The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu. The latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River.[9] The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi (Ινδοί), which translates as "the people of the Indus".[10] The geographical term Bharat (pronounced [ˈbʱaːrət̪] (listen)), which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages.[11] The eponym of Bharat is Bharata, a mythological figure that Hindu scriptures describe as a legendary emperor of ancient India. Hindustan ([ɦɪnd̪ʊˈst̪aːn] (listen)) was originally a Persian
word that meant "Land of the Hindus"; prior to 1947, it referred to a
region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan. It is occasionally
used to solely denote India in its entirety.[12][13]
The earliest anatomically modern human remains found in South Asia date from approximately 30,000 years ago.[14] Nearly contemporaneous Mesolithic rock art sites have been found in many parts of the Indian subcontinent, including at the Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh.[15] Around 7000 BCE, the first known Neolithic settlements appeared on the subcontinent in Mehrgarh and other sites in western Pakistan.[16] These gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation,[17] the first urban culture in South Asia;[18] it flourished during 2500–1900 BCE in Pakistan and western India.[19] Centred around cities such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Dholavira, and Kalibangan, and relying on varied forms of subsistence, the civilisation engaged robustly in crafts production and wide-ranging trade.[18]
During the period 2000–500 BCE, in terms of culture, many regions of the subcontinent transitioned from the Chalcolithic to the Iron Age.[20] The Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism,[21] were composed during this period,[22] and historians have analysed these to posit a Vedic culture in the Punjab region and the upper Gangetic Plain.[20] Most historians also consider this period to have encompassed several waves of Indo-Aryan migration into the subcontinent from the north-west.[23][21][24] The caste system,
which created a hierarchy of priests, warriors, and free peasants, but
which excluded indigenous peoples by labeling their occupations impure,
arose during this period.[25] On the Deccan Plateau, archaeological evidence from this period suggests the existence of a chiefdom stage of political organisation.[20] In southern India, a progression to sedentary life is indicated by the large number of megalithic monuments dating from this period,[26] as well as by nearby traces of agriculture, irrigation tanks, and craft traditions.[26]
In the late Vedic period, around the 5th century BCE, the small
chiefdoms of the Ganges Plain and the north-western regions had
consolidated into 16 major oligarchies and monarchies that were known as
the mahajanapadas.[27][28] The emerging urbanisation and the orthodoxies of this age also created the religious reform movements of Buddhism and Jainism,[29] both of which became independent religions.[30] Buddhism, based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha
attracted followers from all social classes excepting the middle class;
chronicling the life of the Buddha was central to the beginnings of
recorded history in India.[29][31][32] Jainism came into prominence around the same time during the life of its exemplar, Mahavira.[33] In an age of increasing urban wealth, both religions held up renunciation as an ideal,[34] and both established long-lasting monasteries.[27] Politically, by the 3rd century BCE, the kingdom of Magadha had annexed or reduced other states to emerge as the Mauryan Empire.[27]
The empire was once thought to have controlled most of the subcontinent
excepting the far south, but its core regions are now thought to have
been separated by large autonomous areas.[35][36] The Mauryan kings are known as much for their empire-building and determined management of public life as for Ashoka's renunciation of militarism and far-flung advocacy of the Buddhist dhamma.[37][38]
The Sangam literature of the Tamil language reveals that, between 200 BCE and 200 CE, the southern peninsula was being ruled by the Cheras, the Cholas, and the Pandyas, dynasties that traded extensively with the Roman Empire and with West and South-East Asia.[39][40] In North India, Hinduism asserted patriarchal control within the family, leading to increased subordination of women.[41][27] By the 4th and 5th centuries, the Gupta Empire
had created in the greater Ganges Plain a complex system of
administration and taxation that became a model for later Indian
kingdoms.[42][43] Under the Guptas, a renewed Hinduism based on devotion rather than the management of ritual began to assert itself.[44] The renewal was reflected in a flowering of sculpture and architecture, which found patrons among an urban elite.[43]Classical Sanskrit literature flowered as well, and Indian science, astronomy, medicine, and mathematics made significant advances.[43]
The Indian early medieval age, 600 CE to 1200 CE, is defined by regional kingdoms and cultural diversity.[45] When Harsha of Kannauj, who ruled much of the Indo-Gangetic Plain from 606 to 647 CE, attempted to expand southwards, he was defeated by the Chalukya ruler of the Deccan.[46] When his successor attempted to expand eastwards, he was defeated by the Pala king of Bengal.[46] When the Chalukyas attempted to expand southwards, they were defeated by the Pallavas from farther south, who in turn were opposed by the Pandyas and the Cholas from still farther south.[46] No ruler of this period was able to create an empire and consistently control lands much beyond his core region.[45]
During this time, pastoral peoples whose land had been cleared to make
way for the growing agricultural economy were accommodated within caste
society, as were new non-traditional ruling classes.[47] The caste system consequently began to show regional differences.[47]
In the 6th and 7th centuries, the first devotional hymns were created in the Tamil language.[48] They were imitated all over India and led to both the resurgence of Hinduism and the development of all modern languages of the subcontinent.[48] Indian royalty, big and small, and the temples they patronised, drew citizens in great numbers to the capital cities, which became economic hubs as well.[49] Temple towns of various sizes began to appear everywhere as India underwent another urbanisation.[49]
By the 8th and 9th centuries, the effects were felt in South-East Asia,
as South Indian culture and political systems were exported to lands
that became part of modern-day Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Java.[50]
Indian merchants, scholars, and sometimes armies were involved in this
transmission; South-East Asians took the initiative as well, with many
sojourning in Indian seminaries and translating Buddhist and Hindu texts
into their languages.[50]
After the 10th century, Muslim Central Asian nomadic clans, using swift-horse
cavalry and raising vast armies united by ethnicity and religion,
repeatedly overran South Asia's north-western plains, leading eventually
to the establishment of the Islamic Delhi Sultanate in 1206.[51]
The sultanate was to control much of North India, and to make many
forays into South India. Although at first disruptive for the Indian
elites, the sultanate largely left its vast non-Muslim subject
population to its own laws and customs.[52][53] By repeatedly repulsing Mongol raiders
in the 13th century, the sultanate saved India from the devastation
visited on West and Central Asia, setting the scene for centuries of
migration of fleeing soldiers, learned men, mystics, traders, artists,
and artisans from that region into the subcontinent, thereby creating a
syncretic Indo-Islamic culture in the north.[54][55] The sultanate's raiding and weakening of the regional kingdoms of South India paved the way for the indigenous Vijayanagara Empire.[56] Embracing a strong Shaivite tradition and building upon the military technology of the sultanate, the empire came to control much of peninsular India,[57] and was to influence South Indian society for long afterwards.[56]
Early modern India
Scribes and artists in the Mughal court, 1590–1595
In the early 16th century, northern India, being then under mainly Muslim rulers,[58] fell again to the superior mobility and firepower of a new generation of Central Asian warriors.[59] The resulting Mughal Empire
did not stamp out the local societies it came to rule, but rather
balanced and pacified them through new administrative practices[60][61] and diverse and inclusive ruling elites,[62] leading to more systematic, centralised, and uniform rule.[63] Eschewing tribal bonds and Islamic identity, especially under Akbar,
the Mughals united their far-flung realms through loyalty, expressed
through a Persianised culture, to an emperor who had near-divine status.[62] The Mughal state's economic policies, deriving most revenues from agriculture[64] and mandating that taxes be paid in the well-regulated silver currency,[65] caused peasants and artisans to enter larger markets.[63] The relative peace maintained by the empire during much of the 17th century was a factor in India's economic expansion,[63] resulting in greater patronage of painting, literary forms, textiles, and architecture.[66] Newly coherent social groups in northern and western India, such as the Marathas, the Rajputs, and the Sikhs,
gained military and governing ambitions during Mughal rule, which,
through collaboration or adversity, gave them both recognition and
military experience.[67]
Expanding commerce during Mughal rule gave rise to new Indian
commercial and political elites along the coasts of southern and eastern
India.[67] As the empire disintegrated, many among these elites were able to seek and control their own affairs.[68]
By the early 18th century, with the lines between commercial and
political dominance being increasingly blurred, a number of European
trading companies, including the English East India Company, had established coastal outposts.[69][70]
The East India Company's control of the seas, greater resources, and
more advanced military training and technology led it to increasingly
flex its military muscle and caused it to become attractive to a portion
of the Indian elite; both these factors were crucial in allowing the
Company to gain control over the Bengal region by 1765 and sideline the other European companies.[71][69][72][73]
Its further access to the riches of Bengal and the subsequent increased
strength and size of its army enabled it to annex or subdue most of
India by the 1820s.[74]
India was now no longer exporting manufactured goods as it long had,
but was instead supplying the British empire with raw materials, and
many historians consider this to be the onset of India's colonial
period.[69]
By this time, with its economic power severely curtailed by the British
parliament and itself effectively made an arm of British
administration, the Company began to more consciously enter non-economic
arenas such as education, social reform, and culture.[75]
Historians consider India's modern age to have begun sometime between 1848 and 1885. The appointment in 1848 of Lord Dalhousie as Governor General of the East India Company rule in India
set the stage for changes essential to a modern state. These included
the consolidation and demarcation of sovereignty, the surveillance of
the population, and the education
of citizens. Technological changes—among them, railways, canals, and
the telegraph—were introduced not long after their introduction in
Europe.[76][77][78][79] However, disaffection with the Company also grew during this time, and set off the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
Fed by diverse resentments and perceptions, including invasive
British-style social reforms, harsh land taxes, and summary treatment of
some rich landowners and princes, the rebellion rocked many regions of
northern and central India and shook the foundations of Company rule.[80][81] Although the rebellion was suppressed by 1858, it led to the dissolution of the East India Company and to the direct administration of India
by the British government. Proclaiming a unitary state and a gradual
but limited British-style parliamentary system, the new rulers also
protected princes and landed gentry as a feudal safeguard against future
unrest.[82][83] In the decades following, public life gradually emerged all over India, leading eventually to the founding of the Indian National Congress in 1885.[84][85][86][87]
Jawaharlal Nehru (left) became India's first prime minister in 1947. Mahatma Gandhi (right) led the independence movement.
