T HE I NDIA P ORTAL
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India , officially the Republic of India (ISO : Bhārat Gaṇarājya ), is a country in South Asia . It is the seventh-largest country by area ; the most populous country from June 2023 and from the time of its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China , Nepal , and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives ; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand , Myanmar, and Indonesia .
Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago.
Their long occupation, initially in varying forms of isolation as hunter-gatherers, has made the region highly diverse, second only to Africa in human genetic diversity . Settled life emerged on the subcontinent in the western margins of the Indus river basin 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BCE.
By 1200 BCE , an archaic form of Sanskrit , an Indo-European language , had diffused into India from the northwest. Its evidence today is found in the hymns of the Rigveda . Preserved by an oral tradition that was resolutely vigilant , the Rigveda records the dawning of Hinduism in India. The Dravidian languages of India were supplanted in the northern and western regions. By 400 BCE , stratification and exclusion by caste had emerged within Hinduism, and Buddhism and Jainism had arisen, proclaiming social orders unlinked to heredity.
Early political consolidations gave rise to the loose-knit Maurya and Gupta Empires based in the Ganges Basin .
Their collective era was suffused with wide-ranging creativity, but also marked by the declining status of women, and the incorporation of untouchability into an organised system of belief. In South India , the Middle kingdoms exported Dravidian-languages scripts and religious cultures to the kingdoms of Southeast Asia . (Full article... )
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13 September 2024 – Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
Two Indian soldiers are killed in action in clashes with separatists in Kishtwar , Jammu and Kashmir , India . (NDTV)
12 September 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
A spokesperson for the Indian Foreign Ministry say that about 45 Indian nationals have been discharged from the Russian military, with efforts currently underway to get a further 50 Indians released. (Reuters)
11 September 2024 –
Hundreds of workers at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi , Kenya , go on strike to protest against a planned deal to lease the airport to the Indian conglomerate Adani Group for 30 years. (Al Jazeera)
7 September 2024 – Manipur violence
Ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki tribes kills five people in Manipur , India . The Government of Manipur orders all schools in the state to remain closed in response. (Al Jazeera)
2 September 2024 –
One person is fatally shot and at least four other people are injured including one person who was critically injured in a mass shooting at the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn , New York, United States. (AP)
27 August 2024 – 2024 Kolkata rape and murder incident
West Bengal Police fire tear gas and water cannons at protesting university students and medical professionals demanding the resignation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her handling in the rape and murder case of a medic in Kolkata , West Bengal , India . (Al Jazeera)
23 August 2024 – 2024 India–Bangladesh floods
At least 23 people are killed and more than 4.5 million people are affected by floods caused by heavy rains in eastern Bangladesh . (Al Jazeera)
23 August 2024 –
Twenty-seven people are killed and 16 more injured when a bus carrying Indian pilgrims on the Prithvi Highway in Nepal crashes . (AP)
A tourist from India falls eight-meters deep into a sinkhole after a section of a sidewalk along Jalan Masjid India in Kuala Lumpur caved in, prompting search and rescue operations. (The Star) (The Straits Times)
23 August 2024 – Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine , India–Ukraine relations
During a meeting in Kyiv , Ukraine , Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi urges Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to end the Russo-Ukrainian War , and volunteers to act as a mediator in talks between Zelenskyy and Russia . In a later national address, Zelenskyy thanked Modi but stated that it is necessary for India to respect international law as well as Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty . (Reuters)
Did you know
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This user subpage is currently inactive and is retained for historical reference. If you want to revive discussion regarding the subject, you might try contacting the user in question or seeking broader input via a forum such as the village pump .
... that before becoming a commissioner of Indian affairs , William P. Dole was only known to have encountered Native Americans once in his life?
... that before a separate party was created for Pakistan , the All India Scheduled Castes Federation simultaneously held the posts of Minister of Law in both Pakistan and India ?
... that Grandpa Indian , created in the 1930s to replace Santa Claus in Brazil , was portrayed as adorned in colorful bird feathers, bringing gifts to Brazilian children?
... that Cusrow Baug in Mumbai had only a few tenants in the 1950s even at a low rent of 40 rupees per month?
... that Mansiya V. P. , an Indian classical dancer , has experimented with choreographing a fusion of classical Bharatnatyam and traditional Sufi music ?
... that although Alexander the Great founded two cities named Boukephala and Nikaia during his invasion of the Indian subcontinent , we do not know which was which?
... that Zail Singh was the first Sikh and the first person from a backward caste to become President of India ?
... that an "army" of women were congratulated by Pat Nixon for their fundraising efforts to bring public TV to Indianapolis ?
... that Abdul Ghani Azhari wrote Qadim Tarikh-e-Gujjar in Urdu , detailing the ancient history of Gujjars in India?
... that the Indy Bag Ladies , one of the oldest AIDS fundraising organizations, is a group of activist drag queens in Indianapolis who have raised more than $1 million for AIDS patients?
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