Ruma Guha Thakurta
Encyclopedia
Ruma Guha Thakurta is a Bengali
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...

 actress and singer.

Early life

She was born in 1934 as Ruma Ghosh. She hails from a Brahmo
Brahmo
A Brahmo is either an adherent of Brahmoism to the exclusion of all other religions, or a person with at least one Brahmo parent or guardian and who has never denied his faith...

 Bengali family. Her father was Satyen Ghosh (known as Montey Ghosh) and her mother was Sati Devi, a singer. Sati Devi's younger sister Bijoya married film director Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...

. Thakurta had her formal education in many places including Santiniketan
Santiniketan
Santiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, India, approximately 180 kilometres north of Kolkata . It was made famous by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision became what is now a university town that attracts thousands of visitors each year...

 for a brief period. She was educated first in Loretto and then in Gokhale School and thereafter Sacred Heart School, Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...

. She was also one of the earliest child students of Uday Shankar
Uday Shankar
Uday Shankar , the pioneer of modern dance in India, and a world renowned Indian dancer and choreographer, was most known for adapting Western theatrical techniques to traditional Indian classical dance, imbued with elements of Indian classical, folk, and tribal dance, thus laying the roots of...

 Cultural Centre in Almora
Almora
Almora is a municipal board, a cantonment town in the Almora district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. Almora was founded in 1568.It is a town bustling with activity and a rich cultural heritage and history. It is considered the cultural heart of the Kumaon region of...

 in its formative years where her mother had been a music teacher. Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar , born Abhas Kumar Ganguly, was an Indian film playback singer and an actor who also worked as lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter.Kishore Kumar was one of India's greatest performers of the late 20th century...

 married Ruma Ghosh in May 1951 in Bombay, and their son Amit Kumar
Amit Kumar
Amit Kumar is an Indian film playback singer, actor, director, and music director. He is the son of famous singer and actor Kishore Kumar and Bengali singer and actress Ruma Guha Thakurta. Like his father he too loved singing since childhood and used to sing in Kolkata during Durga Pooja functions...

 was born the following year. The couple divorced in 1958. She settled in Calcutta and married Arup Guha Thakurta and had two children by him, Ayan and Sromana. In 1958 she set up Calcutta Youth Choir
Calcutta Youth Choir
Calcutta Youth Choir was set up in 1958 by Ruma Guha Thakurta with Salil Chowdhury and Satyajit Ray.Calcutta Youth Choir is known for their performance of folk and mass songs. Several years ago, the choir broke out with the song 'Aaj joto juddhabaaj'. Shibdas Bandopadhyay wrote the words and V....

 with Salil Chowdhury
Salil Chowdhury
Salil Chowdhury was an Indian music composer. He mainly composed for Bengali, Hindi, and Malayalam films. He was also a poet and a playwright. He is affectionately called Salilda by all his admirers....

 and Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...

.

Singing career

As a singer Ruma Guha Thakurta recorded a few Rabindra Sangeet
Rabindra Sangeet
Rabindra Sangeet , also known as Tagore Songs in English, is a form of music composed by Rabindranath Tagore who added a new dimension to the musical concept of India in general and Bengal in specific....

like Maya Bono Biharini Harini with Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar , born Abhas Kumar Ganguly, was an Indian film playback singer and an actor who also worked as lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter.Kishore Kumar was one of India's greatest performers of the late 20th century...

 and Tomar Geeti Jagalo Smriti with Hemant Kumar, both in Lookochuri, Sukher Majhe tomai dekhechi in Jodi Jantem, and Potho Hara Tumi Pothika and some solo songs in Bakso Badal, Baje Karun Sure in Monihara, Momo Chitte Niti Nrite in Ponchoshor and others. HMV recorded Kotha Baire Dure, Khone Khone Mone Mone and few others. In Bangla Adunik (modern) songs genre, Guhathakurta recorded a number of songs such as, Mon Je amar kemon kemon... and Chinite parini badhu... in Polatak, Ei To Hethai Kunjo... with Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar , born Abhas Kumar Ganguly, was an Indian film playback singer and an actor who also worked as lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter.Kishore Kumar was one of India's greatest performers of the late 20th century...

 in Lookochuri, Jodi Akash Hote... in Ashite Asio Na (only used in film), Sukh Sari with Manna Dey
Manna Dey
Prabodh Chandra Dey , better known by his nickname Manna Dey , is a playback singer in Bengali Assamese and Hindi films. Along with Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, he was a part of Indian film playback music from the 1950s to the 1970s. He has recorded more than 3500 songs over the course of...

