Editing India

'''India''' is a country in South [[Asia]] that is home to around a billion human beings, the world's second largest population after [[China]]. Its [[GDP]] has risen quite rapidly over the last decade or so and its economy is based largely on technology and computer science. Poverty, however, has still plagued India and a majority of the world's poor people are located there.

Its capital is a suburb of [[Delhi]] called [[New Delhi]], though the largest city by far is [[Mumbai]] (formerly Bombay). Thousands of Indian languages are spoken; some of the most commonly spoken are Hindi and Punjabi.

It was ruled by the [[United Kingdom]] for hundreds of years until independence in 1947.  Since then it has fought three wars with [[Pakistan]]. [[Kashmir]] is one of the biggest points of tension between the two countries. 

Regarding religious matters, most Indians are [[Hinduism|Hindus]], but there are also large numbers of [[Islam|Muslims]], [[Christianity|Christians]] and [[Sikhism|Sikhs]] in India. There are [[Jainism|Jain]] and [[Jew]]ish minorities. The most popular sport in India is [[cricket]].

[[Gurkha]]s, from northern India and [[Nepal]], became world famous for their bravery during [[World War I]] and [[World War II]].  Their signature weapon, the [[Gurkha knife]], is a popular collectible.

India has about 1.19 billion citizens. 

== Expanded summary==
'''India''', officially the '''Republic of India''',<ref>–{{citation|title=The Essential Desk Reference|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yjcOAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA76|year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-512873-4|page=76}} "Official name: Republic of India.";<br />–{{citation|author=John Da Graça|title=Heads of State and Government|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M0YfDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA421|year=2017|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]]|location=London|isbn=978-1-349-65771-1|page=421}} "Official name: Republic of India; Bharat Ganarajya (Hindi)";<br />–{{citation|author=Graham Rhind|title=Global Sourcebook of Address Data Management: A Guide to Address Formats and Data in 194 Countries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iGdQDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA302|year=2017|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|isbn=978-1-351-93326-1|page=302}} "Official name: Republic of India; Bharat.";<br />–{{citation|last=Bradnock|first=Robert W.|title=The Routledge Atlas of South Asian Affairs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zzjbCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA108|year=2015|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-1-317-40511-5|page=108}} "Official name: English: Republic of India; Hindi:Bharat Ganarajya";<br />–{{citation|title=Penguin Compact Atlas of the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pLw-ReHIgvQC&pg=PA140|year=2012|publisher=[[Penguin Group|Penguin]]|isbn=978-0-7566-9859-1|page=140}} "Official name: Republic of India";<br />–{{citation|title=Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Co_VIPIJerIC&pg=PA515|year=1997|isbn=978-0-87779-546-9|edition=3rd|publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]]|pages=515–516}} "Officially, Republic of India";<br />–{{citation|title=Complete Atlas of the World, 3rd Edition: The Definitive View of the Earth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O5moCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA54-IA10|year=2016|publisher=[[DK Publishing]]|isbn=978-1-4654-5528-4|page=54}} "Official name: Republic of India";<br />–{{citation|title=Worldwide Government Directory with Intergovernmental Organizations 2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CQWhAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA726|date=10 May 2013|publisher=[[CQ Press]]|isbn=978-1-4522-9937-2|page=726}} "India (Republic of India; Bharat Ganarajya)"</ref> is a country in [[South Asia]]. It is the [[List of countries and dependencies by area|seventh-largest]] country by area, the [[List of countries and dependencies by population|second-most populous]] country, and the most populous [[democracy]] in the world. Bounded by the [[Indian Ocean]] on the south, the [[Arabian Sea]] on the southwest, and the [[Bay of Bengal]] on the southeast, it shares land borders with [[Pakistan]] to the west;{{efn|1 = The [[Government of India]] also regards [[Afghanistan]] as a bordering country, as it considers all of [[Kashmir]] to be part of India. However, this is [[Kashmir conflict|disputed]], and the region bordering Afghanistan is administered by Pakistan. Source: {{cite web|title=Ministry of Home Affairs (Department of Border Management)|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/BMIntro-1011.pdf|accessdate=1 September 2008|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317182910/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/BMIntro-1011.pdf|archivedate=17 March 2015}} }} [[China]], [[Nepal]], and [[Bhutan]] to the north; and [[Bangladesh]] and [[Myanmar]] to the east. In the [[Indian Ocean]], India is in the vicinity of [[Sri Lanka]] and the [[Maldives]]; its [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]] share a maritime border with [[Thailand]] and [[Indonesia]].

[[Modern humans]] arrived on the [[Indian subcontinent]] from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago.<ref name="Combined-1">
(a) {{citation
|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1|year=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|page=1}}; (b) {{cite book |author1=Michael D. Petraglia |author2=Bridget Allchin |author-link2=Bridget Allchin |title=The Evolution and History of Human Populations in South Asia: Inter-disciplinary Studies in Archaeology, Biological Anthropology, Linguistics and Genetics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qm9GfjNlnRwC&pg=PA10#v=onepage&q&f=false |publisher=[[Springer Science + Business Media]] |page=6 |isbn=978-1-4020-5562-1|date=22 May 2007 }}; (c) {{citation|last=Fisher|first=Michael H.|title=An Environmental History of India: From Earliest Times to the Twenty-First Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23|year=2018|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1-107-11162-2|page=23}}
</ref>
Their long occupation, initially in varying forms of isolation as hunter-gatherers, has made the region highly diverse, second only to Africa in human [[genetic diversity]].<ref name="Dyson2018-28a">
{{citation
|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28|year=2018|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|page=28}}
</ref> [[Neolithic|Settled life]] emerged on the subcontinent in the western margins of the [[Indus river]] basin 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]] of the third millennium BCE.<ref name="Combined-2">
(a) {{citation
|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4|year=2018|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|pages=4–5}}; (b) {{citation|last=Fisher|first=Michael H.|title=An Environmental History of India: From Earliest Times to the Twenty-First Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23|year=2018|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1-107-11162-2|page=33}}
</ref>
By 1200 BCE, an [[Proto-language|archaic form]] of [[Sanskrit]], an [[Indo-European language]], had [[Trans-cultural diffusion|diffused]] into India from the northwest, [[Oral transmission|unfolding]] as the language of the ''[[Rigveda]]'', and recording the dawning of [[Hinduism]] in India.<ref name="Combined-3">
(a) {{citation
|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA14|year=2018|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|pages=14–15}}; (b) {{citation|last=Robb|first=Peter|title=A History of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GQ-2VH1LO_EC&pg=PA46|year=2011|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]] |isbn=978-0-230-34549-2|page=46}}; (c) {{citation|last=Ludden|first=David|title=India and South Asia: A Short History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EbFHAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA19|year=2013|publisher=[[Oneworld Publications]]|isbn=978-1-78074-108-6|page=19}}
</ref>
The [[Dravidian languages]] of India were supplanted in the northern regions.<ref name="Combined-4">
(a) {{citation
|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA25|year=2018|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|page=25}}; (b){{citation|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16|year=2018|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|page=16}}
</ref>
By 400 BCE, [[social stratification|stratification]] and [[social exclusion|exclusion]] by [[caste]] had emerged within Hinduism,<ref name="Dyson2018-16a">
{{citation
|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16|year=2018|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|page=16}}
</ref>
and [[History of Buddhism in India|Buddhism]] and [[History of Jainism|Jainism]] had arisen, proclaiming [[social order]]s unlinked to heredity.<ref name="Fisher2018-59">
{{citation|last=Fisher|first=Michael H.|title=An Environmental History of India: From Earliest Times to the Twenty-First Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA59|year=2018|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1-107-11162-2|page=59}}
</ref>
Early political consolidations gave rise to the loose-knit [[Maurya Empire|Maurya]] and [[Gupta Empire]]s based in the [[Ganges Basin]].<ref name="Combined-5">
(a) {{citation|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16|year=2018|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|pages=16–17}}; (b) {{citation|last=Fisher|first=Michael H.|title=An Environmental History of India: From Earliest Times to the Twenty-First Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA67|year=2018|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1-107-11162-2|page=67}}; (c) {{citation|last=Robb|first=Peter|title=A History of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GQ-2VH1LO_EC&pg=PA56|year=2011|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]] |isbn=978-0-230-34549-2|pages=56–57}}; (d) {{citation|last=Ludden|first=David|title=India and South Asia: A Short History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EbFHAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA29|year=2013|publisher=[[Oneworld Publications]]|isbn=978-1-78074-108-6|pages=29–30}}</ref>
Their collective [[era]] was suffused with wide-ranging creativity,<ref name="Combined-6">
(a) {{citation
|last=Ludden
|first=David|title=India and South Asia: A Short History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EbFHAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA28|year=2013|publisher=[[Oneworld Publications]]|isbn=978-1-78074-108-6|pages=28–29}}; (b) {{citation|author=Glenn Van Brummelen |editor=Thomas F. Glick |editor2=Steven Livesey |editor3=Faith Wallis |title=Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine: An Encyclopedia|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=77y2AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA46|year=2014|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-1-135-45932-1|pages=46–48|chapter=Arithmetic}}
</ref> but also marked by the declining status of women,<ref name="Combined-7">
(a) {{citation
|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA20|year=2018|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|page=20}}; (b) {{citation|last=Stein|first=Burton|title=A History of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QY4zdTDwMAQC&pg=PA90|year=2010|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|isbn=978-1-4443-2351-1|page=90}}; (c) {{citation|last=Ramusack|first=Barbara N.|editor=Barbara N. Ramusack, Sharon L. Sievers|title=Women in Asia: Restoring Women to History|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CNi9Jc22OHsC&pg=PA27|year=1999|publisher=[[Indiana University Press]]|isbn=0-253-21267-7|pages=27–29|chapter=Women in South Asia}}
</ref> and the incorporation of [[untouchability]] into an organised system of belief.{{efn|" A Chinese pilgrim also recorded evidence of the caste system as he could observe it. According to this evidence the treatment meted out to untouchables such as the Chandalas was very similar to that which they experienced in later periods. This would contradict assertions that this rigid form of the caste system emerged in India only as a reaction to the Islamic conquest.{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|p = 93}}}}{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|p = 93}} In south India, the [[Middle kingdoms of India#The Deccan plateau and South|Middle kingdoms]] exported Dravidian-languages scripts and religious cultures to the kingdoms of [[southeast Asia]].<ref name="AsherAsher2006-17">
{{citation
|last1=Asher|first1=Catherine B.|last2=Talbot|first2=Cynthia|title=India Before Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA17|year=2006|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-80904-7|page=17}}
</ref>

In the early medieval era, [[Christianity]], [[Islam]], [[Judaism]], and [[Zoroastrianism]] put down roots on India's southern and western coasts.<ref name="Combined-8">
(a) {{citation
|last=Ludden
|first=David|title=India and South Asia: A Short History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EbFHAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA54|year=2013|publisher=[[Oneworld Publications]]|isbn=978-1-78074-108-6|page=54}}; (b) {{citation
|last1=Asher|first1=Catherine B.|last2=Talbot|first2=Cynthia|title=India Before Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA78|year=2006|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-80904-7|pages=78–79}}; (c) {{citation
|last=Fisher|first=Michael H.|title=An Environmental History of India: From Earliest Times to the Twenty-First Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA76|year=2018|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1-107-11162-2|page=76}}
</ref>
Armies from [[Central Asia]] intermittently overran India's plains,<ref name="Combined-9">
(a) {{citation|last=Ludden|first=David|title=India and South Asia: A Short History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EbFHAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA68|year=2013|publisher=[[Oneworld Publications]]|isbn=978-1-78074-108-6|pages=68–70}}; (b) {{citation|last1=Asher|first1=Catherine B.|last2=Talbot|first2=Cynthia|title=India Before Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA19|year=2006|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-80904-7|pages=19, 24}}
</ref>
eventually establishing the [[Delhi sultanate]], and drawing northern India into the cosmopolitan [[Islamic Golden Age|networks of medieval Islam]].<ref name="Combined-10">
(a) {{citation
|last=Dyson
|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0UVvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA48|date=20 September 2018|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-256430-6|page=48}}; (b) {{citation
|last1=Asher|first1=Catherine B.|last2=Talbot|first2=Cynthia|title=India Before Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA53|year=2006|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-80904-7|page=52}}
</ref>
In the 15th century, the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] created a long-lasting composite Hindu culture in south India.<ref name="AsherAsher2006-74">
{{citation
|last1=Asher
|first1=Catherine B.|last2=Talbot|first2=Cynthia|title=India Before Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA74|year=2006|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-80904-7|page=74}}"
</ref>
In the [[Punjab]], [[Sikhism]] emerged, rejecting institutionalised religion.<ref name="AsherAsher2006-267">
{{citation
|last1=Asher
|first1=Catherine B.|last2=Talbot|first2=Cynthia|title=India Before Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA267|year=2006|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-80904-7|page=267}} 
</ref>
The [[Mughal empire]], in 1526, ushered in two centuries of relative peace,<ref name="AsherAsher2006-152">
{{citation
|last1=Asher
|first1=Catherine B.|last2=Talbot|first2=Cynthia|title=India Before Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA152|year=2006|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-80904-7|page=152}}
</ref>
leaving a legacy of luminous architecture.{{efn|"Shah Jahan eventually sent her body 800&nbsp;km (500 mi) to Agra for burial in the Rauza-i Munauwara ("Illuminated Tomb") – a personal tribute and a stone manifestation of his imperial power. This tomb has been celebrated globally as the Taj Mahal."<ref name="Fisher2018-106"/>}}<ref name="Fisher2018-106">
{{citation
|last=Fisher|first=Michael H.|title=An Environmental History of India: From Earliest Times to the Twenty-First Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA106|year=2018|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1-107-11162-2|page=106}}
</ref>
Gradually expanding [[Company rule in India|rule of the British East India Company]] followed, turning India into a colonial economy, but also consolidating its [[sovereignty]].<ref name="Combined-11">
(a) {{citation|last1=Asher|first1=Catherine B.|last2=Talbot|first2=Cynthia|title=India Before Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA289|year=2006|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-80904-7|page=289}}; (b) {{citation
|last=Fisher|first=Michael H.|title=An Environmental History of India: From Earliest Times to the Twenty-First Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA120|year=2018|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1-107-11162-2|page=120}}
</ref> [[British Raj|British Crown rule]] began in 1858. The rights promised to Indians were granted slowly,<ref name="Combined-12">{{citation|last=Taylor|first=Miles|editor=Aldrish, Robert |editor2=McCreery, Cindy |title=Crowns and Colonies: European Monarchies and Overseas Empires|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iR3GDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA39|year=2016|publisher=[[Manchester University Press]]|isbn=978-1-5261-0088-7|pages=38–39|chapter=The British royal family and the colonial empire from the Georgians to Prince George}}; (b) {{citation|last=Peers|first=Douglas M.|title=India Under Colonial Rule: 1700–1885|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dyQuAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA76|year=2013|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-1-317-88286-2|page=76|access-date=13 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331025906/https://books.google.com/books?id=dyQuAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA76|archive-date=31 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> but [[Industrial Revolution|technological changes]] were introduced, and ideas of education, modernity and the public life took root.<ref name="EmbreeHay1988">
{{citation
|last1=Embree|first1=Ainslie Thomas|last2=Hay|first2=Stephen N.|last3=Bary|first3=William Theodore De|title=Sources of Indian Tradition: Modern India and Pakistan|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XoMRuiSpBp4C&pg=PA85|year=1988|publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]|isbn=978-0-231-06414-9|page=85|chapter=Nationalism Takes Root: The Moderates}}
</ref>
A pioneering and influential [[Indian freedom movement|nationalist movement]] emerged,<ref name="Marshall2001">{{citation|last=Marshall|first=P. J.|title=The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire|url={{Google books|S2EXN8JTwAEC|page=PA179|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|year=2001|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-00254-7|page=179}}
</ref> 
which was noted for [[nonviolent resistance]] and led India to its independence in 1947.

India is a [[secular]] [[federal republic]] governed in a democratic [[parliamentary system]]. It is a [[Pluralism (political philosophy)|pluralistic]], multilingual and multi-ethnic society. India's population grew from 361 million in 1951 to 1,211&nbsp;million in 2011.<ref name="Dyson2018-219">
{{citation
|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA219|year=2018|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|pages=219, 262}}
</ref>
During the same time, its nominal [[per capita income]] increased from US$64 annually to US$1,498, and its literacy rate from 16.6% to 74%. From being a comparatively destitute country in 1951,<ref name="Fisher2018-8">
{{citation
|last=Fisher|first=Michael H.|title=An Environmental History of India: From Earliest Times to the Twenty-First Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA8|year=2018|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1-107-11162-2|page=8}}
</ref> 
India has become a [[List of countries by GDP (real) growth rate|fast-growing]] [[G20|major economy]], a hub for [[Information technology in India|information technology services]], with an expanding middle class.<ref name="MetcalfMetcalf2012-265">
{{citation
|last1=Metcalf
|first1=Barbara D.|last2=Metcalf|first2=Thomas R.|title=A Concise History of Modern India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mjIfqyY7jlsC&pg=PA265|year=2012|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1-107-02649-0|pages=265–266}}
</ref> It has [[Indian Space Research Organisation|a space programme]] which includes several planned or completed [[List of Solar System probes|extraterrestrial missions]]. Indian movies, music, and spiritual teachings play an increasing role in global culture.<ref name="MetcalfMetcalf2012-266">
{{citation
|last1=Metcalf
|first1=Barbara D.|last2=Metcalf|first2=Thomas R.|title=A Concise History of Modern India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mjIfqyY7jlsC&pg=PA266|year=2012|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1-107-02649-0|page=266}}
</ref>
India has substantially reduced its rate of poverty, though at the cost of increasing economic inequality.<ref name="Dyson2018-216-a">
{{citation
|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA216|year=2018|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|page=216}}
</ref>
India is a [[List of states with nuclear weapons|nuclear weapons state]], which ranks high in [[List of countries by military expenditures|military expenditure]]. It has disputes over [[Kashmir]] with its neighbours, [[Pakistan]] and [[China]], unresolved since the mid-20th century.<ref name=kashmir-disputes>(a) {{citation |title=Kashmir, region Indian subcontinent |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Kashmir-region-Indian-subcontinent |accessdate=15 August 2019 |url-access=subscription |quote=Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent ... has been the subject of dispute between India and Pakistan since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813203817/https://www.britannica.com/place/Kashmir-region-Indian-subcontinent |archive-date=13 August 2019 |url-status=live }};<br /> (b) {{citation |last1=Pletcher |first1=Kenneth |title=Aksai Chin, Plateau Region, Asia |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Aksai-Chin |accessdate=16 August 2019 |url-access=subscription |quote=Aksai Chin, Chinese (Pinyin) Aksayqin, portion of the Kashmir region, ... constitutes nearly all the territory of the Chinese-administered sector of Kashmir that is claimed by India |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402090308/https://www.britannica.com/place/Aksai-Chin |archive-date=2 April 2019 |url-status=live }}; <br /> (c) {{citation|chapter=Kashmir|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Americana |publisher=[[Scholastic Library Publishing]]|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l_cWAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA328 |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7172-0139-6 |page=328 |author=C. E Bosworth |quote=KASHMIR, kash'mer, the northernmost region of the Indian subcontinent, administered partly by India, partly by Pakistan, and partly by China. The region has been the subject of a bitter dispute between India and Pakistan since they became independent in 1947}}</ref>
Among the socio-economic challenges India faces are [[Gender inequality in India|gender inequality]], [[Malnutrition in India|child malnutrition]],<ref name="NarayanJohn2018-lead">{{cite journal|last1=Narayan|first1=Jitendra|last2=John|first2=Denny|last3=Ramadas|first3=Nirupama|title=Malnutrition in India: status and government initiatives|journal=[[Journal of Public Health Policy]]|volume=40|issue=1|year=2018|pages=126–141|issn=0197-5897|doi=10.1057/s41271-018-0149-5|pmid=30353132}}
</ref>
and rising levels of [[Air pollution in India|air pollution]].<ref name="BalakrishnanDey2019-lead">{{cite journal|last1=Balakrishnan|first1=Kalpana|last2=Dey|first2=Sagnik|title=The impact of air pollution on deaths, disease burden, and life expectancy across the states of India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017|journal=The Lancet Planetary Health|volume=3|issue=1|year=2019|pages=e26–e39|display-authors=etal|issn=2542-5196|doi=10.1016/S2542-5196(18)30261-4|pmid=30528905|pmc=6358127}}
</ref> 
India's land is [[megadiverse country|megadiverse]], with four [[biodiversity hotspots]].<ref name=IUCN-India>{{citation|title=India|publisher=[[International Union for the Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN)|url=https://www.iucn.org/asia/countries/india|year=2019}}
</ref> Its forest cover comprises 21.4% of its area.<ref name="Jha2018-lead">
{{citation
|last=Jha|first=Raghbendra|title=Facets of India's Economy and Her Society Volume II: Current State and Future Prospects|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9n9SDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA198|year=2018|publisher=[[Springer Publishing|Springer]]|isbn=978-1-349-95342-4|page=198}}
</ref> [[Wildlife in India|India's wildlife]], which has traditionally been viewed with tolerance in [[Culture of India|India's culture]],<ref name="WoodroffeThirgood2005">{{citation|last1=Karanth|first1=K. Ullas|last2=Gopal|first2=Rajesh |editor=Rosie Woodroffe |editor2=Simon Thirgood |editor3=Alan Rabinowitz |title=People and Wildlife, Conflict Or Co-existence?|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6vNzRzcjntAC&pg=PA374|year=2005|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-53203-7|page=374|chapter=An ecology-based policy framework for human-tiger coexistence in India}}</ref> is supported among these forests, and elsewhere, in [[Protected areas of India|protected habitats]].

