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Human sexual behaviour in India has been influenced by different attitudes and opinions over time.

History[link]

A Sculpture depicting a sexual Pose

The seeming contradictions of Indian attitudes towards sex can be best explained through the context of history. India played a significant role in the history of sex, from writing the first literature that treated sexual intercourse as a science, to in modern times being the origin of the philosophical focus of new-age groups' attitudes on sex. It may be argued that India pioneered the use of sexual education through art and literature. As in all societies, there was a difference in sexual practices in India between common people and powerful rulers, with people in power often indulging in hedonistic lifestyles that were not representative of common moral attitudes.

Depictions of Apsaras from the Khajuraho temple

Ancient times[link]

Indian culture can be considered amongst the most ancient, with the ancient Indus Valley civilization being contemporary to ancient Egypt and Sumer, spreading across modern India and Pakistan at its peak, 5500 years ago. During this period, not much is known about social attitudes toward sex. One thing that has been observed about sexuality in the Indus Valley civilization is the practice of fertility rituals.^{[citation needed]}

The first evidence of attitudes towards sex comes from the ancient texts of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, the first of which are perhaps the oldest surviving literature in the world. These most ancient texts, the Vedas, reveal moral perspectives on sexuality, marriage and fertility prayers. The epics of ancient India, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, which may have been first composed as early as 1500 BCE, had a huge effect on the culture of Asia, influencing later Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan and South East Asian culture. These texts support the view that in ancient India, sex was considered a mutual duty between a married couple, where husband and wife pleasured each other equally, but where sex was considered a private affair, at least by followers of the aforementioned Indian religions. It seems that polygamy was allowed during ancient times. In practice, this seems to have only been practiced by rulers, with common people maintaining a monogamous marriage. It is common in many cultures for a ruling class to practice both polyandry and polygamy as a way of preserving dynastic succession. Nudity in art, was considered acceptable in southern India, as shown by the paintings at Ajanta and the sculptures of the time. It is likely that as in most countries with tropical climates, Indians from some regions did not need to wear clothes, and other than for fashion, there was no practical need to cover the upper half of the body. This is supported by historical evidence, which shows that men in many parts of ancient India mostly dressed only the lower half of their bodies with clothes and upper part of body was covered by gold and precious stones, jewellery, while women used to wear trditional sarees made of silk and expensive clothes as a symbol of their wealth. As Indian civilization further developed over the 1500 years after the births of Mahavira, and the writing of the Upanishads around 500 BCE,It was somewhere between the 1st and 6th centuries that the Kama Sutra, originally known as Vatsyayana Kamasutram ('Vatsyayana's Aphorisms on Love'), was written. This philosophical work on kama shastra, or 'science of love', was intended as both an exploration of human desire, including infidelity, and a technical guide to pleasing a sexual partner within a marriage. This is not the only example of such a work in ancient India, but is the most widely known in modern times. It is probably during this period that the text spread to ancient China, along with Buddhist scriptures, where Chinese versions were written. It is also during 10th century to 12th century that some of India's most famous ancient works of art were produced, often freely depicting romantic themes and situations. Examples of this include the depiction of Apsarases, roughly equivalent to nymphs or sirens in European and Arabic mythology, on some ancient temples, .The best and most famous example of this can be seen at the Khajurahocomplex in central India built around 9th to 12th century.

Sultanate and Mughal Era[link]

After the foundation of the Delhi Sultanates and the set up of several Muslim states in the 14th-15th centuries in India, Islamic customs of the complete covering up of women changed the approach that once existed in India. It is not to say that the "Purdah" system became prevalent or was enforced in this period, because there were several Hindu customs which had the same principles - such as the 'ghunghat' of the marwaris of Rajputana. However, it came to be followed more like a staunch rule than a tradition, and of course it must be remembered that this was not an indigenous custom, being in fact imported from areas in the Persian sphere of influence in South Asia such as Rajasthan or under Turkic-Mongol Muslim conquerors.

Devdasi[link]

This section requires expansion.

Colonial era[link]

At the end of the medieval period in India and Europe, colonial powers such as the Portuguese, British and French were seeking ways of circumventing the Muslim controlled lands of western Asia, and re-opening ancient Greek and Roman trade routes with the fabled rich lands of India, resulting in the first attempts to sail around Africa, and circumnavigate the globe. Various European powers eventually found ways of reaching India, where they allied with various post-Mughal Indian kings, and later managed to annex India. Although the Portuguese and French had managed to set up some small enclaves in India, such as Goa, where the Catholic inquisition forcibly converted some of the population of the small region to Catholicism, it was the arrival of the British, who managed to annex the entire Indian subcontinent through alliances with various monarchs, that had the largest effect on the culture of India and its attitudes to sex. Rule was indirect at first through the East India Company whose administrators did not necessarily interfere extensively and even took advantage of the tattered remnants of Hindu liberalism in sexual matters, for example through liaisons and by maintaining de facto wives. At the same time there were significant number of orientalists who saw India as a great civilization, invented the field of Indology, and advocated a more accepting point of view.

However the East India Company was progressively brought under the control of the British Parliament and Crown by Acts of Parliament in 1773, 1784, 1786, 1813, 1833 and 1853. The Indian Rebellion of 1857 caused widespread condemnation of the East India Company's alleged shortcomings and the Government of India Act 1858 completely did away with the Company's intermediary role, ushering in the British Raj era of direct rule. This put India much more at the mercy of Britain's official guardians of morality. Victorian values stigmatized Indian sexual liberalism. The pluralism of Hinduism, and its liberal attitudes were condemned as 'barbaric' and proof of inferiority of the East. The effects of British education, administration, scholarship of Indian history and biased literature all led to the effective 'colonization' of the Indian mind with European values. This led some Indians wanting to conform their religious practices and moral values to Victorian ideas of "high" civilization.

