1) Around a 100 million years ago, India was an island.
2) India’s name is derived from the “Indus” river.
3) Indus Valley Civilisation is the world’s oldest civilisation.
4) India, hence, is the world’s oldest, most advanced and continuous civilisation.
5) India has been the largest troop contributor to the United Nations Peacekeeping Missions since its inception.
6) India has the world’s third largest active army, after China and USA.
7) The Tirupati Balaji temple and the Kashi Vishwanath Temple both, receive more visitors than the Vatican City and Mecca combined.
2) India’s name is derived from the “Indus” river.
3) Indus Valley Civilisation is the world’s oldest civilisation.
4) India, hence, is the world’s oldest, most advanced and continuous civilisation.
5) India has been the largest troop contributor to the United Nations Peacekeeping Missions since its inception.
6) India has the world’s third largest active army, after China and USA.
7) The Tirupati Balaji temple and the Kashi Vishwanath Temple both, receive more visitors than the Vatican City and Mecca combined.
8) Every 12 years, a religious gathering called the Kumbh Mela occurs in India. It is the world’s largest gathering of people.
9) The gathering is so large that the Kumbh Mela is visible from the space.
Kumbh Mela from Space.
10) Varanasi is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.
11) India has more mosques (300,000 mosques) than any other nation in the world.
12) And the third largest Muslim population in the world.
13) Takshila is said to be the first every university in the world; it started around 700 BC.
11) India has more mosques (300,000 mosques) than any other nation in the world.
12) And the third largest Muslim population in the world.
13) Takshila is said to be the first every university in the world; it started around 700 BC.
14) Today, India has the world’s largest school in terms of students, the City Montessori School in Lucknow. It has more than 45 thousand students!
15) Indian Railways employs more than 1.3 million people. That’s more than the population of many nations.
16) More than 54 crore people voted in the 2014 General Election – more people than the population of USA, UK, Australia and Japan combined.
17) Number of births in India every year is more than the total population of Australia, and many other nations.
18) India has the largest English speaking population in the world.
19) At an estimate, 25% of the total workforce of the world’s population will be from India in the next year or so.
20) India’s first rocket was brought on cycle and a satellite on bullock cart.
21) And despite budgetary constraints, India’s space program is one of the top 5 space programs in the world.
15) Indian Railways employs more than 1.3 million people. That’s more than the population of many nations.
16) More than 54 crore people voted in the 2014 General Election – more people than the population of USA, UK, Australia and Japan combined.
17) Number of births in India every year is more than the total population of Australia, and many other nations.
18) India has the largest English speaking population in the world.
19) At an estimate, 25% of the total workforce of the world’s population will be from India in the next year or so.
20) India’s first rocket was brought on cycle and a satellite on bullock cart.
21) And despite budgetary constraints, India’s space program is one of the top 5 space programs in the world.
India’s first rocket, on a cycle.
22) In 2004, 200 women took law in their own hands and came to the court armed with vegetable knives and chilli powder and murdered on the court floor a serial rapist – Akku Yadav. Then every woman claimed responsibility for the murder.
23) English Actor Sir Ben Kingsley’s birth name is Krishna Pandit Bhanji and he is of Indian descent.
24) Lonar Lake, a saltwater lake in Maharashtra, was created by a meteor hitting the Earth and is one of its kind in India.
23) English Actor Sir Ben Kingsley’s birth name is Krishna Pandit Bhanji and he is of Indian descent.
24) Lonar Lake, a saltwater lake in Maharashtra, was created by a meteor hitting the Earth and is one of its kind in India.
25) In a village called Shani Shingnapur in Maharashtra, people have been living in houses with no doors for generations. This is because they believe that whoever steals anything from this place will incur the wrath of Shani God and will have to pay for his/her sins very dearly. There is no police station in this village either.
26) Magnetic Hill is a gravity hill located near Leh in Ladakh, India. The hill is alleged to have magnetic properties strong enough to pull cars uphill and force passing aircraft to increase their altitude in order to escape magnetic interference.