== History ==
=== Ancient India ===
[[File:1500-1200 BCE Rigveda, manuscript page sample i, Mandala 1, Hymn 1 (Sukta 1), Adhyaya 1, lines 1.1.1 to 1.1.9, Sanskrit, Devanagari.jpg|thumb]]
By 55,000 years ago, the first modern humans, or ''[[Homo sapiens]]'', had arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa, where they had earlier evolved.<ref name="Dyson2018">{{citation|last=Dyson|first=Tim |title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1|year=2018 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|page=1}} Quote: "Modern human beings—''Homo sapiens''—originated in Africa. Then, intermittently, sometime between 60,000 and 80,000 years ago, tiny groups of them began to enter the north-west of the Indian subcontinent. It seems likely that initially they came by way of the coast. ... it is virtually certain that there were ''Homo sapiens'' in the subcontinent 55,000 years ago, even though the earliest fossils that have been found of them date to only about 30,000 years before the present. (page 1)"</ref><ref name="PetragliaAllchin">{{cite book |author1=Michael D. Petraglia |author2=Bridget Allchin |author-link2=Bridget Allchin |title=The Evolution and History of Human Populations in South Asia: Inter-disciplinary Studies in Archaeology, Biological Anthropology, Linguistics and Genetics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qm9GfjNlnRwC&pg=PA10#v=onepage&q&f=false |publisher=[[Springer Science + Business Media]] |page=6 |isbn=978-1-4020-5562-1|date=22 May 2007 }} Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. ... Coalescence dates for most non-European populations average to between 73–55 ka."</ref><ref name="Fisher2018">{{citation|last=Fisher|first=Michael H.|title=An Environmental History of India: From Earliest Times to the Twenty-First Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23|year=2018|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1-107-11162-2|page=23}} Quote: "Scholars estimate that the first successful expansion of the ''Homo sapiens'' range beyond Africa and across the Arabian Peninsula occurred from as early as 80,000 years ago to as late as 40,000 years ago, although there may have been prior unsuccessful emigrations. Some of their descendants extended the human range ever further in each generation, spreading into each habitable land they encountered. One human channel was along the warm and productive coastal lands of the Persian Gulf and northern Indian Ocean. Eventually, various bands entered India between 75,000 years ago and 35,000 years ago (page 23)"</ref>
The earliest known modern human remains in [[South Asia]] date to about 30,000 years ago.{{sfn|Petraglia|Allchin||2007|p=6}} After 6500 BCE, evidence for domestication of food crops and animals, construction of permanent structures, and storage of agricultural surplus appeared in [[Mehrgarh]] and other sites in what is now [[Balochistan]].{{sfn|Coningham|Young|2015|pp = 104–105}} These gradually developed into the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]],{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|pp = 21–23}}{{sfn|Coningham|Young|2015|pp = 104–105}} the first urban culture in South Asia,{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 181}} which flourished during 2500–1900&nbsp;BCE in what is now Pakistan and western India.{{sfn|Possehl|2003|p = 2}} Centred around cities such as [[Mohenjo-daro]], [[Harappa]], [[Dholavira]], and [[Kalibangan]], and relying on varied forms of subsistence, the civilisation engaged robustly in crafts production and wide-ranging trade.{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 181}}

During the period 2000–500 BCE, many regions of the subcontinent transitioned from the [[Chalcolithic]] cultures to the [[Iron Age]] ones.{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 255}} The [[Vedas]], the oldest scriptures associated with [[Hinduism]],{{sfn|Singh|2009|pp = 186–187}} were composed during this period,{{sfn|Witzel|2003|pp = 68–69}} and historians have analysed these to posit a [[Vedic period|Vedic culture]] in the [[Punjab region]] and the upper [[Indo-Gangetic Plain|Gangetic Plain]].{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 255}} Most historians also consider this period to have encompassed several waves of [[Indo-Aryan migration]] into the subcontinent from the north-west.{{Sfn|Singh|2009|pp=186–187}} The [[caste system]], which created a hierarchy of priests, warriors, and free peasants, but which excluded indigenous peoples by labeling their occupations impure, arose during this period.{{Sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|pp=41–43}} On the [[Deccan Plateau]], archaeological evidence from this period suggests the existence of a chiefdom stage of political organisation.{{Sfn|Singh|2009|p=255}} In [[South India]], a progression to sedentary life is indicated by the large number of [[megalith]]ic monuments dating from this period,{{Sfn|Singh|2009|pp=250–251}} as well as by nearby traces of agriculture, irrigation tanks, and craft traditions.{{Sfn|Singh|2009|pp=250–251}}

[[File:India in 250 BCE Joppen.jpg|thumb]]
| image2 = India in 350 CE Joppen.jpg
|image3=Cave 26, Ajanta.jpg
| footer = {{font|size=110%|font=Sans-serif|text=Clockwise from upper left: (a) A map of the rough extent of the empire of [[Ashoka]], ca 250 BCE; (b) The map of India, ca 350 CE; (c) Cave 26 of the rock-cut [[Ajanta Caves]], fifth century CE}}
}}
In the late [[Vedic period]], around the 6th century BCE, the small states and chiefdoms of the [[Ganges]] Plain and the north-western regions had consolidated into 16 major oligarchies and monarchies that were known as the ''[[mahajanapadas]]''.{{sfn|Singh|2009|pp = 260–265}}{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|pp = 53–54}} The emerging urbanisation gave rise to non-Vedic religious movements, two of which became independent religions. Jainism came into prominence during the life of its exemplar, [[Mahavira]].{{sfn|Singh|2009|pp = 312–313}} Buddhism, based on the teachings of [[Gautama Buddha]], attracted followers from all social classes excepting the middle class; chronicling the life of the Buddha was central to the beginnings of recorded history in India.{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|pp = 54–56}}{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 21}}{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 67–68}} In an age of increasing urban wealth, both religions held up [[Nekkhamma|renunciation]] as an ideal,{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 300}} and both established long-lasting monastic traditions. Politically, by the 3rd century BCE, the kingdom of [[Magadha]] had annexed or reduced other states to emerge as the [[Maurya Empire|Mauryan Empire]].{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 319}} The empire was once thought to have controlled most of the subcontinent except the far south, but its core regions are now thought to have been separated by large autonomous areas.{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 78–79}}{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|p = 70}} The Mauryan kings are known as much for their empire-building and determined management of public life as for [[Ashoka]]'s renunciation of militarism and far-flung advocacy of the Buddhist ''[[Dharma (Buddhism)|dhamma]]''.{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 367}}{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|p = 63}}

The [[Sangam literature]] of the [[Tamil language]] reveals that, between 200 BCE and 200 CE, the southern peninsula was ruled by the [[Chera Dynasty|Cheras]], the [[Chola dynasty|Cholas]], and the [[Pandyan Dynasty|Pandyas]], dynasties that [[Indo-Roman trade|traded extensively with the Roman Empire]] and with [[Western Asia|West]] and [[Southeast Asia|South-East Asia]].{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 89–90}}{{sfn|Singh|2009|pp = 408–415}} In North India, Hinduism asserted patriarchal control within the family, leading to increased subordination of women.{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 92–95}}{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 319}} By the 4th and 5th centuries, the [[Gupta Empire]] had created a complex system of administration and taxation in the greater Ganges Plain that became a model for later Indian kingdoms.{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|pp = 89–91}}{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 545}} Under the Guptas, a renewed Hinduism based on devotion, rather than the management of ritual, began to assert itself.{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 98–99}} This renewal was reflected in a flowering of [[Sculpture in the Indian subcontinent|sculpture]] and [[Architecture of India|architecture]], which found patrons among an urban elite.{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 545}} [[Sanskrit literature#Classical Sanskrit literature|Classical Sanskrit literature]] flowered as well, and [[History of science and technology in the Indian subcontinent|Indian science]], [[Indian astronomy|astronomy]], [[Ayurveda|medicine]], and [[Indian mathematics|mathematics]] made significant advances.{{sfn|Singh|2009|p = 545}}

=== Medieval India ===
[[File:India in 1022 Joppen.jpg|thumb]]
The Indian early medieval age, 600 CE to 1200 CE, is defined by regional kingdoms and cultural diversity.{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 132}} When [[Harsha]] of [[Kannauj]], who ruled much of the Indo-Gangetic Plain from 606 to 647 CE, attempted to expand southwards, he was defeated by the [[Chalukya dynasty|Chalukya]] ruler of the Deccan.{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 119–120}} When his successor attempted to expand eastwards, he was defeated by the [[Pala Empire|Pala]] king of [[Bengal]].{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 119–120}} When the Chalukyas attempted to expand southwards, they were defeated by the [[Pallava]]s from farther south, who in turn were opposed by the [[Pandyas]] and the [[Cholas]] from still farther south.{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 119–120}} No ruler of this period was able to create an empire and consistently control lands much beyond his core region.{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 132}} During this time, pastoral peoples, whose land had been cleared to make way for the growing agricultural economy, were accommodated within caste society, as were new non-traditional ruling classes.{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 121–122}} The caste system consequently began to show regional differences.{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 121–122}}

In the 6th and 7th centuries, the first [[Bhakti|devotional hymns]] were created in the Tamil language.{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 123}} They were imitated all over India and led to both the resurgence of Hinduism and the development of all [[Languages of India|modern languages of the subcontinent]].{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 123}} Indian royalty, big and small, and the temples they patronised drew citizens in great numbers to the capital cities, which became economic hubs as well.{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 124}} Temple towns of various sizes began to appear everywhere as India underwent another urbanisation.{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 124}} By the 8th and 9th centuries, the effects were felt in South-East Asia, as South Indian culture and political systems were exported to lands that became part of modern-day [[Myanmar]], [[Thailand]], [[Laos]], [[Cambodia]], [[Vietnam]], [[Philippines]], [[Malaysia]], and [[Java]].{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 127–128}} Indian merchants, scholars, and sometimes armies were involved in this transmission; South-East Asians took the initiative as well, with many sojourning in Indian seminaries and translating Buddhist and Hindu texts into their languages.{{sfn|Stein|1998|pp = 127–128}}
[[File:India in 1398 Joppen.jpg|thumb]]
After the 10th century, Muslim Central Asian nomadic clans, using [[courser (horse)|swift-horse]] cavalry and raising vast armies united by ethnicity and religion, repeatedly overran South Asia's north-western plains, leading eventually to the establishment of the Islamic [[Delhi Sultanate]] in 1206.{{sfn|Ludden|2002|p = 68}} The sultanate was to control much of North India and to make many forays into South India. Although at first disruptive for the Indian elites, the sultanate largely left its vast non-Muslim subject population to its own laws and customs.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 47}}{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 6}} By repeatedly repulsing [[Mongol Empire|Mongol raiders]] in the 13th century, the sultanate saved India from the devastation visited on West and Central Asia, setting the scene for centuries of [[Human migration|migration]] of fleeing soldiers, learned men, mystics, traders, artists, and artisans from that region into the subcontinent, thereby creating a syncretic Indo-Islamic culture in the north.{{sfn|Ludden|2002|p = 67}}{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|pp = 50–51}} The sultanate's raiding and weakening of the regional kingdoms of South India paved the way for the indigenous [[Vijayanagara Empire]].{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 53}} Embracing a strong [[Shaivism|Shaivite]] tradition and building upon the military technology of the sultanate, the empire came to control much of peninsular India,{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 12}} and was to influence South Indian society for long afterwards.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 53}}

=== Early modern India ===
[[File:Agra Fort DistantTaj.JPG|thumb|Agra Fort DistantTaj]]
In the early 16th century, northern India, then under mainly Muslim rulers,{{sfn|Robb|2001|p = 80}} fell again to the superior mobility and firepower of a new generation of Central Asian warriors.{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 164}} The resulting [[Mughal Empire]] did not stamp out the local societies it came to rule. Instead, it balanced and pacified them through new administrative practices{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 115}}{{sfn|Robb|2001|pp = 90–91}} and diverse and inclusive ruling elites,{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 17}} leading to more systematic, centralised, and uniform rule.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 152}} Eschewing tribal bonds and Islamic identity, especially under [[Akbar]], the Mughals united their far-flung realms through loyalty, expressed through a Persianised culture, to an emperor who had near-divine status.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 17}} The Mughal state's economic policies, deriving most revenues from agriculture{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 158}} and mandating that taxes be paid in the well-regulated silver currency,{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 169}} caused peasants and artisans to enter larger markets.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 152}} The relative peace maintained by the empire during much of the 17th century was a factor in India's economic expansion,{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 152}} resulting in greater patronage of [[Mughal painting|painting]], literary forms, textiles, and [[Mughal architecture|architecture]].{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 186}} Newly coherent social groups in northern and western India, such as the [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]], the [[Rajputs]], and the [[Sikh empire|Sikhs]], gained military and governing ambitions during Mughal rule, which, through collaboration or adversity, gave them both recognition and military experience.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 23–24}} Expanding commerce during Mughal rule gave rise to new Indian commercial and political elites along the coasts of southern and eastern India.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 23–24}} As the empire disintegrated, many among these elites were able to seek and control their own affairs.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 256}}

By the early 18th century, with the lines between commercial and political dominance being increasingly blurred, a number of European trading companies, including the English [[East India Company]], had established coastal outposts.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 286}}{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 44–49}} The East India Company's control of the seas, greater resources, and more advanced military training and technology led it to increasingly flex its military muscle and caused it to become attractive to a portion of the Indian elite; these factors were crucial in allowing the company to gain control over the [[Bengal]] region by 1765 and sideline the other European companies.{{sfn|Robb|2001|pp = 98–100}}{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 286}}{{sfn|Ludden|2002|pp = 128–132}}{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 51–55}} Its further access to the riches of Bengal and the subsequent increased strength and size of its army enabled it to annex or subdue most of India by the 1820s.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 68–71}} India was then no longer exporting manufactured goods as it long had, but was instead supplying the [[British Empire]] with raw materials. Many historians consider this to be the onset of India's colonial period.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 286}} By this time, with its economic power severely curtailed by the British parliament and having effectively been made an arm of British administration, the company began more consciously to enter non-economic arenas like education, social reform, and culture.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 289}}

=== Modern India ===
[[File:British Indian Empire 1909 Imperial Gazetteer of India.jpg|thumb|left|1909 map of the British Indian Empire]]
Historians consider India's modern age to have begun sometime between 1848 and 1885. The appointment in 1848 of [[James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie|Lord Dalhousie]] as Governor General of the East India Company set the stage for changes essential to a modern state. These included the consolidation and demarcation of sovereignty, the surveillance of the population, and the education of citizens. Technological changes—among them, railways, canals, and the telegraph—were introduced not long after their introduction in [[Europe]].{{sfn|Robb|2001|pp = 151–152}}{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 94–99}}{{sfn|Brown|1994|p = 83}}{{sfn|Peers|2006|p = 50}} However, disaffection with the company also grew during this time and set off the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]]. Fed by diverse resentments and perceptions, including invasive British-style social reforms, harsh land taxes, and summary treatment of some rich landowners and princes, the rebellion rocked many regions of northern and central India and shook the foundations of Company rule.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 100–103}}{{sfn|Brown|1994|pp = 85–86}} Although the rebellion was suppressed by 1858, it led to the dissolution of the East India Company and the [[British Raj|direct administration of India]] by the British government. Proclaiming a unitary state and a gradual but limited British-style parliamentary system, the new rulers also protected princes and landed gentry as a feudal safeguard against future unrest.{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 239}}{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 103–108}} In the decades following, public life gradually emerged all over India, leading eventually to the founding of the [[Indian National Congress]] in 1885.{{sfn|Robb|2001|p = 183}}{{sfn|Sarkar|1983|pp = 1–4}}{{sfn|Copland|2001|pp = ix–x}}{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 123}}

The rush of technology and the commercialisation of agriculture in the second half of the 19th century was marked by economic setbacks—many small farmers became dependent on the whims of far-away markets.{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 260}} There was an increase in the number of large-scale [[Famine in India|famines]],{{sfn|Bose|Jalal|2011|p = 117}} and, despite the risks of infrastructure development borne by Indian taxpayers, little industrial employment was generated for Indians.{{sfn|Stein|1998|p = 258}} There were also salutary effects: commercial cropping, especially in the newly canalled Punjab, led to increased food production for internal consumption.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 126}} The railway network provided critical famine relief,{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 97}} notably reduced the cost of moving goods,{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 97}} and helped nascent Indian-owned industry.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 126}}
[[File:Nehru gandhi.jpg|thumb|right|[[Jawaharlal Nehru]] sharing a light moment with [[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi]], Mumbai, 6 July 1946]]
After World War I, in which approximately [[Indian Army during World War I|one million Indians served]],{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 163}} a new period began. It was marked by [[Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms|British reforms]] but also [[Rowlatt act|repressive legislation]], by more strident Indian calls for self-rule, and by the beginnings of a [[nonviolent]] movement of non-co-operation, of which [[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi]] would become the leader and enduring symbol.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 167}} During the 1930s, slow legislative reform was enacted by the British; the Indian National Congress won victories in the resulting elections.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 195–197}} The next decade was beset with crises: [[India in World War II|Indian participation in World War&nbsp;II]], the Congress's final push for non-co-operation, and an upsurge of Muslim nationalism. All were capped by the advent of independence in 1947, but tempered by the [[partition of India]] into two states: India and Pakistan.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 203}}

Vital to India's self-image as an independent nation was its constitution, completed in 1950, which put in place a secular and democratic republic.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 231}} It has remained a democracy with civil liberties, an active Supreme Court, and a largely independent press.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 265–266}} Economic liberalisation, which began in the 1990s, has created a large urban middle class, transformed India into [[List of countries by GDP (real) growth rate|one of the world's fastest-growing economies]],{{sfn|United States Department of Agriculture}} and increased its geopolitical clout. Indian movies, music, and spiritual teachings play an increasing role in global culture.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 265–266}} Yet, India is also shaped by seemingly unyielding poverty, both rural and urban;{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 265–266}} by [[Religious violence in India|religious]] and [[Caste-related violence in India|caste-related violence]];{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 266–270}} by [[Naxalite|Maoist-inspired Naxalite insurgencies]];{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 253}} and by [[Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir|separatism in Jammu and Kashmir]] and [[insurgency in Northeast India|in Northeast India]].{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 274}} It has unresolved territorial disputes with [[China–India relations#1960s|China]]{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 247–248}} and with [[Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts|Pakistan]].{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 247–248}} The India–Pakistan nuclear rivalry came to a head in 1998.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 293–295}} India's sustained democratic freedoms are unique among the world's newer nations; however, in spite of its recent economic successes, freedom from want for its disadvantaged population remains a goal yet to be achieved.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 304}}

== Geography ==
[[File:India Orographical Features Plate 4, Imperial Gazetteer of India, Atlas, 1909.jpg|thumb|India's [[orographic]]al features include the [[Ganges]] and [[Indus]] plains, the [[Western Ghats|Western]] and [[Eastern Ghats]], the [[Thar desert]], the [[Aravalli hills]], and [[Satpura Range|Satpura]] and [[Vindhya Range|Vindhya]] ranges.]]

India accounts for the bulk of the Indian subcontinent, lying atop the [[Indian Plate|Indian tectonic plate]], a part of the [[Indo-Australian Plate]].{{sfn|Ali|Aitchison|2005}} India's defining geological processes began 75 million years ago when the Indian Plate, then part of the southern supercontinent [[Gondwana]], began a north-eastward [[Plate tectonics|drift]] caused by [[seafloor spreading]] to its south-west, and later, south and south-east.{{sfn|Ali|Aitchison|2005}} Simultaneously, the vast [[Tethys Ocean|Tethyan]] [[oceanic crust]], to its northeast, began to [[subduction|subduct]] under the [[Eurasian Plate]].{{sfn|Ali|Aitchison|2005}} These dual processes, driven by convection in the Earth's [[Mantle (geology)|mantle]], both created the [[Indian Ocean]] and caused the Indian [[continental crust]] eventually to under-thrust Eurasia and to uplift the [[Himalayas]].{{sfn|Ali|Aitchison|2005}} Immediately south of the emerging Himalayas, plate movement created a vast [[trough (geology)|trough]] that rapidly filled with river-borne sediment{{sfn|Dikshit & Schwartzberg|p = 7}} and now constitutes the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]].{{sfn|Prakash et al.|2000}} Cut off from the plain by the ancient [[Aravalli Range]] lies the [[Thar Desert]].{{sfn|Dikshit & Schwartzberg|p = 11}}

The original Indian Plate survives as [[South India|peninsular India]], the oldest and geologically most stable part of India. It extends as far north as the [[Satpura Range|Satpura]] and [[Vindhya Range|Vindhya]] ranges in central India. These parallel chains run from the Arabian Sea coast in Gujarat in the west to the coal-rich [[Chota Nagpur Plateau]] in Jharkhand in the east.{{sfn|Dikshit & Schwartzberg|p = 8}} To the south, the remaining peninsular landmass, the [[Deccan Plateau]], is flanked on the west and east by coastal ranges known as the [[Western Ghats|Western]] and [[Eastern Ghats]];{{sfn|Dikshit & Schwartzberg|pp = 9–10}} the plateau contains the country's oldest rock formations, some over one billion years old. Constituted in such fashion, India lies to the north of the equator between 6° 44' and 35° 30' north latitude{{efn|The northernmost point under Indian control is the disputed [[Siachen Glacier]] in [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]]; however, the [[Government of India]] regards the entire region of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, including the [[Gilgit-Baltistan]] administered by Pakistan, to be its territory. It therefore assigns the latitude 37° 6' to its northernmost point.}} and 68° 7' and 97° 25' east longitude.{{sfn|Ministry of Information and Broadcasting|2007|p = 1}}

India's coastline measures {{Convert|7517|km|mi|-2}} in length; of this distance, {{Convert|5423|km|mi|-2}} belong to peninsular India and {{Convert|2094|km|mi|-2}} to the Andaman, Nicobar, and Lakshadweep island chains.{{sfn|Kumar|Pathak|Pednekar|Raju|2006}} According to the Indian naval hydrographic charts, the mainland coastline consists of the following: 43% sandy beaches; 11% rocky shores, including cliffs; and 46% [[mudflat]]s or marshy shores.{{sfn|Kumar|Pathak|Pednekar|Raju|2006}}

[[File:Agasthiyamalai range and Tirunelveli rainshadow.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Agasthiyamalai]] range, constituting the southern end of the [[Western Ghats]], as seen from the [[rainshadow]] region of the [[southwest monsoon]] in [[Tirunelveli]], [[Tamil Nadu]].]]