A Marriage guide published in Madras Presidency, in 1920s

A number of movements were set up by prominent citizens, such as the Brahmo Samaj in Bengal and the Prarthana Samaj in Bombay Presidency, to work for the 'reform' of Indian private and public life. Paradoxically while this new consciousness led to the promotion of education for women and (eventually) a raise in the age of consent and reluctant acceptance of remarriage for widows, it also produced a puritanical attitude to sex even within marriage and the home. The liberality of precolonial India had also respected the home and relationships. But after coming British hidden sexual abuses such as intimidating relatives into incest and spousal rape from public view increased, and it destroyed the holy and scientific thoughts about sex and relationships. With the influence of colonial era, women lost their virginity and purity of mental ideas for sex. There were old and scientific ideas of 'temperance' and good conduct overlay and reinforced ancient ideas of asceticism and yogic self-containment, the 'brahmacharya' of ancient tradition. Countries such as India became more conservative after being influenced by European ideas. At the same time, translations of the Kama Sutra and other 'exotic' texts became available in Europe, where they gained notorious status, and ironically may have triggered early foundations of the sexual revolution in the west.

Modern India[link]

Conservative views of sexuality are now the norm in the modern republic of India, and South Asia in general. It is often argued that this is partly related to the effect of colonial influence, as well as to the puritanical elements of Islam in countries like Pakistan (e.g. the Islamic revivalist movements, which has influenced many Muslims in Pakistan and Bangladesh). However, such views were also prevalent in the precolonial era, especially since the advent of Islam in India which brought purdah as ideal for Muslim women. Before the gradual spread of Islam largely through the influence of Sufis, there seems to be evidence of liberal attitudes towards sexuality and nudity in art. However, scholars debate the degree to which Islam, as a mass and varied phenomenon was responsible for this shift. While during the 1960s and 1970s in the west, many people discovered the ancient culture of sexual liberalism in India as a source for western free love movements, and neo-Tantric philosophy, India itself is currently the more prudish culture, embodying Victorian sensibilities that were abandoned decades ago in their country of origin. However, with increased exposure to world culture due to globalization, and the proliferation of progressive ideas due to greater education and wealth, India is beginning to go through a western-style sexual revolution of its own, especially in cosmopolitan cities. In Punjab due to the acute shortage of females due to sex selection and to keep farm holdings from shrinking through division under male heirs polygny is reviving as male heirs share a wife so that they do have to split farm holdings further due to questions of succession and can keep holdings within the family.

Current issues[link]

Modern issues that affect India, as part of the sexual revolution, have become points of argument between conservative and liberal forces, such as political parties and religious pressure groups. Many sexual issues are used as ways of political parties garnering votes amongst conservative Indians. These issues are also matters of ethical importance in a nation where freedom and equality are guaranteed in the constitution.

Sexuality in popular entertainment[link]

The entertainment industry is an important part of modern India, and is expressive of Indian society in general. Historically, Indian television and film has lacked the frank depiction of sex; until recently, even kissing scenes were considered taboo. On the other hand, rape scenes or scenes showing sexual assault were shown. Currently, some Indian states show soft-core sexual scenes and nudity in films, whilst other areas don't. Mainstream films are still largely catered for the masses of India, however art films and foreign films containing sexuality are watched by middle-class Indians. Because of the same process of glamorization of film entertainment that occurred in Hollywood, Indian cinema, mainly the Hindi speaking Bollywood industry, is also beginning to add sexual overtones.

Pornography[link]

The distribution and production of pornography are illegal in India. Accessing pornography in private is, however, not illegal. But softcore films have been common since the late 1970s, produced by many directors. Magazine publications like Debonair (magazine), fantasy, chastity, royal magazine, dafa 302 exist in India.

• Savita Bhabhi [3] is a manga-like erotic cartoon strip about the adventures of a bored and husband-neglected housewife. *A Desi Fantasy website solicited and gave access to user-written pornographic narratives but as of 2010 seemed to have disappeared into the ether, leaving behind a compendium in a blog hosted outside India. [4] These narratives are in a mixture of English and romanized Hindi/Urdu. They are notable for situations inside traditional extended families that might be considered incestuous as well as for situations outside traditional families, perhaps documenting the sex lives of Indian yuppies whose lifestyles seem to resemble their western counterparts'. *The Information Technology Act, Chapter XI Paragraph 67, the Government of India clearly considers online pornography as a punishable offense. The CEO of the Indian subsidiary of eBay was charged with various criminal offenses for allowing the trading of a CD containing these clips on the website.^[1]

Sex industry[link]

While trade in sex was frowned upon in ancient India, it was tolerated and regulated so as to reduce the damage that it could do. However, stigmatisation in modern times has left the many poor sex workers with problems of exploitation and rampant infection, including AIDS, and has allowed a huge people-trafficking industry like that of Eastern Europe to take hold. Many poor young women are kidnapped from villages—particularly in Nepal—and sold into sexual slavery.^[2][3] There have been some recent efforts to regulate the Indian sex industry.

Sexual abuse of children[link]

In 2007 the Ministry of Women and Child Development did a survey of children and young adults. [5] 53.22% of children reported having faced sexual abuse. 5.69% had been sexually assaulted (oral sex or penetration of vagina or anus). 21.90% of child respondents faced severe forms of sexual abuse including assault, exposure or being photographed in the nude. 50.76% reported other forms of sexual abuse including sexual advances in travel or marriage situations, exhibitionism and being forced to view pornographic material. 50% of abusers were known to the children or in a position of trust and responsibility. Most children had not reported the matter. The authors concluded:

