Confidence and supply
156-714: Others (22) The Srinagar Municipal Corporation is the governing body responsible for the administration of the Indian city of Srinagar . The municipal corporation system in India was established during the British colonial period with the founding of the municipal corporation in Chennai in 1688, which was later followed by the establishment of municipal corporations in Mumbai and Kolkata by 1762. The Srinagar Municipal Corporation
312-619: 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
468-519: 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
624-417: 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 the cost of increasing economic inequality. India
780-722: 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
936-456: A tirthankara and merged with his four-fold congregation as a result. The Tirthankaras are believed in the Jain tradition to have attained omniscience, known as kevala jnana . After Mahavira , one of his disciples Sudharma Swami is said to have taken over the leadership. He was the head of Jain community till 600 BCE. After his death, Jambuswami , a disciple of Sudharma Svami became
1092-632: A 1925 publication by von Glasenapp, around the 8th century CE, Adi Shankara brought forward the doctrine of Advaita , and either converted Jain temples to Hindu ones or completely destroyed them. The traditions of Vaishnavism and Shaivism also began to emerge. This, states von Glasenapp, contributed to a decline of "Jaina church", particularly in South India. Shaivite poets like Sambandar , Appar (c. 7th century CE), Sundarar , and Manikkavacakar introduced Jains to Shaivism . Under these influences, Jain kings became Shaivite. Sambandar converted
1248-471: A Hindu thinker, preached a dualistic theology, which attracted many Jains to convert to Hinduism. The Jain and Hindu communities have often been very close and mutually accepting. Some Hindu temples have included a Jain Tirthankara within its premises in a place of honour. Similarly numerous temple complexes feature both Hindu and Jain monuments, with Badami cave temples and Khajuraho among some of
1404-605: A Jaina. She was a patron of art and built Jain temples. Bittideva's general and prime minister Gangaraja, states Tukol, was "a Jaina who under the guidance of his Guru Subhachandra did many acts of piety and religion to advance the cause of Jainism". Bittideva employed a female general who was a Jaina lady named Jakkiyabbe. His era saw temples being installed for all 24 Tirthankaras. The Vijayanagara Empire king Bukka Raya I , states von Glasenapp, ensured that both Vaishnava and Jaina traditions enjoyed same cultural and religious freedoms, and helped repair Jain temples. Anandatirtha ,
1560-451: A Nirgrantha heretic. According to Ashokavadana , as a result of this order, his own brother was mistaken for a heretic and killed by a cowherd. Ashoka realised his mistake, and withdrew the order and went back to following Jainism. The entire story may be apocryphal and fictitious as Ashoka himself contributed for the growth of Ajivikas sect by constructing four caves for Ajivakas at Barabar . Ashoka's grandson Samprati (c. 224–215 BCE),
1716-547: A debate, disagreement and then "coming to blows" between factions led by Mahavira and by Gosala. Jainism also flourished under the Nanda Empire (424–321 BCE). Both Ajivika and Jainism championed asceticism . This is the earliest documented schism between Mahavira and a likely disciple of his. While the Digambara sect completely denies his existence, Śvetāmbara canon and most historians believe Gosala to have had been
SECTION 10
#17327732635851872-683: A fruit of the contemplative life, visible here and now, Nigantha Nataputta answered with fourfold restraint." The Buddha disagreed with the Mahavira's concept of soul or self ( jiva ). Similarly, he found the Jain theory of karma and rebirths incompatible and inflexible with his own ideas for these. Beyond the times of the Mahavira and the Buddha, the two ascetic Sramana religions competed for followers, as well merchant trade networks that sustained them. Their mutual interaction, along with those of Hindu traditions have been significant, and in some cases
2028-465: A historical figure. Historians also speculate that the Digambara sect originated from Ājīvika and not Mahavira owing to their complete nudity which was also a characteristic of Ājīvika ascetics as described in canonical Jain scriptures and early Buddhist scriptures. The earliest archeological evidence is in the form of a naked headless torso discovered in 1937 near Patna (Bihar), which is called
2184-674: 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
2340-536: A pupil of Acharya Bhadrabahu, stayed in Magadha . When followers of Acharya Bhadrabahu returned, there was a dispute between them regarding the authenticity of the Jain Agamas . Also, those who stayed at Magadha started wearing white clothes, which was unacceptable to the others who remained naked. Digambara found this as being opposed to the Jain tenets, which, according to them, required complete nudity for