The rush of technology and the commercialisation of agriculture in
the second half of the 19th century was marked by economic setbacks—many
small farmers became dependent on the whims of far-away markets.[88] There was an increase in the number of large-scale famines,[89]
and, despite the risks of infrastructure development borne by Indian
taxpayers, little industrial employment was generated for Indians.[90]
There were also salutary effects: commercial cropping, especially in
the newly canalled Punjab, led to increased food production for internal
consumption.[91] The railway network provided critical famine relief,[92] notably reduced the cost of moving goods,[92] and helped nascent Indian-owned industry.[91] After World War I, in which some one million Indians served,[93]
a new period began. It was marked by British reforms but also
repressive legislation, by more strident Indian calls for self-rule, and
by the beginnings of a non-violent movement of non-cooperation, of
which Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi would become the leader and enduring symbol.[94]
During the 1930s, slow legislative reform was enacted by the British;
the Indian National Congress won victories in the resulting elections.[95] The next decade was beset with crises: Indian participation in World War II,
the Congress's final push for non-cooperation, and an upsurge of Muslim
nationalism. All were capped by the advent of independence in 1947, but
tempered by the bloody partition of the subcontinent into two states: India and Pakistan.[96]
Vital to India's self-image as an independent nation was its
constitution, completed in 1950, which put in place a sovereign,
secular, and democratic republic.[97] In the 60 years since, India has had a mixed bag of successes and failures.[98] It has remained a democracy with civil liberties, an activist Supreme Court, and a largely independent press.[98] Economic liberalisation, which was begun in the 1990s, has created a large urban middle class, transformed India into one of the world's fastest-growing economies,[99] and increased its geopolitical clout. Indian movies, music, and spiritual teachings play an increasing role in global culture.[98] Yet, India has also been weighed down by seemingly unyielding poverty, both rural and urban;[98] by religious and caste-related violence;[100] by Maoist-inspired Naxalite insurgencies;[101] and by separatism in Jammu and Kashmir.[102] It has unresolved territorial disputes with China, which escalated into the Sino-Indian War of 1962;[103] and with Pakistan, which flared into wars fought in 1947, 1965, 1971, and 1999.[103] The India–Pakistan nuclear rivalry came to a head in 1998.[104]
India's sustained democratic freedoms are unique among the world's new
nations; however, in spite of its recent economic successes, freedom
from want for its disadvantaged population remains a goal yet to be
achieved.[105]
India comprises the bulk of the Indian subcontinent and lies atop the minor Indian tectonic plate, which in turn belongs to the Indo-Australian Plate.[106]
India's defining geological processes commenced 75 million years ago
when the Indian subcontinent, then part of the southern supercontinent Gondwana, began a north-eastward drift across the then-unformed Indian Ocean that lasted fifty million years.[106] The subcontinent's subsequent collision with, and subduction under, the Eurasian Plate bore aloft the planet's highest mountains, the Himalayas. They abut India in the north and the north-east.[106] In the former seabed immediately south of the emerging Himalayas, plate movement created a vast trough that has gradually filled with river-borne sediment;[107] it now forms the Indo-Gangetic Plain.[108] To the west lies the Thar Desert, which is cut off by the Aravalli Range.[109]
The original Indian plate survives as peninsular India, which is the oldest and geologically most stable part of India; it extends as far north as the Satpura and Vindhya ranges in central India. These parallel chains run from the Arabian Sea coast in Gujarat in the west to the coal-rich Chota Nagpur Plateau in Jharkhand in the east.[110] To the south, the remaining peninsular landmass, the Deccan Plateau, is flanked on the west and east by coastal ranges known as the Western and Eastern Ghats;[111]
the plateau contains the nation's oldest rock formations, some of them
over one billion years old. Constituted in such fashion, India lies to
the north of the equator between 6° 44' and 35° 30' north latitude[e] and 68° 7' and 97° 25' east longitude.[112]
India's coastline measures 7,517 kilometres (4,700 mi) in length; of
this distance, 5,423 kilometres (3,400 mi) belong to peninsular India
and 2,094 kilometres (1,300 mi) to the Andaman, Nicobar, and Lakshadweep
island chains.[113]
According to the Indian naval hydrographic charts, the mainland
coastline consists of the following: 43% sandy beaches; 11% rocky
shores, including cliffs; and 46% mudflats or marshy shores.[113]
Major Himalayan-origin rivers that substantially flow through India include the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, both of which drain into the Bay of Bengal.[114] Important tributaries of the Ganges include the Yamuna and the Kosi; the latter's extremely low gradient often leads to severe floods and course changes.[115] Major peninsular rivers, whose steeper gradients prevent their waters from flooding, include the Godavari, the Mahanadi, the Kaveri, and the Krishna, which also drain into the Bay of Bengal;[116] and the Narmada and the Tapti, which drain into the Arabian Sea.[117] Coastal features include the marshy Rann of Kutch of western India and the alluvial Sundarbans delta of eastern India; the latter is shared with Bangladesh.[118] India has two archipelagos: the Lakshadweep, coral atolls off India's south-western coast; and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a volcanic chain in the Andaman Sea.[119]
The Indian climate
is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar Desert, both of
which drive the economically and culturally pivotal summer and winter monsoons.[120] The Himalayas prevent cold Central Asian katabatic winds from blowing in, keeping the bulk of the Indian subcontinent warmer than most locations at similar latitudes.[121][122]
The Thar Desert plays a crucial role in attracting the moisture-laden
south-west summer monsoon winds that, between June and October, provide
the majority of India's rainfall.[120] Four major climatic groupings predominate in India: tropical wet, tropical dry, subtropical humid, and montane.[123]
The Indian peacock (Pavo cristatus) is the Indian national bird. It roosts in moist and dry-deciduous forests, cultivated areas, and village precincts.[124]
India lies within the Indomalaya ecozone and contains three biodiversity hotspots.[125] One of 17 megadiverse countries,
it hosts 8.6% of all mammalian, 13.7% of all avian, 7.9% of all
reptilian, 6% of all amphibian, 12.2% of all piscine, and 6.0% of all
flowering plant species.[126][127]Endemism is high among plants, 33%, and among ecoregions such as the sholaforests.[128] Habitat ranges from the tropical rainforest of the Andaman Islands, Western Ghats, and North-East India to the coniferous forest of the Himalaya. Between these extremes lie the moist deciduous sal forest of eastern India; the dry deciduous teak forest of central and southern India; and the babul-dominated thorn forest of the central Deccan and western Gangetic plain.[129] Under 12% of India's landmass bears thick jungle.[130] The medicinal neem, widely used in rural Indian herbal remedies, is a key Indian tree. The luxuriant pipal fig tree, shown on the seals of Mohenjo-daro, shaded Gautama Buddha as he sought enlightenment.
A parliamentary joint session is held in the Sansad Bhavan.
India is the world's most populous democracy.[138] A parliamentary republic with a multi-party system,[139] it has six recognisednational parties, including the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and more than 40 regional parties.[140] The Congress is considered centre-left or "liberal" in Indian political culture,
and the BJP centre-right or "conservative". For most of the period
between 1950—when India first became a republic—and the late 1980s, the
Congress held a majority in the parliament. Since then, however, it has
increasingly shared the political stage with the BJP,[141] as well as with powerful regional parties which have often forced the creation of multi-party coalitions at the centre.[142]
In the Republic of India's first three general elections, in 1951, 1957, and 1962, the Jawaharlal Nehru-led Congress won easy victories. On Nehru's death in 1964, Lal Bahadur Shastri briefly became prime minister; he was succeeded, after his own unexpected death in 1966, by Indira Gandhi, who went on to lead the Congress to election victories in 1967 and 1971. Following public discontent with the state of emergency she declared in 1975, the Congress was voted out of power in 1977; the then-new Janata Party,
which had opposed the emergency, was voted in. Its government lasted
just over three years. Voted back into power in 1980, the Congress saw a
change in leadership in 1984, when Indira Gandhi was assassinated; she
was succeeded by her son Rajiv Gandhi, who won an easy victory in the general elections later that year. The Congress was voted out again in 1989 when a National Front coalition, led by the newly formed Janata Dal in alliance with the Left Front, won the elections; that government too proved relatively short-lived: it lasted just under two years.[143]
Elections were held again in 1991; no party won an absolute majority.
But the Congress, as the largest single party, was able to form a minority government led by P. V. Narasimha Rao.[144]
A two-year period of political turmoil followed the general election
of 1996. Several short-lived alliances shared power at the centre. The
BJP formed a government briefly in 1996; it was followed by two
comparatively long-lasting United Front coalitions, which depended on external support. In 1998, the BJP was able to form a successful coalition, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the NDA became the first non-Congress, coalition government to complete a five-year term.[145] In the 2004 Indian general elections,
again no party won an absolute majority, but the Congress emerged as
the largest single party, forming another successful coalition: the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). It had the support of left-leaning parties and MPs who opposed the BJP. The UPA returned to power in the 2009 general election with increased numbers, and it no longer required external support from India's communist parties.[146] That year, Manmohan Singh became the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru in 1957 and 1962 to be re-elected to a consecutive five-year term.[147]
Executive: The President of India is the head of state[154] and is elected indirectly by a national electoral college[155] for a five-year term.[156] The Prime Minister of India is the head of government and exercises most executive power.[157] Appointed by the president,[158] the prime minister is by convention supported by the party or political alliance holding the majority of seats in the lower house of parliament.[157] The executive branch of the Indian government consists of the president, the vice-president, and the Council of Ministers—the cabinet
being its executive committee—headed by the prime minister. Any
minister holding a portfolio must be a member of one of the houses of
parliament.[154]
In the Indian parliamentary system, the executive is subordinate to the
legislature; the prime minister and his council directly responsible to
the lower house of the parliament.[159]
Legislative: The legislature of India is the bicameralparliament. It operates under a Westminster-style parliamentary system and comprises the upper house called the Rajya Sabha ("Council of States") and the lower called the Lok Sabha ("House of the People").[160] The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body that has 245 members who serve in staggered six-year terms.[161] Most are elected indirectly by the state and territorial legislatures in numbers proportional to their state's share of the national population.[158] All but two of the Lok Sabha's 545 members are directly elected by popular vote; they represent individual constituencies via five-year terms.[162] The remaining two members are nominated by the president from among the Anglo-Indian community, in case the president decides that they are not adequately represented.[163]
India is a federation composed of 28 states and 7 union territories.[168] All states, as well as the union territories of Pondicherry and the National Capital Territory of Delhi,
have elected legislatures and governments, both patterned on the
Westminster model. The remaining five union territories are directly
ruled by the centre through appointed administrators. In 1956, under the
States Reorganisation Act, states were reorganised on a linguistic basis.[169]
Since then, their structure has remained largely unchanged. Each state
or union territory is further divided into administrative districts. The districts in turn are further divided into tehsils and ultimately into villages. States
Indian agriculture dates from the period 7,000–6,000 BCE,[195]
employs most of the national workforce, and is second in farm output
worldwide. Above, a farmer works an ox-drawn plow in Kadmati, West
Bengal.
