Facts About India - Did You Know?

• The official 'Sanskrit' name for India is Bharat
• India is the largest democracy in the world
• India is the seventh largest country in the world 
• India became a nuclear power in 1974
• India is a 34,000 year old country with a rich history of culture and traditions
• Mumbai, India is now considered one of the top 5 financial centres in the world after NY, London, Dubai and Shanghai    
• The name 'India' is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. India is one of the most ancient living civilizations (at least 10,000 years old)
• India is one of the few countries in the World, which gained independence without violence
• India has the second largest pool of Scientists and Engineers in the World
• India is the only country other than the US and Japan, to have built a super computer indigenously

• The number system was invented by India. Aryabhatta was the scientist who invented the digit zero. The 'place value system' and the 'decimal system' were developed in 100 BC in India. Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies which originated in India
• The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people!
• Although modern images and descriptions of India often show poverty, India was one of the richest countries in the world. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth and was looking for a route to India when he discovered America by mistake
• The art of Navigation and Navigating was born in the river Sindh 6,000 years ago. The very word 'Navigation' is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH
• Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India
• The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education
• The Constitution of India recognises 22 languages, spoken in different parts of India. However there are over 200 dialects of these languages. The common language that unites India is Hindi

Famous Quotes on India (by non-Indians)
Albert Einstein said: We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.

Mark Twain said: India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK & BANK HOLIDAYS
SUN TO THURS 5.30PM-10.30PM, FRI & SAT 5.30PM-11.30PM