Incredible India Essay
India or Bharat (literally meaning, quest for knowledge) I is the land of “Unity in diversity”, a country that provides home to approximately 1.25 billion people with different mother tongues, belonging to different regions, castes and creeds. It is known as worldwide for its diversity of cultures, traditions, languages, food, clothing and spices. The country is the seventh largest in the world covering an area of approximately 3, 287,263 km and is the only one in the world having two official names, India and Bharat.
India is a sovereign, socialist, secular and democratic republic which is ruled by the people, made for the people and of the people. It consists of 29 states and 7 union territories with every state having its own bounty of rich cultural legacy. Religions like Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Islam, Judaism and Zoroastrianism are practiced by the people throughout the country. About 23 languages are recognised by the constitution of India as “Official languages”, whereas numerous others are practiced throughout the nation.
India has a rich cultural heritage. From Kerala to Kanyakumari, the country is enriched with beautiful snow peaks, plateaus, valleys, water bodies and plains. Every state and city has its own significance, Kashmir is majorly known for its Pashmina wool and apples, Nagpur for its oranges, Agra for Taj Mahal (one of the seven wonders in the world), Punjab for its agricultural inputs, Bihar for its minerals, Meghalaya for its weather and seasonal extravagances, Bangalore, the Silicon valley of India for its contribution to the IT sector, Karnataka and Kerala for its silk. Also, the country is rich in historical buildings like the Red Fort, Fatehpur Sikri, Qutub Minar, India gate, Meenakshi Temple, Charminar, Jantar Mantar and Ajanta and Alora caves.
The country is a major exporter of engineering goods (19 percent of the total exports), chemical and pharmaceutical products (14 percent), gems and jewellery (14 percent), agricultural and allied products including sugarcane, wheat, rice, cereals, etc. (10 percent) and textiles and clothing (10 percent), making Indian economy the world’s seventh-largest by nominal GDP and third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). It is one of the fastest growing and most populous democracies of the world.
Once Hu Shih, the Former Ambassador of China said to US that, “India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.” India has always maintained cordial relations with most nations all over the world. It also played a vital role during the Non Aligned Movement and soon became of the world’s largest arms importer between 2007 and 2011. Now, the country has the third largest military in the world with 1.325 million active troops comprising of Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force and subsidiary organisations include the Strategic Forces Command and three paramilitary groups: the Assam Rifles, the Special Frontier Force, and the Indian Coast Guard.
There has been no more revolutionary contribution than the one which the Hindus (Indians) made when they invented zero. Lancelot Hogben, English Mathematician.
India is the motherland of Sanskrit language, the mother of almost all the languages around the globe, India is the country which has the highest number of engineers and doctors, various type of games and sports like Kabaddi, Chess, Polo with Hockey being the National sport of India making it the sport’s most successful team in the Olympics as of 2012 are played. India has also played a major role in popularising cricket making it the most popular sport in India and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), is one of the sporting bodies. “Jana Gana Mana” is the National Anthem and ‘Vande Matram” is the National song of the nation.
Diversity can also be felt by the varied climatic conditions across the nation. Four seasons namely, summer, winter, autumn and spring prevail throughout the year in most of the parts of the country. Also, India has a variety of cuisines that can be observed by the food habits of the people ranging from Mughlai to south Indian cuisine to Gujarati to Punjabi cuisine.
The unity in diversity of India is the essence of the nation where 1.25 billion people worship 33 crores deities and hail in the name of god; some Shiva, some Allah!, some Waheguru! And some Jesus.