 in Antony Firengee, Shudhu Poth Cheye Thaka in Baghini, and the Baithaki songs in the movie Benarasi. In 1969, HMV recorded Ek Khana Megh Bheshe Elo Akase and Bathan Bathan by her, which were super hits. Her duet songs like Sajea Dopati with Bhupen Hazarika
Bhupen Hazarika
Bhupen Hazarika was an Indian lyricist, musician, singer, poet and film-maker from Assam. His songs,written and sung mainly in Assamese by the legend himself, are infused with humanity and universalism, and have been translated and sung in many languages, most notable being Bengali ,Hindi and...

 are also memorable. In the year 1993, after Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...

 died, she recorded Puroskare Sommane as a tribute to him. She also sang a song as tribute to Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...

, after she had died. Most of the songs sung by her is always related for awakening the society. The most excellent Bengali choral version of Ol' Man River
Ol' Man River
"Ol' Man River" is a song in the 1927 musical Show Boat that expresses the African American hardship and struggles of the time with the endless, uncaring flow of the Mississippi River; it is sung from the point-of-view of a dock worker on a showboat, and is the most famous song from the show...

 is performed regularly on their concerts by Calcutta Youth Choir
Calcutta Youth Choir
Calcutta Youth Choir was set up in 1958 by Ruma Guha Thakurta with Salil Chowdhury and Satyajit Ray.Calcutta Youth Choir is known for their performance of folk and mass songs. Several years ago, the choir broke out with the song 'Aaj joto juddhabaaj'. Shibdas Bandopadhyay wrote the words and V....

 arranged by RumaDevi. Other noted songs include Tomar Amar Thikana, Ei Amader Desh, Bharat Jai Jan, Sare Jahan Se Accha, etc. The Bengali version of We Shall Overcome
We Shall Overcome
"We Shall Overcome" is a protest song that became a key anthem of the African-American Civil Rights Movement . The title and structure of the song are derived from an early gospel song by African-American composer Charles Albert Tindley...

, translated by Shibdas Bandyopadhyay, Ek Din Surjyer Bhor (literally translated as "One Day The Sun Will Rise") was recorded by the Calcutta Youth Choir
Calcutta Youth Choir
Calcutta Youth Choir was set up in 1958 by Ruma Guha Thakurta with Salil Chowdhury and Satyajit Ray.Calcutta Youth Choir is known for their performance of folk and mass songs. Several years ago, the choir broke out with the song 'Aaj joto juddhabaaj'. Shibdas Bandopadhyay wrote the words and V....

 arranged by Guhathakurta during the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence and became one of the largest selling Bengali records.

Acting career

Her career started in Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...

 as a child artist. Thakurta acted in more than 100 movies in Bengali. Most of her Hindi movies were released in the 1950s. She joined Bollywood as a child artist at a remuneration of at the age of thirteen in the Prithvi Theatre
Prithvi Theatre
Prithvi Theatre is one of Mumbai's best known theatres. It belongs to the Kapoor family, one of the most influential actor/director families in Bollywood. The theatre is named after Prithviraj Kapoor who first founded 'Prithvi Theatres', a travelling theatre company in 1944. The company ran for...

. She acted in number Hindi movies like Rajani
Rajani
Rajani also known as Sasikala in Kollywood is a famous South Indian film actress. Her birth name was Sashi Malhotra[1], and she is introduced with her popular name Rajani in Telugu, and as Sasikala in Tamil movies. She was born to V. N. Malhotra, a Punjabi and Sulochana, a Kanada Brahmin. She was...

, Raag Rang, Samar
Samar
Samar, formerly and also known as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located to the west of the mainland...

, Afsar
Afsar
Afsar is a 1950 Bollywood romantic comedy film directed by Chetan Anand. It was produced by and starred Dev Anand. It co-starred Suraiya, who also recorded the playback singing for the film.-Cast:*Dev Anand ... Kapur*Suraiya ... Bimala*Rashid Khan...

, and Bairaag
Bairaag
Bairaag is a 1976 Bollywood film. Produced by the duo Mushir- Riaz, it is directed by Asit Sen. The film stars Dilip Kumar, who received a Filmfare nomination as Best Actor for playing a triple role, Saira Banu, Leena Chandavarkar, Ruma Guha Thakurta, Prem Chopra, Helen, Sujit Kumar, Madan Puri, ...

