1) Around a 100
million years ago, India was an island.
2) India’s name is
derived from the “Indus” river.
3) Indus Valley
Civilisation is the world’s oldest civilisation.
4) India, hence, is the
world’s oldest, most advanced and continuous civilisation.
5) India has been
the largest troop contributor to the United Nations Peacekeeping
Missions since its inception.
6) India has the world’s
third largest active army, after China and USA.
7) The Tirupati
Balaji temple and the Kashi Vishwanath Temple both, receive more
visitors than the Vatican City and Mecca combined.
8) Every 12 years, a
religious gathering called the Kumbh Mela occurs in India. It is the
world’s largest gathering of people.
9)
Varanasi is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.
10) Indian
Railways employs more than 1.3 million people. That’s more than the
population of many nations.
11) More than 54 crore
people voted in the 2014 General Election – more people than the
population of USA, UK, Australia and Japan combined.
12) India has the largest
English speaking population in the world.
23) In a village called
Shani Shingnapur in Maharashtra, people have been living in houses with no
doors for generations. This is because they believe that whoever steals
anything from this place will incur the wrath of Shani God and will have to pay
for his/her sins very dearly. There is no police station in this village
either.
14) Chess was invented in
India.
15) Buttons were invented
in India. Yes, your shirt’s buttons.
16) We also invented the
ruler.
17) And shampoo.
18) And discovered the
number zero.
19) And the value
of pi.
20) And trigonometry,
algebra, calculus.
21) And cataract surgery.
22) And plastic surgery.
23) And diamond mining.
34) And water on the moon.
35) India is the
largest producer of films in the world.
36) India is the largest
milk producer in the world.
37) Two major
religions, Buddhism and Jainism, were established in India.
38) Chail in Himachal
Pradesh is the highest cricket pitch in the world. It is situated at an
elevation of 2444 meters (above the sea level).
39) Today, India is the
world’s third largest economy.
40) India has the largest
amount of vegetarians in the world.
41) The state of Meghalaya
is the wettest inhabited place of earth.
42) Martial Arts was first
created in India.
43) The world’s biggest
family lives in India. One man, 39 wives and 94 children.
44) India is the world’s
largest importer of arms.
45) But India has never
invaded or attacked a country.