India often attracts generalisations and stereotyping, but more often it defies them. After all, it is an enormous and varied place with the genetic, linguistic, culinary and sartorial diversity which are usually found in a continent. Sam Miller, a former BBC Delhi correspondent who has spent more than half his adult life in India, has chosen 10 'big' facts about India.
一直以来，印度给人的感觉都是没有什么特色、呆板无趣，但实际上这些正是这个国家所排斥的。毕竟印度是一个幅员辽阔、风情浓郁的国度，通常一个大陆才能拥有的基因多样性、语言多样性、烹饪特色的多样性以及服饰的多样性在印度皆能找到。在印度生活了大半辈子的前英国BBC电台驻印度德里通讯员山姆·米勒（Sam Miller）为我们精选了关于印度的十大事实。
Boy looks down on his baby sister Experts predict that India's population will peak in the 2060s
1. 人口密集
India's population will (probably) overtake China's in 2028.
据专家预测，印度人口总数在本世纪60年代将达到顶峰，并有望于2028年超越中国。
According to UN estimates, India will become the most populous country in the world in just 14 years' time, when it will have about 1.45 billion inhabitants.
联合国数据显示，印度人口或将在未来14年内赶超中国，届时人口总数将达到14.5亿，成为世界第一人口大国。
For many in India, becoming the most populous country will be an achievement, marking the country's progress in its rivalry with China.
对于许多印度人而言，成为世界第一大人口国将是一项值得骄傲的成就，意味着在与中国抗衡过程中取得了巨大的进步。
For others, particularly from the older generations, it represents a failure of the country's decades-old attempts to bring its population under control - which included a controversial and counter-productive mass sterilisation campaign during the 1970s.
但对于另外一些人，尤其是老一辈人来说，这种趋势则意味着印度在过去数十年间控制人口总数行动的失败（控制人口行动中比较著名且颇具争议的就是20世纪70年代印度总统甘地强制推行节育政策，而这一行动非但未获成功还起到了反作用，随后数年，印度人口激增。）
In fact, birth rates have fallen significantly in almost all parts of India, driven by female education, rising household incomes and greater availability of contraception though this has been partially offset by increased life expectancy.
事实上，近些年由于妇女受教育程度提高、家庭收入不断上涨以及更加有效的避孕措施的出现，基本上印度所有地区的生育率都在大幅下降，但尽管如此，人口寿命的延长却未能扭转人口基数大的事实。
India's population is likely to reach about 1.6 billion in the 2060s, before decreasing to about 1.5 billion by the end of the century.
到本世纪60年代，印度人口总数或将达到16亿，但到本世纪末可能回落至15亿。
By then, according to the UN study, Nigeria may have overtaken China as the second most populous country.
联合国调查结果显示，本世纪末尼日利亚或将与中国争夺第二人口大国之位。
INDIA WAS ONCE AN ISLAND
2.印度曾经是一座岛屿
It had broken off from an ancient supercontinent referred to as Gondwanaland by paleogeographers (named after Gondwana, a forested area of central India), and was moving slowly northwards.
Himalayas印度曾是一座岛屿。约在1亿多年以前，恐龙统治着整个地球，而如今的印度在当时则大部分是岛屿。当时的印度岛屿是从古代一块名为冈瓦纳大陆（由古代的地理学家以印度中部的冈瓦纳森林地带命名）的超级大陆分离开来，随后又慢慢地向北移动。
About 50 million years ago, dinosaurs by now extinct, the India continental plate collided with Asia, buckling the coastal area of both continents and creating the Himalayas - the world's youngest major mountain range - and, of course, the highest.
约在5000万年以前，恐龙已经灭绝，印度这个大陆板块与亚洲板块相互碰撞，两大陆碰撞时底层受到强烈挤压形成褶皱从而导致了喜马拉雅山的出现，如今它是全世界最年轻的主山脉，当然，也是海拔最高的。
Evidence of this ancient history is provided by fossilised sea shells that can still be found high in the mountains. The plate on which the subcontinent rests continues to press slowly northwards, and is the reason why the height of Mount Everest increases slightly every year.
能够说明这种古代变迁史的例证就是如今在喜马拉雅山海拔较高处仍能发现海洋贝壳化石。目前，印度次大陆所处的板块仍继续慢慢向北移动，这也就解释了为什么喜马拉雅山的主峰珠穆朗玛峰的海拔每年都会有些许的增加。
India has, arguably, greater linguistic diversity than any other large country.
3.语言多样
The precise number of languages spoken in India is probably over 1,000, but it is often hard to define when one language begins and another ends.
印度语言多样性是世界上任何一个大国都无法与之匹敌的，虽说这一说法还存在争议。
The 1961 census of India listed 1,652 languages, though some of these may have effectively been dialects, and a few languages have died out since then.
现今印度所使用的语言有1000多种，不过很难判断这些语言是何时开始交替使用的。
The big six languages - Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil and Urdu - are each spoken by more than 50 million people.
印度1961年审查时共列出1652种语言，但其中有些只是更多地作为方言使用，还有一些语言自那以后就基本退出历史舞台了。
A total of 122 languages are each spoken by more than one million people.
印度的六大语言分别为北印度语、孟加拉语、泰卢固语、马拉地语、泰米尔语以及乌尔都语，每种语言的使用人数都超过了5000万人。
India doesn't have a national language. Hindi and English are both official languages, though the writers of the constitution envisaged a transitional status for English, but opposition to Hindi hegemony from speakers of other languages, particularly Tamil, mean that English remains an official language.
使用人数超过100万的语言共有122种。印度并没有所谓的民族语言，印度语和英语都是其官方语言。尽管宪法的编写者曾设想英语只是一种过渡性的语言，但某些语言使用者，尤其是说泰米尔语的人对印度语独霸一方的强烈反对意味着英语仍是一种官方语言。
Indian languages belong to four of the world's major language groups: Indo-European, Dravidian, Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burman.
印度语言主要属于四大语系, 即印欧语系、达罗毗荼语系、汉藏语系和澳亚语系。
Until the mid-20th Century, the Bantu language group, which originates in Africa, was also represented by speakers of the Sidi language used by migrants from East Africa living in western India.
20世纪中叶，源起非洲的班图语系使用者同样也说黑人语言（说这种语言的人常为在印度西部定居的东非移民者)。
The language has now died out, though members of the Sidi community still use a few words of Bantu origin.
如今这种黑人语言已经不再使用，不过黑人社区的成员们仍使用一些班图语系的词语。
MEGACITIES
4.大城市多
woman transporting water bottles on a bicycle, India Finding water in India's city slums is a challenge
在印度的城市贫民窟，找水可是一项挑战。
India has three of the world's top ten megacities - one more than China.
世界十大城市中，仅印度就占三个，中国也才有两个。
According to the UN, Delhi is now the second-largest urban agglomeration in the world, with Mumbai ranked seventh and Calcutta tenth.
据联合国资料显示，印度德里是现今世界上第二大城市聚集区，孟买和加尔各答分别排名第七和第十。
The population of Delhi and its immediate urban hinterland is now over 22.65 million, and is only surpassed by Tokyo.
如今，德里及其邻近的城市腹地总人口已超过2265万，仅次于东京。
In the 17th century, Delhi was briefly the most populous city in the world, but by 1960, Delhi was not even in the top 30. The growth since then had been more than 4% per annum.
在17世纪时，德里已然成为世界上人口最密集城市，然而到了1960年，排名竟还不在前30。
That growth rate is beginning to fall, but it is still over 3% annually.
如今人口增长率开始有所下滑，但每年仍保持在3%以上。
That represents a yearly increase in population - through childbirth and migration - of about 700,000 people, putting a severe strain on the resources of India's capital.
这就意味着人口每年都在增长，或是通过自然生育，又或是通过人口迁移，增长人数达70万，进而导致印度首都各种资源严重紧缺。
Water remains a major problem - with almost quarter of the city's household not having a regular water supply.
水资源就是一个主要的问题，德里几乎有四分之一的家庭都存在水资源供应短缺的局面。
Six other Indian cities - Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune and Surat - feature in the UN's top 100 urban agglomerations.
在联合国评选出的全球前100个城市聚集区中，印度有六个城市榜上有名，它们分别是：金奈、班加罗尔、海得拉巴、艾哈迈达巴德、普纳和苏拉特。
417,037, 606 VOTERS
5.选民4.17亿
voter in India Voters' fingers are marked with a special ink to ensure one man one vote
每个选民的手指上都有一个的特殊墨水记号以保证一人一票
India prides itself on being the world's largest democracy (Chinese voters do not directly elect their country's rulers), and precisely 417,037, 606 people voted at the last parliamentary election in 2009 - a turnout of slightly under 60%.
印度一直以“世界上最大的民主国家”自诩（中国的选民则不能直接选举国家元首），据统计在2009年议会大选中共有4.17037606亿选民参加投票，出席率略低于60%。
There were 830,866 polling stations, including one, in the western state of Gujarat which had a single voter, a temple caretaker.
全国共有83.866万个投票点，其中在古吉拉特邦的西部有一个投票点只有一名选民——某寺庙的管理者。
The Election Commission of India advises that that no voter should have to travel more than two kilometres to the nearest polling station, and that, if necessary, a separate polling station can be set up for the inmates of a leprosy sanatorium.
