous predators represented by various genera. Wild herds of elephants can be observed in several areas, particularly in such renowned national parks as Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, in Kerala, and Bandipur, in Karnataka. Of the five extant tiger subspecies worldwide, the Bengal tiger is the most numerous.Peacocks (peafowl) are also common, especially in Gujarat and Rajasthan, where they are kept as pets. Hornbills, barbets, and woodpeckers also are common, as are larks, crows, babblers, and thrushes. Vultures are ubiquitous consumers of carrion. Game birds are represented by pheasants, jungle fowl, partridges, and quails. Herons, storks, ibises, and flamingos are well represented, and many of those birds frequent Keoladeo Ghana National Park, near Bharatpur, Rajasthan (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985). The major reason for such a high level of diversity is the presence of a wide variety of habitats, from the cold and dry alpine tundra of Ladakh and Sikkim to the steamy, tangled jungles of the Sundarbans and wet, moist forests of the Western Ghats and the northeast. Hoiberg

Birds of prey include hawks, vultures, and eagles. The Rann of Kachchh forms the nesting ground for one of the world’s largest breeding colonies of flamingos. Keoladeo Ghana National Park Keoladeo Ghana National Park Bird sanctuary at Keoladeo Ghana National Park, near Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India. Dale H. Resplendently feathered, the peacock has been adopted as India’s national bird. Other notable birds in India include the Indian crane, commonly known as the sarus (Grus antigone); a large gray bird with crimson legs, the sarus stands as tall as a human. The great Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps), now confined to central and western India, is an endangered species protected by legislation. Sand grouse, pigeons, doves, parakeets, and cuckoos are found throughout the country. The cattle breed Brahman, or zebu (Bos indicus), a species of ox, is an important draft animal. Birds India has more than 1,200 species of birds and perhaps 2,000 subspecies, although some migratory species are found in the country only during the winter. The mainly nonmigratory kingfisher, living close to water bodies, is considered sacred in many areas. The Great Himalayas have notable fauna that includes wild sheep and goats, markhor (Capra falconeri), and ibex. The country’s many larger rivers provide deltas and backwaters for aquatic animal life, and many smaller rivers drain internally and end in vast saline lakes that are important breeding grounds for such birds as black-necked cranes (Grus nigricollis), barheaded geese (Anser indicus), and great crested grebes, as well as various kinds of terns, gulls, plovers, and sandpipers. The amount of avian life in the country represents roughly one-eighth of the world’s species. Bustards inhabit India’s grasslands. Lesser pandas and snow leopards are also found in the upper reaches of the mountains. Oxen, buffalo, horses, dromedary camels, sheep, goats, and pigs are common domesticated animals Home Software Essay Shuffler Essay Shuffler Rewritten Text Commercially valuable marine shellfish species include shrimps, prawns, crabs, lobsters, pearl oysters, and conchs. Among the commercially valuable insects are silkworms, bees, and the lac insect (Laccifer lacca). Resplendently feathered, the peacock has been adopted as India’s national bird. Other notable birds in India include the Indian crane, commonly known as the sarus (Grus antigone); a large gray bird with crimson legs, the sarus stands as tall as a human. Bustards inhabit India’s grasslands. Birds of prey include hawks, vultures, and eagles. Common edible freshwater fish include catfish and several members of the carp family, notably the mahseer, which grows up to 6.5 feet (2 metres) and 200 pounds (90 kg). King cobras often grow to at least 12 feet (3.6 metres) long. Legislative measures have declared certain animals protected species, and areas with particularly rich floral diversity have been adopted as biosphere reserves. Despite such measures, the reduced areas of forests, savannas, and grasslands provide little hope that India’s population of animals can be restored to what it was at the end of the 19th century. Lizards also are widespread, and turtles are found throughout India, especially along the eastern coast. Gavial Gavial Gavial (Gavialis gangeticus) of northern India. © Gerry Ellis Nature Photography Of some 2,000 species of fish in India, about one-fifth live in fresh water. A number of species, including the elephant, rhinoceros, and tiger, have been declared endangered, and numerous others—both large and small—are considered vulnerable or at risk. Peacocks (peafowl) are also common, especially in Gujarat and Rajasthan, where they are kept as pets. The Indian python frequents marshy areas and grasslands. The estuarine crocodile (Crocodilus porosus)—once attaining a maximum length of 30 feet (9 metres), though specimens exceeding 20 feet (6 metres) are now rare—usually lives on the fish, birds, and crabs of muddy deltaic regions. Sharks are found in India’s coastal waters and sometimes travel inland through major estuaries. Game birds are represented by pheasants, jungle fowl, partridges, and quails. The mainly nonmigratory kingfisher, living close to water bodies, is considered sacred in many areas. The great Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps), now confined to central and western India, is an endangered species protected by legislation. Sand grouse, pigeons, doves, parakeets, and cuckoos are found throughout the country. The latter secretes a sticky, resinous material called lac, from which shellac and a red dye are produced. Kraits and cobras are particularly widespread venomous species. The long-snouted gavial, or gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), a species similar to the crocodile, is endemic to northern India; it is found in a number of large rivers, including the Ganges and Brahmaputra and their tributaries. Crocodiles inhabit the country’s rivers, swamps, and lakes. Virtually no forests are left in private hands. Hornbills, barbets, and woodpeckers also are common, as are larks, crows, babblers, and thrushes. great Indian bustard great Indian bustard Great Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps), a critically endangered bird species of India. © Vinod Bartakke/Fotolia Reptiles, fish, and insects Reptiles are well represented in India. Of the nearly 400 species of snakes, one-fifth are venomous. Many other insects, such as various species of mosquitoes, are vectors for disease (e.g., malaria and yellow fever) or for human parasites (e.g., certain flatworms and nematodes). Conservation The movement for the protection of forests and wildlife is strong in India. Vultures are ubiquitous consumers of carrion. Projects likely to cause ecological damage must be cleared by the national government’s Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change..Sindhi, for instance, is written in a Persianized form of Arabic script, but it also is sometimes written in the Devanagari or Gurmukhi scripts. Indo-European languages The Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family is the largest language group in the subcontinent, with nearly three-fourths of the population speaking a language of that family as a mother tongue. In many tribal areas (or areas that were tribal until relatively recently) the typical village consists of rows of houses along a single street or perhaps two or three parallel streets. However, with the collapse of the Soviet system in the early 1990s, India adopted a series of free-market reforms that fueled the growth of its middle class, and its highly educated and well-trained workforce made India one of the global centres of the high-technology boom that began in the late 20th century and produced significant annual growth rates. Foremost among the grains, in terms of both area sown and total yield, is rice, the crop of choice in almost all areas with more than 40 inches (1,000 mm) of average annual precipitation, as well as in some irrigated areas. Despite continued government regulation (which has remained strong in many sectors), trade expanded greatly beginning in the 1990s. Probably no more than one-fifth of India’s vast labour force is employed in the so-called “organized” sector of the economy (e.g., mining, plantation agriculture, factory industry, utilities, and modern transportation, commercial, and service enterprises), but that small fraction generates a disproportionate share of GDP, supports most of the middle- and upper-class population, and generates most of the economic growth. Tribal peoples are concentrated mainly in the northeast (notably Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland) and, to a lesser extent, in the northeast-central (Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha) regions of the country, as well as in the Lakshadweep and Dadra and Nagar Haveli union territories. While inherently nonegalitarian, jatis provide Indians with social support and, at least in theory, a sense of having a secure and well-defined social and economic role. The major metropolitan agglomerations have the fastest rates of all, even where, as in Kolkata, there is a high degree of congestion within the central city. Hinduism also encompasses scores of smaller sects advocating religious revival and reform, promoting the uplift of disadvantaged groups, or focusing on the teachings of charismatic religious leaders. For further discussion of other major religions, see Islam and Christianity. Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India: cremation ashes on ship Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India: cremation ashes on ship Ship laden with cremation ashes to be deposited in the Ganges River, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. © Charles A. Languages within India have adopted words and grammatical forms from one another, and vernacular dialects within languages often diverge widely. Those languages have become increasingly standardized since independence because of improved education and the influence of mass media. The millions of refugees from Pakistan, for example, led to the establishment of many “model” (i.e., planned) towns on the edges of the existing cities. An early Aryan civilization—dominated by peoples with linguistic affinities to peoples in Iran and Europe—came to occupy northwestern and then north-central India over the period from roughly 2000 to 1500 BCE and subsequently spread southwestward and eastward at the expense of other indigenous groups. Others, such as the ubiquitous chilies, turmeric, and ginger, are raised to provide condiments or, in the case of betel leaf (of the pan plant) and betel (areca nut), digestives. Sheep are raised for both wool and meat. Intercaste restrictions were established to prevent the relative purity of a particular jati from being corrupted by the pollution of a lower caste. A fifth group, the Panchamas (from Sanskrit panch, “five”), theoretically were excluded from the system because their occupations and ways of life typically brought them in contact with such impurities. A caste, generally designated by the term jati (“birth”), refers to a strictly regulated social community into which one is born. In the 1990s the Dalit movement began adopting a more aggressive approach to ending caste discrimination, and many converted to other religions, especially Buddhism, as a means of rejecting the social premises of Hindu society. The increase between 1991 and 2001 alone—more than 182 million—was greater than the total present-day population of all but the world’s most-populous countries, and that value was matched by the increase between 2001 and 2011. Although India does possess extensive areas of fertile alluvial soils, especially on the Indo-Gangetic Plain, and other substantial areas of relatively productive soils, such as the black (regur) soils of the Deccan lava plateau, the red-to-yellow lateritic soils that predominate over most of the remainder of the country are low in fertility. In absolute terms and in relation to GDP, foreign trade traditionally has been low. Most cultivators own farms that provide little more than a bare subsistence for their families; given fluctuations in the agricultural market and the fickle nature of the annual monsoon, the farm failure rate often has been quite high, particularly among smallholders. Despite the rift, Hindi and Urdu remain mutually intelligible, while their Hindustani progenitor still serves as a lingua franca in many parts of the subcontinent, particularly in the north. English, a remnant of British colonial rule, is the most widely used lingua franca. The number of rooms, the furnishings, and the interior and exterior decor, especially the entrance gate, generally reflect the wealth of the family. Shepherds, largely of the Gujar caste, practice transhumance in the western Himalayas. That is complicated by the fact that, owing to their long-standing contact with one another, India’s languages have come to converge and to form an amalgamated linguistic area—a sprachbund—comparable, for example, to that found in the Balkans. The many divisions among Protestants have been substantially reduced since independence as a result of mergers creating the Church of North India and the Church of South India. India is fortunate in having several sites, especially in the Chota Nagpur Plateau, where abundant coal supplies are in close proximity to high-grade iron ore. In general, the larger a city, the greater its proportion of migrants to the total population and the more cosmopolitan its population mix. Starting in 1951, the government based its economic planning on a series of five-year plans influenced by the Soviet model. Almost everywhere, however, significant local minorities are present. All these typically are grown on relatively infertile soils unsuitable for rice or wheat, while corn cultivation is also favoured in hilly and mountainous regions. More than half of it is cultivated, with little left fallow in any given year. In one corner of the house or in an exterior court is the earthen hearth on which all meals are cooked. In contrast to many Western cities, affluent families commonly occupy houses in the heart of the most congested urban wards. In such cases, however, there are usually a few broad major thoroughfares, some degree of regularity to the street pattern, space reserved for parks, and a central business district, including old government offices, high-rise commercial office buildings, banks, elite shopping establishments, restaurants, hotels, museums, a few churches, and other reminders of the former colonial presence. Associated with a great many cities are special sections created originally for the needs of the British: largely residential areas known as civil lines, where the families of resident European administrators occupied spacious bungalows, with adjoining outbuildings for their servants, nearby shopping facilities, and a gymkhana (a combined sports and social club); cantonments, where military personnel of all ranks were quartered, together with adjacent parade grounds, polo fields, and firing ranges; and industrial zones, including not only the modern mills but also the adjacent “factory lines,” reminiscent of 19th-century company housing in Britain but even more squalid. In the postindependence period, with the acceleration of urban growth and the consequent need for urban planning, new forms arose. Cattle and buffalo are used mainly as draft animals but also serve many other purposes—to provide milk, as sources of meat (for those, including Muslims, Christians, and Scheduled Castes, for whom beef eating is not taboo), and as sources of fertilizer, cooking fuel (from dried cow-dung cakes), and leather. Noteworthy nonmetallic minerals include limestone, dolomite, rock phosphate, gypsum, building stone, and ceramic clays. In terms of the value of production, fuel minerals far exceed all others combined. To spread the benefits of development regionally and to alleviate metropolitan congestion, state governments have sponsored numerous industrial parks (or estates), for which entrepreneurs are offered various concessions, including cheap land and reduced taxes. A substantial majority of all industrial workers are employed in the millions of small-scale handicraft enterprises. Among the documented invasions that added significantly to the Indian ethnic mix are those of Persians, Scythians, Arabs, Mongols, Turks, and Afghans. Nevertheless, the diversity of resources, especially of minerals, exceeds that of all but a few countries and gives India a distinct advantage in its industrial development. Domestically supplied minerals form an important underpinning for India’s diversified manufacturing industry, as well as a source of modest export revenues. Subsequently, the Prakrit languages developed from local vernaculars but later were refined into literary tongues. Wheat is grown mainly on the fertile soils of northern and northwestern India in areas with 15 to 40 inches (380 to 1,000 mm) of average annual precipitation, often with supplementary irrigation. An even coarser fibre is derived from coir, the outer husk of the coconut, the processing of which forms the basis for an important cottage industry in Kerala. Sugar is also obtained by tapping the trunks of toddy palms (Caryota urens), which are abundant in southern India, but much of this syrup is fermented, often illegally, to make an alcoholic beverage. A group variously known as the Banjari or Vanjari (also called Labhani), originally from Rajasthan and related to the Roma (Gypsies) of Europe, roams over large areas of central India and the Deccan, largely as agricultural