Region of India

1.1 India as a land of
diversities, Historical and
Political integration

India – A Land Of Diversity
India is a kaleidoscope of cultures that includes umpteen variations in food, clothing, language, music
and religious beliefs. This colourful spread has been shaped by the long history and unique
geography of this land. Though cut off from the world by three oceans and the highest chain of
mountains, this penissula has been invaded time and again through the almost inaccessible mountain
passes. Besides, more than four hundred main languages, there are thousands of others including
dialects that are distinctly different to each other.
The diversity of India’s languages can be understood by the fact that Indian currency has 15
languages, besides Hindi and English, printed on it, and most sing boards are written in English, Hindi
and the state language.
India is one of the most religiously diverse nations of the world with each individual free to follow his
own rites and beliefs.. Home to four of the world’s major religions, minor religions too play an
important role in the lives of the people.

Clothes have always been fashioned by necessity. While loose, light clothes are worn in the hot and
humid southern India, the cold northern regions like Kashmir, has its inhabitants wearing woollen
clothes almost round the year. The desert areas of Rajasthan and Gujarat have the people dorring
colourful clothes. In contrast, people of the lush green eastern regions are known for their preference
of lighter colours.
Besides a host of stitched clothing India is perhaps the only country where unstitched clothes like the
sari, lungi, dhoti and turban remain popular items.
The landscape which includes dry deserts, snowy mountains, fertile plans and evergreen forests hosts a
unique ecosystem which is rich in great variety of flora and fauna. The lofty Himalayas are an imposing
contrast to the low , flat plains spread at its feet. And the rugged Deccan area is afar cry from the hot
marshy areas of the Sunderban delta.
Indian cuisine is so very diverse that it is practically impossible to know and taste all the dishes
prepared in the country. If the northern people are predominantly wheat eaters, the rest of India are
avid rice eaters. Whilst fish is an essential part of the coastal meal, there are numerous people who do
not eat anything but vegetables and fruits. The meals cooked, depend upon the available raw
materials, cooking traditions and local spices.
Not for nothing was India known for spices by the earliest of traders. The variety of spices available in
the different regions of India are so great that there is no alternate name for them in the English
language. Each spice is also known for its curative property. Sweet dishes prepared from milk, sugar,
juggery and coconut are commonly found in all regions, in their local variations. If Maharashtra is
known for its Shrikhand, Punjab is famous for its Halwa. Bengal of course is world famous for its
variety of milk-based sweets.

Years of foreign rule has not been able to wipe out the festivals that are a prominent part of our
culture. Major festivals are celebrated all over the country with equal fervour, but there are thousands
of other festivals that are locally celebrated with great enthusiasm.
If the cities of India portray the modern India with technological hubs in Bangalore and Mumbai, the
remote areas still preserve a rich and varied tribal population.
In short, the variations of India’s cultural diversity are strung together with a colourful string of peace
and harmony. But this great diversity of India never mars its unity. India, is indeed, an embodiment of
‘unity in diversity’.

1.2 Physico-Economic regions of India

6 Types of Landforms under which India can be divided
on the Basis of Major Relief Factors
Some of the types of landforms under which India can be divided on the basis of
major relief factors:-
A. The Great Mountains of North
B. The Great Northern Plains of India
C. The Peninsular Plateau
D. The Indian desert
E. The Coastal Plains
F. The Islands
A. The Great Mountains of North:-
The northern mountains include the Himalayas, the Trans-Himalayan Ranges and Eastern Hills or
Purvanchal. These extend from the plateau of Pamir to the frontiers of Myanmar for a distance of
nearly 3,000 km. They are known for their snow covered peaks, big and small glaciers and deep
gorges. Himalayas means the Abode of Snow. The Himalayas are young fold mountains and they are
divided into three main ranges that run parallel to each other.
It stretches across northern India from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh (about 2500 km)
with a varying width of 240 to 320 km forming Himalaya in the East-West direction and its offshoots
run in North-South direction along the India-Myanmar boundary traversing through Nagaland, Manipur
and Mizoram known as eastern hills. They represent the youngest and highest folded mountains of the
earth formed by the tectonic collision of the Indian plateau with the Eurasian plateau.

Longitudinally the Himalaya consist of four parallel range from South to North
i. The outer Himalayas (Shiwalik) It is almost continuous range of low hills, composed of unconsolidated
tertiary sediments emerged as most recent phase in Himalaya orogeny.
ii. The lesser Himalayas (The Himachal) It generally consists of unfossiferous sediments or
metamorphosed crystalline. Important range include the Dhauladhar, Pirpanjal, Nag Tiba, Mahabharat
and Mussoorie range.
iii. The Greater Himalaya (The Himadri) This is the most continuous loftiest and northern most range of
Himalayas. It has a core of Archaean granites, gneisses and schist’s rocks. This range contains one of
the highest mountain peaks of the world.
iv. The Trans Himalaya It is also called the Tibetan Himalaya. This range consisting of mainly Karakoram,
Ladakh and Kailash range.
1. The Greater Himalayan or Himadri:
The innermost Himalayan range is the worlds highest, with an average height of about 6,000 m. There
are several peaks exceeding 8000 metres in altitude. Mount Everest is the highest peak (8,848 metres),
which is in Nepal. Kanchenjunga (8,598) and Nanga Parbat are Indian peaks in the greater Himalayan
Range.
World’s Highest Peaks:
Country Mountain Range Height
Nepal Mount Everest 8,848 m
India Kanchenjunga 8,598 m
Makalu 8,481 m
Nepal Dhaulagiri 8,172 m
Nepal Manaslu 8,156 m
Nepal, China Chooyu 8,153 m
Nepal Annapurna 8,078 m
India Nanga Parbat 8,126 m

