India
India is a federal union comprising 29 states and 7 union territories. All states, as well in addition to the union territories of Puducherry and the National Capital Territory of Delhi, have elected legislatures and governments following on the Westminster system of governance. The remaining five union territories are directly ruled by the centre through appointed administrators. In 1956, under the States Reorganisation Act, states were reorganised on a linguistic basis. Since then, their structure has remained largely unchanged. Each state or union territory is further divided into administrative districts. The districts are further divided into tehsils and ultimately into villages.
Multinational state
India has a Muslim-majority state (Jammu and Kashmir) and a Muslim-majority union territory (Lakshadweep); three Christian-majority states (Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland); and a Sikh-majority state (Punjab). Most of its states are based on ethnicity, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh (Hindustani), Tamil Nadu (Tamil), Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (Telugu), Karnataka (Kannadigas), Odisha (Odia), Jammu and Kashmir (Dogras and Kashmiris), Goa (Konkanis), Gujarat (Gujarati), West Bengal (Bengali), Maharashtra (Marathi), Punjab (Punjabi), Haryana (Haryanvi), and Kerala (Malayali).