India country type. Geography of India

Distant India is of great interest to tourists. This country has thousands of ancient sights that will be of interest to any traveler. India is the birthplace of such religions as Buddhism and Jainism. However, millions of foreign tourists annually come to India not only, for example, to visit the places where the Buddha preached. India now has a large number of attractions, spa resorts, as well as ski and beach resorts.

Geography of India

India is located in South Asia. India borders Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal and Bhutan to the northeast, and Myanmar and Bangladesh to the east. In the south, India is washed by the Indian Ocean, in the southwest - by the Arabian Sea. The Bay of Bengal is located in the southwest of the country. The total area of ​​this country is 3,287,590 sq. km, including the islands, and the total length of the state border is 15,106 km.

India owns several islands. The largest of them are the Laccadive, Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Indian Ocean.

The Himalayas stretch across India from north to northeast. The highest peak in India is Mount Kanchenjunga, whose height reaches 8,856 meters.

There are several very large rivers in India - the Indus (its length is 3,180 km) and the Ganges (its length is 2,700 km). Among other Indian rivers, one should also highlight the Brahmaputra, Yamuna and Koshi.

Capital

The capital of India is New Delhi, which is now home to about 350 thousand people. New Delhi became the capital of India at the beginning of the 20th century. The "old" city in New Delhi was built back in mid-seventeenth century by Emperor Shah Jahan, ruler of the Mughal Empire.

Official language

The official language in India is Hindi. In turn, English is the "auxiliary state language" in India. In addition, 21 more languages ​​​​have official status in this country.

Religion

Over 80% of India's population is Hindu. More than 13% of the inhabitants of this country are Muslims, more than 2.3% are Christians, about 2% are Sikhs, and 0.7% are Buddhists.

State structure of India

Under the current Constitution of 1950, India is a parliamentary republic. Its head is the President, elected by a special collegium for 5 years (this collegium consists of deputies of parliament and members of state assemblies).

Parliament in India is bicameral - the Council of States (245 deputies) and the House of the People (545 deputies). Executive power in this country belongs to the President, the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers.

The main political parties in India are the Indian National Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Socialist Party, the Communist Party of India, the National People's Party, etc.

Climate and weather

The climate in India varies from tropical monsoon in the south to temperate in the north. The Himalayas, the Indian Ocean, and the Thar Desert have a great influence on the climate in India.

There are three seasons in India:
- from March to June - summer
- from July to October - monsoons
- from November to February - winter

The average annual air temperature in India is +25.3C. The hottest month in India is May, when the average maximum air temperature is +41C. The coldest month is January, when the average minimum temperature is +7C. The average annual rainfall is 715 mm.

Average air temperature in New Delhi:

January - +14С
- February - +17C
- March - +22C
- April - +28C
- May - +34C
- June - +34С
- July - +31C
- August - +30C
- September - +29C
- October - +26С
- November - +20C
- December - +15С

Seas and oceans of India

In the south, India is washed by the Indian Ocean, in the southwest - by the Arabian Sea. The Bay of Bengal is located in the southwest of the country. The total coastline in India, including the islands, is more than 7.5 thousand km.

Average sea temperature near Goa, India:

January - +28C
- February - +28C
- March - +28C
- April - +29C
- May - +30C
- June - +29C
- July - +28С
- August - +28C
- September - +28C
- October - +29C
- November - +29C
- December - +29С

Rivers and lakes

In India, there are two river systems with different "feeding" regimes. These are the Himalayan rivers (Ganges, Brahmaputra, etc.) and the rivers flowing into the ocean - Godavari, Krishna and Mahanadi.

One of the longest rivers in the world, the Indus, also flows through India, with a length of 3,180 km.

As for the lakes, there are not very many of them in India, but, nevertheless, there are very beautiful ones among them. The largest Indian lakes are Chilika, Sambhar, Koleru, Loktak, and Wular.

History

Neolithic human settlements on the territory of modern India appeared about 8 thousand years ago. In the years 2500-1900 BC. in Western India, there was the first urban culture, which formed around the cities of Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, and Dhalavira.

In 2000-500 BC. Hinduism spread in India, and at the same time a caste system began to take shape there, consisting of priests, warriors, and free peasants. Subsequently, castes of merchants and servants were formed.

Around the 5th century BC. India already had 16 independent states - Mahajanapada. At the same time, two religions were formed - Buddhism, founded by Siddhartha Gautama Buddha, and Jainism, founded by Mahavira.

In the VI century BC. some territories of India were conquered by the Persians, and in the 4th century the troops of Alexander the Great conquered some northwestern parts of this country.

In the II century BC. The Mauryan kingdom reaches its peak, conquering several neighboring Indian states.

In the 1st century BC. Indian kingdoms traded with ancient Rome. In the 7th century, most of the Indian kingdoms were united by King Harsha into a single state.

In 1526, the Mughal Empire was founded on the territory of modern India, the rulers of which were the descendants of Genghis Khan and Timur.

IN XVII-XIX centuries on the territory of modern India, the English East India Company was in charge, which even had its own army.

In 1857, the so-called. "Rebellion of the sepoys", whose dissatisfaction was just caused by the East India Company. After the suppression of the Sepoy Rebellion, the British liquidated the East India Company, and India became a colony of the British Empire.

In the 1920s, a massive national liberation movement began in India against British rule. In 1929, Great Britain gave India the rights of a dominion, but this did not help the British. In 1947, the independence of India was declared. Part of the Indian territories after some time became the independent state of Pakistan.

India was admitted to the UN back in 1945 (however, then this country was still British India).

culture

India is a country with a huge cultural heritage. Indian culture has had (and continues to have) an impact not only on neighboring countries, but also on other states located far from it.

Until now, India has a caste system of society, thanks to which Indian culture retains all its traditional values.

The expression of Indian traditions is music and dance. There is nothing like it anywhere else in the world.

Tourists in India, we recommend that you definitely see the local festivals and parades, of which there are a lot. Elephant processions, musical performances, "tiger dances", fireworks, sweets distribution, etc. often take place during festivals. The most famous Indian festivals are the Onam festival (dedicated to the memory of the mythical king Bali), the Tea Festival in Calcutta, Diwali, Ratha Yatra (Chariot Festival), Dussera in Delhi, Ganapati Festival in honor of god Ganesh.

Also of note is the interesting festival of sisters and brothers "Raksha Bandhan", celebrated every year in July. On this day, the sisters wrap their brothers' wrists with handkerchiefs, ribbons that protect them from evil forces. In return, the brothers give their sisters various gifts and swear to protect them.

Indian Cuisine

Indian cuisine is known throughout the world for its use of spices. It is thanks to the Indians that various seasonings and spices, including black pepper and curry, have become widespread in the world.

India is a very large country, and therefore it is not surprising that each of its regions has its own culinary traditions. However, all regions of India are characterized by the use of rice. This product is the basis of Indian cuisine.

It is generally accepted that the inhabitants of India are vegetarians, as required by their religious teachings. However, in fact, meat dishes are also quite popular in India, because there are also Muslims in this country. The most famous Indian meat dish is "tandoori chicken", when the chicken is marinated in spices and then baked in a special oven. Other famous Indian meat dishes are biryani (chicken with rice), gushtaba (meatballs stewed in yogurt with spices).

In general, meat dishes are most often included in the diet of the inhabitants of northern India. Fish and seafood are popular in coastal areas, while vegetables are popular in southern India.

We also recommend that tourists in India try dal soup puree, naan wheat cake, sabji vegetable stew, chapati and samba rice cakes, kichari (stewed rice with mung bean and spices), jalebi "(fritters in syrup), "rasgulla" (balls of cottage cheese), "gulab-jamun" (yogurt with flour and almonds).

Traditional non-alcoholic Indian drinks - "dhai" (yogurt or yogurt), "raita" (yogurt with mint and grated cucumber).

Landmarks of India

There are so many attractions in India that it is difficult for us to single out the most interesting ones. Perhaps the top ten Indian attractions, in our opinion, may include the following:

The construction of the Red Fort in Delhi began in 1638 and ended in 1648. This fortification was built by order of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. Now the Red Fort is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Taj Mahal was built in 1653 by order of Shah Jahan, Emperor of the Mughal Empire. This mausoleum was built by 20 thousand people over 20 years. The Taj Mahal is now on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Minaret Qutub Minar in Delhi

The height of this brick minaret is 72.6 meters. Its construction lasted from 1193 to 1368.

Elephant Cave near Mumbai

In the Cave of the Elephants there is an underground temple of Shiva with her sculptures. It was built several thousand years ago. The Elephant Cave is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The first small temple on the territory of the modern city of Hampi was built in the 7th century AD. Gradually, other religious buildings were built around it, and after a while there was already a huge beautiful temple complex in Hampi.

Harmandir Sahib is more commonly known as the Golden Temple. It is most important religious building for Sikhs. The construction of the Golden Temple in Amritsar began in the 16th century. In the 19th century, the upper floors of this temple were covered with gold.

Buddhist monks began to build their Ajanta caves around the 2nd century BC. These caves were abandoned around 650 AD. Only in 1819 did the British accidentally stumble upon the Ajanta Caves. To this day, unique frescoes have been preserved in these caves, telling about the life of people in the distant past.

This fort was built near the city of Amber in 1726. According to legend, once upon a time the largest cannon in the world was placed in Jaigarh Fort (it can still be seen now, because the ancient fort is now a museum).

Raj Ghat Palace in Delhi

Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were cremated in this palace.

Pearl Mosque in Agra

This mosque in Agra was built in the middle of the 17th century under the emperor Shah Jahan. No, there are no pearls in this mosque, just its domes shine very strongly in the sun.

Cities and resorts

The largest Indian cities are Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat, and Kanpur.

In India, there are a large number of beautiful seaside resorts with magnificent beaches. The sand on Indian beaches is white and fine. The most popular beach resort in India is Goa. Among other Indian beach resorts, the following should be mentioned: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, as well as beaches on the Andaman, Nicobar and Laccadive Islands.

There are several ski resorts in India that are considered the best in Asia. Of course, the winter resorts of India cannot be compared with the ski slopes of Austria, Italy and Switzerland. However, for those travelers who love to ski, and who at the same time want to get to know the unique India, holidays in Indian ski resorts will be remembered forever.

The most popular ski resorts in India are Auli, Dayara Bugayal, Mundali, Munsiari, Solang, Narkanda, Kufri, and Gulmarg. By the way, the skiing season in India lasts from mid-December to mid-May.

Many foreign tourists come to India to relax in the spa resorts. Indian spa centers offer clients various Ayurvedic programs. Among such spa resorts, first of all, Beach & Lake, Ayurma, and Ananda should be named.

Souvenirs/Shopping

Before you go to India think about what you want to buy there. Otherwise, the Indian merchants in the bazaars and shops will sell you a lot of different unnecessary goods, and you will lose thousands of rupees. We recommend tourists from India to bring Indian tea, various incense, bracelets (glass, metal, precious metals), amulets, talismans, marble souvenirs (for example, a small marble Taj Mahal), scarves, shawls, saris (traditional Indian dress ), leather shoes, sets of Indian dry spice mixes, henna paint, carpets, musical instruments (such as drums or an elegant wooden flute).

Office Hours

According to the form of the state-territorial structure, India is a federation, the subjects of which are 25 states. The latter are large state-territorial formations, which are based on the linguistic community of the population. In addition to the states, India includes 7 union territories - administrative units of central subordination, relatively small in size and population. Mostly former non-English colonies (Portuguese and French) were allocated to the union territories, which, due to their small area and small population, could not receive state status. Currently, from a legal point of view, the union territories do not differ from the states.

The current Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly in 1950. Being the largest Basic Law in the world, it combines the constitutional and legal traditions of Great Britain with certain provisions of the constitutions of the USA, Ireland, Canada, Australia, the USSR, the Weimar Republic in Germany, Japan and some other countries. Since its adoption, numerous changes and additions (about 500) have been made to it. Along with the Constitution, the sources of state law in India are the decisions of the Supreme Court in the order of constitutional review, laws of constitutional significance, customs, acts of delegated legislation, etc.

By form of government, India is a republic, using many of the traditions of English parliamentarism. The political regime is a developing democracy.

The highest legislative body is the Parliament, consisting of the President of the Republic and 2 chambers: the Rajya Sabha - the Council of States (250 seats) and the Lok Sabha People's Chamber (545 seats). It is assumed that the People's (lower) house expresses the interests of the federation as a whole, and the Council of States (upper house) the interests of the subjects of the federation.

Elections to the Council of States are indirect. The 238 members of the Council are elected by proportional representation by elected members of the state legislatures for a term of 6 years with a rotation of 1/3 every 2 years. The remaining 12 members are appointed by the President from among persons with extensive practical experience and special merit in literature, science, art and social activities. Elected seats in the Council of States are not distributed equally, but not strictly proportional to the number. Some benefits are given to states with the smallest population.

Unlike the House of the People, the Council of States cannot be dissolved early. Its real significance in the political life of the country is not great. By exercising its right of suspensive veto, the Council may delay bills passed by the People's Chamber (except for financial bills) for up to 6 months. He can also amend bills and return them to the lower house.