Major Himalayan-origin rivers that substantially flow through India include the [[Ganges]] and the [[Brahmaputra River|Brahmaputra]], both of which drain into the [[Bay of Bengal]].{{sfn|Dikshit & Schwartzberg|p = 15}} Important tributaries of the Ganges include the [[Yamuna]] and the [[Kosi River|Kosi]]; the latter's extremely low gradient, caused by long-term silt deposition, leads to severe floods and course changes.{{sfn|Duff|1993|p = 353}}<ref name="BasuSJ2017-text">{{citation|last1=Basu|first1=Mahua|last2=SJ|first2=Xavier Savarimuthu|title=Fundamentals of Environmental Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nXmLDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA78 |date=2017|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1-316-87051-8|page=78}}</ref> Major peninsular rivers, whose steeper gradients prevent their waters from flooding, include the [[Godavari River|Godavari]], the [[Mahanadi River|Mahanadi]], the [[Kaveri River|Kaveri]], and the [[Krishna River|Krishna]], which also drain into the Bay of Bengal;{{sfn|Dikshit & Schwartzberg|p = 16}} and the [[Narmada River|Narmada]] and the [[Tapti River|Tapti]], which drain into the [[Arabian Sea]].{{sfn|Dikshit & Schwartzberg|p = 17}} Coastal features include the marshy [[Rann of Kutch]] of western India and the alluvial [[Sundarbans]] delta of eastern India; the latter is shared with Bangladesh.{{sfn|Dikshit & Schwartzberg|p = 12}} India has two [[archipelago]]s: the [[Lakshadweep]], [[Atoll|coral atolls]] off India's south-western coast; and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a volcanic chain in the [[Andaman Sea]].{{sfn|Dikshit & Schwartzberg|p = 13}}

The [[Climate of India|Indian climate]] is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar Desert, both of which drive the economically and culturally pivotal summer and winter [[monsoon]]s.{{sfn|Chang|1967|pp = 391–394}} The Himalayas prevent cold Central Asian [[katabatic wind]]s from blowing in, keeping the bulk of the Indian subcontinent warmer than most locations at similar latitudes.{{sfn|Posey|1994|p = 118}}{{sfn|Wolpert|2003|p = 4}} The Thar Desert plays a crucial role in attracting the moisture-laden south-west summer monsoon winds that, between June and October, provide the majority of India's rainfall.{{sfn|Chang|1967|pp = 391–394}} Four major climatic groupings predominate in India: [[Climate of India#Tropical wet|tropical wet]], [[Climate of India#Tropical dry|tropical dry]], [[Climate of India#Subtropical humid|subtropical humid]], and [[Climate of India#Mountain|montane]].{{sfn|Heitzman|Worden|1996|p = 97}}

== Biodiversity ==
[[File:Panthera tigris tigris Tidoba 20150306.jpg|thumb|right|India has the majority of the world's wild tigers, nearly 3,000 in 2019.]]
India is a [[megadiverse country]], a term employed for 17 countries which display high [[biological diversity]] and contain many species exclusively [[indigenous (ecology)|indigenous]], or [[endemic]], to them.<ref>{{citation|publisher=Biodiversity A–Z and UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre|title=Megadiverse Countries}}</ref> India is a [[habitat]] for 8.6% of all [[mammal]] species, 13.7% of [[bird]] species, 7.9% of [[reptile]] species, 6% of [[amphibian]] species, 12.2% of [[fish]] species, and 6.0% of all [[flowering plant]] species.{{sfn|Zoological Survey of India|2012|p = 1}}{{sfn|Puri}} Fully a third of Indian plant species are endemic.{{sfn|Basak|1983|p = 24}} India also contains four of the world's 34 [[biodiversity hotspot]]s,<ref name=IUCN-India/> or regions that display significant habitat loss in the presence of high endemism.{{efn|A biodiversity hotspot is a [[biogeography|biogeographical]] region which has more than 1,500 [[vascular plant]] species, but less than 30% of its primary habitat.<ref name="SivaperumanVenkataraman2018"/>}}<ref name="SivaperumanVenkataraman2018">{{citation|last1=Venkataraman|first1=K.|last2=Sivaperuman|first2=C. |editor=Sivaperuman, C. |editor2=Venkataraman, K. |title=Indian Hotspots: Vertebrate Faunal Diversity, Conservation and Management|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8kFKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA5|year=2018|publisher=[[Springer Publishing|Springer]]|isbn=978-981-10-6605-4|page=5|chapter=Biodiversity Hotspots in India}}</ref>

India's [[forest cover]] is {{convert|701673|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, which is 21.35% of the country's total land area. It can be subdivided further into broad categories of ''canopy density'', or the proportion of the area of a forest covered by its [[tree canopy]].<ref name="Jha2018">{{citation|last=Jha|first=Raghbendra|title=Facets of India's Economy and Her Society Volume II: Current State and Future Prospects|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9n9SDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA198|year=2018|publisher=[[Springer Publishing|Springer]]|isbn=978-1-349-95342-4|page=198}}</ref> ''Very dense forest'', whose ''canopy density'' is greater than 70%, occupies 2.61% of India's land area.<ref name="Jha2018"/> It predominates in the [[tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest|tropical moist forest]] of the [[Andaman Islands]], the [[Western Ghats]], and [[Northeast India]].{{sfn|Tritsch|2001}} ''Moderately dense forest'', whose canopy density is between 40% and 70%, occupies 9.59% of India's land area.<ref name="Jha2018"/> It predominates in the [[temperate coniferous forest]] of the [[Himalaya]]s, the moist deciduous ''[[Shorea robusta|sal]]'' forest of eastern India, and the dry deciduous [[teak]] forest of central and southern India.{{sfn|Tritsch|2001}}  ''Open forest'', whose canopy density is between 10% and 40%, occupies 9.14% of India's land area,<ref name="Jha2018"/> and predominates in the [[Acacia nilotica|babul]]-dominated [[deserts and xeric shrublands|thorn forest]] of the central [[Deccan Plateau]] and the western [[Gangetic plain]].{{sfn|Tritsch|2001}}

Among the Indian subcontinent's notable indigenous trees are the [[astringent]] ''[[Azadirachta indica]]'', or ''neem'', which is widely used in rural Indian [[herbal medicine]],<ref name="Goyal2006">{{citation|last=Goyal|first=Anupam|title=The WTO and International Environmental Law: Towards Conciliation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UTGQAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA295|year=2006|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-567710-2|page=295}} Quote: "The Indian government successfully argued that the medicinal ''neem'' tree is part of traditional Indian knowledge. (page 295)"</ref> and the luxuriant ''[[Ficus religiosa]]'', or ''peepul'',<ref name="Hughes2013">{{citation|last=Hughes|first=Julie E.|title=Animal Kingdoms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RL8qWNmpkc0C&pg=PT106|year=2013|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|isbn=978-0-674-07480-4|page=106|quote=At same time, the leafy pipal trees and comparative abundance that marked the Mewari landscape fostered refinements unattainable in other lands.}}</ref> which is displayed on the ancient seals of [[Mohenjo-daro]],<ref name="AmeriCostello2018">{{citation|last1=Ameri|first1=Marta|last2=Costello|first2=Sarah Kielt|last3=Jamison|first3=Gregg; Scott, Sarah Jarmer|title=Seals and Sealing in the Ancient World: Case Studies from the Near East, Egypt, the Aegean, and South Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SklVDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA156|year=2018|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1-108-17351-3|pages=156–157}} Quote: "The last of the centaurs has the long, wavy, horizontal horns of a markhor, a human face, a heavy-set body that appears bovine, and a goat tail ... This figure is often depicted by itself, but it is also consistently represented in scenes that seem to reflect the adoration of a figure in a pipal tree or arbour and which may be termed ritual. These include fully detailed scenes like that visible in the large 'divine adoration' seal from Mohenjo-daro."</ref> and under which [[Gautama Buddha|the Buddha]] is recorded in the [[Pali canon]] to have sought enlightenment,<ref name="Gwynne2011">{{citation|author=Paul Gwynne|title=World Religions in Practice: A Comparative Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tdsRKc_knZoC&pg=RA5-PT195|year=2011|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|isbn=978-1-4443-6005-9|page=358}} Quote: "The tree under which Sakyamuni became the Buddha is a peepal tree (''[[Ficus religiosa]]'')."</ref>

Many Indian species have descended from those of [[Gondwana]], the southern [[supercontinent]] from which India separated more than 100 million years ago.{{sfn|Crame|Owen|2002|p = 142}}  India's subsequent collision with Eurasia set off a mass exchange of species. However, [[Deccan Traps|volcanism]] and climatic changes later caused the extinction of many endemic Indian forms.{{sfn|Karanth|2006}} Still later, mammals entered India from Asia through two [[zoogeographical]] passes flanking the Himalayas.{{sfn|Tritsch|2001}} This had the effect of lowering endemism among India's mammals, which stands at 12.6%, contrasting with 45.8% among reptiles and 55.8% among amphibians.{{sfn|Puri}} Notable endemics are the vulnerable<ref>{{Cite journal | author = Singh, M. | author2 = Kumar, A. | author3 = Molur, S. | last-author-amp = yes | title = ''Trachypithecus johnii'' | journal = [[The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]] | volume = 2008 | page = e.T44694A10927987 | date = 2008 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T44694A10927987.en }}</ref> [[Nilgiri Langur|hooded leaf monkey]]<ref name=itis>{{cite web|title=Semnopithecus johnii|url=https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=944270#null|publisher=[[ITIS]]|accessdate=27 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829072131/https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=944270#null|archive-date=29 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> and the threatened<ref name=IUCN>{{Cite journal | author = S.D. Biju | author2 = Sushil Dutta | author3 = M.S. Ravichandran Karthikeyan Vasudevan | author4 = S.P. Vijayakumar | author5 = Chelmala Srinivasulu | author6 = Gajanan Dasaramji Bhuddhe | title = ''Duttaphrynus beddomii'' | journal = [[The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]] | volume = 2004 | page = e.T54584A86543952 | publisher = [[IUCN]] | date = 2004 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T54584A11155448.en }}</ref> [[Duttaphrynus beddomii|Beddom's toad]]<ref name=IUCN/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Anura/Bufonidae/Duttaphrynus/Duttaphrynus-beddomii |title=''Duttaphrynus beddomii'' (Günther, 1876) |author=Frost, Darrel R. |year=2015 |work=Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0 |publisher=[[American Museum of Natural History]] |accessdate=13 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721092639/http://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Anura/Bufonidae/Duttaphrynus/Duttaphrynus-beddomii |archive-date=21 July 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> of the Western Ghats.

[[File:Axis axis (Nagarhole, 2010).jpg|thumb|left|A [[Chital]] (''Axis axis'') stag attempts to browse in the [[Nagarhole National Park]] in a region covered by a ''moderately dense'' forest.]]

India contains 172 [[World Conservation Union|IUCN]]-designated [[List of endangered animals in India|threatened animal species]], or 2.9% of endangered forms.{{sfn|Mace|1994|p = 4}}  These include the endangered [[Bengal tiger]] and the [[South Asian river dolphin|Ganges river dolphin]]. [[Critically endangered]] species include: the [[gharial]], a [[crocodilian]]; the [[great Indian bustard]]; and the [[Indian white-rumped vulture]], which has become nearly extinct by having ingested the carrion of [[diclofenac]]-treated cattle.<ref name="LovetteFitzpatrick2016">{{citation|last1=Lovette|first1=Irby J.|last2=Fitzpatrick|first2=John W.|title=Handbook of Bird Biology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OGyQDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA599|year=2016|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|isbn=978-1-118-29105-4|page=599}}</ref> The pervasive and ecologically devastating human encroachment of recent decades has critically endangered Indian wildlife. In response, the system of [[National parks of India|national parks]] and [[protected areas of India|protected areas]], first established in 1935, was expanded substantially. In 1972, India enacted the [[Wildlife Protection Act of 1972|Wildlife Protection Act]]{{sfn|Ministry of Environments and Forests 1972}} and [[Project Tiger]] to safeguard crucial wilderness; the Forest Conservation Act was enacted in 1980 and amendments added in 1988.{{sfn|Department of Environment and Forests|1988}} India hosts [[Wildlife sanctuaries of India|more than five hundred wildlife sanctuaries]] and [[Biosphere reserves of India|thirteen{{Nbsp}}biosphere reserves]],{{sfn|Ministry of Environment and Forests}} four of which are part of the [[World Network of Biosphere Reserves]]; [[List of Ramsar Sites in India|twenty-five wetlands]] are registered under the [[Ramsar Convention]].{{sfn|Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands}}

== Politics and government ==

=== Politics ===

[[File:Rajagopal speaking to 25,000 people, Janadesh 2007, India.jpg|thumb|[[Social movement]]s have long been a part of [[democracy in India]].  The picture shows a section of 25,000 landless people in the state of [[Madhya Pradesh]] listening to [[Rajagopal P. V.]] before their {{cvt|350|km}} march, [[Janadesh 2007]], from [[Gwalior]] to [[New Delhi]] to publicise their demand for further [[land reform in India]].<ref name="Johnston2019">{{citation|last=Johnston|first=Hank|title=Social Movements, Nonviolent Resistance, and the State|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hSiFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT83|year=2019|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-0-429-88566-2|page=83}}</ref>]]

India is the world's most populous [[democracy]].{{sfn|United Nations Population Division}} A [[parliamentary republic]] with a [[multi-party system]],{{sfn|Burnell|Calvert|1999|p = 125}} it has eight{{Nbsp}}recognised [[List of recognised political parties in India#National|national parties]], including the [[Indian National Congress]] and the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP), and more than 40{{Nbsp}}[[List of recognised political parties in India#State|regional parties]].{{sfn|Election Commission of India}} The Congress is considered centre-left in Indian [[political culture]],<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Saez|first1=Lawrence|last2=Sinha|first2=Aseema|title=Political cycles, political institutions and public expenditure in India, 1980–2000|journal=[[British Journal of Political Science]]|volume=40|issue=1|year=2010|pages=91–113|doi=10.1017/s0007123409990226}}</ref> and the BJP [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]].{{sfn|Malik|Singh|1992|pp=318–336}}{{sfn|BBC|2012}}{{sfn|Banerjee|2005|p=3118}} For most of the period between 1950—when India first became a republic—and the late 1980s, the Congress held a majority in the parliament. Since then, however, it has increasingly shared the political stage with the BJP,{{sfn|Sarkar|2007|p = 84}} as well as with powerful regional parties which have often forced the creation of multi-party [[coalition government]]s at the centre.{{sfn|Chander|2004|p = 117}}

In the Republic of India's first three general elections, in 1951, 1957, and 1962, the [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]-led Congress won easy victories. On Nehru's death in 1964, [[Lal Bahadur Shastri]] briefly became prime minister; he was succeeded, after his own unexpected death in 1966, by [[Indira Gandhi]], who went on to lead the Congress to election victories in 1967 and 1971. Following public discontent with the [[The Emergency (India)|state of emergency]] she declared in 1975, the Congress was voted out of power in 1977; the then-new [[Janata Party]], which had opposed the emergency, was voted in. Its government lasted just over two years. Voted back into power in 1980, the Congress saw a change in leadership in 1984, when Indira Gandhi was assassinated; she was succeeded by her son [[Rajiv Gandhi]], who won an easy victory in the general elections later that year. The Congress was voted out again in 1989 when a [[National Front (India)|National Front]] coalition, led by the newly formed [[Janata Dal]] in alliance with the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)|Left Front]], won the elections; that government too proved relatively short-lived, lasting just under two years.{{sfn|Bhambhri|1992|pp = 118, 143}} Elections were held again in 1991; no party won an absolute majority. The Congress, as the largest single party, was able to form a [[minority government]] led by [[P. V. Narasimha Rao]].<ref>{{cite news|date=24 December 2004|title=Narasimha Rao Passes Away|work=[[The Hindu]]|url=http://www.hindu.com/2004/12/24/stories/2004122408870100.htm|accessdate=2 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213181659/http://www.hindu.com/2004/12/24/stories/2004122408870100.htm|archive-date=13 February 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Barack Obama at Parliament of India in New Delhi addressing Joint session of both houses 2010.jpg|thumb|right|At the [[Parliament of India]] in New Delhi, US president [[Barack Obama]] is shown here addressing the [[Member of parliament (India)|members of parliament]] of both houses, the lower, [[Lok Sabha]], and the upper, [[Rajya Sabha]], in a joint session, 8 November 2010.]]

A two-year period of political turmoil followed the general election of 1996. Several short-lived alliances shared power at the centre. The BJP formed a government briefly in 1996; it was followed by two comparatively long-lasting [[United Front (India)|United Front]] coalitions, which depended on external support. In 1998, the BJP was able to form a successful coalition, the [[National Democratic Alliance (India)|National Democratic Alliance]] (NDA). Led by [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]], the NDA became the first non-Congress, [[coalition government]] to complete a five-year term.{{sfn|Dunleavy|Diwakar|Dunleavy|2007}} Again in the [[2004 Indian general election]]s, no party won an absolute majority, but the Congress emerged as the largest single party, forming another successful coalition: the [[United Progressive Alliance]] (UPA). It had the support of left-leaning parties and MPs who opposed the BJP. The UPA returned to power in the [[2009 Indian general election|2009 general election]] with increased numbers, and it no longer required external support from [[Socialism in India|India's communist parties]].{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|p = 384}} That year, [[Manmohan Singh]] became the first prime minister since [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] in [[1957 Indian general election|1957]] and [[1962 Indian general election|1962]] to be re-elected to a consecutive five-year term.{{sfn|Business Standard|2009}} In the [[2014 Indian general election|2014 general election]], the BJP became the first political party since 1984 to win a majority and govern without the support of other parties.<ref>{{cite news|title=BJP first party since 1984 to win parliamentary majority on its own|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-bjp-first-party-since-1984-to-win-parliamentary-majority-on-its-own-1988981|accessdate=20 May 2014|newspaper=[[Daily News and Analysis|DNA]]|date=16 May 2014|agency=IANS|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140521032413/http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-bjp-first-party-since-1984-to-win-parliamentary-majority-on-its-own-1988981|archivedate=21 May 2014}}</ref> The incumbent prime minister is [[Narendra Modi]], a former [[Chief minister (India)|chief minister]] of [[Gujarat]]. On 20 July 2017, [[Ram Nath Kovind]] was elected India's 14th president and took the oath of office on 25 July 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eci.nic.in/eci_main1/current/Result_20072017.pdf|title=Election commission|date=21 July 2017|website=eci.nic.in|access-date=|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811012217/http://eci.nic.in/eci_main1/current/Result_20072017.pdf|archivedate=11 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/ram-nath-kovind-elected-india-14th-president/1/1006696.html|title=Oath|website=India Today|access-date=|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721045522/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/ram-nath-kovind-elected-india-14th-president/1/1006696.html|archivedate=21 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Highlights: Ram Nath Kovind takes oath as India's 14th President |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ram-nath-kovind-swearing-in-live-updates-india-14th-president-rashtrapati-bhawan-pranab-mukherjee-narendra-modi-4765871/ |date=25 July 2017 |newspaper=[[The Indian Express]] |access-date=10 August 2017  |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811010120/http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ram-nath-kovind-swearing-in-live-updates-india-14th-president-rashtrapati-bhawan-pranab-mukherjee-narendra-modi-4765871/ |archivedate=11 August 2017 }}</ref>

=== Government ===
[[File:Rashtrapati Bhavan Wide New Delhi India.jpg|thumb|left|The official home of the [[President of India]], the [[Rashtrapati Bhavan]], was designed between 1911 and 1931 by British architects, [[Edwin Lutyens]] and [[Herbert Baker]] for the [[Viceroy of India]] during the [[British Raj]].<ref name="Bremner2016">{{citation|last=Bremner|first=G. A.|title=Architecture and Urbanism in the British Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mjRADQAAQBAJ&pg=PA117|year=2016|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-102232-6|page=117}}</ref>]]
India is a [[federation]] with a [[parliamentary system]] governed under the [[Constitution of India]]—the country's supreme legal document. It is a constitutional republic and [[representative democracy]], in which "[[majority rule]] is tempered by [[minority rights]] protected by [[Law of India|law]]". [[Federalism in India]] defines the power distribution between the union, or central, government and the [[States and territories of India|states]]. The Constitution of India, which came into effect on {{Date|1950-01-26|dmy}},{{sfn|Pylee|2003|a|p = 4}} originally stated India to be a "[[sovereign]], [[liberal democracy|democratic]] [[republic]];" this characterisation was amended in 1971 to "a sovereign, socialist, [[Secularism|secular]], democratic republic".{{sfn|Dutt|1998|p = 421}} India's form of government, traditionally described as "quasi-federal" with a strong centre and weak states,{{sfn|Wheare|1980|p = 28}} has grown increasingly federal since the late 1990s as a result of political, economic, and social changes.{{sfn|Echeverri-Gent|2002|pp = 19–20}}{{sfn|Sinha|2004|p = 25}}

