Geography

Basic Facts about Universe

 The universe is not infinitely old. According to modern astronomical measurements, the universe
began to exist about 13.7 billion years ago.
 It has not yet been scientifically determined exactly how large the universe is. It may indeed be
infinitely large, but we have no way yet to confirm this possibility scientifically.
 The farthest limit to our viewing is called the cosmic horizon, which is about 13.7 billion light-
years away in every direction. Everything within that cosmic horizon is called the observable
universe.
 The structure of the universe—as opposed to the structure of matter in the universe— is
determined by the shape of space. The shape of space is, surprisingly, curved.
 On a very large scale—millions or even billions of light-years across—space has a three-
dimensional “saddle shape” that mathematicians refer to as “negative curvature”.

Big Bang Theory

 According to the Big Bang theory, the universe began to exist as a single point of space-time, and
it has been expanding ever since. As that expansion has occurred, the conditions in the universe
have changed—from small to big, from hot to cold, and from young to old—resulting in the
universe we observe today.
 Big Bang theory developed as independent works on Einstein’s General Theory of relativity by
Willem de Sitter (1917), Alexander Friedmann (1922), Georges Lemaître (1927), Robertson, and
Walker.
 In 1929, Edwin Hubble analyzed and concluded that the galaxies are drifting apart. This became
one of the cornerstone of the Big Bang theory.
 Big Bang theory remains a theory as of now. The key evidences to Big Bang theory include
expansion of universe and the cosmic microwave background radiation.

Galaxies
 A galaxy is a vast collection of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter that forms a cohesive
gravitational unit in the universe.
 In a way, galaxies are to the universe what cells are to the human body: each galaxy has its own
identity, and it ages and evolves on its own, but it also interacts with other galaxies in the
cosmos. Within the observable universe alone, there exist an estimated 50 to 100 billion
galaxies.

Types of Galaxies
 Galaxies are of various kinds mainly divided into four types viz. elliptical, normal spirals, barred
spirals and irregular.
 Further, an irregular galaxy is a galaxy that does not fit well into the standard categories of
elliptical, spiral, or barred spiral galaxies. Two examples of irregular galaxies are the Large
Magellanic Cloud and Small Magellanic Cloud, which are visible from Earth’s southern
hemisphere.

Size of Galaxies
 Galaxies range greatly in size and mass. The smallest galaxies contain perhaps 10 to 100 million
stars, whereas the largest galaxies contain trillions of stars.
 There are many more small galaxies than large ones. Our galaxy Milky Way has at least 100
billion stars and is a large galaxy. Its disk spreads around 100,000 light-years across.
 Dwarf galaxies have the least mass and fewest stars. The Large Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy that
orbits the Milky Way, is considered a large dwarf galaxy; it contains, at most, about one billion
stars.

Group of Galaxies
 Group of Galaxies contains two or more galaxies of bigger size and a dozen or more smaller
galaxies.
 The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies are the two large galaxies in the Local Group.
 There are a few dozen smaller galaxies in the group, including the Magellanic Clouds, the dwarf
elliptical Messier 32, the small spiral galaxy Messier 33, and many small dwarf galaxies. The
Local Group of galaxies is few million light-years across.

Supercluster of Galaxies
 Superclusters are the largest collections of massive structures.
 There are usually many clusters of galaxies in a supercluster, or a single very large cluster at its
center, along with many other groups and collections of galaxies that are collected in the
supercluster’s central gravitational field.
 Superclusters contain many thousands—and sometimes millions—of galaxies. The Milky Way
galaxy is located on the outskirts of the Virgo supercluster.

Milky Way Galaxy

 The Milky Way is the galaxy we live in. It contains the Sun and 100 to 500 billion other stars.
It is a barred spiral galaxy as grouped in the Hubble tuning fork diagram. It is located at the
outskirts of the Virgo supercluster.
 The centre of the Virgo cluster is about 50 million light-years away from Milky Way.

Basic Features of Milkyway

 Earth orbits the Sun, which is situated in the Orion Arm, one of the Milky Way’s spiral arms.
Earth and the Sun are about 25,000 light-years away from the galactic center.
 The Stellar disk of the Milky Way is about 100,000 light-years across and 1,000 light-years thick.
 Based on current measurements, at least 90 percent of the mass in the Milky Way’s gravitational
field is made up of dark matter, so the luminous stars, gas, and dust of the galaxy are embedded at
the center of a huge, roughly spherical dark matter halo more than a million light-years across.
 Milky way galaxy is one of the 54 galaxies in the “Local Group” of galaxies. The Local group
itself is a part of a larger group calledVirgo Supercluster. Virgo super cluster itself is a part of
Laniakea Supercluster.
 Within the local group, three largest galaxies viz. Milky Way, Andromeda and Triangulum have
their own system of satellite small galaxies and clouds. For example, the satellite galaxies of
Milky way include Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy, Large Magellanic Cloud, Small Magellanic Cloud,
Canis Major Dwarf, Ursa Minor Dwarf etc.
 Some of those galaxies, such as the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, are almost in physical contact with
the Milky Way’s outskirts.
 The Andromeda Galaxy (aka. M31) is the closest large galaxy to the Milky Way. It can be seen
from earth with naked eyes. This galaxy is considered to be slightly larger than Milky way and
largest galaxy of the local group.
 Both milkyway and Andromeda are spiral galaxies, both appear to be of same age and both have
similar objects including a massive blackhole at the center. However, Andromeda is known to
have a crowded double nucleus and its spiral arms are getting distorted by gravitational
interactions with two satellite galaxies viz. M32 and M110.
Nebula
 A nebula is a cloud or collection of interstellar medium in one location in space.
 Nebulae are produced in different ways. For instance, they can be gathered together by gravity,
dispersed by stars, or lit up by a powerful radiation source nearby.
 Most of these beautiful nebulae contain only a few thousand atoms or molecules per cubic
centimetre. This is many times sparser than even the best laboratory vacuum chambers on
Earth can achieve.
 When the free electrons recombine with the free nuclei to become atoms again, the gas gives
off light of specific colors. What colors they emit depends on the temperature, density, and
composition of the gas. For example the Orion Nebula glows mostly green and red.

Stars
 A star is a mass of incandescent gas that produces energy at its core by nuclear fusion. Most of
the visible light in the universe is produced by stars.
 The Sun is also a star. Stars shine because nuclear fusion occurs in their core.
 Nuclear fusion changes lighter elements into heavier ones and can release tremendous amounts
of energy in the process.
 Stars are mostly comprised plasma {gas that is electrically charged}. A person with good
eyesight can see about 2,000 stars on any given night with naked eye.

Basic Facts About Stars

 A group of stars that make some recognizable shape or pattern is called Asterism. Two famous
asterism include the Big Dipper {used to locate north star} and Summer Triangle {three of the
most prominent stars in the Northern Hemisphere’s summer night sky}.
 Aconstellation is much more complicated asterism, containing more stars or larger areas of the
sky.
 Constellations are mostly named after mythological gods, legendary heroes, creatures, or
structures. The constellations encompass the entire celestial sphere and provide a visual reference
frame.
 All stars have layers like a core, radiative zone, convective zone, photosphere, chromosphere,
and corona, but in different ratios of thickness depending on the star’s temperature, mass, and
age.
 The Sun is the closest star to Earth. It is average 93 million miles / 149.6 million km away from
Earth.
 The closest star system to Earth is Alpha Centauri.
 Nearest start in this system isProxima Centauri.
 Proxima centaury is although closest star to Earth after sun, yet it is very faint. The brightest star
as seen from Earth is Sirius or Dog Star, which is in a different constellation called Canis Major.
It is 8.58 light years away from Earth.

Stellar Evolution
 Stellar evolution is a complicated process. All stars go through the continuous change and their
life cycle is made of immature stage, mature stage and final changes towards end of their lives.
 Stars pass through a definite evolutionary sequence, which can be broadly divided into three parts
viz. Pre-main sequence, Main sequence and Post-main sequence stages.
 A star which is currently in its main mature period of its life cycle is called Main Sequence Star.
 Main sequence stars convert hydrogen into helium and are in an equilibrium state. The stars
which are not yet in the main sequence are called pre-main sequence or infant stars. The stars
which have already lived their main sequence life are called post-main sequence or elderly stars.

Pre-main sequence phases

Protostar
 Birth of any star begins with the gravitational collapse of a giant molecular cloud (nebula) spread
across hundreds of light years.
 When it collapses, the molecular cloud breaks into smaller fragments releasing gravitational
potential energy as heat. Its temperature and pressure increases and one of the fragments
condenses into a rotating sphere of superhot gas to be known as Protostar.
 A Protostar is a highly condensed cloud of gases, mainly hydrogen and helium. It continues to
grow by accretion of gas and dust from the molecular cloud. However, its further development
depends upon its mass.
 If it is of low mass, it would turn into a brown dwarf, while if it is high mass, it would further
evolve into main sequence star.
Brown Dwarf
 A brown dwarf develops from a low mass protostar in which absence of required temperature and
pressure leads to no nuclear fusion chain reaction.
 Brown dwarfs have been identified lately only after development of infrared telecopy. Now it is
assumed that there are so many brown dwarfs out there that they can outnumber all other different
types of stars in galaxy. However, still, red dwarfs are considered to be the largest number of stars
in galaxy.

Main sequence star

 If the protostar is massive and its core temperature is worth starting a proton-proton chain
reaction; it would onset its journey to become a main sequence star. Its mass decides which path
it would further take. If it is of low mass, it would turn into a red dwarf; if it is intermediate mass,
it would turn into a red giant. Both of them would burn for 6-12 trillion years and would end their
life as post mains sequence white dwarf. However, if it is a higher mass, it would turn into a red
giant or blue giant.
 Red Dwarf- red dwarf as discussed above, is a low-mass, main-sequence star, which is hot and
massive than brown dwarfs and is capable to sustain proton-proton chain reaction; but is cool and
less massive then other stars such as red giants, blue giants etc. The temperature of their
photosphere is around 3,000°K. They are small and faint than other stars and have no radiative
zone between their core and the convection zone. It is thought that red dwarf stars are in largest
population in galaxy among all kinds of stars.
 Red Giant-A red giant is also a main sequence star but has ahigher mass than red dwarfs. The
red dwarfs convert hydrogen into helium via nuclear fusion and over its life, the outward pressure
of fusion is balanced against the inward pressure of gravity. However, once the hydrogen is
finished off, the fusion would stop and gravity would take lead. This would upset the overall
equilibrium of the star and to re-adjust it. During this readjustment, the star’s outer region
expands while the core shrinks. Due to the large expansion of the outer shell, the star becomes
very big, and its colour changes- to red. However, its core would compress and get tighter and
smaller. This contraction increases the temperature at core and reaches at levels where Helium
fuses with Carbon and turns into a white dwarf in post main sequence life.
 We note that since energy in red giants is spread across large area, they have surface temperature
cooler (around 2200-3200°C) and thus are little over half as hot as Sun. They shine in the red part
of the spectrum and thus are called red giants.
 Yellow Dwarf- Yellow or G-dwarf star has a surface temperature of 5300-6000K and converts
hydrogen to helium in its core by nuclear fusion.
 Sun, Alpha Centauri etc. are some of the yellow dwarfs. The term yellow is a misnomer because
yellow is white {for example Sun would appear white if there was no atmosphere}.

Sun’s future as a red giant

 Scientists believe that sun, currently a yellow / white dwarf, would deplete its hydrogen in next 5-
6 billion years and once that happens – it will start to expand. At its largest size, its photosphere
would engulf Venus, mercury and possibly earth.
 However, this is only a hypothesis. It is argued that when sun loses its hydrogen, it would cause
earth and other planets to farther away due to lesser gravity.

Post-main sequence stars

 A giant star phase ends in white dwarfs, nova or super nova depending upon mass and some other
factors.
 S. Chandrasekhar had proposed that only stars that have a certain mass limit would end their life
as white dwarfs.
 He proposed that a star with mass above about 1.4 solar masses would collapse beyond the white
dwarf stage and turn into something far denser and more compact.
 This upper mass limit is today called the Chandrasekhar limit.

Nova and Supernova

 These are stars whose brightness increase suddenly by ten to twenty times or more due to a partial
or outright explosion in the star. When brightness increases to 20 magnitudes or more, it is called
a Supernova.
 If the mass of the star is above Chandrasekhar limit, a tremendous explosion occurs at its core
giving rise to a supernova. When that happens, it takes only a fraction of a second for the stellar
core to collapse into a dense ball about ten miles across. The temperature and pressure becomes
almost immeasurably hot and high.
 There are two general types of supernovae.
 A Type I supernova is the result of an existing, older white dwarf that gains enough mass to
exceed the Chandrasekhar limit, causing a runaway collapse.
 A Type II supernova is produced by a single highmass star whose gravity is so strong that its own
weight causes the stellar core to reach a mass beyond the Chandrasekhar limit.

Neutron Star
 A supernovae explosion in a star bigger than Sun but not more than twice as big, may leave
behind an extremely dense, residual ‘core of that star known as Neutron Star.
 This serves as matter’s last line of defense against gravity. In order to stay internally supported as
an object and not be crushed into a singularity, the neutrons in the object press up against one
another in a state known as neutron degeneracy.
 This state, which resembles the conditions within an atomic nucleus, is the densest known form of
matter in the universe.
 A neutron star is about as dense as a neutron itself. In other words, it has the density of an object
more massive than the Sun, yet it is only about ten miles across. Its density is such that a single
teaspoon of neutron star material would weigh about five billion tons!
Pulsar
 When a neutron star spins incredibly fast, it forms magnetic field billions of times stronger than
Earth’s field. This magnetic field interacts with nearby electrically charged matter and can result
in a great deal of energy being radiated into space, a process called synchrotron radiation.
 The slightest unevenness or surface feature on the neutron star can cause a significant “blip” or
“pulse” in the radiation being emitted.
 Each time the neutron star spins around once, a pulse of radiation comes out. Such an object is
called a pulsar.
 As of now, more than 1,000 pulsars have been found throughout our galaxy. Perhaps the best
known one is the Crab Nebula pulsar. It is at the center of the Crab Nebula and is a remnant from
a supernova that was first observed in 1054 AD.
Black Holes
 A black hole is an object with such strong gravitational field that even light cannot escape from its
surface. Black holes are formed from neutron stars after the Supernova explosions of big stars.

Sun & Solar System

 Sun is a star with a diameter of 109 times of earth and a mass of 3.30 lakh times of Earth,
roughly accounting for 99.9% of total mass of the Solar system.
 Sun is mostly made of Hydrogen and Helium and is a main sequence yellow dwarf.
 It was formed some 4.6 billion years ago and is expected to deplete its hydrogen in next 5-6
billion years to turn into a red giant at the end of its life.

Structure of Sun
 The Sun has a core at its center; a radiative zone surrounding the core; a convective zone
surrounding the radiative zone; a thin photosphere at its surface; and a chromosphere and corona
that extends beyond the photospheric surface.

Each of these zones are briefly discussed here:

 Core- Solar energy is produced at the core of the sun where temperatures reach 15 million °C by
nuclear fusion. This enormous energy makes the sun shine.
 Radiative Zone- Energy produced in core slowly rises in the radiative zone outside the core. It
takes around one million years for energy to travel out of the radiative zone.
 Convection Zone- Convection zone is just beneath the Sun’s surface.
 Photosphere- Photosphere is the visible surface of Sun where temperature is around 5500°C.
This part gives us light, which takes around 8 minutes to reach from sun to earth.
 Chromosphere- Chromosphere is a thin layer of gas above the photosphere. Along with Corona,
it makes the atmosphere of Sun.
 Corona- Corona is a thick layer of gas above chromosphere. It extends millions of kilometers
around the sun. Corona and Chromosphere are visible during a total solar eclipse when the sun’s
surface is completely hidden behind moon.Corona is much dimmer than the rest of the Sun, and
can only be seen when the Sun is blocked from view—either by a scientific instrument called a
coronagraph, or naturally during a solar eclipse.

Composition of Sun
 The Sun’s mass is composed of 71 percent hydrogen, 27 percent helium, and 2 percent other
elements.
 In terms of the number of atoms in the Sun, 91 percent are hydrogen atoms, 9 percent are helium
atoms, and less than 0.1 percent are atoms of other elements. Most of the stars in the universe
have a similar chemical composition.
 The Sun has a mass of 1.99 million trillion trillion kilograms. The most massive supergiant stars
have about one hundred times more mass than the Sun. The least massive dwarf stars and brown
dwarfs contain about one-hundredth the mass of the Sun.

Rotation of Sun
 Sun rotates about its axis from west to east. Since the Sun is not a solid object but rather a big ball
of electrically charged gas, it spins at different speeds depending on the latitude.
 The Sun spins once around its axis near its equator in about 25 days, and in about 35 days near its
north and south poles. This kind of spinning, in which different parts move at different speeds, is
called differential rotation.

Implications of Sun’s Spin

 Magnetic fields in the Sun, created by strong electric currents, are produced because of the
Sun’s spin.
 Since Sun has differential rotation, and its interior roils with tremendous heat and energy, the
magnetic field lines in the Sun get bent, twisted, knotted, and even broken; sunspots,
prominences, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections are the result.

Formation of Solar System

 The solar system is thought to have developed by the so called nebular hypothesis {given by
Simon de Laplace}.
 About 4.6 billion years ago, the Sun formed from a large cloud of gas and dust that collapsed
upon itself because of gravitational instability. When the Sun was born, not the entire nebula of
gas and dust that had been gravitationally gathered was incorporated into the Sun itself.
 Some of it settled into a disk of orbiting material. As this material orbited in a protoplanetary disk,
numerous collisions between the tiny grains led to some of the grains sticking together, making
larger bodies. After millions of years, the largest bodies—planetesimals—had sufficient mass
(and hence gravity) to start attracting other objects in the disk to them.
 Growing larger and larger, these planetesimals became protoplanets; the largest protoplanets grew
larger still, until at last the planets were formed.
 Although the solar wind has removed much of the remaining, unprocessed gas and dust,
numerous smaller objects (and some of the gas and dust, as well) still remain today, providing the
 rich variety of objects and phenomena in a solar system more than four and a half billion years
later.
 Solar system is generally divided into five major zones:
a) the inner (or terrestrial) planet zone,
b) the asteroid belt,
c) the outer (or gas giant) planet zone,
d) the Kuiper Belt, and the
e) Oort Cloud.

Planets
 A planet is an object which is not a star {i.e. no nuclear fusion takes place in it} and that orbits
around a star and is mostly round because its own gravitational pull has shaped it into more or less
a sphere.
 A planet’s primary orbit must be around the Sun. That means objects like the Moon, Titan, or
Ganymede, are not planets, even though they are round due to hydrostatic equilibrium, because
their primary orbit is around a planet.
 A planet must have cleared out other, smaller objects in its orbital path, and thus must be by far
the largest object in its orbital neighbourhood. Due to this condition, Pluto is not considered a
planet {but a dwarf planet}, even though it meets the other two criteria; there are thousands of
Plutinos in the orbital path of Pluto, and it crosses the orbit of Neptune, which is a much larger
and more massive object.
 As per the current system, there are eight planets in the solar system—Mercury, Venus, Earth,
Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—and a number of dwarf planets, including Pluto,
Charon, Ceres, Eris etc.

Planetary Rings
 A planetary ring is a system of huge numbers of small bodies—ranging in size from grains of
sand to house-sized boulders—that orbit in a coherent ring-shaped pattern around a planet.
 The most spectacular planetary rings in the solar system orbit around Saturn; they are more than
170,000 miles across, and are less than one mile thick.

Inner Planets/ Terrestrial Planets

 The planets that are collectively thought of as belonging to the inner solar system are Mercury,
Venus, Earth, and Mars.
 These four objects are called the terrestrial planets because they resemble one another
(specifically, Earth) in their structure: a metallic core, surrounded by a rocky mantle and thin
crust.
 There are three moons in the terrestrial zone as well: Earth’s moon, and the two moons of Mars:
Phobos and Deimos.

Outer Planets / Gas Giants

 Gas giant planets are so named because they are much larger than the terrestrial planets and they
have atmospheres so thick that the gas is a dominant part of the planets’ structure. Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are all categorized as gas giants.
 The gas giant zone is the part of the solar system roughly between the orbit of Jupiter and the orbit
of Pluto. It contains the outer (gas giant) planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Each of the
gas giant planets has a host of moons and rings or ringlets.

Important Facts About Planets

Mercury
 At 58 million kilometers distance, Mercury is closest planet to Sun. Due this much proximity,
mercury’s orbit is very much stretched into along elliptical shape.
 Mercury takes 88 Earth days to complete one revolution around sun, however, it takes 59 Earth
days to complete one rotation.
 Mercury’s very thin atmosphere is made primarily of sodium, potassium, helium, and hydrogen.
 On its day side (the side facing the Sun), temperatures reach 430°C ; on its night side, the heat
escapes through the negligible atmosphere, and temperatures plunge to -170°C.
 Mercury is so close to the Sun, the glare of the Sun makes it difficult to observe Mercury from
Earth. Mercury is therefore visible only periodically, when it is just above the horizon, for at most
an hour or so before sunrise and after sunset.
 NASA’s Mercury-orbiting probe, Messenger, has confirmed a vast amount of ice at the north
pole on Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun. Mercury’s north pole is always in shadows. The
South pole is also believed to harbor ice but there is little data to support it.

Venus
 Venus is similar to Earth in many ways and is closer in distance to Earth than any other planet,
and it has a similar size and composition.
 Venus rotates on its polar axis backwards compared to Earth, so a Venus sunrise occurs in the
west and sunset in the east.
 Venus is blanketed by a thick atmosphere nearly 100 times denser than Earth; it is made mostly of
carbon dioxide, along with some nitrogen and trace amounts of water vapor, acids and heavy
metals. No terrestrial life is possible on Venus.
 Venus’s clouds are laced with poisonous sulphur dioxide, and its surface temperature is 500°C.
Interestingly, this is even hotter than Mercury, which is much closer to the Sun.These hostile
conditions are because of a runaway greenhouse effect on Venus.
 Since Venus is closer to the Sun than Earth, it is never up in the sky at midnight. Rather, Venus is
visible in the sky either just after dark or just before sunrise, depending on the season, so it is
called Morning or Evening Star.

Mars
 Mars is known as the red planet because it looks red from Earth. The reddish color comes from
the high concentration of iron oxide compounds—that is, rust—in the rocks of the Martian
surface.
 Martian year is of 687 days and Martian day is 24h 37m.
 Martian atmosphere is very thin—only about 7000th the density of Earth’s atmosphere. The
atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, with tiny fractions of oxygen, nitrogen, and other gases.
 Mars is known for fascinating geologic features on its surface; it is covered with all sorts of
mountains, craters, channels, canyons, highlands, lowlands, and even polar ice caps.
 Martian polar ice caps are made up mostly of frozen carbon dioxide {dry ice.}. Some frozen
water, or just plain ice, may also be embedded within the polar caps. Due to the atmospheric
conditions on the surface of Mars, however, neither the ice nor the dry ice would melt to make
water or liquid carbon dioxide when the temperatures go up; rather, they would sublimate, or
turn directly into gas. Thus, polar ice caps on Mars are not a source of liquid water.
 Moons of Mars are Phobos and Deimos which are irregularly shaped rocky objects. They look
very much like asteroids.

Jupiter
 Jupiter is the largest planet in solar system, twice as massive as all the other planets, moons and
asteroids in solar system put together.
 More than 90 percent of Jupiter’s mass consists of swirling gases, mostly hydrogen and helium;
in this incredibly thick, dense atmosphere,storms of incredible magnitude rage and swirl.
 The largest of these storms is the Great Red Spot, which is often visible from Earth through even
a small telescope.
 A day on Jupiter is only 9 hours 56 minutes which makes it fastest rotating planet / body in solar
system.
 Jupiter is 1,300 times Earth’s volume and 320 times Earth’s mass.
 As of now , there are 67 known moons of Jupiter; may of which are only a few miles across.
However, four of them—Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto—are about the size of Earth’s
Moon or larger.
 Jupiter is the archetypal gas giant planet—so much so that gas giants are often called Jovian
planets.
 Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system, about one-and-a-half times as wide as Earth’s
Moon. It has a very thin atmosphere and its own magnetic field.

Saturn
 Saturn is similar to Jupiter, although about one-third the mass.
 A day on Saturn is only 10 hours and 39 minutes long; it spins so fast that its diameter at the
equator is 10 percent larger than its diameter from pole to pole. However, its day is longer than
that of Jupiter.
 Saturn has 62 confirmed moons, and its largest moon is Titan, which is larger than Earth’s own
moon and has a thick, opaque atmosphere.
 The most spectacular part of Saturn is its magnificent system of planetary rings, which stretch
some 300,000 kilometers across. The ring system is divided into three main parts: the bright A
and B rings and the dimmer C ring. The A and B rings are divided by a large gap called the
Cassini Division, named after Gian Domenico Cassini.
 One idea about formation of Rings is that the rings were once larger moons that were destroyed,
either by collisions, or by tidal interactions with Saturn’s gravity tearing them apart. The bits of
moons then settled into orbit around Saturn.
 Titan is largest moon of Saturn and perhaps the most complex moon in the entire solar system.
This is the only moon in solar system with a dense atmosphere.

Uranus
 Uranus is the seventh major planet in our solar system, and the third of four gas giant planets. It is
51,200 kilometers in diameter, just under four times the diameter of Earth.
 Like the other gas giant planets, Uranus consists mostly of gas. Its pale blue-green, cloudy
atmosphere is made of 83 percent hydrogen, 15 percent helium, and small amounts of methane
and other gases
 Although it orbits the Sun in a perfectly ordinary, near-circular ellipse every 84 Earth years,
Uranus has an extremely odd rotation compared to the other major planets. It rotates on its side,
almost like a bowling ball rolling down its lane, and its polar axis is parallel rather than
perpendicular to its orbital plane.
 This means that one end of Uranus faces the Sun for an entire half of its orbit, while the other end
faces away during that time. So one “day” on Uranus is equal to 42 Earth years. Uranus is orbited
by some 27 known moons and several thin rings.

Neptune
 Neptune is the eighth major planet in our solar system, 17 times more massive than Earth and
about four times its diameter.
 The most remote of the four gas giant planets in our solar system, Neptune takes 165 Earth years
to orbit the Sun once. A “day” on Neptune, however, is only 16 Earth hours.
 Similar to Uranus, Neptune’s cloud-top temperature is a frosty –210°C
 Neptune is bluish-green in color, which might seem fitting for a planet named after the Roman
god of the sea. However, the color does not come from water; it is due to the gases in Neptune’s
atmosphere reflecting sunlight back into space.
 Neptune’s atmosphere consists mostly of hydrogen, helium, and methane. Below the atmosphere,
scientists think there is a thick layer of ionized water, ammonia, and methane ice, and deeper yet
is a rocky core many times the mass of Earth.

Kuiper Belt
 Kuiper Belt or the Kuiper-Edgeworth Belt is a doughnut-shaped region that extends between
about three to eight billion miles (5 to 12 billion kilometers) out from the Sun (its inner edge is
about at the orbit of Neptune, while its outer edge is about twice that diameter).
 Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) are objects that originate from or orbit in the Kuiper Belt.Only one
KBO was known for more than 60 years: Pluto.
 Largest KBOs in solar system: (Diameter: km)-
Eris(2300-2400)
Pluto(2,306)
Sedna (1,500)
Quaoar(1,260)
Charon(1,210)
Orcus (940)
Varuna(890)
Ixion(820)
Chaos(560)
Huya(500)
 Many KBOs have been discovered since 1990s, however, and the current estimate is that there
are millions of KBOs.
 KBOs are basically comets without tails, i.e. icy dirtballs that have collected together over
billions of years.
 If they get large enough—such as Pluto did—they evolve as other massive planet like bodies
do, forming dense cores that have a different physical composition than the mantle or crust
above it.
 Most short-period comets— those with relatively short orbital times of a few years to a few
centuries—are thought to originate from the Kuiper Belt.

