Geographical Features of India
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| Geographical Features of India |
India (The Republic Of India) It is a huge country. At one point it extended over an area of about 2,500 miles from east to west and 2,000 miles from north to south. It had 6,000 miles of land border and 5,000 miles of sea border. Its area was about two million square miles, which was two-thirds of America and 20 times bigger than Great Britain. After the partition of British India in 1947, its area decreased by one-third but it is still a very large country. Geographically, India can be divided into five distinct parts. The first part is the northern mountains, which have the western and eastern peaks and their slopes. Present Kashmir, Shivalik, Tehri-Garhwal, Kumaon, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan are included in this. this part about 1, It is 500 miles long and 150 to 200 miles wide. The second part is the northern plains, which are irrigated by the Sindh and Ganga river systems. This plain is famous for its fertile land and crops. It is not surprising that big empires were established in this part. The third part is the plateau of Central India and South. Narmada and Tapti flow from east to west. Other rivers of this part flow from west to east. In the dry season the rivers dry up and are not navigable. The Vindhya and Satpura ranges separate northern India from the south. The fourth part is the long but narrow strip of plains which lies between the sea and the Eastern and Western Ghats. This ground is about 1, 000 miles long. The Western Plains lie between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats. Konkan and Malabar are its parts. The Eastern Plains lie between the Bay of Bengal and the Eastern Ghats. The Coromandel Coast is situated in these plains. The plains from Yamuna to Brahmaputra were called Madhya-desh or middle country. This part was the center of Arya culture. North-Western India was called Uttarapatha. Western India was called Praticya or Aparanta. Eastern India was called Prachya and Southern India was called Dakshinapatha.
Effect of Geography on History of India
Effects of Geography on the History of IndiaVery interesting. The Himalayan Mountains are the great watchdog of the North. It blocks the cold and dry winds coming from Tibet. It is the source of the rivers that have made the soil of the plains of India fertile. These mountains rain by stopping the water-laden winds. These mountains have protected India from attacks from the north. In the modern era, no other invader except the Chinese has been successful in sending their army across the northern passes. These passes are covered with snow for most of the months of the year. Due to the existence of the Himalayan mountains, no Indian dreamed of crossing the Himalayas and conquering the northern regions. However, a limited amount of traffic was possible through these passes for a few weeks of the year when the snow melted. This relation was for trade and cultural works. Perhaps it was through these passes that some Mongolian blood entered the Indian veins. These are some of the people living in the slopes of the Himalayas. visible in people. Although India was not much influenced by the northern culture, the northern countries were heavily influenced by the Indian culture. Tibet is a vivid proof of this where many Indian scholars and sages went to spread their religion and culture. The north-western part of the Himalayas is known as Sulaiman and Hindukush mountains. These mountains are not very high. There are many passes in these mountains through which many foreigners came to India. The Khyber Pass is 3,400 feet above sea level. This pass connects Peshawar with Kabul and many foreign invaders came to India through this route. The passes of Tochi, Kurram and Gomal connect India with Afghanistan. The pass of Bolan is very wide. It joins India with Kandahar. It is very easy to cross this pass. Arabs, Greeks, Kushans, Huns, Turks, Tatars, Mughals and invaders like Nadirshah and Ahmadshah Abdali invaded India. These passes are responsible for changing the fortunes of India. The emperors of India had to make complete arrangements to prevent danger from these passes and whenever this was not done, people had to face a lot of trouble. The north-eastern part of the Himalayas proved to be a hindrance in the interaction with the eastern world. Crossing the passes leading from the Brahmaputra valley to the Chindwin valley is a very difficult task. Other passes, which are located in the Chindwin valley from Manipur (Imphal), It is very difficult to cross them, although Subhash Chandra Bose tried to do so in 1943. The climate of this region is not good because of malaria and movement of large number of people is very difficult. No Indian emperor tried to attack Burma through these passes, nor was it ever done from Burma. During the Second World War, many Indians tried to come from Burma through these passes, but many of them died on the way. The yield and prosperity of the plains of the Indus and Ganga rivers became the root cause for the establishment of big empires in this region. Big political, social, religious and philosophical ideas flourished in this region. Most of the Sanskrit literature was composed here