The [[Government of India]] comprises three branches:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/COI-updated-as-31072018.pdf |title=The Constitution of India |website=legislature.gov.in | accessdate=16 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416044642/http://www.legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/COI-updated-as-31072018.pdf |archive-date=16 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Executive (government)|Executive]]: The [[President of India]] is the ceremonial [[head of state]],{{sfn|Sharma|2007|p = 31}} who is elected indirectly for a five-year term by an [[Electoral College (India)|electoral college]] comprising members of national and state legislatures.{{sfn|Sharma|2007|p = 138}}{{sfn|Gledhill|1970|p = 112}} The [[Prime Minister of India]] is the [[head of government]] and exercises most [[executive (government)|executive power]].{{sfn|Sharma|1950}} Appointed by the president,{{sfn|Sharma|2007|p = 162}} the prime minister is by convention supported by the [[political party|party]] or [[political alliance]] having a majority of seats in the lower house of parliament.{{sfn|Sharma|1950}} The executive of the Indian government consists of the president, the [[Vice President of India|vice president]], and the [[Union Council of Ministers]]—with the [[Cabinet (government)|cabinet]] being its executive committee—headed by the prime minister. Any minister holding a portfolio must be a member of one of the houses of parliament.{{sfn|Sharma|2007|p = 31}} In the Indian parliamentary system, the executive is subordinate to the legislature; the prime minister and their council are directly responsible to the lower house of the parliament. [[Civil Services of India|Civil servants]] act as permanent executives and all decisions of the [[Executive (government)|executive]] are implemented by them.{{sfn|Mathew|2003|p = 524}}
* [[Legislature]]: The legislature of India is the [[bicameralism|bicameral]] [[Parliament of India|parliament]]. Operating under a [[Westminster system|Westminster-style]] parliamentary system, it comprises an upper house called the [[Rajya Sabha]] (Council of States) and a lower house called the [[Lok Sabha]] (House of the People).{{sfn|Gledhill|1970|p = 127}} The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body of 245{{Nbsp}}members who serve staggered six-year{{Nbsp}}terms.{{sfn|Sharma|2007|p = 161}} Most are elected indirectly by the [[States and union territories of India|state and union territorial]] legislatures in numbers proportional to their state's share of the national population.{{sfn|Sharma|2007|p = 162}} All but two of the Lok Sabha's 545{{Nbsp}}members are elected directly by popular vote; they represent [[Single-member constituency|single-member constituencies]] for five-year{{Nbsp}}terms.{{sfn|Sharma|2007|p = 143}} The remaining two{{Nbsp}}members are nominated by the president from among the [[Anglo-Indian]] community, in case the president decides they are not adequately represented.{{sfn|Sharma|2007|p = 360}}
* [[Judiciary]]: India has a three-tier{{Nbsp}}unitary [[Judicial independence|independent judiciary]]{{sfn|Neuborne|2003|p = 478}} comprising the [[Supreme Court of India|supreme court]], headed by the [[Chief Justice of India]], 24{{Nbsp}}[[List of high courts in India|high courts]], and a large number of trial courts.{{sfn|Neuborne|2003|p = 478}} The supreme court has [[original jurisdiction]] over cases involving [[Fundamental rights in India|fundamental rights]] and over disputes between states and the centre and has [[appellate jurisdiction]] over the high courts.{{sfn|Sharma|2007|pp = 238, 255}} It has the power to both strike down union or state laws which contravene the constitution,{{sfn|Sripati|1998|pp = 423–424}} and invalidate any government action it deems unconstitutional.{{sfn|Pylee|2003|b|p = 314}}

== Foreign, economic and strategic relations ==
In the 1950s, India strongly supported decolonisation in [[Africa]] and [[Asia]] and [[India and the Non-Aligned Movement|played a leading role]] in the [[Non-Aligned Movement]].{{sfn|Rothermund|2000|pp = 48, 227}} After initially cordial relations with neighbouring China, India went to [[Sino-Indian War|war with China in 1962]], and was widely thought to have been humiliated. India has had [[Indo-Pakistani relations|tense relations]] with neighbouring Pakistan; the two nations have gone to war four times: in [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947|1947]], [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965|1965]], [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971|1971]], and [[Kargil War|1999]]. Three of these wars were fought over the [[Kashmir conflict|disputed territory of Kashmir]], while the fourth, the 1971 war, followed from India's support for the [[Bangladesh Liberation War|independence of Bangladesh]].{{sfn|Gilbert|2002|pp = 486–487}} In the late 1980s, the Indian military twice intervened abroad at the invitation of the host country: a [[Indian Peace Keeping Force|peace-keeping operation]] in [[Sri Lanka]] between 1987 and 1990; and an armed intervention to prevent a [[1988 Maldives coup d'état|1988 coup d'état attempt]] in the Maldives. After the 1965 war with Pakistan, India began to pursue close military and economic [[India-Soviet Union relations|ties with the Soviet Union]]; by the late 1960s, the Soviet Union was its largest arms supplier.{{sfn|Sharma|1999|p = 56}}

Aside from ongoing its [[India–Russia relations|special relationship with Russia]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/will-not-develop-relations-with-pakistan-at-cost-of-india-ties-with-new-delhi-long-term-russia-narendra-modi-vladimir-putin/298009|title=No ties with Pakistan at India's cost, relations with New Delhi long-term: Russia {{!}} India News|website=timesnownews.com | access-date=14 October 2018|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014204131/https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/will-not-develop-relations-with-pakistan-at-cost-of-india-ties-with-new-delhi-long-term-russia-narendra-modi-vladimir-putin/298009|archive-date=14 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> India has wide-ranging [[India–Israel relations|defence relations with Israel]] and [[France–India relations|France]]. In recent years, it has played key roles in the [[South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation]] and the [[World Trade Organization]]. The nation has provided 100,000 [[Indian Armed Forces|military]] and [[Law enforcement in India|police]] personnel to serve in 35 [[United Nations peacekeeping|UN peacekeeping operations]] across four continents. It participates in the [[East Asia Summit]], the [[G8+5]], and other multilateral forums.{{sfn|Alford|2008}} India has close economic ties with [[South America]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americasquarterly.org/india-latin-america|title=The Other BRIC in Latin America: India|author=Jorge Heine|author2=R. Viswanathan|date=Spring 2011|work=[[Americas Quarterly]]|access-date=19 May 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525115121/http://www.americasquarterly.org/india-latin-america|archivedate=25 May 2017}}</ref> Asia, and Africa; it pursues a [[Look East policy (India)|"Look East" policy]] that seeks to strengthen partnerships with the [[Association of Southeast Asian Nations|ASEAN]] nations, [[India–Japan relations|Japan]], and [[India–South Korea relations|South Korea]] that revolve around many issues, but especially those involving economic investment and regional security.{{sfn|Ghosh|2009|pp = 282–289}}{{sfn|Sisodia|Naidu|2005|pp = 1–8}}

China's [[596 (nuclear test)|nuclear test of 1964]], as well as its repeated threats to intervene in support of Pakistan in the 1965 war, convinced India to develop nuclear weapons.{{sfn|Perkovich|2001|pp = 60–86, 106–125}} India conducted its [[Smiling Buddha|first nuclear weapons test]] in 1974 and carried out [[Pokhran-II|additional underground testing]] in 1998. Despite criticism and military sanctions, India has signed neither the [[Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty]] nor the [[Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty]], considering both to be flawed and discriminatory.{{sfn|Kumar|2010}} India maintains a "[[no first use]]" nuclear policy and is developing a [[nuclear triad]] capability as a part of its "[[Minimum Credible Deterrence]]" doctrine.{{sfn|Nair|2007}}{{sfn|Pandit|2009}} It is developing a [[Indian Ballistic Missile Defense Program|ballistic missile defence shield]] and, a [[HAL AMCA|fifth-generation fighter jet]].<ref name="The Times of India">{{cite news|last1=Pandit|first1=Rajat|title=Make-in-India: Plan to develop 5th-generation fighter aircraft|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Make-in-India-Plan-to-develop-5th-generation-fighter-aircraft/articleshow/45802270.cms|work=The Times of India|agency=TNN|date=8 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dhqxnzzajv69c.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IssueBrief_105.pdf|title=The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft:A Technical Analysis|author=Abhijit Iyer-Mitra and Pushan Das|work=[[Observer Research Foundation]]}}</ref> Other indigenous military projects involve the design and implementation of [[Vikrant class aircraft carrier|''Vikrant''-class aircraft carriers]] and [[Arihant class submarine|''Arihant''-class nuclear submarines]].<ref name="Hindu 2011">{{cite news|date=5 October 2009|title=India, Russia Review Defence Ties|work=[[The Hindu]]|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2514142.ece|accessdate=8 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007183650/http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2514142.ece|archive-date=7 October 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since the end of the [[Cold War]], India has increased its economic, strategic, and military co-operation with the [[India–United States relations|United States]] and the [[India–European Union relations|European Union]].{{sfn|Europa 2008}} In 2008, a [[U.S.–India Civil Nuclear Agreement|civilian nuclear agreement]] was signed between India and the United States. Although India possessed nuclear weapons at the time and was not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it received waivers from the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] and the [[Nuclear Suppliers Group]], ending earlier restrictions on India's nuclear technology and commerce. As a consequence, India became the sixth de facto nuclear weapons state.{{sfn|The Times of India 2008}} India subsequently signed co-operation agreements involving [[Nuclear power in India|civilian nuclear energy]] with Russia,{{sfn|British Broadcasting Corporation 2009}} France,{{sfn|Rediff 2008 a}} the [[India–United Kingdom relations|United Kingdom]],{{sfn|Reuters|2010}} and [[Canada–India relations|Canada]].{{sfn|Curry|2010}}

The President of India is the supreme commander of the nation's armed forces; with 1.395&nbsp;million active troops, they compose the [[List of countries by number of troops|world's second-largest military]]. It comprises the [[Indian Army]], the [[Indian Navy]], the [[Indian Air Force]], and the [[Indian Coast Guard]].{{sfn|Central Intelligence Agency}} The official Indian [[List of countries by military expenditures|defence budget]] for 2011 was US$36.03&nbsp;billion, or 1.83% of GDP.{{sfn|Behera|2011}} For the fiscal year spanning 2012–2013, US$40.44&nbsp;billion was budgeted.{{sfn|Behera|2012}} According to a 2008 [[Stockholm International Peace Research Institute]] (SIPRI) report, India's annual military expenditure in terms of purchasing power stood at US$72.7&nbsp;billion.{{sfn|Stockholm International Peace Research Institute 2008|p = 178}} In 2011, the annual defence budget increased by 11.6%,{{sfn|Miglani|2011}} although this does not include funds that reach the military through other branches of government.{{sfn|Shukla|2011}} {{As of|2012}}, India is the world's largest arms importer; between 2007 and 2011, it accounted for 10% of funds spent on international arms purchases.{{sfn|Stockholm International Peace Research Initiative 2012}} Much of the military expenditure was focused on defence against Pakistan and countering growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean.{{sfn|Miglani|2011}} In May 2017, the [[Indian Space Research Organisation]] launched the [[South Asia Satellite]], a gift from India to its neighbouring [[SAARC]] countries.<ref name="Deccan Herald">{{cite news |url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/452938/isro-saarc-satellite-communication-vehicle.html |title=Isro-Saarc satellite to be a communication vehicle |work=[[Deccan Herald]] |agency=Deccan Herald News Service |date=12 January 2015 |accessdate=22 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628084201/http://www.deccanherald.com/content/452938/isro-saarc-satellite-communication-vehicle.html |archive-date=28 June 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> In October 2018, India signed a US$5.43&nbsp;billion (over Rs 400&nbsp;billion) agreement with [[Russia]] to procure four [[S-400 Triumf]] surface-to-air missile defence systems, Russia's most advanced long-range [[missile defence]] system.<ref>{{cite news |title=India Russia S-400 missile deal: All you need to know |url=https://m.timesofindia.com/india/india-russia-s-400-missile-deal-all-you-need-to-know/articleshow/66066460.cms |date=5 October 2018 |newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=9 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005130114/https://m.timesofindia.com/india/india-russia-s-400-missile-deal-all-you-need-to-know/articleshow/66066460.cms |archive-date=5 October 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<br />
== Economy ==
[[File:Plowing the land in India - modern and traditional.jpg|thumb|Plowing the land in India - modern and traditional]]

According to the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF), the Indian economy in 2017 was nominally worth [[USD|$]]2.6&nbsp;trillion; it is the sixth-largest economy by market exchange rates, and is almost [[USD|$]]10&nbsp;trillion, the third-largest by [[purchasing power parity]], or PPP.<ref name=imf2 /> With its average annual GDP growth rate of 5.8% over the past two decades, and reaching 6.1% during 2011–2012,{{sfn|International Monetary Fund 2011|p = 2}} India is one of the [[List of countries by real GDP growth rate|world's fastest-growing economies]].{{sfn|Nayak|Goldar|Agrawal|2010|p = xxv}} However, the country ranks 140th in the world in [[List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita|nominal GDP per capita]] and 129th in [[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|GDP per capita at PPP]].{{sfn|International Monetary Fund}} Until 1991, all Indian governments followed [[protectionism|protectionist]] policies that were influenced by socialist economics. Widespread [[Licence Raj|state intervention and regulation]] largely walled the economy off from the outside world. An acute [[1991 India economic crisis|balance of payments crisis in 1991]] forced the nation to [[Economic liberalisation in India|liberalise its economy]];{{sfn|Wolpert|2003|p = xiv}} since then it has moved slowly towards a free-market system{{sfn|Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2007}}{{sfn|Gargan|1992}} by emphasising both foreign trade and direct investment inflows.{{sfn|Alamgir|2008|pp = 23, 97}} India has been a member of [[WTO]] since 1 January 1995.{{sfn|WTO 1995}}

The 513.7-million-worker [[Labour in India|Indian labour force]] is the [[List of countries by labour force|world's second-largest]], {{As of|2016|lc=y}}.{{sfn|Central Intelligence Agency}} The service sector makes up 55.6% of GDP, the industrial sector 26.3% and the agricultural sector 18.1%. India's foreign exchange remittances of US$70&nbsp;billion in 2014, the largest in the world, were contributed to its economy by 25 million Indians working in foreign countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1176411|title=Pakistan's remittances|author=Sakib Sherani|website=dawn.com|accessdate=17 December 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151216104527/http://www.dawn.com/news/1176411|archivedate=16 December 2015|date=17 April 2015}}</ref> Major agricultural products include: rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, and potatoes.{{sfn|Library of Congress|2004}} Major industries include: textiles, telecommunications, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, food processing, steel, transport equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, and software.{{sfn|Library of Congress|2004}} In 2006, the share of external trade in India's GDP stood at 24%, up from 6% in 1985.{{sfn|Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2007}} In 2008, India's share of world trade was 1.68%;<ref>{{citation|date=28 August 2009|title=Exporters Get Wider Market Reach|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Exporters-get-wider-market-reach/articleshow/4942892.cms?referral=PM|accessdate=23 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912002353/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Exporters-get-wider-market-reach/articleshow/4942892.cms?referral=PM|archive-date=12 September 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2011, India was the world's [[List of countries by imports|tenth-largest importer]] and the [[List of countries by exports|nineteenth-largest exporter]].{{sfn|World Trade Organization 2010}} Major exports include: petroleum products, textile goods, jewellery, software, engineering goods, chemicals, and manufactured leather goods.{{sfn|Library of Congress|2004}} Major imports include: crude oil, machinery, gems, fertiliser, and chemicals.{{sfn|Library of Congress|2004}} Between 2001 and 2011, the contribution of petrochemical and engineering goods to total exports grew from 14% to 42%.{{sfn|Economist 2011}} India was the world's second largest textile exporter after [[China]] in the 2013 calendar year.<ref>{{cite web|title=India world's second largest textiles exporter|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-06-02/news/50272849_1_textiles-exports-india-calender-year|website=economictimes: [[TechCrunch]] |accessdate=2 June 2014|author=UN Comtrade|date=4 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140605121831/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-06-02/news/50272849_1_textiles-exports-india-calender-year|archive-date=5 June 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

Averaging an economic growth rate of 7.5% for several years prior to 2007,{{sfn|Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2007}} India has more than doubled its hourly wage rates during the first decade of the 21st century.{{sfn|Bonner|2010}} Some 431 million Indians have left poverty since 1985; India's middle classes are projected to number around 580&nbsp;million by 2030.{{sfn|Farrell|Beinhocker|2007}} Though ranking 51st in [[Global Competitiveness Report|global competitiveness]], {{As of|2010|lc=y}}, India ranks 17th in financial market sophistication, 24th in the banking sector, 44th in business sophistication, and 39th in innovation, ahead of several advanced economies.{{sfn|Schwab|2010}} With seven of the world's top 15 information technology outsourcing companies based in India, {{As of|2009|lc=y}}, the country is viewed as the second-most favourable outsourcing destination after the United States.{{sfn|Sheth|2009}} India's consumer market, the world's [[List of largest consumer markets|eleventh-largest]], is expected to become fifth-largest by 2030.{{sfn|Farrell|Beinhocker|2007}} However, barely 2% of Indians pay [[income tax]]es.<ref>{{cite web|title=How Many People in India Pay Income Tax? Hardly Anyone|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/how-many-people-india-pay-income-tax-hardly-anyone-1294887|date=6 June 2013|website=ibtimes.co | access-date=|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231000615/http://www.ibtimes.com/how-many-people-india-pay-income-tax-hardly-anyone-1294887|archivedate=31 December 2013}}</ref>

Driven by growth, India's nominal [[GDP per capita]] increased steadily from US$329 in 1991, when economic liberalisation began, to US$1,265 in 2010, to an estimated US$1,723 in 2016. It is expected to grow to US$2,358 by 2020.<ref name=imf2 /> However, it has remained lower than those of other Asian developing countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and is expected to remain so in the near future. Its GDP per capita is higher than Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and others.{{sfn|International Monetary Fund 2011}}


[[File:Bangalore Panorama edit1.jpg|thumb|Bangalore panorama]]
According to a 2011 [[PricewaterhouseCoopers]] (PwC) report, India's GDP at purchasing power parity could overtake that of the United States by 2045.{{sfn|Hawksworth|Tiwari|2011}} During the next four decades, Indian GDP is expected to grow at an annualised average of 8%, making it potentially the world's fastest-growing major economy until 2050.{{sfn|Hawksworth|Tiwari|2011}} The report highlights key growth factors: a young and rapidly growing working-age population; growth in the manufacturing sector because of rising education and engineering skill levels; and sustained growth of the consumer market driven by a rapidly growing middle-class.{{sfn|Hawksworth|Tiwari|2011}} The World Bank cautions that, for India to achieve its economic potential, it must continue to focus on public sector reform, [[Transport in India|transport infrastructure]], agricultural and rural development, removal of labour regulations, [[Education in India|education]], [[Energy policy of India|energy security]], and [[Healthcare in India|public health]] and nutrition.<ref>{{citation|date=September 2010|title=India Country Overview September 2010|publisher=[[World Bank]]|url=http://www.worldbank.org.in/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/INDIAEXTN/0,,contentMDK:20195738~menuPK:295591~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:295584,00.html|accessdate=23 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522115104/http://www.worldbank.org.in/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/INDIAEXTN/0,,contentMDK:20195738~menuPK:295591~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:295584,00.html|archive-date=2011-05-22}}</ref>

According to the Worldwide Cost of Living Report 2017 released by the [[Economist Intelligence Unit]] (EIU) which was created by comparing more than 400 individual prices across 160 products and services, four of the cheapest cities were in India: [[Bangalore]] (3rd), [[Mumbai]] (5th), [[Chennai]] (5th) and [[New Delhi]] (8th).<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2017/03/daily-chart-13|title=Measuring the cost of living worldwide|journal=[[The Economist]]|access-date=25 May 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525140627/http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2017/03/daily-chart-13|archivedate=25 May 2017|date=21 March 2017}}</ref>

=== Industries ===
[[File:Cherry Resort inside Temi Tea Garden, Namchi, Sikkim.jpg|thumb|right|A tea garden in Sikkim.  India, the world's second largest-producer of tea, is a nation of one billion tea drinkers, who consume 70% of India's tea output.]]

