INDIAN GEOGRAPHY - LOCATION

Coastal States of India

There are nine coastal states in India. They are:

On the East- West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
On the West- Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

McMohan Line

To the east of Bhutan, the crest of Great Himalayas acts as the dividing line between India and Chinese realms. The dividing line between India and China in the North-east is called McMohan Line.

Name ‘India’

The name “India” is derived from the great river ‘Sindhu’ or ‘Indus’ located in the North-west part of the country.The people living along this river were recognized as “Indoi” by the Greeks. Later this region was referred to as “India” by the Britishers. India was also known as “Bharath” as it was ruled by the ruler ‘Bharatha’ in the ancient times.

 
Geometrical Location of India

India lies between 8°4’ and 37°6’ North latitudes, and 68°7’ to 98°25’ East longitudes. India has thirty degrees (30°) of latitudinal extent from North to south and the same amount of longitudinal extent from East to West. India occupies seventh place in area among the countries of the world.

Countries that Frontiers with India

The countries sharing the frontiers with India are Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. Radcliff line is the demarcating line between India and Pakistan. Mac Mohan line is the demarcating line between India and China. India’s neighbour across ocean waters is Sri Lanka. Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait separate India and Sri Lanka.

 

Extreme Places on Frontiers

The extreme places of our country are as follows:

1.     North: The snow capped Himalayas.

2.     South: The hot and sunny Kanyakumari

3.     West: The salty Marshes or the Rann of Kutch.

4.     East: Virgin forests and untrampled hills.

States that border with Pakistan, China, Bangladesh and Myanmar
The states which have common Frontiers with Pakistan, China, Bangladesh and Myanmar are as follows:

 

1.     Pakistan: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

2.     China: Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

3.     Bangladesh: West Bengal, Asom, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.

4.     Myanmar: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.

Sub-continent
Though India is a country it is often called a sub continent. Definition of Sub-continent: A country with great geographical extent, huge population, diversified geographical and socio- cultural features is called a sub continent.
 
Reasons for calling India as a Sub-continent: 

• Large Area: India has a large area of 3.28 million square kilometers, taking seventh place in the world.
• Large Population: India has a population of 102.7 crore according to 2001 census, attaining second place in the world.  
• Diversified Physiographic Divisions: India has diversified physiographic conditions with a variety of land forms like the Himalayas, the Indo-Gangetic plains, plateaus and coastal plains etc.
•  Climate: India has a distinctive monsoon type of climate. Extremes in climatic conditions like temperature, rainfall, sunshine, humidity etc can be observed. 
• Soils: A variety of soils like Alluvial, Black, Red, Laterite etc are found.
•  Religions: The religions like Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism are being practiced.
•  Land of Diversity: It is a land of diversity having varied modes of living, culture etc. There is Aryan culture in North India and Dravidian culture in South India. 
•  Tropic of Cancer: the tropic of cancer runs half-way through the country. The southern half of the country lies within the tropics and experiences tropical climate. 

Thus, India can be called a subcontinent. Unity in diversity is the most distinctive feature of India. Island Groups of India and their Origin and Distribution. India has a number of Islands. In all India has 247 Islands of which 223 lie in the Bay of Bengal and the rest in Arabian Sea.

Indian Islands

The Indian Islands may be divided into four broad groups namely:

1.     The Andaman Group

2.     The Nicobar Group

3.     The Lakshadweep Group

4.     Other Islands

The Andaman Group: The Andaman Islands are located between 10° to 14° N latitudes. These Islands are volcanic origin. There are as many as 200 Islands in the Andaman group. They cover a total area of 6408 sq. km. 

The Nicobar group: There are about 19 Islands in the Nicobar group. They are located between 6°30’ to 9°30’ N latitudes. They cover an area of 1841 sq. km. The Greater Nicobar is the largest island in this group. It covers an area of 862 sq. km. The important Islands in this group are little Nicobar, Katchall, Trinkat etc. 

The Lakshadweep group: These Islands lie in the Arabian Sea. They are situated between 8°N to 11°N latitudes. They cover an area of 32 sq.km. They are of coral origin. 

Other Islands: In addition to the above, there are also other Islands like the Minicoy and the Pamban Islands. The Minicoy Island lies in the Eight degree channel with an area of 4.5 sq.km. The Pamban Island located between India and Sri Lanka has a rocky surface.

IMPORTANT CASES OF SUPREME COURT

SUPREME COURT of INDIA - IMPORTANT CASES

AK Gopalan Case, 1950

The case corresponds to the charges of violation of fundamental right to freedom under the Preventive Detention Act. The court was approached over the validity of the act.