only. Buddhism and Jainism flourished here only. Takshashila, Nalanda, the repository of knowledge and culture, Sarnath etc. were established in this region. The prosperity and fertility of this region provided a lot of leisure to the people here to do other work. The rivers of this region are the easiest means of communication and this is the reason why many big cities settled in this part of the country. In this regard Patliputra, Varanasi, Prayag, Agra, Delhi, The names of cities like Multan and Lahore are noteworthy. These grounds have been the center of political activities in almost the entire history of India. The attempt to move this center to the south failed. The name of Muhammad Tughlaq is noteworthy in this regard. The Indus and the Ganges do not flow in the same direction. The Sutlej and the Yamuna interweave a vast tract of land that extends from the foothills of the Shivalik hills to Kurukshetra and distant Rajputana. Many big battles [from the time of Mahabharata till the Battle of Panipat (1761)] were fought to subdue India on this land. Due to the richness and fertility of the land here, the Indian people did not have to work hard for their livelihood as compared to other countries. The result of this was that the people here became lazy and comfortable and they could not stand in front of the strong foreigners. The Muslims who once came victorious in India, lost their masculinity here and Defeated by the Muslims. South India remained completely isolated from the political turmoil of North India and it would have taken a long time for any conqueror of North India to conquer South India. South Dravid remained the center of culture even when North India was influenced by the Aryans. Agastya took the Aryan culture to the south. Maurya, Gupta, The Sultan of Delhi and the Mughals also faced the same difficulty. It cannot be denied that it was the South that kept the Indian culture hidden under its bosom in difficult times. When Buddhism was at its height in North India, the South saved Hinduism by supporting it. When it became difficult for the people of Jainism to live in North India, they also took refuge in the South. Similarly, when the Muslims established their authority over North India, the Hindu culture had to take refuge in the Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar for its protection. Apart from this, the kings of the South did a lot of work in the development of maritime trade, without which it would have been very difficult to lay the foundation of vast India. In the plains of the Ghats, Many ports are located. These ports helped a lot in foreign trade, which brought a lot of money to India. The geographical features of India have been helpful in the origin of a coordinated culture. This also strengthened the spirit of tolerance. Due to the presence of different types of people in the country, the feeling of tolerance of each other's disparities originated. rivers, mountains, The vast size of the country, divided into different regions by deserts and forests, made the question of India's political unity very difficult. Experience shows how difficult it has been to bring many parts of the country under a single authority. Ashoka and Akbar completed this work for some time before the arrival of the British. It was only during the time of the British that the whole of India came under one authority. Another result of India's vastness was that it gathered vast territory to fulfill the wishes of the kings here. A lot of his time was spent in conquering different regions of India. The result was that they had neither the time nor the courage to conquer territories outside India. This resulted in a feeling of loneliness among the Indians. They remained engrossed in the problems of India. Could not pay attention to the events of other countries outside the country. As a result India with the progress made there Couldn't walk in step. This had a very bad effect on India's prosperity and independence. The geographical location of India separated it from the main routes. Its isolation from other countries proved helpful in the origin of a specific political and cultural unit here. The vast size of India, its many natural features and different types of climate have led to the origin of the peculiarity of different races and languages here. The natural features and climatic conditions also influenced the life and habits of the people here. The forests of India contributed very well to the development of Indian culture. Aranyakas were written in forests only. Forests were the ideal place for big schools, rishikulas and gurukuls. The mountains made a great impression on the minds of the people of India. Kalidasa describes the Himalayas in these words: “The Himalaya, the king of the mountains, Standing between two seas wearing spiritualism as if there is a stick to measure the earth. These mountains are the abode of Shiva and Parvati. Parvati ji is called the daughter of the Himalayas. There are many holy places on the Himalayan Mountains. Many travelers come from every corner of India to visit these holy places. Inspite of so many blessings of the Himalayas, it cannot be denied that it has maintained a false sense of protection from foreign invasions.
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