1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
3.
States and union territories of India
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India is a federal union comprising twenty-nine states and seven union territories. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and further into smaller administrative divisions, the Constitution of India distributes the sovereign executive and legislative powers exercisable with respect to the territory of any State between the Union and that State. The Indian subcontinent has been ruled by different ethnic groups throughout its history. Between 1947 and 1950, the territories of the states were politically integrated into the Indian Union. The new Constitution of India, which came into force on 26 January 1950, the new republic was also declared to be a Union of States. The nine Part A states were Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Orissa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The eight Part B states were former princely states or groups of states, governed by a rajpramukh, who was usually the ruler of a constituent state. The rajpramukh was appointed by the President of India, the Part B states were Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Bharat, Mysore, Patiala and East Punjab States Union, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, and Travancore-Cochin. The ten Part C states included both the former chief commissioners provinces and some states, and each was governed by a chief commissioner appointed by the President of India. The Part C states were Ajmer, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Coorg, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Cutch, Manipur, Tripura, the only Part D state was the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which were administered by a lieutenant governor appointed by the central government. The Union Territory of Puducherry was created in 1954 comprising the previous French enclaves of Pondichéry, Karaikal, Yanam, Andhra State was created on 1 October 1953 from the Telugu-speaking northern districts of Madras State. The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 reorganised the states based on linguistic lines resulting in the creation of the new states, as a result of this act, Madras State retained its name with Kanyakumari district added to from Travancore-Cochin. Andhra Pradesh was created with the merger of Andhra State with the Telugu-speaking districts of Hyderabad State in 1956, kerala was created with the merger of Malabar district and the Kasaragod taluk of South Canara districts of Madras State with Travancore-Cochin. The Laccadive Islands which were divided between South Canara and Malabar districts of Madras State were united and organised into the territory of Lakshadweep. Bombay State was enlarged by the addition of Saurashtra State and Kutch State, Rajasthan and Punjab gained territories from Ajmer and Patiala and East Punjab States Union respectively and certain territories of Bihar was transferred to West Bengal. Bombay State was split into the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra on 1 May 1960 by the Bombay Reorganisation Act. Nagaland was formed on 1 December 1963, the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966 resulted in the creation of Haryana on 1 November and the transfer of the northern districts of Punjab to Himachal Pradesh. The act also designated Chandigarh as a territory and the shared capital of Punjab
4.
Bihar
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Bihar is a state in the eastern part of India. It is the 13th-largest state of India, with an area of 94,163 km2. The third-largest state of India by population, it is contiguous with Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the Bihar plain is split by the river Ganges which flows from west to east. On November 15,2000, southern Bihar was ceded to form the new state of Jharkhand, only 11. 3% of the population of Bihar lives in urban areas, which is lowest in India after Himachal Pradesh. Additionally, almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, the official languages of the state are Hindi and Urdu. Other languages commonly used within the state include Bhojpuri, Maithili, Magahi, Bajjika, in ancient and classical India, Bihar was considered a centre of power, learning, and culture. From Magadha arose Indias first empire, the Maurya empire, as well as one of the worlds most widely adhered-to religions, Magadha empires, notably under the Maurya and Gupta dynasties, unified large parts of South Asia under a central rule. Another region of Bihar is Mithila which was a centre of Brahmanical learning. Since the late 1970s, Bihar has lagged far behind other Indian states in terms of social, the state government has, however, made significant strides in developing the state. The name Bihar is derived from the Sanskrit and Pali word, Vihara, the region roughly encompassing the present state was dotted with Buddhist vihara, the abodes of Buddhist monks in the ancient and medieval periods. Medieval writer Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani records in the Tabakat-i-Nasiri that in 1198, Bakhtiyar Khalji committed a massacre in a town now known as Bihar Sharif, chirand, on the northern bank of the Ganga River, in Saran district, has an archaeological record from the Neolithic age. Regions of Bihar—such as Magadha, Mithila and Anga—are mentioned in religious texts, the power centre of ancient Bihar was in the region of modern-day southwestern Bihar called Magadha, which remained the centre of power, learning, and culture in India for 1000 years. The Haryanka dynasty, founded in 684 BC, ruled Magadha from the city of Rajgriha, the two well-known kings from this dynasty were Bimbisara and his son Ajatashatru, who imprisoned his father to ascend the throne. Ajatashatru founded the city of Pataliputra which later became the capital of Magadha and he declared war and conquered the Vajji of north Bihar, another powerful Mahajanapada north of Ganges with its capital at Vaishali. Vaishali was ruled by the Licchavi clan, who had a form of government where the king was elected from the number of rajas. The Haryanka dynasty was followed by the Shishunaga dynasty, later the Nanda Dynasty ruled a vast tract stretching from Bengal to Punjab. The Nanda dynasty was replaced by the Maurya Empire, Indias first empire, the Maurya Empire and the religion of Buddhism arose in the region that now makes up modern Bihar. The Mauryan Empire, which originated from Magadha in 325 BC, was founded by Chandragupta Maurya and it had its capital at Pataliputra
5.
Mithila (region)
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Mithila is a geographical and cultural region located in the northern part of South Asia. The native language is known as Maithili and its speakers are referred to as Maithils, Mithila is bounded on the north by the Himalayas and on the south, west and east by the Ganges, Kaushiki and Gandaki respectively. The majority of the Mithila region falls within modern day India more specifically the state of Bihar, Mithila was also the ancient name of the city of Janakpur. The name is used to refer to the Videha Kingdom itself. The Mithila kingdom existed on the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain, an area today is spread over more than half of Indias Bihar state. Although Janakpur was the capital of Mithila during the ancient period, the name Mithila is derived after mythical King Miti which in Dhatki language means Soil. He was supposed to have created from the body of his father King Nimi. He established the capital of his kingdom at Mithilapuri and hence the region came to be called Mithila, since he was born out of body of his father, he took the title Janaka. After this, the Kings of Mithila were called Janaka, another name of the region was Tirabhukti meaning bound by rivers. This was later corrupted into Tirhut, Mithila first gained prominence after being settled by Indo-Aryan peoples who established the Videha kingdom. During the late Vedic period, Videha became one of the political and cultural centers of South Asia, along with Kuru. The Kings of the Videha Kingdom where called Janakas, the Videha Kingdom later became incorporated into the Vajji confederacy which was based in the city of Vaishali which is also in Mithila. From the 11th century to the 20th century, Mithila was ruled by various indigenous dynasties, the first of these where the Karnatas who where of Parmar Rajput origin, the Oinwar dynasty who where Maithil Brahmins and the Khandavalas of Raj Darbhanga who where also Maithil Brahmins. It was during this period that the capital of Mithila was shifted to Darbhanga, Mithila is distinct geographical region with natural boundaries like rivers and hills. It is largely a flat and fertile alluvial plain criss-crossed by numerous river which originate from the Himalayas, the flat plains and fertile sources have meant that Mithila has a rich variety of biotic resources however frequent flood have restricted the people from taking advantage of these. Mithila has seven major rivers, Mahananda, Gandak, Kosi, Bagmati, Kamala, Balan, and they flow from the Himalaya mountains in the north to the Ganges river in the south. These rivers regularly flood, depositing silt onto the farmlands and sometimes causing death or hardship, Maithili language speakers are referred to as Maithils and they are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group. There are an estimated 35 million Maithils in India alone, the vast majority of them are Hindu but there is a small Muslim minority
6.
Postal Index Number
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A Postal Index Number or PIN or Pincode is a code in the post office numbering or post code system used by India Post, the Indian postal administration. The code is six digits long, the PIN Code system was introduced on 15 August 1972 by Shriram Bhikaji Velankar, an additional secretary in the Union Ministry of Communications. The system was introduced to simplify the manual sorting and delivery of mail by eliminating confusion over incorrect addresses, similar place names, there are nine PIN zones in India, including eight regional zones and one functional zone. The first digit of the PIN code indicates the region, the second digit indicates the sub-region, and the third digit indicates the sorting district within the region. The final three digits are assigned to individual post offices, a state may have one or more sorting districts depending on the volumes of mail handled. The fourth digit represents the route on which a Delivery office is located in the sorting district and this is 0 for offices in the core area of the sorting district. The last two represent the delivery office within the sorting district starting from 01 which would be the GPO or HO. The numbering of the office is done chronologically with higher numbers assigned to newer delivery offices. If the volume of mails handled at an office is too large, a new delivery office is created. Thus two delivery offices situated next to each other only have the first four digits in common. Each PIN code is mapped to exactly one delivery post office which receives all the mail to be delivered to one or more lower offices within its jurisdiction, all of which share the same code. The delivery office can either be a General Post Office, a Head Office or Sub Office which are located in urban areas. The post from the office is sorted and routed to other delivery offices for a different PIN or to one of the relevant sub offices or branch offices for the same PIN. Branch offices are located in areas and have limited postal services
7.
Vehicle registration plate
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A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate or a license plate, is metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the owner within the issuing regions database. The first two letters indicate the state to which the vehicle is registered, the next two digit numbers are the sequential number of a district. Due to heavy volume of vehicle registration, the numbers were given to the RTO offices of registration as well, the third part indicates the year of registration of the vehicle and is a 4 digit number unique to each plate. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country, whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or a person also varies by issuing agency. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, the government holds a monopoly on the manufacturing of vehicle registration plates for that jurisdiction. Thus, it is illegal for private citizens to make and affix their own plates. Alternately, the government will merely assign plate numbers, and it is the owners responsibility to find an approved private supplier to make a plate with that number. In some jurisdictions, plates will be assigned to that particular vehicle for its lifetime. If the vehicle is destroyed or exported to a different country. Other jurisdictions follow a policy, meaning that when a vehicle is sold the seller removes the current plate from the vehicle. Buyers must either obtain new plates or attach plates they already hold, as well as register their vehicles under the buyers name, a person who sells a car and then purchases a new one can apply to have the old plates put onto the new car. One who sells a car and does not buy a new one may, depending on the laws involved, have to turn the old plates in or destroy them. Some jurisdictions permit the registration of the vehicle with personal plates, in some jurisdictions, plates require periodic replacement, often associated with a design change of the plate itself. Vehicle owners may or may not have the option to keep their original plate number, alternately, or additionally, vehicle owners have to replace a small decal on the plate or use a decal on the windshield to indicate the expiration date of the vehicle registration. Plates are usually fixed directly to a vehicle or to a frame that is fixed to the vehicle. Sometimes, the plate frames contain advertisements inserted by the service centre or the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased. Vehicle owners can also purchase customized frames to replace the original frames, in some jurisdictions licence plate frames are illegal
8.
