Shyamasree Basu Indian Artist Kolkata Abstract Titled Creative Oil On Canvas Fra

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Seller: memorabilia111 ✉️ (808) 100%, Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, Ships to: US, Item: 176277815988 SHYAMASREE BASU INDIAN ARTIST KOLKATA ABSTRACT TITLED CREATIVE OIL ON CANVAS FRA. SHYAMASREE BASU (1938-) INDIAN ARTIST FROM KOLKATA WITH HER ADDRESS AND PAINTING TITLE ON BACK OF THIS OIL ON CANVAS THE PAINTING IS LOOSE IN THE FRAME AND IS BROKEN ON TOP. (CHEAPER FRAME). FRAME MEASURES APPROXIMATELY 16 3/4 X 20 1/2 INCHES WHILE CANVAS MESURES APPROXIMATELY 15 3/4 X 19 1/2 INCHES. PAINTING IS ABSTRACT AND TITLES CREATIVE Shyamasree Basu born in 1938 at Kolkata and her talents were spotted in Drawings & Colouring at a very early age, being always encouraged at home. However her tutor Shanu Lahin, laterday a famous artist, has had spotted her creative abilities and nurtured the same to a great extent. She was always an exceptional, imanigative, and innovative with her artistic skills in school and college. Later, she had been graduated from Govt. College of Arts & Crafts, Kolkata in 1960. Subsequently in same year, She got a PG Art appreciation certificate from University of Calcutta. She had also short stint as Art Lecturer in a Pvt. College as well. She has experienced in Creative Painter, Acrylic Painter & Oil Painter. In Art College, She had such Class friends as Sunil Das, Jogen Chowdhury, Dhiraj Chowdhury, and Anita Ray Chowdhury amongst many, who all later on became distinguished Artists of India and International fame. She has also had Guru Bhagya of learning her basics from late Prof Anil Bhattacherya, and got her talim in Modem & Contemporary Arts from the late Guru Sunil Madhav Sen and Sri Satyen Ghosal. Initially, She joined the Society of Contemporary Artists in 1959-61, and later on She joined with Karuna Saba, Meera Mukherjee, Shanu Lahiri, Santosh Rohatgi to form "The Group", a consortium of Women Artists of Kolkata in 1983.Since then She had 15 Solo Exhibitions and participated in all major Group Shows and Art Camps of India, in most Metropolitan cities with successes. She also had few overseas Exhibitions in Abroad as well.   Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur, Inaugurating Exhibition on 2004 at Nehru Centre, London Ex President Sankar Dayal Sharma presenting award to the Artist Shyamasree Basu on behalf AIFACS in 1999 Speaker Sri Shomenath Chatterjee Inaugurating the Exhibition of Shyamasree Basu at LKA_DL on 2004   top   Exhibition   Selected Shows - SOLO. Artistry House, Park Stree, Calcutta 1962 AIFACS Gallery, New Delhi. , 1963, Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, 1964, 70, 86,92,2002,2003. USIS Gallery Kolkat . 1976. Lalit Kala Academy - ND, 7004. Tagore Centre, Berlin, Germany by ICCR, 2004. Nehru Centre, London, UK., by ICCR 2004. G - Gallery, Bangalore. 2004. Mc Lean Art Museumand Gallery, Glasgow, Uk. 2005. GROUP SHOWS THE GROUP annual show, Ca1, DL, Mumbai. 1983-2005 Jawar Centenary Exhibition by IAAI, New Delhi.1986 Mahakosal Kala Parishat , Raipur, MP.1986 All India Women's ArtExhibition, AIFACS,-ND. 1987 Chetna Art Gallery , The Group, at Mwnbai 1987 NABS - Santa Clara, California, USA1999 NABS- Marriot, Boston, Mass, USA 2001 Lalit Kala Academy annual show - AH. 2001 SIMA art Gallery, LKA - Kolkata  2002 CharuKala Parshat, WB, annual show 1996 - 2004 CEMO show for Awareness creation to Ecology. 2005. 'La. Mere' Gallery, annual show, Kolkata. 1990 -2006. AWARDS & APPRECIATIONS. Silver Medal at Exhibition of Arts Society's annual show Kol. 1960  Governor's Gold Medal, Art Society, Kol 1971 Best Exhibit award by Academy of Fine Arts. Kolkata. 1993 President of India Medal for Senior Artist, AIF ACS. 1999 Lalitkala Akademy Annual 44, selection of appreciation, 2003 COMMISSIONS at Few Multi National Cos. of India, . The Indian Navy, Kolkata The Indian Army, Officer's Mess - Guwahati. ACC Centre of Indian Army - Secuntb'abad The Saturday Club, ( Restoration of Old painting.) Kolkata COLLECTIONS - The collection of my present abstract work arose from my desire to embody my experiences having spent my childhood in the remote wildernesss of Hazaribagh and in this bustling city of Kolkata and subsequently having traveled to many parts of World. I have learned to look at things in greater detail and have discovered the extraordinary in every small thing. I strongly feel the tranquil beauty of the Himalyays, excitements of urban cities, murmur of the Rivers & the music in the Jungles, all of which made a wondrous impact to my canvasses. Even as I like to evoke a sense of mystery and wonder of a hidden world that we normally do not see around, I also feel the pain and anxiety as these shatter and wither away under the ruthless effect of environmental degradation. Much as these paintings are directly a result of my emotional experiences and struggles with different environments and render a cry of protest, it is my hope that viewers allow themselves the freedom to relate and find their own interpretation in the context of the present turmoil the world over. Individual collectors from - London, GIasgow, Paris, Germany, Denmark, Canada ,USA, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Singpore, and India.
Shyamasree Basu born in 1938 at Kolkata and her talents were spotted in Drawings & Colouring at a very early age, being always encouraged at home. However her tutor Shanu Lahin, laterday a famous artist, has had spotted her creative abilities and nurtured the same to a great extent. She was always an exceptional, imanigative, and innovative with her artistic skills in school and college. Later, she had been graduated from Govt. College of Arts & Crafts, Kolkata in 1960. Subsequently in same year, She got a PG Art appreciation certificate from University of Calcutta. She had also short stint as Art Lecturer in a Pvt. College as well. She has experienced in Creative Painter, Acrylic Painter & Oil Painter. In Art College, She had such Class friends as Sunil Das, Jogen Chowdhury, Dhiraj Chowdhury, and Anita Ray Chowdhury amongst many, who all later on became distinguished Artists of India and International fame. She has also had Guru Bhagya of learning her basics from late Prof Anil Bhattacherya, and got her talim in Modem & Contemporary Arts from the late Guru Sunil Madhav Sen and Sri Satyen Ghosal. Initially, She joined the Society of Contemporary Artists in 1959-61, and later on She joined with Karuna Saba, Meera Mukherjee, Shanu Lahiri, Santosh Rohatgi to form "The Group", a consortium of Women Artists of Kolkata in 1983.Since then She had 15 Solo Exhibitions and participated in all major Group Shows and Art Camps of India, in most Metropolitan cities with successes. She also had few overseas Exhibitions in Abroad as well.   Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur, Inaugurating Exhibition on 2004 at Nehru Centre, London Ex President Sankar Dayal Sharma presenting award to the Artist Shyamasree Basu on behalf AIFACS in 1999 Speaker Sri Shomenath Chatterjee Inaugurating the Exhibition of Shyamasree Basu at LKA_DL on 2004   top   Exhibition   Selected Shows - SOLO. Artistry House, Park Stree, Calcutta 1962 AIFACS Gallery, New Delhi. , 1963, Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, 1964, 70, 86,92,2002,2003. USIS Gallery Kolkat . 1976. Lalit Kala Academy - ND, 7004. Tagore Centre, Berlin, Germany by ICCR, 2004. Nehru Centre, London, UK., by ICCR 2004. G - Gallery, Bangalore. 2004. Mc Lean Art Museumand Gallery, Glasgow, Uk. 2005. GROUP SHOWS THE GROUP annual show, Ca1, DL, Mumbai. 1983-2005 Jawar Centenary Exhibition by IAAI, New Delhi.1986 Mahakosal Kala Parishat , Raipur, MP.1986 All India Women's ArtExhibition, AIFACS,-ND. 1987 Chetna Art Gallery , The Group, at Mwnbai 1987 NABS - Santa Clara, California, USA1999 NABS- Marriot, Boston, Mass, USA 2001 Lalit Kala Academy annual show - AH. 2001 SIMA art Gallery, LKA - Kolkata  2002 CharuKala Parshat, WB, annual show 1996 - 2004 CEMO show for Awareness creation to Ecology. 2005. 'La. Mere' Gallery, annual show, Kolkata. 1990 -2006. AWARDS & APPRECIATIONS. Silver Medal at Exhibition of Arts Society's annual show Kol. 1960  Governor's Gold Medal, Art Society, Kol 1971 Best Exhibit award by Academy of Fine Arts. Kolkata. 1993 President of India Medal for Senior Artist, AIF ACS. 1999 Lalitkala Akademy Annual 44, selection of appreciation, 2003 COMMISSIONS at Few Multi National Cos. of India, . The Indian Navy, Kolkata The Indian Army, Officer's Mess - Guwahati. ACC Centre of Indian Army - Secuntb'abad The Saturday Club, ( Restoration of Old painting.) Kolkata COLLECTIONS - The collection of my present abstract work arose from my desire to embody my experiences having spent my childhood in the remote wildernesss of Hazaribagh and in this bustling city of Kolkata and subsequently having traveled to many parts of World. I have learned to look at things in greater detail and have discovered the extraordinary in every small thing. I strongly feel the tranquil beauty of the Himalyays, excitements of urban cities, murmur of the Rivers & the music in the Jungles, all of which made a wondrous impact to my canvasses. Even as I like to evoke a sense of mystery and wonder of a hidden world that we normally do not see around, I also feel the pain and anxiety as these shatter and wither away under the ruthless effect of environmental degradation. Much as these paintings are directly a result of my emotional experiences and struggles with different environments and render a cry of protest, it is my hope that viewers allow themselves the freedom to relate and find their own interpretation in the context of the present turmoil the world over. Individual collectors from - London, GIasgow, Paris, Germany, Denmark, Canada ,USA, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Singpore, and India. Shyamasree Basu(b.1938) studied at Kamala Girl's High School,where she regularly stood first. It was here,that her art teacher-the renowned painter from Paris,Shanu Lahiri induced in her the dream of becoming an artist. In 1955 she joined the Government College of Art & Craft. Among her teachers were Gopal Ghosh, Satyen Ghosal,Rathin Moitra amongst others. Her classmates were Dhiraj Choudhury,Sunil Das,Jogen Chowdhury & Anita Roy Chowdhury,all of whom went on to become renowned artists of the 60's. Through the 70's she visited Europe which enriched her own personal style & she gradually shifted from being a figurative painter to a more abstract style. She became a member of The Society of Contemporary Artists from 1959-1961 & later joined the Calcutta Painters Group. Along with artists Shanu Lahiri,Karuna Shaha,Santosh Rohatgi & Meera Mukherjee they formed India's first women's artists group called 'The Group'. She held over 18 solo shows in India,Berlin,London,Glasgow,Wurzburg & Santaclara amongst others & in over 50 group shows in India & abroad. In 1960she received the silver medal from the Arts Society,Calcutta,Gold Medal feom the Governor of West Bengal in 1970,President's Gold Medal from AIFACS,New Delhi amongst others. Her work can be found at AIFACS,The Lalit Kala Akademi,Victoria Memorial,The Indian Navy,HUDCO,Exide Group,Museum of Bengal Modern Art,Kolkata. Private Collections in London,Glasgow,Paris,Germany,Denmark,Canada,Australia,Singapore,Italy,Honey Kong amongst others. Painting surface is an important attribute in Shyamasree Basu's work, which is achieved through intricate patterning and layering of the ground. The patterning of separate areas sets off these spaces, giving each its own depth and providing body to the visual text. Her images stem from their environment. These come to her in the way of revelation, the specific context in which a woman would limit and define her significance. Considered or hieratic, almost arresting, each has its own story to tell. Indian art consists of a variety of art forms, including painting, sculpture, pottery, and textile arts such as woven silk. Geographically, it spans the entire Indian subcontinent, including what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and eastern Afghanistan. A strong sense of design is characteristic of Indian art and can be observed in its modern and traditional forms. The origin of Indian art can be traced to pre-historic settlements in the 3rd millennium BC. On its way to modern times, Indian art has had cultural influences, as well as religious influences such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Islam. In spite of this complex mixture of religious traditions, generally, the prevailing artistic style at any time and place has been shared by the major religious groups. Ancient art history Middle East MesopotamiaAncient EgyptHittitePersia Asia IndiaChinaJapanKorea European prehistory CycladicNuragicEtruscanCelticScythia Classical art Ancient GreeceHellenisticRome vte In historic art, sculpture in stone and metal, mainly religious, has survived the Indian climate better than other media and provides most of the best remains. Many of the most important ancient finds that are not in carved stone come from the surrounding, drier regions rather than India itself. Indian funeral and philosophic traditions exclude grave goods, which is the main source of ancient art in other cultures. Indian artist styles historically followed Indian religions out of the subcontinent, having an especially large influence in Tibet, South East Asia and China. Indian art has itself received influences at times, especially from Central Asia and Iran, and Europe. Contents 1 Early Indian art 1.1 Rock art 1.2 Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3300 BC – c. 1750 BC) 1.3 Mauryan art (c. 322 BCE – c. 185 BCE) 1.4 Colossal Yaksha statuary (2nd century BCE) 1.5 Buddhist art (c. 150 BCE – c. 500 CE) 1.5.1 Shunga Dynasty (c. 185 BCE – 72 BCE) 1.5.2 Satavahana dynasty (c. 1st/3rd century BCE – c. 3rd century CE) 1.5.3 Kushan Empire (c. 30 CE - c. 375 CE) 1.6 Gupta art (c. 320 CE – c. 550 CE) 2 Middle kingdoms and the Late Medieval period (c. 600 CE – c. 1300 CE) 2.1 Dynasties of South India (c. 3rd century CE – c. 1300 CE) 2.2 Temples of Khajuraho (c. 800 CE – c. 1000 CE) 2.3 Deccan 3 Early Modern and Colonial Era (c. 1400 CE – c. 1800 CE) 3.1 Mughal art 3.2 Other medieval Indian kingdoms 3.3 British period (1841–1947) 4 Contemporary art (c. 1900 CE-present) 5 Material history of Indian art 5.1 Sculpture 5.2 Wall painting 5.3 Miniature painting 5.4 Jewellery 5.5 Other materials 6 Contextual history of Indian art 6.1 Temple art 6.2 Folk and tribal art 6.3 Contextual Modernism 7 Art museums of India 7.1 Major cities 7.2 Archaeological museums 7.3 Modern art museums 7.4 Other museums 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 Further reading Early Indian art  Rock painting at one of the Bhimbetka rock shelters Rock painting at one of the Bhimbetka rock shelters Rock art The Dancing Girl of Mohenjo Daro" Rock art of India includes rock relief carvings, engravings and paintings, some (but by no means all) from the South Asian Stone Age. It is estimated there are about 1300 rock art sites with over a quarter of a million figures and figurines.[1] The earliest rock carvings in India were discovered by Archibald Carlleyle, twelve years before the Cave of Altamira in Spain,[2] although his work only came to light much later via J Cockburn (1899).[3] Dr. V. S. Wakankar discovered several painted rock shelters in Central India, situated around the Vindhya mountain range. Of these, the c. 750 sites making up the Bhimbetka rock shelters have been enrolled as a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the earliest paintings are some 10,000 years old.[4][5][6][7][8] The paintings in these sites commonly depicted scenes of human life alongside animals, and hunts with stone implements. Their style varied with region and age, but the most common characteristic was a red wash made using a powdered mineral called geru, which is a form of Iron Oxide (Hematite).[9] Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3300 BC – c. 1750 BC) Main article: Indus Valley Civilization Despite its widespread and sophistication, the Indus Valley civilization seems to have taken no interest in public large-scale art, unlike many other early civilizations. A number of gold, terracotta and stone figurines of girls in dancing poses reveal the presence of some forms of dance. Additionally, the terracotta figurines included cows, bears, monkeys, and dogs. Much the most common form of figurative art found is small carved seals. Thousands of steatite seals have been recovered, and their physical character is fairly consistent. In size they range from ​3⁄4 inch to 1​1⁄2 inches square. In most cases they have a pierced boss at the back to accommodate a cord for handling or for use as personal adornment. Seals have been found at Mohenjo-Daro depicting a figure standing on its head, and another, on the Pashupati Seal, sitting cross-legged in a yoga-like pose. This figure has been variously identified. Sir John Marshall identified a resemblance to the Hindu god, Shiva.[10] The animal depicted on a majority of seals at sites of the mature period has not been clearly identified. Part bull, part zebra, with a majestic horn, it has been a source of speculation. As yet, there is insufficient evidence to substantiate claims that the image had religious or cultist significance, but the prevalence of the image raises the question of whether or not the animals in images of the IVC are religious symbols.[11] The most famous piece is the bronze Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-Daro, which shows remarkably advanced modelling of the human figure for this early date.[12] After the end of the Indus Valley Civilization, there is a surprising absence of art of any great degree of sophistication until the Buddhist era. It is thought that this partly reflects the use of perishable organic materials such as wood.[13] Mauryan art (c. 322 BCE – c. 185 BCE) Main article: Mauryan art The Pataliputra capital, an early example of Mauryan stone sculpture, displaying Persian and Hellenistic influences. 