2496-685: 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;
2652-496: A series of debates and contests on philosophy due to a lack of canonical scriptures in the Digambara sect, and thereby converted a Jain Pandyan king, variously called " Koon Pandiyan " or "Sundara Pandyan" in the legend, to Shaivism. Subsequently, the king allegedly ordered the impalement of 8,000 Jains. This event is not mentioned in texts of Sambandar, nor any other Hindu or Jain texts for four centuries. After Nampi Antar's work,
2808-431: 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
2964-562: 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. History of Jainism Jainism
3120-476: 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
3276-579: 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 ,
SECTION 20
#17327732635853432-422: Is a religion founded in ancient India . Jains trace their history through twenty-four tirthankara and revere Rishabhanatha as the first tirthankara (in the present time-cycle). The last two tirthankara , the 23rd tirthankara Parshvanatha (c. 9th–8th century BCE) and the 24th tirthankara Mahavira ( c. 599 – c. 527 BCE ) are considered historical figures. According to Jain texts,
3588-486: Is attributed to Makkhali Gosala , a contemporary of the Buddha and Mahavira . Bhagavati Sutra, one of the 45 canonical scriptures of the Śvetāmbara sect of Jainism refers to the Ajivika founder as Gosala Mankhaliputta ("son of Mankhali"). The text depicts Gosala as having been a disciple of Mahavira for a period of six years, after which the two fell out and parted ways. Śvetāmbara text Bhagavati Sutra mentions
3744-680: Is created for the following functions: The following are the Income sources for the Corporation from the Central and State Government. Following is the Tax related revenue for the corporation. Following is the Non Tax related revenue for the corporation. Srinagar Municipal Corporation has a total of 74 members or corporators, who are directly elected after a term of 5 years. The council is led by
3900-699: 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
4056-470: 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:
4212-624: 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
4368-581: Is led by the Mayor of the city and overseen by a Commissioner . The establishment of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation aimed to enhance the town's infrastructure following the requirements of the local population. The corporation is divided into wards, each of which is led by a councilor , with elections held every five years. The seat of Mayor at Srinagar Municipal Corporation is currently Vacant. Srinagar Municipal Corporation
4524-601: Is reasonable historical evidence that the 23rd Tirthankara , Parshvanatha , the predecessor of Mahavira, lived somewhere in the 9th–7th century BCE. The Śvetāmbara sect has a detailed scriptural account of Parshvanatha's monastic lineage in the Upkeśa Gaccha Pattavali . The Vedas mention the name Rishabha. However, the context in the Rigveda , Atharvaveda and the Upanishads suggests that it means
4680-462: Is said to have exclusively followed and promoted the ideologies of the Śvetāmbara sect along with a Jain monk named Acharya Suhastisuri according to traditional and ancient Śvetāmbara accounts and canonical scriptures. He lived in Ujjain . It is believed that he erected many Jain temples, and the temples whose origins are forgotten were often ascribed to him in later times. Several ancient idols of
4836-587: Is speculated by some scholars that Jain traditions might go back even beyond the Indus Valley Civilization, and that Vardhamana , rather than being a "founder" per se, was simply a leader and reviver of a much older tradition. According to some scholars, Jainism's origin can be traced to the 23rd Tirthankara Parshvanatha (c. 8th–7th century BCE). They consider the first twenty-two Tirthankaras as legendary mythical figures. According to another investigation by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan ,
Srinagar Municipal Corporation - Misplaced Pages Continue
4992-599: 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
5148-722: 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
5304-642: The Ajivikas in Pundravardhana. Around 18,000 followers of the Ajivika sect were executed as a result of this order. Sometime later, another Nirgrantha follower in Pataliputra drew a similar picture. Ashoka, again influenced by the devious Tishyaraksha burnt him and his entire family alive in their house. He also announced an award of one dinara (silver coin) to anyone who brought him the head of
5460-632: 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