Lok Sabha
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The Lok Sabha is the Lower house of Indias bicameral Parliament, with the Upper house being the Rajya Sabha. The house meets in the Lok Sabha Chambers of the Sansad Bhavan in New Delhi, under the current laws, the strength of Lok Sabha is 545, including the two seats reserved for members of the Anglo-Indian community. The total elective membership is distributed among the states in proportion to their population, a total of 131 seats are reserved for representatives of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The quorum for the House is 10% of the total membership, term of the House The Lok Sabha, unless sooner dissolved, continues to operate for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and the expiration of the period of five years. An exercise to redraw Lok Sabha constituencies boundaries has been carried out by the Delimitation Commission based on the Indian census of 2001, the 16th Lok Sabha was elected in May 2014 and is the latest to date. The Lok Sabha has its own channel, Lok Sabha TV. A major portion of the Indian subcontinent was under British rule from 1858 to 1947, the Indian Councils Act 1861 provided for a Legislative Council consisting of the members of the Executive Council and non-official members. The Indian Councils Act 1892 established legislatures in each of the provinces of British India, although these Acts increased the representation of Indians in the government, their power still remained limited, and the electorate very small. The Indian Councils Act 1909 and the Government of India Act 1919 further expanded the participation of Indians in the administration, the Constituent Assembly was divided into two for the separate nations, with each new Assembly having sovereign powers transferred to it for the respective dominion. The Constitution of India was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into effect on 26 January 1950, proclaiming India to be a sovereign, democratic republic. This contained the principles of the law of the land which would govern India in its new form. The Lok Sabha was duly constituted for the first time on 17 April 1952 after the first General Elections held from 25 October 1951 to 21 February 1952 and he / She should not be less than 25 years of age. He / She possesses such other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under any law made by Parliament, a seat in the Lok Sabha will become vacant in the following circumstances, When the holder of the seat, by writing to the speaker, resigns. When the holder of the seat is absent from 60 consecutive days of proceedings of the House, when the holder of the seat is subject to any disqualifications mentioned in the Constitution or any law enacted by Parliament. A seat may also be vacated when the holder stands disqualified under the Anti-Defection Law, a member both of Parliament and of a House of the Legislature of a State. System of elections in Lok Sabha Members of the Lok Sabha are directly elected by the people of India, for the purpose of holding direct elections to Lok Sabha, each state is divided into territorial constituencies. This provision does not apply for states having a population of less than 6 million, note, The expression population here refers to the population ascertained at the preceding census of which relevant figure have been published. Lok Sabha has certain powers that make it more powerful than the Rajya Sabha, motions of no confidence against the government can be introduced and passed in the Lok Sabha
9.
Romanization
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Romanization, in linguistics, is the conversion of writing from a different writing system to the Roman script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, for representing the spoken word, There are many consistent or standardized romanization systems. They can be classified by their characteristics, source, or donor language – A system may be tailored to romanize text from a particular language, or a series of languages, or for any language in a particular writing system. A language-specific system typically preserves language features like pronunciation, while the one may be better for cataloguing international texts. Target, or receiver language – Most systems are intended for an audience that speaks or reads a particular language and this affects the ease of creation, digital storage and transmission, reproduction, and reading of the romanized text. Reversibility – Whether or not the original can be restored from the converted text, some reversible systems allow for an irreversible simplified version. Most romanizations are intended to enable the reader who is unfamiliar with the original script to pronounce the source language reasonably accurately. Such romanizations follow the principle of phonemic transcription and attempt to render the significant sounds of the original as faithfully as possible in the target language, the popular Hepburn romanization of Japanese is an example of a transcriptive romanization designed for English speakers. The International Phonetic Alphabet is the most common system of phonetic transcription, for most language pairs, building a usable romanization involves tradeoffs between the two extremes. In modern times the chain of transcription is usually spoken foreign language, written language, written native language. Reducing the number of processes, i. e. removing one or both steps of writing, usually leads to more accurate oral articulations. In general, outside a limited audience of scholars romanizations tend to lean more towards transcription, Romanization standards include the following, Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft, Adopted by the International Convention of Orientalist Scholars in Rome. It is the basis for the very influential Hans Wehr dictionary, qalam, A system that focuses upon preserving the spelling, rather than the pronunciation, and uses mixed case ISO 233-2, Simplified transliteration. Buckwalter transliteration, Developed at Xerox by Tim Buckwalter, doesnt require unusual diacritics ALA-LC Arabic chat alphabet There are romanization systems for both Modern and Ancient Greek. ALA-LC Beta Code Greeklish ISO843 The Hebrew alphabet is romanized using several standards, ANSI Z39.25 UNGEGN ISO259, ALA-LC The Brahmic family of abugidas is used for languages of the Indian subcontinent and south-east Asia. There is a tradition in the west to study Sanskrit. Various transliteration conventions have been used for Indic scripts since the time of Sir William Jones, ISO15919, A standard transliteration convention was codified in the ISO15919 standard. It uses diacritics to map the much larger set of Brahmic consonants, see also Transliteration of Indic scripts, how to use ISO15919
10.
Patna
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Acharya Shri Sudarshan Patna Central School is a co-educational school in Patna, India. The school has nursery, primary and high schools, one of the popular schools in Patna, Bihar. Over the last 32 years, Acharya Shri Sudarshan Patna central school, has been cruising ahead from strength to excellence adding new feathers to its cap, located in plush premises at New Bye Pass, Patna the School got affiliation from CBSE up to +2 level in 1993
11.
Siliguri
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Siliguri is a city which spans across the Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts in the Indian state of West Bengal. The city is located on the banks of the Mahananda River, based on Census data of 2011, the city had a population of 705,579, while the population of Siliguri UA/Metropolitan is 1,057,438. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%, in Siliguri, 10% of the population is under six years of age. Due to the booming economy, it has drawn people from Bihar, Jharkhand, North Bengal, North-East, Sikkim. Siliguri, the gateway of North East India, got municipal status in 1949 and it is one of the most rapidly developing and growing metropolis of the state and also of the country. It is situated in both Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri district, Siliguri also known for its 4T, Tea, Timber, Tourism and Transport. There are three stations serving the town, New Jalpaiguri railway station, Siliguri Junction railway station. The New Jalpaiguri railway station, also known as NJP, was opened in 1964 as a greenfield project, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Toy Train is the main attraction of this station. Bagdogra International Airport is the airport of Siliguri city, education forms a important part of the city, with an University named University of North Bengal, shortened as NBU, which was established in 1962
12.
Bhagalpur
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Bhagalpur is a city of historical importance on the southern banks of the river Ganges in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the 3rd largest city of Bihar and also the headquarters of Bhagalpur district, Known as Silk City, it is a major educational, commercial, and political centre, and listed for development under the Smart City program, a joint venture between Government and industry. The Gangetic plains surrounding the city are fertile and the main crops include rice, wheat, maize, barley. The river is home to the Gangetic dolphin, the National Aquatic Animal of India, the name Bhagalpur is etymologically derived from Bhagdatpuram, as it was called during the flourishing period of the Anga Kingdom. Bhagdatpuram, as per Hindu mythological texts, was the place where the gods and it is believed that the serpent, Vasuki, offered to serve as the rope for the churning. An impression of the coil is faintly visible on Mount Mandara and it is believed that Panchjanya, the conch shell used in the Mahabharata was discovered here in the Shankh Kund. The Puranas also refer to this hill and it is said that Vishnu covered the demon Madhu under the hill after defeating him to death. Kalidasas Kumarasambhava refers to the marks of Vishnu on the slopes of Mount Mandara. The hill is replete with relics of bygone ages, apart from inscriptions and statues, there are numerous rock cut sculptures depicting various images of Hindu Gods. The hill is equally revered by the Jains who believe that their 12th Tirthankara attained nirvana at the summit, the area around Mandara Hill is laced with a landscape of extraordinary splendour. The 800 feet high hill is a sight to see during daylight. It is a picnic spot for people living in the area. References to Bhagalpur can be found in Hindu epics like the Ramayana, the tomb of Suja, brother of Moghul emperor Aurangzeb, in the heart of the town is reminiscent of the towns association with the Mughal period. The city was referred to as one of the largest trading centres in India by the 7th century Chinese travellers Xuanzang and Faxian. At that time the city had a harbour at Champanagar. Many boats and coins of the Middle and Far East were collected during excavations carried out during the 1970s. The ruins of ancient Vikramashila Mahavihara are located 44 km east of Bhagalpur, the royal university ranks next to Nalanda, and owes its origin to Dharmapala, the devout Pala king who called himself Paramasaugata and was a great patron of Mahayana Buddhism. It was the centre for the conservation and propagation of Buddhist education
13.
