1) The world is becoming more and more like a global village every day. Nevertheless, every country and region still has its specific culture and history. In South Asia, India for a long time was the centre of a great empire and its cultural influence is still observed in neighbouring countries. Major world religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here. Islam and Christianity also flourished later.
2) Today India is the seventh-largest country by geographical area and the second most populous in the world. The name India is derived from the Indus River. It borders Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east, Bangladesh and Burma (Myanmar), and the Bay of Bengal to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia.
3) At the dawn of the day, India was an island shifting towards the Asian continent. When the island touched the continent, it formed a sea. In due time, the sea dried up and created the salt mines in the west of Punjab. The edges of the Indian and Asian plates started pushing each other and the world’s highest chain of mountains, the Himalayas, came into being. The Himalayas prevent cold Central Asian winds from blowing in. This keeps the bulk of the Indian subcontinent warmer than most locations at similar latitudes. India’s climate is also strongly influenced by the Thar Desert and summer monsoon winds from the Indian Ocean which provide most of India’s rainfall
4) The Indian subcontinent was identified with India’s commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. One of the most famous world civilisations, the Indus Valley Civilization (C. 3300-1700BC, flowered 2600-1900 B.C.E.), flourished in the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra river valleys in what is now Pakistan and north-western India. Another name for this civilization is the Harappan Civilization, named after the first excavated city of Harappa. In 1857, major cities such as Ropar and Sanghol sites were excavated in east Punjab. British engineers unwittingly employed bricks from the Harappa ruins in the construction of the East Indian Railway line. Remnants or the civilization were found most often on rivers, but also on the ancient sea-coast -- for example Balakot, and on islands such as Dholavira. Other major cities from this period were also found in this general area.