Asteroids
 Asteroids are relatively small, primarily rocky or metallic chunks of matter that orbit the Sun.
They are like planets, but much smaller; the largest asteroid, Ceres, is only about 930 kilometers
across, and only ten asteroids larger than 250 kilometers across are known to exist in the solar
system.
 While most asteroids are made mostly of carbon-rich rock, some are made at least partially of iron
and nickel.
 Aside from the largest ones, asteroids tend to be irregular in shape, rotating and tumbling as they
move through the solar system.
 The four largest asteroids are the dwarf planet Ceres, Pallas, Vesta, and Hygiea. Other well-
known asteroids include Eros, Gaspra, Ida, and Dactyl.
 The asteroid belt (or the “main belt”) is the region between the orbit of Mars and the orbit of
Jupiter—about 240 to 800 million kilometers away from the Sun.
 The vast majority of known asteroids orbit in this belt. The main belt itself is divided into thinner
belts, separated by object-free zones called Kirkwood Gaps. The gaps are named after the
American astronomer Daniel Kirkwood, who first discovered them.

Meteorite and meteors

 A meteorite is a large particle from outer space that lands on Earth.
 A meteor is an object from outer space that enters Earth’s atmosphere, but does not land on
Earth.
 Instead, the particle burns up in the atmosphere, leaving a short-lived, glowing trail that traces
part of its path through the sky. If a meteor is large enough to reach Earth, we call it a meteorite.
 Most meteors, especially those that fall during meteor showers, are the tiny remnants of comets
left in Earth’s orbital path over many, many years.
 Most meteorites, which are generally larger than meteors, are pieces of asteroids and comets that
somehow came apart from their parent bodies—perhaps from a collision with another body—and
orbited in the solar system until they collided with Earth.

Motions of Earth , Seasons and Eclipse

There are four kinds of Earth’s motions as follows:
 Earth’s rotation on its axis
 Earth’s precession movement which is very much similar to a spinning top.
 Earth revolution around the Sun
 Earth along with the entire solar system moves around the center of the Milky way Galaxy.

Sidereal Day
 The spinning of the earth on its polar axis is in fact takes 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.09 seconds
for rotation through the 360 degree. This is called sidereal day.
 During the time needed by the Earth to complete a rotation around its axis (a sidereal day), the
Earth moves a short distance (approximately 1°) along its orbit around the sun. So, after a
sidereal day, the Earth still needs to rotate a small additional angular distance before the sun
reaches its highest point. A solar day is, therefore, nearly 4 minutes longer than a sidereal day.

Earth’s Revolution
 The orbit of the Earth is the motion of the Earth around the Sun every 365.242199 mean solar
days.
 The orbital speed of Earth around the Sun averages about 30 kilometre per second or 108,000
kilometers per hour. This speed is equivalent to cover earth’s orbit in 7 minutes and distance from
moon to Sun in 4 hours.

Occurring of Seasons
 The path of the Earth around the Sun is elliptical and slightly irregular due to gravitational
attraction of moon and other celestial bodies.
 A constant angle is maintained between the earth’s axis and its plane of elliptic, which is called
angle of inclination. As we know that Earth’s rotation axis is tilted by 23.44° with respect to the
elliptic, and is always pointed towards the celestial poles when the earth moves around the Sun.
The above phenomenon gives rise to 4 seasons
Solstice
 The solstice refers to the events when the Sun’s apparent position in sky reaches its northernmost
or southernmost extremes. Solstice happens twice a year, and twice a year happen the equinoxes.
Altogether, the four are considered to start 4 seasons.
 At the time of northern solstice, sun is perceived to be directly overhead the 23.44° north known
as Tropic of Cancer.
 Likewise, at the southern solstice the same thing happens for latitude 23.44° south, known as the
Tropic of Capricorn.
 The sub-solar point will cross every latitude between these two extremes exactly twice per year.
The point where sun is perceived to be directly overhead is called subsolar point.
 The Northern solstice happens at 20-21 June and Southern solstice happens at 20-22 December.
 At Northern solstice, the places which are located at Arctic circle, posited at latitude 66.56° north
will see the Sun just on the horizon during midnight. And all the places north of Arctic Circle will
see Sun above horizon for 24 hours. This is called Midnight Sun or a Polar Day.
 At Northern solstice which are located at Antarctic circle, posited at latitude 66.56° south will see
the Sun just on the horizon during midday. And all the places south of Antarctic Circle will NOT
see at anytime of the day. This is called Polar Night.
 At Southern solstice, Polar day occurs at Southern Pole and Polar Night occurs at Northern Pole.

Uttarayan & Dakshinayan

 For 6 months of the year, the Sun appears to be moving north. This Northward migration of Sun
appears to begin after December 22 and is completed on June 21, when the Sun is directly
overhead 23.44° North. Dute to this, In India we call this Uttarayan.
 After June 21, for the next 6 months, Sun appears to be moving South and this southward
migration appears to get finished , when Sun is directly overhead the 23.44° South. In India we
call this apparent migration Dakshinayan.

Equinox
 At equinox, Sun is at one of two opposite points where the celestial equator and ecliptic intersect.
Sun can be observed to be vertically overhead the Equator. Equinox happens around March 20/21
and September 22/23 each year.

Longest Days & Nights

 When Sun is direct overhead on 23.44° north, it is called Longest Day in Northern hemisphere. So
Northern Solstice represents the longest day of the Northern hemisphere and smallest night of the
Southern Hemisphere.
 When Sun is direct overhead on 23.44° south, it is called Longest Day in Southern hemisphere. So
Southern Solstice represents the longest day of the Southern hemisphere and smallest night of the
Northern Hemisphere.

Perihelion and Aphelion

 Earth travels 939,886,400 kms along its elliptical orbit in a single revolution. The average
distance is 150 million kms, but the orbit is elliptical and there is the difference if 2.5 million
kms. Perihelion is the point when Earth is closest to Sun and it occurs around 3 rd January. The
distance is 147.5 million kms.
 Aphelion is the point when Earth is farthest from the Sun and it occurs on July 4. The distance
is 152.5 million Kms,
 Perihelion: On around January 3rd, Earth is closest to sun and distance is around 147.5 million
Kilometers. This is called Perihelion.
 Aphelion: On about July 4th earth is Farthest from Sun and this is called Aphelion.
 Speed of Earth is fastest at Perihelion and slowest at Aphelion (Kepler’s Second Law). The
following
 Graphic shows the Solstice, Equinoxes and Helions altogether:

Eclipses
 An eclipse is the partial or total blocking of the light of one object by another. In the solar system,
relative positions of the Sun, Moon, and Earth create solar eclipses and lunar eclipses.

Lunar Eclipse
 A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon in such a way that the
Moon moves into Earth’s shadow.
 Solar Eclipse A solar eclipse happens when the Moon is directly in line between Earth and the
Sun. The Moon’s shadow sweeps across Earth’s surface; at those places where the shadow lands,
an eclipse is seen. Like Earth’s shadow, the Moon’s shadow consists of two parts: a dark,central
region called the umbra, and a lighter region called the penumbra that surrounds the
umbra.Under the penumbra, a partial solar eclipse occurs. Under the umbra, a total eclipse or an
annular eclipse is seen.
 Since the Moon travels in a slightly elliptical orbit around Earth, rather than in a perfectly circular
path, its distance from Earth is not always the same. If the Moon’s umbra falls on Earth’s surface
when the two bodies are at a closer point in the Moon’s orbit, there is total solar eclipse. But if the
Moon happens to be too far away from Earth at that time, the Moon does not cover enough of the
sky to block the Sun’s rays entirely. In that case, the Sun is seen as a ring, or annulus, of light
glowing around the silhouette of the Moon.
 During totality of a solar eclipse, the Sun looks like a perfectly black disk surrounded by glowing
light. This light is actually the Sun’s corona, which is invisible under normal circumstances
because the Sun is so bright. Away from the corona, the sky is dark, so planets and stars that
ordinarily could be seen only at night become visible.

Latitudes and Longitudes

Great Circle
 When a sphere is divided exactly in half through its center, the circumference represents the
largest circle that can be drawn on that sphere. The shortest distance between two points on a
sphere is a great circle, or a circle whose plane passes through the centre of sphere. In case of
Earth, only equator is a great circle among latitudes and all longitudes are half great circles.

Latitudes
 Latitude is an angle which ranges from 0° at the Equator to 90° (North or South) at the poles.
 Lines of constant latitude, or parallels, run east–west as circles parallel to the equator.
 Latitude is used together with longitude to specify the precise location of features on the surface
of the Earth.

Longitudes
 Longitude is the angle east or west of a reference meridian between the two geographical poles to
another meridian that passes through an arbitrary point.
 All meridians are halves of great circles, and are not parallel to each other. They converge only at
the north and south poles. A line passing to the rear of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich (near
London in the UK) has been chosen as the international zero-longitude reference line and is
known as the Prime Meridian.
 Places to the east are in the eastern hemisphere, and places to the west are in the western
hemisphere.
 The antipodal meridian of Greenwich serves as both 180°W and 180°E. There are 360° of the
meridians and the longitude of prime meridian is 0°.
 Length of all meridians is equal. The distance between two meridians is farthest at the equator and
it decreases as we move towards poles and becomes zero at poles.
Earth Structure
 Earth is located in the Solar System, which is located in the Orion (or local) arm of Milky Way
Galaxy, which is a part of Virgo Super cluster.
 As a part of the Milky Way Galaxy, the Earth is accelerating outward toward the outer regions of
the universe.
 The Earth and the other members of the solar system are orbiting the galaxy at about 225
kilometers per hour.
 Earth is third planet from the Sun and Fifth largest planet. It is largest among the Solar System’s
four terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars).
 Earth is also the densest planet of the solar system.

Radius and Circumference of Earth

 The Mean radius of Earth is 6,371.0 km.
 Equatorial radius is 6,378.1 km, while polar radius is 6356.8 kilometers.
 This means that Earth is not perfectly spherical
 Earth’s rotation causes it to be like an oblate spheroid with a bulge at the equator and flattening at
the North and South Poles. So the equatorial radius is larger than the polar radius.
 The farthest point from Earth’s centre is Chimborazo , an inactive volcano in the Andes
mountains in Ecuador, in South America. Chimborazo is not the highest mountain by elevation
above sea level, but its location along the equatorial bulge makes its summit the farthest point on
the Earth’s surface from the Earth’s center.
 The Equatorial Circumference of Earth is 40,075.16 km, while the Meridional Circumference
is 40,008.00 km.

Other Basic Data

Variable Information

Surface area 510,072,000 km2

Land Area 148,940,000 km2 (29.2 %)

Water Area 361,132,000 km2 (70.8 %)

Volume 1.08321 × 1012 km3

Structure of Earth
 The internal structure of earth is layered. The Earth is generally divided into four major layers: the
crust, mantle, inner core, and outer core.
Crust
 The Earth’s crust is the outermost layer and is the most familiar, since people live on the outer
skin of the crust.
 It is rigid, brittle, and thin compared to the mantle, inner core, and outer core. Because of its
varying characteristics, this outer layer is divided into the continental and oceanic crusts.

Mantle
 Earth’s mantle lies beneath the crust and above the outer core, averaging about 1,802 miles (2,900
kilometers) thick and representing 68.3 percent of the Earth’s mass and 84% of Earth’s volume.
 A transition zone divides this layer into the upper and lower mantles.

Outer core
 The liquid outer core is a layer between 2,885 and 5,155 kilometers deep in the Earth’s interior. It
is thought to move by convection (the transfer of heat through the circulating motion of
materials), with the movement possibly contributing to the Earth’s magnetic field.
 The outer core represents about 29.3 percent of the Earth’s total mass.

Inner core
 The inner core is thought to be roughly the size of the Earth’s Moon. It lies at a depth 5,150 to
6,370 kilometers beneath the Earth’s surface and generates heat close to temperatures on the sun’s
surface.
 It represents about 1.7 percent of the Earth’s mass and is thought to be composed of a solid iron-
nickel alloy suspended within the molten outer core.

Earth’s Crust
 Earth’s crust is the outermost layer composed of various types of rocks. The boundary between
the crust and mantle is generally called the Mohorovičić discontinuity.
 The continental crust is thicker in comparison to oceanic crust. The oceanic crust ranges from 5 to
10 kilometers {average 7 km} while continental crust ranges from 25 to 100 kilometers {average
30-35 km}.Thickest continental crust regions are under large mountain ranges.
 Oceanic crust is made of dark rocks having more of Iron and Magnesium and is more basaltic.
Continental crust is made of lighter rocks, having more of Silica and is more felsic.

Lithosphere, Asthenosphere and Pedosphere

 Lithos means rock. Lithium is an alkali metal and its name is also derived from Lithos.
Lithosphere is the upper 80 Kilometers layer composed ofboth the crust and part of the upper
mantle. However, overall, it is cool enough to be tough and elastic than the molten mantle. The
Oceanic lithosphere is associated with Oceanic crust and exists in the ocean basins, while
theContinental lithosphere is associated with Continental crust. The Oceanic lithosphere is denser
than the continental lithosphere.
 Lithosphere is obviously thinner under the oceans and volcanically active continental regions
than the other landmasses.
 The entire lithosphere is physically broken up into the brittle, moving plates containing the
world’s continents and oceans.
 These lithospheric plates appear to “float” and move around on the more ductile asthenosphere.
The asthenosphere is the relatively narrow, moving zone in the upper mantle located between
72 to 250 kilometers beneath the Earth’s surface.
 The upper section of the asthenosphere is thought to be the area in which the lithospheric plates
move, “carrying” the continental and oceanic plates also known as Tectonic Plates.
 Further, the uppermost part of the Lithosphere that reacts with the atmosphere, biosphere and
Hydrosphere is called as pedospehere.
 Pedos means soil. Pedospehere is composed of soil and it is the cradle of all the chemical and
biogeochemical reactions which leads to soil development.

Composition of Earth Crust

 Almost half of Earth’s crust is made of oxygen, while a quarter of it is made of silicon. Since
silicon and Oxygen react to make silica, around 48.6% of Earth’s crust is made of silica.
 Major elements in Earth’s crust are Oxygen (47%), Silicon (28%), Aluminum (8%), Iron (5%),
Calcium (3.5%), Sodium (2.5%), Potassium (2.5%), Magnesium (2.2%) and other elements such
as Hydrogen, Carbon, Phosphorus, Sulphur etc.
 Thus, most of the rocks in Earth’s crust are all oxides. The principal oxides are silica, alumina,
iron oxides, lime, magnesia & potash.

Conrad Discontinuity
 Conrad discontinuity (named after the seismologist Victor Conrad) is considered to be the border
between the upper continental crust and the lower one. It is not as pronounced as the Mohorovičić
discontinuity, and absent in some continental regions.

Earth’s Mantle
 The mantle is a highly viscous layer between the crust and the outer core. The boundary between
crust and mantle is called Mohorovičić discontinuity after the name of Croatian geologist Andrija
Mohorovičić who proposed this.
 No one has been able to physically drill into the mantle and there are no samples of the mantle
with human beings as of now. Whatever information we have is based on indirect study,
particularly of seismic waves.
 The mantle is divided into sections viz.
The Upper Mantle, which starts from the Mohorovičić discontinuity around 7 to 35 km, downward
to 410 km),
The transition zone (410–660 km)
The Lower Mantle (660–2891 km).
 The upper and lower mantle differentiate on the basis of seismic and chemical changes in the
layer.
 These changes create different kinds of discontinuities in the mantle. For example:
Hales Discontinuity is found in the upper mantle at depths of about 60 to 90 kilometers, a region in
which seismic velocities change.
Gutenberg Discontinuity or the core–mantle boundary (CMB) lies between the Earth’s silicate
mantle and its liquid iron-nickel outer core. This boundary is located at approximately 2900 km
depth beneath the Earth’s surface. The boundary is observed via the discontinuity in seismic wave
velocities at that depth.

Earth’s Core
 Using the seismic data, the scientists had first postulated the existence of a fluid core. In 1915,
Gutenberg published a measurement of the core’s radius. In 1936, Danish seismologist Inge
Lehmann (l888-1993) presented a paper titled, “P’” (or P -Prime, after the seismic waves),which
announced the discovery of Earth’s inner core.
 The division between the inner and outer core is now called the Lehmann discontinuity.
 The seismic P-waves passing though the inner core move faster than those going through the
outer core-good evidence that the inner core is solid. The presence of high-density iron thought to
make up the inner core also explains the high density of the Earth’s interior, which is about 13.5
times that of water.

Earth’s Magnetic Field

 The Magnetic Field of the Earth is generated by the motion of molten iron alloys in the Earth’s
outer core.
 The solid inner core is too hot to hold a permanent magnetic field, but the outer core gives rise to
Earth’s magnetic field.
 The geomagnetic field extends from outer core to where it meets the solar wind. At the surface of
Earth, the magnitude of Earth’s magnetic field ranges from 25 to 65 microteslas (0.25 to 0.65
gauss).
 The magnetic field deflects most of the charged particles emanating from the Sun in the form of
solar winds. If there were no magnetic field, the particles of the solar wind would strip away the
ozone layer, which protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet rays.
 One of the reasons that there is no atmosphere at Mars is that its magnetic field is turned off
which led to the loss of carbon dioxide due to scavenging of ions by the solar wind.

How it is formed?
 The Earth’s magnetic field is believed to be caused by electric currents in the liquid outer core,
which is composed of highly conductive molten iron.
 The mechanism of formation of Earth’s Magnetic field has not yet been understood fully. The
basic physics of electromagnetism can be used to somewhat explain the phenomena.
 Iron, whether liquid or solid, conducts electricity; when we move a flowing electric current, we
generate a magnetic field at a right angle to the electric current direction (Ampère’s law) .
 The molten outer core of our planet releases heat by convection, which then displaces the flowing
electrical currents. This generates the magnetic field that is oriented around the axis of rotation
of the Earth, mainly due to the rotational effects on the moving fluid. However, it has not been
 explained how the charges, necessary for creation of electric field originate, which in turn give
rise to the magnetic field.
 This convection caused by heat radiating from the core, along with the rotation of the Earth
(Coriolis force), causes the liquid iron to move in a rotational pattern. It is believed that these
rotational forces in the liquid iron layer lead to weak magnetic forces around the axis of spin.
 The role of the Coriolis Effect is that it causes overall planetary rotation, and tends to organize the
flow into rolls aligned along the north-south polar axis.

Plate Tectonics
 A tectonic plate is a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock, generally composed of both
continental and oceanic lithosphere. Plates move horizontally over the asthenosphere as rigid
units.
 On the basis of size, a tectonic plate may be a major plate or a minor plate. For example, Pacific
plate is a major plate whereas Nazca plate is a minor plate.
 On the basis of nature, a plate may be referred to as continental plate or oceanic plate depending
on which of the two occupy a large portion of the plate. For example, Pacific plate is mostly an
oceanic plate whereas Eurasian plate may be called as a continental plate.
 While a tectonic plate is a rigid lithospheric slab, plate tectonics is a collective term for evolution,
nature and motion, deformation, the interaction of plate margins and resultant landforms.
 The earth's crust is continuously experiencing movements in horizontal as well as vertical
direction resulting in breaking and bending of crustal rocks and this process of deformation is
known as the tectonic activity.

Theory of Plate Tectonics

 The theory of plate tectonics proposes that the earth's lithosphere is divided into seven major and
several minor plates. The movement of the plates results in the building up of stresses within the
plates and the continental rocks above, which leads to folding, faulting and volcanic activity. The
major plates are surrounded by fold mountains, ridges, trenches and faults.
 These plates have been moving very slowly across the globe throughout the history of the earth.
Moreover, it may be noted that all the plates without exception, have moved in the geological
past, and shall continue to move in the future as well.
 Alfred Wegener in his theory of continental drift had thought that continents move, but, this is
incorrect. He further believed that all continents were initially existent as a super-continent,
Pangea. However, later discoveries have revealed that continental masses, resting on plates have
been moving, and Pangea was a result of the convergence of different continental masses that
were part of one or the other plates.

Earthquakes & Seismic Waves

 In Earthquake, there is a sudden release of energy in theEarth’s crust, which leads to a series of
motions because of the waves created due to this energy (called seismic waves) released. These
seismic waves originate in a limited region and spread in all directions.

Types of Earthquakes
 Earthquakes can be generated by a number of sources, most of which are result of natural tectonic
processes, usually caused by the interaction between two lithospheric plates. Other quakes can be
generated by volcanoes as magma is injected into the Earth’s crust. For example, earthquakes in
the island of Hawaii are generally volcanic earthquakes. Rest of the Earthquakes are artificially
generated by nuclear test explosions. Thus, there are several types of Earthquakes such as:
 Tectonic Earthquakes: Tectonic Earthquakes are most commonand generated due to folding,
faulting plate movement.
 Volcanic Earthquakes: Earthquake associated with volcanic activity are called volcanic
earthquake. These are confined to areas of volcanoes and pacific ring of fire is best example of
these types of earthquakes.
 Collapse Earthquakes: They are evident in the areas of intense mining activity, sometimes as
the roofs of underground mines collapse causing minor tremors.
 Explosion earthquakes: This is a minor shock due to the explosion of the nuclear devices.
 Reservoir Induced Earthquakes: Large reservoirs may induce the seismic activity because of
large mass of the water. They are called reservoir induced earthquakes

Foreshocks, Mainshocks and Aftershocks

 The Earthquakes come in three forms of clusters called foreshocks, mainshocks, and aftershocks.
 Foreshocks are quakes that occur before a larger one in the same location; around a quarter of all
mainshocks happen within an hour of their foreshock. Mainshocks are of the highest magnitude.
 Aftershocks are smaller quakes that occur in the same general geographic area for days-and even
years-after the larger, mainshock event.

Hypocentre and Epicentre

 The point, where earthquakes are generated first, is called focus or hypocenter.
 A hypocenter is below the surface, where the first rock displaces and creates the fault. Epicentre
is the point on the Earth’s surface that is directly above the hypocenter or focus.
 This is the point where the shock waves reach the surface. Earthquakes originate at depths
ranging from about 5 to 700 kilometers. Nearly 9o percent of all earthquakes occur at depths of
less than 100 kmShallower. is the depth, more destructive an earthquake is.

Mechanism of Tectonic Earthquakes

 Theory of plate tectonics explains that earth’s crust is formed by a number of large plates that
move very slowly in various directions on the earth’s surface. The movements are of three kinds
 Divergent: In divergent movements the plates move apart from each other. This is most
common type of movement in mid-oceanic zones.

 Convergent- In convergent movements the plates move towards each other and the border
overlap. This is most common type of movement in subduction zones where the dense oceanic
plates collide and slide beneath the continental plates.
 Transformational- In this type of movement the plates move in opposite side, on parallel. Some
earthquakes are caused by the movement of lave beneath the surface of the earth during volcanic
activity.

Earthquake Belts- There are two major belts of earthquakes in the world. They are as follows:

 Circum-Pacific Belt- This belt is along a path surrounding the Pacific Ocean This zone included
the regions of great seismic activity such as Japan, the Philippines, and Chile. This path coincides
with the “Pacific Ring of Fire”.
 Alpine-Himalayan Belt- Another major concentration of strong seismic activity runs through the
mountainous regions that flank the Mediterranean Sea and extends through Iran and on past the
Himalayan Mountains. This zone of frequent and destructive earthquakes is referred to as the
Alpine-Himalayan belt.

Richter Magnitude Scale

 The concept of earthquake magnitude was first developed by Richter and hence the term
“Richter scale”. The value of magnitude is obtained on the basis of recordings of earthquake
ground motion on seismographs.

Medvedev-Sponheuer-Karnik scale (MSK-64)

 Prior to the development of ground motion recording instruments, earthquakes were studied by
recording the description of shaking intensity. This lead to the development of intensity scales
which describe the effects of earthquake motion in qualitative terms. An intensity scale usually
 provides ten or twelve grades of intensity starting with most feeble vibrations and going upto
most violent (i.e., total destruction).
 The most commonly used intensity scales are: Modified Mercalli (MM) Intensity Scale and the
Medvedev-Sponhener-Karnik (MSK) Intensity Scale. Both these scales are quite similar except
that the MSK scale is more specific in its description of the earthquake effects. Medvedev-
Sponheuer-Karnik scale denoted by MSK or MSK-64, is a macro seismic intensity scale which is
used to evaluate the severity of ground shaking on the basis of observed effects in an area of the
earthquake occurrence.
 It was proposed by Sergei Medvedev (USSR), Wilhelm Sponheuer (East Germany), and Vft
Karnik (Czechoslovakia) in 1964.
 MSK-64 is used in India, Israel, Russia, and throughout the Commonwealth of Independent
States.In India the seismic zoning has been done on the basis of this scale. This scale has 12
intensity degrees expressed in Roman numerals, which are shown in the below graphics.

Seismic Waves
 The waves generated by the earthquake are called Seismic waves. The study of earthquake and
seismic waves is called Seismology and the researchers are called Seismologists. Seismic waves
are divided into two broad categories viz. Body Waves and Surface Waves.

Body waves
 In Body waves the speed decreases with increasing density of rock and increases with increasing
rock elasticity. Rock elasticity increases faster than density with depth. There are two kinds of
body waves viz. P-waves and S-waves.
Primary Waves or P-waves
 The Primary waves or Push waves are longitudinal / compression waves that vibrate parallel
to the direction of wave movement. They have shortest wavelength, fastest speed {5-7 km/s}
and can travel through solid, liquid and gas. They travel fast in denser, solid materials.

Secondary waves or S-waves

 Secondary waves or Sheer waves or shock waves are transverse waves which create vibrations
perpendicular to the direction of wave movement. The S waves only travel through solids
because liquids and gases have no sheer strength.
 They have a medium wavelength and cause vibrations at right angles to the direction of
propagation of waves. Their velocity is 3 to 4 km per second.

Surface Waves
 Surface waves are of two types viz. Rayleigh Waves and Love waves
 L Waves or Surface Waves travel near the earth’s surface and within a depth of 30-32 kilometers
from the surface. These are also called Rayleigh waves after Lord Rayleigh who first described
these waves. Behave like water waves with elliptical motion of material in wave.
 Generally slower than Love waves.
 Love waves make the ground vibrate at right angles to the direction of waves . They are a variety
of S-waves where the particles of an elastic medium vibrate transversely to the direction of wave
propagation, with no vertical components. Involve shear motion in a horizontal plane.
 Most destructive kind of seismic wave.

Earthquakes in India
 India has a very high frequency of great earthquakes (magnitude greater than 8.0) in
comparison to the moderate earthquakes (magnitude 6.0 to 7.0). For example, during 1897 to
1950, India was hit by four great earthquakes. However, since 1950, only moderate size
earthquakes have occurred in India which should be no reason to assume that the truly great
earthquakes are a thing of the past.
 The reasons of high magnitude earthquakes in India are hidden in the tectonic setting of India.
India is currently penetrating into Asia at a rate of approximately 45 mm/year and rotating
slowly anticlockwise.
 This rotation and translation results in left-lateral transform slip in Baluchistan at approximately
42 mm/year and right-lateral slip relative to Asia in the Indo-Burman ranges at 55 mm/year. At
 the same time, deformation within Asia reduces India’s convergence with Tibet to approximately
18 mm/year.
 Since Tibet is extending east-west, there Is a convergence across the Himalaya that results in the
development of potential slip available to drive large thrust earthquakes beneath the Himalaya at
roughly 1.8 m/century.
 India has been divided into four seismic zones viz. Zone-II, -III, -IV and -V unlike its previous
version which consisted of five zones for the country. After some revisions in the previous
zoning, Zone I was altogether removed.
 This zoning has been done on the basis of MSK-64 scale and a IS code Zone factor has been
assigned by the BIS to each of them. The zone factor of 0.36 is indicative of effective (zero
period) peak horizontal ground acceleration of 0.36 g (36% of gravity) that may be generated
during MCE level earthquake in this zone. They are presented in the following table with IS
code.
Seismic Zoning of India

MSK-64 Seismic Zone Zone Factor

Zone II
VI. Strong This region is liable to MSK VI or less and is classified as the Low 0.10
Damage Risk Zone

Zone III
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, parts of Kashmir, Western
VII. Very Strong Himalayas fall under this zone. 0.16
This zone is classified as Moderate Damage Risk Zone which is
liable to MSK VII.

