Talk:India

Revert

@Fowler&fowler, I have reverted your edit, partly because you reverted my edits so blindly that you removed an important edit from 15 Feb, and also because I fail to see how my edits don't meet WP:FAOWN.] Morris (talk with this worm) 15:12, 24 August 2026 (UTC)

And partly because you are reverting the addition of relevant data that replaces outdated data. Morris (talk with this worm) 15:13, 24 August 2026 (UTC)

I apologize for the revert. I thank you for making the point that the article as it stood was poorly written. It is one of those sections that were written somewhat randomly by different editors when a source of interest presented itself. The article does need rewriting as it didn't meet WP's writing and sourcing standards.

Grant me the remainder of this afternoon. I'll see what I can do. Thank you again for your edits. Fowler&fowler«Talk» 19:15, 25 August 2026 (UTC)

I will be adding the "inuse" tag to the Health section. Fowler&fowler«Talk» 19:16, 25 August 2026 (UTC)

Hello Morris, I have now rewritten the Health section from scratch and made it comprehensive, reliable, and up-to-date. I'm sorry I could not accommodate the health demographics as they are already mentioned (to the extent they could be) in the Demographics section, and the article can't really accommodate more text. We have to keep the prose size < 10K words. I will reduce it a bit, very likely in other sections. I am also sorry about restoring the old image, as it has been in the article stably for nearly a decade if not more. The eradication of polio in India, moreover, is a landmark of global public health. Thanks again for your very timely intervention. Best regards, Fowler&fowler«Talk» 23:39, 25 August 2026 (UTC)

@Fowler&fowler Sorry, I have been away for the past 24 hours because I needed a break. The section looks much better now. Thanks for including all the broader points in this section, especially since my concern was that it included only negative points, which you have now sorted out. It also reads much better now. I should have trusted you. Thanks again. My only question now is whether that image is necessary and if it could be replaced. I checked it, and it is quite old. I was wondering if it might be better to replace it with something more modern. Morris (talk with this worm) 11:49, 26 August 2026 (UTC)

OK. I'll see what I can do. Thanks. Fowler&fowler«Talk» 15:58, 26 August 2026 (UTC)

Hi Morris, I think we might have to wait until after the FAR. Hopefully, we'll pass. Fingers crossed. The reason is that this is a vast topic. We'll need to advertise widely and elicit the opinions of others. It will take time. Fowler&fowler«Talk» 16:40, 26 August 2026 (UTC)

Sure. I can wait. Morris (talk with this worm) 16:41, 26 August 2026 (UTC)

It's one of those rules of something or other: just when you give up, you find something. It is an image from 2022; so it is recent. It is about an important topic, child undernutrition and maternal counseling. I will replace the current image with this new one. I still have to find the proper sources. Fowler&fowler«Talk» 17:16, 26 August 2026 (UTC)

OK, Morris, I've added something. It makes room for some children's health demographics, not necessarily disease-related, by accommodating them in the caption. It also resonates with the second paragraph but has something positive. Thanks for your suggestion. Fowler&fowler«Talk» 17:52, 26 August 2026 (UTC)

I like the caption, and it is good that it brings Anganwadi, an important aspect of India that I came across online, to this page.

This section is now at least more positive than it was three days ago.

Thanks, @Fowler&fowler, for taking my recommendations into consideration. Morris (talk with this worm) 01:56, 27 August 2026 (UTC)

Lead

In lead last paragraph, Where's the mention of India's military, nuclear power, it's presentation on global stages like BRICS, SCO ? Bravo108 (talk) 01:51, 8 September 2026 (UTC)

Even Pakistan seems much better country than India, economically and militarily. Bravo108 (talk) 02:10, 8 September 2026 (UTC)

Even Pakistan seems much better country than India, economically and militarily as per it's last paragraph Bravo108 (talk) 02:11, 8 September 2026 (UTC)

Writing encyclopaedia articles is not a competition. If it was, this article is a much better one than the Pakistan one, having gone through multiple quality checks. If lessons are to be drawn, the Pakistan article should take inspiration from articles such as this one which have had those quality checks. CMD (talk) 02:36, 8 September 2026 (UTC)

True. but India page is heavily being manipulated to make it look mediocre with thousands of problems. But look at even poorer and worst countries pages, which seems great overall. Bravo108 (talk) 02:53, 8 September 2026 (UTC)

Bangladesh mentioned in last paragraph? why?

