Indians or Indian people are the
citizens and nationals of
India. In 2022, the population of India stood at over 1.4 billion people, making it the world's
second-most populous country, containing 17.7 percent of the global population. In addition to the Indian population, the
Indian overseas diaspora also boasts large numbers, particularly in the
Arab states of the Persian Gulf
The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. ...
and the
Western world.
While the demonym "Indian" applies to people originating from the present-day Republic of India, it was also formerly used as the identifying term for people originating from
Pakistan and
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
during
British colonial era until 1947.
Particularly in
North America, the terms "Asian Indian" and "East Indian" are sometimes used to differentiate Indians from the
indigenous peoples of the Americas; although the
misidentification of indigenous Americans as Indians occurred during the
European colonization of the Americas
During the Age of Discovery, a large scale European colonization of the Americas took place between about 1492 and 1800. Although Norse colonization of North America, the Norse had explored and colonized areas of the North Atlantic, colonizin ...
, the term "Indian" is still used as an identifier for indigenous populations in
North America and the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean S ...
, but very rarely now and are called indigenous, Amerindian, and specifically
First Nations in
Canada, and
Native American in the
United States, including in official discourse and in law.
Ethnonym
The name ''Bhārata'' has been used as a self-ascribed name by people of the
Indian subcontinent and the
Republic of India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
since 1949. The designation ''"Bhārata"'' appears in the official Sanskrit name of the country, ''Bhārata Gaṇarājya''. The name is derived from the ancient
Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
and
Puranas
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
, which refer to the land that comprises India as "''Bhārata varṣam''" and uses this term to distinguish it from other ''varṣa''s or continents.
The ''Bhāratas'' were a vedic tribe mentioned in the
Rigveda, notably participating in the
Battle of the Ten Kings
The Battle of the Ten Kings ( sa, दाशराज्ञ युद्ध, translit=Dāśarājñá yuddhá) is a battle, first alluded to in the 7th Mandala of the Rigveda (RV), between a Bharata king and a confederation of tribes. It resulte ...
.
[Schmidt, H.P. ''Notes on Rgveda 7.18.5-10''. Indica. Organ of the Heras Institute, Bombay. Vol.17, 1980, 41-47.] India is named after legendary
Emperor Bharata
Bharata ( sa, भरत, Bharata) is a legendary king featured in Hindu literature. He is a member of the Chandravamsha dynasty, and becomes the Chakravarti (universal monarch). He is regarded to be the ancestor of the Pandavas, the Kauravas, ...
who was a descendant of the Bhāratas tribe, scion of
Kuru Dynasty
Kuru (Sanskrit: ) was a Vedic Indo-Aryan tribal union in northern Iron Age India, encompassing parts of the modern-day states of Haryana, Delhi, and some parts of western Uttar Pradesh, which appeared in the Middle Vedic period (c. 1200 – c. ...
who unified the
Indian Subcontinent under one realm.
:उत्तरं यत्समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम् ।
:वर्षं तद् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र संततिः ।।
: "The country (''varṣam'') that lies north of the
ocean and south of the snowy mountains is called ''Bhāratam''; there dwell the descendants of Bharata."
In early
Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
literature, the term ''
Āryāvarta'' (
Sanskrit: आर्यावर्त) was in popular use before ''Bhārata''. The
Manusmṛti (2.22) gives the name ''Āryāvarta'' to "the tract between the Himalaya and the Vindhya ranges, from the Eastern (Bay of Bengal) to the Western Sea (Arabian Sea)".
While the word Indian and India is derived from
Greek (''Indía''), via Latin ''India''. ''Indía'' in
Koine Greek denoted the region beyond the
Indus () river, since
Herodotus (5th century BC) , ''hē Indikē chōrē''; "the Indian land", , ''Indos'', "an Indian", from
Old Persian
Old Persian is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan language, Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native ...
''Hinduš'' and medieval term
Hindustani.
[Hudson, John C., ed., Goode's World Atlas 20th Edition Chicago, Illinois, USA:2000—Rand McNally Map Page 203 Major Languages of India—map of the ethnolinguistic groups of India] The name is derived ultimately from ''Sindhu'', the
Sanskrit name of the river Indus, but also meaning "river" generically.
History
The ''history of India'' includes the prehistoric settlements and societies in the
Indian subcontinent; the blending of the
Indus Valley civilization
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...
and
Indo-Aryan culture into the
Vedic Civilization
The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (ca. 1300–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, betwe ...
; the development of
Hinduism as a synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions; the rise of sixteen oligarchic republics known as
Mahajanapada
The Mahājanapadas ( sa, great realm, from ''maha'', "great", and ''janapada'' "foothold of a people") were sixteen kingdoms or oligarchic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE during the second urb ...
s; the rise of the
Śramaṇa movement; the birth of
Jainism and
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
in the 6th century BCE, and the onset of a succession of
powerful dynasties and empires for more than two millennia throughout various geographic areas of the subcontinent, including the growth of
Muslim dynasties
This article includes a list of successive Islamic states and Muslim dynasties beginning with the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632 CE) and the early Muslim conquests that spread Islam outside of the Arabian Peninsula, and continu ...
during the Medieval period intertwined with Hindu powers; the advent of
European traders resulting in the establishment of
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
; and the subsequent
independence movement
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
that led to the
Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...
and the creation of the
Republic of India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
.
The Indian people established during the ancient and medieval periods to the early eighteenth century some of the greatest empires and dynasties in South Asian history like the
Maurya Empire,
Satavahana dynasty
The Satavahanas (''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavahana rule began in the la ...
,
Gupta Empire,
Rashtrakuta dynasty
Rashtrakuta (IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta Indian inscriptions, inscription is a 7th-century copper plate g ...
,
Chalukya Empire
The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynast ...
,
Chola Empire
The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...