Zone IV
VIII. Damaging This zone is called High Damage Risk Zone anc covers 0.24
Indogangetic Basin, Delhi, Jammu and Bihar

Zone V
Zone 5 covers areas with the highest risk zone that suffers
IX. Destructive earthquakes with intensity of IX and greater. It includes Kashmir, 0.36
Punjab, Western and central Himalayas, North East India and
Rann of Katch

Volcanoes & Volcanism

 A volcano is simply an opening in the Earth’s surface in which eruptions of dust, gas, and
magma occur; they form on land and on the ocean floor.
 The driving force behind eruptions is pressure from deep beneath the Earth’s surface as hot,
molten rock up wells from the mantle.
 The results of this activity are a number of geological features, including the build-up of debris
that forms a mound or cone, which we commonly imagine when talking about a volcano.
 An opening or vent through which the magma, molten rocks, ashes, gases and other volatiles
erupt on the surface of Earth is called a Volcano.
 The most known types of Volcanoes are conical mountains which spit law and poisonous gases.
But there are other types of Volcanoes.

Types of Volcanoes by Periodicity of Eruption

 There are three kinds of Volcanoes on the basis of frequency of eruption viz. Active, Dormant
and Extinct.
 Active volcanoes- Active Volcanoes erupt frequently and mostly located around Ring of Fire.
The Mount Stromboli is an active volcano and it produces so much of Gas clouds that it is called
Light house of Mediterranean. Other examples are Eyjafjallajökull in island, which erupted in
2010, Mount St. Helens located in Washington USA, Mt. Etna located in Sicily.
 Dormant Volcano- Dormant Volcanoes are those who are not extinct but not erupted in recent
history. Mount Kilimanjaro, located in Tanzania which is also the highest mountain in Africa is
known to be a dormant Volcano. The dormant volcanoes may erupt in future.
 Extinct Volcano- Extinct or inactive volcanoes have not worked in distant geological past. In
most cases the crater of the Volcano is filled with water making it a lake.

Pacific Ring of Fire

 Pacific Ring of Fire is a horse-shoe shaped 40,000 kilometer area with 75% of Earth’s active and
dormant volcanoes. It is the area with large number of Volcanic Eruptions and Earth quakes. The
most active Volcanoes are located in Chile, Mexico, United States, Canada, Russian Far East,
Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, New Zealand, & Antarctica.

Tides
 Tides are a result of gravitational pull byboth Sun and Moon, but the pull exerted by Sun is
apparently weak. This is because of the larger distance as the gravitational force is inversely
proportional to the square of the distance. The alignment of Sun and moon affects the size of the
tides.
 There are 4 distinct stages of tides:
Stage I: Sea level rises over several hours, covering the intertidal zone and this is called flood tide.
Stage II: The water rises to its highest level, known as high tide.
Stage III: Sea level falls over several hours, revealing the intertidal zone. This is calledebb tide.
Stage IV: The water stops falling, this is called low tide.
 In general the rising tides are called flood tides and falling tides are called ebb tides and they are
known as Jwar & Bhata in Hindi respectively. In astronomy, the alignment of three or more
celestial bodies in the same gravitational system along a line is calledSyzygy and eclipses occur at
the time of Syzygy. Syzygy also affects tides in the form of variations between the High tides and
Low Tides.

Spring Tides and Neap Tides

 When there is greatest variation between the high tides and low tides, it is called Spring Tides.
 Gulf of Fundy is known for highest tides in the world (approximately 50 meters).
 At spring tide, Sun, Moon and Earth are in a line.
 When there is smallest difference between high and low a tide, it is called Neap tide. It occurs
when Sun, moon and Earth are at right angles.

Continental Shelf
 Continental Shelf is the submerged edge of a continent.
 It is a gently sloping plain that extends into the Ocean.
 The typical gradient is less than 1°. Taken together, total area of the continental shelves is 18%
of earth’s dry land area.
 The width of the continental shelf varies considerably;there are many places on earth where
there is virtually no shelf at all.
 The largest continental shelf is the Siberian Shelf in the Arctic Ocean, which stretches to
1,500 kilometers in width. The average width of continental shelves is about 80 km.
 The depth of the shelf also varies, but is generally limited to water shallower than 150 m.
Continental shelf is made up of Granite rock overlain by the sediments. Because of the gentle
slope, the continental shelf is influenced by the changes in the sea level.

Continental Slope & Continental Rise

 Continental slope is relatively steep descent from the shelf break to the deep sea floor.
Inclination of the typical continental slope is around 4° and usually between 2° to 5°.
 Shelf break is almost constant all over the globe and is around 150 meters, except the Antarctica
and Greenland continental slopes.
 The slope plunges down at least 1 kilometer and usually 2-3 kilometers. The Continental Rise
connects the Continental slope to the deep sea or abyssal plain.
 Its width is around 100-1000 kilometers. Slope is gradual and around l/8th of the continental
slope. The transition from continental to oceanic crust commonly occurs within the continental
rise.

Deep Ocean basin & Oceanic Ridges

 Deep Ocean Basin is the lowest layer in the ocean. The sea floor is like a covering of sediments
over a basalt rock which may be up to 5 kilometers thick. Oceanic ridges or Mid-oceanic Ridges
refer to the boundary between the diverging plates.
 A mid-ocean ridge (MOR) refers to an underwater mountain system that consists of various
mountain ranges (chains), typically having a valley known as a rift that runs along its spine,
formed by plate tectonics. The midoceanic ridge of submarine hills divides the basin in about half.
Precisely in the center of the ridge, at its highest point, is a narrow trenchlike feature called the
axial rift. The location and form of this rift suggest that the crust is being pulled apart along the
line of the rift.
 The oceanic ridges present a mountainous chain of young rocks which stretch around 65000
kilometers, i.e. 1.5 times of the earth’s circumference. Oceanic ridges are made up of basalt
rocks,, are geologically active as the new magma constantly emerging onto the ocean floor
accumulates in the crust at and near rifts along the ridge axes. The adjacent graphic shows
distribution of some Oceanic Ridges around the world.

Location of the important ridges are as follows:

 Aden Ridge: Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean along the south-eastern coastline of the Arabian
Peninsula.
 Explorer Ridge: Located 240 km west of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
 Gorda Ridge: off the coast of Oregon and northern California north of Cape Mendocino
 Juan de Fuca Ridge: off the coasts of the state of Washington in the United States
 Cocos Ridge: Its is a Volcanic hotspot. Also known as Galapagos hotspot located in East
Pacific Ocean responsible for the creation of the Galapagos Islands as well as three major
seismic ridge systems. Carnegie, Cocos and Malpelso.
 Gakkel Ridge: located in the Arctic Ocean between Greenland and Siberia, and has a length
of about 1,800 kilometers. It is slowest known spreading ridge on the earth. Pacific-
Antarctic Ridge: located in South Pacific Ocean
 Southeast Indian Ridge: It is located in the Indian Ocean and separates the Indo Ocean
plate from the Antarctic plate.
 Carlsberg Ridge: Located in the Indian Ocean.

Mariana Trench
 Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the world’s oceans. It is located in the western Pacific
Ocean, east of the Mariana Islands. The trench is about 2,550 kilometers long but has a mean
width of only 69 kilometers. The maximum known depth is 11.03 kilometers at the Vityaz-l
Deep and about 10 91 kilometers at the Challenger Deep.

Tonga Trench
 Tonga Trench us located in South Pacific Ocean and is second deepest trench. Its deepest
point is called Horizon Deep. It is Steepest Trench of the World.

Puerto Rico Trench

 Puerto Rico Trench is located on the boundary between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic
Ocean.
 The trench is 800 kilometers long and has a maximum depth of 8,605 meters at Milwaukee Deep
which is the deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean.

Rift valleys
 A rift valley is linear-shaped lowland between highlands or mountain ranges created by the action
of a geologic rift or fault in opposite or parallel.
 The result is the formation of a long steep sided, flat floored valley. World’s largest Fresh water
lakes are typical rift valleys.
 Examples are Lake Baikal in Siberia, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Superior, Lake Vostok, Lake
Nipissing and Lake Timiskaming.
 Jordan Rift Valley, which is lowest land elevation on earth is located in the Dead Sea and is 760
meters below the surface of the Mediterranean Sea.
 Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea is also a rift valley.

Lake Baikal
 Lake Baikal, also known as “Pearl of Siberia” is located in Siberia and is second most voluminous
lake in the world after the Caspian Sea.
 It is also world’s oldest and deepest lake. It’s a Rift valley, created by the Baikal Rift Zone, and a
World Heritage site declared in 1996.

Lake Tanganyika
 After lake Baikal, Lake Tanganyika is second deepest lake in the world.
 It is world’s longest Lake spanning in 4 countries of Africa viz. Burundi, Tanzania, Congo and
Zambia. This lake is a Rift Valley and largest rift lake in Africa.

Lake Superior
 Lake Superior is largest lake of North America, shared by Canada as well as USA. It is largest
freshwater lake in the world by surface area if lake Michigan and lake Huron are NOT considered
one.

Lake Vostok
 Lake Vostok is in Antarctica and is a Sub Glacial lake. It is located below the Vostok Station
of Russia in Antarctica.

Lake Nipissing
 Lake Nipissing is located in Canada. It’s one of the shallowest lakes of Canada

Archipelago
 Archipelago refers to a cluster of islands which are formed tectonically.
 This term was initially used for Aegean Islands located in the Aegean Sea between Greece and
Turkey.
 Indonesia is often referred to as the world’s largest archipelago; however, this means that it is
largest by area and not by number of islands
 World’s largest archipelago by number of Islands is Archipelago Sea which is located Baltic
Sea between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland. It has 50,000 Islands. Top 5
archipelagos in the world by number of Islands are as follows:
 Archipelago Sea (Finland) 50,000
 Canadian Arctic Archipelago 36.563
 Stockholm Archipelago 24,000
 Indonesian Archipelago 17.508
 Philippine Archipelago 7.107

Lagoon
 Lagoon is a shallow body of sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form
of barrier. The biggest lagoon in the world is located in New Caledonia, in southwest pacific.
 In India, Chilika Lake in Orissa and the Vembanad Lake in Kerala are both connected to the
Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea respectively through a narrow channel and they are typical
lagoons.

Coral Reefs
 Coral reefs, which are also called as “rainforests of the sea”, are underwater reefs made by
calcium carbonate secreted by Corals. Coral is the hard exoskeleton of the polyps. Coral Reefs
grow best in warm, shallow, clear, sunny and agitated waters.
 Coral reefs are some of the most diverse ecosystems on earth which despite of covering less than
10% of world ocean surface (284,300 km²) provide home to 25% of marine species including
fishes, molluscs etc.
 Coral Reefs are very fragile ecosystem and are susceptible to “Surface Temperature” of the
oceans. They are threatened by the climate change, ocean acidification,blast fishing, cyanide
fishing for aquarium fish, overuse of reef resources, and harmful land-use practices.
 Largest Coral reef in the world is Great Barrier Reef. It is located in the Coral Sea, off the
coast of Queensland in north-east Australia. It is composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900
islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometers.
 This reef can be seen from outer space and is the world’s biggest single structure made by living
organisms. It is a World Heritage Site (1981).
 It is also a state icon of Queensland, made by Queensland National Trust. A large part is
protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, established by Government of Australia through
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975.
 Belize Barrier Reef is world’s second largest Coral Reef which is a part of 900 kilometer
Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System. It was described by Charles Darwin in 1842 as “the most
remarkable reef in the West Indies”.
Ocean Currents
 The Ocean Currents consists of horizontal and vertical components of the circulation system of
ocean waters that is produced by gravity, wind friction, and water density variation in different
parts of the ocean.
 They are classified into three part i.e. Drift, Current and Stream on the basis of the direction of
flow, speed and shape.
 It may be cold, warm and hot. Warm ocean currents originate near the equator and move towards
the poles or higher latitudes while cold currents originate near the poles or higher latitudes and
move towards the tropics or lower latitude.
 The current's direction and speed depend on the shoreline and the ocean floor. They can flow for
thousands of miles and are found in all the major oceans of the world. The list of Ocean Currents
of the world is given below along with their nature.

List of Ocean Currents of the World

Name of Current Nature of Current
North Equatorial Current Hot or Warm
Kuroshio Current Warm
North Pacific Current Warm
Alaskan Current Warm
Counter Equatorial Current Warm
El Nino Current Warm
Tsushima Current Warm
South Equatorial Current Warm
East Australian Current Warm
Humboldt or Peruvian Current Cold
Kuril or Oya shio Current Cold
California Current Cold
Antarctica Current Cold
Okhotsk Current Cold
Florida Current Warm
Gulf Stream Warm
Norwegian Current Warm
Irminger Current Warm
Rannell Current Warm
Antilles Current Warm
Brazilian Current Warm
Labrador Current Cold
Canary Current Cold
 Eastern Greenland Current Cold
Benguela Current Cold
Antarctica Current Cold
Falkland Current Cold
Mozambique Current Warm and Stable
Agulhas Current Warm and Stable
South-West Monsoon Current Warm and unstable
North-East Monsoon Current Cold and unstable
Somali Current Cold and unstable
Western Australian Current Cold and Stable
South Indian Ocean Current Cold
 The Ocean Currents in the northern hemisphere deflects towards their right and in the southern
hemisphere deflect towards their left due to the Coriolis force.

 The only exception to this rule of the flow of ocean water is found in the Indian Ocean, where the
direction of current flow changes with the change in the direction of monsoon wind flow. It is
noteworthy that the cold currents are lesser in number as compared to the warm or hot current.

Types of the Mountains

 Mountains can be classified on the basis of their most dominant characteristics into: i) folded
mountains, ii) volcanic mountains, iii) fault-block mountains, and iv) upwarped (dome)
mountains.
 Folded Mountains- Folded mountains comprise the largest and most complex mountain systems.
Although folding is the dominant characteristic, faulting and igneous activity are always present
in varying degrees in folded mountains. The Alps, Himalayas, Rockies, Andes, Appalachians,
Tien Shan, Caucasus, Elburz, Hindukush, etc., are all of this type. The folded mountains present
the world’s major mountain systems. They are the youngest mountains in the world.
 Volcanic Mountains- Volcanic mountains are formed from the extrusion of Java and pyroclastic
materials, which if continued long enough, produces gigantic volcanic piles. The Kilimanjaro
(Africa), Cotopaxi (Andes), Mt. Rainier, Hood and Shasta (U.S.A.), are some of the examples of
volcanic mountains.
 Fault Block Mountains- Fault-block Mountains are bounded by high angle normal faults. Some
of them are associated with rift valleys such as those in East Africa, while others appear to be
formed by vertical uplifting. A notable example of fault-block mountain is found in the Basin and
Range Province of the southwestern USA. The Salt Range of Pakistan, and Siena-Nevada of
California (U.S.A.) are also the typical examples of fault-block mountains.
 Upwarped (Domed) Mountains- Upwarped or domed mountains are formed by magmatic
intrusions and upwarping of the crystal surface. The lava domes, batholithic domes, laccolithic
domes, salt domes, etc., are the examples of Dome Mountains. The Black Hills of South Dakota,
and the Adirondack mountains of New York may be cited as the examples of upwarped (domes)
mountains.

Rocks & Minerals

 Minerals are naturally occurring inorganic substances, often with a crystalline structure. They are
composed largely of the most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust oxygen & silicon, coupled
with metals or the metallic elements of iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium.
 Rocks are usually composed of two or more minerals. Often, many different minerals are present,
but a few rock varieties are made almost entirely of one mineral.
 Most rock in the Earth’s crust is extremely old, dating back many millions of years, but rock is
also being formed at this very hour as active volcanoes emit lava that solidifies on contact with
the atmosphere or ocean.
 The three types of Rocks are Sedimentary, Igneous and Metamorphic.
 Igneous rocks have crystallized from magma which is made up of various components of pre-
existing rocks and has been subjected to melting either at subduction zones or within the Earth’s
mantle.
 Sedimentary rocks are formed through the gradual accumulation of sediment, such as sand on a
beach or mud on a river bed. The sediment is buried and then it is compacted as more and more
material is deposited on top. In several thousand to Lakhs of years, the sediment becomes so
dense that it becomes a rock. This process is known as lithification.
 Metamorphic rocks once existed as igneous or sedimentary rocks but have been subjected to
varying degrees of pressure and heat within the Earth’s crust. The processes involved changes the
composition and fabric of the rock and their original nature is often hard to distinguish.
Metamorphic rocks are typically found in areas of mountain building.
 The above three classes of rocks are constantly being transformed from one to another in a
continuous process through which the crustal minerals have been recycled during many millions
of years of geologic time. The following diagram shows these transformations.

Igneous Rocks
 The upper 16 kilometers of the Earth’s crust is made up of 95% igneous rock, with a thin covering
of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.
 Igneous rocks are formed when molten rock cools, forming silicate mineral crystals. Felsic
minerals are light colored and less dense, and mafic minerals are dark colored and more dense.
 The igneous rocks are generally hard and water percolates in them not so easily.
 Igneous rocks are generally not having any fossils.They are generally granular and crystalline.
 They are less affected by chemical weathering as the water does not percolate in them easily.

Intrusive and Extrusive Igneous Rocks

 Magma that solidifies below the Earth’s surface and remains surrounded by older, pre-existing
rock is called intrusive igneous rock. Because intrusive rocks cool slowly, they develop large
mineral crystals that are visible to the eye.
 If the magma reaches the surface and emerges as lava, it forms extrusive igneous rock.
 Extrusive igneous rocks cool very rapidly on the land surface or ocean bottom and thus show
crystals of only microscopic size.
 We note here that Granite typically accumulates in batholiths. A single batholith sometimes
extends down several kilometers and may occupy an area of several thousand square kilometers.

Sedimentary Rocks
 Sedimentary rocks are made from layers, or strata, of mineral particles found in other rocks that
have been weathered and from newly formed organic matter.
 Sedimentary rocks are important because they preserve a record of ancient landscapes, climates,
and mountain ranges, as well as the history of the erosion of Earth.
 In addition, fossils are found in abundance in sedimentary rocks younger than 600 million years
and provide evidence of the evolution of life through time.
 Sedimentary rocks form at Earth’s surface by the hydrologic system. Their origin involves the
weathering of pre-existing rock, transportation of the material away from the original site,
deposition of the eroded material in the sea or in some other sedimentary environment, followed
by compaction and cementation.
 They contain strata or layers. The layers are rarely horizontal and generally tilted due to lateral
compressive and tensile forces. They are formed of sediments derived from the older rocks, plants
and animals remain.
 Most part (around 75 percent) of the surface area of the globe is covered by Sedimentary Rocks.
 Most of the sedimentary rocks are permeable and porous.
 Sedimentary rocks are generally characterized by different sizes of joints, generally perpendicular
to the bedding plains.
 When rock minerals are weathered, their chemical composition is changed, weakening the solid
rock. The rock breaks up into particles of many sizes. When these particles are transported in a
fluid such as air, water, or glacial ice, we call them sediment.
 There are three major classes of sediment: clastic sediment, chemically precipitated sediment,
and organic sediment. On this basis, three main types of sedimentary rocks are recognized
viz.clastic rocks, organic rocks and chemically precipitated rocks.
 Clastic sedimentary rocks such as breccia, conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, and shale are
formed from mechanical weathering debris.
 Chemical sedimentary rocks, such as rock salt, iron ore, chert, flint, some dolomites, and
some limestones, form when dissolved materials precipitate from solution.
 Organic sedimentary rocks such as coal, some dolomites, and some limestones, form from the
accumulation of plant or animal debris.

Metamorphic Rocks
 The mountain-building processes of the Earth’s crust involve tremendous pressures and high
temperatures.
 These extreme conditions alter igneous or sedimentary rocks, transforming them into
metamorphic rock.
 Thus, metamorphic rocks are formed from the pre-existing rocks within the Earth’s crust by
changes in temperature and pressure and by chemical action of fluid.
 This means that Both the Igneous and Sedimentary socks undergo profound physical and
chemical changes under the increased pressure and temperature.
 The process is called “metamorphism”. Some metamorphic Rocks are Schist, Gneiss, Slate,
Quartzite, Marble and Granite.
 There are two basic types of metamorphic rocks: Foliated metamorphic rocks such as gneiss,
phyllite, schist and slate which have a layered or banded appearance that is produced by exposure
to heat and directed pressure. This is called Foliation.
 Non-foliated metamorphic rocks such as marble and quartzite which do not have a layered or
banded appearance.
 In the surface environment, rocks weather into sediment. In the deep environment, heat and
pressure transform sediment into rock that is eventually exposed at the surface.
Weathering & Mass Wasting
 Weathering- There are two types of the processes that affect the landforms viz. Exogenic and
Endogenic.
 Endogenic are the processes that occur within the earth’s surface such as Plate tectonics,
earthquakes, volcanoes etc.
 Exogenic are the processes that occur on or near the earth’s surface. The tidal force is Exogenic.
The radiation from Sun is also Exogenic.
 Further, there are 3 Exogenic geological processes which refer to the process of disaggregation
which lead to the reduction in the elevation & relief of the landforms and landscapes such as rocks
and mountains.
 These 3 important phenomena are weathering, mass wasting and erosion. These all together are
called “Degradation” or “Denudation“. Endogenic processes uplift and expose continental crust
to the Exogenic denudation. Exogenic denudation works in opposition and reduces landscapes to
sea level.
 Weathering is the breaking down of Rocks, soils and minerals through “direct Contact” with the
atmosphere of the earth. It occurs in situ, means there is no movement involved.
 Erosion- This is distinct from erosion which involves the movement of rocks and minerals such
as water, ice, wind and gravity.

Weathering
 Weathering refers to the combined action of all processes that cause rock to disintegrate
physically and decompose chemically because of exposure near the Earth’s surface. Weathering
produces regolith. Weathering also creates a number of distinctive landforms.
 Regolith is a surface layer of weathered rock particles that lies above solid, unaltered rock.
Weathering is the in situ disintegration and breakdown of rocks, soils and minerals.
Types of Weathering
 There are three types of weathering viz. Mechanical or Physical Weathering, Chemical
Weathering & Biological Weathering.

Physical Weathering
 Physical Weathering can be caused by thermal changes, Frost Action, Pressure Release, Hydraulic
action and Haloclasty.
 Repeated changes in the temperature (heating and cooling) exert the stress on the outer layers of
the rocks which is called as Thermal Stress. The rocks expand when there is a rise in the
temperature and contract when there is a fall in the temperature. In deserts, the phenomena are
more common as there is large diurnal temperature range. The Forest fires can raise the
temperature suddenly and this leads to thermal shock.
 One of the most important physical weathering processes in cold climates is frost action. As water
in the pore spaces of rocks freezes and thaws repeatedly, expansion can break even extremely
hard rocks into smaller fragments.
 Pressure Release or exfoliation refers to the release of the pressure from unloading of existing
rock on the rocks that lie beneath it due to other processes such as erosion. The igneous rocks are
formed deep in earth and when the rocks above them get removed, the igneous rocks expose and
the pressure is released. This causes their outermost surfaces to expand. This expansion leads to
weathering.
 Hydraulic Action takes place due to very high powered water waves. When water rushes into
cracks in the rocks with a very fast speed, the trap of air in the cracks get compressed and thus
weakens the rocks. When water retreats, the trapped air is suddenly released with explosive force.
 Biological Weathering refers to the contribution made by the organisms such asLichens and
mosses, which grow on essentially bare rock surfaces and create a more humid chemical
microenvironment. Biological weathering is both physical as well as chemical breakdown of the
surface micro layer of the rock. The animals such as earthworms and other annelids, moles,
rabbits all contribute to the biological weathering.

Chemical Weathering
 Chemical weathering refers to the changes in the chemical composition of the rocks and
generally refers to the chemical reactions of water with minerals.
 Hydration means absorption of water by some kinds of rock, leading to expansions and
disintegrations. When water molecules bind with the mineral molecules, it is called Mineral
Hydration.
 Hydrolysis- The chemical breakdown of the rocks caused by rainwater is called Hydrolysis.
The result may be secondary minerals with different chemical structure.
 Oxidation- Oxidation or rusting occurs when atmospheric oxygen reacts with the minerals
such as Iron Ores. This leads to decomposition of the rocks.
 Solutions- This refers to dissolving of the minerals in water.
 Carbonation- Carbonation refers to the chemical weathering in which Carbon dioxide attacks the
rocks after it makes weak acid reacting the water. The rocks are generally made up of calcium
carbonate such as Limestone and Chalk.

Erosion
 Erosions refer to the earth-sculpting processes in which the debris produced by weathering is
“transported”. So it’s a kind of weathering in which the soils break up and get carried away. The
agents of erosion are Rainwater, River water, ice, wind, sea waves, and underground water.
 Erosion is a very important topic physical and well as human geography. Apart from the transport
by wind, water, or ice; erosion also involves the down-slope creep of soil and erosion by the
living organisms, such as burrowing animals, in the case of bioerosion, and human land use.

Composition and Layers of Atmosphere

 The atmosphere is a mixture of different types of gases.Nitrogen and oxygen are the two main
gases in the atmosphere and 99 percentage of the atmosphere is made up of these two gases.
 Other gases like argon, carbon dioxide, neon, helium, hydrogen, etc. form the remaining part of
the atmosphere.
 The portion of the gases changes in the higher layers of the atmosphere in such a way that oxygen
will be almost negligible quantity at the heights of 120 km.
 Similarly, carbon dioxide (and water vapour) is found only up to 90 km from the surface of the
earth.
 Ozone is another important component of the atmosphere found mainly between 10 and 50 km
above the earth’s surface. It acts as a filter and absorbs the ultra-violet rays radiating from the sun
and prevents them from reaching the surface of the earth.
 The amount of ozone gas in the atmosphere is very little and is limited to the ozone layer found in
the stratosphere.
 Gases form of water present in the atmosphere is called water vapour.
 It is the source of all kinds of precipitation.
 The amount of water vapour decreases with altitude. It also decreases from the equator (or from
the low latitudes) towards the poles (or towards the high latitudes).

Structure of the atmosphere

 The atmosphere can be divided into five layers according to the diversity of temperature and
density. They are Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere (Ionosphere) and
Exosphere

Troposphere
 It is the lowermost layer of the atmosphere.
 The height of this layer is about 18 km on the equator and 8 km on the poles.
 The thickness of the troposphere is greatest at the equator because heat us transported to great
heights by strong convectional currents.
 Troposphere contains dust particles and water vapour.
 This is the most important layer of the atmosphere because all kinds of weather changes take
place only in this layer.
 The air never remains static in this layer. Therefore this layer is called ‘changing sphere’ or
troposphere.
 The environmental temperature decreases with increasing height of the atmosphere. It decreases at
the rate of 1 degree Celsius for every 165 m of height. This is called Normal Lapse Rate.
 The zone separating troposphere from the stratosphere is known as tropopause.
 The air temperature at the tropopause is about – 80 degree Celsius over the equator and about – 45
degree Celsius over the poles. The temperature here is nearly constant, and hence, it is called
tropopause.

