21 Facts About India

Some interesting facts about the country of India.  More Sub-continent than country and for many reasons.  Read on and feel free to contribute if you have any to add as well.

1. There is no Language as “Indian”  In fact India has 23 Official languages and many unofficial ones.  There are an estimated 122 languages spoken by it’s diverse population. I’m sure there are even more so in the dialect range.  Talk about difficulty understanding between places!
2. The Taj Mahal, probably the most famous, if not one of, was built for love.  Probably one of the most incredible buildings built for love. It was built by Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal who died in child birth. The only thing not aligned was his own tomb which was added later.
3. India is the world’s largest Democracy (by population)
4. India has a still growing population and it is now the largest country by population, with over 1.4 billion people!  It is believed to have overtaken China in April 2023.
5. India is probably one of the few places were voting machines need to be moved to remote places for small populations.  There are photos and stories of elephants carrying voting machines and even stories of voting machines being set up for lone voters in forests.
6. Indian Railway system is the world’s largest employer in the world.  With over a million people.  Walmart is probably second.  I don’t know which is  worse in fact.
7. India also has the largest postal system in the world as well including a floating post office on Dal Lake.
8. India has the largest largest network of roads in the world, second only to the United States.  Roads in India are often clogged with any sort of vehicle from trucks to lorries to carts and even cows.
9. Even though Pakistan is primary Muslim, India has a larger Muslim population.
10. Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India, were all once combined, but were split following British Rule.  Bangladesh was first “East Pakistan” before it itself split from Pakistan to form it’s own independent country
11. Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism, all originated in India.  Even though Buddhism is often referred to as a religion associated with other countries.
12. Sikhism is the world’s third largest Monotheistic religion.
13. The most famous diamonds in the world the Hope Diamond (in the Smithsonian) and the Koh-i-nor diamond (in the British Crown Jewels) were mined in India in Golconda, an area once famous for its diamonds.
14. The world’s largest movie industry is not Hollywood, but actually Bollywood (for Bombay Hollywood).  It is headquartered around Mumbai.  There are many other film industries of smaller scale in India to focus on different languages.
15. Gandhi’s first name was not Mohatma, but Mohandas.  Mohatma is a title bestowed on him which means “Great Soul”. His picture is also found on all the currency as well.
16. The Gandhi family is now prominent in politics in the country.  Indira Gandhi was the first female prime minister of India.
17. Tea is the most important beverage in India and India is the world’s largest producer of tea.  But tea did not originate in India, but instead in China and was brought here by the British.
18. There are many massive gatherings of people in the world from the Hajj to Pope visits but the world’s largest gathering of humans on the planet is the Kumba Mela festival in India with tens of millions of people!  It is held every 3rd year at one of four places.  The one in 2019 had over 50 million in attendance!
19. It is estimated that about 70% or more of the spices in the world come from India. In 2011 of  2.06 million metric tons produced in the world, 1.5 million were from India.
20. India is also the world’s largest consumer and producer of Mangos, producing nearly 40% of the entire world’s crop.
21. India is the largest country by size or population that has never been selected to host an Olympic game (summer or winter)