印度的选举委员会称，任何投票人都无需长途跋涉2000米才能到达最近的投票站，如果需要的话将会为麻风病疗养院的患者设立一个单独的投票点。
All but two of the candidates lost their deposit, and 88 candidates did not get a single vote.
印度仍保持着争夺某席位的候选人人数“世界之最”的记录，例如1996年泰米尔纳德邦大选中，共有1032名候选人争夺莫达库里奇镇的一个议会席位。其中，两名候选人失去了存款，88名候选人甚至一票未得。
IF INDIA WAS A MUSLIM STATE
6.如果印度是穆斯林国家
India has the second (or third) highest population of Muslims in the world.
印度已经成为世界上穆斯林人口第二大国（或第三大国）。
Even though less than 15% of Indians are Muslim, the country's enormous population means that by this measure it outranks all Muslim-majority countries, except Indonesia and possibly Pakistan. (There are almost exactly the same numbers of Muslims in Pakistan as in India).
尽管说目前印度的穆斯林群体所占总人口比例还不到15%，但印度巨大的人口基数则意味着这个国家小比例的穆斯林总数就已经超过世界上以穆斯林为主的国家，比如印度尼西亚，可能也有巴基斯坦（印度的穆斯林总数几乎与巴基斯坦穆斯林总数相同）。
The first Muslims in India are thought to have been traders who came to Kerala during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad. Millions of Muslims migrated at the time of independence to either West or East Pakistan (the latter became Bangladesh in 1971), but huge numbers also remained behind.
据说，最早来到印度的穆斯林是先知穆罕默德在世时来到克拉拉邦做生意的商人。在西巴基斯坦或东巴基斯坦（1971年独立为孟加拉国）独立时期，数百万穆斯林大迁徙，不过很大一部分人仍选择留在国内。
Today, the only Muslim-majority areas of India are the Kashmir valley, and the tiny Indian Ocean territory of Lakshadweep.
如今，印度以穆斯林为主的地区只剩下克什米尔山谷地区和隶属印度洋海域的印度属地拉克沙群岛。印度其他的穆斯林则零星地分布在该国的其他地区，不过印度东北部以及旁遮普地区几乎找不到穆斯林的足迹。
DEADLY ROADS
7.夺命道路
Resuers manhandle crashed bus on Indian hillside India has one of the worst road casualty rates in the world
印度已经成为世界上道路交通事故最频发的国家。
This is a statistic that won't surprise many visitors, for whom the roads of India are often terrifying.
印度的道路死亡率堪称世界之最。想必这一点大多数游客都不会觉得惊讶，对于他们来讲印度的道路总是让人胆战心惊。
Officially about 115,000 people die on Indian roads each year - though a recent British Medical Journal study suggests that the true number of fatalities is closer to 200,000.
据官方统计，每年约有11.5万人因道路事故死亡，《英国医学杂志》最新研究表明这类的死亡人数已逼近20万。
Among the stark figures to emerge from the BMJ report are that 37% of all road deaths are pedestrians, with a further 28% for cyclists and motorcyclists, and that 55% of all fatalities occur within five minutes of the road incident.
在该杂志估测的巨大数字中还有很重要的一点不容忽视：所有道路死亡案件中37%的受害者是行人，28%是骑自行车和骑摩托车的人，55%的死亡发生在事故出现后的5分钟内。
The study recommends more speed bumps, greater enforcement of greater use of safety helmets, and more fines and suspensions for drivers who break traffic rules.
该研究报告还建议增设减速带、加大安全头盔佩戴率、采取更严格的罚款条例甚至对严重违反交通法规者进行拘役。
In fact, although India has by the far the highest number of total road deaths, the per capita figure for several other countries, led by Eritrea and the Cook Islands, are much higher.
事实上，尽管印度目前的道路死亡总数居世界首位，但人均来讲，另有一些国家在这方面则更严重，其中以厄立特里亚国和库克群岛自治区表现最为突出。
MOST INDIAN FILMS ARE NOT BOLLYWOOD
8.大部分印度电影并非出自宝莱坞
Tamil film DVD box Tamil film DVDs for sale
图为销售的泰米尔语DVD光碟
India has the world's largest film industry.
印度是当今世界最大的电影王国。
More than 1,100 movies are produced, on average, each year - that's slightly ahead of Nigeria, twice as many as the American film industry and ten times as many as Britain produces.
平均来讲，印度每年所制作的电影总数已超过1100部，这一数字已稍稍领先尼日利亚，并且是美国电影产业年制作量的两倍，还是英国制作量的10倍。
Most of the Indian films are not, as is often supposed, products of Bollywood, the nickname given to Mumbai's Hindi movie industry which is responsible for roughly 200 films a year.
