The name of the country India is derived from Indus, an Old Persian word Hindu, from Sanskrit Sindhu, the historical local appellation of the Indus River.

National Flag
Tiranga - A horizontal tricolor of saffron at the top, green at the bottom, and white in the middle with a navy blue colored wheel, Ashoka Chakra, having twenty-four spokes.

National Emblem
Sarnath Lion - Adopted from the Buddhist Lion Capital of Asoka at Sarnath. It has four lions on a circular abacus which is girded by four animals, lion, elephant, horse and the bull in north, east, south and west direction respectively.

National Anthem
Jana Gana Mana - "Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All People..." is what the anthem mean. It has been written by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore and was officially adopted in 1950.

National Song
Vande Mataram - "Vande Mataram" or "Hail to the Mother(land)" was written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1876.

National Animal
Royal Bengal Tiger - A subspecies of tiger, generally found in the sunderbans delta region in India and Bangladesh.

National Bird
Indian Peacock - A species of bird, resident breeder in India and Sri Lanka, it has a beautiful iridescent blue-green plumage. The upper tail elongates in a big semi-circle and is ornated with an eye at the end of each feather.

National Flower
Lotus - An aquatic perennial plant which are found on thick stems rising above the water, normally to a height of 150 cms. horizontally it spreads up to 3 meters. The leaves are approximately 60 cms in diameter and the showy flowers, 20 cms.

National Tree
Banyan

National Fruit
Mango

National Sport
Field Hockey

National Calendar
Saka - The calendar was initiated in the era of the Saka king, Shalivahana as a result of a victory against Vikramaditya of Ujjayini in 78 A.D. This calendar was adopted as national calendar by the Calendar Reform Committee in 1957.