The Locational and Spatial Setting

• India is a land of great physical and socio – contrasts marked by unity in diversity
• It is a country of great geographical extent and distinctive character often described as a subcontinent
• India has diversified physiographic conditions with a variety of landforms like snowcapped Himalayan mountains on the north, Indo – Gangetic plains in the middle, number of plateaus, desert on the west and the coastal plains on the Indian Ocean shores.
• Indian sub – continent is intersected by great rivers namely the Ganga, the Brahmaputra, the Godavari and the Krishna
• India has a distinctive monsoon type of climate.
• The Tropic of Cancer runs half way through the country.
• The southern half experiences hot tropical climate and the northern half experiences warm temperate Zone.
• A variety of soils like Alluvial, Black, Red and Laterites are distributed.
• There is a great diversity in animal, crop and mineral production.
• Historically, India has always been a land with people of many religions.
• India is a home of diversity of cultures under the influence of different racial and religious groups.
• The name India is derived from the great river the Sindhu or the Indus.
• The great Indian Peninsula is situated in the southern part of continent of Asia.
• The two arms of the Indian Ocean are the Arabian Sea on the south – west and the Bay of Bengal on the south – east.
• Geometrically, the country lies between 8°4’ – 37°6’ north latitudes and 68°7’ – 97°25’ east longitudes.
• India has thirty degrees of latitudinal extent from north to south and the same amount of longitudinal extent from east to west.
• India’s total geographical area is 3.28 million km2
• North to south, India covers a distance of about 3214 kms as against 2933 kms from east to west.
• The snowy land of the Himalayas formed the northern boundary, the hot and sunny Kanyakumari on the south, the salty marshes of the Rann of Kutch on the west and the Virgin forests in the east.
• Arunachal Pradesh state gets the earliest sunrise than Dwarka in Gujarat.
• In India, the sun rises two hours earlier in the easternmost part of Arunachal Pradesh then Gujarat.
• Indian standard time is based on the 82°30’ east longitude.
• Indian standard time is 5 ½ hrs ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time.
• India has a land frontier of 15200 kms and a coastline of 7516.6 Kms.
• The countries which share a common land frontier with India are Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
• The line dividing India and Pakistan is known as Radcliff line
• To the east of Bhutan, the crest of Himalaya’s acts as the dividing line between the Indian and Chinese realms known as Mac Mohan line.
• The Andaman and Nicobar island chain in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep island cluster in the Arabian Sea forms the parts of Indian Territory.
• The nearest neighbor across the ocean water is Sri Lanka.
• Sri Lanka is separated from India by Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait.
• At present, India is a union of 28 states and 7 Union Territories.
• Rajasthan is the largest state in terms of area whereas Goa is the smallest.
• Andaman and Nicobar islands form two major groups in the Bay of Bengal, located between 10° and 14°N latitudes.
• Andaman and Nicobar have an area of 8249 km2 of which Andaman Islands extend up to 6408 km2 and Nicobar Islands extend up to 1842 km2.
• Out of 247 groups of islands only 36 are inhabited.
• The Great Nicobar with an area of 862 km2 is the largest island in this group and lies closest to the equator.
• The entire island in the Arabian sea are of coral origin.
• The Lakshadweep Island with a total area of 35 km2 are situated between 8° and 11°N latitudes.
• In the Eight Degree channel lies the Minicoy island with an area of 4.5 km2.
• The Pamban Island located between India and Sri Lanka has a rocky surface.

Questions and Answers:

What is a sub continent? Explain how India can be called a sub continent? 

I. Introduction: India lies in the southern part of Asian continent. Though India is a country it is often called a sub continent.

II. Sub continent – meaning: 

A country which is having features of a great geographical extent, huge population, diversified geographical and socio-cultural features is called a sub continent.

III. Reasons for calling India as a sub continent: 

Though India is not treated as a continent it has the features of a continent. It is called as a sub continent due to the following reasons.

Large area: India has a large area of 3.28 million square kilometers, taking seventh place in the world.

Large population: India has a population of 102.7 crores according to 2001 census, attaining second place in the world.

Diversified physiographic divisions: India has diversified physiographic conditions with a variety of land forms like the Himalayas, the Indo-Gangetic plains, plateaus and coastal plains etc.

Climate: India has a distinctive monsoon type of climate. Extremes in climatic conditions like temperature, rainfall, sunshine, humidity etc can be observed.

Soils: A variety of soils like Alluvial, Black, Red, Laterite etc are found.

Many Religions: The religions like Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism etc are being practiced.

Land of diversity: It is a land of diversity having varied modes of living, culture etc. There is Aryan culture in North India and Dravidian culture in South India.

Tropic of Cancer: the tropic of cancer runs half-way through the country. The southern half of the country lies with in the tropics and experiences tropical climate.

