"Unity in diversity" was the slogan chosen when India celebrated fifty years of independence in 1997, a declaration replete with as much optimism as pride. Stretching from the frozen barrier of the Himalayas to the tropical greenery of kerala, and from the sacred Ganges to the sands of the Thar desert, the countries boundaries encompass incomparable variety. Walk the streets of any Indian city and you'll rub shoulders with representatives of several of the worlds great faiths, a multitude of castes and outcastes fair skinned, turbanned Punjabis, and dark skinned Tamils. You'll also encounter temple rituals that have been performed since the times of Egyptain, Pharaohs, onion-domed mosques erected centuries Taj Mahal was over dreamt of, and quickly echoes of the British Raj on virtually every corner.
India the seventh largest country in the world. It covers an area of 32,87,2631 sq. km. Bounded by the great Himalayas to the north , it stretches southwards and at the tropic of cancer, tapers off in the Indian ocean between the bay of Bengal on the east and the Arabian sea to the west. Lying entirely in the northern hemisphere the mainland extends measures 3214 km from north south between extreme latitudes and about 2933 km from east to west between extreme longitudes. The Arabian sea consist of the Lakshadweep group. They are formed on a coral deposit off the Kabala coast . The Indian islands in the Bay of Bengal consist of the Andamans and the Nicobar group. |
