India Map

About India Map

This India map highlights all 28 states and 8 Union Territories. It is a political map of India as it includes the international borders as well as all the state borders. It also highlights all the state capitals and the capital city of India, New Delhi. The map of India also includes the surrounding countries of India such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. The India map includes a north symbol, a locator to see where India is on the world map and the major bodies of water surrounding India such as the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal.

Indian States

Union Territories of India

About India

India, officially known as the Republic of India, is a large country in South Asia with a total area of 3.287 million square kilometers (1.269 million square miles). It is the 7th largest country in the world by area and, with over 1.4 billion people, it is also home to the largest population of the world. Due to the huge size of the country, it is able to fit in a huge amount of cultures, languages and ways of life in it. It is also a country with a rich and long history, with a huge amount of heritage, and at the same time it is also a very modern country. The country is also famous because of its huge and growing economy, and also because of its influence on the world.

India is known for having a historical heritage, old traditions as well as modern technologies, emerging economy, it is the largest and the most successful democracy in the world. These are just a few of the factors that enable India to function as a bridge between old and modern cultures and therefore between tradition and technology, between the past and the future.

Location and Geography of India

A Map showing India location. A map of India is shown to its readers to help them know where in the world India is located. The location of India is strategic as it is in the South Asia region of the world and it borders with several countries and also several seas. Thus India’s borders are with Pakistan from the northwest, then China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north, Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. And India also has a long maritime boundary with Sri Lanka and the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.

The country extends from the Snow-capped Himalayas, the world’s highest mountain ranges to the south, the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the world’s largest producing region for Agriculture in the world and the highest density of population ever recorded on earth in thousands of cities, towns and villages, some of them the oldest ever in the world. The Plain stretches from the north to the south of the country and in the west and east it is flanked by the coastal Plain stretching along the Arabian Sea in the west and the Bay of Bengal in the east, with some of the biggest cities in Asia. The southern region of India consists of the Deccan Plateau which is as crowded as the Indo-Gangetic Plain in the north.

India is a vast country with a total coastline of 7516 km. The mainland and its islands are bounded by the Arabian Sea in the west and the Bay of Bengal in the east. The Indian subcontinent is drained by a number of major rivers, including the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, the Yamuna, the Godavari, the Krishna, the Narmada and the Kaveri. These rivers are of great importance to the country’s agriculture and also form the basis of many of the country’s customs and traditions.

History of India

The history of India is so old that it dates back to the times of human civilization. India is home to one of the oldest cultures of the world. The Indus Valley Civilization is the first urban civilization of the world and it dates back to around 2500 BCE. This civilization flourished in two major cities called Harappa and Mohenjo-daro. These two cities had some of the most advanced and extensive drainage systems of the world at that time. The town planning of both the cities was of international standards. After the decline of Indus Valley Civilization, many other civilizations came into existence in India like the Maurya Empire, the Gupta Empire, the Chola Empire, the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughal Empire and many others.

There were many Kings and Kingdoms ruled over India throughout her long history. Each of the Kingdoms of India played very significant role in evolution of Science and Technology. The contribution of the Indians to the mathematics, architecture, literature, philosophy, ethics, law and governance is great. Some of the powerful and well known empires and kingdoms in Indian history are Maurya Empire, Gupta Empire, Chola Empire, Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire.

INDIA AFTER COLONIZATION - THE STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. In the 18th century India was colonized by the British. The long historic struggle for freedom by India's countless sons and daughters finally came to an end on 15 August 1947 and the country became free.

India became a sovereign democratic republic on 26th January, 1950. India is today the largest democratic country in the world.

Political System and Government

India is a Federal Parliamentary Democracy. It is guided by the Constitution of India which has been designed to maintain and safeguard the citizens of India; to establish justice; to promote and to develop the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all Indians; to provide justice to the minority communities; to protect international peace and security; and to maintain friendly and harmonious relations with foreign countries. It also endeavors to equate the opportunities of growth for citizens of India. In essence, it aims to be a complete democracy.

The head of the State is the President of India. He is a ceremonial head. The real power is with the Prime Minister of India and is headed by him. The two Houses of the Indian Parliament are the Lok Sabha (the House of the People) and the Rajya Sabha (the Council of States).

