India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia, the second-most populous country in the world. The current population is 1,435,697,471 as of January 15, 2024, based on the latest United Nations data.[1] India has overtaken China[2] as the world's most populous nation. More generally, India may also refer to the Indian sub-continent, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. British India, which included Pakistan and Bangladesh, therefore covered the entire sub-continent.
Contents
History
Home to the Indus Valley civilization and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here, while Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism arrived in the first millennium CE and shaped the region's variegated culture. Gradually annexed by the British East India Company from the early eighteenth century and colonized by the United Kingdom from the mid-nineteenth century, India became an independent country in 1947.
British India
Castes and other groups
India was, according to the Indo-Aryan migration theory, invaded/colonized by Indo-Europeans (Indo-Aryans) in ancient times. They established a caste system which is still holding. See the Caste article regarding more details.
See also
External links
Colonialism
- The Remarkable Raj: Why Britain should be proud of its rule in India
- The Jewish Fifth Column in India by Itsvan Bakony
