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The Republic of India is a country that occupies a greater part of South Asia. It borders Pakistan and Afghanistan in the northwest, the People's Republic of China, Nepal, and Bhutan in the north, and Bangladesh and Myanmar in the east. India's coastline stretches for over seven thousand kilometres. Its neighbours in the Indian Ocean are the island nations of the Maldives in the southwest, Sri Lanka in the south, and Indonesia in the southeast. India is the second most populous country in the world, with a population of over one billion and is the seventh largest country by geographical area. It is a constitutional republic consisting of twenty eight states and six union territories. The word India derives from the Old Persian cognate for the Sanskrit word Sindhu, the Indus river. The Constitution of India also recognises Bhārat as an official name with equal status.
A centre of important historic trade routes, India is the home to some of the most ancient civilisations. India is the birthplace to four major world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism and has the third largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia and Pakistan. India was a former colony of the British Empire under the British Raj before gaining independence on 15 August, 1947. The country has witnessed significant economic and military growth after the liberalisation of the Indian economy.