,
Karkota Empire,
Pala Empire,
Vijayanagara Empire,
Delhi Sultanate,
Mughal Empire,
Maratha Empire and
Sikh Empire
The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahor ...
. The first great empire of the Indian people was the
Maurya Empire having
Patliputra
Pataliputra (IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at the ...
(currently
Patna,
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Ben ...
) as its capital, conquered the major part of
South Asia in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC during the reign of the Indian Emperors
Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta Maurya (350-295 BCE) was a ruler in Ancient India who expanded a geographically-extensive kingdom based in Magadha and founded the Maurya dynasty. He reigned from 320 BCE to 298 BCE. The Maurya kingdom expanded to become an empi ...
and
Ashoka
Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...
alongside their senior advisor,
Acharya Chanakya, the world's pioneer of the fields of political science and economics. The next great ancient empire of the Indian people was the
Gupta Empire. This period, witnessing a
Hindu religious and intellectual resurgence, is known as the classical or "
Golden Age of India". During this period, aspects of Indian civilisation, administration, culture, and
Hinduism and
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
spread to much of
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
, while the
Chola Empire
The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...
in the south had flourishing maritime trade links with the Roman Empire during this period. The ancient Indian mathematicians
Aryabhata
Aryabhata (ISO: ) or Aryabhata I (476–550 CE) was an Indian mathematician and astronomer of the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy. He flourished in the Gupta Era and produced works such as the '' Aryabhatiya'' (which ...
,
Bhāskara I
Bhāskara () (commonly called Bhāskara I to avoid confusion with the 12th-century mathematician Bhāskara II) was a 7th-century Indian mathematician and astronomer who was the first to write numbers in the Hindu–Arabic decimal system with a ...
and
Brahmagupta
Brahmagupta ( – ) was an Indian mathematician and astronomer. He is the author of two early works on mathematics and astronomy: the ''Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta'' (BSS, "correctly established doctrine of Brahma", dated 628), a theoretical tr ...
invented the concept of zero and the
Hindu–Arabic numeral system decimal system during this period. During this period Indian cultural influence spread over many parts of
Southeast Asia which led to the establishment of
Indianized kingdoms
Greater India, or the Indian cultural sphere, is an area composed of many countries and regions in South and Southeast Asia that were historically influenced by Indian culture, which itself formed from the various distinct indigenous cultures ...
in
Southeast Asia.
During the early medieval period the great
Rashtrakuta dynasty
Rashtrakuta (IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta Indian inscriptions, inscription is a 7th-century copper plate g ...
governed most of the Indian subcontinent from the 8th to 10th centuries and the Indian Emperor
Amoghavarsha
Amoghavarsha I (also known as Amoghavarsha Nrupathunga I) (r.814–878 CE) was the greatest emperor of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, and one of the most notable rulers of Ancient India. His reign of 64 years is one of the longest precisely dated mo ...
of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty was described by the Arab traveller Sulaiman as one of the four great kings of the world. The medieval south Indian mathematician
Mahāvīra lived in the
Rashtrakuta dynasty
Rashtrakuta (IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta Indian inscriptions, inscription is a 7th-century copper plate g ...
and was the first Indian mathematician who separated astrology from mathematics and who wrote the earliest Indian text entirely devoted to mathematics. The greatest maritime empire of the medieval Indians was the
Chola dynasty
The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...
. Under the great Indian Emperors
Rajaraja Chola I
Rajaraja I (947 CE – 1014 CE), born Arunmozhi Varman or Arulmozhi Varman and often described as Raja Raja the Great or Raja Raja Chozhan was a Chola emperor who reigned from 985 CE to 1014 CE. He was the most powerful Tamil king in South ...
and his successor
Rajendra Chola I
Rajendra Chola I (; Middle Tamil: Rājēntira Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Rājēndradēva Cōla; Old Malay: ''Raja Suran''; c. 971 CE – 1044 CE), often referred to as Rajendra the Great, and also known as Gangaikonda Chola (Middle Tamil ...
the Chola dynasty became a military, economic and cultural power in
South Asia and
South-East Asia.
[Kulke and Rothermund, p 115][Keay, p 215] The power of the
Chola empire
The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...
was proclaimed to the eastern world by the expedition to the
Ganges which
Rajendra Chola I
Rajendra Chola I (; Middle Tamil: Rājēntira Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Rājēndradēva Cōla; Old Malay: ''Raja Suran''; c. 971 CE – 1044 CE), often referred to as Rajendra the Great, and also known as Gangaikonda Chola (Middle Tamil ...
undertook and by the occupation of cities of the maritime empire of
Srivijaya
Srivijaya ( id, Sriwijaya) was a Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia), which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the 7th t ...
in
Southeast Asia, as well as by the repeated embassies to China.
[ K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, ''A History of South India'', p 158]
During the late medieval period the great
Vijayanagara Empire ruled most of southern India from the 14th to 16th centuries and reached its peak during the reign of the south Indian Emperor
Sri Krishnadevaraya The medieval
Kerala School of Astronomy and Mathematics flourished during this period under such well known south Indian mathematicians as
Madhava (c. 1340–1425), who made important contributions to Trigonometry and Calculus, and
Nilakhanta (c. 1444–1545), who postulated on the orbitals of planets.
["History of Science and Philosophy of Science: A Historical Perspective of the Evolution of Ideas in Science", editor: Pradip Kumar Sengupta, author: Subhash Kak, 2010, p91, vol XIII, part 6, Publisher: Pearson Longman, ]
The
Mughal Empire consolidated much of the Indian sub-continent under a single realm. Under the Mughals, India developed a strong and stable economy, leading to commercial expansion and greater patronage of culture, greatly influencing Indian society.
The
Mughal Empire balanced and pacified local societies through new administrative practices and had diverse and inclusive ruling elites, leading to more systematic, centralised, and uniform rule. Newly coherent social groups in northern and western India, such as the
Marathas
The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...