Guwahati
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Guwahati is the largest city of Assam and Northeastern India, a major riverine port city and one of the fastest growing cities in India, situated on the South Bank of the Brahmaputra River. The ancient cities of Pragjyotishpura and Durjaya were the capitals of the ancient state of Kamarupa under the Varman, many ancient Hindu temples are in the city, giving it the name City of Temples. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Guwahati lies between the banks of the Brahmaputra River and the foothills of the Shillong plateau, with LGB International Airport to the west and it is gradually being expanded as North Guwahati to the northern bank of the Brahmaputra. The noted Madan Kamdev is situated 30 kilometres from Guwahati, with an area of 1,528 square kilometres, Guwahati is the second-largest metropolitan region in eastern India, after Kolkata. The Guwahati region hosts diverse wildlife including rare animals such as Asian elephants, pythons, tigers, rhinoceros, gaurs, primate species, once known as Pragjyotishpura, Guwahati derives its name from the Assamese words Guwa meaning areca nut and Haat meaning market. History Guwahatis myths and history go back thousands of years. Epigraphic sources place the capitals of ancient kingdoms in Guwahati. It was the capital of the kings Narakasura and Bhagadatta according to the Mahabharata, the Ambari excavations trace the city to the Hindu kingdoms of Shunga-Kushana period of Indian history, between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD. During earlier periods of the history it was known as Pragjyotishpura. Descriptions by Xuanzang reveal that during the reign of the Varman king Bhaskar Varman and it remained as the capital of Assam until the 10th-11th century AD under the rule of the Pala dynasty. The city was the seat of the Borphukan, the military authority of the Lower Assam region appointed by the Ahom kings. The Borphukans residence was in the present Fancy Bazaar area, and his council-hall, the Majindar Baruah, the personal secretary of the Borphukan, had his residence in the present-day deputy commissioners residence. The Mughals invaded Assam seventeen times, and they were defeated by the Ahoms in Battle of Itakhuli, during the Battle of Saraighat, fought in Saraighat in 1671, the Mughals were overrun due to the strong leadership and hard work of Lachit Borphukan. There was an ancient boat yard in Dighalipukhuri, probably used by the Ahoms in medieval times, medieval constructions include temples, ramparts, etc. in the city. Guwahatis urban form radiates from a core with growth corridors radiating and extending towards the south. In the past few decades, southern Guwahati areas such as Ganeshguri, Beltola, Hatigaon, Six Mile, the core area consists of the old city with Pan Bazaar, Paltan Bazaar, Fancy Bazaar and Uzan Bazaar, with each area facilitating unique urban activities. Among the city corridors, the most important is the corridor formed along the Guwahati-Shillong Road towards the south
14.
Kolkata
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Kolkata /koʊlˈkɑːtɑː/ is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. In 2011, the city had a population of 4.5 million, while the population of the city and its suburbs was 14.1 million, making it the third-most populous metropolitan area in India. Recent estimates of Kolkata Metropolitan Areas economy have ranged from $60 to $150 billion making it third most-productive metropolitan area in India, after Mumbai, in the late 17th century, the three villages that predated Calcutta were ruled by the Nawab of Bengal under Mughal suzerainty. After the Nawab granted the East India Company a trading licence in 1690, Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah occupied Calcutta in 1756, and the East India Company retook it the following year. In 1793 the East India company was enough to abolish Nizamat. Calcutta was the centre for the Indian independence movement, it remains a hotbed of contemporary state politics, following Indian independence in 1947, Kolkata, which was once the centre of modern Indian education, science, culture, and politics, suffered several decades of economic stagnation. Many people from Kolkata—among them several Nobel laureates—have contributed to the arts, the sciences, Kolkata culture features idiosyncrasies that include distinctively close-knit neighbourhoods and freestyle intellectual exchanges. Though home to major cricketing venues and franchises, Kolkata differs from other Indian cities by giving importance to association football, there are several explanations about the etymology of this name, The term Kolikata is thought to be a variation of Kalikkhetrô, meaning Field of Kali. Similarly, it can be a variation of Kalikshetra, alternatively, the name may have been derived from the Bengali term kilkila, or flat area. The name may have its origin in the words khal meaning canal, followed by kaṭa, according to another theory, the area specialised in the production of quicklime or koli chun and coir or kata, hence, it was called Kolikata. The discovery and archaeological study of Chandraketugarh,35 kilometres north of Kolkata, Kolkatas recorded history began in 1690 with the arrival of the English East India Company, which was consolidating its trade business in Bengal. The area occupied by the city encompassed three villages, Kalikata, Gobindapur, and Sutanuti. Kalikata was a village, Sutanuti was a riverside weavers village. They were part of an estate belonging to the Mughal emperor and these rights were transferred to the East India Company in 1698. In 1712, the British completed the construction of Fort William, facing frequent skirmishes with French forces, the British began to upgrade their fortifications in 1756. The Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, condemned the militarisation and his warning went unheeded, and the Nawab attacked, he captured Fort William which led to the killings of several East India company officials in the Black Hole of Calcutta. A force of Company soldiers and British troops led by Robert Clive recaptured the city the following year, declared a presidency city, Calcutta became the headquarters of the East India Company by 1772. In 1793, ruling power of the Nawabs were abolished and East India company took control of the city
15.
West Bengal
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West Bengal is an Indian state, located in East India on the Bay of Bengal. It is Indias fourth-most populous state, with over 91 million inhabitants and it has a total area of 34,267 sq mi, making it similar in size to Serbia. A part of the ethno-linguistic Bengal region, it borders Bangladesh in the east and Nepal and it also has borders five Indian states, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata, the seventh-largest city in India, the geography of West Bengal includes the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region in its extreme north, the Ganges delta, the Rarh region and the coastal Sundarbans. The main ethnic group are the Bengali people, with Bengali Hindus forming the demographic majority, Ancient Bengal was the site of several major janapadas, including Vanga, Radha, Pundra and Suhma. In the 2nd century BC, the region was conquered by the emperor Ashoka, in the 4th century AD, it was absorbed into the Gupta Empire. From the 13th century onward, the region was ruled by sultans, powerful Hindu states and Baro-Bhuyan landlords. The British East India Company cemented their hold on the following the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Between 1977 and 2011, the state was administered by the worlds longest elected Communist government, a major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to Indias net domestic product. It is noted for its activities and the presence of cultural and educational institutions. The states cultural heritage, besides varied folk traditions, ranges from stalwarts in literature including Nobel-laureate Rabindranath Tagore to scores of musicians, film-makers and artists. West Bengal is also distinct from most other Indian states in its appreciation and practice of playing football besides cricket. The origin of the name Bengal is unknown, one theory suggests that the word derives from Bang, a Dravidian tribe that settled the region around 1000 BC. The word might have derived from the ancient kingdom of Vanga. Although some early Sanskrit literature mentions the name, the early history is obscure. At the end of British Rule over the Indian subcontinent, the Bengal region was partitioned in 1947 along religious lines into east and west, the east came to be known as East Bengal and the west came to known as West Bengal, which continued as an Indian state. In 2011, the Government of West Bengal proposed a change in the name of the state to Poschimbongo. This is the name of the state, literally meaning western Bengal in the native Bengali language
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East India
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East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and also the union territory Andaman and Nicobar Islands. West Bengals capital Kolkata is the largest city of this region, the Kolkata Metropolitan Area is the countrys third largest. The state of West Bengal share some cultural and linguistic characteristics with Bangladesh, Odisha is the only state of India, which has a classical language Odia, a classical dance Odissi and a classical music Odissi music. Odia is the language in east India accorded the status of a Classical Language of India. Together with Bangladesh, West Bengal formed the region of Bengal before partition in 1947. The modern state of Odisha was known as Kalinga, Odra desha and it was ruled by indigenous rulers of the Mahameghavahana dynasty, Eastern Ganga dynasty and Gajapati Dynasty. The bulk of the lies on the east coast of India by the Bay of Bengal. Jharkhand, on the Chhota Nagpur plateau, is a hilly, Odisha is also a mineral rich state of India. It is connected to the Seven Sister States of Northeast India by the narrow Siliguri Corridor in the north east of West Bengal, in medieval India, it was incorporated into the Mughal, Maratha and then the British empire. After independence in 1947, the joined the Indian Union. Today, they continue to face problems of overpopulation, environmental degradation and pervasive corruption despite significant economic, after the Kalinga War the Maurya king Ashoka sent emissaries to spread Buddhism across Asia. The famous university of Nalanda was in Bihar, chinese travellers visited Buddhist and Hindu temples and libraries in the universities of Magadha Empire. The Emperor of Kalinga Mahameghavahana Aira Kharavela was one of the most powerful monarchs of ancient India, the Jain thirkhankar Mahaveer was born here and founded Jainism. Islamic invasions in the 13th century resulted in the collapse of Hindu kings and most Buddhists, especially in East Bengal, East India including Bihar and West Bengal was part of the Mughal Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries. Odisha remained a powerful Hindu dynasty under the rule of Soma/Keshari Dynasty, Eastern Ganga Dynasty, the mighty Nalanda University existed at Nalanda which was destroyed by Bakhtiar Khilji during the 12th century and also defeated Sena Dynasty. Sher Shah Suri, who became king of India after defeating Humayun, with the arrival of the Europeans in the 17th century, outposts were established in Odisha Coast and Bengal. The European traders established their trade centres in the ports of Balasore, Pipili. The Portuguese were in Chittagong, Dutch in Chinsura, French in Pondicherry, in 1756, the British East India Company defeated the local Indian Muslim rulers in Plassey and established British Rule in the subcontinent
17.
