ABSTRACT
The Indian Constitution recognizes two names for the country, both of which have geographical significance: India and Bharat. The climate on the subcontinent is as varied as its flora and fauna, its people and their dress and cuisine. It varies from the year-round snowcapped mountains in the north to the year-round hot weather in the south. There is a greater homogenization in women’s dress in cities and towns. Whereas women in the countryside and in tribal communities continue to wear traditional or regional dress, most urbanite young females and college coeds sport salwar and a khameez, in the latest designer styles for the affluent. India is a plural society, with people of different colors and creeds. The constitution specifically makes the state a secular institution, which gives rights to all regardless of their religious persuasion or racial origin. The 2001 census showed India’s population past the 1 billion mark, at 1,027,015,247.
