India in World | Information about India | Facts about India

The Indian social system has evolved since time immemorial. Analysing Indian culture requires a substantial amount of knowledge – the system is rather complex. Moreover, it seems that the foreigners have a deep curiosity about the position of India in world. In fact, I love socializing with new people and do attend a variety of events. This consistently brings interactions with a new stream of people from various walks of life- including those when I am travelling. I face lots of questions about India, and also about me. These questions are sometime out curiosity, sometimes out of concern. So let’s dig certain facts about India. I sincerely hope that you will find the presented information about India useful.

Of course, these are my personal opinion – and you can agree or disagree with the answers (questions are not mine). Surprisingly, the most frequently asked questions about India are not what you might generally think.

How many times an Indian man can marry?

This is a question that I most frequently encounter from the locals when I am travelling. I usually give them a quick answer to this question – “I can’t handle even one”. And then we all laugh together. 🙂

Frankly speaking, the places where I grew up in India, no one officially had more than one wife.  As such, I never thought of having more than one wife.

So, initially I used to have no clue why I was asked this weird question. Then I started raising a reverse question – hey, what makes you ask me this question?

Gradually I realised that in the school text books they have read about the kingdoms in the ancient and medieval India when it was common for the kings to have more than one wife simultaneously. Well, these facts about India reflect the old Indian system,

Gone are the days!

There are no more kings in India (apart from the ceremonial and titular kings). In reality, Hindus in India (who constitute nearly 80.5% of the Indian population) can have only one spouse at a given time. The marriages among Hindus are regulated by the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. As per the law, if Hindu men/women marry 2^nd time without abolishing the previous marriage, the second marriage is deemed to be null and void. As such, it’s officially illegal for a Hindu to have two spouses simultaneously, and such men/women can be prosecuted in the court of law.

How many times an Indian Muslim man can marry?

Indian Muslims (13.4 % of the Indian population) men are legally allowed to have more than one wife at a time as their marriages are governed by a different law – Application of Shariat Act, 1937.

Here are some relevant posts:

• How many can I marry according to Indian law? Is there any limit?
• I’m a Hindu. According to Indian laws, can I marry more than one woman?
• Is it legal for Indian Muslims to have more than one wife?

The 2^nd most frequently asked question is about the safety issues in India –

• Is it safe to go India?

I think it’s pretty much safer to be in India. Somehow the media mostly tell you more about issues related to the crimes.

These crimes are everywhere, not just in India (and I do condemn any type of violation of the law). However, since in India the electronic and media are more free than in many other countries, you get you know more of such news. Let me point you to the following articles, and a quick read would let you realise that India is not the most dangerous country-

• Rape in India – the page quotes “India has been characterised as one of the “countries with the lowest per capita rates of rape”.
• Top 10 Countries With Highest Rape Crime
• The 10 Most Dangerous Places in the World
• Rape in China
• Rape in the United States

Let me tell you another aspect– India has a very comprehensive space program. We have launched satellites every now and then. For example, India launched Chandrayaan-1 in 2008. Recently, in Feb 2017, India launched 104 satellites in one go! However, such good news is often forgotten beyond a few days. We don’t necessarily celebrate anniversaries of a satellite launch. But the media keeps repeating sex related news, and often reminding you on anniversaries. Moreover, I think the safety issues in India might be a bit better than in the American countries (generally Indian civilians can’t/don’t have guns – India already had some of the world’s strictest gun laws. Now it’s tightened them). Nevertheless, I strongly condemn any type of crime or a human rights violation. And I advise you do look for the legal assistance if you face any kind of problem.

• Can a girl travel solo in India?

You can, but if you are too much worried about travelling in India, you can take certain precautions – such as travel with your family/friends, maybe avoid going out in late night, etc. After all, precaution is better than the cure.

Why the Indians don’t eat beef/pork?

Philosophy of non-violence

India is the home of several religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. There were several religious leaders (and gods) teaching us the principles of non-violence. We had several world leaders (such as Mahatma Gandhi) –teaching us non-violence. As such, killing a life is not part of traditional Indian culture, and generally Indians are vegetarians. You can find lots of Indian (especially Hindus), who don’t even eat chicken or fish. Moreover, if you go to countryside in India, even chicken eggs are considered to be part of a non-vegetarian diet. So if an Indian is a vegetarian, chances are high that he/she doesn’t even eat eggs.

Religion is important

Then there are religious reasons as well. For example, the Indian Jains are strictly vegetarian. Moreover, as per the ancient Hindu literatures, the cow has traditionally been a sacred and divine animal. There are festivals when a cow is worshipped (the holy cow). There are Indian gods who have been depicted to bestow supernatural powers in the cows. The cow is often referred as a mother. I do agree that there may be certain sections of Hindus who don’t worship the cows; however, considering the long held traditions in India, they definitely don’t want to eat one. Killing a cow would be simply unimaginable (at least among the Hindus).