India's [[Communications in India|telecommunication industry]], the world's fastest-growing, added 227 million subscribers during the period 2010–2011,{{sfn|Telecom Regulatory Authority 2011}} and after the third quarter of 2017, India surpassed the US to become the second largest smartphone market in the world after China.<ref>{{cite news|first=Danish|last=Khan|title=Indian smartphone market grows 23% to overtake US in Q3; Samsung, Xiaomi drive shipments|url=https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/indian-smartphone-market-grows-23-to-overtake-us-in-q3-samsung-xiaomi-drive-shipments/61255184|work=[[The Economic Times]]|date=28 October 2017|accessdate=5 November 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171031155522/https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/indian-smartphone-market-grows-23-to-overtake-us-in-q3-samsung-xiaomi-drive-shipments/61255184|archivedate=31 October 2017}}</ref>

The [[Automotive industry in India|Indian automotive industry]], the world's second-fastest growing, increased domestic sales by 26% during 2009–2010,{{sfn|Business Line 2010}} and exports by 36% during 2008–2009.{{sfn|Express India 2009}} India's capacity to generate electrical power is 300 gigawatts, of which 42 gigawatts is [[Renewable energy in India|renewable]].<ref name="Par">{{cite web|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/indias-total-power-generation-capacity-crosses-300-gw-mark-1438906|title=India's total power capacity crosses 300 gw mark|website=[[NDTV India|NDTV]]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170616181350/http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/indias-total-power-generation-capacity-crosses-300-gw-mark-1438906|archivedate=16 June 2017}}</ref> At the end of 2011, the [[Information technology in India|Indian IT industry]] employed 2.8&nbsp;million professionals, generated revenues close to US$100&nbsp;billion equalling 7.5% of Indian GDP, and contributed 26% of India's merchandise exports.{{sfn|Nasscom 2011–2012}}

The [[pharmaceutical industry in India]] is among the significant emerging markets for the global pharmaceutical industry. The Indian pharmaceutical market is expected to reach $48.5&nbsp;billion by 2020. India's R & D spending constitutes 60% of the [[biopharmaceutical]] industry.<ref>{{cite news|author=Vishal Dutta|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-07-10/news/32618700_1_biotech-industry-global-biotechnology-r-d-spending|title=Indian biotech industry at critical juncture, global biotech stabilises: Report|work=[[The Economic Times]]|date=10 July 2012|access-date=31 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116214810/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-07-10/news/32618700_1_biotech-industry-global-biotechnology-r-d-spending|archive-date=16 January 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.expresspharmaonline.com/20120115/market03.shtml |title=Indian pharmaceutical industry – growth story to continue|publisher=Express Pharma|date=15 January 2012 |access-date=31 October 2012|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116214756/http://pharma.financialexpress.com/20120115/market03.shtml|archivedate=16 January 2013 }}</ref> India is among the top 12 biotech destinations in the world.<ref>Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Sector in India: sector briefing by the UK Trade and Investment 2011, utki.gov.uk</ref>{{sfn|Yep|2011}} The Indian biotech industry grew by 15.1% in 2012–2013, increasing its revenues from 204.4&nbsp;billion INR (Indian rupees) to 235.24&nbsp;billion INR (3.94 B US$ – exchange rate June 2013: 1 US$ approx. 60 INR).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.differding.com/page/biotechnology_in_india_2013_biospectrum_able_survey/f1.html |title=Differding Consulting Publi 6 |publisher=Differding.com |date=11 February 2014 |access-date=4 April 2014  |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223203715/http://www.differding.com/page/biotechnology_in_india_2013_biospectrum_able_survey/f1.html |archivedate=23 February 2014 }}</ref>

=== Socio-economic challenges ===
[[File:Female health workers in India (34332433890).jpg|thumb|left|Female health workers about to begin another day of immunisation against infectious diseases in 2006.  Eight years later, and three years after India's last case of polio, the [[World Health Organization]] on 11 February 2014 declared India to be polio-free.}}<ref name=who-chan-14-feb-2014>{{citation|last1=Chan|first1=Margaret|last2=Director-General, World Health Organization|title=Address at the "India celebrates triumph over polio" event|location=New Delhi, India|publisher=[[World Health Organization]]|date=11 February 2014|url=https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/2014/india-polio-free/en/}}</ref>]]

Despite economic growth during recent decades, India continues to face socio-economic challenges. In 2006, India contained the [[poverty in India|largest number]] of people living below the World Bank's international poverty line of US$1.25 per day.<ref>{{citation|date=29 May 2006|title=Inclusive Growth and Service Delivery: Building on India's Success|publisher=[[World Bank]]|url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/SOUTHASIAEXT/Resources/DPR_FullReport.pdf|accessdate=7 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514143037/http://siteresources.worldbank.org/SOUTHASIAEXT/Resources/DPR_FullReport.pdf|archive-date=14 May 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The proportion decreased from 60% in 1981 to 42% in 2005.<ref>{{citation|title=New Global Poverty Estimates – What It Means for India|publisher=[[World Bank]]|url=http://www.worldbank.org.in/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/INDIAEXTN/0,,contentMDK:21880725~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:295584,00.html|accessdate=23 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120506043711/http://www.worldbank.org.in/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/INDIAEXTN/0,,contentMDK:21880725~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:295584,00.html|archive-date=6 May 2012}}</ref> Under the World Bank's later revised poverty line, it was 21% in 2011.{{efn|In 2015, the World Bank raised its international poverty line to $1.90 per day.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kenny|first1=Charles|last2=Sandefur|first2=Justin|title=Why the World Bank is changing the definition of the word "poor"|url=https://www.vox.com/2015/10/7/9465999/world-bank-poverty-line|publisher=[[Vox Media|Vox]]|accessdate=26 February 2017|date=7 October 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170114175442/http://www.vox.com/2015/10/7/9465999/world-bank-poverty-line|archivedate=14 January 2017}}</ref>}}<ref name="WB2015">{{cite web|title=Poverty headcount ratio at $1.90 a day (2011 PPP) (% of population)|url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.DDAY?locations=IN|publisher=World Bank|accessdate=26 February 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215021227/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.DDAY?locations=IN|archivedate=15 February 2017}}</ref> 30.7% of India's children under the age of five are underweight.<ref>{{cite web|title=India's rank improves to 55th position on global hunger index|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-10-13/news/54970880_1_nutrition-mission-india-ghi|date=13 October 2014|website=[[India Times]]|access-date=18 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019030848/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-10-13/news/54970880_1_nutrition-mission-india-ghi|archive-date=19 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> According to a [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] report in 2015, 15% of the population is undernourished.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-is-home-to-194-million-hungry-people-un/article7255937.ece|title=India is home to 194 million hungry people: UN|author=Internet Desk|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202044027/http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-is-home-to-194-million-hungry-people-un/article7255937.ece|archivedate=2 December 2016|date=28 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1184959/india-home-to-worlds-largest-number-of-hungry-people-report|title=India home to world's largest number of hungry people: report|website=dawn.com|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529132938/http://www.dawn.com/news/1184959/india-home-to-worlds-largest-number-of-hungry-people-report|archivedate=29 May 2015|date=29 May 2015}}</ref> The [[Mid-Day Meal Scheme]] attempts to lower these rates.{{sfn|Drèze|Goyal|2008|p = 46}}

According to a 2016 [[Walk Free Foundation]] report there were an estimated 18.3&nbsp;million people in India, or 1.4% of the population, living in the forms of [[modern slavery]], such as [[bonded labour]], [[child labour]], human trafficking, and forced begging, among others.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/country/india/|title=India – Global Slavery Index 2016|accessdate=21 November 2017|publisher=[[Walk Free Foundation]]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170503143524/http://www.globalslaveryindex.org/country/india/|archivedate=3 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/india-has-the-largest-population-of-modern-day-slaves/story-PVP1mAQlFqLwOXFtE9EsII.html|title=Bonded labourers, sex workers, forced beggars: India leads world in slavery|date=31 May 2016|website=hindustantimes.com | accessdate=21 November 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171001212900/http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/india-has-the-largest-population-of-modern-day-slaves/story-PVP1mAQlFqLwOXFtE9EsII.html|archivedate=1 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=India ranks fourth in global slavery survey|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/india-ranks-fourth-in-global-slavery-survey/articleshow/52528778.cms|date=1 June 2016| accessdate=21 November 2017|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171001170950/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/india-ranks-fourth-in-global-slavery-survey/articleshow/52528778.cms|archivedate=1 October 2017}}</ref> According to the 2011 census, there were 10.1&nbsp;million child labourers in the country, a decline of 2.6&nbsp;million from 12.6&nbsp;million in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---sro-new_delhi/documents/publication/wcms_557089.pdf|title=Child labour in India|publisher=[[International Labour Organization]]|accessdate=21 November 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201030715/http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---sro-new_delhi/documents/publication/wcms_557089.pdf|archivedate=1 December 2017}}</ref>

Since 1991, [[List of Indian states by GDP|economic inequality]] between India's states has consistently grown: the per-capita [[Net domestic product|net state domestic product]] of the richest states in 2007 was 3.2 times that of the poorest.{{sfn|Pal|Ghosh|2007}} [[Corruption in India]] is perceived to have decreased. According to the [[Corruption Perceptions Index]], India ranked 78th out of 180 countries in 2018 with a score of 41 out of 100, an improvement from 85th in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/india-improves-its-ranking-on-corruption-index/article8159155.ece|title=India improves its ranking on corruption index|date=27 January 2016|work=[[The Hindu]]|accessdate=21 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820162154/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/india-improves-its-ranking-on-corruption-index/article8159155.ece|archive-date=20 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.transparency.org/files/content/pages/CPI_2018_Executive_Summary_EN.pdf |title=Corruption Perceptions Index 2018 |publisher=[[Transparency International]] |website=transparency.org |access-date=15 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421141719/https://www.transparency.org/files/content/pages/CPI_2018_Executive_Summary_EN.pdf |archive-date=21 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Demographics, languages, and religion ==
With 1,210,193,422 residents reported in the [[2011 Census of India|2011 provisional census report]],{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=160}} India is the world's second-most populous country. Its population grew by 17.64% from 2001 to 2011,{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=165}} compared to 21.54% growth in the previous decade (1991–2001).{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=165}} The human sex ratio, according to the 2011 census, is 940 females per 1,000 males.{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=160}} The median age was 27.6 {{as of|2016|lc=on}}.{{sfn|Central Intelligence Agency}} The first post-colonial census, conducted in 1951, counted 361&nbsp;million people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indiabudget.nic.in/es2006-07/chapt2007/tab97.pdf|title=Census Population|website=Census of India|publisher=[[Ministry of Finance (India)]]|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812042806/http://indiabudget.nic.in/es2006-07/chapt2007/tab97.pdf|archivedate=12 August 2011|access-date=13 February 2013}}</ref> Medical advances made in the last 50 years as well as increased agricultural productivity brought about by the "[[Green Revolution in India|Green Revolution]]" have caused India's population to grow rapidly.{{sfn|Rorabacher|2010|pp = 35–39}}

The average life expectancy in India is at 68 years—69.6 years for women, 67.3 years for men.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Life-expectancy-in-India-goes-up-by-5-years-in-a-decade/articleshow/29513964.cms|title=Life expectancy in India|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140921151041/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Life-expectancy-in-India-goes-up-by-5-years-in-a-decade/articleshow/29513964.cms|archivedate=21 September 2014}}</ref> There are around 50 physicians per 100,000 Indians.{{sfn|Dev|Rao|2009|p = 329}} Migration from rural to urban areas has been an important dynamic in India's recent history. The number of people living in urban areas grew by 31.2% between 1991 and 2001.{{sfn|Garg|2005}} Yet, in 2001, over 70% still lived in rural areas.{{sfn|Dyson|Visaria|2005|pp = 115–129}}{{sfn|Ratna|2007|pp = 271–272}} The level of urbanisation increased further from 27.81% in the 2001 Census to 31.16% in the 2011 Census. The slowing down of the overall population growth rate was due to the sharp decline in the growth rate in rural areas since 1991.{{sfn|Chandramouli|2011}} According to the 2011 census, there are 53 [[List of million-plus urban agglomerations in India|million-plus urban agglomerations in India]]; among them [[Mumbai]], [[Delhi]], [[Kolkata]], [[Chennai]], [[Bangalore]], [[Hyderabad]] and [[Ahmedabad]], in decreasing order by population.<ref name="censusindia 2011">{{cite web | url=http://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2/data_files/India2/Table_3_PR_UA_Citiees_1Lakh_and_Above.pdf | title=Urban Agglomerations/Cities having population 1 lakh and above | publisher=[[Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner]], India | accessdate=12 May 2014  | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017153124/http://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2/data_files/India2/Table_3_PR_UA_Citiees_1Lakh_and_Above.pdf | archivedate=17 October 2013}}</ref> The literacy rate in 2011 was 74.04%: 65.46% among females and 82.14% among males.{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=163}} The rural-urban literacy gap, which was 21.2 percentage points in 2001, dropped to 16.1 percentage points in 2011. The improvement in the rural literacy rate is twice that of  urban areas.{{sfn|Chandramouli|2011}} [[Kerala]] is the most literate state with 93.91% literacy; while [[Bihar]] the least with 63.82%.{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=163}}

[[File:Interior of San Thome Basilica.jpg|thumb|left|The interior of [[San Thome Basilica]], [[Chennai]], [[Tamil Nadu]].  Christianity is believed to have been introduced to India by the late 2nd century by [[Christianity in India#Early Christianity in India|Syriac-speaking Christians]].]]
<!---
{{#switch: {{#expr: {{CURRENTDAYOFYEAR}} mod 6}}
|0=[[File:Coal Miner 1980.JPG|thumb|upright|left|upright=1.2|A coal miner in [[Bachra]] [[colliery]] [[township]] in [[Jharkhand]] state. The [[disability adjusted life year|number of years]] lost per 100,000 population attributable to particulate matter pollution in Jharkhand is 1093,<ref name="BalakrishnanDey2019">{{cite journal|last1=Balakrishnan|first1=Kalpana|last2=Dey|first2=Sagnik|last3=Gupta|first3=Tarun|last4=Dhaliwal|first4=R S|last5=Brauer|first5=Michael|last6=Cohen|first6=Aaron J|last7=Stanaway|first7=Jeffrey D|last8=Beig|first8=Gufran|last9=Joshi|first9=Tushar K|last10=Aggarwal|first10=Ashutosh N|last11=Sabde|first11=Yogesh|last12=Sadhu|first12=Harsiddha|last13=Frostad|first13=Joseph|last14=Causey|first14=Kate|last15=Godwin|first15=William|last16=Shukla|first16=D K|last17=Kumar|first17=G Anil|last18=Varghese|first18=Chris M|last19=Muraleedharan|first19=Pallavi|last20=Agrawal|first20=Anurag|last21=Anjana|first21=R M|last22=Bhansali|first22=Anil|last23=Bhardwaj|first23=Deeksha|last24=Burkart|first24=Katrin|last25=Cercy|first25=Kelly|last26=Chakma|first26=Joy K|last27=Chowdhury|first27=Sourangsu|last28=Christopher|first28=D J|last29=Dutta|first29=Eliza|last30=Furtado|first30=Melissa|last31=Ghosh|first31=Santu|last32=Ghoshal|first32=Aloke G|last33=Glenn|first33=Scott D|last34=Guleria|first34=Randeep|last35=Gupta|first35=Rajeev|last36=Jeemon|first36=Panniyammakal|last37=Kant|first37=Rajni|last38=Kant|first38=Surya|last39=Kaur|first39=Tanvir|last40=Koul|first40=Parvaiz A|last41=Krish|first41=Varsha|last42=Krishna|first42=Bhargav|last43=Larson|first43=Samantha L|last44=Madhipatla|first44=Kishore|last45=Mahesh|first45=P A|last46=Mohan|first46=Viswanathan|last47=Mukhopadhyay|first47=Satinath|last48=Mutreja|first48=Parul|last49=Naik|first49=Nitish|last50=Nair|first50=Sanjeev|last51=Nguyen|first51=Grant|last52=Odell|first52=Christopher M|last53=Pandian|first53=Jeyaraj D|last54=Prabhakaran|first54=Dorairaj|last55=Prabhakaran|first55=Poornima|last56=Roy|first56=Ambuj|last57=Salvi|first57=Sundeep|last58=Sambandam|first58=Sankar|last59=Saraf|first59=Deepika|last60=Sharma|first60=Meenakshi|last61=Shrivastava|first61=Aakash|last62=Singh|first62=Virendra|last63=Tandon|first63=Nikhil|last64=Thomas|first64=Nihal J|last65=Torre|first65=Anna|last66=Xavier|first66=Denis|last67=Yadav|first67=Geetika|last68=Singh|first68=Sujeet|last69=Shekhar|first69=Chander|last70=Vos|first70=Theo|last71=Dandona|first71=Rakhi|last72=Reddy|first72=K Srinath|last73=Lim|first73=Stephen S|last74=Murray|first74=Christopher J L|last75=Venkatesh|first75=S|last76=Dandona|first76=Lalit|display-authors=5|title=The impact of air pollution on deaths, disease burden, and life expectancy across the states of India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017|journal=The Lancet Planetary Health|volume=3|issue=1|year=2019|pages=e26–e39|issn=2542-5196|doi=10.1016/S2542-5196(18)30261-4}}</ref> adding to India's public health burden.<ref name="BalakrishnanDey2019"/>]]
|1=[[File:Cropped Tripuri.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Tripuri people|Tripuri]] children prepare for a dance in India's northeastern [[Tripura]] state.  The Tripuri, an ethnic group which speaks a [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman language]], forms 30% of the state's population.<ref name="Kumāra2007">{{cite book|last=Kumāra|first=Braja Bihārī|title=Problems of ethnicity in the North-East India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QTCJTIBHJHEC|accessdate=11 July 2012|date=1 January 2007|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-8069-464-6|pages=68–69|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514231036/https://books.google.com/books?id=QTCJTIBHJHEC|archivedate=14 May 2013}}</ref> ]]
|2=[[File:Handicrafts seller.JPG|thumb|upright|left|Although [[Hindi]] is the official language of India, [[Telugu language|Telugu]] is the official language of the state of [[Telangana]], with [[Urdu]] its second official language.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/urdu-is-telanganas-second-official-language-4940595/|title=Urdu is Telangana's second official language|date=16 November 2017|work=[[The Indian Express]]|access-date=27 February 2018|language=en-IN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227094158/http://indianexpress.com/article/india/urdu-is-telanganas-second-official-language-4940595/|archive-date=27 February 2018}}</ref> Shown here is a handicraft seller in [[Hyderabad]], Telangana]]
|3=[[File:Inde bondo8658a.jpg|thumb|upright|left|A [[Bonda people|Bondo]] woman walks to a weekly market in Chhattisgarh. The Bondo, among the [[Adivasi]], or the [[indigenous peoples]] of India, speak a [[Munda languages|Munda language]] within the family of [[Austroasiatic languages]].<ref name="Berger2015">{{citation|last=Berger|first=Peter|title=Feeding, Sharing, and Devouring: Ritual and Society in Highland Odisha, India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sfReCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT25|date=17 February 2015|publisher=[[De Gruyter]]|isbn=978-1-61451-975-1|page=25}}</ref>]]
|4=[[File:Lady in Bundi, Rajasthan.JPG|thumb|upright|left|A woman from [[Bundi district]] in [[Rajasthan]]. The human sex ratio in India, according to the 2011 census, is 940 females per 1,000 males.{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=160}}]]
|5=[[File:Sadhu Vârânasî .jpg|thumb|left|upright|{{font|size=110%|text=A [[Hindu]] ascetic in [[Varanasi]], [[Uttar Pradesh]]. Uttar Pradesh has the highest numbers of both Hindus and Muslims among all states.}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/497347/muslim-population-grew-faster-census.html|title=Muslim population grew faster: Census|website=deccanherald.com | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150827035701/http://www.deccanherald.com/content/497347/muslim-population-grew-faster-census.html|archivedate=27 August 2015}}</ref> {{font|size=110%|text=The population by religion in 2011 was Hindus 79.73%, Muslims 19.26%, others 1.01%.}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW09C-01%20MDDS.XLS|title=C1 – Population by religious community, Uttar Pradesh|work=2011 Census Data|publisher=[[Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner]], India|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927145844/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW09C-01%20MDDS.XLS|archive-date=27 September 2015|access-date=10 September 2011}}</ref> ]]
}}-->
India is home to [[Languages of India|two major language families]]: [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] (spoken by about 74% of the population) and [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] (spoken by 24% of the population). Other languages spoken in India come from the [[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]] and [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]] language families. India has no national language.{{sfn|Dharwadker|2010|pp = 168–194, 186}} [[Hindi]], with the largest number of speakers, is the official language of the government.{{sfn|Ottenheimer|2008|p = 303}}{{sfn|Mallikarjun|2004}} [[English language|English]] is used extensively in business and administration and has the status of a "subsidiary official language";{{sfn|Ministry of Home Affairs 1960}} it is important in [[Education in India|education]], especially as a medium of higher education. Each state and union territory has one or more official languages, and the constitution recognises in particular 22 "scheduled languages".

