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1. About Bhuvan
No, we aren’t talking about Aamir Khan from the blockbuster hit Lagaan; we are talking about India’s answer to Google Maps. Did you know that ISRO’s Bhuvan has more than a million satellite images for more than 300 cities? It also features images in 3D and also has some interesting infographics on Indian geology.
2. About Ravinder Kaushik
Ravinder Kaushik was former RAW agent who was sent to Pakistan for 8 years. However, he was caught by Pakistan’s Intelligence Agency. It is said that Indian intelligence agencies were responsible for Kaushik’s capture as they did not maintain proper cut offs which are normally exercised by intelligence agencies. Kaushik was given life term by Pakistan Supreme Court and he eventually died due to Pulmonary Tuberculosis in jail. Salman Khan’s ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ was roughly based on Kaushik’s life.
3. About Mahant Bharat Darshandas
The Election Commission of India builds a polling booth in the midst of Gujarat’s Gir forest for one and only one voter named Mahant Bharat Darshandas. Darshandas is said to be one of India’s most prized voter.
4. About Indian National Kabaddi Team
Did you know that both Indian men and women Kabaddi teams have won all the Kabaddi world cups till date. Why would we know? We only care about cricket.
5. About Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh
Not many know about Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh, who was a freedom fighter, journalist, writer, and Marxist revolutionary social reformist of India. A Jat prince by birth, he relentlessly preached the values of pluralism, tolerance, liberalism and secularism. Raja even founded a new religion called Prem Dharam, a religion that only recognises love. He was nominated for Nobel prize and has a postage stamp on him.
6. About Lieutenant General Jacob Farj Rafael Jacob
This highest ranked Jewish officer solved the war issue during the Liberation of Bangladesh with a big bluff. He threatened that the Pakistani troops would be bombed to annihilation by the Indian Air Force (although they were not planning do so at that time!) if they did not surrender. When Pakistani counterpart Lt. Gen. A A K Niazi heard of Jacob’s plan, he surrendered within 30 minutes! Had it not been for Jacob’s intelligent plan, then the Indian army would have lost hundreds of Indian soldiers fighting the Pakistanis. The braveheart recently passed away.
7. About the Indian Army
Many Indians tend to underestimate the strength of their own army. They tend to forget that the reason behind their peaceful sleep is their strong guard. Here are a few facts to make them realise how shallow their assumptions are. It is the biggest voluntary army in the world and has the world’s best jungle warfare force. It is one of the biggest troop contributors to the United Nations peace-keeping operations and has a strong cavalry regiment. It is the Indian Army that controls the highest battlefield in the world – the Siachen Glacier.
8. About Bollywood
If you think Bollywood represents the Indian film industry as a whole, you’re mistaken. Most Indian films are not, as is often supposed to be, the products of Bollywood. In fact, more films are produced in Tollywood (Telugu) than in Bollywood.
9. About deadly roads
A statistic states that there are more road deaths in India than in any other country in the world. It is due to terrible road conditions, and drivers who break traffic rules.
10. About Maitri and Bharati
India is one of the nine nations to have multiple stations in the coldest region on earth – Antarctica. At first, India built Maitri, its first station in 1989. In 2012, India launched Bharati, another station that has been operational since 2012.
Few amazing things about India-
1. Water on moon was revealed by India
- In the year 2009 India's ISRO Chandrayaan- 1 utilizing its Moon Mineralogy Mapper identified water on the moon for the first time.
2. English speaking country
- India is second largest English speaking country in the world, 10% of Indians can speak in English which is about 125 million people.
3. C.N.Annadurai’s Funeral
- It was attended by 15 million people on the streets on Chennai.
4. India is the birth place of
- Ayurveda, Yoga, Martial Art,Surgery, Zero, Calculus, Geometry and Trigonometry.
5. City Montessori School in Lucknow
- 45K students and world’s largest school in terms of students.
6. Indian Railways
- Indian Railways has total 1.4 million staffs which are equal to the whole inhabitants of many countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, Estonia, Mauritius, Bahrain, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco etc.
7. Freddie Mercury and Ben Kingsley are both of Indian ancestry
- Freddie Mercury was born as Parsi with the name Farrokh Bulsara
- Hollywood star Ben Kingsley was born as Krishna Pandit Bhanji.
