220-594: India and Pakistan have a complex and largely hostile relationship that is rooted in a multitude of historical and political events, most notably the partition of British India in August 1947. Two years after World War II , the United Kingdom formally dissolved British India , dividing it into two new sovereign nations: the Union of India and Pakistan . The partitioning of the former British colony resulted in
440-619: 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
660-519: 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
880-477: A Muslim-majority population and a large Hindu minority ; it later lost most of its Hindu population following its defeat in the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, which saw the secession of East Pakistan as the independent country of Bangladesh . While both countries established full diplomatic ties shortly after their formal independence, their relationship was quickly overshadowed by
1100-722: 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
1320-592: A Pakistani military operation and a genocide on Bengalis in December 1971, following a political crisis in East Pakistan, the situation soon spiralled out of control in East Pakistan and India intervened in favour of the rebelling Bengali populace. The conflict, a brief but bloody war, resulted in the independence of East Pakistan. In the war, the Indian Army invaded East Pakistan from three sides, while
1540-461: A belief in their suitability to serve in harsh conditions, Punjabi recruits were favoured as they could be paid at the local service rate, whereas soldiers serving on the frontier from more distant lands had to be paid extra foreign service allowances. By 1875, of the entire Indian army, a third of recruits hailed from the Punjab. In 1914, three fifths of the Indian army came from the Punjab, despite
1760-555: A charge that Pakistan denied. Tensions de-escalated following international diplomatic mediation which resulted in the October 2002 withdrawal of Indian and Pakistani troops from the international border. The 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings was a terrorist attack targeted on the Samjhauta Express train on 18 February. The Samjhauta Express is an international train that runs from New Delhi, India to Lahore, Pakistan, and
1980-427: 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
2200-406: A few years of its annexation, the Punjab was regarded as British India's model agricultural province. From the 1860s onwards, agricultural prices and land values soared in the Punjab. This stemmed from increasing political security and improvements in infrastructure and communications. New cash crops such as wheat , tobacco , sugar cane and cotton were introduced. By the 1920s the Punjab produced
2420-422: A full-fledged military of 32 battalions, and India insisted that it should be disbanded as part of the demilitarisation. No agreement was reached and the plebiscite never took place. Other conflicts Border skirmishes Strikes India and Pakistan have fought in numerous armed conflicts since their independence. There are three major wars that have taken place between the two states, namely in 1947, 1965 and
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#17327726447702640-664: A government-in-exile, the Arzi Hukumat (in Urdu : Arzi : Transitional, Hukumat : Government) of the people of Junagadh. Patel ordered the annexation of Junagadh's three principalities. India cut off supplies of fuel and coal to Junagadh, severed air and postal links, sent troops to the frontier, and occupied the principalities of Mangrol and Babariawad that had acceded to India. On 26 October, Nawab of Junagadh and his family fled to Pakistan following clashes with Indian troops. On 7 November, Junagadh's court, facing collapse, invited
2860-726: A group of terrorists belonging to the Lashkar-e-Toiba stormed the famous Red Fort in New Delhi . The Fort houses an Indian military unit and a high-security interrogation cell used both by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Indian Army . The terrorists successfully breached the security cover around the Red Fort and opened fire at the Indian military personnel on duty killing two of them on spot. The attack
3080-410: A growing crisis of indebtedness. When landowners were unable to pay down their loans, urban based moneylenders took advantage of the law to foreclose debts of mortgaged land. This led to a situation where land increasingly passed to absentee moneylenders who had little connection to the villages were the land was located. The colonial government recognised this as a potential threat to the stability of
3300-413: A link between Karachi and Lahore via Multan. The Punjab Northern State Railway linked Lahore and Peshawar in 1883. By 1886, the independent railways had amalgamated into North Western State Railway . The construction of railway lines and the network of railway workshops generated employment opportunities, which in turn led to increased immigration into cantonment towns. As connectivity increased across
3520-796: 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
3740-411: A major milestone in its efforts after it covertly performed a series of non-fission tests , codename Kirana-I . No official announcements of such cold tests were made by Pakistan government . Over the next several years, Pakistan expanded and modernised nuclear power projects around the country to supply its electricity sector and to provide back-up support and benefit to its national economy. In 1988,
3960-674: 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
4180-440: A mutual understanding was reached between the two countries in which each pledged not to attack nuclear facilities. Agreements on cultural exchanges and civil aviation were also initiated, also in 1988. Finally, in 1998, India exploded its second nuclear test (see: Pokhran-II ) which invited Pakistan to follow the latter's step and performed its own atomic tests (see Chagai-I and Chagai-II ). Countries including India and
4400-463: A negative view, while 11% of Pakistanis view India's influence positively, with 62% expressing a negative view. Massive population exchanges occurred between the two newly formed states in the months immediately following the partition. There was no conception that population transfers would be necessary because of the partitioning. Religious minorities were expected to stay put in the states they found themselves residing in. However, while an exception
4620-413: A policy to provide secular education in all government managed institutions. Privately run institutions would only receive grants-in-aid in return for providing secular instruction. By 1864 this had resulted in a situation whereby all grants-in-aid to higher education schools and colleges were received by institutions under European management, and no indigenous owned schools received government help. In
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#17327726447704840-646: A presence in Pakistan. On 11 May 2011, India released a list of 50 "Most Wanted Fugitives" hiding in Pakistan. This was to tactically pressure Pakistan after the killing of Osama bin Laden in his compound in Abbottabad . After two errors in the list received publicity, the Central Bureau of Investigation removed it from their website, pending review. After this incident, the Pakistani interior ministry rejected
5060-685: 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;
5280-464: A retributive genocide. Total migration across Punjab during the partition is estimated at 12 million people; around 6.5 million Muslims moved from East Punjab to West Punjab, and 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from West Punjab to East Punjab. According to the British plan for the partition of British India, all the 680 princely states were allowed to decide which of the two countries to join. With