, the
Rajputs, the
Pathans, the
Jats and the
Sikhs, gained military and governing ambitions during Mughal rule, which, through collaboration or adversity, gave them both recognition and military experience.
The
Maratha
The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...
s and
Sikhs emerged in the 17th century and established the
Maratha Empire and
Sikh Empire
The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahor ...
, which became the dominant powers in India in the 18th century. The
Maratha Empire is credited to a large extent for ending the
Mughal rule in India.
The empire at its peak stretched from
Tamil Nadu in the south, to
Peshawar,
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the north
and
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predo ...
and the
Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between the ...
in the east.
[Andaman & Nicobar Origin , Andaman & Nicobar Island History](_blank)
. Andamanonline.in.
The decline of Mughal Empire and Maratha Empire from the late 18th century to the mid-19th century lead to large areas of India being annexed by the
British East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
of the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
and witnessed a period of rapid development of infrastructure, economic decline and
major famines. During the first half of the 20th century, a nationwide struggle for
Indian independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...
was launched, the Indian subcontinent gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, after the British provinces were partitioned into the dominions of India and Pakistan and the
princely states all
acceded to one of the new states.
Culture
India is one of the world's oldest civilisations.
The Indian culture, often labelled as an amalgamation of several various cultures, spans across the
Indian subcontinent and has been influenced and shaped by a history that is several thousand years old. Throughout the history of India, Indian culture has been heavily influenced by
Dharmic religions.
[Nikki Staffor]
Finding Lost
ECW Press, 2006 p. 174 They have been credited with shaping much of Indian
philosophy,
literature,
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...
,
art
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
and
music.
Greater India was the historical extent of
Indian culture
Indian culture is the heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, belief systems, political systems, artifacts and technologies that originated in or are associated with the ethno-linguistically diverse India. The term ...
beyond the
Indian subcontinent. This particularly concerns the spread of
Hinduism,
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
,
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...
,
administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...
and
writing system from India to other parts of
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
through the
Silk Road by the travellers and maritime traders during the early centuries of the
Common Era
Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...
.
[Hindu-Buddhist Architecture in Southeast Asia by Daigorō Chihara p.226] To the west,
Greater India overlaps with
Greater Persia
Greater Iran ( fa, ایران بزرگ, translit=Irān-e Bozorg) refers to a region covering parts of Western Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Xinjiang, and the Caucasus, where both Iranian culture and Iranian languages have had a si ...
in the
Hindu Kush and
Pamir Mountains. During medieval period,
Islam played a significant role in shaping Indian cultural heritage.
Over the centuries, there has been significant integration of
Hindus,
Jains, and
Sikhs with
Muslims across India.
Religion
India is the birthplace of
Hinduism,
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
,
Jainism and
Sikhism, collectively known as
Indian religions
Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification o ...
.
Indian religions, also known as
Dharmic religions, are a major form of world religions along with
Abrahamic
The Abrahamic religions are a group of religions centered around worship of the God of Abraham. Abraham, a Hebrew patriarch, is extensively mentioned throughout Abrahamic religious scriptures such as the Bible and the Quran.
Jewish traditi ...
ones. Today,
Hinduism and
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
are the world's third- and fourth-largest religions respectively, with over 1 billion followers altogether,
and possibly as many as 1.5 or 1.6 billion followers.
Throughout India's history,
religion has been an important part of the country's culture. Religious diversity and
religious tolerance are both established in the country by the
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...
and by
custom
Custom, customary, or consuetudinary may refer to:
Traditions, laws, and religion
* Convention (norm), a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom
* Norm (social), a r ...
; the
Constitution of India has declared the right to
freedom of religion to be a
fundamental right.
Atheism
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that ther ...
and
agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...
have a long history in India and flourished within
Śramaṇa movement. The ''
Cārvāka
Charvaka ( sa, चार्वाक; IAST: ''Cārvāka''), also known as ''Lokāyata'', is an ancient school of Indian materialism. Charvaka holds direct perception, empiricism, and conditional inference as proper sources of knowledge, embra ...
'' school originated in India around the 6th century BCE and is one of the earliest form of
materialistic and
atheistic
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
movement in ancient India.
[V.V. Raman (2012), Hinduism and Science: Some Reflections, Zygon - Journal of Religion and Science, 47(3): 549–574, Quote (page 557): "Aside from nontheistic schools like the ]Samkhya
''Samkhya'' or ''Sankya'' (; Sanskrit सांख्य), IAST: ') is a dualistic school of Indian philosophy. It views reality as composed of two independent principles, '' puruṣa'' ('consciousness' or spirit); and ''prakṛti'', (natu ...
, there have also been explicitly atheistic schools in the Hindu tradition. One virulently anti-supernatural system is/was the so-called Charvaka school.", Sramana,
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
,
Jainism,
Ājīvika and some schools of
Hinduism like
Samkhya
''Samkhya'' or ''Sankya'' (; Sanskrit सांख्य), IAST: ') is a dualistic school of Indian philosophy. It views reality as composed of two independent principles, '' puruṣa'' ('consciousness' or spirit); and ''prakṛti'', (natu ...
consider atheism to be valid and reject the concept of
creator deity
A creator deity or creator god (often called the Creator) is a deity responsible for the creation of the Earth, world, and universe in human religion and mythology. In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator. A number of monolatr ...
,
ritualism and
supernaturalism.
India has produced some notable
atheist politicians and
social reformers
Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not.
Etymology
The word "social" derives from ...
.
Although approximately 80% of the citizens of India are
Hindus, the country has a substantial population of Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains,
Parsis
Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
and adherents of tribal faiths.
Zoroastrianism and
Judaism each has several thousands of Indian adherents, and also have an ancient history in India.
