Download UNIT ~`INDIA:PHYSICAL FEATURES

UNIT ~'INDIA:PHYSICALFEATURES
Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Physical Geography and History
1.2.1 Environment and Human Settlements
1.2.2 Arguing Against Geographical Determinism
1.3 Basic Physiographical Divisions
1.4 Regional Physical Features
1.4.1 The Himalayas and the Western Frontier
1.4.2 The Indus Plains
1.4.3 Gangetic Northern India
1.4.4 Eastern, Western and Central India
1.4.5 Peninsular India
1.4.6 The Extreme South
1.5 Let Us Sum Up
1.6 Key Words
1.7 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
1.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit you should be able to explain :
Why in the study of the history of a country an understanding of its physical features is
n-ry,
how we look at the physical features as students of history,
the relationship between environment, geography and history, and
the uneven pattern of historical growth in the Indian sub-continent.
1.1 INTRODUCTION
History without geography is largely incomplete and devoid of its vital substance for it loses
focus in the absence of the concept of space. That is why history is regarded both as the
history of mankind and the history of environment. It is difficult to separate the two. The
history of humans and the history of environment mutually influence one another. Soil,
rainfall, vegetation, climate and environment exercise considerable influence on the evolution
of human cultures. In fact, the essence of human progress is the increasing emancipation of
human beings from the clutches of nature or control of the vagaries of nature. In this regard
technological progress helps human beings in conquering their environment. However, not
until a very late stage in history were human beings able to control their environment
effectively. Naturally, thus as we move back in time it becomes necessary to appreciate and
understand the geography, environment and physical regions that had a bearing on Indian
history.
In this Unit, we shall try to acquaint you with the physical features of the Indian subcontinent, which have had an important bearing on historical developments.
1.2 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
Variations of soils, topography, rainfall and climate have created a number of distinctly
different regions, with their separate characteristics and identities. Physical regions often
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Environment and Early Patterns of
Adaptation
PHYSICAL REGIONS
AREAS OF ATTRACTION ' S R
NUCLEAR REGDNS
AREAS OF ISOLATION OR
C U L DE SACS
200
0
2w
PENETRATED IN RECENT T I M E S
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Map 1. Physical Regions of India.
correspond to culture zones or regions i.e., they tend to differ from one another at the level of
language, food, dress, crop pattern, population density, caste structure, etc. For example, in
some areas like Uttar Pradesh and northern Bihar-the fertile plains of the Ganga
Valley-population concentration is very high, while the mountainous tribal central India is
sparsely populated. Similarlv, certain areas like Magadha, Kosala, Avanti. Maharashtra.
Andhra, Kalinga and the Chola country emerged earlier as developed pockets while others
lagged behind. Historically, the emergence of regions has therefore been uneven, and different
regions have been characterised by differential characteristics, which are largely related to and
influenced by geography and environment. To give another example, we find that wheat is the
staple food of people in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, while rice is the principal
crop and main component in the diet of people in eastern India viz. Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
Why is this so? This is so because :
different crops have different natural habitat zones,
they tend to grow in specific natural environments., and
in course of time they influence the dietary habits of people there.
Similarly, forms of irrigation differ from region to region :
rivers and canals have been the m'ost important form of ifrigation in northern India,
ponds have been very useful in eastern India, and
tank irrigation has played a significant role in SouthIndian agriculture.
These variations do not mean that rivers are not important in eastern and southern regions.
But what they reflect is that people take recourse to different methods to augment additional
water sources in different regions, depending on what method is most suitable for a particular
region.
Geography and environment play a major role in the pattern of dresses also. For example, we
can compare and contrast the dress styles of the people of Kashmir, Rajasthan and those living
along the coasts. This again reflects the climatic and environmental effects.
While the riverine plains and deltas have given birth to and sustained advanced cultures
through the ages, the mountainous intermediate zone of central India has retained heavy
concentration of tribal 8populqtion in various pockets. Thus, while the riverine plains are
liberally endowed by nature and have lives of their own the isolated regions remained
unaffected by advances made in other regions. The co-existence of different forms of dress, .
food-habits and cultures in the sub-continent, therefore, can be largely explained with reference
to physical geography.
Regional differences and related separate regional identities, greatly fostered bjr geography,
have stood in the way of the rise of durable, pan-Indian states in Indian histdry. Never was the
whole sub-continent a single political unit. This holds true for the Mauryan impire, the Delhi
sultanate, the Moghul empire as well as British India. At the same time, it needs to be
emphasised that though these differences between regions, which are geographically structured,
have prevented the rise of pan-Indian states in our history, yet at no period have they created
separate nationalities.