labourers and construction workers. Based on names alone, it is possible to identify more than 2,000 jatis. There has been some relaxation of caste distinction among young urban dwellers and those living abroad, but caste identity has remained strong—especially since groups such as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have a guaranteed percentage of representation in national and state legislatures. Settlement patterns Population density Only a tiny fraction of India’s surface area is uninhabited. Petroleum fields are located in eastern Assam (India’s oldest production region) and in Gujarat and offshore in the Arabian Sea on an undersea structure known as the Bombay High. Within India, however, migration from relatively impoverished regions to areas, especially cities, offering some promise of economic betterment has been largely responsible for the differential growth rates from one state or region to another. However, it is common for there to be several distinct groups bearing the same name that are not part of the same marriage network or local caste system. In India virtually all nontribal Hindus and many adherents of other faiths (even Muslims, for whom caste is theoretically anathema) recognize their membership in one of those hereditary social communities. The English-language press remains highly influential; scholarly publication is predominantly in English (almost exclusively so in science); and many Indians are devotees of literature in English (much of it written by Indians), as well as of English-language film, radio, television, popular music, and theatre. Minor languages and dialects Although many tribal communities are gradually abandoning their tribal languages, scores of such languages survive. Another common feature along the margin of a village is a grove of mango or other trees, which provides shade for people and animals and often contains a large well. There are many regional variants from the simple agglomerated-villages pattern. Rural electrification is increasing rapidly, and the great bulk of all villages are now tied into some distribution grid. India: Breakdown of renewable energy by source India: Breakdown of renewable energy by source Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Manufacturing India’s manufacturing industry is highly diversified. Of those, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai are the most notable examples. Hindustani is based on an early dialect of Hindi, known by linguists as Khari Boli, which originated in Delhi and an adjacent region within the Ganges-Yamuna Doab (interfluve). Production from marine and freshwater fisheries has become roughly equivalent. That complexity developed from a lengthy and involved process of migration and intermarriage. Copper, derived mainly from Rajasthan and Bihar, is a distant second. Several tiny but sociologically interesting communities of Jews are located along the western coast. In general, the proportion is higher in the agriculturally prosperous regions of the northwest, west, and south than in the northeastern rice-growing parts of the country, where the population capacity is limited by generally meagre crop surpluses. India: Urban-rural India: Urban-rural Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. In India large cities long have been growing at faster rates than small cities and towns. Others, however, had no recourse but to find shelter in bastis (shantytowns), clusters of anywhere from a few to many hundreds of makeshift dwellings, which are commonly found along the edges of railroad yards and parks, outside the walls of factories, along the banks of rivers, and wherever else the urban authorities might tolerate their presence. In such streets it is common for a single building to be at once a workshop, a retail outlet for what the workshop produces, and the residence for the artisan’s family and employees. Agra Fort: Pearl Mosque (Moti Masjid) Agra Fort: Pearl Mosque (Moti Masjid) The Pearl Mosque (Moti Masjid) and the fort at Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. Picturepoint, London Moderately old, highly congested urban cores also characterize many cities that grew up in the wake of British occupation. Although there has been a considerable drop in the birth rate, a much more rapid decline in the death rate has accounted for the rise in the country’s rate of population growth. These mainly household industries—such as spinning, weaving, pottery making, metalworking, and woodworking—largely serve the local needs of the villages where they are situated. Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India: Tata truck works Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India: Tata truck works Steel foundry at the Tata truck works, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India. © Robert Frerck/Odyssey Productions In terms of total output and value added, however, mechanized factory production predominates. Many small fundamentalist sects, however, have maintained their independence. Jute milling, unlike cotton, is highly concentrated in “Hugliside,” the string of cities along the Hugli (Hooghly) River just north of Kolkata. There are also several isolate languages, such as Nahali, which is spoken in a small area of Madhya Pradesh state. Overall, the per capita availability of cultivable area is low, and less than half of the cultivable land is of high quality. Much less numerous are southern groups who appear to be descended, at least in part, either from peoples of East African origin (some of whom settled in historical times on India’s western coast) or from a population commonly designated as Negrito, now represented by numerous small and widely dispersed peoples from the Andaman Islands, the Philippines, New Guinea, and other areas. India: Naga India: Naga Naga girl, Arunachal Pradesh, India. © arunachal/Fotolia Languages There are probably hundreds of major and minor languages and many hundreds of recognized dialects in India, whose languages belong to four different language families: Indo-Iranian (a subfamily of the Indo-European language family), Dravidian, Austroasiatic, and Tibeto-Burman (a subfamily of Sino-Tibetan). Several other onshore and offshore petroleum reserves have been discovered, including sites in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Arunachal Pradesh. The country’s utilities, overwhelmingly in government hands, are barely able to keep pace with the rapidly rising demand for various types of service. Foreign corporations, however, have been slow to invest in Indian industry because of excessive regulation (subsequently relaxed) and rules limiting foreign ownership of controlling shares. The long-established textile industries—especially cotton but also jute, wool, silk, and synthetic fibres—account for the greatest share of manufacturing employment. People of India Ethnic groups India is a diverse multiethnic country that is home to thousands of small ethnic and tribal groups. There are, however, influential Shiʿi minorities in Gujarat, especially among such Muslim trading communities as the Khojas and Bohras, and in large cities, such as Lucknow and Hyderabad, that, before the partition, were former capitals of Muslim states in which much of the gentry was of Persian origin. Hyderabad, India: Charminar Hyderabad, India: Charminar The Charminar in the old city of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. L. As a result, farmers are able to raise only one crop per year in areas that lack irrigation, and the risk of crop failure is fairly high in many locales. Many factories, especially those manufacturing producers’ goods (e.g., basic metals, machinery, fertilizers, and other heavy chemicals), are publicly owned and operated by either the central or the state governments. Some date from the 1947 partition of India and many others, especially in Assam and West Bengal, from the violent separation in 1971 of Bangladesh from Pakistan. Nevertheless, the annual cutting of hardwoods is among the highest of any country in the world. Electricity, running water, and toilet facilities generally are absent. The steel industry, for example, is one in which a privately owned corporation, the Tata Iron and Steel Company (Tata Steel), at Jamshedpur (production began in 1911), is among the largest and most successful producers. Within those agriculturally productive areas—for example, parts of the eastern Gangetic Plain and of the state of Kerala—densities exceed 2,000 persons per square mile (800 persons per square km). Rural settlement Much of India’s rural population lives in nucleated villages, which most commonly have a settlement form described as a shapeless agglomerate. Hindus also form the majority in every union territory except Lakshadweep (more than nine-tenths Muslim) and Jammu and Kashmir (more than two-thirds Muslim). Muslims, however, are still the largest single minority faith (about one-seventh