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View source for Indian people

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{{Short description|Citizens and nationals of India}}
{{other uses|Indian (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Indians
| flag             = [[File:Flag of India.svg|border|200px]]
| flag_caption     = [[Flag of India]]
[[File:Map of the Indian Diaspora in the World.svg|center|frameless|260x260px]]
| population       = {{circa|'''1.4 billion'''}}
| popplace         = [[Non-resident Indian and Overseas Citizen of India|Indian diaspora]]:<br/>{{circa|'''17.9 million'''}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Ruchi |date=2022-03-07 |title=Origin of World's Largest Migrant Population, India Seeks to Leverage Immigration |url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/india-migration-country-profile |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=migrationpolicy.org |language=en}}</ref>
| region1          = {{flagicon|US}} [[Indian Americans|United States]]
| pop1             = 4,506,308
| ref1             = <ref>{{Cite web   |title=Asian and Pacific Islander Population in the United States |url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2020/demo/aian-population.html |access-date=2022-11-04 |website=Census.gov}}</ref>
| region2          = {{flagicon|Saudi Arabia}} [[Non-Resident Indians in Saudi Arabia|Saudi Arabia]]
| pop2             = 3,255,864
| ref2             = <ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=https://www.mea.gov.in/Images/attach/lu6091.pdf|title=Population of Overseas Indians (Compiled in December, 2017)|work=Ministry of External Affairs|access-date=22 January 2023|date=2017-12-21}}</ref>
| region3          = {{flagicon|Malaysia}} [[Malaysian Indians|Malaysia]]
| pop3             = 2,975,000
| ref3             = <ref name="auto1"/>
| region4          = {{flagicon|UAE}} [[Indians in the United Arab Emirates|United Arab Emirates]]
| pop4             = 2,803,751
| ref4             = <ref name="auto1"/>
| region5          = {{flagicon|Canada}} [[Indo-Canadians|Canada]]
| pop5             = 1,858,755
| ref5             = {{efn|name="notecanadapopulation2021"}}
| region6          = {{flagicon|UK}} [[British Indians|United Kingdom]]
| pop6             = 1,825,000
| ref6             = <ref name="auto1"/>
| region7          = {{flagicon|Sri Lanka}}[[Indians in Sri Lanka|Sri Lanka]]
| pop7             = 1,614,000
| ref7             = <ref name="auto1"/>
| region8          = {{flagicon|South Africa}} [[Indian South Africans|South Africa]]
| pop8             = 1,560,000
| ref8             = <ref name="auto1"/>
| region9          = {{flagicon|Nigeria}} [[Hinduism in Nigeria|Nigeria]]
| pop9             = 1,000,000
| ref9             = <ref name="aljazeera">{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/features/2013/12/2/africans-decry-discrimination-in-india|title=There are only 50,000 Nigerians living in India, but there are over a million Indians living in Nigeria|website=aljazeera|access-date=28 August 2022|archive-date=3 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103185624/https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/features/2013/12/2/africans-decry-discrimination-in-india|url-status=live}}</ref>
| region10         = {{flagicon|Mauritius}} [[Mauritians of Indian origin|Mauritius]]
| pop10            = 894,500
| ref10            = <ref name="auto1"/>
| region11         = {{flagicon|Oman}} [[Indians in Oman|Oman]]
| pop11            = 796,001
| ref11            = <ref name="moia">{{cite web |url = http://mea.gov.in/images/attach/NRIs-and-PIOs_1.pdf |title = Population of Overseas Indians |publisher = [[Ministry of External Affairs (India)]] |date = 31 December 2016 |access-date= 28 May 2016 }}</ref>
| region12         = {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Indian Australians|Australia]]
| pop12            = 700,000
| ref12            = <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/indians-are-becoming-visible-australia-never | title=Indians are becoming visible in Australia like never before | publisher=Lowy Institute | date=28 May 2021}}</ref>
| region13         = {{flagicon|Kuwait}} [[Indians in Kuwait|Kuwait]]
| pop13            = 700,000
| ref13            = <ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(<span class="ltr">s</span>); no by-line.--> |title=Kuwait MP seeks five-year cap on expat workers' stay |url=http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/kuwait/kuwait-mp-seeks-five-year-cap-on-expat-workers-stay-1.1284513 |newspaper=Gulf News |date=30 January 2014 }}</ref>
| region14         = {{flagicon|Qatar}} [[Indians in Qatar|Qatar]]
| pop14            = 650,000
| ref14            = <ref name=pop>{{cite web|url=http://priyadsouza.com/population-of-qatar-by-nationality-in-2017/ |title=Population of Qatar by nationality - 2017 report |access-date=7 February 2017}}</ref>
| region15         = {{flagicon|Nepal}} [[Indian Nepalis|Nepal]]
| pop15            = 600,000
| ref15            = <ref name=IndianEmbassyNepal>{{cite web|url=https://www.indembkathmandu.gov.in/page/about-india-nepal-relations/|title=About India-Nepal Relations|website=Embassy of India, Kathmandu, Nepal|date=February 2020}}</ref>
| region16         = {{flagicon|Bangladesh}}[[Indians in Bangladesh|Bangladesh]]
| pop16            = 500,000-1,000,000
| ref16            = <ref>{{cite web |url=https://scroll.in/article/664305/dhaka-has-a-question-what-about-the-illegal-indian-immigrants-in-bangladesh | title=Dhaka has a question: what about the illegal Indian immigrants in Bangladesh? | publisher=Scroll.in | date=16 May 2014}}</ref>
| region17         = {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Indians in Germany|Germany]]
| pop17            = 161,000-1,000,000+
| ref17            = <ref>[http://www.bib-demografie.de/DE/Aktuelles/Presse/Archiv/2017/2017-03-01-zuwanderung-aussereuropaeische-Laender-fast-verdoppelt.html Immigration from outside Europe almost doubled] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209232407/http://www.bib-demografie.de/DE/Aktuelles/Presse/Archiv/2017/2017-03-01-zuwanderung-aussereuropaeische-Laender-fast-verdoppelt.html |date=9 December 2017 }}. Federal Institute for Population Research. Retrieved 1 March 2017</ref><ref name="moia"/>
| region18         = {{flagicon|Trinidad and Tobago}} [[Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian|Trinidad and Tobago]]
| pop18            = 468,524
| ref18            = <ref name="moia"/>
| region19         = {{flagicon|Thailand}} [[Indians in Thailand|Thailand]]
| pop19            = 465,000
| ref19            = <ref name="moia"/>
| region20         = {{flagicon|Bahrain}}[[Indians in Bahrain|Bahrain]]
| pop20            = 400,000
| ref20            = <ref name="moia"/>
| region21         = {{flagicon|Guyana}} [[Indo-Guyanese|Guyana]]
| pop21            = 327,000
| ref21            = <ref name="moia"/>
| region22         = {{flagicon|Fiji}}[[Indo-Fijians|Fiji]]
| pop22            = 315,000
| ref22            = <ref name="moia"/>
| region23         = {{flagicon|Réunion}} [[Indians in Réunion|Réunion]] ''([[Overseas France]])''
| pop23            = 297,300
| ref23            = <ref name="POI">{{cite web |title=Population of Overseas Indians |url=http://www.mea.gov.in/population-of-overseas-indians.htm |date=15 February 2023 |website=mea.gov.in |publisher=Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231008153753/https://www.mea.gov.in/population-of-overseas-indians.htm |archive-date=8 October 2023 |access-date=29 October 2023}}</ref>
| region24         = {{flagicon|Singapore}} [[Indian Singaporeans|Singapore]]
| pop24            = 250,300
| ref24            = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nptd.gov.sg/Portals/0/Homepage/Highlights/population-in-brief-2015.pdf|title=Population in Brief 2015|work=Singapore Government|date=September 2015|access-date=14 February 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216110141/http://www.nptd.gov.sg/Portals/0/Homepage/Highlights/population-in-brief-2015.pdf|archive-date=16 February 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
| region25         = {{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[Indians in the Netherlands|Netherlands]]
| pop25            = 240,000
| ref25            = <ref name="moia"/>
| region26         = {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Indians in Italy|Italy]]
| pop26            = 197,301
| ref26            = <ref name="moia"/>
| region27         = {{flagicon|NZ}} [[Indian New Zealanders|New Zealand]]
| pop27            = 155,178
| ref27            = <ref name="stats.govt.nz">{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-reports/quickstats-culture-identity/asian.aspx&#93;,|title=[Stats NZ|website=stats.govt.nz|access-date=11 December 2017|archive-date=28 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728013617/http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-reports/quickstats-culture-identity/asian.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| region28         = {{flagicon|Suriname}} [[Indo-Surinamese|Suriname]]
| pop28            = 148,000
| ref28            = <ref name="moia"/>
| region29         = {{flagicon|Indonesia}} [[Indian Indonesians|Indonesia]]
| pop29            = 120,000
| ref29            = <ref name="moia"/>
| region30         = {{flagicon|Israel}} [[Indians in Israel|Israel]]
| pop30            = 85,000
| ref30            = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indembassyisrael.gov.in/pages?id=xboja&subid=wdLwb|title= Indian Community in Israel|website=indembassyisrael.gov.in|access-date=13 March 2021}}</ref>
| region31         = {{flagicon|France}} [[Indians in France|France]]
| pop31            = 58,983
| ref31            = <ref name="europa.eu">{{cite web| title =Population on 1 January by age group, sex and country of birth| url =https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/migr_pop3ctb/default/table?lang=en| date =2023| website =europa.eu| publisher =Eurostat| access-date =7 August 2023}}</ref>
| region32         = {{flagicon|Japan}} [[Indians in Japan|Japan]]
| pop32            = 46,000
| ref32            = <ref>[https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/publications/press/13_00036.html 令和<span class="ltr">5</span>年<span class="ltr">6</span>月末現在における在留外国人数について]</ref>
| region33         = {{flagicon|Portugal}} [[Indians in Portugal|Portugal]]
| pop33            = 24,550+
| ref33            = <ref>[https://observador.pt/2021/09/14/portugal-assina-acordo-com-india-sobre-recrutamento-de-trabalhadores-indianos/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114011824/https://observador.pt/2021/09/14/portugal-assina-acordo-com-india-sobre-recrutamento-de-trabalhadores-indianos/ |date=14 November 2022 }} Portugal signs agreement with India on labour recruitment of Indian citizens, Observador with Lusa Agency, in Portuguese, Retrieved 14.12.2022.</ref>
| region34         = {{flagicon|Brazil}} [[Indian immigration to Brazil|Brazil]]
| pop34            = 23,254
| ref34            = <ref>{{Cite web|title=Imigrantes internacionais registrados no Brasil|url=https://www.nepo.unicamp.br/observatorio/bancointerativo/numeros-imigracao-internacional/sincre-sismigra/|access-date=2021-08-20|website=www.nepo.unicamp.br}}</ref>
| region35         = {{flagicon|Ireland}} [[Indians in Ireland|Ireland]]
| pop35            = 20,000+
| ref35            = <ref>{{cite web|publisher=Ireland India Council|url=http://www.irelandindiacouncil.ie/community.php | website = irelandindiacouncil.ie |title = Indian Community In Ireland | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180120101750/http://www.irelandindiacouncil.ie/community.php | archive-date = 20 January 2018 }}</ref>
| region36         = {{flagicon|Poland}} [[Indians in Poland|Poland]]
| pop36            = 9,900
| ref36            = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.pl/web/udsc/cudzoziemcy-w-polsce-po-2020-r|title=Cudzoziemcy w Polsce po 2020 r. - Urząd do Spraw Cudzoziemców - Portal Gov.pl|website=Urząd do Spraw Cudzoziemców}}</ref>
| region37         = {{flagicon|Cayman Islands}} [[Cayman Islands–India relations|Cayman Islands]]
| pop37            = 1,218
| ref37            = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eso.ky/UserFiles/right_page_docums/files/uploads/chapter_10_-_labour_force_and_employment.xlsx|title=Labour Force Indicators by Sex, 2014- 2019|website=eso.ky|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307225411/https://www.eso.ky/UserFiles/right_page_docums/files/uploads/chapter_10_-_labour_force_and_employment.xlsx|archive-date=7 March 2022}}</ref>
| languages        = [[Languages of India]], including: {{hlist|[[Assamese language|Assamese]] | [[Awadhi language|Awadhi]] | [[Bagheli language|Bagheli]] | [[Bengali language|Bengali]] | [[Bhil language|Bhil]]|[[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]] | [[Bodo language|Bodo]] | [[Braj Bhasha]] | [[Bundeli language|Bundeli]] | [[Chhattisgarhi language|Chhattisgarhi]]|[[Dogri language|Dogri]] | [[Indian English|English]] | [[Garhwali language|Garhwali]]|[[Gondi language|Gondi]]| [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] | [[Haryanvi language|Haryanvi]]|[[Hindi]] | [[Kannauji language|Kannauji]] | [[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]] | [[Kannada]] |[[Khandeshi language|Khandeshi]]|[[Kodava language|Kodava]]|[[Konkani language|Konkani]] | [[Kumaoni language|Kumaoni]]|[[Kurukh language|Kurukh]]|[[Kutchi language|Kutchi]]|[[Ladakhi language|Ladakhi]] | [[Magahi language|Magahi]]|[[Maithili language|Maithili]] | [[Malayalam]]  | [[Marathi language|Marathi]] | |[[Meitei language|Meitei]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meitei |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/mni/25 |access-date=2023-02-12 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Manipuri language {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Manipuri-language |access-date=2023-02-12 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |quote=Manipuri language, Manipuri Meiteilon, also called Meitei (Meetei), a Tibeto-Burman language spoken predominantly in Manipur, a northeastern state of India.}}</ref>|[[Nepali language|Nepali]] | [[Odia language|Odia]] | [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] | [[Rajasthani languages|Rajasthani]]|[[Sanskrit]] | [[Santali language|Santhali]] | [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] | [[Tamil language|Tamil]] | [[Telugu language|Telugu]] |
[[Kokborok|Tripuri]] | [[Tulu language|Tulu]] | [[Urdu]]}}<!--Note. Names of languages here are as listed on Schedule 8 for accuracy. Do not update here, but in main text appropriately-->
| religions        = '''Majority:'''{{hlist| [[File:Om.svg|15px]] [[Hinduism]] | [[File:Star and Crescent.svg|15px]] [[Islam]]}}

