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An introduction to India

India has to be seen to be believed, that is why it is called 'Incredible India'. It is the land where Human Civilization took roots 5000 years ago - The Indus Valley Civilisation, which is even older than the Egyption and Mesopotamian Civilisation. It is the land of the oldest religions of the world – Hinduism and Buddhism. It inspired the world with the art of Making Love – the ancient book of Kamasutra. It is the land that gave the world Curry and the use of Spices to make delicious food. It is the land of Yoga, Meditation and Ayurveda.

India has fascinated so many. Just look at these quotes from some great people

“India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most astrictive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only!”
Mark Twain, 1835-1910 (American Author)

“We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.”
Albert Einstein, 1879-1955 (Physicist and Nobel Prize winner)

“India was the mother of our race and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages. She was the mother of our philosophy, mother through the Arabs of much of our mathematics, mother through Buddha of the ideals embodied in Christianity, mother through village communities of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all”.
Will Durant, 1885-1981 (American Writer and Historian, winner Pulitzer Prize in 1968 and the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977)

“If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions, I should point to India.”
Max Mueller, 1823-1900 (German scholar and author)

India is unique: it has the Taj Mahal, Khajuraho Temples, Ajanta Caves and Kerala State, one of the ten paradises on earth (National Geographic Traveler). There are wild animals like tigers and elephants roaming free in their forests and protected by Law. Exotic plants and trees grow here yielding world famous spices and fragrances like Sandalwood oil. Ancient monuments right next to modern buildings is a common sight.

India, for sure, must be seen to be believed

Now India is one of the fastest developing economies of the world and is a very modern economy. An indication of how far India has developed can be seen in the satellite image of the world at night released by NASA showing areas with high development lit up at night with the use of Electricity. The amount of lights is an indication of how far a country has developed or how modern it is. You can see the whole world night Satellite image released by NASA at the bottom (you can go to the NASA website by clicking anywhere on the image). This is a combination of different photographs taken over each region at the same time of the night in that region, for example at 8PM over India, 8PM over Europe, 8PM over East Coast of USA and 8PM over West coast of USA and so on.

You can see the bright lights of India at night from the satellite photo below and it is obvious that the night lights of India is on a par with those of the USA and Europe. This indicates the high development of India.

NASA Satellite photo of night lights on Earth. India Shines bright

India is the largest democracy in the world with a population of more than a billion people. It is a free country – basic human rights are respected and upheld. It has a federal system of governance with 28 States, each with its own language, and 7 smaller Union territories - previous colonies of Portugal, France, some far flung islands and the Indian Capital, Delhi.

India was a Colony of England for nearly 200 years till India obtained its independence in 1947. The freedom movement of India was unique in that they obtained freedom by non-violent means, under the leadership of the great Gandhi, known in India as 'Mahatma Gandhi' meaning the 'The Great Soul, Gandhi'. This in a way demonstrates the peace loving nature of Indians.

One of the great benefits gained by India due to the English colonial rule was that the English language was made the medium of education at all levels. This is one of the reasons for India’s success in Information Technology, Medicine and many other fields. English is the language of communication between the Indian States, each of whom have their own local language. The common use of English in India is of great advantage to the tourists and other visitors to India, since they have no problem in communicating with the people. 

The other great gift of the English Colonial rule to India was one of the largest railway networks in the world, connecting every corner of India. The British built the Rail networks to control India by being able to move its soldiers quickly from the barracks to any trouble spots and to exploit the wealth of India, but now it is a great blessing for Independent India. You can see and enjoy the diversity of India by traveling around on trains in this vast country. The fares are so cheap that you will hardly notice it. In fact, there is a special pass which foreigners can get, which allows them unlimited travel on any train, any time, within the validity of the pass. More on this in our dedicated page India by Train.

The roads are also pretty good and commuting by Buses is also possible at very cheap rates. During the last decade Air travel across India has grown multifold and it is affordable, especially when the rates are converted to Dollars, Euros or Pounds.

India is well connected with the world by Internet and Phone services. At the moment in India, well over a million new mobile connections are being taken every month, the largest anywhere in the world, by far. Local Mobile Phone SIM cards or chips can be purchased at Indian Airports, Railway Stations or in many of the shops around the country. Phone call charges are among the cheapest in the world. Internet cafes can be seen every where in India. Fast broadband Internet connections are quite common all over India and plenty of 'hotspots' are there for Wireless Internet connection for your laptop. Mobile phones and Blackberries work well. For those who want internet all the time and anywhere, Internet USB stick connections for your laptop are available from the Mobile Phone Operators, at reasonable prices. So staying in touch with your loved ones back home, or for business, is easy and cheap.

Tourists to India have many choices. They can choose to go to the big Cities like Delhi, Mumbai or Bombay, Kolkata or Calcutta, Chennai or Madras and Bangalore or Bengaluru. They can also choose to go to Goa, if they want great beaches with all night parties. Or they can choose to go to Kerala, for a relaxing time in Kerala, described by National Geographic Magazine as “one of the ten Paradises on Earth”. All of these places have their own pages, so please visit them for more details.

Medical Tourism is the new phenomenon of tourism to India. Before India became famous as the IT capital of the world, with its hordes of software engineers, India was better known for its highly qualified Medical Doctors, Surgeons, Nurses and Medical Technicians. These highly qualified Medicos were grabbed by countries like USA, UK (England), Europe, etc. to work in their short staffed hospitals. These Doctors made a name for themselves in those foreign countries, as being very reliable, friendly and dependable. After their admirable services in foreign countries, many of them returned to India, to set up hospitals in India which were as good as, or even better, than the hospitals in USA, UK or Europe, where they had worked for many years. Now these hospitals are treating patients from the US, UK, Europe, Japan and other countries, where those patients have to wait in a Queue for a year or more to get critical surgeries like Cardiac By-Pass and Hip replacements. Instead of waiting for their turn, they go to India where they are given these Surgeries immediately by very skilled Surgeons who are even better than the Surgeons in their home countries. They also come to India to do Medical Procedures which are not covered by Insurance, like Dental treatment and Plastic Surgery or Cosmetic Surgeries. The costs in India for these expert treatments are also very low in comparison, up to one tenth or even cheaper, than what it will cost them back home in the US, UK or Europe. Please visit our dedicated page ‘Medical Tourism’ for more details.

How to get Indian Visas

Tourist Visa on Arrival

As per the Bureau of Immigration, Ministry of Home Affairs (Government of India) foreign national of following Nine countries can get a Tourist Visa on arrival with a maximum validity of 30 days with single entry facility by the Immigration officer at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata Airports and NOT in any other Immigration Check Posts(ICPs). This is a reciprocal facility, since Indian citizens have the same facility of Tourist Visa on Arrival in those countries.

Please check the Bureau of Immigration, Ministry of Home Affairs (Government of India) website for more information.

Indian Visa online

Since Indian citizens need visas to almost all countries, the Indian Government has to reciprocate by needing Citizens of those countries to have a visa to visit India. The Indian Government, if given the choice, would not have had these visa restrictions, because they welcome foreign tourists to India with open arms. So Visas to India are one of the easiest to get. Indian Visas online are possible in most countries, here is a table with countries listed, click on any of these countries link to go to website for online application of Indian Visa.