of the total population), with large concentrations in many areas of the country, including Jammu and Kashmir, western Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala, and many cities. In the mountain fringes of the country, especially in the northeast, spoken dialects are often sufficiently different from one valley to the next to merit classifying each as a truly distinct language. In areas of rugged terrain, where relatively level spaces for building are limited, settlements often conform in shape to ridge lines, and few grow to be larger than hamlets. They are particularly favourable on the Indo-Gangetic Plain, in part because of the relatively even flow of the rivers issuing from the Himalayas and in part because of the vast reserves of groundwater in the thousands of feet of alluvial deposits underlying the region. Coconuts and oilseeds are also important for the extraction of industrial oils. Livestock Despite the fact that Indians eat little meat, livestock raising plays an important role in the agricultural economy. Uranium is produced in modest quantities in Bihar. Among the fossil fuels, India is well endowed with coal and modestly so with lignite. Agricultural use, largely for raising irrigation water from deep wells, exceeds domestic consumption. Tank irrigation, a method by which water is drawn from small reservoirs created along the courses of minor streams, is important in several parts of India, especially the southeast. The demand for chemical fertilizers also has been steadily increasing, although since the late 1960s the introduction of new, high-yielding hybrid varieties of seeds (HYVs), mainly for wheat and secondarily for rice, has brought about the most dramatic increases in production, especially in Punjab (where their adoption is virtually universal), Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat. Coal supplies are widespread but are especially abundant and easy to mine in the Chota Nagpur Plateau, which is the principal source area for coking coal. Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Punjab are the principal cotton-growing states. Those in Scheduled Castes, collectively accounting for roughly one-sixth of India’s total population, are generally landless and perform most of the agricultural labour, as well as a number of ritually polluting caste occupations (e.g., leatherwork, among the Chamars, the largest Scheduled Caste). India’s many tribal peoples—officially designated as Scheduled Tribes—have also been given status similar to that of the Scheduled Castes. The great urban culture of the Indus civilization, a society of the Indus River valley that is thought to have been Dravidian-speaking, thrived from roughly 2500 to 1700 BCE. Acharya/Dinodia Photo Library Broadly speaking, the peoples of north-central and northwestern India tend to have ethnic affinities with European and Indo-European peoples from southern Europe, the Caucasus region, and Southwest and Central Asia. More than three-fifths of the total population lives either on the fertile alluvial soils of the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the deltaic regions of the eastern coast or on the mixed alluvial and marine soils along India’s western coast. Those were erected at elevations high enough to provide cool retreats for the dependents of Europeans stationed in India and, in the summer months, to serve as seasonal capitals of the central or provincial governments. For an in-depth discussion of the major indigenous religions of India, see the articles Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. Sindhi is spoken mainly by inhabitants of the Kachchh district of Gujarat, which borders the Pakistani province of Sindh, as well as in other areas by immigrants (and their descendants) who fled Sindh after the 1947 partition of the subcontinent. Dravidian and other languages Dravidian languages are spoken by about one-fourth of all Indians, overwhelmingly in southern India. Official figures on the amount of forested land (roughly one-fifth of India’s total area) are virtually meaningless, as much of the area officially classified as forest contains little but scrub. 1900; in the British Library. The British Librfary/Robana/REX/Shutterstock.com The difference between language and dialect in India is often arbitrary, however, and official designations vary notably from one census to another. More recently, members of that class have adopted the term Dalit (“Oppressed”) to describe themselves. In southern India, especially Tamil Nadu, and in Gujarat, villages have a more planned layout, with streets running north-south and east-west in straight lines. Windows, usually barred for security, are common. Asher Buddhists living near the Chinese (Tibetan) border generally follow Tibetan Buddhism, sometimes designated as Vajrayana (Sanskrit: “Vehicle of the Thunderbolt”), while those living near the border with Myanmar (Burma) adhere to the Theravada (Pali: “Way of the Elders”). Power outages and rationing are frequently necessary in periods of peak demand, since growing demand often outstrips installed capacity in many locales. The houses usually are windowless and contain a minimum of furniture, a storage space for food, water, and implements, a few shelves and pegs for other possessions, a niche in the wall to serve as the household altar, and often a few decorations, such as pictures of gods or film heroes, family photographs, a calendar, or perhaps some memento of a pilgrimage. In some wet regions, especially in tribal areas, bamboo walls are more common than those of mud, and houses often stand on piles above ground level. Specialized bazaar streets selling sweets, grain, cloth, metalware, jewelry, books and stationery, and other commodities are characteristic of the old city. Because cow slaughter is illegal in many states, scarcely any cattle are raised expressly for providing meat, and most of what little beef is consumed comes from animals that die from natural causes. So great has been the success of the so-called Green Revolution that India was able to build up buffer stocks of grain sufficient for the country to weather several years of disastrously bad monsoons with virtually no imports or starvation and even to become, in some years, a modest net food exporter. Although India’s population is predominantly rural, the country has three of the largest urban areas in the world—Mumbai, Kolkata (Calcutta), and Delhi—and those and other large Indian cities have some of the world’s highest population densities. Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India: communal well Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India: communal well Communal well, Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India. Shostal Associates Most Indians reside in the areas of continuous cultivation, including the towns and cities they encompass. There is typically an interior compound where much of the harvest will be stored. Major contributors to urban growth are the burgeoning of the bureaucracy, the increasing commercialization of the agricultural economy, and the spread of factory industry and services. In many cities dating from the precolonial period, such as Delhi and Agra, the urban core is an exceedingly congested area within an old city wall, portions of which may still stand. Sanskrit, the classic language of India, underwent a process of systematization and grammatical refinement at an early date, rendering it unique among Indo-Aryan languages in its degree of linguistic cultivation. Other important cereals, in descending order of sown acreage, are sorghum (called jowar in India), pearl millet (bajra), corn (maize), and finger millet (ragi). Unlike rice, which is mainly grown during the kharif (summer) season, wheat is primarily a rabi (cool-season) crop. 1880–c. Vaishnavas, who worship in temples dedicated to the god Vishnu or one of his avatars (e.g., Rama and Krishna) or who follow one of the many associated cults, tend to be more concentrated in northern and central India, while Shaivas, or devotees of Shiva, are concentrated in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, western Maharashtra, and much of the Himalayan region. Still others are internal refugees from the communal violence and other forms of ethnic strife that periodically beset many parts of India. Economy India has one of the largest, most highly diversified economies in the world, but, because of its enormous population, it is—in terms of income and gross national product (GNP) per capita—one of the poorest countries on Earth. By far the most important coal-producing region is along the Damodar River, including the Jharia and Raniganj fields in Bihar and West Bengal, which account for about half the nation’s output and virtually all the coal of coking quality. Of those, 15 are Indo-European (Assamese, Bengali, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, and Urdu), 4 are Dravidian (Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu), 2 are Sino-Tibetan (Bodo and Manipuri), and 1 is Austroasiatic (Santhali). Urdu, the official language of Pakistan, is also the language of most Muslims of northern and peninsular India as far south as Chennai (Madras). In the Middle East, East Africa, and Southeast Asia, some Indian corporations have established “turnkey operations,” which are turned over to local management after a stipulated period. India’s Muslim population is greater than that found in any country of the Middle East and is only exceeded by that of Indonesia and, slightly, by that of Pakistan or Bangladesh. India: Religious affiliation India: Religious affiliation Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Delhi: Jama Masjid Delhi: Jama Masjid Jama Masjid of Delhi. Gajendra Pal Choudhary (A Britannica Publishing Partner) Other important religious minorities in India include Christians, most heavily concentrated in the northeast, Mumbai (Bombay), and the far south; Sikhs, mostly in Punjab and some adjacent areas; Buddhists, especially in Ladakh, Maharashtra, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh; and Jains, most prominent in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Rajasthan. However, the major growth has been in trade, finance, and other services, which, collectively, are by far the largest component of GDP. Many of the government’s decisions are highly political, especially its attempts to invest equitably among the various states of the union. The concomitant emigration of perhaps 10 million Muslims to Pakistan and the immigration of nearly as many Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan further emphasized that change. In the semiarid and arid regions where agriculture is either impossible or precarious, herders of cattle, sheep, goats, and camels live in a symbiotic relationship with local or nearby cultivators. Hyderabad, India: Labhani women Hyderabad, India: Labhani women Banjari (Labhani) women in festive dress, near Hyderabad, Telangana, India. © John Isaac Urban settlement Although less than one-third of India’s people live in towns and cities, more than 6,100 places are classified as urban. The rates of migration to Indian cities severely tax their capacity to cope with the newcomers’ needs for housing, safe drinking water, and sanitary facilities, not to mention amenities. After cereals, pulses are the most important category of food crop. Only in the states of Odisha and Himachal Pradesh do Hindus constitute virtually the entire population. Reliable statistics on the sectarian affiliations among India’s leading faiths are not available. In general, a person is expected to marry someone within the same jati, follow a particular set of rules for proper behaviour (in such matters as kinship, occupation, and diet), and interact with other jatis according to the group’s position in the social hierarchy. Other exploitable metallic minerals include copper, bauxite (the principal ore of aluminum), zinc, lead, gold, and silver. Life expectancy is about 68 for men and 70 for women. India: Age breakdown India: Age breakdown Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. A population explosion in India commenced following the great influenza epidemic of 1918–19. Finally, there are the street dwellers, mainly single men in search of temporary employment, who lack even the meagre shelter that the bastis afford. A special type of urban place to which British rule gave rise were the hill stations, such as Shimla (Simla) and Darjiling (Darjeeling). In Mumbai, for example, more than half of the population speaks languages other than Marathi, the principal language of the state of Maharashtra. More than half of all farms are less than 3 acres (1.2 hectares) in size, while much of the remainder is controlled by a small number of relatively affluent peasants and landlords. In subsequent decades there was a steadily accelerating rate of growth up to the census of 1961, after which the rate leveled off (though it remained high). Zoroastrians (the Parsis), largely concentrated in Mumbai and in coastal Gujarat, wield influence out of all proportion to their small numbers because of their prominence during the colonial period. There were at one time, for example, no fewer than 25 languages classified within the Naga group, not one of which was spoken by more than 60,000 people. India: Linguistic composition India: Linguistic composition Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Lending order to the linguistic mix are a number of written, or literary, languages used on the subcontinent, each of which often differs markedly from the vernacular with which it is associated. India produces only a portion of its petroleum needs but produces a slight exportable surplus of coal. Among the ecological consequences of deforestation in India are the reduced groundwater retentiveness, a concomitant rapid runoff of monsoon rains, a higher incidence of flooding, accelerated erosion and siltation, and an exacerbated problem of water scarcity. Fishing Fishing is practiced along the entire length of India’s coastline and on virtually all of its many rivers. Intensive inland aquaculture, for both fish and shrimp (the latter of which has become an important export), has increased significantly. Panaji, Goa, India: harbour Panaji, Goa, India: harbour Fishing boats in the harbour at Panaji, Goa, India. Gerald Cubitt Resources and power Although India possesses a wide range of minerals and other natural resources, its per capita endowment of such critical resources as cultivable land, water, timber, and known petroleum reserves is relatively low. Their roofs are also of sturdier construction, sometimes of corrugated iron, and often rest on sturdy timbers or even steel I beams. Virtually any woody vegetation is used for firewood, much of it illegally gathered, and substantial amounts go into making charcoal. The constitutionally designated official language of the Indian central government is Hindi, and English is also officially designated for government use. Few large cities are without at least one cotton mill. Rather than being slaughtered, cattle that outlive their usefulness may be sent to goshalas (homes for aged cattle maintained by contributions from devout Hindus) or allowed to roam as strays. Apart from its nationally preeminent position, Hindi has been adopted as the official language by each of a large contiguous bloc of northern states—Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh—as well as by the national capital territory of Delhi. Other Indo-European languages with official status in individual states are Assamese, in Assam; Bengali, in West Bengal and Tripura; Gujarati, in Gujarat; Kashmiri, in Jammu and Kashmir; Konkani, in Goa; Marathi, in Maharashtra; Nepali, in portions of northern West Bengal; Oriya, in Odisha; and Punjabi, in Punjab. Hindus now make up nearly four-fifths of India’s population. The great size of India’s population makes it one of the largest English-speaking communities in the world, although English is claimed as the mother tongue by only a small number of Indians and is spoken fluently by less than 5 percent of the population. There are usually a few open spaces where people gather: adjacent to a temple or mosque, at the main village well, in areas where grain is threshed or where grain and oilseeds are milled, and in front of the homes of the leading families of the village. A broad and diversified industrial base developed. Manufacturing remains another solid component of GDP. Hamlets, each containing only one or a few castes, commonly surround villages in the eastern Gangetic Plain; Scheduled Castes and herding castes are likely to occupy such hamlets. The dominant and higher castes tend to live in the core area, while the lower artisan and service castes, as well as Muslim groups, generally occupy more peripheral localities. There also are thousands of private producers, including a number of large and diversified industrial conglomerates. In general, commuting from colonies to jobs in the inner city is by either bus or bicycle. For poorer immigrants, residence in those urban colonies was not an option. English serves as the language linking the central government with the states, especially with those in which Hindi is not widely understood. Relatively secluded spots on the edge of the village serve the latter need. Almost everywhere in India, the dwellings of the more affluent households are larger and usually built of more durable (pakka) materials, such as brick or stone. The shift to mechanization and modern processing, however, has been inexorable. Moreover, many areas have lost much of their fertility because of erosion, alkalinization (caused by excessive irrigation without proper drainage), the subsurface formation of impenetrable hardpans, and protracted cultivation without restoring depleted plant nutrients. Although