CHAPTER-1
INDIA: SIZE
AND
LOCATIO
TOPICS IN THIS CHAPTER
• India's Location
• Its Size
• India and the World
• Its neighbours
India is one of the ancient civilizations in the
world. It has achieved multi faceted
socioeconomic progress during the last five
decades.
It has moved forward displaying remarkable
progress in the field of agriculture, industry,
technology and overall economic
development.
LOCATION
• India lies entirely in Northern hemisphere between
latitudes 8°4' N and 37°6' N and longitudes 68°7' E and
97°25' E.
• It is divided by Tropic of cancer (23°30' N) in almost two
equal parts.
• In Southeast, Andaman and Nicobar islands lie in Bay of
Bengal.
• In Southwest, Lakshadweep islands lie in Arabian Sea.
•Total Area of India is 3.28 million square km which is
2.4 percent of the total area of the world.
•It is seventh largest country in the world in terms of
landmass.
•It has land boundary about 15,200 km and the total
length of the coast line of the mainland
including Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep
islands is 7,516.6 km.
•In the northwest, north and north east of India, young
folds mountains bounds it.
•South of about 22° north latitude, India narrows and
finally extends towards the Indian Ocean. It also
divides it into two seas, the Arabian Sea on the west
and the Bay of Bengal on its east.
INDIA IN THE WORLD
EXTENT AND STANDARD
LATITUDINAL
AND
LONGITUDINAL EXTENT
The latitudinal and longitudinal extent of the mainland
is
about 30°.
India’s east-west extent appears to be smaller than the
north-south extent.
The time along the Standard Meridian (82°30' E)
passing through Mirzapur in UP is taken as the Indian
Standard Time for whole country.
The time gap between Arunachal Pradesh present in
the east and Gujarat present in the west is about 2 hours.
The latitudinal extent influences the duration of day and
night, as one moves from south to north.
MIRZAPUR AS THE STANDARD TIME
INDIA AND THE WORLD
India is located in the centre of the World between East and
the West Asia.
The routes across the Indian ocean which connect the
countries of Europe in the West and the countries of East
Asia provide a strategic central location to India.
The Deccan Peninsula helps 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.
The Ocean which is south of India has been given the
name Indian Ocean as no other country has a long
coastline on the Indian Ocean as India has.
LARGEST COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD
The land routes of India are much older than sea routes.
Various passes across mountains in the north have provided
passages to the ancient travellers as oceans limited such
interaction for a long time.
The land routes helped India in the exchange of ideas and
commodities since ancient times.
India have propagated the ideas of the Upanishads and the
Ramayana, the stories of Panchtantra, the Indian numerals
and the decimal system as well as given spices, muslin and
other merchandise to different countries.
Also, the influence of Greek sculpture, and the architectural
styles of dome and minarets from West Asia can be seen in
different parts of India.
ITS NEIGHBOURS
India is comprised of 29 states and 8 union
territories and shares its land boundary with
→ Northwest: Pakistan and Afghanistan
→ North: China, Nepal, Bhutan
→ East: Myanmar and Bangladesh
→ South: Sri Lanka and Maldives
INDIA AND ADJACENT COUNTRIES
Sri
Lanka is separated from India by a
narrow channel of sea formed by the Palk
Strait and the Gulf of Mannar
MaldivesIslands are situated to the south of
the Lakshadweep Islands.
A peninsula is a piece of land that is
bordered by water on three sides but
connected to mainland on one side.
INDIA ON INTERNATIONAL HIGHWAY
OF
DO YOU KNOW FROM
CHAPTER
The southernmost point of the Indian Union ‘Indira Point’ got
submerged under the sea water in 2004 during the Tsunami.
Since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, India’s distance
from Europe has been reduced by 7,000 km.
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
THE SOUTHERNMOST POINT OF INDIA
‘
SUMMARY
India is known for its rich commercial and cultural heritage and
home to some of the oldest civilizations in the world, like the
Indus Valley Civilization.
India spreads across both the Eastern and the Northern
Hemispheres. India’s latitudinal stretch is between 8.4 degrees
N and 37.6 degrees N, and the longitudinal stretch is between
68.7 degrees E and 97.25 degrees E.
The Tropic of Cancer at 23.30 degrees North latitude cuts
across the country, dividing it almost into two equal halves. The
country has the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the south-east
and the Lakshadweep Islands in the southwest.
The total area of the Indian land mass is 3.28 million square
kilometres i.e. nearly 2.4% of the total land area of the world.
India is the seventh largest country in the world.
SUEZ CANAL
India is bordered by the young fold mountains on the north-
western, northern and north-eastern side, the Bay of Bengal in the
east, the Arabian Sea in the west and the Indian Ocean in the
south
The tapered shape of southern India divides Indian Ocean into the
Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal! India’s total coastline, including
the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the Lakshadweep Islands
measures 7,516.6 kilometres.
India’s east-west stretch and north south stretch each measure
approximately 3000 kilometres and causes a time lag of 2 hours
between the local times at the eastern and the western ends.
India’s standard time is the time along longitude 82.30 degrees
East. This longitude passes through Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh and
is referred to as the Standard Meridian of India.
While India’s longitudinal stretch gives rise to a time lag between
the east and the west, its latitudinal stretch influences the duration
of days and nights.
