“Vasil Aprilov”
Primary school
Burgas
Rositsa Stoyanova
class 7b 
India
Area
•
The geography of India describes the
physical features of India, a country in
South Asia that lies entirely on the
Indian Plate in the northern portion of
the Indo-Australian Plate. The country
lies to the north of the equator
between 8°4' and 37°6' north latitude
and 68°7' and 97°25' east longitude.It
is the seventh-largest country in the
world, with a total land area of
3,287,263 square kilometres
(1,269,219 sq mi).India measures
3,214 km (1,997 mi) from north to
south and 2,993 km (1,860 mi) from
east to west. It has a land frontier of
15,200 km (9,445 mi) and a coastline
of 7,517 km (4,671 mi).
Population
• Population of India .
Although India occupies
only 2.4% of the
world's land area, it
supports over 15% of
the world's population.
Only China has a larger
population. Almost 40%
of Indians are younger
than 15 years of age.
Flag
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•
•
The National Flag of India is a horizontal rectangular tricolour of
saffron, white and green with the Ashoka Chakra, a 24-spoke wheel in
blue at its centre. It was adopted in its present form during a meeting
of the Constituent Assembly held on 22 July 1947, when it became the
official flag of the Dominion of India. The flag was subsequently
retained as that of the Republic of India. In India, the term
"tricolour“ almost always refers to the Indian national flag. The flag is
based on the Swaraj flag, a flag of the Indian National Congress
designed by Pingali Venkayya.
The flag, by law, is to be made of khadi, a special type of hand-spun
cloth of cotton or silk made popular by Mahatma Gandhi. The
manufacturing process and specifications for the flag are laid out by
the Bureau of Indian Standards. The right to manufacture the flag is
held by the Khadi Development and Village Industries Commission, who
allocate it to the regional groups. As of 2009, the Karnataka Khadi
Gramodyoga Samyukta Sangha was the sole manufacturer of the flag.
Usage of the flag is governed by the Flag Code of India and other laws
relating to the national emblems. The original code prohibited use of
the flag by private citizens except on national days such as the
Independence day and the Republic Day. In 2002, on hearing an appeal
from a private citizen, the Supreme Court of India directed the
Government of India to amend the code to allow flag usage by private
citizens. Subsequently, the Union Cabinet Of India amended the code
to allow limited usage. The code was amended once more in 2005 to
allow some additional use including adaptations on certain forms of
clothing. The flag code also governs the protocol of flying the flag and
its use in conjunction with other national and non-national flags.
History
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•
The history of India begins with evidence of human activity of
Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago and hominids (Homo
Erectus) from about 500,000 years ago. The Indus Valley
Civilization, which spread and flourished in the north-western
part of the Indian subcontinent from c. 3300 to 1300 BCE, was
the first major civilization in India. A sophisticated and
technologically advanced urban culture developed in the Mature
Harappan period, from 2600 to 1900 BCE. This Bronze Age
civilization collapsed at the beginning of the second millennium
BCE and was followed by the Iron Age Vedic Civilization, which
extended over much of the Indo-Gangetic plains and which
witnessed the rise of major polities known as the Mahajanapadas.
In one kingdom, Magadha, Mahavira and Gautama Buddha were
born in the 6th or 5th century BCE, who propagated their
Shramanic philosophies.
Almost all of the subcontinent was conquered by the Maurya
Empire during the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. It subsequently
became fragmented, with various parts ruled by numerous Middle
kingdoms for the next 1,500 years. This is known as the classical
period of India, during which India is estimated to have had the
largest economy of the ancient and medieval world, controlling
between one third and one fourth of the world's wealth up to the
18th century.
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•
Much of Northern and Central India was once again united in the 4th
century CE, and remained so for two centuries thereafter, under the Gupta
Empire. This period, of Hindu religious and intellectual resurgence, is known
among its admirers as the "Golden Age of India." During the same time, and
for several centuries afterwards, Southern India, under the rule of the
Chalukyas, Cholas, Pallavas and Pandyas, experienced its own golden age.