According to the International Monetary Fund, as of 2011, the Indian
economy is nominally worth US$1.676 trillion; it is the eleventh-largest
economy by market exchange rates, and is, at US$4.457 trillion, the
third-largest by purchasing power parity, or PPP.[196] With its average annual GDP growth rate of 5.8% over the past two decades, and reaching 6.1% during 2011–12,[197] India is one of the world's fastest-growing economies.[198] However, the country ranks 140th in the world in nominal GDP per capita and 129th in GDP per capita at PPP.[196] Until 1991, all Indian governments followed protectionist policies that were influenced by socialist economics. Widespread state intervention and regulation largely walled the economy off from the outside world. An acute balance of payments crisis in 1991 forced the nation to liberalise its economy;[199] since then it has slowly moved towards a free-market system[200][201] by emphasizing both foreign trade and direct investment inflows.[202] India's recent economic model is largely capitalist.[201] India has been a member of WTO since 1 January 1995.[203]
The 487.6-million worker Indian labour force is the world's second-largest.[6] The service sector makes up 55.6% of GDP, the industrial sector 26.3% and the agricultural sector 18.1%. Major agricultural products include rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, and potatoes.[168]
Major industries include textiles, telecommunications, chemicals, food
processing, steel, transport equipment, cement, mining, petroleum,
machinery, and software.[168] In 2006, the share of external trade in India's GDP stood at 24%, up from 6% in 1985.[200] In 2008, India's share of world trade was 1.68%;[204] In 2011, India was the world's tenth-largest importer and the nineteenth-largest exporter.[205]
Major exports include petroleum products, textile goods, jewelry,
software, engineering goods, chemicals, and leather manufactures.[168] Major imports include crude oil, machinery, gems, fertiliser, and chemicals.[168] Between 2001 and 2011, the contribution of petrochemical and engineering goods to total exports grew from 14% to 42%.[206]
Averaging an economic growth rate of 7.5% during the last few years,[200] India has more than doubled its hourly wage rates during the last decade.[207]
Some 431 million Indians have left poverty since 1985; India's middle
classes are projected to number around 580 million by 2030.[208] Though ranking 51st in global competitiveness,
India ranks 17th in financial market sophistication, 24th in the
banking sector, 44th in business sophistication, and 39th in innovation,
ahead of several advanced economies.[209]
With 7 of the world's top 15 information technology outsourcing
companies based in India, the country is viewed as the second-most
favourable outsourcing destination after the United States.[210] India's consumer market, currently the world's eleventh-largest, is expected to become fifth-largest by 2030.[208] Its telecommunication industry, the world's fastest-growing, added 227 million subscribers during the period 2010–11.[211] Its automotive industry, the world's second fastest growing, increased domestic sales by 26% during 2009–10,[212] and exports by 36% during 2008–09.[213] Power capacity is 250 gigawatts, of which 8% is renewable.[214] At the end of 2011, Indian IT Industry
employed 2.8 million professionals, generated revenues close to US$100
billion equaling 7.5% of Indian GDP and contributed 26% of India's
merchandize exports.[215]
Despite impressive economic growth during recent decades, India continues to face socio-economic challenges. India contains the largest concentration of people living below the World Bank's international poverty line of US$1.25 per day,[216] the proportion having decreased from 60% in 1981 to 42% in 2005.[217] Half of the children in India are underweight,[218] and 46% of children under the age of three suffer from malnutrition.[216] The Mid-Day Meal Scheme attempts to lower these rates.[219] Since 1991, economic inequality between India's states has consistently grown: the per-capita net state domestic product of the richest states in 2007 was 3.2 times that of the poorest.[220]Corruption in India is perceived to have increased significantly,[221] with one report estimating the illegal capital flows since independence to be US$462 billion.[222] Driven by growth, India's nominal GDP per capita
has steadily increased from US$329 in 1991, when economic
liberalisation began, to US$1,265 in 2010, and is estimated to increase
to US$2,110 by 2016; however, it has always remained lower than those of
other Asian developing countries such as Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia,
Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and is expected to remain so in
the near future.[223]
According to a 2011 PricewaterhouseCoopers report, India's GDP at purchasing power parity could overtake that of the United States by 2045.[224]
During the next four decades, Indian GDP is expected to grow at an
annualised average of 8%, making it potentially the world's
fastest-growing major economy until 2050.[224]
The report highlights key growth factors: a young and rapidly growing
working-age population; growth in the manufacturing sector due to rising
education and engineering skill levels; and sustained growth of the
consumer market driven by a rapidly growing middle class.[224] The World Bank cautions that, for India to achieve its economic potential, it must continue to focus on public sector reform, transport infrastructure, agricultural and rural development, removal of labour regulations, education, energy security, and public health and nutrition.[225]
As per a report by Datamonitor, India is expected to occupy sixth place in top 10 wealth markets list by the end of 2012.[226]
Citing persistent inflation pressures, weak public finances, limited progress on fiscal consolidation and ineffectiveness of the government, rating agency Fitch revised India's Outlook to Negative from Stable on 18 June 2012.[227] Another credit rating agencyS&P
had warned previously that a slowing GDP growth and political
roadblocks to economic policy-making could put India at the risk of
losing its investment grade rating.[228] However, Moody didn't revise its outlook on India keeping it stable[229], but termed the national government as the "single biggest drag" on the business activity.[230]
Remnants of civilization in the greater Bengal region date back four thousand years,[11] when the region was settled by Dravidian, Tibeto-Burman, and Austro-Asiatic peoples. The exact origin of the word "Bangla" or "Bengal" is not known, though it is believed to be derived from Bang, the Dravidian-speaking tribe that settled in the area around the year 1000 BCE.[12]
The kingdom of Gangaridai was formed from at least the 7th century BCE, which later united with Bihar under the Magadha[disambiguation needed], Nanda, Mauryan and Sunga Empires. Bengal was later part of the Gupta Empire and Harsha Empire from the 3rd to the 6th centuries CE. Following its collapse, a dynamic Bengali named Shashanka founded an impressive short-lived kingdom. After a period of anarchy, the Bengali BuddhistPala dynasty ruled the region for four hundred years, followed by a shorter reign of the HinduSena dynasty.
Medieval European geographers located paradise at the mouth of the Ganges
and although this was overhopeful, Bengal was probably the wealthiest
part of the subcontinent until the 16th century. The area's early
history featured a succession of Hindu empires, internal squabbling, and
a tussle between Hinduism and Buddhism for dominance. Islam was introduced to the Bengal region in the 12th century by Arab Muslim merchants; Sufi missionaries, and subsequent Muslim rule helped spread Islam throughout the region.[13]Bakhtiar Khilji, a Turkish general, defeated Lakshman Sen of the Sena dynasty and conquered large parts of Bengal in the year 1204. The region was ruled by several sultans, Hindu states and land-lords-Baro-Bhuiyans for the next few hundred years. By the 16th century, the Mughal Empire
controlled Bengal, and Dhaka became an important provincial centre of
Mughal administration. From 1517 onwards, Portuguese traders from Goa
were traversing the sea-route to Bengal. Only in 1537, were they allowed
to settle and open customs houses at Chittagong. In 1577, Mughal
emperor Akbar permitted the Portuguese to build permanent settlements
and churches in Bengal.[14] The influence of European traders grew until the British East India Company gained control of Bengal following the Battle of Plassey in 1757.[15] The bloody rebellion of 1857—known as the Sepoy Mutiny—resulted in transfer of authority to the crown with a British viceroy running the administration.[16] During colonial rule, famine racked South Asia many times, including the war-induced Great Bengal famine of 1943 that claimed 3 million lives.[17]
Lalbagh Fort, constructed in the mid-17th century in Dhaka during the reign of Aurangzeb.
The Maratha Empire,
a Hindu empire which overran the Mughals in the 18th century, also
devastated the territories controlled by the Nawab of Bengal between
1742 and 1751. In a series of raids on Bengal and Bihar, then ruled by
the Nawab, Maratha demolished much of the Bengali economy, which was
unable to withstand the continuous onslaught of Maratha for long. Nawab
Ali Vardi Khan made peace with Maratha by ceding the whole of Orissa and parts of Western Bengal to the empire. In addition, this a tax – the Chauth, amounting to a quarter of total revenue – was imposed on other parts of Bengal and Bihar. This tax amounted to twenty lakhs (of rupees?) for Bengal and 12 lakhs for Bihar per year.[18][19]
After Maratha's defeat in Panipat by a coalition of Muslim forces, the
empire returned under the Maratha general Madhoji Sindhia and raided
Bengal again. The British Empire stopped payment of the Chauth, invading
the territory of Bengal in 1760s. The raids continued until Maratha was
finally defeated by the British over the course of three Anglo-Maratha Wars, lasting from 1777 to 1818.
Between 1905 and 1911, an abortive attempt was made to divide the province of Bengal into two zones, with Dhaka being the capital of the eastern zone.[20] When the exit of the British Empire in 1947, Bengal was partitioned along religious lines, with the western part going to newly created India and the eastern part (Muslim majority) joining Pakistan as a province called East Bengal (later renamed East Pakistan), with its capital at Dhaka.[21] In 1950, land reform was accomplished in East Bengal with the abolishment of the feudal zamindari system.[22]
Despite the economic and demographic weight of the east, however,
Pakistan's government and military were largely dominated by the upper
classes from the west. The Bengali Language Movement of 1952 was the first sign of friction between the two wings of Pakistan.[23]
Dissatisfaction with the central government over economic and cultural
issues continued to rise through the next decade, during which the Awami League emerged as the political voice of the Bengali-speaking population. It agitated for autonomy in the 1960s, and in 1966, its president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Mujib), was jailed; he was released in 1969 after an unprecedented popular uprising. In 1970, a massive cyclone devastated the coast of East Pakistan, killing up to half a million people,[24] and the central government responded poorly. The Bengali population's anger was compounded when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whose Awami League won a majority in Parliament in the 1970 elections,[25] was blocked from taking office.
After staging compromise talks with Mujib, President Yahya Khan and military officials launched Operation Searchlight,[26]
a sustained military assault on East Pakistan and arrested him in the
early hours of 26 March 1971. Yahya's methods were extremely bloody, and
the violence of the war resulted in many civilian deaths.[27] Chief targets included intellectuals and Hindus, and about one million refugees fled to neighbouring India.[28] Estimates of those massacred throughout the war range from thirty thousand to 3,000,000.[29] Mujibur Rahman was ultimately released on 8 January 1972, due to direct US intervention.[30]
Awami League leaders set up a government-in-exile in Calcutta,
India. The exile government formally took oath at Meherpur, in Kustia
district of East Pakistan on 17 April 1971, with Tajuddin Ahmad as the
first Prime Minister and Syed Nazrul Islam as the Acting President.
The Bangladesh Liberation War lasted for nine months. The Bangladesh Forces formed within 11 sectors
led by General M.A.G. Osmani consisting of Bengali Regular forces
conducted a massive guerilla war against the Pakistan Forces with
support from the Mukti Bahinis consisting of Kaderia Bahni, Hemayet Bahini, and others financed and equipped by Indian Armed Forces
Maj. Gen. Sujat Singh Uban. The Indian Army, assisted by Bangladeshi
forces, negotiated a cease-fire and surrounded the Dhaka Area. The
Indian Army remained in Bangladesh until 19 March 1972.
After its independence, Bangladesh was governed by a Awami League
government, with Mujib as the Prime Minister, without holding any
elections. In the 1973 parliamentary elections, the Awami League gained
an absolute majority. A nationwide famine occurred during 1973 and 1974,[17] and in early 1975, Mujib initiated a one-party socialist rule with his newly formed BAKSAL. On 15 August 1975, Mujib and most of his family members were assassinated by mid-level military officers.[31]
Vice President Khandaker Mushtaq Ahmed was sworn in as President with
most of Mujib's cabinet intact. Two Army uprisings on 3 November and the
other on 7 November 1975 led to the reorganised structure of power.
