The Indian subcontinent was ruled by the British before India and Pakistan gained independence in the late 1940s. The territory spanned from Afghanistan all the way to Burma.
This large territory was called Hindoostan, British India or the Raj- the region known as Hindoostan was split into two nations, the Partition created India and Pakistan.
The two South Asian nations gained independence from Britain in the same year, and for decades, there has always been a rivalry between India and Pakistan.
Although India and Pakistan share a few similarities, one of the main differences between these two countries is their religion. Indians practice Hinduism or Sikhism, whereas the majority of Pakistanis are Muslims.
We have discussed more on the difference between India vs Pakistan in this article.
India- Officially the Republic of India
India is a country in South Asia, currently the most populous nation on Earth with over 1.4 billion people. The Republic of India gained independence from Britain on August 15, 1947.
The total land area of India spans 3,287,263 square kilometres (1,269,219 square miles). It shares a land border with seven countries; the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the west, Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east, and Bhutan, China and Nepal to the north.
The country is also bonded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, and the Arabian Sea on the southwest.
New Delhi is the capital of India and its largest is Mumbai.
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History of Modern Humans in India
According to Wikipedia, modern humans migrated from Africa and arrived on the Indian subcontinent about 55,000 years ago. For centuries, they occupied the land and lived in isolation.
The presence of modern humans in this region made it highly diverse, only second to the continent of Africa in human genetics diversity.
Early humans settled on the subcontinent in the western margins of the Indus River basin some 9,000 years ago. The occupation of this region evolved into the Indus Valley Civilization during the Middle Bronze Age.
In 1200 BCE, an Indo-European language had spread into the subcontinent from the northwest. The evidence of this language can be found in the hymns of the Rigveda.
The Dravidian languages of the subcontinent of India superseded other languages in the northern and western regions. The middle kingdoms in south India later exported scripts written in the Dravidian language to other kingdoms in Southeast Asia.
Pakistan- Officially the Islamic Republic of India
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a country located in South Asia and it’s currently the fifth most populous nation on Earth with over 241.5 million people.
Pakistan is the second largest country in South Asia only second to India. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan covers a total land area of 881,913 square kilometres (340,509 square miles).
The country shares its land borders with India to the east, China to the northeast, Iran to the southwest, and Afghanistan to the west. Afghanistan’s narrow Wakhan Corridor located in the north separates Pakistan from Tajikistan.
Pakistan also has a 650-mile coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south.
The largest city in Pakistan is Karachi, while its capital city is Islamabad.
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Ancient History of Pakistan
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the site of various ancient cultures. Some of the country’s ancient cultures include the 8,500-year-old Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Balochistan, the ancient Gandhara Civilization, and the Indus Valley Civilization of the Bronze Age.
The regions that make up present-day Pakistan were the territories of different ancient empires and dynasties. Ancient empires such as the Maurya, the Achaemenid, the Umayyad Caliphate, the Hindu Shahis, The Mughals, the Kushan, the Gupta, the Delhi Sultanate, the Samma, the Ghaznavids, and the British Raj (which lasted from 1853 to 1947).
India vs Pakistan: Difference between India and Pakistan
The Indian subcontinent is a region that includes present-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. This region is home to a large number of people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Based on the current population of countries on the Indian subcontinent, it’s over 1.8 billion, which accounts for about 22% of the world’s population. This region is home to a diverse group that has over 20 official languages and hundreds of other dialects.
Some of the world’s prevalent religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism originated in this region.
The regions of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh were all under British rule. These three countries existed as a single political unit but religious disputes resulted in the Partition of British India into two nations; the Islamic nation of Pakistan and the Islamic nation of Bangladesh.
India geographically separated these nations: the Islamic nation of Pakistan to the west and Bangladesh (previously called East Pakistan) to the east.
On August 15, 1947, India became an independent nation free from British rule. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan became an independent nation on August 14, 1947.
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India vs Pakistan: How to Differentiate between Indians and Pakistanis
Generally speaking, Indians and Pakistanis do have a similar appearance. Since Indians and Pakistanis come from the same region, the difference in appearance is almost unnoticeable.
It’s believed that Pakistanis have a lighter skin tone than Indians. But there are also Pakistanis with a darker skin tone than Indians.
India is a union of states, with every state speaking a different language and there are various dialects within these states. The country is distinguished by the recognition of states according to tribes and languages.
In contrast, Pakistan does not have any groupings based on languages and tribes. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan unlike India is divided into provinces. These provinces include Punjab, Baluchistan, Sindh, and the North West Frontier or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The main religion in India is Hinduism, whereas the majority of Pakistanis are Muslims.
India vs Pakistan: The Geography of India and Pakistan
The Republic of India spans 3,287,263 square kilometres (1,269,219 square miles). It occupies most of the subcontinent, stretching from the coastal town of Kanyakumari to Srinagar in the Himalayas.
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan once owned a territory on the east and west sides of India. However, Pakistani eastern territory became what we know today as Bangladesh.
India vs Pakistan: Languages Spoken in India and Pakistan
The official languages recognized in India are Hindi and English, while in Pakistan their official languages are Urdu and English.
Other languages spoken in India include Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Konkani, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kashmiri, and Kannada. Pakistanis also speak Punjabi, Gujarati, Balochi, Sindhi, Kashmiri, and Pashto.
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India vs Pakistan: Comparison Chart
| India | Pakistan | |
| Country | A country in south Asia bordered by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the west, Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east, and Bhutan, China and Nepal to the north. | A country in south Asia sharing land borders with India to the east, China to the northeast, Iran to the southwest, and Afghanistan to the west. |
| Population | 1.4 billion | 241.5 million |
| Capital city | New Delhi | Islamabad |
| Largest city | Mumbai | Karachi |
| National language | Hindi | Urdu |
| Literacy rate | A country in South Asia sharing land borders with India to the east, China to the northeast, Iran to the southwest, and Afghanistan to the west. | 58% |
| Currency | Pakistanis Rupee (PKR) | Indian Rupee (INR) |
India vs Pakistan: Firepower of India and Pakistan
According to IndianExpress.com, the Republic of India officially went nuclear in 1998. It was during this time that the Indian Government declared itself as a state possessing nuclear weapons.
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is also one of nine states that possess nuclear weapons.
Conclusion
Diplomatic ties between the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan still remain bitter. The Partition and religious disputes created two nations that fought three wars and had a long dispute on the Kashmir border.
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References
- Wikipedia: India
- Wikipedia: Pakistan
- Eastern Kentucky University: Religious Disparity in India and Pakistan: The Prospect of Peace through the Literary Views of Salman Rushdie and Manil Suri
