Chapter 1 - The Indian Subcontinent and History
1. Answer the following in one sentence.
(1) What is history?
Ans: History is a coherent account of the significant past events in the progress of human civilization (culture).
(2) Where do human settlements flourish?
Ans: The human settlements flourished wherever the means of livelihood are plentiful.
(3) What do the people in the hilly region depend on for their food?
Ans: The people in the hilly region depend on hunting and gathering food.
(4) Which is the earliest civilization in India?
Ans: The Harappan civilization is the earliest civilization in India.
2. Answer the following questions in short.
(1) What does human life depend on ?
Ans:
(i) Human life, to a large extent, depends on the geographical characteristics of the region in which they live.
(ii) The climate, rainfall, agricultural produce, flora and fauna of the region where we live are the sources of livelihood.
(2) What features of our surroundings form the means of our livelihood?
Ans: The climate, rainfall, agricultural produce, flora and fauna of the region form the means of our livelihood.
(3) Which region is known as the Indian subcontinent?
Ans:
(i) South Asia is described as the ‘Indian subcontinent’.
(ii) It consists of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
3. Give reasons.
(1) There is a close relation between history and geography.
Ans: There is a close relationship between history and geography because;
(i) Place is one of the pillars and basis for writing history.
(ii) Place is related to the geographical conditions which influence the food habits, dressing, housing and economic activities of human beings in the given area-place.
(2) People are forced to leave theirsettlements.
Ans:
(i) Damage of the environment, drought and the foreign invasion of the foreigners make living for people difficult.
(ii) As a result, people are forced to leave their settlements and migrate to other places in search of the means of livelihood
4. Explain the difference in the human life in the hilly regions and that on the plains.
Ans:
| Hilly regions | Plains |
|---|---|
(i) The life of the people is more strenuous. | (i) The life of the people is comparatively less strenuous. |
(ii) Not much fertile land is available. | (ii) The fertile land is available on a large scale. |
(iii) The foodgrains and vegetables are scarce. | (iii) The foodgrains and vegetables are available in sufficient measure. |
(iv) They undertake hunting of the animals and gathering of the food for consumption. | (iv) They consume food grains and vegetables in larger quantities. |
5. Observe the physical map of India and answer the questions based on it.
(1) Which mountain ranges lie in the north of India?
Ans: Hindu Kush and Himalayan mountain ranges lie in north India.
(2) Which are the routes to India from the northeast?
Ans: Khyber pass and Bolan pass are the routes to India from the north-west.
(3) Where do the Ganga and Brahmaputra meet?
Ans: The rivers Ganga and Brahmaputra meet in Bangladesh.
(4) Name the islands to the east of the Indian peninsula.
Ans: Andaman and Nicobar islands are to the east of the Indian peninsula.
(5) In which part of India do we see the Thar Desert?
Ans: We see the Thar desert in Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat.