The following topics from this chapter are being highlighted the most in the previous 3 year’s examinations and thereby hold significant importance.
An important point is that only factual questions have been asked from this chapter (Very Short Answer Type).
For example, the latitudinal and longitudinal extension of India, neighbouring countries of India etc.
- Location of India
- Size of India
- India and the World
- Neighbours of India.
Location
India lies entirely in the Northern Hemisphere.
India’s mainland extends between 8°4’N and 37°6’N latitudes, and 68°7’E and 97°25’E longitudes.
The Tropic of Cancer (23°30’N) divides India into two almost equal parts.
The northernmost point of India which is under Indian administration is near Indira Col, Siachen Glacier.
The southernmost point in India is Indira Point on Nicobar Island.
Size
Covering an area of 3.28 million square kilometres, India’s total area is 2.4% of the total geographical area of the world.
India is the world’s seventh largest country with a land boundary of about 15,200 km, with total length of the coastline being 7,516.6 km.
India’s East-West extent appears to be smaller than the north-south extent.
India and The World
The Indian landmass is centrally located between West and East Asia.
India’s protruding Deccan Peninsula helped India to establish close contacts with West Asia, Africa and Europe, South-East and East Asia.
India’s contacts with the world via land routes are much more than Its maritime contacts.
India has contributed a lot to the world in forms of ideas, philosophies (Upanishads, Ramayana, Panchtantra) and in mathematics (Indian numerals and decimal system, algebra, trigonometry and calculus).
In exchange, India’s architecture was influenced by Greek sculpture and architectural styles from West Asia.
India’s Neighbours
India has an important position in South Asia and has 29 States and 7 Union Territories.
India shares its boundaries with Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bhutan.
The southern neighbours across the sea consist of the two island countries, namely Maldives and Sri Lanka.
India stands apart from the rest of Asia and is called a sub-continent.