Stratosphere

 Stratosphere is found just above the troposphere.

 It extends up to a height of 50 km.
 The temperature remains almost the same in the lower part of this layer up to the height of 20 km.
After this, the temperature increases slowly with the increase in the height. The temperature
increases due to the presence of ozone gas in the upper part of this layer.
 Weather related incidents do not take place in this layer. The air blows horizontally here.
Therefore this layer is considered ideal for flying of aircraft.
 The upper limit of the stratosphere is known as stratopause.
 One important feature of stratosphere is that it contains a layer of ozone gas.
 The relative thickness of the ozone layer is measured in Dobson Units.
 It is mainly found in the lower portion of the stratosphere, from approximately 20 to 30 km above
the earth’s surface.
 It contains a high concentration of ozone (O3) in relation to other parts of the atmosphere.
 It is the region of the stratosphere that absorbs most of the sun’s ultra-violet radiations.

Mesosphere
 It is the third layer of the atmosphere spreading over the stratosphere.
 It extends up to a height of 80 km.
 In this layer, the temperature starts decreasing with increasing altitude and reaches up to – 100
degree Celsius at the height of 80 km.
 Meteors or falling stars occur in this layer.
 The upper limit of the mesosphere is known as mesopause.
Thermosphere
 This layer is located between 80 and 400 km above the mesopause.
 It contains electrically charged particles known as ions, and hence, it is known as the ionosphere.
 Radio waves transmitted from the earth are reflected back to the earth by this layer and due to
this, radio broadcasting has become possible.
 The temperature here starts increasing with heights.
Exosphere
 The exosphere is the uppermost layer of the atmosphere.
 Gases are very sparse in this sphere due to the lack of gravitational force. Therefore, the density of
air is very less here.

Earth’s Albedo
 The ratio between the total solar radiation falling (incident) upon a surface and the amount
reflected without heating the earth, is called ALBEDO (expressed as a decimal or as a
percentage).
 The earth’s average albedo is about 0.4 (40 percent) ; that is , 4/10 of the solar radiation is
reflected back into space. It varies from 0.03 for dark soil to 0.85 for a snow-failed. Water has a
low albedo (0.02) with near-vertical rays, but a high albedo for low-angle slanting rays. The
figure for grass is about 0.25. Over-pastured land and bare soil are more reflective of solar
radiation than are crops and vegetation.
 A desert is much more reflective than a savanna or forest. If economic pressure on soil and
vegetation increases, and drought then occurs, the effect overall is to increase the albedo of the
surface.

Three Broad Temperature Zones

 The earth can be generally divided into three broad temperature zones viz. Torrid Zone,
Temperate Zone and Frigid zone.

Torrid Zone
 Torrid Zone is the tropical region. The temperature remains high. Sun is directly overhead at least
once during the year.
 In the Northern Hemisphere, the overhead Sun moves north from the equator until it reaches 23.5
°North (Tropic of Cancer) for the June solstice after which it moves back south to the equator.
 The year is consequently divided nearly into four equal parts by the two times at which the sun
crosses the equator (Equinoxes) and those two at which it attains greatest declinations (Solstices).
 The Torrid Zone forms the hottest region of the world with two annual seasons namely a dry and
a wet season.
 This zone includes most of Africa, southern Asia, Indonesia, New Guinea, northern Australia,
southern Mexico, Central America and northern South America.

Temperate Zones
 Temperate zones are the mid latitudinal areas, where the temperature is moderate. There are two
temperate areas viz. North and South. In the two Temperate Zones, consisting of the tepid
latitudes, the Sun is never directly overhead, and the climate is mild, generally ranging from
warm to cool.
 The four annual seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter occur in these areas.
 The North Temperate Zone includes Great Britain, Europe, northern Asia, North America and
northern Mexico. The South Temperate Zone includes southern Australia, New Zealand, southern
South America and South Africa.

Frigid Zones
 The two Frigid Zones, or polar regions, experience the midnight sun and the polar night for part of
the year – the cliff of the zone experiences one day at the solstice when the Sun doesn’t rise or set
for 24 hours, while in the centre of the zone (the pole), the day is literally one year long, with six
months of daylight and six months of night.
 Please note that the Frigid Zones are not the coldest parts of the earth, and are covered with ice
and snow. Thecoldest temperature on earth has been recorded a few degrees below the 90°N.
Pressure Belts of Earth
 The distribution of pressure on earth is uneven. Usually pressure is inversely related to the
temperature and pressure reduced with altitude. The major factors are earth’s rotation and ascent
and descent of air to affect distribution of pressure.

Creation of the Pressure Belts

 Due to high amount of insolation over the equator, the air ascends and this air rising in the
equatorial region descends at around 30° north and south latitudes.
 This means that the air at the equatorial region is thrown away from the earth and air at the Polar
Regions is pulled towards earth. This implies that there is a low pressure is on equator and there
is a high pressure area on poles.
 This gives rise to two belts of high pressure on Polar Regions each and one belt of low pressure
on equator.
 The air that descends at 30°N and 30°S also created two belts of high pressures in the subtropical
regions of both the hemispheres. Further, the rotation of the earth pulls the air at Polar Regions
causes a rarification of air pressure at sub-polar regions.
 This also produces two belts of low pressure around 60°N and S latitude. This means that there
are 7 belts of pressure as shown in the below graphics.

 The planetary distribution of pressure, in the 7 belts is determined by two major factors viz.
thermal factor and dynamic factor.
 Please note that equatorial belt of low pressure and polar belts of high pressures are due to the
thermal factor while, the subtropical belts of high pressure and subpolar belts of low pressure
are primarily due to earth’s rotation or dynamic factors.

Intertropical Convergence Zone / Doldrums

 The pressure belt between the 0° to 5°N and S is called Equatorial Low Pressure Belt. This belt
is characterized by intense heating, with expanding air and ascending convectional currents.
Because the air is largely moving upward, surface winds are light and variable. This region is
known as the doldrums.
 The term doldrums has been used by the sailors as it has been marked by erratic weather patterns
with stagnant calms and violent thunderstorms. Doldrums are belt of calms and variable
windsoccurring at times along the equatorial trough.
 The same area is also called the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) or Doldrums. This is the
area encircling the earth near the equator where winds originating in the northern and southern
hemispheres come together.
 Please note that the location is not precisely defined as location of the Intertropical convergence
zone varies over time. Over land, it moves back and forth across the equator following the sun’s
zenith point.
 Over the oceans, where the convergence zone is better defined, the seasonal cycle is more subtle,
as the convection is constrained by the distribution of ocean temperatures. Sometimes, a double
ITCZ forms, with one located north and another south of the equator.
 When this occurs, a narrow ridge of high pressure forms between the two convergence zones, one
of which is usually stronger than the other. Between 10° and 15° North and South, there are high
pressure belts, where air is comparatively dry, light and calm. This region is beneficial to the
maritime trade.

Subtropical High / Horse Latitudes

 Horse Latitudes or Subtropical High are subtropical latitudes between 30 and 35 degrees both
north and south.
 This region, under a ridge of high pressure receives little precipitation and has variable winds
mixed with calm.
 The air iscomparatively dry and calm. This is also the region of descending air current and is
marked by some cyclonic activities.
 The consistentlywarm, dry conditions of the horse latitudes also contribute to the existence of
temperate deserts, such as the Sahara Desert in Africa, the southwestern United States and
northern Mexico, and parts of the Middle East in the Northern Hemisphere; and the Atacama
Desert, the Kalahari Desert, and the Australian Desert in the Southern Hemisphere.

Other Belts
 30°-60°North and South Belt region is of temperate low pressure belt or anti-trade wind area. It
is marked by cyclones and anticyclones. 60°North and South are the two Temperate Low Pressure
belts which are also called zones of convergence with Cyclonic activity. The 90° North and South
are called Polar High belts.

Winds
Global Winds
 When air moves in a definite direction, it is called wind. If the winds move from west to east,
they are called westerlies. If they move from east to west, they are called easterlies.
 There are winds because there are differences in pressures. The direction of wind is also affected
by coriolis affect. Due to Coriolis Force, the wind flowing from equator towards the North Pole
 and from North Pole towards the equator are deflected to their right while the winds flowing
north-south and south-north in the southern hemisphere are deflected towards their left.

Trade winds
 Trades wind blow out from the Subtropical High Pressure belts. In the northern hemisphere, they
blow towards the equatorial low and called North East Trade Winds.
 In the Southern hemisphere they blow towards the equatorial low and become the South East
Trade winds.
 This implies that Trade winds blow from North east towards equator in Northern hemisphere and
South East Towards equator in southern hemisphere. It has been shown in the following graphics.
 The trade winds are most regular winds of all kinds on earth. They blow with great force and in
constant direction that is why they are preferred by the sailors. The trade winds bring heavy rain
falls and sometimes contain intense depressions.

Trade winds and Hadley cells

 There are three primary circulation cells on earth known as the Hadley cell, Ferrel cell, and Polar
cell.
 The Hadley cell mechanism provides an explanation for the trade winds. Hadley cell is a closed
circulation loop, which begins at the equator with warm, moist air lifted aloft in equatorial low
pressure areas (the Intertropical Convergence Zone, ITCZ) to the tropopause and carried pole
ward. At about 30°N/S latitude, it descends in a high pressure area. Some of the descending air
travels equatorially along the surface, closing the loop of the Hadley cell and creating the Trade
Winds.
 Hadley Cells is described to be lying on equator but it follows sun’s zenith point, or what is
termed the “thermal equator”.

Westerlies
 The directions of the Westerlies are opposite to trade winds and that is why they are also called
antitrade winds. Westerlies blow in the middle latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees latitude, and
originate from the high pressure area in the horse latitudes towards the poles.
 Under the effect of the Coriolis force, they become the south westerlies in the northern
hemisphere and Northern westerlies in the southern hemisphere. Please note that in the southern
hemisphere, there is more of ocean and less of land in comparison to the northern hemisphere.
 Due to this reason, the westerlies blow with much greater force in southern hemisphere in
comparison to northern hemisphere.

Polar Easterlies
 Polar easterlies blow from the polar high pressure belts towards the temperate low pressure belts.
These are extremely cold winds that come from the Tundra and Icecap regions of the poles. The
Polar Easterlies are more regular in the southern hemisphere in comparison to the northern
hemisphere.
 These polar cold winds converge with the warm easterlies near 60° latitudes and form the Polar
front or Mid Latitude front. This mid-latitude front becomes the centre of the origin of the
Temperate Cyclones.

Local Winds
 The Local winds around the world are formed through the heating of land.
 In coastal regions, the sea breezes and land breezes are important factors in a location’s
prevailing winds.
 The sea is warmed by the sun more slowly because of water’s greater specific heat compared to
land. As the temperature of the surface of the land rises, the land heats the air above it by
conduction.
 The warm air is less dense than the surrounding environment and so it rises. This causes a
pressure gradient of about 2 millibar from the ocean to the land. The cooler air above the sea,
now with higher sea level pressure, flows inland into the lower pressure, creating a cooler breeze
near the coast. At night, the land cools off more quickly than the ocean because of differences in
their specific heat values.
 This temperature change causes the daytime sea breeze to dissipate. When the temperature
onshore cools below the temperature offshore, the pressure over the water will be lower than that
of the land, establishing a land breeze, as long as an onshore wind is not strong enough to
oppose it.

Barrier Jet
 The mountains and valleys are capable to distort the airflow by increasing friction between the
atmosphere and landmass by acting as a physical block to the flow, deflecting the wind parallel to
the range just upstream of the topography, which is known as a barrier jet.
 This barrier jet can increase the low level wind. Wind direction also changes because of the
contour of the land. If there is a pass in the mountain range, winds will rush through the pass with
 considerable speed because of the Bernoulli principle that describes an inverse relationship
between speed and pressure.
 The airflow can remain turbulent and erratic for some distance downwind into the flatter
countryside. Theseconditions are dangerous to ascending and descending airplanes.

List of major Local Winds

 Abroholos: squall frequent wind that occurs from May through August between Cabo de Sao
Tome and Cabo Frio on the coast of Brazil
 Amihan : northeasterly wind across the Philippines
 Bayamo : violent wind on Cuba’s southern coast
 Bora : northeasterly from eastern Europe to northeastern Italy
 Calima : dust-laden south to southeasterly wind blowing in the Saharan Air Layer across the
Canary Islands
 Cape Doctor : dry south-easterly wind that blows on the South African coast in summer
 Chinook : warm dry westerly off the Rocky Mountains
 Elephanta : strong southerly or southeasterly wind on the Malabar coast of India
 Föhn : warm dry southerly off the northern side of the Alps and the North Italy, the name gave
rise to the fén-fēng or ‘burning wind’ of Taiwan
 Fremantle Doctor : afternoon sea breeze from the Indian Ocean which cools Perth, Western
Australia during summer
 Gregale : northeasterly from Greece
 Habagat : southwesterly wind across the Philippines
 Harmattan : dry northerly wind across central Africa
 Karaburan : “black storm”, a Spring and Summer Katabatic wind of central Asia
 Khamsin : southeasterly from north Africa to the eastern Mediterranean
 Khazri : cold north wind in the Absheron Peninsula of the Azerbaijan Republic
 Kona : southeast wind in Hawaii, replacing trade winds, bringing high humidity and often rain
 Košava : strong and cold southeasterly season wind in Serbia
 Loo : hot and dry wind which blows over plains of India and pakistan.
 Mistral : cold northerly from central France and the Alps to Mediterranean
 Monsoon : mainly south-westerly winds combined with heavy rain in various areas close to the
equator
 Nor’wester : wind that brings rain to the West Coast, and warm dry winds to the East Coast of
New Zealand’s South Island, caused by the moist prevailing winds being uplifted over the
Southern Alps, often accompanied by a distinctive arched cloud pattern Pampero : Argentina,
very strong wind which blows in the Pampa
 Simoom : strong, dry, desert wind that blows in the Sahara, Israel, Jordan, Syria, and the desert of
Arabia
 Sirocco : southerly from north Africa to southern Europe
 Sundowner : strong offshore wind off the California coast
 Zonda wind : on the eastern slope of the Andes in Argentina

Monsoon Mechanism
 In this system, the direction of the winds reverses seasonally.
 The first thing we note is that Monsoon is typically considered a phenomenon of tropical south
Asia, but it is also experienced over parts of North America and Africa.
 Traditionally, monsoon has been considered a result of the differential heating of land and sea.
 In summer, southern Asia develops a low pressure while the pressure over the sea is relatively
higher. As a result the air starts flowing towards land from the Indian oceans. The winds coming
 from ocean carry moisture and thus cause rainfall in summer reason. This is known as the
southwest monsoon or summer monsoon.
 In winter, the pressure over land is higher than over the sea and consequently the air starts
flowing from land to sea. The air coming from land being dry, these winds do not cause rainfall.
 The above explanation is known as the thermal theory of monsoon. This theory explains
monsoon as a regional phenomenon but fails to explain the total amount of energy / processes
involved in the global monsoon circulation.

Mechanism of Monsoon: Modern View

 The modern meteorologists seek explanation for the phenomenon of monsoon on the basis of
seasonal shift in the position of the global belts of pressure and winds. This is also known as
Dynamic Theory.
 According to the dynamic theory, monsoons are a result of the shift of the inter-tropical
convergence zone (ITCZ) under the influence of the vertical sun. Though the average position of
the ITCZ is taken as the equator, it keeps shifting vertical sun towards with the migration of the
vertical sun towards the tropics during the summer of the respective hemisphere.

Rainfall
 The amount of moisture in air is commonly recorded as relative humidity; which is the
percentage of the total water vapour air can hold at a particular air temperature.
 The convectional rainfall occurs due to the thermal convection currents caused due to the heating
of ground due to insolation. The convectional rainfall is prevalent in equatorial regions. In these,
the warm air rises up and expands then, reaches at a cooler layer and saturates, then condenses
mainly in the form of cumulus or cumulonimbus clouds.
 In the equatorial regions, the precipitation due to convectional rainfall occurs in the afternoon.
The rainfall is of very short duration but in the form of heavy showers.
 Cyclonic / Frontal Rainfall occurs due to the upward movement of the air caused by the
convergence of different air masses with different temperatures. The warm air rises over the cold
air and cyclonic rain occurs. The cold air pushes up the warm air and sky gets clear again.
 Orographic Rainfall occurs due to the ascent of air forced by the mountain barrier. The
mountain barrier should be across the wind direction. So that the moist air is forced in obstruction
to move upward and get cooled. In Rajasthan, the Aravalli is not an obstructing barrier to the
highly moist air coming from Arabian Sea and that is why they don’t play very important role in
rainfalls.
 Thus they produce a Rain shadow area. A rain shadow is a dry area on the lee side of a
mountainous area. The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems, casting a
“shadow” of dryness behind them. In south India, the Mangalore is located on the western
windward slope and gets 2000 mm of rainfall. But Bangalore is in rain shadow area and that is
why receives less than 500 mm of rainfall.
 Please note that the amount of the rainfall increases with increasing height of the barrier such as
mountain, but this is up to a certain limit. After that there is a marked decrease due to lesser
moisture content of the air and this phenomenon is called “Inversion of Rainfall”

Cyclones
 Cyclone is a system of low atmospheric pressure in which the barometric gradient is steep.
 Cyclones represent circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth.
 This means that the inward spiralling winds in a cyclone rotate anticlockwise in the Northern
Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth.
 Most large-scale cyclonic circulations are centred on areas of low atmospheric pressure. The
cyclones can be tropical cyclones or temperate cyclones (extra-tropical cyclones).
Tropical Cyclones
 The tropical cyclone is a system of low pressure occurring in tropical latitudes characterized by
very strong winds.
 The tropical cyclones are found over the North Atlantic Ocean, Southern Atlantic Ocean, the
eastern, central and western North Pacific Ocean, the central and western South Pacific Ocean
and the northern and southern Indian Ocean.
 The pressures recorded at the centers of tropical cyclones are among the lowest that occur on
Earth’s surface at sea level.
 Tropical cyclones are driven by the release of large amounts of latent heat of condensation,
which occurs when moist air is carried upwards and its water vapour condenses. This heat is
distributed vertically around the center of the storm. Thus, at any given altitude, environment
inside the cyclone is warmer than its outer surroundings.
 The rotation of the Earth causes the system to spin (Coriolis Effect) giving it a cyclonic
characteristic and affecting the trajectory of the storm. In Northern Hemisphere, where the
cyclone’s wind flow is counterclockwise, the fastest winds relative to the surface of the Earth
occur on the eastern side of a northward-moving storm and on the northern side of a westward-
moving one; the opposite occurs in the Southern Hemisphere, where the wind flow is
clockwise.

Fujiwhara effect
 When two cyclones approach one another, their centers will begin orbiting cyclonically about a
point between the two systems. The two vortices will be attracted to each other, and eventually
spiral into the center point and merge. When the two vortices are of unequal size, the larger vortex
will tend to dominate the interaction, and the smaller vortex will orbit around it. This
phenomenon is called the Fujiwhara effect.

Naming of Cyclones
 Tropical cyclones are classified into three main groups, based on intensity: tropical depressions,
tropical storms, and a third group of more intense storms, whose name depends on the region.
 If a tropical storm in the North-western Pacific reaches hurricane-strength winds on the Beaufort
scale, it is referred to as a typhoon.
 If a tropical storm passes the same benchmark in the Northeast Pacific Basin, or in the Atlantic, it
is called a hurricane.
 Neither “hurricane” nor “typhoon” is used in either the Southern Hemisphere or the Indian
Ocean. In these basins, storms of tropical nature are referred to simply as “cyclones”.
 There are three kinds of Tropical cyclones:
Tropical Depression: A tropical depression is a system with low pressure enclosed within few
isobars and with the wind speed of 60 kmph. It lacks marked circulation
Tropical Storm: It is a system with several closed isobars and a wind circulation of 115 kmph.
Tropical Cyclone: It is a warm core vortex circulation of tropical origin with small diameter
circular shape and occurs in oceanic areas.

Anticyclones
 An ‘anticyclone’ is opposite to a cyclone, in whichwinds move into a low-pressure area.
 In an anticyclone, winds move out from a high-pressure area with wind direction clockwise in the
northern hemisphere, anti-clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
 Such a high pressure area is usually spread over a large area, created by descending warm air
devoid of moisture. The absence of moisture makes the dry air denser than an equal quantity of air
with moisture. When it displaces the heavier nitrogen and oxygen, it causes an anti-cyclone.
Temperate Cyclones
 Temperate cyclones are generally called depressions. They have low pressure at the centre and
increasing pressure outwardly.
 They are of varying shapes such as circular, elliptical. The formation of tropical are confined to
oceans, the temperate cyclones are formed over land and sea alike.
 Temperate Cyclones are formed in 35-65° North as well as South Latitudes. While the tropical
cyclones are largely formed in summer and autumn, the temperate cyclones are formed in
generally winter. Rainfall in these cyclones is low and continuous not as furious as in case of
tropical cyclones.

Tornado
 Basically, hurricanes and typhoons form over water and are huge, while tornados form over land
and are much smaller in size. A tornado is a violent windstorm characterized by a twisting,
funnel-shaped cloud. In the United States, twister is used as a colloquial term for tornado.

Geology of India
 India is mostly located on the Indian Plate, which is generally called the northern portion of
the Indo-Australian Plate.
 Indian subcontinent, Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania, New Zealand etc. have a common
geological history by virtue of being an integral part of the Mesozoic Gondwana super-
continent until 160 million years ago.
 In the late Paleozoic period (542 – 250 million years ago) super continent Pangaea was
formed that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras.
 Pangaea started beginning to break up approximately 200 million years ago, before the
component continents were separated into their current configuration. It first broke into
Northern Laurasia (Angaraland) and Southern Gondwanaland.
 Later, the Laurasia and Gondwana drifted apart. Gondwana included Antarctica, South
America, Africa, Madagascar, Australia-New Guinea, and New Zealand, as well as Arabia
and the Indian subcontinent, which have now moved entirely into the Northern Hemisphere.
 Thus, from geological history two main structural divisions of India are: Himalayan
Mountain Chain, which is a part of Laurasia or Angaraland and southern pan called
Gondwanaland of which Peninsular India formed one of the blocks.
 The intervening space between the two giant continental blocks was filled with water. It was a
shallow sea called Tethy’s Sea. During the subsequent geological periods, the Indian
Peninsular block began drifting northward leaving a huge gap filled with water which truly
came to be called the Indian Ocean.
 As the peninsular block continued its drift northward, the Indian Ocean continued to advance
and filled up the depressions on either side of the landmass when it compressed the Tethy’s
Sea.
 Thus, the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal were formed. What was once the Tethy’s Sea has
become the Mediterrnean Sea. Other remnants are the Black, Caspian, and Aral Seas (via a
former inland branch known as the Paratethys).
 Structurally the Indian landmass is divided into three main divisions consisting of The
Himalayan Mountain Chain, The North Indian Plain; and The Peninsular Plateau.
 However, stratigraphically, India can be divided into several divisions such as Archean
System, Dharwar System, Cudappah system, Vindhyan system, Paleozoic,Mesozoic,
Gondwana, Deccan Trap, Tertiary and Alluvial.
 Archean formations also known as Pre -Cambrian rocks are the oldest rocks of the earth’s
crust. The Archean period covers 86.7% of total geological history time of earth and therefore is
very significant. These rocks have abundant metallic and non-metallic minerals such as iron,
copper, manganese, bauxite, lead, zinc, gold, silver, tin, tungsten, mica, asbestos, graphite, etc.
 Dharwar system is later than the Archean system but older than the other systems. Dharwar
Rock System is special because it is the first metamorphic sedimentary rocks in India. The
Dharwar rocks are rich in iron ore, manganese, lead, zinc, gold, silver etc. The Champions series
containing gold mines lie within this system. This Champion system is named after the Champion
reef in the Kolar Gold Fields. The Kolar Gold Fields contain one of the deepest gold mines of
world.
 Cudappah System are rich in metamorphic rocks such as sandstone, shale, limestone, quartzite,
and slate. They contain iron and other inferior quality of ores and minerals.
 Vindhyan System form a dividing line between the Ganges plain and Deccan Plateau. The
Vindyan system is named after Vidhyan Mountains. This system rocks are extensively distributed
in India from Chittorgarh (Rajasthan) to Sasaram (Bihar). The Vindhyan System is separated from
Aravallis by the Great Boundary Fault. They are famous sources of Red Sandstone and other
building material. The well known Panna and Golconda diamonds are found in this formation.
The important series of this system are Bhander series, Bijwar series and Kaimur series. All are
rich sources of Building material.
Gondwana System or Carboniferous period System or Dravidian System
 As the name suggests, these are the major coal deposits of India. This system contains famous
Damuda and Panchet series which are famous for coal deposits. Damodar and Sone river valley
and Rajmahal hills in the eastern India is depository of the Gondwana rocks.
 The Cretaceous system or the Deccan Trap- Rocks of Deccan Trap are igneous. The Deccan
system is marked by a transgression of the sea at Coromandal coast and Narmada valley and the
upwelling of huge quantity of Lava/ basalt , so the Cretaceous system or Deccan Trap is made up
of Basalt rocks. This system is also called lava trap and is 3000 meters deep. The rocks of this
system are found in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, and
Karnataka.
 The Tertiary System rock system belongs to Cenozoic era. The Cenozoic era has two periods’
viz. tertiary and quaternary. The most important rocks of this system are in northern plains of
India, karewas of Kashmir and bhadarwah, Bhangar, and Khadar of the Great Plains. The
terraces of Jeelum Narmada, Taptii, Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, etc. are of this period. The rocks
of this system are also found in coast of Kachchh, Katiawar, Konkan, Malabar, Nilgiri, and the
Eastern Ghats.

India’s Climatology
 India is home to an extraordinary variety of climatic regions, ranging from tropical in the south to
temperate and alpine in the Himalayan north, where elevated regions receive sustained winter
snowfall. India’s climate is strongly influenced by the Oceans, Himalayas and the Thar Desert.
 The Himalayas act as a barrier to the frigid katabatic winds flowing down from Central Asia
keeping the bulk of the Indian subcontinent warmer than most locations at similar latitudes.
 The climate of India may be broadly described as tropical monsoon type. India’s climate is
affected by two seasonal winds viz. the north-east monsoon and the south-west monsoon.
 The north-east monsoon commonly known as winter monsoon blows from land to sea whereas
south-west monsoon known as summer monsoon blows from sea to land after crossing the
Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.
 The south-west monsoon brings most of the rainfall during the year in the country.

