The Highest In India

S.No.	The Highest In India	Description
1	The Highest Dam	Bhakra Dam, on Satluj River, Punjab
2	The Highest Peak	Godwin Austen / K-2
3	The Highest Waterfall	Jog or Garsoppa (Karnataka)
4	The Highest Gateway	Buland Darwaza , Fatehpur Sikri (UP)
5	The Highest Lake	Devtal Lake, Gadhwal (Uttarakhand)
6	The Highest Gallantry Award	Param Vir Chakra
7	The Highest Award	Bharat Ratna
8	The Highest Road	Road at Khardungla (Leh-Manali Sector)
9	The Highest battle-field	Siachen Glacier
10	The Highest Airport	Leh Airport, Ladakh
11	The Highest Bridge	Chambal Bridge
12	The Highest Motorable Road Bridge	Khardungla, Ladakh
13	The Highest Highway	Manali-Leh National Highway
14	The Highly Literate State	Kerela
15	Highest Observatory	Mount Saraswat Hanley, Ladakh (J & K)
16	Highest straight gravity Dam	Bhakra Dam

Domestic Airports in India

Name of the Airport	City
Vir Savarkar Airport	Port Blair
Sri Satya Sai Airport	Puttaparthi
Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport	Patna
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Airport (Sonegaon Airport)	Nagpur
Leh Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport	Leh
Sheikh ul Alam Airport	Srinagar
Biju Patnaik Airport	Bhubaneshwar
Lengpui Airport	Aizwal
Jolly Grant Airport	Dehradun
Amausi Airport	Lucknow
Kheria Airport	Agra
Birsa Munda Airport	Ranchi
Agatti Aerodrome	Agatti (Lakshadweep)
Besides the above, there are domestic airports at Rajahmundry, Tirupathi, Vijayawada, Vishakapatnam, Dibrugarh, Gaya, Chandigarh, Raiur, Diu, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Rajkot, Surat, Simla, Jammu, Jamshedpur, Belgaum, Mangalore, Kochi, Kozhikode, Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Khajuraho, Aurangabad, Pune, Solapur, Imphal, Shillong, Puducherry, Pathankot, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Madurai, Trichy, Gorakhpur, Kanpur etc. usually known by the name of their cities.

Tallest Statue in India

The statue of Gomateshwara at Sravanbelagola in Karnataka is the tallest statue in India. The statue is 17m (55 ft) high and is visible from a distance of 30km. The gigantic monolithic statue is carved out of a single block of granite and stands majestically on top of a hill. This statue of Lord Gomateshwara was created around 983 AD by Chamundraya, a minister of the Ganga King, Rajamalla. Lord Gomateshwara was a Jain saint, hence the place is an important Jain pilgrimage center. The statue of Gomateswara shows the recluse completely nude, in the Jain custom. The neighboring areas have Jain bastis and several images of the Jain Thirthankaras. At Sravanbelgola the Mahamastakabhishekam festival is held once in 12 years, when the image of Gomateswara is bathed in milk, curd, ghee, saffron and gold coins.

Oldest Church in India

St Thomas Church at Palyar in Trichur, Kerala is considered to be the oldest church in India. In 52 A.D. Thomas Didaemus, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ. is believed to have landed at Musiris (Cranganore) in Kerala. He made his first converts both Jews and Hindus at Palayur a town now in Trichur district, Kerala. There he built a small church with an altar, which he consecrated. The Palayur church still stands at the same site and is the oldest church in India. In the 17th century Reverend Fenichi enclosed the original church with a new outer building, as the wooden walls of the old church were destroyed with time. But the original altar consecrated by St. Thomas still remains at this site.

Largest Temple Corridor in India

The corridor of Ramnathswamy Temple at Rameshwaram is the largest temple corridor in India. The temple has 1220 metres of magnificent corridors and has 1200 gigantic granite columns. Ramnathswamy temple was built in the 17th century. The temple is situated close to the sea on the eastern side of the island and has a 54 metre tall gopuram.