5500-399: A steady decline in the number of schools across the province since annexation. He noted in particular how Punjabi Muslim's avoided government run schools due to the lack of religious subjects taught in them, observing how at least 120,000 Punjabis attended schools unsupported by the state and describing it as 'a protest by the people against our system of education.' Leitner had long advocated
5720-532: A successful military campaign against Pakistan. Starting preparations for a nuclear test in 1972, India finally exploded its first nuclear bomb in Pokhran test range, codename Smiling Buddha , in 1974. During the 1980s–90s, India began development of space and nuclear rockets , which marked Pakistan's efforts to engage in the space race with India. Pakistan's own program developed space and nuclear missiles and began uncrewed flight tests of its space vehicles in
5940-574: A tenth of India's total cotton crop and a third of its wheat crop. Per capita output of all the crops in the province increased by approximately 45 percent between 1891 and 1921, a growth contrasting to agricultural crises in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa during the period. The Punjab Agricultural College and Research Institute became the first higher educational agricultural institution in the Punjab when established in 1906. Rapid agricultural growth, combined with access to easy credit for landowners, led to
6160-431: 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
6380-647: A trade agreement, and committed to resolving bilateral conflicts through peaceful means. Steadily, hundreds of thousands of Hindus returned to East Pakistan, but the thaw in relations did not last long, primarily owing to the Kashmir conflict . According to some reports published by the Council of Foreign Relations , the Pakistan military and the ISI have provided covert support to terrorist groups active in Kashmir, including
6600-584: 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. Punjab Province (British India) The Punjab Province
6820-528: 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
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7040-699: 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
7260-470: 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:
7480-624: 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
7700-554: Is not the language of these districts and neither is Persian". In 1854, the Board of Administration abruptly ended the two-language policy and Urdu was designated as the official language of government across the province. The decision was motivated by new civil service rules requiring all officials pass a test in the official language of their local court. In fear of potentially losing their jobs, officials in Persian districts petitioned
7920-667: Is one of two trains to cross the India-Pakistan border. At least 68 people were killed, mostly Pakistani civilians but also some Indian security personnel and civilians. The 2008 Mumbai attacks by ten Pakistani terrorists killed over 173 and wounded 308. The sole surviving gunman Ajmal Kasab who was arrested during the attacks was found to be a Pakistani national. This fact was acknowledged by Pakistani authorities. In May 2010, an Indian court convicted him on four counts of murder, waging war against India, conspiracy and terrorism offences, and sentenced him to death. India blamed
8140-599: 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
8360-539: The 1907 Punjab unrest . The unrest was unlike any previous agitation in the province as the government had for the first time aggrieved a large portion of the rural population. Mass demonstrations were organised, headed by Lala Lajpat Rai , a leader of the Hindu revivalist sect Arya Samaj . The unrest resulted in the repeal of the Colonisation Bill and the end of paternalist policies in the colonies. During
8580-722: 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
8800-632: 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
9020-453: 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
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9240-720: 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 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
9460-615: 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
9680-475: 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
9900-492: The Dominion of India or the Dominion of Pakistan . Despite the standstill agreement with Pakistan, teams of Pakistani forces were dispatched into Kashmir. Backed by Pakistani paramilitary forces, Pashtun Mehsud tribals invaded Kashmir in October 1947 under the code name " Operation Gulmarg " to seize Kashmir. The Maharaja requested military assistance from India. The Governor General of India, Lord Mountbatten , required
10120-563: The First World War , Punjabi manpower contributed heavily to the Indian Army . Out of a total of 683,149 combat troops, 349,688 hailed from the province. In 1918, an influenza epidemic broke out in the province, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 962,937 people or 4.77 percent of the total estimated population. In March 1919 the Rowlatt Act was passed extending emergency measures of detention and incarceration in response to
10340-686: 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
10560-529: The Gateway of India and the other at the famous Zaveri Bazaar, killing at least 48 and injuring 150 people. Though no terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attacks, Mumbai Police and RAW suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba 's hand in the twin blasts. In an unsuccessful attempt, six terrorists belonging to Lashkar-e-Toiba , stormed the Ayodhya Ram Janmbhomi complex on 5 July 2005. Before
10780-559: The Government of India Act 1919 expanded the Punjab Legislative Council and introduced the principle of dyarchy , whereby certain responsibilities such as agriculture, health, education, and local government, were transferred to elected ministers. The first Punjab Legislative Council under the 1919 Act was constituted in 1921, comprising 93 members, seventy per cent to be elected and rest to be nominated. Some of
11000-586: 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
11220-521: The Indian Navy used the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant to impose a naval blockade of East Pakistan. The war saw the first offensive operations undertaken by the Indian Navy against an enemy port, when Karachi harbour was attacked twice during Operation Trident (1971) and Operation Python . These attacks destroyed a significant portion of Pakistan's naval strength, whereas no Indian ship
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#173277264477011440-548: 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
11660-524: The Indus River and its tributary the Sutlej formed the two sides up to their confluence, the base of the triangle in the north being the Lower Himalayan Range between those two rivers. Moreover, the province as constituted under British rule also included a large tract outside these boundaries. Along the northern border, Himalayan ranges divided it from Kashmir and Tibet . On the west it
11880-557: 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
12100-539: The Lahore Durbar and also consisted of his younger brother John Lawrence and Charles Grenville Mansel . Below the Board, a group of acclaimed officers collectively known as Henry Lawrence's "Young Men" assisted in the administration of the newly acquired province. The Board was abolished by Lord Dalhousie in 1853; Sir Henry was assigned to the Rajputana Agency , and his brother John succeeded as
12320-663: The Lashkar-e-Taiba , a Pakistan-based militant group, for planning and executing the attacks. Indian officials demanded Pakistan extradite suspects for trial. They also said that, given the sophistication of the attacks, the perpetrators "must have had the support of some official agencies in Pakistan". In July 2009 Pakistani authorities confirmed that LeT plotted and financed the attacks from LeT camps in Karachi and Thatta . In November 2009, Pakistani authorities charged seven men they had arrested earlier, of planning and executing