The 2011 census reported the [[religion in India]] with the largest number of followers was [[Hinduism in India|Hinduism]] (79.80% of the population), followed by [[Islam in India|Islam]] (14.23%); the remaining were [[Christianity in India|Christianity]] (2.30%), [[Sikhism in India|Sikhism]] (1.72%), [[History of Buddhism in India|Buddhism]] (0.70%), [[Statistics of Jainism|Jainism]] (0.36%) and others{{efn|name=remaining religions}} (0.9%).<ref name="Census2011religion">{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW00C-01%20MDDS.XLS |title=C −1 Population by religious community – 2011 |publisher=[[Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner]] |accessdate=25 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150825155850/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW00C-01%20MDDS.XLS |archivedate=25 August 2015}}</ref> India has the world's largest Hindu, Sikh, Jain, [[Zoroastrianism in India|Zoroastrian]], and [[Bahá'í Faith in India|Bahá'í populations]], and has the [[List of countries by Muslim population#List|third-largest]] Muslim population—the largest for a non-Muslim majority country.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/religion/global-muslim-population-estimated-at-157-billion/article30568.ece|title=Global Muslim population estimated at 1.57&nbsp;billion|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601012428/http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/religion/global-muslim-population-estimated-at-157-billion/article30568.ece|archive-date=1 June 2013|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=8 October 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2012ARChapters/india%202012%20two-pager.pdf|title=India Chapter Summary 2012|publisher=[[United States Commission on International Religious Freedom]]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407100620/http://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2012ARChapters/india%202012%20two-pager.pdf|archivedate=7 April 2014}}</ref>

== Culture ==
Indian cultural history spans more than 4,500{{Nbsp}}years.{{sfn|Kuiper|2010|p = 15}} During the [[Vedic period]] ({{Circa|1700|500{{nbsp}}BCE}}), the foundations of [[Hindu philosophy]], [[Hindu mythology|mythology]], [[Hindu theology|theology]] and [[Hindu texts|literature]] were laid, and many beliefs and practices which still exist today, such as ''[[Dharma|dhárma]]'', ''[[Karma|kárma]]'', ''[[yoga|yóga]]'', and ''[[moksha|mokṣa]]'', were established.{{sfn|Kuiper|2010|p = 86}} India is notable for its [[Indian religions|religious diversity]], with [[Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]], [[Sikhism]], [[Islam]], [[Christianity]], and [[Jainism]] among the nation's major religions.{{sfn|Heehs|2002|pp = 2–5}} The predominant religion, Hinduism, has been shaped by various historical schools of thought, including those of the ''[[Upanishads]]'',{{sfn|Deutsch|1969|pp = 3, 78}} the ''[[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|Yoga Sutras]]'', the [[Bhakti|''Bhakti'' movement]],{{sfn|Heehs|2002|pp = 2–5}} and by [[Buddhist philosophy]].{{sfn|Nakamura|1999}}

===Art, architecture and literature===
[[File:Gomateswara, Shravanabelagola.jpg|thumb]]
Much of [[Architecture of India|Indian architecture]], including the [[Taj Mahal]], other works of [[Mughal architecture]], and [[Dravidian architecture|South Indian architecture]], blends ancient local traditions with imported styles.{{sfn|Kuiper|2010|pp = 296–329}} [[Indian vernacular architecture|Vernacular architecture]] is also regional in its flavours. ''[[Vastu shastra]]'', literally "science of construction" or "architecture" and ascribed to [[Mamuni Mayan]],{{sfn|Silverman|2007|p = 20}} explores how the laws of nature affect human dwellings;{{sfn|Kumar|2000|p = 5}} it employs precise geometry and directional alignments to reflect perceived cosmic constructs.{{sfn|Roberts|2004|p = 73}} As applied in [[Hindu temple architecture]], it is influenced by the ''[[Shilpa Shastras]]'', a series of foundational texts whose basic mythological form is the ''Vastu-Purusha mandala'', a square that embodied the "[[Absolute (philosophy)|absolute]]".{{sfn|Lang|Moleski|2010|pp = 151–152}} The Taj Mahal, built in [[Agra]] between 1631 and 1648 by orders of Emperor [[Shah Jahan]] in memory of his wife, has been described in the [[UNESCO World Heritage List]] as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage".{{sfn|United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation}} [[Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture]], developed by the British in the late 19th century, drew on [[Indo-Islamic architecture]].{{sfn|Chopra|2011|p = 46}}

The earliest literature in India, composed between 1500 BCE and 1200 CE, was in the [[Sanskrit]] language.{{sfn|Hoiberg|Ramchandani|2000}} Major works of [[Sanskrit literature]] include the ''[[Rigveda]]'' (c. 1500 BCE – 1200 BCE), the [[Indian epic poetry|epics]]: ''[[Mahabharata|Mahābhārata]]'' (c. 400 BCE – 400 CE) and the ''[[Ramayana]]'' (c. 300 BCE and later);  ''Abhijñānaśākuntalam'' (''[[The Recognition of Śakuntalā]]'', and other dramas of [[Kālidāsa]] (c. 5th century CE) and ''[[Sanskrit Classical poetry|Mahākāvya]]'' poetry.{{sfn|Johnson|2008}}{{sfn|MacDonell|2004|pp = 1–40}}{{sfn|Kālidāsa|Johnson|2001}}  In [[Tamil literature]], the [[Sangam literature]] (c. 600 BCE – 300 BCE) consisting of 2,381 poems, composed by 473 poets, is the earliest work.{{sfn|Zvelebil|1997|p = 12}}{{sfn|Hart|1975}}{{sfn|Encyclopædia Britannica|2008}}{{sfn|Ramanujan|1985|pp = ix–x}} From the 14th to the 18th centuries, India's literary traditions went through a period of drastic change because of the emergence of [[Bhakti movement|devotional poets]] like [[Kabir|Kabīr]], [[Tulsidas|Tulsīdās]], and [[Guru Nanak|Guru Nānak]]. This period was characterised by a varied and wide spectrum of thought and expression; as a consequence, medieval Indian literary works differed significantly from classical traditions.{{sfn|Das|2005}} In the 19th century, Indian writers took a new interest in social questions and psychological descriptions. In the 20th century, Indian literature was influenced by the [[Works of Rabindranath Tagore|works]] of the Bengali poet and novelist [[Rabindranath Tagore]],{{sfn|Datta|2006}} who was a recipient of the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]].

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography ==
'''Overview'''
{{refbegin|33em}}
* {{citation|title=India|work=[[The World Factbook]]|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html|accessdate=23 August 2017|ref={{sfnRef|Central Intelligence Agency}}}}
* {{citation|date=December 2004|title=Country Profile: India|edition=5th|work=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]]|publisher=[[Library of Congress]] [[Federal Research Division]]|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/India.pdf|accessdate=30 September 2011|ref={{sfnRef|Library of Congress|2004}}}}
* {{citation|last1=Heitzman|first1=J.|last2=Worden|first2=R. L.|date=August 1996|title=India: A Country Study|series=Area Handbook Series|publisher=[[Library of Congress]]|place=Washington, D.C.|isbn=978-0-8444-0833-0|url=https://archive.org/details/indiacountrystud0000unse}}
* {{citation|title=India|publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]]|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2009&ey=2016&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=534&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr1.x=88&pr1.y=9|accessdate=14 October 2011|ref={{sfnRef|International Monetary Fund}}}}
* {{citation|title=Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|publisher=Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner|url=http://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/prov_results_paper1_india.html|layurl=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/indiaatglance.html|ref={{sfnRef|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India}}}}
* {{citation|date=24 January 1950|title=Constituent Assembly of India – Volume XII|work=Constituent Assembly of India: Debates|publisher=[[National Informatics Centre]], Government of India|url=http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/vol12p1.htm|accessdate=17 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|Constituent Assembly of India|1950}}|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721173243/http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/vol12p1.htm|archivedate=21 July 2011}}
* {{citation|title=There's No National Language in India: Gujarat High Court|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|date=6 January 2007|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-01-25/india/28148512_1_national-language-official-language-hindi|accessdate=17 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|The Times of India 2007}}}}
* {{citation|year=2011|title=Human Development Report 2011|chapter=Table 1: Human Development Index and its Components|publisher=[[United Nations]]|chapter-url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2011_EN_Table1.pdf|ref={{sfnRef|United Nations|2011}}}}
{{refend}}

'''Etymology'''
{{refbegin|33em}}
* {{citation |author=Serge Gruzinski|title=The Eagle and the Dragon: Globalization and European Dreams of Conquest in China and America in the Sixteenth Century|date=13 January 2015|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|isbn=978-0-7456-8134-4|ref={{sfnref|Serge Gruzinski|2015}}}}
* {{citation|title=Hindustan|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266465/Hindustan|accessdate=17 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|Encyclopædia Britannica}}}}
* {{citation|last=Kaye|first=A. S.|date=1 September 1997|title=Phonologies of Asia and Africa|publisher=[[Eisenbrauns]]|isbn=978-1-57506-019-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6jmziooEk0C&pg=PA639}}
* {{citation|editor-last=Kuiper|editor-first=K.|date=July 2010|title=Culture of India|publisher=[[Rosen Publishing Group]]|isbn=978-1-61530-203-1|url=https://books.google.com/?id=LiqloV4JnNUC}}
* {{citation |date=29 July 2008 |title=Constitution of India |publisher=[[Ministry of Law and Justice (India)|Ministry of Law and Justice]] |url=http://lawmin.nic.in/coi/coiason29july08.pdf |accessdate=3 March 2012 |quote=Article 1(1): "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States." |ref={{sfnRef|Ministry of Law and Justice 2008}} |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140909230437/http://lawmin.nic.in/coi/coiason29july08.pdf |archivedate=9 September 2014 }}
* {{citation|title=Oxford English Dictionary|chapter=India|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|chapter-url=http://www.oed.com/|accessdate=17 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|Oxford English Dictionary}}|title-link=Oxford English Dictionary}}
{{refend}}

'''History'''
{{refbegin|33em}}
* {{citation|last1=Asher|first1=C. B.|last2=Talbot|first2=C|date=1 January 2008|title=India Before Europe|edition=1st|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-51750-8}}
* {{citation|last1=Bose|first1=S.|last2=Jalal|first2=A.|author1-link=Sugata Bose|author2-link=Ayesha Jalal|date=11 March 2011|title=Modern South Asia: History, Culture, Political Economy|edition=3rd|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-0-415-77942-5}}
* {{citation|last=Brown|first=J. M.|author-link=Judith M. Brown|date=26 May 1994|title=Modern India: The Origins of an Asian Democracy|edition=2nd|series=[[The Short Oxford History of the Modern World]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-873113-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PaKdsF8WzbcC}}
* {{citation|last1=Coningham|first1=Robin|last2=Young|first2=Ruth|title=The Archaeology of South Asia: From the Indus to Asoka, c. 6500 BCE – 200 CE|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hB5TCgAAQBAJ|year=2015|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-84697-4}}
* {{citation|last=Copland|first=I.|date=8 October 2001|title=India 1885–1947: The Unmaking of an Empire|edition=1st|publisher=[[Longman]]|isbn=978-0-582-38173-5|url=https://books.google.com/?id=Dw1uAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{citation|last1=Kulke|first1=H.|last2=Rothermund|first2=D.|author1-link=Hermann Kulke|date=1 August 2004|title=A History of India|series=4th|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-0-415-32920-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V73N8js5ZgAC}}
* {{citation|last=Ludden|first=D.|date=13 June 2002|title=India and South Asia: A Short History|publisher=[[One World Media|One World]]|isbn=978-1-85168-237-9}}
* {{citation|last1=Metcalf|first1=B.|last2=Metcalf|first2=T. R.|author1-link=Barbara Metcalf|author2-link=Thomas R. Metcalf|date=9 October 2006|title=A Concise History of Modern India|edition=2nd|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-68225-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iuESgYNYPl0C}}
* {{citation|last=Peers|first=D. M.|date=3 August 2006|title=India under Colonial Rule 1700–1885|edition=1st|publisher=[[Pearson Education|Pearson Longman]]|isbn=978-0-582-31738-3|url=https://books.google.com/?id=6iNuAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{citation|last1=Petraglia|first1=Michael D. |last2=Allchin|first2=Bridget |authorlink2=Bridget Allchin|editor=Michael Petraglia |editor2=Bridget Allchin|title=The Evolution and History of Human Populations in South Asia: Inter-disciplinary Studies in Archaeology, Biological Anthropology, Linguistics and Genetics|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/?id=Qm9GfjNlnRwC&pg=PA6| year=2007|publisher=[[Springer Publishing]]|isbn=978-1-4020-5562-1| chapter=Human evolution and culture change in the Indian subcontinent}}
* {{citation|last=Possehl|first=G.|author-link=Gregory Possehl|title=The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective|date=January 2003|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield|Rowman Altamira]]|isbn=978-0-7591-0172-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pmAuAsi4ePIC}}
* {{citation|last=Robb|first=P.|title=A History of India|year=2001|publisher=London: [[Palgrave Macmillan|Palgrave]]|isbn=978-0-333-69129-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofindia00pete}}
* {{citation|last=Sarkar|first=S.|year=1983|title=Modern India: 1885–1947|place=Delhi|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan India]]|isbn=978-0-333-90425-1|url=https://books.google.com/?id=rVxuAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{citation|last=Singh|first=U.|author-link=Upinder Singh|title=A History of Ancient and Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|year=2009|publisher=[[Longman]]|location=Delhi|isbn=978-81-317-1677-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC}}
* {{citation|last=Sripati|first=V.|year=1998|title=Toward Fifty Years of Constitutionalism and Fundamental Rights in India: Looking Back to See Ahead (1950–2000)|journal=[[American University International Law Review]]|volume=14|issue=2|pages=413–496}}
* {{citation|last=Stein|first=B.|author-link=Burton Stein|date=16 June 1998|title=A History of India|edition=1st|publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]]|place=Oxford|isbn=978-0-631-20546-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SXdVS0SzQSAC}}
* {{citation|last=Stein|first=B.|author-link=Burton Stein|editor-last=Arnold|editor-first=D.|date=27 April 2010|title=A History of India|edition=2nd|publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]]|place=Oxford|isbn=978-1-4051-9509-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QY4zdTDwMAQC}}
* {{citation|date=17 December 2009 |title=Briefing Rooms: India |work=Economic Research Service |publisher=[[United States Department of Agriculture]] |url=http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/India/ |ref={{sfnRef|United States Department of Agriculture}} |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520002800/http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/India/ |archivedate=20 May 2011 }}
* {{citation|last=Thapar|first=Romila|title=Penguin history of early India: from the origins to A.D.1300|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O2OgAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=13 February 2012|year=2003|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]}}
* {{Citation | last =Witzel | first =Michael | title =Autochthonous Aryans? The Evidence from Old Indian and Iranian Texts | journal =Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=1–115 |year=2001 | url =http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/EJVS-7-3.pdf}}
* {{citation|last=Witzel|first=Michael|authorlink=Michael Witzel|editor=Gavin D. Flood|title=The Blackwell companion to Hinduism|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qSfneQ0YYY8C|accessdate=15 March 2012|year=2003|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|isbn=978-0-631-21535-6|chapter=Vedas and Upanișads}}
* {{Citation | last =Witzel | first =Michael | year =2005 | chapter =Indocentrism | editor1-last =Bryant | editor1-first =Edwin | editor2-last =Patton | editor2-first =Laurie L. | title =The Indo-Aryan Controversy. Evidence and inference in Indian history | publisher =[[Routledge]] | chapter-url =https://archive.org/details/EdwinBryantLauriePattonIndoAryanControversyEvidenceAndInferenceInIndianHistoryRoutledge2005}}
* {{citation|last=Wolpert|first=S.|author-link=Stanley Wolpert|date=25 December 2003|title=A New History of India|edition=7th|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-516678-1}}
{{refend}}

'''Geography'''
{{refbegin|33em}}
* {{citation|last1=Ali|first1=J. R.|last2=Aitchison|first2=J. C.|year=2005|title=Greater India|journal=[[Earth-Science Reviews]]|volume=72|issue=3–4|pages=170–173|doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2005.07.005|bibcode=2005ESRv...72..169A}}
* {{citation|last=Chang|first=J. H.|year=1967|title=The Indian Summer Monsoon|periodical=[[Geographical Review]]|volume=57|issue=3|pages=373–396|doi=10.2307/212640|jstor=212640|publisher=American Geographical Society, Wiley}}
* {{citation|year=1988 |title=Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 with Amendments Made in 1988 |publisher=Department of Environment and Forests, Government of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands |url=http://forest.and.nic.in/fca1980.pdf |accessdate=25 July 2011 |ref={{sfnRef|Department of Environment and Forests|1988}} |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721163118/http://forest.and.nic.in/fca1980.pdf |archivedate=21 July 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Dikshit|first=K. R.|last2=Schwartzberg|first2=Joseph E.|author2-link=Joseph E. Schwartzberg|title=India: Land|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/285248/India|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|pages=1–29|ref={{sfnRef|Dikshit & Schwartzberg}}}}
* {{citation|last=Duff|first=D.|authorlink = Donald Duff|date=29 October 1993|title=Holmes Principles of Physical Geology|edition=4th|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-0-7487-4381-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E6vknq9SfIIC&pg=PT353}}
* {{citation|last1=Kumar|first1=V. S.|last2=Pathak|first2=K. C.|last3=Pednekar|first3=P.|last4=Raju|first4=N. S. N.|year=2006|title=Coastal processes along the Indian coastline|periodical=[[Current Science]]|volume=91|issue=4|pages=530–536|url=http://drs.nio.org/drs/bitstream/2264/350/1/Curr_Sci_91_530.pdf|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090908141613/http://drs.nio.org/drs/bitstream/2264/350/1/Curr_Sci_91_530.pdf|archivedate=8 September 2009}}
* {{citation|year=2007|title=India Yearbook 2007|publisher=Publications Division, [[Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India)|Ministry of Information and Broadcasting]], [[Government of India]]|place=New Delhi|isbn=978-81-230-1423-4|ref={{sfnRef|Ministry of Information and Broadcasting|2007}}}}
* {{citation|last=Posey|first=C. A.|date=1 November 1994|title=The Living Earth Book of Wind and Weather|publisher=[[Reader's Digest Association|Reader's Digest]]|isbn=978-0-89577-625-9|url=https://archive.org/details/livingearthbooko00pose}}
* {{citation|last1=Prakash|first1=B.|last2=Kumar|first2=S.|last3=Rao|first3=M. S.|last4=Giri|first4=S. C.|year=2000|title=Holocene Tectonic Movements and Stress Field in the Western Gangetic Plains|journal=[[Current Science]]|volume=79|issue=4|pages=438–449|url=http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/aug252000/prakash.pdf|ref={{sfnRef|Prakash et al.|2000}}}}
{{refend}}

'''Biodiversity'''
{{refbegin|33em}}
* {{citation|last1=Ali|first1=S.|last2=Ripley|first2=S. D.|last3=Dick|first3=J. H.|author-link=Salim Ali (ornithologist)|author2-link=S. Dillon Ripley|date=15 August 1996|title=A Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent|edition=2nd|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|place=Mumbai|isbn=978-0-19-563732-8}}
* {{citation|year=2012 |title=Animal Discoveries 2011: New Species and New Records |publisher=[[Zoological Survey of India]] |url=http://zsi.gov.in/right_menu/Animal_disc/Animal%20Discovery%202011.pdf |accessdate=20 July 2012 |ref={{sfnRef|Zoological Survey of India|2012}} |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116214754/http://zsi.gov.in/right_menu/Animal_disc/Animal%20Discovery%202011.pdf |archivedate=16 January 2013 }}
* {{citation|last=Basak|first=R. K.|year=1983|title=Botanical Survey of India: Account of Its Establishment, Development, and Activities|publisher=India. Department of Environment|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yXAVcgAACAAJ|accessdate=20 July 2011}}
* {{citation|year=2007 |title=Hotspots by Region |work=Biodiversity Hotspots |publisher=[[Conservation International]] |url=http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/hotspots_by_region/Pages/default.aspx |accessdate=28 February 2011 |ref={{sfnRef|Conservation International|2007}} |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708223143/http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/hotspots_by_region/Pages/default.aspx |archivedate=8 July 2007 }}
* {{citation|last1=Crame|first1=J. A.|last2=Owen|first2=A. W.|date=1 August 2002|title=Palaeobiogeography and Biodiversity Change: The Ordovician and Mesozoic–Cenozoic Radiations|series=Geological Society Special Publication|issue=194|publisher=[[Geological Society of London]]|isbn=978-1-86239-106-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YswVy5YolYsC&pg=PA142|accessdate=8 December 2011}}
* {{cite book|title=State of Forest Report 2013|date=2013|publisher=[[Forest Survey of India]]|location=Dehradun|url=http://fsi.nic.in/details.php?pgID=mn_93|chapter=Forest Cover|chapter-url=http://fsi.nic.in/cover_2013/sfr_forest_cover.pdf|ref={{sfnRef|Forest Survey of India|2013}}}}
* {{citation|last=Griffiths|first=M.|date=6 July 2010|title=The Lotus Quest: In Search of the Sacred Flower|publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]]|isbn=978-0-312-64148-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f2cbyTCeq-EC}}
* {{citation|last=Karanth|first=K. P.|date=25 March 2006|title=Out-of-India Gondwanan Origin of Some Tropical Asian Biota|journal=[[Current Science]]|volume=90|issue=6|pages=789–792|url=http://www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/mar252006/789.pdf|accessdate=18 May 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Mace|first=G. M.|date=March 1994|title=1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals|work=World Conservation Monitoring Centre|publisher=[[International Union for Conservation of Nature]]|isbn=978-2-8317-0194-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dyy0HilL9ecC&pg=PR4}}
* {{citation|title=Biosphere Reserves of India|work=C. P. R. Environment Education Centre|publisher=[[Ministry of Environment and Forests (India)|Ministry of Environment and Forests]], [[Government of India]]|url=http://www.cpreec.org/pubbook-biosphere.htm|accessdate=17 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|Ministry of Environment and Forests}}}}
* {{citation|date=9 September 1972|title=Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972|publisher=[[Ministry of Environment and Forests (India)|Ministry of Environment and Forests]], [[Government of India]]|url=http://envfor.nic.in/legis/wildlife/wildlife1.html|accessdate=25 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|Ministry of Environments and Forests 1972}}}}
* {{citation|last=Puri|first=S. K.|title=Biodiversity Profile of India|website=ces.iisc.ernet.in|url=http://ces.iisc.ernet.in/hpg/cesmg/indiabio.html|accessdate=20 June 2007|ref={{sfnRef|Puri}}|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111121153614/http://ces.iisc.ernet.in/hpg/cesmg/indiabio.html|archive-date=21 November 2011|url-status=dead}}
* {{citation|date=4 June 2007|title=The List of Wetlands of International Importance|publisher=The Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands|page=18|url=http://www.ramsar.org/sitelist.pdf|accessdate=20 June 2007|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070621011113/http://www.ramsar.org/sitelist.pdf|archivedate=21 June 2007|ref={{sfnRef|Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands}}}}
* {{citation|last=Tritsch|first=M. F.|date=3 September 2001|title=Wildlife of India|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|place=London|isbn=978-0-00-711062-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aNRQAAAACAAJ}}
{{refend}}