Emergency was declared to restore order and calm, Mushtaq resigned and
the country was placed under temporary martial law, with three service
chiefs serving as deputies to the new president Justice Abu Satem, who
also became the Chief Martial Law Administrator. Lieutenant General Ziaur Rahman,
took over the presidency in 1977 as Justice Sayem resigned. President
Zia reinstated multi-party politics, introduced free markets, and
founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Zia's rule ended when he was assassinated by elements of the military in 1981.[31]
Bangladesh's next major ruler was Lieutenant General Hossain Mohammad Ershad,
who gained power in a coup on 24 March 1982, and ruled until 6 December
1990, when he was forced to resign after a revolt of all major
political parties and the public, along with pressure from western
donors (which was a major shift in international policy after the fall
of the Soviet Union). Since then, Bangladesh has reverted to a
parliamentary democracy. Zia's widow, Khaleda Zia,
led the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to parliamentary victory at the
general election in 1991, and became the first female Prime Minister in
Bangladeshi history. However, the Awami League, headed by Sheikh Hasina, one of Mujib's surviving daughters, won the next election in 1996. It lost again to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in 2001.
On 11 January 2007, following widespread political unrest spearheaded
by the Awami League, the Bangladesh civil and military establishment
supported the establishment of a neutral caretaker government. The
caretaker government was appointed to administer the next general
election. The country had suffered from extensive corruption,[32]
disorder and political violence. The caretaker government made it a
priority to root out corruption from all levels of government. To this
end, many notable politicians and officials, along with large numbers of
lesser officials and party members, were arrested on corruption
charges. The caretaker government held what it itself described as a
largely free and fair election on 29 December 2008.[33] The Awami League's Sheikh Hasina won with a landslide in the elections and took the oath of Prime Minister on 6 January 2009.[34]
Bangladesh is a unitary state and parliamentary democracy.[35] Direct elections in which all citizens, aged 18 or over, can vote are held every five years for the unicameral parliament known as Jatiya Sangsad. The parliamentary building is known as the Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban and was designed by architect Louis Kahn.
Currently the parliament has 350 members including 50 reserved seats
for women, elected from single-member constituencies. The Prime
Minister, as the head of government, forms the cabinet and runs the day-to-day affairs of state. While the Prime Minister is formally appointed by the President, he or she must be an Member of Parliament who commands the confidence of the majority of parliament. The President is the head of state but mainly a ceremonial post elected by the parliament.[36]
However the President's powers are substantially expanded during the tenure of a caretaker government,
which is responsible for the conduct of elections and transfer of
power. The officers of the caretaker government must be non-partisan and
are given three months to complete their task. This transitional
arrangement is an innovation that was pioneered by Bangladesh in its
1991 election and then institutionalised in 1996 through its 13th
constitutional amendment.[37]
The Constitution of Bangladesh was drafted in 1972 and has undergone 15 amendments.[37] The highest judicial body is the Supreme Court. Justices are appointed by the President. The judicial and law enforcement institutions are weak.[38]
Separation of powers, judicial from executive was finally implemented
on 1 November 2007. It is expected that this separation will make the
judiciary stronger and impartial. Laws are loosely based on English common law,
but family laws such as marriage and inheritance are based on religious
scripts, and therefore differ between religious communities. Major parties in Bangladesh are the Bangladesh Awami League, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (BJI). BNP is led by Khaleda Zia and has politically been allied with Islamist parties like Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami but practice secular politics. Sheikh Hasina's Awami League aligns with more leftist
parties. Hasina and Zia are bitter rivals who have dominated politics
for over 15 years; each is related to one of the leaders of the
independence movement. Another important player is the Jatiya Party,
headed by former military dictator Ershad. The Awami League-BNP rivalry
has been bitter and punctuated by protests, violence and murder.
Student politics is particularly strong in Bangladesh, a legacy from the
liberation movement era. Almost all parties have highly active student
wings, and student leaders have been elected to the Parliament.
Two radical terrorist organisations, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) and Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh
(JMB), were banned in February 2005. Several small-scale bomb attacks
taking place since 1999 have been blamed on those groups, and dozens of
suspected members have been detained in security operations, including
the heads of those two parties in 2006. The masterminds were tried and
executed. The Bangladesh government won praise from world leaders,
including Western leaders, for its strong anti-terrorist stance.
On 11 January 2007, following widespread political unrest, a
caretaker government was appointed to administer the next general
election. The 22 January 2007 election was postponed indefinitely and
emergency law declared on 11 January 2007 as the Army backed caretaker
government of Fakhruddin Ahmed
aimed to prepare a new voter list and crack down on corruption. They
also assisted the interim Government of Bangladesh in a drive against
corruption, which resulted in Bangladesh's position in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index changed from the very bottom, where they had been for 3 years in a row, to 147th in just 1 year.[39]
A large alliance led by the Bangladesh Awami League won 29 December
2008 poll, in a landslide victory. They got 230 seats among 300 seats in
the parliament.[40]
Bangladesh pursues a moderate foreign policy that places heavy
reliance on multinational diplomacy, especially at the United Nations.
In 1974, Bangladesh joined both the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations, and has since been elected to serve two terms on the Security Council – in 1978–1979 and 2000–2001. In the 1980s, Bangladesh played a lead role in founding the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) in order to expand relations with other South Asian states.
Since the founding of SAARC 1985, a Bangladeshi has held the post of
Secretary General on two occasions.
Bangladesh's most important and complex foreign relationship is with India.
This relationship is formed by historical and cultural ties and is
strengthened because of India's involvement in liberating the people of
Bangladesh from Pakistan. This forms an important part of the domestic
political discourse. Bangladesh's relationship with India began on a positive note because of India's assistance in the independence war
and subsequent reconstruction. Throughout the years, the relationship
between the two countries has fluctuated for a number of reasons.
A major source of tension between Bangladesh and India is the Farakka Dam.[41] In 1975, India constructed a dam on the Ganges River
10.3 mi (16.6 km) from the Bangladeshi border. Bangladesh alleges that
the dam diverts much needed water from Bangladesh and adds a man-made
disaster to a country already plagued by natural disasters. The dam has
had terrible ecological consequences.[41]
There are other sources of tension between the nations. India has
voiced concerns about anti-Indian separatists and Islamic militants
allegedly being harboured across their 2,597 mi (4,179 km) border, as
well as the flow of illegal migrants, and is building a fence along most of it.[42] However, at the 2007 SAARC meeting, both nations pledged to work cooperatively on security, economic and border issues.[43]
As of 2012, the current strength of the army is around 300,000 including reservists,[44] the air force 22,000,[45] and navy 19,000.[46]
In addition to traditional defence roles, the military has been called
on to provide support to civil authorities for disaster relief and
internal security during periods of political unrest. Bangladesh is not
currently active in any ongoing war, but it did contribute 2,300 troops
to the coalition that fought in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and Bangladesh is consistently a top (10,736) contributor to UN peacekeeping forces around the world. In May 2007, Bangladesh had major deployments in Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sudan, Timor-Leste and Côte d'Ivoire.[47][48]
Bangladesh enjoys relatively warm ties with the People's Republic of China,
and particularly in the past decade, there has been increased economic
cooperation between them. Between 2006 and 2007, trade between the two
nations rose by 28.5% and there have been agreements to grant various
Bangladeshi commodities tariff-free access to the Chinese market.
Cooperation between the Military of Bangladesh and the People's Liberation Army
is also increasing, with joint military agreements signed and
Bangladesh procuring Chinese arms which range from small arms to large
naval surface combat ships such as the Chinese Type 053H1 Missile Frigate.
Bangladesh is divided into seven administrative divisions,[1][49] each named after their respective divisional headquarters: Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet and Rangpur.
Divisions are subdivided into districts (zila). There are 64 districts in Bangladesh, each further subdivided into upazila (subdistricts) or thana. The area within each police station, except for those in metropolitan areas, is divided into several unions,
with each union consisting of multiple villages. In the metropolitan
areas, police stations are divided into wards, which are further divided
into mahallas. There are no elected officials at the divisional
or district levels, and the administration is composed only of
government officials. Direct elections are held for each union (or
ward), electing a chairperson and a number of members. In 1997, a
parliamentary act was passed to reserve three seats (out of 12) in every
union for female candidates.[50] Dhaka is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. The cities with City Corporation are: Dhaka South, Dhaka North, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Barisal, Rangpur, Comilla, Narayanganj and Gazipur. These cities have mayoral elections. Other major cities include Mymensingh, Gopalganj, Jessore, Bogra, Dinajpur, Saidapur and Rangmati. These cities and other municipalities elect a chairperson. Mayors and chairpersons are elected for a span of five years.
Satellite image presenting physical features of Bangladesh
Boats had long been a major transportation in Bangladesh, a floodplain with more than 700 rivers
Bangladesh lies between latitudes 20° and 27°N, and longitudes 88° and 93°E.
Bangladesh is in the low-lying Ganges–Brahmaputra River Delta or Ganges Delta. This delta is formed by the confluence of the Ganges (local name Padma or Pôdda), Brahmaputra (Jamuna or Jomuna also known as "Yamuna"), and Meghna
rivers and their respective tributaries. The Ganges unites with the
Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to
eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal. The alluvial soil deposited by these rivers has created some of the most fertile plains in the world. Bangladesh has 57 trans-boundary rivers, making water issues politically complicated to resolve – in most cases as the lower riparian state to India.[52]
Most parts of Bangladesh are less than 12 m (39.4 ft) above the sea
level, and it is believed that about 10% of the land would be flooded if
the sea level were to rise by 1 m (3.28 ft).[53]
In southeast Bangladesh, experiments have been done since the 1960s
to 'build with nature'. By implementing cross dams, the natural
accretion of silt has created new land. With Dutch funding, the
Bangladeshi government began to help develop this new land in the late
1970s. The effort has since become a multiagency operation building
roads, culverts, embankments, cyclone shelters, toilets and ponds, as
well as distributing land to settlers. By fall 2010, the program will
have allotted some 27,000 acres (10,927 ha) to 21,000 families.[54]
The highest point in Bangladesh is in Mowdok range at 1,052 m (3,451 ft) in the Chittagong Hill Tracts to the southeast of the country.[55]Cox's Bazar, south of the city of Chittagong, has a beach that stretches uninterrupted over 120 km (75 mi).
Straddling the Tropic of Cancer,
Bangladeshi climate is tropical with a mild winter from October to
March, a hot, humid summer from March to June. A warm and humid monsoon
season lasts from June to October and supplies most of the country's
rainfall. Natural calamities, such as floods, tropical cyclones, tornadoes, and tidal bores occur almost every year,[56] combined with the effects of deforestation, soil degradation and erosion. The cyclones of 1970 and 1991 were particularly devastating. A cyclone that struck Bangladesh in 1991 killed some 140,000 people.[57]
In September 1998, Bangladesh saw the most severe flooding in modern world history. As the Brahmaputra, the Ganges and Meghna
spilt over and swallowed 300,000 houses, 9,700 km (6,000 mi) of road
and 2,700 km (1,700 mi) of embankment 1,000 people were killed and
30 million more were made homeless with 135,000 cattle killed, 50 km2
(19 sq mi) of land destroyed and 11,000 km (6,800 mi) of roads damaged
or destroyed. Two-thirds of the country was underwater. There were
several reasons for the severity of the flooding. Firstly, there were
unusually high monsoon rains. Secondly, the Himalayas
shed off an equally unusually high amount of melt water that year.
