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Ganganagar
Table of Contents
Ganganagar
* Introduction
Fast Facts
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* Contributors
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Home Geography & Travel Cities & Towns Cities & Towns C-G
GANGANAGAR
India
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Alternate titles: Sri Ganganagar
By The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica • Edit History
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Table of Contents
Ganganagar, Rajasthan, India
Ganganagar, formerly Sri Ganganagar, city, extreme northern Rajasthan state,
northwestern India. It lies in a level plain of irrigated farmland about 12
miles (19 km) southeast of the Pakistan border.
During the 1970s Ganganagar grew rapidly as an agricultural distribution centre.
The city has textile, sugar, and rice mills. A meteorological station and
several colleges affiliated with the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur are
located there. Pop. (2001) 210,713; (2011) 224,532.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Kenneth Pletcher.
India
Table of Contents
India
* Introduction & Quick Facts
* Land
* Relief
* The Himalayas
* The Outer Himalayas (the Siwalik Range)
* The Lesser Himalayas
* The Great Himalayas
* Associated ranges and hills
* The Indo-Gangetic Plain
* The Deccan
* The Western Ghats
* The Eastern Ghats
* Inland regions
* Coastal areas
* Islands
* Drainage
* Drainage into the Bay of Bengal
* The Ganges-Brahmaputra river system
* Peninsular rivers
* Drainage into the Arabian Sea
* Lakes and inland drainage
* Soils
* In situ soils
* Red-to-yellow soils
* Black soils
* Alluvial soils
* Climate
* The monsoons
* The southwest monsoon
* Rainfall during the retreating monsoon
* Tropical cyclones
* Importance to agriculture
* Temperatures
* Plant and animal life
* Vegetation
* Animal life
* Mammals
* Birds
* Reptiles, fish, and insects
* Conservation
* People
* Ethnic groups
* Languages
* Indo-European languages
* Dravidian and other languages
* Lingua francas
* Minor languages and dialects
* Religions
* Caste
* Settlement patterns
* Population density
* Rural settlement
* Urban settlement
* Demographic trends
* Economy
* Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
* Agriculture
* Crops
* Livestock
* Forestry
* Fishing
* Resources and power
* Manufacturing
* Finance
* Trade
* Services
* Labour and taxation
* Transportation and telecommunications
* Railways and roads
* Water and air transport
* Telecommunications
* Government and society
* Constitutional framework
* Constitutional structure
* Union government
* Executive branch
* Legislative branch
* Bureaucracy
* Foreign policy
* State and local governments
* Justice
* Political process
* Security
* Health and welfare
* Housing
* Education
* Cultural life
* Cultural milieu
* Daily life and social customs
* Family and kinship
* Festivals and holidays
* Cuisine
* Clothing
* The arts
* Architecture
* Dance and music
* Theatre, film, and literature
* Cultural institutions
* Sports and recreation
* Media and publishing
* History
* India from the Paleolithic Period to the decline of the Indus civilization
* The early prehistoric period
* The Indian Paleolithic
* Mesolithic hunters
* The earliest agriculturalists and pastoralists
* Neolithic agriculture in the Indus valley and Baluchistan
* Developments in the Ganges basin
* Earliest settlements in peninsular India
* Earliest settlements in eastern India
* The rise of urbanism in the Indus valley
* Extent and chronology of Early Harappan culture
* Principal sites
* Subsistence and technology
* Culture and religion
* The Indus civilization
* Character and significance
* Chronology
* Extent
* Planning and architecture
* Important sites
* Mohenjo-daro
* Harappa
* Kalibangan
* Lothal
* Other important sites
* Population
* Agriculture and animal husbandry
* Communications
* Craft and technology
* Trade and external contacts
* Language and scripts, weights and measures
* Social and political system
* Art
* Religion and burial customs
* The end of the Indus civilization
* Post-Harappan developments
* The Post-Urban Period in northwestern India
* The appearance of Indo-Aryan speakers
* The late 2nd millennium and the reemergence of urbanism
* Peninsular India in the aftermath of the Indus civilization (c.
