भूगोल Geography

Quick summary

Human geography studies the relationship between people and their environment. It explains how humans use, change and adapt to the earth, and how population, settlements, economic activities and culture are spread over space. Important approaches include environmental determinism, possibilism and neo-determinism.

Key points

• Human geography (मानवी भूगोल) is the branch of geography that studies human activities and their spatial distribution in relation to the physical environment.
• Friedrich Ratzel (German) is called the father of modern human geography. His work Anthropogeographie treated human geography as a systematic subject.
• Ellen Churchill Semple, a student of Ratzel, spread environmental determinism in the USA.
• Vidal de la Blache (French) developed possibilism and the idea of genre de vie (way of life).
• Griffith Taylor gave neo-determinism, also called "stop-and-go determinism".
• Human geography is interdisciplinary: it is linked with economics, sociology, history, political science, demography and anthropology.
• It is dynamic: the human–environment relationship changes with technology.
• After about 1950, quantitative and later behavioural, welfare (radical) and humanistic approaches developed.

Important terms

• Environmental determinism – nature controls human life and activities; humans are passive.
• Possibilism – nature offers many possibilities and humans choose among them using technology and culture.
• Neo-determinism – humans can change nature but only within limits; like traffic signals, nature says when to stop and when to go.
• Cultural landscape – the natural landscape modified by human activities (fields, roads, towns).
• Spatial organisation – the arrangement of human activities over space.

Key facts

• Example of possibilism: building terrace farms on steep slopes, or irrigation canals in dry regions.
• Example of determinism: Inuit (Eskimo) lifestyle shaped by the Arctic climate.

5 important questions

Q1. Define human geography.

Human geography is the study of the relationship between human societies and the physical environment, and of the spatial distribution of human activities on the earth's surface.

Q2. Who gave the concept of neo-determinism?

Griffith Taylor gave neo-determinism, also called "stop-and-go determinism".

Q3. Explain the nature of human geography.

• Studies humans as active agents changing the environment.
• Spatial: explains distribution and patterns.
• Interdisciplinary with social sciences.
• Dynamic: changes with time and technology.
• Synthesises physical and human elements.
• Uses both quantitative and qualitative methods.

Q4. Compare environmental determinism and possibilism.

• Determinism: nature dominant; Ratzel, Semple, Huntington.
• Humans passive; climate decides culture and progress.
• Possibilism: Vidal de la Blache, Febvre; humans active.
• Nature offers choices; technology widens them.
• Neo-determinism as a middle path (Griffith Taylor).

Q5. Describe the scope of human geography.

• Population: growth, density, migration.
• Settlements: rural and urban patterns.
• Economic activities: primary to quaternary.
• Social, cultural and political aspects.
• Environmental issues and planning.
• Helps regional development planning.

Exam tip

Always link each approach with its thinker (Ratzel–determinism, Vidal de la Blache–possibilism, Griffith Taylor–neo-determinism) and give one example each.

Quick summary

Cultural geography studies how human culture – language, religion, customs – varies over space. Language and religion are the two strongest parts of culture: they shape identity, create cultural regions and even influence the boundaries of states. India is one of the most diverse countries in the world in both.

Key points

• Language is the main medium of communication and carries a group's culture. Languages with a common origin form a language family.
• The Indo-European family has the largest number of speakers in the world; Sino-Tibetan comes next. Mandarin Chinese has the most native speakers.
• India has four main language families: Indo-Aryan (Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati – spoken by about three-fourths of Indians), Dravidian (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam – about one-fifth), Austric / Austro-Asiatic (Santhali, Mundari, Khasi) and Sino-Tibetan / Tibeto-Burman (in the Himalayas and north-east).
• The Eighth Schedule of the Constitution lists 22 languages. In Census 2011, Hindi was the mother tongue of about 44% and Marathi of about 7% of Indians.
• India's states were reorganised largely on a linguistic basis (States Reorganisation Act, 1956); Maharashtra was formed on 1 May 1960.
• Religion is a system of faith and worship. Universalising religions seek converts (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism); ethnic religions belong mainly to one people or region (Hinduism, Judaism, Shinto).
• World religions by followers: Christianity (largest), Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism.
• Hearths: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism arose in South Asia; Judaism, Christianity and Islam in South-West Asia.
• India (Census 2011): Hindus about 79.8%, Muslims 14.2%, Christians 2.3%, Sikhs 1.7%, Buddhists 0.7%, Jains 0.4%.
• Religion leaves marks on the landscape – temples, mosques, churches, pilgrimage towns (Pandharpur, Varanasi, Ajmer), food habits and land use.