. In 1944 Devikarani gave her a break in Jowar Bhata after seeing her dance. Ritwik Ghatak wanted her to act in the lead role in his film Meghe Dhaka Tara
Meghe Dhaka Tara
Meghe Dhaka Tara is a 1960 film by written and director Ritwik Ghatak, based on a novel Shaktipada Rajguru. It stars Supriya Choudhury, Anil Chatterjee, Gita Dey, Bijan Bhattacharya, Niranjan Roy, and Gyanesh Mukherjee...

, but she was busy in shooting Rajen Tarafdar’s Ganga so she could not accept the offer. She performed as a lead actress in films such as Khaniker Athithi, Benarasi, Ashi te Asio Na, Personal Assistant
Personal assistant
A personal assistant or personal aide is someone who assists in daily business or personal tasks. It is common in design to have a PDA, or personal design assistant....

, Ganga, Abhijan
Abhijan
Abhijan is a 1962 Bengali film directed by the Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray.-Introduction:The filming of Abhijan began by the first half of 1961 when Bijoy Chatterjee asked Satyajit Ray to write a script on a popular Bengali novel of the same name by Tarashankar Bandopadhyay...

, Nirjan Saikate
Nirjan Saikate
Nirjan Saikate is a Bengali film directed by Tapan Sinha. It was released in 1963. This movie is an adaptation of the novel with the same name by eminent Bengali writer Samaresh Basu, who wrote this travelogue under his pen name 'Kalkut'.-Plot:The writer is himself the protagonist...

, Ponchoshor, Arogya Niketon, and Ganashatru
Ganashatru
Ganashatru is a 1990 Indian film by Satyajit Ray. It is an adaption of Henrik Ibsen's play An Enemy of the People, and was released under that title in the UK. The cast includes Ray's favourite actor Soumitra Chatterjee, and veteran actors such as Dhritiman Chatterjee, Shubhendu Chatterjee, Manoj...

. She performed as a supporting actress in Chele Kar, Garh Nasimpur, Baghini, Jodi Jantem, Hanghsa Mithun, Balika Badhu, Chakranto, Malabadal, Joradighir Chowdhury Paribar, Aakrosh, and Aagun. She won the award for best actress for her performance in Nirjan Saikate. She acted as a mother character in Amar Songee, Anuraher Chhonya, Troyee
Troyee
Troyee is a 1982 Bengali-language Indian feature film directed by Gautam Mukherjee, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Soumitra Bannerjee, Debasree Roy, Anil Chatterjee and Manik Dutt....

, Dadar Kirti
Dadar Kirti
Dadar Kirti is a Bengali comic- romantic cinema starring Tapas Paul, Mahuya Roychoudhury, Ayan Banerjee and Debasree Roy...

, Arogya Niketon, Papee, 36 Chowringhee Lane
36 Chowringhee Lane
36 Chowringee Lane is a 1981 film written and directed by Aparna Sen and produced by Shashi Kapoor. The film was very well received upon release. It stars Jennifer Kendal in a critically acclaimed role and Debashree Roy.-Plot:...

, Amrita Kumbher Sandhane
Amrita Kumbher Sandhane
Amrita Kumbher Sandhane is a 1982 Bengali film directed by Dilip Roy. It is based on a story by “Kalkut”, pseudonym of Samaresh Basu...

, and Srodhanjoli. She also played characters in Mega TV serials like Prabaho, Ghum Nei, and Pratibimbo. In 2006 she also acted in Mira Nair
Mira Nair
Mira Nair is an Indian film director and producer based in New York. Her production company is Mirabai Films.She was educated at Delhi University and Harvard University. Her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay! , won the Golden Camera award at the Cannes Film Festival and also earned the nomination...

's The Namesake
The Namesake (film)
The Namesake is a 2006 film which was released in the United States on March 9, 2007, following screenings at film festivals in Toronto and New York City. It was directed by Mira Nair and is based upon the novel of the same name by Jhumpa Lahiri, who appeared in the movie. Sooni Taraporevala...

.
She acted in Hindi Films too like Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

 ( Naukadubi in Bengali) with Diliplumar and also in Mashaal
Mashaal
Mashaal is a 1984 Bollywood film. Produced and directed by Yash Chopra it stars Dilip Kumar, Anil Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman, Rati Agnihotri, Nilu Phule, Iftekhar, Saeed Jaffery, Gulshan Grover, Alok Nath, Madan Puri and Amrish Puri...

.

