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This is a discussion on Facts about India within the Culture and History section, part of the General Talk category; The official Sanskrit name for India is Bharat. INDIA has been called Bharat even in Satya yuga ( Golden Age ...

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Old 14-04-2009, 02:12 PM
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The official Sanskrit name for India is Bharat. INDIA has been called Bharat even in Satya yuga ( Golden Age ). 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.

The number system was invented by India. Aryabhatta was the scientist who invented the digit zero.

Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages. This is because it is the most precise, and therefore suitable language for computer software. ( a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987 ).

Chess was invented in India.

Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies which originated in India.

The’ place value system’ and the ‘decimal system’ were developed in 100 BC in India.

The first six Mogul Emperor’s of India ruled in an unbroken succession from father to son for two hundred years, from 1526 to 1707.

The World’s First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara temple at Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The shikhara is made from a single ‘ 80-tonne ‘ piece of granite. Also, this magnificient temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD) during the reign of Rajaraja Chola.

India is…….the Largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest country in the world AND one of the most ancient and living civilizations (at least 10, 000 years old).

The game of snakes & ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called ‘Mokshapat.’ The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. Later through time, the game underwent several modifications but the meaning is the same i.e good deeds take us to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births.

The world’s highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.

India has the most post offices in the world !

The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people !.

The World’s first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.

Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The father of medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.

Although modern images & descriptions of India often show poverty, India was one of the richest countries till the time of British in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India’s wealth and was looking for route to India when he discovered America by mistake.

The art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh 6000 over years ago. The very word ‘Navigation’ is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Nou’.

Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. His calculations was - Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: ( 5th century ) 365.258756484 days.

The value of “pi” was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, which was long before the European mathematicians.

Algebra, trigonometry and calculus also orignated from India. Quadratic equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53 ( i.e 10 to the power of 53 ) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C. during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera: 10*12( 10 to the power of 12 ).

Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world. ( Source . Gemological Institute of America )

The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982.

Sushruta is regarded as the father of surgery. Over 2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones and also plastic surgery and brain surgeries.

Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism, physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.


Well?? Proud to be an Indian!!
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Old 20-04-2009, 04:23 PM
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Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.
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Old 02-05-2009, 09:11 PM
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That is awesome man.
I knew some of them but some that I didn't are even better.
Yes, I am a proud to be an Indian.
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Old 24-05-2009, 09:34 PM
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This is The Incredible India.

I am sure there is a lot more to be added into it. Worth stickying for sure!
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Old 25-05-2009, 04:49 PM
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Very nice collection of facts!
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Old 04-10-2010, 02:37 PM
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There is a story behind the name "Bharat" and a little description of the story is that the name is given on the name of great historical emperor "Bharat".
He was the first to conquer all of Greater India, uniting it into a single entity which was named after him as Bharatavarṣa.
In my opinion "India" is the name which was given by Britishers.
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Old 25-11-2010, 11:46 AM
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Hi....

Some facts about our india..
* India lies in south Asia, between Pakistan, China and Nepal.
* The capital of India is New Delhi, and the country’s largest cities are Mumbai

(formerly Bombay), Delhi, and Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).
* India is the seventh largest country in the world.
* India's population is one billion making it the second most populous country after China.
* India is the largest democracy (Government by the people, like the UK is) in the world.
* India is mainly an agricultural country, though it also has a large iron and steel

industry and produces every type of manufactured goods.
* India is in Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal,
between Burma and Pakistan
* Geographic coordinates: 20 00 N, 77 00 E
* Area:
  • total: 3,287,590 sq km
  • land: 2,973,190 sq km
  • water: 314,400 sq km
* Capital City: New Delhi
About 13 million people live in the capital, New Delhi.
* Population: 1,065,070,607 (July 2004 est.)
India's population is one billion (one thousand million), making it the second most populous country after China. It is more than three times the population of the United States though its area is only about one-third.
* Languages:
17 major languages, 844 dialects
* Religion:
The two main religions are Hinduism (80%) and the Muslim religion (10%) but there are also small numbers of Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Parsees and Jains.
* Climate:
The Climate in India varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north.
* Government:
Federal republic..
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