5616-506: 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
5772-615: 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
5928-475: 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
6084-625: The Delhi Sultanate and drawing northern India into the cosmopolitan networks of mediaeval Islam . In the 15th century, the Vijayanagara Empire created 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
6240-454: The Digambara sect was formed as result of a rebellion by a monk named Sivabhuti . This is how the Digambara and Śvetāmbara sects arose, the Digambara being naked whereas the Śvētāmbara were white-clothed. According to a later Digambara story, during Chandragupta Maurya 's reign, Acharya Bhadrabahu moved to Karnataka to survive a twelve-year-long famine. Sthulabhadra ,
6396-686: 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
Srinagar Municipal Corporation - Misplaced Pages Continue
6552-586: 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
6708-687: 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 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
6864-548: 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
7020-545: 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 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
7176-535: 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
7332-668: 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
7488-557: 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
7644-735: 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
7800-406: 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
7956-424: 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
SECTION 50
#17327732635858112-437: 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
8268-441: 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
8424-469: The lingam symbol in the main temple complex of Jains in Halebidu . Digambaras were forced to perform Shaiva rites. According to von Glasenapp writing in the 1920s, it is said Hoysala king Bittideva (c. 1108–1152 CE) converted from Jainism and became a follower of Ramanuja . According to more contemporary scholars such as T. K. Tukol , the rule of Bitti Deva did not persecute or force convert Jains. He converted, but his queen Shantaladevi remained
8580-405: 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
8736-413: The Śvetāmbara sect are attributed to him. Emperor Kharavela of Mahameghavahana dynasty , was religiously tolerant, while being a patron of Jainism. Inscriptions found in Udayagiri mentions that he erected a statue of the Rishabhanatha, the first Tirthankara and made cave-dwellings for monks. This idol, according to traditional Śvetāmbara accounts, was consecrated by Ganadhara Sudharmaswami and
8892-482: The "Lohanipur Torso". This has been dated by modern scholarship to about 2nd-century BCE. It is a highly polished stone artwork of precise human form, but it is unclear if it belongs to Jainism, Ajivikas or some other Indian religious ascetic tradition. While it is not Buddhist, it may also not be a Jain statue because it lacks the Jain iconography, and because similar high-quality Jain artworks are missing for many centuries. Further, Jain artworks that have been found from
9048-400: 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
9204-405: The 12th century, Muslim destruction caused Jain scholars to revisit their theory of Ahimsa (non-violence). For example, Jinadatta Suri in the 12th century, wrote during a time of widespread destruction of Jain temples and blocking of Jaina pilgrimage by Muslim armies, that "anybody engaged in a religious activity who was forced to fight and kill somebody" in self-defense would not lose merit. After
9360-541: The 12th century, the temples, pilgrimage and Digambara tradition of Jainism suffered persecution during the Muslim rule, with the exception of Akbar whose respect for Acharya Hirvijayasuri and support for Jainism led to a temporary ban on animal killing during the Jain religious festival of Paryushana . British era Christian invaders wrote about Jainism, but typically stereotyping it as "a coldly austere religion of pure asceticism, with no 'heart', preoccupied only with not harming microorganisms". The discussion emphasized
9516-526: 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
SECTION 60
#17327732635859672-653: 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
9828-596: 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
9984-498: The 1st millennium CE. The origins of Jainism are obscure. The Jains claim their religion to be eternal, and consider Rishabhanatha the founder in the present time-cycle, who lived for 8,400,000 purva years. Rishabhanatha is the first tirthankara among the 24 tirthankaras. Different scholars have had different views on the origin. Jainism is considered an independent, pre- Buddhist religion that began c. 700 BCE, although its origins are disputed. Some scholars claim Jainism