Important terms

• Culture (संस्कृती) – the learned way of life of a group: language, religion, food, dress, customs.
• Language family – a group of languages that developed from a common ancestor.
• Dialect – a regional form of a language (e.g. Varhadi and Ahirani forms of Marathi).
• Lingua franca – a common language used between speakers of different languages (English, Hindi).
• Cultural region – an area with common cultural traits.
• Pilgrimage – a journey to a holy place for religious reasons.

Key facts

5 important questions

Q1. What is a language family? Give one example.

A group of languages that have grown from a common parent language. Example: the Dravidian family – Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam.

Q2. Distinguish between universalising and ethnic religions.

Universalising religions try to spread to all people (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism); ethnic religions are linked to one group or region and rarely seek converts (Hinduism, Judaism).

Q3. Describe the language families of India and their distribution.

• Meaning of language and its geographical importance.
• Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Austric, Sino-Tibetan – languages and regions.
• Eighth Schedule and Census figures.
• Linguistic reorganisation of states; a sketch map.

Q4. Explain the distribution of major religions in the world.

• Classification: universalising and ethnic.
• Hearths and spread of each religion (trade, empires, missionaries).
• Present distribution: Christianity – Europe, Americas; Islam – West Asia, North Africa, Indonesia; Hinduism – India, Nepal; Buddhism – East and South-East Asia.
• Map of world religions.

Q5. Discuss the influence of language and religion on human landscape and society.

• Identity and cultural regions; state boundaries.
• Religious buildings, pilgrimage centres and fairs (Pandharpur wari, Kumbh Mela).
• Food habits, dress, land use and festivals.
• Positive role in unity; problems of conflict; India's "unity in diversity".

Exam tip

Quote one or two Census 2011 figures (22 scheduled languages, Hindu 79.8%) – precise data makes a cultural-geography answer stand out.

Quick summary

Human groups adapt their food, dress, houses and work to the environment in which they live. Tribal communities living in extreme environments – the cold tundra, hot deserts, dense equatorial forests and grasslands – show this adaptation most clearly. In India too, tribes such as the Gonds and Bhils have ways of life shaped by forests and hills.

Key points

• Adaptation (अनुकूलन) means adjusting the way of life to suit natural conditions such as climate, relief, vegetation and water.
• Inuit (Eskimos) – Arctic tundra of Canada, Alaska and Greenland. They traditionally hunted seals, walrus and caribou, wore fur and skin clothes, built snow houses (igloos) in winter and used kayaks, harpoons and dog sledges.
• San (Bushmen) – Kalahari Desert. Hunters and gatherers who move in small groups, use bows with poisoned arrows and store water in ostrich egg shells.
• Bedouins – deserts of Arabia and North Africa. Nomadic herders of camels, goats and sheep, living in tents and moving between oases.
• Pygmies – equatorial forests of the Congo basin. Short-statured forest dwellers who hunt, fish and gather fruits and honey; they live in simple huts of leaves and branches.
• Masai – grasslands (savanna) of Kenya and Tanzania. Pastoral people whose wealth is cattle; they depend on milk, meat and blood of cattle.
• Kirghiz – steppes and mountains of Central Asia. Herders who practise transhumance, living in round felt tents called yurts.
• Indian tribes: about 8.6% of India's population is Scheduled Tribe (Census 2011). The Bhil is the largest tribe, followed by the Gond.
• Gonds live in the forests of central India, including Gadchiroli, Chandrapur and Gondia in Vidarbha; Bhils in Nandurbar and Dhule (Maharashtra), Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan; Todas in the Nilgiris (buffalo herding); Warlis in Palghar (known for Warli painting).
• Modern changes – roads, schools, mining and forest laws – are changing tribal life; development must protect their land and culture.

Important terms

• Nomadism – moving from place to place with herds in search of pasture and water.
• Transhumance – seasonal movement of herders between mountain and valley pastures.
• Hunting and gathering – collecting food from nature without farming.
• Igloo / yurt – a dome-shaped snow house of the Inuit / a felt tent of Central Asian herders.
• Scheduled Tribe – a tribe listed under the Constitution for special protection.