2. The Lesser or Middle Himalaya (The Himachal):
It lies to the south of Himadri with an average height of 5,000 metres above the sea level and ranging
in width from 60 to 80 km. There are alternating ridges and valleys between the Himachal and
Himadri ranges like Kashmir Valley, Kangra Valley, Kulu Valley and hill stations like Shimla, Mussoorie,
Nainital and Darjeeling.
The Pir Panjal Range in Kashmir, Dhaula Dhar in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, and their
continuation eastwards into Uttar Pradesh are part of Himachal Range. They are known as lesser
Himalayas owing to its lower elevation.
3. The Outer Himalaya or the Siwaliks:
It is the southernmost range of the Himalayas forming the Himalayan foot hills. They consist of low
ridges of less than 1500 metres altitude and width varying from 15 to 50 km. These Siwaliks are
prominent in Western Himalayas as these ranges are made of relatively recent river sediments. The
Siwaliks are known for its longitudinal valleys called the Duns. Dehradun is in this range, Patle in Uttar
Pradesh and Kotli in Jammu are also Duns.
The Himalayas are divided into three regions from west to east. Western Himalayas includes the
Himalayas in Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, the Central Himalayas cover the region in Uttar
Pradesh and Nepal and Eastern Himalayas includes Sikkim, West Bengal, Bhutan and Arunachal
Pradesh.
4. Trans-Himalayan Zone:
This includes the mountain ranges which lie beyond Inner Himalayas. The Karakoram range is the most
prominent and extends from Pamir Knot to the north of India. This range has the K, (Godwin Austen)
peak (861 lm), the second highest peak in the world. There are many snow- fields and glaciers in
Karokoram Range. Siachen glacier, a bone of contention between India and Pakistan is the largest
glacier. The Karakoram Range in Tibet is known as Kailash Range.

The Satpura Range:
It extends from Narmada valley in north to Tapti
in south. The average elevation is 1030 m, with
the highest point at Dhupgarh (1350 m) near
Pachmarhi.
The Aravallis:
It stretches from north east to southwest. It has a
height of less than 400 m in northern stretch.
The Gurusikhar Peak (1722 m) of Abu hills is the
highest point of the range.
The Vindhya Range:
It stretches from Sasaram (Bihar) in east to Jobat
(Gujarat) in West. It separates northern India from
the southern mainland. The average elevation is 600
m and mostly composed of sandstones, quartzite’s,
and shales.
Purvanchal:
This is the North-Eastern Himalayas that run north to South through Arunachal Pradesh,
Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and eastern Assam.

Significance of Himalaya:
(i) Owing to Himalaya, Indian subcontinent has monsoon climate.
(ii) They protect Indian Plains from the cold blizzards of central and north-east Asia.
(iii) Natural barrier between India and its neighbours such as China.
(iv) Ganga and Yamuna (big rivers of India) originate from it.
(v) Himalayas are rich in forest and animal resources and also the source of minerals such as copper,
nickel and cobalt.
(vi) The scenic beauty of the valleys and hill stations provide great attraction for tourists.
Between the Himalayas and the Peninsular Plateau are found the Great Northern Plains
that stretch in an east-west direction for about 2,400 km. One of the world’s largest
aggradational terrains, they cover more than seven lakh sq.km and have a width ranging
from less than 200 km (Bihar) to 500 km (Punjab and Rajasthan).
They are alluvial in nature and are composed of older alluvium (bhangar) or new alluvium
(khadar or bet). The former is found in areas which are away from river channels and the
latter is found along river banks.
These plains are drained by Sutlej and Beas, Sutlej Plain in west, the Ganga Plain in the
middle, the Ganga delta and Brahmaputra valley in the east. These are among the largest
plains of the world. These are uniformly level plains without any interruption except for few
outliers of the Aravalli Range. These continue to the west beyond the Punjab and Rajasthan
and merge into Indus plain in the Pakistan.
B. The Great Northern Plains of India:-