The subject of child sexual abuse is still a taboo in India. There is a conspiracy of silence around the subject and a very large percentage of people feel that this is a largely western problem and that child sexual abuse does not happen in India. Part of the reason of course lies in a traditional conservative family and community structure that does not talk about sex and sexuality at all. Parents do not speak to children about sexuality as well as physical and emotional changes that take place during their growing years. As a result of this, all forms of sexual abuse that a child faces do not get reported to anyone. The girl, whose mother has not spoken to her even about a basic issue like menstruation, is unable to tell her mother about the uncle or neighbour who has made sexual advances towards her. This silence encourages the abuser so that he is emboldened to continue the abuse and to press his advantage to subject the child to more severe forms of sexual abuse. Very often children do not even realize that they are being abused. In a study on Women's Experiences of Incest and Childhood Sexual Abuse conducted by RAHI, some of the respondents have stated that till the questionnaire was administered to them they did not realize that they had been abused as children. They had buried the incident as a painful and shameful one not to be ever told to anyone. Some deep seated fear has always moved Indian families to keep their girls and their 'virginity' safe and many kinds of social and cultural practices have been built around ensuring this. This shows that there is knowledge of the fact that a girl child is unsafe though nobody talks about it. However this fear is only around girls and the safety net is generally not extended to boys. There is evidence from this as well as other studies that boys are equally at risk.

In recent years, movies based in India have addressed the issue of sexual abuse. The 2001 film Monsoon Wedding written by Sabrina Dhawan and directed by Mira Nair had a subplot with a longtime abuser finally confronted.^[4][5] And in the Oscar-winning 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, part of the plot involves the protagonist's attempt to rescue his childhood friend and love interest from a gangster who has captured her and intends to sell her virginity. It should be noted, however, that both of these films were produced outside of India, though Mira Nair is Indian by birth. Aamir Khan also raised the topic of child sexual abuse through his program "Satyamev Jayete" in its second episode.

See also[link]

• History of human sexuality
• Homosexuality in India
• Homosexuality and Hinduism
• Homosexuality and Sikhism
• Kamashastra
• Non-westernized concepts of male sexuality

Further reading[link]

• Alain Daniélou. The Complete Kama Sutra: The First Unabridged Modern Translation of the Classic Indian Text. Inner Traditions,1993 ISBN 0-89281-525-6
• The Continent of Circe by Nirad C. Chaudhuri – this has a chapter devoted to the topic.

References[link]

External links[link]

• * BBC Article on AIDS Awareness in India
• Indian Sex Life Survey - Average Ages, Statistics on Foreplay, Intercourse & Frequency, Extramarital & Premarital Data, Homosexuality in Indian Society and other such related issues
• History of Sex: Ancient India
• History of Sex in India - Amrita, the Nectar of the Goddess
• IASSTD & AIDS - Indian Association for the Study of Sexually Transmitted Diseases & AIDS
• India In World Sex Survey - Frequency of sex in India & other data
• The Pink Panties Campaign: The Indian Women's Sexual Revolution. Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific Issue 23, January 2010

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Republic of India Bhārat Gaṇarājya
Flag Emblem
Motto:  "Satyameva Jayate" (Sanskrit)    "Truth Alone Triumphs"[1]
Anthem:  Jana Gana Mana    "Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All People"[2]
National song: Vande Mataram         "I Bow to Thee, Mother"[a][1]
Area controlled by India is in dark green. Claimed but uncontrolled regions are in light green.
Capital		New Delhi 28°36.8′N 77°12.5′E / 28.6133°N 77.2083°E / 28.6133; 77.2083
Largest city		Mumbai
Official language(s)		Hindi, English Hindi in the Devanagari script is the official language of the Union and English an additional language for official work.[1]
Recognised regional languages		Eighth Schedule Assamese Bengali Bodo Dogri Gujarati Hindi Kannada Kashmiri Konkani Maithili Malayalam Manipuri Marathi Nepali Oriya Punjabi Sanskrit Santali Sindhi Tamil Telugu Urdu
National language(s)		none[3]
Demonym		Indian
Government		Federal parliamentary constitutional republic[1]
-	President	Pratibha Patil
-	Vice President	Mohammad Hamid Ansari
-	Prime Minister	Manmohan Singh (INC)
-	Speaker of the House	Meira Kumar (INC)
-	Chief Justice	S. H. Kapadia
Legislature		Parliament of India
-	Upper house	Rajya Sabha
-	Lower house	Lok Sabha
Independence		from the United Kingdom
-	Declared	15 August 1947
-	Republic	26 January 1950
Area
-	Total	3,287,263 km2 [b](7th) 1,269,219 sq mi
-	Water (%)	9.56
Population
-	2011 census	1,210,193,422[4] (2nd)
-	Density	369.1/km2 (31st) 956.1/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$4.457 trillion[5] (3rd)
-	Per capita	$3,693[5] (129th)
GDP (nominal)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$1.676 trillion[5] (11th)
-	Per capita	$1,388[5] (140th)
Gini (2004)		36.8[6] (79th)
HDI (2011)		0.547[7] (medium) (134th)
Currency		Indian rupee () (INR)
Time zone		IST (UTC+05:30)
-	Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+05:30)
Date formats		dd-mm-yyyy (AD)
Drives on the		left
ISO 3166 code		IN
Internet TLD		.in other TLDs .ভারত .ભારત .भारत .ଭାରତ‌ .ਭਾਰਤ .இந்தியா .భారత్ بھارت.
Calling code		91

India (ⁱ/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya),^[c] is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;^[d] China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.

Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history.^[8] Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.

The Indian economy is the world's eleventh-largest by nominal GDP and third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the fastest-growing major economies; it is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, illiteracy, corruption, and inadequate public healthcare. A nuclear weapons state and a regional power, it has the third-largest standing army in the world and ranks ninth in military expenditure among nations. India is a federal constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system consisting of 28 states and 7 union territories. India is a pluralistic, multilingual, and multiethnic society. It is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats.