10140-555: The 22nd tirthankara Neminatha lived about 84,000 years ago and was the cousin of Krishna . The two main sects of Jainism, the Digambara and the Śvētāmbara sects, likely started forming around the 1st century CE, and the schism was complete by about the 5th century CE. These sects later subdivided into several sub-sects, such as Sthānakavāsī and Terapanthis after a misinterpretation of scriptures. The Digambara sect divided into Taranpanth, Terapanth, and Bispanth. Many of its historic temples that still exist today were built in
10296-473: 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
10452-633: 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 ,
10608-493: 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
10764-521: 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
10920-433: 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
11076-468: 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
11232-646: 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
11388-509: 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 was noted for nonviolent resistance and became
11544-548: 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
11700-656: 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
11856-685: 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
12012-476: 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
12168-943: 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
12324-555: 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
12480-462: 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
12636-401: 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
12792-539: The Jain tradition. In Majjhima Nikaya , Buddha shares his experience: Thus far, Sariputta, did I go in my penance? I went without clothes. I licked my food from my hands. I took no food that was brought or meant especially for me. I accepted no invitation to a meal. The Buddha tried ascetic methods found in Jainism, abandoned that path and taught the Middle Way instead. Many suttas of Buddhism got stated about
12948-675: The Mayor. The latest elections were held 2018. Junaid Azim Mattu of the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party was the mayor of the city of Srinagar until the term of the council expired in November 2023. . 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
13104-463: 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
13260-642: The Muslim invasions. In contrast, the roaming mendicants and the Jain tradition survived during this period of religious violence and turmoil. According to Jain texts, some of the Hindu gods are blood relatives of legendary tirthankara . Neminatha, the 22nd tirthankara for example is a cousin of Krishna in Jain Puranas and other texts. However, Jain scholars such as Haribhadra also wrote satires about Hindu gods, mocking them with novel outrageous stories where
13416-531: The Nigantha Nataputta. The Samaññaphala Sutta (D i.47), for example, states: Nigantha Nataputta answered The King question with fourfold restraint. "When this was said, Nigantha Nataputta said to me, 'Great king, there is the case where the Nigantha — the knotless one — is restrained with the fourfold restraint. And how is the Nigantha restrained with the fourfold restraint? There is the case where
13572-434: The Nigantha is obstructed by all waters, conjoined with all waters, cleansed with all waters, suffused with all waters. This is how the Nigantha is restrained with the fourfold restraint. When the Nigantha — a knotless one — is restrained with such a fourfold restraint, he is said to be a Knotless One (Nigantha), a son of Nata (Nataputta), with his self perfected, his self controlled, his self established.'"Thus, when asked about
13728-646: The Niganthas (Jainas)); similarly, I have made arrangements so they will deal with the Brahmans and also with the Ajivikas ; I have also made arrangements that they deal with languids (Buddhists); I have made arrangements so that they will deal with (all) the religious brotherhoods. According to the Ashokavadana , a non-Buddhist in Pundravardhana drew a picture showing the Buddha bowing at the feet of
13884-513: The Nirgrantha leader Jnatiputra. The term nirgrantha ("free from bonds") was originally used for a pre-Jaina ascetic order, but later came to be used for Jaina monks. "Jnatiputra" is identified with Mahavira , the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism. The legend states that on complaint from a Buddhist devotee, Ashoka, influenced by his cunning wife Tishyaraksha, issued an order to arrest the non-Buddhist artist, and subsequently, another order to kill all
14040-599: The Vikrami zero year and instead used Mahavira's moksha date as their zero year Vira Nirvana Samvat , the oldest system of chronological reckoning which is still used in India. The use of the Vikrami calendar has been surprisingly widespread in Hinduism. According to Heinrich von Stietencron, Vikramaditya and Saka interaction occurred many centuries later. According to another Jain legend, the King Salivahana of
