2. India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. Geographically, it is the seventh-largest country in the world and the second- most populous after China. It is the place of origin of four of the world’s major religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism and hence an example of the phrase “Unity in Diversity”. It is also the perfect example of a Multilingual and Multiethnic society.

5. The Indian culture is an amalgamation of diverse sub-cultures. The languages, religions, folk lore, cuisines, architecture differ from place to place. Here, even the taste of water may change at every 100 kilometers!

6. Indian Cuisine

8.  India, being a culturally and religiously diverse society, celebrates various holidays and festivals. Festivals like Diwali, Eid-ul-Fitr, Holi, Christmas, Dussehra etc., are celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm throughout the nation.  26 January and 15 August are observed as National Holidays as they are the Republic and Independence days of India respectively.

10. The national sport of India is Hockey. The Indian Hockey Team won the 1975 Hockey World Cup and 8 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze medals at the Olympic games, making it one of the most successful national hockey teams ever. Cricket, however, is by far the most popular sport. The Indian Cricket Team has won the 1983 and 2011 World Cups. Over the years, India has given the world, great sportsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, Sania Mirza, Kapil Dev etc.

12. Zone-wise description of India.

13. North India

15. East India

17. South India

19. Central India