ABSTRACT
India is the world’s second most populous nation, inhabited by more than 1 billion people. Successive invasions by intruders from a variety of cultures and later colonization by the British (who ruled the country from 1757 to 1947) had a strong influence on Indian culture and the country’s sociopolitical institutions. After attaining independence from the British, India formally adopted a constitution in 1950, proclaiming itself to be a sovereign democratic republic. The country has a parliamentary form of government, with the president as the ceremonial head of state and the prime minister as the head of the government. With a federal structure consisting of 29 states and six centrally administered Union Territories, India is a multicultural and multilingual country. There are more than 15 official languages, along with hundreds of dialects. The official national language is Hindi, but most business in the corporate sector is conducted in English, and many Indians consider familiarity with English to be a prerequisite for a successful career. Many Indian advertising campaigns are first created in English and then translated into other languages.