1.2.1. Environment and Human Settlements
The relationship between physical geography, human settlements and settlement patterns is yet
another important theme which deserves attention. For example, the Sind region today is
relatively warm and dry because rainfall in the region is very low. However, we know that the
Harappan Civilization flourished over large parts of the same region in the past. Some scholars
opine that the region in the past had wetter climate with possibly higher rainfall and this
enabled the civilization to give itself a high standard of living. It has also been argued by some
scholars that over utilisation of the natural resources, leading to depletion of the natural
vegetation cover, together with the onset of a drier climate led to the collapse of the
civilization by adversely affecting its subsistence basis. (for a detailed discussion on this see
Block-2, Unit-9).
The inhospitable topography together with a possible population pressure on land and
resources, forced people to migrate out of the core area of the civilization. The civilization,
thus, faded out.
On the other hand, one is struck by the success of the Magadhan Empire and by the kind of
Indla : Physical Features
,l\ironment and F a r l Pattcbrnl
\(laplation
political ascendancy it achieved. How do we account for it? It can be argued that it was a
product of the convergence of a number of factors :
highly fertile soils,
sufficientrainfall ensuring a rich annual paddy crop;
proximity to iron ore mines and sources of stone and timber of Chotanagpur Plateau wbk
is towards the south of Magadha;
the rivers provided for comfortable communication and trade;
the closeness and continuity of settlements, facilitated in no small way by these natural
advantages, indicating great population density.
A combination of these factors helped the comfortable conquest of the northern Gangetic
plain. In fact, it was due to these reasons that the Indo-Gangetic plains as a region was way
ahead of others in terms of agricultural productivity or population base. The territorial
expansion over the northern plains then provided the basis for the exercise of unquestionable
Indian supremacy. All this fits into a neat sequence-one deriving itself from the other. The
supremacy achieved by Magadha was based on the conquest of the northern plains which wa
blessed by the tavourable convergence of necessary variables such as soil, rainfall, vegetation,
easy communication lines and availability of natural resources.
With the political ascendency of Magadha, its capital Pataliputra became the capital of
northern India or the imperial capital and it continued to remain important for many
centuries. Geographical reasons have been put forward to explain both the rise and fall of
pataliputra. While in its early history the surrounding rivers like the Ganga, Son and Gandak
provided for natural defence and easy trade and transport, by the middle of the first
millennium A.D. they had become positive liabilities owing to perennial floods. It is known
that the Gupta and post-Gupta period was characterised by the decline of trade and the decay
of towns. With the decline of north Indian trade and commerce, in the Gupta and post-Gupta
periods, the curtailed human movements and the shifting away of the course of
the river Ganga, the usefulness of the rivers was reduced. One may add that to explain the
decay of towns in Gangetic northern India in the same period geographical explanations such
as the deforestation of the hinterland and consequent reduction of rainfall have also been
suggested. These explanations may not always be correct but the examples definitely suggest
that the interrelationship between historical processes and geographical features and/or factors
was always close.
1.2.2 Arguing Against Geographical Determinism
At this point it is important to remember that it is one thing to see or appreciate the
interrelationship between physical features and the unfolding of historical processes in a region
but it is an entirely different matter to perceive history in terms of geographical determinism.
Recognition of geographical factors helps in a better understanding of cultural developments.
This also largely explains the different patterns of growth and development in divergent
regions. However, a geography and environment cannot be taken as some kind of primemovers, for after all natural regions are only areas of possibilities and these possibilities are
actualised through human intervention at the stage of their technological attainments. It has
been argued that "Nature determines the route of development, while man determines the rate
and the state." Thus, neither is the influence of nature fixed nor is the man and environment
relationship static. The limits set by nature are conquered by human experience and by human
being, with their tools. This is an ongoing process which continuously enriches the realm of
human experience and expands the frontier of man's control of environment. Physical features
and environmental conditions that may appear unfavourable or difficult at one stage may
prove to be potentially rich at another stage. For example, the hunter-gatherers preferred to
live on the edge of the forests or what we have today as frontier zones, while incipient farmers
had to come down to the riverine plains. Here again early farmers in the absence of an iron
ploughshare preferred to restrict themselves to lighter soils to the west of the Ganga-Yamuna
doab. Only with the coming of iron could the peasantry venture to open up the rich alluvial
plains of Gangetic northern India and conquer the thick vegetation and heavier, fertile soil.