Elections to the People's Chamber are held according to the majoritarian system of relative majority every 5 years, although the possibility of early elections is not ruled out. The People's Chamber exercises control over the government, which bears collective responsibility to it. This function can be carried out through the use by the deputies of the People's Chamber of the right of inquiry, discussion of government policy, as well as the opportunity to pass a vote of no confidence in the Government.

The quorum in each of the chambers is 1/10 of its composition. The bill passes in the chambers of 3 readings, after which it is sent to the President. If, however, the bill is amended in the second chamber, it is returned to the chamber that adopted it first. If it agrees with the proposed amendments, the bill is considered adopted by both houses and submitted to the signature of the President. In case of disagreement with the proposed amendments, the chambers go to negotiations, and if they fail, by decision of the President, they vote the bill jointly. The latter procedure is clearly more advantageous for the House of the People, which is more than twice the size of the members of the Council of States. There is a special procedure for the passage of financial legislation in parliament. The financial bill passed by the People's Chamber is sent to the Council of States. The upper house is obliged to return it within 14 days with its recommendations, which are not binding.

The head of state is the President, elected for a term of 5 years by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament and elected deputies of the state legislatures. The number of votes of all electors - members of the national Parliament is equal to the number of votes that the electors from the states have. The president can be re-elected more than once. In accordance with the Constitution, he is formally the head of the executive branch, the supreme commander of the armed forces, an integral part of the Parliament. He promulgates laws, has the right to introduce bills and veto adopted laws, appoints the Prime Minister, and, on the proposal of the latter, members of the Council of Ministers, convenes and dissolves sessions of Parliament, convenes both chambers to resolve differences between them, and may early dissolve the People's Chamber. The President also appoints the governors of the states, the Chief Justice and other members of the Supreme Court and the Superior Courts of the States, the Attorney General, the Auditor General and many senior civil servants, has the right to pardon. In foreign policy relations, the President performs representative functions. In the area of ​​homeland security, he has the power to declare a state of emergency, introduce presidential rule in the states, and declare a state of emergency in the field of finance. Decrees of the President have the force of law (Part 2 of Article 123 of the Constitution). If these decrees are not approved within 6 weeks from the beginning of the next session of Parliament, they lose their force.

Unlike Great Britain, acts of the head of state in India do not require a countersignature as necessary condition their reality. Nevertheless, the President in his actions must be guided by the recommendations of the Government. As a result, practically all the main powers of the President are exercised on his behalf by the Council of Ministers, or rather, by the Prime Minister.

The election of the Vice President is held by law once every 5 years by an electoral college consisting of deputies from both houses of the Indian Parliament, by secret ballot. The vice president is ex officio the chairman of the Council of States, but is not a member of Parliament.

The supreme executive power is practically concentrated in the hands of the Government (Council of Ministers) and personally the Prime Minister. According to constitutional custom, the President appoints as Prime Minister the leader of the parliamentary faction of the party that enjoys the support of the majority in the People's Chamber. The Government is a collegiate body, which includes, in addition to the Prime Minister, ministers appointed on the proposal of the Prime Minister also by the President of the country. The Prime Minister may, with the formal approval of the President, change the composition of the government and dismiss ministers. The minister must be a member of either House of Parliament or become one within 6 months. The Council of Ministers is responsible to the People's Chamber and, in the event of a vote of no confidence, may be dissolved by the President. However, the President, on the advice of the Prime Minister, may in this case prematurely dissolve the lower house.

The Council of Ministers rarely meets in its entirety. All issues of governing the country are decided by the Cabinet - a narrow composition of the Government, which includes the leaders of the most important branches of government. Decisions are usually taken by consensus without a formal vote. The heads of less important departments who are not members of the Cabinet are called Ministers of State.

The system of government in the states is in many ways similar to the federal one. State legislatures also have a bicameral structure. The lower chambers - the state legislatures - have from 60 to 500 deputies elected by direct vote for a 5-year term, and are vested with legislative powers within the competence of the states (administration of justice, local self-government, police maintenance, health care, the whole range of agrarian relations, education, local taxes, etc.). The upper houses - state legislative councils are elected for a period of 6 years from citizens over 30 years old according to the "single transferable vote" system in accordance with the following principle: 1/3 of all members of the council are elected by the State Legislative Assembly; 1/3 - municipal authorities; 1/12 university graduates who completed their studies more than 3 years ago; 1/12 - teachers of higher and secondary schools with at least 3 years of work experience; 1/6 is appointed by the governor from among persons with special knowledge in the field of science, literature, art, cooperative movement or social activities.

The local government is formed by the chief minister of the state from the members of the political party that won the election to the legislative assembly. The government of the states is built on the same principle as the union. It is based on a parliamentary system, in which the head of the executive branch is the constitutional head of the state (the governor appointed by the President of the country for a term of 5 years), acting in accordance with the recommendations of the Cabinet of Ministers, responsible to the elected legislature of the state. In fact, just as in the central Parliament, the chief minister of the state, approved by the governor, has real executive power.

The judicial and administrative bodies of all the states and the federation constitute a single system. The government of the Indian Union may give any direction to the state governments in the implementation of federal laws.

The Union Territories have a similar set of governments to the states, although their autonomy is worse. The system of bodies of the union territory is headed by a manager appointed by the President and acting on his behalf. By decision of the central Parliament, the union territories may establish their own legislatures, councils of ministers and higher courts. Although the councils of ministers and the legislatures of the union territories have the right to advise the governors, the latter remain completely subordinate to the President (actually the Prime Minister of the Union), who issues rules for the administration of the union territories. The supreme legislative power in the Union Territories is exercised by the Federal Parliament, while the Supreme Court of the Union Territory is only the middle link of the country's unified judicial system subordinate to the Supreme Court.

Since ancient times, a feature of the social structure and legal status of the individual in India has been the caste system, vaguely reminiscent of the class division in feudal Europe. Caste - a group of people united by specific occupations or professions. They are subject to a set of rules governing their communication with each other and, more importantly, with members of other castes. About 3.5 thousand castes and podcasts are known. Traditionally, four large groups are distinguished: brahmins (originally priests), kshatriyas (warriors), vaishyas (merchants) and sudras (servants and artisans). The transition from one caste to another is impossible, regardless of career success, wealth and political power. Castes form a hierarchy, reinforced by the idea that each caste has its own "purity", which should not be tainted by contact with certain objects, communication with members of lower castes. Until the middle of the twentieth century. caste inequality was formalized legally. Based on the provisions of the Indian Constitution of 1950, liability for violation of caste rules has now been abolished. But many Hindus, especially in rural areas, still adhere to traditional norms today.

Legal system

general characteristics

The legal system of India has an exceptional originality, representing a mixture and coexistence of different legal cultures, which reflects the constant change of rulers over the centuries of the country's history and the multi-religious nature of modern Indian society.

There is no single Indian legal culture and legal system; Indian law is polysystemic. Most of its branches were formed under the influence of English law during the period of British Raj, these branches together form the national law of the Indian state. In this regard, it can be argued that India is included in the common law family (Anglo-American legal family). Along with the national law of a territorial nature, which applies to all persons regardless of race and religion, personal-religious systems of Hindu and Muslim law continue to operate in India.

Hindu law is a religious legal system, the law of the Hindu community in India and other countries of Southeast Asia and Africa. Like Muslim law, it is associated with religion and was originally aimed at regulating all aspects of the social life of people who profess Hinduism. In a broad sense, the concept of "Hindu" includes not only persons professing Hinduism, but also those who, not being adherents of this religion, agree to be guided in their lives by Hindu law (provided, however, that they are not Christians, Muslims, Parsis or Jews).

The Hindu legal system is one of the oldest in the world. The Vedas are collections of Indian religious songs, prayers and hymns created in the 2nd millennium BC. and later - contain the oldest texts in which individual lines can be interpreted as rules of conduct. But although the Hindus consider the Vedas to be divine revelation and the source of religion and law, their practical influence on the spiritual life of the Hindu population was very insignificant.

The oldest works Hindu literature, some of which can be described as legal reference books, are called "smriti", which in Sanskrit means "bestowed" wisdom of the old priests and scientists. The creation of the "smriti" is believed to be between 800 and 300 BC. Even later, the "dharmasutras" appeared - the first books on legal matters, explaining in detail how members of various castes should behave towards the gods, the king, priests, their ancestors, relatives, neighbors and animals. These rules (in Sanskrit - dharma) do not clearly distinguish between the requirements of religion, morality and law. Their fulfillment, according to the Hindus, ensures a happy relocation of the soul after death. Dharma allowed the following of customs, and also recommended that Hindus be guided in their behavior by conscience and justice.

The further development of law is associated with "dharmashastras" - extensive codes of rules that are attributed to famous scientists. The most famous of them is the "Laws of Manu" - a collection of rules compiled in the form of verses of the 2nd century BC. BC, attributed to King Manu. It contains a relatively ordered set of rules that can be called legal. Dharmashastras are usually called codes or laws, while using the epithet "sacred", "brahminical", although in fact they were collections of religious legal and customary legal prescriptions sanctioned by the state authorities.

Other collections are inseparable from the dharmashastras - nibandhases, which are, as it were, comments on the dharmashastras. The purpose of nibandhaz is to clarify the meaning of dharmashastras, to make them understandable to ordinary people, to resolve obvious contradictions between various dharmashastras. Some nibandhases cover the whole complex of dharmas, others consider only individual institutions. The dates of compilation of nibandhaz are somewhere between XI and the end of the XVII in.

In contrast to European states, where law, as it developed, was freed from religious forms, in ancient India, legal institutions and norms, as in Muslim law, developed in a religious shell. In the XI-XII centuries. schools of Hindu law were gradually formed, differing in a different approach to regulation: the right of inheritance, the legal regime of property of members of an indivisible big family and division of family property. The main schools in Hindu law were the Dayabhaga school in Bengal and the Mitakshara school with several branches.

The main source of classical Hindu law of the pre-colonial period was not the laws of secular rulers and not even the decisions of the courts, but the works of jurists, in particular "smritis", commentaries on them and legal collections. In content, it was a comprehensive and systematized customary law in force among the Hindus. Ancient local customs, followed by certain castes, clans or families, were also recognized as sources of law. These customs not only had to be taken into account by the judge when interpreting the norms of "smriti", but could also take precedence. Priests-lawyers played the main role in determining the customs that deserved legal recognition.

Muslim domination, which was established in India in the 16th century, slowed down the development of Hindu law. Customary Hindu law was then applied only by the panchayats of the castes, but could not develop and strengthen its influence through the activities of the judicial and administrative bodies of the state. This right remained, therefore, in the realm of religion, propriety and mores.

During the period of British colonial rule, Hindu law underwent significant changes. First of all, the scope of its application was limited. In the area of ​​property law and obligations, traditional rules very soon replaced the common law rules, while disputes concerning inheritance, marriage, caste and other traditional institutions continued to be decided in accordance with the rules of Hindu law.

The modification of Hindu law was carried out under the influence of socio-economic changes introduced into the traditional economic structure by the development of capitalist relations in the colony, through such sources of law as law and judicial precedent. English judges who applied Hindu law filled in the gaps in it with rules from English common law or created new precedents on its basis. As a result, in judicial practice, the place of classical Hindu law was gradually occupied by "Anglo-Hindu law", which very soon ceased to need reliance on traditional sources of written law, acquired the character of purely case law, and as such began to be used by Indian courts. By laws the English authorities sometimes abolished and changed those norms of Hindu law which seemed to them wholly unacceptable.

After achieving independence, the system of Hindu law has undergone (unlike Muslim) new significant changes that have affected both principles and sources, as well as many institutions and norms. The law has become the main instrument of change. Even during the struggle for independence, a plan was discussed for the complete codification of Hindu law, and soon after independence was proclaimed in 1947, the government of India submitted a draft Hindu code to Parliament for consideration. Although the project was failed by conservative forces, adopted instead in 1953-1956. 4 laws devoted to family and inheritance law meant, in essence, the codification of Hindu law in its modern version.

Currently, Hindu law is directly used in dealing with the following issues: personal status regulations, including marriage and divorce, minority and guardianship, kinship, adoption, family property, maintenance obligations, inheritance, religious institutions, joint property, elements of contract law, caste law and excommunication. Hindu ideas were also preserved in the concept of state land ownership.

Just like Hindu law, Muslim law in India is the personal law of members of the Muslim community, which is the second largest religious community in the country. Unlike the countries of the Arab East, where, under the influence of the state, Muslim law has been significantly modified, India continues to apply traditional Muslim law based on the Koran, Sunnah, ijme And kiyase.

Indian law, unlike Hindu law, is a national law, a set of norms that are in force on the territory of the entire state. The rules of Indian law are binding on citizens living in India, regardless of their nationality and religion. Indian law was formed during the period when the country was under the control of England. In its formation and development, a large role belongs to the legislative acts created for India by the British, who used the values ​​of their common law. During the colonial period, work was carried out to systematize legislation, major laws and codes were created, in many respects significantly ahead of the law that was in force in England itself. The creation of law on a secular basis was in itself a very progressive and absolutely necessary decision in a country where both Hindu and Muslim law were in force.

