India

The Republic of India, commonly known as India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second most populous country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world. India has a coastline of over seven thousand kilometres, bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east. India borders Pakistan to the west;[1] People's Republic of China, Nepal and Bhutan to the north-east; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east.

Prime Minister:	Manmohan SINGH
President	Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT

Stone age rock shelters with paintings at Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh are the earliest known traces of human life in India. The first known permanent settlements appeared over 9,000 years ago, and gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilization, dating back to 5000 BCE in western India. It was followed by the Vedic Civilization which laid the foundations of Hinduism and other cultural aspects of early Indian society. From around 1000 BCE, many independent kingdoms and republics known as the Mahajanapadas were established across the country.