2000–1000 bce)
* The development of Indian civilization from c. 1500 bce to c. 1200 ce
* Traditional approaches to Indian historiography
* Trends in early Indian society
* From c. 1500 to c. 500 bce
* Early Vedic period
* Later Vedic period (c. 800–c. 500 bce)
* The beginning of the historical period, c. 500–150 bce
* Pre-Mauryan states
* Location
* Political systems
* Economy
* Religion
* Magadhan ascendancy
* Campaigns of Alexander the Great
* The Mauryan empire
* Chandragupta Maurya
* Bindusara
* Ashoka and his successors
* Financial base for the empire
* Mauryan society
* Mauryan government
* Ashoka’s edicts
* Mauryan decline
* The concept of the state
* From 150 bce to 300 ce
* Rise of small kingdoms in the north
* Indo-Greek rulers
* Central Asian rulers
* Oligarchies and kingdoms
* The Shunga kingdom
* Kalinga
* The Andhras and their successors
* Southern Indian kingdoms
* Contacts with the West
* Society and culture
* Guilds
* Finance
* Impact of trade
* Religious patronage
* Literature
* Assimilation of foreigners
* From 300 to 750 ce
* Northern India
* The Guptas
* Successor states
* The Deccan
* Southern India
* Society and culture
* From 750 to c. 1200
* Northern India
* The tripartite struggle
* The Rajputs
* The coming of the Turks
* The Deccan and the south
* The Colas
* The Hoysalas and Pandyas
* Society and culture
* The economy
* Social mobility
* Religion
* Literature and the arts
* The early Muslim period
* North India under Muslim hegemony, c. 1200–1526
* The Delhi sultanate
* The Turkish conquest
* The early Turkish sultans
* Consolidation of the sultanate
* The Khaljīs
* Centralization and expansion
* Taxation and distribution of revenue resources
* Expansion and conquests
* The urban economy
* The Tughluqs
* Reversal and rebellion
* Society and the state under the Tughluqs
* Decline of the sultanate
* The rise of regional states
* Struggle for supremacy in northern India
* The Muslim states of southern India, c. 1350–1680
* The Bahmani sultanate
* Bahmanī consolidation of the Deccan
* External and internal rivalries
* Vizierate of Maḥmūd Gāwān
* Bahmanī decline
* Successors to the Bahmanī
* The Vijayanagar empire, 1336–1646
* Development of the state
* Conquests
* Consolidation
* Wars and rivalries
* Decentralization and loss of territory
* Later dynasties
* Reconsolidation
* Growth of power
* Renewed decentralization
* Relations with the Muslim states
* Decline of Vijayanagar
* Military policies
* Loss of central control
* Breakup of the empire
* Administration of the empire
* The Mughal Empire, 1526–1761
* The significance of Mughal rule
* The establishment of the Mughal Empire
* Bābur
* Conquest of Hindustan
* Bābur’s achievements
* Humāyūn
* Sher Shah and his successors
* Restoration of Humāyūn
* The reign of Akbar the Great
* Extension and consolidation of the empire
* The early years
* Struggle for firm personal control
* Subjugation of Rajasthan
* Conquest of Gujarat and Bengal
* The frontiers
* The state and society under Akbar
* Central, provincial, and local government
* The composition of the Mughal nobility
* Organization of the nobility and the army
* Revenue system
* Fiscal administration
* Coinage
* Evolution of a nonsectarian state
* Akbar in historical perspective
* The empire in the 17th century
* Jahāngīr
* Loss of Kandahār
* Submission of Mewar
* Developments in the Deccan
* Rebellion of Khurram (Shah Jahān)
* Mahābat Khan’s coup
* Shah Jahān
* The Deccan problem
* Central Asian policy
* War of succession
* Aurangzeb
* Local and peasant uprisings
* Assessment of Aurangzeb
* Mughal decline in the 18th century
* The Sikh uprisings
* Cracks in the core
* Struggle for a new power centre
* The emperor, the nobility, and the provinces
* Nādir Shah’s invasion
* The Afghan-Maratha struggle for northern India
* Political and economic decentralization during the Mughal decline
* Regional states, c. 1700–1850
* The Marathas
* Early history
* Rise of the peshwas
* Subordinate Maratha rulers
* Mughal mystique in the 18th century
* The case of Mysore
* Challenge from the northwest
* The Afghan factor in northern India, 1747–72
