The
Republic of India is a country in South Asia which comprises the majority
of the Indian subcontinent. India has a coastline which stretches over 7,000 km
and shares its borders with Pakistan to the west, the People's Republic of
China, Nepal; Bhutan to the northeast and Bangladesh and Myanmar (formerly
Burma) on the east.
On the Indian Ocean, India is adjacent to the island nations of the Maldives on
the southwest, Sri Lanka on the south, and Indonesia on the southeast. India
also claims a border with Afghanistan to the northwest.
The official name of the country, India is derived from the Old Persian version
of Sindhu, the historic name for the River Indus
The capital of India is New Delhi and the
largest city is Mumbai (Bombay).