Gaining independence gave a new impetus to the development of Indian law. A decisive step in reforming the legal system of the country was made with the adoption of the Constitution of 1950, which consolidated the secular nature of the state. The Constitution of India condemns exploitation, oppression, promotes progressive social transformations, industrialization, agrarian reforms, and overcoming the remnants of the past in the country. It contains a fairly wide list of democratic rights and freedoms of citizens, as well as their certain guarantees, primarily the possibility of applying to the Supreme Court in case of violation of constitutional rights and freedoms.

The transformation of India into an independent state did not mean the abandonment of ingrained legal concepts and legislation adopted during the colonial period. The Constitution of India, 1950, affirms that the previously created right continues to operate; at the same time, the Supreme Court of India determined that the British Acts applied if not contrary to national sovereignty. In 1960, the British Acts for India Act was passed, repealing 258 British statutes.

During the second half of the twentieth century. India's legal system has developed based on both the values ​​of traditional Hindu and adapted common law, as well as widely using the positive experience of other legal systems.

At the same time, the influence of English legal culture remains predominant. India is connected with the common law not only in concepts, notions and legal technique. They are also united by a similar understanding of the functioning of the judiciary, the emphasis placed on the administration of justice, judicial procedure, and the idea of ​​the “rule of law”. The psychology of Indian lawyers and judges is generally the same as that of their English counterparts; the same prestige has a lawsuit.

Law and judicial precedent are the main sources of law in modern India. Legislation and court decisions must comply with the Constitution. The Supreme Court controls the constitutionality of laws.

In the field of legislation, competence is distributed between the Union and the states in accordance with the three lists given in Appendix VII to the Constitution. The "Union List" defines issues related to the exclusive competence of Union legislation: national defense, foreign policy, foreign trade relations, banking, money circulation, rail, air and water communications, trade between states, etc. In total, this list has 100 items. . According to Article 248 of the Constitution, the scope of the exclusive legislation of the federation also includes all issues that are not included in any of the lists of the above appendix.

The list of concurring legislation contains issues on which laws can be adopted by both the federation and its subjects (in the absence of a corresponding federation law or if approved by the President). This list includes 48 issues, including criminal, civil, labor, family, social, trade union legislation, etc.

The third list refers to the exclusive competence of the states. It consists of 66 points: public order, police, prisons, some aspects of the organization of courts, local government, health and sanitation, assistance to the disabled and the unemployed, culture, education, etc. Although the states are formally called upon to legislate in these areas, the federal parliament, by decision of the Council of States, adopted by a qualified majority of 2/3 of the votes, can legislate on any of the matters that are within the exclusive competence of the states, considering them to be of national interest to the whole country.

Another important source of Indian national law is judicial precedent. The Constitution of India (Article 141) established that the courts of the country must follow the precedent set by the Supreme Court. Decisions of the State High Court are binding on all lower courts in the respective state. The High Court, unlike the Supreme Court, is bound by its own decisions; at the same time, the decisions of the High Court of one State are not binding on the High Court of another.

Borrowed from the English system, the rule of precedent in India operates differently from English law. The rule of precedent is given an official character which it did not have even in England. Since 1845 collections have been published in India judgments and numerous private collections. Since 1861, the publication of official collections has been regarded as one of the duties of the administration: it must acquaint both with the law of judicial practice and with legislation. There is no division into common law and justice; there have never been courts of justice here. The courts of India tend to follow even English precedents, unsuitable for the conditions of the country. The decisions of judges are sometimes neutralized by the adoption of amendments to the Constitution. One of the most significant actions on the part of the court is the highly contested 1967 decision, according to which only the constituent, and not Parliament, can restrict the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Other courts must follow the precedents of the Supreme Court.

Important role custom played in the establishment of Indian law; at present, however, its significance is small. It is placed in a subordinate position to written law in the sphere of not only territorial, but also personal law, which is specifically enshrined in the Sharia Law of 1937, as well as in the Hindu law codes of 1955-1956.

Most Indians are happy to wear traditional folk costumes in everyday life, believing that through clothing they express their inner world, and it is an extension of the owner's personality. Color and style, as well as ornaments and patterns decorating clothes, can tell about the character of the owner of the costume, his social status and even the area where he comes from. Despite the increasing influence of Western culture every year, modern Indian clothing retains its originality and ethnic uniqueness.

A bit of history and legends

In poetic Indian legends, the creation of cloth is likened to the creation of the world. The Creator - sutradhara - weaves the universe with a thread of sutra, which is the basis of the nascent universe.

Studies have shown that Indian national clothing began to take shape during the Indus civilization, which existed in 2800-1800 BC. Until the 14th century, the dhoti, which is today's men's clothing, had no gender, and was worn by both men and women. This is confirmed by such ancient literary sources as the epics "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana". What the female version of the dhoti looked like can be seen in the sculptures of the goddesses created by the artists of the Gandhara school of art. Somewhat later, a one-piece sari appeared.

Rules and norms for wearing saris and dhoti, details and elements indicating the gender and regional identity of the owner began to appear in the XIV century, and today Indian clothing is clearly divided into male and female.

Men's wardrobe

Festive Shervani

A modern shervani is an elongated knee-length frock coat with a clasp to the collar. It is sewn from satin or silk, as a rule, for some kind of celebration or for a wedding and decorated with sequins, mirrors or embroidery. They wear it with tight pants - churidars or trousers.

Women's outfits

Remembering what she is, clothes, the first thing that comes to mind is a sari. However, besides him, Indian women are also happy to wear traditional salwar kameez, lenga-choli and anarkali. What is hidden behind these strange oriental names? Let's figure it out.

"Strip of fabric"

This is how the word "sari" is translated from Sanskrit. Indeed, this is a canvas 1.2-1.5 meters wide and 4 to 9 meters long, which is wrapped around the body. In India, there is a beautiful ancient legend about how the sari was first made. According to her, he was created by a magic weaver who dreamed of a beautiful woman and imagined the sparkle of her eyes, gentle touches, smooth silky hair and her laughter. The resulting fabric was so amazing and similar to a woman that the master could not stop and wove a lot of it. But fatigue still knocked him down, but he was absolutely happy, as the dream was embodied in amazing clothes.

Scientists found the first information about the prototype of the sari in written sources dating back to 3000 BC. In modern India, this is the most common and popular Indian women's clothing worn with an underskirt (pavada) and a blouse called ravika or choli. There are a lot of ways and styles of wearing a sari, and each region of this large country has its own, special one. The most common is nivi, when one of the ends (pallu) of the sari is wrapped twice around the hips, and the second is fixed on the petticoat and thrown over the shoulder. When going out into the street, Indian women throw the free edge of the sari over their heads.

But the material from which Indian sari clothing is sewn, as well as in former times, depends on material security and social status women.

Sarees can be of a variety of colors, patterned or plain, for any, even the most fastidious taste. But there are a number of colors that Indian women prefer only on special occasions. So, when getting married, an Indian woman will wear a red or green sari, decorated with gold embroidery. A young mother who has just given birth to a child will choose a yellow sari and wear it for seven days. Traditionally, widows wear white clothes without any decorations or patterns.

Punjabi or salwar kameez

Another type of traditional clothing of Indian women is the salwar kameez, or, as it is also called because of its great popularity in Punjab, punjabi. This costume originally appeared several centuries ago on the territory of modern Afghanistan, and came to India thanks to the Kabul Patkhans.

It consists of two parts: shalwar (salwar) - wide due to the many folds at the top and trousers narrowed at the ankle - and a long tunic with side slits - kameez. But such tunics can be combined not only with salwars, they are also worn with trousers flared from the hip - sharars, tight trousers churidars and patiala-style shalwars, which have many pleats on the legs and yoke. Both salwars and kameez are decorated with embroidery, sequins, mirrors or ornaments. Complement all these outfits with a chunni or dupatta - a long and wide scarf. And if earlier Indian clothes in Moscow, and in other Russian cities were found only in theatrical performances, concert performances of dance groups and museums, today you can buy a sari or kameez in ethnic and exotic goods stores, which are quite a lot.

Lenga Choli, Anarkali and Pattu Pavadai

There are a great many types and variants of lenga choli, but they all consist of a skirt - lenga and a blouse - choli, which can be both short and long, and a cape. But anarkali most of all resembles a strongly flared sundress, but they always wear it with skinny trousers.

For little Indian fashionistas, there is a special traditional outfit - langa-davani or patta-pavadai. It is in the shape of a cone with a golden stripe stitched at the level of the feet.

Indie style features

Indian clothing style is popular all over the world, many famous designers create their collections under the impression of this charming oriental country. There are a number of features that distinguish this style from other ethnic and national trends:

1. The color saturation of clothes.
2. Natural lightweight fabrics.
3. The presence of draperies in both men's and women's clothing.
4. Simple and loose pieces with a simple cut, such as salwar kameez, tunics, saris and others.
5. Multi-layered and multi-layered.
6. Rich decoration of things with stones, rhinestones, beads, gold or silver embroidery. Lots of prints and patterns.
7. Asymmetry - tops, tunics and dresses held on one shoulder.
8. Lots of accessories such as bracelets, necklaces and earrings, ankle and belly chains.
9. Comfortable footwear embellished with natural or floral appliqués and ornaments.

The main thing, when creating an outfit in the Indian style, is to remember that in all the elements that make it up, the national characteristics inherent in India should be traced.

The Republic of India (Hindi भारत गणराज्य, Bhārat Gaṇarājya IAST, Republic of India) is a state in South Asia. India ranks seventh in the world in terms of area and second in terms of population. India borders Pakistan in the west, Nepal and Bhutan in the northeast, Bangladesh and Myanmar in the east. In addition, India has maritime borders with the Maldives in the southwest, with Sri Lanka in the south and with Indonesia in the southeast. The disputed territory of the state of Jammu and Kashmir has a border with. The official name of the country, India, comes from the ancient Persian word Hindu, which in turn comes from the Sanskrit Sindhu (Skt. सिन्धु), the historical name of the Indus River. The ancient Greeks called the Indians the Indoi (ancient Greek Ἰνδοί) - "the people of the Indus". The Constitution of India also recognizes a second name, Bharat (Hindi भारत), which comes from the Sanskrit name of an ancient Indian king whose history was described in the Mahabharata. The third name, Hindustan, has been used since the time of the Mughal Empire, but has no official status. The Indian subcontinent is home to the Indus civilization and other ancient civilizations. Throughout most of its history, India has acted as the center of important trade routes and was famous for its riches and high culture. Religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism originated in India. In the first millennium of our era, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam also came to the Indian subcontinent, which had big influence to the formation of a diverse culture in the region. - monetary unit of India

The Indian subcontinent is home to the Indus civilization and other ancient civilizations. Throughout most of its history, India has acted as the center of important trade routes and was famous for its riches and high culture. Religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism originated in India. In the first millennium AD, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam also came to the Indian subcontinent, which had a great influence on the formation of the diverse culture of the region.

Between the beginning of the 18th century and the middle of the 20th century, India was gradually colonized by the British Empire. After gaining independence in 1947, the country achieved great success in economic and military development. By the end of the 20th century, India's economy had become one of the fastest growing in the world. In terms of nominal gross domestic product, India ranks 12th in the world, and in terms of GDP, recalculated at purchasing power parity, it ranks fourth. The pressing problem continues to be high level poverty and illiteracy of the population.

Flag of India- one of the state symbols (along with the emblem and anthem) of the Republic of India. It was approved in its modern form at a meeting of the constitutional assembly on July 22, 1947, 24 days before India's declaration of independence from Great Britain (August 15, 1947). It has been used as the state flag of the Indian Union since August 15, 1947, and from January 26, 1950 to the present, by the Republic of India. In India, the term "tricolor" (Tirangā - Hindi तिरंगा) refers almost exclusively to the state flag of that country. The national flag of India is a rectangular panel of three horizontal stripes of equal width: the upper one is “deep saffron”, the middle one is white and the lower one is green. In the center of the flag is an image of a wheel with 24 spokes, dark blue. This image is known as "Ashoka Chakra" (Dharmachakra) and was copied from the "Lion Capital" in Sarnath; it was it that replaced the original image of the spinning wheel. The diameter of the wheel is 3/4 of the width of the flag's white stripe. The ratio of the flag's width to its length is 2:3. The flag is also used as the war flag of the Indian Army.
Emblem of India is an image of the "Lion Capital" of Ashoka in Sarnath. Emperor Ashoka the Great erected the Ashoka Pillar with Capital to mark the spot where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma and where a major Buddhist sangha was founded. Four lions, standing close to each other, are mounted on an abacus with a border. The image of this sculpture was declared the National Emblem of India on January 26, 1950, the day India became a republic. The coat of arms depicts four Indian lions on a round abacus. The fourth lion is behind and therefore out of sight. The coat of arms symbolizes a nation that is "brave in courage, strong in body, prudent in council, and fearful of opponents." The abacus is decorated with four animals - symbols of the four directions: the Lion - the north, the Elephant - the east, the Horse - the south and the Bull - the west (the Horse and the Bull are visible). The abacus rests on a lotus in full bloom, symbolizing the source of life. Below the abacus is the Devanagari motto: सत्यमेव जयते (Satyameva Jayate, "Only the Truth conquers"). This is a quote from the Mundaka Upanishad (the final part of the sacred Hindu scripture Veda).