'''Politics'''
{{refbegin|33em}}
* {{cite journal|ref=harv|last1=Banerjee|first1=Sumanta|title=Civilising the BJP|journal=[[Economic & Political Weekly]]|date=16–22 July 2005|volume=40|issue=29|pages=3116–3119|jstor=4416896}}
* {{citation|last=Bhambhri|first=C. P.|date=1 May 1992|title=Politics in India, 1991–1992|publisher=Shipra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pf5HAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=20 July 2011|isbn=978-81-85402-17-8}}
* {{citation|last1=Burnell|first1=P. J.|last2=Calvert|first2=P.|date=1 May 1999|title=The Resilience of Democracy: Persistent Practice, Durable Idea|edition=1st|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|isbn=978-0-7146-8026-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hv6TkML5_HAC&pg=PA271|accessdate=20 July 2011}}
* {{citation|date=16 May 2009|title=Second UPA Win, A Crowning Glory for Sonia's Ascendancy |url=http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/second-upa-wincrowning-glory-for-sonia%5Cs-ascendancy/61892/on|accessdate=13 June 2009|ref={{sfnRef|Business Standard|2009}}|newspaper=[[Business Standard]] India|last1=India|first1=Press Trust of}}
* {{citation|last=Chander|first=N. J.|date=1 January 2004|title=Coalition Politics: The Indian Experience|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-8069-092-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G_QtMGIczhMC&pg=PA117|accessdate=20 July 2011}}
* {{citation|last1=Dunleavy|first1=P.|last2=Diwakar|first2=R.|last3=Dunleavy|first3=C.|year=2007|title=The Effective Space of Party Competition|issue=5|publisher=[[London School of Economics]] and Political Science|url=http://www2.lse.ac.uk/government/research/resgroups/PSPE/pdf/PSPE_WP5_07.pdf|accessdate=27 September 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Dutt|first=S.|year=1998|title=Identities and the Indian State: An Overview|journal=[[Third World Quarterly]]|volume=19|issue=3|pages=411–434|doi=10.1080/01436599814325}}
* {{citation|last=Echeverri-Gent|first=J.|editor-last=Ayres|editor-first=A.|editor2-last=Oldenburg|editor2-first=P.|date=January 2002|title=Quickening the Pace of Change|chapter=Politics in India's Decentred Polity|series=India Briefing|publisher=[[M. E. Sharpe]]|place=London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/indiabriefingqui0000unse/page/19 19–53]|isbn=978-0-7656-0812-3|url=https://archive.org/details/indiabriefingqui0000unse/page/19}}
* {{citation|date=14 March 2009|title=Current Recognised Parties|work=[[Election Commission of India]]|url=http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/ElectoralLaws/OrdersNotifications/Symbols_Sep_2009.pdf|accessdate=5 July 2010|ref={{sfnRef|Election Commission of India}}}}
* {{citation|last=Gledhill|first=A.|date=30 March 1970|title=The Republic of India: The Development of its Laws and Constitution|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group|Greenwood]]|isbn=978-0-8371-2813-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cHAjPQAACAAJ|accessdate=21 July 2011}}
* {{cite news|first=Samar |last=Halarnkar |title=Narendra Modi makes his move |work=[[BBC News]] |date=13 June 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-18352532 |quote=The right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India's primary opposition party|ref={{harvid|BBC|2012}}}}
* {{cite journal|ref=harv|last1=Malik|first1=Yogendra K.|last2=Singh|first2=V. B.|title=Bharatiya Janata Party: An Alternative to the Congress (I)?|journal=[[Asian Survey]]|date=April 1992|volume=32|issue=4|pages=318–336|jstor=2645149|doi=10.2307/2645149}}
* {{citation|last=Mathew|first=K. M.|date=1 January 2003|title=Manorama Yearbook|publisher=[[Malayala Manorama]]|isbn=978-81-900461-8-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jDaLQwAACAAJ|accessdate=21 July 2011}}
* {{citation|title=National Symbols of India|work=Know India|publisher=[[National Informatics Centre]], [[Government of India]]|url=http://archive.india.gov.in/knowindia/national_symbols.php|accessdate=27 September 2009|ref={{sfnRef|National Informatics Centre|2005}}}}
* {{citation|last=Neuborne|first=B.|year=2003|title=The Supreme Court of India|journal=International Journal of Constitutional Law|volume=1|issue=3|pages=476–510|doi=10.1093/icon/1.3.476}}
* {{citation|last=Pylee|first=M. V.|year=2003|title=Constitutional Government in India|chapter=The Longest Constitutional Document|edition=2nd|publisher=[[S. Chand]]|isbn=978-81-219-2203-6|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/?id=veDUJCjr5U4C|ref={{sfnRef|Pylee|2003|a}}}}
* {{citation|last=Pylee|first=M. V.|year=2003|title=Constitutional Government in India|chapter=The Union Judiciary: The Supreme Court|edition=2nd|publisher=[[S. Chand]]|isbn=978-81-219-2203-6|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/?id=veDUJCjr5U4C&pg=PA314|accessdate=2 November 2007|ref={{sfnRef|Pylee|2003|b}}}}
* {{citation|last=Sarkar|first=N. I.|title=Sonia Gandhi: Tryst with India|date=1 January 2007|publisher=[[Atlantic Books|Atlantic]]|isbn=978-81-269-0744-1<!--8126907444-->|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=26flsWUf8fkC|accessdate=20 July 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Sharma|first=R.|year=1950|title=Cabinet Government in India|journal=[[Parliamentary Affairs]]|volume=4|issue=1|pages=116–126|doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.pa.a052755}}
* {{citation|last=Sharma|first=B. K.|date=August 2007|title=Introduction to the Constitution of India|edition=4th|publisher=[[Prentice Hall]]|isbn=978-81-203-3246-1<!--8120332466-->|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=srDytmFE3KMC&pg=PA161}}
* {{citation|last=Sinha|first=A.|year=2004|title=The Changing Political Economy of Federalism in India|journal=[[India Review]]|volume=3|issue=1|pages=25–63|doi=10.1080/14736480490443085}}
* {{citation|title=World's Largest Democracy to Reach One Billion Persons on Independence Day|publisher=[[United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs|United Nations]] [[Commission on Population and Development|Population Division]]|url=https://www.un.org/esa/population/pubsarchive/india/ind1bil.htm|accessdate=5 October 2011|ref={{sfnRef|United Nations Population Division}}}}
* {{citation|last=Wheare|first=K. C.|date=June 1980|title=Federal Government|edition=4th|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-313-22702-8|url=https://archive.org/details/federalgovernmen00whearich}}
{{refend}}

'''Foreign relations and military'''
{{refbegin|33em}}
* {{citation|last=Alford|first=P.|date=7 July 2008|title=G8 Plus 5 Equals Power Shift|publisher=[[The Australian]]|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/g8-plus-5-equals-power-shift/story-e6frg6t6-1111116838759|accessdate=21 November 2009|ref={{sfnRef|Alford|2008}}}}
* {{citation|last=Behera|first=L. K.|date=7 March 2011|title=Budgeting for India's Defence: An Analysis of Defence Budget 2011–2012|publisher=[[Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses]]|url=http://www.idsa.in/idsacomments/BudgetingforIndiasDefence2010-11_lkbehera_030310.html |accessdate=4 April 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Behera|first=L. K.|date=20 March 2012|title=India's Defence Budget 2012–13|publisher=[[Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses]]|url=http://www.defencereviewasia.com/articles/169/India-s-Defence-Budget-2012-13|accessdate=26 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121215014403/http://www.defencereviewasia.com/articles/169/India-s-Defence-Budget-2012-13|archive-date=15 December 2012|url-status=dead}}
* {{citation|date=11 February 2009|title=Russia Agrees India Nuclear Deal|work=[[BBC News]]|publisher=[[BBC|British Broadcasting Corporation]]|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7883223.stm|accessdate=22 August 2010|ref={{sfnRef|British Broadcasting Corporation 2009}}}}
* {{citation|last=Curry|first=B.|date=27 June 2010|title=Canada Signs Nuclear Deal with India|work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/g8-g20/news/canada-signs-nuclear-deal-with-india/article1620801/|accessdate=13 May 2011}}
* {{citation|date=8 April 2008|title=India, Europe Strategic Relations|work=Europa: Summaries of EU Legislation|publisher=[[European Union]]|url=http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/external_relations/relations_with_third_countries/asia/r14100_en.htm|accessdate=14 January 2011|ref={{sfnRef|Europa 2008}}}}
* {{citation|last=Ghosh|first=A.|title=India's Foreign Policy|date=1 September 2009|publisher=[[Pearson PLC|Pearson]]|isbn=978-81-317-1025-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y32u4JMroQgC}}
* {{citation|last=Gilbert|first=M.|date=17 December 2002|title=A History of the Twentieth Century|publisher=[[William Morrow and Company|William Morrow]]|isbn=978-0-06-050594-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jhwY1j8Ao3kC&pg=PA486|accessdate=22 July 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Kumar|first=A. V.|date=1 May 2010|title=Reforming the NPT to Include India|work=[[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]]|url=http://thebulletin.org/reforming-npt-include-india|accessdate=1 November 2010}}
* {{citation|last=Miglani|first=S.|date=28 February 2011|title=With An Eye on China, India Steps Up Defence Spending|newspaper=[[Reuters]]|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/28/india-budget-military-idUSSGE71R02Y20110228|accessdate=6 July 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Nair|first=V. K.|year=2007|title=No More Ambiguity: India's Nuclear Policy|website=afsa.org | url=http://www.afsa.org/fsj/oct02/nair.pdf|accessdate=7 June 2007|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927041401/http://www.afsa.org/fsj/oct02/nair.pdf|archivedate=27 September 2007}}
* {{citation|last=Pandit|first=R.|date=27 July 2009|title=N-Submarine to Give India Crucial Third Leg of Nuke Triad|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-07-27/india/28212143_1_nuclear-powered-submarine-ins-arihant-nuclear-submarine|accessdate=10 March 2010}}
* {{citation|last=Perkovich|first=G.|date=5 November 2001|title=India's Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|isbn=978-0-520-23210-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UDA9dUryS8EC|accessdate=22 July 2011}}
* {{citation|date=25 January 2008|title=India, France Agree on Civil Nuclear Cooperation|publisher=[[Rediff.com|Rediff]]|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jan/25france.htm|accessdate=22 August 2010|ref={{sfnRef|Rediff 2008 a}}}}
* {{citation|date=13 February 2010|title=UK, India Sign Civil Nuclear Accord|newspaper=[[Reuters]]|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2010/02/13/us-india-britain-nuclear-idUSTRE61C21E20100213?type=politicsNews|accessdate=22 August 2010|ref={{sfnRef|Reuters|2010}}}}
* {{citation|last1=Ripsman|first1=N. M.|last2=Paul|first2=T. V.|date=18 March 2010|title=Globalization and the National Security State|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-539390-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7P87HIh9ajMC&pg=PA130|accessdate=22 July 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Rothermund|first=D.|date=17 October 2000|title=The Routledge Companion to Decolonization|edition=1st|series=Routledge Companions to History|publisher=[[Routledge]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ez37H0UPt_YC|isbn=978-0-415-35632-9}}
* {{citation|date=10 January 2011|title=India Gets Its First Homegrown Fighter Jet|publisher=[[RIA Novosti]]|url=http://en.rian.ru/world/20110110/162090932.html|accessdate=1 April 2009|ref={{sfnRef|Russian International News Agency 2011}}}}
* {{citation|last=Sharma|first=S. R.|date=1 January 1999|title=India–USSR Relations 1947–1971: From Ambivalence to Steadfastness|volume=1|publisher=Discovery|isbn=978-81-7141-486-4<!--8171414869-->|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vTEge1JWK8oC}}
* {{citation|last=Shukla|first=A.|date=5 March 2011|title=China Matches India's Expansion in Military Spending |url=http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/china-matches-india%5Cs-expansion-in-military-spending/427365/|accessdate=6 July 2011|newspaper=[[Business Standard]] India}}
* {{citation|last1=Sisodia|first1=N. S.|last2=Naidu|first2=G. V. C.|year=2005|title=Changing Security Dynamic in Eastern Asia: Focus on Japan|publisher=Promilla|isbn=978-81-86019-52-8<!--8186019529-->|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jSgfLG3Ib9wC}}
* {{citation|date=8 August 2008|title=SIPRI Yearbook 2008: Armaments, Disarmament, and International Security|work=Stockholm International Peace Research Institute|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-954895-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EAyQ9KCJE2gC&pg=PA178|accessdate=22 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|Stockholm International Peace Research Institute 2008}}}}
* {{citation|date=19 March 2012|title=Rise in international arms transfers is driven by Asian demand, says SIPRI|work=Stockholm International Peace Research Initiative|url=http://www.sipri.org/media/pressreleases/2012/rise-in-international-arms-transfers-is-driven-by-asian-demand-says-sipri|accessdate=5 April 2016
|ref={{sfnRef|Stockholm International Peace Research Initiative 2012}}}}
* {{citation|date=11 October 2008|title=India, US Sign 123 Agreement|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-10-11/india/27905286_1_indian-nuclear-market-sign-landmark-civil-nuclear-field|accessdate=21 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|The Times of India 2008}}}}
{{refend}}

'''Economy'''
{{refbegin|33em}}
* {{citation|last=Alamgir|first=J.|date=24 December 2008|title=India's Open-Economy Policy: Globalism, Rivalry, Continuity|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|isbn=978-0-415-77684-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JL7QfWJ5Yk0C|accessdate=23 July 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Bonner|first=B|date=20 March 2010|title=Make Way, World. India Is on the Move|journal=[[Christian Science Monitor]]|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/The-Daily-Reckoning/2010/0320/Make-way-world.-India-is-on-the-move|accessdate=23 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|Bonner|2010}}}}
* {{citation|year=2013|title=An Uncertain Glory: India and Its Contradictions|last1=Drèze|first1=Jean|last2=Sen|first2=Amartya|publisher=[[Allen Lane]]}}
* {{citation|last1=Farrell|first1=D.|last2=Beinhocker|first2=E.|date=19 May 2007|title=Next Big Spenders: India's Middle Class|publisher=[[McKinsey & Company]]|url=http://www.mckinsey.com/Insights/MGI/In_the_news/Next_big_spenders_Indian_middle_class|accessdate=17 September 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Gargan|first=E. A.|date=15 August 1992|title=India Stumbles in Rush to a Free Market Economy|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/15/world/india-stumbles-in-rush-to-a-free-market-economy.html|accessdate=22 July 2011}}
* {{citation|date=January 2011|title=The World in 2050: The Accelerating Shift of Global Economic Power: Challenges and Opportunities|first=John|last=Hawksworth|first2=Anmol|last2=Tiwari|publisher=[[PricewaterhouseCoopers]]|url=http://www.pwc.com/en_GX/gx/psrc/pdf/world_in_2050_jan2011.pdf|accessdate=23 July 2011}}
* {{citation|last1=Nayak|first1=P. B.|last2=Goldar|first2=B.|last3=Agrawal|first3=P.|date=10 November 2010|title=India's Economy and Growth: Essays in Honour of V. K. R. V. Rao|publisher=[[SAGE Publications]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N1Ho2SGXUHwC|isbn=978-81-321-0452-0}}
* {{citation|last1=Pal|first1=P.|last2=Ghosh|first2=J|title=Inequality in India: A Survey of Recent Trends|work=[[United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs|Economic and Social Affairs]]: DESA Working Paper No. 45|date=July 2007|publisher=[[United Nations]]|url=https://www.un.org/esa/desa/papers/2007/wp45_2007.pdf|accessdate=23 July 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Schwab|first=K.|year=2010|title=The Global Competitiveness Report 2010–2011|publisher=[[World Economic Forum]]|url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2010-11.pdf|accessdate=10 May 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Sheth|first=N.|date=28 May 2009|title=Outlook for Outsourcing Spending Brightens|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124344190542659025#articleTabs_comments%3D%26articleTabs%3Darticle|accessdate=3 October 2010}}
* {{citation|last=Srivastava|first=V.C.|editor= V.C. Srivastava|editor2= Lallanji Gopal|others=General Editor: D.P. Chattopadhyaya|title=History of Agriculture in India (up to c.1200 AD)|series= History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization|volume= Volume V Part 1|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FvjZVwYVmNcC&pg=PR30|year=2008|publisher=Concept Publishing Co|isbn=978-81-8069-521-6|chapter=Introduction}}
* {{citation|last=Yep|first=E.|date=27 September 2011|title=ReNew Wind Power Gets $201 Million Goldman Investment|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204422404576595972728958728|accessdate=27 September 2011|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal}}
* {{citation|date=18 November 2010|title=India Lost $462bn in Illegal Capital Flows, Says Report|publisher=[[BBC|British Broadcasting Corporation]]|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11782795|accessdate=23 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|British Broadcasting Corporation 2010 c}}}}
* {{citation|date=9 April 2010|title=India Second Fastest Growing Auto Market After China|work=[[Business Line]]|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/article988689.ece|accessdate=23 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|Business Line 2010}}}}
* {{citation|date=8 October 2011|title=India's Economy: Not Just Rubies and Polyester Shirts|journal=[[The Economist]]|url=http://www.economist.com/node/21531527|accessdate=9 October 2011|ref={{sfnRef|Economist 2011}}}}
* {{citation|date=13 October 2009|title=Indian Car Exports Surge 36%|work=[[Express India]]|url=http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/karnatakapoll08/story_page.php?id=528633|accessdate=5 April 2016|ref={{sfnRef|Express India 2009}}}}
* {{citation|date=October 2007 |title=Economic Survey of India 2007: Policy Brief |publisher=[[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]] |url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/17/52/39452196.pdf |accessdate=22 July 2011 |ref={{sfnRef|Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2007}} |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606112149/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/17/52/39452196.pdf |archivedate=6 June 2011 }}
* {{citation|date=April 2011|title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand|publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]]|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=25&pr.y=15&sy=1991&ey=2012&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=512%2C558%2C513%2C564%2C566%2C524%2C534%2C578%2C536%2C548&s=NGDPDPC&grp=0&a=|accessdate=23 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|International Monetary Fund 2011}}}}
* {{citation|date=6 April 2011 |title=Information Note to the Press (Press Release No.29 /2011) |publisher=[[Telecom Regulatory Authority of India]] |url=http://www.trai.gov.in/WriteReadData/trai/upload/PressReleases/816/Press_release_feb%20-11.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516025431/http://www.trai.gov.in/WriteReadData/trai/upload/PressReleases/816/Press_release_feb%20-11.pdf |archivedate=16 May 2011 |accessdate=23 July 2011 |ref={{sfnRef|Telecom Regulatory Authority 2011}} |url-status=dead }}
* {{citation|date=26 October 2011|title=Corruption Perception Index 2010 – India Continues to be Corrupt|publisher=[[Transparency International]]|url=http://transparencyindia.org/resource/press_release/Corruption%20Perception%20Index%20(CPI)%202010.pdf|accessdate=23 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|Transparency International 2010}}|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728123451/http://transparencyindia.org/resource/press_release/Corruption%20Perception%20Index%20(CPI)%202010.pdf|archive-date=28 July 2011|url-status=dead}}
* {{citation|title=India: Undernourished Children – A Call for Reform and Action|publisher=[[World Bank]]|url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/0,,contentMDK:20916955~pagePK:146736~piPK:146830~theSitePK:223547,00.html|accessdate=23 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120507071806/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/0,,contentMDK:20916955~pagePK:146736~piPK:146830~theSitePK:223547,00.html|archive-date=2012-05-07}}
* {{citation|date=26 March 2010|title=Trade to Expand by 9.5% in 2010 After a Dismal 2009, WTO Reports|publisher=[[World Trade Organization]]|url=http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres10_e/pr598_e.htm|accessdate=23 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|World Trade Organization 2010}}}}
* {{citation|year=2011–2012|title=Indian IT-BPO Industry|publisher=[[NASSCOM]]|url=http://www.nasscom.org/indian-itbpo-industry|accessdate=22 June 2012|ref={{sfnRef|Nasscom 2011–2012}}|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509061653/http://nasscom.org/indian-itbpo-industry|archivedate=9 May 2012}}
* {{citation|year=1995 |title=Understanding th WTO: The Organization Members and Observers |publisher=[[WTO]] |url=http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org6_e.htm |accessdate=23 June 2012 |ref={{sfnRef|WTO 1995}}  |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229021759/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org6_e.htm |archivedate=29 December 2009 }}
* {{citation|date=June 2011|title=World Economic Outlook Update|publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]]|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2009&ey=2016&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=512%2C548%2C558%2C564%2C566%2C524%2C578%2C534%2C536&s=NGDPDPC&grp=0&a=&pr.x=60&pr.y=17|accessdate=22 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|International Monetary Fund 2011}}}}
{{refend}}