Rameshwaram is an island situated in the Gulf of Mannar at the tip of the Indian peninsula. Rameshwaram is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of India. Rameshwaram is an important pilgrimage destination for Hindus. According to the Hindu mythology, Lord Rama performed thanksgiving rituals at Rameshwaram after his triumph over the demon king Ravana.

Largest Dome in India

Gol Gumbaz, situated in Bijapur district of Karnataka, is the largest dome in India. Gol Gumbaz has a diameter of 124 feet and is the second largest dome in the world, next only to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The dome was built by Muhammad Adil Shah in the year 1656. It has a floor area of 1700 m2 and a height of 51 m. The walls of the structure are 3 m. thick. The dome contains tombs of Muhammad Adil Shah, his two wives, his mistress, his daughter and grandson. Gol Gumbaz is an architectural wonder as it stands unsupported by pillars. The most remarkable feature of Gol Gumbaz is its acoustical system. Even the faintest whisper around the dome echoes several times.

Largest Monastery in India

Tawang Monastery in Arunachal Pradesh is the largest monastery in India. The monastery is 3 storey high and occupies an area of 140 sq m. It is enclosed by a 610 m long compound wall. Within the complex there are 65 residential buildings and 10 other structures.

Tawang Monastery is one of the most largest Monasteries of Mahayana sect in Asia. It was founded by the Mera Lama Lodre Gyasto in 17 century AD in accordance to the wishes of the 5th Dalai Lama, Nagwang Lobsang Gyatso. The Monastery is also known in Tibetan as Galden Namgey Lhatse, which means a true name within a celestial paradise in a clear night. The library of the monastery has valuable old scriptures mainly Kanjur and Tanjur numbering 850 bundles.

Largest Cave in India

Amarnath Cave in Jammu & Kashmir is the largest cave in India. The width of the cave is around 40 yard, its height is about 75 feet; and the cave slopes 80 feet deep down inside the mountain. Amarnath Cave is an important pilgrimage shrine for the Hindus. The cave is famous for the image of Shiva, in the form of a lingam that is formed naturally of an ice-stalagmite, and which waxes and wanes with the moon.

Amarnath Cave is situated at an altitude of 3888m and is 45 km from Pahalgam. The trek from Pahalgam to Amarnath cave is on an ancient peregrine route. The 45-km distance is covered in four days, with night halts at Chandanwari, Sheshnag and Panchtarni.

Highest Gateway in India

Buland Darwaza is the highest gateway in India. Buland Darwaza was built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1601 A.D. at Fatehpur Sikri to commemorate his victory over Gujarat. Buland Darwaza is 53.63m high and 35 meters wide. The structure is approached by 42 steps.

Buland Darwaza is made of red and buff sandstone, decorated by carving and inlaying of white and black marble. The Buland Darwaza is semi octagonal in plan and is topped by pillars and chhatris. It is adorned with calligraphic inscriptions from the Quran. There are thirteen smaller domed kiosks on the roof, stylized battlement and small turrets and inlay work of white and black marble. An inscription on the central face of the Buland Darwaza displays Akbar's religious broad mindedness. It is attributed to Jesus Christ and reads, "The World is but a bridge, pass over but build no houses on it." A Persian inscription on eastern arch way of the Buland Darwaza records Akbar's conquest over Deccan in 1601 A.D.