India has the largest population of people adhering to
Zoroastrianism and
Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...
in the world, even though these two religions are not native to India. Many other world religions also have a relationship with Indian spirituality, such as the Baháʼí Faith which recognises
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
and
Krishna as manifestations of the God Almighty. Despite the strong role of religion in Indian life,
atheism
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that ther ...
and
agnostic
Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...
s also have visible influence along with a self-ascribed tolerance to other people. According to the 2012 WIN-Gallup Global Index of Religion and Atheism report, 81% of Indians were religious, 13% were not religious, 3% were convinced
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
s, and 3% were unsure or did not respond.
Traditionally, Indian society is grouped according to their
caste. It is a system in which
social stratification
Social stratification refers to a society's categorization of its people into groups based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, ethnicity, gender, occupation, social status, or derived power (social and political). A ...
within various social sections defined by thousands of
endogamous
Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting those from others as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships.
Endogamy is common in many cultu ...
hereditary groups are often termed ''
jāti
''Jāti'' is the term traditionally used to describe a cohesive group of people in the Indian subcontinent, like a tribe, community, clan, sub-clan, or a religious sect. Each Jāti typically has an association with an occupation, geography or t ...
'' or
castes. Within a ''
jāti
''Jāti'' is the term traditionally used to describe a cohesive group of people in the Indian subcontinent, like a tribe, community, clan, sub-clan, or a religious sect. Each Jāti typically has an association with an occupation, geography or t ...
'', there exists
exogamous groups known as
gotras, the lineage or clan of an individuals. Caste barriers have mostly broken down in cities but still exists in some form in rural areas.
Most Indian states are majority
Hindu. However,
Kashmir and
Lakshadweep are majority
Muslim;
Nagaland
Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...
,
Mizoram
Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from " Mizo", the self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo language means "lan ...
, and
Meghalaya are majority
Christian and
Punjab is majority
Sikh. Although participants in the Indian census may choose to not declare their religion, there is no mechanism for a person to indicate that he/she does not adhere to any religion. Due to this limitation in the Indian census process, the data for persons not affiliated with any religion may not be accurate. India contains the majority of the world's
Hindus,
Jains,
Sikhs,
Zoroastrians and
Baháʼí.
Christianity is widespread in
Northeast India, parts of southern India, particularly in
Kerala and among various populations of Central India.
Muslims are the largest religious minority. India is also home to the third-largest
Muslim population in the world after
Indonesia and
Pakistan.
Family
Historically, India had a prevailing tradition of the ''joint family system'' or ''undivided family''. Joint family system is an
extended family arrangement prevalent throughout the
Indian subcontinent, particularly in
India. The family is headed by a patriarch, the oldest male, who makes decisions on economic and social matters on behalf of the entire family. The patriarch's wife generally exerts control over the household, minor religious practices and often wields considerable influence in domestic matters. A patrilineal joint family consists of an older man and his wife, his sons and unmarried daughters, his sons' wives and children. Family income flows into a common pool, from which resources are drawn to meet the needs of all members, which are regulated by the heads of the family. However, with modernisation and economic development, India has witnessed a break up of traditional joint family into more
nuclear families and the traditional joint family in India accounted for a small percent of Indian households.
Arranged marriages
Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be us ...
have been the tradition in Indian society. Marriage is considered a union of the two families rather than just the individuals, the process involved in an arranged marriage can be different depending on the communities and families. Recent survey study found that fewer marriages are purely arranged without consent and that the majority of surveyed Indian marriages are arranged with consent.
The study also suggested that Indian culture is trending away from traditional arranged marriages, they find that the marriage trends in India are similar to trends observed over last 40 years where arranged marriages were previously common, particularly in China and Japan.
Dress
India's clothing styles have continuously evolved over the course of history.
Cotton was first cultivated in
Indian subcontinent around the 5th millennium BC. Dyes used during this period are still in use, particularly
indigo,
red madder,
lac
Lac is the resinous secretion of a number of species of lac insects, of which the most commonly cultivated is '' Kerria lacca''.
Cultivation begins when a farmer gets a stick that contains eggs ready to hatch and ties it to the tree to be infe ...
and
turmeric.
Silk was woven around 2450 BC and 2000 BC.
In the 11th century BC ''
Rig-veda'' mentions dyed and embroidered garments known as ''paridhan'' and ''pesas'' respectively and thus highlights the development of sophisticated garment manufacturing techniques during this period. In the 5th century BCE, Greek historian
Herodotus describes the richness of the quality of Indian textiles. By the 2nd century AD,
cotton,
muslins and
silk textiles manufactured in India were imported by the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
and was one of the major exports of ancient India to other parts of the world along with
Indian spices
Indian spices include a variety of spices grown across the Indian subcontinent (a sub-region of South Asia). With different climates in different parts of the country, India produces a variety of spices, many of which are native to the subcon ...
and
Wootz steel.
Traditional Indian clothing greatly varies across different parts of the country and is influenced by local culture, geography and climate. Women traditionally wear
Sari
A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include:
* as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO
* bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO
* gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std ...
,
Gagra Choli
Ghagra choli (also known as lehenga choli and locally as chaniya choli) is a type of ethnic clothing for women from the Indian Subcontinent, notably in the Indian states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, P ...
,
Angarkha
Angarkha is an outer robe with long sleeves which was worn by men in South Asia. By the 19th-century it had become the generally accepted attire of an educated man in public. It had evolved from the Persian cape ''balaba'' or ''chapkan'' as a ...
,
Phiran
Pheran or phiran ( , ) is the traditional outfit for both males and females in Kashmir. The pheran consists of two gowns, one over the other. The traditional pheran extends to the feet, which was popular up to the late 19th century C.E. However ...
,
Shalwar Kameez
Shalwar kameez (also salwar kameez and less commonly shalwar qameez) is a traditional combination dress worn by women, and in some regions by men, in South Asia, and Central Asia.
