A HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF INDIA

India, home of more than a billion people, is one of the oldest civilizations in the world and therefore it has a rich history of traditions, religions, sociopolitical struggles, and reforms. The present form of the republic of India came into being in 1947 after around 200 years of British rule and after a prolonged predominantly non-violent freedom struggle. The independence resulted in a bloody partition (as India and Pakistan), the memories of which still linger. India continues to be a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, and it claims to follow the policy of non-alignment, which is lately becoming less relevant in the increasingly globalizing world.

ECOLOGICAL FEATURES

India is the fifth largest country in the world and occupies a strategic and dominant position in South Asia. The climate is predominantly tropical, except in the north, but owing to its large size and varied topography (high mountains, large plateaus, and long river basins) the country has varied climatic conditions at different places. Agriculture is the primary means of subsistence mainly because of the fertile soil and plenty of rainfall. India can be divided into two very distinct groups of rural and urban, with a larger section of the society living in villages and subsisting on agriculture. Since independence, there has been a concerted effort towards industrialization, which has also led to a growth in migration to the cities.