India, home to over one billion people, is a peninsula framed on the north by the world’s highest mountains the Himalayas, and on the east, south, and west by the Indian Ocean. It has a rich and varied landscape comprising tropical greenery, great rivers and vast deserts. India’s antiquity dates back to the Indus Valley civilization (2500-1700 BC) followed by invading hordes and massive empires, including the British who left in 1947 with India’s Independence. It’s a country of people practicing several of the world's great faiths, speaking a multitude of languages and wearing a variety of colorful attire. Today India has joined the global economy, is the second-largest producer of computer software in the world, with its own satellites and nuclear weapons.