1.3 BASIC PHYSIOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS
Let us now define the ~hvsicalfeatures of the subcontinent and the characteristics of the
I
India : Phydcnl Features
rwons created by them. The basic physiographic divisions are three :
i) Himalayan uplands,
ii) Indo-Gangetic plains and,
iii) Peninsular India.
Each one of these can Bc W e r subdivided. The Himalayas are considered to be still rising.
Large quantities of alluviuin are continuously carried down into the plains from these
mountains owing to weathering and erosion. Fed by the Himalayan snows the three great river
systems-Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra-tend to flow perennially. The alluvial plains of
northern India extend in the form of an arc for about 3200 kms from the mouth of the ~ndus'
to the mouth of the Ganga. This stretch of land, about 320 kms wide, is full of potentialities.
The Indus plains threw up the first civilization of the subcontinent while the Ganga plains
have sustained and nurtured city life, state, society and imperial fabrics from the first
millennium B.C.
The northern plains and the Peninsular India are separated by a large intermediate zone, which
in the absence of a better terminology, may be called central India, extending from Gujarat to
western Orissa over a stretch of about 1600 kms. The Aravali hills in Rajasthan separate the
Indus plain from the peninsula. The intermediate zone is characterised by the presence of the
Vindhyan and Satpura ranges and the Chotanagpur plateau covering portions of Bihar, Bengal
and Orissa. This region can be subdivided into four sub-regions :
i) the land of the Rajputs between Udaipur and Jaipur,
ii) the Malwa plateau around Uijain which was more popularly known as Avanti in ancient
times,
iii) Vidarbha or the sub-region around Nagpur and,
iv) the Chattisgarh plains in eastern Madhya Pradesh which bore the name Dakshina Kosala
in the ancient period.
Although, generally speaking, communication and movement across the intermediate zone
were never easy, there have been contacts between these four apparently isolated pockets, and
between this region and other physiographic divisions.
On the southern edge of the intermediate zone or central India begins the formation called
Peninsular India. It is an old land mass with every sign of stability. The rocky formation gently
slopes from west to east, and four major rivers flow into the bay of Bengal. These four riversMahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri have produced alluvial plains and helped the
creation of nuclear areas in the plains and deltas enabling the sustenance of cultural growth for
prolonged period continuously through ancient, medieval and modem times.
The Narmada and the Tapti, however, have a westward flow and run into the Arabian sea in
Gujarat after traversing a long distance in hilly central India. The well known feature of the
region is the Deccan plateau.
It extends from the Vindhyas in the north to the southern limits of Karnataka. The black soil
in Maharashtra and in the adjoining parts of central India is especially rich for it retains
moisture and is considered to be "self ploughing". Therefore, it helps in overcoming other
kinds of limitations imposed by less annual rainfall and irrigational difficulties. The soil yields
good crops of cotton, millets, peanuts and oil seeds. Not surprisingly therefore the early
farming cultures (Chalcolithic) in western and central India emerged in this area. In the west
the plateau terminates with the Western Ghats and in the east its contours are marked by the
Eastern Ghats which separate it from the eastern coastal plains which are wider compared to
the narrow plains in the west. The Nilgiris and the Cardamom hills are considered to be offshoots of the basic peninsular formation.
e.
Check Your Progress 1
1 Mark ( \! ) the correct statements. The knowledge of physical Geography:
i) helps in understanding the life patterns of the people who resided in those regions
ii) is of no help in determining the nature of cultural developments in the past
iii) is not at all relevant for students of history
iv) confines you only to the study of the regions.
2 Discuss the physical features responsible for the rise of Magadha. Amwer in about ten
lines.
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Environment bnd Early Patterns of
STRUCTURAL OUTLINES
NORTHERN MOST ARAVALLI OUTCROPS
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c**o~*oo**oo*
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BOUNDARY OF INDO-6ANGETIC TROUGH
BAY OF BENGAL-ARABIAN SEA WATERSHED
SlWALlK HILLS
NARMADA AND TAPTl TROUGHS
PENINSULAR BLOCK
CONCEALED EXTENSIONS
GONDWANA TROUGHS
DECCAN LAVAS
200
la,
PIR PANJAL
3 PiUinIbebhnls:
i) Geographical factom ...................................... (help us/do not help us) in daerminhg
the factors behind tbe ........................... (rise and dacline/flooding) of Mqdba.
ii) Human be@ ..................(attempt to/sucoessfully) controt nature.
iii) The basic physiographic divisions in Iodia are ..................(five/two/thrse).
iv) The intermediary zone may &of ..................(basic physiognpbic/mb-qkn@.
