India's Independence Day (Hindi: स्वतंत्रता दिवस) is celebrated on August 15 to commemorate its independence from British rule and its birth as a sovereign nation on that day in 1947. The day is a national holiday in India. It is celebrated all over the country through flag-hoisting ceremony and distribution of sweets. The main celebration takes place in New Delhi, where the Prime Minister raises the national flag at the Red Fort and delivers a nationally televised speech from its ramparts. In his speech, he highlights the achievements of the government during the past year, raises important issues and gives a call for further development. The prime minister also pays tribute to leaders of the freedom struggle.
India Today
Facts and Statistics
Location: Southern Asia, bordering Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km
Capital: New Delhi
Climate: varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
Population: 1,065,070,607 (July 2004 est.)
Ethnic Make-up: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)
Religions: Hindu 81.3%, Muslim 12%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other groups including Buddhist, Jain, Parsi 2.5% (2000)
Government: federal republicLanguages in India
The different states of India have different official languages, some of them not recognized by the central government. Some states have more then one official language. Bihar in east India has three official languages - Hindi, Urdu and Bengali – which are all recognized by the central government. But Sikkim, also in east India, has four official languages of which only Nepali is recognized by the central government. Besides the languages officially recognized by central or state governments, there are other languages which don’t have this recognition and their speakers are running political struggles to get this recognition. Central government decided that Hindi was to be the official language of India and therefore it also has the status of official language in the states.
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