Saturday, August 15, 1998
India's social and religious structures survived 4,000 years of invasions, religious persecution and political upheavals. The country's first major civilization, which lasted for about 1,000 years, sprang up around 2500 BC, and Hinduism can be traced back to it.
Aryans and Muslims invaded areas of India at different points of its early history. In the early 19th century, India came under British control. Indian opposition to the British Empire escalated at the turn of the century.
In 1915, Mohandas K. Gandhi promoted independence and adopted the passive resistance policy. In 1946, Britain said India could have its independence when it decided on a form of government. Religious differences sparked bloody uprisings between Muslims and Hindus in Calcutta and throughout India.
In 1948, Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic who blamed him for the country's partition. Also that year, a constitution that made India an independent, democratic republic was adopted. It took effect Jan. 26, 1950.
India -- an impoverished country facing overpopulation problems and political opportunism -- has made great economic improvements in the 1990s. It has become one of the top 10 industrial powers of the world, and there's been a rise in foreign direct investment as the economy has opened to foreign competition. Chief exports include cashews, coffee, cut diamonds, appliances, electronic products and light machinery.
India has a free press and is the world's largest democracy. More than half of the people who live in a democracy live in India.
Now, the United States and others are criticizing India for testing three nuclear bombs underground in mid-May. India tested a nuclear device in 1974 but has not tested one since. Under the 1994 Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act, President Clinton is required by Federal law to impose economic sanctions against India.
By the numbers
Size: Nearly 1.5 million square miles. The United States, by comparison, is 3.5 million square miles.
Capital: New Delhi.
Population: 952 million, the second most populous country after China's 1.2 billion people. With its current birth rate, India's population is poised to surpass China's population in 2030.
Religion: 83 percent Hindu; 11 percent Muslim; 2 percent each Christian, Sikh and other.
Government: President: Shri K.R. Narayanan. Prime Minister: Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Official languages: Hindi and English. There are 14 regional languages.
Economy: 37 percent of Indians live at or below the poverty line. Agriculture -- particularly rice, wheat, tea and coffee -- accounts for about 20 percent of the country's gross domestic product and employs nearly 50 percent of the working population. Economic reforms in 1991 have helped the once strictly government-controlled industrial sector grow. Economic growth reached 12.1 percent in India from 1996 to 1997, with inflation fluctuating between 7 percent and 15 percent over the past three years.
Currency: Rupee. About 40 rupees equal one U.S. dollar.
Temperature: 104 degrees Fahrenheit in the north during May, June and July. In the cool seasons, temperatures dip 50 to 59 degrees. Temperatures fluctuate less in the south.
About Punjab
Today, Punjab, the Bhatara's home, is far and away the most affluent state in India, experts say. A look at Punjab
Population: 21.4 million.
Capital: Chandigarh, more than 370,000 people.
Main Language: Punjabi.
Literacy rate: 57 percent.
Sources: World Reference Atlas, Lonely Planet's book India, The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1998, World Book Encyclopedia.
