The Indian Subcontinent and History Class 6 History Notes Maharashtra State Board
Geographical Conditions and History
In the fifth standard, we saw at some length that there is a close relationship between man and his environment. We saw how the changes in the lifestyle of the early man and his technology were related to the changes in his surroundings. We also reviewed the history of human civilization from the Stone Age to the agricultural civilizations that flourished on the banks of rivers.
History is a coherent account of the significant past events in the progress of human culture. Time, place, society, and individuals are the four major pillars of history. We cannot write history without them. Of these four components, ‘place’ is related to geography or geographical conditions. In this sense, history and geography are inseparable. History is influenced by geographical conditions in many ways.
Our diet, clothing, housing, occupation, in fact, all human life in any region depends to a large extent on its geographical characteristics. For example, the life of the people in hilly regions is more strenuous than that of the people on the plains. Not much fertile land is available in the hilly regions, while in the plains, it is available on a large scale. That is why, grains and vegetables are scarce in hilly areas. In comparison, people on the plains get them in a sufficient measure. Naturally, this has an impact on the diet of the people. In hilly regions, people depend more on hunting and gathering for their food. We also find other such differences in the lifestyle of the people of the hilly regions and those of the plains.
The climate, rainfall, agricultural produce, flora, and fauna of the region where we live are the sources of our livelihood. The lifestyle and culture of a region develop with their support. Human settlements have flourished wherever the means of living are plentiful. Over a period of time, these settlements developed further into villages and towns. But sometimes reasons like the degradation of the environment, drought, invasions, etc. lead to the scarcity of those means. People are forced to leave their settlements. Villages and towns become deserted. We see many such instances in history. Thus we see that there is a very close relation between history and geography.
Geographical Features of India
Our country India extends far and wide. At its north lie the Himalayas; to the east, the Bay of Bengal; to the west the Arabian Sea; and to the south, the Indian Ocean. Except for the islands of Andaman Nicobar and Lakshwadeep, the rest of the country is contiguous. We have to take into account this region, henceforth referred to as ‘ancient India’, when we study the ancient history of India. Before 1947, today’s Pakistan and Bangladesh were also a part of India. The following regions are seen to be important when we look at the course of Indian history.
- The Himalayas
- The Plains of Sindhu-Ganga-Brahmaputra Rivers
- The Thar Desert
- The Deccan Plateau
- The Coastal Regions
- The Islands in the Seas
1. Himalayas:
The Hindukush and Himalaya ranges have created an impenetrable wall on the northern side of the Indian subcontinent. This wall has separated the Indian subcontinent from the deserts of Central Asia. However, there is a land route through the Khyber and Bolan passes in the Hindukush mountains. This route was connected to an ancient trade route.
The trade route from China passed through Central Asia and reached Arabia. It is known as the ‘Silk Route’ or ‘Silk Road’, because silk was the main commodity exported to the western countries using this road. The route through the passes was used by many foreign invaders to enter ancient India. Many foreign travelers also came to India by this route.
2. The Plains of the Sindhu-Ganga-Brahmaputra:
This region consists of the basins of the three big rivers, Sindhu, Ganga, and Brahmaputra, and their tributaries. This region extends from Sindh-Punjab in the west to present-day Bangladesh in the east. It was in this region that the earliest Indian civilization of Harappa and the later States and empires of ancient India emerged.
3. The Thar Desert:
The Thar desert spreads across Rajasthan, Haryana, and some parts of Gujarat. A part of the desert lies in today’s Pakistan. The desert has the Satluj River to its north, the Aravalli mountain range to its east, the Rann of Kachchh to its south, and the Indus (Sindhu) River to its west. The Ghaggar river which originates in Himachal Pradesh reaches the Thar desert. It is known as ‘Hakra’ in Pakistan. Its course in Rajasthan and Pakistan has now dried up. Many sites of the Harappan civilization are situated along the now-dry course of the river.
4. The Deccan Plateau:
The region between the east and the west coast of India tapers off to the south. This region has the Arabian Sea to its west, the Indian Ocean to its south, and the Bay of Bengal to its east. A region thus bound by the sea on three sides is called a peninsula. A major part of the Indian peninsula is occupied by the Deccan Plateau. The mountain ranges of the Vindhya and Satpuda are located to the north of the Deccan Plateau. The Sahyadri mountain ranges are to its west. They are also known as the ‘Western Ghats’. To the west of the Sahyadris is the coastal region of Konkan and Malabar. The mountains on the eastern side of the Deccan plateau are known as the ‘Eastern Ghats’. Deccan Plateau has fertile land where many post-Harappan agrarian cultures flourished. Deccan Plateau was a part of the Maurya empire, the largest in ancient India. After the decline of the Maurya empire, too, several other kingdoms and smaller empires continued to flourish in this region.
5. The Coastal Regions:
From the time of the Harappan civilization, ancient India had trade relations with Western countries. This trade was carried on by sea. Therefore, India had developed contact and interaction with foreign cultures and people at the seaports. Later on, land routes came to be used for trade and transport. However, the importance of sea routes did not diminish.
6. The Islands in the Sea:
Andaman and Nicobar are the Indian islands in the Bay of Bengal. Lakshadweep is a group of Indian islands in the Arabian Sea. The location of these islands may have been important in ancient sea trade. The manuscript ‘Periplus of the Erythrean Sea’ or ‘Handbook of the Red Sea’ makes a mention of Indian islands. It was written by an unknown Greek sailor.
The Indian Subcontinent
The cities of Harappa and Mohen-jo-daro are in today’s Pakistan. Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and India together form the region known as South Asia. Considering the expanse and significance of India in this region, it is also known as the Indian subcontinent. The Harappan civilization had spread mainly in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent.
China and Myanmar, our neighbouring countries, are not a part of South Asia or the Indian subcontinent. However, they had cultural and trade relations with ancient India. They have an important place in the study of ancient Indian history.
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