What are some things every Indian should know?

  1. About the Indian Army
     Many Indians tend to underestimate the strength of their own army. They tend to forget that the reason behind their peaceful sleep is their strong guard. It is the biggest voluntary army in the world and has the world’s best jungle warfare force. It is one of the biggest troop contributors to the United Nations peace-keeping operations and has a strong cavalry regiment. It is the Indian Army that controls the highest battlefield in the world – the Siachen Glacier.
  2. About Bollywood
    If you think Bollywood represents the Indian film industry as a whole, you’re mistaken. Most Indian films are not, as is often supposed to be, the products of Bollywood. In fact, more films are produced in Tollywood (Tamil and Telegu) than in Bollywood.
  3. About deadly roads
    A statistic states that there are more road deaths in India than in any other country in the world. It is due to terrible road conditions, and drivers who break traffic rules.
  4. About Maitri and Bharati
    Maitri Research Station in Antartica
    India is one of the nine nations to have multiple stations in the coldest region on earth – Antarctica. At first, India built “Maitri”, its first station in 1989. In 2012, India launched “Bharati”, another station that has been operational since 2012.
  5. 705 Tribes of India
    India is home to a large number of tribes with population of about 70 million. In terms of geographical distribution about 55% of tribals lived in central India, 28% in west, 12% in north-east India, 4% in South India and 1% elsewhere.

    These communities are actively working to preserve their rich cultures through broad institutional efforts. Tribals constitute 8.14% of the total population of the country, numbering 84.51 million according to 2001 Census and cover about 15% of the country’s area.

  6. Indian railway network

    Indian railway is one of the world’s largest railway networks comprising 115,000 km of track over a route of 65,436 km and 7,172 stations.
    In 2013-14, IR carried 8,425 million passengers annually or more than 23 million passengers daily that is more than Australia’s entire population (22.68 million).
    Indian Railways is the world’s ninth largest commercial or utility employer, by number of employees, with over 1.307 million employees. Vivek Express trains, the one from Dibrugarh to Kanyakumari; is the longest route on the Indian Railways network, in terms of distance and time.
  7. Gandhi’s statues all over the world
    Gandhi Ji’s Statue in Switzerland
    More than 70 countries have erected Gandhiji statues including the USA, Africa, Switzerland, Cambodia, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Russia, Denmark, Argentina, and Sri Lanka.

    Recently British Foreign Minister William Hague and Chancellor of Exchequer George Osborne told that a statue of Mahatma Gandhi will be installed in Parliament Square in London by early next year. The tallest Gandhi statue is 70-feet tall bronze statue in Gandhi maidan in Patna.

  8. 32 World Heritage sites in India
    India has 32 World Heritage Sites that are recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as of 2014. Agra Fort and Ellora, Ajanta Caves were the first to be added in the UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 1983. The latest is the Great Himalayan National Park in 2014. Out of all 32 sites, 25 are cultural sites and the other seven are natural sites. India is the 6th country with the highest number of world heritage sites.
  9. India provides safety to refugees
    More than 300,000 refugees originally from Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who escaped to flee religious and political persecution are given shelter and safety on the lands of India. Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, runs his government in exile from Dharmashala in northern India.
  10. Home to world’s first University 
    Takshila University
    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.
  11. Origin of the Diamond 
    Diamond Ore
    Diamonds were first recognized and mined in India. Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world, as per the Gemological Institute of America.
  12. Supercomputer Manufacturers
    India is one of only three countries that make supercomputers, after the USA and Japan. Moreover, India also has the second largest community of software developers after the USA.
  13. Largest Postal Network in the World
    The Worlds Highest Post-Office in Hikkim, India
    India has the largest postal network in the world with over 1, 55,015 post offices.
    Includes a floating post office in Dal Lake, Srinagar was inaugurated in August 2011 and World’s highest post office in “Hikkim” (Himachal Pradesh) at the altitude of 4440 m.
  14. India has a lot of ‘Highest …” records! 
    World’s Highest Helipad is at Siachen Glacier at a height of 16000 feet above sea level. Highest Battlefield of the world is again at Siachen Glacier at a height of 6000 m above sea level in India. World’s Highest Cricket Pitch in Chail (H.P) was built in 1893 after leveling hilltop. It is 2444 m above sea level. Highest Railway Bridge in the world is the Chenab Bridge (J&K). It is a railway steel and concrete architecture.

This article is inspired from this Quora link.

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