2. FLAG EMBLEM
ā¢ Motto: "Satyameva jayateā
Truth alone triumph
ā¢ Anthem: Jana Gana Mana
(Thou art the ruler of the minds of all
people)
ā¢ National Song: Vande Mataram
I bow to thee, Mother
3. ā¢ India officially, Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It
is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the
second-most populous country, and the most populous
democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the
south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of
Bengal on the east, India has a coastline of
7,517 kilometers (4,671 mi) It is bordered by Pakistan to the
west People's Republic of China (PRC), Nepal, and Bhutan to
the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. India is in
the vicinity of Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Indonesia covered
with Indian Ocean at its feet.
4. ā¢ India's coast is
7,517 kilometers (4,671 mi)
long; of this
distance, 5,423 kilometers
(3,370 mi) belong to
peninsular India, and
2,094 kilometers (1,301 mi) to
the Andaman, Nicobar, and
Lakshadweep Islands. The
mainland coast consists of
the following: 43% sandy
beaches, 11% rocky coast
including cliffs, and 46%
mudflats or marshy coasts.
5. ā¢ Four major world
religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism
originated there, while
Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam
arrived in the first millennium CE and shaped the
region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by the
British East India Company from the early eighteenth
century and colonized by the United Kingdom from
the mid-nineteenth century, India became an
independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for
independence that was marked by widespread
nonviolent resistance.
ā¢ India is a republic consisting of 28 states and seven
union territories with a parliamentary system of
democracy. It has the world's twelfth largest
economy at market exchange rates and the fourth
largest in purchasing power.
6. DIVERSITIES
ā¢ India is a country of bewilderingly great diversities.
We keep marveling at the incredibly harmonious co-
existence of various religions & culture; its varied
landscapes from Kashmir to Kannyakumari and from
Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh, the different
cuisines, etc! India is also a place for
Ayurveda, Yoga, learning, amazing arts &
crafts, mountains, backwaters, nature, rivers, desert
s, wildlife, etc. India is a jigsaw of people - of every
faith and religion living together to create a unique
and colorful mosaic. There is a festival for every
reason and every season.
7. DRESSES
ā¢ Traditional dresses of
India.
Indian garments are
traditionally unstiched.
Men use the Dhoti and the
Angavastra
The Dhoti is draped over
the legs and the
Angavastra is thrown
across the shoulders.
except that a part of the
saree is pulled across the
shoulders.
Both Men and Women
wear colourful garments
8. INDIA: A BRIEF HISTORY OF
TIME
THE COMING OF EUROPEAN COLONIALISM
ā¢ From the 15th century onwards the first
European colonists had started visiting the
shores of India.
9. From the 15th century onwards
the first European colonists had
started visiting the shores of
India
ā¢ In the early 16th century, Portuguese rule was
established on the West coast of India at Goa posts
and later took advantage of internal conflicts to
establish colonies in the country. But the
Portuguese did not succeed in moving deep into the
country, their domination remained confined to the
coastal periphery. It was only the British who
managed to take on the mantle of administering the
country from the Mughals.
10. The interior of the Govind palace
at Datia. The opulence and
grandeur of the medieval palaces
was unparalleled. The reason for
this was that there manor was a
status symbol for the feudal lords.
ā¢ Though the Mughal Empire did survive till 1857, its
heyday can be considered to have come to an end in
1707, with the death of Aurangzeb.
11. Late 19th and early 20th century
1909
1909 1909 Percentage 1909
Prevailing Percentage of of Percentage
Religions, Ma Muslims, Map Hindus, Map of
p of British of British of British Buddhists, S
Indian Indian Indian ikhs, and
Empire, 1909, Empire, 1909, Empire, 1909 Jains. Map
showing the showing , showing of British
prevailing percentage of percentage Indian
majority Muslims in of Hindus in Empire, 1909
religions of different different , showing
the districts. districts. percentages
population in different
for different districts.
districts.
12. THE REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE
ā¢ The Mutiny of 1857 created
the first stirrings of a national
movement for securing
Independence from the
British. But in its essence, the
Sepoy mutiny was a war
fought by the Indian kings
and princes to preserve their
privileges and rights of
succession, which were
being threatened by the
British policy of the "Doctrine
of Lapse". The Sepoy Mutiny
was a war of the feudal
princes against a new
incoming imperialist power of
the British. The freedom
movement that came later
under Tilak and Gandhi was
a mass struggle in its real
sense.
13. By 1856, most of India was under the control of the
British East India Company. A year later, a
nationwide insurrection of rebelling military units
and kingdoms, known as India's First War of
Independence or the Sepoy Mutiny, seriously
challenged the Company's control but eventually
failed. As a result of the instability, India was
brought under the direct rule of the British Crown.
14. CANKERS OF A CALM WORLD:
THE SEPOY REVOLT
ā¢ THE great Revolt of 1857 was a watershed in the
history of modern India. It marked first national
challenge to the English in India; it emboldened the
growth of Indian nationalist politics; it presaged
significant constitutional changes in British India. Today
one hundred fifty years later as we commemorate the
event, the rebellion provides us with a new source of
inspiration to complete the nation-building project.