12540-608: The Line of Control (LoC) in the region of Kashmir . This was the first major military standoff between India and Pakistan since the Kargil War in 1999. The military buildup was initiated by India responding to a 2001 Indian Parliament attack and the 2001 Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly attack . India claimed that the attacks were carried out by two Pakistan-based terror groups, the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad , both of whom India has said are backed by Pakistan's ISI
12760-416: The North-West Dry Area – along with five administrative divisions – Delhi , Jullundur , Lahore , Multan , and Rawalpindi – and a number of princely states . In 1947, the Partition of India led to the province's division into East Punjab and West Punjab , in the newly independent dominions of the Indian Union and Pakistan respectively. The region was originally called Sapta Sindhu Rivers ,
12980-507: 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
13200-417: The Scinde , Punjab and Delhi railways to build and operate new lines. In 1862, the first section of railway in the Punjab was constructed between Lahore and Amritsar, and Lahore Junction railway station opened. Lines were opened between Lahore and Multan in 1864, and Amritsar and Delhi in 1870. The Scinde, Punjab and Delhi railways merged to form the Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway in 1870, creating
13420-401: The Sikh Khalsa Army was disbanded, and soldiers were required to surrender their weapons and return to agricultural or other pursuits. The Bengal Army , keen to utilise the highly trained ex-Khalsa army troops began to recruit from the Punjab for Bengal infantry units stationed in the province. However opposition to the recruitment of these soldiers spread and resentment emerged from sepoys of
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#173277264477013640-406: 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
13860-406: 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
14080-471: The Swami Narayan temple complex in Ahmedabad , Gujarat killing 30 people, including 18 women and five children. The attack was carried out on 25 September 2002, just few days after state elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir. Two identical letters found on both the terrorists claimed that the attack was done in retaliation for the deaths of thousands of Muslims during the Gujarat riots . Two car bombs exploded in south Mumbai on 25 August 2003; one near
14300-406: 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
14520-424: 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
14740-447: The Vedic land of the seven rivers originally: Saraswati, Indus, Sutlej, Jehlum, Chenab, Ravi, and Beas. The Sanskrit name for the region, as mentioned in the Ramayana and Mahabharata for example, was Pañcanada which means literally "Five Waters", and was translated from Sanskrit to Farsi as Panj-Âb after the Islamic conquests . The later name Punjab is thus a compound of two Farsi words Panj (five) and āb (water) and
14960-437: 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
15180-515: The al-Qaeda affiliate Jaish-e-Mohammed . Pakistan has denied any involvement in terrorist activities in Kashmir, arguing that it only provides political and moral support to the secessionist groups who wish to escape Indian rule. Many Kashmiri militant groups also maintain their headquarters in Pakistan-administered Kashmir , which is cited as further proof by the Indian government. Journalist Stephen Suleyman Schwartz notes that several militant and criminal groups are "backed by senior officers in
15400-441: 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
15620-405: 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
15840-476: 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
16060-686: 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
16280-716: 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
16500-713: 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
16720-535: 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
16940-746: 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 ,
17160-545: 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
17380-585: 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
17600-433: 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
17820-528: 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
18040-646: 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
18260-689: The Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. In addition to this was the unofficial Kargil War in 1999 and some border skirmishes. While both nations have held a shaky cease-fire agreement since 2003, they continue to trade fire across the disputed area. Both nations blame the other for breaking the cease-fire agreement, claiming that they are firing in retaliation for attacks. On both sides of the disputed border, an increase in territorial skirmishes that started in late 2016 and escalated into 2018 killed hundreds of civilians and made thousand homeless. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 started following
18480-646: The Bengal Army towards the incursion of Punjabis into their ranks. In 1851, the Punjab Irregular Force also known as the 'Piffars' was raised. Initially they consisted of one garrison and four mule batteries, four regiments of cavalry, eleven of infantry and the Corps of Guides , totalling approximately 13,000 men. The gunners and infantry were mostly Punjabi, many from the Khalsa Army, whilst
18700-580: The Biloch Trans–Frontier Tract. As with religion, Punjab was a linguistically eclectically diverse province and region . In 1837, Persian had been abolished as the official language of Company administration and replaced by local Indian vernacular languages. In the Sikh Empire, Persian continued to be the official state language. Shortly after annexing the Punjab in 1849, the Board of Administration canvassed local officials in each of
18920-637: The British Indian ministers under the dyarchy scheme were Sir Sheikh Abdul Qadir , Sir Shahab-ud-Din Virk and Lala Hari Kishen Lal. The Government of India Act 1935 introduced provincial autonomy to Punjab replacing the system of dyarchy. It provided for the constitution of Punjab Legislative Assembly of 175 members presided by a Speaker and an executive government responsible to the Assembly. The Unionist Party under Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan formed
19140-601: 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
19360-762: 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
19580-685: 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
19800-458: The Delhi ridge. Finally he recruited new regiments of Punjabis to replace the depleted force, and was provided with manpower and support from surrounding princely states such as Jind, Patiala, Nabha and Kapurthala and tribal chiefs on the borderlands with Afghanistan. By 1858, an estimated 70,000 extra men had been recruited for the army and militarised police from within the Punjab. In 1858, under
20020-476: 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
20240-943: 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
20460-596: The Government of India to take over the State's administration. The Dewan of Junagadh, Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto , the father of the more famous Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto , decided to invite the Government of India to intervene and wrote a letter to Mr. Buch, the Regional Commissioner of Saurashtra in the Government of India to this effect. The Government of Pakistan protested. The Government of India rejected
20680-555: 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
20900-462: 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
