India. Natural Features

Map Questions.

1. Locate on the map the Asiatic countries formed from the former colonies of Great Britain: the Republic of India, Pakistan and Ceylon.
2. What countries does India border on? What mountains separate it from Tibet? What parts of the Indian Ocean wash its shores?

India comprises the Peninsula of Hindustan, the Indo-Gangetic Plain in the north and the southern slopes of the Himalayas.
For two centuries this great country was a colony of Great Bri­tain. Economic and cultural development was retarded by colonial oppression.
The Division of India.

Fig. 107. The Himalayas (a view from the south). The Himalayas extend in the north of India in three parallel steps.

It was only after World War II that under the pressure of the national liberation movement Britain was forced to grant India independence. Taking advantage of religious diffe­rences among the Indians, however, Great Britain succeeded in dividing the country into two separate states. Religious differences were the cause of discord and hatred among the people.
The Mohammedans set up the Republic of Pakistan (95,000,000 inhabitants). It consists of two parts: West Pakistan and East Pakistan. West Pakistan is situated in the Indus basin, a dry area with desert and semidesert vegetation. East Pakistan is situated in the Lower Gangetic basin, 1,500 kilometres east of West Pakistan. This is a tropical country with a heavy rainfall. Much cotton and jute is grown in Pakistan. Jute is used to make coarse cloth and rope.

Fig. 108. Ceylon: The day is done for fishermen.
After a day at sea the men pull their graceful fishing-boats up onto the beach out of reach of the waves.

The Republic of India, one of the largest countries of the world, occupies the greater part of the territory of India. It covers an area of 3,250,000 square kilometres and is inhabited prin­cipally by Hindus, believers in Hinduism.
Another country to become independent of Britain was the is­land of Ceylon, situated off the southern tip of Hindustan.
Natural Features of the Republic of India. In the north extend the Himalayas in three parallel chains. First above the plain rises a series of low, wooded hills. Further north rises a higher chain of mountains, reaching an altitude of 6,000 metres. Then comes the main chain of the Himalayas, their snow-clad peaks reaching a height of from 7,000 to 8,000 metres above sea level. Across this chain runs the Indian border. Passes across the Himalayas are few, high and difficult. Rivers rising beyond the snow-line cut narrow and deep gorges through the mountains.
At the southern foot of the Himalayas stretches a plain consisting of river silt — the I n d o-G angetic Lowland. It lies north of the tropics, but is sheltered by the lofty Himalayas on the north, and for this reason has a hot climate.

Fig. 109. India: The direction of the winter and summer monsoons. The figures represent the pressure of the air in millimetres.

The western and eastern parts of this lowland differ greatly in amount of rainfall. The south-western monsoons cause heavy rain in the eastern part. This is one of the wettest spots on the globe. In the hot and wet climate grow luxuriant tropical rain forests.
In the western part of the lowland, in the Indus basin, the cli­mate is dry, the annual rainfall being less than 250 mm. Vegetation is poor.
The greater part of the peninsula is occupied by the Deccan Plateau, dissected by deep river valleys. Large areas are covered with layers of igneous rocks. In the east and west the steep edges of the plateau tower high above the narrow coastal belts of the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.
Hindustan lies in the way of the south-western summer mon­soons. The moisture brought by them is held back by the steep western slope of the plateau and falls in the form of rain along the coast. Here grow rich tropical forests of palm, ebony and mahogany. The plateau itself receives less rain, and its vegetation resembles that of the savannah. It consists of tough grass and scrub. Acacia and mimosa occur singly or in clusters. The great banyan-tree is found in the Indian savannah (Fig. 110).
There are rich deposits of coal, iron ore, manganese and uranium in Hindustan.
Questions and Assignments.