REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY

1. REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY Exam Topics Related to India

3. The Importance of Culture In India • Culture describes how people live their lives • Can include descriptions of ethnic origin, language, religion, foods, festivals • India has 1.2 Billion people and its population is growing • Its culture has been influenced by British colonialism, European migrants and migrants from other parts of Asia

4. India - Culture • There is cultural Diversity throughout India • Several different regions can be recognised by the differences in Language and Religion • There are over 1,600 languages spoken in India • Language – India can be divided into 2 Regions from a language perspective. • In the far north of India in the mountainous regions, (Himalayas) people speak languages related to Tibetan and Chinese • In Southern Regions, people speak Dravidian languages.

5. India - Culture • The Dravidian language group has over 200 million speakers and is unrelated to other languages used in India • Hindi is the official language of India and is spoken throughout the country • English was brought to India with the British colonisation and is still the language of Business and Commerce

6. India - Culture • Religion – Also used to define regions in India • India has 2 main religions – Hinduism and Muslim • Majority of people are Hindi and this religion is found throughout the country • A minority of the population is Muslim and they tend to live in the north along the Indus and Ganges river plains • They would have tended to settle along the north as their ancestors would have been Muslim traders from the east • People living in this region converted to Ilam over the yearsa

7. India - Culture • 1947 after independence from Britain the region was divided into 2 States – India and Pakistan • Pakistan is the Islamic state and India is the Hindu state. • However, the partition has caused many problems. Over 12 million people were displaced and moved between regions as they did not wish to remain in the newly – created states • They wished to be with people of their own religion • Muslims moved to Pakistan and Hindus moved to India.

8. The Development of Mumbai • Mumbai is in western India • It is an island Mega-City with 23 million people • The second largest city in the world after Tokyo • Originally made up of seven islands joined together by reclaimed land • In the 17th century trade with Britain and Europe lead to a significant growth of the city

9. Mumbai • Mumbai was controlled by the East India Trading company – developed it into a major trading port and built sea defences • The city attracted many merchants from Europe and Asia – it was politically stable and allowed religious freedom • Mumbai had a population of 60,000 by end of 17th century

10. Mumbai • Religious conflict between Muslims and Hindis in 19th century forced many people to flee to Mumbai from other areas of the subcontinent • The beginning of Rural-Urban migration and this led to a large increase in the population • The second half of the 19th century saw the development of cotton spinning and weaving to supply the British Empire with textiles • Mumbai developed further with the opening of the Suez Canal in Egypt which made the transport distance between Mumbai and Europe much shorter • It became a stop-off point between Europe and Asia

11. Mumbai • Nowadays it is the Financial Capital of India • The centre of Bollywood Film Industry – much more substantial than Hollywood • The largest port in India – 25% of India’s International Trade • The rapid growth though has caused problems which are typical of Mega-Cities – Pollution/Crime/Slums (Bustees) • Almost 10 Million live in slums in Mumbai

12. Mumbai • Dharavi is the largest slum in Mumbai • It originated as an area where migrants from rural areas of India first settled. They did not have money or permission to locate here but did so anyway • Dharavi was originally a swamp on the edge of the city but now is a prime development area in the city of Mumbai • It is a problem for planners and developers

13. Mumbai • State officials have planned to demolish Dharavi and move the slum residents to apartments elsewhere in Mumbai • They have planned an 800 Million Euro development of Business Parks/Restaurants/Universities/Hotels for the site • However, before this happens they must build new areas for the slum dwellers to relocate • They plan to develop new suburbs on the edge of the city which may further increase Urban Sprawl

14. Agriculrure in India

15. Factors Affecting Agriculture in India 2 Factors – Climate and Soils Factor 1: Climate • A Tropical climate with highs of 20-32 degrees celcius throughout the year which influences the types of crops grown • The climate allows for the growth of crops such as: Rice and Sugar Cane which require high temperatures • The amount of rainfall in India is controlled by the effect of Monsoon

16. India - Agriculture • Monsoon is a reversal of wind patterns over the continent which creates 2 seasons • Wet season – June-September and Dry season October – June • The monsoon rains control the type of crops grown by people and when they can be planted or harvested • If the rains are late or bring low rainfall, irrigation, planting and crop yields are affected • In the Wet season thirsty crops such as Rice are grown in the Eastern half of India along the Ganges Valley and the Eastern Ghats • Rainfall can total over 2,500mm • In the Dry season Millet is grown throughout India

17. India Agriculture • In drier regions of the North-West, Wheat, Maize, Chickpeas are grown • Tropical climate is also suited to Tea Production. • Asam State in in the North-East is a major supplier of tea to world markets • The extreme North-West has the Thar Desert and the desert soils are unsuited to most crops. However, Cotton and Millet bare grown in areas where irrigation is used

18. India - Agriculture • Factor 2: Soils • Soils have an influence on the pattern of agricultural production in India • In South-West (Kerala State) deep fertile soils are found. They are used for the production of coffee. It is the largest coffee producing state in India • In the Ganges Valley the soils are wet, clay, rich in alluvium. A result of the Ganges flooding its floodplain annually • In very far North, the high relief (mountains) has caused the formation of thin, infertile soils and results in subsistence farming – eg Goat Herding

