It is unthinkable not to be staggered by the word India. It is known for its rich blend of art and culture. Settled within Southern Asia, India’s head is roofed by the mighty Himalayas, one hand ends on the Arabian Sea, the opposite on the Bay of Bengal, feet extends up to the Indian Ocean, heart covers the Vindhyachal Mountain and the nerves are rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, and Kaveri. Let’s explore some interesting facts about India:
GIF: tumblr.com
1. The Largest Vegan-Friendly Country in the World!
Be it attributable to secular, non-secular reasons or personal selections or each, around 1/3 of Indians are vegetarians, creating it the most important vegan-friendly place in the world.
KFC & McDonald’s also have a vegetarian menu in their outlets in India.
Source: 2007 UN FAO Stats
2. The Country of Yoga
Invented in India, around 26,000 years ago, Yoga is believed to be flourished by the Indus-Sarasvati-civilization in Northern India around 5,000 years ago. India is also credited to provide an International-event-tag to Yoga by convincing the UN to declare June 21 as the International Yoga Day every year.
Source: bbc.com, Image: Flickr
3. IT Capital of the World
India has emerged as one of the fastest growing IT sectors in the world.
Source: theguardian.com, Image: Topnews.in
4. Becoming an Island!
A study shows that India was once a continent around 100 million years ago when dinosaurs ruled the planet earth. It had burst far away from associate ancient supercontinent cited as Gondwanaland, and was moving slowly within the northward. But with continental drifting, it’ll become an island in some million years.
Source: BBC
5. Road Accidents are Normal Here!
A bitter indisputable fact that will not surprise those who are familiar with Indian roads and traffic sense. Around 1,37,000 people died on Indian roads alone in 2013. Numerous awareness campaigns and initiatives have been taken by the government, NGO’s and media, however, the rising road accident rate appears to be unconcerned.
Source: Wikipedia
6. The Biggest Architectural Dome in India
Gol Gumbaz is one of the masterpieces of the Islamic architecture in India, located in Bijapur, Karnataka State. It constitutes a cube, 47.5 meters (156 ft) on each side, crowned by a dome 44 m (144 ft) in external diameter.
Source: nationalgeographic.com, Image: Wikimedia
7. World’s Longest Corridor is Here
Located in the island town of Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu, is one amongst the four sacred Char Dhams and conjointly one amongst the twelve Jyotirlinga temples within the country. With 1220 meters of brilliant corridors and 1200 granite columns, this temple is unquestionably worth a visit.
Source, Image: Wikipedia
8. World’s Longest Platform is Here
With a huge length of 1,366.33 m (4,483 ft), Gorakhpur Railway Station holds the Guinness World Records for the longest railway platform in the world.
Source: worldatlas.coma, Image: Indiarailinfo.in
9. A Leading Producer of Essential Edibles
As a rich agricultural nation, India is the leading producer of fruits (41.5 metric ton), sugarcane (295.73 metric ton) and coconut (13 billion nuts). India alone has around 1/2 of the buffaloes in the world (8.42 million) and therefore, it’s also among the world’s leading milk producers.
Source: Wikipedia
10. World’s Fastest-Growing Economy
Indian Economy is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Thanks to its demographic dividend (young population), controlled dependency ratio, and economic liberalization since 1991.
Source: bbc.com
11. Home to World’s Most Visited Pilgrimage Destination
Located in the hill city of Tirumala, Tirupati Balaji (Venkateswara Temple) in the Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh, is the most visited pilgrimage destination in the world. Its annual turnover is estimated to be around Rs. 2400 crore ($360 million).
Source: bbc.com, Image: Satish Hanumantharao
12. The Country of Chess
Derived from a Sanskrit language word “Chaturanga,” which implies quad associates of military personnel, is believed to be fabricated in northern India in the 6th century and due to its massive acceptance, it reached all over the world.
Source: Wikipedia
13. India Drinks 1/2 of the World’s Whiskey!
Let’s give you a tipsy fact! It might be hard to believe, but, it’s a fact that about half of the world’s whiskey consumption happens in India, which is around about 1.5 billion liters every year.
Source: india.com
14. World’s Costliest Residence
The Indian business tycoon, Mukesh Ambani’s house “Antilia” is considered among the world’s costliest residences. This wonderful house is owned by Mukesh Ambani (an Indian business tycoon and the richest person in India)- Antilia is a 27-story building in South Mumbai. Its current price is estimated at around $1 billion with an area of 400,000-sq ft.
Source: dnaindia.com, Image: Wikimedia
15. World’s Oldest Habitable City is Here
Also called Kashi, Benares & Banaras, located on the banks of the river Ganges in the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh, is taken into account as “the ancient city” and has been considered one of the oldest habitable cities in the world.
“Older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together.” -Mark Twain on The city of Varanasi.