21120-521: The Hindu population was at 30.1%. The period between 1881 and 1941 saw a significant increase in the Sikh and Christian populations, growing from 8.2% and 0.1% to 14.9% and 1.9% respectively. The decrease in the Hindu population has been attributed to the conversion of Hindus mainly to Sikhism and Islam, and also to Christianity. In 1941, the Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs made 30.1, 53.2 and 14.9 per cent of
21340-699: The Indian army vacated its posts at very high peaks in Kargil sector in Kashmir as it used to do every year. Pakistani Army intruded across the Line of Control and occupied the posts. Indian army discovered this in May 1999 when the snow thawed. This resulted in intense fighting between Indian and Pakistani forces, known as the Kargil conflict . Backed by the Indian Air Force, the Indian Army regained many of
21560-401: 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
21780-719: The Lieutenant consisted of 29 Districts, grouped under 5 Divisions, and 43 Princely States . Each District was under a Deputy-Commissioner, who reported to the Commissioner of the Division. Each District was subdivided into between three and seven tehsils , each under a tahsildar , assisted by a naib (deputy) tahsildar . In 1885 the Punjab administration began an ambitious plan to transform over six million acres of barren waste land in central and western Punjab into irrigable agricultural land. The creation of canal colonies
22000-623: The Maharaja to accede to India before India could send troops. Accordingly, the instrument of accession was signed and accepted during 26–27 October 1947. The accession as well as India's military assistance were supported by Sheikh Abdullah , the state's political leader heading the National Conference party, and Abdullah was appointed as the Head of Emergency Administration of the state the following week. Pakistan refused to accept
22220-463: 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
22440-778: The Muslim, Hindu and Sikh communities had loyally collaborated with the British since annexation, supported the Unionist Party and were hostile to the Congress party led independence movement. Amongst the peasantry and urban middle classes, the Hindus were the most active National Congress supporters, the Sikhs flocked to the Akali movement whilst the Muslims eventually supported the All-India Muslim League . Since
22660-540: The Pakistani army, the country's ISI intelligence establishment and other armed bodies of the state." The attack on the Indian Parliament was by far the most dramatic attack carried out allegedly by Pakistani terrorists. India blamed Pakistan for carrying out the attacks, an allegation which Pakistan strongly denied. The following 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff raised concerns of a possible nuclear confrontation. However, international peace efforts ensured
22880-573: The Punjab was carried out in 1855. This covered only British territory to the exclusion of local princely states, and placed the population at 17.6 million. The first regular census of British India carried out in 1881 recorded a population of 20.8 million people. The final British census in 1941 recorded 34.3 million people in the Punjab, which comprised 29 districts within British territory, 43 princely states, 52,047 villages and 283 towns. In 1881, only Amritsar and Lahore had populations over 100,000. The commercial and industrial city of Amritsar (152,000)
23100-410: The Punjab, reducing its influence more so than in any other province, and inhibiting its ability to challenge colonial rule locally. The political dominance of the Unionist Party would remain until partition, and significantly it was only on the collapse of its power on the eve of independence from Britain, that communal violence began to spread in rural Punjab. In the immediate aftermath of annexation,
23320-401: The United States have demanded that Pakistan stop using its territory as a base for terrorist groups following multiple terrorist attacks by Islamic jihadists in Kashmir and other parts of India. The Pakistani government has denied the accusation and accused so-called "state-backed terror" in India. India has accused some of the most wanted Indian fugitives, such as Dawood Ibrahim , of having
23540-557: 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
23760-512: 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,
23980-416: The army meant that a significant amount of military expenditure went to Punjabis and in turn resulted in an abnormally high level of resource input in the Punjab. It has been suggested that by 1935 if remittances of serving officers were combined with income from military pensions, more than two thirds of Punjab's land revenue could have been paid out of military incomes. Military service further helped reduce
24200-476: The army took place. Henceforth recruitment into the British Indian Army was restricted to loyal peoples and provinces. Punjabi Sikhs emerged as a particularly favoured martial race to serve the army. In the midst of The Great Game , and fearful of a Russian invasion of British India, the Punjab was regarded of significant strategic importance as a frontier province. In addition to their loyalty and
24420-455: The assault. On 9 April 2015, the foremost ringleader of the attacks, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi was granted bail against surety bonds of Rs. 200,000 (US$ 690) in Pakistan. India has a long history of development of nuclear weapons . Origins of India's nuclear program dates back to 1944, when started its nuclear program soon after its independence. In the 1940s–1960s, India's nuclear program slowly matured towards militarisation and expanded
24640-498: 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
24860-501: The battles were fought by opposing infantry and armoured units, with substantial backing from air forces, and naval operations. It ended in a United Nations (UN) mandated ceasefire and the subsequent issuance of the Tashkent Declaration . Pakistan, since independence, was geo-politically divided into two major regions, West Pakistan and East Pakistan . East Pakistan was occupied mostly by Bengali people . After
25080-608: 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
25300-622: The benefits of oriental scholarship, and the fusion of government education with religious instruction. In January 1865 he had established the Anjuman-i-Punjab, a subscription based association aimed at using a European style of learning to promote useful knowledge, whilst also reviving traditional scholarship in Arabic , Persian and Sanskrit . In 1884, a reorganisation of the Punjab education system occurred, introducing measures tending towards decentralisation of control over education and
25520-532: The board to replace Persian with Urdu, believing Urdu the easier language to master. Urdu remained the official administrative language until 1947. Officials, although aware that Punjabi was the colloquial language of the majority, instead favoured the use of Urdu for a number of reasons. Criticism of Punjabi included the belief that it was simply a form of patois , lacking any form of standardisation, and that "would be inflexible and barren, and incapable of expressing nice shades of meaning and exact logical ideas with
25740-425: The cavalry had a considerable Hindustani presence. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857 , eighteen new regiments were raised from the Punjab which remained loyal to the East India Company throughout the crisis in the Punjab and United Provinces. By June 1858, of the 80,000 native troops in the Bengal Army, 75,000 were Punjabi of which 23,000 were Sikh. In the aftermath of the rebellion, a thorough re-organisation of
25960-495: 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
26180-567: The colonies, such as Lyallpur , Sargodha and Montgomery . Colonisation led to the canal irrigated area of the Punjab increasing from three to fourteen million acres in the period from 1885 to 1947. The beginning of the twentieth century saw increasing unrest in the Punjab. Conditions in the Chenab colony, together with land reforms such as the Punjab Land Alienation Act, 1900 and the Colonisation Bill, 1906 contributed to