The Supreme Court held that the constitutional validity of a law cannot be verified by the Judiciary and the Judiciary has only the capacity to verify whether the procedure according to the law has been followed.

Champakam Dorirajan Case, 1951

The case challenged the reservations given to backward classes in educational institutions in Tamil Nadu.

The Supreme Court overruled the caste based reservation as unconstitutional citing right against discrimination as given in Article-15.

Shankri Prasad Case, 1952

The first constitution Amendment Act, providing for reservations, was challenged that it violoated Fundamental Rights. The court held that Parliament has power to amend the Constitution.

Berubari Case, 1960

While ceding a part of Indian Territory to an alien state the court in an advisory opinion held that such process cannot take place unless a constitution amendment to that effect is made.

Keshav Singh Case, 1964

One journalist Keshav Singh was held for contempt of legislature for making scathing criticism and often denigrating on a law passed. He was sentenced to jail.

The Supreme Court held that the contempt power of Parliament to issue warrants against individuals must comply with the due process requirements under Article-21.

Sajjan Singh Case 1965

The case related to the validity of the 17^th Constitutional Amendment Act which provided for land acquisition contrary to right to property. The Supreme Court upheld that Fundamental rights can be amended within the purview of Article 368.

Golakhnath Case 1967

The Supreme Court reversing the ruling made in Shankari Prasad and Sajjan Singh Case held that constitutional  amendment cannot be extended to infringement of fundamental rights.

Keshavananda Bharathi Case 1973

For the first time the Supreme Court propounced the Basic Structure Doctrine and held that certain basic features of the Constitution cannot be amended while others can be done so without having a sweeping change in the Constitution.

Menaka Gandhi Case 1978

The Supreme Court overruled the AK Gopalan Case and mooted the due process of law doctrine according to which the procedure according to the law as well as the reasonableness and validity of the law can be questioned by the Judiciary.

Minerva Mills Case 1980

The Supreme Court held that Fundamental rights and Directive Principles of State Policy are complementary to each other and if any law enacted to implement the Directive Principle not totally contravening the Fundaments rights is valid.

Waman Rao Case 1981

The Supreme Court upheld the basic structure doctrine and declared that Act 31(b) was well within the purview of amending powerr of the Parliament.

Neeraja Choudhary Case 1984

The Supreme Court held that bonded labour demeans the right to Life under Article 21 and Govt must enact the suitable policies to immediately eliminate bonded labour practice.

Shah Bano Case 1985

The Supreme Court held the muslim women also have right to get maintenance from their husbands when they are divorced although such practice is not permitted under muslim traditional laws.

 St.Stephen’s College Case 1992

The Supreme Court held at least 50% of seats in minority institution should be reserved for no-minority students.

Unnikrishnan Case 1993

The Supreme court held that right to education also constitutes a Fundamental rights as part of right to life under Article 21.

Indira Sawhney Case 1993

The Supreme Court upheld 27% reservation made for OBCs in public employment but subjected to a cap of 50% of reservation.

The Supreme Court also mooted the Creamy Layer concept to identify the well off groups within the backward classes.

Salara Mudgal Case 1995

The Supreme Court ruled that a man married under Hindu religious law cannot convert himself to Islam for the purpose of marrying another woman.

Bommai Case 1995

The Supreme Court held that federalism is a part of basic structure and state governments cannot be arbitrary dismissed by a Governor and any such test of confidence of the Executive must be done on the floor the Assembly.

Chandra Kumar Case 1997

The Supreme Court held that Judicial Review is a part of Basic Structure Doctrine.

TMA Pai Case 2002

The Supreme Court held that the right to administer minority educational institution is not absolute and the State can regulate the institutional affairs to educational standards.

Inamdhar Case 2005

The Supreme Court declared that the reservations for Scs/STs in private educational institutional null and void. To overcome this judgement the Government passed 93^rd Constitutional Amendement in private institution.

Bihar Assembly Dissolution Case 2006

The Supreme court held that the Governor of a State does not enjoy absolute immiunity from judicial review and the courts can invalidate ay malio fide actions of the Governor.

Ashok Kumar Thakur Case 2007

The Supreme court upheld that 93^rd Constitutional Amendment act providing for reservations for SC/STs/OBCs in Central Universities as well as Private institutions but subject to a ceiling of 50% of total seats for reservation.

Prakash Singh Case

The Supreme Court gave model blueprint for police reforms.

Visakha Case:

Supreme Court gave direction to curb exploitation of women to workplace.