Indian Army
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The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India serves as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and it is commanded by the Chief of Army Staff, two officers have been conferred with the rank of field marshal, a five-star rank, which is a ceremonial position of great honour. It conducts humanitarian rescue operations during calamities and other disturbances, like Operation Surya Hope. It is a component of national power alongside the Indian Navy. The army has been involved in four wars with neighbouring Pakistan, other major operations undertaken by the army include Operation Vijay, Operation Meghdoot and Operation Cactus. The Indian Army has a system, but is operationally and geographically divided into seven commands. It is a force and comprises more than 80% of the countrys active defence personnel. It is the 2nd largest standing army in the world, with 1,200,255 active troops and 990,960 reserve troops, a Military Department was created within the Government of the East India Company at Kolkata in the year 1776. Its main function was to sift and record orders relating to the Army that were issued by various Departments of the East India Company for the territories under its control. With the Charter Act of 1833, the Secretariat of the Government of the East India Company was reorganised into four Departments, including a Military Department. The army in the Presidencies of Bengal, Bombay & Madras functioned as respective Presidency Army until April 1895, for administrative convenience, it was divided into four commands at that point of time, namely Punjab, Bengal, Madras and Bombay. The British Indian Army was a force for the primacy of the British Empire both in India and across the world. In the 20th century, the Indian Army was an adjunct to the British forces in both the world wars. 1.3 million Indian soldiers served in World War I for the Allies, in 1915 there was a mutiny by Indian soldiers in Singapore. After the United Kingdom made promises of self-governance to the Indian National Congress in return for its support, Britain reneged on its promises after the war, following which the Indian Independence movement gained strength. Indian officers given a Kings commission after passing out were posted to one of the eight selected for Indianisation. In World War II Indian soldiers fought for the Allies, in 1939, British officials had no plan for expansion and training of Indian forces, which comprised about 130,000 men. Their mission was internal security and defence against a possible Soviet threat through Afghanistan, as the war progressed, the size and role of the Indian Army expanded dramatically, and troops were sent to battle fronts as soon as possible
18.
Indian Air Force
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The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. It is the fourth largest air force in terms of both personnel and aircraft. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict and it was officially established on 8 October 1932 as an auxiliary air force of the British Empire and the prefix Royal was added in 1945 in recognition of its services during World War II. After India became independent from the United Kingdom in 1947, the Royal Indian Air Force served the Dominion of India, since independence, the IAF has been involved in four wars with neighbouring Pakistan and one with the Peoples Republic of China. Other major operations undertaken by the IAF include Operation Vijay, Operation Meghdoot, Operation Cactus, apart from conflicts, the IAF has been an active participant in United Nations peacekeeping missions. The President of India serves as Supreme Commander of the IAF, the Chief of Air Staff, an air chief marshal, is a four-star officer and commands the Air Force. There is never more than one serving ACM at any time in the IAF. The IAF provides close air support to the Indian Army troops in the battlefield and also provides strategic, IAF also provides infantry and artillery transportations or secondary Airlift for the Indian Army. The IAF provided extensive assistance to relief operations during natural calamities such as the Gujarat cyclone in 1998, the IAF also provides assistance to other countries during relief activities such as Operation Rainbow in Sri Lanka. On 1 April 1933, the IAF commissioned its first squadron, No.1 Squadron, with four Westland Wapiti biplanes, the Indian pilots were led by RAF Commanding officer Flight Lieutenant Cecil Bouchier. During World War II, the IAF played a role in blocking the advance of the Japanese army in Burma. It also carried out missions against the Japanese airbases at Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai. The IAF was mainly involved in Strike, Close Air Support, Aerial reconnaissance, Bomber Escort, RAF Pilots were embedded in IAF units and vice versa to gain combat experience. IAF pilots participated in air operations in Europe as part of the RAF, during the war, the IAF went through a phase of steady expansion. New aircraft, including the US built Vultee Vengeance, Douglas DC-3, in recognition of the services rendered by the IAF, King George VI conferred the prefix Royal in 1945. Thereafter the IAF was referred to as the Royal Indian Air Force, in 1950, when India became a republic, the prefix was dropped and it reverted to being the Indian Air Force. After it became independent from the British Empire in 1947, British India was partitioned into the new states of the Dominion of India, along the lines of the geographical partition, the assets of the air force were divided between the new countries. The RIAF Roundel was changed to an interim Chakra roundel derived from the Ashoka Chakra, around the same time, conflict broke out between them over the control of the princely state of Jammu & Kashmir
19.
Central Armed Police Forces
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The Central Armed Police Forces refers to uniform nomenclature of five security forces in India under the authority of Ministry of Home Affairs. They are the Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the CAPFs have their own cadre of officers, but they are headed by officers of the Indian Police Service. They have, for years, demanded improved promotional prospects. They were allocated a total of ₹52,443 crore for the fiscal year 2017-2018, recruitment is conducted mainly in three modes. Officers in CAPFs are recruited through Central Armed Police Forces Examination conducted by UPSC and they are appointed as Assistant Commandants and are Gazetted Officers generally referred as DAGOs. DEGOs are who have been promoted through departmental exams conducted internally for Subordinate Officers, Sub Inspectors are recruited through competitive examination conducted by Staff Selection Commission and they are referred as DASOs. DESOs are who have been promoted through departmental exams conducted internally for Constables, Head Constables, Constables are recruited through competitive examination conducted by Staff Selection Commission. The recruitment of the candidates in the CAPF is done by the public service commission as well the Sashastra Seema Bal for the various posts according to the qualification of the candidates. For the higher posts, it is done via army The Central Reserve Police Force is the largest of the Central Armed Police Forces units with 325,000 personnel in 245 battalions. The Central Reserve Police includes, The Rapid Action Force, a 10 battalion anti-riot force trained to respond to sectarian violence, the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, a 10 battalion strong anti-Naxalite/COIN force. The primary role of the Border Security Force is to guard the border of the India with Pakistan and Bangladesh, the BSF also has active roles during times of war. It has 245,000 personnel in 186 battalions, and is headed by an Indian Police Service Officer. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police is deployed for guarding duties on the border with China from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Diphu La in Arunachal Pradesh covering a distance of 2488 km. It has 77,000 personnel in 56 fighting and 4 reserve battalions and it has a total strength of about 165,000 personnel in 132 battalions. The objective of the Sashastra Seema Bal is to guard the Indo-Nepal and it has 82,000 personnel and 73 battalions, as well as some reserved battalions. State Armed Police Forces Paramilitary forces of India Law enforcement in India Indian Armed Forces
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Border Security Force
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The Border Security Force is the primary Border guarding force of India. It is a Central Armed Police Force charged with guarding Indias land border during peacetime and it is a Union Government Agency under the administrative control of Ministry of Home Affairs. The BSF has its own cadre of officers but its head, designated as a Director-General and it is an Armed Force of the Union of India tasked with various assignments from time to time. It currently stands as the worlds largest border guarding force, BSF has been termed as the First Line of Defence of Indian Territories. From independence in 1947 to 1965, the protection of Indias international boundaries was the responsibility of local police belonging to each border state, BSF is a Central Armed Police force charged with guarding Indias land border during peacetime and preventing transnational crime. It is a Union Government Agency under the control of Ministry of Home Affairs. It is one of law enforcement agency of India. It currently stands as the worlds largest border guarding force, the KF Rustamji, from the Indian police service, was the first Director General of BSF. Till 1965 India’s borders with Pakistan were manned by the State Armed Police Battalion, Pakistan attacked Sardar Post, Chhar Bet and Beria Bet on 9 April 1965 in Kutch. As a result of the recommendations of the Committee of Secretaries, in fact, for BSF the war on eastern front had started well before the war actually broke out in Dec 71. BSF had trained, supported and formed part of Mukti Bahini and had entered erstwhile East Pakistan before the hostilities broke out. BSF had played an important role in Liberation of Bangladesh which Indira Gandhi. Over 100 women have been deployed on the highly volatile Indo-Pak border, in total,595 women constables will be deployed on the border in different phases. Mr K F Rustamji IPS was the first Director General of Border Security Force from 21 July 1965 to 30 September 1974 & current Director General is Mr K K Sharma IPS since 29 February 2016. This attracts a number of spectators from both countries, as well as international tourists. Similar parades are being organised at Mahavir/Sadqi border near Fazilka and Hussainiwala/Gandasinghwala border near Firozpur, BSF contribution in reducing militancy in J&K is widely acknowledged. The BSF killed Ghazi Baba—chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed and the mastermind of the 2001 Indian Parliament attack—in August 2003 along with his deputy commander, the BSF raided Babas hideout in Srinagar and he was killed in the ensuing gun battle along with his deputy chief. In 2006 the Indian government has decided to implement recommendations to each security agency to its mandate
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Sashastra Seema Bal
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Sashastra Seema Bal or SSB, in English the Armed Border Force, is one of Indias Central Armed Police Forces. It is currently under the control of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Prior to 2001, the force was known as the Special Service Bureau The Special Service Bureau was set up in early 20 December 1963 and its primary purpose was to counter an act of aggression by the Peoples Liberation Army. The previous thinking had been that, militarily, the Chinese were superior to India and in the event of a war, from the Cabinet, the SSB was transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs and assigned the duties of manning the Nepal and Bhutan borders. The SSB was renamed the Sashastra Seema Bal, in accordance with its new role and this was done after the Kargil War with the adoption of the one border one force concept. The local populace always found SSB standing steadfastly with them during difficult times, in March 2004, SSB was assigned the task of guarding the 699 km stretch of Indo-Bhutan border along the states of Sikkim-, West Bengal, Assam and, Arunachal Pradesh. Since then SSB was re-christened into Sashastra Seema Bal and reached new heights, SSB is the first border guarding force that has decided to recruit women battalions. It is doing excellent job as Border Guarding Force on Indo-Nepal, SSB is also engaged in Counter-Insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and Anti-naxal operations in Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. It is also performing internal security duties i. e. Election duties and law, SSB celebrated the year 2013 as Golden Jubilee year marking 50 years of its raising. The celebrations have commenced with the Flag-off of a Mount Everest Expedition on 2 April 2013 from Delhi, the team led by Shri Somit Joshi, Commandant, successfully reached at the peak at about 9.45 am on 21 May 2013 to commemorate the 50th anniversary. In 2014 the government of India approved the recruitment of women as officers in SSB. Its present-day role consists of preventing crime and smuggling as well as other anti-national activities. The Government of India also contemplates conferring additional powers under the Customs Act of 1962, prior to 2001, the force was known as the Special Service Bureau. As per its revised role, the uniform wing worked under the command of civilian officers. It was in 1985 that a 15% quota of Area Organisers, the civil wing worked in the Area of Operations along the Indo-Tibet and Indo-Pakistan border. The Divisional Organiser was equivalent in rank to that of Inspector-General of Police, the highest-level headquarters of the force is Force Headquarters, also called the Directorate-General of SSB, located in the Indian capital of New Delhi. Force Headquarters is commanded by an officer of the rank of Director-General, the Director-General is assisted by the Additional Director-General. Various Directorates including Operations and Intelligence, Personnel and Training, Administration, Provisioning and Communication, Medical, as well as others, each Directorate is headed by an IG and assisted by a DIG and other officers
22.