26400-452: 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
26620-496: The conflict to the United Nations Security Council , requesting it to prevent the outbreak of a general war between the two fledgling nations. The Security Council passed Resolution 47 , asking Pakistan to withdraw all its nationals from Kashmir, asking India to withdraw the bulk of its forces as a second step, and offering to conduct a plebiscite to determine the people's wishes. Though India rejected
26840-625: 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
27060-558: The cooling of tensions between the two nuclear-capable nations. Apart from this, the most notable was the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC 814 en route New Delhi from Kathmandu , Nepal. The plane was hijacked on 24 December 1999 approximately one hour after takeoff and was taken to Amritsar airport and then to Lahore in Pakistan. After refuelling the plane took off for Dubai and then finally landed in Kandahar , Afghanistan. Under intense media pressure, New Delhi complied with
27280-630: 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 ,
27500-424: The countries have remained frigid, following repeated acts of cross-border terrorism. The "minimalist engagement" by both countries allows them to keep a " cold peace " with each other. Northern India and most of modern-day Pakistan overlap with each other in terms of their common Indo-Aryan demographic , natively speaking a variety of Indo-Aryan languages (mainly Punjabi , Sindhi , and Hindi–Urdu ). Although
27720-402: The culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 and Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar , which was designed to infiltrate forces into Jammu and Kashmir to precipitate an insurgency against rule by India. India retaliated by launching a full-scale military attack on West Pakistan . The seventeen-day war caused thousands of casualties on both sides and witnessed
27940-413: The deaths of five terrorists, six Delhi Police personnel, two Parliament Security Service personnel and a gardener, in total 14 and to increased tensions between India and Pakistan , resulting in the 2001–02 India–Pakistan standoff . The 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff was a military standoff between India and Pakistan that resulted in the massing of troops on either side of the border and along
28160-581: 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
28380-527: The displacement of up to 15 million people, with the death toll estimated to have reached between several hundred thousand and one million people as Hindus and Muslims migrated in opposite directions across the Radcliffe Line to reach India and Pakistan, respectively. In 1950, India emerged as a secular republic with a Hindu-majority population and a large Muslim minority . Shortly afterwards, in 1956, Pakistan emerged as an Islamic republic with
28600-507: 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 ,
28820-437: The early 1860s, a number of educational colleges were established, including Lawrence College, Murree , King Edward Medical University , Government College, Lahore , Glancy Medical College and Forman Christian College . In 1882, Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner published a damning report on the state of education in the Punjab. He lamented the failure to reconcile government run schools with traditional indigenous schools, and noted
29040-536: 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
29260-727: 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
29480-420: The elite classes. In 1849, a Board of Administration was put in place to govern the newly annexed province. The Board was led by a President and two assistants. Beneath them Commissioners acted as Superintendents of revenue and police and exercised the civil appellate and the original criminal powers of Sessions Judges, whilst Deputy Commissioners were given subordinate civil, criminal and fiscal powers. In 1853,
29700-513: 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
29920-610: The exception of a few, most of the Muslim-majority princely-states acceded to Pakistan while most of the Hindu-majority princely states joined India. However, the decisions of some of the princely states would shape the Pakistan-India relationship considerably in the years to come. Junagadh was a state on the south-western end of Gujarat , with the principalities of Manavadar , Mangrol and Babriawad . It
30140-421: The extent of indebtedness across the Province. In Hoshiarpur , a notable source of military personnel, in 1920 thirty percent of proprietors were debt free compared to the region's average of eleven percent. In addition, the benefits of military service and the perception that the government was benevolent towards soldiers, affected the latter's attitudes towards the British. The loyalty of recruited peasantry and
30360-573: The first Chief Commissioner. Recognising the cultural diversity of the Punjab, the Board maintained a strict policy of non-interference in regard to religious and cultural matters. Sikh aristocrats were given patronage and pensions and groups in control of historical places of worship were allowed to remain in control. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857 , the Punjab remained relatively peaceful, apart from rebellion led by Ahmad Khan Kharral . In May, John Lawrence took swift action to disarm potentially mutinous sepoys and redeploy most European troops to
30580-446: The first to seek their fortunes abroad. At the outbreak of the Second World War, 48 percent of the Indian army came from the province. In Jhelum, Rawalpindi and Attock, the percentage of the total male population who enlisted reached fifteen percent. The Punjab continued to be the main supplier of troops throughout the war, contributing 36 percent of the total Indian troops who served in the conflict. The huge proportion of Punjabis in
30800-437: The frontier districts beyond the Indus were separated from Punjab and made into a new province: the North-West Frontier Province . Subsequently, Punjab was divided into four natural geographical divisions by colonial officials on the decadal census data: On 21 February 1849, the East India Company decisively defeated the Sikh Empire at the Battle of Gujrat bringing to an end the Second Anglo-Sikh War . Following
31020-403: The government in 1937. Sir Sikandar was succeeded by Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana in 1942 who remained the Premier till partition in 1947. Although the term of the Assembly was five years, the Assembly continued for about eight years and its last sitting was held on 19 March 1945. The struggle for Indian independence witnessed competing and conflicting interests in the Punjab. The landed elites of
31240-411: The hijackers' demand and freed Maulana Masood Azhar from its captivity in return for the freedom of the Indian passengers on the flight. The decision, however, cost New Delhi dearly. Maulana, who is believed to be hiding in Karachi , later became the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed , an organisation which has carried out several terrorist acts against Indian security forces in Kashmir. On 22 December 2000,
31460-426: The increasing franchise of the rural population, this interventionist approach led to a long lasting impact on the political landscape of the province. The agricultural lobby remained loyal to the government, and rejected communalism in common defence of its privileges against urban moneylenders. This position was entrenched by the Unionist Party. The Congress Party's opposition to the Act led to it being marginalised in
31680-433: The influence of military groups in rural areas across the province limited the reach of the nationalist movement in the province. In 1853, the Viceroy Lord Dalhousie issued a minute stressing the military importance of railways across India. In the Punjab, however, it was initially strategic commercial interests which drove investment in railways and communications from 1860. Independent railway companies emerged, such as
