For the Love of the Country

 "INDIA- a country in which every great religion and culture finds a home."

                                                            -Annie Besant.

                                                      India is a beautiful country. It is one of the best countries in the world. The best thing in India is that there are so many different cultures and religions in India that anyone from anywhere can come and fit in just fine. People from all over the world can come here and feel as if they belonged here. It doesn't matter where you're from or who you are you will feel at home when you are here. Do you know the origin of the name India? 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. The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name 'Hindustan' combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus. 


                                                         Whenever we move to a different country or just visit that country, we are asked a common question "What language do we speak?" Usually, a language is based on the country's name. In France, they speak French, England - English, Italy - Italian, Spain - Spanish, Germany - German, etc., But in India, we do not speak Indian. I mean that's not even a language. In India the most spoken language is Hindi but that doesn't mean it is our national language. That's the best part, in India, we have about 22 official languages. Surprised!!! There are 22 official languages but do you know how many languages we actually speak?

                 A census conducted in 2011 showed that India has more than 19,500 languages, of which almost 1,369 are considered dialects, and only 121 are recognized as languages (the acceptance criterion being that the language has 10,000 or more speakers). How cool is that?!!!


                                                                                   Being one of the secular nations, we Indians accept any culture and heritage. We have so many different cultures and varied heritage which we all enjoy celebrating. India is a land of festivals, a country with an endless variety of physical features and cultural patterns. If you ever want to explore India, Indian fairs and festivals are a major attraction and the best way to explore India. India is a country of cultural heritage and has a very rich history to share with the World. This country has a beautiful history that we can still witness with our eyes. You won’t believe but even UNESCO has preserved 35 rich cultural heritage sites in India. This itself is a living proof of how rich the culture of India actually is!!!!!!


There are many specialties and interesting facts on India. Here are some of the most interesting ones,

                     1.  India is the largest democracy in the world, the 7th largest country in the world, and one of the most ancient civilizations.

                     2. The largest employer in India is the Indian Railways, employing over a million people. 

                     3. 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.

                      4. Marina Beach in Chennai is the second longest beach in the world.

                      5. India has the largest postal network in the world with over 1, 55,015 post offices. A single post office on average serves a population of 7,175 people.

                       6. Bandra Worli Sealink has steel wires equal to the earth's circumference. It took a total of 2,57,00,000 man-hours for completion and also weighs as many as 50,000 African elephants. A true engineering and architectural marvel.

                        7. India is second only to the USA when it comes to speaking English with around 125 million people speaking the language, which is only 10% of our population. This is expected to grow by quite a margin in the coming years.

                         8. India was the first country to develop extraction and purifying techniques of sugar. Many visitors from abroad learned the refining and cultivation of sugar from us.

                                                     Land of our Birth, our faith, our pride,

                                                     For whose dear sake our fathers died;

                                                     Oh, Motherland, we pledge to thee

                                                     Head, heart, and hand through the years to be!                                                        

                                                                                                   -Rudyard Kipling

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Covid 19– A Life Changer

FEAR

Love, Hope and Magic - Book Review