History of India

The history of India is usually traced back to the proto-Indian or Harappan civilization that developed by the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. in the river valley Ind. However, there is a lot of evidence that India was inhabited at an earlier period. Traces of the Harappan civilization were discovered as a result of excavations in the 20s of our century. Two ancient cities that represented its highest heyday - Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, now located on the territory of Pakistan, gained great fame. The inhabitants of these cities and a number of other settlements, according to their linguistic affiliation, belonged to the Dravidians.

Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were well planned, their streets intersected at right angles, they had a sewerage system. Quite clear differences in location and types of houses testified to the division of society into upper and lower strata. It is known that representatives of the Harappan culture worshiped male and female deities and, possibly, sacred trees. It is believed that Shiva, God and patron of yoga, was revered already at that time.

By 1700 B.C. the Harappan civilization fell into decay. And around the XV century BC. to North India

the Aryan tribes invaded, pushing the Dravidians to the south (In modern India, the population living in the southern states of Kerala, Tamilnadu, Karnataka belong to the Dravidian language family.). The Aryans belonged to nomadic tribes and were engaged in cattle breeding, however, settling on the conquered lands, they began to adopt farming skills. The arrival of the Indo-Aryan tribes, the ancestral home of which some scientists consider Central Asia, while others consider the southern Russian steppes, opened the so-called Vedic era in the history of India, which was named after the Vedas - the oldest monuments of the spiritual culture of the Indo-Aryans.

Official name modern state- Bharata originates from the name of the Aryan tribe Bharat, whose priests created the ancient collection of Vedic hymns "Rigveda". Hinduism as a religion (followers of which 83% of the population of modern India call themselves) has its roots in the era of the Vedas.

In the Vedic era, a gradual division of society into four estates (varnas) began: 1) priests - brahmins, 2) military nobility - kshatriyas, 3) free community members, farmers, merchants - vaishyas, 4) servants occupying the lowest position in the social hierarchy - sudras. There were also numerous castes (jati) - closed groups associated with a hereditarily fixed profession and position in society. In the Vedas, people were given instructions regarding their position in society and division into castes. Over time, four Vedas were formed - Rigveda, Adharvaveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, which for a long time were passed from mouth to mouth. Writing appears among the Aryans around the 4th century BC. BC.

At the end of the 1st millennium BC. - the first centuries AD two immortal epic works, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, were finalized, giving a vivid picture of the social and cultural life of ancient India.

In the VII-VI centuries. BC. in Northern India, mainly in the Ganges valley, the first states with monarchical and republican forms of government appeared. In the IV century. BC. the Mauryan state is gradually being strengthened. Initially, it was localized in the Magadha region (the southern part of the modern state of Bihar), but already in the third century BC. subjugated almost the entire Hindustan peninsula, with the exception of its southern tip.

The state achieved special power under Emperor Ashok, who left a deep mark on Indian history. By adopting Buddhism in 262 BC, Ashoka contributed to its wide spread in India. His son and daughter became missionaries of the Buddhist teachings.

In the south of the subcontinent at that time there was the Chola state, which was actively trading with the Roman Empire, selling pearls, ivory, gold, rice, pepper, peacocks and even monkeys.

In northwestern India, in the 1st century, the Kushan empire occupied vast territories. In the second century, the empire already included Afghanistan, Central Asia, all of Northern India and part of Central. After the disintegration of the Kushan Empire, state fragmentation was observed for several centuries.
In the years 320-540, a state arose - the Gupta Empire, which united almost all of India under its rule. The Gupta period is the formative period of Hinduism, Hindu traditions and culture. At this time, there was significant progress in the development of crafts, science and literature. The official language of the Gupta court was Sanskrit. Poetry and drama have experienced their peak thanks to the work of the great poet and playwright Kalidas, who created his immortal works. A number of discoveries in the field of astronomy were made by the scientist Arya-Bhata, who calculated the number "pi" with great accuracy. The traditional system of Indian medicine - Ayurveda - was finally formed. At this time, the caste division of society intensified, a caste of untouchables arose.

Started in the middle of the 5th c. The invasion of India by the tribes of the Huns-Ephthalites (White Huns) undermined the power and unity of the Gupta empire, predetermined its fall. In North India, a period of fragmentation and instability began, which lasted from the 6th to the 11th centuries. Domestic and foreign trade fell into decline, but progress in agriculture continued. At the same time, the power of the Chola dynasty increased in the south and in Sri Lanka, reaching its zenith in the 11th century.

From the beginning of the 11th century, India began to be subjected to raids by the Turkic Muslim conquerors for the purpose of robbery, and then they were in the nature of a holy war with the "infidels". These campaigns ended with the creation at the beginning of the XIII century. states with a Muslim ruler, called. In the middle of the XIV century. almost all of India, except for the extreme south and Kashmir, was already under his rule. The penetration of Islamic culture begins. At this time, the Sufi poet and writer Kabir preached the idea of ​​rapprochement between Islam and Hinduism.

At the beginning of the 16th century, the religion of Sikhism arose, which was a synthesis of the traditions of Hinduism and Islam.

In the 15th-16th centuries, the Hindu Vijaynagar Empire and the Muslim Bahmanid Empire flourished in southern India.

In the XVI century. in northern India, on the ruins of the Delhi Sultanate, a new mighty Mughal empire was founded, founded by a descendant of Genghis Khan and Timur - Babur. At this time, the centralization of the state apparatus intensified, and a reform of land relations was carried out. The Mughals went down in history as connoisseurs of culture. Several rulers were poets, studied philosophy. The main role during the reign of the Mughals was played by the policy of religious tolerance, carried out by the most far-sighted ruler Akbar (1556-1605). During his reign and under Shah Jahan, the construction of monumental buildings and architectural complexes began, the crown of which was the construction of the Taj Mahal mausoleum in Agra. In contrast to his predecessors, Aurangabez (1658-1707) was a Muslim fanatic and ordered the destruction of Hindu temples and the construction of mosques from their stones. Although during his reign the Mughal empire reached its greatest expansion, but it was this period that marked the beginning of the fall. The empire formally lasted until 1858, but after the reign of Aurangabez, European trade, and later cultural and military intervention began.

The Portuguese were the first to come to India in 1498. However, their territorial possessions were limited to Goa and two other small territories. The English, along with the Dutch and the French, appeared only in the 17th century. The struggle for dominance in India took place between the English and French East India companies. In 1757, the British defeated the French at the Battle of Plassey and from that moment began to spread their influence to the south and west of the country. By the middle of the 19th century, almost all of India was under the control of the British. The cruel and predatory policy of the company provoked mass actions of the Indians in 1857-1859. They were crushed. The British in 1858 abolished the East India Company and proclaimed India a colony of the British Crown. After the establishment of English rule, the land tax levied on the peasantry became the main source of colonial income. From the very first half of XIX century, as the position of the industrial bourgeoisie strengthened in England, India began to be exploited with new, more subtle and sophisticated methods. This country is gradually turning into a raw material appendage of the mother country and a market for its manufactured goods, and then into an arena for the application of British capital.

Since the 70s of the 19th century, the rise of the national liberation movement began in India. The movement for independence especially intensified by the beginning of the 20s, when it was headed by M.K. Gandhi (popularly nicknamed Mahatma - " great soul"). He developed a methodology for mass non-violent actions - satyagraha (perseverance in truth), directed against the established order and legality by the colonialists. In 1920-1922, 1930, 1942, mass protest campaigns against English rule took place. Unrest began to arise in the army and navy .
As a result, on August 15, 1947, the law on the independence of India was issued, according to which two dominions were created - India and Pakistan (territories with a predominantly Muslim population). The division of the country and the mass migration of Hindus and Sikhs of Pakistan to India, and of Muslims to Pakistan, gave rise to an aggravation of religious and communal relations on both sides of the border. The division of the country also led to economic difficulties. The government of J. Nehru energetically undertook to overcome the age-old backwardness of the country and create a diversified modern economy.

However, the dream of Gandhi and J. Nehru of the peaceful coexistence of Muslims and Hindus did not come true.

During the period of independence, there were several armed conflicts between India and Pakistan and China. India became one of the organizers of the non-aligned movement. J. Nehru's successor, Indira Gandhi, continued her father's policy of strengthening the role of the state in the economy. A "green revolution" was carried out, which turned tenant farmers into landowners. The "Green Revolution" was accompanied by the modernization of agriculture.

From 1984 (the assassination of I. Gandhi), when Indira's son, Rajiv Gandhi, headed the government of India, until 1992, the situation in India was quite tense. Extremists in Punjab sought state independence from India, and the situation in Kashmir and a number of other states escalated.

In the last decade of the 20th century, decentralization of economic management began in India. The country has achieved great success in the development of nuclear energy and the implementation of space programs, the creation of "high technologies", in the field of programming and computers. Nevertheless, the problem of poverty of about a quarter of the population of the country and the ecological problem still persists.

Geography

India is located in South Asia. The country ranks seventh in the world in terms of area (3,287,590 km², including land: 90.44%, water surface: 9.56%) and second in terms of population (1,192,910,000 people). India has land borders with Pakistan in the west, with China, Nepal and Bhutan in the northeast, with Bangladesh and Myanmar in the east. In addition, India has maritime borders with the Maldives in the southwest, with Sri Lanka in the south and with Indonesia in the southeast. The disputed territory of the state of Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with Afghanistan.

Administrative division

India is a federal republic of twenty-eight states, six union territories and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. All states and the two union territories (Puducherry and Delhi National Capital Territory) have their own elected government. The remaining five union territories are administered by an administrator appointed by the central authority and are therefore under the direct control of the President of India. In 1956, the Indian states were reorganized along linguistic lines. Since then, the administrative structure has not changed much.

All states and union territories are divided into administrative and governmental units called districts. There are over 600 districts in India. The districts are in turn divided into smaller administrative units of taluki.

Geology

Most of India is located within the Precambrian Hindustan Plate, which forms the peninsula of the same name and the Indo-Gangetic Plain adjacent to it from the north and is part of the Australian Plate. India's defining geological processes began 75 million years ago, when the Indian subcontinent, then part of the southern supercontinent of Gondwana, began drifting northwest across the then-defunct Indian Ocean, a process that lasted about 50 million years. The subsequent collision of the subcontinent with the Eurasian plate and its subduction under it led to the appearance of the Himalayas, the most high mountains planets that currently surround India from the north and northeast. On the former seabed, immediately south of the emerging Himalayas, a huge trough formed as a result of plate movement, which gradually filled with alluvium and turned into the modern Indo-Gangetic plain. To the west of this plain, separated from it by the Aravalli mountain range, lies the Thar Desert. The original Hindustan Plate has survived to this day as the Hindustan Peninsula, the oldest and geologically most stable part of India, extending north to the Satpura and Vindhya mountain ranges in central India. These parallel mountain ranges run from the coast of the Arabian Sea in Gujarat in the west to the coal-rich plateau of Chhota Nagpur in Jharkhand in the east. The interior of the Hindustan Peninsula is occupied by the Deccan plateau, broken by faults into low and medium-altitude mountains with smoothed peaks and vast flat or undulating plateaus, over which rise hills and mesas with steep slopes. To the west and east, the Deccan plateau rises to form the Western and Eastern Ghats, respectively.

The slopes of the Ghats facing the sea are steep, while those facing the Deccan are gentle, cut by river valleys. The Deccan Plateau contains India's oldest mountain formations, some more than 1 billion years old. The Dean is rich in deposits of iron, copper, manganese, tungsten ores, bauxites, chromites, mica, gold, diamonds, rare and precious stones, as well as coal, oil and gas.

India is located north of the equator between 6°44" and 35°30" north latitude and 68°7" and 97°25" east longitude.

The length of the coastline is 7.517 km, of which 5.423 km belong to mainland India, and 2.094 km to the Andaman, Nicobar and Laccadive Islands. The coast of mainland India has the following character: 43% sandy beaches, 11% rocky and rocky coast, and 46% Watts or swampy coast. Weakly dissected, low, sandy shores have almost no convenient natural harbors, so large ports are located either at the mouths of rivers (Kolkata) or artificially arranged (Chennai). The south of the western coast of Hindustan is called the Malabar coast, the south of the east coast is called the Coromandel coast.

On the territory of India, the Himalayas stretch in an arc from the north to the northeast of the country, being a natural border with China in three sections, interrupted by Nepal and Bhutan, between which, in the state of Sikkim, is the highest peak of India, Mount Kanchenjunga. Karakorum is located in the far north of India in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, mostly in the part of Kashmir held by Pakistan. In the northeastern appendix of India, the mid-altitude Assam-Burma Mountains and the Shillong Plateau are located.

Hydrology

The internal waters of India are represented by numerous rivers, which, depending on the nature of the food, are divided into "Himalayan", full-flowing throughout the year, with mixed snow-glacier and rain food, and "Dean", mainly with rain, monsoon food, large fluctuations in runoff, flood from June to October. On all large rivers, a sharp rise in the level is observed in summer, often accompanied by floods. The Indus River, which gave the name to the country, after the partition of British India, turned out to be the largest part in Pakistan.