8. Dahala Khagrabari
- It was part of India till 2015. This area was located with the territorial limits of Bangladesh.
- On 6 May 2015, India ratified the Land Boundary Agreement and decided to concede the enclave to Bangladesh.
Dahala_Khagrabari
9. 300,000 mosques in India
- There are More 300K mosques in India which is more than any country in this world.
10. Fourth most powerful Army
-India has the world’s fourth most powerful army after China,Russia and US. Also, India is one of the biggest troop contributor in UN peacekeeping missions since its starting.
.) In Greek and Latin accounts, Chandragupta Maurya is known as Sandrokottos and Androcottus. He became well known in the Hellenistic world for conquering Alexander the Great's easternmost satrapies, and for defeating the most powerful of Alexander's successors, Seleucus I Nicator, in battle.
2.) India had three universities in ancient times Taxila, Nalanda, and Vikramashila . these schools attracted scholars and students from near and far with some travelling all the way from Tibet, China, Korea, and Central Asia. Xuanzang and Yijing travelled to the Nalanda university in the 7th century.
3.) Brihadeeswarar Temple located in Thanjavur in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Built by Raja Raja Chola I and completed in 1010 CE, the temple turned 1000 years old . The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Great Living Chola Temples", with the other two being the Brihadeeswarar Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Airavatesvara temple. The temple stands amidst fortified walls that were probably added in the 16th century. The vimanam(temple tower) is 198 ft (60 m) high and is one of the tallest in the world. The Kumbam (the apex or the bulbous structure on the top) weighs around 80 tons.
4.) Shampoo was invented in India, not the commercial liquid ones but the method by use of herbs. The word 'shampoo' itself has been derived from the Sanskrit word champu, which means to massage.
5.) When Dr Rajendra Prasad was appointed the President of India, he only took 50% of his salary, claiming he did not require more than that. Towards the end of his 12-year tenure he only took 25% of his salary. The salary of the President was Rs 10,000 back then.
6.) India was the first country to develop extraction and purifying techniques of sugar. Many visitors from abroad learnt the refining and cultivation of sugar from us.
7.) Freddie Mercury, the legendary singer of the rock band 'Queen' was born a Parsi with the name Farrokh Bulsara while the famous Oscar winning Hollywood star Ben Kingsley was born Krishna Pandit Bhanji.
8.) Initially, diamonds were only found in the alluvial deposits in Guntur and Krishna District of the Krishna River Delta. Until diamonds were found in Brazil during the 18th century, India led the world in diamond production.
9.) Earlier known as Moksha Patamu, the game was initially invented as a moral lesson about karma to be taught to children. It was later commercialized and has become one of the most popular board games in the world.
10.) Badminton was originally developed among expatriate officers in British India,where it was known as "poon."
- A marriage can take place in a registrar office in less than ₹250 - Seriously, nobody remembers or cares about your big fat wedding, most people who like your wedding album on Facebook haven't even bothered to check more than 2 or 3 photographs.
- It is fine if your mother cannot climb an escalator in a mall like other people. There is no need to be ashamed of that - I have seen enough people feeling bad about this and literally telling their mothers to behave in public.
- Your parents are humans & they can be wrong at times. Stand up to them if they are wrong, there is nothing disrespectful in doing that - Thenotion that parents are always right is not at all correct, they're humans too after all.
- Being an Indian, you have the right to be proud of Satya Nadella & Sundar Pichai. But that doesn't mean boasting about it on social media platforms to people of other nationalities is the right thing to do - Intelligence has nothing to do with a person's nationality.
- Becoming westernized doesn't mean that you're superior to others - Being modern and educated does not give you the right to treat others as less than human.
- Speaking English is not mandatory & it is by no means a criteria of judging an individual's intelligence - It is just another language, a foreign one on that. It's a means of communication like hundreds of other languages. What matters is the content & that it is conveyed & understood. Stop being a grammar teacher, a grammar Nazi rather.
- Stop showing people respect just because they are old or rich - We Indians are hardwired like that, we jump on to bandwagons real quick. Rather than being kind to everyone, we chose to be nice and polite to a select few, which we need not do. I am not saying, you should disrespect them, just be neutral.
- Don't treat government property as your own - I Have seen people damage Air India's, in-flight entertainment systems & the same crowd behaves all civilized in a Singapore Airlines flight.
