138-488: Mutty Lall Seal (also written as Mutty Loll Seal , Mati Lall Seal , or Motilal Seal ) (1792 – 20 May 1854) was a businessman and philanthropist from India . Seal began his life as a bottle and cork dealer and became very wealthy. He donated large sums of his wealth to charity and education. Seal and Ramdulal Sarkar , another shipping magnate , became part of the Bengali folklore as great merchant princes. Mutty Lall Seal
276-619: A "Look East" policy that seeks to strengthen partnerships with the ASEAN nations, Japan , and South Korea that revolve around many issues, but especially those involving economic investment and regional security. China's 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. India conducted its first nuclear weapons test in 1974 and carried out additional underground testing in 1998. Despite criticism and military sanctions, India has signed neither
414-519: A 1988 coup d'état attempt in the Maldives. After the 1965 war with Pakistan, India began to pursue close military and economic ties with the Soviet Union ; by the late 1960s, the Soviet Union was its largest arms supplier. Aside from its ongoing special relationship with Russia , India has wide-ranging defence relations with Israel and France . In recent years, it has played key roles in
552-722: A multi-party system , India has six recognised national parties , including the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and more than 50 regional parties . The Congress is considered center in Indian political culture , and the BJP right-wing . For most of the period between 1950—when India first became a republic—and the late 1980s, the Congress held
690-539: A Mr. Hudson, one of the most extensive importers of beer in those days. Hudson traded in cowhides and was the founder and promoter of the first indigo market, which was established under the name of M/s. Moore, Hickey & Co. English merchants hired Seal for his sound judgement on indigo, silk, sugar, rice, saltpeter, and other goods. He was appointed as "Banian" to around twenty first class agency houses out of around fifty or sixty such houses in Calcutta. Later he became
828-427: A comparatively destitute country in 1951, India has become a fast-growing major economy and a hub for information technology services , with an expanding middle class. India has a space programme with several planned or completed extraterrestrial missions . Indian movies , music , and spiritual teachings play an increasing role in global culture. India has substantially reduced its rate of poverty , though at
966-564: A few hundred or a few thousand rupees panicked and the meeting ended. Pledged to his subscription, Seal carried out the promise of a national institution with his own independent efforts. On Wednesday, 1 March 1842, a gathering of respectable people took place at his house for the formal opening of the Mutty Lall Seal's Free College. Among those present were Sir Lawrence Peel, the Chief Justice, Sir John Peter Grant , Mr. Lyall,
1104-427: A landed property speculator and merchant, successively in partnership with Fergusson Brothers & Co., Oswald Seal & Co. and Tulloh & Co. In these three firms he was said to have lost some thirty Lakh of rupees . He was involved in exporting indigo, silk, sugar, rice, and saltpeter to Europe, and importing iron and cotton-piece goods from England. Seal acquired a number of cargo boats , which were then new to
1242-796: A long-lasting composite Hindu culture in south India. In the Punjab , Sikhism emerged, rejecting institutionalised religion. The Mughal Empire , in 1526, ushered in two centuries of relative peace, leaving a legacy of luminous architecture . Gradually expanding rule of the British East India Company followed, turning India into a colonial economy but also consolidating its sovereignty . British Crown rule began in 1858. The rights promised to Indians were granted slowly, but technological changes were introduced, and modern ideas of education and public life took root. A pioneering and influential nationalist movement emerged, which
1380-674: A majority in the Parliament . Since then, however, it has increasingly shared the political stage with the BJP, as well as with powerful regional parties which have often forced the creation of multi-party coalition governments at the center. In the Republic of India's first three general elections, in 1951 , 1957 , and 1962 , the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru -led Congress won easy victories. On Nehru's death in 1964, Lal Bahadur Shastri briefly became prime minister; he
1518-496: A perennial supply of water to the plain of West Bengal for irrigation and human & industry consumption. The river is navigable and a major transport system in the region with a large traffic flow. For a long time, the Calcutta Port was the biggest port of India. Although in the past its significance had gone down, recently it has reached the 3rd position in the list of Indian Ports. The modern container port of Haldia , on
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#17327800555701656-685: A quarter of a million local government bodies at city, town, block, district and village levels. In the 1950s, India strongly supported decolonisation in Africa and Asia and played a leading role in the Non-Aligned Movement . After initially cordial relations with neighbouring China, India went to war with China in 1962 and was widely thought to have been humiliated. This was followed by another military conflict in 1967 in which India successfully repelled Chinese attack. India has had tense relations with neighbouring Pakistan;
1794-399: A single generation through money-dealing, which includes lending, bill counting and other banking business. There was scarcely a speculation into which he did not enter, and for which he did not supply a portion of funds. From dealings in internal exchanges to contracts for station-building, for the erection of new bazaars, to the revival of transit companies, rare was an undertaking in which he
1932-431: A third of Indian plant species are endemic. India also contains four of the world's 34 biodiversity hotspots , or regions that display significant habitat loss in the presence of high endemism. According to official statistics, India's forest cover is 713,789 km (275,595 sq mi), which is 21.71% of the country's total land area. It can be subdivided further into broad categories of canopy density , or
2070-600: 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. The World Bank cautions that, for India to achieve its economic potential, it must continue to focus on public sector reform, transport infrastructure , agricultural and rural development, removal of labour regulations, education , energy security , and public health and nutrition. Hooghly River The Hooghly River (also spelled Hoogli or Hugli )
2208-528: Is a federation with a parliamentary system governed under the Constitution of India—the country's supreme legal document. It is a constitutional republic. Federalism in India defines the power distribution between the union and the states . The Constitution of India, which came into effect on 26 January 1950, originally stated India to be a " sovereign , democratic republic ;" this characterisation