''Shalwars'' are trousers which are atypically wide at the wa ...
,
Gharara
A gharara (Urdu: , Hindi: ग़रारा, Bengali: ঘারারা) is a traditional Lucknowi outfit, traditionally worn by Muslim women of the Hindi-Urdu Belt region of India. It consists of a kurti (a short, mid-thigh length tunic), ...
and
Bandi with
Dupatta
The dupattā is a Hindu shawl traditionally worn by women in Indian subcontinent to cover the head and shoulders. The dupatta is currently used most commonly as part of the women's shalwar kameez outfit, and worn over the kurta and the gharara.
...
or
Ghoonghat
A ghoonghat (''ghunghat'', ''ghunghta'', ''ghomta'', ''orhni'', odani, ''laaj'', ''chunari'', ''jhund'', ''kundh'') is a headcovering or headscarf, worn primarily in the Indian subcontinent, by some married Hindu, Jain, and Sikh women to cover t ...
worn over head or shoulder to complete the outfit. Men traditionally wear
Angarkha
Angarkha is an outer robe with long sleeves which was worn by men in South Asia. By the 19th-century it had become the generally accepted attire of an educated man in public. It had evolved from the Persian cape ''balaba'' or ''chapkan'' as a ...
,
Achkan,
Kurta
A ''kurta'' is a loose collarless shirt or tunic worn in many regions of South Asia, (subscription required) Quote: "A loose shirt or tunic worn by men and women." Quote: "Kurta: a loose shirt without a collar, worn by women and men from South ...
,
Kameez
Thawb ( ar, ثَوْب "garment"), also spelled thobe or tobe and known by various other names in different regions, is an ankle-length robe, usually with long sleeves. It is commonly worn in the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, North Afri ...
,
Phiran
Pheran or phiran ( , ) is the traditional outfit for both males and females in Kashmir. The pheran consists of two gowns, one over the other. The traditional pheran extends to the feet, which was popular up to the late 19th century C.E. However ...
,
Sherwani and
Koti for upper garment, lower garment includes
Dhoti,
Churidar
Churidars, also churidar pyjamas, are tightly fitting trousers worn by both men and women in Indian Subcontinent. Churidars are a variant of the common shalwar pants. Shalwars are cut wide at the top and narrow at the ankle. Churidars narrow more ...
,
Shalwar
Salwar or Shalwar is cloth worn from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately. It is the lower-garment of the Shalwar kameez suit which is widely-worn in South Asia. It is known for its lively hues, rich fabrics, and embroidery. It ...
, and
Lungi
The lungi is a type of sarong that originated in the Indian Subcontinent. The Lungi, which usually multicoloured, is a men's skirt usually tied around the lower waist below the navel. it can be worn as casual wear and night wear, in places and ...
.
Pagri
Phari or Pagri (; ) is a town in Yadong County in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China near the border with Bhutan. The border can be accessed through a secret road/trail connecting Tsento Gewog in Bhutan () known as Tremo La. the town had a popul ...
is usually worn around head to complete the outfit. In urban centres, people often wear western clothing and variety of other contemporary fashion.
Cuisine
Indian food varies from region to region. Staple foods of Indian cuisine include a variety of lentils (dal), whole-wheat flour (aṭṭa), rice and pearl millet (bājra), which has been cultivated in
Indian subcontinent since 6200 BCE.
Over time, segments of the population embraced
vegetarianism
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism m ...
during
Śramaṇa
''Śramaṇa'' (Sanskrit: श्रमण; Pali: ''samaṇa, Tamil: Samanam'') means "one who labours, toils, or exerts themselves (for some higher or religious purpose)" or "seeker, one who performs acts of austerity, ascetic".Monier Monier ...
movement while an equitable climate permitted a variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains to be grown throughout the year. A food classification system that categorised any item as ''
saatvic'', ''
raajsic'' or ''
taamsic'' developed in
Yoga tradition. The
Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (ch ...
prescribed certain dietary practices. During this period, consumption of various types of meat became
taboo, due to being considered sacred or impure.
Indian cuisines use numerous ingredients, deploy a wide range of food preparation styles, cooking techniques and culinary presentation depending on
geographical location.
Performing arts
The oldest preserved examples of Indian music are the melodies of the ''
Samaveda
The Samaveda (, from ' "song" and ' "knowledge"), is the Veda of melodies and chants. It is an ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, and part of the scriptures of Hinduism. One of the four Vedas, it is a liturgical text which consists of 1,875 verses. ...
'' (1000 BC) that are still sung in certain
Śrauta sacrifices; this is the earliest account of Indian musical hymns. The Samaveda, and other
Hindu texts, heavily influenced
India's classical music tradition, which is known today in two distinct styles:
Hindustani music
Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...
and
Carnatic music
Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It is o ...
. Both the Hindustani and Carnatic music systems are based on the melodic base known as
Rāga
A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradition, and as a ...
, sung to a rhythmic cycle known as
Tāla. These principles were refined in the
nātyaśāstra
The ''Nāṭya Śāstra'' (, ''Nāṭyaśāstra'') is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata Muni, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary ...
(200 BC) and the
dattilam
Dattilam (दत्तिलम्) is an ancient Indian musical text ascribed to the sage (muni) Dattila. It is believed to have been composed shortly after the Natya Shastra of Bharata, and is dated between the 1st and 4th century AD. But Bharat ...
(300 AD).
The
nātyaśāstra
The ''Nāṭya Śāstra'' (, ''Nāṭyaśāstra'') is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata Muni, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary ...
is an ancient
Indian treatise on the
performing arts, encompassing
theatre,
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
and
music. It was written during the period between 200 BCE and 200 CE in classical
India and is traditionally attributed to the
Sage Bharata. ''Natya Shastra'' is incredibly wide in its scope. While it primarily deals with stagecraft, it has come to influence
music,
classical dance, and
literature as well. It covers
stage design,
music,
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
,
makeup, and virtually every other aspect of
stagecraft
Stagecraft is a technical aspect of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes constructing and rigging scenery; hanging and focusing of lighting; design and procurement of costumes; make-up; stage management; audio engineering; and pr ...