'''Minorities:'''{{hlist| [[File:Christian cross.svg|15px]] [[Christianity]] | [[File:Khanda.svg|15px]] [[Sikhism]] | [[File:Dharma Wheel.svg|15px]] [[Buddhism]] | [[File:Ahimsa Jainism Gradient.jpg|10px]] [[Jainism]] | [[File:Faravahar-Gold.svg|15px]] [[Zoroastrianism]] | [[File:Star of David.svg|15px]] [[Judaism]] | [[Irreligion]]| Others}}
}}

'''Indian people''' or '''Indians''' are the [[Indian nationality law|citizens and nationals]] of the [[India|Republic of India]]. In 2022, the population of India stood at 1.4 billion people. According to [[United Nations|UN]] forecasts, India overtook [[China]] as the world's most populous country by the end of April 2023, containing 17.50 percent of the global population.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 April 2023 |title=India to overtake China as world's most populous country in April 2023, United Nations projects |url=https://www.un.org/en/desa/india-overtake-china-world-most-populous-country-april-2023-united-nations-projects#:~:text=Smith%20Mehta%2Funsplash.-,India%20to%20overtake%20China%20as%20world's%20most%20populous%20country%20in,the%20world's%20most%20populous%20country |access-date=27 April 2023 |website=[[United Nations]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Ellis-Petersen |first1=Hannah |last2=correspondent |first2=Hannah Ellis-Petersen South Asia |date=2023-04-24 |title=India overtakes China to become world's most populous country |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/24/india-overtakes-china-to-become-worlds-most-populous-country |access-date=2023-07-12 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65380148 "India's population to surpass China this week - UN"]. ''BBC.'' April 24, 2023. Retrieved June 24, 2023.</ref> In addition to the Indian population, the [[Non-resident Indian and Overseas Citizen of India|Indian overseas diaspora]] also boasts large numbers, particularly in the [[Arab states of the Persian Gulf]] and the [[Western world]].<ref name="moia" />

While the demonym "Indian" applies to people originating from the present-day Republic of [[India]], it was also used as the identifying term for people originating from what is now [[Pakistan]] and [[Bangladesh]] prior to the [[Partition of India]] in 1947.<ref name="Stern2001">{{cite book |last1=Stern |first1=Robert W. |title=Democracy and Dictatorship in South Asia: Dominant Classes and Political Outcomes in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh |date=2001 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=9780275970413 |page=6 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Henry Newman|title=The Calcutta Review |date=1921 |publisher=[[University of Calcutta]] |page=252 |language=en |quote=I have also found that Bombay is India, Satara is India, Bangalore is India, Madras is India, Delhi, Lahore, the Khyber, Lucknow, Calcutta, Cuttack, Shillong, etc., are all India.}}</ref>

Particularly in [[North America]], the terms "Asian Indian" and "East Indian" are sometimes used to differentiate Indians from the [[indigenous peoples of the Americas]]. Although the [[Native American name controversy|misidentification of indigenous Americans as Indians]] occurred during the [[European colonization of the Americas]], the term "Indian" is still used as an identifier for indigenous populations in [[North America]] and the [[Caribbean]]. This usage is growing rarer, as terms such as indigenous, Amerindian, and specifically [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] in [[Canada]], and [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] in the [[United States]], are widely used in official discourse and in law.

==Ethnonym==
{{Main|Names for India}}
The name ''Bhārata'' has been used as a self-ascribed name by people of the [[Indian subcontinent]] and the [[Republic of India]] since 1949.<ref>Article 1 of the English version of the [[Constitution of India]]: "India that is Bharat shall be a Union of States."</ref> The designation ''"Bhārata"'' appears in the official Sanskrit name of the country, ''Bhārata Gaṇarājya''. The name is derived from the ancient [[Vedic]] and [[Puranas]], which refer to the land that comprises India as『''Bhārata varṣam''』and uses this term to distinguish it from other ''varṣa''s or continents.<ref name="pargiter">{{Citation|title=Ancient Indian Historical Tradition|last=Pargiter|first=F. F.|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|place=Delhi|year=1922|page=131}}</ref> The ''Bhāratas'' were a vedic tribe mentioned in the [[Rigveda]], notably participating in the [[Battle of the Ten Kings]].<ref name="schmidt1980">Schmidt, H.P. ''Notes on Rgveda 7.18.5-10''. Indica. Organ of the Heras Institute, Bombay. Vol.17, 1980, 41-47.</ref> India is named after legendary [[Emperor Bharata]] who was a descendant of the [[Bharatas (tribe)|Bhāratas tribe]], scion of [[Kuru Dynasty]] who unified the [[Indian Subcontinent]] under one realm.<ref>National Council of Educational Research and Training, History Text Book, Part 1, India</ref>
<blockquote>
:उत्तरं यत्समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम्।
:वर्षं तद् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र संततिः॥
</blockquote>
: "The country (''varṣam'') that lies north of the [[samudra|ocean]] and south of the snowy mountains is called ''Bhāratam''; there dwell the descendants of Bharata."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sub.uni-goettingen.de/ebene_1/fiindolo/gretil/1_sanskr/3_purana/visnup_u.htm |title=Visnu-Purana |access-date=2008-04-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609150505/http://www.sub.uni-goettingen.de/ebene_1/fiindolo/gretil/1_sanskr/3_purana/visnup_u.htm |archive-date=9 June 2007 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://is1.mum.edu/vedicreserve/puranas/vishnu_purana.pdf|title=Reading the Vedic Literature in Sanskrit|website=is1.mum.edu|access-date=11 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231114/http://is1.mum.edu/vedicreserve/puranas/vishnu_purana.pdf|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In early [[Vedic]] literature, the term ''[[Āryāvarta]]'' ([[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]]: आर्यावर्त) was in popular use before ''Bhārata''. The [[Manusmṛti]] (2.22) gives the name ''Āryāvarta'' to "the tract between the Himalaya and the Vindhya ranges, from the Eastern (Bay of Bengal) to the Western Sea (Arabian Sea)".<ref>{{cite book|title=India through the ages|url=https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada|last=Gopal|first=Madan|year= 1990| page= [https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada/page/70 70]|editor=K.S. Gautam|publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India}}</ref><ref>Michael Cook (2014), ''Ancient Religions, Modern Politics: The Islamic Case in Comparative Perspective'', Princeton University Press, p.68: "Aryavarta [...] is defined by Manu as extending from the Himalayas in the north to the [[Vindhyas]] of Central India in the south and from the sea in the west to the sea in the east."</ref>