3rd century BCE, Patna Museum Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka, circa 250 BCE. Sarnath Museum The north Indian Maurya Empire flourished from 322 BCE to 185 BCE, and at its maximum extent controlled all of the sub-continent except the extreme south as well as influences from Indian ancient traditions, and Ancient Persia,[14] as shown by the Pataliputra capital. The emperor Ashoka, who died in 232 BCE, adopted Buddhism about half-way through his 40-year reign, and patronized several large stupas at key sites from the life of the Buddha, although very little decoration from the Mauryan period survives, and there may not have been much in the first place. There is more from various early sites of Indian rock-cut architecture. The most famous survivals are the large animals surmounting several of the Pillars of Ashoka, which showed a confident and boldly mature style and craft and first of its kind iron casting without rust until date, which was in use by vedic people in rural areas of the country, though we have very few remains showing its development.[15] The famous detached Lion Capital of Ashoka, with four animals, was adopted as the official Emblem of India after Indian independence.[16] Mauryan sculpture and architecture is characterized by a very fine Mauryan polish given to the stone, which is rarely found in later periods. Many small popular terracotta figurines are recovered in archaeology, in a range of often vigorous if somewhat crude styles. Both animals and human figures, usually females presumed to be deities, are found.[17] Colossal Yaksha statuary (2nd century BCE) "Mudgarpani" Yaksha, circa 100 BCE.[18] Art of Mathura, Mathura Museum Yakshas seem to have been the object of an important cult in the early periods of Indian history, many of them being known such as Kubera, king of the Yakshas, Manibhadra or Mudgarpani.[19] The Yakshas are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness,[20][21] and were the object of popular worship.[22] Many of them were later incorporated into Buddhism, Jainism or Hinduism.[19] In the 2nd century BCE, Yakshas became the focus of the creation of colossal cultic images, typically around 2 meters or more in height, which are considered as probably the first Indian anthropomorphic productions in stone.[23][19] Although few ancient Yaksha statues remain in good condition, the vigor of the style has been applauded, and expresses essentially Indian qualities.[23] They are often pot-bellied, two-armed and fierce-looking.[19] The Yashas are often depicted with weapons or attributes, such as the Yaksha Mudgarpani who in the right hand holds a mudgar mace, and in the left hand the figure of a small standing devotee or child joining hands in prayer.[24][19] It is often suggested that the style of the colossal Yaksha statuary had an important influence on the creation of later divine images and human figures in India.[25] The female equivalent of the Yashas were the Yashinis, often associated with trees and children, and whose voluptuous figures became omnipresent in Indian art.[19] Some Hellenistic influence, such as the geometrical folds of the drapery or the walking stance of the statues, has been suggested.[23] According to John Boardman, the hem of the dress in the monumental early Yaksha statues is derived from Greek art.[23] Describing the drapery of one of these statues, John Boardman writes: "It has no local antecedents and looks most like a Greek Late Archaic mannerism", and suggests it is possibly derived from the Hellenistic art of nearby Bactria where this design is known.[23] In the production of colossal Yaksha statues carved in the round, which can be found in several locations in northern India, the art of Mathura is considered as the most advanced in quality and quantity during this period.[26] Buddhist art (c. 150 BCE – c. 500 CE) See also: Greco-Buddhist art and Mathura art Crossbar medallion with elephant and riders, Mathura art, circa 150 BCE.[27] The major survivals of Buddhist art begin in the period after the Mauryans, from which good quantities of sculpture survives. Some key sites are Sanchi, Bharhut and Amaravati, some of which remain in situ, with others in museums in India or around the world. Stupas were surrounded by ceremonial fences with four profusely carved toranas or ornamental gateways facing the cardinal directions. These are in stone, though clearly adopting forms developed in wood. They and the walls of the stupa itself can be heavily decorated with reliefs, mostly illustrating the lives of the Buddha. Gradually life-size figures were sculpted, initially in deep relief, but then free-standing.[28] Mathura was the most important centre in this development, which applied to Hindu and Jain art as well as Buddhist.[29] The facades and interiors of rock-cut chaitya prayer halls and monastic viharas have survived better than similar free-standing structures elsewhere, which were for long mostly in wood. The caves at Ajanta, Karle, Bhaja and elsewhere contain early sculpture, often outnumbered by later works such as iconic figures of the Buddha and bodhisattvas, which are not found before 100 CE at the least. Buddhism developed an increasing emphasis on statues of the Buddha, which was greatly influenced by Hindu and Jain religious figurative art, The figures of this period which were also influenced by the Greco-Buddhist art of the centuries after the conquests of Alexander the Great. This fusion developed in the far north-west of India, especially Gandhara in modern Afghanistan and Pakistan.[30] The Indian Kushan Empire spread from Central Asia to include northern India in the early centuries CE, and briefly commissioned large statues that were portraits of the royal dynasty.[31] Shunga Dynasty (c. 185 BCE – 72 BCE) Main article: Shunga Empire The Great Stupa at Sanchi, c. 273 BCE – 232 BCE (Mauryan Empire), enlarged c. 150 BCE – 50 BCE (Shunga Dynasty) With the fall of the Maurya Empire, control of India was returned to the older custom of regional dynasties, one of the most significant of which was the Shunga Dynasty (c. 185 BCE – 72 BCE) of central India. During this period, as well as during the Satavahana Dynasty which occurred concurrently with the Shunga Dynasty in south India, some of the most significant early Buddhist architecture was created. Arguably, the most significant architecture of this dynasty is the stupa, a religious monument which usually holds a sacred relic of Buddhism. These relics were often, but not always, in some way directly connected to the Buddha. Due to the fact that these stupas contained remains of the Buddha himself, each stupa was venerated as being an extension of the Buddha's body, his enlightenment, and of his achievement of nirvana. The way in which Buddhists venerate the stupa is by walking around it in a clockwise manner.[32] A monumental rock-cut cave, the Great Chaitya at Karla Caves, built circa 120 CE One of the most notable examples of the Buddhist stupa from the Shunga Dynasty is The Great Stupa at Sanchi, which was thought to be founded by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka c. 273 BCE – 232 BCE during the Maurya Empire.[33] The Great Stupa was enlarged to its present diameter of 120 feet, covered with a stone casing, topped with a balcony and umbrella, and encircled with a stone railing during the Shunga Dynasty c. 150 BCE - 50 BCE. In addition to architecture, another significant art form of the Shunga Dynasty is the elaborately moulded terracotta plaques. As seen in previous examples from the Mauryan Empire, a style in which surface detail, nudity, and sensuality is continued in the terracotta plaques of the Shunga Dynasty. The most common figural representations seen on these plaques are women, some of which are thought to be goddesses, who are mostly shown as bare-chested and wearing elaborate headdresses.[34] Satavahana dynasty (c. 1st/3rd century BCE – c. 3rd century CE) Main article: Satavahana dynasty The Satavahana dynasty ruled in central India, and sponsored many large Buddhist monuments, stupas, temples, and prayer-halls, including the Amaravati Stupa, the Karla Caves, and the first phase of the Ajanta Caves.[35] Stupas are religious monuments built on burial mounds, which contain relics beneath a solid dome. Stupas in different areas of India may vary in structure, size, and design; however, their representational meanings are quite similar. They are designed based on a mandala, a graph of cosmos specific to Buddhism. A traditional stupa has a railing that provides a sacred path for Buddhist followers to practice devotional circumambulation in ritual settings. Also, ancient Indians considered caves as sacred places since they were inhabited by holy men and monks. A chaitya was constructed from a cave.[32] Relief sculptures of Buddhist figures and epigraphs written in Brahmi characters are often found in divine places specific to Buddhism.[36] To celebrate the divine, Satavahana people also made stone images as the decoration in Buddhist architectures. Based on the knowledge of geometry and geology, they created ideal images using a set of complex techniques and tools such as chisels, hammers, and compasses with iron points.[37] In addition, delicate Satavahana coins show the capacity of creating art in that period. The Satavahanas issued coins primarily in copper, lead and potin. Later on, silver came into use when producing coins. The coins usually have detailed portraits of rulers and inscriptions written in the language of Tamil and Telugu.[36] sculpture of the Gautama Buddha 1st–2nd century AD, Gandhara, Pakistan One of the first representations of the Buddha, Kushan period, 1st–2nd century CE, Gandhara, Pakistan: Standing Buddha (Tokyo National Museum). Kushan Empire (c. 30 CE - c. 375 CE) Main article: Kushan art Officially established by Kujula Kadphises, the first Kushan emperor who united the Yuezhi tribes, the Kushan empire was a syncretic empire in central and southern Asia, including the regions of Gandhara and Mathura in northern India. From 127 to 151 CE, Gandharan reached its peak under the reign of Kanishka the Great. In this period, Kushan art inherited the Greco-Buddhist art.[38] Mahayana Buddhism flourished, and the depictions of Buddha as a human form first appeared in art. Wearing a monk's robe and a long length of cloth draped over the left shoulder and around the body, the Buddha was depicted with 32 major lakshanas (distinguishing marks), including a golden-colored body, an ushnisha (a protuberance) on the top of his head, heavy earrings, elongated earlobes, long arms, the impression of a chakra (wheel) on the palms of his hands and the soles of his feet, and the urna (a mark between his eyebrows).[32] One of the hallmarks of Gandharan art is its relation to naturalism of Hellenistic art. The naturalistic features found in Gandharan sculptures include the three-dimensional treatment of the drapery, with unregularized folds that are in realistic patterns of random shape and thickness. The physical form of the Buddha and his bodhisattvas are well-defined, solid, and muscular, with swelling chests, arms, and abdomens.[39] Buddhism and Buddhism art spread to Central Asia and the far East across Bactria and Sogdia, where the Kushan Empire met the Han Dynasty of China.[40] Gupta art (c. 320 CE – c. 550 CE) Main article: Gupta art The Gupta period is generally regarded as a classic peak of north Indian art for all the major religious groups. Although painting was evidently widespread, and survives in the Ajanta Caves, the surviving works are almost all religious sculpture. The period saw the emergence of the iconic carved stone deity in Hindu art, as well as the Buddha-figure and Jain tirthankara figures, these last often on a very large scale. The main centres of sculpture were Mathura Sarnath, and Gandhara, the last the centre of Greco-Buddhist art. The Gupta period marked the "golden age" of classical Hinduism,[41] and saw the earliest constructed Hindu temple architecture, though survivals are not numerous. Gupta art during the Golden Age of India Seated Buddha, 5th century CE, Sarnath Museum   Mahishasuramardini, Dashavatara Temple   Krishna killing the horse-demon Keshi, ca. 5th century CE, Metropolitan Museum of Art   Iron Pillar of Delhi known for its rust-resistant composition of metals, ca. 3rd–4th century CE, Middle kingdoms and the Late Medieval period (c. 600 CE – c. 1300 CE) Over this period Hindu temple architecture matured into a number of regional styles, and a large proportion of the art historical record for this period consists of temple sculpture, much of which remains in place. The political history of the middle kingdoms of India saw India divided into many states, and since much of the grandest building was commissioned by rulers and their court, this helped the development of regional differences. Painting, both on a large scale on walls, and in miniature forms, was no doubt very widely practiced, but survivals are rare. Medieval bronzes have most commonly survived from either the Tamil south, or the Himalayan foothills. Dynasties of South India (c. 3rd century CE – c. 1300 CE) Further information: Pandyan art and architecture, Pallava art and architecture, and Chola art and architecture Inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka mention coexistence of the northern kingdoms with the triumvirate of Chola, Chera and Pandya Tamil dynasties, situated south of the Vindhya mountains.[42] The medieval period witnessed the rise and fall of these kingdoms, in conjunction with other kingdoms in the area. It is during the decline and resurgence of these kingdoms that Hinduism was renewed. It fostered the construction of numerous temples and sculptures. Art of South India Cave 3 at the Badami cave temples (Early Chalukya dynasty, c. 6th century CE)   Shore Temple of Mamallapuram (Pallava dynasty, 700–728 CE)   Youth in lotus pond, ceiling fresco at Sittanvasal, 850 CE   Chola bronze sculpture of Shiva as Nataraja, the Lord of Dance The Shore Temple at Mamallapuram constructed by the Pallavas symbolizes early Hindu architecture, with its monolithic rock relief and sculptures of Hindu deities. They were succeeded by Chola rulers who were prolific in their pursuit of the arts. The Great Living Chola Temples of this period are known for their maturity, grandeur and attention to detail, and have been recognized as a UNESCO Heritage Site.[43] The Chola period is also known for its bronze sculptures, the lost-wax casting technique and fresco paintings. Thanks to the Hindu kings of the Chalukya dynasty, Jainism flourished alongside Islam evidenced by the fourth of the Badami cave temples being Jain instead of Vedic. The kingdoms of South India continued to rule their lands until the Muslim invasions that established sultanates there and destroyed much of the temples and marvel examples of architectures and sculptures Temples of Khajuraho (c. 800 CE – c. 1000 CE) Main article: Khajuraho Group of Monuments § Arts and sculpture Vishvanatha Temple, part of the Khajuraho group of monuments Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site,[44] the Khajuraho group of monuments were constructed by the Chandela clan of the Rajput dynasties. Apart from the usual Hindu temples, 10% of the sculptures depict twisted bodies of men and women that shed light on the everyday socio-cultural and religious practices in Medieval India. Ever since their discovery, the degree of sexuality depicted in these sculptures has drawn both negative and positive criticism from scholars.[45][46][need quotation to verify] The Khajuraho temples were in active use under Hindu kingdoms, until the establishment of the Delhi Sultanates of the 13th century. Under Muslim rule until the 18th century, many of Khajuraho's monuments were destroyed, but a few ruins still remain. Deccan Other Hindu states are now mainly known through their surviving temples and their attached sculpture. These include Badami Chalukya architecture (5th to 6th centuries), Western Chalukya architecture (11th to 12th centuries) and Hoysala architecture (11th to 14th centuries), all centred on modern Karnataka. In east India, Odisha and West Bengal, Kalinga architecture was the broad temple style, with local variants, before the Muslim conquest. Early Modern and Colonial Era (c. 1400 CE – c. 1800 CE) Mughal art Main article: Mughal painting Although Islamic conquests in India were made as early as the first half of the 10th century, it wasn't until the Mughal Empire that one observes emperors with a patronage for the fine arts. Emperor Humayun, during his reestablishment of the Delhi Sultanate in 1555, brought with him Mir Sayyid Ali and Abd al-Samad, two of the finest painters from Persian Shah Tahmasp's renowned atelier. During the reign of Akbar (1556—1605), the number of painters grew from around 30 during the creation of the Hamzanama in the mid-1560s, to around 130 by the mid 1590s.[47] According to court historian Abu'l-Fazal, Akbar was hands-on in his interest of the arts, inspecting his painters regularly and rewarding the best.[48] It is during this time that Persian artists were attracted to bringing their unique style to the empire. Indian elements were present in their works from the beginning, with the incorporation of local Indian flora and fauna that were otherwise absent from the traditional Persian style. The paintings of this time reflected the vibrancy and inclusion of Akbar's kingdom, with production of Persian miniatures, the Rajput paintings (including the Kangra school) and the Pahari style of Northern India. They also influenced the Company style watercolor paintings created during the British rule many years later. Mughal art of Northern India (pre-1600) and its influences Arghan Div Brings the Chest of Armor to Hamza, from Volume 7 of the Hamzanama, supervised by Samad, ca. 1562—1577. Opaque watercolor and gold on cotton.   Abu'l-Fazl presenting Akbarnama to Akbar. Mughal miniature.   Krishna playing flute, ca. 1790—1800, Guler/Kangra region. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper.   Jama Masjid, Delhi, Willam Carpenter, 1852. Watercolor. With the death of Akbar, his son Jahangir (1605–1627) took the throne. He preferred each painter work on a single piece rather than the collaboration fostered during Akbar's time. This period marks the emergence of distinct individual styles, notably Bishan Das, Manohar Das, Abu al-Hasan, Govardhan, and Daulat.