This is what most people think before going to India. Despite the fact that India is a developing country with millions of disadvantaged people, the country is genuinely wealthy. According to a New World Wealth survey, it has 119 billionaires and ranks sixth among the world's wealthiest countries in 2017.
2. Every Indian is a Hindu.
Saying that all Indians are Hindus is like to saying that all Indians speak Hindi, both of which are untrue. Numerous religions are practised in India. Over 80% of the country's inhabitants practise Hinduism, making it the main religion. Other religions like Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Jainism, and Sikhism coexist alongside it.
3.Hindi is the national Language of India.
India's languages are as diverse as its culture and religion. The country has 780 languages, which is the second most in the world behind Papua New Guinea, which is reported to have 839 languages. Among these languages, 23 are officially recognised, including Hindi, English, Bangali, Kashmiri, Nepali, Sanskrit, Tamil, Urdu, and others. While Hindi is the most widely spoken language in the country, with over 422 million speakers, it is not the national language because no language in India has such status under the Indian Constitution. Hindi is primarily spoken in northern and central India, and it is one of the two official languages of the country (the other being English).
4. All Indians are vegetarians.
Because of its cultural and religious roots, vegetarianism is frequently regarded as the standard in India. As a result, it is reasonable to assume that India has a vegetarian majority. However, this is not the case. According to a 2014 poll done by India's Sample Registration System (SRS), non-vegetarians over the age of 15 accounted for 71% of the population. Meat or fish intake is common in many societies, particularly among Muslims and in coastal states such as Kerala and West Bengal, which are noted for their seafood delicacies.
Despite this, India has the lowest population consumption of meat and more vegetarians than the rest of the world combined, according to UN FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) figures from 2007. It is an excellent destination for vegetarian travellers because vegetarian restaurants are plentiful and easily accessible.
5. Indian cuisine is hot and spicy.
Indian food is spicy because it combines a diverse range of spices for seasoning. Spices are an important part of the Indian diet, and most foods in India contain spices to some extent, however this does not necessarily imply that Indian food is spicy. Yes, Indian food is spicy, but it will not burn your mouth!
While some dishes, such as Vindaloo and Rasam, are indeed too hot and spicy for even some Indians, day-to-day Indian food preparations such as Dal (lentil soup), Rajma (kidney beans), Chhole (chickpeas), Idli (rice cake) and Dosa (rice pancake) are not.
Furthermore, within India, the demand for spicy food differs from state to state and region to area. Certain states, such as Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, have cuisines that emphasise hotter dishes than others, such as Gujarat.
