Indian Culture


The culture of India refers collectively to the thousands of distinct and unique cultures of all religions and communities present in India. India's languages, religions, dance, music, architecture, food, and customs differ from place to place within the country. The Indian culture often labeled as an amalgamation of several cultures, spans across the Indian subcontinent and has been influenced by a history that is several millennia old. Many elements of India's diverse cultures, such as Indian religions, Indian philosophy and Indian cuisine, have had a profound impact across the world.

    Indian Culture


Indian Culture will cover 4 - 6 marks in General Awareness Section in all Competitive Exams . Here we are providing the list of some Basic Information About India and Indian Culture which were asked frequently in the previous examinations. We hope it will be helpful for your upcoming Exams - IBPS, SSC, UPSC, State PSC Exams, Entrance Exams, Bank Exams, NEET Exam (National Eligibility and Entrance Test) and all Competitive Exams.

Some Basic Information About India and Indian Culture

  1. Indian civilization is ancient
  2. The Indus Valley Civilization was one of the first civilizations on earth
  3. The Vedic period was a time in Indian history when the Hindu religion and caste system began in India
  4. Mughal Empire was the last and the strongest Islamic empire in India


Here in India we see people in,

  1. People with different clothing
  2. People with different religions
  3. People with different foods
  4. People with different celebrations
  5. People living in different localities like Urban, Semi-urban, Rural


India is mainly classified into four major sections

1. North India : New Delhi

2. Eastern India : Kolkata

3. Western India : Mumbai

4. South India : Chennai

Religion in India is characterised by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices. The Indian subcontinent is the birthplace of four of the world’s major religions; namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. With this people in India also follows Christianity, Islam also.


Important Historical Monuments in India


India is home to many historical monuments such as

Taj Mahal, Brihadishwara Temple, Mysore Palace, Harmandir Sahib, Ajanta Ellora Caves, Mahabalipuram, Khajuraho and the list is a long one. We will see about this in a separate video.


Traditional Music of India


Hindustani and Carnatic are popularly known traditional music of India.

Hindustani means classical music of North India

Carnatic means classical music of South India

Melody, Drone, Thala are some of the traditional elements of Indian Music.

String, Wind, Percussion are some of the most commonly used Instruments in India.


Traditional Dances of India


Dance is an ancient and celebrated cultural tradition in India. Folk dances abound all across the country, and huge crowds of people can be found dancing at festivals and weddings. Dance and song features heavily in Indian cinema too. Indian dance draw its roots from six of the most important classical dance forms.

They are:  Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Kathak, Manipuri, Kuchipudi, Odissi.


Basic information About India


PointsInfo
Capital of India:New Delhi
Belongs in Continent:Asia
Location:28°36.8?N, 77°12.5?E
Other Names of India:Hindustan, Bharat,
Neighbor countries:China, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar
Population:1,210,193,422 (2nd )
Area:3,287,590 km2 (7th)
Total Coast Line of India:7,517 KM
Land Frontier:15,200 Km
Length from East to West:2933 KM
Length from North to South:3214 Km
Official Languages:Hindi, English
Currency:Indian Rupee
Important Rivers:Ganges, Brahmaputra, Indus, Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna, Kaveri, Luni, Narmada, Yamuna, Sutlej, Jhelum, Koshi, Gandaki
Important Mountains:Himalaya, Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats, Karakoram, Aravalli, Satpura,
Indian States:29
Union Territories:6+ 1 Capital Territory
Main Agricultural Products:Rice, Wheat, Sugar Cane, Cotton, Jute, Tea, Coffee, Spices,
Major Cities of India:Mumbai, Kolkata, New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Ahmadabad, Pune, Hyderabad, Surat, Indore, Jaipur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Vadodara, Kochi
Major Seas of India:Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean
Animals of India:Tiger, Elephant, Lion, Bear, Deer, Rhinoceros, Neelgai, Chinkara, Indian flying fox, Ass
Tourist Places:Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar, Hawa Mahal, Jama Masjid, Konark Sun Temple, Sundarbans, India Gate, City palace Jaipur, Akshardham, Golkonda
Festivals of India:Diwali, Holi, Rath Yatra, Kumbh Mela, Janmasthami, Muharram, Id-ul-Fitr, Good Friday, Christmas

National Things/Symbols of India


NationalSymbols
National EmblemLion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath
National Flag:Tricolor
National Anthem:"Jana Gana Mana"
National Song:“Vande Mataram”
National Animal:Tiger
National Flower:Lotus
National Fruit:Mango
National Bird:Peacock
Motto:"Satyameva Jayate"
National Tree of IndiaBanyan

National Days of India


DaysDate
Independence Day:15th August
Republic Day:26TH January
Teachers Day:5th September
Martyr’s Day:30th January, 23rd March
Children’s Day;14th November
Gandhi Jayanti:2nd October
National Education Day:11th November

Some Religions of India


ReligionPlace of WorshipReligious Books
HinduismTempleGita, Vedas
IslamMosqueQuran
ChristianityChurchBible
SikhismGurdwaraGuru Granth Sahib
BuddhismTemplesTripitaka
JainismTemplesKalpa Sutra, Agama, Tattvartha,