.
Indian
drama and
theatre has a long history alongside its music and dance. One of the earliest known theatre play is
Mṛcchakatika
''Mṛcchakatika'' ( sa, Mṛcchakaṭikam मृच्छकटिकम्), also spelled ''Mṛcchakaṭikā'', ''Mrchchhakatika'', ''Mricchakatika'', or ''Mrichchhakatika'' (''The Little Clay Cart'') is a ten-act Sanskrit drama attributed t ...
composed by
Śudraka. Followed by
Aśvaghoṣa's Śāriputraprakaraṇa and
Bhāsa's ''
Swapnavāsavadatta
''Svapnavasavadattam'' ( sa, स्वप्नवासवदत्तम्, ) (English: ''The dream of Vasavadatta'') is a Sanskrit play in six acts written by the ancient Indian poet Bhāsa.
The plot of the drama is drawn from the romantic ...
'' and ''
Pancharātra
''Pancharātra'' is a Sanskrit drama written by Bhasa. The plot is based on the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''.
The play takes its name from the period of five nights referred in the plot. Pancha(५) means Five(5) and Raatra means nights. The Pand ...
''. Most notable works are
Kālidāsa's ''
Abhijñānaśākuntala
''Abhijnanashakuntalam'' (Devanagari: अभिज्ञानशाकुन्तलम्, IAST: ''Abhijñānaśākuntalam''), also known as ''Shakuntala'', ''The Recognition of Shakuntala'', ''The Sign of Shakuntala'', and many other variant ...
'', ''
Vikramorvaśīya'' and ''
Mālavikāgnimitra''.
Harsha's ''
Ratnavali'', ''
Priyadarsika'', and ''
Nagananda
''Nagananda'' (''Joy of the Serpents'') is a Sanskrit play attributed to emperor Harsha (ruled 606 C.E. - 648 C.E.).
''Nagananda'' is among the most acclaimed Sanskrit dramas. Through five acts, it tells the popular story of Vidyadhar King Jimuta ...
m'', other notable ancient
dramatists include
Bhatta Narayana,
Bhavabhuti
Bhavabhūti (Devanagari: भवभूति) was an 8th-century scholar of India noted for his plays and poetry, written in Sanskrit. His plays are considered the equal of the works of Kalidasa. Bhavabhuti was born in Padmapura, Vidarbha, in Gondi ...
,
Vishakhadatta
Vishakhadatta ( sa, विशाखदत्त) was an Indian Sanskrit poet and playwright. Although Vishakhadatta furnishes the names of his father and grandfather as ''Maharaja'' Bhaskaradatta and ''Maharaja'' Vateshvaradatta in his political ...
,
Thirayattam
Thirayattam is a ritual performing ethnic art form of the South Malabar region in Kerala state, India. It blends dance, theatre, music, satire, facial and body painting, masking, martial art and ritualistic function. This vibrant art form has ...
and
Viswanatha Kaviraja
Viśvanātha Kavirāja, most widely known for his masterpiece in aesthetics, ''Sāhityadarpaṇa'',
Acknowledging Visvanatha Kaviraja as the author of Sahitya-darpana
was a prolific poet, scholar, and rhetorician who ascended literary heights ...
.
Notable fable story-plays
Panchatantra,
Baital Pachisi
''Vetala Panchavimshati'' ( sa, वेतालपञ्चविंशति, IAST: ) or ''Betaal Pachisi'' ("''Twenty-five (tales) of Betaal''"), is a collection of tales and legends within a frame story, from India. It is also known as intern ...
,
Kathasaritsagara,
Brihatkatha and
Jataka tales were performed in folk theatres since ancient period.
Jataka tales has become part of Southeast and East Asian folklore with the spread of Buddhism. These literature's were also influential in development of
One Thousand and One Nights during medieval period.
Contribution and discoveries
Indian people have played a major role in the development of the
philosophy,
sciences,
mathematics,
arts
The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both hi ...
,
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...
and
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galax ...
throughout
history. During the ancient period, notable
mathematics accomplishment of India included
Hindu–Arabic numeral system with decimal place-value and a symbol for
zero
0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation such as the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, 0 also serves as a placeholder numerical digit, which works by multiplying digits to the left of 0 by the radix, usuall ...
,
interpolation formula
In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points.
In engineering and science, one often has a n ...
,
Fibonacci's identity,
theorem, the first ''complete''
arithmetic
Arithmetic () is an elementary part of mathematics that consists of the study of the properties of the traditional operations on numbers—addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponentiation, and extraction of roots. In the 19th c ...
solution (including zero and negative solutions) to
quadratic equations.
Chakravala method
The ''chakravala'' method ( sa, चक्रवाल विधि) is a cyclic algorithm to solve indeterminate quadratic equations, including Pell's equation. It is commonly attributed to Bhāskara II, (c. 1114 – 1185 CE)Hoiberg & Ramchandani ...
,
sign convention
In physics, a sign convention is a choice of the physical significance of signs (plus or minus) for a set of quantities, in a case where the choice of sign is arbitrary. "Arbitrary" here means that the same physical system can be correctly describ ...
,
madhava series
In mathematics, a Madhava series or Leibniz series is any one of the series in a collection of infinite series expressions all of which are believed to have been discovered by an Indian Mathematician and Astronomer Madhava of Sangamagrama (c.&nbs ...