The largest rivers, originating in the Himalayas and for the most part flowing through the territory of India, are the Ganges and the Brahmaputra; both flow into the Bay of Bengal. The main tributaries of the Ganges are the Yamuna and the Koshi. Their low banks cause catastrophic floods every year. Other important rivers of Hindustan are Godavari, Mahanadi, Kaveri and Krishna, also flowing into the Bay of Bengal, and Narmada and Tapti, flowing into the Arabian Sea - the steep bank of these rivers does not allow their waters to overflow. Many of them are important as sources of irrigation. There are no significant lakes in India.

The most remarkable coastal regions of India are the Great Rann of Kutch in Western India and the Sundarbans, the swampy lower reaches of the Ganges and Brahmaputra deltas in India and Bangladesh. Two archipelagos are part of India: the coral atolls of Lakshadweep to the west of the Malabar coast; and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the Andaman Sea.

Climate

The climate of India is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar desert, causing monsoons. The Himalayas serve as a barrier to the cold Central Asian winds, thus making the climate in most of India warmer than at the same latitudes in other regions of the planet. The Thar Desert plays a key role in attracting the humid southwesterly winds of the summer monsoon, which provide most of India with rain between June and October. India is dominated by four main climates: humid tropical, dry tropical, subtropical monsoon and highland.

In most of India, there are three seasons: hot and humid with the dominance of the southwest monsoon (June - October); relatively cool and dry with a predominance of the northeast trade wind (November - February); very hot and dry transitional (March-May). During the wet season, more than 80% of the annual precipitation falls. The windward slopes of the Western Ghats and the Himalayas are the most humid (up to 6000 mm per year), and on the slopes of the Shillong Plateau there is the rainiest place on Earth - Cherrapunji (about 12000 mm). The driest areas West Side Indo-Gangetic Plain (less than 100 mm in the Thar Desert, dry period 9-10 months) and the central part of Hindustan (300-500 mm, dry period 8-9 months). The amount of precipitation varies greatly from year to year. On the plains, the average January temperature increases from north to south from 15 to 27 °C, in May it is 28-35 °C everywhere, sometimes reaching 45-48 °C. During the wet period, temperatures in most parts of the country are 28 °C. In the mountains at an altitude of 1500 m in January -1 ° C, in July 23 ° C, at an altitude of 3500 m, respectively -8 ° C and 18 ° C.

The main centers of glaciation are concentrated in the Karakoram and on the southern slopes of the Zaskar range in the Himalayas. The glaciers are fed by snowfalls during the summer monsoons and snow drifts from the slopes. The average height of the snow line decreases from 5300 m in the west to 4500 m in the east. Due to global warming, glaciers are retreating.

Flora and fauna

India is located in the Indo-Malayan zoogeographical region and is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. India is home to 7.6% of all mammal species, 12.6% of all birds, 6.2% of all reptiles, 4.4% of all amphibians, 11.7% of all fish, and 6.0% of all flowering plants. Many ecoregions, such as the Shola forests, the rainforests of the southwestern Ghats, are characterized by unusually high levels of endemism; in total, 33% of India's plant species are endemic. Over the millennia of the economic development of India, the natural vegetation cover in most of its territory has not been preserved much, however, it is very diverse: from the tropical rainforests of the Andaman Islands, the Western Ghats, and Northeast India, to the coniferous forests of the Himalayas. On the plains of the interior regions of Hindustan, secondary savannahs of acacias, spurges, palms, banyan trees, sparse forests and thorny shrubs of anthropogenic origin predominate. Monsoon forests of teak, sandalwood, bamboos, terminalia, and dipterocarps have been preserved in the mountains. In the northeast of the peninsula, deciduous mixed forests with a predominance of lard grow, on the windward slopes of the Western Ghats there are evergreen mixed forests.

The seaside strip of the east coast is swampy in places. The natural vegetation cover of the Indo-Gangetic plain has not been preserved, and its landscapes change from deserts in the west to evergreen mixed forests in the east. Altitudinal zonality is clearly manifested in the Himalayas and the Karakorum. Terai rise up from the foot of the Western Himalayas (up to 1200 m), higher are monsoon forests, mountain pine forests with evergreen undergrowth, dark coniferous forests with evergreen and deciduous species, and at an altitude of 3000 m mountain meadows and steppes begin. In the east of the Himalayas, humid tropical evergreen forests rise up to 1500 m, giving way higher to mountain subtropical forests, dark coniferous forests and mountain meadows.

Among the main trees of India is neem, widely used in Ayurvedic medicines. Under the sacred banyan tree, the image of which was found on seals in Mohenjo-Daro, Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment after many years of meditation in Bodh Gaya.

Many Indian species are descendants of a taxon that originated on the Gondwana supercontinent, of which the Indian subcontinent was once a part. The subsequent movement of the Hindustan peninsula and its collision with Laurasia led to a massive mixing of species. However, volcanic activity and climatic changes that occurred 20 million years ago caused the extinction of many endemic Indian species. Shortly thereafter, mammals arrived in India from Asia through two zoogeographic passages on both sides of the nascent Himalayas. As a consequence, among Indian species, only 12.6% of mammals and 4.5% of birds are endemic, compared to 45.8% of reptiles and 55.8% of amphibians. The most notable endemics are the Nilgiri langur and the brown Kerala toad in the Western Ghats. There are 172 species in India that are on the World Conservation Union's endangered species list, representing 2.9% of the total number of species on the list. These include the Asiatic Lion, the Bengal Tiger, and the Bengal Vulture, which nearly died out by eating decaying cattle flesh, which was treated with diclofenac.

The high population density of India and the transformation of natural landscapes have led to the impoverishment of the country's wildlife. Over the past decades, the expansion of human economic activity has posed a threat to the wild world of the country. In response, a number of national parks and reserves were created, the first of which appeared in 1935. In 1972, the "Wildlife Protection Act" and the "Tiger Project" were passed in India to conserve and protect its habitat; in addition to this, in 1980 the Forest Conservation Act was passed. Currently, there are more than 500 national parks and reserves in India, including 13 biosphere reserves, four of which are part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves; 25 wetlands have been officially registered as sites of protection under the provisions of the Ramsar Convention.

Population

With a population of 1.2 billion, India ranks second in the world after China. Almost 70% of Indians live in rural areas, although in recent decades migration to big cities has led to a sharp increase in the urban population. The largest cities in India are Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Delhi, Kolkata (formerly Kolkata), Chennai (formerly Madras), Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. In terms of cultural, linguistic and genetic diversity, India ranks second in the world after African continent. The average literacy rate of the population of India is 64.8% (53.7% for women and 75.3% for men). The highest literacy rate is found in Kerala (91%) and the lowest in Bihar (47%). The gender composition of the population is characterized by the excess of the number of men over the number of women. The male population is 51.5%, and the female population is 48.5%. The national average ratio of male and female population: 944 women to 1000 men. The median age of the population of India is 24.9 years, and the annual population growth is 1.38%; 22.01 children are born per 1000 people per year. According to the 2001 census, children under 14 years of age accounted for 40.2% of the population, persons aged 15-59 years - 54.4%, 60 years and older - 5.4%. The natural population growth was 2.3%.

Languages

India is home to the Indo-Aryan language group (74% of the population) and the Dravidian language family (24% of the population). Other languages ​​spoken in India are descended from the Austroasiatic and Tibeto-Burmese linguistic family. Hindi, the most spoken language in India, is the official language of the Government of India. English, which is widely used in business and administration, has the status of an "auxiliary official language"; it also plays a large role in education, especially in secondary and higher education. The Constitution of India defines 21 official languages ​​that are spoken by a significant part of the population or that have classical status. There are 1652 dialects in India.

Religion

More than 900 million Indians (80.5% of the population) practice Hinduism. Other religions with a significant following are Islam (13.4%), Christianity (2.3%), Sikhism (1.9%), Buddhism (0.8%) and Jainism (0.4%). Religions such as Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Bahai and others are also represented in India. Among the aboriginal population, which is 8.1%, animism is common.

Almost all people living in India are deeply religious.
Religion for Indians is a way of life, everyday, its special way. Hinduism is considered to be the main religious and ethical system of India. In terms of the number of followers, Hinduism occupies a leading place in Asia. This religion, which does not have any one founder and one fundamental text (there are many of them: the Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas and many others), originated so long ago that it is impossible even to determine its age, and has spread both throughout India and in many countries of Southeast Asia, and now, thanks to immigrants from India, who settled everywhere, all over the world.
Each of the numerous Hindu gods carries one of the facets of the omnipresent God, for it is said: "Truth is one, but the sages call it by different names."
For example, the god Brahma is the omnipotent of the world, Vishnu is the keeper of the world, and Shiva is the destroyer and at the same time the creator of the world.
Hindu gods have multiple incarnations, sometimes referred to as avatars. For example, Vishnu has many avatars and is often depicted as King Rama or the shepherd Krishna.
Often the images of the gods have several hands, which is a symbol of their various divine abilities, and Brahma, for example, is endowed with four heads.
Lord Shiva is always with three eyes, the third eye symbolizes his divine wisdom.
Among the main provisions of Hinduism is the doctrine of the many reincarnations through which the soul of each person passes.
All evil and good deeds have good and bad consequences, which do not always manifest themselves immediately, already in this life. This is called karma. Every living being has karma.
The purpose of reincarnations is moksha, the salvation of the soul, its deliverance from painful rebirths. But by strictly following virtue, a person can bring moksha closer.
Many Hindu temples (and there are a great many of them in India) are masterpieces of architecture and sculpture and are usually dedicated to a single deity.
The choice of a profession, as a rule, is not a personal matter of a person: traditionally Hindu society consists of a large number of groups - castes, called jati and combined into several large estates (varnas). And everything, from marriage to profession, is subject to special, strictly defined rules. Inter-caste marriages among Hindus are rare to this day. Married couples are often determined by the parents when the bride and groom are still in infancy.
Divorce and remarriage of widows are also prohibited by Hindu tradition, although there are no rules without exceptions, especially in our time. The bodies of the dead adherents of Hinduism are burned on funeral pyres.
Hinduism is practiced by 83% of the total population of India, i.e. about 850 million people. Muslims in India 11%. The mass distribution of this faith began in the 11th century, and it was introduced by the Arabs earlier, in the 7th century. In most Muslim communities in India, polygamy is prohibited.
One of the oldest religions in the world, Buddhism, originated in India in the 5th century BC. Buddhists believe that enlightenment, that is, liberation from suffering in the endless cycle of rebirths, can be achieved by every living being and especially man, since, according to Buddhism, everyone initially has the nature of Buddha. Unlike Hindus, Buddhists do not recognize castes. Every person who sincerely accepts this teaching can become its follower. Although India is the birthplace of Buddhism, at present Buddhism in India is represented either in the Tibetan or (occasionally) in the Sri Lankan version. Hinduism, having absorbed much of the teachings of the Buddha Gautama, comprehended the latter as one of the avatars of the god Vishnu.
If you meet a man in a colorful turban with a thick, bushy beard on the streets of India, you should know that this is a Sikh, that is, an adherent of Sikhism, a faith that has absorbed and combined Hinduism and Islam. Once in the Sikh temple - gurudwara, do not look for images of the gods. They are not here, but there are images of Sikh gurus - noble bearded men in turbans, sitting in a pose of contemplation. Sikhs worship the holy book Granth Sahib.
If your neighbor on the train is a person whose mouth is tied with a handkerchief, do not rush to change the ticket: he is not sick with any dangerous disease. He just closed his mouth so that, God forbid, he would not accidentally swallow some midge. And know that this man professes Jainism and, most likely, hurries to the pilgrimage. This faith, like Buddhism, originated in India in the sixth century BC.
Jains are opposed to any form of violence. Therefore, Jains eat exclusively vegetable food. This also explains the presence of a scarf on the face. Jains never lie, since they all take a vow of truthfulness, this does not prevent many of them from being big businessmen.

State structure

The Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly at the end of 1949, two years after India's independence, and came into force on January 26, 1950. It is the largest constitution in the world. In the preamble to the constitution, India is defined as a sovereign, socialist, secular liberal democratic republic with a bicameral parliament functioning on the Westministerial parliamentary model. State power is divided into three branches: legislative, executive and judicial.

The head of state is the President of India, who is elected by the electoral college for a term of 5 years by indirect voting. The head of government is the prime minister, who holds the main executive power. The prime minister is appointed by the president and is usually the candidate supported by the political party or political coalition that has the most seats in the lower house of parliament.

The legislature of India is a bicameral parliament, which consists of an upper house called the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and a lower house called the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The Rajya Sabha, which has a permanent membership, consists of 245 members, whose mandate lasts for 6 years. The majority of deputies are elected by indirect suffrage by the legislatures of the Indian states and territories, in proportion to their population. 543 out of 545 Lok Sabha deputies are elected by direct popular vote for a term of 5 years. The remaining two members are appointed by the President from the Anglo-Indian community, in the event that the President considers that the community is not properly represented in Parliament.

The executive branch of government consists of the president, vice president and the Council of Ministers (the cabinet is its executive committee), headed by the prime minister. Each Minister must be a member of one of the Houses of Parliament. In the Indian parliamentary system, the executive branch is subordinate to the legislative: the prime minister and the Council of Ministers are directly responsible to the lower house of parliament.