Filmography

  • As an actress
    Year Movie Director Role Language
    1944 Jowar Bhanta 
    1950 Mashaal
    Mashaal
    Mashaal is a 1984 Bollywood film. Produced and directed by Yash Chopra it stars Dilip Kumar, Anil Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman, Rati Agnihotri, Nilu Phule, Iftekhar, Saeed Jaffery, Gulshan Grover, Alok Nath, Madan Puri and Amrish Puri...

     
    Nitin Bose
    Nitin Bose
    Nitin Bose was an Indian film director, cinematographer and screenwriter of the nation's film industry. He was born in Calcutta and died in the same city. In the 1930s and early 1940s, he worked with New Theatres, who made bilingual movies: in both Bengali and Hindi...

     
    Afsar
    Afsar
    Afsar is a 1950 Bollywood romantic comedy film directed by Chetan Anand. It was produced by and starred Dev Anand. It co-starred Suraiya, who also recorded the playback singing for the film.-Cast:*Dev Anand ... Kapur*Suraiya ... Bimala*Rashid Khan...

     
    Chetan Anand  Hindi
    1952 Rag Rang  Digvijay  Ruma Devi Hindi
    1959 Ganga  Rajen Tarafdar  Himi
    Personal Assistant
    Personal assistant
    A personal assistant or personal aide is someone who assists in daily business or personal tasks. It is common in design to have a PDA, or personal design assistant....

     
    Chitrakar Rumali Sen (as Ruma Devi) Bengali
    1962 Abhijan
    Abhijan
    Abhijan is a 1962 Bengali film directed by the Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray.-Introduction:The filming of Abhijan began by the first half of 1961 when Bijoy Chatterjee asked Satyajit Ray to write a script on a popular Bengali novel of the same name by Tarashankar Bandopadhyay...

     
    Satyajit Ray
    Satyajit Ray
    Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...

     
    Neeli Bengali
    1963 Nirjan Saikate
    Nirjan Saikate
    Nirjan Saikate is a Bengali film directed by Tapan Sinha. It was released in 1963. This movie is an adaptation of the novel with the same name by eminent Bengali writer Samaresh Basu, who wrote this travelogue under his pen name 'Kalkut'.-Plot:The writer is himself the protagonist...

     
    Bengali
    Polatak  Moyna Bengali
    1964 Prabhater Rang 
    1966 Joradighir Chowdhury Paribar  Ajit Lahiri  Bengali
    1967 Balika Badhu  Tarun Majumdar
    Tarun Majumdar
    Tarun Majumdar is a renowned Bengali Indian film director who makes films in Bengali and is notable for his depiction of Bengali culture and society. Many of his films are literature-based...

     
    Bengali
    Antony Firingee  Sunil Bannerjee  Jogweshwari Bengali
    1968 Panchashar  Arup Guhathakurta  Bengali
    Baghini  Bijoy Bose  Bengali
    Hangsa Mithun  Bengali
    Garh Nasimpur  Bengali
    1969 Arogya Niketan  Bijoy Bose  Pradyot's mother Bengali
    1974 Jodi Jantem  Yatrik
    Yatrik
    Yatrik, an Indian film directed by Kartick Chatterjee, depicts a group of pilgrims on an arduous trek in the high Himalayas. It is the Hindi-language version of the Bengali film Mahaprasthaner Pathey, the film made from the book of the same name, written by Probodh Kumar Sanyal...

     
    Ranu Basu Bengali
    1976 Bairaag
    Bairaag
    Bairaag is a 1976 Bollywood film. Produced by the duo Mushir- Riaz, it is directed by Asit Sen. The film stars Dilip Kumar, who received a Filmfare nomination as Best Actor for playing a triple role, Saira Banu, Leena Chandavarkar, Ruma Guha Thakurta, Prem Chopra, Helen, Sujit Kumar, Madan Puri, ...

     
    Asit Sen  Pushpa
    1980 Dadar Kirti
    Dadar Kirti
    Dadar Kirti is a Bengali comic- romantic cinema starring Tapas Paul, Mahuya Roychoudhury, Ayan Banerjee and Debasree Roy...

     
    Tarun Majumdar
    Tarun Majumdar
    Tarun Majumdar is a renowned Bengali Indian film director who makes films in Bengali and is notable for his depiction of Bengali culture and society. Many of his films are literature-based...

     
    Saraswati, Beena's Mother Bengali
    1981 36 Chowringhee Lane
    36 Chowringhee Lane
    36 Chowringee Lane is a 1981 film written and directed by Aparna Sen and produced by Shashi Kapoor. The film was very well received upon release. It stars Jennifer Kendal in a critically acclaimed role and Debashree Roy.-Plot:...

