India is the largest country in south Asia. It is a peninsula, which means that it is surrounded on three sides by water: the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. 

India has seven neighbours: Pakistan in the north-west, China and Nepal in the north, Bhutan and Bangladesh in the north-east, Myanmar in the east and Sri Lanka, an island, in the south.

The Himalayan Mountains stretch along India’s northern border.

The river Ganges is a sacred river which flows from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. Millions of people live along its course but it's very polluted.

India is the seventh largest country in the world, and it has the second highest population after China with 1.2 billion inhabitants.

The capital is New Delhi but the biggest city is Mumbai with 20.5 million inhabitants. 

India is the most populous democracy in the world.

On the national flag of India, the top stripe is of Saffron colour, indicating the strength and courage of the country.

The white middle stripe indicates peace and truth with a traditional spinning wheel, symbolising Gandhi's goal of making Indians independent by fabricating their own clothing.

The last stripe is green and shows the fertility and growth of the land.

It was adopted in July 1947, a few days before India was officially declared independent from the British.

In India, the first religion is Hinduism with almost 80% of the population..

The next most popular religion is Islam (14%).

Christians and Sikhs also live in the country and represent 2.3 and 1.7% of the population.

People in India greet each other by saying ‘Namaste’ (pronounced na-ma-stay) which means ‘I bow my head to you’.

The Indian caste system

Hindus believe Brahma, the god of Creation, divided society into 4 different groups which are called “castes” and that the Untouchables, who are now called the Dalits (167 Million people) were outside the cast system because Brahma did not create them.

The caste system is very rigid: when you are born in a class, you can’t change it!

The name “Dalits” comes from the Sanskrit language and means “oppressed”.

They can only work with dead animals and dirty things. They live in slums.

It’s unfair because they are not considered as human beings. They have no human rights. They are “outcast”.

Segregation (separation between the dalits and the other casts) starts at school.

62% of Dalits are illiterate (can’t read) because they abandoned school too early.

20% do not have access to drinking water and nobody comes to help them with their infections.

Although the caste system has been illegal in India for more than 50 years, it continues to influence people’s lives.

Even if India is a democracy, the Dalits are still excluded from society.

Hindi is the official language in India but English is also used, mostly for business and in the administration. It has the status of a 'subsidiary official language'. 

There are also 21 other official regional languages and 1,652 dialects.

Since 1991, India has been one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

India's literacy and wealth are also rising. However, it still has many social and economic issues like poverty and corruption.

Over 30% of people in India have very little money to buy food and supplies. Poor children often have to work at a very young age to help their parents. There is a huge gap between richer people, who tend to live in the cities, and the rural poor who live in the countryside.

The Indian currency is the rupee. £1 is worth about 85 rupees which means €1 equals to 87 rupees.

India is a very old country and the birthplace of 2 of the main classical languages of the world and a religion. 

Many dynasties ruled India around the year 1000. 

In the 1600s, European countries invaded India, and the British controlled most of India by 1856.

The period of time when India was ruled by Britain is called the British Raj.

In the early 1900s, millions of people peacefully started to protest against British control. One of the people who led the freedom movement was Mahatma Gandhi, who only used peaceful tactics, including a way called "ahimsa", which means "non-violence". He struggled against injustice and racism using non-violent resistance and non-cooperation.

On 15 August 1947, India peacefully became free and independent from the British Empire.

India's constitution was founded on 26 January 1950. 

Every year, on this day, Indians celebrate Republic Day. The first official Prime Minister of India was Jawaharlal Nehru.

Gandhi was against violence and he famously said 'An eye for an eye and the whole world ends up blind'. 

His peaceful methods were very powerful and today he remains an inspiration and a symbol of peace.

The National emblem of India shows four lions standing back-to-back. The lions symbolise power, pride, confidence, and courage or bravery. 

The National animal is the royal Bengal tiger, the National bird is the peacock, the National flower is the lotus and the national tree, the banyan.

The Taj Mahal in Agra is one of India’s most famous sights. It is actually a tomb built in the 17th century to honour the wife of Shah Jahan, who died in childbirth. It is one of the seven wonders of the world.

Cricket is the most popular sport in India. They are also very good at hockey, tennis and football.

Other animals are also found in India: elephants, flying foxes, lions and macaques.

Cows are seen as sacred in India – nobody eats beef, and most people are vegetarians.

Cows must not be harmed. They are allowed to go where they want, and may even cause traffic jams when they walk through cities!

One of the main festivals in India is Diwali – it takes place around the end of October, and signals the start of the new year in the Indian calendar. Everyone lights lamps in their homes during Diwali, so it is also called the ‘festival of lights’.

Many women in India wear saris, which are long pieces of cloth draped around the waist and shoulders – like a dress. Men in India where dhotis, which is another kind of long piece of cloth that is tied around the waist and between the legs – like trousers.

India has a very large film industry called Bollywood. It makes 1,000 movies a year, about twice as many as Hollywood. It produces movies everyday!

Indian food is characterised by lots of spices, such as cinnamon, turmeric, coriander, anise and cardamom. 

Each region of India produces different kinds of food.