Etymology[link]

The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu. The latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River.^[9] The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi (Ινδοί), which translates as "the people of the Indus".^[10] The geographical term Bharat (pronounced [ˈbʱaːrət̪] ( listen)), which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in various subtle guises.^[11] The eponym of Bharat is Bharata, a mythological figure that Hindu scriptures describe as a legendary emperor of ancient India. Hindustan ([ɦɪnd̪ʊˈst̪aːn] ( listen)) was originally a Persian word that meant "Land of the Hindus"; prior to 1947, it referred to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan. It is occasionally used to solely denote India in its entirety.^[12][13]

History[link]

Ancient India[link]

The earliest anatomically modern human remains found in South Asia date from approximately 30,000 years ago.^[14] Nearly contemporaneous Mesolithic rock art sites have been found in many parts of the Indian subcontinent, including at the Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh.^[15] Around 7000 BCE, the first known Neolithic settlements appeared on the subcontinent in Mehrgarh and other sites in western Pakistan.^[16] These gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation,^[17] the first urban culture in South Asia;^[18] it flourished during 2500–1900 BCE in Pakistan and western India.^[19] 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.^[18]

Paintings at the Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, 6th century

During the period 2000–500 BCE, in terms of culture, many regions of the subcontinent transitioned from the Chalcolithic to the Iron Age.^[20] The Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism,^[21] were composed during this period,^[22] and historians have analysed these to posit a Vedic culture in the Punjab region and the upper Gangetic Plain.^[20] Most historians also consider this period to have encompassed several waves of Indo-Aryan migration into the subcontinent from the north-west.^[23][21][24] The caste system, which created a hierarchy of priests, warriors, and free peasants, but which excluded indigenous peoples by labeling their occupations impure, arose during this period.^[25] On the Deccan Plateau, archaeological evidence from this period suggests the existence of a chiefdom stage of political organisation.^[20] In southern India, a progression to sedentary life is indicated by the large number of megalithic monuments dating from this period,^[26] as well as by nearby traces of agriculture, irrigation tanks, and craft traditions.^[26]

In the late Vedic period, around the 5th century BCE, the small chiefdoms of the Ganges Plain and the north-western regions had consolidated into 16 major oligarchies and monarchies that were known as the mahajanapadas.^[27][28] The emerging urbanisation and the orthodoxies of this age also led to the resurgence of ancient Shramanic traditions of Buddhism and Jainism,^[29] both of which were independent religions.^[30] Buddhism, based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha attracted followers from all social classes excepting the middle;^[29][31] Jainism came into prominence around the same time during the life of its exemplar, Mahavira.^[32] In an age of increasing urban wealth, both religions held up renunciation as an ideal,^[33] and both established long-lasting monasteries.^[27] Politically, by the 3rd century BCE, the kingdom of Magadha had annexed or reduced other states to emerge as the Mauryan Empire.^[27] The empire was once thought to have controlled most of the subcontinent excepting the far south, but its core regions are now thought to have been separated by large autonomous areas.^[34][35] 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 the Buddhist dhamma.^[36][37]

The Sangam literature of the Tamil language reveals that, between 200 BCE and 200 CE, the southern peninsula was being ruled by the Cheras, the Cholas, and the Pandyas, dynasties that traded extensively with the Roman Empire and with West and South-East Asia.^[38][39] In North India, Hinduism asserted patriarchal control within the family, leading to increased subordination of women.^[40][27] By the 4th and 5th centuries, the Gupta Empire had created in the greater Ganges Plain a complex system of administration and taxation that became a model for later Indian kingdoms.^[41][42] Under the Guptas, a renewed Hinduism based on devotion rather than the management of ritual began to assert itself.^[43] The renewal was reflected in a flowering of sculpture and architecture, which found patrons among an urban elite.^[42] Classical Sanskrit literature flowered as well, and Indian science, astronomy, medicine, and mathematics made significant advances.^[42]

Medieval India[link]

The granite tower of Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur was completed in 1010 CE by Raja Raja Chola I.

The Indian early medieval age, 600 CE to 1200 CE, is defined by regional kingdoms and cultural diversity.^[44] 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.^[45] When his successor attempted to expand eastwards, he was defeated by the Pala king of Bengal.^[45] When the Chalukyas attempted to expand southwards, they were defeated by the Pallavas from farther south, who in turn were opposed by the Pandyas and the Cholas from still farther south.^[45] No ruler of this period was able to create an empire and consistently control lands much beyond his core region.^[44] 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.^[46] The caste system consequently began to show regional differences.^[46]

In the 6th and 7th centuries, the first devotional hymns were created in the Tamil language.^[47] They were imitated all over India and led to both the resurgence of Hinduism and the development of all modern languages of the subcontinent.^[47] 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.^[48] Temple towns of various sizes began to appear everywhere as India underwent another urbanisation.^[48] By the 8th and 9th centuries, the effects were felt in South-East Asia, as South Indian culture and political systems were exported to lands that became part of modern-day Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Java.^[49] Indian merchants, scholars, and sometimes armies were involved in this transmission; South-East Asians took the initiative as well, with many sojourning in Indian seminaries and translating Buddhist and Hindu texts into their languages.^[49]

After 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.^[50] The sultanate was to control much of North India, and to make many forays into South India. Although at first disruptive for the Indian elites, the sultanate largely left its vast non-Muslim subject population to its own laws and customs.^[51][52] 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 the subcontinent, thereby creating a syncretic Indo-Islamic culture in the north.^[53][54] The sultanate's raiding and weakening of the regional kingdoms of South India paved the way for the indigenous Vijayanagara Empire.^[55] Embracing a strong Shaivite tradition and building upon the military technology of the sultanate, the empire came to control much of peninsular India,^[56] and was to influence South Indian society for long afterwards.^[55]

Early modern India[link]

