Tamilnadu
Board 11th History Notes
(English)
Chapter
1. India- Geographical Features and Their Impact on History
Feature :
Notes Class
: 11th
Language :
English By
Priyanshu Thakur
Content-Learning
Objectives
Students
will acquire knowledge about
·
The
Geographical features of India.
·
The
Himalyan Mountains and their impact on Indian History.
·
The
Gangetic plains and their role in Indian history.
·
The
Southern Peninsula and its effects on South Indian History.
·
India’s
unity in diversity
Introduction :
It is generally said
that history has two eyes – one is
chronology and the other is geography. In other words time and space are
significant factors in determining the historical process. In particular, a country’s geography largely determines
its historical events. The history of India is also influenced by its
geography. Hence, the study of Indian geographical features contributes to the
better understanding of its history.
1.
The Geographical features of India
The
Indian subcontinent is a well-defined geographical unit. It may be divided into
three major regions : the Himalayan
Mountains, the Indo-Gangetic Plains and the Southern Peninsula. There are
five countries in the subcontinent – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and
Bhutan. India is the largest among them and it comprises twenty-nine states and
six Union Territories. According to the 2011 Census, the population of India is
over one hundred crores.
2.
The Himalyan Mountains and their
impact on Indian History
The Himalayan Mountains are situated on the
north of India. Starting from the Pamir in the extreme northwest of India, the
mighty Himalayan range extends towards northeast. It has a length of nearly 2560 kilometres with an average breadth of 240 to 320 kilometres. The highest peak of the Himalayas is known as
Mount Everest with its height being 8869 metres. It acts as a natural wall and protects the country against the cold
arctic winds blowing from Siberia through Central Asia. This keeps the climate of northern India fairly warm
throughout the year. The Himalayan region is mostly inhospitable in winter
and generally covered with snow.
·
It
was considered for a long time that the Himalayas stood as a natural barrier to protect India against
invasions. But, the passes in the northwest mountains such as the Khyber, Bolan, Kurram and Gomal provided
easy routes between India and central
Asia. These passes are situated in the Hindukush,
Sulaiman and Kirthar ranges. From prehistoric times, there was a continuous
flow of traffic through these passes. Many people came to India through these
passes as invaders and immigrants. The
Indo-Aryans, the Indo-Greeks, Parthians, Sakas, Kushanas, Hunas and Turks
entered India through these passes. The Swat valley in these region formed another important route. Alexander
of Macedon came to India through this route. Apart from invading armies,
missionaries and merchants came to India using these routes. Therefore, these passes in the northwest mountains had facilitated trade as well as cultural contacts
between India and the Central Asia.
·
In
the north of Kashmir is Karakoram Range.
The second highest peak in the world,
Mount Godwin Austen is situated here. This part of the Himalayas and its passes are high and snow- covered in
the winter. The Karakoram highway via Gilgit is connected to Central Asia but there
was little communication through this
route.
·
The valley of Kashmir is surrounded
by high mountains.
Howevere, it could be reached through
several passes. The Kashmir valley remains unique for its tradition and culture. Nepal is also a small valley
under the foot of the Himalayas and it is accessible from Gangetic plains
through a number of passes.
·
In
the east, the Himalayas extend up to
Assam. The important mountains in
this region are Pat Koi, Nagai and Lushai ranges. These hills are covered with thick forests due to
heavy rains and mostly remain inhospitable. The mountains of northeast
India is difficult to cross and many parts of this region had remained in
relative isolation.
3.
The Gangetic plains and their role in
Indian history.
The Indo-Gangetic plain is irrigated by three Important rivers, the Ganges, Indus
and Brahmaputra. This vast plain
is most fertile and productive because
of the alluvial soil brought by the streams of the rivers and its tributaries.
·
The
Indus river rises beyond the Himalayas
and its major tributaries are the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Satlej and Beas.
The Punjab plains are benefited by the Indus river system. The literal meaning
of the term ‘ Panjab’ is the land of five rivers. Sind is situated at the lower valley of the Indus. The Indus plain is known for its fertile soil.
·
The
Thar Desert and Aravalli hills are
situated in between the Indus and
gangetic plains. Mount Abu is the
highest point (5650 ft.) in the Aravalli hills. The Ganges river rises in the Himalayas,
flows south and then towards the east. The river Yamuna flows almost parallel to the Ganges and then joins it. The area between these two rivers is called doab-meaning the land between two rivers. The important tributaries of the Ganges are
the Gomati, Sarayu, Ghagra and Gandak.
·
In
the east of India, the Ganges plain merges into the plains of Brahmputra. The river Brahmputra rises beyond the Himalayas, flows across Tibet and then continues
through the plains of northeast India.
In the plains, it is a vast but a slow-
moving river forming several islands.
·
The
Indo-Gangetic plain has contributed
to the rise of urban centres,
particularly on the river banks or at the confluence of rivers. The Harappan culture flourished in the Indus valley. The Vedic culture prospered in the western
Gangetic plain. Banares,
Allahabad(Pryagraj). Agra, Delhi and Pataliputra are some of the important cities of the Gangetic plain. The city of Pataliputra was situated at the confluence
of Son river with the Ganges. In the ancient period Pataliputra had remained the capital for the Mauryas, Sungas, Guptas and other kingdoms.
·
The most important city on the western side of the Gangetic
plains is Delhi. Most of the decisive battles of Indian history such
as the Kurukshetra, Terain and Panipat
were fought near Delhi. Also, this
plain had always been a source of temptation and attraction for the foreign invaders due to its fertility and productive wealth. Important powers fought for the
possession of these plains and valleys. Especially the Ganga-Yamuna doab proved to be the most coveted and contested area.
