Geography & India
➤ Geography
In an article on "Geography: The Spatial Science", we have very good description of Geography as given below:
Geography is important in Real World to avoid the errors of other people and countries and to profit from their good ideas (Aristotle:384–322 BC), in order to keep our principles of living with nature alive ….
......compare them to those in other countries (Aurelius: 121–180), it teaches us to put things in perspective amid earthquakes, volcanism, floods and wars (Montaigne:1533–1592),
it’s the job of the geographers to be exact, truthful and unbiased about time, storehouse of deeds, witness for the past, examples and counsel for the present and warning for the future (Cervantes:1547–1616), in order to judge our own customs and actions better by examining those of others living in different situations ……
.........to travel to another place and time by listening to people describing their time and country (Descartes:1596–1650), in order to advance man’s knowledge….
..........man makes continual progress through trial-and-error learning….
.........to learn the universal principles of human nature by seeing man in different kinds of situations and circumstances (Pascal:1623–1662), mankind are so much the same, in all times and places…
..........the use of geography is to understand, live and exist in our current world …..
.........we must trade, understand and exist with others (Hume: 1711–1776), to insure order in society by having an informed and educated people and in order to remove prejudices and increase understanding (Adam Smith: 1723–1790).
➤ India & Geography
In the Rig Veda, there is a description of stars . Although the Indian astrology started around 600 B.C. ( in the age of Buddha ) . Rig Veda also describes the five seasons in India .
The famous Indian geographer , Aryabhatta ( born in 476 A.D. ) told that the Earth is a spherical body and calculated its circumference as 24,835 miles , which very close to the present calculation of 24,901. Aryabhattiyam is his famous book . The Hindi term for geography , ' Bhugol ' was used for the first time in his book Surya Siddhanta .
Varah Mihir ( 505-587 A.D. ) was the most famous geographer of India after Aryabhatta . He gave information about the Solar and Lunar eclipses . He has discussed about five concepts of Vaashist , Paitamah , Polas , Saur and Romac in his astrological treatise, Panchasiddhantika.
Brahmagupta ( 598-665 A.D. ) wrote Brahma Siddhanta and Khand Kavya . These two treatises were translated into Arabic during the reign of Caliph Harun - al - Rashid in Baghdad .
Bhaskaracharya ( 1114-1185 A.D. ) wrote Siddhanta Shiromani and Karanakutuhal ( Calculation Astromocical Wonders ) . According to him , the Earth is spherical and attracts everything by its force of gravitation . ' Leelavati ' and ' Bijaganit ' are his famous books on mathematics .
India has been described as Jambu Dweep in Puranas The eastern coast of India had been called Mahendra Malai in the ancient India . The early Indian geographers held that the Prime Meridian passes through Ujjain .
➤ Geography: The Spatial Science
If you want to get more enthusiasm for reading Geography, read the article "Geography: The Spatial Science" as mentioned above in first paragraph. To read more, visit the url ( https://www.indiansss.org/the-spatial-science).
Some of important paragraphs are extracted below to illucidate how important Geography is or what legacies are linked with it.
Fundamentally, the term “Geography” is used to —“describe or picture or write about the Earth" (Eratosthenes: 276–194 BC). But, mere names of places...are not geography... It has higher aims than this: it seeks — to classify phenomena, to compare, to generalize, to ascend from effects to causes, and in doing so, to trace out the laws of nature and to mark their influences upon man. This is simply 'a description of the world’. Hence, Geography is a Science—a thing not of mere names but argument and reason, of cause and effect (William Hughes, 1863).
Geography is the ‘science of place and space’. Geographers ask where things are located on the surface of the earth, why they are located where they are, how places differ from one another, and how people interact with the environment. Geography is unique in linking the social sciences and natural sciences together. It takes us to a different land and people with different cultures with 5 basic themes —
1) Location: position on the earth’s surface
2) Place: physical and human characteristics
3) Relationships within Places: man – environment
4) Movement: human interaction on the earth
5) Regions: how they form and change
Physical geographers study spatial patterns of climates, landforms, vegetation, soils, and water or “Earth – in relation to – Man”.
