India

Indian Emblem

Indian Flag
India (Hindī: भारत Bhārat), officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second most populous country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world.India has a coastline of over seven thousand kilometres which is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east.India borders Afghanistan and Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. India is in the vicinity of the Indian Ocean nations of Sri Lanka, Maldives, Indonesia and Thailand.

Motto: "Satyameva Jayate" (Sanskrit)Devanāgarī: सत्यमेव जयते
Anthem(s): "Jana Gana Mana

Capital:New Delhi N 77°12′E
Largest city:Mumbai
Official language(s):Hindi, English (Central Govt.)Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gondi, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Maithili, Meitei, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu
Government:Federal republic
President:A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Prime Minister:Manmohan Singh
Independence:from the UK
- Commonwealth:15 August 1947
- Republic:26 January 1950
Area: - Total 3,287,590 km² (7th)1,269,346 sq mi
- Water (%)9.56
Population: - 2005 estimate 1,103,371,000 (2nd)
- 2001 census 1,027,015,247
- Density 329/km² (31st)852/sq mi
GDP (PPP) :2005 estimate
- Total $3.633 trillion (4th)
- Per capita $3,344 (122nd)
HDI (2003) 0.602 (127th) – medium
Currency Rupee (Rs.1) (INR)
Time zone :IST (UTC+5:30)
- Summer (DST)
not observed (UTC+5:30)

Etymology
Main article: Origin of India's name
The name India is derived from Indus, which is derived from the Old Persian word Hindu, from Sanskrit Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the Indus River. The Constitution of India and common usage recognise Bharat Ganrajya , as an official name; The Republic of India is also recognized with equal status. A second name, Hindustan (Persian: Land of the Hindus) has been used since the twelfth century, although its contemporary use is unevenly applied. Bharat is derived from the mythical king Bharat, who is said to have ruled over the landmass known as Bharatavarsha, the Sanskrit name for India. India is a Greek version of the name lying east of the river Indus, known as Sindhu in Sanskrit and Sind in Persian. Hindustan is the name given by Persians to those who lived in the land east of the river Indus (Sindhu), or Hind in short. In general, the three names Bharata, Hindustan and India are used interchangeably. India is one of a very small number of civilizational states in the world.