[49] Jahangir himself had the capability to identify the work of each individual artist,even if the work was unnamed.The Razmnama (Persian translation of the Hindu epic Mahabharata) and an illustrated memoir of Jahangir, named Tuzuk-i Jahangiri, were created under his rule. Jahangir was succeeded by Shah Jahan (1628–1658), whose most notable architectural contribution is the Taj Mahal. Paintings under his rule were more formal, featuring court scenes, in contrast to the personal styles from his predecessor's time. Aurangzeb (1658–1707), who held increasingly orthodox Sunni beliefs, forcibly took the throne from his father Shah Jahan. With a ban of music and painting in 1680, his reign saw the decline of Mughal patronage of the arts. As painting declined in the imperial court, artists and the general influence of Mughal painting spread to the princely courts and cities of north India, where both portraiture, the illustration of the Indian epics, and Hindu religious painting developed in many local schools and styles. Notable among these were the schools of Rajput, Pahari, Deccan, Kangra painting. Mughal art of Northern India (post-1600) Jahangir in Darbar, from the Jahangir-nama, c. 1620. Gouache on paper.   Portrait of the emperor Shah Jahan, enthroned. ca. 17th century.   Southern view of the Taj Mahal, captured 2012.   A durbar scene with the newly crowned Emperor Aurangzeb. Other medieval Indian kingdoms The last empire in southern India, until the Mughals conquered it after 1565, has left spectacular remains of Vijayanagara architecture, especially at Hampi, Karnataka, often heavily decorated with sculpture. These developed the Chola tradition. After the Mughal conquest, the temple tradition continued to develop, mainly in the expansion of existing temples, which added new outer walls with increasingly large gopurams, often dwarfing the older buildings in the centre. These became usually thickly covered with plaster statues of deities and other religious figures, which need have their brightly-coloured paint kept renewed at intervals so they do not erode away. In South-Central India, during the late fifteenth century after the Middle kingdoms, the Bahmani sultanate disintegrated into the Deccan sultanates centered at Bijapur, Golconda, Ahmadnagar, Bidar, and Berar. They used vedic techniques of metal casting, stone carving, and painting, as well as a distinctive architectural style with the addition of citadels and tombs from Mughal architecture. For instance, the Baridi dynasty (1504–1619) of Bidar saw the invention of bidri ware, which was adopted from Vedic and Maurya period ashoka pillars of zinc mixed with copper, tin, and lead and inlaid with silver or brass, then covered with a mud paste containing sal ammoniac, which turned the base metal black, highlighting the colour and sheen of the inlaid metal. Only after the Mughal conquest of Ahmadnagar in 1600 did the Persian influence patronized by the Turco-Mongol Mughals begin to affect Deccan art. Deccan art of South-Central India The Char Minar mosque in Hyderabad. Completed in 1591.   Bidriware water-pipe base, ca. 18th century, Los Angeles County Museum of Art   The Gol Gumbaz mausoleum in Bijapur, Karnataka. Completed in 1656.   Portrait of Abu'l Hasan, the last Sultan of Golconda. ca. late 17th—early 18th century.   Chand Bibi hawking, an 18th-century Deccan painting, gouache heightened with gold on paper. British period (1841–1947) British colonial rule had a great impact on Indian art, especially from the mid-19th century onwards. Many old patrons of art became less wealthy and influential, and Western art more ubiquitous as the British Empire established schools of art in major cities. The oldest, the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai, was established in 1850. In major cities with many Europeans, the Company style of small paintings became common, created by Indian artists working for European patrons of the East India Company. The style mainly used watercolour, to convey soft textures and tones, in a style combining influences from Western prints and Mughal painting.[50] By 1858, the British government took over the task of administration of India under the British Raj. Many commissions by Indian princes were now wholly or partly in Western styles, or the hybrid Indo-Saracenic architecture. The fusion of Indian traditions with European style at this time is evident from Raja Ravi Varma's oil paintings of sari-clad women in a graceful manner. Pre-independence Indian art Company painting by Dip Chand (c. 1760 – c. 1764) depicting an official of the East India Company   Tipu's Tiger, an 18th-century automata with its keyboard visible. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.   Shakuntala by Raja Ravi Varma (1870). Oil on canvas.   Asoka's Queen by Abanindranath Tagore (c. 1910). Chromoxylograph. With the Swadeshi Movement gaining momentum by 1905, Indian artists attempted to resuscitate the cultural identities suppressed by the British, rejecting the Romanticized style of the Company paintings and the mannered work of Raja Ravi Varma and his followers. Thus was created what is known today as the Bengal School of Art, led by the reworked Asian styles (with an emphasis on Indian nationalism) of Abanindranath Tagore (1871—1951), who has been referred to as the father of Modern Indian art.[51] Other artists of the Tagore family, such as Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) and Gaganendranath Tagore (1867–1938) as well as new artists of the early 20th century such as Amrita Sher-Gil (1913–1941) were responsible for introducing Avant-garde western styles into Indian Art. Many other artists like Jamini Roy and later S.H. Raza took inspiration from folk traditions. In 1944, K.C.S. Paniker founded the Progressive Painters' Association (PPA) thus giving rise to the "madras movement" in art.[52] Contemporary art (c. 1900 CE-present) In 1947, India became independent of British rule. A group of six artists - K. H. Ara, S. K. Bakre, H. A. Gade, M.F. Husain, S.H. Raza and Francis Newton Souza - founded the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group in the year 1952, to establish new ways of expressing India in the post-colonial era. Though the group was dissolved in 1956, it was profoundly influential in changing the idiom of Indian art. Almost all India's major artists in the 1950s were associated with the group. Some of those who are well-known today are Bal Chabda, Manishi Dey, V. S. Gaitonde, Krishen Khanna, Ram Kumar, Tyeb Mehta, K. G. Subramanyan, A. Ramachandran, Devender Singh, Akbar Padamsee, John Wilkins, Himmat Shah and Manjit Bawa.[53] Present-day Indian art is varied as it had been never before. Among the best-known artists of the newer generation include Bose Krishnamachari and Bikash Bhattacharjee. Another prominent Pakistani modernist was Ismail Gulgee, who after about 1960 adopted an abstract idiom that combines aspects of Islamic calligraphy with an abstract expressionist (or gestural abstractionist) sensibility. Painting and sculpture remained important in the later half of the twentieth century, though in the work of leading artists such as Nalini Malani, Subodh Gupta, Narayanan Ramachandran, Vivan Sundaram, Jitish Kallat, they often found radical new directions. Bharti Dayal has chosen to handle the traditional Mithila painting in most contemporary way and created her own style through the exercises of her own imagination, they appear fresh and unusual. The increase in discourse about Indian art, in English as well as vernacular Indian languages, changed the way art was perceived in the art schools. Critical approach became rigorous; critics like Geeta Kapur, R. Siva Kumar,[54][55]Shivaji K. Panikkar, Ranjit Hoskote, amongst others, contributed to re-thinking contemporary art practice in India. Material history of Indian art Sculpture Main article: sculpture in the Indian subcontinent Chola bronze statue of Nataraja at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City The first known sculpture in the Indian subcontinent is from the Indus Valley civilization (3300–1700 BC), found in sites at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa in modern-day Pakistan. These include the famous small bronze male dancer. However such figures in bronze and stone are rare and greatly outnumbered by pottery figurines and stone seals, often of animals or deities very finely depicted. After the collapse of the Indus Valley civilization there is little record of sculpture until the Buddhist era, apart from a hoard of copper figures of (somewhat controversially) c. 1500 BCE from Daimabad.[56] Thus the great tradition of Indian monumental sculpture in stone appears to begin relatively late, with the reign of Ashoka from 270 to 232 BCE, and the Pillars of Ashoka he erected around India, carrying his edicts and topped by famous sculptures of animals, mostly lions, of which six survive.[57] Large amounts of figurative sculpture, mostly in relief, survive from Early Buddhist pilgrimage stupas, above all Sanchi; these probably developed out of a tradition using wood.[58] Indeed, wood continued to be the main sculptural and architectural medium in Kerala throughout all historic periods until recent decades.[59] During the 2nd to 1st century BCE in far northern India, in the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara from what is now southern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan, sculptures became more explicit, representing episodes of the Buddha's life and teachings. Although India had a long sculptural tradition and a mastery of rich iconography, the Buddha was never represented in human form before this time, but only through some of his symbols. This may be because Gandharan Buddhist sculpture in modern Afghanistan displays Greek and Persian artistic influence. Artistically, the Gandharan school of sculpture is said to have contributed wavy hair, drapery covering both shoulders, shoes and sandals, acanthus leaf decorations, etc. The pink sandstone Hindu, Jain and Buddhist sculptures of Mathura from the 1st to 3rd centuries CE reflected both native Indian traditions and the Western influences received through the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara, and effectively established the basis for subsequent Indian religious sculpture.[58] The style was developed and diffused through most of India under the Gupta Empire (c. 320-550) which remains a "classical" period for Indian sculpture, covering the earlier Ellora Caves,[60] though the Elephanta Caves are probably slightly later.[61] Later large scale sculpture remains almost exclusively religious, and generally rather conservative, often reverting to simple frontal standing poses for deities, though the attendant spirits such as apsaras and yakshi often have sensuously curving poses. Carving is often highly detailed, with an intricate backing behind the main figure in high relief. The celebrated lost wax bronzes of the Chola dynasty (c. 850–1250) from south India, many designed to be carried in processions, include the iconic form of Shiva as Nataraja,[62] with the massive granite carvings of Mahabalipuram dating from the previous Pallava dynasty.[63] The Chola period is also remarkable for its sculptures and bronzes.[64] Among the existing specimens in the various museums of the world and in the temples of South India may be seen many fine figures of Siva in various forms, Vishnu and his wife Lakshmi, Siva saints and many more.[65] Wall painting Fresco from the Ajanta Caves, c. 450-500 Further information: Cave paintings in India The tradition and methods of Indian cliff painting gradually evolved throughout many thousands of years - there are multiple locations found with prehistoric art. The early caves included overhanging rock decorated with rock-cut art and the use of natural caves during the Mesolithic period (6000 BCE). Their use has continued in some areas into historic times.[66] The Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka are on the edge of the Deccan Plateau where deep erosion has left huge sandstone outcrops. The many caves and grottos found there contain primitive tools and decorative rock paintings that reflect the ancient tradition of human interaction with their landscape, an interaction that continues to this day.[67] The oldest surviving frescoes of the historical period have been preserved in the Ajanta Caves with Cave 10 having some from the 1st century CE, though the larger and more famous groups are from the 5th century. Despite climatic conditions that tend to work against the survival of older paintings, in total there are known more than 20 locations in India with paintings and traces of former paintings of ancient and early medieval times (up to the 8th to 10th centuries CE),[68] although these are just a tiny fraction of what would have once existed. The most significant frescoes of the ancient and early medieval period are found in the Ajanta, Bagh, Ellora, and Sittanavasal caves, the last being Jain of the 7th-10th centuries. Although many show evidence of being by artists mainly used to decorating palaces, no early secular wall-paintings survive.[69] Akbar riding the elephant Hawa'I pursuing another elephant The Chola fresco paintings were discovered in 1931 within the circumambulatory passage of the Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, and are the first Chola specimens discovered. Researchers have discovered the technique used in these frescoes. A smooth batter of limestone mixture is applied over the stones, which took two to three days to set. Within that short span, such large paintings were painted with natural organic pigments. During the Nayak period the Chola paintings were painted over. The Chola frescoes lying underneath have an ardent spirit of saivism is expressed in them. They probably synchronised with the completion of the temple by Rajaraja Cholan the Great. Kerala mural painting has well-preserved fresco or mural or wall painting in temple walls in Pundarikapuram, Ettumanoor and Aymanam and elsewhere. Miniature painting Main articles: Indian painting and Mughal painting Although few Indian miniatures survive from before about 1000 CE, and some from the next few centuries, there was probably a considerable tradition. Those that survive are initially illustrations for Buddhist texts, later followed by Jain and Hindu equivalents, and the decline of Buddhist as well as the vulnerable support material of the palm-leaf manuscript probably explain the rarity of early examples.[70] Mughal painting in miniatures on paper developed very quickly in the late 16th century from the combined influence of the existing miniature tradition and artists trained in the Persian miniature tradition imported by the Mughal Emperor's court. New ingredients in the style were much greater realism, especially in portraits, and an interest in animals, plants and other aspects of the physical world.[71] Deccan painting developed around the same time in the Deccan sultanates courts to the south, in some ways more vital, if less poised and elegant.[72] Miniatures either illustrated books or were single works for muraqqas or albums of painting and Islamic calligraphy. The style gradually spread in the next two centuries to influence painting on paper in both Muslim and Hindu princely courts, developing into a number of regional styles often called "sub-Mughal", including Rajput painting, Pahari painting, and finally Company painting, a hybrid watercolour style influenced by European art and largely patronized by the people of the British raj. In "pahari" ("mountain") centres like that of Kangra painting the style remained vital and continued to develop into the early decades of the 19th century.[73] From the mid-19th century Western-style easel paintings became increasingly painted by Indian artists trained in Government art schools. Jewellery Pair of gold earrings, 1st century BCE, Andhra Pradesh. The Indian subcontinent has the longest continuous legacy of jewellery-making, with a history of over 5,000 years.[74] Using jewellery as a store of capital remains more common in India than in most modern societies, and gold appears always to have been strongly preferred for the metal. India and the surrounding areas were important sources of high-quality gemstones, and the jewellery of the ruling class is typified by using them lavishly. One of the first to start jewellery-making were the people of the Indus Valley Civilization. Early remains are few, as they were not buried with their owners. Other materials Wood was undoubtedly extremely important, but rarely survives long in the Indian climate. Organic animal materials such as ivory or bone were discouraged by the Dharmic religions, although Buddhist examples exist, such as the Begram ivories, many of Indian manufacture, but found in Afghanistan, and some relatively modern carved tusks. In Muslim settings they are more common. Contextual history of Indian art Temple art Main article: Indian rock-cut architecture Obscurity shrouds the period between the decline of the Harappans and the definite historic period starting with the Mauryas, and in the historical period, the earliest Indian religion to inspire major artistic monuments was Buddhism. Though there may have been earlier structures in wood that have been transformed into stone structures, there are no physical evidences for these except textual references. Soon after the Buddhists initiated rock-cut caves, Hindus and Jains started to imitate them at Badami, Aihole, Ellora, Salsette, Elephanta, Aurangabad and Mamallapuram and Mughals. It appears to be a constant in Indian art that the different religions shared a very similar artistic style at any particular period and place, though naturally adapting the iconography to match the religion commissioning them.