On the other hand, the Human geography is concerned with the spatial aspects of human existence or “Man – in relation to – Earth". Thanks to Waldo R Tobler, the Quantitative Revolution produced two universal Laws of Geography:
1) “TFL, 1970: Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things” and
2) “TSL, 1999: The phenomenon external to (a geographic) area of interest affects what goes on in the inside”.
To understand, the mosaic of “Modern Geography”, a GeoCube may be imagined with 6 planes, each representing a Geographer’s perspective and each comprising 9 parametric themes as follows—
1) Exploring our World (Global Issues Geographers now exploring: Species Extinction, Deforestation, Ozone Hole Formation, Climate Change, Weather Forecasting, Population Growth and Distribution, Aging Population, Tourism and War)
2) Fascinating Earth (Physical Earth Geographers’ main concern: Earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanoes, Storms, Hurricanes, Floods, Drought, Forest Fires and Conflicts in Earth Systems)
3) Living Together (Human Society, Economy, and Development Geographers normally address: Ethnicity, Language, Literacy and Religion, Health, Migration, Mobility, Poverty, Economic Development and Pollution in Cities)
4) Shrinking Planet (Human Exploitation of Earth as the Geographer’s concern: Nature, Minerals, Water Resources, Land Resources, Energy Resources, Agriculture, Food Resources Distribution, Housing, Waste, and Pollution)
5) Useful Geographies (Man’s Activity Space: Risk, Transport, Planning, Education, GIS, Geographic Skills, Using Maps, Facilities Management and Resources Management)
6) Earth from all Angles (Regional Complexities Geographers focus on: Mountains, Deserts, Wetlands, Rivers, Oceans and Seas, Karst Landscape, Polar Region, Rural Landscape and Urban Landscape)
In each of above six facets, 9 typical items are imbibed, that are studied.
➤ Geography study & Human Geography
We usually discuss for any spatial identity, the following:
1) Size & Locations
2) Physical features
3) Drainage
4) Climate & Seasons
5) Flora and Fauna
6) Population
7) Resources & Development
8) Forest & Wild life
9) Water Resources
10) Agriculture
11) Minerals
12) Energy
13) Industries
14) National Economy
15) Natural Hazards & Disasters
Similarly for any planet say for Earth, we discuss the following:
1) Origin and Evaluation
2) Interior of Earth
3) Distribution of Oceans and Continents
4) Minerals and Rocks
5) Geomorphic Processes
6) Landforms and their Evolution
7) Atmosphere
8) Relations with other stars like Sun and planets
9) Climate
10) Water and Oceans
11) Life & Biodiversity
Measurement in Geography is also studied for following items like:
1) Maps
2) Map Scales
3) Latitude, Longitude, Altitude
4) Time
5) Topography and Projections in Maps
6) Aerial Photographs
7) Remote Sensing
8) Weather instruments, charts and maps.
For any human population, we generally discuss Human Geography. Human geography is observed ever since the Early Colonial Period to the 1990s. Different fields and subfields of Human Geography includes
1) Social Geography
2) Urban Geography
3) Political Geography
4) Population Geography
5) Settlement Geography
6) Economic Geography
A different perspective to discuss Human Geography is to go through the following way:
1) Population trends
2) Settlements
3) Human development
4) Transport and communication facilities
5) International trade
6) Different livelihood activities (including primary, secondary, and tertiary activities)
➤ Population Geography
The Population Geography is about patterns of population distribution in the world. Alongside, it discusses the various geographic, economic, social, and cultural factors influencing it. The parameters of importance are to know detail about population density, population growth, including population growth rate, natural growth rate, a positive and negative growth of population and other different topics that include-
1. Migration
2. Population change
3. Trends in population growth,
4. Impact of population change
5. Demographic transition
6. Population control measures.
The basics of population composition details how the people coming under it can be distinguished based on their occupation, age, sex, literacy, residence, etc.