Key facts

5 important questions

Q1. What is transhumance?

The seasonal movement of herders and their animals – to high mountain pastures in summer and down to valleys in winter – e.g. Kirghiz, and the Gujjars and Bakarwals of Kashmir.

Q2. Name two tribes of Maharashtra and their regions.

Gonds in Gadchiroli and Chandrapur (Vidarbha) and Bhils in Nandurbar and Dhule (Khandesh); Warlis in Palghar are another example.

Q3. Describe the adaptation of the Inuit to the tundra environment.

• Environment: very cold, long winters, little vegetation.
• Food: seals, fish, caribou; raw meat for vitamins.
• Shelter: igloos in winter, skin tents in summer.
• Clothing and transport: fur, kayaks, sledges.
• Recent changes: settled towns, snowmobiles, climate change.

Q4. Compare the life of the Masai and the Bedouins.

• Environment: savanna grassland vs hot desert.
• Animals: cattle vs camels, goats.
• Food, dress, houses, movement.
• Social life and modern changes.

Q5. Describe the life of the Gond tribe and the problems of Indian tribes.

• Distribution in central India and Vidarbha.
• Economy: farming, forest produce (tendu leaves, mahua), hunting.
• Culture: Gondi language, ghotul, festivals and art.
• Problems: displacement, poverty, low literacy, loss of forest rights.
• Measures: Forest Rights Act 2006, PESA Act 1996, education and health schemes.

Exam tip

Use a comparison table in long answers on tribes; mention one Maharashtra tribe to connect the topic to your region.

Quick summary

This topic studies how many people live on earth, how they are spread, and how population changes over time. Population is unevenly distributed because of physical, economic and social factors. Population change depends on births, deaths and migration. The Demographic Transition Theory explains how population passes through stages as a society develops.

Key points

• World population is very unevenly distributed. Most people live in the Northern Hemisphere and in river plains, coasts and temperate lands.
• Densely populated regions include East Asia, South Asia (including the Ganga plains), Western Europe and north-eastern USA.
• Sparsely populated regions include hot and cold deserts, high mountains and dense equatorial forests.
• Physical factors: relief, climate, water, soil, minerals.
• Economic factors: industrialisation, urbanisation, transport, employment.
• Social and cultural factors: religion, political stability, government policies, history.
• Population growth = (births − deaths) + (in-migration − out-migration).
• Natural growth is the difference between births and deaths.
• Thomas Malthus (1798) argued that population grows in geometric progression, while food grows in arithmetic progression, so population must be checked by positive checks (famine, disease, war) or preventive checks (late marriage, self-control).
• India's census is held every 10 years; the first synchronous census was in 1881. By the 2011 Census, India's population was about 121 crore, and Maharashtra was the second most populous state after Uttar Pradesh.

Important terms

• Population density – number of people per square kilometre (arithmetic density).
• Crude Birth Rate (CBR) – live births per 1,000 people in a year.
• Crude Death Rate (CDR) – deaths per 1,000 people in a year.
• Sex ratio – in India, number of females per 1,000 males.
• Literacy rate – percentage of literate people in the population aged 7 years and above (Indian census definition).
• Dependency ratio – ratio of dependent population (children and elderly) to working-age population.
• Age–sex pyramid – a graph showing population by age groups and sex.

Key facts

• Population density = total population ÷ total area (persons per km²).
• Growth rate (%) = ((population at end − population at start) ÷ population at start) × 100.
• Natural growth rate = CBR − CDR (per 1,000).

• A broad-base pyramid shows a young, growing population; a narrow base shows an ageing population.

5 important questions

Q1. Define population density.

Population density is the number of people living per unit area, usually per square kilometre. It equals total population divided by total area.

Q2. Calculate natural growth rate if CBR is 20 and CDR is 7 per 1,000.

Natural growth rate = CBR − CDR = 20 − 7 = 13 per 1,000, i.e. 1.3% per year.

Q3. Explain the factors affecting the distribution of population.

• Relief: plains are crowded, mountains are sparse.
• Climate: moderate climates attract people.
• Water and fertile soils: river valleys (Ganga, Nile).
• Minerals and industries: mining towns, industrial cities (Mumbai–Pune belt).
• Transport, urbanisation and jobs.
• Social, political and historical factors.

