Republic of India Bharat People: Population: 967,612,804. Age distrib. (%): <15: 34; 65+: 4. Pop. density: 792 per sq. mi. Urban: 27%. Ethnic groups: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3%. Principal languages: Hindi (official), English (associate official), 17 regional languages. Chief religions: Hindu 80%, Muslim 14%, Christian 2%, Sikh 2%. Geography: Area: 1,222,243 sq. mi. Location: Occupies most of the Indian subcontinent in S Asia. Neighbors: Pakistan on W; China, Nepal, Bhutan on N; Myanmar, Bangladesh on E. Topography: The Himalaya Mts., highest in world, stretch across India's northern borders. Below, the Ganges Plain is wide, fertile, and among the most densely populated regions of the world. The area below includes the Deccan Peninsula. Close to one quarter of the area is forested. The climate varies from tropical heat in S to near-Arctic cold in N. Rajasthan Desert is in NW; NE Assam Hills get 400 in. of rain a year. Capital: New Delhi. Cities: Bombay (Mumbai) 15,138,000; Calcutta 11,923,000; Delhi 9,948,000; Madras Hyderabad 5,477,000; Bangalore 4,799,000*. Government: Type: Federal republic. Head of state: Pres. Kocheril Raman Narayanan; b Oct. 17, 1920; in office: July 25, 1997. Head of government: Prime Min. Inder Kumar Gujral; b Dec. 4, 1919; in office: Apr. 21, 1997. Local divisions: 25 states, 7 union territories. Defense: 2.7% of GDP (FY 1995-96). Active troop strength: 1.145 mil. Economy: Industries: Textiles, steel, processed foods, cement, machinery, chemicals, mining, autos. Chief crops: Rice, grains, sugar, spices, tea, cashews, cotton, potatoes, jute, linseed. Minerals: Coal, iron, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium, chromite, diamonds, gas, oil. Crude oil reserves (1996): 4.3 bil bbls. Other resources: Rubber, timber. Arable land: 55%. Livestock (1996): cattle: 196 mil; goats: 120 mil; buffalo: 80.1 mil; sheep: 45.4 mil; pigs: 11.9 mil. Fish catch (1995): 4.9 mil metric tons. Electricity prod. (1995): 398.3 bil kWh. Labor force: 65% agric. Finance: Monetary unit: Rupee (Aug. 1997: 36.12 = $1 US). Gross domestic product (1995 est.): $1.41 tril. Per capita GDP: $1,500. Imports (1995): $33.5 bil; partners: U.S. 10%, Germany 8%, Japan 7%. Exports (1995): $30.0 bil; partners: U.S. 19%, Japan 8%, Germany 7%. Tourism (1994): $2.3 bil. National budget (FY 1994-95): $54.9 bil. International reserves less gold (June 1997): $25.70 bil. Gold: 12.78 mil oz t. Consumer prices (change in 1996): 9.0%. Transport: Railroad: Length: 38,788.9 mi. Motor vehicles in use: 3.5 mil passenger cars, 3.05 mil comm. vehicles. Civil aviation: 10.9 bil passenger-mi.; 66 airports with scheduled flights. Chief ports: Calcutta, Bombay (Mumbai), Kochi, Madras (Chennai), Vishakhapatnam. Communications: Television sets: 1 per 25 persons. Radios: 1 per 12 persons. Telephones: 1 per 78 persons. Daily newspaper circ.: 21 per 1,000 pop. Health: Life expectancy at birth (1997): 59.5 male; 60.8 female. Births (per 1,000 pop.): 25. Deaths (per 1,000 pop.): 9. Natural increase: 1.6%. Hospital beds: 1 per 1,357 persons. Physicians: 1 per 2,173 persons. Infant mortality (per 1,000 live births 1997): 69. Education: Theoretically compulsory in 23 states to age 14. Literacy (1995 est.): 52%. Major International Organizations: UN (IMF, FAO, WHO, WTO, World Bank), the Commonwealth. Embassy: 2107 Massachusetts Ave. NW 20008; 939-7000. India has one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Excavations trace the Indus Valley civilization back for at least 5,000 years. Paintings in the mountain caves of Ajanta, richly carved temples, the Taj Mahal in Agra, and the Kutab Minar in Delhi are among relics of the past. Aryan tribes, speaking Sanskrit, invaded from the NW around 1500 BC, and merged with the earlier inhabitants to create classical Indian civilization. Asoka ruled most of the Indian subcontinent in the 3d century BC, and established Buddhism. But Hinduism revived and eventually predominated. During the Gupta kingdom, 4th-6th century AD, science, literature, and the arts enjoyed a "golden age." Arab invaders established a Muslim foothold in the W in the 8th century, and Turkish Muslims gained control of North India by 1200. The Mogul emperors ruled 1526-1857. Vasco da Gama established Portuguese trading posts 1498-1503. The Dutch followed. The British East India Co. sent Capt. William Hawkins, 1609, to get concessions from the Mogul emperor for spices and textiles. Operating as the East India Co. the British gained control of most of India. The British parliament assumed political direction; under Lord Bentinck, 1828-35, rule by rajahs was curbed. After the Sepoy troops mutinied, 1857-58, the British supported the native rulers. Nationalism grew rapidly after World War I. The Indian National Congress and the Muslim League demanded constitutional reform. A leader emerged in Mohandas K. Gandhi (called Mahatma, or Great Soul), born Oct. 2, 1869, assassinated Jan. 30, 1948. He advocated self-rule, nonviolence, and removal of the caste system of untouchability. In 1930 he launched "civil disobedience," including boycott of British goods and rejection of taxes without representation. In 1935 Britain gave India a constitution providing a bicameral federal congress. