8/10/2021 India -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia

India
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India, country that occupies the greater part of South Asia. Its capital is New Delhi, built in
the 20th century just south of the historic hub of Old Delhi to serve as India’s
administrative centre. Its government is a constitutional republic that represents a highly
diverse population consisting of thousands of ethnic groups and likely hundreds of
languages. With roughly one-sixth of the world’s total population, India is the second most
populous country, after China.

It is known from archaeological evidence that a

highly sophisticated urbanized culture—the Indus
civilization—dominated the northwestern part of the
subcontinent from about 2600 to 2000 BCE. From that
period on, India functioned as a virtually self-
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India contained political and cultural arena, which gave rise
India to a distinctive tradition that was associated primarily
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with Hinduism, the roots of which can largely be
traced to the Indus civilization. Other religions, notably Buddhism and Jainism, originated
in India—though their presence there is now quite small—and throughout the centuries
residents of the subcontinent developed a rich intellectual life in such fields as
mathematics, astronomy, architecture, literature, music, and the fine arts.

Throughout its history, India was intermittently

disturbed by incursions from beyond its northern
mountain wall. Especially important was the coming
of Islam, brought from the northwest by Arab,
Turkish, Persian, and other raiders beginning early in
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IndiaEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc. the 8th century CE. Eventually, some of those raiders
stayed; by the 13th century much of the subcontinent
was under Muslim rule, and the number of Muslims steadily increased. Only after the
arrival of the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama in 1498 and the subsequent
establishment of European maritime supremacy in the region did India become exposed to
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8/10/2021 India -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia

major external influences arriving by sea, a process that culminated in the decline of the
ruling Muslim elite and absorption of the subcontinent within the British Empire.

Direct administration by the British, which began in

1858, effected a political and economic unification of
the subcontinent. When British rule came to an end in
1947, the subcontinent was partitioned along religious
lines into two separate countries—India, with a
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Taj Mahal majority of Hindus, and Pakistan, with a majority of
The Taj Mahal in Agra, India, Muslims; the eastern portion of Pakistan later split off
designated a World Heritage site in
1983. to form Bangladesh. Many British institutions stayed
Brand X Pictures/Jupiterimages
in place (such as the parliamentary system of
government); English continued to be a widely used
lingua franca; and India remained within the
Commonwealth. Hindi became the official language
(and a number of other local languages achieved
official status), while a vibrant English-language
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Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India: fort intelligentsia thrived.
Rajput fort overlooking (foreground)
Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India, India remains one of the most ethnically diverse
designated a World Heritage site in
2013. countries in the world. Apart from its many religions
© John Isaac
and sects, India is home to innumerable castes and

keyboard_arrow_left keyboard_arrow_right tribes, as well as to more than a dozen major and

hundreds of minor linguistic groups from several language families unrelated to one
another. Religious minorities, including Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains,
still account for a significant proportion of the population; collectively, their numbers
exceed the populations of all countries except China. Earnest attempts have been made to
instill a spirit of nationhood in so varied a population, but tensions between neighbouring
groups have remained and at times have resulted in outbreaks of violence. Yet social
legislation has done much to alleviate the disabilities previously suffered by formerly
“untouchable” castes, tribal populations, women, and other traditionally disadvantaged
segments of society. At independence, India was blessed with several leaders of world
stature, most notably Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, who were able

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to galvanize the masses at home and bring prestige to India abroad. The country has played
an increasing role in global affairs.

Contemporary India’s increasing physical prosperity and cultural dynamism—despite

continued domestic challenges and economic inequality—are seen in its well-developed
infrastructure and a highly diversified industrial base, in its pool of scientific and
engineering personnel (one of the largest in the world), in the pace of its agricultural
expansion, and in its rich and vibrant cultural exports of music, literature, and cinema.
Though the country’s population remains largely rural, India has three of the most populous
and cosmopolitan cities in the world—Mumbai (Bombay), Kolkata (Calcutta), and Delhi.
Three other Indian cities—Bengaluru (Bangalore), Chennai (Madras), and Hyderabad—are
among the world’s fastest-growing high-technology centres, and most of the world’s major
information technology and software companies now have offices in India.

The history section of the articles Pakistan and

Bangladesh discuss those countries since their
creation.

Joseph E. Schwartzberg The Editors of Encyclopaedia

Britannica
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Mumbai, India: Gateway to India
monument
Gateway to India monument near the
entrance to Mumbai (Bombay)
Harbour, western India, on the east
coast of the Arabian Sea.
© Smarta/Shutterstock.com

Citation Information
Article Title:
India
Website Name:
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher:
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published:
04 August 2021
URL:
https://www.britannica.com/place/India
Access Date:
August 10, 2021

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