     
    Nandita's Mother English
    Swami Stree  Bengali
    1982 Troyee
    Troyee
    Troyee is a 1982 Bengali-language Indian feature film directed by Gautam Mukherjee, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Soumitra Bannerjee, Debasree Roy, Anil Chatterjee and Manik Dutt....

     
    Bengali
    Amrita Kumbher Sandhane
    Amrita Kumbher Sandhane
    Amrita Kumbher Sandhane is a 1982 Bengali film directed by Dilip Roy. It is based on a story by “Kalkut”, pseudonym of Samaresh Basu...

     
    Bengali
    1983 Samarpita  Bengali
    1985 Bhalobasa Bhalobasa
    Bhalobasa Bhalobasa (1985 film)
    Bhalobasa Bhalobasa is a 1985 Bengali romantic film directed by Tarun Majumdar. The film is starring Tapas Pal, Deboshree Roy.-Cast:* Tapas Pal ... Arup* Debashree Roy ... Keya* Ruma Guha Thakurta ... Keya's Mother...

     
    Keya's Mother Bengali
    1986 Amor Sangee  Bengali
    Anurager Chhonya  Bengali
    1987 Gayok  Shantanu Bhowmick 
    1988 Agun  Victor Banerjee
    Victor Banerjee
    Victor Banerjee is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi, Bengali and English language films. He has also appeared on a number of TV series on Indian television...

     
    1989 Asha O Bhalobasha  Bengali
    Aakrosh 
    Gonoshatru  Satyajit Roy  Maya Gupta Bengali
    1991 Path O Prasad  Bengali
    1992 Indrajit
    Indrajit
    Indrajit or Meghanatha , a warrior mentioned in the Indian epic Ramayana, was the son of the Lankan king Ravana. The word 'Indrajit' literally means the 'conqueror of Indra '....

     
    Anjan Choudhury
    Anjan Choudhury
    Anjan Choudhury was born in the year 1944, and died on 21 February 2007. He was a Bengali film director, writer, and screenplay writer. He was survived by his wife Jaysree Choudhury and two daughters and son. His two daughters, namely Chumki Choudhury and Rina Choudhury, and his elder son in law...

     
    1994 Wheel Chair  Tapan Sinha
    Tapan Sinha
    Tapan Sinha , was a Indian film director. He was arguably the most uncompromising filmmaker outside the orbit of Parallel Cinema.-Personal life and background:...

     
    Sushmita's Mother
    1995 Sangharsha  Haranath Chakraborty
    Haranath Chakraborty
    Haranath Chakraborty is a noted Indian Bengali film director. He is the most prominent director of the Bengali film Industry. He is assistant director of Anjan Chowdhury Group...

     
    Bengali
    1996 Himghar  Bengali
    2006 The Namesake
    The Namesake (film)
    The Namesake is a 2006 film which was released in the United States on March 9, 2007, following screenings at film festivals in Toronto and New York City. It was directed by Mira Nair and is based upon the novel of the same name by Jhumpa Lahiri, who appeared in the movie. Sooni Taraporevala...

     
    Ashoke's Mother English

  • As a Playback singer
    Year Movie
    1958 Lukochuri
    1963 Barnali
    Barnali
    Barnali is a Village and Union Council of Gujrat District, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is part of Kharian Tehsil and is located at 32°43'0N 73°50'0E with an altitude of 239 metres ....

    Polatak
    1961 Tin Konya
    1966 Joradighir Chowdhury Paribar
    1967 Antony Firingee
    1968 Baghini
    1970 Bakso Badal
    1974 Jodi Jantem
    1976 Mera Dharam Meri Maa
    1982 Amrita Kumbher Sandhane
    Amrita Kumbher Sandhane
    Amrita Kumbher Sandhane is a 1982 Bengali film directed by Dilip Roy. It is based on a story by “Kalkut”, pseudonym of Samaresh Basu...


Honors and Awards

Thakurta received the Soviet Land Nehru Peace Award in the year 1982, the President's Medal for her performance in Nirjan Saikate
Nirjan Saikate
Nirjan Saikate is a Bengali film directed by Tapan Sinha. It was released in 1963. This movie is an adaptation of the novel with the same name by eminent Bengali writer Samaresh Basu, who wrote this travelogue under his pen name 'Kalkut'.-Plot:The writer is himself the protagonist...

 in 1963, Banga Ratna in 2009, and the Bharat Nirman Award from the Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

.

External links

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