About India

India is a Lland of All Seasons where beauty beckons, culture echoes, diversity delights and tradition talks. Those who reach India are greeted with a gracious Namaskaaram, Vanakkam or SatSriAkal denoting warmth, hospitality and respect - a tradition in tune with the country's age-old motto "Athidhi Devo Bhava" where the guest is treated as God.

It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east, India has a coastline of 7,517 kilometers (4,700 mi). It is bordered by Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, and the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.

The History of India dates back to birth of the Indus Valley Civilization at sites as Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, and Lothal, and the coming of the Aryans. The phases are usually described as the pre-Vedic and Vedic perio ds. It is in the Vedic period that Hinduism first arose, the time to which the Vedas are dated.

In the fifth century, large parts of India were united under Ashoka. He also converted to Buddhism, and it is in his reign that Buddhism spread to other parts of Asia. It is in the reign of the Mauryas that Hinduism took the shape that fundamentally informs the religion down to the present day. Successor states were more fragmented.

India is blessed with rich culture and heritage, marked by a high degree of syncretism and cultural pluralism. It has managed to preserve established traditions while absorbing new customs, traditions, and ideas from invaders and immigrants and spreading its cultural influence to other parts of Asia, mainly South East and East Asia.

Right from the medieval period there prevail diverse cultural diversities in form of dances, languages, religions, people, their customs, and festivals. Every state of India has its own distinct cultures and has carved out its own cultural niche. In spite of so much of cultural diversities, Indian's are closely bond and makes India as a great country.

Traditional Indian society is defined by relatively strict social hierarchy. The Indian caste system describes the social stratification and social restrictions in the Indian subcontinent, in which social classes are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups, often termed castes.

Traditional Indian family values are highly respected, and multi-generational patriarchal joint families have been the norm; although nuclear families are becoming common in urban areas. An overwhelming majority of Indians have their marriages arranged by their parents and other respected family members, with the consent of the bride and groom. Marriage is thought to be for life, and the divorce rate is extremely low. Child marriage is still a common practice, with half of women in India marrying before the legal age of 18.