Interesting facts about India!

1. SOME FACTS
ABOUT INDIA!
Compiled by
Pankaj Chadha
15-Aug-2022
Lyceum.organon@gmail.com

2. At 21°N, 78°E stands a miracle: INDIA
With a total area of 3,287,263 square km and a
coastline of 7,516 km, it gives you 1.38 billion
reasons to smile
The name “India” is derived from the river Indus, the
valleys around which were the home of the early
settlers. The Aryan worshipers referred to the river
Indus as the Sindhu. Indus Valley Civilization is the
world’s oldest civilization. India, hence, is the world’s
oldest, most advanced and continuous civilization. The
Persian invaders converted the word “Sindhu” into
“Hindu”. The name “Hindustan” combines Sindhu and
Hindu. India is the largest democracy in the world, the
seventh largest country in the world and one of the
most ancient civilizations.
The world’s first university was established in Takshila in
700 BCE. More than 10,500 students from all over the
world studied more than 60 subjects.
The university of Nalanda built in the fourth century was
one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the
field of education.
The four religions born in India- Hinduism, Buddhism,
Jainism and Sikhism are followed by 25% of the
world’s population. Islam is India’s and the world’s
second largest religion. There are 3,00,000 active
mosques in India, more than in any other country,
including the Muslim world. Jews and Christians have
lived continuously in India since 200 BCE and 52 AD
respectively. The oldest European church and
Synagogue in India are in the city of Cochin. They were
built in 1503 AD and 1568 AD respectively.

3. The Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the
tenth century, is the world’s largest religious pilgrimage
destination. Larger than either Rome or Mecca, an
average of 30,000 visitors donate USD$ 6 million to the
temple every day. The largest religious building in the
first created in India world is Angkor Wat, a Hindu temple
in Cambodia built at the end of eleventh century.
The world’s first granite temple is the Brihadisvara
Temple Thanjavur, Tamilnadu. The shikara of the temple
is made from a single 80 ton piece of granite. This
magnificent temple was built in just 5 years between
1004 AD and 1009 AD during the reign of Rajaraja Chola.
Sikhism originated in the holy city of Amritsar, Punjab.
Famous for housing the Golden Temple, the city was
founded in 1577 AD.
Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to
mankind. The father of medicine Charaka, consolidated
Ayurveda 2500 years ago.
Uses of anaesthesia was well known in ancient Indian
medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology,
digestion, metabolism, physiology, etiology, genetics and
immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.
Cataract surgery and plastic surgery were invented in
India.

4. The art of navigation and navigating was born in river
Sindh over 6000 years ago. The very word navigation is
derived from the Sanskrit word “Navgatih”. The word
Navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word “Nou”
The game of Snakes and Ladders was created by the
thirteenth century poet Saint Gyandev. It was originally
called “Mokshapat”. The ladders in the game
represented virtues and snakes indicated vices. The game
was played with cowrie shells and dices. In time, the
game underwent several modifications, but its meaning
remained the same, i.e. good deeds take people to
heaven and evil to a cycle of
re-births.
Chess was too invented in India.
The ‘place value system’ and the ‘decimal system’
were developed in India in 100 BCE.
Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus originated in India.
Quadratic equations were used by Sridharacharya in
the eleventh century.
The value of “PI” was first calculated by Indian
mathematician Baudhāyana, he also explained the
concept of “Pythagorean Theorem” in sixth century,
much before the European mathematician

5. Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by
the Earth to orbit the Sun as 365.258756484 days. He
calculated this hundreds of years before the
astronomer smart.
The motion of the stars calculated by the Hindus
before some 4500 years vary not even a single minute
from the tables of Cassine and Meyer (used in 19th
century) the Hindu system of astronomy are by far the
oldest. The Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and even the
Jews derived their knowledge from the Hindus.
Martial Arts were first created in India and later spread
to Asia by Buddhist missionaries
Yoga has its origin in India and has existed for over
5000 years.
Varanasi also known as Banaras or Kashi, was called ‘the
ancient city’ when Lord Buddha visited the place in 500
BCE and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the
world.

6. India was the first country to consume sugar. India was
the first country to develop extraction and purifying
techniques of sugar. Many visitors from abroad learnt
the refining and cultivation of sugar from India.
India has the largest Postal Network in the world with
over 1, 55,015 Post Offices. On an average, a Post Office
serves an area of 21.21 Sq. Km and a population of 7,175
people.
The network has registered a seven-fold growth since
Independence, with the focus of this expansion primarily
in rural areas
The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal
Pradesh. Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this
cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.
The largest employer in India is the Indian Railways,
employing over a million people
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader
of Tibetan Buddhists, runs his government in exile
from Dharmashala in northern India.

7. Pankaj Chadha |lyceum.organon@gmail.com