India : simplicity with elegance
The name India is derived from Indus, which is derived from the Old Persian word Hindu, from Sanskrit Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, the people of the Indus. The Constitution of India and common usage in various Indian languages also recognize Bharat as an official name of equal status. Hindustan, which is the Persian word for “Land of the Hindus” and historically referred to northern India, is also occasionally used as a synonym for all of India.
India is a land of ancient civilizations, cities, villages and great works of art dating back nearly 4000 years. A country so vast, India represents diversity in all forms: religion, people, traditions, habits, customs, culture and many more. India begins with the highest Himalayan mountains spreading in the north leading to vast plains to submerge into three seas in the south.
The Gateway of India was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay, prior to the Durbar in Delhi in December 1911. The foundation stone was laid on March 31, 1911 by the Governor of Bombay Sir George Sydenham Clarke, with George Wittet's final design sanctioned in August 1914. Between 1915 and 1919 work proceeded on reclamations at Apollo Bundar for the land on which the gateway and the new sea wall would be built. The foundations were completed in 1920, and construction was finished in 1924. The Gateway was opened on December 4, 1924 by the Viceroy, the Earl of Reading.
The last British troops to leave India, the First Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, passed through the gate in a ceremony on February 28, 1948.
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