Top 10 Fun Facts about India

Top 10 Fun Facts about India

India, officially the Republic of India, is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. It has been a federal republic since 1950, governed in a democratic parliamentary system.

India boasts of a rich history dating as far back as 55,000 years ago with the first modern humans, or Homo sapiens, arrived at the Indian subcontinent from Africa. To help you understand the rich diverse spiritual, cultural and historical treasures of the nation, here are the top 10 fun facts about India;

1. India is home to the wettest inhabited place on earth

Meghalaya – Unsplash

Meghalaya is the wettest region of India, with the wettest areas in the southern Khasi Hills recording an average of 12,000 mm (470 in) of rain a year. During the British imperial authorities nicknamed it the “Scotland of the East” because if its highlands, fog, and scenery that is similar to that of is Scotland.

The Meghalaya subtropical forests ecoregion covers an area of 41,700 square kilometers (16,100 sq mi). The ecoregion is one of the most species-rich areas in India, with a rich diversity of birds, mammals, and plants. The lowlands hold mostly tropical forests, while the hills and mountains, that comprise most of the area, are covered in grasslands and several distinct types of forest habitats, including subtropical moist broadleaf forests in some montane areas above 1,000 metres.

2. During World War II, the Taj Mahal was disguised as a bamboo stockpile

Taj Mahal – Unsplash

In 1942, during the 2nd World War, the British thought that the Taj Mahal was vulnerable to bombing by the German Luftwaffe bombers (and also the Japanese) and placed bamboo scaffolding over the Taj Mahal. It is widely believed that the whole Taj Mahal was layered with a thick layering of bamboo scaffolds.

The same thing was also done when India was fighting a war against Pakistan in 1965 and 1971. The purpose of the scaffolding was to make Taj Mahal look like nothing but a bamboo stockpile from inside a bomber plane flying miles above.

The Taj Mahal was covered with cloth after the 9/11 attacks on the world trade towers as a precautionary measure by the Archeological Survey of India.

3. India was the first country to mine diamonds

Replica of the Koh-i-Noor – Wikipedia

Diamond mining in India appears to have originated between 700 and 500 BCE, with archeological records of diamonds being used for drilling ornamental bead dating as far back as the 2nd millennium BCE.

Historical records that highlight mining of diamonds in India include; Around 400 BCE, the Greek physician Ctesias published Indika where he described incredibly rich diamond deposits guarded by griffins, the Arthashastra of Kautilya mentions diamond trade in India and Buddhist works dating from the 4th century BCE describe the diamond as a well-known and precious stone.

From ancient times, India was the source of nearly all the world’s known diamonds, until the discovery of diamonds in South Africa in 1896. Since the 1900s, India has not been a major diamond-producing country, but diamond mining still continues up to date.

4. Around 75% of world spices comes from India

Spices – Flickr

India contributes approximately 75% of global spice production. This is reflected culturally through their cuisine and historically, the spice trade developed throughout the Indian subcontinent, in East Asia and later with the Middle East.

A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. A spice may be available in several forms: fresh, whole dried, or pre-ground dried.

The Indian Institute of Spices Research in Kozhikode, Kerala, is devoted exclusively to conducting research for ten spice crops: black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, garcinia, ginger, nutmeg, paprika, turmeric, and vanilla.

5. Rajasthan has a Temple of Rats

Karni Mata Temple – Flickr

Karni Mata Temple also known as the Temple of Rats is a Hindu temple dedicated to Karni Mata at Deshnoke. The temple was completed in its current form in the early 20th century in the late Rajput architecture by Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner.

The temple is famous for the approximately 25,000 black rats that live, and are revered, in the temple. These holy rats are considered the ancestors of Charans and called kabbas, and many people travel great distances to pay their respects.

Eating food that has been nibbled on by the rats is considered to be a “high honour”. Temple rules state that if you accidentally step on one of the rats and kill it, you must replace it with a rat made of solid silver or gold.

6. India is home to the highest rail bridge in the world

Chenab Rail Bridge – Flickr

The Chenab Rail Bridge is an Indian railway steel and concrete arch bridge between Bakkal and Kauri in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. When completed, the bridge will be mounted on the Chenab River at a height of 359 m (1,178 ft) above the river, making it the world’s highest rail bridge and the bridge with the longest span in the 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge railway network.

This project was declared a national project in 2002 and in April 2021 the Chenab Rail Bridge’s arch was completed, and it is expected to open to rail traffic in December 2022.

7. The popular “snakes and ladders” game originated from India

Snakes and Ladders -Flickr

Snakes and ladders is a board game, with numbered, gridded squares, for two or more players. The object of the game is to navigate one’s game piece, according to die rolls, from the start (bottom square) to the finish (top square), helped by climbing ladders but hindered by falling down snakes.

It originated in ancient India as Moksha Patam, and was brought to the UK in the 1890s. The historic version had its roots in morality lessons, in which a player’s progression up the board represented a life journey complicated by virtues (ladders) and vices (snakes).

8. India is home to the largest sundial

Jantar Mantar – Wikipedia

Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is a collection of 19 astronomical instruments built by the Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur, Rajasthan near City Palace and Hawa Mahal. The word Jantar Mantar originated from the Sanskri language, and it means calculating instrument.

The monument features instruments operating in each of the three main classical celestial coordinate systems: the horizon-zenith local system, the equatorial system, and the ecliptic system. The monument features the world’s largest stone sundial, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

9. One of the most ancient surviving city in the world is found in India

Ancient Varanasi city architecture and Ganges river – Unsplash

Varanassi is one of the world’s oldest continually inhabited cities. The name city is widely known as Banaras or Benares and since ancient times also as Kashi. Kashi was associated with a kingdom of the same name of 2,500 years ago. The Buddha is recorded in the Pali canon to have given his first sermon, “The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of Dharma”, at nearby Sarnath in 528 BCE.

The city is on the Ganges River in northern India that has a central place in pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.

10. India is home to one of the last “untouched” places on earth

North Sentinel Island – Wikipedia

The Sentinelese are one of the last humans on earth who remain untouched by modern civilization. They are found on the North Sentinel Island and are believed to have inhabited the island for over 60,000 years.

Little is known about the island as exploring the island is restricted because the Sentinelese would be at risk of illness and even death, due to exposure to foreign agents and their rejection of outsiders has been so potent that establishing a government against their will would take away their sovereignty.