No mention of military power nuclear power, participation of intergovernmental groups like brics etc. It's being an attempt to make it look like some invaluable country. Bravo108 (talk) 02:56, 8 September 2026 (UTC)

It certainly is an invaluable country, and our coverage of its extensive history and cultural wealth reflect that. But I don't think that's what you meant by "invaluable". Is military power the only measure of a country's worth? More practically, the lead is already on the long side; what would you remove? Vanamonde93 (talk) 17:59, 8 September 2026 (UTC)

Wow, so you said it's invaluable country. when you said, it's invaluable country what do you mean by that ?, it's lesser important than any European country or American or china japan SK etc ? Basically the editors should be the ones who knows India from social media hate as it's grown in last years. Whole article was something else few days back. Now everything is being written with a certain POV to reflect. Maybe it's an attempt to make it look like, it's India, not so important. Bravo108 (talk) 14:04, 9 September 2026 (UTC)

Bravo108 Before you start complaining at people, I'd check a dictionary. "Invaluable" does not mean "not valuable". Indeed, it means the opposite - "extremely valuable, indispensable or priceless". Black Kite (talk) 14:17, 9 September 2026 (UTC)

Everybody understands Wikipedia's leaning.. but don't do over bias that it gets banned in India. Sooner or later it will be, because it's very biased on India, it's history and ruling government and leaders, it's ideology and ideologues @Fowler&fowler@Vanamonde93 Bravo108 (talk) 15:16, 9 September 2026 (UTC)

@Bravo108: That's a very good point. I was so busy rewriting the modern history section per the FAR page comments that I forgot about the things you mention. Upon rethinking, I agree that the Bangladesh/Privy purses sentence is not notable in such a brief paragraph. (Upon re-rethinking I think it is notable, 12:57, 9 September 2026 (UTC)) I will make some changes and you can tell me what you think. Thanks for this! Fowler&fowler«Talk» 12:32, 9 September 2026 (UTC)

It's same again, even more good reflecting sentences get removed like India has become a fast major economy. last paragraph is a absolutely biased with an attempt to make ot look it it's India of social media platforms.

By the way, India is 2nd in PPP GDP, 2nd in military, nuclear armed country, Nuclear triad, highest rail network, road network, major IT hub, cinema and culture is popular. It's founding member of BRICS, increasing geological roles.

Look at Pakistan, Nepal, Bangaldesh, Indonesia, Syria, UAE any other african or European country page, which holds generally no power in geopolipics look greater in front of India. Bravo108 (talk) 14:11, 9 September 2026 (UTC)

The contemporary rail network likely should be worked in somewhere. Vanamonde93 (talk) 15:21, 9 September 2026 (UTC)

Sorry, didn't see this. What India has added since 1947 is 1/5th of the current total, although along many routes, the tracks have been doubled to alleviate bottlenecks. The more significant achievement might be the electrification, which might be 100% complete, or . How significant this is overall I can't say.

The two books I've used for the economy section (by Tirthankar Roy and B. R Tomlinson don't say anything about new networks, although Roy bemoans the neglect to the old. These books were published in the earlyish 2010s. The problems new stats often is that they haven't made it to the solid textbooks.

Where would you like to put the sentence(s) about the rail network? In Economy? They do have the automobile sector. Fowler&fowler«Talk» 16:07, 9 September 2026 (UTC)

I've added the following sentence without getting rid of the reference to Bangladesh and princely privileges: A nuclear-weapon state with high military expenditure, India is among the world's largest economies and a founding member of the United Nations, while its cultural legacy encompasses 45 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

This gives a segue to the last sentences about wildlife. Also, Wikilinked in this manner it will deter people from perennially changing stats which pages such as "List of this and that by this and that" will invite. This is about all, the absolute limit, that this page can take. India is Wikipedia's oldest country FA. As my mentor here Nichalp told me many times, this page sets its own standards. Fowler&fowler«Talk» 15:27, 9 September 2026 (UTC)