India has a unitary three-tier judiciary which consists of the Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice of India, the 21st High Court and a large number of petty courts. The Supreme Court is the court of first instance in cases relating to fundamental human rights, in disputes between the states and the central government, and has appellate jurisdiction over the higher courts. The Supreme Court is legally independent and has the power to promulgate laws or strike down state and territory laws if they are contrary to the Constitution. One of the most important functions of the Supreme Court is the ultimate interpretation of the Constitution.

Domestic politics

India, at the federal level, is the country with the largest population. For most of its democratic history, the federal government was led by the Indian National Congress. At the state level, various national parties dominated, such as the Indian National Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian People's Party, BJP), the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and various regional parties. From 1950 to 1990, except for two short periods, the Indian National Congress had a parliamentary majority. The Indian National Congress was not in power between 1977 and 1980, when the Janata Party won the elections due to popular discontent over the imposition of a state of emergency by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In 1989, the National Front coalition, in alliance with the Left Front coalition, won the elections, but was able to stay in power for only two years.

Between 1996 and 1998, a series of short-lived coalitions led the federal government. The Bharatiya Janata Party formed a government for a short period in 1996, followed by a United Front coalition. In 1998, the Bharatiya Janata Party formed the National Democratic Union with a number of regional parties and became the second party in history, after the Indian National Congress, to remain in power for a full five-year period. In the 2004 all-India elections, the Indian National Congress won a majority in the Lok Sabha and created a government together with the United Progressive Union coalition, supported by a number of left-wing parties and MPs who were in opposition to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Foreign policy

Since its independence in 1947, India has maintained friendly relations with most countries. In the 1950s, India played an important role on the international stage, advocating for the independence of European colonies in Africa and Asia. The Indian Army conducted two brief peacekeeping missions in neighboring countries - in Sri Lanka (1987-1990) and Operation Cactus in the Maldives. India is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement. After the Sino-Indian Frontier War and the Second Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, India noticeably drew closer to the Soviet Union at the cost of severing ties with and continued this policy until the end of the Cold War. India has been involved in three military conflicts with Pakistan, mainly over the disputed territory of Kashmir. Other clashes between the two countries took place in 1984 over the Siachen Glacier and the 1999 Kargil War.

In recent years, India has continued to play a prominent role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and the World Trade Organization. India is one of the founding members of the United Nations and an active participant in its peacekeeping missions, with over 55,000 Indian soldiers taking part in thirty-five peacekeeping operations on four continents. Despite criticism and military sanctions, India has consistently refused to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, preferring instead to maintain full control over its nuclear programs. Recently, in the foreign policy arena, the Indian government has directed efforts to improve relations with the US, China and Pakistan. In the economic sphere, India has close relationships with other developing countries in South America, Asia, and Africa.

Relations with Russia

The first information about India appeared at a fairly early age. Already in the 15th century, the Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin visited India, describing his journey in the famous book “Journey Beyond the Three Seas”.

On the state level interest in India arose in Russia at the very beginning of the 19th century and was far from peaceful: Emperor Paul I, leaving the Second Anti-French Coalition, ordered the military ataman of the Don Cossack army Vasily Orlov to lead the Cossacks on a military campaign through Central Asia to India. In this way, Paul hoped to strike at the positions of the British in India and help these opponents of the French, with whom he took a course of political rapprochement. It is unlikely that the Cossacks would have been able to achieve their goals, given that they were sent without proper preparation to extremely little-known lands, they had to pass through independent Khiva and Bukhara. But in March 1801, Pavel was killed, and the new emperor Alexander I returned the Cossacks halfway.

Before the independence of India, Russia could not have direct diplomatic relations with it. When India finally gained independence, Soviet Union soon began to actively cooperate with her: many Soviet specialists were sent to India, primarily to help create a powerful industrial base. In the 1990s, Russia noticeably moved away from what was happening in South Asia, but in recent years cooperation has been rapidly resuming.

To date, strong ties are maintained between India and Russia in the field of economy and foreign trade, in science and technology, culture, defense, space and nuclear energy. Between the two countries there is a certain unity of approaches to both political and economic problems. Concrete examples Indian investment in the Sakhalin-1 oil project and Russia's assistance in the construction of a nuclear power plant at Kudankulam in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu can serve as a successful bilateral cooperation in the energy sector. Also, as an example, one can cite cooperation in the field of implementation space program. The two countries have jointly developed and now produce Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles. Russia, together with India, is developing a promising front-line aviation complex - a fifth-generation fighter, the share of the Indian company Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) in the development will be at least 25%. There are other examples of successful Indian-Russian cooperation.

India is proud to be part of the legacy of Nicholas and Svetoslav Roerich. As a contribution to the strengthening of bilateral cultural ties, in 2002 India allocated significant funds to put in order and preserve the Roerichs' estates in the states of Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka.

As a political science hypothesis, the possibility of a close strategic partnership between Russia, India and China - the triangle "Moscow-Delhi-Beijing" is often discussed. Many agree that such cooperation would contribute to the creation of a multipolar world. However, plans to create such a “triangle” (led by the United States) also exist in the United States Department of State, where India is seen as a potential counterbalance to the ever-increasing role of China in the modern world.

Armed forces and special services

The Indian Armed Forces are the third largest in the world and consist of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. The auxiliaries include the Indian Paramilitary Units, the Indian Coastal Defense and the Strategic Military Command. The President of India is the supreme commander of the armed forces. In 2007, the country's military budget amounted to 19.8 billion US dollars, which is 2.4% of GDP.

In 1974, India became a member of the Nuclear Club, carrying out the first nuclear test, codenamed Operation Smiling Buddha. Subsequent underground nuclear weapons testing in 1998 led to international military sanctions against India, which were gradually suspended after September 2001. India adheres to the no-first-use rule in its nuclear policy. On October 10, 2008, the Indo-American Nuclear Cooperation Treaty was signed between India and the United States, which finally ended the country's isolation in the field of nuclear energy.

India's intelligence services include the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the Intelligence Bureau (IB), and the intelligence units of the Ministry of Defense. , Central Bureau of Investigation of the Ministry of State and Home Affairs and a division of the Department of Homeland Security. Since India's main geopolitical adversary is Pakistan, working against Pakistan and its intelligence agencies is the top priority of India's intelligence agencies.

Economy

For most of its post-independence history, India has pursued a socialist economic policy with government involvement in the private sector, strict controls on foreign trade and investment. However, since 1991, India has carried out liberal economic reforms by opening its market and reducing government control over the economy. International reserves rose from $5.8 billion in March 1991 to $308 billion as of July 4, 2008, and federal and state budget deficits have narrowed markedly. Among the political debates continued the privatization of private companies and the opening of certain sectors of the economy to private and foreign participation. The gross domestic product in US dollars at current exchange rates is 1.089 trillion, making India the twelfth largest economy in the world. Measured at purchasing power parity, India has the fourth largest GDP in the world at $4.726 trillion. The nominal per capita income is $977, which puts the country in 128th place in the world in this indicator. The per capita income at purchasing power parity is $2,700 (118th in the world).

Over the past two decades, an average annual GDP growth of 5.5% has made the Indian economy one of the fastest growing in the world. India has the second largest labor force in the world - 516.3 million people, 60% of them work in the field of agriculture; 28% in services; and 12% in industry. The main crops are rice, wheat, cotton, jute, tea, sugar cane and potatoes. The agricultural sector accounts for 28% of GDP; the service sector and industry account for 54% and 18% respectively. Main Industries: Automotive, Chemical, Cement, Consumer Electronics, Food Processing, Mechanical Engineering, Mining, Petroleum, Pharmaceuticals, Metals and Textiles. Along with the rapid economic growth, the need for energy resources has increased dramatically. According to statistics, India ranks sixth in the world in oil consumption and third in hard coal consumption.

Over the past two decades, the Indian economy has experienced steady growth, however, when comparing different social groups, geographic regions, and rural and urban areas, economic growth has not been uniform. Income inequality in India is relatively small (Gini coefficient: 36.8 in 2004), although it has been growing in recent years. In India, there is a rather large stratification of the population, where 10% of the population with high earnings receive 33% of income. Despite notable economic progress, a quarter of the country's population lives below the state-established living wage, which is 0.40 a day. According to statistics, in 2004-2005, 27.5% of the population was below the poverty line.

Recently, India, thanks to the presence of a large number of English-speaking professionals, has become an outsourcing destination for many multinational corporations and a popular destination for "medical tourism". India has also become a significant exporter of software, as well as financial and technology services. Main natural resources India are arable land, bauxite, chromite, coal, diamonds, iron ore, limestone, manganese, mica, natural gas, oil and titanium ores.

In 2007, exports amounted to 140 billion US dollars, and imports - about 224.9 billion. The main exports are textiles, jewelry, engineering products and software. The main imports are, machinery, fertilizers and chemicals. India's main trading partners are the United States, the European Union and China.

Transport

In India, all types of transport are represented: water (sea and river), road, air, rail, pipeline. Rail transport in India provides mass transportation of goods and people. Up to 6 billion passengers and 350 million tons of cargo are transported annually. The main railway operator in the country, which controls 99% of traffic, is Indian Railways.

In 1950, India had 382,000 km of dirt roads and 136,000 km of highways. Of these roads, only 22 thousand km were suitable for heavy traffic of freight and passenger vehicles.

In India, the lower reaches of the rivers Ganges, Krishna, Godavari, Kaveri are navigable. These rivers are used for the transportation of goods, back in the 1950s, 3/4 of the goods were transported along the rivers on sailing ships. In 1951, India's ocean-going fleet consisted of only 86 steamers with a tonnage of 338,000 tons. In 1950, there were 64 civilian airports operating in India. There are currently 454 airports in India.

culture

The culture of India is very diverse and has a high level of syncretism. Throughout its history, India has managed to preserve ancient cultural traditions, at the same time adopt new customs and ideas from conquerors and immigrants, and spread its cultural influence to other regions of Asia.

In Indian society, traditional family values ​​are highly respected, although contemporary urban families often favor a nuclear family structure, largely due to the socio-economic constraints imposed by the traditional extended family system.

Architecture

Indian architecture is one of the areas where the diversity of Indian culture is most vividly represented. Much of India's architecture, including such remarkable monuments as the Taj Mahal and other examples of Mughal and South Indian architecture, is a mixture of ancient and heterogeneous local traditions from different regions of India and abroad.

music and dancing

Indian music has a wide range of traditions and regional styles. Indian classical music includes two main genres - North Indian Hindustani, South Indian Carnatic traditions and their various variations in the form of regional folk music. Local styles of popular music include filmi and Indian folk music, one of the most influential varieties of which is the syncretic Baul tradition.

Indian dances also have a variety of folk and classical forms. The most famous Indian folk dances are bhangra in Punjab, bihu in Assam, chhau in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa, and ghumar in Rajasthan. Eight forms of dance, with their narrative forms and mythological elements, have been given the status of Indian classical dances by the Indian National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama. These are: bharatanatyam of Tamil Nadu, kathak in Uttar Pradesh, kathakali and mohini attam in Kerala, kuchipudi in Andhra Pradesh, manipuri in Manipur, odissi in Orissa and sattriya in Assam

Theater and cinema

Indian theater often includes music, dance and impromptu dialogue. Plots are often based on motifs borrowed from Hindu texts, as well as medieval literary works, social and political news. Some regional forms of Indian theater are: bhavai in Gujarat, jatra in West Bengal, nautanki and ramlila in northern India, tamasha in Maharashtra, terukuttu in Tamil Nadu, and yakshagana in Karnataka.

The Indian film industry is the largest in the world. Bollywood, headquartered in Mumbai, produces Hindi commercial films and is the most prolific film industry in the world. Established cinematic traditions also exist in other Indian languages ​​such as Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu.

Literature

The earliest works of Indian literature were transmitted orally for many centuries and only later were written down. These include Sanskrit literature - the Vedas, the epics "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana", the drama "Abhigyan-shakuntalam", and the classical Sanskrit poetry of the Mahakavya, and the Tamil literature of the Sangam. One of the modern writers who wrote both in Indian languages ​​and in English is Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.

Education

Education in most universities in India is conducted on English language. Higher education in the country is provided at the level of programs of European universities. The cost of the academic year is about 15,000 US dollars.

There are 200 universities in India: 16 of them are central, the rest operate in accordance with state regulations. The total number of colleges in the country is about 11,000. Over the past few decades, the technical field of education has developed significantly. Currently, 185 universities offer postgraduate studies in engineering and technical disciplines.

Kitchen

India is a country with an exotic and mysterious culture for most Europeans. The unforgettable aroma of India is the thick smell of jasmine and rose, the subtle fragrance of spices that occupy an important place in Indian dishes. Indians attach special importance to food, it is consecrated by a tradition that is honored to this day.

Indian cuisine is very diverse. Two religions influenced its development: Hinduism and Islam. In addition, for many centuries, the settlers have made their own adjustments to the traditional Indian cuisine. For instance. The Portuguese brought paprika, which took root perfectly throughout India, the French gave recipes for soufflé and fragrant bread, the British also made their contribution. Indians have learned how to cook puddings and make anchovy sandwiches.