While the word Indian and India is derived from [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|Ἰνδία}} (''Indía''), via Latin ''India''. ''Indía'' in [[Koine Greek]] denoted the region beyond the [[Indus]] ({{lang|grc|Ἰνδός}}) river, since [[Herodotus]] (5th century BC) {{lang|grc|ἡ Ἰνδική χώρη}}, ''hē Indikē chōrē''; "the Indian land", {{lang|grc|Ἰνδός}}, ''Indos'', "an Indian", from [[Old Persian]] ''Hinduš'' and medieval term [[Hindustan]]i.<ref name=A>Hudson, John C., ed., Goode's World Atlas 20th Edition Chicago, Illinois, USA:2000—Rand McNally Map Page 203 Major Languages of India—map of the ethnolinguistic groups of India</ref> The name is derived ultimately from ''Sindhu'', the [[Sanskrit]] name of the river Indus, but also meaning "river" generically.<ref name=cheung>{{cite book|first=Martha Pui Yiu|last=Cheung|chapter=Zan Ning (919–1001&nbsp;CE), To Translate Means to Exchange|title=An Anthology of Chinese Discourse on Translation: From Earliest Times to the Buddhist Project|year=2014|orig-year=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-63928-2|pages=179, 181}}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of India|Greater India}}
{{Multiple image|caption_align=center|header_align=center
 | align = left
 | direction = vertical
 | width = 200
 | image1 = Mohenjo-daro Priesterkönig.jpeg
 | caption1 = Priest-King, [[Indus Valley civilisation]]
 | image2 = Maurya_Empire%2C_c.250_BCE_2.png
 | caption2 = Map of the [[Mauryan Empire]] 3rd century BC
 | image3 = Cave 26, Ajanta.jpg
 | caption3 = Buddhist rock-cut architecture, 2nd century BC
}}
[[File:Photograph of the Lion Capital at Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh by Madho Prasad, c.1905.jpg|thumb|Ashoka pillar, erected by Emperor Ashoka in about 250 BC. It has been adopted as emblem of India.]]

The ''history of India'' includes the prehistoric settlements and societies in the [[Indian subcontinent]]; the blending of the [[Indus Valley civilization]] and [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan]] culture into the [[Vedas|Vedic Civilization]]; the development of [[Hinduism]] as a synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions; the rise of sixteen oligarchic republics known as [[Mahajanapada]]s; the rise of the [[Śramaṇa|Śramaṇa movement]]; the birth of [[Jainism]] and [[Buddhism]] in the 6th century&nbsp;BCE,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brow.on.ca/Books/Religion/Religion3.html|title=Religion -- Chapter 3|website=www.brow.on.ca|access-date=11 December 2017}}</ref> and the onset of a succession of [[List of Indian monarchs|powerful dynasties and empires]] for more than two millennia throughout various geographic areas of the subcontinent, including the growth of [[Muslim conquests of the Indian subcontinent|Muslim dynasties]] during the Medieval period intertwined with Hindu powers; the advent of [[British Raj|European traders]] resulting in the establishment of [[British Raj|British India]]; and the subsequent [[Indian independence movement|independence movement]] that led to the [[Partition of India]] and the creation of the [[History of the Republic of India|Republic of India]].

The Indian people established during the ancient and medieval periods to the early eighteenth century some of the greatest empires and dynasties in South Asian history like the [[Maurya Empire]], [[Satavahana dynasty]], [[Gupta Empire]], [[Rashtrakuta dynasty]], [[Chalukya Empire]], [[Chola Empire]], [[Karkota Empire]], [[Pala Empire]], [[Vijayanagara Empire]], [[Delhi Sultanate]], [[Mughal Empire]], [[Maratha Empire]] and [[Sikh Empire]]. The first great empire of the Indian people was the [[Maurya Empire]] having [[Patliputra]](currently [[Patna]], [[Bihar]]) as its capital, conquered the major part of [[South Asia]] in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC during the reign of the Indian Emperors [[Chandragupta Maurya]] and [[Ashoka]] alongside their senior advisor, [[Chanakya|Acharya Chanakya]], the world's pioneer of the fields of political science and economics. The next great ancient empire of the Indian people was the [[Gupta Empire]]. This period, witnessing a [[Hindu]] religious and intellectual resurgence, is known as the classical or "[[Golden Age of India]]". During this period, aspects of Indian civilisation, administration, culture, and [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]] spread to much of [[Asia]], while the [[Chola Empire]] in the south had flourishing maritime trade links with the Roman Empire during this period. The ancient Indian mathematicians [[Aryabhata]], [[Bhāskara I]] and [[Brahmagupta]] invented the concept of zero and the [[Hindu–Arabic numeral system]] [[decimal|decimal system]] during this period.<ref>The Earth and Its Peoples by Richard Bulliet, Pamela Crossley, Daniel Headrick, Steven Hirsch, Lyman Johnson p.192</ref> During this period Indian cultural influence spread over many parts of [[Southeast Asia]] which led to the establishment of [[Greater India|Indianized kingdoms]] in [[Southeast Asia]].<ref>The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia: From early times to c. 1800, Band 1 by [[Nicholas Tarling]] p.281</ref>
[[File:India1760 1905.jpg|thumb|190px|[[Maratha Empire]]: Territory under Maratha control in 1760 (yellow), without its vassals]]

During the early medieval period the great [[Rashtrakuta dynasty]] governed most of the Indian subcontinent from the 8th to 10th centuries and the Indian Emperor [[Amoghavarsha]] of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty was described by the Arab traveller Sulaiman as one of the four great kings of the world.<ref>The Shaping of Modern Gujarat: Plurality, Hindutva, and Beyond; Acyuta Yājñika, Suchitra Sheth, Penguins Books, (2005), p.42, {{ISBN|978-0-14400-038-8}}</ref> The medieval south Indian mathematician [[Mahāvīra (mathematician)|Mahāvīra]] lived in the [[Rashtrakuta dynasty]] and was the first Indian mathematician who separated astrology from mathematics and who wrote the earliest Indian text entirely devoted to mathematics.<ref>The Math Book: From Pythagoras to the 57th Dimension, 250 Milestones by Clifford A. Pickover: page 88</ref> The greatest maritime empire of the medieval Indians was the [[Chola dynasty]]. Under the great Indian Emperors [[Rajaraja Chola I]] and his successor [[Rajendra Chola I]] the Chola dynasty became a military, economic and cultural power in [[South Asia]] and [[South-East Asia]].<ref name=kulke115>Kulke and Rothermund, p 115</ref><ref name=keay215>Keay, p 215</ref> The power of the [[Chola empire]] was proclaimed to the eastern world by the expedition to the [[Ganges]] which [[Rajendra Chola I]] undertook and by the occupation of cities of the maritime empire of [[Srivijaya]] in [[Southeast Asia]], as well as by the repeated embassies to China.<ref name="sastri158">[[K.A. Nilakanta Sastri]], ''A History of South India'', p 158</ref>

During the late medieval period the great [[Vijayanagara Empire]] ruled most of southern India from the 14th to 16th centuries and reached its peak during the reign of the south Indian Emperor [[Sri Krishnadevaraya]]<ref>Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture by John Stewart Bowman p.270</ref> The medieval [[Kerala School of Astronomy and Mathematics]] flourished during this period under such well known south Indian mathematicians as [[Madhava of Sangamagrama|Madhava]] ({{Circa|1340|1425}}), who made important contributions to Trigonometry and Calculus, and [[Nilakantha Somayaji|Nilakhanta]] (c. 1444–1545), who postulated on the orbitals of planets.<ref name="planet">"History of Science and Philosophy of Science: A Historical Perspective of the Evolution of Ideas in Science", editor: Pradip Kumar Sengupta, author: Subhash Kak, 2010, p91, vol XIII, part 6, Publisher: Pearson Longman, {{ISBN|978-81-317-1930-5}}</ref>

The [[Mughal Empire]] consolidated much of the Indian sub-continent under a single realm. Under the Mughals, India developed a strong and stable economy, leading to commercial expansion and greater patronage of culture, greatly influencing Indian society.<ref name="Thackston">{{cite book|title=The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor|publisher=[[Modern Library]]|isbn=978-0-375-76137-9|author=Zahir ud-Din Mohammad|author-link=Babur|editor=Thackston, Wheeler M.|editor-link=Wheeler Thackston|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/babarinizam00babu/page/ xlvi]|date=10 September 2002|quote=In India the dynasty always called itself {{transliteration|fa|Gurkani}}, after {{lang|chg-Latn|[[Timur|Temür]]}}'s title {{transliteration|fa|Gurkân}}, the Persianized form of the Mongolian {{lang|mn-Latn|kürägän}}, "son-in-law," a title he assumed after his marriage to a [[Genghisid]] princess.|title-link=Baburnama}}</ref> The [[Mughal Empire]] balanced and pacified local societies through new administrative practices{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 115}}{{sfn|Robb|2001|pp = 90–91}} and had diverse and inclusive ruling elites,{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 17}} leading to more systematic, centralised, and uniform rule.{{sfn|Asher|Talbot|2008|p = 152}} Newly coherent social groups in northern and western India, such as the [[Marathas]], the [[Rajputs]], the [[Pathans of Uttar Pradesh|Pathans]], the [[Jats]] and the [[Khalsa|Sikhs]], gained military and governing ambitions during Mughal rule, which, through collaboration or adversity, gave them both recognition and military experience.<ref name="AsherTalbot2006">{{cite book | author1=Catherine Ella Blanshard Asher | author2=Cynthia Talbot | title=India before Europe | year= 2006 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | isbn=978-0-521-80904-7 | page=265}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author1=Burjor Avari | title=Islamic Civilization in South Asia: A History of Muslim Power and Presence in the Indian Subcontinent |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hGHpVtQ8eKoC&q=%22Hindu+Jats%22+rebellion+mughals&pg=PA131 | publisher=Routledge | isbn=9780415580618 | pages=131–| year=2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author1=Erinn Banting | title=Afghanistan: The people |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fl8cd15sc7wC&q=pashtuns+mughal+empire+rebel&pg=PA9| isbn=9780778793366 | year=2003 | publisher=Crabtree Publishing Company }}</ref>{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 23–24}}