IV. Conclusion: Thus India can be called a subcontinent. Unity in diversity is the most distinctive feature of India. 

How is the name “India” derived? 

1. The name “India” is derived from the great river the ‘Sindhu’ or the ‘Indus’ located in the North-west part of the country.

2. The people living along this river were recognized as “Indoi” by the Greeks.

3. Later this region was referred to as “India” by the Britishers.

4. India is also known as “Bharath” as it was ruled by the ruler ‘Bharatha’ in the ancient times. 

What is the geometrical location of India and where does India rank in area among the countries of the world? 

1. India lies between 8°4’ and 37°6’ North latitudes, and 68°7’ to 98°25’ East longitudes.

2. India has thirty degrees (30°) of latitudinal extent from North to south and the same amount of longitudinal extent from East to West.

3. India occupies seventh place in area among the countries of the world. 

What are the extreme places of our land frontiers? 

The extreme places of our country are as follows: 

1. North: The snowy capped Himalayas.

2. South: The hot and sunny Kanyakumari

3. West: The salty Marshes of the Rann of Kutch.

4. East: Virgin forests and the untramplled hills on the eastern most frontier. 

How many coastal states are there in our country? What are they? 

There are nine coastal states in India. They are: 1. West Bengal 2. Orissa 3. Andhra Pradesh 4. Tamil Nadu on the east 5. Kerala 6. Karnataka 7. Goa 8. Maharastra. 9. Gujarath on the west coast. 

What is Mac Mohan Line? 

A. 1. The dividing line between India and China in the North-east is called Mac Mohan Line.

2. To the east of Bhutan, the crest of Great Himalayas acts as the dividing line between India and Chinese realms. 

What are the Island groups of India and explain their origin and distribution? 

I. Introduction: India has a number of Islands. They also form part of Indian Territory. In all it has 247 Islands of which 223 lie in the Bay of Bengal and the rest in Arabean sea.

II. Kinds of Indian Islands: The Indian Islands may be divided into four broad groups namely:

1. The Andaman group

2. The Nicobar group

3. The Lakshadeep group

4. Other Islands

1. The Andaman Group: The Andaman Islands are located between 10° to 14° N latitudes. These Islands are Volcanic origin. There are as many as 200 Islands in the Andaman group. They cover a total area of 6408 sq. km.

2. The Nicobar group: There are about 19 Islands in the Nicobar group. They are located between 6°30 to 9°30 N latitudes. They cover an area of 1841 sq. km.

The Greater Nicobar is the largest island in this group. It covers an area of 862 sq. km. The important Islands in this group are little Nicobar, Katchall, Trinkat etc.

3. The Lakshadweep group: These Islands lie in the Arabian sea. They are situated between 8°N and 11°N latitudes. They cover an area of 32 sq.km. They are of coral origin.

4. Other Islands: In addition to the above, there are also other Islands like the Minicoy and the Pamban Islands. The Minicoy Island lies in the Eight degree channel with an area of 4.5 sq.km. The Panban Island is located between India and Srilanka. It has a rocky surface.

Match the following:

A	B
1. The salty marshes in the western part of India.	a. Maldives
2. The southern most tip of Indian main land.	b. Northern hemisphere
3. The country closest to the Lakshadweep.	c. Rann of Kutch
4. India is located in	d. Tibet
5. The roof the world	e. Cape Comorin
Answer: 1 - c; 2 - e; 3 - a; 4 - b; e-2

Fill in the blanks: 

1. The Indian Island closest to the equator is greater Nicobar. 

2. Arunachal Pradesh state gets the earliest sunrise.

3. India is separated from Sri Lanka by Palk strait or Gulf of Mannar. 

4. The smallest state in area is Goa. 

5. The state stands on three seas is Tamil Nadu

6. The border country sharing longest boundary with India is China. 

7. The tropic of cancer runs half way through the country.

8. The total geographical area of India is 3.28 million sq.km

9. India is the seventh largest country.

10. The distance from North to south in India is 3,200 km

11. The distance from east to west in India is 3000km. 

12. Indian standard Time (IST) is measured based on 82° 30 E longitudes. 

13. The difference between IST and Greenwich is 5 ½ hours

14. The length of coast line of India is 6100 km

15. India has a total land frontier of 15,200 km

16. Nepal is called Himalayan kingdom.

17. India is a union of 28 states and 7 union territories.

18. Andhra Pradesh has coast line of 972km

19. The Islands of Andaman and Nicobar are of volcanic origin.

20. The Islands of Arabian sea are of coral origin.

One word Answers: 

1. Which is the largest state in India in terms of area?

A. Rajasthan.

2. Which is the smallest state in India in terms of area?

A. Goa

3. The Island which is located between India and Srilanka?

A. Pamban Island

4. How many Islands are there in India?

A. 247

5. Where is eight degree channel located?

A. Minicoy Island.