[75] Probably the same groups of artists worked for the different religions regardless of their own affiliations. Indian art also found its way into Italy, within the context of Indo-Roman trade: in 1938 the Pompeii Lakshmi was found in the ruins of Pompeii (destroyed in an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE). Buddhist art first developed during the Gandhara period and Amaravati Periods around the 1st century BCE. It flourished greatly during the Gupta Periods and Pala Periods that comprise the Golden Age of India. Although the most glorious art of these Indian empires was mostly Buddhist in nature, subsequently Hindu Empires like the Pallava, Chola, Hoysala and Vijayanagara Empires developed their own styles of Hindu art as well. There is no time line that divides the creation of rock-cut temples and free-standing temples built with cut stone as they developed in parallel. The building of free-standing structures began in the 5th century, while rock-cut temples continued to be excavated until the 12th century. An example of a free-standing structural temple is the Shore Temple, a part of the Mahabalipuram World Heritage Site, with its slender tower, built on the shore of the Bay of Bengal with finely carved granite rocks cut like bricks and dating from the 8th century.[76][77] Folk and tribal art Folk and tribal art in India takes on different manifestations through varied media such as pottery, painting, metalwork,[78] paper-art, weaving and designing of objects such as jewellery and toys. These are not just aesthetic objects but in fact have an important significance in people's lives and are tied to their beliefs and rituals. The objects can range from sculpture, masks (used in rituals and ceremonies), paintings, textiles, baskets, kitchen objects, arms and weapons, and the human body itself (tattoos and piercings). There is a deep symbolic meaning that is attached to not only the objects themselves but also the materials and techniques used to produce them. Often puranic gods and legends are transformed into contemporary forms and familiar images. Fairs, festivals, local heroes (mostly warriors) and local deities play a vital role in these arts (Example: Nakashi art from Telangana or Cherial Scroll Painting). Folk art also includes the visual expressions of the wandering nomads. This is the art of people who are exposed to changing landscapes as they travel over the valleys and highlands of India. They carry with them the experiences and memories of different spaces and their art consists of the transient and dynamic pattern of life. The rural, tribal and arts of the nomads constitute the matrix of folk expression. Examples of folk arts are Warli, Madhubani Art, Manjusha Art, Tikuli Art and Gond etc. While most tribes and traditional folk artist communities are assimilated into the familiar kind of civilised life, they still continue to practice their art. Unfortunately though, market and economic forces have ensured that the numbers of these artists are dwindling.[79][80] A lot of effort is being made by various NGOs and the Government of India to preserve and protect these arts and to promote them. Several scholars in India and across the world have studied these arts and some valuable scholarship is available on them. The folk spirit has a tremendous role to play in the development of art and in the overall consciousness of indigenous cultures. Contextual Modernism Main article: Santiniketan: The Making of a Contextual Modernism The year 1997 bore witness to two parallel gestures of canon formation. On the one hand, the influential Baroda Group, a coalition whose original members included Vivan Sundaram, Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh, Bhupen Khakhar, and Nalini Malani—and which had left its mark on history in the form of the 1981 exhibition “Place for People”—was definitively historicized in 1997 with the publication of Contemporary Art in Baroda, an anthology of essays edited by Sheikh. On the other hand, the art historian R. Siva Kumar's benchmark exhibition and related publication, A Contextual Modernism, restored the Santiniketan artists—Rabindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Benode Behari Mukherjee, and Ramkinkar Baij—to their proper place as the originators of an indigenously achieved yet transcultural modernism in the 1930s, well before the Progressives composed their manifesto in the late 1940s. Of the Santiniketan artists, Siva Kumar observed that they “reviewed traditional antecedents in relation to the new avenues opened up by cross-cultural contacts. They also saw it as a historical imperative. Cultural insularity, they realized, had to give way to eclecticism and cultural impurity.”[81] art historian R. Siva Kumar The idea of Contextual Modernism emerged in 1997 from R. Siva Kumar's Santiniketan: The Making of a Contextual Modernism as a postcolonial critical tool in the understanding of an alternative modernism in the visual arts of the erstwhile colonies like India, specifically that of the Santiniketan artists. Several terms including Paul Gilroy's counter culture of modernity and Tani Barlow's Colonial modernity have been used to describe the kind of alternative modernity that emerged in non-European contexts. Professor Gall argues that 'Contextual Modernism' is a more suited term because “the colonial in colonial modernity does not accommodate the refusal of many in colonized situations to internalize inferiority. Santiniketan's artist teachers' refusal of subordination incorporated a counter vision of modernity, which sought to correct the racial and cultural essentialism that drove and characterized imperial Western modernity and modernism. Those European modernities, projected through a triumphant British colonial power, provoked nationalist responses, equally problematic when they incorporated similar essentialisms.”[82] According to R. Siva Kumar "The Santiniketan artists were one of the first who consciously challenged this idea of modernism by opting out of both internationalist modernism and historicist indigenousness and tried to create a context sensitive modernism."[83] He had been studying the work of the Santiniketan masters and thinking about their approach to art since the early 80s. The practice of subsuming Nandalal Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Ram Kinker Baij and Benode Behari Mukherjee under the Bengal School of Art was, according to Siva Kumar, misleading. This happened because early writers were guided by genealogies of apprenticeship rather than their styles, worldviews, and perspectives on art practice.[83] Contextual Modernism in the recent past has found its usage in other related fields of studies, specially in Architecture.[84] Art museums of India Major cities National Museum, New Delhi National Museum, New Delhi Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai Indian Museum, Kolkata Indian Museum, Kolkata National Museum, New Delhi Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai (formerly Prince of Wales Museum of Western India) Indian Museum, Kolkata Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad Government Museum (Bangalore) Government Museum, Chennai Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad Government Museum, Chennai Government Museum, Chennai Archaeological museums See also: Archaeological Survey of India AP State Archaeology Museum, Hyderabad Archaeological Museum, Thrissur City Museum, Hyderabad Government Museum, Mathura Government Museum, Tiruchirappalli Hill Palace, Tripunithura, Ernakulam Odisha State Museum, Bhubaneswar Patna Museum Pazhassi Raja Archaeological Museum, Kozhikode Sanghol Museum Sarnath Museum State Archaeological Gallery, Kolkata Victoria Jubilee Museum, Vijayawada Modern art museums National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi - established 1954. National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai - established 1996. National Gallery of Modern Art, Bangalore - inaugurated 2009. Kolkata Museum of Modern Art - foundation laid in 2013. Other museums Albert Hall Museum, Jaipur Allahabad Museum Asutosh Museum of Indian Art, Kolkata Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery Goa State Museum, Panaji Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum, New Delhi Sanskriti Museums, Delhi Watson Museum, Rajkot
India, officially the Republic of India (ISO: Bhārat Gaṇarājya),[25] is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country as of June 1, 2023;[26][27] and from the time of its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy.[28][29][30] Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;[j] China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago.[31][32][33] Their long occupation, initially in varying forms of isolation as hunter-gatherers, has made the region highly diverse, second only to Africa in human genetic diversity.[34] Settled life emerged on the subcontinent in the western margins of the Indus river basin 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BCE.[35] By 1200 BCE, an archaic form of Sanskrit, an Indo-European language, had diffused into India from the northwest.[36][37] Its evidence today is found in the hymns of the Rigveda. Preserved by an oral tradition that was resolutely vigilant, the Rigveda records the dawning of Hinduism in India.[38] The Dravidian languages of India were supplanted in the northern and western regions.[39] By 400 BCE, stratification and exclusion by caste had emerged within Hinduism,[40] and Buddhism and Jainism had arisen, proclaiming social orders unlinked to heredity.[41] Early political consolidations gave rise to the loose-knit Maurya and Gupta Empires based in the Ganges Basin.[42] Their collective era was suffused with wide-ranging creativity,[43] but also marked by the declining status of women,[44] and the incorporation of untouchability into an organised system of belief.[k][45] In South India, the Middle kingdoms exported Dravidian-languages scripts and religious cultures to the kingdoms of Southeast Asia.[46] In the early medieval era, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism became established on India's southern and western coasts.[47] Muslim armies from Central Asia intermittently overran India's northern plains,[48] eventually founding the Delhi Sultanate, and drawing northern India into the cosmopolitan networks of medieval Islam.[49] In the 15th century, the Vijayanagara Empire created a long-lasting composite Hindu culture in south India.[50] In the Punjab, Sikhism emerged, rejecting institutionalised religion.[51] The Mughal Empire, in 1526, ushered in two centuries of relative peace,[52] leaving a legacy of luminous architecture.[l][53] Gradually expanding rule of the British East India Company followed, turning India into a colonial economy, but also consolidating its sovereignty.[54] British Crown rule began in 1858. The rights promised to Indians were granted slowly,[55][56] but technological changes were introduced, and modern ideas of education and the public life took root.[57] A pioneering and influential nationalist movement emerged, which was noted for nonviolent resistance and became the major factor in ending British rule.[58][59] In 1947 the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two independent dominions,[60][61][62][63] a Hindu-majority Dominion of India and a Muslim-majority Dominion of Pakistan, amid large-scale loss of life and an unprecedented migration.[64] India has been a federal republic since 1950, governed through a democratic parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society. India's population grew from 361 million in 1951 to almost 1.4 billion in 2022.[65] During the same time, its nominal per capita income increased from US$64 annually to US$2,601, and its literacy rate from 16.6% to 74%. From being a comparatively destitute country in 1951,[66] India has become a fast-growing major economy and a hub for information technology services, with an expanding middle class.[67] It has a space programme. Indian movies, music, and spiritual teachings play an increasing role in global culture.[68] India has substantially reduced its rate of poverty, though at the cost of increasing economic inequality.[69] India is a nuclear-weapon state, which ranks high in military expenditure. It has disputes over Kashmir with its neighbours, Pakistan and China, unresolved since the mid-20th century.[70] Among the socio-economic challenges India faces are gender inequality, child malnutrition,[71] and rising levels of air pollution.[72] India's land is megadiverse, with four biodiversity hotspots.[73] Its forest cover comprises 21.7% of its area.[74] India's wildlife, which has traditionally been viewed with tolerance in India's culture,[75] is supported among these forests, and elsewhere, in protected habitats. Etymology According to the Oxford English Dictionary (third edition 2009), the name "India" is derived from the Classical Latin India, a reference to South Asia and an uncertain region to its east; and in turn derived successively from: Hellenistic Greek India ( Ἰνδία); ancient Greek Indos ( Ἰνδός); Old Persian Hindush, an eastern province of the Achaemenid Empire; and ultimately its cognate, the Sanskrit Sindhu, or "river," specifically the Indus River and, by implication, its well-settled southern basin.[76][77] The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi (Ἰνδοί), which translates as "The people of the Indus".[78] The term Bharat (Bhārat; pronounced [ˈbʱaːɾət] (listen)), mentioned in both Indian epic poetry and the Constitution of India,[79][80] is used in its variations by many Indian languages. A modern rendering of the historical name Bharatavarsha, which applied originally to North India,[81][82] Bharat gained increased currency from the mid-19th century as a native name for India.[79][83] Hindustan ([ɦɪndʊˈstaːn] (listen)) is a Middle Persian name for India that became popular by the 13th century,[84] and was used widely since the era of Mughal Empire. The meaning of Hindustan has varied, referring to a region encompassing present-day northern India and Pakistan or to India in its near entirety.[79][83][85] History Main articles: History of India and History of the Republic of India Ancient India Manuscript illustration, c. 1650, of the Sanskrit epic Ramayana, composed in story-telling fashion c. 400 BCE – c. 300 CE[86] By 55,000 years ago, the first modern humans, or Homo sapiens, had arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa, where they had earlier evolved.[31][32][33] The earliest known modern human remains in South Asia date to about 30,000 years ago.[31] After 6500 BCE, evidence for domestication of food crops and animals, construction of permanent structures, and storage of agricultural surplus appeared in Mehrgarh and other sites in Balochistan, Pakistan.[87] These gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation,[88][87] the first urban culture in South Asia,[89] which flourished during 2500–1900 BCE in Pakistan and western India.[90] Centred around cities such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Dholavira, and Kalibangan, and relying on varied forms of subsistence, the civilisation engaged robustly in crafts production and wide-ranging trade.[89] During the period 2000–500 BCE, many regions of the subcontinent transitioned from the Chalcolithic cultures to the Iron Age ones.[91] The Vedas, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism,[92] were composed during this period,[93] and historians have analysed these to posit a Vedic culture in the Punjab region and the upper Gangetic Plain.[91] Most historians also consider this period to have encompassed several waves of Indo-Aryan migration into the subcontinent from the north-west.[92] The caste system, which created a hierarchy of priests, warriors, and free peasants, but which excluded indigenous peoples by labelling their occupations impure, arose during this period.[94] On the Deccan Plateau, archaeological evidence from this period suggests the existence of a chiefdom stage of political organisation.[91] In South India, a progression to sedentary life is indicated by the large number of megalithic monuments dating from this period,[95] as well as by nearby traces of agriculture, irrigation tanks, and craft traditions.[95] Cave 26 of the rock-cut Ajanta Caves In the late Vedic period, around the 6th century BCE, the small states and chiefdoms of the Ganges Plain and the north-western regions had consolidated into 16 major oligarchies and monarchies that were known as the mahajanapadas.[96][97] The emerging urbanisation gave rise to non-Vedic religious movements, two of which became independent religions. Jainism came into prominence during the life of its exemplar, Mahavira.[98] Buddhism, based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, attracted followers from all social classes excepting the middle class; chronicling the life of the Buddha was central to the beginnings of recorded history in India.[99][100][101] In an age of increasing urban wealth, both religions held up renunciation as an ideal,[102] and both established long-lasting monastic traditions. Politically, by the 3rd century BCE, the kingdom of Magadha had annexed or reduced other states to emerge as the Mauryan Empire.[103] The empire was once thought to have controlled most of the subcontinent except the far south, but its core regions are now thought to have been separated by large autonomous areas.[104][105] The Mauryan kings are known as much for their empire-building and determined management of public life as for Ashoka's renunciation of militarism and far-flung advocacy of the Buddhist dhamma.[106][107] The Sangam literature of the Tamil language reveals that, between 200 BCE and 200 CE, the southern peninsula was ruled by the Cheras, the Cholas, and the Pandyas, dynasties that traded extensively with the Roman Empire and with West and Southeast Asia.[108][109] In North India, Hinduism asserted patriarchal control within the family, leading to increased subordination of women.[110][103] By the 4th and 5th centuries, the Gupta Empire had created a complex system of administration and taxation in the greater Ganges Plain; this system became a model for later Indian kingdoms.[111][112] Under the Guptas, a renewed Hinduism based on devotion, rather than the management of ritual, began to assert itself.[113] This renewal was reflected in a flowering of sculpture and architecture, which found patrons among an urban elite.[112] Classical Sanskrit literature flowered as well, and Indian science, astronomy, medicine, and mathematics made significant advances.