Myths vs facts
Common misconceptions about India, answered with official facts.
Myth: Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are disputed territory.
Fact: The entire Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral and inalienable part of India. This is the Government of India's position. Read more
Myth: Arunachal Pradesh is a disputed region with another name.
Fact: Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India. Its people vote in Indian elections and it has been a full State since 20 February 1987. Read more
Myth: India has one national language, Hindi.
Fact: The Constitution names Hindi in Devanagari script as the official language of the Union (Article 343), with English also used officially. It does not declare any 'national language'. 22 languages are in the Eighth Schedule. Read more
Myth: There is basically one Indian language.
Fact: Census 2011 recorded 121 languages and 270 mother tongues, each spoken by 10,000 or more people, from four major language families. Read more
Myth: India is a land of snake charmers and elephants in the streets.
Fact: India landed Chandrayaan-3 near the Moon's south pole, reached Mars on its first attempt, and runs one of the world's largest digital payment systems. Read more
Myth: Our numerals 0–9 and the decimal system were invented in Arabia.
Fact: The decimal place-value system with zero was developed in India. The Arabs learned it from India and called the numerals 'Hindu numerals'. Europe learned it from the Arabs. Read more
Myth: India has always been poor.
Fact: For most of recorded history India was one of the world's largest economies. Economic historian Angus Maddison estimated India's share of world output at about a quarter around 1700; it had fallen to about 4% by 1950, after colonial rule. Read more
Myth: India was discovered by Europeans in 1498.
Fact: India was a centre of world trade for thousands of years before 1498. Vasco da Gama found a sea route from Europe and reached Kozhikode (Calicut), a busy international port. Read more
Myth: All Indian food is curry, and all of it is fiery.
Fact: Every region has its own cuisine: steamed idli and dhokla, fermented pakhala, millet rotis, smoked meats of the North-East and sweets from every corner. Many dishes use no chilli at all. Read more
Myth: Diwali is celebrated by Hindus only.
Fact: Hindus, Jains and Sikhs all celebrate Deepavali, each for their own reasons, and people of every background join in. Read more
Myth: Yoga is a set of exercises.
Fact: Asana (posture) is only one of the eight limbs of yoga in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. Yoga also includes ethics, breath control, concentration and meditation. Read more
Myth: Nobody uses Sanskrit any more.
Fact: Sanskrit is a living language. It is a second official language of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, it is used daily in prayer and scholarship, and Census 2011 recorded over 24,000 people with Sanskrit as their mother tongue. Read more
Myth: India is a hot, dry country.
Fact: India has deserts, rainforests and snow. Dras in Ladakh is among the coldest inhabited places on Earth, and Mawsynram in Meghalaya is among the wettest. Read more
Myth: Hockey has been officially declared India's national game.
Fact: The Government of India has not declared any sport as the national game. Hockey is greatly loved: India won eight Olympic gold medals in it. Read more