Top 10 Countries By Number Of Immigrants

S.No.	Country	Number of Immigrants (millions)
1	United States	42.8
2	Russian Federation	12.3
3	Germany	10.8
4	Saudi Arabia	7.3
5	Canada	7.2
6	United Kingdom	7.0
7	Spain	6.9
8	France	6.7
9	Australia	5.5
10	India	5.4

Stock Exchanges in India

S.No.	Stock Exchange
1.	AhmedaBad Stock Exchange Association Ltd.
2.	Bangalore Stock Exchange Ltd. (Served by India on Internet)
3.	Bhubaneshwar Stock Exchange Association
4.	Calcutta Stock Exchange Ltd.
5.	Cochin Stock Exchange Ltd.
6.	Coimbatore Stock Exchange Ltd.
7.	Delhi Stock Exchange Associtaion
8.	Guwahati Stock Exchange Ltd.
9.	Hyderabad Stock Exchange Ltd.
10.	Indore Stock Exchange Ltd.
11.	Jaipur Stock Exchange Ltd.
12.	Kanara Stock Exchange Ltd. (Mangalore)
13.	Ludhiana Stock Exchange Association Ltd.
14.	Madras Stock Exchange Ltd.
15.	Madhya Pradesh Stock Exchange Ltd.
16.	Magadh Stock Exchange Ltd.
17.	Meerut Stock Exchange Ltd.
18.	Mumbai Stock Exchange
19.	Pune Stock Exchange Ltd.
20.	Saurashtra Kutch Stock Exchange Ltd. (Rajkot)
21.	Utter Pardesh Stock Exchange Association Ltd. Kanpur
22.	Vadodara Stock Exchange Ltd.

Interesting Facts about India

• India never invaded any country in her last 100000 years of history.
• When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization)
• The name 'India' is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu.
• The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name 'Hindustan' combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus.
• Chess was invented in India.
• Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies, which originated in India.
• The 'Place Value System' and the 'Decimal System' were developed in India in 100 B.C.
• The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara Temple at Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu. The shikhara of the temple is made from a single 80-tonne piece of granite. This magnificent temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD) during the reign of Rajaraja Chola.
• India is the largest democracy in the world, the 7^th largest Country in the world, and one of the most ancient civilizations.
• The game of Snakes & Ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called 'Mokshapat'. The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. In time, the game underwent several modifications, but its meaning remained the same, i.e. good deeds take people to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births.
• The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after leveling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.
• India has the largest number of Post Offices in the world.
• The largest employer in India is the Indian Railways, employing over a million people.
• The world's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
• Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The Father of Medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.
• India was one of the richest countries till the time of British rule in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus, attracted by India's wealth, had come looking for a sea route to India when he discovered America by mistake.
• The Art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh over 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word 'NAVGATIH'. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.
• Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the Sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. According to his calculation, the time taken by the Earth to orbit the Sun was 365.258756484 days.
• The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, long before the European mathematicians.
• Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus also originated in India.Quadratic Equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53 (i.e. 10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C.during the Vedic period.Even today, the largest used number is Terra: 10*12(10 to the power of 12).
• Until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds in the world
  (Source: Gemological Institute of America).
• The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982.
• Sushruta is regarded as the Father of Surgery. Over2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones, plastic surgery and brain surgeries.
• Usage of anaesthesia was well known in ancient Indian medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism,physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.
• India exports software to 90 countries.
• The four religions born in India - Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population.
• Jainism and Buddhism were founded in India in 600 B.C. and 500 B.C. respectively.
• Islam is India's and the world's second largest religion.
• There are 300,000 active mosques in India, more than in any other country, including the Muslim world.
• The oldest European church and synagogue in India are in the city of Cochin. They were built in 1503 and 1568 respectively.
• Jews and Christians have lived continuously in India since 200 B.C. and 52 A.D. respectively
• The largest religious building in the world is Angkor Wat, a Hindu Temple in Cambodia built at the end of the 11th century.
• The Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the 10th century, is the world's largest religious pilgrimage destination. Larger than either Rome or Mecca, an average of 30,000 visitors donate $6 million (US) to the temple everyday.
• Sikhism originated in the Holy city of Amritsar in Punjab. Famous for housing the Golden Temple, the city was founded in 1577.
• Varanasi, also known as Benaras, was called "the Ancient City" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C., and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.
• India provides safety for more than 300,000 refugees originally from Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who escaped to flee religious and political persecution.
• His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, runs his government in exile from Dharmashala in northern India.
• Martial Arts were first created in India, and later spread to Asia by Buddhist missionaries.
• Yoga has its origins in India and has existed for over 5,000 years.

