India is the largest among South Asian Countries. In fact, India is the seventh largest country in the world with an area of 3,287,590 square kilometers. India is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the South, the Arabian Sea on the West and the Bay of Bengal on the East. It s bordered by Pakistan to the Wast China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the North and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the East. India is the world's second most populous country after China. Its population is around 1.5 billion. New Delhi is the capital of this country and about 13 million people live in the capital.
India is a land of ancient civilization. The social, economic and cultural diversity of this vast country is the result of invasions by the Indus Valley Civilization and the coming of the Aryans. During this period, Aryan culture flourished in this part of the coming of the world. The fifth century saw the unification of India under Ashoka, and it is in this time that Buddhism spread in many parts of Asia. In the eight century it had firmly established itself. It resulted into the formation of the Delhi Sultanate in 1206 by Qutb ud din Aybek. This was finally succeeded by the Mughal empire in 1526, under which India once again achieved a large measure of political unity.
It is in the 17th century that the Europeans came to India. This coincided with the disintegration of the Mughal Empire, paving the way for supremacy among the English, the French, the Dutch, and the Portuguese. The English emerged as the 'Victors'. In 1774, Warren Hastings was appointed the first Government General of India by the East India Company. In 1876 Queen Victoria was given the title empress of India by the British Parliament and India came under the British rule completely. The British ruled India for nearly two hundred years. This period was marked by Indian's struggle for independence. Through a series of heroic and patriotic movements to restore freedom, India got its independence in 1947. The culture of India is one of the oldest and unique in the world. In India, there is amazing cultural diversity throughout the country. The south, North, ans Northeast have their own distinct cultures and almost every state has carved out its own cultural distinction. There is hardly any culture in the world that is as varied and unique as India. There are 17 major languages and 844 dialects used by the people of India.
India is a tourists' delight. The Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri, the Qutab minar and the Red Fort are a few of the many wonders which attract people from all over the world. Kashmir has been described as a paradise on earth. The country of mountains, valleys, deserts, rivers and lakes offer the richness of a mini world within a single country. Ooty, Nilgiris and the temples of South India. Ajanta and Ellora caves are the places one can explore in India.
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