14196-557: 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
14352-512: 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,
14508-409: The ascetic extremes, rather than the values. They criticized the Jain theories on non-violence stating that this value is essentially equal to "doing nothing", because it entails not "hurting" other beings, but does not demand the "positive ethic of helping someone suffering". According to Jeffrey Long, these missionary writings were a distortion of Jain theology because Jainism does teach, value and has
14664-498: 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
14820-663: 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
14976-495: 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
15132-452: 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
15288-461: The contemporary Pandya king to Shaivism. The rulers of Chola dynasty also supported Shaivism. According to a Shaivite legend, an alleged massacre of 8,000 Digambara Jain monks happened in the 7th century. This was claimed for the first time in an 11th-century Tamil language text by Nambiyandar Nambi on Sambandar. According to this text, a 7th-century Shaivite saint defeated the Jain monks in
15444-625: 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
15600-551: 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 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
15756-581: 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
15912-417: The duties of dhammamahatma (law-authorities) are dealt with. The inscription reads: Piyadasi, who is loved by the gods spoke thus: My supervisors of law are dealing with many connected with mercy, also with those which concern the ascetics and those which concern the householders. They deal with the religious brotherhoods as well. I have made arrangements so that they will deal with the matter of Sangha (of
16068-507: 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 ,
16224-727: 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
16380-513: 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
16536-684: The first vice president of India, Jainism was in existence long before the Vedas were composed. The last two tirthankara , Parshvanatha and Mahavira ( c. 599 – c. 527 BCE ) are considered historical figures. Mahavira was a contemporary of Buddha . According to Jain texts, the 22nd Tirthankara Neminatha lived about 84,000 years ago and was the cousin of Krishna . Jain texts and tradition believe in 24 Tirthankaras . They are depicted as five to one hundred times taller than average human beings and to have lived for thousands of years in Jain tradition. Historians only consider
16692-516: The foot of monk Kalakasuri. The story continues to the son of the vanquished king Gardabhilla who was Vikramaditya. He is claimed to have defeated the Sakas, expelled them, himself followed Jainism and gave ancient India the Vikrami calendar with the zero date of 57 or 58 BCE. The story is likely true, because the expulsion of Sakas by Vikramaditya has complete historical basis. Jains have not followed
16848-411: The gods misbehave and act unethically. The Hindu gods are recorded by some Jain writers as persecuting, tempting, afraid of, or serving a legendary Jina before he gains omniscience. In other stories, the Hindu deities such as Vishnu , or Rama and Sita come to pay respect to a Jina at a major Jain pilgrimage site such as Mount Satrunjaya and Mount Sammed Shikhar Ji. The languid Hindu scholars rewrote
17004-405: The head of the monks. Arya Subhadatta was succeeded by Arya Haridatta, Arya Samudradatta, Kesi , Swayamprabhasuri , and Ratnaprabhasuri and so on. This monastic order was known as Upkeśa Gaccha . Uttaradhyayana Sutra , an ancient Svetambara text, has records of a dialogue between Mahavira's disciple Gautama Swami and Kesi; Kesi, along with monks of his monastic order, accepted Mahavira as
17160-475: The head of the monks. He was the head till 463 BCE. Sudharma Svami and Jambu Svami are also traditionally said to have attained kevala jnana . It is said that no one attained omniscience after Jambu Svami. The two main sects of Jainism, the Digambara and the Śvetāmbara sect, likely started forming about the 1st century CE and the schism was complete by about 5th century CE. According to 5th century Śvetāmbara scripture Avashyak Bhashya by Jinabhadra ,
17316-515: The interaction and views of the two religions. The text mentions him stating to a Muslim sheikh, that "a creator god (called khuda ) is impossible, one who presides over others, allots reward and punishment", instead it is karma that determines man's ultimate destiny. He asserts that the two religions are different, Islam involves violence, while Jainism is based on compassion. Jain scholars were supportive of Akbar and Jain texts praise his religious tolerance. According to Paul Dundas , in and after