, and the sine and cosine in
trigonometric functions can be traced to the
''jyā'' and ''koti-jyā''. Notable
military inventions include
war elephants,
crucible steel
Crucible steel is steel made by melting pig iron (cast iron), iron, and sometimes steel, often along with sand, glass, ashes, and other fluxes, in a crucible. In ancient times steel and iron were impossible to melt using charcoal or coal fir ...
weapons popularly known as
Damascus steel
Damascus steel was the forged steel of the blades of swords smithed in the Near East from ingots of Wootz steel either imported from Southern India or made in production centres in Sri Lanka, or Khorasan, Iran. These swords are characterized by ...
and
Mysorean rockets
Mysorean rockets were an Indian military weapon, the iron-cased rockets were successfully deployed for military use. The Mysorean army, under Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan, used the rockets effectively against the British East India Company ...
. Other notable inventions during
ancient
Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...
period include
chess,
cotton,
sugar,
fired bricks,
carbon pigment ink,
ruler,
lac
Lac is the resinous secretion of a number of species of lac insects, of which the most commonly cultivated is '' Kerria lacca''.
Cultivation begins when a farmer gets a stick that contains eggs ready to hatch and ties it to the tree to be infe ...
,
lacquer,
stepwell,
indigo dye,
snake and ladder,
muslin,
ludo,
calico
Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick tha ...
,
Wootz steel,
incense clock
The incense clock () is a timekeeping device that originated from China during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and spread to neighboring East Asian countries such as Japan and Korea. The clocks' bodies are effectively specialized censers that hold i ...
,
shampoo
Shampoo () is a hair care product, typically in the form of a viscous liquid, that is used for cleaning hair. Less commonly, shampoo is available in solid bar format. Shampoo is used by applying it to wet hair, massaging the product into the s ...
,
palampore
A palampore or (Palempore) is a type of hand-painted and mordant- dyed bed cover that was made in India for the export market during the eighteenth century and very early nineteenth century. Only the wealthiest classes could afford to buy pala ...
,
chintz
Chintz () is a woodblock printed, painted, stained or glazed calico textile that originated in Golconda (present day Hyderabad, India) in the 16th century. The cloth is printed with designs featuring flowers and other patterns in different colou ...
, and
prefabricated home
Prefabricated homes, often referred to as prefab homes or simply prefabs, are specialist dwelling types of prefabricated building, which are manufactured off-site in advance, usually in standard sections that can be easily shipped and assembled. ...
s.
Indian cultural aspects,
religions,
philosophy,
arts
The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both hi ...
and
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...
have developed over several millennia and have spread through much of
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
in peaceful manner.
Many architectural structures of India such as
Sanchi Stupa
Sanchi is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometres from Raisen town, district headquarter and north-east of Bhop ...
,
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...
and
Mahabodhi Temple are
UNESCO World Heritage sites today.
In modern times, Indian people have continued to contribute to
mathematics,
sciences and
astrophysics
Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the he ...
. Among them are
Satyendra Nath Bose,
Srinivasa Ramanujan
Srinivasa Ramanujan (; born Srinivasa Ramanujan Aiyangar, ; 22 December 188726 April 1920) was an Indian mathematician. Though he had almost no formal training in pure mathematics, he made substantial contributions to mathematical analysis, ...
,
Jagadish Chandra Bose,
Meghnad Saha
Meghnad Saha (6 October 1893 – 16 February 1956) was an Indian astrophysicist who developed the Saha ionization equation, used to describe chemical and physical conditions in stars. His work allowed astronomers to accurately relate the s ...
,
Homi J. Bhabha,
Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, and notable
Nobel Prize recipients
C. V. Raman
Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (; 7 November 188821 November 1970) was an Indian physicist known for his work in the field of light scattering.
Using a spectrograph that he developed, he and his student K. S. Krishnan discovered that when ...
,
Har Gobind Khorana
Har Gobind Khorana (9 January 1922 – 9 November 2011) was an Indian American biochemist. While on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he shared the 1968 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Marshall W. Nirenberg and ...
,
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, and
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar who is notable for currently accepted theory on the later evolutionary stages of massive stars, including black holes.
National personification
Bharat Mata
Bhārat Mātā ( Mother India in English) is a national personification of India (Bharat ) as a mother goddess. In the visual arts she is commonly depicted dressed in a red or saffron-coloured sari and holding a national flag; she sometimes s ...
(
Hindi, from
Sanskrit , ''Bhārata Mātā''), ''Mother India'', or ''Bhāratāmbā'' (from अंबा ''ambā'' 'mother') is the
national personification
A national personification is an anthropomorphic personification of a state or the people(s) it inhabits. It may appear in political cartoons and propaganda.
Some early personifications in the Western world tended to be national manifestations o ...
of India as a
mother goddess
A mother goddess is a goddess who represents a personified deification of motherhood, fertility goddess, fertility, creation, destruction, or the earth goddess who embodies the bounty of the earth or nature. When equated with the earth or t ...
.
The image of Bharat Mata formed with the
Indian independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...
of the late 19th century. A play by Kiran Chandra Bandyopadhyay, ''Bhārat Mātā'', was first performed in 1873. She is usually depicted as a woman clad in an orange or saffron
sari
A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include:
* as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO
* bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO
* gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std ...
holding a
flag and sometimes accompanied by a
lion.
Sports
Sports in India are mainly in two categories traditional sports and global sports. Traditional sports like ''
gilli danda'', ''
kho kho,
kabaddi
Kabaddi is a contact team sport. Played between two teams of seven players, the objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their ...
'' are quite popular. On the other hand, Indians are highly enthusiastic about the game of cricket that it is treated as a religion in itself. Sports like hockey, volleyball, football are quite popular while polo, golf and tennis are preferred sports for affluent sections of the society. In recent times with government support Olympic sports like shooting, archery, wrestling, javelin throw, swimming, badminton have gained prominence in the Indian society.