31900-399: The largest engagement of armored vehicles and the largest tank battle since World War II. Hostilities between the two countries ended after a United Nations -mandated ceasefire was declared following diplomatic intervention by the Soviet Union and the United States, and the subsequent issuance of the Tashkent Declaration . The five-week war caused thousands of casualties on both sides. Most of
32120-475: The largest provinces of the British Raj. It encompassed the present day Indian states of Punjab , Haryana , Chandigarh , Delhi , and some parts of Himachal Pradesh which were merged with Punjab by the British for administrative purposes (but excluding the former princely states which were later combined into the Patiala and East Punjab States Union ) and the Pakistani regions of the Punjab , Islamabad Capital Territory and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa . In 1901
32340-494: 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 ,
32560-425: 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
32780-500: The list forwarded by India to Islamabad, saying it should first probe if those named in the list were even living in the country. After the 1971 war, Pakistan and India made slow progress towards the normalisation of relations. In July 1972, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto met in the Indian hill station of Shimla . They signed the Shimla Agreement , by which India would return all Pakistani personnel (over 90,000) and captured territory in
33000-414: 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
33220-419: 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
33440-411: The mid-1990s, which continues in the present. After the defeat in the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 , Pakistan launched its own nuclear bomb program in 1972, and accelerated its efforts in 1974, after India exploded its first nuclear bomb in Pokhran test range, codename Smiling Buddha . This large-scale nuclear bomb program was directly in response to India's nuclear program. In 1983, Pakistan achieved
33660-407: The mostly Hindu and Sikh eastern part became India's East Punjab state (later divided into the new states of Punjab , Haryana and Himachal Pradesh ). Many Hindus and Sikhs lived in the west, and many Muslims lived in the east, and the fears of all such minorities were so great that the Partition saw many people displaced and much inter-communal violence. Some have described the violence in Punjab as
33880-431: The mutual effects of the partition as well as by the emergence of conflicting territorial claims over various princely states , with the most significant dispute being that of Jammu and Kashmir . Since 1947, India and Pakistan have fought three major wars and one undeclared war , and have also engaged in numerous armed skirmishes and military standoffs; the Kashmir conflict has served as the catalyst for every war between
34100-420: 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
34320-445: 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
34540-519: 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
34760-445: The nuclear power infrastructure throughout the country. Decisions on the development of nuclear weapons were made by Indian political leaders after the Chinese invasion and territorial annexation of North India . In 1967, India's nuclear program was aimed at the development of nuclear weapons, with Indira Gandhi carefully overseeing the development of weapons. In 1971, India gained military and political momentum over Pakistan, after
34980-531: The partition of the sub-continent had been decided, special meetings of the Western and Eastern Section of the Legislative Assembly were held on 23 June 1947 to decide whether or not the Province of the Punjab be partitioned. After voting on both sides, partition was decided and the existing Punjab Legislative Assembly was also divided into West Punjab Legislative Assembly and the East Punjab Legislative Assembly. This last Assembly before independence, held its last sitting on 4 July 1947. The first British census of
35200-430: The perceived threat of terrorism from revolutionary nationalist organisations. This led to the infamous Jallianwala Bagh massacre in April 1919, where Colonel Reginald Edward Harry Dyer ordered detachments of the 9th Gorkha Rifles and the 59th Scinde Rifles under his command to fire into a group of some 10,000 unarmed protesters and Baisakhi pilgrims, killing 379. The Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms enacted through
35420-625: The posts that Pakistan had occupied. Pakistan later withdrew from the remaining portion under international pressure and high casualties. The Indus Waters Treaty governs the rivers that flow from India into Pakistan. Water is cited as one possible cause for a conflict between the two nations, but to date issues such as the Nimoo Bazgo Project have been resolved through diplomacy. In 1949, India recorded close to 1 million Hindu refugees, who flooded into West Bengal and other states from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), owing to communal violence, intimidation and repression from authorities. The plight of
35640-627: The precision so essential in local proceedings." Similar arguments had earlier been made about Bengali , Oriya and Hindustani ; however, those languages were later adopted for local administration. Instead it is believed the advantages of Urdu served the administration greater. Urdu, and initially Persian, allowed the Company to recruit experienced administrators from elsewhere in India who did not speak Punjabi, to facilitate greater integration with other Indian territories which were administered with Urdu, and to help foster ties with local elites who spoke Persian and Urdu and could act as intermediaries with
35860-429: The previous part of the resolution, which calls for it to vacate all territories occupied. In September 1997, the talks broke down over the structure of how to deal with the issues of Kashmir, and peace and security. Pakistan advocated that the issues be treated by separate working groups . India responded that the two issues be taken up along with six others on a simultaneous basis. Attempts to restart dialogue between
36080-406: The promotion of an indigenous education agency. As a consequence several new institutions were encouraged in the province. The Arya Samaj opened a college in Lahore in 1886, the Sikhs opened the Khalsa College whilst the Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam stepped in to organise Muslim education. In 1886, the Punjab Chiefs' College, later renamed Aitchison College , was opened to further the education of
36300-420: 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
36520-466: The protests of Pakistan and accepted the invitation of the Dewan to intervene. Indian troops occupied Junagadh on 9 November 1947. In February 1948, a plebiscite held almost unanimously voted for accession to India. Kashmir was a Muslim-majority princely state, ruled by a Hindu king, Maharaja Hari Singh . At the time of the partition of India , Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of the state, preferred to remain independent and did not want to join either
36740-455: The province, and a split emerged in the government between paternalists who favoured intervention to ensure order, and those who opposed state intervention in private property relations. The paternalists emerged victorious and the Punjab Land Alienation Act, 1900 prevented urban commercial castes, who were overwhelmingly Hindu, from permanently acquiring land from statutory agriculturalist tribes, who were mainly Muslim and Sikh. Accompanied by
36960-417: The province, it facilitated the movement of goods, and increased human interaction. It has been observed that the Ferozpur, Lahore and Amritsar began to develop into one composite cultural triangle due to the ease of connectivity between them. Similarly barriers of spoken dialects eroded over time, and cultural affinities were increasingly fostered. In 1854, the Punjab education department was instituted with