Q4. Explain the Demographic Transition Theory.

• Describes change from high birth and death rates to low ones.
• Four (sometimes five) stages with features of each.
• Linked to development, health care, education and urbanisation.
• Developed countries are in later stages; many developing countries in stage 2 or 3.
• Diagram with birth rate, death rate and population curves.

Q5. Explain Malthus's theory of population and its criticism.

• Population grows geometrically (1, 2, 4, 8…), food arithmetically (1, 2, 3, 4…).
• Positive checks: famine, disease, war.
• Preventive checks: delayed marriage, moral restraint.
• Criticism: ignored technology (Green Revolution), developed nations controlled births.
• Still relevant to pressure on resources.

Exam tip

Practise the density and growth rate formulas. Draw the DTM graph with four stages; label birth rate, death rate and total population clearly.

Quick summary

Population composition means the make-up of a population by age, sex, literacy, residence (rural or urban) and occupation. These features tell us about a country's social and economic condition and help in planning schools, hospitals, jobs and pensions. Census 2011 figures are used for India.

Key points

• Age composition divides people into three groups: 0–14 years (young dependants), 15–59 years (working age) and 60+ years (old dependants). In 2011 about 31% of Indians were below 15 and about 8.6% were 60 or above.
• An age–sex pyramid shows age groups on the vertical axis and males (left) and females (right) on the horizontal axis.
• A wide-based (expanding) pyramid shows high birth rates (India in the past, many African countries); a narrow-based (constrictive) pyramid shows low birth rates and an ageing population (Japan); a stationary one is nearly straight-sided.
• Sex ratio in India = number of females per 1,000 males. Census 2011: 943 for India; Kerala highest (1,084), Haryana lowest among states (879); Maharashtra 929.
• Child sex ratio (0–6 years) fell to 919 in 2011, a serious concern linked to son preference.
• Literacy rate – percentage of literates among people aged 7 years and above. India 2011: 74.04% (male about 82%, female about 65%). Kerala highest (about 94%), Bihar lowest (about 62%); Maharashtra about 82%.
• Rural–urban composition: about 31% of Indians lived in urban areas in 2011.
• Occupational composition: workers in primary (farming, fishing, mining), secondary (manufacturing) and tertiary (services) sectors. In India more than half the workforce is still in the primary sector.
• A large working-age group gives a demographic dividend if people get education, health care and jobs.

Important terms

• Dependency ratio – number of dependants (0–14 and 60+) per 100 people of working age.
• Sex ratio (लिंग गुणोत्तर) – females per 1,000 males (India's definition).
• Literate – a person aged 7 or above who can read and write with understanding in any language.
• Ageing of population – rising share of elderly people.
• Demographic dividend – economic benefit from a large working-age population.

Key facts

• Dependency ratio = (Population 0–14 + Population 60+) ÷ Population 15–59 × 100
• Literacy rate = Literates aged 7+ ÷ Population aged 7+ × 100

5 important questions

Q1. What is dependency ratio? Calculate it if the population aged 0–14 is 30, 15–59 is 60 and 60+ is 10.

It is the number of dependants per 100 working-age persons. Dependency ratio = (30 + 10) ÷ 60 × 100 = 66.7.

Q2. Why is the child sex ratio a matter of concern in India?

It fell from 927 in 2001 to 919 in 2011, showing fewer girls being born or surviving, due to son preference, sex-selective abortion and neglect of girls.

Q3. Explain the age–sex pyramid and its types.

• Meaning and how it is drawn.
• Expanding, constrictive and stationary pyramids with examples.
• What each shape tells us about birth rate, death rate and life expectancy.
• India's changing pyramid; diagrams.

Q4. Discuss the sex ratio of India and the factors affecting it.

• Definition; Census 2011 figures and regional differences.
• Factors: son preference, female foeticide, maternal mortality, migration of men, status of women.
• Consequences and measures: PCPNDT Act 1994, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (2015).

Q5. Describe the literacy pattern in India and its importance.

• Definition and 2011 figures; male–female and rural–urban gaps.
• High and low literacy states with reasons.
• Importance for development, health and women's status.
• Government efforts: Right to Education Act 2009, Samagra Shiksha.

Exam tip

Practise the dependency-ratio calculation and learn the four key Census 2011 numbers: 943, 919, 74.04%, 31%.