·
The
rivers in this region served as arteries
of commerce and communication. In ancient times it was difficult to make roads, and so men and material were moved
by boat. The importance of rivers
for communication continued till the days of the East India Company.
4.
The Southern Peninsula and its
effects on South Indian History.
The Vindhya and Satpura mountains along
with Narmada and the Tapti rivers
form the great dividing line between
northern and southern India. The plateau to the south of the Vindhya Mountains is known as the Deccan plateau. It consists
of volcanic rock, which is different from the northern mountains. As these
rocks are easier to cut into, we find a
number of rock-cut monasteries and temples in the Deccan.
·
The
Deccan plateau is flanked by the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats. The Coramandal Coast stands between the Eastern
Ghats and the Bay of Bangal. The
Western Ghats runs along the Arabian sea and the lands between these are known as Konkan up to Goa and beyond
that as Kanara. The southernmost
part is known as Malabar Coast. The passes in the Western Ghats like Junnar, Kanheri and Karle linked the trade routes
to the western ports. The Deccan
plateau acted as a bridge between the north and south India. However, the dense forests in the Vindhya Mountains
makes this region isolated from the
north. The language and culture
in the southern peninsula are
preserved in tact for a long time
due to this geographical isolation.
·
In
the southern end remains the famous Palghat Pass. It is the passage across the Ghats from the Kaveri
valley to the Malabar Coast. The
Palghat Pass was an important trade
route for the Indo-Roman trade in
the ancient times. The Anaimudi is the
highest peak in the southern
peninsula. Doddapetta is another
highest peak in the Western Ghats.
The Eastern Ghats are not very high
and have several openings caused by the eastward
flow of the rivers into the Bay of Bangal. The port cities of Arikkamedu,
Mamallapuram and Kaveripattanam were situated on the Coramandal coast.
·
The
major rivers of the southern peninsula are almost running
parallel. Mahanadi is at the eastern end of the peninsula. Narmada and Tapti run from east to west. Other rivers like the Godavari,
Krishna, Tungabhadra and Kaveri flow from west to east. These rivers make
the plateau into a fertile rice
producing soil. Throughout history, the region between Krishna and Tungabhadra (Raichur
Doab) remained a bone of
·
The
Kaveri delta constitutes a distinct geographical zone in the far south. It became the seat of the Chola power. The Kaveri basin with its rich tradition, language and culture
has flourished from the ancient times.
·
As
the southern peninsula is gifted
with a long coastline, the people of
this region took keen interest in the
maritime activities. A great deal of trade and commerce went on through the
seaways from the earliest times. In the east, mariners reached countries
like Jawa, Sumatra, Burma and Cambodia. Apart from trade, they spread
Indian art religion and culture in these parts of the world. The commercial contacts between south India
and the Greco-Roman countries
flourished along with cultural relations.
5.
India – A land of unity in Diversity.
The
history of ancient India is interesting because India proved to be a melting
pot of numerous races. The pre-Aryans,
the Indo-Aryans, the Greeks, the Scythians, the Hunas,
the Turks, etc., made India their home. Each ethnic
group contributed its might to the making of Indian culture. All these peoples
mixed up so inextricably with one another that at present none of them can be
identified in their original form. Different cultures mingled with one another
through the ages. Many pre-Aryans or
Dravidian terms occur in the Vedic texts. Similarly, many Pali and Sankritic terms appear in the Sangam literature.
·
Since
ancient times, India has been the land of several religions. Ancient India witnessed the birth of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.
But all these cultures and religions intermingled with one another. Although
Indians people speak different language,
practice different religions and
observe different social customs,
they follow certain common styles of life throughout the country. Therefore,
our country shows a deep underlying unity in spite of great diversity.
·
In
fact, the ancients strove for unity. They looked upon this vast subcontinent as
one land. The name Bharatavarsha or the land of Bharata was given to the
whole country, after the name of an ancient tribe called the Bharatas. Our ancient poets,
philosophers and writers viewed the country as an integral unit. This kind of
political unity was attained at least twice during the Mauryan and Gupta Empires.
·
The unity of India was also recognized by foreigners. They
first came into contact with the people living on the Sindhu or the Indus, and
so they named the whole country after this river. The word Hind is derived from the Sanskrit
term Sindhu, and in course of time the country came to be known as ‘India’ in Greek, and ‘Hind’ in Persian and Arabic languages.
·
Efforts
for the linguistic and cultural unity of the country were mad through the ages.
In the third century B.C., Prakrit
language served as the lingua france
of the country. Throughout the major
portion of India, Ashok’s
inscriptions were written in the
Prakrit language. Also, the ancient
epics, the Ramayana and the
Mahabharata, were studied with the same zeal and devotion throughout the country.
Originally composed in Sanskrit,
these epics came to be presented in different local languages. Although the
Indian cultural values and ideas were expressed in different forms, the
substance remained the same throughout the country.
·
Hence,
India has emerged a multi-religious
and multi-cultural society. However,
the underlying unity and integrity
and the plural character of Indian society remains the real strength for the
development of the country.
Summary-Learning
Outcomes
After
learning this lesson the students will be able to explain
·
The
geographical features of India.
·
The
details of the Himalayan Mountains,
the passes in the northwest and how
they were used by the foreign invaders,
traders and migrants.
·
The
river systems of the Indo-Gangetic Gangetic
valley and their impact on the historical
events such as battles and emergence of urban centres.
·
The
southern peninsula, the long coasts which contributed to a lot of maritime activities.
·
How
India emerged as a multicultural society
and the same is successfully sustained over the centuries.
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