37180-454: The province. The period also saw significant numbers of Punjabis emigrate to other regions of the British Empire . The main destinations were East Africa - Kenya , Uganda and Tanzania , Southeast Asia - Malaya and Burma , Hong Kong and Canada . The Punjab was a religiously eclectic province, comprising three major groups: Muslims , Hindus and Sikhs . By 1941, the religious Muslims constituting an absolute majority at 53.2%, whilst
37400-459: The provinces's six divisions to decide which language was "best suited for the Courts and Public Business". Officials in the western divisions recommended Persian whilst eastern officials suggested a shift to Urdu. In September 1849 a two-language policy was instituted throughout the province. The language policy in the Punjab differed from other Indian provinces in that Urdu was not a widespread local vernacular. In 1849 John Lawrence noted "that Urdu
37620-477: The refugees outraged Hindus and Indian nationalists, and the refugee population drained the resources of Indian states, which were unable to absorb them. While not ruling out war, Prime Minister Nehru and Sardar Patel invited Liaquat Ali Khan for talks in Delhi. Although many Indians termed this appeasement, Nehru signed a pact with Liaquat Ali Khan that pledged both nations to the protection of minorities and creation of minority commissions. Khan and Nehru also signed
37840-434: The region constituting approximately one tenth of the total population of British India. During the First World War, Punjabi Sikhs alone accounted for one quarter of all armed personnel in India. Military service provided access to the wider world, and personnel were deployed across the British Empire from Malaya , the Mediterranean and Africa . Upon completion of their terms of service, these personnel were often amongst
38060-399: 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
38280-411: The resolution, it accepted a suitably amended version of it negotiated by the UN Commission set up for the purpose, as did Pakistan towards the end of 1948. A ceasefire was declared on 1 January the following year. However, India and Pakistan could not agree on the suitable steps for demilitarisation to occur as prelude to the plebiscite. Pakistan organised the rebel fighting forces of Azad Kashmir into
38500-496: 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
38720-407: The seven most densely populated districts of Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Jullundur, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Ambala and Sialkot, and consisted primarily of Khatris , Brahmins , Jats , Arains , Sainis , Kambohs and Rajputs . The movement of many highly skilled farmers from eastern and central Punjab to the new colonies, led to western Punjab becoming the most progressive and advanced agricultural region of
38940-463: 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,
39160-461: 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
39380-419: The state's accession to India and escalated the conflict, by giving full-fledged support to the rebels and invading tribes. A constant replenishment of Pashtun tribes were organised, and provided arms and ammunition as well as military leadership. Indian troops managed to evict the invading tribes from the Kashmir Valley but the onset of winter made much of the state impassable. In December 1947, India referred
39600-415: The states was able to resolve this issue amicably and it only added fuel to an already charged environment. Sardar Patel , India's Home Minister , felt that if Junagadh was permitted to go to Pakistan, it would create communal unrest across Gujarat. The government of India gave Pakistan time to void the accession and hold a plebiscite in Junagadh to pre-empt any violence in Gujarat. Samaldas Gandhi formed
39820-410: The status of Kashmir, (referred by India as Jammu and Kashmir), an issue since Independence, remains the major stumbling block in their dialogue. India maintains that the entire former princely state is an integral part of the Indian union, while Pakistan insists that UN resolutions calling for self-determination of the people of the state/province must be taken into account. It however refuses to abide by
40040-416: 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
40260-411: 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
40480-441: 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
40700-414: 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 ,
40920-454: The terms of the Queen's Proclamation issued by Queen Victoria , the Punjab, along with the rest of British India, came under the direct rule of the British Crown. Delhi Territory was transferred from the North-Western Provinces to the Punjab in 1858, partly to punish the city for the important role the last Mughal emperor , Bahadur Shah II , and the city as a whole, played in the 1857 Rebellion. Sir John Lawrence, then Chief Commissioner,
41140-489: The terrorists could reach the main disputed site , they were shot down by Indian security forces . One Hindu worshipper and two policemen were injured during the incident. The 2001 Indian Parliament attack was an attack at the Parliament of India in New Delhi on 13 December 2001, during which fourteen people, including the five men who attacked the building, were killed. The perpetrators were Lashkar-e-Taiba (Let) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists. The attack led to
41360-424: 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,
41580-1089: The total population of Punjab but made 37.9, 51.4 and 8.4 per cent of its urban population respectively. Including Hisar district , Loharu State , Rohtak district , Dujana State , Gurgaon district , Pataudi State , Delhi , Karnal district , Jalandhar district , Kapurthala State , Ludhiana district , Malerkotla State , Firozpur district , Faridkot State , Patiala State , Jind State , Nabha State , Lahore District , Amritsar district , Gujranwala District , and Sheikhupura District . Including Sirmoor State , Simla District , Simla Hill States , Bilaspur State , Kangra district , Mandi State , Suket State , and Chamba State . Including Ambala district , Kalsia State , Hoshiarpur district , Gurdaspur district , Sialkot District , Gujrat District , Jhelum District , Rawalpindi District , and Attock District . Including Montgomery District , Shahpur District , Mianwali District , Lyallpur District , Jhang District , Multan District , Bahawalpur State , Muzaffargarh District , Dera Ghazi Khan District , and
41800-447: The two countries have linguistic and cultural ties, the size of India-Pakistan trade is very small relative to the size of their economies and the fact that they share a land border. Trade across direct routes has been curtailed formally, so the bulk of India-Pakistan trade is routed through Dubai in the Middle East. According to a BBC World Service poll in 2017, only 5% of Indians view Pakistan's influence positively, with 85% expressing
42020-462: 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
42240-414: The two nations were given a major boost by the February 1999 meeting of both Prime Ministers in Lahore and their signing of three agreements. 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
42460-486: The two states, with the exception of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 , which instead occurred alongside the Bangladesh Liberation War. The India–Pakistan border is one of the most militarized international boundaries in the world. There have been numerous attempts to improve the relationship, notably with the 1972 Shimla summit , 1999 Lahore summit , and the 2001 Agra summit in addition to various peace and co-operation initiatives. Despite those efforts, relations between
42680-422: 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