Quick summary

Population theories try to explain the relation between population growth, resources and economic development. The most famous are Malthus's theory, the optimum population theory and the demographic transition theory. The demographic transition model shows how birth and death rates change as a country develops, and India today is in its third stage.

Key points

• Thomas Robert Malthus published An Essay on the Principle of Population in 1798.
• Malthus said population grows in geometric progression (1, 2, 4, 8, 16) while food supply grows in arithmetic progression (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). So population will outrun food.
• Population is controlled by positive checks (famine, disease, war – raising deaths) or preventive checks (late marriage, moral restraint – lowering births).
• Criticism: he ignored technology (Green Revolution), trade and the fall in birth rates with development; but his warning about resources is still relevant.
• Optimum population theory (Edwin Cannan and others): the best population is the size at which per-capita income is highest for the given resources and technology. Below it is under-population, above it over-population.
• Karl Marx argued that "over-population" is caused by the capitalist system and unequal distribution, not by nature.
• Demographic Transition Theory (Warren Thompson 1929, Frank Notestein 1945) explains the change from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates.
• Stage 1 – High stationary: high birth and high death rates; slow growth.
• Stage 2 – Early expanding: death rate falls fast (medicine, food) but birth rate stays high; population explodes.
• Stage 3 – Late expanding: birth rate also falls (education, urbanisation, family planning); growth slows. India is in this stage.
• Stage 4 – Low stationary: low birth and death rates; nearly stable population (USA, most of Europe).
• Stage 5 (added later): birth rate below death rate; population declines (Japan, Germany, Italy).
• India's population was 121 crore in 2011; 1921 is called the "year of great divide", and 1951–1981 the period of population explosion.

Important terms

• Positive check – a check that raises the death rate.
• Preventive check – a check that lowers the birth rate.
• Optimum population – population size giving maximum per-capita income.
• Total fertility rate (TFR) – average number of children a woman would have in her lifetime; 2.1 is the replacement level.
• Natural growth rate – birth rate minus death rate.

Key facts

5 important questions

Q1. What are positive and preventive checks?

In Malthus's theory, positive checks such as famine, disease and war control population by increasing deaths; preventive checks such as late marriage and self-restraint control it by reducing births.

Q2. In which stage of demographic transition is India? Why?

India is in the third (late expanding) stage, because its death rate is low and its birth rate is falling but is still higher than the death rate, so population is still growing.

Q3. Critically explain Malthus's theory of population.

• Background and the 1798 essay.
• Geometric vs arithmetic growth; a simple table.
• Positive and preventive checks.
• Merits: first systematic theory, warning about resources.
• Criticism: technology, trade, falling birth rates, not tested on facts.

Q4. Explain the demographic transition theory with a diagram.

• Meaning and contributors.
• Five stages with birth rate, death rate and growth.
• Diagram with two curves.
• Examples of countries; limitations (based on European experience).

Q5. Explain the optimum population theory.

• Meaning; under-, optimum and over-population.
• Graph of per-capita income vs population.
• Dynamic nature – optimum changes with technology.
• Merits and criticism; relevance to India.

Exam tip

Draw the demographic transition diagram even if not asked – birth and death rate curves with stages labelled earn quick marks.

Quick summary

Migration is the movement of people from one place to another to live there for some time or permanently. It changes the size and composition of population in both the source and destination areas. People migrate because of push factors at the origin and pull factors at the destination. Migration can be internal or international, and permanent or temporary.

Key points

• Migration (स्थलांतर) is the change of usual place of residence. Short visits and tourism are not migration.
• The place people leave is the place of origin (source); the place they go to is the place of destination.
• Push factors: unemployment, poverty, drought, floods, conflict, lack of facilities.
• Pull factors: jobs, better wages, education, health care, safety, city life.
• Internal migration happens within a country; international migration across national borders.
• The four streams of internal migration: rural to rural, rural to urban, urban to urban, urban to rural.
• In India, rural to rural migration is the largest stream, and marriage is the main reason for female migration. Work/employment is the main reason for male migration.
• Mumbai and Pune are major destinations of migrants from Maharashtra and other states. Seasonal migration of sugarcane-cutting labourers from Marathwada (e.g. Beed) to western Maharashtra and Karnataka is a well-known example.
• E.G. Ravenstein gave the Laws of Migration in the 1880s.

