Geography – 1 India – size and Location
CLASSWORK
Text Book Questions:
1. Answer the following questions briefly:
a. Name the group of islands lying in the Arabian Sea.
Lakshadweep.
b. Name the countries which are larger than India.
Russia, Canada, China, USA, Brazil and Australia.
c. Which island group of India lies to its South-East?
Andaman and Nicobar.
d. Which island countries are our southern neighbors?
Maldives and Sri Lanka.
2. The sun rises two hours earlier in Arunachal Pradesh as compared to Gujarat in the
west but the watches show the same time. How does it happen?
India has a longitudinal extent of 30º from east to west. Due to this, there is a time lag of
two hours between sunrise on the easternmost and the westernmost horizons of India. The
earth takes 4 minutes to cover 1º of longitude. Therefore, in order to cover 30º of
longitude, a time period of two hours is required. Hence, when it is 6a.m. in Arunachal
Pradesh, it is still 4a.m. in Gujarat. But the clocks in all parts of India run according to the
standard time measured from 82½ºE longitude. So, the clocks in Arunachal Pradesh and
Gujarat show the same time despite the difference in the time of sunrise.
3. ‘The central location of India at the head of the Indian Ocean is considered of great
significance’. Why?
India lies at the head of the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean extends between 40ºE to
120ºE longitudes, with Kanniyakumari located along 80ºE longitude. The Indian Ocean
encloses India from three directions East, West and South. India occupies a centrally
located strategic position in the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean is the only ocean in the
world named after a country. In the past, Indian culture spread towards East and South-
East Asia through the Indian Ocean. Now, India is well connected to the European
countries in the west and the countries of East Asia through the trans-Indian Ocean
routes.
Additional Questions:
I. Very Short Answers:
1. What is the total geographical area of India?
The total geographical area of India is 3.28 million sq.km.
2. India is located in which hemisphere?
India is located in the northern and eastern hemisphere.
3. What is the southernmost latitude?
The southernmost latitude of India is 8º4´North.
4. Which meridian is chosen as the standard meridian of India?
82º30´E is chosen as the Standard Meridian of India. It passes through Allahabad and
Mirzapur.
5. Which group of islands was submerged under sea during the Tsunami of 2004?
Indira point in the Andaman and Nicobar Island.
II. Short Answers:
1. What is the latitudinal extent of India? What are its implications?
Latitudinal extent of India is 8º4´N to 37º6´N. North - South extent is 3214km.
Implications:
i. Due to the large north-south extent, the southern parts of India have the overhead
sun for most of the year and get more insolation.
ii. The southern parts have almost equal length of days and nights.
iii. In the northern parts, days are longer than nights in the summer because of the
inclination of this part towards the sun.
2. What is the Standard Meridian of India? From which city of Uttar Pradesh does the
Standard Meridian passes through? Why has it been selected as the Standard
Meridian of India?
82½ºE is taken as the Standard Meridian of India. It passes through the city of Allahabad.
The local time of Mirzapur, near Allahabad, is taken as the standard time all over India. It
is a central meridian for India as it divides the country into two equal halves. So it suits
most parts of the country. Moreover, Nepal and Sri Lanka also adopted 82½ºE as the
Standard Meridian to have a uniformity of time with India.
3. Describe the land and water frontiers of India.
India has a land border of 15200km and a long coastline of 7516kms.
i. The great mountain wall in the North is a natural boundary between China and
India.
ii. The Thar Desert and Punjab Plains from the western border with Pakistan.
iii. A series of mountain ranges form the boundary with Myanmar; the Ganges delta
forms the boundary with Bangladesh.
iv. The Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal form the water frontiers of
India.
4. ‘India has contributed significantly to making of world history’. Give two facts.
i. India is one of the ancient civilizations of the world. The Indus valley civilization
is one of the ancient civilizations.
ii. The Aryans settled in India.
iii. The traders, invaders, scholars entered India and returned after gaining a lot of
knowledge and wealth.
5. Why is the difference between the duration of day and night hardly at
Kanniyakumari, but it is not so in Kashmir?
The north-south extent affects the length of day and night in different parts of India.
Kanniyakumari(8º4´N) is close to the equator. Here the sun is almost overhead all the
year round. As a result, the days and nights are equal. The maximum difference between
the lengths of day and night is hardly 45 minutes. Whereas in Kashmir (37º6´N), the rays
of the sun are always oblique. The difference between the lengths of day and night is as
large as five hours. Days are longer than nights, due to the inclination of this part towards
the sun during summer.
III. Long Answers:
1. ‘India has strong geographical and historical link with her neighbours’. Explain
giving examples.
India has been linked with south-east Asia, west Asia, Africa and central Asia. Indian
culture spread to many distant countries such as Indonesia, Bali, Cambodia and Egypt.
These cultures also had an impact on the Indian culture.
v. The Indian culture spread to distant lands through ocean routes of the Indian
Ocean. Muslin and spices were also sent to other countries.
vi. The mountain passes in the north provided many openings and transport facilities
for outsiders.
a. The pastoral nomads entered India through the mountain passes of Khyber and
Bolan.
b. The Buddhist monks crossed into Tibet, China and Japan to spread their
message for peace.
c. Alexander invaded India through these mountain passes and brought Greek
sculpture, domes and minarets to India.
d. Indian merchants had trade link with central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran in these
routes.
e. The Mongols, Turks, Arabs and Iranians came as conquerors and settled down
in India. They took back the Indian numerals, the decimal system and the ideas
of the Upanishads to their countries.
2. Describe the main feature of political division of India.
The republic of India is a union of states.
India is the largest democracy in the world.
India comprises of 29 states and 7 union territories.
Area wise, Rajasthan is the largest state of India.
Area wise, Goa is the smallest state of India.
There are nine coastal states and U.T.’s on the west coast, while the east coast has 6 states
and U.T.’s.
Madhya Pradesh is located in the heart of the country and is surrounded by land
boundaries of five states; Assam in the north east is also surrounded by five states.
The state of Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Telegana do not
touch any international boundary or the sea.
3. Describe the importance of the geographical location of India.
i. Central Location: India is centrally located in the northern and eastern
hemispheres.
ii. Trade routes: India is favorably located for international trade. Many trade routes
pass through the Indian Ocean.
iii. Nearness to Tropic of Cancer: The Tropic of Cancer passes through the center of
India. This makes Indian a tropical country. The long growing season makes
Indian and agricultural country.
iv. Long Coastline: India has a long coastline which provides many deep, protected
and natural harbors.
v. Defense: The natural boundaries are favorably located from the defense point of
view.
vi. Effect of Indian Ocean: The winds originating from the Indian Ocean leads to the
origin of rainy monsoons.
vii. Effect of Himalayas: The unbroken chain of the Himalayas acts as a climatic
barrier. It forces the monsoon winds to deliver rainfall and protects the northern
India from cold polar winds.
4. Describe how geographical features of the country have fostered unity and
homogeneity in the Indian society.
The vastness of India has produced diversity in the physical conditions of the country, but
there is a fundamental cultural unity behind all this diversity. India culture has developed
independently. The land frontiers and the water frontiers have given a partially enclosed
character to the sub-continent. The following two features have fostered a unique
homogeneity in the Indian civilization.
i. The unbroken chain of the lofty Himalayan Mountains in the north has
isolated Indian from rest of the Asia. It has played a great unifying role in
strengthening the unity among the people.
ii. The vast expanse of the Indian Ocean has separated India as an independent
unit. The Indian Ocean has provided our links with countries of west Asia
and south east Asia.