the average farm size is only about 5 acres (2 hectares) and is declining, that figure masks the markedly skewed distribution of landholdings. Because few fishing craft are mechanized, total catches are low, and annual per capita fish consumption is modest. Within easy reach of the Kolkata market, the Chota Nagpur Plateau has become India’s principal area for heavy industry, including many interconnected chemical and engineering enterprises. English is an “associate” official language and is widely spoken. Most Indian languages (including the official script for Hindi) are written by using some variety of Devanagari script, but other scripts are used. The bulk of all electricity generated is from widely dispersed coal-powered thermal plants; most of the remainder is from hydroelectric plants, built mainly in mountainous regions or along major escarpments; and only a tiny amount comes from a few nuclear installations. Generally, tribal languages lack a written tradition, though many are now written in the Roman script or, less often, in scripts adapted from those of neighbouring nontribal regions. Religions Because religion forms a crucial aspect of identity for most Indians, much of India’s history can be understood through the interplay among its diverse religious groups. Electricity consumption, for example, increased 16-fold between 1951 and 1980 and more than quadrupled again in the next quarter century. The village school is usually on the edge of the village in order to provide pupils with adequate playing space. Cults associated with Shaktism, the worship of various forms of Shakti (the mother goddess, consort of Shiva), are particularly widespread in West Bengal (along with Vaishnavism), Assam, and the highland areas of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. The particular varna in which a jati is ranked depends in part on its relative level of “impurity,” determined by the group’s traditional contact with any of a number of “pollutants,” including blood, menstrual flow, saliva, dung, leather, dirt, and hair. Virtually all of India’s petroleum comes from the offshore Bombay High Field and from Gujarat and Assam, while coal comes from some 500 mines, both surface and deep-pit, distributed over a number of states. Within the compound there may be a private well or even a hand pump, an area for bathing, and a walled latrine enclosure, which is periodically cleaned by the village sweeper. Officially, such groups are referred to as Scheduled Castes. Since independence, affluent Indians have come to depend on the hill stations no less than did the British. Demographic trends India’s population is young. Much of it is exported in processed form, largely as burlap. Moreover, the increasing proportion of females attaining and living through their childbearing years continues to inhibit a marked reduction in the birth rate. The effect of emigration from or immigration to India on the overall growth of population has been negligible throughout modern history. In such spaces, depending on the size of the village, might be found the panchayat (village council) hall, a few shops, a tea stall, a public radio hooked up to a loudspeaker, a small post office, or perhaps a dharmshala (a free guest house for travelers). Some of the latter have attracted an international following. In Islam, Sunni Muslims are the majority sect almost everywhere. In most parts of India, there is one or perhaps there are several dominant castes that own the majority of land, are politically most powerful, and set a cultural tone for a particular region. Finally, in particularly aquatic environments, such as the Gangetic delta region and the tidal backwater region of Kerala, agglomerations of even hamlet size are rare; most rural families instead live singly or in clusters of only a few households on their individual plots of owned or rented land. Most village houses are small, simple one-story mud (kacha) structures, housing both people and livestock in one or just a few rooms. Milk yields from Indian cattle and buffaloes are quite low, although milk from buffaloes is somewhat better and richer on average than from cattle. Even more widespread than textile mills are initial processing plants for agricultural and mining products. The last and politically most successful of the great invasions—namely, that from Europe—vastly altered Indian culture but had relatively little impact on India’s ethnic composition. Gaya, Bihar, India: Phalgu River Gaya, Bihar, India: Phalgu River Hindu pilgrims bathing and washing at a ghat (stairway) on the Phalgu River in Gaya, Bihar, India. © R.A. Gold, zinc and lead (often mined together), the ferroalloys (chiefly manganese and chromite), and bauxite also are important. Some could afford to move into slum flats, often sharing space with earlier immigrants from their native villages. Consumer goods industries, though widely dispersed, are largely concentrated in large cities. Domestic reserves of petroleum and natural gas, though abundant, do not meet the country’s large demand. Such settlements, though unplanned, are divided by caste into distinct wards and grow outward from a recognizable core area. The area cultivated, however, has risen steadily and has come to encompass considerably more than half of the country’s total area, a proportion matched by few other countries in the world. Pork is taboo to members of several faiths, including Muslims and most Hindus, but pigs, which serve as village scavengers, are raised and freely eaten by several Scheduled Castes. Forestry Commercial forestry is not highly developed in India. Apart from rank-and-file labourers, the organized sector engages most of India’s professionals and virtually all of its vast pool of scientists and technicians. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing Agriculture Roughly half of all Indians still derive their livelihood directly from agriculture. Major marine catches include sardine and mackerel; freshwater catches are dominated by carp. Sugarcane is widely cultivated, especially in areas near processing mills. However, there are also 22 (originally 14) so-called “scheduled languages” recognized in the Indian constitution that may be used by states in official correspondence. Others include Gondi (Dravidian), Kurukh, or Oraon (Dravidian), Ho (Munda), Manipuri (Sino-Tibetan), and Mundari (Munda). It is the organized sector to which most government regulatory activity applies and in which trade unions, chambers of commerce, professional associations, and other institutions of modern capitalist economies play a significant role. Jute, mainly from West Bengal, Assam, and Bihar, is the second leading natural fibre. Among Hindus, jatis are usually assigned to one of four large caste clusters, called varnas, each of which has a traditional social function: Brahmans (priests), at the top of the social hierarchy, and, in descending prestige, Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (originally peasants but later merchants), and Shudras (artisans and labourers). At the same time, the officially designated “Other Backward Classes” (other social and tribal groups traditionally excluded) also began to claim their rights under the constitution. Some are small bands of wandering entertainers, ironworkers, and animal traders who may congregate in communities called tandas. Government-sponsored large-scale irrigation canal projects, begun by the British in the mid-19th century, were greatly extended after independence. India’s tribal peoples live mostly in the northeast; they practice various forms of animism, which is perhaps the country’s oldest religious tradition. Hindus are in the majority in every Indian state except Punjab (roughly three-fifths Sikh); Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland (mainly Christian); and Arunachal Pradesh (predominantly animist). The numerous languages of the family all derive from Sanskrit, the language of the ancient Aryans. The wetter the region, the greater the pitch of the roof. Philosophical ideas associated with those religions are treated in Indian philosophy. Such programs have been fairly successful. Among the heavy industries, metallurgical plants, such as iron and steel mills, typically are located close either to raw materials or to coal, depending on the relative mix of materials needed and transportation costs. The problem of obtaining sufficient firewood, mainly for cooking, is particularly acute. During the same period, the production of coarse grains and pulses, which were less in demand than rice and wheat, either did not increase significantly or decreased. Initially, the attempt was to boost the domestic savings rate, which more than doubled in the half century following the First Five-Year Plan (1951–55). When the centrally located castes increase in population, they either subdivide their existing, often initially large, residential compounds, add second