Geography

(a) India has a distinct physical and cultural identity :
Not with standing wide diversity, the Indian society has fostered unity and homogeneity. To a large extent this unity and homogeneity has been promoted by the geographical features of the country.
(i) On its north, India is bounded by lofty mountains. These mountains run east-west for thousands of kilometers. These provide a natural wall against all possible intrusions.
(ii) On the south, India is surrounded by the seas and the ocean from three sides. It means, the land is protected from outside intrusions.
These geographical features have ensured that :
(i) People from outside could come only through well-defined routes, whether by sea or through passes in mountains.
(ii) People who came from outside brought with them their cultural elements. These elements came to be assimilated in Indian culture.
(iii) Indian society adapted itself to the new norms.
(iv) Thus, by adopting new norms and values and accepting them as their own, unity and homogeneity came to be promoted.
(b) "The north-south extent of India is larger than its east-west extent even though the country's latitudinal and longitudinal extent in degrees is of the same value."
The north-south distance between two successive latitudes remains the same or constant; and it is 3214 km in this case. But the east-west distance between the two successive longitudes goes on progressively-decreasing from the equator to the poles. This is because all the meridians merge into a single point at the poles. In India the maximum east-west extent therefore is much less than 3200 km. It is 2933 km only.