Scribes and artists in the Mughal court, 1590–1595

In the early 16th century, northern India, being then under mainly Muslim rulers,^[57] fell again to the superior mobility and firepower of a new generation of Central Asian warriors.^[58] The resulting Mughal Empire did not stamp out the local societies it came to rule, but rather balanced and pacified them through new administrative practices^[59][60] and diverse and inclusive ruling elites,^[61] leading to more systematic, centralised, and uniform rule.^[62] Eschewing tribal bonds and Islamic identity, especially under Akbar, the Mughals united their far-flung realms through loyalty, expressed through a Persianised culture, to an emperor who had near-divine status.^[61] The Mughal state's economic policies, deriving most revenues from agriculture^[63] and mandating that taxes be paid in the well-regulated silver currency,^[64] caused peasants and artisans to enter larger markets.^[62] The relative peace maintained by the empire during much of the 17th century was a factor in India's economic expansion,^[62] resulting in greater patronage of painting, literary forms, textiles, and architecture.^[65] 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.^[66] Expanding commerce during Mughal rule gave rise to new Indian commercial and political elites along the coasts of southern and eastern India.^[66] As the empire disintegrated, many among these elites were able to seek and control their own affairs.^[67]

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.^[68][69] The East India Company's control of the seas, greater resources, and more advanced military training and technology led it to increasingly flex its military muscle and caused it to become attractive to a portion of the Indian elite; both these factors were crucial in allowing the Company to gain control over the Bengal region by 1765 and sideline the other European companies.^{[70][68][71][72]} 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 the 1820s.^[73] India was now no longer exporting manufactured goods as it long had, but was instead supplying the British empire with raw materials, and many historians consider this to be the onset of India's colonial period.^[68] By this time, with its economic power severely curtailed by the British parliament and itself effectively made an arm of British administration, the Company began to more consciously enter non-economic arenas such as education, social reform, and culture.^[74]

Modern India[link]

The British Indian Empire, from the 1909 edition of The Imperial Gazetteer of India. Areas directly governed by the British are shaded pink; the princely states under British suzerainty are in yellow.

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 the East India Company rule in India 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.^{[75][76][77][78]} However, disaffection with the Company also grew during this time, and set off 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.^[79][80] Although the rebellion was suppressed by 1858, it led to the dissolution of the East India Company and to 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.^[81][82] In the decades following, public life gradually emerged all over India, leading eventually to the founding of the Indian National Congress in 1885.^{[83][84][85][86]}

Jawaharlal Nehru (left) became India's first prime minister in 1947. Mahatma Gandhi (right) led the independence movement.

The rush of technology and the commercialisation of agriculture in the second half of the 19th century was marked by economic setbacks—many small farmers became dependent on the whims of far-away markets.^[87] There was an increase in the number of large-scale famines,^[88] and, despite the risks of infrastructure development borne by Indian taxpayers, little industrial employment was generated for Indians.^[89] There were also salutary effects: commercial cropping, especially in the newly canalled Punjab, led to increased food production for internal consumption.^[90] The railway network provided critical famine relief,^[91] notably reduced the cost of moving goods,^[91] and helped nascent Indian-owned industry.^[90] After World War I, in which some one million Indians served,^[92] a new period began. It was marked by British reforms but also repressive legislation, by more strident Indian calls for self-rule, and by the beginnings of a non-violent movement of non-cooperation, of which Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi would become the leader and enduring symbol.^[93] During the 1930s, slow legislative reform was enacted by the British; the Indian National Congress won victories in the resulting elections.^[94] The next decade was beset with crises: Indian participation in World War II, the Congress's final push for non-cooperation, and an upsurge of Muslim nationalism. All were capped by the advent of independence in 1947, but tempered by the bloody partition of the subcontinent into two states: India and Pakistan.^[95]

Vital to India's self-image as an independent nation was its constitution, completed in 1950, which put in place a sovereign, secular, and democratic republic.^[96] In the 60 years since, India has had a mixed bag of successes and failures.^[97] It has remained a democracy with civil liberties, an activist Supreme Court, and a largely independent press.^[97] Economic liberalisation, which was begun in the 1990s, has created a large urban middle class, transformed India into one of the world's fastest-growing economies,^[98] and increased its geopolitical clout. Indian movies, music, and spiritual teachings play an increasing role in global culture.^[97] Yet, India has also been weighed down by seemingly unyielding poverty, both rural and urban;^[97] by religious and caste-related violence;^[99] by Maoist-inspired Naxalite insurgencies;^[100] and by separatism in Jammu and Kashmir.^[101] It has unresolved territorial disputes with China, which escalated into the Sino-Indian War of 1962;^[102] and with Pakistan, which flared into wars fought in 1947, 1965, 1971, and 1999.^[102] The India–Pakistan nuclear rivalry came to a head in 1998.^[103] India's sustained democratic freedoms are unique among the world's new nations; however, in spite of its recent economic successes, freedom from want for its disadvantaged population remains a goal yet to be achieved.^[104]

Geography[link]

A topographic map of India

India comprises the bulk of the Indian subcontinent and lies atop the minor Indian tectonic plate, which in turn belongs to the Indo-Australian Plate.^[105] India's defining geological processes commenced 75 million years ago when the Indian subcontinent, then part of the southern supercontinent Gondwana, began a north-eastward drift across the then-unformed Indian Ocean that lasted fifty million years.^[105] The subcontinent's subsequent collision with, and subduction under, the Eurasian Plate bore aloft the planet's highest mountains, the Himalayas. They abut India in the north and the north-east.^[105] In the former seabed immediately south of the emerging Himalayas, plate movement created a vast trough that has gradually filled with river-borne sediment;^[106] it now forms the Indo-Gangetic Plain.^[107] To the west lies the Thar Desert, which is cut off by the Aravalli Range.^[108]

The original Indian plate survives as peninsular India, which is 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 the east.^[109] 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;^[110] the plateau contains the nation's oldest rock formations, some of them 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^[e] and 68° 7' and 97° 25' east longitude.^[111]

The Kedar Range of the Greater Himalayas rises behind Kedarnath Temple, which is one of the twelve jyotirlinga shrines.