- If you want to smoke, do it in specific smoking zones/rooms/lounges. Avoid smoking in public - Don't smoke while walking, you are making a whole lot of people walking behind you inhale carcinogens.
- Stop thinking that western countries don't have any problems & India is the only country with issues - Most developed countries honestly, have more serious issues than India.
- Speaking English is an asset, but doing it for the sake of seeming upper class is foolishness. Don't ever forget your mother tongue.
- Help accident victims. There's no need to fear the police.
- Teach your boys to be respectful to girls, and give your girls more freedom, because everyone is equal.
- Not following traffic rules is uncool. Wear your seatbelt/helmet while driving.
- Your neighbours won't earn you bread. Do what you like. Follow yourpassion.
- Do not be afraid to marry someone you love just because he/she belongs to a different caste/religion. It is your life.
- Political leaders who favor development will benefit you. Those asking for votes on the basis of caste/religion won't. Make a well thought out choice. And always VOTE, because your vote COUNTS!
- Let your kids/nieces/nephews play out in the open, because it is as necessary as studying.
- Be religious, but don't segregate people based on religion.
- Engineering and Medical are not the only two fields for higher education.
- Know the correct history. Arguments like why Chandrasekhar Azad or S C Bose is not on currency would not yield anything.
- Be grateful if you are reading this. Still half of India is not able to read English properly.
- Ours is a great culture. But that does not mean others do not have any culture. Try to respect each culture.
- Don't loot foreign tourist. Try to give them a sweet memory of the nation. They are our guests.
- Don't blame the government for everything. Government alone can not make everything perfect.
- Don't start measuring distance in Miles after returning from US.
- Dont give vote on short term benefits. Look for long term goals.
- It's OK not to have any political opinion.
- Don't formulate your opinion based on social media. Learn to read the actual news and formulate your own views.
- Respect others on road. Does not matter what car you are driving, even the person walking on the road deserves the same amount of respect.
- The Indian National Flag was derived from the design of Pingali Venkayya. The current flag is a slightly modified version of Pingali Venkayya's flag. This is his picture:
- India is connected to Tokyo and Istanbul by road. The road connecting Istanbul and Tokyo is the Asian Highway 1. It runs from Moreh to Dawki and then from Petrapole to Atari in India.
- We can hoist the National Flag after sunset if it is at least 100 metres high and well illuminated. (Based on the comments by Abhishek Ojha, the height of the flagpole is unclear. It may be 100 feet instead of 100 metres. If the reader has authentic information in this regard, please share it.)
- The Leh Radio Station is the Highest Radio Station in the world.
- There is a crossing in Nagpur where the trains move North-South and East-West perpendicularly. It is one of its kind. The crossing is called Diamond Crossing. (The term shared by Shivstrong Singh)
- Air India was founded by J.R.D. Tata as Tata Air in 1932. It was acquired by the Government of India in 1948.
- The image of Mahatma Gandhi in the currency notes is not a piece of art. It has been cropped from the photograph which was taken at his meeting with Lord Pethic Lawrence in 1946.
- Marshal/Field Marshal/Admiral of Fleet are the highest ranks of the Indian Armed Forces. A Marshal remains in service until death. Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh is the only living officer of this rank.
- The largest district of India is Kachchh in the state of Gujarat. It has an area of 45,674 km².
- The Lion Tailed Macaque is exclusive to India. It is found in the tropical forests of the Western Ghats (Shared by Krishna Kulkarni).
- The education system might not be perfect, but so is education system of every other country. However the education you get in India is highly respected.
- It's okay if you choose a career outside engineering or medicine. May be you don't make more money in other profession, but you being happy in your life is more important than making money.
- Follow the rules, they are there for your safety. Follow the traffic rules. We don't need wider roads, we need better drivers.
- Don't blame government for everything that is wrong in the country. You are equally responsible for it. The government would not have to clean your mess, if you dispose your garbage in right place.
- Behave in public places, you don't need a bachelors degree to know how to behave. It's a basic human etiquette.
- Respect women and give them their personal space. We wouldn't need reservations for women in public transport if we men know how to behave around women.
- Know that there are corrupt people all around, you can't fix them unless you stop bribing. Humans are greedy by default.