17472-494: 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 ,
17628-398: The last two generally based on historical figures of the 1st millennium BCE. Buddhist sources don't mention Mahavira as a founder of new tradition, but as part of an ascetic Nirgranthas (white-clad) tradition. This has led scholars to conclude that Mahavira was not the founder, but a reformer of a tradition just like his predecessor, Parshvanatha . During 6th century BCE, Mahāvīra
17784-729: The late 1st century CE was a patron of Jainism, as were many others in the early centuries of the 1st millennium CE. But, states von Glasenapp, the historicity of these stories are difficult to establish. Jainism co-existed with Buddhism and Hinduism in ancient and medieval India. Many of its historic temples were built near Buddhist and Hindu temples in the 1st millennium CE. Mahavira and Buddha are generally accepted as contemporaries (circa 5th century BCE). Buddhist texts refer to Mahavira as Nigantha Nataputta . Buddhist scriptures record that during Prince Siddhartha's ascetic life (before he attained enlightenment and became Buddha) he undertook many fasts, penances, and austerities, mentioned in
17940-425: 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
18096-511: 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 the world's most populous democracy since
18252-471: 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
18408-559: The monks. Some interpret the presence of gymnosophists ("naked philosophers") in Greek records as referring to Digambaras Jain Śramaṇa practice. A council was formed in 454 CE at Vallabhi under the leadership of Acharya Devardhigani Kshamashraman . At this council, monks of the Śvetāmbara sect accepted and wrote down their texts as the canonical scriptures of Jainism . The Digambara sect completely rejects these scriptures as not being authentic. This 5th century event solidified
18564-515: The most well known. The Muslim who conquered parts of Northern India, like Mahmud Ghazni (1001 CE) and Mohammad Ghori (1175 CE), oppressed the Jain community. Jainism faced persecution during and after the Muslim conquests on the Indian subcontinent . This period witnessed the destruction of Jain temples, their pilgrimage centers and other forms of persecution. There were significant supporters of Jainism, such as Emperor Akbar (1542–1605) who
18720-420: 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
18876-445: 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
19032-483: 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 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
19188-483: The one with the sign of bull , or sometimes the "most excellent of any kind". In some Hindu beliefs, it is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva . Hindu texts such as the Bhagavata Purana include Rishabha as an avatar of Vishnu . However, Jain accounts consider him as the first Tirthankara of the present cosmic half-cycle. After Parshvanatha attained liberation, his disciple Arya Subhadatta became
19344-562: The original pre historic stories into their Hindu versions. According to Paul Dundas , these satires were aimed at the Hindu lay householder community, were means to inculcate piety and subvert the actual religious teachings offered by their Jain neighbors. True to their origins, Buddhist and Hindu scholars engaged in creating similar satire, mythology and parody-filled fiction targeting the Jains and each other. The emergence of major philosophical ideas within Hinduism impacted Jainism. According to
19500-469: The political history of Jainism is certain. Jains consider the kings Bimbisara , also known as Shrenik popularly (c. 558–491 BCE), Ajatashatru (c. 492–460 BCE), Ashoka and Udayin (c. 460-440 BCE) of the Haryanka dynasty as patrons of Jainism. Ashoka (273–232 BCE), the grandson of Chandragupta followed and was inspired by Jain ideologies. There is a reference to Jains in the edicts of Ashoka where
19656-546: 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
19812-483: The same period in north India show quite different forms and symbols. It may belong to Ajivikas or another ancient Indian naked ascetic tradition, but ruling out that it may reflect Jain art as in 2nd-century BCE is also not possible. Ancient naked terracotta statues discovered in the 1970s near Ayodhya are similar to the Lohanipur Torso, but those artworks also lack Jain iconography. Information regarding
19968-478: The schism between both the sects. Jain images from Mathura depict Śvetāmbara iconography and inscriptions of the monastic lineage exactly as mentioned in the Kalpa Sūtra , an ancient Śvetāmbara text authored by Acharya Bhadrabāhu . Jainism is related to an extinct Indian religious tradition named Ājīvika. The latter is mentioned in ancient texts of Buddhism and of the Śvetāmbara sect of Jainism, and it