Thirdly, trees that usually would have intercepted rain water had been
cut down for firewood or to make space for animals.[58]
Bangladesh is now widely recognised to be one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change.
Natural hazards that come from increased rainfall, rising sea levels,
and tropical cyclones are expected to increase as climate changes, each
seriously affecting agriculture, water and food security, human health
and shelter.[59] It is believed that in the coming decades the rising sea level alone will create more than 20 million[60]climate refugees.[61] Bangladeshi water is contaminated with arsenic frequently because of the high arsenic contents in the soil. Up to 77 million people are exposed to toxic arsenic from drinking water.[62][63] Bangladesh is among the countries most prone to natural floods, tornados and cyclones.[64][65]
Also, there is evidence that earthquakes pose a threat to the country.
Evidence shows that tectonics have caused rivers to shift course
suddenly and dramatically. It has been shown that rainy-season flooding
in Bangladesh, on the world’s largest river delta, can push the
underlying crust down by as much as 6 centimetres, and possibly perturb
faults.[66]
Flora and fauna
Royal Bengal Tiger
A major part of the coastline comprises a marshyjungle, the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world and home to diverse flora and fauna, including the Royal Bengal Tiger. In 1997, this region was declared endangered.[67] The Magpie Robin is the National Bird of Bangladesh and it is common and known as the Doyel or Doel (Bengali: দোয়েল). It is a widely used symbol in Bangladesh, appearing on currency notes and a landmark in the city of Dhaka is named as the Doyel Chatwar (meaning: Doyel Square). The national flower of the country is water lily, which is known as Shapla. The national fruit is jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus), which in Bengali is known as Kathal. In late 2010, the Bangladeshi government selected the Mango tree as the national tree.[68]
Workers in a paddy field – a common scene throughout Bangladesh. Two thirds of the population works in the agricultural sector.
Raw jute of Bangladesh
At April 2010, USA – based ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) awarded Bangladesh a BB- for a long term in credit rating which is below India and well over Pakistan and Sri Lanka in South Asia.[69] And, despite continuous domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a developing nation.[70] However, Bangladesh gradually decreased its dependency on foreign grant and loan from 85% (In 1988)[71] to 2% (In 2010)[72] for its annual development budget. Its per capita income in 2010 was US$641 compared to the world average of $8,985.[73] But, if purchasing power parity (PPP) is taken into account, Bangladesh's economy is the 44th largest in the world at US$257 billion according to the IMF. Jute was
once the economic engine of the country. Its share of the world export
market peaked in the Second World War and the late 1940s at 80%[74] and even in the early 1970s accounted for 70% of its export earnings. However, polypropylene
products began to substitute for jute products worldwide and the jute
industry started to decline. Bangladesh grows very significant
quantities of rice, tea, potato, mango, onion and mustard. According to FAOSTAT, Bangladesh is one of world's largest producers of:[75] rice (4th), potato (11th), mango (9th), pineapple (16th), tropical Fruit (5th), onion (16th), banana (17th), jute (2nd), tea (11th).
Although two-thirds of Bangladeshis are farmers, more than three quarters of Bangladesh’s export earnings come from the garment industry,[76]
which began attracting foreign investors in the 1980s due to cheap
labour and low conversion cost. In 2009–10 fiscal year the industry
exported US$ 12.6 billion[77] worth of products where in 2002 the exported amount was US$ 5 billion. Recently[when?] Bangladesh has been ranked as the 4th[78] largest clothing exporter by the WTO (The World Trade Organization) .[79] whereas, according to The Economist Bangladesh is the world’s third-largest clothes-export industry.[80] The industry now employs more than 3 million workers, 90% of whom are women.[81] A large part of foreign currency earnings also comes from the remittances sent by expatriates living in other countries.
Jamuna Bridge: one of the longest bridges in South Asia
Worlds biggest ship breaking yard in Chittagong, Bangladesh
Obstacles to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient
state-owned enterprises, mismanaged port facilities, a growth in the
labour force that has outpaced jobs, inefficient use of energy resources
(such as natural gas), insufficient power supplies,[82]
slow implementation of economic reforms, political infighting and
corruption. According to the World Bank, "among Bangladesh’s most
significant obstacles to growth are poor governance and weak public
institutions."[83] Despite these hurdles, the country has achieved an average annual growth rate of 5% since 1990, according to the World Bank.
Bangladesh has seen expansion of its middle class (world's fifty-fourth largest,
just below of Singapore & Vietnam), and its consumer industry has
also grown. In December 2005, four years after its report on the
emerging "BRIC" economies (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), Goldman Sachs named Bangladesh one of the "Next Eleven".[84]
Bangladesh has seen a dramatic increase in foreign direct investment. A number of multinational corporations and local big business houses such as Beximco, Square, Akij, Ispahani, Navana Group, Transcom Group, Habib Group, KDS Group, T.K Group Of Industries, Dragon Group and multinationals such as Unocal Corporation and Chevron, have made major investments, with the natural gas sector being a priority. In December 2005, the Central Bank of Bangladesh projected GDP growth around 6.5%.[85]
In order to enhance economic growth, the government set up several
export processing zones to attract foreign investment. These are managed
by the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority.
One significant contributor to the development of the economy has been the widespread propagation of microcredit by Muhammad Yunus (awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006) through the Grameen Bank. By the late 1990s, Grameen Bank had 2.3 million members, along with 2.5 million members of other similar organisations.[86]
Cox's Bazar is the longest natural sea beach in the world.
Tourism sector in Bangladesh has experienced massive growth in recent
years. Majority of growth is contributed by local tourists. It is
believed to be a major tourist destination if properly advertised.
Nonetheless, few government and private initiatives have been taken to attract foreign tourists.
Though small in area, Bangladesh is quite rich in heritage with numerous historical and archeological sites. It has the longest natural unbroken sea beach and five World Heritage Sites.
Among those are famous eighty one domed Shat Gombuj Mosque in Bagerhat,
made by great Muslim saint Khan Jahan Ali in the 15th century; world's
largest Mangrove forest Sundarbans which is also renowned for its world famous Royal Bengal Tiger.
There are several exotic archaeological sites in the northern parts of Bangladesh, including the temple city Puthia in Rajshahi; the largest and most ancient archaeological site, Mahasthangarh in Bogra;
Among the best known Buddhist viharas in the Indian Subcontinent and
one of the most important archaeological sites in the country, Paharpur in Naogaon, declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985; Kantaji Temple, the most ornamental terracota Hindu temple in Bangladesh and many rajbaris or palaces of old zamindars. There are historic mosques too with vast architectural beauty like Shona Mosque built in 1493, Bagha Mosque, in 1523, Sixty Dome Mosque and etc.
Bangladesh has the largest shopping mall in South Asia, which is 13th largest in the world. It is Bashundhara City.
Upcoming projects
Bangladesh government is planning for construction of the largest
deep sea port in South Asia at Sonadia Island. The 500 billion taka
project will be completed in multiple phases and enable Bangladesh to
service the whole region as a maritime transport and logistics hub.
India, China, Bhutan,
Nepal and other neighbouring countries will be able to take full
advantage of the strategic location and Bangladesh’s LDC status for
exporting their goods, which are manufactured in Bangladesh.[87][88]
Furthermore, with $7.5 billion a new international airport will be constructed. The airport is being modelled on Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi Airport in size and capacity.[89]
To ease the chaotic traffic congestion in the capital Dhaka the government plans to construct more expressways, freeways, and flyovers.[90] There is a plan to build a overhead Rapid transit called Dhaka Metro, but the progress is slow and controversial because of contracts and agreements.[91][92][93]
Recently the government of Bangladesh signed a deal with a Chinese
company to provide high-speed modern DEMU trains and is also going to
construct metro rail system and high-speed electric powered inter city
rail network. More airports, bridge (such as the multi-billion Padma Bridge project) national highways are also being constructed to facilitate trade and regional development.[94]
The population of Bangladesh at 15 March 2011 is 142.3 million
(census 2011 results; this is a preliminary figure which has been
disputed by the UN and now by Bangladeshis themselves[96]), much less than recent (2007–2010) estimates of Bangladesh's population range from 158 to 170 million and it is the 8th most populous nation in the world. In 1951, the population was 44 million.[97]
It is also the most densely populated large country in the world, and
it ranks 11th in population density, when very small countries and
city-states are included.[98] A striking contrast is offered by Russia
which has a slightly smaller population spread over a land area that is
120 times larger than Bangladesh. Bangladesh's population growth was
among the highest in the world in the 1960s and 1970s, when the country
swelled from 65 to 110 million. With the promotion of birth control
in the 1980s, the growth rate began to slow. The population is
relatively young, with 60% being 25 or younger and 3% being 63 or older.
Life expectancy at birth is estimated to be 70 years for both males and females in 2012.[99] The overwhelming majority of Bangladeshis are ethnic Bengali, constituting 98% of the population.[100] The remainder are mostly Biharis and indigenous tribal groups. There is also a small but growing population of Rohingya refugees from Burma around Cox's Bazaar, which Bangladesh seeks to repatriate to Burma. The tribal peoples are concentrated in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the southeast. There are 45 tribal groups located in this region, the largest being the Chakma. The Hill Tracts region has been a source of unrest and separatism since and before the inception of Bangladesh.[101] Outside the Hill Tracts, the largest tribal groups are the Santhals and Garos (Achiks), while smaller groups include the Kaibartta, Meitei, Mundas, Oraons, and Zomi.
Nearly all Bangladeshis speak Bengali as their mother tongue as it is the official language.[102] It is an Indo-Aryan language of Sanskrit origin with its own script. English is used as a second language among the middle and upper classes.[103]
English is also widely used in higher education and the legal system.
Historically, laws were written in English and were not translated into
Bengali until 1987 when the procedure was reversed.[104] Some Dhakaiyas (Locales of Dhaka) & the Bihari population speaks Urdu, which was also the language associated with the government prior to separation from Pakistan.
The main religion in Bangladesh is Islam (89.7%), but a significant percentage of the population adheres to Hinduism (9.2%).[107] The majority of Muslims are Sunni, although a small number are Twelver Shias or Ismaili Shias.[108] Many people in Bangladesh practice Sufism, as historically Islam was brought to the region by Sufi saints. There are also followers of the Deobandi movement, and Ahle Hadith. The largest gathering of Muslims in the country is the Bishwa Ijtema, held annually by the Tablighi Jamaat. There are also a small number of Muslims, numbering some 100,000 belonging to the Ahmadiyya community. Sufi influences in the region go back many centuries.[109] Other religious groups include Buddhists (0.7%, mostly Theravada), Christians (0.3%, mostly of the Roman Catholic denomination), and Animists (0.1%). Bangladesh has the fourth largest Muslim population after Indonesia, Pakistan, and India, with over 135 million.