Seasons in India
 There are four seasons in India viz. Winter (December-February), Hot weather summer (March-
May), Rainy south-western monsoon (June-September) and Post-monsoon, also known as north-
east monsoon in the southern Peninsula (October-November).
 Over Indian Ocean south of the equator high pressure belt begins to develop in this season. In
North-West India, afternoon dust storms are common. During summer, very hot and dry winds
blow over North Indian plains. They are locally called ‘Loo’. At the same time, localized
thunderstorms, associated with violent winds, torrential downpours, often accompanied by hail
occur in many parts of India.
 In West Bengal, these storms are known as the Kaal‘ Baisakhi’ (calamity for the month of
Baisakh).
 Towards the close of the summer season, pre-monsoon showers are common, especially in
Kerala and Karnataka, which help in the early ripening of mangoes, and are often referred to as
‘mango showers’.
 The thunderstorms which occur during summer to bring some rainfall in Karnataka are also
known as Cherry Blossom Showers.
 Two branches of south-west monsoon originate from: 1) Arabian Sea 2) Bay of Bengal.
 The Arabian Sea Branch obstructed by Western Ghats gives heavy rainfall on the Western side of
Western Ghats. It reaches Mumbai by 10th June. When this branch crosses the Western Ghats
and reaches the Deccan Plateau and parts of Madhya Pradesh, it gives less rainfall as it is a rain
shadow region. Further, this branch reaches in Northern Plain by 20th June.
La Niña
 La Niña, which means “The Little Girl” or “El Viejo” or “anti-El Niño” or simply “a cold event”
or “a cold episode is the cooling of water in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
 The water in Eastern Pacific, which is otherwise cool; gets colder than normal. There is no
reversal of the trade winds but it causes strong high pressure over the eastern equatorial Pacific.
 On the other hand, low pressure is caused over Western Pacific and Off Asia.This has so far
caused the following major effects:1) Drought in Ecuador and Peru. Low temperature, High
Pressure in Eastern Pacific. 2) Heavy floods in Australia; High Temperature in Western Pacific,
Indian Ocean, Off coast Somalia and good rains in India.3) Drought in East Africa (Somalia
Drought of 2011 was linked to it)

ENSO
 Both El Nino and La Nina are part of a larger cycle called ENSO, or El Niño–Southern
Oscillation. The El Niño (warm event) and La Nina (Cold event) both have now established
themselves as the integral part of the global climate system.
 It is a recurrent phenomenon with an average return period of 4 1/2 years, but can recur as little as 2
or as much as 10 years apart. Such events have occurred for millennia, and can be expected to
continue to occur in the future.

Impact of El Niño and La Nina on Indian Weather

 El Nino and La Nina are among the most powerful phenomenon on the Earth. These are known to
alter climate across more than half the planet and dramatically impact weather patterns.
 Over Indian subcontinent, El Nino during winter results in development of warm conditions.
During summer, it leads to dry conditions and deficient monsoon. It also leads to drought in
Australia. On the other hand, La Nina results in better than normal monsoon in India. At the same
time, in Australia it has caused floods.
 This implies that El Nino is not the only factor that affects monsoon in India. There are other
factors that affect India’s rainfall pattern. These include North Atlantic SST, Equatorial SE Indian
Ocean SST, East Asia Mean Sea Level Pressure, North Atlantic Mean Sea Level Pressure and
North Central Pacific wind at 1.5 km above sea level.

Soils of India
 On the basis of genesis, colour, composition and location, the soils of India have been classified
into various soils such as Alluvial soils, Black soils, Red and Yellow soils, Laterite soils, Arid
soils, Saline soils, Peaty soils, Forest soils etc.
 Alluvial Soils- The depositional soils transported by rivers, are the predominant type of soil in the
northern plains of the country, widespread in the Ganga plains and the river valleys. These soils
cover about 40 per cent of the total area of the country. The alluvial soils are generally rich in
potash but poor in phosphorous.
 In the Upper and Middle Ganga plain, two different types of alluvial soils have developed, viz.
Khadar and Bhangar.
 Khadar is the new alluvium and is deposited by floods annually, which enriches the soil by
depositing fine silts.Bhangar represents a system of older alluvium, deposited away from the
flood plains.
 Both the Khadar and Bhangar soils contain calcareous concretions (Kankars). These soils are
more loamy and clayey in the lower and middle Ganga plain and the Brahamaputra valley. The
sand content decreases from the west to east.
 The colour of the alluvial soils varies from the light grey to ash grey. Its shades depend on the
depth of the deposition, the texture of the materials, and the time taken for attaining maturity.
Alluvial soils are intensively cultivated.
 Coastal Alluvium: alluviums of the peninsular coastal strip are darker in colour than the
alluvium of the northern plains because the rivers of the peninsula flow over the Deccan Plateau
composed of basalt, and over black soil are only to deposit It in coastal areas . Maharastra has no
alluvial soils but coastal alluvium is found in that state.
 Black Soil- Most of the Deccan plateau, including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat,
Andhra Pradesh and some parts of Tamil Nadu has black soils. The black soils are generally
clayey, deep and impermeable. They swell and become sticky when wet and shrink when dried.
So, during the dry season, these soil develop wide cracks. Thus, there occurs a kind of ‘self
ploughing’. Because of this character of slow absorption and loss of moisture, the black soil
retains the moisture for a very long time, which helps the crops, especially, the rain fed crops,
to sustain even during the dry season.
 Chemically, the black soils are rich in lime, iron, magnesia and alumina.They also contain
potash. But they lack in phosphorous, nitrogen and organic matter. The colour of the soil ranges
from deep black to grey.
 Red and Yellow Soil- These soils are abundant along the eastern slopes of Western Ghats,
Odisha and Chhattisgarh and in the southern parts of the middle Ganga plain.The soil develops a
reddish colour due to awide diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks. It looks
yellow when it occurs in a hydrated form (Iron Hydroxides).
 Laterite Soil- The Laterite soils develop in areas with high temperature and high rainfall and are
common in the high altitude areas of Peninsular plateau.
 Laterite soil and is mainly found on the summits of the Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats, Rajmahal
Hills, Vindhyas, Satpuras and Malwa plateau, thus abundant in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu,
Madhya Pradesh and the hilly areas of Odisha and Assam.
 Laterite soil represents intense leaching due to heavy rains, due to which the lime and silica are
leached away, and soils rich in iron oxide and aluminium compound are left behind. Then, the
Humus content of the soil is removed fast by bacteria that thrive well in high temperature.
 This implies that the Laterite soil is poor in organic matter, nitrogen, phosphate and calcium,
while iron oxide and potash are in excess. Due to excess of Iron, laterites are not suitable for
cultivation; however, application of manures and fertilisers are required for making the soils
fertile for cultivation.
 Red Laterite soils in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are more suitable for tree crops
like cashewnut. Laterite soils are widely cut as bricks for use in house construction.

Major Soils abd Crops Grown in them

 Alluvial Soils- Rice, wheat, sugarcane, cotton and jute all grow well in these soils.
 Black Soils- Rice, wheat, sugarcane and cotton apart from groundnut, millet and oilseeds.
 Arid Soils- Only drought-resistant crops such as barley and millet can grow in this type of soil.
 Laterite Soils- It is an acidic soil and is rich in iron, which gives the soil a somewhat red
appearance. Cash crops such as cashew, rubber, coconut, tea and coffee.
 Red and Yellow Soils- Derive names from the very large amounts of iron oxide & Hydroxides
present in them. They are sandy and somewhat acidic, and are also low in nitrogen and
phosphorous. Despite this, red and yellow soils are used to grow rice, wheat, sugarcane, millet,
groundnut, ragi and potato.
Soil Degradation & Soil Erosion
 The decline in soil fertility, when the nutritional status declines and depth of the soil goes down
due to erosion and misuse is called Soil degradation. Soil degradation is the main factor leading
to the depleting soil resource base in India. The degree of soil degradation varies from place to
place according to the topography, wind velocity and amount of the rainfall.
 Soil Erosion- The soil forming processes and the erosion processes of running water and wind
go on simultaneously. However, generally, there is a balance between these two processes.
Sometimes, such a balance is disturbed by natural or man made factors, leading to a greater rate
of removal of soil.
 There are four kinds of soil erosion which can be arranged in an order of Splash erosion, Sheet
erosion, Rill erosion, Gully erosion.
 Splash Erosion is a result of the energy of falling raindrops causing detachment of soil particles
and and down-slope movement of sediment.
 Sheet Erosion is the removal of a relatively uniform, although thin, layer of soil from the land
surface by unchanneled runoff, or sheet flow.
 Rill Erosion is the process by which numerous small channels–less than three inches in depth–
are formed. This type of erosion results from concentration of overland water flow associated
with sheet erosion. Rill erosion can be especially serious on recently cultivated land. Rill erosion
is best minimized by minimizing sheet flow, such as by maintaining crop residues and utilizing
cover crops.
 Gully Erosion refers to the cutting of narrow channels called gullies. The gullies can be caused
by small channels of approximately 3 to 12 inches deep. Gullies may be one to several feet
deep. Gully erosion cuts deep and removes the surface soil as well as deeper soil that may still
have substantial amounts of total nutrients but less compared to the surface soil.

The Himalayan Mountains

 The Himalayan mountain system is the world’s highest, and home to the world’s highest peaks
including Mount Everest and K2.
 This system also includes Karakoram, Hindu Kush and other ranges extending out from the
Pamir knot.
 There are over 100 mountains in Himalaya system whose height exceeds 7,200m. After
Himalayan peaks, it is Aconcagua, in the Andes, at 6,962 metres, known to be the highest peak
outside Asia.
 Himalayan system gives rise to some of world’s major river systems. The combined drainage
basin is home to slightly less than half of world’s population. The highest peak Everest is located
in Nepal. Another peak K2 is on the border of Pakistan and China. Kanchenjunga is located on
the border of Nepal and India. Nanda Devi is the highest peak within India.

Important Mountain passes in Himalayas

 Banihal is an important pass connecting the hill areas of Jammu to the Kashmir Valley. The
Jawahar Tunnel (named after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru), inaugurated in December 1956, was
constructed for round-the-year surface transport
 Zoji La lies between the valley of Kashmir and the Kargil district, and is theonly Western
entrance to the highlands of Ladakh.
 Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh, India.
 Mohan Pass is the principal pass in the Shiwalik Hills, the southernmost and geologically
youngest foothills running parallel to the main Himalayas in Sikkim.
 Kora La at 4,594 meters elevation on the Nepal-Tibet border at the upper end of Mustang. The
Kali Gandaki Gorge transects the main Himalaya and Transhimalayan ranges. Kora La is the
 lowest pass through both ranges between K2 and Everest, but some 300 metres higher than
Nathula and Jelepla passes further east between Sikkim and Tibet.
 Aghill Pass: Situated to the north of K2 in the Karakoram at an elevation of 5000 meters, joins
Ladakh with the Xinjiang Province of China.
 Bara-Lacha: Bara-lacha la also known as Bara-lacha Pass is located in the Zanskar range
connecting Lahaul district in Himachal Pradesh to Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, situated along
the Leh-Manali highway.
 Bomdi-La: It connects Arunachal Pradesh with Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.
 Chang-La: The Changla Pass or Chang La Pass (el. 5,360 m is located in Ladakh, India. It is the
third highest motorable road in the world.
 Debsa Pass: Debsa Pass is a 5,360-metre (17,590 ft) high mountain pass in the Himalaya
mountains between the Kullu and Spiti Districts of Himachal Pradesh.
 Dihang-Debang: Situated in the state of Arunachal Pradesh at an elevation of about 4000 feet
this pass connects Arunachal Pradesh with Mandalay (Myanmar). The Dihang-Debang
Biosphere reserve is located around this area.

Classification of the Himalaya System

Geographical Regions of Himalaya
 Himalayas can be divided into several geographical regions, which are distinct in flora and fauna
also.
 The main geographical regions of Himalaya include Terai belt, Bhabhar belt, Shiwalik Hills &
Inner Terai, Lesser Himalayas, Midlands, Greater Himalaya and Trans-Himalaya.
 Terai belt is the zone of sand and clay soils at the junction of northern plains and Himalayas. As
the name suggests, Terai region gets higher rainfall than the plains.
 Bhabhar belt is located above the Terai belt, also sometimes known asHimalayan foothills. It is
made up of porous and rocky soils that get made of the debris washed down from the higher
ranges. The climate here is subtropical and vegetation isHimalayan subtropical pine forests and
Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests.
 Shivalik Hills & Inner Terai are the outermost range of foothills extending across the
Himalayan region through Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bhutan. This is mainly located along a
Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT).
 The vegetation here is dominated by Himalayan subtropical pine and broadleaf forests. The Inner
Terai valleys are open valleys north of Shiwalik Hills or nestled between Shiwalik sub ranges.
Examples include Dehra Dun in India and Chitwan in Nepal.
 Lesser Himalaya is also known as Mahabharat Zone. The hills here range 2000 to 3000 meters
and are located along the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) fault zone. This zone is home to some of
the deepest canyons in the world. The vegetation here is Himalayan subtropical forests.
 Greater Himalaya is a single range and the oldest of the three ranges with a height above 6,000
m including Mount Everest, K2 and Kanchendzonga and nine of the 14 highest peaks in the
world. Here the highest ranges rise abruptly into the realm of perpetual snow and ice. The
vegetation here is Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows. The shrublands are composed of
junipers as well as a wide variety of rhododendrons. They also possess a remarkable variety of
wildflowersValley of Flowers National Park in the western Himalayan alpine shrub and
meadows contain hundreds of species. The upper limit of the grasslands increases from west to
east, rising from 3,500 meters to 5,500 meters.

Trans-Himalayas
 The trans-Himalaya is the rain-shadow region just behind the main peaks of the towering
Himalayan Mountains. Notable places of the trans-Himalayas include the Tibetan Plateau, the
Ladakh area of the Northern Indian Himalayas (Indus Valley) along with the Lahaul-Kinnaur-
 Spiti region and in north-western Nepal the Dolpo/Dolpa, Mustang, Manang, Humla and Mugu
areas.
 The Trans-Himalayas, mainly composed of granites and volcanic rocks of Neogene and
Paleogene age are bounded by the Kailas (southwest), Nganglong Kangri (north), and
Nyainqêntanglha (southeast) mountain ranges and by the Brahmaputra River.

Regional Divisions of Himalayas

 From west to East, Himalayas have been divided into six regions viz. Kashmir Himalayas,
Himachal Himalayas, Kumaun Himalayas, Central & Sikkim Himalayas, Arunachal Himalayas
and Purvachal Himalayas.

The Kashmir Himalayas

 The Kashmir Himalayas have the largest number of Glaciers in India. The Ladakh region of the
Kashmir Himalayas is India’s Cold Desert Biosphere reserve.
 A special feature of the valleys of Kashmir Himalayas is the Karewa deposits which are made
up of silt, clay and sand.
 The Karewas are known for saffron cultivation and have orchards of fruits and dry fruits such as
apple, peach, almond, and walnut.
 The major characters of Kashmir Himalayas are Glaciers, snow peaks, deep valleys and High
Mountain passes.
 The important passes are Pir-Panjal, Banihal, Zoji-La, Saser-La, Chang-La, Jara-La etc.

The Himachal Himalayas

 Himachal Himalayas are spread in Himachal Pradesh. The Rohtang, Bara-Lacha, Shipki-La are
important passes joining India and China.
 The valleys of Kullu, Kangra, Manali, Lahaul, Spiti are known for orchards and tourist spots.

The Kumaun Himalayas / Central Himalayas / Garhwal Himalayas

 Kumaun Himalayas are located between the Sutlej and Kali rivers. They are home to India’s
highest peak Nanda Devi.
 Other peaks located in Kumaun Himalayas are Kamet, Trishul, Badrinath, Kedarnath,
Dunagiri, Gangotri etc. Gangotri and Pindar are important glaciers.

Garhwal Himalaya versus Kumaon Himalaya

 The western part of Kumaon Himalaya is known as Garhwal Himalayan while East as Kumaon.
Geographically, Garhwal Himalaya lies between the lat. 29°31′ 9” N and 31°26′ 5″N and long.
77°33′ 5″E and 80°6′ 0″E with a total geographical area of 29,089 km.
The Sikkim (Central) Himalayas
 Sikkim Himalayas are located beyond the Kali River up to the Teesta River. Most of them are
located in Nepal and known as Central Himalayas. These Himalayas are home to highest peaks
of Himalayas such as Everest, Kanchenjunga, Makalu, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna
 It is characterized by very few passes. Two passes viz. Nathu La and Jelep-La are important as
they connect India’s Sikkim to Tibet of China.

Eastern Himalayas & Purvanchal Hills

 The Eastern Himalayas occupy the Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan. The important hills in this
region are Aka Hills, Daphla Hills, Miri Hills, Mishmi Hills, Namcha BarwaThe Dihang and
Debang passes of Arunachal Pradesh are its parts.
 Passing from Arunachal Pradesh, there is an eastward extension of the Himalayas in the north-
eastern region of India. This is known as Purvanchal Hills. Purvanchal Hills comprises the
Patkai hills, the Manipur hills, Bairal range, the Mizo hills and the Naga hills. It is a densely
forested area, mainly composed of strong sandstones.

The Great Plains

 The Indo-Gangetic plains or the Great Plains are large alluvial plains dominated by three main
rivers, the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra.
 The great plains of India run parallel to the Himalayas, from Jammu and Kashmir in the west to
Assam in the east, and drain most of northern and eastern India. The plains stretch 2400
kilometers from west to east and encompass an area of 700,000 km².
 The major rivers in this region are the Ganges, Indus, and Brahmaputra along with their main
tributaries–Yamuna, Chambal, Gomti, Ghaghara, Kosi, Sutlej, Ravi, Beas, Chenab, and
Teesta—as well as the rivers of the Ganges Delta, such as the Meghna.
 The Great plain is home to nearly 1/7 of the world’s population. It is bound on the north by the
abruptly rising Himalayas, which feed its numerous rivers and are the source of the fertile
alluvium deposited across the region by the two river systems.
 The southern edge of the plain is marked by the Vindhya- and Satpura Range, and the Chhota
Nagpur Plateau. On the west rises the Iranian Plateau.
 The Great Plains of India consists largely of alluvial deposits brought down by the rivers
originating in the Himalayan and the peninsular region. The exact depth of alluvium has not yet
been fully determined. As per recent estimates the average depth of alluvium in the southern
side of the plain (north of Bundelkhand) varies between 1300 to 1400 meters, while towards the
Shivaliks, the depth of alluvium increases.
 The maximum depth of alluvium has been recorded in Haryana near Ambala and Yamunanagar.

Divisions of Great Plain-Great plains are generally classified into four divisions:
Bhabar belt
 It is adjacent to the foothills of the Himalayas and consists of boulders and pebbles which have
been carried down by the river streams.
 As the porosity of this belt is very high, the streams flow underground. Bhabar is wider in the
western plains in comparison to the eastern plans of Assam.
 The porosity of Bhabar is so high that most of the narrow streams get disappeared in this belt only
and some of them go underground. This is also one reason that it is not suitable for crops and only
big trees are able to survive.
 Thus, Bhabar belt is a narrow belt that is located above the Terai belt, also sometimes known as
Himalayan foothills. It is made up of porous and rocky soils that get made of the debris washed
down from the higher ranges. Streams disappear in this belt.

Terai belt
 The Terai belt lies next to the Bhabar region and is composed of newer alluvium. The
underground streams reappear in this region.
 The region is excessively moist and thickly forested. It also receives heavy rainfall throughout the
year and is populated with a variety of wildlife.
 The Terai tract lies south of the Bhabar belt. The tract is marshy and lots of mosquitoes thrive
there. The Terai belt is wider in eastern side especially in the Brahmaputra valley. The high
rainfall, newer alluvium makes it excessive damp and lots of forests are found here. This implies
that Terai belt is rich in biodiversity.
 Over the period of time, the forests have been cleared in various states such as Uttarakhand, Uttar
Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and Jammu Divisions for cultivation of crops. Terai belt is known for
the good cultivation of sugar-cane, rice, wheat, maize, oilseeds, pulses, and fodder.

Bhangar belt
 This is the largest part of the Northern Plains made up ofold alluvium and forms the alluvial
terrace of the flood plains. The soil in this region consists of calcareous deposits called kankar.
 The Bangar or Bhangar belt consists of older alluvium. In the Gangetic plains, it has a low
upland covered by Laterite deposits. The Bhangar formations were deposited during the middle
Pleistocene Period.
 The Bhangar land lies above the flood limits of the rivers. The older alluvium soil is dark in
colour, rich in humus content and productive. Bhangar is generally a well drained and the most
productive land of the Great Plains of India.

Khadar belt
 The Khadar belt lies in lowland areas after the Bhangar belt. It is made up of fresh newer alluvium
which is deposited by the rivers flowing down the plain.
 The Khadar tracts are enriched by fresh deposits of silt every year during the rainy season. The
Khadar land consists of sand, silt, clay and mud.
 After Independence, most of the Khadar land has been brought under cultivation and devoted to
sugarcane, rice, wheat, maize, oilseeds, legumes, and fodder crops.

Delta Plains
 The deltaic plain is an extension of the Khadar land. It covers about 1.9 lakh sq km of area in the
lower reaches of the Ganga River.
 It is an area of deposition as the river flows in this tract sluggishly. The deltaic plain consists
mainly of old mud, new mud and marsh.
 In the delta region, the uplands are called ‘Char’ while marshy areas are known as ‘Bili. The
delta of Ganga being an active one, is extending towards the Bay of Bengal.

Peninsular India
 The Peninsular India comprises the diverse topological and climatic patterns of South India.
 The Peninsula is in shape of a vast inverted triangle, bounded on the west by the Arabian Sea,
on the eastby the Bay of Bengal and on the north by the Vindhya and Satpura ranges.
 The line created by the Narmada River and Mahanadi river is the traditional boundary
between northern and southern India. Covering an area of about 16 Lakh km², the peninsular
upland forms the largest physiographic division of India.
 It is bounded by the Aravallis in the North West, Hazaribagh and Rajmahal Hills in the
northeast, the Western Ghats (Sahayadri Mountains) in the west and the Eastern Ghats in the
east. The highest peak of Peninsular India is Anamudi that is 2695 metres above sea level.
 The narrow strip of verdant land between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea is the
Konkan region; the term encompasses the area south of the Narmada as far as Goa.
 The Western Ghats continue south, forming the Malnad (Canara) region along the Karnataka
coast, and terminate at the Nilgiri mountains, an inward (easterly) extension of the Western
Ghats.
 The Nilgiris run in a crescent approximately along the borders of Tamil Nadu with northern
Kerala and Karnataka, encompassing the Palakkad and Wayanad hills, and the
Satyamangalam ranges, and extending on to the relatively low-lying hills of the Eastern
Ghats, on the western portion of the Tamil Nadu–Andhra Pradesh border. The Tirupati and
Anaimalai hills form part of this range.
 The Deccan plateau, covering the major portion of the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and
Tamil Nadu, is the vast elevated region bound by the C-shape defined by all these mountain
ranges. No major elevations border the plateau to the east, and it slopes gently from the
Western Ghats to the eastern coast.
 The Peninsular India can be divided into four regions viz. Central Highlands, Deccan Plateau,
Western Ghats or Sahayadri and Eastern Ghats

Central Highlands
 The northern central highlands of peninsular India include the Aravallis, the Malwa Plateau,
and some parts of Vindhyan Range.

Deccan Plateau
 The Deccan Plateau covers the majority of the southern part of the country. It is located
between three mountain ranges and extends over eight Indian states. The plateau covers
4,22,000 sq. km.,43 percent of India’s landmass.
 On the west of the plateau are the Western Ghats and in the east are the Eastern Ghats
 The Western Ghats or Sahyādri runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan
Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea.
 Western Ghats are known as Sahyadri in northern Maharashtra,Sahya Parvatam in Kerala and
Nilagiri Malai in Tamil Nadu. Western Ghats are home to many hill stations like Matheran,
Lonavala-Khandala, Mahabaleshwar, Panchgani, Amboli Ghat, Kudremukh and Kodagu.
 The extreme northern parts of Western Ghats falls in the Dangs district of Gujarat, known for
Dang (Bamboo) forests. The confluence of the Eastern and the Western Ghats is at
Biligirirangan Hills in Karnataka. Anamudi 2,695 metres in Kerala the highest peak in Western
Ghats.
 Mullayanagiri is the highest peak in Karnataka 1,950 meters. The smaller ranges of the Western
Ghats include the Cardamom Hills and the Nilgiri Hills. Cardamom hills are located in
southeast Kerala and southwest Tamil Nadu. They conjoin the Anaimalai Hills to the northwest,
the Palni Hills to the northeast and the Agasthyamalai Hills to the south as far as the Ariankavu
pass.
 The crest of the hills forms the boundary between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Anamudi is also
located in Cardamom Hills. The Nilgiri Hills are home to the hill station Ooty.
 There are many important passes in Western Ghats such as Tamhini Ghat, Palakkad Gap,
Naneghat, Kasara ghat etc.

Rivers
 The rivers that originate in Western Ghats and flow towards west are Periyar, Bharathappuzha,
Netravati, Sharavathi, Mandovi etc.
 The west flowing rivers of Western Ghats are fast-moving, owing to the short distance travelled
and steeper gradient.
 This makes Western Ghats more useful than Eastern Ghats in terms of production of
hydroelectricity. The steep gradient makes the Jog Falls on Shravasthi River in Karnataka as
one of the most spectacular waterfalls in India. Narmada and Tapti although don’t rise from
Western Ghats but flow westwards.
 The rivers that originate in Western Ghats and flow towards east include three major rivers viz.
Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri, and many smaller / tributary rivers such as Tunga, Bhadra,
Bhima, Malaprabha, Ghataprabha, Hemavathi, Kabini. These east flowing rivers are
comparatively slower moving and eventually merge into larger rivers such as the Kaveri and
Krishna.

Eastern Ghats
 Eastern Ghats or Pūrbaghāṭa are a discontinuous range of mountains along India’s eastern
coast. They run from West Bengal through Orissa and Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the
south passing some parts of Karnataka.
 They are eroded and cut through by the four major rivers of southern India, the Godavari,
Mahanadi, Krishna, and Kaveri. The mountain ranges run parallel to the Bay of Bengal. The
Deccan Plateau lies to the west of the range, between the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats.
 The Eastern Ghats are not as high as the Western Ghats. The climate of the higher hill ranges
is generally cooler and wetter than the surrounding plains and the hills are home to coffee
plantations and enclaves of dry forest.
 The region boasts of fertile soil but hydropower generation here is not as profitable as it is in
the Western Ghats.
 Eastern Ghats are older than the Western Ghats, and have a complex geologic history, related to
the assembly and break-up of the ancient supercontinent of Rodinia and the assembly of the
Gondwana supercontinent.
 The Eastern Ghats is the homeland for many Buddhist ruins from Orissa to south andhra.
 The Eastern Ghats harbour primarily tropical moist deciduous vegetation, which represents
species of high economic, timber, medicinal Eastern Ghats are highly significant in terms of its
biodiversity. Of the estimated 3,200 flowering plant taxa, there are about 528 tree taxa under
271 genera belonging to 80 families distributed in different regions of Eastern Ghats. In total
454 species under 243 genera and 78 families are endemic to Eastern Ghats.
 Based on geological and tectonic considerations, the Eastern Ghats in Orissa starts from North
of Similipal in Mayurbhanj district and runs through Malkangiri.
 Seventeen districts of Orissa come under the Eastern Ghats including 14 protected areas (13
wild life sanctuaries, one Biosphere reserve, one National Park, two tiger reserve and one
Ramser Wetland).

Other Mountains, Hills and Hill Ranges

Mount Abu
 Highest peak in the Aravalli Range
 Located in Sirohi district, Rajasthan.
 Highest peak on the mountain is Guru Shikhar, at 1,722 metres
Ancient name of Mount Abu is “Arbudaanchal” Only hill station
in Rajasthan
 Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1960 and covers 290 km² of the mountain.
 Mount Abu is home to a number of Jain temples. The Dilwara Temples are a complex of temples,
carved of white marble, that were built between the 11th and 13th centuries AD.
 The oldest of these is the Vimal Vasahi temple, built in 1021 AD by Vimal Shah and dedicated to
the first of the Jain Tirthankaras.
 Home to famous Nakki Lake.
 The Achalgarh fort, built in the 14th century by Rana Kumbha of Mewar, stands nearby. It
encloses several Jain temples
 Location of Madhuban which is the headquarters of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual
University.

