Topics to be learn:
- History and its pillars
- Geographical conditions and History
- Geographical features of India
- Geographical regions
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History and its pillars :
- History is a coherent account of the significant past events in the progress of human civilization.
- Time, place, society and individuals are the four major pillars of history.
Geographical conditions and History :
Geographical conditions and History :
- Time, place, society and individuals are the four major pillars of history.
- The components, ‘place’ is related to geography or geographical conditions.
- History and Geography are inseparable.
- History is influenced by geographical conditions.
- Diet, clothing, housing, occupation and in fact, all human life in any region depends on its geographical characteristics. Therefore, we find differences in the lifestyle of the people of the hilly regions and those of the plains.
- The climate, the rainfall, agricultural produce, flora and fauna of the region are the main sources of livelihood.
- Human settlements have flourished wherever the means of livelihood are plenty.
- Degradation of the environment, drought, invasions, etc. lead to scarcity of means and people are forced to leave their settlements.
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Geographical features of India :
- India is a large country, having Himalaya to its north, the Bay of Bengal to east, the Arabian Sea to west and the Indian Ocean to south.
- Barring the Andaman-Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea, India has a contiguous geographical area.
- Pakistan and Bangladesh were parts of India before 15th August, 1947.
- The plurality of geographical features led to diversity of cultures in the Indian subcontinent.
Geographical regions :
The principal geographical regions of India are :
The Himalayas :
- The plains of rivers Sindhu, Ganga and Brahmaputra
- The Thar desert
- The Deccan Plateau
- The Coastal regions and
- The Islands in the sea.
Himalayas :
Himalayas :
- The Hindukush and Himalaya ranges have created an impenetrable wall between the Indian subcontinent and the deserts of Central Asia on the northern side of the Indian subcontinent.
- Khyber pass and Bolan pass are the routes in the Hindukush mountains connected to India from the north-west
- This route was connected to an ancient trade route from China passed through Central Asia and reached Arabia. It is known as the ‘Silk Route’ or ‘Silk Road
- Many foreign invaders, foreign travellers came to India by this route.
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The plains of the Sindhu-Ganga- Brahmaputra (Indian peninsula) :
- This region consists of the basins of the three big rivers, Sindhu. Ganga and Bramhputra extended from Sindh, Punjab in the west to the present day Bangladesh in the east.
- The region between the east and the west coast of India tapers off to the south.
- This region, the Indian peninsula, has the Arabian Sea to its west, the Indian Ocean to its south and the Bay of Bengal to its east.
- A major part of the Indian peninsula is occupied by the Deccan plateau.
Deccan plateau :
Deccan plateau
- The region described as Deccan plateau falls within the Indian peninsula.
- Vindhya and Satpura mountain ranges are to its north; whereas the Sahyadri mountain range is towards West.
- Sahyadri mountain range divides the plateau into Western ghat region and the Eastern ghat region.
- Towards the end of the Western ghat are Konkan coastal Karnataka and Malabar region.
- The fertile land in this region led to the emergence of several agricultural civilizations as well as small and big empires after the fall of the Mauryan empire.
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Thar desert :
The Thar desert :
- The Thar desert is spread across Rajasthan. Haryana. some parts of Gujarat parts of present day Pakistan.
- Satluj river is to its north, Aravali mguntain range to its east, Indus river to its west and Rann of kachchh to its south.
- Rlver ghaggar that originates in Himachal Pradesh reaches Thar desert.
- Many sites of the ancient Harappan civilization are located in this region.
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Importance of sea routes :
Importance of sea routes :
- India’s trade with the countries in the west was undertaken by the sea routes since the time of Harappan civilization.
- Contact with the other countries and their culture was established through trade relations.
- Even after the trade and communication by land-terrestrial routes, the importance of sea routes did not diminish.
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Human life in the hilly regions and that on the plains in india :
Human life in the hilly regions and that on the plains in india :
Hilly regions :
- The life of the people is more strenuous in hilly regions.
- There is not much fertile land is available in hilly region.
- Therefore food grains and vegetables are scarce.
- The people of hilly region undertake hunting of the animals and gathering of the food for consumption.
Plains :
- The life of the people is comparatively less strenuous on the plains than hilly regions.
- The fertile land is available on a large scale.
- The food grains and vegetables are available in sufficient measure.
- They consume food grains and vegetables in larger quantity.
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