The [[Maratha Empire|Maratha]]s and [[Sikh Empire|Sikh]]s emerged in the 17th century and established the [[Maratha Empire]] and [[Sikh Empire]], which became the dominant powers in India in the 18th century.<ref>Western India in the Nineteenth Century: A Study in the Social History by Ravinder Kumar p.5</ref> The [[Maratha Empire]] is credited to a large extent for ending the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal rule]] in India.<ref name="pearson">{{cite journal |first = M. N.|last = Pearson|title = Shivaji and the Decline of the Mughal Empire|journal = The Journal of Asian Studies|volume = 35|issue = 2|pages = 221–235|date = February 1976|jstor = 2053980|doi=10.2307/2053980| s2cid=162482005 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aqqBPS1TDUgC&q=Battle+of+Delhi,+1803&pg=PA28|title=Delhi, the Capital of India|first=John|last=Capper|date=11 December 2017|publisher=Asian Educational Services|access-date=11 December 2017|via=Google Books|isbn=9788120612822}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bXWiACEwPR8C&q=Peshwa+Balaji+Vishwanath+1714&pg=PA1941-IA82 |title=An Advanced History of Modern India|author=Sailendra Nath Sen |page=Introduction-14|quotation=The author says: "''The victory at Bhopal in 1738 established Maratha dominance at the Mughal court''"|access-date=15 December 2017|isbn=9780230328853|year=2010|publisher=Macmillan India }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/444417/is-the-pakistan-army-martial/|title=Is the Pakistan army martial? - The Express Tribune|date=29 September 2012|website=tribune.com.pk|access-date=11 December 2017}}</ref> The empire at its peak stretched from [[Tamil Nadu]] in the south, to [[Maratha conquest of North-west India|Peshawar]], [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] in the north<ref name="XWiACEwPR8C p.16">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bXWiACEwPR8C&q=Sailendra+Nath+Sen+baji+rao+1720-40&pg=PR22|title=An Advanced History of Modern India|first=Sailendra Nath|last=Sen|date=11 December 2017|publisher=Macmillan India|access-date=11 December 2017|via=Google Books|isbn=9780230328853}}</ref> and [[Maratha expeditions in Bengal|Bengal]] and the [[Andaman Islands]] in the east.<ref name="andamanonline.in">[http://www.andamanonline.in/about/Profile/History/index.html Andaman & Nicobar Origin | Andaman & Nicobar Island History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215163141/http://www.andamanonline.in/about/Profile/History/index.html |date=15 December 2014 }}. Andamanonline.in.</ref>

The decline of Mughal Empire and Maratha Empire from the late 18th century to the mid-19th century lead to large areas of India being annexed by the [[British East India Company]] of the [[British Empire]] and witnessed a period of rapid development of infrastructure, economic decline and [[Timeline of major famines in India during British rule|major famines]].{{sfn|Robb|2001|pp=151–152}}<ref>Metcalf, B.; Metcalf, T.R. (2006), ''A Concise History of Modern India'' (2nd ed.), pp. 94–99.</ref> During the first half of the 20th century, a nationwide struggle for [[Indian independence movement]] was launched, the Indian subcontinent gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, after the British provinces were partitioned into the dominions of India and Pakistan and the [[princely state]]s all [[Instrument of Accession|acceded]] to one of the new states.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fOQkpcVcd9AC&pg=PT139|title=Ethnic Groups of South Asia and the Pacific: An Encyclopedia: An Encyclopedia|page=139|first=James|last=Minahan|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-660-7|year=2012}}</ref><ref name="yourarticlelibrary">{{cite web|url=http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/economics/indian-economy-during-british-rule/39741/|publisher=yourarticlelibrary.com|title=Indian Economy During British Rule|access-date=6 January 2017|date=2014-05-08}}</ref><ref name="Ali2017">{{cite web |last1=Ali |first1=Afsar |title=Partition of India and Patriotism of Indian Muslims |url=http://www.milligazette.com/news/15756-partition-of-india-and-patriotism-of-indian-muslims |work=[[The Milli Gazette]] |date=17 July 2017}}</ref>

==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of India|Greater India}}
India is one of the world's oldest civilisations.<ref name="asaw">{{cite book |last1=Kenoyer |first1=Jonathan Mark |author-link1=Jonathan Mark Kenoyer |last2=Heuston |first2=Kimberley |date=May 2005 |title=The Ancient South Asian World |url=http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/HistoryWorld/Ancient/Other/~~/dmlldz11c2EmY2k9OTc4MDE5NTE3NDIyOQ== |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-517422-9 |oclc=56413341 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120093649/http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/HistoryWorld/Ancient/Other/~~/dmlldz11c2EmY2k9OTc4MDE5NTE3NDIyOQ%3D%3D |archive-date=20 November 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The Indian culture, often labelled as an amalgamation of several various cultures, spans across the [[Indian subcontinent]] and has been influenced and shaped by a history that is several thousand years old.<ref>John Keay (2011), ''India: A History'', 2nd Ed - Revised and Updated, Grove Press / Harper Collins, {{ISBN|978-0-8021-4558-1}}, see Introduction and Chapters 3 through 11</ref><ref>Mohammada, Malika (2007), The foundations of the composite culture in India, Aakar Books, {{ISBN|81-89833-18-9}}</ref> Throughout the history of India, Indian culture has been heavily influenced by [[Dharma|Dharmic]] religions.<ref name="Finding Lost">Nikki Stafford [https://archive.org/details/findinglostunoff0000staf/page/174 <!-- pg=174 quote="dharmic religions" origin india. --> Finding Lost], ECW Press, 2006 {{ISBN|1-55022-743-2}} p. 174</ref> They have been credited with shaping much of Indian [[philosophy]], [[literature]], [[architecture]], [[art]] and [[music]].<ref name="Om Prakash">{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nzpYb5UOeiwC|page=3 |chapter=1 |title=Cultural History of India |publisher=New Age International Limited Publications |year=2005 |isbn=978-81-224-1587-2}}</ref> [[Greater India]] was the historical extent of [[Indian culture]] beyond the [[Indian subcontinent]]. This particularly concerns the spread of [[Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]], [[architecture]], [[Public administration|administration]] and [[writing system]] from India to other parts of [[Asia]] through the [[Silk Road transmission of Buddhism|Silk Road]] by the travellers and maritime traders during the early centuries of the [[Common Era]].<ref>Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor, by Keat Gin Ooi p.642</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Hindu-Buddhist Architecture in Southeast Asia by Daigorō Chihara p.226</ref> To the west, [[Greater India]] overlaps with [[Greater Persia]] in the [[Hindu Kush]] and [[Pamir Mountains]].<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=978-0-521-88782-3&ss=exc |title=Justice, Punishment and the Medieval Muslim Imagination |series=Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization |last=Lange |first=Christian |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-88782-3 |date=2008-07-10 }}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Lange: Greater Persia (including Khwārazm, Transoxania, and Afghanistan)."</ref> During medieval period, [[Islam]] played a significant role in shaping Indian cultural heritage.<ref name="Usha">{{cite book
 |last = Sharma
 |first = Usha
 |title = Cultural and Religious Heritage of India
 |publisher=Mittal Publications, 2004
 |isbn = 978-81-7099-960-7
 |year = 2004
 }}</ref> Over the centuries, there has been significant integration of [[Hinduism|Hindus]], [[Jainism|Jains]], and [[Sikhism|Sikhs]] with [[Islam|Muslim]]s across India.<ref name="Dunn">{{cite book
 |last = E. Dunn
 |first = Ross
 |title = The adventures of Ibn Battuta, a Muslim traveller of the fourteenth century
 |year = 1986
 |publisher = University of California Press, 1986
 |isbn = 978-0-520-05771-5
 |url = https://archive.org/details/adventuresofibnb00ross_0
 }}</ref><ref name="Tharoor">{{cite book
 |last = Tharoor
 |first = Shashi
 |title = India: From Midnight to the Millennium and Beyond
 |publisher=Arcade Publishing, 2006
 |isbn = 978-1-55970-803-6
 |year = 2006
 }}</ref>

===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in India|Hinduism|Buddhism|Jainism|Sikhism|Islam|Christianity|Sanamahism|Irreligion in India}}
[[File:Coin of Vikramaditya Chandragupta II with the name of the king in Brahmi script 380 415 CE.jpg|thumb|180px|Goddess Lakshmi on gold coinage issued under [[Gupta Empire]], c. 380&nbsp;AD]]
[[File:Fireworks Diwali Chennai India November 2013 b.jpg|thumb|180px|[[Diwali]] is a major Indian festival, which is known as festival of lights.]]
[[File:HOLI IN INDIA - ENJOYED BY ALL.jpg|thumb|180px|[[Holi]] is a major Indian festival of colors celebrated every spring.]]
India is the birthplace of [[Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]], [[Jainism]] and [[Sikhism]], collectively known as [[Indian religions]].<ref name="Finding Lost"/> Indian religions, also known as [[Dharmic]] religions, are a major form of world religions along with [[Abrahamic]] ones. Today, [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]] are the world's third- and fourth-largest religions respectively, with over 1 billion followers altogether,<ref name="googleil">{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9XC9bwMMPcwC&q=hinduism%20one%20billion&pg=PA359 |page=359 |chapter=45 |title=What Is Hinduism?: Modern Adventures Into a Profound Global Faith |publisher=Himalayan Academy Publications |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-934145-00-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nrn.org.np/speeches/rmshakya.html |title=Non Resident Nepali – Speeches |publisher=Nrn.org.np |access-date=1 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225084929/http://www.nrn.org.np/speeches/rmshakya.html |archive-date=25 December 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/forum/story/2008/03/080323_tibet_analysis.shtml |title=BBCVietnamese.com |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |access-date=1 August 2010}}</ref> and possibly as many as 1.5 or 1.6 billion followers.<ref name="googleil"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.religioustolerance.org/worldrel.htm |title=Religions of the world: numbers of adherents; growth rates |publisher=Religioustolerance.org |access-date=1 August 2010 |archive-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125003953/https://www.religioustolerance.org/worldrel.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Throughout India's history, [[religion]] has been an important part of the country's culture. Religious diversity and [[Religious toleration|religious tolerance]] are both established in the country by the [[Law of India|law]] and by [[Tradition|custom]]; the [[Constitution of India]] has declared the right to [[freedom of religion]] to be a [[Fundamental Rights in India|fundamental right]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Basu|first=Durga Das|author-link=Durga Das Basu|title=Introduction to the Constitution of India|edition=21|year=2013|publisher=LexisNexis|isbn=978-81-803-8918-4|page=124}}</ref>