1.4 REGIONAL PHYSICAL'FEATURES
So far we have oonsidmd fcaturu of the b r d geographic divisions at a geacnl pLne. Let un
not take up the specific major geographical units, which at instances confonn to lilylistic
divisions, and look into heir physical traits from a historical perspective.
1.4.1 Tbe Himahyaa .ndtbe Western Frontier
Tbe Himalayas can be divided into three b r d units :
eastern,
western, and
antnl.
The eastern mountains run to the east of the Brahmrputn in the north-south extcndhg from
Assam to south China. Although, the routes through the erstern mountains are dimcuh, c h t
has not prevented the 5ow of cultural influma from Southerst Asia and South Chim in t&
prehistoric and historic times.
The central Himalayan region, extending from Bhutan to Chitnl, I
h at the fringe of the grnr
taMGLad of Tibet. There have been tnde and other confacts between India and T k t rarr
this frontier.
The nurow Hindu Kush range extends South-westward from the Himalayas deep into
A@aniatan, covering ancient Gandhara. G&mphicrlly a d culturally western Af-n
has affinities with eastern Iran but southcast Afghanistan has been culturally close with tbe
Indian subcontinent right since tbe neolithic stage. The Khybcr prus and other pamca .adIb
Kabul river link it with the Indus pbins. It is no surprise therefore that the site of S
w in
this part of A@adaan was a trading out-post of the Huappan civilization. Ancient t
o
m
like Kabul a d Kandahar are situated on mdc routes between Iran and India.
Tbe damt conditions of south-western Afghanistan a n noticed in a mom intense form UJom
moves into 6aluchist.n. Prutomlbm has been a more profitable adnptationrl atratcgy sim (be
neolithic the in the region.,The coast of Baluchistan, which is called MaLna, is not very
inviting for human #ttkmcnta. For example, when Alewder on his way back fnnn the
Iadirnaunprignsledaseaionofhisumy~~~~theWrancourtbeJutimdberq~ia
men because of the paucity of food and water. The region has been some kind of a nodal
point, for routes to Central Asia and China on the one hand and Persia and farther w a t on
td
other cut through it.
The p t routes cdnnecting the Indian plains with Iran and CeDtnl Asia tbrougb
run through the Gomal, Bolan a d Khybtr passes. These routes have brought in tnders,
inviders and varied cultunl in£lua.umdl through the historic times and even before. Tbe
~ n v i r o n m e n ~ a nEarly
d
Patterns of
Adaptation
Gree4 Sakas, Kushanas, Hunas and others made their entry into India through these routes.
Buddhism and other aspects of Indian civilization entered Afghanistan and Central Asia
through these pa&s. Historically thus the Afghan and Baluchistan hills have an important
frontier zone.
'
1.4.2 The Indus Plains
The passes lead to the rich plains of the Indus, which can be divided into two regions :
Punjab, and
Sind
Punjab (today divided betwen India and Pakistan) literally means the land of the five rivers.
These five tributaries of the Ldus flowing across a vast alluvial plain have made the region the
bread-et
of the sub-continent. The eastern part of these plains merges into the Ganga
basin. Punjab has been a mating place and melting pot of cultures. Reexisting and intrusive
elements of cultures have fused here. The praperity and strategic location of Punjab has
always invited invaders.
*
The lower Indus valley and the delta constitute Sind. Geographically between the Baluchistan
hills on the north-west and the Thar desert on the southcast. However, there have been
hhtoridlinks with Gujarat. Rainfall in the region is extremely low but the alluvial soil is Lery
fertile. Sind is situated by the Indus and produces large quantities of rice and wheat. As
mentioned earlier the Indus plain had nurtured the sub-mntiaent's first urban culture during
the 2nd millennium B.C. Two of its major cities Harappa and Mohenjodaro are located in
Punjab and Sind respectively.