* The Sikhs in the Punjab
* Early history
* From Banda Singh Bahadur to Ranjit Singh
* Rajasthan in the 18th century
* The south: Travancore and Mysore
* Politics and the economy
* Cultural aspects of the late precolonial order
* India and European expansion, c. 1500–1858
* European activity in India, 1498–c. 1760
* The Portuguese
* The Dutch
* The British, 1600–1740
* The French
* The Anglo-French struggle, 1740–63
* European military superiority
* Revolution in Bengal
* The extension of British power, 1760–1856
* The period of disorder, 1760–72
* The Company Bahadur
* The company and the state
* Relations with the Marathas and Mysore
* The ascent to paramountcy
* The government of Lord Wellesley
* The government of Lord Minto
* The government of Lord Hastings
* The settlement of 1818
* Organization and policy in British India
* Organization
* The determination of policy
* The completion of dominion and expansion
* The first century of British influence
* Political effects
* Economic effects
* Social effects
* Cultural effects
* The mutiny and great revolt of 1857–59
* Nature and causes of the rebellion
* The revolt and its aftermath
* British imperial power, 1858–1947
* Climax of the raj, 1858–85
* Government of India Act of 1858
* Social policy
* Government organization
* Economic policy and development
* Foreign policy
* The northwest frontier
* The Second Anglo-Afghan War
* The incorporation of Burma
* Indian nationalism and the British response, 1885–1920
* Origins of the nationalist movement
* The early Congress movement
* The first partition of Bengal
* Nationalism in the Muslim community
* Reforms of the British Liberals
* Moderate and militant nationalism
* World War I and its aftermath
* India’s contributions to the war effort
* Anti-British activity
* The postwar years
* Jallianwala Bagh massacre
* Gandhi’s strategy
* Prelude to independence, 1920–47
* Constitutional reforms
* The Congress’s ambivalent strategy
* Muslim separatism
* The impact of World War II
* British wartime strategy
* The transfer of power and the birth of two countries
* The Republic of India
* The Nehru era, 1947–64
* Government and politics
* Foreign policy
* Economic planning and development
* Post-Nehru politics and foreign policy
* The 1965 war with Pakistan
* Indira Gandhi’s impact
* The Bangladesh war
* Emergency rule
* The Janata interlude and the return of Indira Gandhi
* Sikh separatism
* From Rajiv to Rao: India from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s
* The premiership of Rajiv Gandhi
* Foreign policy
* V.P. Singh’s coalition—its brief rise and fall
* Congress government of P.V. Narasimha Rao
* India since the mid-1990s
* The first and second BJP governments
* The BJP becomes the largest party in the Lok Sabha
* BJP gains in elections
* Divisiveness of BJP government
* Congress Party rule under Manmohan Singh
* Domestic policy
* Foreign policy
* Return of the BJP under Narendra Modi
* Monetary and tax reforms
* BJP reelection bids and tensions in Kashmir
* Addressing COVID-19 and its economic impact
*
Pre-Mughal Indian dynasties
*
Prime ministers of India
Fast Facts
* 2-Min Summary
* Top Questions
* What are the major holidays and festivals of India?
* Facts & Stats
* Quizzes
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* Videos
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* Audio
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* More Articles On This Topic
* Additional Reading
* Researcher's Note
* Contributors
* Article History
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INDIA
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* India - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
Alternate titles: Bhārat, Bhāratavarsha, Republic of India
By A.L. Srivastava See All • Last Updated: Oct 12, 2022 • Edit History
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents
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Head Of Government: Prime Minister: Narendra Modi ...(Show more) Capital: New
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Top Questions
WHAT COUNTRIES BORDER INDIA?