[[Atheism]] and [[agnosticism]] have a long history in India and flourished within [[Śramaṇa|Śramaṇa movement]].<ref>Johannes Quack (2014), Disenchanting India: Organized Rationalism and Criticism of Religion in India, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0199812615}}, page 50 with footnote 3.</ref> The ''[[Cārvāka]]'' school originated in India around the 6th century&nbsp;BCE and is one of the earliest form of [[Materialism|materialistic]] and [[atheistic]] movement in ancient India.<ref>Ramkrishna Bhattacharya (2011), Studies on the Cārvāka/Lokāyata, Anthem Press, {{ISBN|978-0857284334}}, pages 26–29</ref><ref>KN Tiwari (1998), Classical Indian Ethical Thought, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120816077}}, page 67;<br />Roy W Perrett (1984), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1398916 The problem of induction in Indian philosophy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214053530/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1398916 |date=14 December 2020 }}, Philosophy East and West, 34(<span class="ltr">2</span>): 161-174;<br />{{harv|Bhattacharya|2011|pp=21–32}};<br />{{harv|Radhakrishnan|Moore|1957|pp=187, 227–234}};<br />Robert Flint, {{Google books|7es0AQAAIAAJ|Anti-theistic theories|page=463}}, Appendix Note VII - Hindu Materialism: The Charvaka System; William Blackwood, London;</ref><ref name=vvraman>V.V. Raman (2012), Hinduism and Science: Some Reflections, Zygon - Journal of Religion and Science, 47(<span class="ltr">3</span>): 549–574, Quote (page 557): "Aside from nontheistic schools like the [[Samkhya]], there have also been explicitly atheistic schools in the Hindu tradition. One virulently anti-supernatural system is/was the so-called Charvaka school.", {{doi|10.1111/j.1467-9744.2012.01274.x}}</ref> [[Sramana]], [[Buddhism]], [[Jainism]], [[Ājīvika]] and some schools of [[Hinduism]] like [[Samkhya]] consider atheism to be valid and reject the concept of [[Creator deity#Buddhism|creator deity]], [[Vedas|ritualism]] and [[supernaturalism]].<ref name="wayoflife">{{Cite book | last = Chakravarti| first = Sitansu| title = Hinduism, a way of life| publisher = Motilal Banarsidass Publ.| year = 1991| page = 71| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=J_-rASTgw8wC&pg=PA71| isbn = 978-81-208-0899-7| access-date=9 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="Joshi">{{cite journal |last=Joshi |first=L.R. |year=1966 |title= A New Interpretation of Indian Atheism |journal=Philosophy East and West |volume=16 |issue=3/4 |pages=189–206|doi= 10.2307/1397540 |jstor=1397540}}</ref><ref name=moor>{{cite book|author1= Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan|author2= Charles A. Moore|title= A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy|publisher= Princeton University Press|year= 1957|edition= Twelfth Princeton Paperback printing 1989|pages= [https://archive.org/details/sourcebookinindi00radh/page/227 227–249]|isbn= 978-0-691-01958-1|url= https://archive.org/details/sourcebookinindi00radh/page/227}}</ref> India has produced some notable [[Irreligion in India|atheist politicians]] and [[Irreligion in India|social reformers]].<ref name="secularism">{{cite book|author=Phil Zuckerman|title=Atheism and Secularity|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z1hbaAHsAlUC&pg=RA1-PA139|access-date=7 September 2013|date=21 December 2009|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-35182-2|chapter=Chapeter 7: Atheism and Secularity in India}}</ref><ref>''Oxford Dictionary of World Religions'', p. 259</ref>

Although approximately 80% of the citizens of India are [[Hindus]], the country has a substantial population of Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, [[Parsis]] and adherents of tribal faiths.<ref name="censusindia.gov.in">{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Social_and_cultural/Religion.aspx |title=Census of India – Socio-cultural aspects |publisher=Censusindia.gov.in |access-date=3 February 2011}}</ref> [[Zoroastrianism]] and [[Judaism]] each has several thousands of Indian adherents, and also have an ancient history in India.<ref name="Hodivala 1920 88">{{harvnb|Hodivala|1920|p=88}}</ref> India has the largest population of people adhering to [[Zoroastrianism]] and [[Baháʼí Faith]] in the world, even though these two religions are not native to India.<ref>{{Cite book
 | last=Smith | first=Peter
 | title = An introduction to the Baha'i faith
 | publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] | year = 2008 | page = 94
 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z7zdDFTzNr0C&pg=PA94
 | isbn = 978-0-521-86251-6 }}</ref> Many other world religions also have a relationship with Indian spirituality, such as the Baháʼí Faith which recognises [[Buddha]] and [[Krishna]] as manifestations of the God Almighty.<ref>{{cite book|last=Enroth|first=Ronald|title=A Guide to New Religious Movements|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pRLlwZoPJ94C&pg=PA160|year=2005|publisher=InterVarsity Press|isbn=978-0-8308-2381-9|page=160}}</ref> Despite the strong role of religion in Indian life, [[atheism]] and [[agnostic]]s also have visible influence along with a self-ascribed tolerance to other people. According to the 2012 WIN-Gallup Global Index of Religion and Atheism report, 81% of Indians were religious, 13% were not religious, 3% were convinced [[atheist]]s, and 3% were unsure or did not respond.<ref name=gallup2012>{{cite web|title=Global Index Of Religion And Atheism |url=http://redcresearch.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/RED-C-press-release-Religion-and-Atheism-25-7-12.pdf |publisher=WIN-Gallup |access-date=3 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016062403/http://redcresearch.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/RED-C-press-release-Religion-and-Atheism-25-7-12.pdf |archive-date=16 October 2012 }}</ref>

Traditionally, Indian society is grouped according to their [[caste system in India|caste]]. It is a system in which [[social stratification]] within various social sections defined by thousands of [[endogamous]] hereditary groups are often termed ''[[jāti]]'' or [[caste]]s. Within a ''[[jāti]]'', there exists [[exogamous group]]s known as [[gotra]]s, the lineage or clan of an individuals.<ref>{{cite book |title=Islamization in Modern South Asia: Deobandi Reform and the Gujjar Response |first=David Emmanuel |last=Singh |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=2012 |page=199 |isbn=978-1-61451-246-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=upk5AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA199}}</ref> Caste barriers have mostly broken down in cities but still exists in some form in rural areas.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Impact of Positive Discrimination in Education in India: Evidence from a Natural Experiment |first=Guilhem |last=Cassan |publisher=Paris School of Economics and Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquee |date=September 2011 |url=http://www.parisschoolofeconomics.com/cassan-guilhem/stuff/area_restriction_removal.pdf}}</ref>

Most Indian states are majority [[Hindu]]. However, [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Kashmir]] and [[Lakshadweep]] are majority [[Muslim]]; [[Nagaland]], [[Mizoram]], and [[Meghalaya]] are majority [[Christians|Christian]] and [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] is majority [[Sikh]]. Although participants in the Indian census may choose to not declare their religion, there is no mechanism for a person to indicate that he/she does not adhere to any religion. Due to this limitation in the Indian census process, the data for persons not affiliated with any religion may not be accurate. India contains the majority of the world's [[Hindus]], [[Jains]], [[Sikhs]], [[Zoroastrians]] and [[Baháʼí]]. [[Christianity]] is widespread in [[Northeast India]], parts of southern India, particularly in [[Kerala]] and among various populations of Central India. [[Indian Muslims|Muslims]] are the largest religious minority. India is also home to the third-largest [[Indian Muslims|Muslim]] population in the world after [[Islam in Indonesia|Indonesia]] and [[Islam in Pakistan|Pakistan]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A5XRAAAAMAAJ&q=india+third+largest+muslim|title=Indian and Foreign Review|access-date=6 May 2015|year=1965}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/USCIRF%20Annual%20Report%202015%20(<span class="ltr">2</span>).pdf|title=UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM-Annual Report 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/USCIRF%202014%20Annual%20Report%20PDF.pdf|title=15th anniversary retrospective:UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM}}</ref>

===Family===
[[File:Bride entering the hall - Indian Hindu Wedding.jpg|thumb|150px|Indian bride in traditional wedding attire]]
Historically, India had a prevailing tradition of the ''joint family system'' or ''undivided family''. Joint family system is an [[extended family]] arrangement prevalent throughout the [[Indian subcontinent]], particularly in [[India]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Talwar|first1=Swati|title=Meaning of HUF (Hindu Undivided Family)|url=http://taxpaisa.com/meaning-huf-hindu-undivided-family/|publisher=Taxpaisa.com|access-date=29 June 2014}}</ref> The family is headed by a patriarch, the oldest male, who makes decisions on economic and social matters on behalf of the entire family. The patriarch's wife generally exerts control over the household, minor religious practices and often wields considerable influence in domestic matters. A patrilineal joint family consists of an older man and his wife, his sons and unmarried daughters, his sons' wives and children. Family income flows into a common pool, from which resources are drawn to meet the needs of all members, which are regulated by the heads of the family.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Hindu Joint Family: The Norms and the Numbers |author1=Henry Orenstein |author2=Michael Micklin |journal=Pacific Affairs |volume=39 |issue=3/4 |quote=Autumn, 1966 |jstor=2754275 |pages=314–325 |doi=10.2307/2754275|year=1966 }}</ref> However, with modernisation and economic development, India has witnessed a break up of traditional joint family into more [[Nuclear family|nuclear families]] and the traditional joint family in India accounted for a small percent of Indian households.<ref name=rs1>{{cite book |title=Dynamics of Change in the Modern Hindu Family |year=1993 |publisher=South Asia Books |author=Raghuvir Sinha |isbn=978-81-7022-448-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Indian Families |url=http://www.factsaboutindia.org/indian-families.html |publisher=Facts About India |access-date=11 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110730125635/http://www.factsaboutindia.org/indian-families.html |archive-date=30 July 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

[[Arranged marriages]] have been the tradition in Indian society. Marriage is considered a union of the two families rather than just the individuals, the process involved in an arranged marriage can be different depending on the communities and families. Recent survey study found that fewer marriages are purely arranged without consent and that the majority of surveyed Indian marriages are arranged with consent.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |title=Is Education Associated with a Transition towards Autonomy in Partner Choice? A Case Study of India |author1=Manjistha Banerji |author2=Steven Martin |author3=Sonalde Desai |year=2008 |publisher=University of Maryland & NCAER |url=http://ihds.umd.edu/IHDS_papers/PartnerChoice.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303214920/http://ihds.umd.edu/IHDS_papers/PartnerChoice.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The study also suggested that Indian culture is trending away from traditional arranged marriages, they find that the marriage trends in India are similar to trends observed over last 40 years where arranged marriages were previously common, particularly in China and Japan.<ref name="auto"/>

