India and her neighbors- Part 1

-By Sardul

Introduction

India, from the very beginning of human civilization, is one of the developed areas as evident from the Indus civilization in Mohenjado and Harappa civilization. It has been ruled by different rulers from both outside and inside including Greek (Alexander the great ), Mughal (derivation of Mongol ) and finally British through East India Company. It is home to the ancient thinkers, birthplace of Mahabir (proponent of Jain religion) and workplaces of  Buddha (born in Lumbini, Nepal) and  GuruNanak (born in current state of Pakistan).

Modern History

Fig 1 India and her neighbours

India gained its independence in 1947 from Britain and at that time there were 500 princely estates within India itself. Most of them were absorbed with India either through  force or agreement. At that time there were some European  colonies like Goa of Portugal, Srilanka of  Britian and Vietnam of France. Other  independent states on the were Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim.Tibet has been annexed by China in 1959 while Sikkim by India in 1975. 

Current Status

Currently India is the largest nation in South Asia and seventh (about 3.2 million square kilometer) in the world by area. It is the  second largest  country by population (more than 1.2 billion) in the World. For the time being it is considered the largest democracy in the world as China, with largest population, is one party communist system. With the downfall of USSR in 1990 and emergence of free market economy many new economic powers (like Brazil, China, Indonesia, India, South Africa) have emerged. With its growing economic status, big population size, cheap labor and  large pool of English speaking people India has become attractive investment destination. Currently it is the 11th largest economy by GDP count with 7% annual growth rate and expected to be 2nd in the coming decades.

Next blog will talk about the relation of modern India to her neighbors.