Northern plains is divided into four main divisions
i. The Bhabar:
The Bhabar belt is adjacent to the foothills of the Himalayas and consists of boulders and pebbles
which have been carried down by streams. As the porosity of this belt is very high, the streams flow
underground.
ii. The Tarai:
The Tarai belt lies south of the adjacent Bhabar region and is composed of newer alluvium. The
underground streams reappear in this region.
iii. The Bhangar:
The Bhangar belt consists of older alluvium and forms the alluvial terrace of the flood plains.
iv. The Khadar:
It is made up of fresh newer alluvium which is deposited by the rivers flowing down the plain.
C. The Peninsular Plateau:-
To the south of Great Plains of northern India lies the old landmass of peninsular India which is made up
of ancient igneous rocks. The Peninsular plateau is composed of two parts i.e. Malwa plateau and
Deccan plateau. These two parts are separated by the Vindhya and Satpura Ranges. The Narmada River,
flowing from east to west divides the Malwa plateau from Deccan.
The northern part of Malwa plateau is flanked by Aravalli in the west and Vindhyas in the south. The
desert of Rajasthan is situated to the north-west of Malwa plateau. It is made up of rocks and sand. It is
a region of inland drainage because rivers either disappear in the desert or drain into the salt lakes.
The western edge of the Deccan plateau is formed by Sahyadri, the Nilgiri, the Annamalai and the
Cardamom hills and together they are known as Western Ghats. Anai Mudi in Kerala is the highest
peak. The Western Ghats run parallel to the coast facing the Arabian Sea.

The eastern edge of plateau is called Eastern Ghats and consists of low and discontinuous hills. They
slope towards the east. The Eastern and Western Ghats converge at Nilgiris. The peninsular hills are
quite low and old and they do not have high peaks and glaciers like those on the Himalayas.
Anai Mudi, the highest peak of Deccan is only 2, 695 metres high. The north western part of the plateau
is called the Deccan trap. It is made of volcanic rocks which are composed of lava flows. It occupies the
whole of Maharashtra and parts of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
E. The Coastal Plain:
The Deccan plateau is flanked by narrow coastal plains in the east and west. The western coastal plains
lies between Western Ghats and Arabian Sea, its northern part is called Konkan and southern part is
known as Malabar. Similarly, the eastern coastal plain lies between the Bay of Bengal and Eastern Ghats.
Its southern part is called the Coromondal coast and the northern part of eastern coast is called
Northern Circars and this part lies in West Bengal and Orissa.
The Indian Desert is located to the north-west of the Aravali hills lies the Great
Indian Desert. It is a land of undulating topography dotted with longitudinal dunes and
barchans. This region receives low rainfall below 150 mm per year; hence, it has an arid
climate with low vegetation cover. It is because of these characteristic features that this
is also known as Marusthali.
D. The Indian Desert:
The Western Ghats Coastal Plain extends from Surat to Kanyakumari which is divided into four
parts: Gujarat Plain- Coastal area of Gujarat; Konkan Plain- between Daman and Goa; Kannad Plain-
between Goa and Mangalore; and Malabar Plainbetween Mangalore and Kanyakumari.

The Eastern Coastal Plains lies between the Eastern Ghats and the sea coast from the Subarnarekha
River to Kanyakumari. As compared to the Western Coastal Plain It is wider because the rivers like
Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri formed the delta over there. The continental shelf extends up to
500 km into the sea, which makes it difficult for the development of good ports and harbours. In
Eastern Coastal plain, there is the Kolleru Lake which situated in the delta region of the Godavari and
the Krishna Rivers. Chilka Lake and Pulicat Lake is the best example of lagoon which is also found in this
region.

There are a number of small and large islands some of which are of volcanic origin while
some are of coral origin.
i. Lakshadweep islands in the Arabian Sea are a group of 36 coral islands. They are located off the coast
of Kerala. These islands are mostly flat and hardly a few metres above sea level.
ii. Andaman and Nicobar Islands lie in the Bay of Bengal. They are a group of 324 islands which are
volcanic in nature. Andaman Islands are separated from the Nicobar Islands by the ten degree channel.
They are mostly rugged mountainous hills and considered submerged part of Arakanyoma fold belt.
F. Islands:-
The Islands are large land areas completely surrounded by water, but not large enough to be called a
continent. The Indian islands in the Bay of Bengal consist of the Andaman and Nicobar groups, (some
of these are volcanic in origin).
India has in all 247 islands out of which 204 lie in Bay of Bengal. Of these 9 are in Nicobar and 185 in
Andaman. The only active volcano of India is located in the Andaman on the Barren Island. The Islands
in Arabian Sea are known as Lakshadweep islands. They are 42 in number and are of coral origin,
surrounded by fringing reef.

There are two major island groups in India – one in the Bay of Bengal and the other in the
Arabian Sea.
 The Bay of Bengal island groups consists of about 572 islands/islets. These are situated roughly
between 6°N-14°N and 92°E -94°E. The two principal groups of islets include the Ritchie’s archipelago
and the Labyrinth Island. The entire group of island is divided into two broad categories – the Andaman
in the north and the Nicobar in the south. They are separated by a water body which is called the 10°
channel.
 The islands of the Arabian Sea include Lakshadweep and Minicoy. These are scattered between 8°N-
12°N and 71°E -74°E longitude. These islands are located at a distance of 280 km-480 km off the Kerala
coast. The entire island group is built of coral deposits. There are approximately 36 islands, of which 11
are inhabited. Minicoy is the largest island with an area of 453 sq. km. The entire group of islands is
broadly divided by the 11° channel, north of which is the Amini Island and to the south of the
Canannore Island.

Region of India

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