2346-699: Is defined by regional kingdoms and cultural diversity. 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 ruler of the Deccan. When his successor attempted to expand eastwards, he was defeated by the Pala king of Bengal . When the Chalukyas attempted to expand southwards, they were defeated by
2484-470: Is expected to remain so in the near future. According to a 2011 PricewaterhouseCoopers ( PwC ) report, India's GDP at purchasing power parity could overtake that of the United States by 2045. 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. The report highlights key growth factors:
2622-581: Is generally known as the Bhāgirathi, until it reaches Hooghly. The word Bhāgirathi literally means "caused by Bhagiratha ", a Hindu mythological Solar dynasty prince who was instrumental in bringing the river Ganges from heaven to the earth, in order to release his 60,000 grand-uncles from a curse of the saint Kapila . In 1974, the Farakka Barrage began diverting water into the Hooghly during
2760-624: Is indicated by the large number of megalithic monuments dating from this period, as well as by nearby traces of agriculture , irrigation tanks , and craft traditions. 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 . The emerging urbanisation gave rise to non-Vedic religious movements, two of which became independent religions. Jainism came into prominence during
2898-713: Is named after him as Moti Sil Street. India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia . It is the seventh-largest country in the world by area and the most populous country . 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; China , Nepal , and Bhutan to
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#17327800555703036-599: Is supported among these forests, and elsewhere, in protected habitats . According to the Oxford English Dictionary (third edition 2009), the name "India" is derived from the Classical Latin India , a reference to South Asia and an uncertain region to its east. In turn the name "India" derived successively from Hellenistic Greek India ( Ἰνδία ), ancient Greek Indos ( Ἰνδός ), Old Persian Hindush (an eastern province of
3174-744: Is the westernmost distributary of the Ganges , situated in West Bengal , India. It is known in its upper reaches as the Bhagirathi . The Bhagirathi splits off from the main branch of the Ganges at Giria . A short distance west, it meets the man-made Farakka Feeder Canal , which massively increases its flow. The river then flows south to join the Jalangi at Nabadwip , where it becomes the Hooghly proper. The Hooghly continues southwards, passing through
3312-722: The Achaemenid Empire ), and ultimately its cognate , the Sanskrit Sindhu , or "river", specifically the Indus River and, by implication, its well-settled southern basin. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi ( Ἰνδοί ), which translates as "The people of the Indus". The term Bharat ( Bhārat ; pronounced [ˈbʱaːɾət] ), mentioned in both Indian epic poetry and
3450-573: The Arabian Sea . 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. India has two archipelagos : the Lakshadweep , coral atolls off India's south-western coast; and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a volcanic chain in the Andaman Sea . Indian climate is strongly influenced by
3588-506: The Asiatic cheetah ; the blackbuck, no longer extant in Punjab, is now severely endangered in India, and the cheetah is extinct. The pervasive and ecologically devastating human encroachment of recent decades has critically endangered Indian wildlife. In response, the system of national parks and protected areas , first established in 1935, was expanded substantially. In 1972, India enacted
3726-547: The Bay of Bengal through an estuary about 20 mi (32 km) wide. Ain-i-Akbari , a book by Abu'l-Fazl , describes that the river Ganga and river Sarwasati (Sarsuti) streams of lower Bengal had different flows. According to the footnotes of this book, the colour of the water of the Sarawasati was white, the colour of another stream named Jamuna was blue, and the colour of the Ganga was muddy and yellowish. From Kolkata
3864-615: The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty nor the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty , considering both to be flawed and discriminatory. India maintains a " no first use " nuclear policy and is developing a nuclear triad capability as a part of its " Minimum Credible Deterrence " doctrine. It is developing a ballistic missile defence shield and, a fifth-generation fighter jet . Other indigenous military projects involve
4002-475: The Constitution of India , is used in its variations by many Indian languages . A modern rendering of the historical name Bharatavarsha , which applied originally to North India , Bharat gained increased currency from the mid-19th century as a native name for India. Hindustan ( [ɦɪndʊˈstaːn] ) is a Middle Persian name for India that became popular by the 13th century, and
4140-634: The Ganges and the Brahmaputra . According to some current projections, the number and severity of droughts in India will have markedly increased by the end of the present century. India is a megadiverse country , a term employed for 17 countries that display high biological diversity and contain many species exclusively indigenous , or endemic , to them. India is the habitat for 8.6% of all mammals , 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. Fully
4278-586: The Himalayas . Immediately south of the emerging Himalayas, plate movement created a vast crescent-shaped trough that rapidly filled with river-borne sediment and now constitutes the Indo-Gangetic Plain . The original Indian plate makes its first appearance above the sediment in the ancient Aravalli range , which extends from the Delhi Ridge in a southwesterly direction. To the west lies
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4416-508: The Hindu community was alarmed, owing to several conversions to Christianity taking place among the boys at missionary schools offering free education. (Seal himself did partnership with Fergusson Brothers, they did not ask him to convert to Christianity to do business. Education was not provided for converting to Christianity, many of the people educated outside India at the time were Christians, including Mahatma Gandhi .) To counter this, there
4554-548: 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. Although the rebellion was suppressed by 1858, it led to the dissolution of the East India Company and
4692-613: The Indus Valley Civilisation , the first urban culture in South Asia, which flourished during 2500–1900 BCE in Pakistan and western India. 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. During the period 2000–500 BCE , many regions of
4830-792: The National Ganga River Basin Project Scheme . Rudyard Kipling wrote an article, On the Banks of the Hugli (1888), and a short story set on the Hooghli, An Unqualified Pilot (1895). The Silk River project aims at exploring the artistic relationship between Kolkata and London through artistic exchange from 10 locations each along the Hooghly River and the River Thames . The 10 places along