India is divided into 28 states and 8 Union Territories, each with their own administrative system. As a democracy, India functions in such a way that in every aspect of governing and deciding who should govern, the citizens of the country play a major role in deciding through the process of elections.

Population and Demographics

Today, there are over 1.4 billion people living in thousands of them more than half are under the age of 35. Most of them live in cities and towns, but also in thousands of villages across India. Major business and communication hubs, centers of education and culture are cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, and Ahmedabad.

The population of India resides in thousands of cities, towns and villages all in a state of rapid change and development. The urban centers of India have not only become hubs of economy, commerce, trade and industry but have also grown into centers of culture and tourism.

India is a multicultural country and it has got numerous languages, ethnic groups, religions and cultures. There are thousands of cities, towns and villages all over the country. With so many possibilities, there is vast potential waiting to be unlocked in the country.

Languages Spoken in India

India is home to the greatest variety of languages of any country in the world. While the most widely spoken language, Hindi (Devanagari script), has over 300 million speakers, it is by no means the only official language. Other official languages of India include: Bengali (Bengali script), Telugu (Telugu script), Marathi (Devanagari script), Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi, Assamese and many others. In fact a total of 22 languages have been recognized by the Constitution of India as scheduled languages. There are hundreds of languages and dialects spoken throughout the country.

The Constitution recognizes and categorizes all languages spoken in India into 22 Scheduled Languages. These include languages such as Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, and many more others. But in reality, hundreds of languages and dialects are spoken all across the vast country and this is the reason why India is a culturally so diverse country.

Economy of India

India is growing fastest among all major economies of the world and is largest in terms of nominal value and also in terms of Purchasing Power Parity. The country has experienced high growth rates since 2000 and currently maintains a growth rate of over 7.5% plus.

Agriculture is the biggest sector in terms of employment in India and has contributed in a significant way to India’s growth. This sector also produces a large quantity of food, fibers and raw materials for various industries. Many of the large industries including IT, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, telecom, banking and financial services, banking, tourism, renewable energy, and others have grown to great heights and contribute significantly to India’s GDP. Of these, Information Technology (IT) sector has been at the core of India’s growth, providing software services and IT enabled services to clients across the globe from cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Gurugram, and Chennai that have become hubs for technology start-ups.

When it comes to software exports, India holds the top position followed by large volume of pharmaceuticals, textile products, engineering goods and business process outsourcing (BPO) solutions. While the government is creating large amount of physical as well as digital infrastructure, it is also making efforts to create large manufacturing units as well as to foster entrepreneurship.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

With the involvement of millions of farmers across India, agriculture has been a huge component of India’s economy and even to this day, a large variety of crops are being cultivated throughout the year. The country is ranked highly among the world’s biggest producers of many crops such as rice, wheat, sugarcane, cotton and a variety of fruits and vegetables, as well as other crops like tea and spices and dairy and much more.

India is an agricultural hub due to the presence of multiple climatic conditions, and therefore supports production of an enormous variety of crops. It is also endowed with large deposits of coal, iron ore, bauxite, limestone, natural gas, crude oil, and numerous other natural resources that form the bed rock of the country’s rapidly growing industry.

Culture and Heritage of India

Indian cultural heritage is one of the oldest in the world and is even today considered to be the richest in the world. It has influenced many countries and today art, music, dance, literature, philosophy, cuisine and even spiritual practices all over the world are greatly influenced by the rich and varied heritage of India.

In the field of dances, many traditional and classical dances of India are very popular and are practiced all over the world. There are some very old traditional dances of India like Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Kathakali and Manipuri. Two traditional systems of music in India are Hindustani and Carnatic music.

The Indian cuisine is so varied that it would be out of scope to cover the cuisine of all the states in this small page. As stated earlier every region in India has its own specialty, and every state has its own dishes, taste, and style of cooking. Thus, for a food lover, India is a heaven to explore into the vast varieties of cuisines.

Religion and Spiritual Significance

India is the birth place of 4 of the world’s major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Apart from these India is home to sizeable populations of Muslims, Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians and Baha’is.

India is a country with immense religious diversity. Many of the major religions of the world were born here. In addition to the large Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh populations, populations there are also sizeable Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian, and Bahá’í communities. Many places of religious and spiritual significance are visited by millions of devotees every year. Some of the most famous places of pilgrimage in India are Varanasi, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Amritsar and the numerous shrines and temples across the country.

