5 Amazing Facts About India
There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about the nation of India. Officially known as the Republic of India, the country is located in Asia, towards the southern part. India is one of the largest and one of the most populous countries in the world, second only to China in population. There are interesting facts about India that will turn out to be amazing. It will not be possible to discuss all of them in detail. This article contains just 5 amazing facts about India.
Fact One: Size
One of the facts about India that may fascinate you is that it is the 7th largest country in the world. This is one of the 5 amazing facts about India.
It occupies a total area of 1,269,219 square miles (3,287,263 square kilometers) with the total land area of 1,147,956 square miles (2,973,193 square kilometers), water area of 121,263 square miles (314,070 square kilometers), and coastline of 2,702 miles (7,000 kilometers). This is amazingly about 2.4% of the total earth’s geographical area.
With a population of about 1.2 billion which is about 17.5% of earth’s inhabitants, India is the largest democracy and coincidentally one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Do you think it will be crowded? It is an amazing fact.
Fact Two: Invasions
Another amazing fact about India is that the country has suffered a lot of invasions, though it has never ever invaded any other country. The country has a very long history of invasion and a very long list of invaders. The Persians under Alexander the Great thousands of years ago invaded India. It has also been invaded by Muslim invaders known as Mughals.
When the Portuguese sailor, Vasco Da Gama, circumnavigated Africa, he reached and invaded India 1498. Ghazni Mohammed made 17 attempts before finally winning and looting India. When the British invaded India in the early 17th century, India was one of the richest countries on earth.
Are the interesting facts about India not really amazing and history worth knowing?
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Facts Three: Busiest, Highest, Largest, Longest
India has the highest number of post offices in the world. That is another surprising fact. The tallest mountain in India, Mountain Kanchenjunga, is the third tallest in the world. This mountain, 8,598-meter tall, cuts across the two neighboring countries of India and Nepal.
The busiest and longest sea bridge in India is Pamban Bridge or Indra Gandhi Bridge. With the length of 1.4-miles (2.3 kilometers), the bridge is constructed to open to allow ships to pass. But there is a more amazing fact about India regarding bridges. The Mahatma Gandhi Setu Bridge, giving access road over River Ganga in the state of Patna, is the longest river bridge in the world, spanning over a river of 1,559 miles (2,510 kilometers).
Did you also know that the largest rail network in entire Asia is the India Railways? It is the largest employer in the world.
Facts Four: Religious Inclination
One interesting fact about India is that the Indian’s religious inclination. India, as the home to world’s major religions, has a mix of people practicing nine big world’s religions, namely Hinduism (82%), Islam (12%), Christianity (2.5), Sikhism (2%), Buddhism (0.7%), Jainism (0.5%), Zoroastrianism (0.01%), Judaism (0.005%), and the Baha’i Faith.
Fact Five: National Identity
Another amazing fact about India is its interesting national identities. Indians have a national tree, namely, Ficus bengalensis, a specie of fig tree with roots spreading themselves over a large area and forming new trunks. Indians believe in the immortality of the tree.
It is amazing that there is a national flower in India which is nelumbo Nucifera gaertn, a lotus whose design and shape have a model in Indian architecture. River Ganga or the Ganges is the national river. It is also surprising that Dolphin is the national aquatic animal and the national animal is the Bengal tiger while the national bird is the Indian peacock or Pavo cristatus. All these are considered sacred. The mango, or Mangifera Indica, is the national fruit; usually eaten raw or ripe.
The name of the Indian currency, rupee, is derived from Rupyakam, the Sanskrit word meaning silver coin. It is amazing to note that various language groups refer to rupees with different names such as Toka, Taka, and Rupiyo in Assamese, Bengali, and Gujarati respectively.
It is amazing that about 40% of Indians are vegetarians. Yet, a more surprising fact is that you would not miss your meat-rich foods; Indians are experts in cooking vegetarian meals. Indians are noted to be the lowest consumer of meats worldwide and they save a lot doing so.
If you are an Indian, you must be really proud of your motherland! And if you are not, you can take some time to study the amazing facts about India, a country of amazing wonder a truly interesting place visit and live.
