Introduction:
India is one of the ancient civilisations in the world.
It has achieved multi faceted socio economic progress during the last five decades.
It has moved forward displaying remarkable progress in the field of agriculture, industry, technology and overall economic development.
India has also contributed significantly to the making of world history
Location:
India is a vast country.
Lying entirely in the Northern hemisphere the main land extends between latitudes 8º4’N (Kanyakumari/Cape of Comorin in Tamil Nadu) to 37 º 6’N (Jammu & Kashmir).
And longitudes 68 º 7’E (Ghuar Mota, Gujarat) to 97 º 25’ E (Kibithu in Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh).
The southernmost point of the Indian Union Indira Point got submerged under the sea water in 2004 during the Tsunami.
The Tropic of Cancer (23°30N) divides the country into almost two equal parts.
To the southeast and southwest of the mainland lie the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Lakshadweep islands in Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea respectively.
Do you know?
The southernmost point of the Indian Union– ‘Indira Point’ got submerged under the sea water in 2004 during the Tsunami.
Impact of the longitudinal extent of India:
The earth takes 24 hours to complete one rotation.
360° about its axis which means the earth rotates at the pace of 15°per hour (360/24) or we can say it takes 4′ to cover the distance between two longitudes on equator.
As the longitudinal extent of India is about 30 longitudes lie 97°25’E to 68°7′ E.
The time lag between easternmost and westernmost points of India is of two hours.
(i.e., 30×4′ = 120 minutes)
When it is 6.00 am at easternmost point of India, it’s still 4.00 am at the western most point.
That will create a lot of time confusion.
To avoid this time confusion, time along the 82 º 30’ E is been taken as the Standard Time of India.
It lies almost in the middle of India.
Indian standard time (IST):
This is local time of the longitude 82 º 30’ East, taken as the time for the whole of India.
This is five and a half hours ahead of GMT
Standard meridian – The longitude which passes through a country/region which is used to fix the standard time for that country/ region is called Standard meridian.
Impact of the latitudinal extent of India:
Kanyakumari, the southernmost point of the mainland of India is situated very much near to the equator.
Here the difference between the durations of day and night is hardly felt, the maximum difference is of 45 minutes only.
But as we move further towards north, towards Kashmir, the difference between the durations of day and night increases.
It reaches upto 5 hrs in Kashmir.
This difference occurs because as we move away from the equator, the difference of duration of day and night increases according to season.
Size:
The landmass of India has an area of 3.28 million square km.
India’s total area accounts for about 2.4 percent of the total geographical area of the world.
India has a land boundary of about 15,200 km.
The total length of the coast line of the mainland including Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep is 7,516.6 km.
India is bounded by the young fold mountains in the northwest, north and north east.
South of about 22″ north latitude, it begins to taper, and extends towards the Indian Ocean, dividing it into two seas, the Arabian Sea on the west and the Bay of Bengal on its east.
The difference between the latitudinal and longitudinal extent seems to be equal (30 º) on map.
But in reality, the north-south extension (3214 kilometer) of the country is more than the east-west extension (2933 kilometer).
This is because the latitudes are always parallel to each other, that’s why they are even termed as Parallels, but the longitudes converge towards each other as they move towards the poles.
Fold mountains – Mountains which develop when two tectonic plates come together causing compression resulting in buckling & folding of rocks is called Fold mountains.
India and the World:
The Indian landmass has a central location between the East and the West Asia.
India is a southward extension of the Asian Continent.
The Trans Indian Ocean routes which connect the countries of Europe in the West and the countries of East Asia provide a strategic central location to India.
Note that the Deccan Peninsula protrudes into the Indian Ocean, thus helping India to establish close contact with West Asia, Africa and Europe from the western coast and with Southeast and East Asia from the eastern coast.
No other country has a long coastline on the Indian Ocean as India has and indeed, it is India’s eminent position in the Indian Ocean which justifies the naming of an Ocean after it.
Since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, India’s distance from Europe has been reduced by 7,000 km.
India’s contacts with the world have continued through the ages but her relationships through the land routes are much older than her maritime contacts.
The various passes across the mountains in the north have provided passages to the ancient travelers, while the oceans restricted such interaction for a long time.
These routes have contributed in the exchange of ideas and commodities since ancient times.
The ideas of the Upanishads and the Ramayana, the stories of Panchtantra, the Indian numerals and the decimal system thus could reach many parts of the world.
The spices, muslin and other merchandise were taken from India to different countries.
On the other hand, the influence of Greek sculpture, and the architectural styles of dome and minarets from West Asia can be seen in different parts of our country.
Sub-continent – A continent having specific climatic conditions and cultural identity, which is separated from the rest of the continent by natural features like mountains is called Sub-continent.
Do you know?
Since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, India’s distance from Europe has been reduced by 7,000 km. Since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, India’s distance from Europe has been reduced by 7,000 km.
India’s neighbours:
India occupies an important strategic position in South Asia.
India has 29 states and 7 Union Territories.
India shares its land boundaries with Pakistan and Afghanistan in the northwest, China (Tibet), Nepal and Bhutan in the north and Myanmar and Bangladesh in the east.
Our southern neighbours across the sea consist of the two island countries, namely Sri Lanka and Maldives.
Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar while Maldives Islands are situated to the south of the Lakshadweep Islands.
Bay – The water body which is partially surrounded by land with a wide mouth open into oceans is called bay. Ex – Bay of Bengal
Gulf – The water body almost surrounded by land with narrow mouth opening is called gulf.
Ex – Gulf of Mexico, Persian Gulf etc.
Strait – It is naturally formed narrow passage of water that connects two large water bodies.
Ex – Palk Strait
Do you know?
Before 1947, there were two types of states in India — the provinces and the Princely states.
Provinces were ruled directly by British officials, who were appointed by the Viceroy.
Princely states were ruled by local, hereditary rulers, who acknowledged sovereignity in return for local autonomy.
