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India

India, formally the Republic of India, is a federal parliamentary republic in South Asia and the world's most populous country. It became independent from British rule on 15 August 1947, initially as a dominion within the British Commonwealth under a governor-general, and adopted its own constitution on 26 January 1950, becoming a sovereign democratic republic with a bicameral Parliament. The atlas dates India's founding to 1947, independence day and the date India itself marks as its founding national holiday; the fully republican constitutional government the country's independence promised took over two years to arrive in practice, reaching it on 26 January 1950, and this entry keeps the conventional date and narrates the gap rather than picking a different single year.

Facts
Founding Year
1947 2
1947 is India's independence from British rule, the conventional founding date and the one India itself marks as its national day. The republican constitutional government independence promised took over two years to actually arrive: India governed itself as a dominion under a governor-general until its own constitution came into force on 26 January 1950. This entry keeps the conventional 1947 date and narrates the gap rather than picking a different single year, the same shape as this atlas's entry on the United States.
Classification
Freedom Status
Electoral Autocracy 1
India
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Foreign relations and policy

Current government: Modi III Government (since 2024)

Effective from 2024, ongoing.

Source Uniqueness of India's Nuclear Trajectory Premised on No First Use and Massive Retaliation: CDS Gen Anil Chauhan, 26 June 2024 (NewsOnAir)

Effective from 2024, ongoing.

Source India Reaffirms Support for Two-State Solution in Palestine-Israel Conflict, 13 December 2024 (NewsOnAir)

Effective from 2026, ongoing.

Source Transcript of Weekly Media Briefing by the Official Spokesperson, 27 March 2026 (Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India)

Earlier governments

Modi II Government (2019 to 2024)

Party positions (proposed or ideological, not state policy)

Bharatiya Janata Party (proposed or ideological position, not state policy; governs as Modi III Government)

Nuclear Posture, Policy subject
Source India's Nuclear Doctrine: Stirrings of Change (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)
Nuclear Posture, Policy subject
Source India's Nuclear Doctrine: Stirrings of Change (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)
Connections

Associated With

This source names India directly: "India's first general election under its new constitution, held over four months from 25 October 1951 to 21 February 1952 and the largest exercise of universal suffrage yet attempted anywhere, with..."

Source First General Elections in India, 1951-1952 (Election Commission of India)

This source names India directly: "organised by Indonesia, Burma, Ceylon, India and Pakistan."

Source Bandung Conference (Britannica)

This source names India directly: "principle across the 1920s in British India, though he later said his own resistance was well advanced before he read Thoreau's essay."

Source Civil Disobedience (Wikipedia)

This source names India directly: "wave followed the Second World War: India and Pakistan became independent in 1947, the Philippines in 1946, and Indonesia secured independence from the Netherlands in 1949 after an armed conflict..."

Source Decolonization (Wikipedia)

This source names India directly: "the national party contest, as in India, Canada and the United Kingdom, all first past the post systems that nonetheless sustain more than two significant parties."

Source Duverger's Law (Britannica)

This source names India directly: "entry on the Election Commission of India, the autonomous constitutional body established in 1950 that administers elections to India's Parliament, state legislatures and the offices of President..."

Source Election Commission of India (Britannica)

India is noted for recognizing local government as a third constitutional order alongside the union and the states.

Source Center for the Study of Federalism: What is Federalism?

India runs the world's largest FPTP elections, with over 800 million voters.

Source Electoral Reform Society: First Past the Post

This source names India directly: "country overview article for India, covering its formation, government and history."

Source India (Britannica)
Source Janata Dal (United) (Wikipedia)

This source names India directly: "and to Mahatma Gandhi's campaigns in India."

Source Martin Luther King Jr. (Wikipedia)

This source names India directly: "The division of British India into the independent states of India and Pakistan, enacted by the Indian Independence Act and taking effect on 14 and 15 August 1947."

Source Partition of India (Britannica)
Source Telugu Desam Party (Wikipedia)

This source names India directly: "English East India Company director and merchant whose England's Treasure by Forraign Trade, written around 1630 and published posthumously by his son in 1664, became known as the manifesto of..."

Source Thomas Mun (History of Economic Thought Website)

Governed By

Source PM Events: Narendra Modi sworn in for second term, 30 May 2019 (MyGov, Government of India)
Source Narendra Modi (Wikipedia)

Practices

Source Federation (Britannica)
Source Judicial review (Wikipedia)
Source Bill of Rights, British History (Britannica)

Shaped By

Source Constitution of India Factsheet (PIB India)
Source Indian Independence Movement (Britannica)
Source Indian National Congress (Britannica)
Source Jawaharlal Nehru (Britannica)
Source Mahatma Gandhi (Britannica)
In the Other Atlases

Same As

Also in Geography Atlas: the same subject.

Has Member

Also in Economics Atlas: a member of this subject.

Member Of

Also in Economics Atlas: which this subject is a member of.

Source New Development Bank (Wikipedia)tier 3
Sources
1. Freedom House: India (Freedom in the World 2025)
Freedom HouseOverview, Global Freedom Score 62/100 (partly free)
Quote, Overview, Global Freedom Score 62/100 (partly free)
While India is a multiparty democracy, the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has presided over discriminatory policies and a rise in persecution affecting Muslims.
View the Source
2. India (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaView the Source
British Empire (Britannica)
Part Of: British Empire
Janata Dal (United) (Wikipedia)
WikipediaAssociated With: Janata Dal (United), Lead section
Quote, Associated With: Janata Dal (United), Lead section
Janata Dal (United) (JD(U), lit. 'People's Party (United)'), is a social democratic and secular Indian political party
View the Source
Telugu Desam Party (Wikipedia)
WikipediaAssociated With: Telugu Desam Party, Lead section
Quote, Associated With: Telugu Desam Party, Lead section
an Indian regional political party primarily active in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
View the Source
Judicial review (Wikipedia)
Practices: Judicial Review, Article text
Quote, Practices: Judicial Review, Article text
In India which also inherited the English common law tradition, the power of judicial review is exercised primarily by the Supreme Court of India and various state High Courts.
View the Source
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