4968-668: The Pallavas from farther south, who in turn were opposed by the Pandyas and the Cholas from still farther south. No ruler of this period was able to create an empire and consistently control lands much beyond their core region. 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. The caste system consequently began to show regional differences. In
5106-557: The South Asia Satellite , a gift from India to its neighbouring SAARC countries. In October 2018, India signed a US$ 5.43 billion (over ₹ 400 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. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Indian economy in 2024
5244-735: The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and the World Trade Organization . The nation has provided 100,000 military and police personnel to serve in 35 UN peacekeeping operations across four continents. It participates in the East Asia Summit , the G8+5 , and other multilateral forums. India has close economic ties with countries in South America , Asia, and Africa; it pursues
5382-748: The Thar Desert , the eastern spread of which is checked by the Aravallis. The remaining Indian Plate survives as peninsular India , the oldest and geologically most stable part of India. It extends as far north as the Satpura and 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
5520-739: The United Kingdom , and Canada . The President of India is the supreme commander of the nation's armed forces; with 1.45 million active troops, they compose the world's second-largest military . It comprises the Indian Army , the Indian Navy , the Indian Air Force , and the Indian Coast Guard . The official Indian defence budget for 2011 was US$ 36.03 billion, or 1.83% of GDP. Defence expenditure
5658-717: The Wildlife Protection Act and Project Tiger to safeguard crucial wilderness; the Forest Conservation Act was enacted in 1980 and amendments added in 1988. India hosts more than five hundred wildlife sanctuaries and eighteen biosphere reserves , four of which are part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves ; seventy-five wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention . A parliamentary republic with
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5796-441: The 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. In the decades following, public life gradually emerged all over India, leading eventually to the founding of the Indian National Congress in 1885. The rush of technology and
5934-405: The temperate coniferous forest of the Himalayas , the moist deciduous sal forest of eastern India, and the dry deciduous teak forest of central and southern India. Open forest , whose canopy density is between 10% and 40%, occupies 9.26% of India's land area. India has two natural zones of thorn forest , one in the Deccan Plateau , immediately east of the Western Ghats, and the other in
6072-400: The 10th century, Muslim Central Asian nomadic clans, using 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. The sultanate was to control much of North India and to make many forays into South India. Although at first disruptive for
6210-526: The 17th century was a factor in India's economic expansion, resulting in greater patronage of painting , literary forms, textiles, and architecture . Newly coherent social groups in northern and western India, such as the Marathas , the Rajputs , and the Sikhs , gained military and governing ambitions during Mughal rule, which, through collaboration or adversity, gave them both recognition and military experience. Expanding commerce during Mughal rule gave rise to new Indian commercial and political elites along
6348-653: The 1820s. 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. By this time, with its economic power severely curtailed by the British parliament and having effectively been made an arm of British administration, the East India Company began more consciously to enter non-economic arenas, including education, social reform, and culture. Historians consider India's modern age to have begun sometime between 1848 and 1885. The appointment in 1848 of Lord Dalhousie as Governor General of
6486-596: The 1980s and the collaboration with Soviet Union for technical know-how, has created a large urban middle class, transformed India into one of the world's fastest-growing economies , and increased its geopolitical clout. Yet, India is also shaped by seemingly unyielding poverty, both rural and urban; by religious and caste-related violence ; by Maoist-inspired Naxalite insurgencies ; and by separatism in Jammu and Kashmir and in Northeast India . It has unresolved territorial disputes with China and with Pakistan . India's sustained democratic freedoms are unique among
6624-473: The 3rd century BCE, the kingdom of Magadha had annexed or reduced other states to emerge as the Maurya Empire . 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. 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
6762-633: The 4th and 5th centuries, the Gupta Empire had created a complex system of administration and taxation in the greater Ganges Plain; this system became a model for later Indian kingdoms. Under the Guptas, a renewed Hinduism based on devotion, rather than the management of ritual, began to assert itself. This renewal was reflected in a flowering of sculpture and architecture , which found patrons among an urban elite. Classical Sanskrit literature flowered as well, and Indian science , astronomy , medicine , and mathematics made significant advances. The Indian early medieval age, from 600 to 1200 CE ,
6900-493: The 6th and 7th centuries, the first devotional hymns were created in the Tamil language. They were imitated all over India and led to both the resurgence of Hinduism and the development of all modern languages of the subcontinent . 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. Temple towns of various sizes began to appear everywhere as India underwent another urbanisation. By
7038-521: The 8th and 9th centuries, the effects were felt in Southeast Asia, as South Indian culture and political systems were exported to lands that became part of modern-day Myanmar , Thailand , Laos , Brunei , Cambodia , Vietnam , Philippines , Malaysia , and Indonesia . Indian merchants, scholars, and sometimes armies were involved in this transmission; Southeast Asians took the initiative as well, with many sojourning in Indian seminaries and translating Buddhist and Hindu texts into their languages. After
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#17327800555707176-431: The Advocate-General, Mr. Leith, and the other principal members of the Calcutta Bar, Captain Birch, Superintendent of the Police, George Thompson, Right Reverend Dr. Carew, Baboo Dwarkanath Tagore , Baboo Ramkamal Sen , Baboo Russomoy Dutt and Revd. Krishna Mohan Banerjee . The Catholic Bishop and all the clergy of the Catholic Cathedral, as well as all the Professors of St. Xavier's College , were likewise present. Nearly