'''Demographics'''
{{refbegin|33em}}
* {{citation|last=Bonner|first=A.|year=1990|title=Averting the Apocalypse: Social Movements in India Today|publisher=[[Duke University Press]]|isbn=978-0-8223-1048-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uxJlAgRemHgC|accessdate=24 July 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Chandramouli|first=C.|date=15 July 2011|title=Rural Urban Distribution of Population|publisher=[[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)]]|url=http://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2/data_files/india/Rural_Urban_2011.pdf|accessdate=24 January 2015}}
* {{citation|last1=Dev|first1=S. M.|last2=Rao|first2=N. C.|year=2009|title=India: Perspectives on Equitable Development|publisher=Academic Foundation|isbn=978-81-7188-685-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=adhKjRoTjcIC}}
* {{citation|last=Dharwadker|first=A.|editor1-last=Canning|editor1-first=C. M.|editor2-last=Postlewait|editor2-first=T.|date=28 October 2010|title=Representing the Past: Essays in Performance Historiography|chapter=Representing India's Pasts: Time, Culture, and Problems of Performance Historiography|publisher=[[University of Iowa Press]]|isbn=978-1-58729-905-6|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rgf0gbml2ocC|accessdate=24 July 2011}}
* {{citation|last1=Drèze|first1=J.|last2=Goyal|first2=A.|editor-last=Baru|editor-first=R. V.|date=9 February 2009|title=School Health Services in India: The Social and Economic Contexts|chapter=The Future of Mid-Day Meals|publisher=[[SAGE Publications]]|isbn=978-81-7829-873-3|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aQ39RO9OET4C&pg=PA46|ref={{sfnRef|Drèze|Goyal|2008}}}}
* {{citation|last1=Dyson|first1=T.|last2=Visaria|first2=P.|editor-last=Dyson|editor-first=T.|editor2-last=Casses|editor2-first=R.|editor3-last=Visaria|editor3-first=L.|date=7 July 2005|title=Twenty-First Century India: Population, Economy, Human Development, and the Environment|chapter=Migration and Urbanisation: Retrospect and Prospects|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-928382-8|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bqU9T5c0wlYC}}
* {{citation|last=Garg|first=S. C.|date=19 April 2005|title=Mobilizing Urban Infrastructure Finance in India|publisher=[[World Bank]]|url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTMF/Resources/339747-1105651852282/Garg.pdf|accessdate=27 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090824063911/http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTMF/Resources/339747-1105651852282/Garg.pdf|archive-date=24 August 2009|url-status=dead}}
* {{citation|last=Mallikarjun|first=B|date=November 2004|title=Fifty Years of Language Planning for Modern Hindi – The Official Language of India|journal=Language in India|volume=4|issue=11|issn=1930-2940|url=http://www.languageinindia.com/nov2004/mallikarjunmalaysiapaper1.html|accessdate=24 July 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Ottenheimer|first=H. J.|year=2008|title=The Anthropology of Language: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology|publisher=[[Cengage]]|isbn=978-0-495-50884-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d4QHsORbZs4C}}
* {{citation|last=Ratna|first=U.|editor-last=Dutt|editor-first=A. K.|editor2-last=Thakur|editor2-first=B|year=2007|title=City, Society, and Planning|chapter=Interface Between Urban and Rural Development in India|volume=1|publisher=Concept|isbn=978-81-8069-459-2|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QDmZeW1H37IC}}
* {{citation|last=Robinson|first=S.|date=1 May 2008|title=India's Medical Emergency|work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1736516,00.html|accessdate=23 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|Robinson|2008}}}}
* {{citation|last=Rorabacher|first=J. A.|year=2010|title=Hunger and Poverty in South Asia|publisher=Gyan|isbn=978-81-212-1027-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u6hriMcSsE4C}}
* {{citation|date=November 2006|title=Country Cooperation Strategy: India|publisher=[[World Health Organization]]|url=http://www.who.int/countryfocus/cooperation_strategy/ccsbrief_ind_en.pdf|accessdate=23 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|World Health Organization 2006}}}}
* {{citation|date=January 2009 |title=Healthcare in India: Report Highlights |publisher=Boston Analytics |url=http://bostonanalytics.com/india_watch/Healthcare%20in%20India%20Executive%20Summary.pdf |accessdate=23 July 2011 |ref={{sfnRef|Boston Analytics|2009}} |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728164230/http://www.bostonanalytics.com/india_watch/Healthcare%20in%20India%20Executive%20Summary.pdf |archivedate=28 July 2011}}
* {{citation|date=27 April 1960 |title=Notification No. 2/8/60-O.L |publisher=[[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Ministry of Home Affairs]], [[Government of India]] |url=http://rajbhasha.nic.in/UI/pagecontent.aspx?pc=Mzc%3d |accessdate=13 May 2011 |ref={{sfnRef|Ministry of Home Affairs 1960}} |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141001005409/http://www.rajbhasha.nic.in/UI/pagecontent.aspx?pc=Mzc%3D |archivedate=1 October 2014}}
* {{citation|title=Census Data 2001|work=Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner|publisher=[[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Ministry of Home Affairs]], [[Government of India]]|date=2010–2011|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/National_Summary/National_Summary_DataPage.aspx|accessdate=22 July 2011}}
* {{citation|date=2010–2011|title=Religious Composition|work=Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner|publisher=[[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Ministry of Home Affairs]], [[Government of India]]|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/India_at_glance/religion.aspx|accessdate=23 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|Ministry of Home Affairs 2010–2011}}}}
{{refend}}

'''Culture'''
{{refbegin|33em}}
* {{cite news|last=Agnivesh|first=Swami|title=Missing: 50 million Indian girls|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/24/opinion/24iht-edswami.html|accessdate=30 December 2013|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=25 November 2005|author2=Rama Mani|author3=Angelika Köster-Lossack |ref={{sfnref|Agnivesh|2005}} }}
* {{cite news|last=Bunting|first=Madeleine|title=India's missing women|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/jul/22/india-sex-selection-missing-women|accessdate=30 December 2013|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=22 July 2011 |ref={{sfnref|Bunting|2011}} }}
* {{citation|last=Binmore|first=K. G.|date=27 March 2007|title=Playing for Real: A Text on Game Theory|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-530057-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eY0YhSk9ujsC&pg=PA98}}
* {{citation|last=Bladholm|first=L.|date=12 August 2000|title=The Indian Grocery Store Demystified|edition=1st|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers]]|isbn=978-1-58063-143-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nCCEmAIo7HAC&pg=PA64}}
* {{citation|date=1 August 2010|title=Saina Nehwal: India's Badminton Star and "New Woman"|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10725584|accessdate=5 October 2010|ref={{sfnRef|British Broadcasting Corporation 2010 a}}}}
* {{citation|date=7 October 2010|title=Commonwealth Games 2010: India Dominate Shooting Medals|work=[[BBC News]]|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/commonwealth_games/delhi_2010/9068886.stm|accessdate=3 June 2011|ref={{sfnRef|British Broadcasting Corporation 2010 b}}}}
* {{citation|last=Chopra|first=P.|date=18 March 2011|title=A Joint Enterprise: Indian Elites and the Making of British Bombay|publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]]|isbn=978-0-8166-7037-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jhTiCnh6RqAC&pg=PA46}}
* {{citation|last=Cullen-Dupont|first=K.|date=July 2009|title=Human Trafficking|edition=1st|publisher=[[Infobase Publishing]]|isbn=978-0-8160-7545-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B2GeSNXy5CoC}}
* {{citation|last=Das|first=S. K.|date=1 January 2005|title=A History of Indian Literature, 500–1399: From Courtly to the Popular|publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]]|isbn=978-81-260-2171-0}}
* {{citation|last=Datta|first=A.|year=2006|title=The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature|volume=2|publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]]|isbn=978-81-260-1194-0}}
* {{citation|last=Dehejia|first=R. S.|date=7 November 2011|title=Indian Grand Prix Vs. Encephalitis?|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011/11/07/economics-journal-indian-grand-prix-vs-encephalitis/|accessdate=20 December 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Deutsch|first=E.|date=30 April 1969|title=Advaita Vedānta: A Philosophical Reconstruction|publisher=[[University of Hawaii Press]]|isbn=978-0-8248-0271-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=63gdKwhHeV0C}}
* {{citation|last1=Dissanayake|first1=W. K.|last2=Gokulsing|first2=M.|date=May 2004|title=Indian Popular Cinema: A Narrative of Cultural Change|edition=2nd|publisher=[[Trentham Books]]|url=https://books.google.com/?id=_plssuFIar8C|isbn=978-1-85856-329-9}}
* {{citation|date=18 November 2009|title=Southern Movies Account for over 75% of Film Revenues|newspaper=[[The Economic Times]]|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2009-11-18/news/27638208_1_film-industry-small-budget-movies-farokh-balsara|accessdate=18 June 2011|ref={{sfnRef|The Economic Times}}}}
* {{citation|title=South Asian Arts: Indian Dance|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/556016/South-Asian-arts/65246/Indian-dance|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|accessdate=17 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|Encyclopædia Britannica b}}}}
* {{citation|title=Tamil Literature|year=2008|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|url=http://original.britannica.com/eb/article-9071111/Tamil-literature|accessdate=24 July 2011<!--|quote=Apart from literature written in classical (Indo-Aryan) Sanskrit, Tamil is the oldest literature in India. Some inscriptions on stone have been dated to the 3rd century BC, but [[Tamil literature]] proper begins around the 1st century AD. Much early poetry was religious or epic; an exception was the secular court poetry written by members of the ''sangam'', or literary academy (see Sangam literature).-->|ref={{sfnRef|Encyclopædia Britannica|2008}}}}
* {{citation|last=Eraly|first=A.|year=2008|title=India|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|isbn=978-0-7566-4952-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HUdHHuFZN_8C&pg=PA160|accessdate=24 July 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Hart|first=G. L.|date=August 1975|title=Poems of Ancient Tamil: Their Milieu and Their Sanskrit Counterparts|edition=1st|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|isbn=978-0-520-02672-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a5KwQwAACAAJ}}
* {{citation|editor-last=Heehs|editor-first=P.|date=1 September 2002|title=Indian Religions: A Historical Reader of Spiritual Expression and Experience|publisher=[[New York University Press]]|isbn=978-0-8147-3650-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jgsu-aIm3ncC|accessdate=24 July 2011|ref={{sfnRef|Heehs|2002}}}}
* {{citation|last=Henderson|first=C. E.|year=2002|title=Culture and Customs of India|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|isbn=978-0-313-30513-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CaRVePXX6vEC&pg=PA102}}
* {{citation|last=Hoiberg|first=D.|last2=Ramchandani|first2=I.|year=2000|title=Students' Britannica India: Select Essays|publisher=[[Popular Prakashan]]|isbn=978-0-85229-762-9}}
* {{citation|editor-last=Johnson|editor-first=W. J.|title=The Sauptikaparvan of the Mahabharata: The Massacre at Night|date=1 September 2008|edition=2nd|series=[[Oxford World's Classics]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-282361-8|ref={{sfnRef|Johnson|2008}}}}
* {{citation|last1=Jones|first1=G.|last2=Ramdas|first2=K.|year=2005|title=(Un)tying the Knot: Ideal and Reality in Asian Marriage|publisher=[[National University of Singapore Press]]|isbn=978-981-05-1428-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IttiQ3QdJ6YC}}
* {{citation|last1=Kālidāsa|last2=Johnson|first2=W. J.|author-link=Kālidāsa|date=15 November 2001|title=The Recognition of Śakuntalā: A Play in Seven Acts|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-283911-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/recognitionofsak0000kali}}
* {{citation|last1=Kaminsky|first1=Arnold P.|last2=Long|first2=Roger D. |title=India Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Republic: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Republic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wWDnTWrz4O8C|accessdate=12 September 2012|date=30 September 2011|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|isbn=978-0-313-37462-3}}
* {{citation|last=Karanth|first=S. K.|author-link=Shivarama Karanth|date=October 2002|title=Yakṣagāna|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-357-1}}
* {{citation|editor1-last=Kiple|editor1-first=K. F.|editor2-last=Ornelas|editor2-first=K. C.|title=The Cambridge World History of Food|year=2000|place=Cambridge|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-40216-3|ref={{sfnRef|Kiple|Ornelas|2000}}}}
* {{citation|editor-last=Kuiper|editor-first=K.|date=1 July 2010|title=The Culture of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LiqloV4JnNUC|accessdate=24 July 2011|publisher=[[Britannica Educational Publishing]]|isbn=978-1-61530-203-1|ref={{sfnRef|Kuiper|2010}}}}
* {{citation|last=Kumar|first=V.|title=Vastushastra|edition=2nd|series=All You Wanted to Know About Series|date=January 2000|publisher=[[Sterling Publishing]]|isbn=978-81-207-2199-9}}
* {{citation|last=Lal|first=A.|title=The Oxford Companion to Indian Theatre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DftkAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=24 July 2011|year=2004|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-564446-3}}
* {{citation|last1=Lang|first1=J.|last2=Moleski|first2=W.|date=1 December 2010|title=Functionalism Revisited|publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing]]|isbn=978-1-4094-0701-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rOCaSn8-ZboC&pg=PA151}}
* {{citation|last=MacDonell|first=A. A.|author-link=Arthur Anthony Macdonell|title=A History of Sanskrit Literature|year=2004|publisher=[[Kessinger Publishing]]|isbn=978-1-4179-0619-2|title-link=s:A History of Sanskrit Literature}}
* {{citation|last1=Majumdar|first1=B.|last2=Bandyopadhyay|first2=K.|title=A Social History of Indian Football: Striving To Score|year=2006|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-0-415-34835-5}}
* {{citation|last=Makar|first=E. M.|year=2007|title=An American's Guide to Doing Business in India|publisher=Adams|isbn=978-1-59869-211-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ujYmdNVIr7QC}}
* {{citation|last1=Massey|first1=R.|last2=Massey|first2=J|year=1998|title=The Music of India|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-332-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yySNDP9XVggC}}
* {{citation|last=Medora|first=N.|editor1-last=Hamon|editor1-first=R. R.|editor2-last=Ingoldsby|editor2-first=B. B.|year=2003|title=Mate Selection Across Cultures|chapter=Mate Selection in Contemporary India: Love Marriages Versus Arranged Marriages|publisher=[[SAGE Publications]]|pages=209–230|isbn=978-0-7619-2592-7}}
* {{citation|last=Messner|first=W.|year=2009|title=Working with India. The Softer Aspects of a Successful Collaboration with the Indian IT & BPO Industry|publisher=[[Springer Nature|Springer]]|isbn=978-3-540-89077-5|url=http://www.globusresearch.com/knowledge-books.com#working-with-india|access-date=6 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820034438/http://www.globusresearch.com/knowledge-books.com#working-with-india|archive-date=20 August 2017|url-status=dead}}
* {{citation|last=Messner|first=W.|year=2012|title=Engaging with India. How to Manage the Softer Aspects of a Global Collaboration|publisher=[[Createspace]]|isbn=978-1-4662-4490-0|url=http://www.globusresearch.com}}
* {{cite web|url=http://mruc.net/irs2012q1-topline-findings.pdf |title=Indian Readership Survey 2012 Q1 : Topline Findings |at=Growth: Literacy & Media Consumption |publisher=Media Research Users Council |accessdate=12 September 2012 |ref={{sfnRef|Media Research Users Council 2012}} |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407092737/http://mruc.net/irs2012q1-topline-findings.pdf |archivedate=7 April 2014 }}
* {{citation|last=Mehta|first=Nalin|title=Television in India: Satellites, Politics and Cultural Change|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R-BsSzSjnTYC|accessdate=12 September 2012|date=30 July 2008|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] US|isbn=978-0-415-44759-1}}
* {{citation|date=24 September 2010|title=Is Boxing the New Cricket?|publisher=[[Mint (newspaper)|Mint]]|url=http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/1jxksEgRhUYXq0ezp1iixM/Is-boxing-the-new-cricket.html|accessdate=5 October 2010|ref={{sfnRef|Mint 2010}}}}
* {{citation|last=Nakamura|first=H.|date=1 April 1999|title=Indian Buddhism: A Survey with Bibliographical Notes|edition=12th|series=Buddhist Tradition Series|publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]]|isbn=978-81-208-0272-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w0A7y4TCeVQC}}
* {{citation|last=Puskar-Pasewicz|first=M.|date=16 September 2010|title=Cultural Encyclopedia of Vegetarianism|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|isbn=978-0-313-37556-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=scpwmjE3TWYC&pg=PA39}}
* {{citation|last=Raghavan|first=S.|date=23 October 2006|title=Handbook of Spices, Seasonings, and Flavorings|edition=2nd|publisher=[[CRC Press]]|isbn=978-0-8493-2842-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m4vvs87XiucC&pg=PA3}}
* {{citation|last=Raichlen|first=S.|date=10 May 2011|title=A Tandoor Oven Brings India's Heat to the Backyard|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/dining/a-tandoor-oven-brings-indias-heat-to-the-backyard.html|accessdate=14 June 2011}}
* {{citation|editor1-last=Rajadhyaksha|editor1-first=A.|editor2-last=Willemen|editor2-first=P.|date=22 January 1999|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema|edition=2nd|publisher=[[British Film Institute]]|isbn=978-0-85170-669-6|ref={{sfnRef|Rajadhyaksha|Willemen|1999}}|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofi0000raja}}
* {{citation|last=Ramanujan|first=A. K. (translator)|author-link=A. K. Ramanujan|date=15 October 1985|title=Poems of Love and War: From the Eight Anthologies and the Ten Long Poems of Classical Tamil|publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]|place=New York|pages=ix–x|isbn=978-0-231-05107-1|url=https://books.google.com/?id=nIybE0HRvdQC<!--|quote=These poems are 'classical,' i.e. early, ancient; they are also 'classics,' i.e. works that have stood the test of time, the founding works of a whole tradition. Not to know them is not to know a unique and major poetic achievement of Indian civilisation. Early classical Tamil literature (c. 100 BC – AD 250) consists of the Eight Anthologies (''Eţţuttokai''), the Ten Long Poems (''Pattuppāţţu''), and a grammar called the ''Tolkāppiyam'' or the 'Old Composition.'&nbsp;... The literature of classical Tamil later came to be known as ''Cankam'' (pronounced ''Sangam'') literature.-->}}
* {{citation|last=Rawat|first=Ramnarayan S|date=23 March 2011|title=Reconsidering Untouchability: Chamars and Dalit History in North India|publisher=[[Indiana University Press]]|isbn=978-0-253-22262-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bz5dKC81O3IC&pg=PA3}}
* {{citation|title=Anand Crowned World Champion|date=29 October 2008|publisher=[[Rediff.com|Rediff]]|url=http://www.rediff.com/sports/2008/oct/29anand.htm|accessdate=29 October 2008|ref={{sfnRef|Rediff 2008 b}}}}
* {{citation|last=Roberts|first=N. W.|date=12 July 2004|title=Building Type Basics for Places of Worship|edition=1st|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|isbn=978-0-471-22568-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hOxOAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{citation|last=Schoenhals|first=M.|date=22 November 2003|title=Intimate Exclusion: Race and Caste Turned Inside Out|publisher=[[University Press of America]]|isbn=978-0-7618-2697-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=922nG03giDwC&pg=PA119}}
* {{citation|last=Schwartzberg|first=J.|year=2011|title=India: Caste|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/285248/India/46404/Caste|accessdate=17 July 2011}}
* {{citation|last=Sen|first=A.|date=5 September 2006|title=The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture, and Identity|edition=1st|publisher=[[Picador (imprint)|Picador]]|isbn=978-0-312-42602-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=agk63AlLmIgC&pg=PA132}}
* {{citation|last=Seymour|first=S.C.|date=28 January 1999|title=Women, Family, and Child Care in India: A World in Transition|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-59884-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ClkaIF3KzLIC&pg=PA81}}
* {{citation|last=Silverman|first=S.|date=10 October 2007|title=Vastu: Transcendental Home Design in Harmony with Nature|publisher=[[Gibbs Smith]]|isbn=978-1-4236-0132-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iwaryJd3fD8C&pg=PA20}}
* {{citation|last=Tarlo|first=E.|date=1 September 1996|title=Clothing Matters: Dress and Identity in India|edition=1st|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|isbn=978-0-226-78976-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ByoTXhXCuyAC|accessdate=24 July 2011}}
* {{citation|date=9 August 2010|title=Sawant Shoots Historic Gold at World Championships|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/more-sports/shooting/Sawant-shoots-historic-gold-at-World-Championships/articleshow/6274795.cms?referral=PM|accessdate=25 May 2011|ref={{sfnRef|The Times of India 2010}}}}
* {{citation|title=Taj Mahal|publisher=[[UNESCO|United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation]]|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/252|accessdate=3 March 2012|ref={{sfnRef|United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation}}}}
* {{citation|date=11 September 2009|title=India Aims for Center Court|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203440104574406704026883502|accessdate=29 September 2010|ref={{sfnRef|The Wall Street Journal 2009}}}}
* {{citation|last1=Wengell|first1=D. L.|last2=Gabriel|first2=N.|date=1 September 2008|title=Educational Opportunities in Integrative Medicine: The A-to-Z Healing Arts Guide and Professional Resource Directory|edition=1st|publisher=The Hunter Press|isbn=978-0-9776552-4-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BNR1KGJXX9cC&pg=PA158}}
* {{Cite book|title=Intergenerational Mobility for Dalits Is Visible, Albeit Limited|url=http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2011/05/05/000356161_20110505044659/Rendered/PDF/574280PUB0Pers1351B0Extop0ID0186890.pdf|journal=World Bank Report 2011|accessdate=6 September 2012|doi=10.1596/978-0-8213-8689-7|ref={{sfnRef|World Bank 2011}}|year=2011|isbn=978-0-8213-8689-7}}
* {{citation|last=Xavier|first1=L.|date=12 September 2010|title=Sushil Kumar Wins Gold in World Wrestling Championship|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/more-sports/wrestling/Sushil-Kumar-wins-gold-in-World-Wrestling-Championship/articleshow/6542488.cms?referral=PM|accessdate=5 October 2010}}
* {{citation|last1=Yadav|first1=S. S.|last2=McNeil|first2=D.|last3=Stevenson|first3=P. C.|date=23 October 2007|title=Lentil: An Ancient Crop for Modern Times|publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]]|isbn=978-1-4020-6312-1|url=https://books.google.com/?id=VfT6hZHpXPkC&pg=PA174<!--|quote=But it has been red lentils which have "fed the masses" particularly in the Indian subcontinent. Lentils are a staple food in many regions.-->}}
* {{citation|last=Zvelebil|first=K. V.|date=1 August 1997|title=Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|isbn=978-90-04-09365-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qAPtq49DZfoC}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
'''Government'''
* [https://www.india.gov.in/ Official website of Government of India]
* [http://goidirectory.nic.in/index.php Government of India Web Directory]

'''General information'''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090406224510/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/british.htm India] from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''
* [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12557384 India] from the [[BBC News]]
* [http://www.wikivillage.in/ Indian State district block village website]
* [http://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=IN Key Development Forecasts for India] from [[International Futures]]

[[Category:India]]
[[category:Countries]]