India Travel GuideVisas and Immigration | Entry | Customs | Currency | Climate | Dress | LanguageHealth | Maps Background InformationIndia History | India Culture | Independence | The Economy and BusinessIndependenceOn August 15, 1947 India cut free from the British Raj and attained independence from Great Britain, adopting a parliamentary system of government with a union of states.The country is divided into 26 States and 6 Union Territories. The States have considerable autonomy while the Union Territories are governed through appointed administrators. At district and village level there is a system of Panchayati Raj, or a pattern of self-government that oversees the planning and execution of local projects. |