19. Agriculture - India • Northern States of Assam/Himachal/Pradesh have well drained, well aerated, red coloured soils and are used for Tea Production

20. India - Secondary Activities SteelProduction/Electronics/Pharmaceuticals/Software • 2 Factors have influenced industrial development – • Government Influence • Availability of Raw Materials • Indian secondary sector was very underdeveloped prior to independence in 1947 • Most industrial development was focused on food processing and textiles

21. Secondary Activities • Only 2% of the workforce was employed in manufacturing • Industry was located in Colonial cities established by British -- Kolkata/Mumbai/Chennai • Post Independence Government policy was to spread industry across India and into rural areas • This was done by investment in local craft industries and food processing – Labour Intensive Industries

22. Secondary Activities • These industries used locally sourced raw materials • Also developed fertiliser production and manufacture of agricultural machinery • Despite this Kolkata/Mumbai/Chennai remain the main drivers of secondary activities

23. Secondary Activities • India has major advantages for Industry – eg. Resources and large supply of Labour • Well-educated – but low-cost workforce • Indian government has invested heavily in education and Indians value education very highly • India has more third level graduates than USA and Canada combined • About 40% have engineering and science degrees

24. Secondary Activities • These advantages have attracted many multinational companies in the high-tech- software sector/Back Office Operations • Skilled Indian graduates can be employed at less than one third of the cost of European or American workers • Bangalore is the centre of the Indian software with high profile companies like IBM located there – India’s Silicon Valley

25. Secondary Activities • Raw materials are widely available throughout India for traditional industries • Iron Ore and Coal near Kolkata – as a result Kolkata is the centre of Iron and Steel Industry – TATA STEEL CO. • Transport has also helped develop industry – Infrastructure is very poor outside the main cities especially roads • Industries therefore locate in the major cities as transport network is superior • Mumbai is the main port. Pharmaceutical Industry is located in Mumbai to take advantage of this and keep costs low

26. India - Tourism • Largest service industry in India – 10% of employment and 6% GDP • Approximately 5 million tourists visit annually – USA and UK are main visitors 2 Factors have influenced the development of tourism in India – • Physical Factors • Human Factors

27. India - Tourism • Very varied landscape due to its vast size eg. Mountains, river valleys, plateaux, desert, rainforest, beaches • Himalayas attract thousands of climbers and trekkers to Northern India every year • Eco-tourism is a developing sector in the south – west of the country • Likewise the beaches in the south are extremely attractive for tourists and offer great potential • Goa in the South – West is a renowned holiday resort

28. India - Tourism • Human attractions are quite diverse in India • The ‘Golden Triangle’ of the cities of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur in Northern India attract many tourists. They are well connected by trains and luxury coaches • Kerala in the south has many temple festivals throughout the year which attract religious tourists and is a popular honeymoon destination

29. India - Tourism • Tourism in India has its problems – Poverty in the mega-cities has restricted people form visiting in large numbers • Internal tourism has yet to grow as so many people cannot afford to take holidays in India • India is a long-haul destination for Europeans and Americans and the distance and expense restrict tourists from coming in larger numbers

30. India - Tourism • Terrorist bombings – eg. Mumbai in 2008 have had a negative impact on foreign tourists • The Indian Tourism Development Plan has been established to promote India as a destination abroad. It aims to increase international tourist numbers to 8 million by 2015 • Improved airport access and development of luxury hotels in cities like Mumbai and Bangalore will help as will the development of the road infrastructure • Since 2000 there has been an increase of internal tourism due to wealthy IT workers from Bangalore and Chennai heading to the south-west coast on ‘Monsoon Holidays’

31. India – Population Distribution • India has a population of aprx. 1.2 Billion but it is unevenly distributed • The 2 main reasons for the uneven distribution are (1)Physical factors – Climate/Relief (2) Human Factors – Availability of jobs and services • Population density is highest along the river valleys, in the narrow coastal plains and in the cities and their hinterlands • Population density is lowest in the Himalays region of the North and The Thar desert area of the North - West

32. India - Population • The most densely populated zone is along the Indus and Ganges river valleys • The population density here is over 250 per square km • The region has a constant supply water, fertile alluvial soils and flat land • Millions of people live here and survive by intensive subsistence rice farming • Another are of high population density is along the narrow coastal plains of the Eastern and Western Ghats • The region has intensive rice farming and commercial farming of Tea, Coconuts and Cotton • There are lots of plantations of these cash crops so density is loqwer here than in the river valleys

33. India - Population • The main cities of Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai have very high population densities • Kolkata has a density of over 2,050 per square km – this is mainly due to the high rate of rural-urban migration • Poor people move to the cities in search of a better life – work/education/ • Cities such as Chennai and Bangalore attract lots of internal and international migrants seeking work in IT sector • Mumbai is India’s largest port and has many port-related jobs that attract migrants • The high relief of the Himalayas is the main reason for low population density in Northern India

34. India - Population • The steep slopes, snow-covered land, poor soils and poor road infrastructure discourage settlement here • The low population density of 100 per square km in the North-East is mainly due to the Thar Desert • Lack of water prevents agriculture and the population is dispersed among the small communities where water is available