27) Viswanathan Anand is the first player in chess history to have won the World Championship in three different formats: knockout, tournament, and match.
28) Chess was invented in India.
29) Buttons were invented in India. Yes, your shirt’s buttons.
30) We also invented the ruler.
31) And shampoo.
32) And discovered the number zero.
33) And the value of pi.
34) And trigonometry, algebra, calculus.
35) And cataract surgery.
36) And plastic surgery.
37) And diamond mining.
38) And water on the moon.
39) Until 1986, the only place where diamonds had been officially found was in India.
40) India has banned all captive dolphins, stating that dolphins should be viewed of non human persons.
41) India’s tech capital, Bangalore, has increased its office supply by six times since 2006, and now has more Grade-A offices than Singapore.
42) India is the largest producer of films in the world.
43) India is the largest milk producer in the world.
44) India leads the world with the most murders (32,719) per year, with Russia taking second at 28,904 murders per year.
45) To avoid polluting the elements (fire, earth, water, air), followers of Zoroastrianism in India don’t bury their dead, but instead leave bodies in buildings called “Towers of Silence” for the vultures to pick clean. After the bones dry, they are swept into a central well.
46) Karmanasa River in India is considered to be a cursed river and it is believed that touching its water would ruin one’s plans. There’s hardly any development along this river. People around this river just eat dry fruits because cooking food would require water!
47) Two major religions, Buddhism and Jainism, were established in India.
48) Chail in Himachal Pradesh is the highest cricket pitch in the world. It is situated at an elevation of 2444 meters (above the sea level).
49) The India-Pakistan World Cup semi-final match in Mohali drew 150 million viewers worldwide.
50) Sachin Tendulkar. (Okay, you knew this!)
51) The first Granite Temple of the world, the Brihadeswara Temple is situated in Tamil Nadu. It was built during the 11th century, in only five years.
52) Around the 17th century, India was one of the richest countries in the world.
53) Today, India is the world’s third largest economy.
54) India is one of the only three countries that makes supercomputers (the US and Japan are the other two).
55) The world’s largest road network is in India—over 1.9 million miles of roads cover the country.
56) India has the largest amount of vegetarians in the world.
57) So much so that Pizza Hut had to open their first pure vegetarian restaurant in the country.
58) And KFC had to introduce a “vegetarian” menu for India.
59) And so did McDonalds, the world’s largest fast-food manufacturer.
60) Chai is India’s national drink.
61) India grows 1.2 million tons of mangoes every year, weight equivalent to 80,000 blue whales.
62) The state of Meghalaya is the wettest inhabited place of earth.
63) India gave the world Yoga, that has existed for more than 5,000 years.
64) May 26 is celebrated as the Science Day in Switzerland in honour of former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, because on the day, Kalam visited the country :)
65) Martial Arts was first created in India.
66) The world’s biggest family lives in India. One man, 39 wives and 94 children.
67) India is the world’s largest importer of arms.
68) But India has never invaded or attacked a country.
25 Interesting Facts On India That You Had No Idea About
1. A floating post office
India has the largest postal network in the world with over 1, 55,015 post offices. A single post office on an average serves a population of 7,175 people. The floating post office in Dal Lake, Srinagar, was inaugurated in August 2011.
2. Kumbh Mela gathering visible from space
The 2011 Kumbh Mela was the largest gathering of people with over 75 million pilgrims. The gathering was so huge that the crowd was visible from space.
3. The wettest inhabited place in the world
Mawsynram, a village on the Khasi Hills, Meghalaya, receives the highest recorded average rainfall in the world. Cherrapunji, also a part of Meghalaya, holds the record for the most rainfall in the calendar year of 1861.
4. Bandra Worli Sealink has steel wires equal to the earth's circumference
It took a total of 2,57,00,000 man hours for completion and also weighs as much as 50,000 African elephants. A true engineering and architectural marvel.
5. The highest cricket ground in the world
At an altitude of 2,444 meters, the Chail Cricket Ground in Chail, Himachal Pradesh, is the highest in the world. It was built in 1893 and is a part of the Chail Military School.