Note: "founding member" is wikilinked to Foreign relations of India which has the laundry list of all the international organizations. Fowler&fowler«Talk» 15:30, 9 September 2026 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 11 September 2026

Request 1: The page currently says the Maurya and Gupta eras "gave rise to wide-ranging cultural and scientific creativity" — but never says what. The request makes that existing sentence specific: the decimal place-value system with zero, the trigonometric sine function, Aryabhata's calculations, and the Sushruta Samhita's surgical descriptions. Aryabhata (476–550 CE) calculated the length of the sidereal year to within minutes of modern values, proposed that the Earth rotates on its axis, explained eclipses as shadows rather than divine events, and created the sine function (jya) that became the foundation of world trigonometry. Brahmagupta (598–668 CE) gave the first rules for computing with zero and negative numbers, solved quadratic equations, and described gravity as the Earth's "attraction" of objects — six centuries before Newton was born. The Nalanda Mahavihara, founded in this period, became the world's largest residential university, drawing thousands of scholars from China, Korea, Tibet, and Central Asia. The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang (602–664 CE), who studied there for years, recorded that its standards of admission were the most rigorous in the world and that its debates drew the finest minds of Asia. Xuanzang described India as a unified civilizational space of seventy kingdoms — the "Five Indies" — bound by shared learning and sacred geography.

Kumaragurudasar (talk) 07:00, 11 September 2026 (UTC)

 Not done: This is not an actionable edit request. Please consider whether information is overdetailed for a particular page and may be better on a subpage, and provide clearer sourcing for proposed changes. CMD (talk) 10:52, 11 September 2026 (UTC)

References

Proposal to add the historical geographical context of 'Hindu' as a demonym/etymology

Hello fellow editors,

I would like to propose a discussion regarding the inclusion of the historical geographical context of the word 'Hindu' in the article.

Historically and etymologically, the term 'Hindu' originated from the Sanskrit word 'Sindhu' (referring to the Indus River). In ancient Persian (Achaemenid inscriptions, c. 6th century BCE) and later Arabic records, 'Hindu' or 'Al-Hind' was strictly used as a geographical and ethnic demonym to describe all inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent, regardless of their faith.

Proposed Change:

While "Indian" is the undisputed official modern demonym in the infobox, I propose that we explicitly highlight this historical, non-religious, geographical demonym aspect of 'Hindu' within the "Etymology" or "History" section of the page, ensuring readers understand its original definition alongside its modern religious evolution.

Here are a few reliable sources supporting this:

• Source 1: Thapar, Romila (2004). Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300. University of California Press. pp. 38–40. (Explains the transition of 'Sindhu' to the Persian 'Hindu' as a purely geographical marker for the people living around and beyond the Indus).
• Source 2: Flood, Gavin D. (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press. p. 6. (Highlights that the term 'Hindu' was initially a geographical term used by Persians and Greeks, and did not acquire a distinct religious meaning until much later).

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and consensus on this matter.

Thanks! CaydenStorm (talk) 10:51, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

I don't think this proposal makes a lot of sense. For one thing, this article is about the India as it exists today, not the historical India that, in particular, included modern Pakistan. Much of what was "Sindhu" (e.g., the region around the Indus) is now in Pakistan so, largely, those references have little, if anything, to do with India. RegentsPark (comment) 20:54, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

Thank you for your feedback. However, I respectfully disagree. The "Etymology" section of the India article already traces the origin of the name "India" itself to the Old Persian word Hindush, which is derived from the Sanskrit Sindhu (Indus River).

Just as the modern country "India" shares its name's historical roots with the Indus river region (most of which is in present-day Pakistan), the word "Hindu" shares the exact same linguistic and geographical origin. Omitting the historical demonym context of "Hindu" while retaining the etymology of "India" creates an incomplete picture of how the region's identity evolved.

Furthermore, reliable historical records (such as Arab and Persian texts) used "Al-Hind" and "Hindu" to refer to the entire subcontinent, including regions that comprise modern India today, not just the Indus basin. Therefore, mentioning this in the Etymology or History section is contextually relevant to the origins of the names associated with this nation.