Some Largest things of India


LargestThings
Largest State (Population Wise):Uttar Pradesh
Largest State (Area Wise):Rajasthan
Largest District:Kutch
Largest City:Mumbai
Largest Dessert:Thar
Largest Delta:Sundarban’s Delta
Largest Lake:Wular lake
Largest Saline water Lake:Chilka
Largest Port:Mumbai
Largest Rail Station:Howrah

Some Highest Things of India


Highest of IndiaThings
Highest Mountain peakKanchenjunga
Highest DamTehri Dam
Highest WaterfallKunchikal falls
Highest Railway StationGhum railway station of the Darjeeling
Highest LakeDevtaal
Highest TowerQutub Minar of Delhi

Some Longest Things of India


LongestThings of India
Longest RiverGanges
Longest DamHirakud Dam (Odisha)
Longest National HighwayNH7 (or 44)
Longest Railway PlatformGorakhpur railway station
Longest TunnelJawahar tunnel (Jammu & Kashmir)

Some events that happened first time in India


First In IndiaYear
First postage stamps of India1852 at district of scinde (also known as scinde dawk)
First post office of IndiaBombay in 1764
First train ran in India16 April, 1853 between Mumbai and Thane
First Telephone service in India1882,in city kolkata,chennai & mumbai
First Cinema of IndiaSilent movie Raja Harishchandra (1913), by Dadasaheb Phalke,
First Census of India1872
First time television startedIn Delhi on 15 September 1959
India’s First SatelliteAryabhata, was launched by the Soviet Union on 19 April 1975

Some Indians who made it First Time


First InName
First president of IndiaDr. Rajendra Prasad
First prime minister of IndiaJawahar Lal Nehru
First Indian in SpaceRakesh Sharma
First Speaker of the Lok SabhaGanesh Vasudeva Mavalankar
First Indian to win Nobel PrizeRabindranath Tagore
First Muslim President of IndiaZakir Hussain
First Indian to receive Bharat Ratna awardRadhakrishnan
First Indian to cross English ChannelMihir Sen
First woman Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi
First lady to become Miss WorldRita Faria
First Mount Everest ClimberTenzing Norgay
First Indian who won OscarSatyajit Ray
First Indian CricketerKS Ranjitsinhji, who played for England. CK Nayudu is the first cricketer who played for India

Some Important dates of Indian History


YearEvent
5000 BCIndus Valley Civilization
2000 BCVedic Age
563 BCBirth of Gautama Buddha
327 BCAlexander’s Invasion
276 BCAsoka’s Reign Started
320 ADStarting of Gupta Era
405-411 ADChinese Traveler Fahien’s visit
1191 First battle of Tarain
1192Second Battle of Tarain
1221Changez Khan’s Invasion
1296Al-ud-din Khilji’s Accession
1325Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s Accession
1469Birth of Guru Nanak
1498Vasco de Gama’s discovery of India
1526First battle of Panipat; Foundation of Mughal Era
1556Second Battle of Panipat
1600East India Company established
1761Third Battle of Panipat
1764Battle of Buxar
1857Revolt of 1857
1869Birth of Mahatma Gandhi
1885Foundation of National Congress
1906Foundation of Muslim League
1919Jalianwala Bagh Massacre
1920Non co operation Movement launched
1930Civil Disobedience Movement Launched
1931Gandhi-Irwin Pact
1937Provincial Autonomy
1942Quit India Movement
1947Division of India, Independence of India

Some nick names of Indian Cities


Nick NameCity
Silicon Valley of IndiaBangalore
IT capital of IndiaBangalore
Manchester of IndiaAhmadabad
City of LakesBhopal
Temple city of IndiaBhubaneswar
Detroit of IndiaChennai
Auto hub of IndiaChennai
World capital of BiriyaniHyderabad
Pink cityJaipur
Golden city of IndiaJaisalmir
Steel city of IndiaJamshedpur
God’s Own CountryKochi
City of joyKolkata
City of PalacesKolkata
Cultural capital of IndiaKolkata
City of NawabsLucknow
Hollywood of IndiaMumbai
City of DreamsMumbai
Financial capital of IndiaMumbai
City of Seven islandsMumbai
City of RalliesNew Delhi
City of DiamondsSurat

Some Nick names of famous Indian personalities


Nick NamesPersons
Gurudev, Kabiguru, Rabindranath Tagore
Nightingale of IndiaSorojini Naidu
Father of Nation, BapuMahatma Gandhi
Iron Man of India, SarderVallavbhai Patel
Panditji/ ChachaJawaharlal Nehru
ChhatrapatiShivaji
Frontier Gandhi, Badshah KhanKhan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
LokmanyaBal Gangadhar Tilak
Desh RatnaDr. Rajendra Prasad
Lal, Bal, PalLala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal
Napoleon of IndiaSamudra Gupta
Tota-e-HindAmir Khushro

MIND IT !

Here are the most frequently asked Indian Culture questions in General knowledge section of exams. These questions will be useful for your practice for IBPS, SSC, UPSC exams, state PSC exams, entrance exams, bank exams, NEET exam (National Eligibility and Entrance Test) or any other competitive exams.

LearnFrenzy provides you lots of fully solved "Indian Culture" Questions and Answers with explanation.