Cardamom Hills
 Part of the southern Western Ghats located in southeast Kerala and southwest Tamil Nadu.
Name comes from the cardamom spice grown in much of the hill’s cool elevation, which also
grows pepper and coffee.
 Home to drainages of the west flowing Periyar, Mullakudy and Pamba rivers. It includes Idukki
Dam and Mullaperiyar Dam.
 They conjoin the Anaimalai Hills to the northwest, the Palni Hills to the northeast and the
Agasthyamalai Hills to the south as far as the Ariankavu pass. The highest peak in the range is
Anamudi, with a height of 2,695 metres.
 The central part of the hills comprises the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary covering an area of 777
km². The 350 km² core zone of the sanctuary is the Periyar National Park and Tiger Reserve.
 Periyar is a major ecotourism destination.

Anamudi
 Located in Kerala, Highest peak of western Ghats and also in south India.
 Elevation 2695 meters.
 Anamudi literally translates to “elephants forehead,” a reference to the resemblance of the
mountain to an elephant’s head.
 Highest point in India outside the Himalaya-Karakoram mountain range.

Anginda peak
 Anginda peak is in the Nilgiri Hills of the Western Ghats in Kerala.
 Highest peak in Silent Valley National Park.

Phawngpui
 Phawngpui or the Blue Mountain of Mizoram is a highly revered peak, considered to be the
abode of the Gods.
 Phawngpui Peak is the highest mountain peak in Mizoram (2165 metres).
 Famous for orchids and rhododendrons.

Doddabetta
 Doddabetta is highest mountain in the Nilgiri Hills, at 2637 metre.

Kangchenjunga
 Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain of the world with an elevation of 8,586 m.
 Located along the India-Nepal border in the Himalayas.
 Kangchenjunga is also the name of the section of the Himalayas and means “The Five Treasures
of Snows”, as it contains five peaks, four of them over 8,450 m
 The treasures represent the five repositories of God, which are gold, silver, gems, grain, and
holy books.
 Until 1852, Kangchenjunga was assumed to be the highest mountain in the world, but
calculations made by the Great Trigonometric Survey of India in 1849 came to the conclusion
 that Mount Everest (known as Peak XV at the time) was the highest and Kangchenjunga the
third-highest

Nanda Devi
 Second highest mountain in India and highest entirely within the country.
 Part of the Garhwal Himalayas, and is located in the state of Uttarakhand, between the Rishiganga
valley on the west and the Goriganga valley on the east. Peak is regarded as the patron-goddess of
the Uttarakhand Himalaya.

Garo Hills
 Part of the Garo-Khasi range in Meghalaya, India.It is one of the wettest places in the world.
 The range is part of the Meghalaya subtropical forests ecoregion.
 Two mountain ranges – the Arabella range and the Tura range, pass through the Garo Hills,
forming the great Balpakram valley in between. Largest town Tura.
 Shillong also located in Garo Hills.

Khasi Hills
 Khasi Hills are part of the Garo-Khasi range in the Indian state of Meghalaya, and is part of the
Patkai range and of the Meghalaya subtropical forests ecoregion.

Jaintia Hills
 Tribal region located in HImalaya.
 Home to Monolith in Nartiang which is touted as one of the tallest monolith in the world.

Mizo Hills
 Lushai Hills (or Mizo Hills) are part of the Patkai range in Mizoram and partially in Tripura,
India.

Naga Hills
 Located on India Myanmar border,
 Naga hills, reaching a height of around 3825 metres, lie on the border of India and Burma
(Myanmar). These hills are part of a complex mountain system, and the parts of the mountain
ranges inside the Indian state of Nagaland and the Burmese region of Sagaing are called the Naga
Hills.
 In British India, the major part of the hills came under the Naga Hills district.
 The hills, due to their complexity and position form a barrier between the two countries. The
Naga Hills are part of the Arakan Range (Rahkine Range) which to the north rise to 12,552 feet.

Palni Hills
 Palni Hills or Palani Hills are in Tamil Nadu.
 They are eastward extension of the Western Ghats ranges, which run parallel to the west coast of
India.
 Home to one of the shrines of Lord Karthikeyan or Murugan.

Patkai Hills
 Located on India’s North Eastern border with Burma.
 Mawsynram and Cherrapunji, on the windward side of these hills are the world’s wettest places,
having the highest annual rainfall.
 Climate ranges from temperate to alpine due to altitude.
Shivalik Hills
 Was known as Manak Parbat in ancient times.
 Also known as Churia and Margalla hills.
 Southernmost and geologically youngest east-west mountain chain of the Himalayas ranging from
Indus to Brahamputra.
 The Siwalik Hills are also among the richest fossil sites for large animals anywhere in Asia.

Zanskar Range
 Located in Jammu & Kashmir of India , seperates Zanskar from Ladakh.
 Geologically, the Zanskar Range is part of the Tethys Himalaya, an approximately 100-km-wide
synclinorium formed by strongly folded and imbricated, weakly metamorphosed sedimentary
series.
 The average height of the Zanskar Range is about 6,000 m (19,700 ft).
 Its eastern part is known as Rupshu.

India’s Drainage System

Indus River System
 Indus River System is made of Indus River and its tributaries viz. Ravi, Beas, Satluj, Jhelam,
Kishenganga (Neelum) and Chenab.

 Indus River originates in Tibet in northern slopes of Mount Kailash near lake Mansarovar.
Running via Ladakh, it enters into Pakistan through Gilgit-Baltistan and ends in Arabian Sea
near Karachi.
 The total length of the river is 3,180 kilometers, making it Pakistan’s longest river and world’s
21st largest river in terms of annual flow. The river basin is 11,165,000 square kilometers. Several
tributaries of Indus River in Pakistan side are Nagar River, Astor River, Balram River, Dras
River, Gar River, Ghizar River, Gilgit River, Gumal River Kabul River, Kurram River, Panjnad
River, Shigar River, Shyok River, Sohan River, Tanubal River, Zanskar River etc.
 On the eastern side, portion of it does run through Indian territory, as do parts of the courses of
its five major tributaries viz. Beas, Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi and Sutlej. These tributaries are the
source of the name of the Punjab region.

Beas River
 Originates in the southern slopes of Pir Panjal ranges near Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh.
 It flows south past Manali and through the Kullu Valley before entering the Punjab plains. It
meets the Sutlej River near the Harike Wetland south of Amritsar.
 The Sutlej continues into Pakistani Punjab and joins the Chenab River at Uch near Bahawalpur to
form the Panjnad River; the latter in turn joins the Indus River at Mithankot. So, originating in
India and running for 470 kilometers, the river meets Sutlej in Punjab of India.
 The river is of Historic, known asArjikuja and Vipasa in ancient times and Hyphasis to ancient
Greeks.

Jhelum River
 Jhelum rises from northern slopes of Pir Panjal ranges at Verinag spring (which is main source)
which girdles the valley of Kashmir. It flows through Srinagar and the Wular Lake before
entering Pakistan through a deep narrow gorge.
 Jhelam is the largest and most western of the five rivers of Punjab.Chenab is its tributary. It was
called Vitasta in Rigveda and Hydaspes by the ancient Greeks.
 Verinag is situated at a distance of approximately 80 km from Srinagar. Considered to be the
source of the River Jhelum, often termed as the lifeline of the province of Jammu and Kashmir,
the beautiful region of Verinag a weekend getaway from Srinagar.
 The important dams and barrages on Jhelam river are Mangla Dam, Rasul Barrage, Trimmu
Barrage.

Chenab River
 Chenab River was called Ashkini in Vedic times. It originates at snow melt from the Bara
Lacha Pass in the Himachal Pradesh. The waters flowing south from the pass are known as
the Chandra River and those that flow north are called the Bhaga River. Eventually the Bhaga
flows around to the south joining the Chandra at the village of Tandi, forming the
Chandrbhaga River at Tandi.
 It becomes the Chenab when it joins the Marau River at Bhandera Kot, 12 km from Kishtwar
Town in Jammu and Kashmir. It flows in the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir, then Pakistan
Province of Punjab and merges with Jhelum River at Trimmu, Ravi River Ahmedpur Sialand
Sutlej River near Uch Sharif, Pakistan to form the Panjnad or the ‘Five Rivers’, the fifth being
the Beas River which joins the Satluj near Ferozepur, India. The Chenab then joins the Indus at
Mithankot, Pakistan.

Ravi River
 The Ravi or Iravati or Purushni of ancient India is smallest of Five Punjab Rivers. It originates
in Bara Bhangal, District Kangra in Himachal Pradesh and gets hemmed by Dhauladhar range in
the south and the Pir Panjal in the north.
 The river Ravi flows in more or less westerly direction before it cuts across the Dhauladhar range
to enter the plains of Punjab.
 Its main northern bank tributaries are the snow fed Siul and Baira streams. It follows a north-
westerly course, flows through Barabhangal, Bara Bansu and Chamba districts. It flows in rapids
in its initial reaches with boulders seen scattered in the bed of the river. The Budhil River, in
Himachal Pradesh is a major tributary of the Ravi River. Another major tributary that joins the
Ravi River, just below Bharmour, the old capital of Chamba, is the Seul River from the northern
direction.
 The valley formed by the river was also exploited for its rich timber trees. However, the valley
has large terraces, which are very fertile and known as “the garden of Chamba”. crops grown here
supply grains to the capital region and to Dalhousie town and its surrounding areas. One more
major tributary that joins the Ravi River near Bissoli is the Siawa. It enters the Punjab plain near
Madhopur and Pathankot. It then flows along the Indo–Pak border for80 kilometres (50 mi)
before entering Pakistan and joining the Chenab River. The total length of the river is about 725
kilometres.
 Since this river flows at the boundary of India and Pakistan, studies have shown that the river is
changing its course towards India due to heavy constructions in its way by Pakistan.

Sutlej River
 Sutlej River was known as Śutudri in ancient India and is longest of the five rivers of Punjab. It
originates near Lake Rakshastal in Tibet. It flows for a considerable distance before entering
Indian Territory near Shipki La.
 Thereafter, it drains past the trans-Himalayan zone of Spiti. The major tributary which joins the
river Satluj in this tract is the river Spiti. This tributary rises on the northern slopes of the great
Himalayan range which hems the Lahaul and Spiti valleys. It drains the latter valley and flows in
a eastern and south westerly direction before joining the river Satluj.
 The river Satluj has cut across the great Himalayan range through a deep gorge.
 Just upstream of this gorge, it is joined by the river Baspa which drains the north eastern part of
Himachal Pradesh. After crossing the great Himalayan range, the river Satluj flows in a more or
less S W direction before emerging into the plains near Bhakra.
 In Pakistan, it waters the ancient and historical former Bahawalpur state. The region to its south
and east is arid, and is known as Cholistan, is a part of Bahawalpur Division.
 The Sutlej is joined by the Beas River in Hari-Ke-Patan, Amritsar, Punjāb, India, and continues
southwest into Pakistan to unite with the Chenab River, forming the Panjnad River near
Bahawalpur. The Panjnad joins the Indus River at Mithankot. Indus then flows through a gorge
near Sukkur, flows through the fertile plains region of Sindh, and terminates in the Arabian Sea
near the port city of Karachi in Pakistan.The waters of the Sutlej are allocated to India under the
Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan, and are mostly diverted to irrigation canals in
India.

Ganges River System

 The major river Ganga and its tributaries like Yamuna, Son, and Gandak make the biggest
cultivable plains of north and eastern India, known as the Indo-Gangetic plains. The main river,
Ganga forms by the joining of the Alaknanda River and Bhagirathi River at Devprayag. The
Bhagirathi, which is considered the Ganga’ true source starts from Gomukh.

Course of Ganga
 Gangotri is called the origin of the River Ganga and seat of the goddess Ganga. However, it is
actually the source of one of the Ganga’s headstreams known as Bhagirathi. Bhagirathi itself
is joined by two headstreams called Bhilangna River and Jahnavi River.
 Another mighty headstream is river Alaknanda. Bhagirathi and Alaknanda are the two major
rivers of the Garhwal Himalaya, both originating from the mighty Chaukhamba range of
glaciers. Chaukhamba is a mountain massif in the Gangotri Group of the Garhwal Himalaya.
 Its main summit, Chaukhamba I, is the highest peak in the group. It lies at the head of the
Gangotri Glacier and forms the eastern anchor of the group. Other peaks are Chaukhamba II,
Chaukhamba III and Chaukhamba IV. Bhagirathi has its origin at Gangotri (which is called
Gangotri Glacier) on the north-western face of Chaukhamba.
 Alaknanda rises at the confluence and feet of the Satopanth and Bhagirath Kharak glaciers, on
the south-eastern slopes of glacier fields of Chaukhamba.

Gangotri & Gaumukh

 Gangotri is one of the four sites in the Char Dham pilgrimage circuit, other being Yamunotri,
Kedarnath and Badrinath. The Gangotri Glacier is located in Uttarkashi District, Uttarakhand.
The terminus of the Gangotri Glacier is said to resemble a cow’s mouth, and the place is called
Gomukh.
 Gaumukh is the source of Bhagirathi river. Gomukh is situated near the base of Shivling; in
between lies the Tapovan meadow. The river Bhagirathi flows from Gangotri and at Devprayag,
it meets another headstream of Ganga called Alaknanda.

Alaknanda
 As written above, Alaknanda rises at the confluence and feet of the Satopanth and Bhagirath
Kharak glaciers, on the south-eastern slopes of glacier fields of Chaukhamba.
 It meets the Bhagirathi River at Devprayag after flowing for approximately 190 km through the
Alaknanda valley. After originating, it first meets the Saraswathi River and then flows in front of
the Badrinath temple. After this, it meets its tributary and another headstream of Ganga called
Dhauliganga.
 When Alaknanda meets Dhauliganga, it is called Vishnu Prayag. The two streams now become
one and go ahead. Next headstream is Nandakini, which meets Alaknanda at Nandaprayag. From
here, the Alaknanda river becomes mighty and now meetsPindar River at Karnaprayag.
 After Karnaprayag, the Mandakini river meets this stream and it is called Rudraprayag.
 Finally, the Alaknanda meets Bhagirathi at Devprayag and from here, it is called Ganga.
 These five Prayags or confluences are collectively called Panchaprayag. The Alaknanda
contributes a significantly larger portion to the flow of the Ganga than the Bhagirathi
 Thus in all there are 6 headstreams that contribute in the making of Ganga. These are Alaknanda,
Dhauliganga, Nandakini, Pindar, Mandakini, and Bhagirathi rivers.
 Some of the Ganga water at Haridwar is diverted into the Ganga Canal, which irrigates the Doab
region of Uttar Pradesh. Till Haridwar, the route of Ganga is little southwest, from here it begins
to flow southeast through the plains of northern India. It flows 800 kilometers passing via
Kannauj, Farukhabad, and reaches Kanpur. Before Ganga reaches Kanpur, two important rivers
join it. One is Kali River and another is Ramganga. Kali River is also known with this name in
Nepal but is known as Sharda River in India. It originates at Kalapaani in Pithoragarh district of
Uttarakhand. Kali River makes India’s eastern boundary with Nepal at some places and when it
reaches the plains of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, it would be called as Sharda.
 Next is Ramganga. Please note that there are two Ramganga rivers. One of them starts from
Doodhatoli ranges in Pauri Garhwal and another from Namik Glacier of Pithoragarh. The Bareilly
of Uttar Pradesh is located on the banks of the first. After Bareilly, it meets Kali River. The Kali
river keeps flowing till Bahraich, by then it is known as Saryu River. Saryu River meets Ganga
in the Bahraich of Uttar Pradesh.
 After Kanpur, Ganga joins the Yamuna at the Triveni Sangam at Allahabad, a holy confluence in
Hinduism. At their confluence the Yamuna is larger than the Ganga. After this, several stream
such as Tamsa River, Ghaghara river, Gandaki River, Kosi River join it at various places which
shall be discussed in this module. Ganga remains one stream flowing southeast till Bhagalpur.
 From Pakur in Jharkhand, Ganga starts dividing into various distributaries. In the Murshidabad
District of West Bengal at the Farakka Barrage, Ganga’s first distributorBhāgirathi -Hooghly
gets branched out. This Bhāgirathi-Hooghly river later becomes Hooghly river and then enters the
twin cities of Kolkata and Howrah. At Nurpur it enters an old channel of the Ganga and turns
south to empty into the Bay of Bengal.
 The Farakka Barrage controls the flow of the Ganga, diverting some of the water into a feeder
canal linked to the Hooghly for the purpose of keeping it relatively silt-free. Before the Hooghly
river empties into Bay of Bengal, it meets Damodar River. But, the main branch of Ganga has to
go a long way still. It enters Bangladesh from India near Chapai Nababganj and now its name is
Padma River.
 Here Padma meets one of the distributaries of Brahmaputra called Jamuna or Jomuna.
 This combined stream meets Meghna river, that is another distributary of Brahmaputra at
Chandpur in Bangladesh. The Meghna River finally flows into the Bay of Bengal.
 The above discussion makes it clear that various distributaries of Ganga and Brahmaputra meet
along the Bay of Bengal and these make one of the largest delta in the world called Gangaes
Delta or Ganges-Brahmaputra delta.

Tributaries of Ganga
The main tributaries of Ganga River are as follows:
Son River
 Son River is largest of southern tributaries of Ganga that originates near Amarkantak in
Madhya Pradesh near the source of Narmada River, and flows north-northwest through Madhya
Pradesh before turning sharply eastward where it encounters the southwest-northeast-running
Kaimur Range.
 The Son parallels the Kaimur hills, flowing east-northeast through Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and
Bihar states to join the Ganga just above Patna. Geologically, the lower valley of the Son is an
extension of the Narmada Valley, and the Kaimur Range an extension of the Vindhya Range.
 Chief tributaries of Son river are Rihand and the North Koel. The Son has a steep gradient (35–
55 cm per km) with quick run-off and ephemeral regimes, becoming a roaring river with the rain-
waters in the catchment area but turning quickly into a fordable stream.
 The Rihand River is a tributary of the Son River and flows through the Indian states of
Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh. It rises in Chhattisgarh at Matiranga hills and there is a Rihand
Dam that was constructed at Pipri in Sonbhadra district of Mirzapur division in 1962 for
hydropower generation. The reservoir of this dam is called Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar. Rihand
meets Son at Sonbhadra of Uttar Pradesh.

Ghaghara River
 Karnali or Ghaghara originates in glaciers of Mapchachungo on the Tibetan Plateau near Lake
Mansarovar, cuts through the Himalayas in Nepal and joins the Sarda River at Brahmaghat in
India. With a length of 507 kilometers it is the largest river in Nepal. The total length of Ghaghara
River up to its confluence with the Ganga at Doriganj in Bihar is 1,080 kilometers.
 It is the largest tributary of the Ganga by volume and the second longest tributary of the Ganga by
length after Yamuna.
 In Chinese it is called K’ung-ch’iao Ho, in Nepali it is called Kauriala and Karnali. Before
Ghaghara joins the Ganga, river West Rapti joins it as an important tributary.

Gomti River
 The Gomti originates from Gomat Taal which formally known as Fulhaar jheel, near Madho
Tanda, Pilibhit, India.
 It extends 900 km through Uttar Pradesh and meets the Ganga River near Saidpur, Kaithi in
Ghazipur.

Yamuna River
 India’s Yamuna River is largest tributary of Ganga River, while Bangladesh’s Jamuna River is
largest distributary channel of the Brahmaputra River. Origin of Yamuna is at Yamunotri Glacier
on the south western slopes of Banderpooch peak in the Lower Himalayas in Uttarakhand. From
there it travels a total length of 1,376 kilometers before merging with the Ganga at Triveni
Sangam or Prayag at Allahabad.

Tributaries of Yamuna
 Betwa River- Betwa or Vetravati originates in Vindhya Range just north of Hoshangabad in
Madhya Pradesh and flows north-east through Madhya Pradesh and flow through Orchha to Uttar
Pradesh. It meets Yamuna at Hamirpur town in Uttar Pradesh.
 Sindh River- Sindh River originates on the Malwa Plateau in Vidisha district, and flows north-
northeast through the districts of Guna, Ashoknagar, Shivpuri, Datia, Gwalior and Bhind in
Madhya Pradesh to join the Yamuna River in Etawah district, Uttar Pradesh. Manikheda Dam has
been constructed across the Sindh River in Shivpuri district, Madhya Pradesh.
 Hindon River- Hindo River is a rainfed river that originates in the Saharanpur District. It flows
between Ganges and Yamuna rivers and joins Yamuna river just outside Delhi.
 Chambal River- Chambal River is one of the most pollution free rivers of India. It’s a 960
Kilometer long river that originates at the Singar Chouri peak in the northern slopes of the
Vindhyan mountains, 15 km West-South-West of Mhow in Indore District in Madhya Pradesh.
Tributaries of Chambal: Banas River, Kali Sindh River and Parbati River

Brahmaputra River System

 Brahmaputra originates on the Angsi Glacier located on the northern side of the Himalayas in
Burang County of Tibet as the Yarlung Tsangpo River and flows southern Tibet to break through
the Himalayas in great gorges.
 Tsangpo enters India after taking a U turn at Namcha Barwa and flows in Arunachal Pradesh
and here we call it Dihang River or Siang River. This U turn marks the starting point of the
Grand Canyon, known asYarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, which has been confirmed as the
largest in the world. It is 496.3 kilometers long, 56.3 kilometers longer than the Colorado Grand
Canyon, previously considered the world’s longest. It is 5,382 meters deep, much deeper than
the 3,200 meters of Peru’s Colca Canyon, previously known as the world’s deepest canyon.
 After taking this U -turn, Dihang meets Dibang River and the Lohit River at the head of the
Assam Valley and then flows southwest through the Assam Valley, where it is known as
Brahmaputra. In Assam it becomes a wide stream.
 Then it enters Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, the Brahmaputra is joined by the Teesta River, one of
its largest tributaries. Below the Teesta, the Brahmaputra splits into two distributary branches.
 The western branch, which contains the majority of the river’s flow, continues due south as the
Jamuna to merge with the lower Ganges, called the Padma River. The eastern branch is called
the lower or old Brahmaputra. It curves southeast to join the Meghna River near Dhaka. The
 Padma and Meghna converge near Chandpur and flow out into the Bay of Bengal. Brahmaputra
is 3,848 km long, and its drainage area is 712,035 km².
 The waters of the River Brahmaputra are shared by China, India, and Bangladesh. In the 1990s
and 2000s, there was repeated speculation about China building a dam at the Great Bend, with a
view to divert the waters to the north of the country. This was denied by the Chinese
government, later on.

Important Tributaries of Brahmaputra

 Teesta River- Teesta River is lifeline of Sikkim and makes a border between Sikkim and West
Bengal before joining the Brahmaputra as a tributary in Bangladesh. The total length of the river
is 315 kilometres.
 Manas River- Manas River folows in India and Bhutan and is the largest river system of Bhutan.
Three other river systems of Bhutan are Amo Chu or Torsa, Wong Chu or Raidak, Mo Chu or
Sankosh. It is met by three other major streams before it again debouches into India in western
Assam. After flowing a total of 376 kilometers, it meets Brahmaputra River at Jogighopa. Its
river valley is home to Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan and the contiguous Manas Wildlife
Sanctuary of India which is a Project Tiger Reserve, an Elephant Reserve and a Biosphere
Reserve as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Rivers of Peninsular India- There are numerous very small rivers on the Deccan plateau which
flow mostly north to south and also south to north mixing with any of the west or east flowing
major rivers.

Mahanadi River Basin

 The 858 Kilometers long Mahanadi river flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
 These hills are extensions of the Eastern Ghats and are a source of many other streams which then
go on to join the Mahanadi.
 The Mahandi river empties into Bay of Bengal via several channels near Paradeep at False Point,
Jagatsinghpur.
 Mahanadi valley is best known for its fertile soil and flourishing agriculture. Before the Hirakud
dam was built, the river carried a huge amount of silt and its delta had one of the highest yield per
acre in the whole of India.
 At present, agriculture primarily depends on a network of canals that arise from the river. Rice,
oilseeds and sugarcane are the principal crops here.The river was notorious for devastating floods,
but the construction of Hirakud Dam has altered the situation.
 The major tributaries of Mahanadi are Seonath, Jonk, Hasdo, Mand, Ib, Ong, Tel etc.

Krishna River
 The 1300 Kilometers long Krishna River or Krishnaveni is one of the longest rivers in Peninsular
India. It is the fourth largest river in India after the Ganga, Godavari and the Narmada.
 Krishna River rises at Mahabaleswar in district Satara, Maharashtra in the west and meets the
Bay of Bengal at Hamasaladeevi in Andhra Pradesh, on the east coast.
 It flows through Maharastra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The delta of this river is one of
the most fertile regions in India and was the home to ancient Satavahana and Ikshvaku Dynasty
kings. Vijayawada is the largest city on the River Krishna.
 The river has a number of tributaries but Tungabhadra is the principal tributary. Other tributaries
include the Mallaprabha, Koyna, Bhima, Ghataprabha, Yerla, Warna, Dindi, Musi and
Dudhganga.
 The river merges into the Bay of Bengal at Hamasaladeevi. Two dams, Srisailam and Nagarjuna
Sagar are constructed across the Krishna River.
 Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is world’s tallest masonry dam (124 meters).
 Major Tributaries of Krishna River are as follows:
Left: Bhima, Dindi, Peddavagu, Halia, Musi, Paleru, Munneru
Right: Venna, Koyna, Panchganga, Dudhganga, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha, Tungabhadra

Tungabhadra River
 Most important tributary of Krishna River is the Tungabhadra River, which is formed by the
Tunga River and Bhadra River that originate in the Western Ghats.
 Tungbhadra flows in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It was known as Pampa during the epic
period. The name of famous tourist spot Hampi is derived from Pampa, which is the old name
of the Tungabhadra River on whose banks the city is built.
 The Tunga and Bhadra Rivers rise at Gangamoola, in Varaha Parvatha in the Western Ghats
forming parts of the Kuduremukh Iron Ore Project, at an elevation of 1198 metres
 Tributaries of Tungabhadra are Tunga River, Kumudvati River, Varada River, Bhadra
River, Vedavathi River, Handri River

Kaveri River Basin

 Kaveri or Cauvery flows in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The river covers a distance of about 765
km and flows through the state of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
 On its journey to the Bay of Bengal, the river is joined by its tributaries, which include Shimsa,
Hemavathi, Honnuhole, Arkavathi, Kapila, Lakshmana Theertha, Kabini, Lokapavani, Bhavani,
Noyil and Amaravathy.

Tributaries
 Amaravati, Arkavathy, Bhavani, Chinnar, Hemavati, Honnuhole, Kabini, Kannika, Kollidam,
Lakshmana Tirtha, Lokapavani, Noyyal, Pambar, Shimsha, Sujyothi

Godavari River Basin

 It originates near Trimbak in Nashik District of Maharashtra state and flows east across the
Deccan Plateau into the Bay of Bengal near Narasapuram in West Godavari district of Andhra
Pradesh.
 The river is also known as Dakshin Ganga and Gautami. The Manjra and Indravati rivers are its
major tributaries.
 The Godavari is sacred river and there are several places of pilgrimage on its banks.
Trimbakeshwar and Nasik are major pilgrimage sites where one of the four Sinhastha Kumbh
Mela takes place.
 Every twelve years, Pushkaram, a major bathing festival, is held on the banks of the Godavari.
 The Krishna Godavari basin is one of the main nesting sites of the endangered Olive Ridley turtle.
 Tributaries of Godavari
Indravati River: Indravati River rises in the Eastern Ghats in Kalahandi Orissa, and flows west to
join the Godavari, forming the boundary between Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh states at places.
 The Indravati is sometimes known as the “lifeline” of the Bastar District, one of the most green
districts in India.
Pranahita River: Pranhita River flows on the border of Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra and
Adilabad district in Andhra Pradesh. It forms with the confluence of two rivers called Wardha and
Wainganga.The Painganga River joins Vainganga near Aheri. The river then flows up to Sironcha
before it empties into the Godavari River,near Sironcha in Maharashtra. The River course is
mainly through the dense forests which are rich in Sagwan (timber).