I would love to hear what other editors think about balancing this historical context. ~~~~ CaydenStorm (talk) 21:26, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 23 September 2026

Requested change: Add the following sentence at the end of the "Etymology" section:

"In East Asia, India was historically known by the Chinese name Tianzhu (天竺), a transliteration ultimately derived from Sanskrit Sindhu via Persian Hindu; its readings in Japanese (Tenjiku), Korean (Cheonchuk) and Vietnamese (Thiên Trúc) were long used, especially by Buddhists, to refer to India as the birthplace of Buddhism."

Rationale:

• Balance: The section traces India's names through Sanskrit, Persian, Greek and Latin sources but omits East Asia, where Tianzhu was the principal name for India for well over a millennium (from the Later Han through the Song dynasty in China, and in Japan as Tenjiku until the early 20th century). One sentence corrects this regional gap.
• Significance: The name is central to the history of Buddhist transmission from India to East Asia, including the pilgrimages of Xuanzang, and it remains widely recognised in East Asian languages today.
• Verifiability: The sentence is supported by academic sources already cited in Names of India, and it links to the existing article Tianzhu (India).
• Brevity: A single sentence, consistent with the section's summary style, with fuller detail left to Names of India. ~2026-51527-65 (talk) 16:59, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

 Not done: The section is focused on the Etymology of words used in English. Please don't use LLMs to communicate here. CMD (talk) 23:28, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

Modern India

This section has been heavily updated. I would like to suggest inclusion of Poverty in India and democratic backsliding in the recent decade. D4iNa4 (talk) 18:07, 25 September 2026 (UTC)

Well, we do mention majoritarianism. As you know, in a secular democracy such as India's, majoritarianism can be a prime driver of democratic backsliding. I.e. populist leaders can hijack Lincoln's poetic ending of the Gettysburg Address to essentially erode the other half of a liberal democracy, the constitutional liberalism (freedom of religion, protection of minorities, independence of the judiciary, habeas corpus, and so forth.) I think on a page such as India, especially in a highly compressed lead, that is good enough. But ... We do need a page: Majoritarianism in India. How would you like to take a stab at starting it? We can then link "majoritarianism" to that page.

Similarly, sure poverty is there in India, but the poor in India are better fed, better clothed, better whatnotted ... than they were even a decade ago. High rates of economic growth with do that, but economic inequality is growing in India, and we do mention that. Also, the cites have hover snippets, where you can read what the cited content actually says.

They do have a page Income inequality in India, but I didn't link it as it didn't seem very informative.

Thanks for posting. Fowler&fowler«Talk» 02:15, 26 September 2026 (UTC)

I do think that democratic backsliding would still require a mention because the declining press freedom, manipulated elections and suppression of critics even outside India cannot be described with just the word "Majoritarianism".

Income equality also exists in Russia, Brazil and more developed nations, however they are not dealing with the issue of poverty like India does. This can be observed just by noting that India had the highest number of COVID deaths in the world and more than 810 million Indians require free foodgrains from the government. Thats why poverty needs a mention on lead and a small description in Modern India section. D4iNa4 (talk) 03:12, 27 September 2026 (UTC)

I have added a bit on democratic erosion to the Government and politics section, and mentioned it briefly at the end of Modern India. Covid deaths are already mentioned in the health section. I have revised the Economy section. Unfortunately, this page can't use newspapers, only very reliable books published by academic publishers, and then, only their summaries. Fowler&fowler«Talk» 12:33, 27 September 2026 (UTC)

Thanks and I will make sure that those changes will be retained.

Here are two academic sources that focus on the fact that over 813 million people getting free foodgrains because the situation of many Indians are facing "precarious" situation. One of these sources also notes: "In India, nearly 230 million people were pushed into poverty due to the pandemic (Basole et al., 2021). It is nearly impossible to identify the share of the population living in extreme poverty because the country has abandoned poverty estimation and relies on Multidimensional data for policy measures." D4iNa4 (talk) 20:59, 27 September 2026 (UTC)