Indian diaspora
Although, population groups originating in different parts of the Indian subcontinent and within the international borders of the modern country of
India had been migrating to
Southeast Asia,
East Asia,
Central Asia,
North Africa, and even along Europe's Mediterranean coast, the Indian diaspora generally socio-politically or historically refers to those whose families or themselves migrated to other parts of the world after the British Empire established itself in India. Population estimates vary from a conservative 12 million to 20 million-person diaspora.
United Kingdom
The British Indian community had grown to number over one million. According to the
2001 UK Census
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th Census in the United Kingdom, UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194.
The 2001 UK census was organis ...
, 1,053,411 Britons had full Indian ancestry (representing 1.8% of the UK's population). An overwhelming majority of 99.3% resided in England (in 2008 the figure is thought to be around 97.0%). In the seven-year period between 2001 and 2009, the number of Indian-born people in the UK increased in size by 38% from 467,634 to around 647,000 (an increase of approximately 180,000).
Canada
There are approximately 1.86 million people of Indian origin or ancestry in Canada, the majority of which live in Greater
Toronto and
Vancouver, with growing communities in Alberta and Quebec. Roughly 5.1% of the total Canadian population is of Indian ancestry, a figure higher than both the United States and Britain. According to Statistics Canada, Indo-Canadians are one of the fastest-growing visible minority groups in Canada, making up the second-largest group of non-European descent in the country after Chinese Canadians.
The Indo-Canadian community can trace its history in Canada back 120 years to 1897 when a contingent of
Sikh soldiers visited the western coast of Canada, primarily British Columbia which at the time was very sparsely populated and the Canadian government wanted to settle in order to prevent a takeover of the territory by the United States.
South Africa
More than a million people of South Asian descent live in South Africa, with their ancestors having left colonial India mostly as indentured labourers, and with smaller numbers emigrating later as "Passenger Indians", in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They are concentrated around the city of
Durban. They were classified as members of an "Indian"
race
Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to:
* Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species
* Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
under the country's defunct
Apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid wa ...
system.
Tanzania
About 40,000 people of Indian origin live in Tanzania mostly in the urban areas.
United States
According to the
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educat ...
of the
United States Census Bureau, the Indian American population in the United States grew from almost 1.67 million in 2000 to 3.1 million in 2010 which is the third-largest
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peopl ...
community in the United States after
Chinese American
Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...
s and
Filipino American
Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New ...
s.
Caribbean
After slavery was abolished in the European colonies, Indians were hired under the
Indian indenture system
The Indian indenture system was a system of indentured servitude, by which more than one million Indians were transported to labour in European colonies, as a substitute for slave labor, following the abolition of the trade in the early 19th ce ...
to become indentured laborers to fill the need for cheap labor and for their skills in agriculture. In the
English-speaking Caribbean
The Commonwealth Caribbean is the region of the Caribbean with English-speaking countries and territories, which once constituted the Caribbean portion of the British Empire and are now part of the Commonwealth of Nations. The term includes ma ...
and
Suriname, Indians primarily came from the
Hindi Belt, especially the
Awadh
Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region of ...
region in central and eastern
Uttar Pradesh and the
Bhojpur region of eastern Uttar Pradesh, western
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Ben ...
, and northwestern
Jharkhand, along with a significant minority who came from
South India, and a smaller minority who came from other parts of India. They arrived from the late 1830s to the early 1920s as
indentured laborers to work primarily on
sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks ...
estates
Estate or The Estate may refer to:
Law
* Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations
* Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries.
** The Estates, representati ...
, as well as on
cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter an ...
,
rice,
banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
,
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
, and
coffee estates after indentureship. After the first wave of migration of indentured laborers, more Indians from
Gujarat,
Sindh,
Kutch,
Punjab,
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predo ...
, and
South India came to the Caribbean for business and professional occupations from the 1930s till present-day. There are more than a million
Indo-Caribbeans. In
Trinidad and Tobago,
Guyana, and
Suriname they are the largest ethnic groups. The Indians from the Bhojpuri and Awadhi-speaking areas of the Hindi Belt made up the majority of Indians in the Anglo-Caribbean and Suriname. Hence, their dialect of Hindustani, known as
Caribbean Hindustani
Caribbean Hindustani is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Indo-Caribbeans and the Indo-Caribbean diaspora. It is mainly based on the Bhojpuri and Awadhi dialects. These Hindustani dialects were the most spoken dialects by the Indians who came as ...
collectively, is based mostly on Bhojpuri and Awadhi, and it became the ''
lingua franca'' of the early Indians. Also, since they formed the largest group of Indians, the traditions and culture from the Bhojpur and Awadh regions became the dominant culture for the Indians in those countries.
France sent southern Indians to its colonies in the Caribbean as indentured laborers, hence there are also many residents of Indian descent in
Guadeloupe,
Martinique, and
French Guiana, mostly of southern Indian descent. Many Indo-Caribbeans have migrated to the
United States,
United Kingdom,
Canada, the
Netherlands, and
France, and few of them have even seasonally migrated to the neighboring
Latin American and other Caribbean countries as migrant workers. A majority of Indo-Caribbean are
Hindus, while there is significant minority of
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
and
Muslims, along with smaller numbers of recently arrived Indian
Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
s,
Sikhs,
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
, and
Baháʼís. Indo-Caribbeans are known as the descendants of the jahajis or
girmityas Girmitiyas, also known as Jahajis, were indentured laborers from British India transported to work on plantations in Fiji, Mauritius, South Africa, and the Caribbean (mostly Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname) as part of the Indian indenture ...
.
Genetics
Recent
genome studies appear to show that
South Asians are a mixture of two major ancestral components, one component restricted to South Asia and the other component shared with
Central Asia,
West Asia, and
Europe.
See also
*
Lists of Indian people
*
South Asian ethnic groups
*
Ethnic groups in Asia
*
Romani people
References
Works cited
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indian People
Demographics of India
Ethnic groups in India
Ethnic groups in South Asia