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    National Anthem28 Meg Download
 
  
    | The Indus Valley civilization, 
    one of the oldest in the world, goes back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes 
    from the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier 
    inhabitants created classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in 
    the 8th century and Turkish in 12th were followed by European traders 
    beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had assumed 
    political control of virtually all Indian lands. Nonviolent resistance to 
    British colonialism under Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU led to 
    independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of 
    India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two 
    countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of 
    Bangladesh. Fundamental concerns in India include the ongoing dispute with 
    Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation, 
    extensive poverty, and ethnic strife, all this despite impressive gains in 
    economic investment and output.
 
 
      
        | Location: | Southern Asia, bordering 
        the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan 20 00 N, 77 00 E
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        | Population: | 1,029,991,145 (July 2001 
        est.) |  
        | Area: | total:  3,287,590 sq 
        km land:  2,973,190 sq km
 water:  314,400 sq km
 slightly more than one-third the size of the US
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        | Climate: | varies from tropical 
        monsoon in south to temperate in north |  
        | Terrain: | upland plain (Deccan 
        Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in 
        west, Himalayas in north |  
        | Elevation: | lowest point:  
        Indian Ocean 0 m highest point:  Kanchenjunga 8,598 m
 |  |  | India 
 1995, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2016
 
     
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