Åshild+og+Rakel

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 India is the largest country in South–Asia, and it borders on Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma and Bhutan. The capital is [|New-Delhi], with over 10 million citizens. But the largest city in India is Mumbai with almost 13 million citizens. With an area of o ver 3 000 000 km2 and 1.12 thousand million citizens, India is the seventh largest country in the world. And it’s the second most populous country in the world. ======

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The northern India is a part of the mountain range Himalaya. Southern India lies between The Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, with a coastline that’s around 7 000 km long. The longest river in India is Ganges, it’s 2506 km long. The highest mountain is Kanchenjunga (8 586 above sea-level) The climate varies from tropical in the southern India to temporise or cold in northern India, but the whole country except the mountain region Himalaya have monsoon climate. India has two different monsoon periods: The northeast monsoon from December to February and the southwest monsoon from June to December. The period between those two monsoons are and very warm, with temperatures over 45 °C in many areas. ======

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 India has a long and rich history, and the Stone Age rock shelters with paintings, are the earliest trace of human life in India. The first known permanent settlers appeared over 9,000 years ago, and developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation. For about 3500 years ago the first Aryans came to the subcontinent.  In the 14th century there was established several European trading stations in India, by Portuguese, Dutchmen, Frenchmen and British. In the 16th century the Europeans started to establish themselves in India, and by the transition to the 19th century, almost entire India had become a British colony. The colony was called British India. Around 1850 the British got total control over India, which at that time included today’s Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burma. In the 1890’s the campaign for self-government began. In 1947 India became independent. India was, until their independence in 1947, the most important colony for the British. The country got their independence through civil disobedience and non-violent actions. These were lead by Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehrubecame the country’s first prime minister. ======

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 India doesn’t have a state religion. The largest religions are Hinduism 81.3%, Islam 12%, Christianity 2.3%, Sikhism 1.9% and Buddhism with other religions 2.5%. ======

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Christianity: India has today over 20 millions Christians most of them from south-India. ======

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Sikhism: Sikhism broke out in 1400th century, after an intersection between Hinduism and Islam. Today there are Sikhs spread all over India, but most of them live in Punjab. ======

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 ** Language **======

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 India has more than 1600 languages or dialects. The constitution provides that the official language shall be Hindi, but many of the states  in India are Non-Hindi-speaking. They also have En glish as a national language in India. That is a result of the British Empire. Now English is used when people from different parts of India communicate, and many other official purposes. ======

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The first Europeans came to India in 14th century. And in 1687 the British East Indian Company established station in Bombay; there they gradually oust other Europeans. Then independent states got conquered and reversed into provinces in the British India. In 1857 India became a part of the British Empire. The British dominance took over the textile industry, and exploited India. Because they bought cheap  se mi-raw materials from India, and sold it much more expensive in Britain. So the Indians didn’t make the most of the semi-raw materials as they could have done if it weren’t for the British. India was the most important colony that Britain had, and it was called the British Crown Jewel. And in 1947 India got back their independent. This was because after the World War 2, many colonies of the British Empire became independent. Many of these colonies did after a while enroll in the British Commonwealth, this including India. The British Commonwealth is an organization for states that earlier were a part of the British Empire. ======

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Food Indian food is a collective term for food-culture and food from the different cultures on the Indian subcontinent. The main ingredient in southern- and east-Indian food is rice, but wheat is the main ingredient in northern-Indian food. Important spices are chili, black mustard seed, turmeric, ginger, coriander, cinnamon and nutmeg. ======

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India is the world’s largest film producer, and their best known contribute to the entertainment business is Bollywood. In Bollywood they make over 1000 movies a year. India has over 100 television channels. ======

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Most of the Indian festivals have some sort of connection to religion. Some popular festivals are Divali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Ugadi, Pongal, Holi, Onam and many more. However, the most popular is the festival of light, Divali. Divali is of great importance in Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. India has three national holidays: the Constitution day, 26th of January; the Independence day, 15th of August, and Mahatma Ghandis birthday 2nd of October. ======

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Field Hockey is India’s official national sport. The Indian field hockey team won the 1975 Men’s Hockey World Cup, and at the Olympic Games they won 8 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals. But however, cricket is the most popular sport. T he India national cricket team won the 1983 Cricket World Cup and the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 Tennis and football are also popular sports. ======

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**President and government ** India is a republic with a parliamentarian government system.The president of India is Pratiba Patil. ====== The president is also the head of Defence.

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 ** Political system ** ======

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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> India is the world’s largest democracy measured by population. India is a parliamentary-democratic and republican federal state. The parliament Sansad, is the legislative authority. Sansad consists of Rajya Sabha, the Council of States, and Lok Sabha, the House of People. The Indian constitution defines India as a sovereign, socialistic, democratic republic. Each of the 28 federal states are being governed as independent parliamentary democracies with an assembly elected by the people. ======

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Both India and Great Britain have parliaments. <span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: NO-BOK; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastlanguage: NO-BOK;">The Parliament of the United Kingdom has two houses; the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Indian Parliament also has two houses; the Rajya Sabha (Council of States)which has 245 members, and Lok Sabha (House of People) which has 545 members. Both India and Great Britain have a Prime Minister. India’s Prime Minister is called Manmohan Singh, and Great Britain’s prime minister is called Gordon Brown. <span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: NO-BOK; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastlanguage: NO-BOK;">The Indian school system is based on 12 years of school attendance, and so is the British. There are both public and private schools, and the private schools are believed to be the best. After three years of university in India or parts of Great Britain (Wales, England and Northern Ireland) you get a bachelor degree. Another resemblance is that both countries celebrate Christmas. In India, Christmas is declared as a national holiday as well as in Great Britain. ======