The Great Mongols, who ruled India for several centuries, had a massive influence on Indian cuisine. Before today such dishes as greasy pilaf, biryane - a traditional rice dish, bread stuffed with almonds, heavy cream and dried fruits have come down to us. The Mongols brought with them a large oven - tondur. In India, bread, meat and poultry are still cooked in the oven.

India is the birthplace of a huge number of spices. Indians use known to us coriander, turmeric, cumin, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and little-known mango powder, asafoetida. Many spices have medicinal properties. The most common condiment is curry. The name of this seasoning comes from the Indian word "kari" (sauce) Curry is a coconut crushed on a basalt stone with the addition of certain spices (turmeric, tamarind, cumin, coriander, chili pepper, garlic). Seafood curry is called "ummon" or "coddy".

Like paints on an artist's palette, an Indian chef keeps about 25 spices on hand, always freshly ground, from which he makes his own unique flavor bouquet. Thanks to various combinations, dishes acquire a delicate taste. Each region has its own favorite spices and their combinations. Rice and curry are usually served with “tondak” (fish fried in coconut oil), “sukem” (a dish of shrimp and shellfish), “kissmur” (salad of dried fried shrimp and grated coconut), shrimp patties, etc. Vegetables in India are cheap, varied, plentiful and always tasty.
Meat dishes are more common in the north: rogan-josh (lamb curry), gushtaba (spicy meatballs in yogurt) and delicious biryani (chicken or lamb with rice with orange sauce). The taste of the dishes is rich and rich, they are generously seasoned with spices and sprinkled with nuts and saffron. The famous tandoori (chicken, meat or fish marinated with herbs and baked in a clay oven) and lamb kebabs come from the northern regions. In the north at more sheep breeding is developed, hence the addiction to lamb dishes. Bread is a variety of unleavened cakes - puri, chappati, nan and others.

In the south, curry dishes are mostly vegetable and very spicy. Traditional recipes include bhujia (vegetable curry), dosa, idli and samba (rice cakes, dumplings stuffed with pickles and lentil curry) and raita (yoghurt with grated cucumber and mint). Coconut is the main ingredient in South Indian cuisine. it grows all over the place.

There is a wide variety of fish and seafood on the west coast - curried or fried fish bomilo, licorice fish (Indian salmon) Fish are also present in Bengali cuisine, for example: dahi maach (fish curry in ginger-flavored yogurt) and mailai (curry shrimp) with coconut). Desserts are also prepared with the addition of dates and bananas. In this part of the country, rice dishes are more preferred and stews are much spicier than in the north.

Common to all India is dal (something like a soup of different types of legumes with vegetables) and dhai (curdled milk or yogurt served with curry). In addition to being a very tasty dish, in the heat it is more refreshing than sugary carbonated drinks.

From sweets, milk puddings, cookies and pancakes are mainly served. Kulfi (Indian ice cream), rasgulla (cottage cheese balls flavored with rose water), gulab jamun (flour, yogurt and grated almonds) and jalebi (pancakes in syrup) are common throughout India.
To improve digestion, it is customary to finish the meal by chewing pan. Pan is betel leaves wrapped with crushed betel nuts and spices.

Tea is a favorite drink of Indians, and many of its varieties are popular in the world. Often it is served already with sugar and milk, but you can also order “tea on a tray”. The popularity of coffee is growing. Nimbu pani (a drink made from water and lemon juice), lassi (whipped coconut milk) and coconut milk straight from the nut are nicely refreshing. Carbonated water, often with syrup, and Western alcoholic drinks are available everywhere. Indian beers and gins are as good as the best in the world and are inexpensive. But alcohol in India is never drunk during a meal!
Traditional Indian cuisine uses ghee (clarified butter) and dense vegetable fat. Until recently, ghee was generally the only known fat in North India; now, however, Indians are becoming more and more health conscious, and many are choosing to cook with other fats. In most recipes, vegetable oil is used, and in small quantities.
A few words should be noted about vegetarianism and religion. Vegetarianism is especially developed in the southeast of India. Indians in this part of the country do not eat animal and bird meat, fish and eggs. Eggs, by the way, are considered by the Indians to be the beginning of all beginnings. Indians eat large quantities of vegetables, fruits, as well as flour dishes. In India, religion greatly influences the menu of Hindus. There are many religious restrictions. For example, Muslims and Jews are forbidden to eat pork, while Hindus and Sikhs are forbidden to eat beef. The cow is considered a sacred animal.

This densely populated peninsula is home to so many peoples of different religions that it is very difficult to characterize in a few sentences a typical cuisine, or rather cuisines. The common generalization that all Indian dishes are very spicy is also confusing - it is valid for Muslim territories, and moderate cuisine prevails in the north. Arab-Persian influences also make themselves felt in it - for example, the common custom of using yogurt for cooking hot dishes.

Meat dishes, which we will meet especially in the north-west of the country, are prepared by Muslim Indians from lamb or goat meat. In general, we can say that in the north of India, the dishes are thicker, and in the south they are more like soup. But rice is always served separately. From vegetables in the first place are legumes, especially lentils. An important role is played by fresh roots of piquant taste.
Unlike East Asian countries, there are relatively many types of bread in India, mainly in the form of flatbreads or rolls. This explains the relatively high level of wheat consumption in this country. Although India has the richest assortment of fruits and vegetables and often completes the meal, they also serve dessert in the form of a cream or like yogurt with a high sugar content. To a large extent this comes from the tradition of Hindi cuisine, but there is also an Arab-Persian influence.

traditional clothing

Different regions of India use different types of traditional Indian clothing. Its color and style depends on various factors such as climate. Clothing made from unsewn pieces of fabric is popular, such as saris for women and dhoti or lungi for men; tailor-made garments such as punjabi (harem pants and kurta pajamas) for women, and European-style trousers and shirts for men are also popular.

Public holidays

Most Indian holidays are of religious origin, although some are celebrated by all Indians regardless of caste or religion. Some of the most popular holidays are Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Ugadi, Pongal, Holi, Onam, Vijaya Dashami, Durga Puja, Eid al-Fitr, Eid ul-Fitr, Christmas, Vesak and Vaisakhi. There are three national holidays in India. Various states also observe between nine and twelve official local holidays. Religious holidays are an integral part of the daily life of Indians and are held openly and publicly with the participation of a huge number of people.

Major holidays in India
January 1 - Naya Sal (New Year)
January 5 - Birthday of Guru Govind Singh
January 9 - Muharram
January 13 - Lori
January 14 - Pongal
January 26 - Indian Republic Day
February 11 - Vasanta
March 6 - Maha Shivaratri
March 19 - Milad en Nabi
March 21 - Good Friday
March 22 - Holi - the festival of colors
March 23 - Istar
April 14 - Rama Navami
April 18 - Mahavira Jayanti
May 20 - Buddha Jayanti
July 16 - Rath Yatra
July 18 - Guru Purnima
August 15 - Indian Independence Day
August 16 - Rakha - Bandhan
August 24 - Janmashtami
September 3 - Ganesha Chaturhi
September 12 - Onam
October 2 - Gandhi Jayanti
October 9 - Dashahr
October 17 - Karva Chowt in India
October 28 - Diwali - the festival of lights
October 29 - Govardhan Puja
November 13 - Birthday of Guru Nanak
November 14 - Bal Divas (Children's Day) in India
December 8 - Bakri Eid (Eid-ul-Zuha)
December 25 - Bara din (Christmas)

Sport

The national sport of India is field hockey and the most popular sport is cricket. In some states, such as West Bengal, Goa and Kerala, football is also widely played. Recently, tennis has gained considerable popularity. Chess, historically originating from India, is also very popular and the number of Indian grandmasters is constantly increasing. Traditional sports throughout the country include kabaddi, kho kho, and gilli danda. India is also the birthplace of yoga and ancient Indian martial arts - Kalaripayattu and Varma-Kalai.

Attractions

Delhi The five-tiered Qutub Minar (Victory Tower) is one of the most remarkable buildings of the ancient period of Delhi's history, the construction of which dates back to the 12th century AD.
In 1199, Qutb-ad-din built the Qutb-Minar minaret, which served as a monument to victory and supplemented the neighboring mosque built earlier.
The cone-shaped five-tiered tower, 72.5 meters high, was built of red-yellow sandstone and decorated with magnificent ornaments and engraved sayings from the Koran.
On the territory of the Qutub Minar complex stands one of the most mysterious structures in the world: the famous Iron Column, cast in the 4th century AD.
There is an old belief: the one who will stand with his back to the column and bring his hands together behind it will have his most cherished desire come true.
It is no coincidence that the Indians endow this column with miraculous power: it really has a unique property - iron cast 15 centuries ago does not rust. How did the ancient masters manage to create chemically pure iron, which is difficult to obtain even in modern electrolytic furnaces? How did it manage to cast a metal column 7 meters high and girth thick in the 4th century? Science does not know the explanation for this miracle. Some scientists consider the Iron Column to be the rarest evidence of the material culture of a long-vanished ancient civilization, others tend to see it as a “testament of stellar aliens”, an encrypted message from unknown beings who once visited the earth and left this column as a “memory of the future”.

Lakshmi Narayan Temple
One of the attractions of New Delhi is Lakshmi Narayan - a temple of white and pink marble dedicated to the gods Krishna (Narayan) and his sun-faced wife Lakshmi, built by the Birla family of famous industrialists.
Krishna and Lakshmi - the patrons of love and family happiness - are the most popular deities of the Hindu religion. And although connoisseurs of traditional Indian architecture tend to see in elegant towers, arches, galleries and marble sculptural sculptures a mixture of styles from different eras, penetrated by the sun's rays, sparkling with bright colors and gilding, the temple creates a feeling of a real holiday for visitors. The temple was built at the beginning of the 20th century with donations from the richest people in the country and consecrated in the presence of Mahatma Gandhi himself.

Red Fort
If in the middle of the 17th century there was a paradise on earth, then it was right here. The Red Fort, or Lal Qila, owes its name to the red sandstone from which its walls are built. The length of the wall in the perimeter is 2.4 km, and its height varies from 18 meters from the side of the river to 33 meters from the side of the city.
The fort was erected between 1639 and 1648 under the Mongol ruler Shah Jahan and is famous for its wealth: marble, silver and gold, as well as precious decoration.
For various palaces and reception halls, more noble materials were used.
Over the years, many of the treasures have disappeared and some of the original buildings have been destroyed. What remains nevertheless gives a vivid picture of the Mughal Empire at its height. After the death of his wife, for whom he built the Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan wanted to move his imperial residence from Agra to Delhi or, more precisely, to the New City, called Shahjahanabad. There he built the Red Fort - as his own imperial city. The layout of each Mongolian courtyard included two halls for audiences: Divani-Am and Divani-Khas. The first was used for official receptions at the ruler, the second - for private ones.
Divani-Am is a large hall built on a plinth, which is open on three sides to the courtyards. Here it was possible to gather a large number of people, and petitions were submitted to the ruler in public. Divani Khas was the place where the emperor privately consulted with his officials or with foreign envoys. Once there was a spacious courtyard with a marble floor and a silver ceiling. Shah Jahan ordered the famous "Peacock Throne" to be made for Divani Khas. It was an object adorned with precious stones with extraordinary pomp. It took seven years to make it.
In 1739 the throne was taken to Persia. The inscription in Divani Khas testifies to what Shah Jahan himself thought about this place: "If there is a paradise on earth, then it is here, here and only here." There were once six royal palaces (mahals) in the Red Fort.
Mumtaz Mahal today houses a museum. The other is called the Rang Mahal (Painted Palace), but only the painting has long since disappeared. Khas Mahal has three parts. The rooms served, respectively, for sleep or prayer, and a long hall with ceiling and wall paintings was used for eating. Shah Jahan's son and successor, Aurangzeb, built the extraordinary Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) inside the fort. The mosque and its courtyards are relatively small, but their spatial design has a special charm. Incredibly spectacular black marble intarsia on a white marble base. The shopping arcade in front of the impressive Lahore Gate leading into the palace is open to the public, as are the imperial baths.
After the uprising in 1857, a large part of the fort was demolished to make way for the barracks.

