#indiangeography#geographyofindia#indgeography#politicalfeaturesofindia#geographyclasses

1. INDIAN
GEOGRAPY
POLITICAL FEATURES OF INDIA

2. LATITUDINAL
AND
LONGITUDINAL
EXTENSION OF
INDIA

3. INTRODUCTION
• India, officially known as the Republic of India, is a country of South Asia.
• In Sanskrit, India is called. Bharat. The name comes from the legendary Bharata dynasty which ruled the
northern part of the country 3,500 years.
• India’s past is linked with the river Indus from where its present name originated. The people in the subcontinent
called this river ;Sindhu’ and the Persians referred to it as the ‘Hindu’. The Greeks called it the Indus and gave the
land its present name of India.
• India is the seventh largest country in the world. It ranks second only to China among the most populous
countries of the world.
• Geographically speaking, the sub-continent of Asia is one unit. It is not possible to study the relief and drainage
of any country of the sub-continent without a reference to the rest of the region.
• Politically, the sub-continent is divided into several countries. India forms the main part of the sub-continent. The
other countries that make up the sub-continent are Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
• The lofty Himalayas, the Indian sub-continent from the rest of Asia. It forms a perfect physical and climatic
barrier.

4. COUNTRIES
OF THE
INDIAN SUB-
CONTINENT
INDIA
PAKISTAN
NEPAL
BHUTAN
BANGLADESH
SRI LANKA

5. POLITICAL
DIVISIONS OF
INDIA
• A large number of factors like
geography, population, local
cultures, languages and
administrative convenience are the
considerations for the political
divisions of India.
• India is divided into 28 states and 8
Union Territories.
• The Union Territories are federally
administered territories.

6. POLITICAL
BACKGROUND
• In 1947, India gained independence.
• The Indian sub-continent was partitioned
into India and Pakistan.
• Pakistan was made up of two wings – West
Pakistan and East Pakistan.
• In 1971, East Pakistan separated from
Pakistan and formed the independent
country of Bangladesh.

7. LOCATION
AND SIZE
• India is centrally located in South Asia, at the head of the
Indian Ocean. To the east is the peninsular of Indo-China
and on the west is the peninsula of Arabia.

8. SIZE
• India has an area of 3.2 million sq. km.,
making the seventh largest country in the
world. The distance between the northern
most part and the southernmost part of
India is approximately 3214 km. The east-
west extent also measures about 2933
km.

9. BOUNDARIES
• India is a peninsula surrounded by
water on three sides. It lies the head
of the Indian Ocean with the
Arabian Sea to the west and the Bay
of Bengal on the east.
• India is bordered by the countries of
Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan,
Myanmar and Bangladesh. The
island of Sri Lanka lies to the south
of India, separated from it by the
Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.

10. COASTLINE
India has a fairly regular
coastline. That is why India
does not have many natural
harbours.
The Gulf of Kachchh and the
Gulf of Khambhat are found
along the coast of Gujarat.
Lake Chilka is found along the
east coast of Orissa.

11. ISLANDS
• The Andamans and the Nicobar Islands lie in the Bay of Bengal
between latitudes 60 N and 140 N.
• They are a group of many islands, some of them too small to be
inhabited. Many of the islands are of volcanic origin.
• The Lakshadweep is a group of islands in the Arabian Sea made up of
Laccadive, Minicoy, Amindivi and many smaller islands. Most of the
islands are of coral origin.

12. NOTE
• Kanyakumari (also known as Cape Comorin) is the southern-most
point of the Indian mainland.
• The Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea meet here.
The beach sands are of different colours since they are deposited
from different directions.
• Kanyakumari is known for its spectacular sunrise, sunset and
moonrise. Associated with the Goddess Kumari, Kanyakumari is a
busy pilgrimage centre.
• Indira Point is the Southern-most point of India. It is a part of the
Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands.

13. EXTREME
POINTS OF
INDIA