7314-433: The Andaman, Nicobar, and Lakshadweep island chains. According to the Indian naval hydrographic charts, the mainland coastline consists of the following: 43% sandy beaches; 11% rocky shores, including cliffs; and 46% mudflats or marshy shores. Major Himalayan-origin rivers that substantially flow through India include the Ganges and the Brahmaputra , both of which drain into the Bay of Bengal . Important tributaries of
7452-468: The BJP became the first political party since 1984 to win a majority and govern without the support of other parties. In the 2019 general election , the BJP was victorious again with majority. In the 2024 general election , the BJP failed to achieve majority and the BJP-led NDA coalition formed the government . Narendra Modi , a former chief minister of Gujarat , is serving as the 14th Prime Minister of India in his third term since May 26, 2014. India
7590-435: The BJP was able to form a successful coalition, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee , the NDA became the first non-Congress, coalition government to complete a five-year term. Again in the 2004 Indian general elections , 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
7728-498: The Buddha is recorded in the Pali canon to have sought enlightenment. Many Indian species have descended from those of Gondwana , the southern supercontinent from which India separated more than 100 million years ago. India's subsequent collision with Eurasia set off a mass exchange of species. However, volcanism and climatic changes later caused the extinction of many endemic Indian forms. Still later, mammals entered India from Asia through two zoogeographic passes flanking
7866-436: The Buddhist dhamma . The Sangam literature of the Tamil language reveals that, between 200 BCE and 200 CE , the southern peninsula was ruled by the Cheras , the Cholas , and the Pandyas , dynasties that traded extensively with the Roman Empire and with West and Southeast Asia . In North India, Hinduism asserted patriarchal control within the family, leading to increased subordination of women. By
8004-627: 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 coalition, led by the newly formed Janata Dal in alliance with the Left Front , won the elections; that government too proved relatively short-lived, lasting just under two years. There were two prime ministers during this period; V.P. Singh and Chandra Shekhar . Elections were held again in 1991 ; no party won an absolute majority. The Congress, as
8142-424: 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 . However, disaffection with the company also grew during this time and set off
8280-418: The Ganges include the Yamuna and the Kosi ; the latter's extremely low gradient, caused by long-term silt deposition, leads to severe floods and course changes. Major peninsular rivers, whose steeper gradients prevent their waters from flooding, include the Godavari , the Mahanadi , the Kaveri , and the Krishna , which also drain into the Bay of Bengal; and the Narmada and the Tapti , which drain into
8418-438: The Himalayas and the Thar Desert, both of which drive the economically and culturally pivotal summer and winter monsoons . The Himalayas prevent cold Central Asian katabatic winds from blowing in, keeping the bulk of the Indian subcontinent warmer than most locations at similar latitudes. The Thar Desert plays a crucial role in attracting the moisture-laden south-west summer monsoon winds that, between June and October, provide
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#17327800555708556-399: The Himalayas. 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. Among endemics are the vulnerable hooded leaf monkey and the threatened Beddome's toad of the Western Ghats. India contains 172 IUCN -designated threatened animal species , or 2.9% of endangered forms. These include
8694-721: The Hooghly River are Murshidabad , Krishnagar , Chandernagore , Barrackpore , Jorasanko , Bowbazar , Howrah , Kidderpore , Botanical Gardens and Batanagar . Ten scrolls, painted in the Patua tradition, depicting the 10 places will be carried along the Hooghly River. The event began at Murshidabad on 7 December 2017 and ended at the Victoria Memorial , Kolkata on 17 December. 1. Gautam Kumar Das. 2024. River Systems of West Bengal: Water Quality and Environment. In: River Systems of West Bengal. Springer Water. Springer, Cham. 180p. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-53480-5-1 . https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-53480-5 . 2. Gautam Kumar Das. 2015. Estuarine Morphodynamics of
8832-425: The Hooghly River :- The Bhāgirathi-Hooghly river system is an essential lifeline for the people of West Bengal. It was through this river that the East India company sailed into Bengal and established their trade settlement, Calcutta, the capital of British India. People from other countries such as the French, Dutch, Portuguese, etc. all had their trade settlements by the banks of this river. The river provides
8970-401: The Indian elites, the sultanate largely left its vast non-Muslim subject population to its own laws and customs. By repeatedly repulsing 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 migration of fleeing soldiers, learned men, mystics, traders, artists, and artisans from that region into
9108-408: The Mughals united their far-flung realms through loyalty, expressed through a Persianised culture, to an emperor who had near-divine status. The Mughal state's economic policies, deriving most revenues from agriculture and mandating that taxes be paid in the well-regulated silver currency, caused peasants and artisans to enter larger markets. The relative peace maintained by the empire during much of
9246-547: The Surtir Bagan neighbourhood of Kolkata. Seal accompanied his father-in-law on a pilgrimage to northern and western India, and was said to be greatly enlightened by his spiritual experience on the journey. Around 1815, he started working at Fort William , and eventually, the bastion of British power. While working at Fort William, he was involved in the supply of essential commodities to the British army. Later, he worked as an inspector for Indian Customs at Balikhal . Seal started his business career by selling bottles and corks to
9384-414: The advancing tide, hemmed in where the estuary narrows suddenly into the river, and often exceeds 7 ft (2.1 m) in height. It is felt as high up as Naihati 35 km upstream of Calcutta , and frequently destroys small boats. A tidal bore which overcame the banks of the river in 1876 was reported to have killed up to a hundred thousand people. The difference from the lowest point of low-water in
9522-429: The advent of independence in 1947, but tempered by the partition of India into two states: India and Pakistan. 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. Per the London Declaration , India retained its membership of the Commonwealth , becoming the first republic within it. Economic liberalisation, which began in