[112] Medieval India Brihadeshwara temple, Thanjavur, completed in 1010 CE The Qutub Minar, 73 m (240 ft) tall, completed by the Sultan of Delhi, Iltutmish The Indian early medieval age, from 600 to 1200 CE, is defined by regional kingdoms and cultural diversity.[114] When Harsha of Kannauj, who ruled much of the Indo-Gangetic Plain from 606 to 647 CE, attempted to expand southwards, he was defeated by the Chalukya ruler of the Deccan.[115] When his successor attempted to expand eastwards, he was defeated by the Pala king of Bengal.[115] When the Chalukyas attempted to expand southwards, they were defeated by the Pallavas from farther south, who in turn were opposed by the Pandyas and the Cholas from still farther south.[115] No ruler of this period was able to create an empire and consistently control lands much beyond their core region.[114] During this time, pastoral peoples, whose land had been cleared to make way for the growing agricultural economy, were accommodated within caste society, as were new non-traditional ruling classes.[116] The caste system consequently began to show regional differences.[116] In the 6th and 7th centuries, the first devotional hymns were created in the Tamil language.[117] They were imitated all over India and led to both the resurgence of Hinduism and the development of all modern languages of the subcontinent.[117] Indian royalty, big and small, and the temples they patronised drew citizens in great numbers to the capital cities, which became economic hubs as well.[118] Temple towns of various sizes began to appear everywhere as India underwent another urbanisation.[118] By the 8th and 9th centuries, the effects were felt in South-East Asia, as South Indian culture and political systems were exported to lands that became part of modern-day Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Brunei, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia.[119] Indian merchants, scholars, and sometimes armies were involved in this transmission; South-East Asians took the initiative as well, with many sojourning in Indian seminaries and translating Buddhist and Hindu texts into their languages.[119] After the 10th century, Muslim Central Asian nomadic clans, using swift-horse cavalry and raising vast armies united by ethnicity and religion, repeatedly overran South Asia's north-western plains, leading eventually to the establishment of the Islamic Delhi Sultanate in 1206.[120] The sultanate was to control much of North India and to make many forays into South India. Although at first disruptive for the Indian elites, the sultanate largely left its vast non-Muslim subject population to its own laws and customs.[121][122] By repeatedly repulsing Mongol raiders in the 13th century, the sultanate saved India from the devastation visited on West and Central Asia, setting the scene for centuries of migration of fleeing soldiers, learned men, mystics, traders, artists, and artisans from that region into the subcontinent, thereby creating a syncretic Indo-Islamic culture in the north.[123][124] The sultanate's raiding and weakening of the regional kingdoms of South India paved the way for the indigenous Vijayanagara Empire.[125] Embracing a strong Shaivite tradition and building upon the military technology of the sultanate, the empire came to control much of peninsular India,[126] and was to influence South Indian society for long afterwards.[125] Early modern India In the early 16th century, northern India, then under mainly Muslim rulers,[127] fell again to the superior mobility and firepower of a new generation of Central Asian warriors.[128] The resulting Mughal Empire did not stamp out the local societies it came to rule. Instead, it balanced and pacified them through new administrative practices[129][130] and diverse and inclusive ruling elites,[131] leading to more systematic, centralised, and uniform rule.[132] Eschewing tribal bonds and Islamic identity, especially under Akbar, the Mughals united their far-flung realms through loyalty, expressed through a Persianised culture, to an emperor who had near-divine status.[131] The Mughal state's economic policies, deriving most revenues from agriculture[133] and mandating that taxes be paid in the well-regulated silver currency,[134] caused peasants and artisans to enter larger markets.[132] The relative peace maintained by the empire during much of the 17th century was a factor in India's economic expansion,[132] resulting in greater patronage of painting, literary forms, textiles, and architecture.[135] Newly coherent social groups in northern and western India, such as the Marathas, the Rajputs, and the Sikhs, gained military and governing ambitions during Mughal rule, which, through collaboration or adversity, gave them both recognition and military experience.[136] Expanding commerce during Mughal rule gave rise to new Indian commercial and political elites along the coasts of southern and eastern India.[136] As the empire disintegrated, many among these elites were able to seek and control their own affairs.[137] A distant view of the Taj Mahal from the Agra Fort A two mohur Company gold coin, issued in 1835, the obverse inscribed "William IV, King" By the early 18th century, with the lines between commercial and political dominance being increasingly blurred, a number of European trading companies, including the English East India Company, had established coastal outposts.[138][139] The East India Company's control of the seas, greater resources, and more advanced military training and technology led it to increasingly assert its military strength and caused it to become attractive to a portion of the Indian elite; these factors were crucial in allowing the company to gain control over the Bengal region by 1765 and sideline the other European companies.[140][138][141][142] Its further access to the riches of Bengal and the subsequent increased strength and size of its army enabled it to annex or subdue most of India by the 1820s.[143] India was then no longer exporting manufactured goods as it long had, but was instead supplying the British Empire with raw materials. Many historians consider this to be the onset of India's colonial period.[138] By this time, with its economic power severely curtailed by the British parliament and having effectively been made an arm of British administration, the East India Company began more consciously to enter non-economic arenas, including education, social reform, and culture.[144] Modern India Main article: History of the Republic of India Historians consider India's modern age to have begun sometime between 1848 and 1885. The appointment in 1848 of Lord Dalhousie as Governor General of the East India Company set the stage for changes essential to a modern state. These included the consolidation and demarcation of sovereignty, the surveillance of the population, and the education of citizens. Technological changes—among them, railways, canals, and the telegraph—were introduced not long after their introduction in Europe.[145][146][147][148] However, disaffection with the company also grew during this time and set off the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Fed by diverse resentments and perceptions, including invasive British-style social reforms, harsh land taxes, and summary treatment of some rich landowners and princes, the rebellion rocked many regions of northern and central India and shook the foundations of Company rule.[149][150] Although the rebellion was suppressed by 1858, it led to the dissolution of the East India Company and the direct administration of India by the British government. Proclaiming a unitary state and a gradual but limited British-style parliamentary system, the new rulers also protected princes and landed gentry as a feudal safeguard against future unrest.[151][152] In the decades following, public life gradually emerged all over India, leading eventually to the founding of the Indian National Congress in 1885.[153][154][155][156] The rush of technology and the commercialisation of agriculture in the second half of the 19th century was marked by economic setbacks and many small farmers became dependent on the whims of far-away markets.[157] There was an increase in the number of large-scale famines,[158] and, despite the risks of infrastructure development borne by Indian taxpayers, little industrial employment was generated for Indians.[159] There were also salutary effects: commercial cropping, especially in the newly canalled Punjab, led to increased food production for internal consumption.[160] The railway network provided critical famine relief,[161] notably reduced the cost of moving goods,[161] and helped nascent Indian-owned industry.[160] 1909 map of the British Indian Empire Jawaharlal Nehru sharing a light moment with Mahatma Gandhi, Mumbai, 6 July 1946 After World War I, in which approximately one million Indians served,[162] a new period began. It was marked by British reforms but also repressive legislation, by more strident Indian calls for self-rule, and by the beginnings of a nonviolent movement of non-co-operation, of which Mahatma Gandhi would become the leader and enduring symbol.[163] During the 1930s, slow legislative reform was enacted by the British; the Indian National Congress won victories in the resulting elections.[164] The next decade was beset with crises: Indian participation in World War II, the Congress's final push for non-co-operation, and an upsurge of Muslim nationalism. All were capped by the advent of independence in 1947, but tempered by the partition of India into two states: India and Pakistan.[165] Vital to India's self-image as an independent nation was its constitution, completed in 1950, which put in place a secular and democratic republic.[166] Per the London Declaration, India retained its membership of the Commonwealth, becoming the first republic within it.[167] Economic liberalisation, which began in the 1990s, has created a large urban middle class, transformed India into one of the world's fastest-growing economies,[168] and increased its geopolitical clout. Indian films, music, and spiritual teachings play an increasing role in global culture.[169] Yet, India is also shaped by seemingly unyielding poverty, both rural and urban;[169] by religious and caste-related violence;[170] by Maoist-inspired Naxalite insurgencies;[171] and by separatism in Jammu and Kashmir and in Northeast India.[172] It has unresolved territorial disputes with China[173] and with Pakistan.[173] India's sustained democratic freedoms are unique among the world's newer nations; however, in spite of its recent economic successes, freedom from want for its disadvantaged population remains a goal yet to be achieved.[174] Geography Main article: Geography of India India accounts for the bulk of the Indian subcontinent, lying atop the Indian tectonic plate, a part of the Indo-Australian Plate.[175] India's defining geological processes began 75 million years ago when the Indian Plate, then part of the southern supercontinent Gondwana, began a north-eastward drift caused by seafloor spreading to its south-west, and later, south and south-east.[175] Simultaneously, the vast Tethyan oceanic crust, to its northeast, began to subduct under the Eurasian Plate.[175] These dual processes, driven by convection in the Earth's mantle, both created the Indian Ocean and caused the Indian continental crust eventually to under-thrust Eurasia and to uplift the Himalayas.[175] Immediately south of the emerging Himalayas, plate movement created a vast crescent-shaped trough that rapidly filled with river-borne sediment[176] and now constitutes the Indo-Gangetic Plain.[177] The original Indian plate makes its first appearance above the sediment in the ancient Aravalli range, which extends from the Delhi Ridge in a southwesterly direction. To the west lies the Thar Desert, the eastern spread of which is checked by the Aravallis.[178][179][180] The Tungabhadra, with rocky outcrops, flows into the peninsular Krishna river.[181] Fishing boats lashed together in a tidal creek in Anjarle village, Maharashtra The remaining Indian Plate survives as peninsular India, the oldest and geologically most stable part of India. It extends as far north as the Satpura and Vindhya ranges in central India. These parallel chains run from the Arabian Sea coast in Gujarat in the west to the coal-rich Chota Nagpur Plateau in Jharkhand in the east.[182] To the south, the remaining peninsular landmass, the Deccan Plateau, is flanked on the west and east by coastal ranges known as the Western and Eastern Ghats;[183] the plateau contains the country's oldest rock formations, some over one billion years old. Constituted in such fashion, India lies to the north of the equator between 6° 44′ and 35° 30′ north latitude[m] and 68° 7′ and 97° 25′ east longitude.[184] India's coastline measures 7,517 kilometres (4,700 mi) in length; of this distance, 5,423 kilometres (3,400 mi) belong to peninsular India and 2,094 kilometres (1,300 mi) to the Andaman, Nicobar, and Lakshadweep island chains.[185] According to the Indian naval hydrographic charts, the mainland coastline consists of the following: 43% sandy beaches; 11% rocky shores, including cliffs; and 46% mudflats or marshy shores.[185] Major Himalayan-origin rivers that substantially flow through India include the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, both of which drain into the Bay of Bengal.[186] Important tributaries of the Ganges include the Yamuna and the Kosi; the latter's extremely low gradient, caused by long-term silt deposition, leads to severe floods and course changes.[187][188] Major peninsular rivers, whose steeper gradients prevent their waters from flooding, include the Godavari, the Mahanadi, the Kaveri, and the Krishna, which also drain into the Bay of Bengal;[189] and the Narmada and the Tapti, which drain into the Arabian Sea.[190] Coastal features include the marshy Rann of Kutch of western India and the alluvial Sundarbans delta of eastern India; the latter is shared with Bangladesh.[191] India has two archipelagos: the Lakshadweep, coral atolls off India's south-western coast; and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a volcanic chain in the Andaman Sea.[192] Indian climate is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar Desert, both of which drive the economically and culturally pivotal summer and winter monsoons.[193] The Himalayas prevent cold Central Asian katabatic winds from blowing in, keeping the bulk of the Indian subcontinent warmer than most locations at similar latitudes.[194][195] The Thar Desert plays a crucial role in attracting the moisture-laden south-west summer monsoon winds that, between June and October, provide the majority of India's rainfall.[193] Four major climatic groupings predominate in India: tropical wet, tropical dry, subtropical humid, and montane.[196] Temperatures in India have risen by 0.7 °C (1.3 °F) between 1901 and 2018.[197] Climate change in India is often thought to be the cause. The retreat of Himalayan glaciers has adversely affected the flow rate of the major Himalayan rivers, including the Ganges and the Brahmaputra.[198] According to some current projections, the number and severity of droughts in India will have markedly increased by the end of the present century.[199] Biodiversity Main articles: Forestry in India and Wildlife of India India has the majority of the world's wild tigers, approximately 3,170 in 2022.[200] A Chital (Axis axis) stag in the Nagarhole National Park in a region covered by a moderately dense[n] forest. India is a megadiverse country, a term employed for 17 countries which display high biological diversity and contain many species exclusively indigenous, or endemic, to them.[201] India is a habitat for 8.6% of all mammal species, 13.7% of bird species, 7.9% of reptile species, 6% of amphibian species, 12.2% of fish species, and 6.0% of all flowering plant species.[202][203] Fully a third of Indian plant species are endemic.[204] India also contains four of the world's 34 biodiversity hotspots,[73] or regions that display significant habitat loss in the presence of high endemism.[o][205] According to official statistics, India's forest cover is 713,789 km2 (275,595 sq mi), which is 21.71% of the country's total land area.[74] It can be subdivided further into broad categories of canopy density, or the proportion of the area of a forest covered by its tree canopy.[206] Very dense forest, whose canopy density is greater than 70%, occupies 3.02% of India's land area.[206][207] It predominates in the tropical moist forest of the Andaman Islands, the Western Ghats, and Northeast India. Moderately dense forest, whose canopy density is between 40% and 70%, occupies 9.39% of India's land area.[206][207] It predominates in the temperate coniferous forest of the Himalayas, the moist deciduous sal forest of eastern India, and the dry deciduous teak forest of central and southern India.[208] Open forest, whose canopy density is between 10% and 40%, occupies 9.26% of India's land area.[206][207] India has two natural zones of thorn forest, one in the Deccan Plateau, immediately east of the Western Ghats, and the other in the western part of the Indo-Gangetic plain, now turned into rich agricultural land by irrigation, its features no longer visible.[209] Among the Indian subcontinent's notable indigenous trees are the astringent Azadirachta indica, or neem, which is widely used in rural Indian herbal medicine,[210] and the luxuriant Ficus religiosa, or peepul,[211] which is displayed on the ancient seals of Mohenjo-daro,[212] and under which the Buddha is recorded in the Pali canon to have sought enlightenment.[213] Many Indian species have descended from those of Gondwana, the southern supercontinent from which India separated more than 100 million years ago.[214] India's subsequent collision with Eurasia set off a mass exchange of species. However, volcanism and climatic changes later caused the extinction of many endemic Indian forms.[215] Still later, mammals entered India from Asia through two zoogeographical passes flanking the Himalayas.[216] This had the effect of lowering endemism among India's mammals, which stands at 12.6%, contrasting with 45.8% among reptiles and 55.8% among amphibians.