Narmada River
 Narmada or Rewa River is the third largest river that completely flows within India after Ganga &
Godavari. It forms the traditional boundary between North India and South India. Narmada flows
in a rift valley between the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges. It has been mentioned as Nammadus in
the Periplus of Erythrean Sea.
 Narmada origins in a small tank called Narmada Kund located on the Amarkantak hill in the
Anuppur District of eastern Madhya Pradesh.
 The river descends from the Amarkantak hill range at the Kapildhara falls over a cliff and
meanders in the hills flowing through a tortuous course crossing the rocks and islands up to the
ruined palace of Ramnagar.
 The river then runs north–east in a narrow loop towards Jabalpur. Close to this city, after the
Dhuandhara falls, Narmada enters three narrow valleys between the Vindhya scarps in the north
and the Satpura range in the South.
 The southern extension of the valley is wider at most places. These three valley sections are
separated by the closely approaching line of the scarps and the Satpura hills. It forms the
traditional boundary between North India and South India and flows westwards over a length of
1,312 km before draining through the Gulf of Cambey into the Arabian Sea, 30 km (18.6 mi) west
of Bharuch of Gujarat.

Mahi River
 Mahi rises in Minda Village, in sardarpur district Madhaya Pradesh and, after flowing through the
Vagad region of Rajasthan, enters Gujarat and falls into the sea by a wide estuary near Khambhat.
 Mahi encircles entire Banswara District in Rajasthan and first dam known as Mahi dam is at right
side in Rajasthan. Kadana Dam is on Mahi in Gujarat. It is one of only three major rivers in
peninsular India that runs from east to west along with the Tapti River and the Narmada River.

Tapti River
 Tapi River, with length of 724 km, is one of only three rivers in peninsular India that run from
east to west – the others being the Narmada River and the Mahi River.
 The river rises in the eastern Satpura Range of southern Madhya Pradesh state, and flows
westward, draining Madhya Pradesh’s Nimar region, Maharashtra’s Kandesh and east Vidarbha
regions in the northwest corner of the Deccan Plateau and south Gujarat, before emptying into the
Gulf of Cambay of the Arabian Sea, in the Surat District of Gujarat.
 The river, along with the northern parallel Narmada river, form the boundaries between North and
South India.
 The Western Ghats or Sahyadri range starts south of the Tapti River near the border of Gujarat
and Maharashtra. The Tapti (Tapi) River empties into the Gulf of Khambhat near the city of Surat
in Gujarat. Tapti Basin lies in the states of Maharashtra (51,504 km²), Madhya Pradesh (9,804
km²) and Gujarat (3,837 km²).

Ghaggar-Hakra River
 Ghaggar-Hakra River flows in monsoon season only. It is known as Ghaggar before the Ottu
barrage and as the Hakra downstream of the barrage.
 It originates in the Shivalik Hills of Himachal Pradesh and flows through Punjab and Haryana
states into Rajasthan; just southwest of Sirsa, Haryana and by the side of talwara jheel in
Rajasthan, this seasonal river feeds two irrigation canals that extend into Rajasthan.
 The downstream Hakra is a dried up stream that possibly end in Rann of Katch.

Basics of Indian Coasts

 The total coastline of India measures about 7,517 km, which is distributed amongnine coastal
states and four Union Territories; and entire coast of India falls within tropics.
 The nine coastal states are Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal.
 The Four coastal Union Territories are Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Andaman
& Nicobar Islands.
 The coasts of India include West coast, East coast and Coast of Lakshadweep and Andaman and
Nicobar islands.
 Gujarat is strategically located withlargest share in India’s coastline,followed by Andhra
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
State Coastline

Gujarat 1915.29

Andhra Pradesh 1037

Tamil Nadu 864.73

Kerala 560

Maharashtra 510.31

Orissa 457.2

West Bengal 374

Karnataka 258.15
 The Saurashtra Peninsula forms a rocky
table land fringed by theGoa 113.03 coastal plains with the
central part made up of the undulating plain broken
by hills and dissected by various rivers flowing in all
directions. Daman & Diu —
 The eastern fringe is a low land which marks the
site of the former seaTotal 6089.71 connection between the
Gulfs of Katch and Gulf of Cambay.
 Then, the Katch region is made up of Ranns which
is basically a salt encrusted wasteland just a few meters above sea level. It gets denudated in the
 monsoon. It is divided into Great Rann in the north and Little Rann in the east. Between Great
Rann and Rocky mainland lies the Banni Plains.
 The above discussion makes it clear that plains of Gujarat cover almost the entire state of
Gujarat, except two districts viz. Banaskantha and Sabarkantha. These plains have become
mainly due to the alluvial deposits of Sabarmati, Mahi, Luni and other rivers and also the
depositional activity of winds.
 Luni and Banas rivers discharge into Rann forming inland drainage during rainy season, both of
them are inland rivers.

Konkan Coast
 From South of Gujarat plain, Konkan coastal plain extends from Daman to Goa. Its last boundary
down south is Gangavalli River.
 The Konkan coast is generally narrow, not exceeding 65 km. It is widest near Mumbai. It is rocky
and uneven, a few hills protrude up to the sea and that is why we find numerous light houses
across the costs to warn the ships remain away from the rocky area. The coast is rich in oil
resources such as Bombay High. The northern part is sandy while the southern part is rugged.

Malabar Coast
 The Malabar Coast starts from south of Goa to Kanyakumari or Cape Comorin on India’s
southern tip extends. This is known for numerous lagoons aka. Kayals, which run parallel to the
coast in southern part of Kerala. A chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the
Malabar Coast in Kerala are called Backwaters.
 The network of Kerala Backwaters includes five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade and
natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state. The backwaters
were formed by the action of waves and shore currents creating low barrier islands across the
mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.
 Some important landmarks of this coast are the Vembanad lake, the longest lake of India and the
National Water Way-3, that stretches Kottapuram to Kollam.

Importance of Kerala Coasts

 Kerala coastal zone is famous for its beautiful beaches, backwaters and lagoons.
 The coastal belt, a narrow strip of lowland, is the most picturesque region of Kerala, interspersed
with extensive backwaters, lagoons and canals and flanked by luxuriant coconut groves and green
rice fields.
 The lagoons and backwaters are never far from the sea and at several places they have established
a permanent connection with it.
 The backwaters, rivers and the canal system form a navigable waterway of about 1,920 km. This
offers an unique ecological niche with great potential for brackish water fish farming in the state.
 The sea off Kerala is one of the most productive zones for marine fish in India. Kochi is the major
port located along the coast. The entitre coastline is of natural beauty with vast beaches.The tidal
implications are felt deep into inland areas through the network of backwaters. These tides have
high utility for fishing, navigation and boating.

Eastern Coast of India

 The eastern coasts cut through the three states viz. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
The Cauvery delta is most important sub region in Tamil Nadu, the Krishna Godavari Delta
is most important landmark in Andhra Pradesh while the Mahanadi Delta is most important
landmark in Odisha.
 Eastern Coastal plain lies between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal and is more
extensive and wide than its western counterpart. They represent an emergent coast while it‘s
western counterpart is an example of submerging coast.
 This plain is broadly divided into Coromandal Coast: Ranges from Kanyakumari in Tamil
Nadu to False Divi Point in Andhra Pradesh, which is just at the apex of the Krishna River
delta.
 The region between the Krishna and Mahanadi for which an old term NorthernCircars is
sometimes used. Some classify it as Andhra Pradesh coastal plains.
 Mahanadi Delta. Another broader term used is Utkal Coast, which also includes

Gulf of Mannar
 The Gulf of Mannar is a shallow bay, part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean. A chain of
low islands and reefs known as Adam’s Bridge, also called Ramsethu, which includes Mannar
Island, separates the Gulf of Mannar from Palk Strait, which lies to the north between India and
Sri Lanka.
 The Thamirabarani River of south India and the Aruvi Aru of Sri Lanka drain into the Gulf of
Mannar.
 The gulf of Mannar is home to thousands of species of flora and fauna and is known as one of the
richest coastal regions in India. The corals, sharks, dugongs, dolphins and sea cucumber. The Gulf
of Mannar Marine National Park was declared in 1986. The national park and its 10km buffer
zone were declared Biosphere Reserve in 1989. The Gulf of Mannar is famous for its pearl banks
of Pinctada radiata and Pinctada fucata for at least two thousand years.

Palk Strait
 Palk Strait connects the Bay of Bengal in the northeast with the Palk Bay anc connects the Palk
bay to Gulf of Mannar in the southwest. It is 53-80 kilometers wide, studded with a chain of
low islands and reef shoals that are collectively called Adam’s Bridge. This chain extends
between Dhanushkodi on Pamban (Rameswaram) Island in Tamil Nadu and Mannar Island in
Sri Lanka.
 The shallow waters and reefs of the strait make it difficult for large ships to pass through,
although fishing boats and small craft carrying coastal trade have navigated the strait for
centuries. Large ships must travel around Sri Lanka. Construction of a shipping canal through
the strait was first proposed to the British government of India in 1860, and a number of
commissions have studied the proposal up to the present day. It is curently in news because of
the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project.

Islands of India
 The islands of India constitute Andaman and Nicobar group of islands (Bay of Bengal),
Lakshadweep Islands (Arabian Sea), riverine and off shore islands.
 The Lakshadweep and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands are India’s two major island formations.
Other significant islands in India include Diu Daman, a former Portuguese enclave; Majuli, a river
island of the Brahmaputra; Elephanta in Bombay Harbour; and Sriharikota, a barrier island in
Andhra Pradesh.
 Salsette Island is India’s most populous island on which the city of Mumbai (Bombay) is located.
42 islands in the Gulf of Kutch constitute the Marine National Park. The number of islands of
India in Bay of Bengal is approximately 5 times the islands in the Arabian Sea.
 Andaman and Nicobar Islands which are largely tectonic and volcanic in origin, while the islands
of the Arabian Sea are mainly coral formations.

Andaman & Nicobar Islands (ANI)

 The Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago consists of over 345 islands, islets and rocky outcrops,
with land area extending up to 8,249 km2 and a coastline stretch of 1,962 km; the Andaman
Islands constitute 6408 km2 and the Nicobars 1841 km2.
 The Andaman Islands are the extension of the submerged Arakan Yoma Tertiary Mountain
range of Myanmar and the Nicobars are the continuation of the Mentawai Islands to the south
and southeast of Sumatra.
 The main rocks of these islands are sandstone, limestone and shale. These two island groups
situated in the Bay of Bengal span 6°45′ N to 13°41′ N (740 km) and 92°12′ E to 93°57′ E (190
km).
 The nearest land mass to Great Nicobar Island is Sumatra, 145 km southeast; and the Myanmar
coast is roughly 280 km north of Landfall Island, the northern- most island in the Great
Andaman group. The topography of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is hilly and undulating,
the elevation in the Andamans is from 0 to 732 m, Saddle Peak being the highest in North
Andaman Island. In the Nicobars the elevation rises from 0 to 568 m, Mt Thuillier being the
highest peak on Great Nicobar Island.
 The Andaman Islands support one of the world’s most extensive mangrove ecosystems. Due to
their long isolation, these islands have evolved significant diversity of flora and fauna with a
high level of endemism.
 The land area of 6408 km² in the Andamans constitutes 90% as reserves and protected areas of
which 36% is tribal reserves. The entire Nicobar group is a tribal reserve and has four wildlife
sanctuaries, two national parks and one biosphere reserve.

10 Degree Channel
 It is a channel that separates the Andaman Islands from the Nicobar Islands in the Bay of
Bengal. The channel is approximately 150 km wide, 400 fathoms deep running essentially along
an east-west orientation. It is so named because it lies on the 10-degree line of latitude, north of
the equator.

Landfall Islands
 The northern most point is Landfall Island which is 901kms away from the mouth of Hoogly
River and about 190kms from Burma.

Indira Point
 The southern-most island is Great Nicobar, the southern-most tip of which Pygmalian Point now
Indira Point is about 150kms away from Sumatra (Indonesia).

Saddle Peak
 Saddle Peak in North Andaman at a height of 732 meters above sea level is the highest point in
these islands.

Tribes
 The original inhabitants of Andaman & Nicobar Islands lived in the forests on hunting and
fishing. There are four Negrito tribes; viz., the Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa and Sentinalese
in the Andaman group of islands and and the Nicobarese and Shompens in the Nicobar group.
 Around 50 percent of the population is made up of settlers from the mainland India, some people
call Andamans as a Little India or a mini-India. The settlers or ancestors of these settlers came
either prior to 1947 or after 1947.
Chatam Island
 The centre of activity of the Forest Department is Chatham Island. It has perhaps the biggest Saw
Mill of its kind in Asia. Here logs are extracted with the help of elephants.
Mount Harriet
 It is the highest hill around South Andaman and is about 365m . Formerly it was the headquarters
of the Chief Commissioner.

Ross Islands
 Seat of British Administration. The place came into decay with the shifting of the Chief
Commissioner’s Office in 1942 as areas close to the shore had developed serious cracks and it
was felt that the building was not safe. Ross Island was occupied by Japanese in March 1942. In
October 1945 the Islands were re-occupied by the British. Today the Island is deserted.
 Named as netaji Subhash Chandra Island By PM Modi

Madhuban
 A training ground for elephants.
Havelock Island
 Known for Coral Reefs

Neil Island
 Known for timbering operations.

Chiriya Tapu
 Also known as Bird Island

The Viper Island

 There was a jail prior to commissioning of Cellular jail.

Car Nicobar
 Most of the Nicobarese people are Christians.

Lakshadweep Islands
 Lakshadweep is an archipelago consisting of 12 attols, 3 reefs and 6 newly formed/ submerged
sand banks. It is comprised of – 11 inhabited islands, 16 uninhabited islands; six newly formed/
submerged sand banks and 3 reefs. The Inhabited islands are Kavaratti, Agatti, Bangaram, Amini,
Kadmat, Kiltan, Chetlat, Bitra, Andrott, Kalpeni and Minicoy.
 Bitra is the smallest of all having only a population of 267 (Census 2001).
 Though, the land area of this Coral paradise is only 32 Sq.kms. the inclusion of about 4200
Sq.Kms. of its lagoon area, 20,000 Sq.km. of its territorial waters and almost 4, 00,000 Sq.kms of
Exclusive Economic Zone makes it one of the largest territories of the country.
 Kavaratti is its capital (Headquarters). The total population of these islands is 60650 (as per 2001
census). Malayalam is traditional vernacular spoken in all the islands, except Minicoy; where
people speak Mahl, which is written in Divehi script and is the language of Maldives.
 The entire indigenous population because of their economic and social backwardness and
geographical isolation is classified as Scheduled Tribes. The tribes have, however not been
named. The islanders are Muslims by religion. These islands lie about 220 to 440 kilometers away
from the coastal city of Kochi in Kerala between 8o and 12° 13” North Latitude and 71° and 74°
East Longitude.
 The origin of Lakshdweep Islands is attributed to theory of Sir Charles Darwin, according to
whom the origin of these Islands can be traced to gradual submergence of some of the volcanic
ridge into the Indian Ocean followed by accumulation of coralline deposits on the peaks and
 craters of these mountains. These deposits grew into coral islands resting on submerged
mountaintops over a period of time.
 The islands are mostly coralline and their alignment appears to be in continuation of the Aravalli
Strike of Rajasthan.
 Lakshadweep Islands are rich in marine wealth and an abode of plethora of coastal and marine
bio-diversity with pristine Coral Reef Ecosystem which support variety of ornamental and food
fishes belonging to various species besides the sedentary and slow moving creature such as Sea
Cucumbers, shelled animals (Molluscs) and Hermit Crabs, Lobsters and Shrimps.
 The common farm species which are tend by the people are Cows, Goats, Ducks and Hens. Cats
are common, but dogs are almost wholly absent. There are no poisonous snakes on the
islands, and the islands are infested with rats and mosquitoes. The rats bring about a great deal of
damage to coconut trees.
 INDIANHISTORY
Pre-Historic Period
 The earliest traces of human existence in India so far discovered is between 4,00,000 and
2,00,000 BC from Sohan valley (now in Pakistan)
 Neolithic settlements in Indian subcontinent are not older than 4000 BC.
 Wheat and barley were the first cereals grown by Indians.
 The name India was derived from the rivername Sindhu which is also known as Indus.

Indus Valley Civilisation

 The Harappan culture spread over the whole of Sind, Baluchistan, almost the whole of
Punjab, northern Rajasthan, Kathiawar and Gujarat.
 Harappa the first Indus site, was discovered by Dayaram Sahni in 1921. It is situated in
the prov-ince of West Punjab, Montgeomery district in Pakistan. Harappa is located on
the bank of river Ravi.
 Mohanjedaro was excavated in 1922 by R.D. Banarjee. It is situated in the Larkhana
district in Sind on the right bank of river Indus (Now in Pakistan).
 The Great Granery, the Great Bath a piece of woven cotton, a beared man in steatite
and a bronze dancing girl are found from Mohanjedaro.
 An assembly hall was also discovered from Mohanjodaro. The most important feature of
Harappan civilisation was town planning and urbanism. The word Mohanjedaro in Sindi
language means ‘the mount of the dead’. Mohanjodaro was believed to have
destructed by flood. Harappans knew the art of growing cereals, wheat and barley.
Chanhudaro, discovered by N. Gopal Majundar and Mackey, is situated in Sind on the
bank of river Indus.
 Kalibangan, another famous Indus city discov-ered in 1953 by A Ghosh, is situated in
Rajasthan on the banks of River Ghaggar. Kalibangan stands for black bangles.
 Lothal, first man made port in the world and dock-yard made of burnt bricks, was
discovered in 1953 by S.R. Rao is situated in Gujarat on Bhogava river near Gulf of
Cambay.
 Ropar is the site situated in Punjab on the banks of river Sutlej. It was discovered in 1953
by Y.D.Sharma. Harappan people were the earliest people in the world to grow cotton
and rice.
 People cultivated rice at Lothal and Rangpur and barley at Benawali.
 Harappan people domesticated oxen, buffaloes, goats, camel, sheeps, domestic fowls
and pigs. Humped bulls were given special importance. Horses were unknown to the
Harappan people.
 Indus people had trade contacts with Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia. The ancient name
given to Indus region was Meluha. They used bronze and copper but iron was un-known
to them.
  Indus people were the first to use copper in India.
 Harappans used a system of weights and measures based on 16 and its multiples.
 The chief male deity of the Indus people was Pasupati Mahadeva (Porto Siva). Their
Chief female deity was the Mother Goddess. They also worshipped fire, pipal trees and
Unicorn.Harappan script was Pictographic in nature, which has not been desciphered so
far. Harappan seals were made of TerraCotta.
 Indus Valley civilisation belongs to the Chalcolithic period dated between 3000 BC and
1500 BC. It is a Bronze Age civilisation or a proto Historic civilisation.
 Harappan civilisation extended from Jammu in the North to Narmada in the South and
from Makran coast of Baluchistan in the West to Meerut in the East.The Northern most
point of Indus valley civilisation was Manda in Jammu and the South-ernmost was
Daimbad.
 Floods and Earthquakes, change in the course of river Indus, aridity of the area, or drying
up of river Ghaggar, the invasion of Aryans are the sup-posed reasons for the decline of
the civilisation towards 1500 BC.

Vedic Age
 Vedic Age is the period of Aryans in India from 1500- 500BC. Most Probable Home of
the Aryans is Central Asia. This theory is of Max Muller. The word ‘Veda’ is derived
from the word ‘vid’ which means knowledge. Max Mullar was the first person to
speak of ‘Aryans’ as a race.
 Vedas are the oldest literary works of mankind. Vedas are four in number, they are
Rig Veda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharva Veda. Rig veda is the oldest veda.
 Vedas are collectively known as Sruti
 Vedangas are collectively known as Smriti. Vedangas are six in number. They are,
Siksha – Phonetic, Kalpa – Ritual, Vyakarana – Grammar, Nirukta – Etymology,
Chhanda - Metrics and Jyotisha – Astronomy
 There are 1028 hymns in Rigveda. It is divided into ten Mandalas (Chapters). Rig
Vedic Hymns sung by priests were called Hotris.
 Rigveda starts with the line ‘Agnimele Purohitam’ Famous Gayatri Mantra is
contained in the Rigveda (It is believed to have composed by Vishwamitra)
 Yajurveda deals with sacrifices and rituals. Yajurvedic hymns are meant to be sung by
priests called ‘Adhavaryu’. Yajurveda is derived into two: SuklaYajurveda (White
Yajurveda) and Krishna Yajur Veda (Black Yajurveda)
 Sama Veda deals with Music. Sama Vedic hymns are meant to be sung by priests
called Udgatri.
 Atharva veda is a collection of spells and incan-tations. Ayurveda is a part of Atharva
Veda, which deals with medicine. The 10th Mandala of Rigveda contain the Purusha
Sukta hymn which tells about the ori-gin of caste system.
 Upanishads are 108 in number. Upanishads are philosophical works. Upanishads are
known as the Jnanakantas of Vedas. The words ‘Satyameva Jayate’ have been taken
 from ‘Mundaka Upanishad’. Brahdaranya Upanishad was the first to give the
doctrine of Transmigration of Soul and Karma.
 Puranas are the part of Smriti literature. They are 18 in number 6 vishnupuranas, 6
sivapuranas and 6 Brahmapuranas.
 Bhagvata purana is divided into 18 skandas The 10th skanda mentions about the
childhood of Sri Krishna.
 Skanda purana is considered as the largest purana. Adhyatma Ramayana is included
in the Brahmantapurana.
 Cattle was the chief measure of wealth of the vedic period. Rigvedic tribe was
referred to as Jana . Many clans (vis) formed a tribe. The basic unit of society was
kula or the family and Kulapa was the head of the family. ‘Visah’ was a cluster of
gram.
 Important tribal assemblies of the Rig Vedic pe-riod were Sabha, Samiti, Vidhata and
Gana.
 Indra was the greatest God of Aryans and Agni occupied second position. Varuna was
God of water and Yama was the Lord of dead. Savitri was a solar diety to whom the
famous Gayatri Mantra is attributed.
 The battle of ten kings mentioned in the Rig Veda was fought on the division of water
of river Ravi. It was fought on the banks of River Ravi (Purushni). Indra was known as
Purandara. Indra Played the role of the Warlord. He is also considered as the rain
god.
 The two priests who played a major part during the Rig Vedic period were Vasishta
and Visvamitra.

Later Vedic Period

 The period assigned to Later Vedic Phase is 1000 BC to 600 BC.
 Later Vedic people used particular type of pot-tery called Painted Grey Ware (PGW)
 The Later Vedic Aryans were familiar with two seas, the Arabian Sea and the Indian
Ocean.
 Rice became the staple diet of Indian people dur-ing the Later Vedic Period.
 The term ‘Rashtra’ which indicates territory first appeared in the later vedic period.
 Mention of the word ‘Sudras’ - Rigveda (10th Mandala) Mention of the ‘Gotra’ is
found in the Atharvaveda.
 Origin of Kingship is found in Aitareya Brahmana. ‘Soma’ was an intoxicating drink
mentioned in the 9th Mandala of the Rig Veda. Mention of the word Varna is found in
Rigveda. The fourfold division of the society is found in the 10th Mandala of the
Rigveda. The Doctrine of Trimurti is found in the Maitrayani Upanishad.
 Mention about the origin of Universe is found in the Rig Veda (10th Mandala).
 Purohita Senani and Vrajapati were the impor-tant functionaries who assisted the
king in day-to-day administration. The officer who enjoyed authority over the pasture
land was called Vrajapati.
  The king’s power increased during the Later Vedic Period.
 First law giver of ancient India was Manu. He wrote ‘Manusmrithi’. Manusmrithi was
translated into English by William Jones. Shyma Shastri translated Arthasastra into
English
 Bali (sacrifice) was a tax, which the king used to collect from the people of the Vedic
period.
 Aryans used iron for the first time India. Horse, Iron, Sugarcane, Pulses etc reached
India by the coming of Aryans.
 The God who occupied supreme position in the Later Vedic Period was Prajapati.
Rudra was regarded as preserver and protector of the people. The most important
functionary who assisted the Vedic king was Purohita. Manarchy was the normal form
of Government in the vedic period. Each Tribal republic was headed by Ganapati or
Jyeshtha.

Epics
 Hinduism has two epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.
 Mahabharata was written by ‘Vyasa’.Mahabharata is also known as Jayasamhita,
Satasahasri Samhita and the fifth veda. Mahabharata has 1,17,000 hymns in it.
Mahabharata is divided into 18 Purvas, an ap-pendix Harivamsa is considered as 19th
Purva. 12th Purva is the largest and 7th is the smallest. It describes the 18 days battle
of Kurukshetra.
 Valmiki is the author of Ramayana. Ramayana has 24000 hymns and is divided into
Seven Skandas (Kandas)
 Bhagavatgita is included in the Bhishma Purva of Mahabharata. It is divided into 18
chapters and has about 700 hymns.

Jainism

 Vardhamana Mahavira was believed to have born in 540 BC in Kundala Grama in

Vaishali the capital of Vajji. Now it is in Mussafar district in Bihar. He belonged to
Jnatrika Kshatriya clan.
 Mahavira’s family was connected with the royal family of Magadha. The word ‘Jaina’
was originated from the word ‘Jina’ which means conqueror.
 Jainism speaks about 24 thinthankaras. Mahavira was the 24th Thirthankara, who is
considered as the founder of Jainism. Rishabha was the first Thirthankara. Neminath
and Parswanatha were the 22nd and 23rd Thirthankaras respectively.
 Bhagavatapurana, Vishnupurana, Vayupurana, etc mentions about Rishabhadeva.
 Sidhartha, ruler of Nandadynasty which ruled Kundalapuri, was the father of Vardhmana
Mahavira. Mahavira’s mother was Trissala and Yasodha was his wife. Jameli was the
daughter of Mahavira.Mahavira is also known as ‘Vaishalia’ as he was born in Vaishali.
 He got Kaivalya at the age of 42 under a Sal tree on the bank of river Rajpalika near
Village Jimbhrikagrama.
 At first Mahavira followed the practice of an ascetic group called Nirgrandhas , which
earlier led by Parswanath.
 Makhali Gosala was a companion of Mahavira. Who later founded the Ajivika sect.
 Mahavira attained Nirvana at the age of 72 at Pavapuri near Rajagriha in 468 BC.
 Jains observe the day of his nirvana as Dipavali. Gautama Indrabhuti is considered as his
first desciple.
 Jain sacred texts are called Angas. Jain texts were written under Bhadrabahu in BC 296.
Jain texts were written in the Prakrit language of Ardhamagadhi. ‘Ahimsa Paramo
Dharma’ is the sacred hymn of Jainism.
 Ahimsa, Satya, Asateya, Aparigriha and Brahmacharya are the five major principles of
Jainism. Brahmacharya is the principle added by Mahavira.
 Mahavira taught the three Jewels of Jainism (Triratna) - Right Faith, Right Knowledge
and Right Conduct.
 The Jains repudiated the authority or infallibility of the vedas. The Jains rejected the
concept of Universal soul or a supreme power as the creator and sustainer of the
Universe.
 Jainism does not condemn the Varna system. Mahavira believed that all individuals
irrespective of caste can strive for liberation through good deeds and living.
 First Jain council was held at Pataliputra in the fourth century BC under the leadership of
Stulabahu.
 Second Jain council was held at Vallabhipur in third Century BC under the leadership of
Aryaskandil Nagarjuna Suri.
 Third Jain council was held at Vallabhipur in Gujarat in 5th Century AD under the
leadership of Devardhi Kshamasramana.
 Jainism was divided into two sects Swetambaras and Digambaras after the first Jain
Council.
 Digambaras are sky-clad or naked and swetambaras are clad in white. Gomateshwara
statue is situated in Sravana belgola. ‘Syad Vada’ is a Jain philosophy of Knowledge.
Kharavela of Kalinga gave patronage to Jainism.
 Temple on the Mount Abu in Rajasthan is a famous centre of Jain worship. Jain Temple at
Sravanabelgola in Hassan district in Mysore is known as ‘Kasi of the Jains’.
 Names of Rishabhadeva and Arishtanemi are also mentioned in the Rigveda.
 Chandragupta Maurya the founder of the Mauryan Empire, abdicated the throne
towards the end of his life, accepted Jainism reached Sravanabelgola and died there.