===Dress===
India's clothing styles have continuously evolved over the course of history. [[Cotton]] was first cultivated in [[Indian subcontinent]] around the 5th millennium BC.<ref>Stein, Burton (1998). ''A History of India''. Blackwell Publishing. {{ISBN|0-631-20546-2}}, p. 47</ref> Dyes used during this period are still in use, particularly [[indigo]], [[Rubia cordifolia|red madder]], [[Lac (resin)|lac]] and [[turmeric]].<ref name="Harrapa">{{cite web|title=Harrapa clothing|url=http://a.harappa.com/content/what-did-indus-people-wear-and-what-material-were-their-clothes-made|website=A.harappa.com|access-date=15 December 2017}}</ref> [[Silk]] was woven around 2450 BC and 2000 BC.<ref name=nat>{{cite journal|last=Abbott |first=Phill |title=Rethinking silk's origins : Nature News |journal=Nature |date=17 February 2009 |volume=457 |issue=7232 |page=945 |publisher=Nature.com |doi=10.1038/457945a |pmid=19238684 |s2cid=4390646 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Good |first1=I.L. |last2=Kenoyer |first2=J.M.| last3=Meadow |first3=R.H. |title=New evidence for early silk in the Indus civilization |journal=Archaeometry |volume=50 |pages=457–466 |year=2009 |doi=10.1111/j.1475-4754.2008.00454.x |issue=3 |url=http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:14117751 }}</ref> In the 11th century BC ''[[Rig-veda]]'' mentions dyed and embroidered garments known as ''paridhan'' and ''pesas'' respectively and thus highlights the development of sophisticated garment manufacturing techniques during this period.<ref>{{cite book
 |last = Verma
 |first = S.P.
 |title = Ancient system of oriental medicine
 |publisher = Anmol Publications PVT. LTD.|year= 2005
 |isbn = 978-81-261-2127-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pAyz6c-pmrcC}}</ref> In the 5th century&nbsp;BCE, Greek historian [[Herodotus]] describes the richness of the quality of Indian textiles.<ref>{{cite book
 |last = Beveridge
 |first = Henry
 |title = A comprehensive history of India
 |publisher = Blackie and son|year= 1867
 |isbn = 978-81-85418-45-2}}</ref> By the 2nd century&nbsp;AD, [[cotton]], [[muslin]]s and [[silk]] textiles manufactured in India were imported by the [[Roman Empire]] and was one of the major exports of ancient India to other parts of the world along with [[Indian spices]] and [[Wootz steel]].<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite book
 |last = Jayapalan
 |first = N.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TCKserudM2AC
 |title = Economic History of India
 |publisher = Atlantic Publishers & Distributors|year= 2008
 |isbn = 978-81-269-0697-0}}</ref>
Traditional Indian clothing greatly varies across different parts of the country and is influenced by local culture, geography and climate. Women traditionally wear [[Sari]], [[Gagra Choli]], [[Angarkha]], [[Phiran]], [[Shalwar Kameez]], [[Gharara]] and [[Bandi (jacket)|Bandi]] with [[Dupatta]] or [[Ghoonghat]] worn over head or shoulder to complete the outfit.<ref>Govind Sadashiv Ghurye (1951) "Indian Costume.", p.11</ref> Men traditionally wear [[Angarkha]], [[Achkan]], [[Bagalbandi]], [[Kurta]], [[Shalwar Kameez|Kameez]], [[Phiran]], [[Sherwani]] and [[Bandi (jacket)|Koti]] for upper garment, lower garment includes [[Dhoti]], [[Churidar]], [[Shalwar Kameez|Shalwar]], and [[Lungi]]. [[Pagri (turban)|Pagri]] is usually worn around head to complete the outfit.<ref>Govind Sadashiv Ghurye (1951) "Indian Costume.", p.12</ref> In urban centres, people often wear western clothing and variety of other contemporary fashion.<ref name="Indian Fashion">{{cite book|author=arti sandhu|title=Indian Fashion: Tradition, Innovation, Style|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=63seBQAAQBAJ|access-date=4 June 2012|year=2015|publisher=bloomsbury|isbn=978-18478-8780-1|page=126}}</ref>

===Cuisine===
{{Main|Indian cuisine|Indian cookbooks|Thali}}
[[File:Vegetarian Curry.jpeg|right|thumb|180px|Vegetarian ''[[Thali]]'' meal with ''[[naan]]'', ''[[Dal|daal]]'', ''[[raita]]'' and ''[[papadum|papad]]'']]
Indian food varies from region to region. Staple foods of Indian cuisine include a variety of lentils (dal), whole-wheat flour (aṭṭa), rice and millet (kutki, kodra, bājra), which has been cultivated in [[Indian subcontinent]] since 6200&nbsp;BCE.<ref name="Achaya">{{cite book|author=K T Achaya|title=The Story of Our Food|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bk9RHRCqZOkC|access-date=18 June 2015|year=2003|publisher=Universities Press|isbn=9788173712937}}</ref><ref name=harris>{{cite book|author=Harris, David R.|title=The Origins and Spread of Agriculture and Pastoralism in Eurasia|publisher= Psychology Press|year=1996|isbn=978-1-85728-538-3|page=565}}</ref> Over time, segments of the population embraced [[vegetarianism]] during [[Śramaṇa]] movement<ref>Padmanabh S Jaini (2001), Collected papers on Buddhist Studies, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120817760}}, pages 57-77</ref><ref>Padmanabh S Jaini (2000), Collected papers on Jaina Studies, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120816916}}, pages 3-14</ref> while an equitable climate permitted a variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains to be grown throughout the year. A food classification system that categorised any item as ''[[Sattvic diet|saatvic]]'', ''[[Rajasic|raajsic]]'' or ''[[Tamasic|taamsic]]'' developed in [[Ayurveda]] tradition.<ref>''Autobiography Of A Yogi'', Paramahansa Yogananda, Self Realization Fellowship, 1973, p. 22</ref><ref>Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on the Bhagavad Gita Translation and Commentary, Arkana, 1990 p. 236</ref> The [[Bhagavad Gita]] prescribed certain dietary practices. During this period, consumption of various types of meat became [[taboo]], due to being considered sacred or impure.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bhagavad-gita.org/Gita/verse-17-07.html |title=Chapter 17, Verse 8,9,10 |publisher=Bhagavad-Gita |access-date=31 August 2011}}</ref><ref name="Sharpes2006">{{cite book|author=Donald K. Sharpes|title=Sacred Bull, Holy Cow: A Cultural Study of Civilization's Most Important Animal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s_KxhuShJSEC&pg=PA208|access-date=4 June 2012|year=2006|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=978-0-8204-7902-6|page=208}}</ref> [[Indian cuisine]]s use numerous ingredients, deploy a wide range of food preparation styles, cooking techniques and culinary presentation depending on [[geographical]] location.<ref>{{cite book |title=On food and cooking|author=Harold McGee |isbn= 978-0-684-80001-1 |year=2004 |publisher=Scribner |url=http://www.curiouscook.com/site/on-food-and-cooking.html}}</ref>

===Performing arts===
{{Main|Music of India|Dance in India}}

The oldest preserved examples of Indian music are the melodies of the ''[[Samaveda]]'' (1000 BC) that are still sung in certain [[Shrauta|Śrauta]] sacrifices; this is the earliest account of Indian musical hymns.<ref>{{cite book
 | author=Emmie te Nijenhuis|author-link=Emmie te Nijenhuis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NrgfAAAAIAAJ
 | title=Indian music, Part 2, Volume 6
 | publisher=BRILL
 | isbn=978-90-04-03978-0
 | year=1974}}</ref> The Samaveda, and other [[Hinduism|Hindu]] texts, heavily influenced [[Indian classical music|India's classical music]] tradition, which is known today in two distinct styles: [[Hindustani music]] and [[Carnatic music]]. Both the Hindustani and Carnatic music systems are based on the melodic base known as [[raga|Rāga]], sung to a rhythmic cycle known as [[Tala (music)|Tāla]]. These principles were refined in the [[Natyashastra|nātyaśāstra]] (200&nbsp;BC) and the [[dattilam]] (300&nbsp;AD).<ref>A Study of Dattilam: A Treatise on the Sacred Music of Ancient India, 1978, p. 283, Mukunda Lāṭha, Dattila</ref>

The [[Natyashastra|nātyaśāstra]]is an ancient [[India]]n treatise on the [[performing arts]], encompassing [[Indian theatre|theatre]], [[Indian classical dance|dance]] and [[Indian classical music|music]]. It was written during the period between 200&nbsp;BCE and 200&nbsp;CE in classical [[India]] and is traditionally attributed to the [[Bharata Muni|Sage Bharata]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Natyashastra|publisher = Sanskrit Documents| url=http://sanskritdocuments.org/all_pdf/natya01.pdf}}</ref> ''Natya Shastra'' is incredibly wide in its scope. While it primarily deals with stagecraft, it has come to influence [[music]], [[Indian classical dance|classical dance]], and [[literature]] as well. It covers [[stage design]], [[music]], [[dance]], [[makeup]], and virtually every other aspect of [[stagecraft]].

Indian [[drama]] and [[theatre]] has a long history alongside its music and dance. One of the earliest known theatre play is [[Mṛcchakatika]] composed by [[Śudraka]]. Followed by [[Aśvaghoṣa]]'s Śāriputraprakaraṇa and [[Bhāsa|Bhāsa's]] ''[[Swapnavāsavadatta]]'' and ''[[Pancharātra]]''. Most notable works are [[Kalidasa|Kālidāsa's]] ''[[Abhijñānaśākuntala]]'', ''[[Vikramorvaśīya]]'' and ''[[Mālavikāgnimitra]]''. [[Harsha]]'s ''[[Ratnavali]]'', ''[[Priyadarsika]]'', and ''[[Nagananda]]m'', other notable ancient [[drama]]tists include [[Bhatta Narayana]], [[Bhavabhuti]], [[Vishakhadatta]], [[Thirayattam]]<ref>"Thirayattam" (Folklore Text- Malayalam, Moorkkanad apeethambaran), State Institute of language, Kerala. {{ISBN|978-81-200-4294-0}}</ref> and [[Viswanatha Kaviraja]].<ref>{{cite book
 | title = Nātyakalpadrumam|page=6
 | author = Māni Mādhava Chākyār
 | publisher = Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi
 | year = 1996
 | title-link=Nātyakalpadrumam
 | author-link=Māni Mādhava Chākyār
 }}</ref>