Important terms

• Immigration – coming into a country; emigration – leaving a country.
• In-migration / out-migration – the same for internal migration.
• Net migration – in-migrants minus out-migrants.
• Seasonal migration – temporary movement for a few months, e.g. for harvesting.
• Brain drain – emigration of skilled and educated people (doctors, engineers) to other countries.
• Remittances – money sent home by migrants.
• Refugee – a person forced to leave their country due to war, persecution or disaster.

Key facts

Ravenstein's main laws (simplified):

1. Most migrants move only a short distance.
2. Migration takes place step by step.
3. Long-distance migrants usually go to big cities.
4. Each migration stream produces a counter-stream.
5. Rural people migrate more than urban people.
6. Women migrate more over short distances; men over long distances.
7. Economic causes are the main reason for migration.

• Everett Lee's model (1966): factors at origin, factors at destination, intervening obstacles and personal factors.

5 important questions

Q1. What are push and pull factors of migration?

Push factors are conditions that force people to leave a place, like unemployment and drought. Pull factors are attractions of the destination, like jobs, education and better living conditions.

Q2. What is brain drain?

Brain drain is the loss of highly skilled and educated people from a country when they emigrate to other countries for better opportunities.

Q3. Explain the types of migration.

• By boundary: internal and international.
• By direction (streams): rural–rural, rural–urban, urban–urban, urban–rural.
• By duration: permanent, seasonal, daily (commuting).
• By decision: voluntary and forced (refugees).
• Examples from India and Maharashtra.

Q4. Explain the causes of migration.

• Economic: jobs, wages, industrialisation (most important).
• Social: marriage, family, education.
• Physical: drought, floods, earthquakes, climate.
• Political: war, partition (1947), conflicts.
• Demographic: population pressure on land.

Q5. Discuss the consequences of migration.

• Economic: remittances to source; labour supply to cities.
• Demographic: change in age and sex structure (more males in cities).
• Social: mixing of cultures; sometimes conflicts.
• Environmental: slums, overcrowding, pressure on water and transport in cities.
• Source area: loss of young workers, ageing villages.

Exam tip

Learn Ravenstein's laws as a numbered list and Lee's push–pull model with a diagram (origin, obstacles, destination). Indian examples carry extra weight.

Quick summary

A settlement is a place where people live and carry out their activities. Settlements are broadly rural or urban. Rural settlements depend mainly on primary activities like agriculture, while urban settlements depend on secondary and tertiary activities. Settlements have different types and patterns depending on relief, water, soil, security and transport. Cities are classified by function and size, and urbanisation brings both benefits and problems.

Key points

• Rural settlements (ग्रामीण वस्ती): small, people mainly in farming, fishing, forestry; low density; close social ties.
• Urban settlements: large, people mainly in non-agricultural work; high density; many services.
• In India (Census), an urban area is a statutory town (with a municipality, corporation, cantonment etc.) or a census town with population at least 5,000, density at least 400 per km², and at least 75% of male main workers in non-agricultural work.
• Factors in site selection: water supply, flat fertile land, safety from floods, defence, building materials, transport routes.
• Types of rural settlements: compact (clustered), semi-compact, hamleted and dispersed (isolated).
• Patterns of rural settlements: linear, rectangular, circular, star-like, T-shaped, cross-shaped, double village.
• Compact villages are common in fertile plains such as the Ganga plains and much of the Deccan; dispersed settlements are found in hilly and forested areas.
• Urban areas are classified by function: administrative, industrial, commercial, transport, mining, educational, religious, tourist towns.
• Urbanisation is the increase in the share of population living in urban areas.

Important terms

• Site – the actual land on which a settlement is built.
• Situation – the location of a settlement in relation to surrounding areas.
• Conurbation – a large urban region formed by merging of cities and towns (term by Patrick Geddes).
• Megalopolis – a very large urban region of many cities (term popularised by Jean Gottmann for the north-eastern USA).
• Million city – a city with a population of 10 lakh or more.
• Slum – an overcrowded, poorly built residential area lacking basic services.
• Rural–urban fringe – the zone where rural and urban land uses mix.

Key facts

• Models of urban structure: Concentric zone (E.W. Burgess), Sector (Homer Hoyt), Multiple nuclei (Harris and Ullman).