Important Sites in India

Sno Place City/State 1 Ajanta Aurangabad 2 Akbar's Tomb Sikandara 3 Ambernath Cave Kashmir 4 Amber Palace Jaipur 5 Anand Bhavan Allahabad 6 Bhakra Dam Punjab 7 Birla Planetarium Kolkata 8 Black Pagoda Konark (Orissa) 9 Bodhisattva Ajanta Caves 10 Brihadeeswara Temple Tanjore 11 Brindavan Gardens Mysore (Karnataka) 12 Buland Darwaza Fatepur Sikri 13 Charminar Hyderabad 14 Chenna Kesava Temple Belur 15 Chilka Lame Near Bhubaneswar 16 Dal Lake Srinagar 17 Dilwara Temples Mt. Abu 18 Elephanta Caves Mumbai 19 Golden Temple Amirtsar 20 Gol Gumbaz Bijapur 21 Hanging Gardens Mumbai 22 Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds) Jaipur 23 Howrah Bridge Kolkata 24 Island Palace Udaipur 25 Itmad-ud-Daulah's Tomb Agra 26 Jagannath Temple Puri 27 Jama Masjid Delhi 28 Jantar Mantar Delhi 29 Jog (Geresoppa) Falls Mysore 30 Kailasanath Temples Ellora 31 Kanyakumari Temples Cape Comorin 32 Khajuraho Bhopal 33 Konark Puri 34 Lal Bagh Gardens Bangalore 35 Mahakaleeswar Temple Ujjain 36 Mahesuramurthi (Trimurti) Elephanta Caves 37 Malabar Hills Mumbai 38 Manmandir Palace Gwalior Fort 39 Marble Rocks Jabalpur 40 Marina Beach Chennai 41 Meenakshi Temple Madurai 42 Padmanabha Temple Trivandrum 43 Panch Mahal Fatepur Sikri 44 Tower of Fame Chittorgarh

Nick Names of Important Indian Places

SNo	Nick name	Place
1	Golden City	Amritsar
2	Manchester of India	Ahmedabad
3	City of Seven islands	Mumbai
4	Queen of Arabian Sea	Cochin
5	Space City	Bangalore
6	Garden City of India	Bangalore
7	Silicon Valley of India	Bangalore
8	Electronic city of India	Bangalore
9	Pink city	Jaipur
10	Gateway of India	Mumbai
11	Twin city	Hyderabad - Sikandarabad
12	City of festivals	Madurai
13	Deccan Queen	Pune
14	City of Buildings	Kolkata
15	Dakshin Ganga	Godavari
16	Old Ganga	Godavari
17	Egg bowls of Asia	Andhra Pradesh
18	Soya region	Madhya Pradesh
19	Manchester of the South	Coimbatore
20	City of Nawabs	Lucknow
21	Venice of the east	Cochin
22	Sorrow of Bengal	Damodar river
23	Sorrow of Bihar	Kosi river
24	Blue Mountains	Nilgiri
25	Queen of the Mountains	Mussoorie (Uttaranchal)
26	Sacred river	Ganga
27	Hollywood of India	Mumbai
28	City of Castles	Kolkata
29	State of five rivers	Punjab
30	City of weavers	Panipat
31	City of lakes	Srinagar
32	Steel city of India	Jamshedpur (Called Tatanagar)
33	City of temples	Varanasi
34	Manchester of the north	Kanpur
35	City of Rallies	New Delhi
36	Heaven of India	Jammu & Kashmir
37	Boston of India	Ahmedabad
38	Garden of spices of India	Kerala
39	Switzerland of India	Kashmir
40	Abode of the God	Prayag (Allahabad)
41	Pittsburg of India	Jamshedpur