1.43 Gangetic Norhem India
The Ganga basin climatically is more humid than the Indus region and the annual rainfall
starting with 50 cms in the Indo-Gangetic divide steadily rises to 200 cms by the time it
reaches Bengal. The Ganga plains can be divided into three sub-regions :
upper1
Middle, and
lower
The Upper plains in western and central Uttar Pradesh largely include the Doab. This has
been an area of contlict and cultural synthesis. There is increasing evidence of the extension of
the Harappan culture into this zone. This was also the centre of the Painted Grey Ware
Culture and the scene of pulsating activity in the Later Vedic Period.
At the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna at the terminal point of the Doab is AUahabad
(andent Prayaga). The Middle Ganga plains correspond to eastern Uttar Radesh and Bihar.
This is where ancient Kosala, Kasi and Magadha were situated. It was the centre of city life,
money economy and trade since the 6th century B.C. This region provided the basis for
Mauryan imperial expansion and it continued to be politically important till the Gupta period
(5th century A.D.).
The Upper and Middle Ganga plains are geographically defined by the Himalayas on the
north and the Central Indian bills on the south. The Iawer plains are t
m terminus with the
province of Be@. The wide plains of Bengal are formed by the alluvium brought by the
Ganga and the Brahmaputra. High rainfall in low-lying plains created forest and marshy
conditions which made early settlements in Bengal a difficult proposition. The fertility of the
heavy alluvial soil could be erploited only with greater utilization and control of iron
technology. Urban culture spread into this region from the Middle plains relatively late. Given
the kind of environment, ponds have been an observable feature from ancient times in Bengal
and 6sh has become a part of the diet of all sections of people.
The Ganga plains have nurtuh-l greater number of settlements and have sustained a higher
population density than other similar-regions. It has been the heartland of Indian civilization
from the first millennium B.C., through the classical phase, up to the present. Adjoining the
Be@ plains is the long Assap valley produced by the Brahmaputra. It spreads over more
than 6 @ h . Culturally Assun is close to Be@ but in terms of historical development it
emerges as a Late starter like Orissa.
1.4.4 Eastern, Western and Central India
Central India, as we have noticed earlier, is an entirely different region and does not have a
central focal point. It is a hilly region where the hills do not rise to any great height but are
broken by steep slopes and intersected by valleys. The hills normally run in an east-west
ohtation. However, the Aravalis in the north-western part of this physiographic division
extend from south-west to north-east. The Aravalis almost bisect Rajasthan, the desert state.
The southeastern part of the state to the east of the Aravalis is part of a subregion called
Malwa. Because of the fertility of the soil the e o n yields good crops even in the absence of
irrigation. Chaloolithic settlements are distributed in good numbers in the region. Given its
geographical location it must have acted as a bridge between the Harappans and the other
Chalcolithic communities in Central India and the northern Deccan. Culturally it emerged as
an extension of the northern plains in later periods. In the east the Chattisgarh plains on the
Upper Mahanadi is a fertile minor region with good rainfall and paddy yield. From the 4th5th century historical developments there were akin to those in the rolling uplands of western
Orissa. There have been cultural and political interactions between the areas due to
geographical contiguity.
Most of what we have designated as Central India constitutes the present Madhya Pradesh.
Movement from the north to the south is impeded by the Vindhya and Satpura ranges and by
the Narmada and Tapti rivers. The Central Indian belt, especially southern Bihar, western
Olissa and eastern Madhya Pradesh, has been an area of tribal concentration. Nevertheless, it
has also been a zone of slow and steady penetration. Cultural influences from adjoining
regions have influenced and integrated the tribals into the dominant caste-peasant base of
Indian &ty from early historic times and more so from the Gupta period.
Gujarat is situated on the western fringe of the Central Indian belt. It consists of three natural
divisions: Saurashtra, Anarta (N. Gujarat) and Lata (S. Gujarat). Semiarid wind blown-soils
characterise Anarta and the fertile area on the western coast constitutes Lata. The central
peninsula of Gujarat is called Kathiawar. The low-lying Rann of Kutch is another feature
which during the monsoons turns into a swamp. In spite of these physical sub-divisions
Gjarat has a cultural identity and unity because it is broadly bounded by the Vindhyas and
Western Ghats in the east and by the desert on the north. Although it appears to have been a
zone of isolation actually it is a region of continuous ancient settlements dating back'from the
Harappan period. Saurashtra, on account of its geographical closeness to the Indus,
experienced an extension of the Harappan civilization. It has often been a transition zone
between Sind and lands farther west and India. The plain here is enriched by the alluvium
brought from the Central Indian hills by the Narmada, Tapti, Sabarmati and Mahi rivers.