ā¢ The unique feature of the 1857 Revolt was the
solidarity amongst the rebels cutting across religious
and provincial lines. Leaders of the Revolt issued
proclamations to stress the importance of communal
amity amongst the rebels, emphasizing the need of
Hindus and Muslims to join their hands to drive out the
English and protect their own religious customs and
rituals.
15. ā¢ The Revolt failed, because of
the brutalities committed by the
English on the rebels. But the
Revolt generated new national
ideas. Apart from laying stress
on communal harmony the
rebel leaders visualized a new
national order. They sought to
establish `a kind of elective
military ruleā, assured economic
relief to the
zamindars, peasants and
artisans alike and promised
better service conditions for the
sepoys. The rebel leaders
certainly deserve credit for
nursing this national vision at a
time when nationalism in the
modern bourgeois sense was
yet to develop.
17. Quit India Movement (Bharat Chhodo
Andolan or the August Movement) was a civil
disobedience movement launched in India in
August 1942 in response to Mohandas
Gandhi's call for immediate independence.
Gandhi hoped to bring the British government
to the negotiating table. Almost the entire
Congress leadership, and not merely at the
national level, was put into confinement less
than twenty-four hours after Gandhi's speech,
and the greater number of the Congress
leaders were to spend the rest of the war in
jail.
In the 20th century, a nationwide struggle for
independence was launched by the Indian
National Congress and other political
organisations. Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi
led millions of people in national campaigns of
non-violent civil disobedience.
18. Gandhi wanted self-government for India but he
believed that all Indians must work for it as one
hand. Trying to overcome the urban-rural divide, he
transformed the Indian National Congress, which
was confined on the upper and middle class to a
strong national organization thus joining large
sections of the -till then- excluded groups as
women, merchants, the peasantry and youth. Gandhi
also promoted among his countrymen national self-
respect and confidence in their ability to put an end
to British rule.
19. The independence movement also served
as a major catalyst for similar movements
in other parts of the world, leading to the
eventual disintegration and dismantling of
the British Empire Gandhi's philosophy of
nonviolent resistance inspired the
American Civil Rights Movement led by
MAHATAMA GANDHI
Martin Luther King, Jr, the quest for
democracy in Myanmar led by Aung San
Suu Kyi and the African National
Congress's struggle against apartheid in
South Africa led by Nelson Mandela.
However not all these leaders adhered to
Gandhi's strict principle of nonviolence
and non-resistance.
20. PARTITION OF INDIA
ā¢ The Partition of India was the partition of
British India that led to the creation, on
August 14, 1947 and August
15, 1947, respectively, of the sovereign
states of the Dominion of Pakistan (later
Islamic Republic of Pakistan and
Peopleās Republic of Bangladesh) and
the Union of India (later Republic of
India). The partition of India included the
geographical division of the Bengal
province of British India into East
Pakistan and West Bengal (India), and
the similar partition of the Punjab
province into West Punjab (later Punjab
(Pakistan) and Islamabad Capital
Territory) and East Punjab (India), and
also the division of other
assets, including the British Indian
Army, the Indian Civil Service and other
MAP OF INDIA AT THE TIME OF PARTITION administrative services. The partition was
promulgated in the Indian Independence
Act 1947 and resulted in the dissolution
of the British Indian Empire.
21. AT THE TIME OF PARTITION
Two self governing countries legally came into
existence at the stroke of midnight on 15
August 1947. The ceremonies for the transfer
of power were held a day earlier in Karachi, at
the time the capital of the new state of
Pakistan, so that the last British Viceroy,
Louis Mountbatten, could attend both the
ceremony in Karachi as well as the ceremony
in Delhi.
However another reason for this
arrangement was to avoid the appearance
that Pakistan was seceding from a sovereign
India. Therefore Pakistan celebrates
Independence Day on August 14, while India
celebrates it on August 15.
Another reason for Pakistan celebrating
independence on August 14 is the adoption
PAKISTAN : HIGHLIGHTED of new standard time in Pakistan after
partition. The new standard time of West
Pakistan (modern 'Pakistan') was behind
Indian standard time by 30 minutes and the
new standard time of East Pakistan (modern
'Bangladesh') was ahead of Indian standard
time by 30 minutes, so technically on the
stroke of midnight falling between August 14
and 15, when India "got independence", it
was still 11:30 PM on 14 August in West
Pakistan.
22. BEFORE PARTITON
1920-1932
THE EMERGENCE OF MUSLIM LEAGUE
The All India Muslim League (AIML) was formed in Dhaka in 1906 by
Muslims who were suspicious of the Hindu-majority Indian National
Congress. They complained that they were not given same rights as a
Muslim member compared to Hindu members. A number of different
scenarios were proposed at various times. Among the first to make the
demand for a separate state was the writer/philosopher Allama
Iqbal, who, in his presidential address to the 1930 convention of the
Muslim League said that he felt a separate nation for Muslims was
MOHD. ALI JINNAH
essential in an otherwise Hindu-dominated subcontinent. The Sindh
Assembly passed a resolution making it a demand in 1935.