9660-512: The agricultural sector 18.1%. India's foreign exchange remittances of US$ 100 billion in 2022, highest in the world, were contributed to its economy by 32 million Indians working in foreign countries. Major agricultural products include rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, and potatoes. Major industries include textiles, telecommunications, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, food processing, steel, transport equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, and software. In 2006,
9798-408: The assistance of Dutch traders, who also set up a toll point on the Hooghly river. So the present reach of the Hooghly is the lower part of the historical Saraswati. Kolkata the capital of West Bengal is located on the banks of the Hoogly river. The tide runs rapidly on the Hooghly, and produces a remarkable example of the fluvial phenomenon known as a tidal bore . This consists of the head-wave of
9936-498: The banking sector, 44th in business sophistication, and 39th in innovation, ahead of several advanced economies. With seven of the world's top 15 information technology outsourcing companies based in India, as of 2009 , the country is viewed as the second-most favourable outsourcing destination after the United States. India is ranked 39th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024. As of 2023 , India's consumer market
10074-663: The beginnings of a nonviolent movement of non-co-operation, of which Mahatma Gandhi would become the leader and enduring symbol. During the 1930s, slow legislative reform was enacted by the British; the Indian National Congress won victories in the resulting elections. The next decade was beset with crises: Indian participation in World War ;II , the Congress's final push for non-co-operation, and an upsurge of Muslim nationalism . All were capped by
10212-432: The border between Nadia District and Hooghly District , and then further south between Hooghly District and North 24 Parganas District . It flows past Halisahar , Chinsurah , Naihati , Bhatpara , Konnagar , Serampore , and Kamarhati . Then, just before entering the twin cities of Kolkata (Calcutta) and Howrah , it turns to the southwest. At Nurpur it enters an old channel of the Ganges, and turns south to empty into
10350-526: The canal ends and joins the Bhagirathi River. The Bhagirathi then flows south past Jiaganj Azimganj , Murshidabad and Baharampur . South of Baharampur and north of Palashi it used to form the border between Bardhaman District and Nadia District , but while the border has remained the same the river is now often east or west of its former bed. The river then flows south past Katwa , Nabadwip , Kalna and Jirat . At Kalna it originally formed
10488-534: The cause of women's education as well as remarriage of widows. He made a public offer for a dowry of 1000 rupees to the person who should have the courage to break through the prejudices of caste and marry a widow. When Seal died on 20 May 1854, his obituary in the Hindu Intelligence described him as the "richest and most virtuous Babu of Calcutta." One of the busy streets in Kolkata's business district
10626-495: The coasts of southern and eastern India. As the empire disintegrated, many among these elites were able to seek and control their own affairs. 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. The East India Company's control of
10764-452: The commercialisation of agriculture in the second half of the 19th century was marked by economic setbacks, and many small farmers became dependent on the whims of far-away markets. There was an increase in the number of large-scale famines , and, despite the risks of infrastructure development borne by Indian taxpayers, little industrial employment was generated for Indians. There were also salutary effects: commercial cropping, especially in
10902-506: The conductors had pledged themselves to withhold all Christian instruction from the pupils. However, later Seal dissolved the connection between his college and the Jesuits over a dispute that in violation of their pledge, so viands were distributed among the Hindu boys contrary to their religious sentiments. The institute was then placed under Revd. Krishna Mohan Banerjee . A sum of Rs. 12,000
11040-625: The contribution of petrochemical and engineering goods to total exports grew from 14% to 42%. India was the world's second-largest textile exporter after China in the 2013 calendar year. Averaging an economic growth rate of 7.5% for several years prior to 2007, India has more than doubled its hourly wage rates during the first decade of the 21st century. Some 431 million Indians have left poverty since 1985; India's middle classes are projected to number around 580 million by 2030. Though ranking 68th in global competitiveness , as of 2010 , India ranks 17th in financial market sophistication, 24th in
11178-630: The cost of increasing economic inequality. India is a nuclear-weapon state , which ranks high in military expenditure . It has disputes over Kashmir with its neighbours, Pakistan and China, unresolved since the mid-20th century. Among the socio-economic challenges India faces are gender inequality , child malnutrition , and rising levels of air pollution . India's land is megadiverse , with four biodiversity hotspots . Its forest cover comprises 21.7% of its area. India's wildlife , which has traditionally been viewed with tolerance in India's culture ,
11316-581: The design and implementation of Vikrant -class aircraft carriers and Arihant -class nuclear submarines . Since the end of the Cold War , India has increased its economic, strategic, and military co-operation with the United States and the European Union . In 2008, a civilian nuclear agreement was signed between India and the United States. Although India possessed nuclear weapons at
11454-571: The dry season so as to reduce the silting difficulties at Kolkata's port. Like the rest of the Ganges, the Bhāgirathi-Hooghly is considered sacred to Hindus , and its water is considered holy. The following bridges currently span the Hooghly River; listed from south to north until the Farakka Feeder Canal meets the river: The following bridges are under various stages of development: The following tunnels are situated under
11592-457: The dry season to the highest point of high-water in the rains is reported to be 20 ft 10 in (6.35 m). The greatest mean rise of tide, about 16 ft (4.9 m), takes place in March, April or May - with a declining range during the rainy season to a mean of 10 ft (3.0 m), and a minimum during freshets of 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m). In its upper reaches the river
11730-507: The early 16th century, northern India, then under mainly Muslim rulers, fell again to the superior mobility and firepower of a new generation of Central Asian warriors. 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 and diverse and inclusive ruling elites, leading to more systematic, centralised, and uniform rule. Eschewing tribal bonds and Islamic identity, especially under Akbar ,
11868-536: The early mediaeval era, Christianity , Islam , Judaism , and Zoroastrianism became established on India's southern and western coasts. Muslim armies from Central Asia intermittently overran India's northern plains, eventually founding the Delhi Sultanate and drawing northern India into the cosmopolitan networks of mediaeval Islam . In the 15th century, the Vijayanagara Empire created