[203] Among endemics are the vulnerable[217] hooded leaf monkey[218] and the threatened[219] Beddome's toad[219][220] of the Western Ghats. The last three Asiatic cheetahs (on record) in India were shot dead in 1948 in Surguja district, Madhya Pradesh, Central India by Maharajah Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo. The young males, all from the same litter, were sitting together when they were shot at night. India contains 172 IUCN-designated threatened animal species, or 2.9% of endangered forms.[221] These include the endangered Bengal tiger and the Ganges river dolphin. Critically endangered species include: the gharial, a crocodilian; the great Indian bustard; and the Indian white-rumped vulture, which has become nearly extinct by having ingested the carrion of diclofenac-treated cattle.[222] Before they were extensively utilized for agriculture and cleared for human settlement, the thorn forests of Punjab were mingled at intervals with open grasslands that were grazed by large herds of blackbuck preyed on by the Asiatic cheetah; the blackbuck, no longer extant in Punjab, is now severely endangered in India, and the cheetah is extinct.[223] The pervasive and ecologically devastating human encroachment of recent decades has critically endangered Indian wildlife. In response, the system of national parks and protected areas, first established in 1935, was expanded substantially. In 1972, India enacted the Wildlife Protection Act[224] and Project Tiger to safeguard crucial wilderness; the Forest Conservation Act was enacted in 1980 and amendments added in 1988.[225] India hosts more than five hundred wildlife sanctuaries and eighteen biosphere reserves,[226] four of which are part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves; seventy-five wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention.[227] Politics and government Politics Main article: Politics of India As part of Janadesh 2007, 25,000 pro-land reform landless people in Madhya Pradesh listen to Rajagopal P. V.[228] A parliamentary republic with a multi-party system,[229] it has six recognised national parties, including the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and more than 50 regional parties.[230] The Congress is considered centre-left in Indian political culture,[231] and the BJP right-wing.[232][233][234] For most of the period between 1950—when India first became a republic—and the late 1980s, the Congress held a majority in the Parliament. Since then, however, it has increasingly shared the political stage with the BJP,[235] as well as with powerful regional parties which have often forced the creation of multi-party coalition governments at the centre.[236] In the Republic of India's first three general elections, in 1951, 1957, and 1962, the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru-led Congress won easy victories. On Nehru's death in 1964, Lal Bahadur Shastri briefly became prime minister; he was succeeded, after his own unexpected death in 1966, by Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi, who went on to lead the Congress to election victories in 1967 and 1971. Following public discontent with the state of emergency she declared in 1975, the Congress was voted out of power in 1977; the then-new Janata Party, which had opposed the emergency, was voted in. Its government lasted just over two years. There were two prime ministers during this period; Morarji Desai and Charan Singh. Voted back into power in 1980, the Congress saw a change in leadership in 1984, when Indira Gandhi was assassinated; she was succeeded by her son Rajiv Gandhi, who won an easy victory in the general elections later that year. The Congress was voted out again in 1989 when a National Front coalition, led by the newly formed Janata Dal in alliance with the Left Front, won the elections; that government too proved relatively short-lived, lasting just under two years. There were two prime ministers during this period; V.P. Singh and Chandra Shekhar.[237] Elections were held again in 1991; no party won an absolute majority. The Congress, as the largest single party, was able to form a minority government led by P. V. Narasimha Rao.[238] US president Barack Obama addresses the members of the Parliament of India in New Delhi in November 2010. A two-year period of political turmoil followed the general election of 1996. Several short-lived alliances shared power at the centre. The BJP formed a government briefly in 1996; it was followed by two comparatively long-lasting United Front coalitions, which depended on external support. There were two prime ministers during this period; H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral. In 1998, the BJP was able to form a successful coalition, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the NDA became the first non-Congress, coalition government to complete a five-year term.[239] Again in the 2004 Indian general elections, no party won an absolute majority, but the Congress emerged as the largest single party, forming another successful coalition: the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). It had the support of left-leaning parties and MPs who opposed the BJP. The UPA returned to power in the 2009 general election with increased numbers, and it no longer required external support from India's communist parties.[240] That year, Manmohan Singh became the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru in 1957 and 1962 to be re-elected to a consecutive five-year term.[241] In the 2014 general election, the BJP became the first political party since 1984 to win a majority and govern without the support of other parties.[242] In the 2019 general election, the BJP was victorious again. The incumbent prime minister is Narendra Modi, a former chief minister of Gujarat. On 22 July 2022, Droupadi Murmu was elected India's 15th president and took the oath of office on 25 July 2022.[243] Government Main articles: Government of India and Constitution of India Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the President of India, was designed by British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker for the Viceroy of India, and constructed between 1911 and 1931 during the British Raj.[244] India is a federation with a parliamentary system governed under the Constitution of India—the country's supreme legal document. It is a constitutional republic. Its democratic functioning has come into question in recent years, with some stating that it has become a mixed regime or electoral autocracy.[245] Federalism in India defines the power distribution between the union and the states. The Constitution of India, which came into effect on 26 January 1950,[246] originally stated India to be a "sovereign, democratic republic;" this characterisation was amended in 1971 to "a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic".[247] India's form of government, traditionally described as "quasi-federal" with a strong centre and weak states,[248] has grown increasingly federal since the late 1990s as a result of political, economic, and social changes.[249][250] National symbols[1] Flag of India Emblem Sarnath Lion Capital Anthem Jana Gana Mana Song "Vande Mataram" Language None[9][10][11] Currency ₹ (Indian rupee) Calendar Saka Bird Indian peafowl Flower Lotus Fruit Mango Mammal Bengal tiger River dolphin Tree Banyan River Ganges The Government of India comprises three branches:[251] Executive: The President of India is the ceremonial head of state,[252] who is elected indirectly for a five-year term by an electoral college comprising members of national and state legislatures.[253][254] The Prime Minister of India is the head of government and exercises most executive power.[255] Appointed by the president,[256] the prime minister is by convention supported by the party or political alliance having a majority of seats in the lower house of parliament.[255] The executive of the Indian government consists of the president, the vice president, and the Union Council of Ministers—with the cabinet being its executive committee—headed by the prime minister. Any minister holding a portfolio must be a member of one of the houses of parliament.[252] In the Indian parliamentary system, the executive is subordinate to the legislature; the prime minister and their council are directly responsible to the lower house of the parliament. Civil servants act as permanent executives and all decisions of the executive are implemented by them.[257] Legislature: The legislature of India is the bicameral parliament. Operating under a Westminster-style parliamentary system, it comprises an upper house called the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and a lower house called the Lok Sabha (House of the People).[258] The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body of 245 members who serve staggered six-year terms.[259] Most are elected indirectly by the state and union territorial legislatures in numbers proportional to their state's share of the national population.[256] All but two of the Lok Sabha's 545 members are elected directly by popular vote; they represent single-member constituencies for five-year terms.[260] Two seats of parliament, reserved for Anglo-Indians in the article 331, have been scrapped.[261][262] Judiciary: India has a three-tier unitary independent judiciary[263] comprising the supreme court, headed by the Chief Justice of India, 25 high courts, and a large number of trial courts.[263] The supreme court has original jurisdiction over cases involving fundamental rights and over disputes between states and the centre and has appellate jurisdiction over the high courts.[264] It has the power to both strike down union or state laws which contravene the constitution[265] and invalidate any government action it deems unconstitutional.[266] Administrative divisions Main article: Administrative divisions of India See also: Political integration of India India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories.[16] All states, as well as the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Puducherry and the National Capital Territory of Delhi, have elected legislatures and governments following the Westminster system of governance. The remaining five union territories are directly ruled by the central government through appointed administrators. In 1956, under the States Reorganisation Act, states were reorganised on a linguistic basis.[267] There are over a quarter of a million local government bodies at city, town, block, district and village levels.[268] A clickable map of the 28 states and 8 union territories of India States Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Telangana Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal Union territories Andaman and Nicobar Islands Chandigarh Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh Lakshadweep National Capital Territory of Delhi Puducherry Foreign, economic and strategic relations Main articles: Foreign relations of India and Indian Armed Forces During the 1950s and 60s, India played a pivotal role in the Non-Aligned Movement.[269] From left to right: Gamal Abdel Nasser of United Arab Republic (now Egypt), Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia and Jawaharlal Nehru in Belgrade, September 1961. In the 1950s, India strongly supported decolonisation in Africa and Asia and played a leading role in the Non-Aligned Movement.[270] After initially cordial relations with neighbouring China, India went to war with China in 1962 and was widely thought to have been humiliated.[271] This was followed by another military conflict in 1967 in which India successfully repelled Chinese attack.[272] India has had tense relations with neighbouring Pakistan; the two nations have gone to war four times: in 1947, 1965, 1971, and 1999. Three of these wars were fought over the disputed territory of Kashmir, while the third, the 1971 war, followed from India's support for the independence of Bangladesh.[273] In the late 1980s, the Indian military twice intervened abroad at the invitation of the host country: a peace-keeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990; and an armed intervention to prevent a 1988 coup d'état attempt in the Maldives. After the 1965 war with Pakistan, India began to pursue close military and economic ties with the Soviet Union; by the late 1960s, the Soviet Union was its largest arms supplier.[274] Aside from ongoing its special relationship with Russia,[275] India has wide-ranging defence relations with Israel and France. In recent years, it has played key roles in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and the World Trade Organization. The nation has provided 100,000 military and police personnel to serve in 35 UN peacekeeping operations across four continents. It participates in the East Asia Summit, the G8+5, and other multilateral forums.[276] India has close economic ties with countries in South America,[277] Asia, and Africa; it pursues a "Look East" policy that seeks to strengthen partnerships with the ASEAN nations, Japan, and South Korea that revolve around many issues, but especially those involving economic investment and regional security.[278][279] The Indian Air Force contingent marching at the 221st Bastille Day military parade in Paris, on 14 July 2009. The parade at which India was the foreign guest was led by India's oldest regiment, the Maratha Light Infantry, founded in 1768.[280] China's nuclear test of 1964, as well as its repeated threats to intervene in support of Pakistan in the 1965 war, convinced India to develop nuclear weapons.[281] India conducted its first nuclear weapons test in 1974 and carried out additional underground testing in 1998. Despite criticism and military sanctions, India has signed neither the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty nor the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, considering both to be flawed and discriminatory.[282] India maintains a "no first use" nuclear policy and is developing a nuclear triad capability as a part of its "Minimum Credible Deterrence" doctrine.[283][284] It is developing a ballistic missile defence shield and, a fifth-generation fighter jet.[285][286] Other indigenous military projects involve the design and implementation of Vikrant-class aircraft carriers and Arihant-class nuclear submarines.[287] Since the end of the Cold War, India has increased its economic, strategic, and military co-operation with the United States and the European Union.[288] In 2008, a civilian nuclear agreement was signed between India and the United States. Although India possessed nuclear weapons at the time and was not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it received waivers from the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers Group, ending earlier restrictions on India's nuclear technology and commerce. As a consequence, India became the sixth de facto nuclear weapons state.[289] India subsequently signed co-operation agreements involving civilian nuclear energy with Russia,[290] France,[291] the United Kingdom,[292] and Canada.[293] Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India (left, background) in talks with President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico during a visit to Mexico, 2016 The President of India is the supreme commander of the nation's armed forces; with 1.45 million active troops, they compose the world's second-largest military. It comprises the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, the Indian Air Force, and the Indian Coast Guard.[294] The official Indian defence budget for 2011 was US$36.03 billion, or 1.83% of GDP.[295] Defence expenditure was pegged at US$70.12 billion for fiscal year 2022–23 and, increased 9.8% than previous fiscal year.[296][297] India is the world's second largest arms importer; between 2016 and 2020, it accounted for 9.5% of the total global arms imports.[298] Much of the military expenditure was focused on defence against Pakistan and countering growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean.[299] In May 2017, the Indian Space Research Organisation launched the South Asia Satellite, a gift from India to its neighbouring SAARC countries.[300] In October 2018, India signed a US$5.43 billion (over ₹400 billion) agreement with Russia to procure four S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile defence systems, Russia's most advanced long-range missile defence system.[301] Economy Main article: Economy of India A farmer in northwestern Karnataka ploughs his field with a tractor even as another in a field beyond does the same with a pair of oxen. In 2019, 43% of India's total workforce was employed in agriculture.[302] India is the world's largest producer of milk, with the largest population of cattle. In 2018, nearly 80% of India's milk was sourced from small farms with herd size between one and two, the milk harvested by hand milking.[304] Women tend to a recently planted rice field in Junagadh district in Gujarat. 55% of India's female workforce was employed in agriculture in 2019.[303] According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Indian economy in 2022 was nominally worth $3.46 trillion; it was the fifth-largest economy by market exchange rates, and is around $11.6 trillion, the third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP).[305] With its average annual GDP growth rate of 5.8% over the past two decades, and reaching 6.1% during 2011–2012,[306] India is one of the world's fastest-growing economies.[307] However, the country ranks 139th in the world in nominal GDP per capita and 118th in GDP per capita at PPP.[308] Until 1991, all Indian governments followed protectionist policies that were influenced by socialist economics. Widespread state intervention and regulation largely walled the economy off from the outside world. An acute balance of payments crisis in 1991 forced the nation to liberalise its economy;[309] since then, it has moved increasingly towards a free-market system[310][311] by emphasising both foreign trade and direct investment inflows.[312] India has been a member of World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995.