Source: telegraph.co.uk, Image: Flickr
16. Shampooing Was Originated Here!
The concept of shampooing hair originated in India, although, not with the chemical liquids, but, with the use of herbs.
Source: Wikipedia, Image: shopify.com
17. World’s Second Largest English Speaking Country
More than 10% of the population (out of more than 125 crores) of India speaks English, which makes India world’s second-largest English speaking country after the USA.
Source: bbc.com, Image: thenthisai.com
18. Kumbh Mela (Kumbh Fair): World’s Largest Gathering
After every 12 years, around 100 million people (mostly Hindus) gather from all over the world to take bathe in a sacred river. Click here to know more about Kumbh Mela.
Source: Wikipedia, Image: Wikimedia
19. Too Many People…!!
India’s population is more than the whole population of any continent outside Asia.
Source: Wikipedia, Image: plus.mynahcare.com
20. A Floating Post Office
There is a post office on Dal Lake in Srinagar, which floats on water, it was made in 2011. Also, India has the most number of post offices in the world.
Source, Image: vikasacharya.wordpress.com
21. The Diamond Country
India was the only Diamond producing country in the world until 1896.
Source: Gemological Institute of America
22. Origin of Martial Arts
Martial Arts were originated in India. Later, Buddhist missionaries spread it to the rest of Asia.
Source: Wikipedia
23. World’s Highest Cricket Ground
Chail Cricket Ground, located at the hills of Chail in Himachal Pradesh, is considered the world’s highest cricket ground.
Source: Iseeindia, Image: India.com
23. The Magnetic Hill
In the hills of Leh, Ladakh India, there is a hill where a strong magnetic force is created by the mountains. The force is so strong that it can pull the cars uphill, even the aircraft & airplanes, passing nearby, have to fly higher to escape this magnetic force.
Source: Wikipedia, Image: easydestination.net
24. The Highest Average Rainfall in the World
With 11,873 mm (467 in) of rain per annum, Mawsynram in the Meghalaya State of India is considered the world’s wettest habitable place.
Source: guinnessworldrecords.com, Image: theatlantic.com
25. Rocket on a Bicycle!
You would get surprised to know that India’s first rocket was transported by a bicycle to Thumba Launching Station, Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.
Source, Image: tkayala
26. The Kashmir Conflict
Ever since India’s partition in 1947, the Kashmir Conflict has never been dormant. The conflict is mainly between India-Pakistan and India-China. All the three countries claim certain portions of Kashmir to belong to them. Pakistan has the green colored part, India has the white-colored part, and China has the red-colored part while the shaded red-colored part is the one which was gifted by Pakistan to China in 1963.
Source, Image: Wikipedia
27. Swiss Declared Science Day in Kalam’s Honor
When Abdul Kalam (the 11th President of India) visited Switzerland on May 26, 2005, the Swiss Government declared the day as National Science Day of Switzerland in his honor.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com, Image: altoopa.files.wordpress.com
28. The Highest Post Office on Earth
At an elevation of 4,440 m, the tiny post office in the village of Hikkim; situated in northern India’s remote Spiti Valley, is considered the world’s highest Post Office. The charm of this place is so much that travelers take pride in mailing their letters from the highest post office on Earth.
Source: bbc.com, Image: cdninstagram.com
29. Highest Motorable Road on Earth
India is home to the world’s highest motorable road in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir; passing through Umling La Top at a height of over 19,300 feet. The 86-km-long strategic road through Umling La Top connects Chisumle and Demchok villages, located 230 km from Leh. Earlier, the feat was with Khardung La at an altitude of 18,380 ft.
Source: livemint.com, Image: Wikimedia
30. World’s Highest Battlefield!
Located in Northern Kashmir, the Siachen Glacier is regarded as the world’s highest battlefield. Situated at altitudes that range from 13,000-22,000 ft (4,000-6,700 m), the area is claimed by both India and Pakistan, and the two rival nations have thousands of soldiers stationed there. However, death mostly comes from freezing temperatures, falls into crevasses or from being swept away by avalanches.
Source: bbc.com, GIF: gfycat.com
31. Home To World’s Tallest Statue
With the height of 182 meters (597 ft), the “Statue of Unity” is an iconic landmark of India’s first Home Minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a visionary leader and statesman; hailed as the “Iron Man of India.” Located in the Indian state of Gujarat; facing the Narmada Dam, the statue is considered the world’s tallest statue.
Source: .statueofunity.in, Image: businessworld.in
32. Welcome to the World’s Biggest School
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, with 39,437 pupils and 2,500 teachers, the City Montessori School in Lucknow, India, is the world’s biggest school. Moreover, the school doesn’t receive government funding.
Source: TIME, Image: Wikimedia
33. World’s Largest University is Here
Well, India is a country of extremes and not just only school, the country is also home to the world’s largest university. The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in Delhi has more than four million registered students; ten times larger than its U.S. equivalent, the online University of Phoenix.
Source: TIME, Image: Flickr