Coming to the pork- well, the pigs in India really look dirty. You will find them often lost in the mud. The pigs just love to play with the dirt. 🙂 Even after we come out of India, we can’t forget those images of pigs cooling down their bodies in the mud. In India, you can still find people (such as Muslims) who do eat beef. But due to religious reasons, Muslims don’t eat pork. So I feel that pork would be more uncommon in the Indian diet (than beef).

Difficult to generalise

Some Indians consider Tuesday as a sacred day, and may not prefer to eat non-vegetarian food on Tuesdays. Some even observe a fast on Tuesdays – not at all eating in the daytime (some people may eat fruits).

As you can see, it’s really difficult to generalise.

Changing trend

However, the trend is changing. And now you can find more Indians consuming non-vegetarian food (Vegetarian India A Myth? Survey Shows Over 70% Indians Eat Non-Veg, Telangana Tops List). I will link a few more relevant articles-

• Why do Indians generally not eat pork?
• Religious restrictions on the consumption of pork
• Why don’t Hindus eat beef?

  

Why you don’t drink alcohol, why don’t you smoke?

In India alcohol has been creating lots of social problems. For example, there are many cases where a guy has been reported to consume an alcoholic drink, then goes home and beats his wife, kids (domestic violence in India).

Sometime a guy might be spending a substantial portion of his income on alcoholic beverage. Given the fact that even today, many Indian families (especially those in the countryside) have just one breadwinner (who is usually a male); it would be troublesome if he spends all his wages on alcoholic beverages, without taking care of his family. All these have led to many social movements in India to encourage people to not drink alcohol. Check this out- why Tamil Nadu’s women want alcohol banned, and also the Indian Supreme Court upholds alcohol ban in Kerala.

Again, in my family no one ever consumed alcoholic beverages, no one ever smoked. So I was not exposed to the alcoholic drinking/smoking directly. Moreover, I also realised that consumption of alcohol (or smoking) adversely affect our health, so I assure you that I am not going to get into alcohol/smoking. I will rather invest more money in travelling.

Which places (where) to visit in India?

5. It depends on your personal preferences, and what you’d like to do during your travel. My personal recommendation would be-
   • Goa – for the beach lovers.
   • Taj Mahal – if you happen to be in northern India (just 200km south of New Delhi).
   • Kochi – if you are considering south India.
   • Western Rajasthan – if you want to check out the Great Indian Desert.
   • Khajuraho – there are ancient temples depicting various love making positions. 🙂
   • Trekking in the Himalaya – spend a couple of days in the Himalayan valleys. You will forget all mountains that you have seen so far.
   • History lovers – If you are a history lover, go anywhere in India- there are lots of monuments, historical building, and museums.
   • Food –Indian has lots of variety of food-and every Indian city has its own taste. I have not seen such cheap and quality food anywhere.

How many languages are there in India?

This is interesting information about India. There are 22 official languages in India. And it’s quite common in India for a person to speak/interpret more than one language. Moreover, South Indian languages are very different from the North Indian languages (including the scripture). So when a North Indian talks to a South Indian, they usually converse in English. Moreover, each of the languages has its own cultural significance.

How many languages you can speak?

My common response is – can I include the computer languages? 🙂 Well, I am a native speaker of two Indian languages – Hindi, and Maithili. I can speak/interpret/read many other languages including – English, Korean, Nepali, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Marathi, Urdu, Bengali, etc. My hometown is a border town with Nepal. So in my hometown, listening to the Radio Nepal, and watching Nepali movies are also very popular. I can also sing a few Nepalese songs. 🙂 But I have no clue about the south Indian languages.

Can every Indian speak English?

No. Speaking English is still considered to be a prestigious issue in India. Mostly, educated Indians have a good grasp of English. Usually Engineering/Medical/Management courses in India use English as the medium, so students from these disciplines would mostly be able to communicate in English.

How popular is computer in India?

Very popular. There are lots of institutes (including Engineering colleges) providing computer education in India.

What is your religion?

I was born in a Hindu family, so officially I am a Hindu.  But for all practical purposes, I am a free thinker. I do visit religious places – but not to meeting the god. I rather visit them to appreciate the aesthetic values, history, culture, etc.

Tips and Information about India travel?

Go with the zero expectations, and everything would be awesome. Moreover, don’t teach people rationality, although you can definitely be rational. This is not just about India, but about anywhere. You may also refer to – Travel the Globe – Tips on Traveling.

Facts about India – snowfall?

Yes, we do have snowfall in India. If you go to the extreme north in India during the winter season, you can witness the snowfall.

Alright, its 2300 words now- and I’ll stop here. If you have any query about the presented facts about India, do let me know I will be glad to share more Information about India (if I happen to know). Hopefully, now you have a better idea about the position of India in world.

You can also find my other articles related India in World, or the complete navigation list. You can also find more about me.

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Comments and suggestions are always welcome!

With love. 🙂

 Last updated: Wednesday, September 6, 2017