India
- India is a vast country.
- Lying entirely in the Northern Hemisphere.
- The mainland extends between
- Latitudes - 8°4’N and 37°6’N
- Longitudes - 68°7’E and 97°25’E
- The Tropic of Cancer (23°30’N) divides the country into almost two equal parts.
India
- To the Southeast and Southwest of the mainland, lie the Andaman Nicobar Islands and the Lakshadweep Islands in Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea respectively.
- The Southernmost point of the Indian Union - Indira Point got submerged under the sea water in 2004 during the Tsunami.
- The land mass of India has an area of 3.28 million square km.
- India’s total area accounts for about 2.4 per cent of the total geographical area of the world.
- India is the seventh largest country of the world.
- India has a land boundary of about 15,200 km. The total length of the coastline 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 Northeast.
- 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 latitudinal and longitudinal extent of the mainland is about 30°.
- Despite this fact, the East - West extent appears to be smaller than the North - South extent.
Longitudinal Extent: Influences the sunrise and sunset from East to West.
Latitudinal Extent: Influences the duration of day and night, as one moves from South to North.
Longitudinal extent: From Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh, there is a time lag of two hours.
Implications: Hence, time along the Standard Meridian of India (82°30’E) passing through Mirzapur (in Uttar Pradesh) is taken as the standard time for the whole country.
- The Indian landmass has central location between the East and the West Asia.
- Southward extension of the Asian continent.
Strategic central location in India: The trans Indian Ocean routes, which connect the countries of Europe in the West and the countries of East Asia.
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.
∴ It is India’s eminent position in the Indian Ocean, which justifies the naming of an Ocean after it.
- India’s relationship with world 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 travellers, 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 exchange of ideas and commodities through these routes:
- The ideas of the Upanishads and the Ramayana, the stories of Panchatantra, 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.
Suez Canal: Since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, India’s distance from Europe has been reduced by 7,000 km.
India shares its borders with several countries:
- Northwest: Pakistan and Afghanistan
- North: China, Nepal, and Bhutan
- East: Myanmar and Bangladesh
- South: Maritime neighbors - Sri Lanka and Maldives
In the Indian Ocean, India's neighbors include Sri Lanka, separated by the Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar, and Maldives, south of Lakshadweep Islands.
Key Points
- India has 28 states and 8 Union Territories.
- It is the world's second-most populous country, with over 1.3 billion people.
- New Delhi is the capital.
- India is geographically diverse, from the Himalayas in the north to coastal regions in the south, and from the Thar Desert in the west to fertile plains in the east.
- Strategically, India is crucial in South Asia.
- India shares land borders with Pakistan, Afghanistan, China (Tibet), Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Bangladesh.
- Maritime neighbors across the sea are Sri Lanka and Maldives.
Sri Lanka is separated from India by the Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar; Maldives lie south of Lakshadweep Islands. India has deep historical and geographical ties with its neighbors.
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