India is the second most populous country in the world, with only China having a larger population. Language, religion, and caste are major determinants of social and political organisation within the highly diverse Indian population today. Its biggest metropolitan agglomerations are Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Delhi, Kolkata formerly Calcutta and Chennai formerl Madra).Hinduism is the largest professed religion in India. Pictured here is a temple in GoaIndia's literacy rate is 64.8 % with of females and of males being literate. The sex ratio is females for every males. Work Participation Rate (WPR) (the percentage of workers to total population) stands with male WPR and female WPR inote|eu}} India's median age and has a growth rate.

Although the people are Hindus, India is also home to the third largest population of Muslims in the world see Islam in India) after Indonesia and Pakistan. Other smaller religious minorities include Christians see Christianity in India), SBuddhists Jains Ayyavazhi Jews see Jews in India Parsis, Ahmadi, and Bahá'ís.india is home to two major linguistic families, those of the Indo-Aryan and Dravidian-derived languages. The Indian constitution recognises 23 official languages[1]. Hindi along with English are the languages used by the Central Government for official purposes. Two classical languages native to the land are Sanskrit and Tamil. The number of mother tongues in India

Culture
Main article: Culture of India
The Taj Mahal in Agra is India's most popular tourist destination.India has a rich and unique cultural heritage, and has managed to preserve its established traditions throughout history. It has always absorbed customs, traditions and ideas from both invaders and immigrants. Many cultural practices, languages, customs and even monuments are examples of this co-mingling over centuries. Famous monuments such as the Taj Mahal and other examples of Islamic-inspired architecture have been inherited from the Mughal dynasty, perhaps India's most significant. These are the result of a syncretic tradition that combined elements from all parts of the country.Indian society is largely pluralist, multilingual and multicultural. Religious practices of various faiths are an integral part of everyday life in society. Education is highly regarded by members of every socio-economic stratum. Traditional Indian family values are highly respected and considered sacred, although urban families have grown into a nuclear family system, owing to the socio-economic constraints imposed by the traditional joint family system.

The Gumpa dance is a mystic dance celebrated by the Tibetan Buddhist community in Sikkim during the Buddhist New Year — LosarReligion in India is very public, with many practices imbued with pomp and vitality accompanying their underlying spiritual qualities. A melting pot of many religions, India has a rich diversity of festivals with many being celebrated by one and all. The most widely known and popular celebrations include the Hindu festivals of Diwali, Holi, and Dussehra. Pongal in Tamil Nadu and Onam in Kerala are harvest festivals celebrated by people belonging to all religions.Indian music is represented by a wide variety of forms. The two main forms in terms of classical music are the Karnataka Sangeeth Carnatia from South India and Hindustani from the north. Popular forms of music also prevail, the most notable being Filmi music. In addition to this are the diverse traditions of folk music. Many dance forms exist in India – Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Manipuri, Mohiniyattam, Yakshagana and others. They often have a narrative form (based on the Indian epics) and are usually infused with devotional and spiritual elements.The earliest literary traditions were mostly oral and were later transcribed. Most of these spring from Indian tradition (which is later called Hindu tradition) and are represented by sacred works like the Vedas and the epics of the Mahabharatha and Ramayana. Sangam literature from Tamil Nadu represents some of India's oldest secular traditions. There have been many notable Indian writers in modern times, both in Indian languages and in English. India's only Nobel laureate in literature was the Bengali writer Rabindranath Tagore.

Bhel puri is a popular snack often sold on the roadsideIndia produces the world's highest number of films every year. The most recognisable face is that of cinema production based in Mumbai, which produces mainly commercial Hindi films, often referred to as "Bollywood". Cinema in other vernacular languages are also particularly strong, with movies regularly produced in well-established Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu industries. India's contribution to world cinema was the internationally renowned Bengali language director Satyajit Ray.Rice and wheat in bread forms are the staple foods in the country. The cuisine of India is extremely diverse, as ingredients, spices and cooking methods all vary from region to region. The country is notable for its wide variety of vegetarian cuisine. Spicy food and sweets are popular in India. Traditional dress in India greatly varies across the regions in its colours and styles. The sari and the salwar kameez are popular styles of dress for women. Traditional raiments for men are the kurta and dhoti.

India's national sport is field hockey, although cricket is now the de facto national game due to its success and popularity in recent times, with the Indian cricket team World Champions in one of the top contenders around. Though cricket's popularity is widespread, it is not the most popular sport in quite a few Indian states, particularly in India's northeast. Another international sport in which India has a fair degree of parity with other nations is chess, in which Indian Viswanathan Anand has been FIDE World Champion and several players have made significant inroads, in recent years, well past Grandmaster level.India has had relatively little success in other international events like the Olympics, where it garnered a total of just one silver medal and two bronze medals in the previous three Olympics. However, it has won eight field hockey golds. India has done rather well in Davis Cup tennis tournaments, having reached the finals on three occasions. Its players have secured several individual titles and Grand Slam doubles wins, but an Indian is yet to win a Grand Slam singles title.Some traditional indigenous sports are kabaddi, Kho Kho and gilli-danda, which are played in most parts of the country. Chess, carrom, polo, snooker and badminton are some other games and sports that are said to have originated in India. The last two mentioned have seen Indians achieve some international success. Football soccer also finds a large viewership in almost the entire country, and is the most popular sport in many states of India. Formula 1 and Basketball are also increasing in popularity, though their reach is largely limited to urban areas.

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