Bangladesh was founded as a secular state, but Islam was made the
state religion in the 1980s. However in 2010 the High Court held up the
secular principles of the 1972 constitution.[110] The High Court also strengthened its stance against punishments by Islamic edict (fatwa), following complaints of brutal sentences carried out against women by extra-legal village courts.[111]
The educational system in Bangladesh is three-tiered and highly
subsidised. The government of Bangladesh operates many schools in the
primary, secondary, and higher secondary levels. It also subsidises
parts of the funding for many private schools. In the tertiary education
sector, the government also funds more than 15 state universities
through the University Grants Commission.
Primary (from grades 1 to 5), Junior Secondary (from grades 6 to 8),
Secondary (from grades 9 to 10), Higher Secondary (from grades 11 to 12)
and tertiary.[112]
The five years of lower secondary education concludes with a Secondary
School Certificate (SSC) Examination but since 2009 it concludes with a
Primary Education Closing (PEC) Examination. Also earlier Students who
pass this examination proceed to four years Secondary or matriculation
training, which culminate in a Secondary School Certificate (SSC)
Examination but since 2010 the Primary Education Closing (PEC) passed
examinees proceed to three years Junior Secondary, which culminate in a
Junior School Certificate (JSC) Examination. Then students who pass this
examination proceed to two years Secondary or matriculation training,
which culminate in a Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Examination.
Students who pass this examination proceed to two years of Higher
Secondary or intermediate training, which culminate in a Higher
Secondary Certificate (HSC) Examination.[112]
Education is mainly offered in Bengali, but English is also commonly
taught and used. A large number of Muslim families send their children
to attend part-time courses or even to pursue full-time religious
education, which is imparted in Bengali and Arabic in madrasahs.[112]
Bangladesh conforms fully to the Education For All (EFA) objectives, the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and international declarations. Article 17 of the Bangladesh Constitution provides that all children between the ages of six and ten years receive a basic education free of charge. Universities in Bangladesh
are mainly categorised into three different types: public university
(government owned and subsidised), private University (private sector
owned universities), and international University (operated and funded
by international organisations). Bangladesh has some thirty-four public
and sixty-four private universities. National University has the largest enrolment amongst them and University of Dhaka (established 1921) is the oldest university of the country. Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
is oldest and prominent engineering university in Bangladesh and well
known in South Asia. Bangladeshi universities are accredited by and
affiliated with the University Grants Commission
(UGC), a commission created according to the Presidential Order (P.O.
No 10 of 1973) of the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.[113]
Health and education levels remain relatively low, although they have improved recently as poverty (31% at 2010[114])
levels have decreased. Most Bangladeshis continue to live on
subsistence farming in rural villages. For those in rural areas, village
doctors with little or no formal training constitute 62% of the
healthcare providers practising modern medicine and the formally trained
providers are occupying a mere 4% of the total health workforce. A
survey conducted by Future Health Systems revealed significant
deficiencies in treatment practices of village doctors, with a wide
prevalence of harmful and inappropriate drug prescriptions.[115]
There are market incentives for accessing health care through informal
providers and it is important to understand these markets in order to
facilitate collaboration across actors and institutions in order to
provide incentives for better performance.[116]
A 2007 study of 1000 households in rural Bangladesh found that direct
costs (payment to formal and informal health care providers) and
indirect costs (loss of earnings associated with workdays lost due to
illness) associated with illness were important deterrents to accessing
health care from qualified healthcare providers.[115]
A community survey with 6183 individuals in rural Bangladesh found a
clear gender difference in treatment seeking behaviour, with women less
likely to seek treatment compared to men.[117]
The use of skilled birth attendants, however, has risen between 2005
and 2007 by women in all wealth quintiles except the highest quintile.[118]
A pilot community empowerment tool, called a health watch, was
successfully developed and implemented in south-eastern Bangladesh in
order to improve uptake and monitoring of public health services.[119]
The poor health conditions in Bangladesh is attributed by the lack of
healthcare and services provision by the government. The total
expenditure on healthcare as a percentage of their GDP was only 3.35% in
2009, according to a World Bank report published in 2010.[120] The number of hospital beds per 10 000 population is 4.[121]
The General government expenditure on healthcare as a percentage of
total government expenditure was only 7.9% as of 2009 and the citizens
pay most of their health care bills as the out-of-pocket expenditure as a
percentage of private expenditure on health is 96.5%.[120]
Malnutrition has been a persistent problem for the poverty-stricken country. The World Bank estimates that Bangladesh is ranked 1st in the world of the number of children suffering from malnutrition[122][123] In Bangladesh, 26% of the population are undernourished[124] and 46% of the children suffers from moderate to severe underweight problem.[125]
43% of children under 5 years old are stunted. One in five preschool
age children are vitamin A deficient and one in two are anemic.[126]
Child malnutrition in Bangladesh is amongst the highest in the world.
Two-thirds of the children, under the age of five, are under-nourished
and about 60% of them, who are under six, are stunted.[127] More than 45 percent of rural families and 76 percent of urban families were below the acceptable caloric intake level.[128]
Reflecting the long history of the region, Bangladesh has a culture that encompasses elements both old and new.
Literature
The Bengali language
boasts a rich literary heritage, which Bangladesh shares with the
Indian state of West Bengal. The earliest literary text in Bengali is
the 8th century Charyapada. Medieval Bengali literature was often either religious (for example, Chandidas), or adapted from other languages (for example, Alaol). Bengali literature reached its full expression in the 19th century, with its greatest icons being poets Rabindranath Tagore, Michael Madhusudan Dutt and Kazi Nazrul Islam. Bangladesh also has a long tradition in folk literature, for example Maimansingha Gitika, Thakurmar Jhuli and stories related to Gopal Bhar, Birbal and Molla Nasiruddin.
Music and Arts
The musical tradition of Bangladesh is lyrics-based (Baniprodhan), with minimal instrumental accompaniment. The Baul tradition is a distinctive element of Bengali folk music. Numerous other musical traditions exist including Gombhira, Bhatiali and Bhawaiya, varying from one region to the next. Folk music is often accompanied by the ektara, an instrument with only one string. Other instruments include the dotara, dhol, flute and tabla. Bangladesh also has an active heritage in North Indian classical music.
Similarly, Bangladeshi dance forms draw from folk traditions,
especially those of the tribal groups, as well as the broader Indian
dance tradition.[129]
Bangladesh produces about 80 films a year.[130] Mainstream Hindi films are also quite popular.[131]
Around 200 daily newspapers are published in Bangladesh, along with
more than 500 periodicals. However, regular readership is low at just
under 15% of the population.[132] Bangladeshis listen to a variety of local and national radio programs like Bangladesh Betar. Four private FM radio stations named (Radio Foorti, ABC Radio, Radio Today, Radio Amar) are popular among urban youths. International Bengali-language broadcasts include BBC Bangla and Voice of America. The dominant television channel is the state-owned Bangladesh Television, but in the last few years, privately owned channels have developed considerably.
Cuisine
The culinary tradition of Bangladesh has close relations to nearby Bengali and Indian cuisine as well as having its own unique traits. Rice and fish are traditional favourites. Biryani
is a favourite dish of Bangladesh and this includes egg biryani, mutton
biryani and beef biryani. Bangladeshis make distinctive sweetmeats from milk products, some common ones being Rôshogolla, Rasmalai, Rôshomalai, chômchôm and kalojam.
The sari(shaŗi)
is by far the most widely worn dress by Bangladeshi women. A guild of
weavers in Dhaka is renowned for producing saris from exquisite Jamdanimuslin. The salwar kameez(shaloar kamiz)
is also quite popular, and in urban areas some women wear western
attire. Among men, western attire is more widely adopted. Men also wear
the kurta-paejama combination, often on special occasions, and the lungi, a kind of long skirt for men.
Cricket is the most popular sport in Bangladesh, followed by football (soccer). The national cricket team participated in their first Cricket World Cup in 1999, and the following year was granted elite Test cricket status. But they have struggled to date, recording only three Test match victories, one against Zimbabwe in 2005 and the other two in a series win of 2–0 against the West Indies in 2009.[133]
In July 2010, they celebrated their first ever win over England in any
form of match. Later in 2010, they managed to whitewash New Zealand for
the first time in history. In 2011, Bangladesh successfully co-hosted
the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 with India and Sri Lanka.
Also in 2011, Bangladesh beat England in an ODI. In 2012, the country
hosted the Micromax Asia Cup. The team beat India and Sri Lanka but
failed to keep the reputation in the final game against Pakistan.
However, it was the first time Bangladesh had advanced to the final of
any major cricket tournament.
They participated at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, defeating Afghanistan to claim their Gold Medal in the first ever cricket tournament held in the Asian Games. Hadudu (kabaddi) is the national sport in Bangladesh. Other popular sports include field hockey, tennis, badminton, handball, basketball, volleyball, chess, shooting, angling, and carrom. The Bangladesh Sports Control Board regulates 29 different sporting federations.
Industrial Gallery
Garments Factory in Bangladesh
Different type of Wash done upon Denim garments, Factory Showroom
^Salik, Siddiq (1978). Witness to Surrender. Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-577264-4.
^Rummel, Rudolph J., "Statistics of Democide: Genocide and Mass Murder Since 1900", ISBN 3-8258-4010-7, Chapter 8, table 8.1. Rummel comments that, In
East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) [General Agha Mohammed Yahya Khan and
his top generals] planned to indiscriminately murder hundreds of
thousands of its Hindus and drive the rest into India. And they planned
to destroy its economic base to ensure that it would be subordinate to
West Pakistan for at least a generation to come. This despicable and
cutthroat plan was outright genocide.
^LaPorte, R (1972). "Pakistan in 1971: The Disintegration of a Nation". Asian Survey12 (2): 97–108. doi:10.1525/as.1972.12.2.01p0190a.
^Suvedī, Sūryaprasāda (2005). International watercourses law for the 21st century. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. pp. 154–166. ISBN0-7546-4527-4.
^Ali, A (1996). "Vulnerability of Bangladesh to climate change and sea level rise through tropical cyclones and storm surges". Water, Air, & Soil Pollution92 (1–2): 171–179. doi:10.1007/BF00175563.
^Begum, N (2001). "Enforcement of Safety Regulations in Garment sector in Bangladesh". Proc. Growth of Garment Industry in Bangladesh: Economic and Social dimension. pp. 208–226.
^Schreiner, Mark (2003). "A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh". Development Policy Review21 (3): 357–382. doi:10.1111/1467-7679.00215.
^Transit and trade. The Daily Star (2011-09-06). Retrieved on 10 December 2011.
^Transit to India. The Daily Star (2011-09-03). Retrieved on 10 December 2011.
^Rashiduzzaman, M (1998). "Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord: Institutional Features and Strategic Concerns". Asian Survey38 (7): 653–670. doi:10.1525/as.1998.38.7.01p0370e.
^ abcT. Neville Postlethwaite (1988). The Encyclopedia of Comparative Education and National Systems of Education. Pergamon Press. p. 130. ISBN0-08-030853-8.
A population density and Indian Railways connectivity map. The already densely settled Indo-Gangetic Plain is the main driver of Indian population growth.