42900-452: The victory, the East India Company annexed the Punjab on 2 April 1849 and incorporated it within British India . The province whilst nominally under the control of the Bengal Presidency was administratively independent. Lord Dalhousie constituted the Board of Administration by inducting into it the most experienced and seasoned British officers. The Board was led by Sir Henry Lawrence , who had previously worked as British Resident at
43120-510: The west, and the two countries would "settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations." Diplomatic and trade relations were also re-established in 1976. In 1997, high-level Indo-Pakistan talks resumed after a three-year pause. The Prime Ministers of Pakistan and India met twice and the foreign secretaries conducted three rounds of talks. In June 1997, the foreign secretaries identified eight "outstanding issues" around which continuing talks would be focused. The conflict over
43340-432: 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
43560-1083: The wider populace. As per the 1911 census, speakers of the Punjabi dialects and languages , including standard Punjabi along with Lahnda formed just over three-quarters (75.93 per cent) of the total provincial population. Including Hisar district, Loharu State, Rohtak district, Dujana State, Gurgaon district, Pataudi State, Delhi, Karnal district, Jalandhar district, Kapurthala State, Ludhiana district, Malerkotla State, Firozpur district, Faridkot State, Patiala State, Jind State, Nabha State, Lahore District, Amritsar district, and Gujranwala District. Including Nahan State, Simla district, Simla Hill States, Kangra district, Mandi State, Suket State, and Chamba State. Including Ambala district, Kalsia State, Hoshiarpur district, Gurdaspur district, Sialkot District, Gujrat District, Jhelum District, Rawalpindi District, and Attock District. Including Montgomery District, Shahpur District, Mianwali District, Lyallpur District, Jhang District, Multan District, Bahawalpur State, Muzaffargarh District, and Dera Ghazi Khan District. Punjab Province
43780-444: 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
44000-437: 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
44220-404: 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
44440-494: Was a province of British India . Most of the Punjab region was annexed by the British East India Company on 29 March 1849 ; it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British control. In 1858, the Punjab , along with the rest of British India, came under the rule of the British Crown . It had a land area of 358,355 square kilometers. The province comprised four natural geographic regions – Indo-Gangetic Plain West , Himalayan , Sub-Himalayan , and
44660-457: 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
44880-403: Was appointed the first Lieutenant-Governor on 1 January 1859. In 1866, the Judicial Commissioner was replaced by a Chief Court. The direct administrative functions of the Government were carried by the Lieutenant-Governor through the Secretariat, comprising a Chief Secretary, a Secretary and two Under-Secretaries. They were usually members of the Indian Civil Service . The territory under
45100-408: Was designed to relieve demographic pressures in the central parts of the province, increase productivity and revenues, and create a loyal support amongst peasant landholders. The colonisation resulted in an agricultural revolution in the province, rapid industrial growth, and the resettlement of over one million Punjabis in the new areas. A number of towns were created or saw significant development in
45320-451: Was diverse, with the main castes represented alongside numerous subcastes and tribes (also known as Jāti or Barādarī ), forming parts of the various ethnic groups in the province, contemporarily known as Punjabis , Saraikis , Haryanvis , Hindkowans , Dogras , Paharis , Potoharis , Bagri people and other non related ethnicities were Kashmiris , Balti people , Ladakhi people , Pashtuns , Baloch people , Marwaris . Within
45540-409: Was introduced to the region by the Turko-Persian conquerors of India and more formally popularised during the Mughal Empire . Punjab literally means "(The Land of) Five Waters" referring to the rivers: Jhelum , Chenab , Ravi , Sutlej , and Beas . All are tributaries of the Indus River , the Chenab being the largest. Geographically, the province was a triangular tract of country of which
45760-405: Was lost. The Indian Navy did, however, lose a single ship, when INS Khukri (F149) was torpedoed by a Pakistani submarine. 13 days after the invasion of East Pakistan, 93,000 Pakistani military personnel surrendered to the Indian Army and the Mukti Bahini . After the surrender of Pakistani forces, East Pakistan became the independent nation of Bangladesh . During the winter months of 1998–99,
45980-404: Was made for Punjab, where the transfer of populations was organised because of the communal violence affecting the province, this did not apply to other provinces. The partition of British India split the former British province of Punjab and Bengal between the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan . The mostly Muslim western part of the province became Pakistan's Punjab province ;
46200-426: 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
46420-439: Was not contiguous to Pakistan and other states physically separated it from Pakistan. The state had an overwhelming Hindu population which constituted more than 80% of its citizens, while its ruler, Nawab Mahabat Khan , was a Muslim. Mahabat Khan acceded to Pakistan on 15 August 1947. Pakistan confirmed the acceptance of the accession on 15 September 1947. India did not accept the accession as legitimate. The Indian point of view
46640-443: 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
46860-438: 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
47080-445: Was separated from the North-West Frontier Province by the Indus, until it reached the border of Dera Ghazi Khan District , which was divided from Baluchistan by the Sulaiman Range . To the south lay Sindh and Rajputana , while on the east the rivers Jumna and Tons separated it from the United Provinces . In total Punjab had an area of approximately 357 000 km square about the same size as modern day Germany, being one of
47300-543: Was significant because it was carried out just two days after the declaration of the cease-fire between India and Pakistan. In 2002, India claimed again that terrorists from Jammu and Kashmir were infiltrating into India, a claim denied by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf , who claimed that such infiltration had stopped—India's spokesperson for the External Affairs Ministry did away with Pakistan's claim, calling it "terminological inexactitude". Only two months later, two Kashmiri terrorists belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed raided
47520-485: Was slightly larger than the cultural capital of Lahore (149,000). Over the following sixty years, Lahore increased in population fourfold, whilst Amritsar grew two-fold. By 1941, the province had seven cities with populations over 100,000 with emergence and growth of Rawalpindi, Multan, Sialkot, Jullundur and Ludhiana. The colonial period saw large scale migration within the Punjab due to the creation of canal colonies in western Punjab . The majority of colonists hailed from
47740-532: 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,
47960-479: Was that Junagadh was not contiguous to Pakistan, that the Hindu majority of Junagadh wanted it to be a part of India, and that the state was surrounded by Indian territory on three sides. The Pakistani point of view was that since Junagadh had a ruler and governing body who chose to accede to Pakistan, it should be allowed to do so. Also, because Junagadh had a coastline, it could have maintained maritime links with Pakistan even as an enclave within India. Neither of
48180-411: 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
48400-736: 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
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