India shares borders with Pakistan to the northwest; with Nepal, China, and
Bhutan to the north; and with Myanmar and Bangladesh to the east. The island
country of Sri Lanka is situated some 40 miles (65 kilometres) off the southeast
coast of India.
WHAT ARE THE OLDEST KNOWN CIVILIZATIONS OF INDIA?
The expansive alluvial plains of the Indus and Ganges (Ganga) river basins in
India provided the environment and focus for the rise of two great phases of
city life: the civilization of the Indus valley, known as the Indus
civilization, during the 3rd millennium BCE; and, during the 1st millennium BCE,
that of the Ganges.
WHAT ARE THE MAJOR HOLIDAYS AND FESTIVALS OF INDIA?
The major secular holidays are Independence Day (August 15) and Republic Day
(January 26). The most popular religious festivals celebrated over the greater
part of India are Vasantpanchami, in honour of Sarasvati, the goddess of
learning; Holi, a time when traditional hierarchical relationships are forgotten
and celebrants throw coloured water and powder at one another; Dussehra, when
the story of the Ramayana is reenacted, and Diwali (Divali), a time for lighting
lamps and exchanging gifts.
Summary
READ A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THIS TOPIC
India, country that occupies the greater part of South Asia. Its capital is New
Delhi, built in the 20th century just south of the historic hub of Old Delhi to
serve as India’s administrative centre. Its government is a constitutional
republic that represents a highly diverse population consisting of thousands of
ethnic groups and likely hundreds of languages. With roughly one-sixth of the
world’s total population, India is the second most populous country, after
China.
India
It is known from archaeological evidence that a highly sophisticated urbanized
culture—the Indus civilization—dominated the northwestern part of the
subcontinent from about 2600 to 2000 bce. From that period on, India functioned
as a virtually self-contained political and cultural arena, which gave rise to a
distinctive tradition that was associated primarily with Hinduism, the roots of
which can largely be traced to the Indus civilization. Other religions, notably
Buddhism and Jainism, originated in India—though their presence there is now
quite small—and throughout the centuries residents of the subcontinent developed
a rich intellectual life in such fields as mathematics, astronomy, architecture,
literature, music, and the fine arts.
Taj Mahal
Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India: fort
Throughout its history, India was intermittently disturbed by incursions from
beyond its northern mountain wall. Especially important was the coming of Islam,
brought from the northwest by Arab, Turkish, Persian, and other raiders
beginning early in the 8th century ce. Eventually, some of those raiders stayed;
by the 13th century much of the subcontinent was under Muslim rule, and the
number of Muslims steadily increased. Only after the arrival of the Portuguese
navigator Vasco da Gama in 1498 and the subsequent establishment of European
maritime supremacy in the region did India become exposed to major external
influences arriving by sea, a process that culminated in the decline of the
ruling Muslim elite and absorption of the subcontinent within the British
Empire.
Direct administration by the British, which began in 1858, effected a political
and economic unification of the subcontinent. When British rule came to an end
in 1947, the subcontinent was partitioned along religious lines into two
separate countries—India, with a majority of Hindus, and Pakistan, with a
majority of Muslims; the eastern portion of Pakistan later split off to form
Bangladesh. Many British institutions stayed in place (such as the parliamentary
system of government); English continued to be a widely used lingua franca; and
India remained within the Commonwealth. Hindi became the official language (and
a number of other local languages achieved official status), while a vibrant
English-language intelligentsia thrived.
Britannica Quiz
Countries & Their Features
Where is the Great Fence? What is Rhodesia now called? And which country’s name
means "silvery"? It’s a country challenge--are you up for it?
India remains one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world. Apart
from its many religions and sects, India is home to innumerable castes and
tribes, as well as to more than a dozen major and hundreds of minor linguistic
groups from several language families unrelated to one another. Religious
minorities, including Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains, still
account for a significant proportion of the population; collectively, their
numbers exceed the populations of all countries except China. Earnest attempts
have been made to instill a spirit of nationhood in so varied a population, but
tensions between neighbouring groups have remained and at times have resulted in
outbreaks of violence. Yet social legislation has done much to alleviate the
disabilities previously suffered by formerly “untouchable” castes, tribal
populations, women, and other traditionally disadvantaged segments of society.