Many of the Spiritual Traditions of India have millions of followers across the Globe, and practices such as Yoga, Meditation, and Ayurveda have inspired millions to look towards healthy living, and have created a large Wellness Market across the World.

Tourism in India

India is a very exciting place to visit. As the largest country in the Indian sub-continent, it has a broad spectrum of experiences to offer tourists such as visiting historical places, enjoying the Natural Beauty of India, wildlife tourism, relaxing on beaches, enjoying treks in the mountains and of course desert safaris.

When it comes to places of tourist attraction, there are many places to see in India. While most tourists like to visit the famous Taj Mahal which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Agra, there are many more places to see like many forts, palaces and monuments in a city like Jaipur. The Backwaters of Kerala attract a lot of tourists too. The long stretches of sandy beaches in Goa are a favorite among tourists. Even the Mountains of Ladakh attract a large number of tourists every year. India is also home to a large number of National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries. Some of the very famous ones are Jim Corbett National Park, Ranthambore National Park, Kaziranga National Park and Sundarbans National Park to name a few. These places have diverse ecosystems and are home to endangered species of wildlife.

The many National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries spread over the country, like Jim Corbett National Park, Ranthambore National Park, Kazirangan Karbang National Park, Sundarbans National Park, etc. house many endangered species of the flora and fauna.

Education, Science, and Technology

Over the last few decades, India has seen tremendous growth in the sphere of education, science and technology. The country is home to some of the world’s greatest educational institutions, including the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and a host of other universities that are renowned globally. The country’s space research organization, the Indian Space and Research Organisation, or ISRO, has also made immense progress in the field of space exploration. It has sent the Indian flag to the Moon as well as to Mars. The rapid growth of information technology, biotechnology, and of alternative sources of energy including solar, wind and hydroelectric power has also added to the country’s scientific and technological progress. A host of new fields like artificial intelligence and digital services have also witnessed tremendous growth. The rapid expansion of the Internet, mobile phone networks, and of digital payment systems has transformed the lives of millions of people across the country. Thus, India has emerged as a leader in the field of digital transformation.

In terms of technology, India is growing fast and today it has become a hub of innovation in the fields of information technology, biotechnology, renewable energy, artificial intelligence and digital services. A case in point is the growth of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) that has come a long way in putting a spacecraft around the Moon as well as on Mars.

With a huge growth in the number of internet users, growth of online payment gateways and other technology-based services to name a few, there has been a huge digital transformation in the lives of Indians.

Climate and Biodiversity

India is a vast country with varying climates ranging from the alpine climate of the Himalayas to the extremely tropical climate of the southern part of the country. The country experiences an annual monsoon which is of extreme importance to the country’s agriculture, the volume of water in its rivers and lakes and the general health of its forests and wildlife.

India is one of the world’s largest home to innumerable species of flora and fauna. She is a megadiverse country. Various eco-systems like forests, wetlands, grasslands, deserts, mountains, coastal and marine areas are some of the biodiversity hotspots of the country and are home to thousands of species of plants and animals like Bengal tiger, Asiatic lion, Indian elephant, snow leopard, Indian rhinoceros and over hundreds of species of birds.

India’s Global Role

The International Perspective – A Perspective That India Can’t Ignore As It Grows: Given the growing economy of India and large population with the average age of the citizen below 35 years the country is increasingly becoming a force to reckon with all over the world. The country is already a part of a vast array of International Organizations like United Nations, G20, BRICS, Commonwealth of Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to name a few. Thus as the country grows it cannot but ignore the International Perspective. The country is increasingly involved in discussions all over the world on growth, climate change, security and technology. The country is thus forging stronger ties with countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, Americas and the Indo-Pacific.

In many ways, India is emerging as a super power and is forging ahead in her relations with the rest of Asia as well as the world including countries of Europe, Africa, the Americas and the vast regions of the Indo-Pacific. The economic growth of the country, her increasing scientific and technological prowess, her geographical location, her size and her massive population are all playing a meaningful role in her growing presence in international affairs and her increasing relations with the vast majority of the countries of the world.