With 1,210,193,422 residents reported in the 2011 provisional census,[4] India is the world's second-most populous country. Its population grew at 1.76% per annum during 2001–2011,[4] down from 2.13% per annum in the previous decade (1991–2001).[231] The human sex ratio, according to the 2011 census, is 940 females per 1,000 males.[4] The median age was 24.9 in the 2001 census.[6] Medical advances made in the last 50 years as well as increased agricultural productivity brought about by the "Green Revolution" have caused India's population to grow rapidly.[232] India continues to face several public health-related challenges.[233][234] According to the World Health Organisation, 900,000 Indians die each year from drinking contaminated water or breathing polluted air.[235] There are around 50 physicians per 100,000 Indians.[236] The number of Indians living in urban areas has grown by 31.2% between 1991 and 2001.[237] Yet, in 2001, over 70% lived in rural areas.[238][239] According to the 2001 census, there are 27 million-plus cities in India,[237] with Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai being the largest. The literacy rate in 2011 was 74.04%: 65.46% among females and 82.14% among males.[4] Kerala is the most literate state;[240] Bihar the least.[241]
A Bondo woman walks to a weekly market in Chattisgarh.
India is home to two major language families: Indo-Aryan (spoken by about 74% of the population) and Dravidian (24%). Other languages spoken in India come from the Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burman language families. India has no national language.[242] Hindi, with the largest number of speakers, is the official language of the government.[243][244] English is used extensively in business and administration and has the status of a "subsidiary official language";[245] it is important in education,
especially as a medium of higher education. Each state and union
territory has one or more official languages, and the constitution
recognises in particular 21 "scheduled languages". The Constitution of
India recognises 212 scheduledtribal groups which together constitute about 7.5% of the country's population.[246] The 2001 census reported that Hinduism, with over 800 million adherents (80.5% of the population), was the largest religion in India; it is followed by Islam (13.4%), Christianity (2.3%), Sikhism (1.9%), Buddhism (0.8%), Jainism (0.4%), Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and the Bahá'í Faith.[247] India has the world's largest Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Zoroastrian, and Bahá'í populations, and has the third-largest Muslim population and the largest Muslim population for a non-Muslim majority country.[248][249]
The earliest literary writings in India, composed between 1400 BCE and 1200 CE, were in the Sanskrit language.[261][262] Prominent works of this Sanskrit literature include epics such as the Mahābhārata and the Ramayana, the dramas of Kālidāsa such as the Abhijñānaśākuntalam (The Recognition of Śakuntalā), and poetry such as the Mahākāvya.[263][264][265] Developed between 600 BCE and 300 CE in South India, the Sangam literature, consisting of 2,381 poems, is regarded as a predecessor of Tamil literature.[266][267][268][269]
From the 14th to the 18th centuries, India's literary traditions went
through a period of drastic change because of the emergence of devotional poets such as Kabīr, Tulsīdās, and Guru Nānak.
This period was characterised by a varied and wide spectrum of thought
and expression; as a consequence, medieval Indian literary works
differed significantly from classical traditions.[270]
In the 19th century, Indian writers took a new interest in social
questions and psychological descriptions. In the 20th century, Indian
literature was influenced by the works of Bengali poet and novelist Rabindranath Tagore.[271]
Top: Roti bread and sabzi
vegetable stew are cooked outdoors in the Thar Desert using traditional
Rajasthani methods. Bottom: The kitchen of a Hindu temple.
Traditional Indian society is defined by relatively strict social hierarchy. The Indian caste system
embodies much of the social stratification and many of the social
restrictions found in the Indian subcontinent. Social classes are
defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups, often termed as jātis, or "castes".[279] Most Dalits ("Untouchables") and members of other lower-caste communities continue to live in segregation and often face persecution and discrimination.[280][281]
Traditional Indian family values are highly valued, and
multi-generational patriarchal joint families have been the norm in
India, though nuclear families are becoming common in urban areas.[282] An overwhelming majority of Indians, with their consent, have their marriages arranged by their parents or other family members.[283] Marriage is thought to be for life,[283] and the divorce rate is extremely low.[284] Child marriages are common, especially in rural areas; more than half of Indian females wed before reaching 18, which is their legal marriageable age.[285]
Many Indian festivals are religious in origin; among them are Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Thai Pongal, Navaratri, Holi, Durga Puja, Eid ul-Fitr, Bakr-Id, Christmas, and Vaisakhi. India has three national holidays which are observed in all states and union territories: Republic Day, Independence Day, and Gandhi Jayanti. Other sets of holidays, varying between nine and twelve, are officially observed in individual states. Traditional Indian dress
varies in colour and style across regions and depends on various
factors, including climate and faith. Popular styles of dress include
draped garments such as the sari for women and the dhoti or lungi for men. Stitched clothes, such as the shalwar kameez for women and kurta–pyjama combinations or European-style trousers and shirts for men, are also popular.[286]
Use of delicate jewellery, modelled on real flowers worn in ancient
India, is part of a tradition dating back some 5,000 years; gemstones
are also worn in India as talismans.[287] Indian cuisine
features an unsurpassed reliance on herbs and spices, with dishes often
calling for the nuanced usage of a dozen or more condiments;[288] it is also known for its tandoori preparations. The tandoor,
a clay oven used in India for almost 5,000 years, grills meats to an
"uncommon succulence" and produces the puffy flatbread known as naan.[289] The staple foods are wheat (predominantly in the north),[290] rice (especially in the south and the east), and lentils.[291]Many spices that have worldwide appeal are native to the Indian subcontinent,[292] while chili pepper, native to the Americas and introduced by the Portuguese, is widely used by Indians.[293]Āyurveda, a system of traditional medicine, used six rasas and three guṇas to help describe comestibles.[294] Over time, as Vedic animal sacrifices were supplanted by the notion of sacred-cow inviolability, vegetarianism became associated with high religious status and grew increasingly popular,[295] a trend aided by the rise of Buddhist, Jain, and bhaktiHindu norms.[296] India has the world's highest concentration of vegetarians: a 2006 survey found that 31% of Indians were non-ovo vegetarian.[296] Common traditional eating customs include meals taken on or near the floor, caste- and gender-segregated dining,[297][298] and a lack of cutlery in favour of the right hand or a piece of roti.
^"[...] Jana Gana Mana
is the National Anthem of India, subject to such alterations in the
words as the Government may authorise as occasion arises; and the song Vande Mataram, which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it." (Constituent Assembly of India 1950).
^"The
country's exact size is subject to debate because some borders are
disputed. The Indian government lists the total area as 3,287,260 km2 (1,269,220 sq mi) and the total land area as 3,060,500 km2 (1,181,700 sq mi); the United Nations lists the total area as 3,287,263 km2 (1,269,219 sq mi) and total land area as 2,973,190 km2 (1,147,960 sq mi)." (Library of Congress 2004).
^The northernmost point under Indian control is the disputed Siachen Glacier
in Jammu and Kashmir; however, the Government of India regards the
entire region of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir,
including the Northern Areas administered by Pakistan, to be its territory. It therefore assigns the longitude 37° 6' to its northernmost point.
Sripati, V. (1998),
"Toward Fifty Years of Constitutionalism and Fundamental Rights in
India: Looking Back to See Ahead (1950–2000)", American University International Law Review14 (2): 413–496
Dutt, S. (1998), "Identities and the Indian State: An Overview", Third World Quarterly19 (3): 411–434, doi:10.1080/01436599814325
Echeverri-Gent, J. (January 2002), "Politics in India's Decentred Polity", in Ayres, A.; Oldenburg, P., Quickening the Pace of Change, India Briefing, London: M. E. Sharpe, pp. 19–53, ISBN978-0-7656-0812-3
Medora, N. (2003),
"Mate Selection in Contemporary India: Love Marriages Versus Arranged
Marriages", in Hamon, R. R.; Ingoldsby, B. B., Mate Selection Across Cultures, SAGE Publications, p. 209–230, ISBN978-0-7619-2592-7
Zvelebil, K. V. (1 August 1997), Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature, Brill Publishers, ISBN978-90-04-09365-2The BB-108 L-Drago Destructor F:S (Japanese: エルドラゴ デストロイ エフ：エス) is an Attack-Type Beyblade released on April 23, 2011 by Takara-Tomy in Japan after Fang Leone 130W²D. It was featured in the anime and manga series, Beyblade: Metal Fury as the evolution of the Meteo L-Drago LW105LF, owned by the series' deuteragonist, Ryuga.
This Beyblade implements the 4D System and comes complete with
the new "F:S" 4D Performance Tip, which changing its Performance Tip
from HF to S with varying spin velocities. Its "L-Drago
Destructor" Fusion Wheel is also the first to be constructed with the
Metal Frame fitting over the Energy Ring as one unit. These parts can be
arranged between to two different performance modes with an unique
attack option for each: Attack Mode and Absorb Mode.
Takara-Tomy would later succeed the L-Drago Destructor F:S with the release of L-Drago Guardian S130MB. Hasbro is scheduled to release L-Drago Destructor LW105LF, inspired by the L-Drago Destructor F:S, later in the second quarter of 2012.
The Face Bolt depicts Draco, one of the 88 constellations in space.
The design is similar to Meteo L-Drago's Face Bolt with the difference
being a lighter blue hue. It also makes L-Drago show both of its hands
to make it look more ferocious. The dragon is also more detailed than
the other L-Drago facebolts.
Fusion Wheel: L-Drago Destructor
Metal Frame
Weight: 37.9 grams
The Metal Frame is made completely out of metal and highly resembles
the Lightning L-Drago Energy Ring in that it features three dragon heads
going in a circular motion. The Metal Frame can also be rotated 180
degress just like the previous L-Drago Energy Rings, in order to change
between two modes, "Attack Mode" and "Absorb Mode". However, it is
relatively light as a 4D Fusion Wheel, even with the Core.
Core
Weight: 5.8 grams
The Core has six protrusions going around in a circular manner. Being
highly made of rubber, it is used to absorb hits and obtain more
Stamina, as well as providing extra weight.
Attack: 6 - Defense: 0 - Stamina: 1 - Absorb - 6
4D Bottom: Final Survive (F:S)
Weight: 5.7 grams
Final Survive acts as a Hole Wide Flat/Sharp, but is automatic, and
uses centrifugal force to switch modes. At first it performs like a Hole
Wide Flat and then switch to sharp. when it starts to lose its Stamina.
The Final Survive 4D Bottom may also cause the Bey to crash on the
stadium's walls so that it could hit the opposing Bey in the middle or
anywhere else in the stadium. It has no competitive value because when
it switches to Sharp, it loses its balance very easily due to the tall
height of the Final Survive. However, due to L-Drago Destroy's left
spinning ability, it can steal spin from arena's quake. Overall, it is a
mediocre tip, with massive attack prowess while on HF mode, while
having no competitive use on S mode. Due to this, it has no competitive
use. Overall, the HF, LF, RF, R2F, LRF and MF performance tips are
better in general. It's power is boosted though, when used with a Metal
Face Bolt. It will be replaced with LW105LF in the Hasbro release. It
performs much better in a Zero-G stadium.
Attack: 4 - Defense: 0 - Stamina: 3
Dragon Emperor Descends : Ryuga's Final Special Move used to defeat Nemesis, but the special move wasn't strong enough.