[313] The 522-million-worker Indian labour force is the world's second-largest, as of 2017.[294] The service sector makes up 55.6% of GDP, the industrial sector 26.3% and the agricultural sector 18.1%. India's foreign exchange remittances of US$100 billion in 2022,[314] highest in the world, were contributed to its economy by 32 million Indians working in foreign countries.[315] Major agricultural products include: rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, and potatoes.[16] Major industries include: textiles, telecommunications, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, food processing, steel, transport equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, and software.[16] In 2006, the share of external trade in India's GDP stood at 24%, up from 6% in 1985.[310] In 2008, India's share of world trade was 1.68%;[316] In 2021, India was the world's ninth-largest importer and the sixteenth-largest exporter.[317] Major exports include: petroleum products, textile goods, jewellery, software, engineering goods, chemicals, and manufactured leather goods.[16] Major imports include: crude oil, machinery, gems, fertiliser, and chemicals.[16] Between 2001 and 2011, the contribution of petrochemical and engineering goods to total exports grew from 14% to 42%.[318] India was the world's second largest textile exporter after China in the 2013 calendar year.[319] Averaging an economic growth rate of 7.5% for several years prior to 2007,[310] India has more than doubled its hourly wage rates during the first decade of the 21st century.[320] Some 431 million Indians have left poverty since 1985; India's middle classes are projected to number around 580 million by 2030.[321] Though ranking 68th in global competitiveness,[322] as of 2010, India ranks 17th in financial market sophistication, 24th in the banking sector, 44th in business sophistication, and 39th in innovation, ahead of several advanced economies.[323] With seven of the world's top 15 information technology outsourcing companies based in India, as of 2009, the country is viewed as the second-most favourable outsourcing destination after the United States.[324] India is ranked 40th in the Global Innovation Index in 2022.[325] India's consumer market, the world's eleventh-largest, is expected to become fifth-largest by 2030.[321] Driven by growth, India's nominal GDP per capita increased steadily from US$308 in 1991, when economic liberalisation began, to US$1,380 in 2010, to an estimated US$1,730 in 2016. It is expected to grow to US$2,466 by 2022.[20] However, it has remained lower than those of other Asian developing countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and is expected to remain so in the near future. A panorama of Bangalore, the centre of India's software development economy. In the 1980s, when the first multinational corporations began to set up centres in India, they chose Bangalore because of the large pool of skilled graduates in the area, in turn due to the many science and engineering colleges in the surrounding region.[326] According to a 2011 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report, India's GDP at purchasing power parity could overtake that of the United States by 2045.[327] During the next four decades, Indian GDP is expected to grow at an annualised average of 8%, making it potentially the world's fastest-growing major economy until 2050.[327] The report highlights key growth factors: a young and rapidly growing working-age population; growth in the manufacturing sector because of rising education and engineering skill levels; and sustained growth of the consumer market driven by a rapidly growing middle-class.[327] The World Bank cautions that, for India to achieve its economic potential, it must continue to focus on public sector reform, transport infrastructure, agricultural and rural development, removal of labour regulations, education, energy security, and public health and nutrition.[328] According to the Worldwide Cost of Living Report 2017 released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) which was created by comparing more than 400 individual prices across 160 products and services, four of the cheapest cities were in India: Bangalore (3rd), Mumbai (5th), Chennai (5th) and New Delhi (8th).[329] Industries A tea garden in Sikkim. India, the world's second largest-producer of tea, is a nation of one billion tea drinkers, who consume 70% of India's tea output. India's telecommunication industry is the second-largest in the world with over 1.2 billion subscribers. It contributes 6.5% to India's GDP.[330] After the third quarter of 2017, India surpassed the US to become the second largest smartphone market in the world after China.[331] The Indian automotive industry, the world's second-fastest growing, increased domestic sales by 26% during 2009–2010,[332] and exports by 36% during 2008–2009.[333] In 2022, India became the world's third-largest vehicle market after China and the United States, surpassing Japan.[334] At the end of 2011, the Indian IT industry employed 2.8 million professionals, generated revenues close to US$100 billion equalling 7.5% of Indian GDP, and contributed 26% of India's merchandise exports.[335] The pharmaceutical industry in India emerged as a global player. As of 2021, with 3000 pharmaceutical companies and 10,500 manufacturing units India is the world's third-largest pharmaceutical producer, largest producer of generic medicines and supply up to 50—60% of global vaccines demand, these all contribute up to US$24.44 billions in exports and India's local pharmaceutical market is estimated up to US$42 billion.[336][337] India is among the top 12 biotech destinations in the world.[338][339] The Indian biotech industry grew by 15.1% in 2012–2013, increasing its revenues from ₹204.4 billion (Indian rupees) to ₹235.24 billion (US$3.94 billion at June 2013 exchange rates).[340] Energy Main articles: Energy in India and Energy policy of India India's capacity to generate electrical power is 300 gigawatts, of which 42 gigawatts is renewable.[341] The country's usage of coal is a major cause of greenhouse gas emissions by India but its renewable energy is competing strongly.[342] India emits about 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This equates to about 2.5 tons of carbon dioxide per person per year, which is half the world average.[343][344] Increasing access to electricity and clean cooking with liquefied petroleum gas have been priorities for energy in India.[345] Socio-economic challenges Health workers about to begin another day of immunisation against infectious diseases in 2006. Eight years later, and three years after India's last case of polio, the World Health Organization declared India to be polio-free.[346] Despite economic growth during recent decades, India continues to face socio-economic challenges. In 2006, India contained the largest number of people living below the World Bank's international poverty line of US$1.25 per day.[347] The proportion decreased from 60% in 1981 to 42% in 2005.[348] Under the World Bank's later revised poverty line, it was 21% in 2011.[p][350] 30.7% of India's children under the age of five are underweight.[351] According to a Food and Agriculture Organization report in 2015, 15% of the population is undernourished.[352][353] The Mid-Day Meal Scheme attempts to lower these rates.[354] A 2018 Walk Free Foundation report estimated that nearly 8 million people in India were living in different forms of modern slavery, such as bonded labour, child labour, human trafficking, and forced begging, among others.[355] According to the 2011 census, there were 10.1 million child labourers in the country, a decline of 2.6 million from 12.6 million in 2001.[356] Since 1991, economic inequality between India's states has consistently grown: the per-capita net state domestic product of the richest states in 2007 was 3.2 times that of the poorest.[357] Corruption in India is perceived to have decreased. According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, India ranked 78th out of 180 countries in 2018 with a score of 41 out of 100, an improvement from 85th in 2014.[358][359] Epidemic and pandemic diseases have long been a major factor, including COVID-19 recently.[360] Demographics, languages, and religion Main articles: Demographics of India, Languages of India, and Religion in India See also: South Asian ethnic groups India by language The language families of South Asia With 1,210,193,422 residents reported in the 2011 provisional census report,[361] India was the world's second-most populous country.[q] Its population grew by 17.64% from 2001 to 2011,[363] compared to 21.54% growth in the previous decade (1991–2001).[363] The human sex ratio, according to the 2011 census, is 940 females per 1,000 males.[361] The median age was 28.7 as of 2020.[294] The first post-colonial census, conducted in 1951, counted 361 million people.[364] Medical advances made in the last 50 years as well as increased agricultural productivity brought about by the "Green Revolution" have caused India's population to grow rapidly.[365] The life expectancy in India is at 70 years—71.5 years for women, 68.7 years for men.[294] There are around 93 physicians per 100,000 people.[366] Migration from rural to urban areas has been an important dynamic in India's recent history. The number of people living in urban areas grew by 31.2% between 1991 and 2001.[367] Yet, in 2001, over 70% still lived in rural areas.[368][369] The level of urbanisation increased further from 27.81% in the 2001 Census to 31.16% in the 2011 Census. The slowing down of the overall population growth rate was due to the sharp decline in the growth rate in rural areas since 1991.[370] According to the 2011 census, there are 53 million-plus urban agglomerations in India; among them Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, in decreasing order by population.[371] The literacy rate in 2011 was 74.04%: 65.46% among females and 82.14% among males.[372] The rural-urban literacy gap, which was 21.2 percentage points in 2001, dropped to 16.1 percentage points in 2011. The improvement in the rural literacy rate is twice that of urban areas.[370] Kerala is the most literate state with 93.91% literacy; while Bihar the least with 63.82%.[372] The interior of San Thome Basilica, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Christianity is believed to have been introduced to India by the late 2nd century by Syriac-speaking Christians. Among speakers of the Indian languages, 74% speak Indo-Aryan languages, the easternmost branch of the Indo-European languages; 24% speak Dravidian languages, indigenous to South Asia and spoken widely before the spread of Indo-Aryan languages and 2% speak Austroasiatic languages or the Sino-Tibetan languages. India has no national language.[373] Hindi, with the largest number of speakers, is the official language of the government.[374][375] English is used extensively in business and administration and has the status of a "subsidiary official language";[6] it is important in education, especially as a medium of higher education. Each state and union territory has one or more official languages, and the constitution recognises in particular 22 "scheduled languages". The 2011 census reported the religion in India with the largest number of followers was Hinduism (79.80% of the population), followed by Islam (14.23%); the remaining were Christianity (2.30%), Sikhism (1.72%), Buddhism (0.70%), Jainism (0.36%) and others[r] (0.9%).[15] India has the third-largest Muslim population—the largest for a non-Muslim majority country.[376][377] Culture Main article: Culture of India A Sikh pilgrim at the Harmandir Sahib, or Golden Temple, in Amritsar, Punjab Indian cultural history spans more than 4,500 years.[378] During the Vedic period (c. 1700 BCE – c. 500 BCE), the foundations of Hindu philosophy, mythology, theology and literature were laid, and many beliefs and practices which still exist today, such as dhárma, kárma, yóga, and mokṣa, were established.[78] India is notable for its religious diversity, with Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, and Jainism among the nation's major religions.[379] The predominant religion, Hinduism, has been shaped by various historical schools of thought, including those of the Upanishads,[380] the Yoga Sutras, the Bhakti movement,[379] and by Buddhist philosophy.[381] Visual art Main article: Indian art India has a very ancient tradition of art, which has exchanged many influences with the rest of Eurasia, especially in the first millennium, when Buddhist art spread with Indian religions to Central, East and South-East Asia, the last also greatly influenced by Hindu art.[382] Thousands of seals from the Indus Valley Civilization of the third millennium BCE have been found, usually carved with animals, but a few with human figures. The "Pashupati" seal, excavated in Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan, in 1928–29, is the best known.[383][384] After this there is a long period with virtually nothing surviving.[384][385] Almost all surviving ancient Indian art thereafter is in various forms of religious sculpture in durable materials, or coins. There was probably originally far more in wood, which is lost. In north India Mauryan art is the first imperial movement.[386][387][388] In the first millennium CE, Buddhist art spread with Indian religions to Central, East and South-East Asia, the last also greatly influenced by Hindu art.[389] Over the following centuries a distinctly Indian style of sculpting the human figure developed, with less interest in articulating precise anatomy than ancient Greek sculpture but showing smoothly-flowing forms expressing prana ("breath" or life-force).[390][391] This is often complicated by the need to give figures multiple arms or heads, or represent different genders on the left and right of figures, as with the Ardhanarishvara form of Shiva and Parvati.[392][393] Most of the earliest large sculpture is Buddhist, either excavated from Buddhist stupas such as Sanchi, Sarnath and Amaravati,[394] or is rock cut reliefs at sites such as Ajanta, Karla and Ellora. Hindu and Jain sites appear rather later.[395][396] In spite of this complex mixture of religious traditions, generally, the prevailing artistic style at any time and place has been shared by the major religious groups, and sculptors probably usually served all communities.[397] Gupta art, at its peak c. 300 CE – c. 500 CE, is often regarded as a classical period whose influence lingered for many centuries after; it saw a new dominance of Hindu sculpture, as at the Elephanta Caves.[398][399] Across the north, this became rather stiff and formulaic after c. 800 CE, though rich with finely carved detail in the surrounds of statues.[400] But in the South, under the Pallava and Chola dynasties, sculpture in both stone and bronze had a sustained period of great achievement; the large bronzes with Shiva as Nataraja have become an iconic symbol of India.[401][402] Ancient painting has only survived at a few sites, of which the crowded scenes of court life in the Ajanta Caves are by far the most important, but it was evidently highly developed, and is mentioned as a courtly accomplishment in Gupta times.[403][404] Painted manuscripts of religious texts survive from Eastern India about the 10th century onwards, most of the earliest being Buddhist and later Jain. No doubt the style of these was used in larger paintings.[405] The Persian-derived Deccan painting, starting just before the Mughal miniature, between them give the first large body of secular painting, with an emphasis on portraits, and the recording of princely pleasures and wars.[406][407] The style spread to Hindu courts, especially among the Rajputs, and developed a variety of styles, with the smaller courts often the most innovative, with figures such as Nihâl Chand and Nainsukh.[408][409] As a market developed among European residents, it was supplied by Company painting by Indian artists with considerable Western influence.[410][411] In the 19th century, cheap Kalighat paintings of gods and everyday life, done on paper, were urban folk art from Calcutta, which later saw the Bengal School of Art, reflecting the art colleges founded by the British, the first movement in modern Indian painting.[412][413] Bhutesvara Yakshis, Buddhist reliefs from Mathura, 2nd century CE Bhutesvara Yakshis, Buddhist reliefs from Mathura, 2nd century CE   Gupta terracotta relief, Krishna Killing the Horse Demon Keshi, 5th century Gupta terracotta relief, Krishna Killing the Horse Demon Keshi, 5th century   Elephanta Caves, triple-bust (trimurti) of Shiva, 18 feet (5.5 m) tall, c. 550 Elephanta Caves, triple-bust (trimurti) of Shiva, 18 feet (5.5 m) tall, c. 550   Chola bronze of Shiva as Nataraja ("Lord of Dance"), Tamil Nadu, 10th or 11th century Chola bronze of Shiva as Nataraja ("Lord of Dance"), Tamil Nadu, 10th or 11th century   Jahangir Receives Prince Khurram at Ajmer on His Return from the Mewar Campaign, Balchand, c. 1635 Jahangir Receives Prince Khurram at Ajmer on His Return from the Mewar Campaign, Balchand, c. 1635   Krishna Fluting to the Milkmaids, Kangra painting, 1775–1785 Krishna Fluting to the Milkmaids, Kangra painting, 1775–1785 Architecture Main article: Architecture of India The Taj Mahal from across the Yamuna river showing two outlying red sandstone buildings, a mosque on the right (west) and a jawab (response) thought to have been built for architectural balance Much of Indian architecture, including the Taj Mahal, other works of Indo-Islamic Mughal architecture, and South Indian architecture, blends ancient local traditions with imported styles.[414] Vernacular architecture is also regional in its flavours. Vastu shastra, literally "science of construction" or "architecture" and ascribed to Mamuni Mayan,[415] explores how the laws of nature affect human dwellings;[416] it employs precise geometry and directional alignments to reflect perceived cosmic constructs.[417] As applied in Hindu temple architecture, it is influenced by the Shilpa Shastras, a series of foundational texts whose basic mythological form is the Vastu-Purusha mandala, a square that embodied the "absolute".