Indo-Tibetan Border Police
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The Indo-Tibetan Border Police is one of the five Central Armed Police Forces of India, raised on 24 October 1962, under the CRPF Act, in the wake of the Sino-Indian War of 1962. The ITBP was intended for deployment along Indias border with Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region, the first head of the ITBP, designated Inspector General, was Balbir Singh, a police officer previously belonging to the Intelligence Bureau. The ITBP, which started with 4 battalions, has since restructuring in 1978 has undergone expansion to a force of 54 battalions as of 2016 with a strength of 89,430. The ITBP is trained in Civil Medical Camp, disaster management, ITBP personnel have been deployed abroad in UN peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Haiti, Western Sahara, Sudan, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Two battalions of ITBP are deputed to National Disaster Response Force, ITBP, for the first two decades since its raising in 1962, till 1983, was headed by Inspector Generals of Police, all drawn from the IPS. In this period, IGs had stable tenures, for instance B Chatterjee, IG, was head of the force from 02-06-1964 to 31-08-1974, in 1983, the Indira Gandhi led Congress Government, upgraded ITBP head to Director General. Since then, there has exponentially expansion of higher ranks, accompanied by volatility in the tenures of the head of ITBP, instead of one IG as in 1983, ITBP now has 16 DG/IGs, and over 40 DIGs. The average tenure of DGs is about a year plus, and in some cases barely a few weeks, for instance B. B. Nandy, IPS, was DG, for just 28 weeks. Going by the trend of short tenures of DGs, it would appear that the Government is not overly concerned about command control, the post of DG was again upgraded by the Manmohan Singh led UPA Government in 2008. Manned border posts are at altitudes as high as 21,000 feet in the western, ITBP is a mountain trained force and most of the officers & men are professionally trained mountaineers and skiers. The force is under a plan in order to provide relief to its troops from constant deployment in high altitude areas under dynamic and professional leadership of Shri Subhash Goswami. ITBP conducts Long Range and Short Range patrols to keep a vigil on inaccessible. The ITBP has recently taken on a management role. ITBP has already trained 1032 personnel in Disaster Management including 98 personnel in Radiological and Chemical and Biological emergencies, there is also a training centre for the Dogs at Basic Training centre situated at Bhanu. The centre is known as NICD, ITBP Commando units provide security to the Embassy and consulates of India in Afghanistan. Besides this two Companies of the ITBP are providing security in Afghanistan, one company of ITBP is deployed in United Nation Mission in Congo since November,2005. A National Centre for UNCIVPOL training has been set up at ITBP Camp, Tigri, Khanpur, ITBP is also providing security to the pilgrims during Annual Kailash Mansarovar Yatra from 1981. ITBP provides communication, security and medical cover to the yatries from Gunji to Lipulekh Pass and back to Gunji in co-ordination with MEA, ITBPs major training centre is located at Mussoorie, in Uttarakhand
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Sanskrit
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Sanskrit is the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, a philosophical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and a literary language and lingua franca of ancient and medieval South Asia. As a result of transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia and parts of Central Asia, as one of the oldest Indo-European languages for which substantial written documentation exists, Sanskrit holds a prominent position in Indo-European studies. The body of Sanskrit literature encompasses a rich tradition of poetry and drama as well as scientific, technical, philosophical, the compositions of Sanskrit were orally transmitted for much of its early history by methods of memorization of exceptional complexity, rigor, and fidelity. Thereafter, variants and derivatives of the Brahmi script came to be used, Sanskrit is today one of the 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, which mandates the Indian government to develop the language. It continues to be used as a ceremonial language in Hindu religious rituals and Buddhist practice in the form of hymns. The Sanskrit verbal adjective sáṃskṛta- may be translated as refined, elaborated, as a term for refined or elaborated speech, the adjective appears only in Epic and Classical Sanskrit in the Manusmṛti and the Mahabharata. The pre-Classical form of Sanskrit is known as Vedic Sanskrit, with the language of the Rigveda being the oldest and most archaic stage preserved, Classical Sanskrit is the standard register as laid out in the grammar of Pāṇini, around the fourth century BCE. Sanskrit, as defined by Pāṇini, evolved out of the earlier Vedic form, the present form of Vedic Sanskrit can be traced back to as early as the second millennium BCE. Scholars often distinguish Vedic Sanskrit and Classical or Pāṇinian Sanskrit as separate dialects, although they are quite similar, they differ in a number of essential points of phonology, vocabulary, grammar and syntax. Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the Vedas, a collection of hymns, incantations and theological and religio-philosophical discussions in the Brahmanas. Modern linguists consider the metrical hymns of the Rigveda Samhita to be the earliest, for nearly 2000 years, Sanskrit was the language of a cultural order that exerted influence across South Asia, Inner Asia, Southeast Asia, and to a certain extent East Asia. A significant form of post-Vedic Sanskrit is found in the Sanskrit of Indian epic poetry—the Ramayana, the deviations from Pāṇini in the epics are generally considered to be on account of interference from Prakrits, or innovations, and not because they are pre-Paninian. Traditional Sanskrit scholars call such deviations ārṣa, meaning of the ṛṣis, in some contexts, there are also more prakritisms than in Classical Sanskrit proper. There were four principal dialects of classical Sanskrit, paścimottarī, madhyadeśī, pūrvi, the predecessors of the first three dialects are attested in Vedic Brāhmaṇas, of which the first one was regarded as the purest. In the 2001 Census of India,14,035 Indians reported Sanskrit to be their first language, in India, Sanskrit is among the 14 original languages of the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. The state of Uttarakhand in India has ruled Sanskrit as its official language. In October 2012 social activist Hemant Goswami filed a petition in the Punjab. More than 3,000 Sanskrit works have been composed since Indias independence in 1947, much of this work has been judged of high quality, in comparison to both classical Sanskrit literature and modern literature in other Indian languages
24.
Koshi River
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The Koshi or Kosi River drains the northern slopes of the Himalayas in the Tibet Autonomous Region and the southern slopes in Nepal. From a major confluence of tributaries north of the Chatra Gorge onwards and these include the Tamur Koshi originating from the Kanchenjunga area in the east, Arun River and Sun Koshi from Tibet. The Sun Koshis tributaries from east to west are Dudh Koshi, Bhote Koshi, Tamba Koshi, the Saptakoshi crosses into northern Bihar where it branches into distributaries before joining the Ganges near Kursela in Katihar district. The Koshi is 720 km long and drains an area of about 74,500 km2 in Tibet, Nepal, in the past, several authors proposed that the river has shifted its course for more than 133 km from east to west during the last 200 years. But a review of 28 historical maps dating 1760 to 1960 revealed a slight shift for a long duration. The river basin is surrounded by ridges which separate it from the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the north, the Gandaki in the west, the river is joined by major tributaries in the Mahabharat Range approximately 48 km north of the Indo-Nepal border. Below the Siwaliks, the river has built up a megafan some 15,000 km2 in extent, breaking more than twelve distinct channels. Kamalā, Bāgmati and Budhi Gandak are major tributaries of Koshi in India and its unstable nature has been attributed to the heavy silt it carries during the monsoon season and flooding in India has extreme effects. Fishing is an important enterprise on the river but fishing resources are being depleted, the Dudh-Kosi sub-basin alone consists of 36 glaciers and 296 glacier lakes. The Kosi River basin borders the Tsangpo River basin in the north, the Mahananda River basin in the east, the Ganges Basin in the south, the three major tributaries meet at Triveni, from where they are called Sapta Kosi meaning Seven Rivers. After flowing through the Chatra Gorge the Sapta Kosi is controlled by the Koshi Barrage before it drains into the Gangetic plain, peaks located in the basin include Mount Everest, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu and Shishapangma. The Bagmati river sub-basin forms the south-western portion of the overall Koshi basin, the Dudh Kosi joins the Sun Kosi near the Nepalese village of Harkapur. At Barāhkṣetra in Nepal it emerges from the mountains and becomes the Koshi, after flowing another 58 km it crosses into Bihar, India, near Bhimnagar and after another 260 km joins the Ganges near Kursela. It shows evidence of lateral channel shifting exceeding 120 km during the past 250 years, the river, which flowed near Purnea in the 18th century, now flows west of Saharsa. A satellite image shows old channels with a confluence before 1731 with the Mahananda River north of Lava, the Kosi River is known as the Sorrow of Bihar as the annual floods affect about 21,000 km2 of fertile agricultural lands thereby disturbing the rural economy. The Koshi has a water flow of 2,166 cubic metres per second. During floods, it increases to as much as 18 times the average, the greatest recorded flood was 24,200 m3/s on 24 August 1954. The Kosi Barrage has been designed for a flood of 27,014 m3/s
25.