Because of its protected position and the lengthy coast line Gujarat has been the focus of
coastal and external trade for more than four thousand years.
To the south-west of the delta of the Ganga at the eastern end of the hills of Central India are
the coastal plains of Orissa. The coastal plains are centred largely on the Mahanadi delta
though there are some other rivers too joining the Bay of Bengal on the same littoral. Western
Orissa is an extension of the Central Indian hills and as mentioned earlier in the context of the
Chattisgarh plain it shares some of the same features. Thus, there are two physiographic
divisions in Orissa exhibiting uneven patterns of growth. The fertile coastal plain with a richer
agrarian base has provided a focal point and has been the centre of soci~ultural
development. Orissa began to develop her linguistic and cultural identity late in the first
millennium A.D.
1.4.5 Peninsular India
The Deccan Plateau and the surrounding coastal plains define the contours of Peninsular
India. The coastal plaips in the east and extreme south are broad while those in the west are
narrow. They are at their narrowest between Bombay and Palghat. The plateau is divided into
three major regions which largely correspond to the states of Maharashtra, Andhra and
Karnataka. Maharashtra, in addition to other areas, includes the northern Deccan plateau.
Cultural influences have been diffused to the south from the Deccan and this must have been
possible because bamng the Western Ghats there are no other dense forests there. Maharashtra
seems to have a natural boundary with Andhra for the boundary line coincides with the
distribution of the fertile black soil. Across the boundary one encounters the red soil of
Telangana, which fails to retain moisture. Therefore, Telangana has become a land of tanks
and other forms of artificial irrigation. The environmental Merence with a bearing on the
growth of early settlements and cultures could not have been more striking. While the early
Neolithic settlers in south-western Andhra based themselves on pastoralism as an adaptational
strategy,tbe ckleolithic communities of the northern Deccan increasingly relied on agriculture.
Kamtaka includes the southwestern Deccan which except for small areas is not covered by
the Deccan lava. In addition a part of the Western Ghats and the western coastal plain are
included in the state. The southern part of the state is better watered and more hospitable for
human settlement than the north. The dividing line between Maharashtra and Kamataka is not
marked by any natural features. The limitations imposed by environment are amply borne out
by the comparatively poor cultural remains of the Neolithic folks of the region.
Environment and Early Patterns of
Adaptation
Among the four south Indian states Andhra is the largest. It includes a number of sub-regions
like Telangana, the rich coastal plains, Rayalaseema etc. The northwestern part of the state on
the Deccan plateau, as already mentioned, is called Telangana. The reddish soils are not rich
and the main crops are millets, pulses and oil seeds. In the east a part of the Eastern Ghats and
the W r n coastal plain, from near about Mahendragiri on the borders of M
s
s
a in the north
to Tamil Nadu in the south, with the combined Krishm-Godavari delta as its epicentre are
included in Andhra. It is essentially a rice growing area. The area between the two rivers on
the coast, known in early times as Vengi, is considered a ricebowl. Jike the Raichur doab,
between the Krishna and Tungabhadra, it was fought over frequently all through ancient
history.
1.4.6 The Extreme South
I
The Deccan plateau fragments into isolated blocks like the Nilgiri and the Cardamom hills in
the extreme south. They roughly divide the western and eastern coastal plains. The wide
Eastern coastal plain in the south and its adjoining hinterland constitute Tamil Nadu. The
littoral districts produce an abundance of rice and the Kaveri plain and its delta constitute its
epicentre. The rivers in the region being seasonal, the peasants of the region have relied on
tank irrigation since the Pallava-Chola times. The unirrigated pockets produce millets, pulses
and oils seeds. Interestingly, these ecological variations which supported alternative, at times
interrelated, ways of life are attested to in the earliest literature of the land, the Sangam
literature. Geographically,linguistically and culturally the region has evolved an individuality
of its own. The western coastal plain too broadens in the estreme south and corresponds to the
region known as Malabar ctr the present state of Kerala. In addition to rice and other crops
Kerala produces pepper and spices which have been traded with the west since the postMauryan times. From Tamil Nadu the littoral is accessible through the Patghat gap and the
southern end of the Western Ghats. Relatively isolated by land, Kerala has been open to the
sea and interestingly first the Christian and then the Muslim influence here came by sea. It
may be noted that both Kerala and Tamil Nadu are densely populated like the plains of the
GwP.
