10 Facts you did not know about India

Well to start with, did you know that India was the richest country in the world until the 17^th century when the British invaded it? Or did you know that since 1,00,000 years of its existence India has only defended itself from invaders and never actually invaded any other country?

We have more – Did you know that till 1986, India was the only nation in the world where Diamonds were found? And what if we told you that in the General Elections of 2014 around 54 crore people voted. Mind you! The number of people who voted in our country in 2014 is actually more than the combined population of USA, UK, Japan and Australia.

Well if these facts got your mind-rattling then read on to find out some other facts which you absolutely did not know about India.

India has no – Father of the nation

Did you just laugh and wave your hand at this statement. Well, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi who fought for our country’s freedom was never given the title of –Father of the Nation. Shocked? Well so was I.

An RTI enquiry on the same reflected that he cannot even be honoured by that title, primarily because the Constitution of India doesn’t allow any titles to be awarded to people apart from military and educational ones.

India has no National Sport

On reading this statement, did you promptly reply back with – Yes, it does and Hockey is our national sport? Then you my friend need to increase your knowledge about you motherland because India officially has no national sport.

The government of India in 2012 confirmed that Hockey is not our national sport and till date no other sport has been selected in its place.  

Here, while we are mentioning hockey another aspect worth mentioning is that India has always produced good hockey teams and the truth of the matter lies in the fact that in the World Olympics tournament of 1928, officials from English observed the Indian hockey team’s caliber and after ascertaining their aptitude England decided not to field a team for the Olympics because they felt that their reputation would face a severe damage if they lost to a “slave country”.

Indian rupee and its illegality of transport

 As per a directive issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), it is illegal for anyone to carry the Indian rupee with them out of the country. However, the government doesn’t impose this issue too stringently, so as of now you have nothing to worry about.

India invented Chess

Chess is known to have been developed some 1500 years ago. Historians reveal that Chess originated in India in 6^th Century AD during the Gupta Empire. During this period, Chess was called “Chaturanga” which literally translates to “four divisions” – infantry, cavalry, chariotry and elephantry. 

Maybe the rich history India has behind chess is the reason why the greatest chess player of our times – Viswanathan Anand is from India. And if we are talking about chess and facts then it is worth knowing that Viswanathan Anand is the only player in the history of the game who has won the World Championship in all three formats of the game which are knockout, tournament, and match.

India has maximum number of mosques

As per statistics, India is known to have around 3,00,000 mosques which is the highest number of mosques found in any nation. Also, India is third in the list of countries of the world with maximum Muslim population.

India and its name

India as a nation was named after the river Indus. The name India was derived from the Greek term 'lνδiα which literally translates to – region of Indus. The name of our country is actually derived from the term Sindhu which is the Sanskrit name of the river Indus.

The name India was first used in Greek language since 4^th century BC. However, it was first used in Old English by early 9^th century and thereafter in Modern English in the 17^th century. 

India is home to the oldest civilisation, university and city

Indus Valley Civilisation which extended from northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and also some parts of northwest India is known to be the oldest civilisation of the world. The civilisation covered an area of 1.25 million kms and is known to have developed along the basins of the Indus river as well as Ghaggar-Hakra river.

Also, Takshila University which is known to be the oldest university of the world was established in India around 700 BC. Historians reveal that 68 subjects were taught in the university which included vedas, languages, grammar, medicine, surgery, philosophy, politics, archery, warfare, astronomy, commerce, accounts, dance and other performing arts, music, futurology, complex mathematical calculations as well as occult and mystical sciences.

Apart from this, studies reveal that Varanasi is the oldest city in the world that is known to be continuously inhabited.

India’s Kumbh Mela

Every 12 years, the famous Kumbh Mela is held in India which is known to be the world’s largest religious gathering. It has now been revealed that the gathering of Kumbh Mela is so large that one can view the same from space also.

Indian Railways is the biggest employer

The Indian Railways has made a record by being the biggest employer in the world. Statistics reveal that Indian Railways employ around 1.3 million people presently.  

India has no National Language

Yes, it is true India officially has no national language. India has two official languages which are Hindi and English but no national language.

The Government of India recognises 17 languages other than English and Hindi which are Sanskrit, Sindhi, Gujarati, Nepali, Assamese, Bengali, Manipuri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Konkani, Kannada, Kashmiri, Urdu, Tamil and Telugu. Apart from these, around 1,652 dialects are known to be spoken in the country.