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March 2005
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Daily information on India for Indian American Youth - covering the topics of travel, India Today, History, Government and more!
  March 31, 2005   |   Traveling Home FactID: 302
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City of Bombay, now known as Mumbai has a population of thirteen million people. The name Mumbai is derived from a local goddess called MumbaDevi. The Portuguese captured the area in 1534 from the Moslem emperor Bahadur Shah. Bombay was the dowry of Portuguese princess Infanta Catherine de Braganza when she married Prince Charles II of England in the year 1661. In 1668 The British government leased the island to East India Company for a fee of 10 British pounds per year.

It was renamed from Bombay to Mumbai in 1995. In 1960 Mumbai became the capital of Maharashtra state. Bombay is considered India’s commercial capital. Forty percent of India’s taxes (40,000 crores - 9 billion dollars) comes from this city. Millionaires are made and destroyed everyday at Bombay’s stock exchange.

The city used to be seven hilly isles. When the isles were merged to form a monolithic island, these hills were razed and used to fill the shallows. Partly because of this, some parts of the city lie below sea level and require special foundations for construction. Many parts of the city are still hilly. The highest point in the city is about 450 m( about 1500 ft) and lies in the Powai-Kanheri range in the Borivali National Park. The city lies on a fault line and is earthquake prone.

Bombay has two major airports: Chatrapati Shivaji International airport, and SantaCrus domestic airport. Bombay is the headquarters of Western Railway and Central Railway. Main train stations are: Bombay Central, and Chatrapati Shivaji terminal (formerly known as Victoria Terminus)..

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  March 29, 2005   |   Traveling Home FactID: 301
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New Delhi is the capital of India. New Delhi and Old Delhi are now called Delhi. It contains most of the administrative units of the Indian government including the parliament, and the president’s Mansion. Delhi along with neighboring suburbs occupies an area of about 600 square miles, and has a population between 14 and 15 million. Even though Hindi is the official language of India, Urdu and Punjabi are the common languages due to its background. It was the capital of Mughal dynasty including emperors like Akbar, Jehan-gir, Shah-Jahan, Aurangzeb etc. It is believed to be the location of Indraprastha, capital of Pandavas of Mahabharat.

Delhi is served by Indira Gandhi International Airport. It has a Metro system which started operating in 2002 and is proposed to be completed in 2022.

Major institutions are

  • All India Institute of Medical Sciences
  • Delhi University
  • Guru Gobind University (also known as IndraPrasth University)
  • Indian Institute of Technology
  • Indira Gandhi National Open University
  • Jamia Millia Islamia
  • Jawaharlal Nehru Universiy
  • Indian Institute of Planning and Management

Major attractions are:

  • Bahai Temple
  • Birla Temple
  • Connaught Place
  • Deer Park
  • Gurudwara Bangla Sahib
  • Humayun’s Tomb
  • India Gate
  • International Dolls Museum
  • Jama Masjid
  • Jantar Mantar
  • Lodhi Gardens
  • Mughal Gardens
  • National Museum
  • Nehru Planetarium
  • Old Fort or the Purana Qila
  • Qutab Minar
  • Rashtrapati Bhawan
  • Red fort or the Lal Qila
  • Raj Path
  • Safdarjung’s Tomb
  • Sansad Bhawan or the Parliament House
  • Tughlaqabad Fort
  • Chandni Chowk

Famous shopping areas are

  • Chandni Chowk
  • Chhawla
  • Connaught Place
  • JanPath
  • Karol Bagh
  • Kamla Nagar
  • Khan market
  • Lajpatnagar central market
  • Najafgarh
  • Palika Bazaar
  • South Extension
  • Vasant Vihar
  • Sarojini Nagar
  • Dwarka


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  March 28, 2005   |   Traveling Home FactID: 300
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India has a single time zone despite its size. It is five and a half hours ahead of London - GMT. It is ten and a halft hours ahead of New York and thirteen and a half hours ahead of San Francisco.

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  March 27, 2005   |   Tradition FactID: 299
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Religion is considered to be extremely important in India. Hinduism is the most popular religion in India. About 82 per cent of Indians follow Hindusim with its infinite sub sects and different flavors. The other major religions of India are: Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Zoroastrianism.

Inspite of huge following Hinduism has no unique philosophy. It is very diversified in theoretical foundation and practical expressions. There are a multitude of subsects following different practices and different philosophies. Hinduism cannot be traced to a specific founder unlike other religions. Majority of the scholars agree that the sacred texts of Hindu religion are: the four Vedas (Rig, Yajur, Atharva, and Sama Veda), Upanishads, Ramayan,, MahaBharat, and Bhagwad Gita.

In addition, different sub sects of the religion follow different sacred texts.

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  March 26, 2005   |   Traveling Home FactID: 298
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All citizens of USA are required to obtain a visa before traveling to India. Visas can be obtained by applying at the Indian embassy or consular office in your jurisdiction. Below are the different embassies and consular offices. There are two kinds of visas: Tourist Visa, and Business Visa. Usual processing time is around 7 days. You can download the application, and file it with the necessary documents and photos and the fees by mail or apply in person.

  • New york
    (Connecticut, Maine, Massachussetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virgin Islands)
  • Washington
    (Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Bahamas)
  • Houston, TX
    (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas)
  • San Francisco
    (California, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming)
  • Chicago
    (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, N.Dakota, S.Dakota, Wisconsin, Missouri)

For more details visit Indian Embassy
Visa Requirements
Instructions

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  March 25, 2005   |   India Today FactID: 297
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B in Bollywood stands for Bombay (now Mumbai) where most of movie studios are located. It is the name given to the indian film industry. Bollywood produces twice the number of movies produced in Hollywood worth approximately 1.5 Billion dollars. One fourth of the world's movies are produced in India. India has 13,000 movie theaters, visited by 15 million Indians every day. After India, British are the largest viewers of Bollywood films. Hollywood singing star Britney Spears used Indian Bhangra rhythms as inspiration for her album In The Zone.