20124-548: 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
20280-463: 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,
20436-576: 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
20592-528: The story appears in many versions. Scholars question whether this story is a fiction created in the 11th century, or reflects an actual massacre. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri falsely states that the story is "little more than an unpleasant legend and cannot be treated as history". According to British era scholar von Glasenapp, during the 11th century, Basava , a minister to the Digambara Jain king Bijjala II , converted numerous Jains to Lingayatism who
20748-416: 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
20904-526: 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
21060-441: 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
21216-414: 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 ,
21372-458: The third millennium BCE. By at least 1200 BCE , an archaic form of Sanskrit , an Indo-European language , had diffused into India from 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
21528-677: 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,
21684-456: 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 a comparatively destitute country in 1951, India has become
21840-427: The titles of the Buddhist and Jaina texts are the same or similar but present different doctrines. Jainism had a tradition of itinerant mendicants with less emphasis on a monastery style living for monks. Buddhism, in contrast, emphasized sangha or monasteries. According to Akira Hirakawa, the monasteries were easier targets for destruction and elimination, and Buddhism almost vanished from the Indian subcontinent after
21996-518: 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
22152-639: 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
22308-495: 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
22464-444: 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
22620-537: 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
22776-457: 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
22932-557: Was followed in the Indus Valley Civilization , reflecting native spirituality prior to the Indo-Aryan migration into India. Various seals from the Indus Valley Civilization bear resemblance to Rishabhanatha , the first Jain, as well as the visual representation of Vishnu. Many relics depict Jain symbols, including standing nude male figures, images with serpent-heads, and the bull symbol of Vrshabadeva. It
23088-538: Was greatly influenced by Jainism after being preached by the Śvetāmbara monk Acharya Hiravijayasuri , ordered the release of caged birds and banned the killing of animals during the Jain festival of Paryushan . After Akbar, Jains faced an intense period of Muslim persecution in the 17th century. Jain scholars of the Mughal era debated religious ideas with Muslim scholars. Acharya Hiravijayasuri , in chapters thirteen and fourteen of Hirasaubhagya for example, presents
23244-519: Was hostile to Digambaras. According to legend, they destroyed various temples belonging to Jains and adapted them to their use. A saint named Ekdanta Ramaya further propagated the loosely existing Lingayatism. He convinced Bijjala II to grant a land near Abdlur for a temple of Shiva. Lingayatism gradually expanded. It was the state religion of Telugu and Kannada speaking territories like Wodeyar of Mysore and Ummatur (1399–1610), Nayaks of Keladi (1550–1763). They were hostile to Jains. In 1683, they stamped
23400-492: Was known as "Kalinga Jina" . According to a chronicle of von Glasenapp, Gardabhilla (c. 1st century BCE), the king of Ujjain , abducted a nun who was the sister of a Jain monk named Acharya Kalakasuri. The brother sought the help of the Indo-Scythian ruler Saka Sahi. The Saka went to war with Gardabhilla, defeated him, and expelled the king of Ujjain. The Sakas settled in the new lands, and "danced like bees" around
23556-426: 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
23712-528: 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
23868-532: 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,
24024-411: 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
24180-462: Was the most influential teachers of Jainism. Jains revere him as the twenty-fourth and last Tirthankara of present cosmic age . Though Mahavira is sometimes mistakenly regarded as the founder, he appears in the tradition as one who, from the beginning, had followed a religion established long ago. After the death of his parents, Mahavira left his home at the age of 30 and meditated for 12.5 years until he attained Kevala jnana (omniscience). There
24336-912: 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
#584415