Beyblade: Metal Fury
L-Drago Destructor in the anime
On Zarkan Island, an island in Indonesia, Ryuga gets confronted by
Gingka and Co. Ryuga and Kyoya have a battle and he defeats Kyoya with
his newly evolved L-Drago Destructor F:S, which he obtained after his
Meteo L-Drago was hit by a piece of the Star Fragment. When battling
Fang Leone, L-Drago was knocked into the island's volcano and caused it
to grow even stronger because it was fused with the island's fiery lava.
After defeating Kyoya, Gingka challenges him to a battle so he can
help in the quest for the Legend Bladers but ultimately, Gingka loses.
He then battles Yuki and although Yuki seems to be winning, Ryuga
manages to beat him.
In Sagittario's Blow, Kenta battles Ryuga to prevent him from
going back to the dark side. He loses, but inflicts a crack on L-Drago's
face bolt in the process.
When Ryuga faced Rago and Nemesis alone, he was defeated badly
and L-Drago was severely damaged. Also, since L-Drago Destructor failed
to protect Ryuga, Ryuga almost died.
Now Ryuga has passed on his bey's Star Fragment to Kenta's bey, which helped Flame Sagittario C145S evolve into Flash Sagittario 230WD . This caused Ryuga and L-Drago to disappear.
Other Versions
L-Drago Destroy DF105LRF (Gold Armored Ver.)
- This version has a gold Energy Ring with a new engraved L-Drago Face
Bolt design that is 3.5 grams heavier than original Face Bolt. The
Energy Ring also appears to have more designs than stickers where it is
inserted into the Launcher.
L-Drago Destructor LW105LF
- This is the Hasbro version of L-Drago Destroy F:S. Its Core is formed
into one metal piece, no longer made of rubber and plastic. Also, F:S
is removed and replaced by LW105LF.
Legend Beyblade Set Ver. - This is a gold recolour of everything on L-Drago Destroy except for the Core.
Trivia
Final Survive is the only 4D bottom that does not end in Drive. (D:D, F:D, B:D, X:D).
Although illegal, if L-Drago Destructor's Metal Frame is placed
on Meteo, it will be heavier than Diablo Nemesis, at about 68-70 grams.
Ginga and co sweatdropped remembering Ryuga is one of Bladers of Four Seasons and hard to be convinced
Ryuga unleashing his hidden power
Sanskriti School is a public service oriented, non-profit
organization, with the spouse of the serving Cabinet Secretary, Jaya
Chandrasekhar as its chairperson. The school was founded by Mrs. Hemi
Surinder Singh, wife of the former Cabinet Secretary, Mrs. Livleen
Bhagat, wife of former Director of the Intelligence Bureau and Mrs.
Ramachandran among others.
Sanskriti School also runs a parallel school called Umang, where
underprivileged children are provided free education. Children living in
Sanjay Basti,a slum behind the school, are the main students who
attended Umang. According to the Hindustan Times, it has been ranked the
best school in Central Delhi in 2009 and second best in 2010. Sanskriti
boasts of a full fledged gym, soccer field,a massive swimming pool with
diving facilities and a splash pool for the younger students,
auditorium, amphitheater and airy, bright classrooms.Besides this in a
span of few years it has come to the top of the school rankings in Delhi
i/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya),[c] is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country with more than 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democratic republic in the world. Bound by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;[d] China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
listen)), which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages.[11] The eponym of Bharat is Bharata, a mythological figure that Hindu scriptures describe as a legendary emperor of ancient India. Hindustan ([ɦɪnd̪ʊˈst̪aːn] (
During the period 2000–500 BCE, in terms of culture, many regions of the subcontinent transitioned from the Chalcolithic to the Iron Age.[20] The Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism,[21] were composed during this period,[22] and historians have analysed these to posit a Vedic culture in the Punjab region and the upper Gangetic Plain.[20] Most historians also consider this period to have encompassed several waves of Indo-Aryan migration into the subcontinent from the north-west.[23][21][24] The caste system,
which created a hierarchy of priests, warriors, and free peasants, but
which excluded indigenous peoples by labeling their occupations impure,
arose during this period.[25] On the Deccan Plateau, archaeological evidence from this period suggests the existence of a chiefdom stage of political organisation.[20] In southern India, a progression to sedentary life is indicated by the large number of megalithic monuments dating from this period,[26] as well as by nearby traces of agriculture, irrigation tanks, and craft traditions.[26]
The granite tower of Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur was completed in 1010 CE by Raja Raja Chola I.
The Indian early medieval age, 600 CE to 1200 CE, is defined by regional kingdoms and cultural diversity.[45] When Harsha of Kannauj, who ruled much of the Indo-Gangetic Plain from 606 to 647 CE, attempted to expand southwards, he was defeated by the Chalukya ruler of the Deccan.[46] When his successor attempted to expand eastwards, he was defeated by the Pala king of Bengal.[46] When the Chalukyas attempted to expand southwards, they were defeated by the Pallavas from farther south, who in turn were opposed by the Pandyas and the Cholas from still farther south.[46] No ruler of this period was able to create an empire and consistently control lands much beyond his core region.[45]
During this time, pastoral peoples whose land had been cleared to make
way for the growing agricultural economy were accommodated within caste
society, as were new non-traditional ruling classes.[47] The caste system consequently began to show regional differences.[47]
Many Indian species descend from taxa originating in Gondwana, from which the Indian plate separated more than 105 million years before present.[131] Peninsular India's subsequent movement towards and collision with the Laurasian landmass set off a mass exchange of species. Epochal volcanism and climatic changes 20 million years ago forced a mass extinction.[132] Mammals then entered India from Asia through two zoogeographical passes flanking the rising Himalaya.[129] Thus, while 45.8% of reptiles and 55.8% of amphibians are endemic, only 12.6% of mammals and 4.5% of birds are.[127] Among them are the Nilgiri leaf monkey and Beddome's toad of the Western Ghats. India contains 172 IUCN-designated threatened species, or 2.9% of endangered forms.[133] These include the Asiatic lion, the Bengal tiger, and the Indian white-rumped vulture, which, by ingesting the carrion of diclofenac-laced cattle, nearly went extinct.
Averaging an economic growth rate of 7.5% during the last few years,[200] India has more than doubled its hourly wage rates during the last decade.[207]
Some 431 million Indians have left poverty since 1985; India's middle
classes are projected to number around 580 million by 2030.[208] Though ranking 51st in global competitiveness,
India ranks 17th in financial market sophistication, 24th in the
banking sector, 44th in business sophistication, and 39th in innovation,
ahead of several advanced economies.[209]
With 7 of the world's top 15 information technology outsourcing
companies based in India, the country is viewed as the second-most
favourable outsourcing destination after the United States.[210] India's consumer market, currently the world's eleventh-largest, is expected to become fifth-largest by 2030.[208] Its telecommunication industry, the world's fastest-growing, added 227 million subscribers during the period 2010–11.[211] Its automotive industry, the world's second fastest growing, increased domestic sales by 26% during 2009–10,[212] and exports by 36% during 2008–09.[213] Power capacity is 250 gigawatts, of which 8% is renewable.[214] At the end of 2011, Indian IT Industry
employed 2.8 million professionals, generated revenues close to US$100
billion equaling 7.5% of Indian GDP and contributed 26% of India's
merchandize exports.[215]
Indian cultural history spans more than 4,500 years.[250] During the Vedic period (c. 1700–500 BCE), the foundations of Hindu philosophy, mythology, and literature were laid, and many beliefs and practices which still exist today, such as dhárma, kárma, yóga, and mokṣa, were established.[10] India is notable for its religious diversity, with Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, and Jainism among the nation's major religions.[251] The predominant religion, Hinduism, has been shaped by various historical schools of thought, including those of the Upanishads,[252] the Yoga Sutras, the Bhakti movement,[251] and by Buddhist philosophy.[253]
Indian music ranges over various traditions and regional styles. Classical music encompasses two genres and their various folk offshoots: the northern Hindustani and southern Carnatic schools.[272] Regionalised popular forms include filmi and folk music; the syncretic tradition of the bauls is a well-known form of the latter. Indian dance also features diverse folk and classical forms. Among the better-known folk dances are the bhangra of the Punjab, the bihu of Assam, the chhau of West Bengal and Jharkhand, sambalpuri of Orissa, ghoomar of Rajasthan, and the lavani of Maharashtra. Eight dance forms, many with narrative forms and mythological elements, have been accorded classical dance status by India's National Academy of Music, Dance, and Drama. These are: bharatanatyam of the state of Tamil Nadu, kathak of Uttar Pradesh, kathakali and mohiniyattam of Kerala, kuchipudi of Andhra Pradesh, manipuri of Manipur, odissi of Orissa, and the sattriya of Assam.[273]
The Maratha Empire,
a Hindu empire which overran the Mughals in the 18th century, also
devastated the territories controlled by the Nawab of Bengal between
1742 and 1751. In a series of raids on Bengal and Bihar, then ruled by
the Nawab, Maratha demolished much of the Bengali economy, which was
unable to withstand the continuous onslaught of Maratha for long. Nawab
Ali Vardi Khan made peace with Maratha by ceding the whole of Orissa and parts of Western Bengal to the empire. In addition, this a tax – the Chauth, amounting to a quarter of total revenue – was imposed on other parts of Bengal and Bihar. This tax amounted to twenty lakhs (of rupees?) for Bengal and 12 lakhs for Bihar per year.[18][19]
After Maratha's defeat in Panipat by a coalition of Muslim forces, the
empire returned under the Maratha general Madhoji Sindhia and raided
Bengal again. The British Empire stopped payment of the Chauth, invading
the territory of Bengal in 1760s. The raids continued until Maratha was
finally defeated by the British over the course of three Anglo-Maratha Wars, lasting from 1777 to 1818.
The main religion in Bangladesh is Islam (89.7%), but a significant percentage of the population adheres to Hinduism (9.2%).[107] The majority of Muslims are Sunni, although a small number are Twelver Shias or Ismaili Shias.[108] Many people in Bangladesh practice Sufism, as historically Islam was brought to the region by Sufi saints. There are also followers of the Deobandi movement, and Ahle Hadith. The largest gathering of Muslims in the country is the Bishwa Ijtema, held annually by the Tablighi Jamaat. There are also a small number of Muslims, numbering some 100,000 belonging to the Ahmadiyya community. Sufi influences in the region go back many centuries.[109] Other religious groups include Buddhists (0.7%, mostly Theravada), Christians (0.3%, mostly of the Roman Catholic denomination), and Animists (0.1%). Bangladesh has the fourth largest Muslim population after Indonesia, Pakistan, and India, with over 135 million.
Bangladesh produces about 80 films a year.[130] Mainstream Hindi films are also quite popular.[131]
Around 200 daily newspapers are published in Bangladesh, along with
more than 500 periodicals. However, regular readership is low at just
under 15% of the population.[132] Bangladeshis listen to a variety of local and national radio programs like Bangladesh Betar. Four private FM radio stations named (Radio Foorti, ABC Radio, Radio Today, Radio Amar) are popular among urban youths. International Bengali-language broadcasts include BBC Bangla and Voice of America. The dominant television channel is the state-owned Bangladesh Television, but in the last few years, privately owned channels have developed considerably.
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