\
1
Cbeck Your Progress 2
1 Which of the following statements arkright ( d ) or wrong ( X ).
i) The eastern Himalayan region was not affected by cultural influences from China.
ii) Harappa is located in Punjab.
iii) Ganga plain has nurtured greatest number of human settlements.
iv) Coastal plains of Deccan plateau are very broad between Bombay and Palghat.
2 Fill in the blanks.
i) Himalayas can be divided into .................... (five/three) broad ....................
(regions/units).
ii) Rann of Kutch turns into a ....................(sea/swamp) during the ....................
(Monsoon/Autumn) season.
iii) The unimgated lands in the extreme south produce ....................
(Wheat/Barely/Millets) and ....................(oilseeds/rice).
iv) Telangana has become a land of ....................(rivers/tanks) and forms of artificial
.................... (cultivation/imgation).
1.5
LET US SUM UP
The physical divisions in the subcontinent are often rorighly -terminus with the linguistic
re.gions. The latter in turn have developed and asserted their cultural identities. The people of
the W a n t physical divisions have varied tastes. food-habits, and dress sense. This is derived
4
INDIA
RAINFALL
Environment and Early Patterns or
Adaptation
FOREST TYPES
EVERGREEN FOREST
MONSOON DECIOUOUS
TROPICAL SAVANNAH
DRY FOREST
zoo
o
100
HIMALAYAN FOREST
LDO
Map 4. Types of Forests in India.
from the environmental setting and the mode of life and the manner of resource utilisation that
has evolved within their frontiers. The uneven pattern of growth both between and within the
macroregions may be explained with reference to the availability or non-availability of
resource potentialities and the fonn of human and technological intervention. The major river
basins of the country which have an annual rainfall between 50 and 100 cms. and are capable
of sustaining agricultural communities on a large scale have been fully colonized through the
ages (for raio'fall see map 3). Areas with lesser or greater Mnfall s e e r from problems of
aridity and thick jungle vegetation respectively and are not best suited ftx agriculture. There is
a striking correlation between the optimal rainfall zone and the areas cleared for cultivation in
the s h n t i n e n t (see map 4D.The unfolding of the historical procea thenfore has neither
beet even nor uniform all over.
The Himalayas in the north and the ocean in the south, south-west and southeast mate a
superficial view of the isolation of the sub- continent. Cultural influence8 have been exchanged
across these frontiers and there have been maritime contacts with the West, West Asia and
Southeast Asia. Internally, even the rugged, difficult terrain of Central India has not really
impeded the movement of ideas and iduences between the varied regions of the country.
Admittedly, geography and environment influence historical developments considerably, even
if they do not determine it entirely.
1.6 KEY WORDS
Adaptatiod Strrtegy : The manner in which adjustments are made to a new environment
or culture by human beings.
Alluvial h i m: Plains formed by deposition of silt, sand etc. by the river.
Caste-pensant Base : Referring to early settled agricultural societv whose members were
socially classified along caste lines. These memben were dependent on the produce of those of
their counter parts engaged in cultivation.
ChnlcoWMc Settlements: Settlements which represent an age when both stone and copper
artehds were used.
Frontier Zone : Area at the outskirts of an agricultural settlement. Normally such an area has
some socio-economic links with the main settlement. For example, nomads moving, around
such an area will supply milk, sheep skin, wool etc. to the main settlement.
Ceogmph&al Contigtdty : Areas physically adjacent or side by side.
Ltnguistic Division : Division of physical area according to respective languages spoken in
the area.
LWod: Ontheseacoast.
Painted Grey Ware Culture : The culture associated with grey coloured pottery found in
Ganga Doab region.
Pnstoraii8m: It relates to the occupation in which animals are reared.
Physiograph&al Diddons : Refers to physical/geog~phicaldivisions of India.
Technological Intewention: The impact of new techniques and knowledge in developing the
resource potential of a region.
1.7 ANSWER TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
EX ERCISES
Check Your Progress 1
1 i)
2 Your answer should include high fertile soils, irrigation facilities, proximity to various
resources like stone, timber eto. See Sub-sec. 1.2.1
3 i) helps us, rise and decline
ii) attempt to
iii) three
iv) sub-regions
India :Phydal
thm, units
swamp, momoon
iii) mibe, oilteds
iv) baks, -tion
2 i)
ii)