6. Shampooing is an Indian concept
Shampoo was invented in India, not the commercial liquid ones but the method by use of herbs. The word 'shampoo' itself has been derived from the Sanskrit word champu, which means to massage.
7. The Indian national Kabaddi team has won all World Cups
India has won all 5 men's Kabaddi World Cups held till now and have been undefeated throughout these tournaments. The Indian women's team has also won all Kabaddi World Cups held till date.
8. Water on the moon was discovered by India
In September 2009, India's ISRO Chandrayaan- 1 using its Moon Mineralogy Mapper detected water on the moon for the first time.
9. Science day in Switzerland is dedicated to Ex-Indian President, APJ Abdul Kalam
The father of India's missile programme had visited Switzerland back in 2006. Upon his arrival, Switzerland declared May 26th as Science Day.
10. India's first President only took 50% of his salary
When Dr Rajendra Prasad was appointed the President of India, he only took 50% of his salary, claiming he did not require more than that. Towards the end of his 12-year tenure he only took 25% of his salary. The salary of the President was Rs 10,000 back then.
11. The first rocket in India was transported on a cycle
The first rocket was so light and small that it was transported on a bicycle to the Thumba Launching Station in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
12. India has a spa just for elephants
Elephants receive baths, massages and even food at the Punnathoor Cotta Elephant Yard Rejuvenation Centre in Kerala. Now that's a BIG step for the country.
13. India is the world's second-largest English speaking country
India is second only to the USA when it comes to speaking English with around 125 million people speaking the language, which is only 10% of our population. This is expected to grow by quite a margin in the coming years.
14. Largest number of vegetarians in the world
Be it because of religious reasons or personal choices or both, around 20-40% of Indians are vegetarians, making it the largest vegetarian-friendly country in the world.
15. The world's largest producer of milk
India recently overtook the European Union with production reaching over 132.4m tonnes in 2014.
16. 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 us.
17. The human calculator
Shakuntla Devi was given this title after she demonstrated the calculation of two 13 digit numbers: 7,686,369,774,870 × 2,465,099,745,779 which were picked at random. She answered correctly within 28 seconds.
18. Rabindranath Tagore also wrote the national anthem for Bangladesh
Rabindranath Tagore is credited not only for writing the Indian national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, but the Bangladeshi national anthem, Amar Sonar Bangla, as well. He was also offered knighthood by the British but refused the honour after the Jalianwala Bagh massacre.
19. Dhyan Chand was offered German citizenship
After defeating Germany 8-1 in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Major Dhyan Chand, the wizard of hockey, was summoned by Hitler. He was promised German citizenship, a high post in the German military and the chance to play for the German national side. Dhyan Chand however declined the offer.
20. Freddie Mercury and Ben Kingsley are both of Indian descent
Freddie Mercury, the legendary singer of the rock band 'Queen' was born a Parsi with the name Farrokh Bulsara while the famous Oscar winning Hollywood star Ben Kingsley was born Krishna Pandit Bhanji.
21. Astronaut Rakesh Sharma said India looks saare jahaan se achcha from space
Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi asked the first Indian in space, Rakesh Sharma, about how India looked from space. His response was our famous patriotic song, "Saare Jahaan Se Achcha."
22. Havell's is purely an Indian brand & named after its first owner
Though the company was bought for just 10 lakh Rupees a long time ago and is now a multi-billion electrical goods company, it's an Indian company and is still named after its original owner, Haveli Ram Gupta.
23. Diamonds were first mined in India
Initially, diamonds were only found in the alluvial deposits in Guntur and Krishna District of the Krishna River Delta. Until diamonds were found in Brazil during the 18th century, India led the world in diamond production.
24. A special polling station is set up for a lone voter in the middle of Gir Forest
Mahant Bharatdas Darshandas has been voting since 2004 and during every election since then, a special polling booth is set up exclusively for him as he is the only voter from Banej in Gir forest.
25. Snakes and Ladders originated in India
Earlier known as Moksha Patamu, the game was initially invented as a moral lesson about karma to be taught to children. It was later commercialized and has become one of the most popular board games in the world.
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