95 Incredible Facts about India

Sri Lanka and India were connected by a faint 50-kilometer long sandbar that existed until 1480 when a storm broke it. People used to walk the wispy sandbar from the mainland to the large island in the Indian Ocean, losing sight of the land masses. Scientists still argue as to how it was formed.

52. The East India Trading Company once had a private army of 260,000. Double that of the British Army. It also once accounted for half of the world's trade.

53. One of the reasons why Sikhs started carrying a "Kirpan" or ceremonial dagger was to protect themselves and others from forced conversions to Islam by the Muslim rulers of India in the 1600s

54. India's richest person, Mukesh Ambani, built a $1 billion home. It has 27 habitable floors, including six parking floors for the capacity of up to 168 cars. A staff of 600 maintain the home.

55. A young farmer named Sumant Kumar in India has broken the world record rice harvest by 3 tons per hectare using only organic methods.

The word "thug" comes from Thuggees, who were professional robbers and murderers that terrorized India for 600 years. They were eventually destroyed by the British

57. A man named Ratanlal Maloo created an artificial sanctuary for the migratory Demoiselle Cranes in Rajasthan, India by feeding them every year over a span of 40 years. Their numbers increased from 80, 40 years ago, to 15000 in 2011.

58. In 2015, a bus driver in India took a nap on his bus, only to be awoken to a monkey that had climbed into the driver's cabin and had started the engine. As the driver ran to the cabin, the monkey panicked, shifted gears & jumped out. The bus rammed 2 other buses before the driver regained control.

59. India's Mars mission is cheaper than a Hollywood movie Gravity

60. 60% of mid-size motels and hotels in the US are owned by those of Indian-origin, and of those, 1/3 have the last name 'Patel'; a name used by the educated merchant class in Gujarat, India which means "landowner".

In 1961, India declared a surprise war on Portugal, annexing lands held for 450 years

62. 47% of the population publicly defecates in India, and they can get paid one rupee to use a toilet.

63. There's an Association of Dead People in India, protesting after losing their land to relatives who have corrupt officials declare them dead

64. There is a gang of women (Gulabi gang) in India that go after abusive husbands and fight to stop child marriages.

65. Pot consumption in the form of a milkshake is quite common in India.

Forest rangers in an Indian state can kill tiger poachers on sight if they catch them in the act and it won’t be considered a crime.

67. India has been the largest troop contributor to UN missions since its inception

68. An eight year old boy named Amardeep Sada in India is the world's youngest known serial killer. He was charged with the murder of three children, including his sister, who were all less than one year old.

69. All packaged products sold in India have a "maximum retail price" printed on the package by the manufacturer and that it is illegal for a store to charge more than that. India is the only country with this system.

70. The Prime Minister of India's salary is only $2,400 USD

A boy named Ashik Gavai had 232 teeth surgically removed, due to having a very rare disease that causes additional teeth to grow in the mouth

72. Back in 1894 the British Government did an inquiry into cannabis use in India, and concluded that "moderate use practically produces no ill effects".

73. In the early 19th century, the East India Company had cut off the hands of hundreds of weavers in Bengal in order to destroy the indigenous weaving industry in favor of British textile imports.

74. A man named Kalyanasundaram in India took up odd part-time jobs so he could donate all his savings and regular income to those in need, every month for 30 years. After he retired as a librarian, he even donated his pension.

75. The Asian brown cloud is a layer of air pollution that appears over South Asia and the Indian Ocean every year between January and March when there is no rain to wash pollutants from the air. Nearly two million people die each year, in India alone, from conditions related to the brown cloud.