- Be thankful, for you live in a multi cultural and diversified country. No other country has that advantage.
- Using “Swadeshi” goods won't fix the economy of India. You using iPhone or buying Colgate isn't hurting your economy. The lower quality of goods produced within the country is. We need to raise our standards. Which thankfully we are.
- Our farmers are backbone of economy. Instead of paying 20Rs tip at restaurant, next time don't bargain with the vegetable vendor.
- Cleanliness & Basic Hygiene
- Healthy diet & Nutrition
- Gender Equality
- Senior Citizens
- Basic Education
- Life outside India is possible. And at the same time it need not be better. Remember Columbus was looking for India.
- We(I) are(was) proud that we are very diverse, but India is ranked 17th in ethnical and cultural diversity index.
- India has 29 states and 7 union territories. Assumed to be common general knowledge, but many are pretty confused whether its 28 or 29.
- We should be accustomed to the common names associated with each state. Like “Chakravorti” is a name associated to Bengal. Here is a few articles I found interesting regarding the same.[1] [2]
- Arguably one of the oldest civilizations hailed from Northern parts of India, place where nomads that originated from Africa later on settled and created kingdoms and gave rise to culture and order.
- There are locations in India which are approved by government as haunted. the Fort of Bhangharh, Rajasthan being one.[3]
- India’s space program ISRO is ranked 4th in the list of top space agencies.
- A woman should be respected.
- Every religion has its ideals, and practices. In a country like India, it is necessary to respect one another’s religious sentiments, and not offend them on that basis.
- India is consistently second or third in the list of countries with most number of startups. A very welcoming sign of development.
- Success can come to you by courageous Devotion to the task lying in front of you I can assert with out fear of contradiction that quality of the Indian mind is equal to the quality of any Teutonic, Nordic, or Anglo-Saxon mind. What we lack is perhaps courage, what we lack is driving force which takes one any where. We have I think, developed an inferiority complex. I think what is needed in India today is the destruction of that defeatist spirit. - These were quoted by C .V . Raman . refer wiki. We should ask ourselves , have we destructed this thought . While we are Inside our house in India , In a different state of than the one we were born in or in a foreign country. While reading this ‘ as yourself rather than thinking of referring other personalities .Have you developed the spirit within ? Do you have the SARFAROSHI - within You ? If not develop it . Let the spark come from within.
- Ram and Ravan both were Sarfaroshi’s
- Arjun and Duryodhan both were Sarfaroshi’s
- Before choosing either of those it would be good to watch the well scripted play Bharath Ek Khoj
- I would like to start with Upanishad Ganga - The Upanishads are a collection of texts of religious and philosophical nature, written in India probably between c. 800 BCE and c. 500 BCE, during a time when Itian society started to question the traditional Vedic religious order.The series I have shared are small plays portrayed in a story format .Aired in Doordarshan so less dramatic.
- Discovery of India - Since these were produced for knowledge sharing and upbringing better citizens and just not for trp rating I would suggest to watch all the episodes to get a holistic picture of all warrior stories and how they were portryed
- Followed by another series Samvidhan - Making of Constitution of India
- Indian Philosophy - Philo (Love) Sophia(Knowledge) Love for Knowledge
- Google the topic Indian Philosophers - You will be able to see Spiritual Leaders and Statesmen . (Take a moment to reflect with the current statesmen - read the works ) - What is the condition now ?
- Chanakya Gyan for the final note on Philosophy
- About the ancient and medieval monuments across India, East to West and North to South .Try to understand the design science of it . Introduction of curves in designs with respect to squared forms in Western
- Read and Write at least one regional language . Speak at least 2 . Speak English . Translate the regional literature into English and English literature for regional language- This will improve your command over English as well as your regional language and we will be able to embed world thought among the locates and share your regional views accessible to the world.
My apologies if I've been little rude with my views but I wish it'll be taken in positive way. Please feel free to criticize if you wish to.
1. Difference between Looking and Staring
The foremost thing every Indian should know is the difference between Looking and Staring. What Staring is for other people is “casual Looking” for us. Accept it or not but We Indians stare a lot. So we need to understand the difference.
2. Importance of Seat Belt and Helmet
We need to understand this on Priority.
3. Use of Commode & Flush in public Toilets
Oh Yes, we all should know that the Flush installed in the public toilet is there to get rid of your Shit. The situation of commodes is even more worse.