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 the Andaman, Nicobar, and Lakshadweep island chains.^[112] 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.^[112]

Major Himalayan-origin rivers that substantially flow through India include the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, both of which drain into the Bay of Bengal.^[113] Important tributaries of the Ganges include the Yamuna and the Kosi; the latter's extremely low gradient often leads to severe floods and course changes.^[114] 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;^[115] and the Narmada and the Tapti, which drain into the Arabian Sea.^[116] 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.^[117] 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.^[118]

The Indian climate is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar Desert, both of which drive the economically and culturally pivotal summer and winter monsoons.^[119] 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.^[120][121] The Thar Desert plays a crucial role in attracting the moisture-laden south-west summer monsoon winds that, between June and October, provide the majority of India's rainfall.^[119] Four major climatic groupings predominate in India: tropical wet, tropical dry, subtropical humid, and montane.^[122]

Biodiversity[link]

The brahminy kite (Haliastur indus) is identified with Garuda, the mythical mount of Vishnu. It hunts for fish and other prey near the coasts and around inland wetlands.

India lies within the Indomalaya ecozone and contains three biodiversity hotspots.^[123] One of 17 megadiverse countries, it hosts 7.6% of all mammalian, 12.6% of all avian, 6.2% of all reptilian, 4.4% of all amphibian, 11.7% of all piscine, and 6.0% of all flowering plant species.^[124] Endemism is high among plants, 33%, and among ecoregions such as the shola forests.^[125] Habitat ranges from the tropical rainforest of the Andaman Islands, Western Ghats, and North-East India to the coniferous forest of the Himalaya. Between these extremes lie the moist deciduous sal forest of eastern India; the dry deciduous teak forest of central and southern India; and the babul-dominated thorn forest of the central Deccan and western Gangetic plain.^[126] Under 12% of India's landmass bears thick jungle.^[127] The medicinal neem, widely used in rural Indian herbal remedies, is a key Indian tree. The luxuriant pipal fig tree, shown on the seals of Mohenjo-daro, shaded Gautama Buddha as he sought enlightenment.

Shola highlands are found in Kudremukh National Park, which is part of the Western Ghats.

Many Indian species descend from taxa originating in Gondwana, from which the Indian plate separated more than 105 million years before present.^[128] Peninsular India's subsequent movement towards and collision with the Laurasian landmass set off a mass exchange of species. Epochal volcanism and climatic changes 20 million years ago forced a mass extinction.^[129] Mammals then entered India from Asia through two zoogeographical passes flanking the rising Himalaya.^[126] Thus, while 45.8% of reptiles and 55.8% of amphibians are endemic, only 12.6% of mammals and 4.5% of birds are.^[124] Among them are the Nilgiri leaf monkey and Beddome's toad of the Western Ghats. India contains 172 IUCN-designated threatened species, or 2.9% of endangered forms.^[130] These include the Asiatic lion, the Bengal tiger, and the Indian white-rumped vulture, which, by ingesting the carrion of diclofenac-laced cattle, nearly went 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 substantially expanded. In 1972, India enacted the Wildlife Protection Act^[131] and Project Tiger to safeguard crucial wilderness; the Forest Conservation Act was enacted in 1980 and amendments added in 1988.^[132] India hosts more than five hundred wildlife sanctuaries and thirteen biosphere reserves,^[133] four of which are part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves; twenty-five wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention.^[134]

Politics[link]

A parliamentary joint session is held in the Sansad Bhavan.

India is the world's most populous democracy.^[135] A parliamentary republic with a multi-party system,^[136] it has six recognised national parties, including the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and more than 40 regional parties.^[137] The Congress is considered centre-left or "liberal" in Indian political culture, and the BJP centre-right or "conservative". For most of the period between 1950—when India first became a republic—and the late 1980s, the Congress held a majority in the parliament. Since then, however, it has increasingly shared the political stage with the BJP,^[138] as well as with powerful regional parties which have often forced the creation of multi-party coalitions at the centre.^[139]

In the Republic of India's first three general elections, in 1951, 1957, and 1962, the Jawaharlal Nehru-led Congress won easy victories. On Nehru's death in 1964, Lal Bahadur Shastri briefly became prime minister; he was succeeded, after his own unexpected death in 1966, by 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 three years. Voted back into power in 1980, 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: it lasted just under two years.^[140] Elections were held again in 1991; no party won an absolute majority. But the Congress, as the largest single party, was able to form a minority government led by P. V. Narasimha Rao.^[141]

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. In 1998, the BJP was able to form a successful coalition, the National Democratic Alliance, or NDA. Led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the NDA became the first non-Congress government to complete a five-year term.^[142] In the 2004 Indian general elections, again no party won an absolute majority, but the Congress emerged as the largest single party, forming another successful coalition: the United Progressive Alliance, or UPA. It had 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.^[143] 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.^[144]

Government[link]

The Rashtrapati Bhavan is the official residence of the President of India.

India is a federation with a parliamentary system governed under the Constitution of India, which serves as the country's supreme legal document. It is a constitutional republic and representative democracy, in which "majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law". Federalism in India defines the power distribution between the federal government and the states. The government abides by constitutional checks and balances. The Constitution of India, which came into effect on 26 January 1950,^[145] states in its preamble that India is a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic.^[146] India's form of government, traditionally described as "quasi-federal" with a strong centre and weak states,^[147] has grown increasingly federal since the late 1990s as a result of political, economic, and social changes.^[148][149]

The federal government comprises three branches:

• Executive: The President of India is the head of state^[150] and is elected indirectly by a national electoral college^[151] for a five-year term.^[152] The Prime Minister of India is the head of government and exercises most executive power.^[153] Appointed by the president,^[154] the prime minister is by convention supported by the party or political alliance holding the majority of seats in the lower house of parliament.^[153] The executive branch of the Indian government consists of the president, the vice-president, and the Council of Ministers—the cabinet being its executive committee—headed by the prime minister. Any minister holding a portfolio must be a member of one of the houses of parliament.^[150] In the Indian parliamentary system, the executive is subordinate to the legislature; the prime minister and his council directly responsible to the lower house of the parliament.^[155]
• Legislative: The legislature of India is the bicameral parliament. It operates under a Westminster-style parliamentary system and comprises the upper house called the Rajya Sabha ("Council of States") and the lower called the Lok Sabha ("House of the People").^[156] The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body that has 245 members who serve in staggered six-year terms.^[157] Most are elected indirectly by the state and territorial legislatures in numbers proportional to their state's share of the national population.^[154] All but two of the Lok Sabha's 545 members are directly elected by popular vote; they represent individual constituencies via five-year terms.^[158] The remaining two members are nominated by the president from among the Anglo-Indian community, in case the president decides that they are not adequately represented.^[159]
• Judicial: India has a unitary three-tier judiciary that comprises the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of India, 21 High Courts, and a large number of trial courts.^[160] The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over cases involving fundamental rights and over disputes between states and the centre; it has appellate jurisdiction over the High Courts.^[161] It is judicially independent^[160] and has the power both to declare the law and to strike down union or state laws which contravene the constitution.^[162] The Supreme Court is also the ultimate interpreter of the constitution.^[163]

Subdivisions[link]

India is a federation composed of 28 states and 7 union territories.^[164] All states, as well as the union territories of Pondicherry and the National Capital Territory of Delhi, have elected legislatures and governments, both patterned on the Westminster model. The remaining five union territories are directly ruled by the centre through appointed administrators. In 1956, under the States Reorganisation Act, states were reorganised on a linguistic basis.^[165] Since then, their structure has remained largely unchanged. Each state or union territory is further divided into administrative districts. The districts in turn are further divided into tehsils and ultimately into villages.

States

Union territories

Foreign relations and military[link]

Manmohan Singh meets Dmitry Medvedev at the 34th G8 summit. India and Russia share extensive economic, defence, and technological ties.

Since its independence in 1947, India has maintained cordial relations with most nations. In the 1950s, it strongly supported decolonisation in Africa and Asia and played a lead role in the Non-Aligned Movement.^[166] In the late 1980s, the Indian military twice intervened abroad at the invitation of neighbouring countries: a peace-keeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990; and an armed intervention to prevent a coup d'état attempt in Maldives. India has tense relations with neighbouring Pakistan; 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 fourth, the 1971 war, followed from India's support for the independence of Bangladesh.^[167] After waging the 1962 Sino-Indian War and the 1965 war with Pakistan, India pursued close military and economic ties with the Soviet Union; by the late 1960s, the Soviet Union was its largest arms supplier.^[168]

Aside from ongoing strategic relations with Russia, India has wide-ranging defence relations with Israel and France. In recent years, it has played key roles in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and the World Trade Organisation. 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.^[169] India has close economic ties with South America, Asia, and Africa; it pursues 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.^[170][171]

The HAL Tejas is a light supersonic fighter developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics in Bangalore.^[172]

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.^[173] India conducted its first nuclear weapons test in 1974 and carried out further underground testing in 1998. Despite criticism and military sanctions, India has signed neither the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty nor the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, considering both to be flawed and discriminatory.^[174] India maintains a "no first use" nuclear policy and is developing a nuclear triad capability as a part of its "minimum credible deterrence" doctrine.^[175][176] It is developing a ballistic missile defence shield and, in collaboration with Russia, a fifth-generation fighter jet.^[177] Other indigenous military projects involve the design and implementation of Vikrant-class aircraft carriers and Arihant-class nuclear submarines.^[177]

Since the end of the Cold War, India has increased its economic, strategic, and military cooperation with the United States and the European Union.^[178] In 2008, a civilian nuclear agreement was signed between India and the United States. Although India possessed nuclear weapons at the time and was not 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.^[179] India subsequently signed cooperation agreements involving civilian nuclear energy with Russia,^[180] France,^[181] the United Kingdom,^[182] and Canada.^[183]

The President of India is the supreme commander of the nation's armed forces; with 1.6 million active troops, they compose the world's third-largest military.^[184] It comprises the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force; auxiliary organisations include the Strategic Forces Command and three paramilitary groups: the Assam Rifles, the Special Frontier Force, and the Indian Coast Guard.^[6] The official Indian defence budget for 2011 was US$36.03 billion, or 1.83% of GDP.^[185] For the fiscal year spanning 2012–2013, US$40.44 billion was budgeted.^[186] According to a 2008 SIPRI report, India's annual military expenditure in terms of purchasing power stood at US$72.7 billion,^[187] In 2011, the annual defence budget increased by 11.6%,^[188] although this does not include funds that reach the military through other branches of government.^[189] As of 2012, India is the world's largest arms importer; between 2007 and 2011, it accounted for 10% of funds spent on international arms purchases.^[190] Much of the military expenditure was focused on defence against Pakistan and countering growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean.^[188]

Economy[link]

Indian agriculture dates from the period 7,000–6,000 BCE,^[191] employs most of the national workforce, and is second in farm output worldwide. Above, a farmer works an ox-drawn plow in Kadmati, West Bengal.