and even third stories on their existing houses (a common expedient in Punjab), leapfrog over lower-caste wards to a new area on the village periphery, or, in rare cases where land is available, found a completely new village. Within the shapeless agglomerated villages, streets are typically narrow, twisting, and unpaved, often ending in culs-de-sac. Animal stalls, granaries, and farm equipment are in spaces distinct from those occupied by people. Nomadic groups may be found in most parts of India. Despite the emergence of caste restrictions, that process was attended by intermarriage between groups that probably has continued to the present day, despite considerable opposition from peoples whose own distinctive civilizations had also evolved in early historical times. In either case, they compete with humans for scarce vegetal resources. While many orthodox Indians are vegetarians, others will eat goat, mutton, poultry, eggs, and fish, all of which are produced in modest quantities. Tobacco is cultivated chiefly in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. Darjeeling, West Bengal, India: picking tea leaves Darjeeling, West Bengal, India: picking tea leaves Workers picking tea leaves near Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. Gerald Cubitt Indian market: spices and pulses Indian market: spices and pulses Spices and pulses for sale at an Indian market. © JeremyRichards/Fotolia Foremost among the commercial industrial crops is cotton. Hindi has a large number of dialects, generally divided into Eastern and Western Hindi, some of which are mutually unintelligible. India has by far the largest bovine population of any country in the world. In an effort to counteract forest depletion, the central and state governments have vigorously supported small-scale afforestation projects; these have met with mixed success, both economically and ecologically. Population growth has, over the centuries, resulted in a continuous diminution of forest land. Further, nearly one-third of all agricultural households own no land at all and, along with many submarginal landowners, must work for the larger landholders or must supplement their earnings from some subsidiary occupation, often the one traditionally associated with their caste. Karnataka, India: farmers Karnataka, India: farmers Farmers plowing a field near Mysuru (Mysore), southern Karnataka, India. Christina Gascoigne/Robert Harding Picture Library Agricultural technology has undergone rapid change in India. Many tribal peoples practice similar occupations seasonally. That proportion only relatively recently has been declining from levels that were fairly consistent throughout the 20th century. The agricultural sector remains the country’s main employer (about half of the workforce), though, with about one-fifth of the gross domestic product (GDP), it is no longer the largest contributor to GDP. In all but a small part of the country, the supply of water for agriculture is highly seasonal and depends on the often fickle southwest monsoon. Emphasis then shifted toward deep wells (called tube wells in India), often privately owned, from which water was raised either by electric or diesel pumps; however, in many places these wells have depleted local groundwater reserves, and efforts have been directed at replenishing aquifers and utilizing rainwater. Since independence, India has promoted a mixed economic system in which the government, constitutionally defined as “socialist,” plays a major role as central planner, regulator, investor, manager, and producer. One of the many religions born in India is Hinduism, a collection of diverse doctrines, sects, and ways of life followed by the great majority of the population. Among the fuels, petroleum ranks first in value, followed by coal (including lignite). Within such areas, differences in population density are largely a function of water availability (whether directly from rainfall or from irrigation) and soil fertility. Crowell/Black Star Ladakh, India: Lamayuru Monastery Ladakh, India: Lamayuru Monastery Tibetan Buddhist monk at the Lamayuru Monastery, Ladakh, India. © Robert Frerck from TSW—CLICK/Chicago In 1947, with the partition of the subcontinent and loss of Pakistan’s largely Muslim population, India became even more predominantly Hindu. More than half of all electricity is industrially used. During the Mughal period (early 16th to mid-18th century), when political power became centred on Delhi, Khari Boli absorbed numerous Persian words and came to be used as a lingua franca throughout the empire, especially by merchants who needed a common commercial language. Roofs typically are flat and made of mud in dry regions, but in areas with considerable precipitation they generally are sloped for drainage and made of rice straw, other thatching material, or clay tiles. The second most numerous jati is usually from one of the Scheduled Castes. The overwhelming majority of Indians speak Indo-Iranian or Dravidian languages. Devanagari script Devanagari script Devanagari script from a section of the Sanskrit Bhagavata-purana, c. A wide variety of crops—mainly peanuts (groundnuts), coconuts, mustard, cottonseed, and rapeseed—are grown as sources of cooking oil. Hindustani was promoted by the British during the colonial period. In the 19th century two literary languages arose from that colloquial tongue: among Hindus, the modern form of Hindi, which derives its vocabulary and script (Devanagari) mainly from Sanskrit; and among Muslims, Urdu, which, though grammatically identical with Hindi, draws much of its vocabulary from Persian and Arabic and is written in the Perso-Arabic script. Within Hinduism, such affiliations tend to be rather loose, nonexclusive, and nebulous. Depending on its size, a village typically will have between 5 and 25 jatis, each of which might be represented by anywhere from 1 to more than 100 households. Although it is not as visible as it is among Hindus, caste is found among Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, and Jews. Bhansali/Shostal Associates Nonstaple food crops, eaten in only small amounts by most Indians, include potatoes, onions, various greens, eggplants, okra, squashes, and other vegetables, as well as such fruits as mangoes, bananas, mandarin oranges, papayas, and melons. They were formerly called the untouchables (because their touch, believed by the upper castes to transmit pollution, was avoided), but the nationalist leader Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi referred to them as Harijan (“Children of God”), a name that for a time gained popular usage. In general, these are fairly small, seasonal enterprises located close to places of primary production. Among important nonmetallic and nonfuel minerals are limestone, dolomite, rock phosphate, building stones, ceramic clays, mica, gypsum, fluorspar, magnesite, graphite, and diamonds. Of the many metals produced, iron—mined principally in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Karnataka, and Orissa—ranks first in value. In some areas, especially the northeast, bamboo thickets provide an important substitute for wood for structural purposes. These ubiquitous leguminous crops—of which the chickpea (gram) is the most important—are the main source of protein for most Indians, for whom the consumption of animal products is an expensive luxury or is proscribed on religious grounds. Satara, Maharashtra, India: millet field Satara, Maharashtra, India: millet field Millet field near Satara, Maharashtra, India. B. Species that are sources of timber, pulp, plywoods, veneers, and matchwood include teak, deodar (a type of cedar), sal (Shorea robusta), sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo), and chir pine (Pinus roxburghii). Few, however, are still spoken by more than a million persons, with the exception of Bhili (Indo-European) and Santhali (of the Munda branch of the Austroasiatic family), which are both estimated as having more than five million speakers. Natural gas is of little importance. Its birth and death rates are both near the global average. The subsequent steady influx of job seekers, together with the natural growth of the already settled population, gave rise to many planned residential areas, typically called “colonies,” usually consisting of four- or five-story apartment blocks, a small shopping centre, schools, and playgrounds and other recreational spaces. It can be further split into three subfamilies: Indo-Aryan, Dardic, and Iranian. The prospects and actual development of irrigation also vary greatly from one part of the country to another. Most of India’s formerly forested area has been converted to agricultural use (though some of that land is no longer productive), and other large areas have been effectively turned into wasteland from either overgrazing or overexploitation for timber and firewood. Many aboriginal (“tribal”) peoples in the Chota Nagpur