4. Use of Low and High Beam
I have seen people driving on High beam in cities. The high beam causes a lot of problem for other drivers and sometime results in fatal accidents. So,I think every Indian should know the use of High/Low beam while Driving.
The basic rule: High beams are suitable for use when the driver is alone, while low beams are suitable for use when there are other vehicles on the road.
5. States,UT’s and their Capitals(Basic Geography)
Every Indian should know the name of all the States and Union Territories along with their Capitals, lot of people in India are unaware of “The Seven sisters” and the Capital cities of some Union Territories. One should know the basic Geography of his/her Country.
6. Importance
Every Indian should know the importance of:
7. Humanity & Unity are our biggest Strengths
Be it Mumbai Terror Attacks, Earthquake in Gujrat, Mumbai Rains, Tsunami, Kedarnath mishap or the Chennai Flood, this Unity and Humanity of ours stood the test of times.
8. Importance of giving way to Ambulance & Fire Brigades
Every Indian should Give way to Ambulances and Fire Brigades. We can save lot of Lives, if people start giving pass to Ambulances & fire Brigades while driving.
9. Importance of Family Planning
Humans controls the Growth of every other Species, except our Own. So We all should know the importance of family planning.
10. The Power of Ballot
Everyone should be aware of Power of Voting. Abraham Lincoln once said, “The Ballot is stronger than the Bullet”. In other words, “You can’t fix stupid but you can Vote him out”.
Let me go with the top 10 things that we need. Now these may not seem important to you but I think these are basic things that you need to know. I’m not listing them in any order
#1 Know your president, prime-minister, CM and MLA - Alia Bhatt made a blunder but handled it well and over time changed things but this meme never got old. These are basic awareness facts that you simply cannot avoid learning
#2 Emergency numbers - If you take America, everyone in the world knows that calling 911 will help you report an emergency. The same awareness level is not present in India. 112 adopted as India's all-in-one emergency number: Things you should know about emergency numbers in India - link to common emergency numbers
#3 Weddings are way important - Weddings are an issue of pride and a thriving industry in the country. What we forget is how much we waste in this. Also, we are the largest commercial users of gold in the world. We spend most on our weddings. Sometimes we spend more on weddings than housing
Amounts are in pounds but you get the point
#4 We are secular, tolerant and not insane - Don’t believe the media. They love capturing the exceptions and showing them on the front page as they sell better than the fact that everything is good. Don’t believe that. India is plenty secular, tolerant and friendly
#5 Foreign Craze - British people treated us as slaves and oppressed us yet we are obsessed with copying them. We forgot our roots. We stopped using charcoal, neem and cloves for brushing teeth. Our toothpastes have the same. Our own products are patented by other countries and sold back to us at high prices
#6 Ironies in India - Religion, politicians, actors, states divide us. Terrorism and natural disasters unite us. We are not without ironies. For more, Venkat Raman's answer to What are the biggest ironies in India?
#7 Money Matters - If you have money and the right connections, you can get away with anything. You may even get a great driver who will take the blame and go to jail for you. You can commit a fraud, do a scam and then walk out like you are a saint. You can even become a chief minister of a state with zero qualification. Let me stop here. I don’t want to get into trouble
#8 Engineering is a requirement, not a choice - We are crazy about engineering. That is partly what got us to be a huge outsourcing hub but are we having too many engineers? Everyone wants to be engineers but nobody really understands what that demands. We are creating a large number of unemployable people
#9 Agriculture is Dying - We are importing pulses from Mozambique, farmer suicides don’t seem to be falling and we are moving more and more towards digitalization. It is safe enough to see that the backbone of our country is failing
#10 We have bad/biased media - Media raises an issue and milks it until TRP is still high and then forgets it. Aarushi murder, Sheena bora case and even rapes are mere TRP spinning issues for the media. Once the heat is down they forget it. The other extreme is the thing like the Rohtak sisters. Our media is just shameless
Footnotes
8. Understanding the Indian Philosophy - Venda( Knowledge) and Vedanta(Conclusion of Knowledge) - And applying what you know to know more about the unknown as life is more about Knowing the Unknown you can watch the commentary here - and be the representative if the Country in all its senses .(You tube Video)
,9,10 - I am still working it.
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