12006-727: The east. To the south, the remaining peninsular landmass, the Deccan Plateau , is flanked on the west and east by coastal ranges known as the Western and Eastern Ghats ; 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 and 68° 7′ and 97° 25′ east longitude. India's coastline measures 7,517 kilometres (4,700 mi) in length; of this distance, 5,423 kilometres (3,400 mi) belong to peninsular India and 2,094 kilometres (1,300 mi) to
12144-565: The endangered Bengal tiger and the 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. Before they were extensively used for agriculture and cleared for human settlement, the thorn forests of Punjab were mingled at intervals with open grasslands that were grazed by large herds of blackbuck preyed on by
12282-400: The intersection of lower Hooghly and Haldi River, now carries much of the region's maritime trade. One new port will be built in the deep sea to reduce the load on Calcutta port. Despite the river being polluted, the fish from it are important to the local economy. The Hooghly river valley was the most important industrial area of the state of Bengal. Despite a decline of the jute industry ,
12420-494: The largest single party, was able to form a minority government led by P. V. Narasimha Rao . 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 coalitions, which depended on external support. There were two prime ministers during this period; H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral . In 1998 ,
12558-478: The life of its exemplar, Mahavira . 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. In an age of increasing urban wealth, both religions held up renunciation as an ideal, and both established long-lasting monastic traditions. Politically, by
12696-526: The loose-knit Maurya and Gupta Empires based in the Ganges Basin . Their collective era was suffused with wide-ranging creativity, but also marked by the declining status of women, and the incorporation of untouchability into an organised system of belief. In South India , the Middle kingdoms exported Dravidian-languages scripts and religious cultures to the kingdoms of Southeast Asia . In
12834-542: The main flow of the Hooghly-Bhagirathi (or Ganga) used to run along the side of the Kalighat temple, Baruipur , Jaynagar Majilpur , Chhatrabhog and Hatiagarh. At that time, between Khiderpore and Sankrail no flow existed. Presently, the stream between Khiderpore and Sankrail became known as KatiGanga . A channel had been dug at the time of Alibardi Khan in the middle of the 18th century. This happened with
12972-471: The majority of India's rainfall. Four major climatic groupings predominate in India: tropical wet , tropical dry , subtropical humid , and montane . Temperatures in India have risen by 0.7 °C (1.3 °F) between 1901 and 2018. Climate change in India is often thought to be the cause. The retreat of Himalayan glaciers has adversely affected the flow rate of the major Himalayan rivers, including
13110-464: The market, and used old flour mills to ship tons of biscuits to Australia for the first emigrants to its newly discovered gold fields. Later, he put up a mill to refine sugar on the centrifugal principle. The first to use steamships for internal trade in Calcutta , he prospered in competition with Europeans. He owned around thirteen trade ships including a steam tug named Banian . He made a fortune in
13248-493: The metropolis of Kolkata . Thereafter, it empties into the Bay of Bengal . Its tributaries include the Ajay , Damodar , Rupnarayan , and Haldi . The Hooghly has religious significance as Hindus consider the river sacred. It also plays a major role in the agriculture, industry, and climate of the state. The vast majority of the water that flows into the Hooghly River is provided by the man-made Farakka Feeder Canal rather than
13386-420: The nation to liberalise its economy ; since then, it has moved increasingly towards a free-market system by emphasising both foreign trade and direct investment inflows. India has been a member of World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995. The 522-million-worker Indian labour force is the world's second largest , as of 2017 . The service sector makes up 55.6% of GDP, the industrial sector 26.3% and
13524-478: The natural source of the river at Giria. The Farakka Barrage is a dam that diverts water from the Ganges into the Farakka Feeder Canal near the town of Tildanga in Murshidabad district , located 40 km upstream from Giria. This supplies the Hooghly with water as per the agreement between India and Bangladesh. The feeder canal runs parallel to the Ganges, past Dhulian , until just above Jahangirpur where
13662-445: The newly canalled Punjab, led to increased food production for internal consumption. The railway network provided critical famine relief, notably reduced the cost of moving goods, and helped nascent Indian-owned industry. After World War I , in which approximately one million Indians served , a new period began. It was marked by British reforms but also repressive legislation , by more strident Indian calls for self-rule, and by
13800-547: 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 , Myanmar, and Indonesia . Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago. Their long occupation, initially in varying forms of isolation as hunter-gatherers, has made
13938-682: The northwest. Its evidence today is found in the hymns of the Rigveda . Preserved by an oral tradition that was resolutely vigilant , the Rigveda records the dawning of Hinduism in India. The Dravidian languages of India were supplanted in the northern and western regions. By 400 BCE , stratification and exclusion by caste had emerged within Hinduism, and Buddhism and Jainism had arisen, proclaiming social orders unlinked to heredity. Early political consolidations gave rise to
14076-557: The poor and underprivileged. He extended financial support and co-operation for the establishment of the Hindu Charitable Institution and Hindu Metropolitan College. Seal's Free School, Hindu Metropolitan College and some of the other institutions of the time were calculated to offset the 'ill effects' of the liberal education offered at the Hindu College . When he was alive, the native society of Kolkata
14214-527: The prime industry of this region, it is still one of the biggest industrial areas of India. It has a number of small cities which form the Greater Kolkata agglomeration , the second biggest Indian city and the former capital. In September 2015, the Government of West Bengal announced that renovation of the Hooghly riverfront in Kolkata will be completed with the help of World Bank funding under
14352-546: The proportion of the area of a forest covered by its tree canopy . Very dense forest , whose canopy density is greater than 70%, occupies 3.02% of India's land area. It predominates in the tropical moist forest of the Andaman Islands , the Western Ghats , and Northeast India . Moderately dense forest , whose canopy density is between 40% and 70%, occupies 9.39% of India's land area. It predominates in