Plateau (northeastern peninsular India) have affinities to such groups as the Mon, who have long been established in mainland Southeast Asia. The total population in 1921 within the present borders of India (i.e., excluding what is now Pakistan and Bangladesh) was 251 million, and in 1947, at the time of independence, it was about 340 million. Over much of India, and especially the Indo-Gangetic Plain, there are no clear boundaries between one vernacular and another (although ordinary villagers are sensitive to nuances of dialect that differentiate nearby localities). Some jatis have occupational names, but the connection between caste and occupational specialization is limited. However, government involvement has been gradually reduced as private investment has grown. Among mineral resources, iron ore (generally of high quality) and ferroalloys—notably manganese and chromite—are particularly abundant, and all are widely distributed over peninsular India. Production of heavy transportation equipment, such as locomotives and trucks, is also concentrated there. Werner/Superstock Roman Catholics form the largest single Christian group, especially on the western coast and in southern India. In the more fertile regions, such as the Indo-Gangetic Plain or the deltas of the eastern coast, the proportion of cultivated to total land often exceeds nine-tenths. Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India: sugarcane milling Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India: sugarcane milling Milling sugarcane in a small village near Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. © Robert Frerck/Odyssey Productions Water availability varies greatly with climate. They include plants for cotton ginning, oil pressing, peanut shelling, sugar refining, drying and cold storage of foodstuffs, and crushing and initial smelting of ores. The modern Indian languages were derived from the Prakrit languages. Indo-Iranian languages Indo-Iranian languages Distribution of Indo-Iranian languages. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. By far the most widely spoken Indo-Iranian language is Hindi, which is used in one form or another by some two-thirds of the population. More than half the population is under age 30 and less than one-fourth is age 45 or older. Those practicing the Bahāʾī faith, formerly too few to be treated by the census, have dramatically increased in number as a result of active proselytization. Hence, the total per capita grain production has been notably less than that suggested by many protagonists of the Green Revolution, and the threat of major food scarcity has not been eliminated. Yamunanagar, Haryana, India: farming Yamunanagar, Haryana, India: farming Farmers returning from their fields near Yamunanagar, Haryana, India. © Robert Frerck/Odyssey Productions Crops Most Indian farms grow little besides food crops, especially cereal grains, and these account for more than three-fifths of the area under cultivation. In those “old cities,” residential segregation by religion and caste and the layout of streets and open places are, except for scale, not greatly dissimilar from what was described above for shapeless agglomerated villages. Converts to Christianity, especially since the mid-19th century, have come largely from the lower castes and tribal groups. Goa, India: Roman Catholic Basilica of Bom Jesus Goa, India: Roman Catholic Basilica of Bom Jesus The Roman Catholic Basilica of Bom Jesus, 16th century, Goa, India. Frederick M. Thus, an increasingly large part of the catch now comes from fishing grounds that the small craft of coastal fishing families are unable to reach. India’s population doubled between 1947 and the 1981 census, and by the 2001 census it had surpassed one billion. Hotels, guest houses, boarding schools, clubs, and other recreational facilities characterize those settlements. Most of the area classified as forest—roughly one-fifth of the total—is used for grazing, for gathering firewood and other forest products, for commercial forestry, and, in tribal areas, for shifting cultivation (often in defiance of the law) and hunting. Nationalizing many foreign and domestic enterprises and government initiation and management of others gave the Indian government a predominant role in the mining industry. The areas too dry for growing crops without irrigation are largely used for grazing. Tea is grown, largely for export, on plantations in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, while coffee is grown almost exclusively in southern India, mainly in Karnataka. With the Second Five-Year Plan (1956–61), the focus began to shift to import-substituting industrialization, with an emphasis on capital goods. A dominant jati typically forms anywhere from one-eighth to one-third of the total rural population but may in some areas account for a clear majority (e.g., Sikh Jats in central Punjab, Marathas in parts of Maharashtra, or Rajputs in northwestern Uttar Pradesh). The result is that many migrants live in conditions of appalling squalor in bastis or, even worse, with no permanent shelter at all. India: crowd India: crowd Crowd of pilgrims in India. © TheFinalMiracle/Fotolia Refugees constitute another class of migrants. Dravidian speakers among tribal peoples (e.g., Gonds) in central India, in eastern Bihar, and in the Brahui-speaking region of the distant Pakistani province of Balochistan suggest a much wider distribution in ancient times. In many areas forests have ceased to exist, and the only trees of consequence are found in protected village groves, often planted with mangoes or other fruit trees, where people and animals can seek shade from the fierce summer sun. Despite the government’s pervasive economic role, large corporate undertakings dominate many spheres of modern economic activity, while tens of millions of generally small agricultural holdings and petty commercial, service, and craft enterprises account for the great bulk of employment. Many people are bilingual or multilingual, knowing their local vernacular dialect (“mother tongue”), its associated written variant, and, perhaps, one or more other languages. Manipuri and other Sino-Tibetan languages are spoken by small numbers of people in northeastern India. Lingua francas The two major lingua francas in India are Hindustani and English. The problem is most severe in Kerala, the leading fishing state. Wheat ranks second in both area sown and total yield and, because of the use of HYVs, leads all grains in yield per acre. The range of technology runs the gamut from the most traditional to the most sophisticated. There are few things that India cannot produce, though much of what it does manufacture would not be economically competitive without the protection offered by tariffs on imported goods, which have remained high despite liberalization. In peninsular India, however, surface-water availability relies on the region’s highly seasonal rainfall regime, and, in many areas, hard rock formations make it difficult to sink wells and severely curtail access to the groundwater that is present. For such a predominantly agricultural country as India, resources of cultivable soil and water are of crucial importance. In northeastern India, West Bengal (to a lesser degree), the higher reaches of the western Himalayan region, and Ladakh, much of the population more closely resembles peoples to the north and east—notably Tibetans and Burmans. Neo-Buddhists in Maharashtra do not have a clear sectarian affiliation. Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India: Bodhi Tree Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India: Bodhi Tree Prayer flags mark the place where the Buddha achieved Enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India. Milt and Joan Mann/CameraMann International Caste of India In South Asia the caste system has been a dominating aspect of social organization for thousands of years. Areas receiving more than 60 inches (1,500 mm) of annual precipitation are generally capable of, for example, growing two crops per year, even without irrigation, and thus can support a high population density. English is also the principal language of commerce and the language of instruction in almost all of the country’s prestigious universities and private schools. The four constitutionally recognized Dravidian languages also enjoy official state status: Kannada, in Karnataka; Malayalam, in Kerala; Tamil (the oldest of the main Dravidian tongues), in Tamil Nadu; and Telugu, in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Minor forest products include bamboo, cane, gum, resins, dyes, tanning agents, lac, and medicinal plants. The principal areas for commercial forestry, in order of importance, are the Western Ghats, the western Himalayas, and the hill regions of central India. The higher elevations of the Himalayas are the only places with substantial continuous areas not in use by humans.