At independence, India was blessed with several leaders of world stature, most
notably Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, who were able to
galvanize the masses at home and bring prestige to India abroad. The country has
played an increasing role in global affairs.
Mumbai, India: Gateway to India monument
Contemporary India’s increasing physical prosperity and cultural
dynamism—despite continued domestic challenges and economic inequality—are seen
in its well-developed infrastructure and a highly diversified industrial base,
in its pool of scientific and engineering personnel (one of the largest in the
world), in the pace of its agricultural expansion, and in its rich and vibrant
cultural exports of music, literature, and cinema. Though the country’s
population remains largely rural, India has three of the most populous and
cosmopolitan cities in the world—Mumbai (Bombay), Kolkata (Calcutta), and Delhi.
Three other Indian cities—Bengaluru (Bangalore), Chennai (Madras), and
Hyderabad—are among the world’s fastest-growing high-technology centres, and
most of the world’s major information technology and software companies now have
offices in India.
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The history section of the articles Pakistan and Bangladesh discuss those
countries since their creation.
Joseph E. Schwartzberg The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
LAND
Himachal Pradesh, India: Kullu Valley
India’s frontier, which is roughly one-third coastline, abuts six countries. It
is bounded to the northwest by Pakistan, to the north by Nepal, China, and
Bhutan; and to the east by Myanmar (Burma). Bangladesh to the east is surrounded
by India to the north, east, and west. The island country of Sri Lanka is
situated some 40 miles (65 km) off the southeast coast of India across the Palk
Strait and Gulf of Mannar.
Himalayas
The land of India—together with Bangladesh and most of Pakistan—forms a
well-defined subcontinent, set off from the rest of Asia by the imposing
northern mountain rampart of the Himalayas and by adjoining mountain ranges to
the west and east. In area, India ranks as the seventh largest country in the
world.
Much of India’s territory lies within a large peninsula, surrounded by the
Arabian Sea to the west and the Bay of Bengal to the east; Cape Comorin, the
southernmost point of the Indian mainland, marks the dividing line between those
two bodies of water. India has two union territories composed entirely of
islands: Lakshadweep, in the Arabian Sea, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands,
which lie between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea.
RELIEF
Physical features of India
It is now generally accepted that India’s geographic position, continental
outline, and basic geologic structure resulted from a process of plate
tectonics—the shifting of enormous, rigid crustal plates over the Earth’s
underlying layer of molten material. India’s landmass, which forms the
northwestern portion of the Indian-Australian Plate, began to drift slowly
northward toward the much larger Eurasian Plate several hundred million years
ago (after the former broke away from the ancient southern-hemispheric
supercontinent known as Gondwana, or Gondwanaland). When the two finally
collided (approximately 50 million years ago), the northern edge of the
Indian-Australian Plate was thrust under the Eurasian Plate at a low angle. The
collision reduced the speed of the oncoming plate, but the underthrusting, or
subduction, of the plate has continued into contemporary times.
The effects of the collision and continued subduction are numerous and extremely
complicated. An important consequence, however, was the slicing off of crustal
rock from the top of the underthrusting plate. Those slices were thrown back
onto the northern edge of the Indian landmass and came to form much of the
Himalayan mountain system. The new mountains—together with vast amounts of
sediment eroded from them—were so heavy that the Indian-Australian Plate just
south of the range was forced downward, creating a zone of crustal subsidence.
Continued rapid erosion of the Himalayas added to the sediment accumulation,
which was subsequently carried by mountain streams to fill the subsidence zone
and cause it to sink more.
India’s present-day relief features have been superimposed on three basic
structural units: the Himalayas in the north, the Deccan (peninsular plateau
region) in the south, and the Indo-Gangetic Plain (lying over the subsidence
zone) between the two. Further information on the geology of India is found in
the article Asia.
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Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Ganganagar". Encyclopedia Britannica,
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2022.
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