[418] The Taj Mahal, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by orders of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, has been described in the UNESCO World Heritage List as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage".[419] Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture, developed by the British in the late 19th century, drew on Indo-Islamic architecture.[420] Literature Main article: Indian literature The earliest literature in India, composed between 1500 BCE and 1200 CE, was in the Sanskrit language.[421] Major works of Sanskrit literature include the Rigveda (c. 1500 BCE – c. 1200 BCE), the epics: Mahābhārata (c. 400 BCE – c. 400 CE) and the Ramayana (c. 300 BCE and later); Abhijñānaśākuntalam (The Recognition of Śakuntalā, and other dramas of Kālidāsa (c. 5th century CE) and Mahākāvya poetry.[422][423][424] In Tamil literature, the Sangam literature (c. 600 BCE – c. 300 BCE) consisting of 2,381 poems, composed by 473 poets, is the earliest work.[425][426][427][428] From the 14th to the 18th centuries, India's literary traditions went through a period of drastic change because of the emergence of devotional poets like Kabīr, Tulsīdās, and Guru Nānak. This period was characterised by a varied and wide spectrum of thought and expression; as a consequence, medieval Indian literary works differed significantly from classical traditions.[429] In the 19th century, Indian writers took a new interest in social questions and psychological descriptions. In the 20th century, Indian literature was influenced by the works of the Bengali poet, author and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore,[430] who was a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Performing arts and media Main articles: Music of India, Dance in India, Cinema of India, and Television in India India's National Academy of Performance Arts has recognised eight Indian dance styles to be classical. One such is Kuchipudi shown here. Indian music ranges over various traditions and regional styles. Classical music encompasses two genres and their various folk offshoots: the northern Hindustani and the southern Carnatic schools.[431] Regionalised popular forms include filmi and folk music; the syncretic tradition of the bauls is a well-known form of the latter. Indian dance also features diverse folk and classical forms. Among the better-known folk dances are: bhangra of Punjab, bihu of Assam, Jhumair and chhau of Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal, garba and dandiya of Gujarat, ghoomar of Rajasthan, and lavani of Maharashtra. Eight dance forms, many with narrative forms and mythological elements, have been accorded classical dance status by India's National Academy of Music, Dance, and Drama. These are: bharatanatyam of the state of Tamil Nadu, kathak of Uttar Pradesh, kathakali and mohiniyattam of Kerala, kuchipudi of Andhra Pradesh, manipuri of Manipur, odissi of Odisha, and the sattriya of Assam.[432] Theatre in India melds music, dance, and improvised or written dialogue.[433] Often based on Hindu mythology, but also borrowing from medieval romances or social and political events, Indian theatre includes: the bhavai of Gujarat, the jatra of West Bengal, the nautanki and ramlila of North India, tamasha of Maharashtra, burrakatha of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, terukkuttu of Tamil Nadu, and the yakshagana of Karnataka.[434] India has a theatre training institute the National School of Drama (NSD) that is situated at New Delhi It is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of culture, Government of India.[435] The Indian film industry produces the world's most-watched cinema.[436] Established regional cinematic traditions exist in the Assamese, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Odia, Tamil, and Telugu languages.[437] The Hindi language film industry (Bollywood) is the largest sector representing 43% of box office revenue, followed by the South Indian Telugu and Tamil film industries which represent 36% combined.[438] Television broadcasting began in India in 1959 as a state-run medium of communication and expanded slowly for more than two decades.[439][440] The state monopoly on television broadcast ended in the 1990s. Since then, satellite channels have increasingly shaped the popular culture of Indian society.[441] Today, television is the most penetrative media in India; industry estimates indicate that as of 2012 there are over 554 million TV consumers, 462 million with satellite or cable connections compared to other forms of mass media such as the press (350 million), radio (156 million) or internet (37 million).[442] Society Muslims offer namaz at a mosque in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. Traditional Indian society is sometimes defined by social hierarchy. The Indian caste system embodies much of the social stratification and many of the social restrictions found on the Indian subcontinent. Social classes are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups, often termed as jātis, or "castes".[443] India abolished untouchability in 1950 with the adoption of the constitution and has since enacted other anti-discriminatory laws and social welfare initiatives. Family values are important in the Indian tradition, and multi-generational patrilineal joint families have been the norm in India, though nuclear families are becoming common in urban areas.[444] An overwhelming majority of Indians, with their consent, have their marriages arranged by their parents or other family elders.[445] Marriage is thought to be for life,[445] and the divorce rate is extremely low,[446] with less than one in a thousand marriages ending in divorce.[447] Child marriages are common, especially in rural areas; many women wed before reaching 18, which is their legal marriageable age.[448] Female infanticide in India, and lately female foeticide, have created skewed gender ratios; the number of missing women in the country quadrupled from 15 million to 63 million in the 50-year period ending in 2014, faster than the population growth during the same period, and constituting 20 percent of India's female electorate.[449] According to an Indian government study, an additional 21 million girls are unwanted and do not receive adequate care.[450] Despite a government ban on sex-selective foeticide, the practice remains commonplace in India, the result of a preference for boys in a patriarchal society.[451] The payment of dowry, although illegal, remains widespread across class lines.[452] Deaths resulting from dowry, mostly from bride burning, are on the rise, despite stringent anti-dowry laws.[453] Many Indian festivals are religious in origin. The best known include: Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Thai Pongal, Holi, Durga Puja, Eid ul-Fitr, Bakr-Id, Christmas, and Vaisakhi.[454][455] Education Main articles: Education in India, Literacy in India, and History of education in the Indian subcontinent Children awaiting school lunch in Rayka (also Raika), a village in rural Gujarat. The salutation Jai Bhim written on the blackboard honours the jurist, social reformer, and Dalit leader B. R. Ambedkar. In the 2011 census, about 73% of the population was literate, with 81% for men and 65% for women. This compares to 1981 when the respective rates were 41%, 53% and 29%. In 1951 the rates were 18%, 27% and 9%. In 1921 the rates 7%, 12% and 2%. In 1891 they were 5%, 9% and 1%,[456][457] According to Latika Chaudhary, in 1911 there were under three primary schools for every ten villages. Statistically, more caste and religious diversity reduced private spending. Primary schools taught literacy, so local diversity limited its growth.[458] The education system of India is the world's second-largest.[459] India has over 900 universities, 40,000 colleges[460] and 1.5 million schools.[461] In India's higher education system, a significant number of seats are reserved under affirmative action policies for the historically disadvantaged. In recent decades India's improved education system is often cited as one of the main contributors to its economic development.[462][463] Clothing Main article: Clothing in India Women in sari at an adult literacy class in Tamil Nadu A man in dhoti and wearing a woollen shawl, in Varanasi From ancient times until the advent of the modern, the most widely worn traditional dress in India was draped.[464] For women it took the form of a sari, a single piece of cloth many yards long.[464] The sari was traditionally wrapped around the lower body and the shoulder.[464] In its modern form, it is combined with an underskirt, or Indian petticoat, and tucked in the waist band for more secure fastening. It is also commonly worn with an Indian blouse, or choli, which serves as the primary upper-body garment, the sari's end—passing over the shoulder—serving to cover the midriff and obscure the upper body's contours.[464] For men, a similar but shorter length of cloth, the dhoti, has served as a lower-body garment.[465] Women (from left to right) in churidars and kameez (with back to the camera), jeans and sweater, and pink Shalwar kameez The use of stitched clothes became widespread after Muslim rule was established at first by the Delhi sultanate (c. 1300 CE) and then continued by the Mughal Empire (c. 1525 CE).[466] Among the garments introduced during this time and still commonly worn are: the shalwars and pyjamas, both styles of trousers, and the tunics kurta and kameez.[466] In southern India, the traditional draped garments were to see much longer continuous use.[466] Shalwars are atypically wide at the waist but narrow to a cuffed bottom. They are held up by a drawstring, which causes them to become pleated around the waist.[467] The pants can be wide and baggy, or they can be cut quite narrow, on the bias, in which case they are called churidars. When they are ordinarily wide at the waist and their bottoms are hemmed but not cuffed, they are called pyjamas. The kameez is a long shirt or tunic,[468] its side seams left open below the waist-line.[469] The kurta is traditionally collarless and made of cotton or silk; it is worn plain or with embroidered decoration, such as chikan; and typically falls to either just above or just below the wearer's knees.[470] In the last 50 years, fashions have changed a great deal in India. Increasingly, in urban northern India, the sari is no longer the apparel of everyday wear, though they remain popular on formal occasions.[471] The traditional shalwar kameez is rarely worn by younger urban women, who favour churidars or jeans.[471] In white-collar office settings, ubiquitous air conditioning allows men to wear sports jackets year-round.[471] For weddings and formal occasions, men in the middle- and upper classes often wear bandgala, or short Nehru jackets, with pants, with the groom and his groomsmen sporting sherwanis and churidars.[471] The dhoti, once the universal garment of Hindu males, the wearing of which in the homespun and handwoven khadi allowed Gandhi to bring Indian nationalism to the millions,[472] is seldom seen in the cities.[471] Cuisine Main article: Indian cuisine South Indian vegetarian thali, or platter Railway mutton curry from Odisha The foundation of a typical Indian meal is a cereal cooked in a plain fashion and complemented with flavourful savoury dishes.[473] The cooked cereal could be steamed rice; chapati, a thin unleavened bread made from wheat flour, or occasionally cornmeal, and griddle-cooked dry;[474] the idli, a steamed breakfast cake, or dosa, a griddled pancake, both leavened and made from a batter of rice- and gram meal.[475] The savoury dishes might include lentils, pulses and vegetables commonly spiced with ginger and garlic, but also with a combination of spices that may include coriander, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamon and others as informed by culinary conventions.[473] They might also include poultry, fish, or meat dishes. In some instances, the ingredients might be mixed during the process of cooking.[476] A platter, or thali, used for eating usually has a central place reserved for the cooked cereal, and peripheral ones for the flavourful accompaniments, which are often served in small bowls. The cereal and its accompaniments are eaten simultaneously rather than a piecemeal manner. This is accomplished by mixing—for example of rice and lentils—or folding, wrapping, scooping or dipping—such as chapati and cooked vegetables or lentils.[473] 0:14 A tandoor chef in the Turkman Gate, Old Delhi, makes Khameeri roti (a Muslim-influenced style of leavened bread).[477] India has distinctive vegetarian cuisines, each a feature of the geographical and cultural histories of its adherents.[478] The appearance of ahimsa, or the avoidance of violence toward all forms of life in many religious orders early in Indian history, especially Upanishadic Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, is thought to have contributed to the predominance of vegetarianism among a large segment of India's Hindu population, especially in southern India, Gujarat, the Hindi-speaking belt of north-central India, as well as among Jains.[478] Although meat is eaten widely in India, the proportional consumption of meat in the overall diet is low.[479] Unlike China, which has increased its per capita meat consumption substantially in its years of increased economic growth, in India the strong dietary traditions have contributed to dairy, rather than meat, becoming the preferred form of animal protein consumption.[480] The most significant import of cooking techniques into India during the last millennium occurred during the Mughal Empire. Dishes such as the pilaf,[481] developed in the Abbasid caliphate,[482] and cooking techniques such as the marinating of meat in yogurt, spread into northern India from regions to its northwest.[483] To the simple yogurt marinade of Persia, onions, garlic, almonds, and spices began to be added in India.[483] Rice was partially cooked and layered alternately with the sauteed meat, the pot sealed tightly, and slow cooked according to another Persian cooking technique, to produce what has today become the Indian biryani,[483] a feature of festive dining in many parts of India.[484] In the food served in Indian restaurants worldwide the diversity of Indian food has been partially concealed by the dominance of Punjabi cuisine. The popularity of tandoori chicken—cooked in the tandoor oven, which had traditionally been used for baking bread in the rural Punjab and the Delhi region, especially among Muslims, but which is originally from Central Asia—dates to the 1950s, and was caused in large part by an entrepreneurial response among people from the Punjab who had been displaced by the 1947 partition of India.[478] Sports and recreation Main article: Sport in India Girls play hopscotch in Jaora, Madhya Pradesh. Hopscotch has been commonly played by girls in rural India.[485] Several traditional indigenous sports such as kabaddi, kho kho, pehlwani and gilli-danda, and also martial arts such as Kalarippayattu and marma adi, remain popular. Chess is commonly held to have originated in India as chaturaṅga;[486] in recent years, there has been a rise in the number of Indian grandmasters.[487] Viswanathan Anand became the Chess World Champion in 2007 and held the status until 2013.[488] Parcheesi is derived from Pachisi, another traditional Indian pastime, which in early modern times was played on a giant marble court by Mughal emperor Akbar the Great.[489] Cricket is the most popular sport in India.[490] Major domestic competitions include the Indian Premier League, which is the most-watched cricket league in the world and ranks sixth among all sports leagues.[491] Other professional leagues include the Indian Super League (football) and the Pro Kabaddi league.[492][493][494] Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar about to score a record 14,000 runs in Test cricket while playing against Australia in Bangalore, 2010 India has won two ODI Cricket world cups, the 1983 edition and the 2011 edition, as well as becoming the inaugural Twenty20 International Cricket Champions in 2007. India also has eight field hockey gold medals in the summer olympics[495] The improved results garnered by the Indian Davis Cup team and other Indian tennis players in the early 2010s have made tennis increasingly popular in the country.[496] India has a comparatively strong presence in shooting sports, and has won several medals at the Olympics, the World Shooting Championships, and the Commonwealth Games.[497][498] Other sports in which Indians have succeeded internationally include badminton[499] (Saina Nehwal and P. V. Sindhu are two of the top-ranked female badminton players in the world), boxing,[500] and wrestling.[501] Football is popular in West Bengal, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and the north-eastern states.[502] India has hosted or co-hosted several international sporting events: the 1951 and 1982 Asian Games; the 1987, 1996, and 2011 Cricket World Cup tournaments; the 2003 Afro-Asian Games; the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy; the 2009 World Badminton Championships; the 2010 Hockey World Cup; the 2010 Commonwealth Games; and the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Major international sporting events held annually in India include the Maharashtra Open, the Mumbai Marathon, the Delhi Half Marathon, and the Indian Masters. The first Formula 1 Indian Grand Prix featured in late 2011 but has been discontinued from the F1 season calendar since 2014.[503] India has traditionally been the dominant country at the South Asian Games. An example of this dominance is the basketball competition where the Indian team won four out of five tournaments to date.[504] See also flag India portal icon Asia portal Administrative divisions of India Outline of India
  • Painting Surface: Canvas
  • Features: Signed
  • Region of Origin: INDIA
  • Listed By: Artist
  • Original/Licensed Reproduction: Original
  • Material: Oil
  • Artist: SHYAMASREE BASU
  • Style: Abstract
  • Type: Painting

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