Interesting Facts about India
1. The official Sanskrit name for India is Bharat.
2. INDIA has been called Bharat even in Satya yuga ( Golden Age )
3. The name `India’ is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu.
4. The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name `Hindustan’ combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus.
5. The number system was invented by India. Aryabhatta was the scientist who invented the digit zero.
6. Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages. This is because it is the most precise, and therefore suitable language for computer software. ( a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987 ).
7. Chess was invented in India.
8. Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies which originated in India.
9. The' place value system' and the 'decimal system' were developed in 100 BC in India.
10. The first six Mogul Emperor's of India ruled in an unbroken succession from father to son for two hundred years, from 1526 to 1707.
11. The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara temple at Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The shikhara is made from a single ' 80-tonne ' piece of granite. Also, this magnificent temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD) during the reign of Rajaraja Chola
12. India is.......the Largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest country in the world AND one of the most ancient and living civilizations (at least 10, 000 years old).
13. The game of snakes & ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint
Gyandev. It was originally called 'Mokshapat.' The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. Later through time, the game underwent several modifications but the meaning is the same i.e. good deeds take us to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births.
14. The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh.
Built in 1893 after leveling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.
15. India has the most post offices in the world !
16. The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people.
17. The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
18. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The father of medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.
19. Although modern images & descriptions of India often show poverty, India was one of the richest countries till the time of British in the early 17th Century.
Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth and was looking for route to India when he discovered America by mistake.
20. The art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh 6000 over years ago. The very word 'Navigation' is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.
21. Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. His calculations was - Time taken by earth to orbit 365.258756484 days.
22. The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, which was long before the European mathematicians
23. Algebra, trigonometry and calculus also originated from India. Quadratic equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53 ( i.e. 10 to the power of 53 ) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C. during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera: 10*12( 10 to the power of 12 ).
24. Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world. ( Source . Gemological Institute of America )
25. The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982.
26. Sushruta is regarded as the father of surgery. Over 2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones and also plastic surgery and brain surgeries.
27. Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism, physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.
Did you know ?
28. India also celebrates the birthday of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, former President and Vice-President and great statesman, as "Teachers' Day".
Born on September 5, 1888, at Tiruttani, 40 miles to the north-east of Madras, Radhakrishnan grew to become the most famous Indian teacher and philosopher of all times. In his honor, this day is celebrated as Teacher's Day.
He was also the Vice-President of India from 1952-1962. He held the office of the Chancellor, University of Delhi, before taking over as the President of India in May 1962.
29. India never invaded any country in her last 10,000 years of history. Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa, the Saint of Calcutta as she was called, are considered the greatest apostles of peace of the twentieth century.
30. Romans used was 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as large as 1053 with specific assigned names as early as 5000 B.C., even during the Vedic period.
31. According to the Geological Institute of America, up until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds to the world. Kohinoor, the jewel in the crown of the British monarch, is from India.
32. USA-based IEEE has established what has been a century-old suspicion in the world scientific community, that the pioneer of wireless communication was Dr. Jagdeesh Bose of Calcutta and not Marconi.
33. Steel was invented in India before 1000 B.C. Many varieties of steel were made and characterized.
34. When many cultures were still nomadic forest and grassland dwellers over 5,000 years ago, India had an established Harappan culture in Sindh valley known as the Indus Valley Civilization.
35. 38% of Doctors in America are Indians.
36. 12% of Scientists in America are Indians.
37. 36% of NASA employees are Indians.
38. 34% of MICROSOFT employees are Indians
39. 28% of IBM employees are Indians
40. 17% of INTEL employees are Indians
41. 13% of XEROX employees are Indians
42. The founder and creator of “hotmail.com” the world’s best known web-based email program, Sabeer Bhatia is an Indian.
43. The Co-founder of Sun Microsystems, Vinod Khosla, is Indian.
44. India is the seventh largest country in the world with a total land area of 3.3 million square kilometers.
45. In all there are 24 different languages, each spoken by a million or more persons; as well as millions of other languages and dialects.
46. The international direct dialing code for India is 91.
47. Religions:
Hindu : 80%
Muslim : 14%
Christian: 2.4%
Sikh: 2%
Buddhist: 0.7%
Janis : 0.5%
Others : 0.4%
48. Literacy: 65.38%
49. 6th largest economy in the world
50. 555 million Indians are below 25 year
51. Indian teenagers spend $3 billion a year on fashion accessories