Agra
The monument of love (Taj Mahal) stands among the cypress parks on the banks of the Yamuna, and its majestic and perfect appearance is reflected in the water surface of the ponds. Marble façades gleam silver under the moon, glow rosy at dawn, and shimmer with the fiery reflections of the setting sun. This fabulously beautiful mausoleum was built under Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife.
In 1629, having given birth to the 14th child, the wife of the Indian Mogul died. She was 36 years old, of which 17 she was married. Sultan Shah Jahan lost not only his beloved wife, but also a wise political adviser.
There is evidence that he wore mourning for her for two years and took an oath to build a grave monument worthy of the memory of his wife, completely extraordinary, with which nothing in the world can compare. Arjumand Banu, also known as Mumtaz Mahal (“Chosen of the Palace”), rests in just such an extraordinary tomb, named after her in abbreviation: Taj Mahal. Construction was carried out in several stages, from 1631 to 1653. More than 20,000 people worked on the construction of the building, recruited not only throughout India, but even in Central Asia. The main architect was Isa Khan, who arrived from the Iranian city of Shiraz, and wonderful European craftsmen richly decorated the facade of the building. The tomb was built of marble (it had to be delivered to the site from a quarry 300 kilometers away), but the building is not completely white, as many photographs try to show. Its surface is inlaid with thousands of precious and semi-precious stones, and black marble was used for calligraphic ornaments. Skillfully handmade, filigree finished, the marble cladding casts - depending on the incidence of light - bewitching shadows. Once the doors to the Taj Mahal were made of silver. Inside there was a parapet of gold, and a cloth studded with pearls lay on the tomb of the princess, set on the very site of her burning. Thieves stole these precious items and repeatedly tried to knock out the inlay gems. But, despite all this, the mausoleum still shocks every visitor today. The building is located in a garden landscape, you need to enter it through a large, rare beautiful gate, which symbolizes the entrance to paradise. Its huge white marble terrace and double dome perfect form, surrounded by four minarets, rest on a red sandstone base. Inside is the tomb of the queen, encrusted with precious stones, and next to it, slightly to the side, is the richly decorated coffin of the emperor, the only one that violates the absolute symmetry of the structure. They are protected from visitors by an octagonal openwork marble wall. Shah planned to continue construction, dreaming of erecting on the other side of the river a twin of the snow-white Taj Mahal - Mumtaz Mahal made of black marble, which would become his own tombstone. But Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son and spent the rest of his life alone, imprisoned in the fort of Agra, looking longingly at the fast-flowing river. From there, Shah Jahan could see the Taj Mahal.
The immortal beauty of the Taj Mahal serves as a source of inspiration for poets and artists, writers and photographers to this day. And on moonlit nights, lovers, as many centuries ago, meet in the shadow of this world famous monument love.

Agra fort
The construction of the fort was begun by Emperor Akbar in 1565 and was completed only during the reign of his grandson Shah Jahan. Used at first only for military purposes, the fortress gradually became a palace: behind the high fortress walls 2.5 km long and 10 m wide, gardens, terraces, halls and colonnades of amazing beauty are hidden. Slender columns of arches, located in the courtyard of the fortress, support a stone canopy. This is a kind of “city within a city”, in the center of which is a beautiful marble mosque, due to its ideal proportions and grace, it is called Moti Masjid (Pearl Muslim). The fort is accessed through two main high portals to the west and south; in the east there are “personal” imperial gates. Three Great Mughals successively settled in it - Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan, and each of them made significant changes to the architectural complex. The most remarkable buildings of the fort include: Jahangiri Mahal Palace; Khas Mahal with adjoining vineyard called Anguri Bagh and ornamented pool called Shish Mahal; the Musamman-Burj fortress, where Shah Jahan was kept as a prisoner of his son, who died here admiring the Taj Mahal (the tomb of his beloved wife) in his last days; Divani Khas (private audience hall); Divani-Am (hall of public audience); Machhi Bhavan (palace with aquariums); Moti Masjid (pearl mosque). Most of these buildings, erected during the reign of Shah Jahan, are built of marble and show a sophistication that contrasts with the architecture of the buildings of Akbar's time - clear and energetic. All the buildings of the fort, performing practical functions, are true works of art, their proportions are so harmonious and perfect, their appearance is so refined and refined. The combination of Muslim and Indo-Mohammedan cultures gives a delightful effect, and the natural Indian taste is manifested in the landscape of the buildings: the palace is surrounded by lush gardens, and side buildings are always in harmony with the main ones. The fabulous splendor of the buildings of the Palace in Agra speaks of sophisticated imagination, originality and truly free art.
Tomb of Itemad-ud-Daula
The tomb of Itemad-ud-Dauly stands in the center of the Persian park, striking with the elegance of lines and the thoroughness of decoration. Norjahan, the brilliant wife of Jahangir, built it for her parents. A small tomb on the outskirts of the Taj Mahal perfectly reflects the taste and mind of the gifted empress. Warm tones of yellow marble contrast with white and black patterns, while openwork marble panels and rich mosaics of gems are feminine and delightful.
Jama Masjid Mosque
Not far from the Red Fort rises the cathedral mosque Jama Masjid - the most grandiose temple building in Asia. On the days of religious holidays, up to 25 thousand believers gather in the spacious courtyard of the mosque.

Mumbai (Bombay)
The history of the emergence of Mumbai, a dynamic modern city, the financial capital of India and the administrative center of the state of Maharashtra, is rather unusual. In 1534, the Sultan of Gujarat ceded a group of seven useless islands to the Portuguese, who in turn gave them to Catherine of Braganza on her wedding day to King Charles II of England in 1661. In 1668, the British government leased the islands to the East India Company for 10 pounds of gold a year. In 1862, a colossal land surveying project turned seven separate islands into a single entity.
Today, the memory of the seven Bombay islands is preserved only in the names of the districts, such as Colaba, Mahim, Mazgaon, Parel, Worli, Girgaum and Dongri. It is believed that the name Bombay (Mumbai in the Marathi language) comes from the name of the local goddess Mumbai Devi.

Gateway of India
Rising gracefully at the water's edge in the Apollo Bander area is the famous Gateway of India - Triumphal Arch, designed by George Whittet and built in 1924 in honor of the visit of King George V and Queen Mary, who arrived in 1911 for the imperial reception of Delhi. The first thing that anyone who went ashore in the port of Bombay in former years saw was precisely this architectural structure. The arch, made of copper-colored basalt, faces the sea, and, reflecting the glare of the rising and setting sun, changes shades from golden to orange and pink. It was through this arch that the British troops, leaving India by sea, proceeded.
Afghan Memorial Church of St. John the Evangelist
The church is located in the southern region of Colaba, "long arm" stretched out into the sea. The church was built in 1847 and consecrated 11 years later as a memorial in memory of those killed in the first Afghan war. It is a beautiful piece of architecture with gothic arches and stained glass windows.

Cathedral of St. Thomas. St. Thomas Cathedral, one of the outstanding Christian temples of Mumbai, was erected in the center of the fortress square in 1796 by Samuel Ezekiel (Samaji Hasanji) in gratitude for his salvation from Tipu Sultan after the Second Mysore War.
Supreme Court House and Old Secretariat The buildings were designed and built by Colonel Eagle Henry St. Clair Wilkins between 1867 and 1874. Their architecture is designed in a strict Victorian neo-Gothic style.
university building
Sir Kowasji Jehangir Redimani financed the construction of the Elphinstone University and College building with a central tower 85 meters high and covered balconies. This complex, together with the library and the clock tower (now called Rajabai), was completed in 1878.
Fountain Flora It is located in a very busy place in the city, on Khutatma Chowk Square (Martyrs' Square), in the heart of the Fort district. The fountain was built in honor of Governor Sir Henry Bartle Edward Freer, who was building a new Bombay in the 60s of the 19th century. The square got its current name - Khututma - in memory of those who gave their lives to the cause of establishing an independent state of Maharashtra as part of the Indian Union.

Prince of Wales Museum
In 1905, King George V (then Prince of Wales) during his visit to India laid the foundation stone for the Museum. George Whittet designed this building with a central marble dome and other trappings of oriental architecture. It was built in 1921 from blue-gray basalt and yellow sandstone. The museum is considered one of the most significant in India. It contains excellent examples of Indian miniatures of the Mughal and Rajasthani schools, collections of jade and porcelain items.

Elfant Island
It is located an hour away by motorboat along the waters of the harbor, literally replete with ancient monuments. Here you can see stunning cave temples with huge sculptures inside. All of them were excavated in VII and
8th century The main attraction is a massive bust of the three-headed Shiva, 5 meters high, which embodies his incarnations as the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer. The Portuguese named this island Elephanta because of the huge sculpture of an elephant that once stood in one of the excavated interior palaces.
The most striking example of Victorian Gothic in Bombay is the Victoria Terminus Station designed by Frederick William Stevens, as well as the building of the Central Railway. The buildings were built between 1878 and 1887 of yellow sandstone and granite, combined with multi-colored stones, with blue-gray basalt used for interior decoration. Among other attractions, we note the classical colonnades of the buildings of the mint and the magistrate, subsidized in 1820.

Calcutta
It is one of the oldest metropolises in India. It was founded over three hundred years ago by Job Charnock, a representative of the British East India Company. He bought three villages from the Nawab of Bengal, and in their place founded what we today call Calcutta.
Like other cities in India such as Madras or Bombay, Calcutta was influenced by the European culture of the seventeenth century and in the past was one of the great colonial centers of the East.
Now Calcutta is one of the centers of world tourism, attracting guests from all over the world not only warm climate, but also numerous attractions reflecting the entire centuries-old culture of India.
The National Library of Calcutta, which is one of the best libraries in the world, has more than 8 million books, 2 thousand manuscripts and about 700 types of periodicals in its collections. All books that are printed in India are compulsorily transferred to the collections of the National Library.

zoological garden The Zoological Garden, opened in 1876, spreads over 41 acres. His collection of birds and animals is the best in Asia. Among the rarest animals kept in the zoo are the white tiger, beautiful specimens of king cobras and several types of exotic animals. The zoological garden is a favorite place for recreation and entertainment. Visitors to the zoo can ride ponies and elephants. And the huge lake, located in the center of the zoo, attracts visitors with a huge number of migratory birds that have chosen the lake as a place for wintering.

Museum of India
Built in the late 19th century, this museum is the largest museum in India. The museum is divided into 6 sectors: art, archeology, anthropology, geology, zoology and botany. It consists of 40 main galleries, where collections of sculptures, paintings, coins and other archaeological finds are exhibited. The art sector contains more than 10 thousand exhibitions of paintings, clothing and handicrafts of the peoples of India. The archeology sector is a real treasure trove for lovers of antiquity - visitors can see collections of ancient coins, antique sculptures and even an Egyptian mummy there. The geological sector contains the largest collection of meteorites in Asia.
The Victoria Memorial is a beautiful architectural structure made of white marble, built in the image of the Taj Mahal. It was built in the early twentieth century in memory of Queen Victoria. The atmosphere of unforgettable charm is created by manicured gardens and lawns, old cannons and a bronze statue of Queen Victoria at the entrance to the complex.

General information

Remark 1

India is one of ancient countries our planet. It keeps many mysteries of our earthly civilization. India is the country of ancient farmers, scientists, the land of fairy tales and fabulous riches, the pearl of the former British colonial empire. India was a British colony for $200 years. It gained independence only in $1947$. Its official name is the Republic of India.

The life and work of many great people of the past are connected with India. Today India is a country of great contrasts in culture, population, economy. Let's consider the characteristics of the country in more detail.

Geographical position

India is located in South Asia, on the Hindustan Peninsula. It is washed by the waters of the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, which belong to the Indian Ocean basin. The territory of India has a diamond shape, elongated from north to south. India is crossed by the southern tropic. In the north, the natural border of India is the Himalayan mountains.

Territory and borders

India occupies an area of ​​$3.3 million $km^2$. From the southwest and southeast, the territory faces the Indian Ocean. In the north - the Indo-Gangetic lowland passes into the Himalayan mountains. The Deccan Plateau is located in the center of the country.

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India's neighboring countries are:

• Pakistan,
• Afghanistan,
• China,
• Nepal,
• Butane,
• Myanmar,
• Bangladesh.

Remark 2

The border with Pakistan is one of the sources of international tension in this region. The question of the nationality of the states of Jammu and Kashmir, now occupied by Pakistan, remains unresolved.

The border with Afghanistan is also unfavorable (especially in the region of the state of Punjab), on whose territory the civil war continues. The borders with China and Nepal pass in the difficult conditions of the Himalayan mountains. Therefore, there are difficulties in joint economic activity. In addition, China often acts as an ally of Pakistan in conflicts.

The southern borders of the country (the coast), on the contrary, are very conducive to economic development. India is located in close proximity to the intersection of important trade routes between the countries of Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia on the one hand and the states of Southeast Asia and Australia on the other.

Form of government and state structure

The form of government of India is federal Republic. The head of state is the president. Administratively, the territorial division allocates $25$ for states and $7$ for union territories on the territory of the state. capital state is Delhi (New Delhi).

In terms of economic development, India belongs to the group of developing countries. But lately, the country's economy has made important progress in the development of the most modern industries.

Remark 3

Despite international agreements, India (like Pakistan) owns nuclear weapons.

From the history of the country's development

States on the territory of the Hindustan peninsula arose in ancient times. Due to the favorable climate and fertile soils Agriculture ensured the economic development of ancient states. Alexander the Great failed in his attempt to conquer India. In the $XV$ century, Vasco da Gama announced the beginning of the European colonization of India with cannon volleys. Subsequently, the entire south of Asia was captured by Great Britain.

At the beginning of the $XX$ century, the national liberation movement intensified in India. India was granted independence in $1947. But at the same time, the former British colony was divided. Instead of one state, in addition to India, West and East Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan were also formed. The division was carried out on a national and religious basis and caused political clashes and inter-ethnic conflicts. The conflict with Pakistan has not yet been resolved.

Today India is the leader of the non-aligned movement. It is pursuing a peaceful policy aimed at reducing international tension.