14490-451: The public are contained in a deed of trust; by which he donated a considerable portion of his property (amounting to several Lakh of rupees) for the good of the public. A net yearly income of Rs. 36,000 derived from those properties were spent for various charitable purposes. Apart from running and maintaining the college, about Rs. 4,000 was spent on helping poor widows and orphans every year and for running and maintaining two alms houses for
14628-450: The region highly diverse, second only to Africa in human genetic diversity . 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. By at least 1200 BCE , an archaic form of Sanskrit , an Indo-European language , had diffused into India from
14766-548: The seas, greater resources, and more advanced military training and technology led it to increasingly assert its military strength 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. 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
14904-463: The share of external trade in India's GDP stood at 24%, up from 6% in 1985. In 2008, India's share of world trade was 1.7%; In 2021, India was the world's ninth-largest importer and the sixteenth-largest exporter . Major exports include petroleum products, textile goods, jewellery, software, engineering goods, chemicals, and manufactured leather goods. Major imports include crude oil, machinery, gems, fertiliser, and chemicals. Between 2001 and 2011,
15042-576: The southern supercontinent Gondwana , began a north-eastward drift caused by seafloor spreading to its south-west, and later, south and south-east. Simultaneously, the vast Tethyan oceanic crust , to its northeast, began to subduct under the Eurasian Plate . These dual processes, driven by convection in the Earth's mantle , both created the Indian Ocean and caused the Indian continental crust eventually to under-thrust Eurasia and to uplift
15180-416: The subcontinent from the north-west. The caste system , which created a hierarchy of priests, warriors, and free peasants, but which excluded indigenous peoples by labelling their occupations impure, arose during this period. On the Deccan Plateau , archaeological evidence from this period suggests the existence of a chiefdom stage of political organisation. In South India , a progression to sedentary life
15318-526: The subcontinent transitioned from the Chalcolithic cultures to the Iron Age ones. The Vedas , the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism , were composed during this period, and historians have analysed these to posit a Vedic culture in the Punjab region and the upper Gangetic Plain . Most historians also consider this period to have encompassed several waves of Indo-Aryan migration into
15456-441: The subcontinent, thereby creating a syncretic Indo-Islamic culture in the north. The sultanate's raiding and weakening of the regional kingdoms of South India paved the way for the indigenous Vijayanagara Empire . Embracing a strong Shaivite tradition and building upon the military technology of the sultanate, the empire came to control much of peninsular India, and was to influence South Indian society for long afterwards. In
15594-414: The support of left-leaning parties and MPs who opposed the BJP. The UPA returned to power in the 2009 general election with increased numbers, and it no longer required external support from India's communist parties . That year, Manmohan Singh became the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru in 1957 and 1962 to be re-elected to a consecutive five-year term. In the 2014 general election ,
15732-492: The surplus being expended towards furnishing the school with mathematical instruments. The number of students receiving education at one time was to be limited to 500. The institute was initially under the management of the Directors of the parent college of St. F. Xavier , Chowringhee, Calcutta, who furnished teachers to further the cause of secular education . Although Jesuits had the responsibility of imparting education,
15870-677: 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. India subsequently signed co-operation agreements involving civilian nuclear energy with Russia, France,
16008-508: The time was valued at Rs. 12,000, to the then British Government on which the Calcutta Medical College was built. The Government of Bengal recognized his liberality by naming a ward in his honor, The Mutty Lall Seal Ward , for native male patients. Seal subsequently supplemented this gift by a donation of a lac of rupees for the establishment of a female (lying in) hospital which started functioning in 1838. In those days,
16146-518: The two nations have gone to war four times: in 1947 , 1965 , 1971 , and 1999 . Three of these wars were fought over the disputed territory of Kashmir , while the third, the 1971 war, followed from India's support for the independence of Bangladesh . In the late 1980s, the Indian military twice intervened abroad at the invitation of the host country: a peace-keeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990; and an armed intervention to prevent
16284-639: The union territories of Jammu and Kashmir , Puducherry and the National Capital Territory of Delhi , have elected legislatures and governments following the Westminster system of governance. The remaining five union territories are directly ruled by the central government through appointed administrators. In 1956, under the States Reorganisation Act , states were reorganised on a linguistic basis. There are over
16422-495: The western part of the Indo-Gangetic plain, now turned into rich agricultural land by irrigation, its features no longer visible. Among the Indian subcontinent's notable indigenous trees are the astringent Azadirachta indica , or neem , which is widely used in rural Indian herbal medicine , and the luxuriant Ficus religiosa , or peepul , which is displayed on the ancient seals of Mohenjo-daro , and under which
16560-552: The whole of the dissenting ministers and missionaries of Calcutta and its neighbourhood also attended. There were eloquent speeches in testimony to his noble generosity and liberal mindset with George Thompson complimenting him as "a Hindu gentleman, who had nobly resolved to consecrate a large portion of the substances he had acquired by honorable exertion, to the intellectual improvement of the youth of his own nation to transmute his money into mind" . Mutty Lall Seal's Free College (later renamed Mutty Lall Seal's Free School and College)
16698-444: The world in nominal per capita income and 125th in per capita income adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP)—the vast majority of Indians fall into the low-income group. Until 1991, all Indian governments followed protectionist policies that were influenced by socialist economics. Widespread state intervention and regulation largely walled the economy off from the outside world. An acute balance of payments crisis in 1991 forced
16836-437: The world's most populous democracy since the time of its independence in 1947. It is a pluralistic , multilingual and multi-ethnic society . India's nominal per capita income increased from US$ 64 annually in 1951 to US$ 2,601 in 2022, and its literacy rate from 16.6% to 74%. During the same time, its population grew from 361 million to almost 1.4 billion, and India became the most populous country in 2023. From being