5 important questions

Q1. What is a conurbation?

A conurbation is a large continuous urban area formed when several towns and cities grow and merge with each other, e.g. the Mumbai metropolitan region.

Q2. Differentiate between site and situation.

Site is the physical land on which a settlement stands. Situation is its location relative to surrounding features like rivers, routes and other towns.

Q3. Explain the factors affecting the location of rural settlements.

• Water supply: villages near rivers, wells, tanks.
• Land: flat, fertile land for farming.
• Relief: higher ground safe from floods.
• Building materials: wood, stone, mud.
• Defence and security: hilltops in the past.
• Transport and planned settlement schemes.

Q4. Describe the types and patterns of rural settlements.

• Compact: houses close together; plains.
• Semi-compact and hamleted: partly separated units (padas, wadis).
• Dispersed: isolated huts; hills, forests.
• Patterns: linear (along road/river), rectangular, circular, star-like, T-shaped.
• Sketches of patterns.

Q5. Explain the problems of urbanisation in India.

• Overcrowding and housing shortage; growth of slums (e.g. Dharavi, Mumbai).
• Traffic congestion and pollution.
• Shortage of water, drainage and waste management.
• Unemployment and crime.
• Pressure on health and education services.
• Solutions: planned cities, public transport, smart city schemes.

Exam tip

Draw small sketches of settlement patterns — they are quick marks. Use Maharashtra examples for town functions.

Quick summary

Urbanisation is the increase in the share of a country's population living in towns and cities. India's urban population has grown from about 11% in 1901 to about 31% in 2011. Towns can also be classified by their main function – administrative, industrial, commercial, religious and so on – which helps in understanding their growth and planning.

Key points

• Urbanisation (नागरीकरण) = urban population ÷ total population × 100.
• Census of India definition of urban: (a) statutory towns with a municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified area; (b) census towns with population at least 5,000, density at least 400 per sq km and at least 75% of male main workers in non-agricultural work.
• India's level of urbanisation: about 10.8% (1901), 17.3% (1951), 31.2% (2011). Maharashtra (45.2%) is one of the most urbanised large states.
• In 2011 India had 53 million-plus urban agglomerations. The largest were Greater Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.
• Causes of urbanisation: industrialisation, jobs in services, rural–urban migration, education and health facilities, transport and government policy.
• Functional classification groups towns by their dominant economic activity. Important schemes: C. D. Harris (1943) for American cities, H. J. Nelson (1955) using statistics, and Asok Mitra for Indian towns (Census 1961).
• Problems of Indian cities: slums (Dharavi in Mumbai), housing shortage, traffic congestion, air and water pollution, waste disposal, water shortage, crime.
• Government programmes: Smart Cities Mission and AMRUT (both 2015), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban.

Important terms

• Urban agglomeration – a continuous urban spread of a town and its adjoining outgrowths.
• Million city – a city or agglomeration with 10 lakh or more people.
• Metropolis / megacity – a very large city; megacity usually means 10 million or more.
• Conurbation – several cities that grow and merge, e.g. Mumbai–Thane–Kalyan.
• Urban sprawl – unplanned spreading of a city into surrounding rural land.
• Census town – a place that is urban by census criteria but has no urban local body.

Key facts

5 important questions

Q1. What is a census town?

A place that has no municipal body but has at least 5,000 people, a density of at least 400 per sq km and at least 75% of male main workers in non-agricultural jobs.

Q2. Name two religious and two industrial towns of India.

Religious: Pandharpur, Varanasi. Industrial: Jamshedpur, Bhilai.

Q3. Explain the trends and causes of urbanisation in India.

• Meaning and census definition.
• Trend from 1901 to 2011 with figures; rise of million cities.
• Causes: push and pull factors, industry, services, transport.
• State differences (Goa, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra high; Himachal, Bihar low).

Q4. Describe the functional classification of towns with examples.

• Need for classification.
• Harris, Nelson and Mitra's methods (brief).
• Classes of towns with Indian examples (table).
• Multi-functional nature of big cities.

Q5. Discuss the problems of urbanisation in India and suggest remedies.

• Slums and housing, transport, pollution, water, waste, health and crime.
• Example: Mumbai or Nagpur.
• Remedies: planned growth, affordable housing, public transport (metro), waste management, Smart Cities and AMRUT, balanced regional development.

