India an incredible country
contents
table of
04
08
68
26th January
Years of Independence
Indian Republic Day
06
10
1,210,193,422
1858 to 1847
The Second Most Populous Democracy in the World
End of Colonialism
12
1/3 Malnutrition in India
16
Three Hundred Five Thousand
20
28,169 ft. Mount Kangchenjunga
Chand Baori - Rajasthani Step Well
14
18
63
1569 mi.
Festivals of India
The Holy River: Ganga
22
Index
4 | India
68 Years of Independence India was ablaze with bright colors and spirited
Recently elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi
with festivity as the country celebrated its 68th
pledged to bring jobs and development to India
Independence Day on 15th August 2015
in his Independence Day address from the his-
toric Red Fort in New Delhi. Modi is the first Indian prime minister to be born after India became independent from British rule in 1947, the Washington Post notes. “It is a tribute to Indian democracy that a person from a poor family, an ordinary family, is today addressing the nation from the Red Fort,” Modi said, according to Indian broadcaster NDTV. “The world used to think we are a land of snake charmers and black magic — but our youth has surprised the world with its IT skills.”
India | 5
1,210 3,422
0,19 2
Second Most Populous Democracy in the World With 1,210,193,422 residents reported in the 2011 provisional census report, India is the world's second-most populous country. Its population grew by 17.64% during 2001–2011, compared to 21.54% growth in the previous decade (1991–
2001). The human sex ratio, according to the 2011 census, is 940 females per 1,000 males. The median-age was 24.9 in the 2001 census. The first post-colonial census, conducted in
1951, counted 361.1 million people. Medical advances made in the last 50 years as well as increased agricultural produc-
tivity brought about by the "Green Revolution" have caused India's population to grow rapidly. India continues to face several public health-related challenges.
8 | India
India | 9
Indian Republic Day Republic Day honors the date on which the Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950 replacing the Government of India Act (1935) as the governing document of India.
The Constitution was adopted by the Indian Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, and came into effect on 26 January 1950 with a democratic government system, completing the country's transition towards becoming an independent republic. 26 January was chosen as the Republic day because it was on this day in 1930 when the Declaration of Indian Independence (Purna Swaraj) was proclaimed by the Indian National Congress as opposed to the Dominion status offered by the British Regime. The main Republic Day celebration is held in the national capital, New Delhi, at the Rajpath before the President of India. On this day, ceremonious parades take place at the Rajpath, which are performed as a tribute to India; its unity in diversity and rich cultural heritage.
10 | India
India | 11
End of Colonialism In August, 1947, when, after three hundred years in India, the British finally left, the subcontinent was partitioned into two independent nation states: Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. Immediately, there began one of the greatest migrations in human history, as millions of Muslims trekked to West and East Pakistan (the latter now known as Bangladesh) while millions of Hindus and Sikhs headed in the opposite direction. Many hundreds of thousands never made it. Across the Indian subcontinent, communities that had coexisted for almost a millennium attacked each other in a terrifying outbreak of sectarian violence, with Hindus and Sikhs on one side and Muslims on the other—a mutual genocide as unexpected as it was unprecedented. In Punjab and Bengal—provinces abutting India’s borders with West and East Pakistan, respectively—the carnage was especially intense, with massacres, arson, forced conversions, mass abductions, and savage sexual violence. Some seventy-five thousand women were raped, and many of them were then disfigured or dismembered.
12 | India
Malnutrition in India Malnutrition refers to the situation where
Women who suffer malnutrition are less
there is an unbalanced diet in which some
likely to have healthy babies. In India,
nutrients are in excess, lacking or wrong
mothers generally lack proper knowledge
proportion. Simply put, we can categorize
in feeding children. Consequently, new
it to be under-nutrition and over-nutri-
born infants are unable to get adequate
tion. Despite India's 50% increase in
amount of nutrition from their mothers.
GDP since 1991, more than one third of the world's malnourished children live in India. Among these, half of them under 3 are underweight and a third of wealthiest children are over-nourished.
Deficiencies in nutrition inflict long-term damage to both individuals and society. Compared with their better-fed peers, nutrition-deficient individuals are more likely to have infectious diseases such as
One of the major causes for malnutrition in
pneumonia and tuberculosis, which lead
India is gender inequality. Due to the low
to a higher mortality rate.
social status of Indian women, their diet often lacks in both quality and quantity.
1
India | 13
3
of the world's malnourished children live in India.