Iqbal, Jouhar and others then worked hard to draft Mohammad Ali
Jinnah, who had till then worked for Hindu-Muslim unity, to lead the
movement for this new nation. By 1930, Jinnah had begun to despair
of the fate of minority communities in a united India and had begun to
argue that mainstream parties such as the Congress, of which he was
once a member, were insensitive to Muslim interests. The 1932
communal award which seemed to threaten the position of Muslims in
Hindu-majority provinces catalysed the resurgence of the Muslim
League, with Jinnah as its leader. However, the League did not do well
in the 1937 provincial elections, demonstrating the hold of the
conservative and local forces at the time
23. 1932-1942
In 1940, Jinnah made a statement at the Lahore conference, which seemed to be calling
for a separate Muslim 'nation'. However, the document was ambiguous and opaque, and
did not evoke a Muslim nation in a territorial sense. This idea, though, was taken up by
Muslims and particularly Hindus, and given a more territorial element. All Muslim
political parties opposed the partition of India.
Hindu organizations such as the Hindu Mahasabha, though against the division of the
country, was also insisting on the same chasm between Hindus and Muslims. In 1937 at
the 19th session of the Hindu Mahasabha held at Ahmedabad, Veer Savarkar in his
presidential address asserted:
āIndia cannot be assumed today to be Unitarian and homogeneous nation, but on
the contrary there are two nations in the main ā the Hindus and the Muslims.ā
Gandhi opposed the partition, saying,
āMy whole soul rebels against the idea that Hinduism and Islam
represent two antagonistic cultures and doctrines. To assent to such a
doctrine is for me a denial of God.ā
24. POLITICAL PARTIES AT THE TIME OF
INDEPENDENCE
The Indian Political Parties were (alphabetically) All India
Muslim League, Communist Party of India, Hindu
Mahasabha, Indian National Congress Khaksar Tehrik, and the
Unionist Muslim League (mainly in the Punjab).
The British Colonial Administration consisted of Secretary of
State for India, the India Office, the Governor-General of
India, and the Indian Civil Service.
On July 18, 1947, the British Parliament passed the Indian
Independence Act that finalized the partition arrangement. The
Government of India Act 1935 was adapted to provide a legal
framework for the two new dominions. Following
partition, Pakistan was added as a new member of the United
Nations. The union formed from the combination of the Hindu
states assumed the name India which automatically granted it
the seat of British India (a UN member since 1945) as a
successor state
25. ON THE DAY OF FREEDOM
On 15 August 1947, India gained independence from British
rule, but at the same time Muslim-majority areas were
partitioned to form a separate state of Pakistan.
The Partition of India was the partition of British India that led
to the creation, on August 14, 1947 and August
15, 1947, respectively, of the sovereign states of the Dominion
of Pakistan (later Islamic Republic of Pakistan and People's
Republic of Bangladesh) and the Union of India (later Republic
of India). The partition of India included the geographical
division of the Bengal province of British India into East
Pakistan and West Bengal (India).
On 26 January 1950, India became a republic and a new
constitution came into effect.
26. AFTER PARTITION
ā¢ Massive population exchanges occurred between the two newly-
formed states in the months immediately following Partition. Once
the lines were established, about 14.5 million people crossed the
borders to what they hoped was the relative safety of religious
majority.
27. ā¢ Based on 1951 Census of displaced persons, 7,226,000 Muslims
went to Pakistan from India while 7,249,000 Hindus and Sikhs
moved to India from Pakistan immediately after partition. About 11.2
million or 78% of the population transfer took place in the west, with
Punjab accounting for most of it; 5.3 million Muslims moved from
India to West Punjab in Pakistan, 3.4 million Hindus and Sikhs
moved from Pakistan to East Punjab in India; elsewhere in the west
1.2 million moved in each direction to and from Sind.
28. The Partition of British India in 1947, which created the two
independent states of India and Pakistan, was followed by one of the
cruelest and bloodiest migrations and ethnic cleansings in history. The
religious fury and violence that it unleashed caused the deaths of some
2 million Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. An estimated 12 to 15 million
people were forcibly transferred between the two countries. At least
75,000 women were raped.
Over 10 million people were uprooted from their homeland and traveled on
foot, bullock carts and trains to their promised new home.
29. MESSAGES:
Nothing is Dearer than Her Service
There are times in a nation's history when Providence places before
it one work, one aim, to which everything else, however high and
noble in itself, has to be sacrificed. Such a time has now arrived for
our Motherland when nothing is dearer than her service, when
everything else is to be directed to that end. If you will study, study
for her sake; train yourselves body and mind and soul for her sake.
You will go abroad to foreign lands that you may bring back
knowledge with which you may do service to her. Work that she may
prosper. Suffer that she may rejoice. All is contained in that one
single advice.
30. At the STROKE of the midnight hour, when the
world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A
moment comes, which comes but rarely in
history, when we step out from the old to the
new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a
nation, long suppressed, finds utterance... We end
today a period of ill fortune, and India discovers
herself again.
JAWARLAL NEHRU