How to get from Oz to India in a few easy steps

Many flights to India land in Delhi. Other popular areas are Mumbai and Chennai.

The best way to travel from Perth to India is on a plane. It is quick and if you do your research it can be reasonably affordable. You need to remember that the prices change from day to day and depending on your airline company.
The following prices are from www.flightcentre.com.au
From Perth to Chennai (return)
QANTAS: $2151 (inc taxes)
South African Airways: $2202 (inc taxes)
Emirates: $2794 (inc taxes).

www.airfaresflights.com.au has cheap flights from Perth to Delhi looking at a variety of airlines. Prices range from $683 to $1548 return.

It takes about 10 hours to travel from Perth to India. This depends on the times of stopovers and delays etc.

If you are already in Asia (such as Pakistan) there are a variety of ways you can get into the country. The easiest way is travelling by train. The Pakistani Railway has a train that leaves twice a week from Lahore and travels to Delhi. It costs about $AUD17. You get to see many sights along the way. You need to have your passport to book the ticket and you will need to show your passport at the border.

You can also take buses and taxis. They will take you to the border of Pakistan, you go through the checkpoint and get into a taxi or bus on the Indian side.
http://www.seat61.com has excellent advice on travelling into India via rail.

Lahore Station. Where your train to India will leave from.

Language & Currency

I say Hello, you say Namaste

Although Hindi is the official language of India there are over 1600 other dialects (variations in of one language which make them 'new' languages) spoken in the country. The languages and dialects spoken are specific to different regions in India. 

Besides Hindi, English is also widely spoken. The regional dialects include Assamese, Bengali, Gujarathi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.

Must learn phrase in Hindi
Accha! 
One of the most useful words to know is accha. Its meanings include (but are not limited to!): good, excellent, healthy, well, OK, really?, awesome!, and hmm...
If you learn no other word, remember this one!

Money, cash, dough, moolah
The Indian rupee (Rs) is divided into 100 paise (p), but paise coins are increasingly rare.
Coins come in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 25 and 50 paise, and Rs 1, 2 and 5; notes come in Rs 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 (this last bill can be hard to change outside banks).

ATMs linked to international networks are common in most towns and cities in India. However, carry cash or travellers cheques as backup in case the power goes down, the ATM is out of order, or you lose or break your plastic.

The rupee is also accepted as currency in Nepal and Bhutan if you are continuing your travels to either of those countries.

The current exchange rate to the Australian dollar (as of 04/11/2010) is 1 AUD = 44 INR

History of India

History of India

The history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo Sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The Indus valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent  from c. 3300 to 1300 BCE, was the first major civilization in India. A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture developed in the Mature Harappan period, from 2600 to 1900 BCE. This Bronze Age civilization collapsed before the end of the second millennium BCE and was followed by the Iron Age, Vedic Civilisation, which extended over much of the Indo-Gigantic Plains  and which witnessed the rise of major polities known as the Mahajanapas. In one of these kingdoms, Magadha, Mahavira and Gautama Buddha were born in the 6th or 5th century BCE and propagated their śramanic philosophies.
Almost all of the subcontinent was conquered by the Maurya Empire during the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. It subsequently became fragmented, with various parts ruled by numerous Middle kingdoms for the next 1,500 years. This is known as the classical period of Indian history, during which India has sometimes been estimated to have had the largest economy of the ancient and medieval world, controlling between one third and one fourth of the world's wealth up to the 18th century.
Much of northern and central India was once again united in the 4th century CE, and remained so for two centuries thereafter, under the Gupta Empire. This period, witnessing a Hindu religious and intellectual resurgence, is known among its admirers as the "Golden Age of India". During the same time, and for several centuries afterwards, southern India, under the rule of the Chalukyas, Cholas, Pallavas, and Pandyas, experienced its own golden age. During this period, aspects of Indian civilization, administration, culture, and religion (Hinduism and Buddhism) spread to much of Asia.
The southern state of Kerala had maritime business links with the Roman Empire from around 77 CE. Islam was introduced in Kerala through this route by Muslim traders. Muslim rule in the subcontinent began in 712 CE when the Arab general Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh and Multan in southern Punjab, setting the stage for several successive invasions from Central Asia between the 10th and 15th centuries CE, leading to the formation of Muslim empires in the Indian subcontinent such as the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire.
Mughal rule came to cover most of the northern parts of the subcontinent. Mughal rulers introduced Middle Eastern art and architecture to India. In addition to the Mughals and various Rajput kingdoms, several independent Hindu states, such as the Vijayanagara Empire, the Maratha Empire, and the Ahom Kingdom, flourished contemporaneously in southern, western, and northeastern India respectively. The Mughal Empire suffered a gradual decline in the early 18th century, which provided opportunities for the Afghans, Balochis, Sikhs, and Marathas to exercise control over large areas in the northwest of the subcontinent until the British East India Company gained ascendancy over South Asia.
Beginning in the mid-18th century and over the next century, India was gradually annexed by the British East India Company. Dissatisfaction with Company rule led to the Indian Rebellion of 1857, after which India was directly administered by the British Crown and witnessed a period of both rapid development of infrastructure and economic decline. During the first half of the 20th century, a nationwide struggle for independence was launched by the Indian National Congress and later joined by the Muslim League. The subcontinent gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, after being partitioned into the dominions of India and Pakistan.