Magnificent India

India occupies most of a subcontinent reaching into the Indian Ocean, with the Himalayas to the north, the Arabian Sea to the west, the Bay of Bengal to the east, and a narrow land corridor connecting the main body of the country to the Northeast. It is about a third of the land area of the United States and has been the most populous country in the world since 2023. The Geography page explains the rivers, monsoon, regions, and physical constraints that make the political map intelligible.

Hindi in Devanagari is the official language of the Union, and English continues to be used for Union purposes under statute; the states designate their own official languages, and there is no national language at all. Twenty-two languages sit in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, and the 2011 census counted 121 languages and over 1,300 distinct mother tongues. There is no state religion. New Delhi is the political capital; Mumbai is where the money is.

Independence came at midnight on 15 August 1947, ending British rule that had begun as a trading concern, hardened into territorial control across the second half of the eighteenth century, and became direct Crown administration in 1858. What India inherited, the republic it built, and the arguments still running through it are all covered here.