India is the seventh largest and most populous country in the world. A new spirit of economic freedom is now stirring in the country, bringing sweeping changes in its wake. A series of ambitious economic reforms aimed at deregulating the country and stimulating foreign investment has moved India firmly into the front ranks of the rapidly growing Asia Pacific region and unleashed the latent strengths of a complex and rapidly changing nation. India’s process of economic reform is firmly rooted in a political consensus that spans her diverse political parties. India’s democracy is a known and stable factor, which has taken deep roots over nearly half a century. Importantly, India has no fundamental conflict between its political and economic systems. Its political institutions have fostered an open society with strong collective and individual rights and an environment supportive of free economic enterprise.
India has four major metros and many smaller metros. The major metros of the country are Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, and Madras. Other cities of tourist interest include Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Pune, Chandigarh, and Bhopal-to name but a few.
Few countries in the world have such an ancient and diverse culture as India’s. Stretching back in an unbroken sweep over 5000 years, India’s culture has been enriched by successive waves of migration which were absorbed into the Indian way of life.
It is this variety which is a special hallmark of India. Its physical, religious and racial variety is as immense as its linguistic diversity. Underneath this diversity lies the continuity of Indian civilization and social structure from the very earliest times until the present day.
Modern India presents a picture of unity in diversity to which history provides no parallel. Here is a catalogue of everything Indian. Indian religions, festivals, rituals, artifacts, monuments, costumes, music and dance, language and literature. Come and discover a little more of India’s culture by selecting any of these topic.
While most written records and entire edifices that testify to India’s contribution to civilisation have been obliterated over time, some of them from the close of the last millennium are an eloquent reminder of the vitality of a continuing civilisation for at least 5000 years. The meeting of different cultural traditions can be seen in the innumerable forts, palaces, monuments and tombs that dot the Indian landscape.
In India, religion is a way of life. It is an integral part of the entire Indian tradition. For the majority of Indians, religion permeates every aspect of life, from common-place daily chores to education and politics. Secular India is home to Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and other innumerable religious traditions. Hinduism is the dominant faith, practised by over 80% of the population. Besides Hindus, Muslims are the most prominent religious group and are an integral part of Indian society. In fact India has the second largest population of Muslims in the world after Indonesia.
Common practices have crept into most religious faiths in India and many of the festivals that mark each year with music, dance and feasting are shared by all communities. Each has its own pilgrimage sites, heroes, legends and even culinary specialties, mingling in a unique diversity that is the very pulse of society.
The roots of Indian civilisation stretch back in time to pre-recorded history. The earliest human activity in the Indian sub-continent can be traced back to the Early, Middle and Late Stone Ages (400, 000-200, 000 BC). Implements from all three periods have been found from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, parts of what is now Pakistan and the southern most tip of the Indian Peninsula.
These Paleolithic people were semi-nomadic hunters and gatherers for many millennia. Five main races of people were in existence when the move to an agricultural lifestyle took place, in the middle of the 9th millennium BC. These were the Negrito race, the Proto-Australoid; the Mediterranean race, the Mongloids and the Alpine people.
The first evidence of agricultural settlements on the western plains of the Indus is roughly contemporaneous with similar developments in Egypt, Mesopotamia and Persia. These settlements gradually grew and the inhabitants started to use copper and bronze, domesticated animals, made pottery and began trade activities.
The Indian calendar is one long procession of festivals. These are as varied in origin as they are large in number. There are innumerable national, regional, local, religious, seasonal and social festivities. This is not surprising considering the fact that India is the land of gods, goddesses, saints, gurus and prophets.
Festivals here are characterised by colour, gaiety, enthusiasm, feasts and a variety of prayers and rituals. Travellers are struck by the scale and multiplicity of the festivities that populate the cultural scene of this land.
India’s wide choice of adventure sports ranges from the daring to the exotic. A test of skill, toughness, endurance... and always exciting. Choose your kind of adventure - the perennial challenge of the Himalayas for mountaineers, the coniferous forests and flower meadows for the trekker, the rapids of snow-fed rivers for white water rafting, and the lonely stretches of the Thar desert for camel safaris and motor rallies. Your quest for excitement can only lead to India.