Republic of India

1. When was the country established/gained independence?

Republic of India, In short called India gained independence on August 15^th, 1947. Constitution came into force on January 26^th, 1950.

Also called “The Subcontinent”.

2. Where is the country situated?  (attach an interactive map if possible)

Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan.

3. What is the capital city?

New Delhi

4. What are the major cities besides the capital city?

Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta.

5. What is the population?

1,065,070,607 (July 2004 est.)

6. What is the predominant religion in the country?

Hindu 81.3%, Muslim 12%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other groups including Buddhist, Jain, Parsi 2.5% (2000)

7. What is the area in square miles? (compare it to something known in the USA: e.g. the area is twice the size of the state of Washington, etc.)

Total: 3,287,590 sq km
land: 2,973,190 sq km
water: 314,400 sq km

Area – comparative: slightly more than one-third the size of the US

8. What is/are the official language(s)?

English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language

9. What is the currency called?

Indian rupee (INR)

10. What is the exchange rate now?

 46.5806 (2004)

11. What is the percentage of income that residents spend on basic necessities (e.g. food, clothes, rent, entertainment, etc.; provide charts if possible!)

expenditures: $114.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $13.5 billion (2003)

12. What is the political regime in the country?

Federal republic

13. Which are the major political parties and which is in power now?

Which are the major political parties? : Political parties with leaders: All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or AIADMK [C. Jayalalitha JAYARAM]; All India Forward Bloc or AIFB, [D. BISWAS, general secretary]; Asom Gana Parishad [Brindaban GOSWAMI]; Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI]; Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Venkaiah NAIDU]; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI [Ardhendu Bhushan BARDHAN]; Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist or CPI/ML [Dipankar BHATTACHARYA]; Congress (I) Party [Sonia GANDHI]; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or DMK (a regional party in Tamil Nadu) [M. KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National Congress or INC [leader NA]; Indian National League [Suliaman SAITH]; Janata Dal (Secular) [H. D. Deve GOWDA]; Janata Dal (United) or JDU [Sharad YADAV]; Jharkhand Mukti Morcha or JMM [leader NA]; Kerala Congress (Mani faction) [K. M. MANI]; Lok Jan Shakti Party or LSP [leader NA]; Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or MDMK [VAIKO]; Muslim League [G. M. BANATWALA]; Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]; Pattali Makkal Katchi or PMK [leader NA]; Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD [Laloo Prasad YADAV]; Revolutionary Socialist Party or RSP [Abani ROY]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV]; Shiromani Akali Dal or SAD [G. S. TOHRA]; Shiv Sena or SS [Bal THACKERAY]; Tamil Maanila Congress [G. K. VASAN]; Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS [leader NA]; Telugu Desam Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU]; Trinamool Congress [Mamata BANERJEE]

Which is in power now: National Congress Party?

14. What is the country famous for?

Taj Mahal (one of the 7 wonders); Cotton; Silk

15. What are the cultural do’s and don’ts in the country?

Public intimacy in India is frowned upon.

      Feet are considered unsanitary. Also, because Indians use their left hand for sanitary purposes, the left hand should be kept under the table when eating.

Hospitality is a key part of doing business in India; most business discussions will not even begin until tea is served and there has been some preliminary “small talk.”

Indians are generally too polite to directly answer “no.” Since the word “no” has harsh implications in India, evasive answers are considered more polite. For

example, if you have to decline an invitation, it's more acceptable to give a vague and noncommittal answer such as “I'll try” or “We'll see” rather than “No, I can't.”

16. What kind of greeting behavior is suitable in the country?

The traditional greeting is “Namaste”, which in Sanskrit means “I bow to the divine in you”.

17. What are some major things to know about the culture?

·         Indian society has an aversion to saying “no” as it is considered rude due to the possibility of causing disappointment or offense. Listen carefully to Indians’ responses to your questions. If terms such as “We’ll see”, “I will try” or “possibly” are employed then the chances are that they are saying ‘no’.

·         Equality-Hierarchy

There is a strong hierarchy system in India, within the caste system as well as within business and organizations. Respect and formality are highly valued. Less powerful individuals accept and expect that power is unequally distributed and expect the superiors to lead. There is a strong hierarchy between the employer and employee and teachers are highly respected. The respect for parents and the elders also demonstrates the hierarchal way of thinking.

·         Material-spiritual

India is considered one of the most spiritual countries in the world. The meaning of life is found in religious practices and the realm of the spirit. Their daily life reflects this in many ways, like daily prayer and some even visit temples daily. They also have the temple priest come home and do the pooja (spiritual rituals) at home, in order to seek GOD’s blessings, and pray for GOD’s constant watch and guidance on their family and its members. In addition, the pooja is performed to remove the bad omen and negatives from the house.

·         Shoes, and to a lesser degree, feet have unclean associations. It is very important to remove shoes for places of worship like temples, when visiting people's homes, and sometimes even in some shops and businesses.

·         It is very important to avoid using the left hand when interacting with others. Using the left hand in social interaction has extremely negative associations.

18. What kinds of gifts should not be given in the country?

19. What are some major things to know about the culture?

Public intimacy in India is frowned upon.

      Feet are considered unsanitary. Also, because Indians use their left hand for sanitary purposes, the left hand should be kept under the table when eating.

Hospitality is a key part of doing business in India; most business discussions will not even begin until tea is served and there has been some preliminary “small talk.”

Indians are generally too polite to directly answer “no.” Since the word “no” has harsh implications in India, evasive answers are considered more polite. For

example, if you have to decline an invitation, it's more acceptable to give a vague and noncommittal answer such as “I'll try” or “We'll see” rather than “No, I can't.”

20. What do different colors symbolize in the country?

Red: India - color of purity (used in wedding outfits).

United States - Christmas color when combined with green, Valentines Day when combined with pink.

White: Eastern cultures - mourning, death

United States - purity (used in weddings)

Yellow: Asia - sacred, imperial.
Western cultures - joy, happiness

21. What are the official holidays in the country?

22.  What kinds of gifts are suitable for different holidays or occasions in the country?

23. Useful links with country specific information.