Notable fable story-plays [[Panchatantra]], [[Baital Pachisi]], [[Kathasaritsagara]], [[Brihatkatha]] and [[Jataka tales]] were performed in folk theatres since ancient period.<ref>Burton, Richard F. (2002). ''Vikram and the Vampire Or Tales of Hindu Devilry'' pg xi. Adamant Media Corporation</ref> [[Jataka tales]] has become part of Southeast and East Asian folklore with the spread of Buddhism. These literature's were also influential in development of [[One Thousand and One Nights]] during medieval period.<ref>{{citation|title=The Arabian Nights: A Companion|first=Robert|last=Irwin|publisher=[[I.B. Tauris|Tauris Parke Paperbacks]]|year=2003|isbn=978-1-86064-983-7|page=65}}</ref>

===Contribution and discoveries===
{{Main|List of Indian inventions and discoveries|history of science and technology in the Indian subcontinent}}
Indian people have played a major role in the development of the [[philosophy]], [[sciences]], [[mathematics]], [[arts]], [[architecture]] and [[astronomy]] throughout [[history]]. During the ancient period, notable [[mathematics]] accomplishment of India included [[Hindu–Arabic numeral system]] with decimal place-value and a symbol for [[Brahmagupta#Zero|zero]], [[Brahmagupta's interpolation formula|interpolation formula]], [[Brahmagupta–Fibonacci identity|Fibonacci's identity]], [[Brahmagupta theorem|theorem]], the first ''complete'' [[arithmetic]] solution (including zero and negative solutions) to [[quadratic equation]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.algebra.com/algebra/about/history/|title=History of Algebra|access-date=5 October 2014}}</ref> [[Chakravala method]], [[sign convention]], [[madhava series]], and the sine and cosine in [[trigonometric functions]] can be traced to the [[Jyā, koti-jyā and utkrama-jyā|''jyā'' and ''koti-jyā'']].<ref>Boyer, Carl B. (1991). ''A History of Mathematics'' (Second ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. {{ISBN|0-471-54397-7}}, p. 210.</ref> Notable [[military]] inventions include [[war elephants]], [[crucible steel]] weapons popularly known as [[Damascus steel]] and [[Mysorean rockets]].<ref>Narasimha Roddam (2 April 1985) Rockets in Mysore and Britain, 1750–1850 A.D., National Aeronautical Laboratory and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560017 India, Project Document DU 8503,{{cite web|url=http://www.nal.res.in/pdf/pdfrocket.pdf |title=Rockets in Mysore and Britain, 1750-1850 A.D. |access-date=2011-12-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303205010/http://www.nal.res.in/pdf/pdfrocket.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Other notable inventions during [[ancient]] period include [[chess]], [[cotton]], [[sugar]], [[bricks|fired bricks]], [[India ink|carbon pigment ink]], [[ruler]], [[Lac (resin)|lac]], [[lacquer]], [[stepwell]], [[indigo dye]], [[Snakes and Ladders|snake and ladder]], [[muslin]], [[ludo (board game)|ludo]], [[calico (textile)|calico]], [[Wootz steel]], [[incense clock]], [[shampoo]], [[palampore]], [[chintz]], and [[prefabricated home]]s.

[[Greater India|Indian cultural]] aspects, [[religion]]s, [[philosophy]], [[arts]] and [[architecture]] have developed over several millennia and have spread through much of [[Asia]] in peaceful manner.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Many architectural structures of India such as [[Sanchi Stupa]], [[Taj Mahal]] and [[Mahabodhi Temple]] are [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Sites]] today.<ref name=India>{{cite web |url= https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/in |title=Properties Inscribed on the World heritage List |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=1 October 2010}}</ref>

In modern times, Indian people have continued to contribute to [[mathematics]], [[sciences]] and [[astrophysics]]. Among them are [[Satyendra Nath Bose]], [[Srinivasa Ramanujan]], [[Jagadish Chandra Bose]], [[Meghnad Saha]], [[Homi J. Bhabha]], [[Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis]], and notable [[Nobel Prize]] recipients [[C. V. Raman]], [[Har Gobind Khorana]], [[Venkatraman Ramakrishnan]], and [[Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar]] who is notable for currently accepted theory on the later evolutionary stages of massive stars, including black holes.<ref name="britannica">{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/416856/Nobel-Prize | title=Nobel Prizes-Britannica | access-date=6 May 2015}}</ref>

===National personification===
[[Bharat Mata]] ([[Hindi]], from [[Sanskrit]] {{lang|sa|भारत माता}}, ''Bhārata Mātā''), ''Mother India'', or ''Bhāratāmbā'' (from अंबा ''ambā'' 'mother') is the [[national personification]] of India as a [[mother goddess]].

The image of Bharat Mata formed with the [[Indian independence movement]] of the late 19th century. A play by Kiran Chandra Bandyopadhyay, ''Bhārat Mātā'', was first performed in 1873. She is usually depicted as a woman clad in an orange or saffron [[sari]] holding a [[flag]] and sometimes accompanied by a [[Asiatic lion|lion]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indiatogether.org/manushi/issue142/bharat.htm|title=Life and Times of Bharat Mata - Manushi, Issue 142|website=indiatogether.org|access-date=11 December 2017}}</ref>

=== Sports ===
{{Main|Sport in India}}
Sports in India are mainly in two categories traditional sports and global sports. [[Traditional games of India|Traditional sports]] like ''[[Gillidanda|gilli danda]]'', ''[[kho kho]], [[kabaddi]]'' are quite popular. On the other hand, Indians are highly enthusiastic about the game of cricket, to the extent that it is treated as a religion in itself.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cricket is a Religion in India |url=https://www.sportspundit.com/cricket/articles/5500-cricket-is-a-religion-in-india |access-date=2022-03-10 |website=Sports Pundit |language=en}}</ref> Sports like hockey, volleyball, football are quite popular while polo, golf and tennis are preferred sports for affluent sections of the society. In recent times with government support Olympic sports like shooting, archery, wrestling, javelin throw, swimming, badminton have gained prominence in the Indian society.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nair |first=Abhijit |date=2021-04-25 |title=In which sports has India competed at the Olympics? |url=https://thebridge.in/olympics-facts/which-sports-india-competed-olympics-21137 |access-date=2022-03-10 |website=thebridge.in |language=en}}</ref>

==Indian diaspora==
{{further|Non-resident Indian and Overseas Citizen of India}}
[[File:Map of the Indian Diaspora in the World.svg|thumb|350px|right|A world map showing the estimated distribution and concentration of people of Indian descent or ancestry by country.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
{{Legend|#000000|India}}
{{Legend|#804d00|+ 1.000.000}}
{{Legend|#bd7100|+ 100.000}}
{{col-break}}
{{Legend|#ff9933|+ 10.000}}
{{Legend|#ffcf9e|+ 1.000}}
{{legend|#a0a0a0|No data}}
{{col-end}}
]]
{{Infobox Chinese
| title = '''Little India'''
| pic = India Square JC jeh.JPG
| piccap = [[People of Indian origin]] have achieved a high [[demographic profile]] in [[metropolitan area]]s worldwide, including [[India Square]], in the heart of [[Bombay, Jersey City|Bombay]], [[Jersey City, New Jersey#Demographics|Jersey City]], [[New Jersey]], US,<ref>Kiniry, Laura. "Moon Handbooks New Jersey", Avalon Travel Publishing, 2006. pg. 34 {{ISBN|1-56691-949-5}}</ref> home to the highest concentration of Asian Indians in the [[Western Hemisphere]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/2014/04/neighborhood-spotlight-journal-square/|title=Neighborhood Spotlight: Journal Square|author=Laryssa Wirstiuk|newspaper=Jersey City Independent|date=April 21, 2014|access-date=December 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630085618/http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/2014/04/neighborhood-spotlight-journal-square/|archive-date=30 June 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> and one of at least 24 [[ethnic enclave|enclaves]] characterized as a ''[[Little India (location)|Little India]]'' which have emerged within the [[Indians in the New York City metropolitan region|New York City Metropolitan Area]], with the largest metropolitan Indian population outside [[Asia]], as large-scale immigration from [[India]] continues into [[New York City|New York]].<ref name=IndianImm2013>{{cite web|url=https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2013/LPR/immsuptable2d.xls|title=Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2013 Supplemental Table 2|publisher=U.S. Department of Homeland Security|access-date=2015-05-11}}</ref><ref name=IndianImm2012>{{cite web|url=https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2012/LPR/immsuptable2d.xls |title=Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2012 Supplemental Table 2 |publisher=U.S. Department of Homeland Security |access-date=2015-05-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222152450/http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2012/LPR/immsuptable2d.xls |archive-date=2014-12-22 }}</ref><ref name=IndianImm2011>{{cite web|url=https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/yearbook/2011/immsuptable2d.xls |title=Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2011 Supplemental Table 2|publisher=U.S. Department of Homeland Security|access-date=2015-05-11}}</ref><ref name=IndianImm2010>{{cite web |url=https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/yearbook/2010/immsuptable2d.xls |title=Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2010 Supplemental Table 2 |publisher=Department of Homeland Security |access-date=2015-05-11}}</ref>
}}
<!--[[File:Screen shot 2010-06-28 at 28 Jun 17.17.19.png|thumb|right|160px|[[Nikki Haley]] is an [[Americans|American]] born to [[Sikh]] [[Punjabis|Punjabi]] parents who is the [[Governor of South Carolina|Governor-elect of South Carolina]].]]-->