16974-537: 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. India accounts for the bulk of the Indian subcontinent, lying atop the Indian tectonic plate , a part of the Indo-Australian Plate . India's defining geological processes began 75 million years ago when the Indian Plate, then part of
17112-457: Was amended in 1971 to "a sovereign, socialist , secular , democratic republic". India's form of government, traditionally described as "quasi-federal" with a strong centre and weak states, has grown increasingly federal since the late 1990s as a result of political, economic, and social changes. The Government of India comprises three branches: India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories . All states, as well as
17250-554: Was an anti-missionary movement led by the rich and influential Babu of Calcutta for a free national school of their own. One afternoon they all assembled in a meeting presided over by Raja Radha Kanta Deb at the Oriental Seminary . Many speeches were made and resolutions adopted, but donations recorded in the subscription book were scant. When the book passed to the hand of Seal, he immediately put down his name for one Lakh of rupees. Others who had estimated contributing
17388-599: Was born in 1792, in a Bengali Hindu family situated in Calcutta (now Kolkata). His father Chaitanya Charan Seal, a cloth merchant , died when Seal was five years old. His early education began in a pathshala (Indian rural school) which continued onto the Martin Bowl English School and the Baboo Nityananda Sen High School. In 1809, at the age of seventeen, he married Nagri Dassee, the daughter of Mohan Chand Dey from
17526-425: Was divided into two parts. One was the reformist section led by Raja Rammohun Roy and the other was the conservative section led by Radha Kanta Deb . Most of the rich people of Kolkata were in the latter group. Deb strongly opposed both the move to ban sati and efforts for remarriage of widows, many of whom were child-widows. Although Seal was a conservative, he was in favor of Roy's efforts of banning sati, supported
17664-426: Was nominally worth $ 3.94 trillion; it was the fifth-largest economy by market exchange rates and is, at around $ 15.0 trillion, the third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). With its average annual GDP growth rate of 5.8% over the past two decades, and reaching 6.1% during 2011–2012, India is one of the world's fastest-growing economies . However, due to its low GDP per capita—which ranks 136th in
17802-560: Was not an important, though quiet, shareholder. He funded every promising enterprise he found and made profits in the shape of interest. At one point he was in complete control over the market dealing in company papers. Seal was one of the founders of Assam Company Ltd. Under his influence, the European-created Oriental Life Insurance Company (later reconstructed as New Oriental Insurance Company in 1834) began to underwrite Indian lives, which
17940-516: Was noted for nonviolent resistance and became the major factor in ending British rule. In 1947, the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two independent dominions , a Hindu-majority dominion of India and a Muslim-majority dominion of Pakistan , amid large-scale loss of life and an unprecedented migration. India has been a federal republic since 1950, governed through a democratic parliamentary system , and has been
18078-528: Was pegged at US$ 70.12 billion for fiscal year 2022–23 and, increased 9.8% than previous fiscal year. India is the world's second-largest arms importer; between 2016 and 2020, it accounted for 9.5% of the total global arms imports. Much of the military expenditure was focused on defence against Pakistan and countering growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean. In May 2017, the Indian Space Research Organisation launched
18216-566: Was spent yearly for the upkeep of the college from his trust. The college stood in high estimation of the public and competed successfully with the Government and Missionary Colleges in the university examinations ( Suniti Kumar Chatterji and Swami Prabhupada were some students of the college). The college initially started functioning at Seal's house and was later shifted to the present building on Chittaranjan Avenue where it still exists. The other charities which have made his name known to
18354-532: Was succeeded, after his own unexpected death in 1966, by Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi , who went on to lead the Congress to election victories in 1967 and 1971 . Following public discontent with the 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. There were two prime ministers during this period; Morarji Desai and Charan Singh . Voted back into power in 1980,
18492-411: Was the world's fifth largest . Driven by growth, India's nominal GDP per capita increased steadily from US$ 308 in 1991, when economic liberalisation began, to US$ 1,380 in 2010, to an estimated US$ 2,731 in 2024. It is expected to grow to US$ 3,264 by 2026. However, it has remained lower than those of other Asian developing countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and
18630-568: Was the first life insurance company on Indian soil. He was among the founders of the Bank of India, and was on the board of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India. In time, he amassed as much wealth as Dwarkanath Tagore and Rustomjee Cowasjee. In 1878, Kishori Chand Mitra delivered a lecture on the life of Seal calling him the " Rothschild of Calcutta". Pandith Sivanath Sastri wrote: "He never adopted unfair means for earning money. He
18768-455: Was to provide for the education of Hindus to enable them to occupy posts of trust and emolument in their own country. This education included English literature , history, geography , elocution , writing, arithmetic , algebra , philosophical sciences, higher mathematics and the practical application of mathematics. The institution was opened free of cost, but only one rupee was charged per month to cover expenses such as books, stationery, and
18906-912: Was used widely since the era of the Mughal Empire . The meaning of Hindustan has varied, referring to a region encompassing the northern Indian subcontinent (present-day northern India and Pakistan ) or to India in its near entirety. 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. The earliest known modern human remains in South Asia date to about 30,000 years ago. 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 Balochistan, Pakistan . These gradually developed into
19044-466: Was well-behaved, polite and helpful to others." As a philanthropist, in 1841, Seal founded an alms house at Belgharia (in the suburbs of Calcutta) where 500 people were fed daily on average, and is still open to the poor. It has a bathing ghat which exists today on the bank of the Hooghly River known as Motilal Ghat . He was well known as the donor of an extensive tract of land, which at
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