就像我们常常认为的那样，大多数印度电影并非出自宝莱坞，宝莱坞是孟买印地语电影产业的别称，该产业每年拍摄的电影总数约为200部。
Almost as many films are made each year in both Tamil and in Telugu, the two most widely spoken southern Indian language - and Chennai and Hyderabad are major film productions centres.
泰米尔语和泰卢固语（印度南部地区最广泛使用的语言）电影每年的出品数几乎与印地语电影相同，金奈和海得拉巴是其主要的电影制作中心。
However, India comes only sixth in terms of cinema box office receipts - behind the USA, China, Japan, UK and France
不过，就电影票房来讲，印度则落后于美国、中国、日本、英国和法国，排名世界第六。
MANGOES GALORE
9.芒果产量丰富
Mango seller on the phone India grows nearly 40% of the world's mango crop
印度的芒果产量占世界总产量的40%。
India is the world's biggest producer and consumer of mangoes.
印度是当今世界最大的芒果生产国，同时也拥有世界最大的芒果消费市场。
For many people, the greatest delight of the hot Indian summer is the profusion of mangoes - officially India's national fruit.
对于很多人来说，在炎炎夏日里，看到树上颗颗硕大的芒果，实乃使人心旷神怡之事，官方称芒果是印度的国果。
There are several hundred varieties of Indian mango, of which more than 30 are commercially available.
印度生产的芒果有数百个品种，其中30多种都可在市场上买到。
Everyone seems to have their favourite, and I have witnessed furious argument about which is the best mango.
所谓萝卜白菜，各有所爱，我就曾亲眼见过有人会为评出“最佳芒果”进行激烈的唇舌之战。
I have also discovered that it is possible to cause great offense in Mumbai, by suggesting that the local mango, the Alfonso, is not the best in the world.
此外，我还发现一旦有人说孟买当地的芒果Alfonso不是世界上最好的芒果，就会立刻在孟买引起轩然大波。
More than 40% of the world's annual output of mangoes are grown in India, far ahead of the competition from China, Thailand and Bangladesh.
每年全球芒果产量中仅印度生产的就占到了40%，这一比例将中国、泰国和孟加拉国这些竞争对手远远地抛在了后面。
RECORD BREAKER
10.不断打破世界纪录
Group of Indian students dressed as Mahatma Gandhi Indian students dressed as Mahatma Gandhi for a record attempt
印度学生装扮成圣雄甘地，试图打破扮演甘地人数最多的世界纪录。
India is more obsessed with breaking records than any other country. Not something that I can prove with official sources, but I am pretty sure it is true.
印度这个国度越来越沉迷于打破他国创造的任何世界纪录，虽然目前我还拿不出某些官方性的权威证据，但我很确定这是真的。
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, India ranks third behind the USA and the UK in the number of records claimed each year.
《吉尼斯世界纪录大全》的资料显示，在每年申请世界纪录方面，印度的申请量仅次于美国和英国，排名世界第三。
Among the recent additions was the largest gathering of people (891) dressed like Mahatma Gandhi.
最近印度又意图打破世界纪录的一项举动就是创世界最多人扮演甘地的纪录，此次活动扮演者人数达到891人。
The records include the longest garland made of cakes of cattle dung (2 km) , for performing yoga on horseback (10 hours) , and for lighting electric bulbs by passing a wire through one's nose and out of one's mouth (30 sixty-watt bulbs) . Sometimes record-seekers go too far - as do their parents.
当然其中也不乏众多奇异的创纪录行为，不过这些纪录多因没有名气而未能收录在《吉尼斯世界纪录大全》中，只是收录在了一些类似的地方性刊物，如《林姆卡纪录大全》和《印度记录大全》。这些纪录如由牛粪蛋糕制成的世界上最长的花环，主要用于表彰以下行为：在马背上表演瑜伽长达10小时，通过一根穿过鼻子和嘴巴的电线来点亮30个60瓦的电灯。有时一些意图打破世界纪录的人也会做的太过，他们的父母也是一样。
In 2007, a 15-year-old boy, under the watchful eye of his doctor parents, performed a caesarean section in a hospital in Tamil Nadu, in an attempt to be recognised as the world's youngest surgeon. Unsurprisingly, the police and the medical authorities took a dim view of this particular attempt on a world record.
2007年，一名15岁的小男孩在父母（两人都是医生）的密切监督下在泰米尔纳德邦的一家医院里表演一场剖腹手术，意图成为世界上最年轻的外科医生。不出所料，警方和医疗单位对此行为表示强烈的反对。
|