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, head of the Muslim League, sought creation of a Muslim nation, Pakistan. The British government partitioned British India into the dominions of India and Pakistan. India became a member of the UN in 1945, a self-governing member of the Commonwealth in 1947, and a democratic republic, Jan. 26, 1950. More than 12 million Hindu and Muslim refugees crossed the India-Pakistan borders in a mass transferral of some of the 2 peoples during 1947; about 200,000 were killed in communal fighting. After Pakistan troops began attacks on Bengali separatists in East Pakistan, Mar. 25, 1971, some 10 million refugees fled into India. India and Pakistan went to war Dec. 3, 1971, on both the East and West fronts. Pakistan troops in the east surrendered Dec. 16; Pakistan agreed to a cease-fire in the west Dec. 17. In Aug. 1973 India released 93,000 Pakistanis held prisoner since 1971. The 2 countries resumed full relations in 1976. Indira Gandhi, was named prime minister Jan. 19, 1966. Threatened with adverse court rulings and an opposition protest campaign, Gandhi invoked emergency provisions of the constitution June 1975. Thousands of opponents were arrested and press censorship imposed. These and other actions including the enforcement of coercive birth control measures in some areas, were widely resented. Opposition parties, united in the Janata coalition, turned Gandhi's New Congress Party from power in federal and state parliamentary elections in 1977. Gandhi became prime minister for the second time, Jan. 14, 1980. She was assassinated by 2 of her Sikh bodyguards Oct. 31, 1984, in response to the government suppression of a Sikh uprising in Punjab in June 1984, which included an assault on the Golden Temple at Amritsar, the holiest Sikh shrine. Widespread rioting followed the assassination. Thousands of Sikhs were killed and some 50,000 left homeless. Rajiv, Indira Gandhi's son, replaced her as prime minister. He was swept from office in 1989 amid charges of incompetence and corruption. He was assassinated May 21, 1991, during an election campaign to regain the prime ministership. Sikhs ignited several violent clashes during the 1980s. The government's May 1987 decision to bring the state of Punjab under the rule of the central government led to violence. Many died during a government siege of the Golden Temple, May 1988. Another trouble spot was Assam in NW India, where thousands were killed in ethnic violence in Feb. 1993; a renewed outburst in July 1994 led to more than 60 deaths there. Nationwide riots followed the destruction of a 16th-century mosque by Hindu militants in Dec.1992 In the biggest wave of criminal violence in Indian history, a series of bombings jolted Bombay and Calcutta, Mar. 12-19, 1993, killing more than 300. Corruption scandals dominated Indian politics in the mid-1990s. After an inconclusive election, a Hindu nationalist party was unable to form a government, and a center-left coalition took office June 1, 1996. A Saudi jetliner and a Kazakh cargo plane collided in midair near New Delhi on Nov. 12, killing 349 passengers and crew. Inder Kumar Gujral was sworn in Apr. 21, 1997, as India's 4th prime min. in less than a year. India's 1st lowest-caste pres., K. R. Narayanan, took office July 25. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, renowned for her work among the poor, died Sept. 5. Sikkim, bordered by Tibet, Bhutan, and Nepal, formerly British protected, became a protectorate of India in 1950. Area, 2,740 sq. mi.; pop., 1994 est., 444,000; capital: Gangtok. In Sept. 1974 ,India's parliament voted to make Sikkim an associate Indian state, absorbing it into India. Kashmir, a predominantly Muslim region in the NW, has been in dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947. A cease-fire was negotiated by the UN Jan. 1, 1949; it gave Pakistan control of one-third of the area, in the west and northwest, and India the remaining two-thirds, the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, which enjoys internal autonomy. In the 1990s there were repeated clashes between Indian army troops and pro-independence demonstrators triggered by India's decision to impose central government rule; by 1996 the conflict had claimed at least 30,000 lives. The clashes strained relations between India and Pakistan, which India charged was aiding the Muslim separatists. In Sept. 1996, a pro-Indian-government party won a majority in assembly elections, the first held since separatist fighting began. France, 1952-54, peacefully yielded to India its 5 colonies, former French India, comprising Pondicherry, Karikal, Mahe, Yanaon (which became Pondicherry Union Territory, area 190 sq. mi.; pop., 1994 est., 894,000) and Chandernagor (which was incorporated into the state of West Bengal).