Exam tip

Learn the three census-town criteria (5,000 – 400 – 75%) exactly; they are asked very often as short questions.

Quick summary

Physiography means the relief or physical features of a land. India has a great variety of landforms. On the basis of origin and structure, India is divided into six physiographic divisions: the Northern Mountains (Himalayas), the Northern Plains, the Peninsular Plateau, the Indian Desert, the Coastal Plains and the Islands.

Key points

• India lies entirely in the Northern Hemisphere, between about 8°4′ N and 37°6′ N latitude and 68°7′ E and 97°25′ E longitude. The Tropic of Cancer passes through the middle of the country.
• The Himalayas are young fold mountains formed by the collision of the Indian plate with the Eurasian plate.
• The Himalayas have three parallel ranges: Himadri (Greater Himalayas), Himachal (Lesser Himalayas) and Shiwaliks (Outer Himalayas).
• K2 (Godwin Austen) in the Karakoram is the highest peak in the territory claimed by India; Kangchenjunga (on the Sikkim–Nepal border) is the highest peak of the Indian Himalayas. Mount Everest (in Nepal) is the highest in the world.
• The Northern Plains are formed by alluvium deposited by the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra and their tributaries. They are very fertile and densely populated.
• The Peninsular Plateau is the oldest landmass of India, made of old crystalline, igneous and metamorphic rocks. It is part of old Gondwanaland.
• The plateau has two parts: the Central Highlands (north of the Narmada) and the Deccan Plateau (south of the Narmada).
• The Deccan Plateau is bounded by the Western Ghats (Sahyadri) and the Eastern Ghats. Its north-western part, including most of Maharashtra, is made of basalt lava flows (Deccan Traps).
• The Thar (Great Indian) Desert lies west of the Aravallis.
• The Western Coastal Plain is narrow (Konkan, Kanara, Malabar), while the Eastern Coastal Plain is wider, with deltas of the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri.
• Islands: Andaman and Nicobar in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep (coral islands) in the Arabian Sea.

Important terms

• Bhabar – narrow belt of pebbles at the foot of the Shiwaliks where streams disappear.
• Terai – marshy, forested belt south of Bhabar where streams re-emerge.
• Bhangar – old alluvium, above flood level, contains kankar.
• Khadar – new alluvium, renewed by floods every year, very fertile.
• Duns – longitudinal valleys between the Lesser Himalayas and Shiwaliks, e.g. Dehradun.
• Doab – land between two rivers.

Key facts

• Highest peak of the Western Ghats in Maharashtra: Kalsubai. Highest peak of the Peninsula: Anamudi (Kerala).
• Satpuda (Satpura) range forms the northern hill boundary of Maharashtra.

5 important questions

Q1. Distinguish between Bhangar and Khadar.

Bhangar is old alluvium lying above flood level, less fertile, with kankar nodules. Khadar is new alluvium in floodplains, renewed every year and more fertile.

Q2. Name the three ranges of the Himalayas.

Himadri (Greater Himalayas), Himachal (Lesser Himalayas) and Shiwaliks (Outer Himalayas).

Q3. Describe the Himalayas.

• Young fold mountains; formed by plate collision.
• Three parallel ranges and their features.
• Regional divisions: Punjab, Kumaon, Nepal, Assam Himalayas.
• Purvanchal hills in the north-east.
• Importance: climate barrier, rivers, forests, tourism, hydro-power.

Q4. Describe the Peninsular Plateau.

• Oldest landmass; Gondwana origin.
• Central Highlands: Malwa plateau, Bundelkhand, Chotanagpur.
• Deccan Plateau: triangular, slopes east; Sahyadri and Eastern Ghats.
• Deccan Traps of basalt in Maharashtra.
• Rich in minerals; black soil.

Q5. Compare the Western and Eastern Coastal Plains.

• Western: narrow, between Western Ghats and Arabian Sea; Konkan, Kanara, Malabar.
• Rivers form estuaries; good natural harbours (Mumbai).
• Eastern: wider, between Eastern Ghats and Bay of Bengal.
• Rivers form large deltas (Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Mahanadi).
• Eastern coast more affected by cyclones.

Exam tip

Draw an outline map of India with the six divisions shaded. Use Maharashtra examples: Sahyadri, Kalsubai, Konkan coast, Deccan Traps, Satpuda.