During this period aspects of Indian civilization, administration, culture,
and religion spread to much of Asia.
The southern state of Kerala had maritime business links with the Roman
Empire from around 77 CE. Islam was introduced in Kerala through this
route by Muslim traders. Muslim rule in the subcontinent began in 712 CE
when the Arab general Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh and Multan
in southern Punjab,[1] setting the stage for several successive invasions
between the 10th and 15th centuries CE from Central Asia, leading to the
formation of Muslim empires in the Indian subcontinent such as the Delhi
Sultanate and the Mughal Empire.
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•
Mughal rule came to cover most of the northern parts of the subcontinent. Mughal
rulers introduced middle-eastern art and architecture to India. In addition to the
Mughals and various Rajput kingdoms, several independent Hindu states, such as the
Vijayanagara Empire, the Maratha Empire and the Ahom Kingdom, flourished
contemporaneously in Southern, Western and North-Eastern India respectively. The
Mughal Empire suffered a gradual decline in the early eighteenth century, which
provided opportunities for the Afghans, [[Balochis], Sikhs and the Marathas to
exercise control over large areas in the northwest of the subcontinent until the
British East India Company gained ascendancy over South Asia.
Beginning in the mid-18th century and over the next century, India was gradually
annexed by the British East India Company. Dissatisfaction with Company rule led to
the First War of Indian Independence, after which India was directly administered
by the British Crown and witnessed a period of both rapid development of
infrastructure and economic decline. During the first half of the 20th century, a
nationwide struggle for independence was launched by the Indian National Congress,
and later joined by the Muslim League. The subcontinent gained independence from
the United Kingdom in 1947, after being partitioned into the dominions of India and
Pakistan.
Languages
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•
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The languages of India belong to several major linguistic families, the two
largest being the Indo-European languages—Indo-Aryan (spoken by 70% of
Indians)—and the Dravidian languages (spoken by 22% of Indians). Other
languages spoken in India come mainly from the Austro-Asiatic and TibetoBurman linguistic families, in addition to a few language isolates.
The principal official language of the Republic of India is Hindi while
English is the secondary official language.The constitution of India states
that "The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari
script.“ Neither the Constitution of India nor Indian law specifies a
National language, a position supported by a High Court ruling.
Individual mother tongues in India number several hundred;the 1961 census
recognized 1,652. According to Census of India of 2001, 29 languages are
spoken by more than a million native speakers, 122 by more than 10,000.
Three millennia of language contact has led to significant mutual influence
among the four language families in India and South Asia. Two contact
languages have played an important role in the history of India: Persian and
English.
Festivals of India
Indians love to celebrate, whether it’s
Diwali, Id, Pongal or Christmas. Every
festival has its own special customs and
rituals - pujas, lighting lamps, throwing
colour, feasting or even fasting.
Customs and traditions
India is very rich in its
customs and traditions
keep its people binding
together.
Religions of India
India is a melting pot of
religions. In this country the
Hindus, Muslims, Christians,
Sikhs, Parsis, Jews and many
other religious sects live side
by side in relative harmony.
The Taj Mahal
•
The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in
Agra, India, built by Mughal Emperor Shah
Jahan in memory of his favorite wife,
Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is considered
the finest example of Mughal architecture, a
style that combines elements from Persian,
Indian, and Islamic architectural styles. In
1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO
World Heritage Site and was cited as "the
jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the
universally admired masterpieces of the
world's heritage." While the white domed
marble mausoleum is its most familiar
component, the Taj Mahal is actually an
integrated complex of structures. Building
began around 1632 and was completed
around 1653, and employed thousands of
artisans and craftsmen . The construction of
the Taj Mahal was entrusted to a board of
architects under imperial supervision
including Abd ul-Karim Ma'mur Khan,
Makramat Khan, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.
Lahauri is generally considered to be the
principal designer .