India is one of the most exotic countries in the world, that has long attracted tourists and adventurers. Incredible customs and unique culture that sets it apart from other Asian countries. We couldn’t bypass this wonderful country and have prepared for you some of the most interesting facts.
1. The official name of the country derived from the name of the Indus River.
2. The Indian flag consists of three horizontal stripes: light orange – courage and self-sacrifice, white – peace and green – faith and chivalry. The white stripe charged with the Buddhist symbol “Dharmachakra” or the wheel of the law.
3. The official language is Hindi, but there are twenty-one official languages in the Constitution of India.
4. Approximately 35% of India’s population lives below the poverty line. However, more than a million Indians have more than a million dollars in wealth.
5. According to the Indian calendar, the year is divided into 6 seasons: spring, summer, monsoon, autumn, pre-winter and winter.
6. More than 2,700 years ago, the world’s first University was established in Takshashila.
7. Algebra and trigonometry have emerged in India. Indian astronomer and mathematician named Brahmagupta invented the concept of number 0.
8. Chess originated in India, but they were far from the ones we are used to seeing now. In the original form of chess “Chaturanga” were involved four players.
9. Everyone knows that cows in India are considered sacred. However, few people know that under West Bengal law, each cow must have a photo ID card.
10. The Indian Railways is the largest employer in India. It provides jobs to about one million people.
11. India has the largest number of post offices in the world – over 150,000. However, it often takes two weeks for letters to overcome a distance of 50 kilometers.
12. There more than 300,000 refugees from Tibet, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka live in India.
13. Mustaches are an integral part of Indian folklore, they are associated with honor and courage. Police in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh even got pay extra for mustaches.
14. The Indian subcontinent is the birthplace of four of the world’s major religions – Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Jainism, which is the quarter of the Earth’s population.
15. The Lotus Temple is the Baha’i House of Worship in New Delhi is one of the most visited religious building in the world as it receives more than 50 million pilgrims a year.
16. Ayurveda is the earliest system of traditional medicine, founded around 500 BC. in India.
17. Yoga originated in India. It has been practiced for over five thousand years.
18. The Maha Kumbh Mela festival is the largest Indian religious holiday, that celebrated once every twelve years.
19. India is one of the countries with the lowest per capita meat consumption in the world.
20. In Bollywood (an Indian analog of Hollywood), about a thousand films are filmed every year, which is 2.5 times higher than in Hollywood.
21. Dancing is a very important part of India’s religion. According to Indian legend, the gods invented dance. Dancing is one of the most revered Hindu arts because it incorporates melody, drama, form, and line.
22. Non-residents are not allowed to carry any Indian Rupees.
23. India is the leader in homicides, about 30,000 a year.
24. The “yes” gesture in India, instead of a nod, is a gesture like our “ay yay yay”.
25. A close friendship is common among men in India. You can often see men hugging or holding hands on the street, such displays of friendship for Indians are quite acceptable.
26. According to a study by the Institute of Geology of the United States, until 1896, India was a monopolist for diamond mining in the world. One of the largest diamonds – Kohinoor’s has also been called “The Mountain of Light” was found in India and now it is a part of the British royal crown.
27. The traffic in India is left-handed, but not a lot of people follow those rules. India is often ranked number one in the vehicle crashes and in the number of people killed in a road accident.
28. In some Indian families, women never say the name of the man out loud because it is considered by Indians to disrespect him. Usually, in the conversion, they have used words such as “hello”, “look here” and so on.
29. The widow’s life in India is very difficult. People say they bring bad luck. The widow is often accused of their husband’s death and they are not allowed to attend feasts or ceremonies.
30. The ceremony of Burning a widow with the body of her husband was very popular during the early modern Mughal period in India.
31. In the rural regions of India, some people organize weddings with animals to remove the birth curses.
32. Cotton fabrics are woven in India for the first time in the world. The glory of Indian cloth spread rapidly to the world, and even Roman nobles called it the “woven wind.”
33. Disposable tableware in India is completely eco-friendly. Cups of tea or coffee poured on the street are made of clay and plates of palm leaves.
34. The national symbol of India is the Bengal tiger. There are more than four thousand live in the jungle right now. The most famous tiger in India and the world is the Champawat tiger, which killed 436 people.
35. Few people know that sharks live in the Ganges River. Ganges sharks are very dangerous and can even attack humans.