Mahananda River
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The Mahananda River is a trans-boundary river that flows through the Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar, and Bangladesh. Its right bank tributary, the Mechi River forms part of Nepals eastern boundary with West Bengal while the Kankai flows out of Nepal. The Mahananda originates in the Himalayas, Paglajhora Falls on Mahaldiram Hill near Chimli and it flows through Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary and descends to the plains near Siliguri. It enters Bangladesh near Tentulia in Panchagarh District, flows for 3 kilometres after Tentulia, after flowing through Uttar Dinajpur district in West Bengal and Kishanganj and Katihar districts in Bihar, it enters Malda district in West Bengal. It is low-lying and vulnerable to inundation during rainy season, the area consists of very fertile land and is thickly populated. It joins the Ganges at Godagiri in Nawabganj district in Bangladesh, the total length of the Mahananda is 360 kilometres, out of which 324 kilometres are in India and 36 kilometres are in Bangladesh. The total drainage area of the Mahananda is 20,600 square kilometres out of which 11,530 square kilometres are in India, the main tributaries of the Mahananda are Balason, Mechi, Ratwa, Kankai. In the Siliguri area it has three tributaries called the Trinai, Ranochondi and the pair of Chokor and Dauk taken as a single tributary. The Kosi, which flows through the northeastern Bihar and joins the Ganges at a point much higher up than Rajmahal, originally ran eastward, the channel of the Kosi, therefore, must have been steadily shifting toward the west, right across the whole breadth of North Bengal. There was a time when the Kosi and the Mahananda joined the Karatoya, sultana Nasrin Baby, Mahananda River, in Sirajul Islam, Ahmed A. Jamal, Banglapedia, National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh
26.
Gazetteer
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A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary or directory used in conjunction with a map or atlas. They typically contain information concerning the makeup, social statistics and physical features of a country, region. Content of a gazetteer can include a location, dimensions of peaks and waterways, population, GDP. This information is divided into topics with entries listed in alphabetical order. Ancient Greek gazetteers are known to have existed since the Hellenistic era, the geographer Stephanus of Byzantium wrote a geographical dictionary in the sixth century which influenced later European compilers. Modern gazetteers can be found in sections of most libraries as well as on the internet. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the gazetteer as an index or dictionary. It includes as an example a work by the British historian Laurence Echard in 1693 that bore the title The Gazetteers, or Newsmans Interpreter, Echard wrote that the title Gazetteers was suggested to him by a very eminent person whose name he chose not to disclose. For Part II of this published in 1704, Echard referred to the book simply as the Gazeteer. This marked the introduction of the word gazetteer into the English language, white suggests that the very eminent person written of by Echard was his colleague Edmund Bohun, and chose not to mention Bohun because he became associated with the Jacobite movement. Since the 18th century, the word gazetteer has been used interchangeably to define either its meaning or a daily newspaper. Gazetteers are often categorized by the type, and scope, of the information presented, short-form gazetteers appear as a place–name index in the rear of major published atlases. Thematic gazetteers list places or geographical features by theme, for example fishing ports, nuclear power stations and their common element is that the geographical location is an important attribute of the features listed. Gazetteer editors gather facts and other information from government reports, the census, chambers of commerce, together with numerous other sources. In his journal article Alexander and the Ganges, the 20th-century historian W. W, tarn calls a list and description of satrapies of Alexanders Empire written between 324 and 323 BC as an ancient gazetteer. Tarn notes that the document is dated no later than June 323 BC and it was revised by the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus in the 1st century BC. Historian Truesdell S. Brown asserts that what Dionysius describes in this quote about the logographers should be categorized not as a true history but rather as a gazetteer. This interesting codification of data, probably made by a priest, is paralleled by very similar editions of data on the walls at Edfu
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Indo-Aryan peoples
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Indo-Aryan peoples are a diverse Indo-European ethnolinguistic group of speakers of Indo-Aryan languages. There are over one billion native speakers of Indo-Aryan languages, most of them native to South Asia and these migrations started approximately 1,800 BCE, after the invention of the war chariot, and also brought Indo-Aryan languages into the Levant and possibly Inner Asia. 1800–1400 BCE in the steppes around the Aral sea, present-day Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, the proto-Indo-Iranians were influenced by the Bactria-Margiana Culture, south of the Andronovo culture, from which they borrowed their distinctive religious beliefs and practices. The Indo-Aryans split off around 1800-1600 BCE from the Iranians, whereafter the Indo-Aryans migrated into the Levant, horseplay at Harappa - People Fas Harvard - Harvard University A tale of two horses - Frontline
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Kingdom of the Videhas
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Videha was an ancient kingdom in Vedic India established by King Janaka and based in Mithila, India. The kingdoms trans-boundary is presently located in Mithila region of Northern Bihar of India, according to the sacred Ramayana, the capital of Videha kingdom is mentioned as Mithila. During the late Vedic period, Videha became one of the political and cultural centers of South Asia, along with Kuru. Raychaudhuri suggests 14th- to 8th-century BCE range, while Witzel suggests c.900 to 500 BCE for the Brahmanas, the Vedic school of Aitareyins probably moved to Videha and other centers of scholarship, during the late Vedic period. The region and culture of Videha is often mention in Hindu literature, the texts mention the idea of royal dynasty and the tradition of philosopher-kings who renounce, with examples including Nami, Janaka and other kings. King Nimi or Nami of Videha is included as the 21st of the twenty four Tirthankaras in Jainism, towards the end of the Vedic period, Videha likely became part of the Vriji confederation and subsequently into the Magadha empire. The Videha kingdom is mentioned in the Sanskrit epics, the Mahabharata. In the Ramayana, Sita is the princess from Videha, who marries Rama creating an alliance between the kingdoms of Kosala and Videha, the capital of Videha was in Janakpur, a town presently located in Southern Nepal
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Janaka
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Janaka is the name used to refer to the kings of Videha. The Videha kingdom was located between east of Gandaki River, west of Koshi River, north of Ganga river and south of Himalayas, the region is now divided between the present day Indian state of Bihar and a small part of Province No.2 of Nepal. Janaka Dynasty ruled the Videha kingdom from their capital, Mithila, a certain King Janaka, who probably reigned during the 7th century BCE, is mentioned in the late Vedic literature as a great philosopher-king. A King Janaka is also mentioned in the Ramayana epic, Janaka is the foster father of Sita, the heroine of the Hindu epic Ramayana. His conversation with Ashtavakra is recorded as Ashtavakra Gita, wherein he is depicted as one realised, many spiritual teachers have referred to this writing often translating and deducing its meaning. Under his reign, Videha became a dominant political and cultural center of the Indian subcontinent, Bihar Kings of Mithila Maithils Rama Sita Trikaranasuddhi Urmila Videha Dictionary of Hindu Lord and Legend by Anna Dhallapiccola
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Vajji
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Vajji or Vrijji was a confederacy of neighbouring clans including the Licchavis and one of the principal mahājanapadas of Ancient India. The area they ruled constitutes the region of Mithila in northern Bihar, both the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya and the Jaina text Bhagavati Sutra included Vajji in their lists of solasa mahājanapadas. The name of this mahājanapada was derived from one of its ruling clans, the Vajji state is indicated to have been a republic. This clan is mentioned by Pāṇini, Chanakya and Xuanzang, the territory of Vajji was located north of the Ganges in Bihar and extended up to the Madhesh region. On the west, the Gandaki River was probably the boundary between Vajji and the Malla mahājanapada and possibly also separated it from the Kosala mahājanapada, on the east, its territory probably extended up to the forests along the banks of the rivers Koshi and Mahananda. The capital of this mahājanapada was Vaishali, other important towns and villages were Kundapura or Kundagrama, Bhoganagara and Hatthigama. The rulers of Vajji were a confederacy of the eight clans of whom the Vajjis, the Licchavis, the Jñatrikas, manudeva was a famous king of the Licchavi who desired Amrapali after he saw her dance in Vaishali. The identities of the four clans are not certain. Known as the Vajji Sangha “Vajji Confederation”, Vajji consisted of several janapadas, gramas and gosthas, eminent people were chosen from each khanda as representatives to the Vajji gana parishad “peoples council of Vajji”. These representatives were called gana mukhyas, the chairman of the council was titled ganapramukha but often he was addressed as a king although his post was neither dynastic nor hereditary. The other executives were the mahabaladhrikrita, the binishchayamatya or chief justice, the capital was Vaishali, a prosperous city. In the introductory portion of the Ekapanna Jataka, Vaishali was described as encompassed by a wall with the three gates with watch towers. The main gosthas were the Licchavis, Mallas and Śakyas, around 600 BCE, the Licchavis were disciples of Mahavira and Gautama Buddha. During their lifetimes, both Mahavira and Gautama Buddha visited Vaishali several times, kingdoms of Ancient India List of rulers of Mithila
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Vaishali (ancient city)
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Vaishali was a city in Bihar, India, and is now an archeological site. It is a part of the Tirhut Division and it was the capital city of the Licchavi, considered one of the first example of a republic, in the Vajjian Confederacy mahajanapada, around the 6th century BCE. It was here in 599 BCE the 24th Jain Tirthankara, Bhagwan Mahavira was born and brought up in Kundalagrama in Vaiśālī republic and it contains one of the best-preserved of the Pillars of Ashoka, topped by a single Asiatic lion. At the time of the Buddha, Vaiśālī, which he visited on occasions, was a very large city, rich and prosperous, crowded with people. There were 7,707 pleasure grounds and an number of lotus ponds. Its courtesan, Amrapali, was famous for her beauty, the city had three walls, each one gāvuta away from the other, and at three places in the walls were gates with watch towers. Outside the town, leading uninterruptedly up to the Himalaya, was the Mahavana, nearby were other forests, such as Gosingalasāla. Vaishali derives its name from King Vishal of the Mahabharata age, the city was also called Visālā. Buddhaghosa, the a 5th-century Indian Theravadin Buddhist commentator and scholar says, even before the advent of Buddhism and Jainism, Vaiśālī was the capital of the vibrant republican Licchavi state. In that period, Vaiśālī was an ancient metropolis and the city of the republic of the Vaiśālī state. However, very little is known about the history of Vaiśālī. The last among the 34 was Sumati, who is considered a contemporary of Dasaratha, father of the Hindu god, in the republic of Vaiśālī, Lord Mahavira was born. Gautama Buddha delivered his last sermon at Vaiśālī and announced his Parinirvana there, Vaiśālī is also renowned as the land of Amrapali, the great Indian courtesan, who appears in many folktales, as well as in Buddhist literature. Ambapali became a disciple of Buddha. Manudev was a king of the illustrious Lichchavi clan of the confederacy. A kilometer away is Abhishek Pushkarini, the coronation tank, the sacred waters of the tank anointed the elected representatives of Vaiśālī. Next to it stands the Japanese temple and the Vishwa Shanti Stupa built by the Nipponzan Myohoji sect of Japan, a small part of the Buddhas relics found in Vaiśālī have been enshrined in the foundation and in the chhatra of the Stupa. Near the coronation tank is Stupa 1 or the Relic Stupa, here the Lichchavis reverentially encased one of the eight portions of the Masters relics, which they received after the Mahaparinirvana. After his last discourse the Awakened One set out for Kushinagar, Buddha gave them his alms bowl but they still refused to return