14 | India
India | 15
Festivals of India India is well known all over the world as a country of cultural and traditional festivals as it has many cultures and religions, there are over 63 festivals and celebrations that are observed in India. One can enjoy the festival celebration in India every month. As it is a secular country full of diversity in the religions, languages, cultures and castes, it is always crowded with the people involved in the fairs and festivals celebration. People from each religion have their own cultural and traditional festivals. Some of the festivals are celebrated by the people of all religions in the entire nation. Each and every festival is celebrated uniquely in different ways according to the rituals, beliefs and its significant history behind. Each festival has its own history, legend and significance of celebration. Indian origin people in the abroad also celebrate their cultural festival with the immense passion. India is a country with example of unity in diversity as it contains people of various religions like Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Jain, Christian and etc. Some of the festivals are celebrated at national level whereas some of are at regional level.
16 | India
Chand Baori : Rajasthani Step Well
The Chand Baori is a stepwell built over a thousand years ago in the Abhaneri village of Rajasthan. It is one of the largest stepwells in the world and also one of the most beautiful ones. Located in the eastern part of the province of Rajasthan, it was built by King Chanda somewhere in the 9th century. The Chand Baori is not an easy landmark to find, thus it is one of the hidden secrets of India. Stepwells, also called bawdi or baori, are unique to this nation. The wells have steps built into the sides that lead down to the water. Centuries ago, the stepwells were built in the arid zones of Rajasthan to provide water all year through. Today, the construction is not used as a well anymore but its exquisite geometry attracts local and international visitors alike. About 64 ft. deep, it is India's largest and deepest stepwells with 13 floors and was built in the 9th century for water harvesting.
India | 17
Three Thousand Five Hundred steps
1569
miles
The Holy River : Ganga The Ganges, also known as the Ganga is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through the nations of India and Bangladesh. The 2,525 km (1,569 mi) river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. It is the third largest river in the world by discharge. The Ganges is the most sacred river to Hindus. It is also a lifeline to millions of Indians who live along its course and depend on it for their daily needs. It is worshipped as the goddess Ganga in
India | 19
Hinduism. It has also been important historically, with many former provincial or imperial capitals (such as Pataliputra, Kannauj, Kara, Kashi, Patna, Hajipur, Munger, Bhagalpur, Murshidabad, Baharampur, Kampilya, and Kolkata) located on its banks. The Ganga is a sacred river to Hindus along every fragment of its length. All along its course, Hindus bathe in its waters, paying homage to their ancestors and to their gods by cupping the water in their hands, lifting it and letting it fall back into the river; they offer flowers and rose petals and float shallow clay dishes filled with oil and lit with wicks (diyas).
28,169
ft.
India | 21
Mount Kangchenjunga Kangchenjunga is the third highest
highest mountain in India and the sec-
mountain in the world, and lies partly in
ond highest in Nepal. Three of the five
Nepal and partly in Sikkim, India. It rises
peaks – Main, Central and South – are on
with an elevation of 8,586 m (28,169
the border between North Sikkim in India
ft) in a section of the Himalayas called
and Nepal. Two peaks are in the Taplejung
Kangchenjunga Himal that is limited in
District, Nepal. Kangchenjunga Main is
the west by the Tamur River, in the north
also the easternmost of the mountains
by the Lhonak Chu and Jongsang La, and
higher than 8,000 m (26,000 ft). It is called
in the east by the Teesta River.
Five Treasures of Snow after its five high
Kangchenjunga is the second highest peak of the Himalaya after Mount Everest. The main peak of Kangchenjunga is the
peaks, and has always been worshipped by the people of Darjeeling and Sikkim.
index 16
Abhaneri village
21
Darjeeling
15
Diversity
16
Arid Zone
18
Asia
16
Abhaneri
16
Arid Zone
18
Ganga
18
Asia
12
Gender Inequality
5
Green Revolution
9
Government of
11
Bangladesh
18
Bay of Bengal
18
Bhagalpur
4
British Rule
India Act 18
18, 21 11, 15, 18 16
Chand Baori
4
Cultural Heritage
9
Colonialism
16
Chand Baori
4
Cultural Heritage
9
Colonialism
12
Gangetic Plain
Himalayas Hindu Higher Mortality Rate
16
Human Sex Ratio
9 9
Independence Day
4
Indian Constituent
6, 9
Assembly 9
Narendra Modi
18
Sacred River
New Delhi
15
Secular
Nepal
21
Sikkim
16
Step Well
21
Tamur River
21
Teesta River
Purna Swaraj
12
Under-nutritioned
16
Population
18
Uttarakhand
16
Rajasthan
16
Water Harvesting
4
Washington Post
21
Indian National Congress 12
18
Kashi
Over-Nourished
16
King Chanda
18
Kolkata
11
Pakistan
21
Kangchenjunga
11
Punjab
9 12
Malnutrition
18
Munger
18
Murshidabad
21
Mount Everest
9
Rajpath
6
Red Fort
15
Religion
9
Republic Day