According to the International Monetary Fund, as of 2011, the Indian economy is nominally worth US$1.676 trillion; it is the tenth-largest economy by market exchange rates, and is, at US$4.457 trillion, the third-largest by purchasing power parity, or PPP.^[192] With its average annual GDP growth rate of 5.8% over the past two decades, and reaching 6.1% during 2011-12,^[193] India is one of the world's fastest-growing economies.^[194] However, the country ranks 140th in the world in nominal GDP per capita and 129th in GDP per capita at PPP.^[192] 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 the nation to liberalise its economy;^[195] since then it has slowly moved towards a free-market system^[196][197] by emphasizing both foreign trade and direct investment inflows.^[198] India's recent economic model is largely capitalist.^[197]

The 487.6-million worker Indian labour force is the world's second-largest.^[6] The service sector makes up 55.6% of GDP, the industrial sector 26.3% and the agricultural sector 18.1%. Major agricultural products include rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, and potatoes.^[164] Major industries include textiles, telecommunications, chemicals, food processing, steel, transport equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, and software.^[164] In 2006, the share of external trade in India's GDP stood at 24%, up from 6% in 1985.^[196] In 2008, India's share of world trade was 1.68%;^[199] In 2011, India was the world's tenth-largest importer and the nineteenth-largest exporter.^[200] Major exports include petroleum products, textile goods, jewelry, software, engineering goods, chemicals, and leather manufactures.^[164] Major imports include crude oil, machinery, gems, fertiliser, and chemicals.^[164] Between 2001 and 2011, the contribution of petrochemical and engineering goods to total exports grew from 14% to 42%.^[201]

The Bombay Stock Exchange is Asia's oldest and India's largest bourse by market capitalisation.

Averaging an economic growth rate of 7.5% during the last few years,^[196] India has more than doubled its hourly wage rates during the last decade.^[202] Some 431 million Indians have left poverty since 1985; India's middle classes are projected to number around 580 million by 2030.^[203] Though ranking 51st in global competitiveness, India ranks 17th in financial market sophistication, 24th in the banking sector, 44th in business sophistication, and 39th in innovation, ahead of several advanced economies.^[204] With 7 of the world's top 15 information technology outsourcing companies based in India, the country is viewed as the second-most favourable outsourcing destination after the United States.^[205] India's consumer market, currently the world's eleventh-largest, is expected to become fifth-largest by 2030.^[203] Its telecommunication industry, the world's fastest-growing, added 227 million subscribers during the period 2010–11.^[206] Its automotive industry, the world's second fastest growing, increased domestic sales by 26% during 2009–10,^[207] and exports by 36% during 2008–09.^[208] Power capacity is 250 gigawatts, of which 8% is renewable.^[209]

Despite impressive economic growth during recent decades, India continues to face socio-economic challenges. India contains the largest concentration of people living below the World Bank's international poverty line of US$1.25 per day,^[210] the proportion having decreased from 60% in 1981 to 42% in 2005.^[211] Half of the children in India are underweight,^[212] and 46% of children under the age of three suffer from malnutrition.^[210] The Mid-Day Meal Scheme attempts to lower these rates.^[213] Since 1991, economic inequality between India's states has consistently grown: the per-capita net state domestic product of the richest states in 2007 was 3.2 times that of the poorest.^[214] Corruption in India is perceived to have increased significantly,^[215] with one report estimating the illegal capital flows since independence to be US$462 billion.^[216] Driven by growth, India's nominal GDP per capita has steadily increased from US$329 in 1991, when economic liberalisation began, to US$1,265 in 2010, and is estimated to increase to US$2,110 by 2016; however, it has always remained lower than those of other Asian developing countries such as Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and is expected to remain so in the near future.^[217]

According to a 2011 PricewaterhouseCoopers report, India's GDP at purchasing power parity could overtake that of the United States by 2045.^[218] 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.^[218] The report highlights key growth factors: a young and rapidly growing working-age population; growth in the manufacturing sector due to rising education and engineering skill levels; and sustained growth of the consumer market driven by a rapidly growing middle class.^[218] 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.^[219]

Demographics[link]

A population density and Indian Railways connectivity map. The already densely settled Indo-Gangetic Plain is the main driver of Indian population growth.

With 1,210,193,422 residents reported in the 2011 provisional census,^[4] India is the world's second-most populous country. Its population grew at 1.76% per annum during 2001–2011,^[4] down from 2.13% per annum in the previous decade (1991–2001).^[220] The human sex ratio, according to the 2011 census, is 940 females per 1,000 males.^[4] The median age was 24.9 in the 2001 census.^[6] Medical advances made in the last 50 years as well as increased agricultural productivity brought about by the "Green Revolution" have caused India's population to grow rapidly.^[221] India continues to face several public health-related challenges.^[222][223] According to the World Health Organisation, 900,000 Indians die each year from drinking contaminated water or breathing polluted air.^[224] There are around 50 physicians per 100,000 Indians.^[225] The number of Indians living in urban areas has grown by 31.2% between 1991 and 2001.^[226] Yet, in 2001, over 70% lived in rural areas.^[227][228] According to the 2001 census, there are 27 million-plus cities in India,^[226] with Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai being the largest. The literacy rate in 2011 was 74.04%: 65.46% among females and 82.14% among males.^[4] Kerala is the most literate state;^[229] Bihar the least.^[230]

Women attend a literacy programme in Thiruputkuzhi, Tamil Nadu.

India is home to two major language families: Indo-Aryan (spoken by about 74% of the population) and Dravidian (24%). Other languages spoken in India come from the Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burman language families. India has no national language.^[231] Hindi, with the largest number of speakers, is the official language of the government.^[232][233] English is used extensively in business and administration and has the status of a "subsidiary official language";^[234] it is important in education, especially as a medium of higher education. Each state and union territory has one or more official languages, and the constitution recognises in particular 21 "scheduled languages". The Constitution of India recognises 212 scheduled tribal groups which together constitute about 7.5% of the country's population.^[235] The 2001 census reported that Hinduism, with over 800 million adherents (80.5% of the population), was the largest religion in India; it is followed by Islam (13.4%), Christianity (2.3%), Sikhism (1.9%), Buddhism (0.8%), Jainism (0.4%), Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and the Bahá'í Faith.^[236] India has the world's largest Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Zoroastrian, and Bahá'í populations,^{[citation needed]} and has the third-largest Muslim population and the largest Muslim population for a non-Muslim majority country.^[237][238]