Revision as of 05:36, 21 June 2014

Indian landscape.
Source: flickr.com.

Basic Info

Country Name

The Republic of India

What the People are Called

Indian

Ethnic Groups

India has more than 2000 ethnic groups and every major religion is represented, as are four major families of languages (Indo-Aryan – a branch of the larger Indo-European language group –, Dravidian, Austroasiatic, and Tibeto-Burman) as well as a language isolate (the Nihali language spoken in parts of Maharashtra). India's castism history is extremely complex; nevertheless, distinct racial divisions between peoples still exist as established by modern anthropologists, despite the fact that the national Census of India does not recognize racial or ethnic groups within India, but recognizes many of the tribal groups as Scheduled Castes and Tribes.

The Indian caste system describes the system of social stratification and severe social restrictions in India in which social classes are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups, often termed jātis or castes. Within a jāti, there exist exogamous groups known as gotras, the lineage or clan of an individual. In a handful of sub-castes such as Shakadvipi, endogamy within a gotra is permitted and alternative mechanisms of restricting endogamy are used (e.g. banning endogamy within a surname).

The Indian caste system involves four castes and outcasted social groups. Caste barriers have mostly broken down in large cities, though they persist in rural areas of the country, where 72% of India's population resides.

For a detailed diagram of ethnic groups in India go here for more information.

U.S. Embassy

U.S. Embassy in India Shantipath, Chanakyapuri New Delhi – 110021 Tel: 091-011-24198000 Fax: 091-011-24198407 Email: NDAdopt@State.gov Internet: newdelhi.usembassy.gov/

Canadian Embassy

7/8 Shantipath, Chanakyapuri New Delhi 110 021, India

Currency

Indian Rupee

Time Zone

IST (UTC+05:30) Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+05:30)

Phone/Internet Information

• Calling code +91
• ISO 3166 code IN
• Internet TLD .in other TLDs

Major Languages Spoken

India is home to two major language families: Indo-Aryan (spoken by about 74% of the population) and Dravidian (24%). Other languages spoken in India come from the Austroasiatic and Tibeto-Burman language families. India has no national language. Hindi, with the largest number of speakers, is the official language of the government. English is used extensively in business and administration and has the status of a "subsidiary official language"; it is important in education, especially as a medium of higher education. Each state and union territory has one or more official languages, and the constitution recognises in particular 21 "scheduled languages". The Constitution of India recognises 212 scheduled tribal groups which together constitute about 7.5% of the country's population.[266] The 2001 census reported that Hinduism, with over 800 million adherents (80.5% of the population), was the largest religion in India; it is followed by Islam (13.4%), Christianity (2.3%), Sikhism (1.9%), Buddhism (0.8%), Jainism (0.4%), Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and the Bahá'í Faith.[267] India has the world's largest Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Zoroastrian, and Bahá'í populations, and has the third-largest Muslim population and the largest Muslim population for a non-Muslim majority country.

Major holidays

Jan 1 New Year's Day Restricted Holiday

Jan 7 Guru Govind Singh Jayanti Restricted Holiday

Jan 14 Pongal Restricted Holiday

Jan 14 Makar Sankranti Restricted Holiday

Jan 14 Milad un-Nabi/Id-e-Milad Gazetted Holiday

Jan 26 Republic Day Gazetted Holiday

Jan 31 Chinese New Year Observance

Feb 4 Vasant Panchami Restricted Holiday

Feb 14 Guru Ravidas Jayanti Restricted Holiday

Feb 14 Valentine's Day Observance

Feb 19 Shivaji Jayanti Restricted Holiday

Feb 24 Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati Jayanti Restricted Holiday

Feb 27 Maha Shivaratri/Shivaratri Gazetted Holiday

Mar 16 Dolyatr Gazetted Holiday

Mar 16 Holika Dahana Restricted Holiday

Mar 17 Dolyatra Restricted Holiday

Mar 31 Chaitra Sukhladi Restricted Holiday

Apr 8 Rama Navami Gazetted Holiday

Apr 13 Mahavir Jayanti Gazetted Holiday

Apr 14 Vaisakhi Restricted Holiday

Apr 14 Ambedkar Jayanti Observance

Apr 15 First day of Passover Observance

Apr 15 Mesadi/Vaisakhadi Restricted Holiday

Apr 17 Maundy Thursday Observance, Christian

Apr 18 Good Friday Gazetted Holiday

Apr 20 Easter Day Restricted Holiday

May 1 May Day Observance

May 9 Birthday of Ravindranath Restricted Holiday

May 11 Mother's Day Observance

May 13 Hazarat Ali's Birthday Restricted Holiday

May 14 Buddha Purnima/Vesak Gazetted Holiday

Jun 15 Father's Day Observance

Jun 29 Rath Yatra Restricted Holiday

Jul 25 Jamat U-Vida Restricted Holiday

Jul 30 Ramzan Id/Eid-ul-Fitar Muslim, Common Local holidays

Aug 3 Friendship Day Observance

Aug 10 Raksha Bandhan Restricted Holiday

Aug 15 Independence Day Gazetted Holiday

Aug 15 Thanksgiving Day Observance

Aug 17 Janmashtami Gazetted Holiday

Aug 18 Parsi New Year Restricted Holiday

Aug 29 Ganesh Chaturthi Restricted Holiday

Sep 7 Onam Restricted Holiday

Oct 1 Maha Saptami Restricted Holiday

Oct 2 Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti Gazetted Holiday

Oct 2 Maha Ashtami Restricted Holiday

Oct 3 Dussehra (Maha Navami) Gazetted Holiday

Oct 5 Bakri Id/Eid ul-Adha Gazetted Holiday

Oct 6 Bakri Id/Eid ul-Adha Gazetted Holiday

Oct 11 Karaka Chaturthi Restricted Holiday

Oct 22 Naraka Chaturdasi Restricted Holiday

Oct 23 Diwali/Deepavali Gazetted Holiday

Oct 24 Govardhan Puja Restricted Holiday

Oct 25 Bhai Duj Restricted Holiday

Oct 29 Chhat Puja (Pratihar Sashthi/Surya Sashthi) Restricted Holiday

Oct 31 Halloween Observance

Nov 4 Muharram/Ashura Gazetted Holiday

Nov 6 Guru Nanak Jayanti Gazetted Holiday

Nov 24 Guru Tegh Bahadur's Martyrdom Day Restricted Holiday

Dec 12 First Day of Hanukkah Observance

Dec 24 Last day of Hanukkah Observance

Dec 24 Christmas Eve Restricted Holiday

Dec 25 Christmas Gazetted Holiday

Dec 31 New Year's Eve Observance, Christian

Source: Public Holidays India Source: Wikipedia India Source: Ethnic groups India - Wikipedia