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Foothills
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Foothills are geographically defined as gradual increase in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a zone between plains and low relief hills to the adjacent topographically higher mountains, hills, and uplands. Foothills primarily border mountains, especially those which are reached through low ridges that increase in size closer and closer to the mountain, generally the area from Ferntree Gully/Boronia/The Basin through to Belgrave. Another word for a region is piedmont, derived from foot of the mount in Romance languages. The Piedmont region of Italy lies in the foothills of the Alps and they are also known as submontane zones, especially when referring to montane ecosystems
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Indo-Gangetic Plain
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The region is named after the Indus and the Ganges, and encompasses a number of large urban areas. The Indus-Ganga plain is bound on the north by the Himalayas which feed its numerous rivers and are the source of the alluvium deposited across the region by the two river systems. The southern edge of the plain is marked by the Chota Nagpur Plateau, on the west rises the Iranian Plateau. The region is known for the Indus Valley Civilization, which was responsible for the birth of ancient South Asian culture, during the Vedic and Epic eras of Indian history, this region was referred to as Aryavarta. According to Manusmṛti, Aryavarta is the tract between the Himalaya and the Vindhya ranges, from the Eastern Sea to the Western Sea. During the Islamic period, the Turkish, Afghan and Iranian rulers referred to this region as Hindustan, some geographers subdivide the Indo-Gangetic Plain into several parts, the Sindh, Punjab, Doab, and Bengal regions. This divide is only 300 metres above sea level, causing the perception that the Indus-Ganga Plain appears to be continuous between the two drainage basins, the middle Ganga plain extends from the Yamuna River in the west to the state of West Bengal in the east. The lower Ganges plain and the Assam Valley are more verdant than the middle Ganga plain, the lower Ganga is centered in West Bengal, from which it flows into Bangladesh. After joining the Jamuna, a distributary of Brahmaputra, both form the Ganges Delta. The Brahmaputra rises in Tibet as the Yarlung Zangbo River and flows through Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, as a large plain, the exact extent can vary from source to source. The fertile Terai region is the Nepalese extension of the Plain, the rivers encompassed are the Beas, the Chambal, the Chenab, the Ganga, the Gomti, the Indus, the Ravi, the Sutlej and the Yamuna. The soil is rich in silt, making the one of the most intensely farmed areas of the world. Even rural areas here are densely populated, the Indus-Ganga plains, also known as the Great Plains, are large floodplains of the Indus and the Ganga–Brahmaputra river systems. They run parallel to the Himalaya mountains, from Jammu and Kashmir in the west to Assam in the east, the plains encompass an area of 700,000 km² and vary in width through their length by several hundred kilometres. The major rivers of this system are the Ganga and the Indus along with their tributaries, Beas, Yamuna, Gomti, Ravi, Chambal, Sutlej, extent of the Indo-Gangetic plain across South Asia. As the porosity of this belt is very high, the streams flow underground, the bhabar is generally narrow about 7–15 km wide. The Terai belt — lies next to the Bhabar region and is composed of newer alluvium, the underground streams reappear in this region. The region is excessively moist and thickly forested and it also receives heavy rainfall throughout the year and is populated with a variety of wildlife
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Himalayas
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The Himalayas, or Himalaya, form a mountain range in Asia separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The Himalayan range has the Earths highest peaks, including the highest, the Himalayas include over a hundred mountains exceeding 7,200 metres in elevation. By contrast, the highest peak outside Asia – Aconcagua, in the Andes – is 6,961 metres tall. The Himalayas are spread across five countries, Bhutan, India, Nepal, China, the Himalayan range is bordered on the northwest by the Karakoram and Hindu Kush ranges, on the north by the Tibetan Plateau, and on the south by the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Some of the major rivers, the Indus, the Ganges, and the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, rise in the Himalayas. The Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of South Asia, many Himalayan peaks are sacred in Hinduism and Buddhism. Lifted by the subduction of the Indian tectonic plate under the Eurasian Plate and its western anchor, Nanga Parbat, lies just south of the northernmost bend of Indus river. Its eastern anchor, Namcha Barwa, is just west of the bend of the Tsangpo river. The range varies in width from 400 kilometres in the west to 150 kilometres in the east, the name of the range derives from the Sanskrit Himā-laya, from himá and ā-laya. They are now known as the Himalaya Mountains, usually shortened to the Himalayas, formerly, they were described in the singular as the Himalaya. This was also previously transcribed Himmaleh, as in Emily Dickinsons poetry and Henry David Thoreaus essays. The mountains are known as the Himālaya in Nepali and Hindi, the Himalaya or The Land of Snow in Tibetan, the Hamaleh Mountain Range in Urdu, the flora and fauna of the Himalayas vary with climate, rainfall, altitude, and soils. The climate ranges from tropical at the base of the mountains to permanent ice, the amount of yearly rainfall increases from west to east along the southern front of the range. This diversity of altitude, rainfall and soil conditions combined with the high snow line supports a variety of distinct plant. The extremes of high altitude combined with extreme cold favor extremophile organisms, the unique floral and faunal wealth of the Himalayas is undergoing structural and compositional changes due to climate change. The increase in temperature is shifting various species to higher elevations, the oak forest is being invaded by pine forests in the Garhwal Himalayan region. There are reports of early flowering and fruiting in some species, especially rhododendron, apple. The highest known tree species in the Himalayas is Juniperus tibetica located at 4,900 metres in Southeastern Tibet, the Himalayan range is one of the youngest mountain ranges on the planet and consists mostly of uplifted sedimentary and metamorphic rock
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Calcareous
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Calcareous is an adjective meaning mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate, in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a variety of scientific disciplines. The term also applies to the calcium carbonate tests of often more or less microscopic Foraminifera, note that not all tests are calcareous, diatoms and radiolaria have siliceous tests. The molluscs are calcareous, as are calcareous sponges, that have spicules which are made of calcium carbonate, calcareous grassland is a form of grassland characteristic of soils containing much calcium carbonate from underlying chalk or limestone rock. Species of algae such as the green-segmented genus Halimeda are calcareous, the term is used in pathology, for example in calcareous conjunctivitis, and when referring to calcareous metastasis or calcareous deposits, which may both be removed surgically. The term calcareous can be applied to a sediment, sedimentary rock, or soil type which is formed from, or contains a proportion of. Calcareous sediments are deposited in shallow water near land, since the carbonate is precipitated by marine organisms that need land-derived nutrients. Generally speaking, the farther from land sediments fall, the less calcareous they are, some areas can have interbedded calcareous sediments due to storms, or changes in ocean currents. Calcareous ooze is a form of calcium derived from planktonic organisms that accumulates on the sea floor. This can only occur if the ocean is shallower than the carbonate compensation depth, below this depth, calcium carbonate begins to dissolve in the ocean, and only non-calcareous sediments are stable, such as siliceous ooze or pelagic red clay. Calcareous soils are alkaline, in other words they have a high pH. This is because of the very weak acidity of carbonic acid, note that this is not the only reason for a high soil pH
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Tributary
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A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean, tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater, leading the water out into an ocean. A confluence, where two or more bodies of water together, usually refers to the joining of tributaries. The opposite to a tributary is a distributary, a river or stream that branches off from, distributaries are most often found in river deltas. Right tributary and left tributary are terms stating the orientation of the relative to the flow of the main stem river. These terms are defined from the perspective of looking downstream, where tributaries have the same name as the river into which they feed, they are called forks. These are typically designated by compass direction, for example, the American River receives flow from its North, Middle, and South forks. The Chicago Rivers North Branch has the East, West, and Middle Fork, the South Branch has its South Fork, forks are sometimes designated as right or left. Here, the handedness is from the point of view of an observer facing upstream, for instance, Steer Creek has a left tributary which is called Right Fork Steer Creek. Tributaries are sometimes listed starting with those nearest to the source of the river, the Strahler Stream Order examines the arrangement of tributaries in a hierarchy of first, second, third, and higher orders, with the first-order tributary being typically the least in size. For example, a second-order tributary would be the result of two or more first-order tributaries combining to form the second-order tributary, another method is to list tributaries from mouth to source, in the form of a tree structure, stored as a tree data structure
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Darjeeling
