ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief historical background and a description of major events in India. It also provides basic political, economic, and social data arranged in the following categories: polity, economy, population, purchasing power parities, life expectancy, ethnic groups, capital, political rights, civil liberties, and status. The chapter discusses the progress and decline of political rights and civil liberties in India. India achieved independence in 1947 with the partition of British India into a predominantly Hindu India, under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and a Muslim Pakistan. Indian citizens can change their government through elections. In India's seven north-eastern states, more than 40 mainly tribal-based insurgent groups sporadically attacked security forces and engaged in intertribal and internecine violence. India's private press continued to be vigorous although journalists face numerous constraints. Major cities all have thousands of street children, many of who work in the informal sector. UNICEF estimates that overall there are up to 60 million child labourers in India.
