India - Size and Location

"India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventhlargest country by area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world."

1.0Introduction

India is one of the ancient civilisations in the world. It has achieved multi-faceted socioeconomic progress during the last five decades. It has moved forward displaying remarkable progress in the field of agriculture, industry, technology, and overall economic development. India has also contributed significantly to the making of world history.

2.0Location

India is a vast country. Lying entirely in the Northern hemisphere the mainland extends between latitudes $8^{\circ }{4}^{\prime }\mathrm{N}$ and $37^{\circ }{6}^{\prime }\mathrm{N}$ and longitudes $68^{\circ }{7}^{\prime }\mathrm{E}$ and $97^{\circ }25^{\prime }\mathrm{E}$.

The Tropic of Cancer ( $23^{\circ }30^{\prime }\mathrm{N}$ ) divides the country into almost two equal parts. To the southeast and southwest of the mainland, lie the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Lakshadweep islands in Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea, respectively.

The $82^{\circ }30^{\prime }$ E longitude is taken as Standard Time Meridian of India, as it passes through the middle of India (from Naini, near Allahabad.) Naini (Mirzapur), near Allahabad is the Standard Time Meridian of India.

3.0Size

The landmass of India has an area of 3.28 million square km. India's total area accounts for about 2.4 percent of the total geographical area of the world. India has a land boundary of about $15,200\mathrm{km}$ and the total length of the coastline of the mainland including Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep is $7,516.6\mathrm{km}$.

India is bounded by the young fold mountains in the northwest, north and northeast. South of about $22^{\circ }$ north latitude, it begins to taper, and extends towards the Indian Ocean, dividing it into two seas, the Arabian Sea on the west and the Bay of Bengal on its east.

The difference between the latitudinal and longitudinal extent seems to be equal ( $30^{\circ }$ ) on map. But in reality, the north-south extension (3214 kilometre) of the country is more than the east-west extension (2933 kilometre).

From Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh there is a time lag of two hours. This is the impact of longitudinal extent of India. Hence, time along the Standard Meridian of India ( $82^{\circ }30^{\prime }\mathrm{E}$ ) passing through Mirzapur (in Uttar Pradesh) is taken as the standard time for the whole country. The latitudinal extent influences the duration of the day and night, as one moves from south to north.

4.0India and the World

The Indian landmass has a central location between the East and the West Asia. India is a southward extension of the Asian Continent. The trans Indian Ocean routes which connect the countries of Europe in the West and the countries of East Asia provide a strategic central location to India. Note that the Deccan Peninsula protrudes into the Indian Ocean, thus helping India to establish close contact with West Asia, Africa, and Europe from the western coast and with Southeast and East Asia from the eastern coast. No other country has a long coastline on the Indian Ocean as India has and indeed, it is India's eminent position in the Indian Ocean which justifies the naming of an Ocean after it.

India's contacts with the world have continued through the ages but her relationships through the land routes are much older than her maritime contacts. The various passes across the mountains in the north have provided passages to the ancient travellers, while the oceans restricted such interaction for a long time.

5.0India's Neighbours

India occupies an important strategic position in South Asia. India has 28 states and 8 Union Territories

India shares its land boundaries with Pakistan and Afghanistan in the northwest, China (Tibet), Nepal and Bhutan in the north and Myanmar and Bangladesh in the east. Our southern neighbours across the sea consist of the two island countries, namely Sri Lanka and Maldives. Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar while Maldives Islands are situated to the south of the Lakshadweep Islands.

6.0MIND MAP