The sex ratio of a particular region or country and, Age structure forms an important constituent in determining the nature of a population. The age-sex pyramid of a population helps to determine the number of females and males in different age groups.
Population literacy, on the other hand, helps analyse the socio-economic development of a particular region. We can also classify the population on the lines of occupation and lifestyle.
Growth differs from development. Human growth is a quantitative aspect, while human development is a qualitative one.
The four pillars of human development are-
1) Income
2) Welfare
3) Basic Needs
4) Capability
Please note that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is publishing the Human Development Report in which the countries are ranked as per their progress in human development.
➤ Primary Activities ( red-collar jobs)
Primary activities and red-collar workers (people engaged in primary activities) cover-
1) Agriculture and cultivation
2) Hunting and gathering
3) Pastoralism
4) Farming
5) Mining
The various activities related to Pastoralism, like nomadic herding and livestock rearing are to be explained. Similarly, different types of agriculture and farming have to be detailed like-
1) Subsistence agriculture
2) Plantation agriculture
3) Mixed farming
4) Dairy farming
5) Co-operative farming
6) Collective farming
As far as mining is concerned, methods of mining, and the various factors affecting mining activities need to be discussed under this activity.
➤ Secondary Activities ( blue-collar jobs)
Secondary activities of an economy. add value to the raw materials (made from natural resources).
Manufacturing is a chief secondary activity. The Characteristics of modern-day large-scale manufacturing practices in the world include technological innovations, mechanisation in factories, etc.
The other items that are important from manufacturing viewpoint are Labour supply, Government policies, Energy sources, Transport and Communication, and Classification of industries in terms of manufacturing, besides the concept of high-tech industries.
➤ Tertiary & Quaternary Activities ( white-collar jobs)
Tertiary and quaternary activities constitute the service sector of an economy. Trade and Commerce is a service sector, which generates different aspects of trading that are-
1) Retail trading
2) Wholesale trading
3) Services
4) Telecommunications
Tourism has great significance in the service sector.
➤ Transport & Communication (infrastructure)
Transport being an essential service to establish links between producing and consuming centres and it plays a massive role in determining the human geography of a place. Study of the different modes of transportation comes under its ambit. As far as, Railways are concerned, at world level, the following rail routes are important-
1) Trans-continental Railways
2) Trans-Siberian Railway
3) Trans-Canadian Railways
4) The Union and Pacific Railway
5) Australian Trans-Continental Railway
Important sea routes like that of the Northern Atlantic, Cape of Good Hope, Mediterranean-India, Southern Atlantic, Northern Pacific, South Pacific, and Shipping canals such as the Suez Canal, Panama Canal, etc. are important ones.
Now-a-days, Satellite communication and internet has become important form of communication.
➤ International Trade
International trade is also part of Human Geography. To understand it properly, first we need to know the history of international trade and the basis of international trade in terms of factors like-
1) Population
2) The difference in natural resources
3) Economic development
4) Foreign investment, and
5) Transport
Other essential aspects of international trade like the volume of trade, and composition of trade need to be kept in mind to get other crucial topics given below be properly explained-
1) Different types of international trade
2) Balance of trade
3) Free trade
4) Direction of trade
5) Ports and different types of ports
6) Concerns related to international trade
7) Regional trade blocs
World Trade Organisation or WTO also forms an important component of Human Geography.
➤ Settlements
Major forms of settlements are the rural, and urban forms of human settlement. However, from different perspective, the other types of settlements include-
1) A nucleated or compact settlement
2) Dispersed Settlement
3) Planned Settlement
These settlement patterns could be discussed based on functions, setting, shapes, and issues. Urban and Towns settlements can further be classified according to their inner characteristics.
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