Ancient India history stretches back more than 5,000 years, making India the world;s oldest civilisation. Successive waves of migration were absorbed into the fabric of Indian life, creating a multi-cultural nation with a rich diversity of languages, customs, cuisines, religions, literature and arts.

India is a third of the land mass of the United States but it has three times the population. There are 17 office languages with 700 regional dialects and at least seven major religions. India is the largest democracy in the world; the seventh largest country by area with the second largest population. It lies across the Tropic of Cancer and is entirely in the Northern Hemisphere.

Ancient India history has resulted in an intriguing country with a considerable culture heritage. Despite its great age, India is, paradoxically, also a young democracy, struggling to form an egalitarian and democratic society. The passions and turmoil of great antiquity are intertwined with the challenges and benefits of modern technology. The resulting images are confusing, both to outsiders and to Indians themselves.rgest country by area with the second largest population. It lies across the Tropic of Cancer and is entirely in the Northern Hemisphere.

On August 15, 1947 India cut free from the British Raj and attained independence from Great Britain, adopting a parliamentary system of government with a union of states. The country is divided into 26 States and 6 Union Territories. The States have considerable autonomy while the Union Territories are governed through appointed administrators. At district and village level there is a system of Panchayati Raj, or a pattern of self-government that oversees the planning and execution of local projects.

India culture is an amalgamation of diverse religions. Hinduism is practiced by 80% of Indians, the religious rites and red-letter days woven into the fabric of everyday life. Islam is the next largest group at 14%. India culture has the second largest population of Muslims in the world and also includes Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, Christianity and Judaism.

Seventy percent of the population live in rural India with agriculture and associated cottage industries providing the major occupation. A wide variety of crops and vegetables are grown so successfully that India has become a surplus food producer.. The dairy, poultry and the fishing industry are also well developed. India has a well -diversified economy and has introduced a number of ambitious economic reforms to de-regulate and attract foreign investment. The country has a stable and committed democracy and its political institutions have contributed to an open society with a dynamic and highly competitive private sector.

India is one of the fastest growing markets in the world with skilled managerial and technical manpower that matches the best throughout the world. India is now one of the top five industrialised nations of the world. A new affluent middle class is emerging in the cities and a new working class is emerging where the social and cultural order has transcended the old caste system. A free and vibrant press, a judiciary that can and does overrule the government and a zealous intelligentsia are the hallmarks that now define India.