Although, population groups originating in different parts of the Indian subcontinent and within the international borders of the modern country of [[India]] had been migrating to [[Southeast Asia]], [[East Asia]], [[Central Asia]], [[North Africa]], and even along Europe's Mediterranean coast, the Indian diaspora generally socio-politically or historically refers to those whose families or themselves migrated to other parts of the world after the British Empire established itself in India. Population estimates vary from a conservative 12 million to 20 million-person diaspora.<ref name="The Indian Diaspora">{{cite web|title=Executive Summary - The Indian Diaspora|url=http://indiandiaspora.nic.in/diasporapdf/part1-exe.pdf|website=Indiandiaspora.nic.in|access-date=15 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304222045/http://indiandiaspora.nic.in/diasporapdf/part1-exe.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="India and its Diaspora">{{cite web|title=India and its Diaspora|url=http://moia.gov.in/accessories.aspx?aid=10|website=Moia.gov.in|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023255/http://moia.gov.in/accessories.aspx?aid=10|archive-date=4 March 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===United Kingdom===
{{Main|British Indians}}
The British Indian community had grown to number over one million. According to the [[United Kingdom Census 2001|2001 UK Census]], 1,053,411 Britons had full Indian ancestry (representing 1.8% of the UK's population). An overwhelming majority of 99.3% resided in England (in 2008 the figure is thought to be around 97.0%). In the seven-year period between 2001 and 2009, the number of Indian-born people in the UK increased in size by 38% from 467,634 to around 647,000 (an increase of approximately 180,000).<ref name="2009 estimates">{{cite web |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/Population-by-country-of-birth-and-nationality-Oct08-Sep09.zip |title=Estimated population resident in the United Kingdom, by foreign country of birth (Table 1.3) |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |date=September 2009 |access-date=8 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101114061243/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/Population-by-country-of-birth-and-nationality-Oct08-Sep09.zip |archive-date=14 November 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===Canada===
{{Main|Indo-Canadians}}
There are approximately 1.86 million people of Indian origin or ancestry in Canada, the majority of which live in Greater [[Toronto]] and [[Vancouver]], with growing communities in Alberta and Quebec.{{efn|[[2021 Canadian census|2021 census]]: Statistic includes all persons with ethnic or cultural origin responses with ancestry to the nation of India, including "Anglo-Indian" (3,340), "Bengali" (26,675), "Goan" (9,700), "Gujarati" (36,970), "Indian" (1,347,715), "Jatt" (22,785), "Kashmiri" (6,165), "Maharashtrian" (4,125), "Malayali" (12,490), "Punjabi" (279,950), "Tamil" (102,170), and "Telugu" (6,670).<ref name="canadapopulation2021">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2022-10-26 |title= Ethnic or cultural origin by gender and age: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810035601 |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>|name="notecanadapopulation2021"}} Roughly 5.1% of the total Canadian population is of Indian ancestry, a figure higher than both the United States and Britain.{{efn|name="notecanadapopulation2021"}} According to Statistics Canada, Indo-Canadians are one of the fastest-growing visible minority groups in Canada, making up the second-largest group of non-European descent in the country after Chinese Canadians. 

The Indo-Canadian community can trace its history in Canada back 120 years to 1897 when a contingent of [[Sikh]] soldiers visited the western coast of Canada, primarily British Columbia which at the time was very sparsely populated and the Canadian government wanted to settle in order to prevent a takeover of the territory by the United States.

===South Africa===
{{Main|Indian South Africans}}
More than a million people of South Asian descent live in South Africa, with their ancestors having left colonial India mostly as indentured labourers, and with smaller numbers emigrating later as "Passenger Indians", in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They are concentrated around the city of [[Durban]]. They were classified as members of an "Indian" [[Race (human categorization)|race]] under the country's defunct [[Apartheid]] system.<ref name="Pillay2019">{{cite book|last1=Pillay|first1=Kathryn|title=The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity|chapter=Indian Identity in South Africa|year=2019|pages=77–92|doi=10.1007/978-981-13-2898-5_9|isbn=978-981-13-2897-8|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Tanzania===
{{Main|Indians in Tanzania}}
About 40,000 people of Indian origin live in Tanzania mostly in the urban areas.

===United States===
{{Main|Indian Americans|Indians in the New York City metropolitan area}}
[[File:74th St shopping Jax Hts jeh.jpg|thumb|[[Indians in the New York City metropolitan region|Little India]] on 74th Street in [[Jackson Heights, Queens|Jackson Heights]], [[Queens]], [[New York City]], has developed into a [[South Asian|pan-South Asian]] business district.]]
According to the [[American Community Survey]] of the [[United States Census Bureau]], the Indian American population in the United States grew from almost 1.67 million in 2000 to 3.1 million in 2010 which is the third-largest [[Asian American]] community in the United States after [[Chinese American]]s and [[Filipino American]]s.

===Caribbean===
{{Main|Indo-Caribbeans|Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian|Indo-Guyanese|Indo-Surinamese|Indo-Caribbean Americans|British Indo-Caribbean people|Indo-Canadians#Indians from the Caribbean|Indians in the Netherlands|Indians in France}}
{{See also|Hinduism in the West Indies|Hinduism in Trinidad and Tobago|Hinduism in Guyana|Hinduism in Suriname|Caribbean Hindustani|Indo-Caribbean music}}
After slavery was abolished in the European colonies, Indians were hired under the [[Indian indenture system]] to become indentured laborers to fill the need for cheap labor and for their skills in agriculture. In the [[English-speaking Caribbean]] and [[Suriname]], Indians primarily came from the [[Hindi Belt]], especially the [[Awadh]] region in central and eastern [[Uttar Pradesh]] and the [[Bhojpuri region|Bhojpur]] region of eastern Uttar Pradesh, western [[Bihar]], and northwestern [[Jharkhand]], along with a significant minority who came from [[South India]], and a smaller minority who came from other parts of India. They arrived from the late 1830s to the early 1920s as [[Indian indenture system|indentured laborers]] to work primarily on [[sugarcane]] [[Estate (land)|estates]], as well as on [[cocoa beans|cocoa]], [[rice]], [[banana]], [[coconut]], and [[coffee bean|coffee]] estates after indentureship. After the first wave of migration of indentured laborers, more Indians from [[Gujarat]], [[Sindh]], [[Kutch district|Kutch]], [[Punjab]], [[Bengal]], and [[South India]] came to the Caribbean for business and professional occupations from the 1930s till present-day. There are more than a million [[Indo-Caribbean]]s. In [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[Guyana]], and [[Suriname]] they are the largest ethnic groups. The Indians from the Bhojpuri and Awadhi-speaking areas of the Hindi Belt made up the majority of Indians in the Anglo-Caribbean and Suriname. Hence, their dialect of Hindustani, known as [[Caribbean Hindustani]] collectively, is based mostly on Bhojpuri and Awadhi, and it became the ''[[lingua franca]]'' of the early Indians. Also, since they formed the largest group of Indians, the traditions and culture from the Bhojpur and Awadh regions became the dominant culture for the Indians in those countries. [[France]] sent southern Indians to its colonies in the Caribbean as indentured laborers, hence there are also many residents of Indian descent in [[Guadeloupe]], [[Martinique]], and [[French Guiana]], mostly of southern Indian descent. Many Indo-Caribbeans have migrated to the [[United States]], [[United Kingdom]], [[Canada]], the [[Netherlands]], and [[France]], and few of them have even seasonally migrated to the neighboring [[Latin American]] and other Caribbean countries as migrant workers. A majority of Indo-Caribbean are [[Hindu]]s, while there is significant minority of [[Christians]] and [[Muslims]], along with smaller numbers of recently arrived Indian [[Jain]]s, [[Sikh]]s, [[Buddhist]], and [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼís]]. Indo-Caribbeans are known as the descendants of the jahajis or [[girmityas]].<ref name=britain1>{{cite web|title=Forced Labour|year=2010|publisher=The National Archives, Government of the United Kingdom|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/india/forced.htm}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=New System of Slavery|author=Hugh Tinker|year=1993|isbn=978-1-870518-18-5|publisher=Hansib Publishing, London}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=A Question of Labour: Indentured Immigration Into Trinidad & British Guiana, 1875-1917|author=K Laurence|publisher=St Martin's Press|year=1994|isbn=978-0-312-12172-3}}</ref><ref name=sl1>{{cite web|title=St. Lucia's Indian Arrival Day|year=2009|publisher=Caribbean Repeating Islands|url=http://repeatingislands.com/2009/05/07/st-lucia’s-indian-arrival-day/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Indian indentured labourers|publisher=The National Archives, Government of the United Kingdom|year=2010|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/indian-indentured-labour.htm}}</ref>

==Genetics==
{{Main|Genetics and archaeogenetics of South Asia}}
Recent [[genome]] studies appear to show that [[South Asia]]ns are a mixture of two major ancestral components, one component restricted to South Asia and the other component shared with [[Central Asia]], [[West Asia]], and [[Europe]].<ref name=Metspalu2011>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2011.11.010 |title=Shared and Unique Components of Human Population Structure and Genome-Wide Signals of Positive Selection in South Asia |year=2011 |last1=Metspalu |first1=Mait |last2=Romero |first2=Irene Gallego |last3=Yunusbayev |first3=Bayazit |last4=Chaubey |first4=Gyaneshwer |last5=Mallick |first5=Chandana Basu |last6=Hudjashov |first6=Georgi |last7=Nelis |first7=Mari |last8=Mägi |first8=Reedik |last9=Metspalu |first9=Ene |last10=Remm |first10=Maido |last11=Pitchappan |first11=Ramasamy |last12=Singh |first12=Lalji |last13=Thangaraj |first13=Kumarasamy |last14=Villems |first14=Richard |last15=Kivisild |first15=Toomas |journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=89 |issue=6 |pages=731–44 |pmid=22152676 |pmc=3234374 |display-authors=1}}</ref><ref name=Moorjani2013>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2013.07.006 |title=Genetic Evidence for Recent Population Mixture in India |year=2013 |last1=Moorjani |first1=Priya |last2=Thangaraj |first2=Kumarasamy |last3=Patterson |first3=Nick |last4=Lipson |first4=Mark |last5=Loh |first5=Po-Ru |last6=Govindaraj |first6=Periyasamy |last7=Berger |first7=Bonnie|author7-link=Bonnie Berger |last8=Reich |first8=David |last9=Singh |first9=Lalji |journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=93 |issue=3 |pages=422–438 |display-authors=1 |pmid=23932107 |pmc=3769933}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Lists of Indian people]]
* [[South Asian ethnic groups]]
* [[Ethnic groups in Asia]]
* [[Romani people]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Works cited===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{citation |last1=Asher |first1=C. B. |last2=Talbot |first2=C. |year=2008 |title=India Before Europe t |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-51750-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Bhattacharya |first=Ramkrishna |author-link=Ramkrishna Bhattacharya |title=Studies on the Carvaka/Lokayata |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=59eygxzQTWQC |year=2011 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-0-85728-433-4}}
* {{Citation |last=Hodivala |first=Shahpurshah Hormasji |title=Studies in Parsi History |url=https://archive.org/details/studiesinparsihi00hodiuoft |pages=349 |year=1920 |place=Bombay |publisher=Captain Print Works}}
* {{cite book |last1=Metcalf |first1=Barbara D. |last2=Metcalf |first2=Thomas R. |title=A Concise History of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jGCBNTDv7acC |year=2006 |edition=2nd |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-68225-1}}
* {{cite book |last1=Radhakrishnan |first1=Sarvepalli |last2=Moore |first2=Charles |title=A Source Book in Indian Philosophy |date=1957 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-01958-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/sourcebookinindi00radh}}
* {{citation |last=Robb |first=P. |title=A History of India |year=2001 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan|Palgrave]] |isbn=978-0-333-69129-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofindia00pete}}
{{refend}}

{{India topics}}
{{Immigration to India}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Indian People}}
[[Category:Indian people| ]]
[[Category:Demographics of India]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in India]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in South Asia]]