Although with its well marked natural boundaries India is a geographical entity but its vast size and large extent have fostered variegated characteristics in its physical as well as cultural landscape.
It is because of this diversity that the term ‘sub-continent’ has often been used by some foreign scholars to foment regionalism and divisive forces within the country. In the following paragraphs a brief attempt has been made to highlight some of these facets of the variegated geographical personality of India.
The physical landscape of India is of varied nature rugged mountains with sharp, pinnacled peaks and steep sided valleys in the north, flat plateau with senile relief and wide valleys in the south and the level fertile plains with monotonous relief in between the two.
Geologically these three represent three different structural units preserving traces of almost total geological history of the earth. While the peninsular region, formerly an integral part of the super continent of Gondwanaland some 200 million years ago, is an ancient stable block of Pre- Cambrian and Archaean rocks like granites and gneisses, the northern Great Plains drained by the Ganga and its tributaries represent the most recent formation of Pleistocene alluvium where gradational activity is still going on and new islands are emerging in the frontal region of the Ganga delta.
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Himalayas with gigantic height and numerous snows covered peaks form the most recent folded mountain system of the Tertiary period along which the land mass is shrinking due to the seduction of the Indian plate beneath the Asian Plate. On the other hand the Aravallis constitute the oldest mountain system of the world which has been reduced to the relict stage due to the erosion activities. Here it is pertinent to mention that all agents of erosion (running water, glacier, winds and sea waves) have carved out a variety of landforms in different parts of the country. In terms of altitude India has the second largest peak of the world (K2 861 I m) as well as the Sundae trench (depth 7000 m.) of the Indian Ocean.
Altfioogh broadly India is placed under tropical monsoon climate but on meson and micro regional basis it denotes sharp climatic diversities ranging from mega thermal to xeruphilous, exothermal, micro thermal and ckistothcrmal types. Due to large size and varied relief features climatic elements like temperature, pressure, humidity, precipitation, wind and cloudiness exhibit wide variations, Lehn in Kashmir records the lowest temperature of -45°C during winter season, while Ganganagar in Rajasthan is heated up to 50°C during the summer season.
During same season there is wide difference in temperature between coastal region and the interior, plains and the hills, and northern and the southern parts of the country. When there is low pressure over the northwestern part of the country, during summer season the Indian Ocean region denotes high pressure conditions yielding place to rain bearing south-west monsoon winds. Reverse trend is noticed during winter season which is characterised by almost dry north-east monsoons.
The amount of rainfall decreases from east to the west in the Northern Plains while opposite trend is observed in the peninsular region of the south. Mymsynram (near cherrapunji) is the rainiest place on the earth (annual rainfall 1141.9 cm) while Phalodi (Rajasthan) records less than 25 cm. of rainfall annually (in 1899 only 3.99 cm.). India has a highly variable climate with as many as six well defined seasons and each day of the year with distinct weather condition of its own.
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The heterogeneity of relief and variability of climate have their bearing on the drainage pattern, soil formation and vegetation types. There is marked contrast between the Himalayan and the Peninsular Rivers. Former being young busy in erosive and depositional activity and perennial in nature while latter being senile in base level stage and seasonal in characteristic.
The sandy desert of Rajasthan has even ephemeral short streams which are not able to reach to the sea coast or lake shore against the mighty Brahmaputra and Ganga carrying out millions of kilolitres of water and huge quantity of the sediment to the sea shore. Soil types are also highly varied ranging from fertile riverine alluvium to infertile sandy desert soils or immature thin layered mountain soils or highly leached red soils or late rites. Here clayey soils of Bengal and Assam are suitable for the cultivation of rice and jute, loamy soils of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab for wheat, black soils of Maharashtra for cotton, coastal areas for coconut and hill slopes for tea and coffee plantations.
The country has over 30,000 species of plants, (2,500 species of herbs) belonging to both gymnosperm and amigo spearmen categories and 174 natural orders. These vegetation types include ever green tropical rain forests, mangrove forests, tropical deciduous forests, temperate forests, coniferous forests and desert shrubs supporting numerous varieties of birds, insects, reptiles and animals. These include rare species like one horned rhinoceros, Giri lion, royal Bengal tiger, white lion etc. The water bodies are filled with numerous varieties of fishes, crocodiles and tortoises.
Above diversity in physical landscape has led to varied response in human activities and consequent complexity in the cultural landscape. Since time immemorial India has been a meeting ground of people belonging to different racial, cultural, ethnic and religious stocks. Earliest to settle were Proto- Australoids followed by Dravidians, Aryans, Shakas, Hunas, Yavanas, Kiratas, Turks, Afghans, Persians, and Europeans etc. That is why Indian culture with basic philosophy of tolerance, non-violence and universal brother hood is a characteristic blending of various religious and cultural beliefs and a cosmopolitan outlook.
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It nurtures people belonging to different racial and ethnic stocks, following various forms of worship, speaking diverse languages, wearing a variety of colourful dresses and costumes and exhibiting varying food habits and food preferences. We have Negrito and Negroids of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Proto-Australoids of Central India (tribals like Munda, Koll, and San Thai etc.), Mediterranean’s of north-western India (Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan), Dinarics of Tamil Nadu, Nordics of the Northern-Plains, and Mongoloids of the Northern-hills (Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim) settled in various parts of the country.
The form of worship varies from animism, mysticism, monism, dualism, pluralism to even atheism etc. giving way to religious communities like Hindus (82.41%), Muslims (11.67%), Christians (2.32%), Buddhists (0.77%), Sikhs (1.99%), Jains (0.41%), Jews and Parsis who practice different forms of religions and cultural rituals. The cultural landscape is dotted by numerous temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras, vihars and synagogues etc.
