Indian Origins - The Subcontinent

The Indian Subcontinent is today known as South Asia comprising states of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Srilanka. The subcontinent is considered as a geographical and political independent entity because of its distinct landmass. India was once a continent but due to the continental drift it joined Asia. While studying the history of the subcontinent it is important to ignore the modern political borders. 

It is very important to understand the Geography of the subcontinent.

The subcontinent is geographically well defined but ecologically diversified. The Himalayas and the Western Ghats play a major role. The Himalayas block the icy northern winds from sweeping the Gangetic plains and the Western Ghats help in getting the western coastal strip rainfall. The Himalayas, a young fold mountain range is still in a process of uplift and fold, thus making it geologically unstable.

The North Western part of the subcontinent includes North Western Frontier province (NWFP) and Baluchistan. The area is arid except for the fertile river valleys. But the trade routes running through its valleys and passes connect the subcontinent with the areas lying to its west making it a very important region. On its east is the Thar Desert where the conditions are worse than the NWFP. In between the NWFP and the Thar Desert lies Sindh province where the Indus River provides precious water to the region.

Another geographically important zone of the subcontinent is the alluvial plain of Ganga and its tributaries. The western part of the region is known as doab, the land between the two rivers, Ganga and Yamuna. The eastern part includes the delta of the Ganga and Brahmaputra. The Vindhya mountain ranges separate the northern plains from the peninsular India while the Aravalli hills divide the Thar Desert from central India. The Malwa plateau, with its two major rivers, the Narmada and Tapi, lies between Aravalli hills and the Central Indian Mountains.

The Peninsular India is an old and relatively stable geological region. The region consists of plains plateaus and fertile river valleys such as Krishna, Godavari, Mahanadi, Kaveri and Pennar. The Deccan plateau formed by the lava flows from ancient volcanoes extends over eight Indian states and is a very major part of the peninsula. It is located in between the Western and Eastern Ghats. To its south are the Nilgiri, Annamalai and Cardomom hills. The peninsula is separated from the island Sri Lanka by the Gulf of Mannar and Palk strait. It is believed that the land bridge existed from Indian mainland to the island and was passable till 15^th century. The island is mostly flat, with mountains in the southern central part.

India occupies major part of the subcontinent, lying atop the Indian tectonic plate, and part of the Indo-Australian Plate. The subcontinent is ethically diversified with varied climatic conditions and terrain.

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