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Permanent link to THIS factPermalink | Email fact to a friendEmail Fact | Send fact via AIMIM Fact | Source: TheNewsPaper.org

  March 24, 2005   |   People & Places FactID: 296
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Amitabh Bachchan was the first Bollywood actor whose wax stature was unveiled at Madame Tussaud's in London on december 20 2004. For the first time, Tussauds selected him by conducting an internet poll in which he competed against other famous Bollywood stars like Madhuri Dixit, Raj Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai. He polled about 1000 votes more than the nearest rival, Shah Rukh Khan. The museum has about 400 statues and adds about 15 every year.

Amitabh's movie career has spanned about thirty years and about 100 films. He also hosted the mega show Kaun Banega Crorepati an offshoot of Who wants to be millionnaire.

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Permanent link to THIS factPermalink | Email fact to a friendEmail Fact | Send fact via AIMIM Fact | Source: Times of India

  March 23, 2005   |   History FactID: 295
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Winning Nobel prize is considered a world recognition. Since its inception following indians have been awarded the nobel prize.

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Permanent link to THIS factPermalink | Email fact to a friendEmail Fact | Send fact via AIMIM Fact | Source: indiatimes.com

  March 22, 2005   |   History FactID: 294
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The 1913 Nobel prize in literature was awarded to indian poet-laureate Rabindranath Tagore(b-1861 d-1941) for a collection of poems called Gitanjali. He was born to well to do parents, and sent to England for studies.

He started an experimental school in Shantiniketan which was modeled after the upanishad way of teaching. He was a good friend of Mahatma Gandhi and was knighted by the queen of England in the year 1915. However, within a few years he resigned the post of knighthood to protest the British occupation of India. He was a prolific writer and authored several novels, plays, collection of poems, his autobiography and the indian national anthem.

In 2004, the nobel prize medal was stolen from the campus of Vishwa Bharati university in Shantiniketan. Eight months after it was stolen, Sweden presented replicas of the Nobel Prize medal to be placed in Vishwa Bharati, Shantiniketan on December 08, 2004. Two replicas of the stolen medal, one in gold and one in bronze, were presented by Swedish Secretary of State.

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Permanent link to THIS factPermalink | Email fact to a friendEmail Fact | Send fact via AIMIM Fact | Source: Britannica.com

  March 21, 2005   |   Tradition FactID: 289
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Karwa Chauth is a fast undertaken by married Hindu women who offer prayers seeking the prosperity, well-being, and longevity of their husbands. The term 'Chauth' means the 'fourth day' and 'Karwa' is an earthen pot with a spout - a symbol of peace and prosperity.

Traditionally women fast the whole day and pray and eat only after observing the moon directly or as a reflection in a platter of water.

This festival comes 9 days before Diwali, i.e., on the fourth day of the new moon immediately after Dusshera, in the month of 'Karthik' (October-November).

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Permanent link to THIS factPermalink | Email fact to a friendEmail Fact | Send fact via AIMIM Fact | Source: http://www.karwachauth.com

  March 20, 2005   |   Fashion FactID: 288
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The Nehru Suit is the fashion among young indians, modeled after jackets worn by Jawaharlal Nehru -- the first Prime Minister of India. It is distinguished by its long length and lack of lapels and collar.

It was the favorite apparel of famous stars like Johnny Carson, Joe Namath, the Beatles, Mike Love of the Beach Boys, and even Dr. Evil. Sammy Davis, Jr., claimed he had over 200 Nehru Jackets.

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  March 19, 2005   |   People & Places FactID: 287
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India occupies the entire Indian peninsula and portions of the asian mainland. The length of India from north to south is 3050 km(1900 mi) and from east to west is 2950 km (1830 mi).

India also has two island chains: the Andaman and Nicobar island chain lies east of the mainland between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Its southernmost island is only 200 km (120 mi) from the northern tip of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The Lakshadweep island group is located off India's southwest coast.

Total land boundaries: 14,103 km(8814 mi)
Border Countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma (now known as Mynamar), China, Nepal, and Pakistan.
Coastline: 7,000 km (4375 mi)
Lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m (0 ft)
Highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m (28373 ft)


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  March 16, 2005   |   India Today FactID: 283
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India will surpass China as the most populous nation by the year 2030, according to a United Nations report.

The world population is expected to reach 9.1 billion by the year 2050. India’s population, which is currently 1.103 billion, is expected to grow to 1.593 billion by 2030.

China which has currently a population of 1.316 billion is expected to grow to 1.392 billion during the same time largely to the family planning measures adopted.

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  March 15, 2005   |   India Today FactID: 286
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Hindi is the official language of India (with English as the link language). There are many other languages, but eighteen languages are officially recognized by the constitution.

All Indian paper currencies have their denominations printed in English, Hindi, and all 18 of the officially recognized languages.

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Permanent link to THIS factPermalink | Email fact to a friendEmail Fact | Send fact via AIMIM Fact | Source: Times of India

  March 14, 2005   |   India Today FactID: 285
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The song, Jana-gana-mana is the national anthem of India. It was adopted on Jan 24, 1950 and was composed by poet-laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

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  March 13, 2005   |   India Today FactID: 284
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India’s population accounts for 16% of the world’s population even though it is only 2.4% of the world area.

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