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Darjeeling is a town and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located in the Lesser Himalayas at an elevation of 6,700 ft and it is noted for its tea industry, the spectacular views of Kangchenjunga, the worlds third-highest mountain, and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Darjeeling is the headquarters of Darjeeling district which has an autonomous status within the state of West Bengal. It is also a popular tourist destination in India, the recorded history of the town starts from the early 19th century when the colonial administration under the British Raj set up a sanatorium and a military depot in the region. Subsequently, extensive tea plantations were established in the region and tea growers developed hybrids of black tea, the resultant distinctive Darjeeling tea is internationally recognised and ranks among the most popular black teas in the world. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway connects the town with the plains and has some of the few steam locomotives still in service in India, Darjeeling has several British-style public schools, which attract pupils from India and neighbouring countries. The varied culture of the town reflects its diverse demographic milieu consisting of Nepali, Bengali, Sherpas, Lepcha, Darjeeling, alongside its neighbouring town of Kalimpong, was the centre of the Gorkhaland movement in the 1980s. The towns fragile ecology has been threatened by a demand for environmental resources, stemming from growing tourist traffic. The name Darjeeling comes from the Tibetan word dorje, meaning the thunderbolt sceptre of the Hindu deity Indra, and ling, the history of Darjeeling is intertwined with that of Sikkim, Nepal, British India and Bhutan. Until the early 19th century, the area around Darjeeling was controlled by the kingdom of Sikkim with settlement consisting of a few villages of Lepcha. The Chogyal of Sikkim had been engaged in warfare against the Gorkhas of Nepal. From 1780, the Gorkhas made several attempts to capture the region of Darjeeling. By the beginning of 19th century, they had overrun Sikkim as far eastward as the Teesta River and had conquered and annexed the Terai, in the meantime, the British were engaged in preventing the Gorkhas from over-running the whole of the northern frontier. The Anglo-Gorkha war broke out in 1814, which resulted in the defeat of the Gorkhas, according to the treaty, Nepal had to cede all those territories which the Gorkhas had annexed from the Chogyal of Sikkim to the British East India Company. The company negotiated a lease of the area west of the Mahananda River from the Chogyal of Sikkim in 1835, in 1849, the BEIC director Arthur Campbell and the explorer and botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker were imprisoned in the region by the Sikkim Chogyal. The BEIC sent a force to free them, continued friction between the BEIC and the Sikkim authorities resulted in the annexation of 640 square miles of territory by the British in 1850. In 1864, the Bhutanese rulers and the British signed the Treaty of Sinchula that ceded the passes leading through the hills and Kalimpong to the British. Further discord between Sikkim and the British resulted in a war, culminating in the signing of a treaty, by 1866, Darjeeling district had assumed its current shape and size, covering an area of 1,234 square miles
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Monsoon
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Usually, the term monsoon is used to refer to the rainy phase of a seasonally changing pattern, although technically there is also a dry phase. The term is sometimes used for locally heavy but short-term rains. The major monsoon systems of the world consist of the West African and Asia-Australian monsoons, the inclusion of the North and South American monsoons with incomplete wind reversal has been debated. The south-west monsoon winds are called Nairutya Maarut in India, the English monsoon came from Portuguese monção, ultimately from Arabic mawsim and/or Hindi mausam, perhaps partly via early modern Dutch monsun. Strengthening of the Asian monsoon has been linked to the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau after the collision of the Indian sub-continent and Asia around 50 million years ago. Because of studies of records from the Arabian Sea and that of the wind-blown dust in the Loess Plateau of China, testing of this hypothesis awaits deep ocean sampling by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. The monsoon has varied significantly in strength since this time, largely linked to climate change. A study of marine plankton suggested that the Indian Monsoon strengthened around 5 million years ago, then, during ice periods, the sea level fell and the Indonesian Seaway closed. When this happened, cold waters in the Pacific were impeded from flowing into the Indian Ocean and it is believed that the resulting increase in sea surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean increased the intensity of monsoons. Five episodes during the Quaternary at 2.22 Ma,1.83 Ma,0.68 Ma,0.45 Ma and 0.04 Ma were identified which showed a weakening of Leeuwin Current. The weakening of the LC would have an effect on the sea surface temperature field in the Indian Ocean, thus these five intervals could probably be those of considerable lowering of SST in the Indian Ocean and would have influenced Indian monsoon intensity. The impact of monsoon on the weather is different from place to place. In some places there is just a likelihood of having a more or less rain. In other places, quasi semi-deserts are turned into green grasslands where all sorts of plants. The Indian Monsoon turns large parts of India from a kind of semi-desert into green lands, see photos only taken 3 months apart in the Western Ghats. In places like this it is crucial for farmers to have the right timing for putting the seeds on the fields, Monsoons are large-scale sea breezes which occur when the temperature on land is significantly warmer or cooler than the temperature of the ocean. These temperature imbalances happen because oceans and land absorb heat in different ways, in contrast, dirt, sand, and rocks have lower heat capacities, and they can only transmit heat into the earth by conduction and not by convection. Therefore, bodies of water stay at an even temperature
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Bay of Bengal
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The Bay of Bengal, the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Roughly triangular, it is bordered mostly by India and Sri Lanka to the west, Bangladesh to the north, and Myanmar, the Bay of Bengal occupies an area of 2,172,000 square kilometres. Among the important ports are Chennai, Chittagong, Colombo, Kolkata, Mongla, Paradip, Tuticorin, Visakhapatnam, on the south, Adams Bridge and from the southern extreme of Dondra Head to the north point of Poeloe Bras. The bay gets its name from the historical Bengal region, in ancient Hindu scriptures, this water body is referred to as Mahodadhi while it appears as Sinus Gangeticus or Gangeticus Sinus, meaning Gulf of the Ganges, in ancient maps. The other Sanskrit names for Bay of Bengal are Vangopasagara, also called as Vangasagara. Even today in Bengali, it is known as Bongoposagor, many major rivers of the Indian subcontinent flow west to east before draining into the Bay of Bengal. The Ganga is the northernmost of these and its main channel enters and flows through Bangladesh, where it is known as the Padma River, before joining the Meghna River. However, the Brahmaputra River flows from east to west in Assam before turning south and this joins the Padma whereupon the Padma joins the Meghna River that finally drains into Bay of Bengal. The Sundarbans mangrove forest at the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers lies partly in West Bengal, the Brahmaputra at 2,948 km is the 28th longest River in the world. The Hooghly River, another channel of the Ganga that flows through Calcutta drains into Bay of Bengal in India itself, the Ganga–Brahmaputra rivers deposits nearly 1000 million tons of sediment per year. The Bay of Bengal used to be deeper than the Mariana Trench, the fan has buried organic carbon at a rate of nearly 1.1 trillion mol/yr since the early Miocene period. The two rivers currently contribute nearly 8% of the organic carbon deposited in the worlds oceans. Due to high TOC accumulation in the sea bed of the Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh can reclaim land substantially and economically from the sea area by constructing sea dikes, bunds, causeways and by trapping the sediment from its rivers. Further south of Bengal, the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri Rivers are the rivers that flow from west to east in the Indian subcontinent. Many small rivers drain directly into the Bay of Bengal. The Irrawaddy River in Myanmar flows into the Andaman Sea of the Bay of Bengal, some of the biggest ports in the world — Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Paradip, Kolkata in India as well as Chittagong and Mongla in Bangladesh — are on the bay. Other Indian ports on the bay include Kakinada, Pondicherry, Dhamra, the islands in the bay are numerous, including the Andaman Islands, Nicobar and Mergui groups of India
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Hinduism
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Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu synthesis started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE following the Vedic period, although Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies, it is linked by shared concepts, recognisable rituals, cosmology, shared textual resources, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are classified into Shruti and Smriti and these texts discuss theology, philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topics. Major scriptures include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Puruṣārthas, the proper goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, karma, samsara, and the various Yogas. Hindu practices include such as puja and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals. Some Hindus leave their world and material possessions, then engage in lifelong Sannyasa to achieve Moksha. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, Hinduism is the worlds third largest religion, with over one billion followers or 15% of the global population, known as Hindus. The majority of Hindus reside in India, Nepal, Mauritius, the Caribbean, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit word Sindhu, the Indo-Aryan name for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. The term Hindu in these ancient records is a geographical term, the Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus. This Arabic term was taken from the pre-Islamic Persian term Hindū. By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as an alternative name of India. It was only towards the end of the 18th century that European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. The religion defies our desire to define and categorize it, Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and a way of life. From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism like other faiths is appropriately referred to as a religion, in India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion. Hindu traditionalists prefer to call it Sanatana Dharma, the study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of Hinduism, has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion. Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism, Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents
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Islam
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Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion which professes that there is only one and incomparable God and that Muhammad is the last messenger of God. It is the worlds second-largest religion and the major religion in the world, with over 1.7 billion followers or 23% of the global population. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and unique, and He has guided mankind through revealed scriptures, natural signs, and a line of prophets sealed by Muhammad. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, viewed by Muslims as the word of God. Muslims believe that Islam is the original, complete and universal version of a faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses. As for the Quran, Muslims consider it to be the unaltered, certain religious rites and customs are observed by the Muslims in their family and social life, while social responsibilities to parents, relatives, and neighbors have also been defined. Besides, the Quran and the sunnah of Muhammad prescribe a comprehensive body of moral guidelines for Muslims to be followed in their personal, social, political, Islam began in the early 7th century. Originating in Mecca, it spread in the Arabian Peninsula. The expansion of the Muslim world involved various caliphates and empires, traders, most Muslims are of one of two denominations, Sunni or Shia. Islam is the dominant religion in the Middle East, North Africa, sizable Muslim communities are also found in Horn of Africa, Europe, China, Russia, Mainland Southeast Asia, Philippines, Northern Borneo, Caucasus and the Americas. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world, Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, submission, safeness and peace. In a religious context it means voluntary submission to God, Islām is the verbal noun of Form IV of the root, and means submission or surrender. Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the verb form. The word sometimes has connotations in its various occurrences in the Quran. In some verses, there is stress on the quality of Islam as a state, Whomsoever God desires to guide. Other verses connect Islām and dīn, Today, I have perfected your religion for you, I have completed My blessing upon you, still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith. In the Hadith of Gabriel, islām is presented as one part of a triad that also includes imān, Islam was historically called Muhammadanism in Anglophone societies. This term has fallen out of use and is said to be offensive because it suggests that a human being rather than God is central to Muslims religion
India
