India – Timeless Civilization, Vibrant

DEMOCRACY:

India, one of the oldest living civilizations is the second most populous nation in the world, seventh largest in size and the tenth most industrialized country – only the sixth nation to have embarked on an independent exploration of outer space. Home to 16% of world’s population the country accounts for about 2.5% of the total world area.

India, traditionally called Bharat and also known as Hindustan, extends from the lofty Himalayas across the wide Gangetic plain and peninsular plateau to the shores of the Indian Ocean. The Indian landscape displays great diversity including desert, tropical rain forests and alpine meadows.

Bounded by the Great Himalayas in the north, it stretches southwards and at the Tropic of Cancer, tapers off into the Indian Ocean, between the Bay of Bengal on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west, occupying an area of a little over three and a quarter million square kilo meters.

India shares international land borders with Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Peoples Republic of China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar. Marked off from the rest of Asia by mountains and the sea, it enjoys a distinct geographical identity, and has over centuries evolved a unique civilisation.