These people live in various types of houses which differ in their size, dimension, building material, architectural style and uses. While the metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Delhi etc. display high rise buildings and can well be compared to Western cities in terms of their grandeur, overcrowding, traffic congestion and pollution, the rural areas are characterised by village clusters interspersed with greenery, open spaces, traditional way of life and clean environment.
The people of India display high degree of diversity in their languages and dialects. According to 1961 Census there were 187 languages* of which 23 languages together account for 97% of the total population of the country. Of these 23 languages 16 besides English have been specified in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India.
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Even the distribution of population is nil even throughout the country. About half of the country’s population is concentrated in 22% of its area while half of its territory has to support only a quarter of its population. In West Bengal, Bihar and Kerala the density of population are more than 800 persons per square kilometer but it drops down to 13 in Arunchal Pradesh, 42 in Mizoram and 76 in Sikkim.
Urban population forms only 27.78 percent of the total population which is distributed in 4689 urban centers of different size and functions. About 65% of urban population is confined to only class I cities. Rural population (72.2%) resides in 5, 57,137 villages which vary in their size, sitting and morphology. Workers constitute 33% of the total population of which 70% are engaged in agriculture, 10.7% in industry and 5.6% in trade and commerce. Cities are the areas of affluence while rural areas reel under
The Census of 1961 enumerated 1652 ‘mother-tongues’, of which 82 were each spoken by more than 100,000 people in 1971. (Quoted by Johnson, B.L.C., 1979, p. 8). Abject poverty. Within the city dividing line is well drawn between posh localities and slums or blights.
At regional or sub-regional level even the agricultural landscape portrays marked heterogeneity ranging from shifting cultivation of the northeast tribal’s to subsistence farming of eastern Uttar Pradesh, commercial grain farming of Punjab-Haryana region and plantation agriculture of tea and coffee estates of Assam and Nilgiri hills. Even in Ganga valley the eastern part is dominated by the cultivation of rice and jute, the middle part by rice, wheat and sugarcane while upper part by wheat, sugarcane and cotton.
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In Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh agriculture is characterised by high degree of irrigation, greater use of HYV seeds, fertilisers, insecticides and farm machineries. On the contrary, in the central Indian plateau region it is mainly rain fed, traditional and devoid of agricultural innovations. Hill slopes of the east are popular for growing tea but in the west same areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are utilised for fruit gardening and horticulture.
Green revolution has favorable impact on the yield and production of wheat and has not only provided self sufficiency to the country in the matter of food grains but has brought new prosperity to Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. But similar revolution is yet to be introduced in coarse grains, pulses and oil seeds where the picture is gloomy.
The industrial growth, whose foundations were laid down during the second five year plan (1956-61), is still confined to the million cities and a few selected spots leaving out vast expanse of countryside bereft of industries and economic development. On the one hand we have modern factory industries using sophisticated technology and manufacturing quality goods to compete in international market, on the other hand cottage and house hold industries still dominate the small towns and rural areas which are struggling hard for their survival.
On transport front India has the fast moving luxurious trains and aero planes along with horse driven carriages and bullock carts using muddy cart tracks which become unserviceable during rainy days and fail to provide links to the villages. Similarly along with modern share market and flourishing trade using banking and currency system there co-exists the age old barter system in remote villages and tribal markets where traditional and primitive way of life is still predominant.
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The so called modern development seems to have accentuated the socio-economic disparities and has widened the gap between the rich and poor in some areas as a result of which the curve of development is now more skewed than before. Measured against an index of 100 for the country as a whole Greater Mumbai metropolis scores 1138 points against 51 points for Bihar.
Above description throws ample light on the variegated and contrasting geographical personality of India. Infect it is a land of extremes, paradoxes and peculiarities and is often misunderstood by foreigners and outsiders. To many it looks like a weak, disunited and poor country which is susceptible to pressure, allurement and misadventures.
They fail to visualise the inherent unity in diversity being created by the centuries old Indian culture whose roots are very deep and strong. Infect from Lehn to Kanniyakumari and from Bhuj to Sadiya there is oneness and unity and India behaves as a solid rock to shatter the ambitions of invaders and adversaries. This unity is clearly perceptible during religious and cultural congregations.
People from every nook and corner of the country take holy sojourn to visit four sacred places situated in the east (Puri), west (Dwarika), north (Badrinath), and south (Rameswaram). Every twelve year there is vast congregation of humanity nowhere seen in the world in Kumbha fairs held at Prayag Haridwarand Ujjain. These provide easy opportunity for people belong in to different sects and ideology to meet, exchange their views and understand each other. Even religious minorities have many things common with the Hindu majority. A report of the Anthropological Survey of India reveals that Muslims share a very high percentage (96.77%) of material and cultural traits relating to ecology, economy and occupation with the Hindus.
They share social space, cultural traits, food habits, dress patterns, languages and dialects with their Hindu neighbours and have worked shoulder to shoulder in freedom struggle, facing foreign invasion and contributing in modern economic development So as to make India a strong, powerful and prosperous country. Infect geographical personality of India is unique and distinct from the rest of the world which has helped in national integration and deep sense of patriotism amongst its people.
New development in transport and communication and political organisation have further strengthened this bondage and have paved way for new social and economic orders and prosperity, Present India is a guiding light for the developing world and a champion of the cause of Third world countries. It has a vast potential of natural and human resources whose judicious exploitation will surely provide it an honourable place in the community of nations.