Buddhism
 Buddhism originated in the 6th century BC. Gautama Buddha the founder of
Buddhism was born in Lumbini in Kapilavasthu on the border of Nepal in 563 BC.
 Buddha’s mother Mahamaya died seven days after his birth. He was brought up by
his aunt Mahaprajpati Gautami, hence he got the name ‘Gautama’. Buddha orginal
name was Sidhartha.
 Buddha belonged to the Sakhya clan of Kshatriyas. His father was Subhodhana.
Buddha’s wife was Yasodhara and his son was Rahul. Four sights changed his mind
and initiated him to spiritual life they were death, old age, sadness and sufferings.
 He left home at the age of 29 along with his chari-oteer Channa and favourite horse
Kandaka. This incident is known as Mahanishkramana.
 Buddha got enlightenment at Bodha Gaya, on the banks of Niranjana river in Bihar at
the Age of 35. After enlightenment Buddha came to be known as ‘thadhagatha’. He is
also known as ‘Sakhyamuni’.
 Buddha made his first sermon after enlightenment at a deer park at Saranath in Uttar
Pradesh. This incident is known as ‘Dharmachakra pravarthana’. Buddha’s first
teacher was Alara Kalama and second teacher Udraka Ramaputra.
 During his first sermon at Sarnath, Buddha described the ‘four noble truths’ and the
eight fold path.
 Buddha made his sermons in Pali language and the early Buddhist texts were also
written in Pali language.
 Buddha died at the age of 80 in 483 BC at Kushinagara in UP. This was known as
Parinirvana. Buddha died by consuming poi-soned meat or poisoned mushroom. Last
meal of Buddha was served by a blacksmith ‘Chunda’.
 His last words were All composite things decay, strive diligently.
 Four noble truths of Buddhism are: life is full of misery, desire is the cause of misery,
killing desires would kill sorrows, Desire can be killed by following the eight-told
path.
 The eight fold path of Buddhism are: Right Belief, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right
Action, Right Living, Right Effort, Righ Recollection, Right Meditation
 Buddhism does not recognise the existence of God and Soul (Atman)
 Buddha accepted the traditional belief in transmigration of the soul and law of Karma.
 The ‘three jewels’of Buddhism are – Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.
 The first Buddhist council was held in 483 BC at Sattaparni (Rajagriha) under the
presidentship of Mahakashyapa and under the patronage of king Ajatasatru of
Magadha.Vinayapitaka and Suttaapitaka were codified at the first council.
 Second Buddhist council was held in 383 BC at Vaishali under the presidentship of
Sabhakami and under the patronage of king Kalashoka. At the second Buddhist
council Buddhism was divided into two Staviravadins and Mahasankikas which later
came to be known a Hinayana and Mahayana respectively.
 Third council of Buddhism was held in 250 BC at Pataliputhra under the presidentship
of Mogaliputta Tissa and under the patronage of Ashoka the Great. Abhidhamma
Pitika was codified at the third council. At the third council decision was also taken to
send missionaries to spread Buddhism. Upagupta converted Ashoka to Buddhism.
  The fourth Buddhist council was held in the first century AD at Kundalavana in
Kashmir under the Presidentship of Vasumithra and Ashvagosha and under the
patronage of Kanishka. Clear division of Buddhism into Hinayana and Mahayana took
place at the fourth council.
 Ashvagosha was the first biographer of Buddha who wrote Budhacharitam in
Sanskrit. Vasubandu is known as Second Buddha.
 Ashoka is known as the Constantine of Buddhism. Ashoka accepted Buddhism after
the battle of Kalinga in BC 261.
 Buddhist worshipping centre is known as Pagoda. Viharas are the Buddhist
monastries.
 Vajrayana was a sect of Buddhism which believed in achieving salvation through
Mantras and spells. ‘Jataka stories’ describe the stories related to the birth of
Buddha. They are 500 in number.
 Holy book of Buddhism is Tripitika- Vinayapitika, Suddhapitika and Abhidhamapitika
are collectively known as Tripitika.
 Bimbisara of Magadha was a contemporary of Buddha. Kanishka who worked to
spread Buddhism like Ashoka is known a Second Ashoka.
 Ashoka sent his son and daughter, Mahendra and Sanghamitra to SriLanka to spread
Buddhism.
 The Bodhi tree at Gaya was cut down by Sasanka, a Bengal ruler. The chief Buddhist
monastery was at Nalanda, which was under the patronage of Pala kings.
 Milandapanho a book of Nagasena describes how Greek king Menandar accepted
Buddhism.

Literary Activities in Ancient India

 Ashtadhyayi by Panini (5th C.BC) the earliest grammar book also called Bhagavati Sutra.
 Mahabhashya was written by Patanjali.
 Manusmriti was a law book composed between 200 BC and 200AD.
 Arthashastra by Kautilya deals with statecrafts is a major source of Mauryan
administration.
 Indica by ‘Megastenes’ is a source of Mauryan society and administration.
 Chandsutra was written by Pingala.
 Buddhacharita by Aswaghosha is the earliest biography of Buddha. It was written in Pali
language.
 Raghuvamsa by Kalidasa is an epic based on Mahabharata.
 Naishad Charita by Sri Harsha contains story of Nala and Damayanti.

Drama
 Natyashastra by Bharatamuni is the earliest known work in Sanskrit.
 Malavikagnimithram, Vikramorvashiyan and Abhinjana Syakuntalam are dramas
written by Kalidasa.
  Ratnavali, Nagananda and Priyadarshika are dra-mas written by Harshavardhana.

Lyric Poetry
 Meghadutam by Kalidasa
 Srinagarashataka, Nitishataka and Vairagyasataka were written by Bhartrihari.
 Gita Govinda was written by Jayadeva.

Historical writing
 Harshacharita - Written by Banabhatta
 Vikramamangadeva charita - written by Bilhana.

Magadhan Empire
 In the 6th century BC there originated 16 Mahajanapadas in North India
 Four prominent royal dynasties stand out promi-nently out of these Janapadas. They
were Haryankas of Magadha, the Ikshvakus of Kosala, the Pauravas of Vatsa and the
Pradyotas of Avanti.
 Haryanka is the name of a new dynasty founded in Magadha by Bimbisara. Bimbisara
founded the dynasty by defeating the Brihadratha.
 Bimbisara was a contemporary of Buddha. Magadha became a supreme power in North
In-dia under Ajatasatru. So Ajatasatru is considered as the founder of Magadhan
Supremacy.
 Pataliputra and Rajagriha were the capitals of Magadhan kingdom. Magadha falls in the
Patna region of Bihar.
 Haryankas were overthrown by Sisunaga and he founded the Sisunaga dynasty there.
 Kalasoka the son and successor of Sisunaga was succeeded by Mahapadma Nanda and
he founded the Nanda dynasty.
 Ajatasatru’s successor Udayin was the founder of the city of Pataliputra.

Persian Invasion
 The Achaemenian king of Persia, Darius (522 - 486 BC) captured some territories the east
of Sindhu in 518 BC. The Persian domination over Indian territory lasted upto 330 BC.
 Xerxes was the persian ruler who enlisted Indians in his army.
 The Kharoshti script was brought to India by Persians.

Alexander’s Invasion
 Alexander was born in 356 BC as the son of King Philip II of Mascedonia. Epirus or
Olympias was Alexander’s mother.
 Aristotle was Alexander’s teacher.
 He became the king in 336 BC. He defeated the Persian ruler Darius III. Alexander
founded the city of Alexandria in Egypt.
  In 326 BC Alexander defeated Porus (Purushothama) the ruler of Punjab and
Captured Taxila through the battle of Hydaspes on the banks of river Jhelum. Ambhi
the ruler of Taxila invited Alexander to India.
 Alexander died of Malaria at the age of 33 in 323 BC while he was in Babylon.
 Alexander was cremated at Alexandria.
 Alexander was known as Shehansha in Persia and Sikhandar-I-Asam in Indo-Pak
region.
 The Last general of Alexander in India was Eudamas. Alexander’s first General in India
was Selucus Nikator.
 Alexander’s teacher Aristotle is considered as the father of Politics, Biology,
Taxonomy and the Science of Logic.

Mauryan Empire (321-185 BC)

 Major sources for the study of Mauryan Empire are the Arthasastra of Kautilya and
Indika of Megasthenes.
 Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of Mauryan Empire.
 Details about his early life are not available. He is believed to have belonged to Moriya
Clan, hence got the name Maurya.
 It is also said that his mother was Mura a women of lower birth hence got the name
Maurya.
 He conspired with Chanakya (Kautilya or Vishnugupta) the minister of Nanda to
overthrow the last Nanda ruler DhanaNanda.
 Chandragupta Maurya ascended the throne in BC321. He fought against Selucus in 305
BC. Selucus surrendered before him and sent an ambassador, Megasthenese to the
court of Chandragupta Maurya.
 Chandragupta’s Governor Pushygupta constructed the famous Sudarshana lake.
 ChandraGupta Maurya was converted to Jainism, abdicated the throne in favour of his
son Bindusara, passed his last days at Sravanabelagola (Near Mysore) where he died in
298BC.
 Chandragupa Maurya was responsible for the political unification of North India for the
first time.
 Bindusara was a follower of Ajivika sect. Bindusara was known as Amitragatha.
 Ashoka ascended the throne in 273BC and ruled upto 232 BC. He was known as
‘Devanampriya priyadarsi the beautiful one who was the beloved of Gods.Maski and
Gujara Edicts of Ashoka gave the name Devanampriya Priyadarsi. Buddhist tradition
says Ashoka killed 99 of his brothers to capture the throne.
 Ashoka was the first king in Indian history who had left his records engraved on stones.
Ashokan inscriptions were written in Kharoshti and Brahmi scripts. Ashoka fought the
Kalinga war in 261 BC Kalinga is in modern Orissa.
 Ashokan inscriptions were deciphered by James Princep.
  After the battle of Kalinga Ashoka became a Buddhist, being shocked by the horrors of
the war.
 Ashoka was converted to Buddhism by Upagupta or Nigrodha a disciple of Buddha. For
the propagation of Buddhism Ashoka started the institution of Dharmamahamatras.
The IV Major Rock Edict of Ashoka tells about the practice of Dharma
 The Major Rock Edict XII of Ahoka deals with the conquest of Kalinga.
 Ashoka held the third Buddhist council at his capital Pataliputra in 250BC under the
presidentship of Moggaliputa Tissa.
 He sent his son and daughter to Sri Lanka for the spread of Buddhism (Mahendra and
Sanghamitra).
 Ashoka spread Buddhism to SriLanka and Nepal. He is known as the Constantine of
Buddhism.
 In his Kalinga Edict he mentions ‘‘All man are as my children’’. Ceylones ruler
Devanmpriya Tissa was Ashoka’s first convert to Buddhism.
 Ashoka ruled for 40 years and died in 232 BC.
 The emblem of the Indian Republic has been adopted from the four lion capital of one
of Ashokas pillars which is located in Saranath.
 Rock-cut architecture in India made a beginning during Ashoka’s reign.
 Brihadratha the last Mauryan ruler was killed by Pushyamitra Sunga who founded the
Sunga Dynasty in 185 BC.
 Megasthenese the first foreign traveller to India mentions about the existence of seven
castes in India during the Mauryan period.

Post Mauryan Period

Sunga Dynasty (185-71 BC)

 Sunga Dynasty was founded by Pushyamitra Sunga the commander-in-chief of last
Mauryan king, Brihadratha.
 Her belonged to Bhramin caste. This refered to the revival of Bhagvatism.
 Kalidasa’s drama Malavikagnimitram is about the love story of Pushyamitra’s son
Agnimitra and Malavika.
 Last ling of sunga dynasty was Devabhuti.

Kanva Dynasty (72 BC - 27 BC)

 Kanva dynasty was founded by Vasudeva Kanva in 72 BC after defeating the last Sunga
ruler Devabhuti.
 This dynasty ruled for a period of 45 years.
 Vasudeva, Bhumimitra, Narayana and Susuman were the rulers of Kanva dynasty.

Cheta (Cheti) Dynasty of Kalinga

 The Cheti Dynasty was believed to have founded by Maha Meghavahana
  The Hatigumbha inscription of Kharavela, of the Kalinga ruler gives details about the
Chedis of Kalinga.
 Kharavela was a follower of Jainism.

Satavahanas (235 BC - 100BC)

 Satavahanas were the most powerful ruling dy-nasty after the Mauryas. Satavahanas
were also known as Andhras.
 Satavahanas were the Indian rulers who prefixed their mother’s name along with
their names.
 Most important Satavahana ruler was Gautamiputra Satakarni.
 Satavahanas were Brahmanas.
 Nagarjuna Konda and Amaravati in Andhrapradesh became important seats of
Buddhist culture under the Satavahanas.
 The two common structures of Satavahanas were the temple called Chaitya and the
monastery called Vihara.
 Satavahanas mostly issued lead coins.
 The official language of the Satavahanas was Prakrit

Indo Greeks
 First to invade India were the Greeks who were called Indo-Greeks.
 The most famous Indo-Greek ruler was Menander with his Capital at Sakala in Punjab
(Modern Sialkot)
 The Indo-Greeks were the first to issue gold coins in India.
 The introduction of Hellenistic art features into India was also the contribution of
Indo-Greek rule.
 Menander was converted into a Buddhist by Bud-dhist monk Nagasena (Nagarjuna).
 Indo-Greeks were the first to issue coins bearing the figure of kings. Indo-Greeks were
the first to introduce military governorship in India.

The Parthians (19 - 45 AD)

 Parthians also known as Pahalavas were Iranian People.
 Gondophernes was the greatest of the Parthian rulers.
 St. Thomas is said to have came to India for the propagation of Christianity during the
period of Gondophernes.

The Sakas (90 BC - 1st AD)

 Sakas were also known as Scythians.
 The first Saka king in India was Maues or Moga who established Saka power in
Gandhara.
 The most famous of the Saka rulers in Western India was Rudra Daman I. His
achievements are highlighted in his Junagarh inscription written in 150 AD.
  Junagarh inscription of Rudradaman was the first inscription in Sanskrit. Ujjayini was
the capital of Rudradaman.

Kushans
 Kushans are also known as Yuchchis or Tocharians.
 Kushans came to India from North Central Asia. First great Kushana king was Kujala
Kadphises or Kadphises I.
 The most famous Kushana ruler was Kanishka. He became the ruler in 78 AD and started
Saka Era in 78 AD.
 Kanishka convened the fourth Buddhist council in Kashmir.
 Scholars like, Parsva, Vasumitra, Ashvaghosha, Charaka and Nagarjuna were the
courtiers of Kanishka.
 The Gandhara School of Art received royal patronage under the Kushans.
 Kanishka patronised Mahayana form of Buddhism. Kanishka is righty called the ‘Second
Ashoka’
 Kanishka was the first king who inscribed the image of Lord Buddha on his coins.
 Kanishka started the Saka era in 78 AD. The first month of Saka era is Chaithra and the
last month is Phalguna.
 Vasudeva was the last great king of Kushana Dynasty.
 Kushana school of art is also referred to as the Mathura school.

Gupta Empire (320 - 540 AD)

 Gupta Empire was founded by Sri Gupta. Ghatotkacha was the second ruler.
 Chandra Gupta I was the real founder of the Gupta Empire. He came to the throne in
320 AD.
 He was the first ruler to adopt the title Maharajadhiraja. He laid the foundation of
Gupta Era on 26 February 320 AD.
 Samudra Gupta succeeded Chandragupta I in 335 AD.
 The Allahabad Pillar inscription composed by Harisena contains information about
Samudragupta’s conquests.
 Allahabad Pillar inscription is also known as ‘Prayagaprasasti’.
 Samudra Gupta is also known as ‘Linchchavi Dauhitra’’. (son of the daughter
Kumaradevi of Lichchavis).
 Samudra Gupta is described as ‘Indian Napoleon’ by V.A. Smith. Samudra Gupta
composed ‘‘Vahukabita’’ and had the title ‘‘Kaviraja’’. Sanskrit was the court
language of the Guptas.
 India became ‘‘Greater India’’ under Samudra Gupta. Samudra Gupta was an
accomplished Veena player.
 Chandragupta II the greatest of Gupta rulers was popularly known as Vikramaditya.
He adopted the title ‘Sakari’ after his victory over Rudradaman II of Gujarat.
 Fa hein, the Chinese traveller, visited India dur-ing his period.
  The exploits of Chandragupta II are glorified in an iron pillar inscription fixed near
Qutub Minar.
 Chandragupta II adopted the title Vikramaditya as a mark of his victory over the
Sakakshatraps.
 ‘Nine gems’ or ‘Navratnas’ was a famous Scho-lastic Assembly in the court of
Chandragupta II. The members in the Ninegems were - Kalidasa, Kadakarbhara,
Kshapanaka, Varahmihira, Vararuchi, Vethalabhatta, Dhanvantari, Ammarasimha,
Sanku.
 Chandragupta II was succeeded by his son Kumaragupta I. Skandagupta
Vikramaditya was the last great ruler of Gupta Empire.
 Skandagupta Vikramaditya was the only hero in Asia and Europe who defeated the
Hunas in their glorious period.
 Vishnu Gupta was the last ruler who died in 570 AD.
 Mantriparishad assisted the king in administra-tion. Most important Industry of the
Gupta period was textile. Period of the Gupta is compared to ‘Periclean Age of
Greece’, ‘Augustan Age of Rome’ and ‘Elzabethan Age of England’.
 Period of the Guptas is considered as the Golden Age in the history of India.
 Earlier Guptas had their capital at Prayag in Allahabad, later it was shifted to Ujjain by
Chandragupta II.
 The most important officers in the Gupta empire were Kumaramatyas. The royal seal
of the Guptas bore the emblem of Garuda.
 Aryabhatta was the first to treat Mathematics as a separate subject. He wrote
Aryabhattiyam. He belonged to the Gupta period. Aryabhatta was the first to use
Decimal System.
 Panchsidhanta, Brihat Jataka, Laghu Jataka and Brihat Samhita are the works of
Varahamihira.
 The best specimen of the Gupta paintings are seen at Ajanta caves and the Bhaga
caves. The Gupta period marked the beginning of Indian temple architecture.
 Guptas issued large number of gold coins in India. Guptas largely patronised art and
architecture.
 Guptas patronised the Gandhara school of art, Madhura School of Art and the
Andhra School of Art.
 The chief source of income was land revenue. The position of women declined
during the Gupta period. A renowned physician of the Gupta period was Vaghbhatta
 Nalanda and Taxila were the two universities of this period. Kalidasa is generally
called‘‘Indian Shakespeare’ and the Kalidasa as ‘Prince of Indian Poets’.
 Patanjali founded ‘Yoga Shastra’, a school of Hindu philosophy during this period.

The Hunas
 The Huns were a nomadic and barberic race of Central Asia. They were defeated by
Skanda Gupta.
  In the last quarter of the 5th century AD, the Hunas established an independent
kingdom in the Punjab.
 Toramana and Mihirakula were important Huna leaders. In 510 AD Bhanu Gupta
defeated Toramana. Narasimha Gupta defeated Mihirakula.
 The Hunas gave rise to the Kshatriya Rajaputs. Sialkot was Mihirakula’s capital.

The Maitrakas of Valabhi

 They were of Iranian origin, they ruled Gujarat. Valabhi was their Capital.
 Siladitya I (606 - 612 AD) was the first independent king of Maithrakas.

The Vakatakas (250-500 AD)

 The Vakatakas established their power in Deccan. Their capital was Vidarbha. The
founder of the dynasty was Vindhyasakthi.
 Vakatakas were Brahmins.
 Vakatakas were later defeated by the Chalukyas of Badami.

Harsha Vardhana (606 - 647AD)

 The last Hindu Emperor of North India was Harshavardhana (Last Hindu king of Delhi
was Prithviraj Chauhan)
 Harshavardhana belonged to the Pushyabhuti Dynasty, also known as Vardhana
Dynasty.
 The Pushyabhuti dynasty was founded by Pushyabhuti. Harsha came to power in 606
AD (Harsha Era).He made Kanauj his new capital from Taneswar. Original name of
Harsha was Siladitya.
 Chinese traveller Hieun Tsang visited India during his reign. Harsha summoned a
religious assembly at Prayag.
 Hieun Tsang said Indians were ‘‘Truthful people although quick tempered’’
 Harsha’s biography ‘Harsha Charita’ was written by his court poet Banabhatta. He
also wrote ‘Kadambari’.
 Harsha Vardhana was a poet and dramatist. Ratnavali, Priyadarshika and Nagananda
are the works of Harshavardhana.
 Harsha Vardhana was defeated by the Chalukyan king Pulikeshin II in AD 634.
 Harshavardhanas empire was the last Buddhist empire in India.
 After Harsha, the Karkotas of Kashmir established their power.
 Mahendravarman I and Pulikeshin II were the contemporaries of Harshavardhana.
 Matanga, Divakar, Jayasena and Bhartrihari were the famous scholars in the court of
Harshavadhana.
 Harsha founded the Harsha Era in 606 AD.

Chalukyas of Badami
  In 535 Pulikeshin I founded a small kingdom with the Capital at Vatapipura (Modern
Badami).
 He was succeeded by Kirtivarman and Mangaleshna.
 Pulikeshin II was the most famous ruler of the Chalukya dynasty.
 The greatest achievement of Pulikeshin II was the defeat he inflicted on
Harshavardhana.
 The Pallava king Narasimhavarman captured Vatapi and adopted the title
‘Vatapikonda’.
 Pulikeshin II defated the Pallavas and captured Kanchi. He also defeated Cheras, Cholas
and Pandyas.
 In 642, a formidable Pallava force under Paranjothi was sent by Narasimhavarman I to
capture Vatapi, the capital of the Chalukyas. Pulakeshin II met the Pallavas on the
outskirts of his capital and is presumed to have lost his life in the ensuing battle.
The Pallavas achieved a decisive victory over Pulakeshin II.
 Kirtivarman, the last ruler of this dynasty was defeated by the Rashtrakutas and the
Chalukyanrule came to an end in 757 AD.
 The magnificient temples of Belur and Halebid and the Elephanta caves were
constructed during the Chalukyan period.
 From the Chronological point of view Chalukyas can be divided into four- The Chalukyas
of Vatapi (535 - 642 AD) The later Chalukyas of Vatapi (655 - 753 AD) The Eastern
Chalukyas of Vengi (615 - 1076) The Later Western Chalukyas of Kalyani (973-1190AD)

Pallavas
 Simhavishnu was the founder of the Pallava dynasty. Narasimhavarman , a Pallava
ruler, defeated Pulikeshin II and adopted the title Vatapikonda.
 Narasimhavarman I was called Mahamalla which meants a wrestler.
 The book Mattavilasa Prahasana was written by Narashimvarman I. The Ratha
temples at Mahabalipuram (Seven Pagodas) were created by Narasimhavarman I.
 Dandin the author of Dasakumaracharitam, lived in the court of Narasimhavarman II.
 Narasimhavarman II was the most important ruler of the Pallava dynasty. He founded
Kailasanatha Temple and the Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram.

Rashtrakutas
 Rashtrakuta dynasty was founded by Dandidurga in 753 AD. With the capital at
Manyakheta or Malkhed.
 Rashtrakuta ruler Amoghavarsha I wrote ‘Kavirajamarga’ which is the earliest Kannada
work on poetics. He also wrote Prasnottarmalika.
 The Kailasanath Temple at Ellora was founded by the Rashtrakuta ruler Krishna I.
Krishna III (940 -968) was the last great ruler of Rashtrakuta dynasty.

Pratiharas
  The Pratiharas are also called Gurjara - Pratiharas - belonging to the 36 clans of Rajputs.
 The dynasty was founded by Nagabhatta I (725-740).
 Nagabhatta II made Kanauj his capital. Pratihara ruler Mihir Bhoja adopted the title
‘Adivaraha’.
 Yashpal was the last ruler of this dynasty.
 Mahmood of Ghazni entred Kanauj during the period of the Pratiharas.

Palas
 The Pala dynasty was founded by Gopala in 750 AD.
 Famous Odandapuri University was founded by Gopala.
 The Vikramsila and Sompur Universities were founded by the Pala king Dharmapala.
 The Pala power was destroyed by Vijayasena who founded the Sena dynasty.

Senas
 The Sena dynasty was founded by Vijayasena towards to end of 11th century. (1093)
 Senas had a capital in Vikrampura and another in Vijayapura. Jayadeva, the author of
Gitagovinda was patronized by Sena ruler Lakshmana Sena.

Chauhans
 The four Agnikula Rajputs were the Pratiharas, Chau-hans the Solankis and
Paramaras.
 Chauhans had their capital at Ajmer and Delhi. Ajayaraya established the city of
Ajayameru or Ajmer.
 The most prominent ruler was Prithviraj III (1177-1192). He defeated Muhammed of
Ghore in the First Battle of Tarain (1191). But Ghore defeated and killed him in the
Second Battle of Tarain (1192).
 Prithviraj Chauhan III was the last Hindu ruler of Delhi. Prithvi Raj Rao is the
historical Kavya written by Chand Bardai.

The Chandelas of Bundelkhand

 The Chandela dynasty was founded by Yasovarman with Mahobas as the Capital
 The Khajuraho temples are the best examples of the Chandela art.

Cholas
 Vijayalaya was the founder of the Chola empire. He was a feudatory of the Pallavas of
Kanchi.
 Raja Raja I (985 - 1014) adopted the titles of Arumudivarman, Mammudichodadeva,
Jaykonda, Marthanda Chola, Mamudichola etc.
 He built the Brihadeshwara temple at Tanjavur which is called the RajaRajeswara
temple.
  Rajendra I led an expedition to North India, defeated the Pala ruler Mahipala I and
adtoped the title, Gangaikondachola and established a new Capital, Gangai Konda
Cholapuram.
 Cholas maintained a well established local - self government system. Ur, Sabha or
Mahasabha and Nagaram were the assemblies for local administration.

Eminent Personalities of Ancient India

 Alexander : he was the ruler of Macedonia in Greece. He attacked India in 326 BC and
captured upto river Bias.
 Ajatasatru : Son of Bimbisara. He established the city of Pataliputra.
 Arien : Greek historian who wrote about Alexander’s Indian invasion.
 Ashwaghosh : Buddhist monk who initiated Kaniskha to Buddhism wrote Buddha
charita, Sutralankar and Sandaranand.
 AmarSimha : Sanskrit scholar in the court of Chandragupta who wrote Amarakosha.
 Aryabhatta : He analysed the reasons for Solar and Lunar eclipses and declared that the
Earth is round. Wrote Aryabhattiyam.
 Bimbisar : Founded the Magadhan Empire or Haryanka dynasty. He was the first
influential king of ancient India.
 Banabhatta : Court poet of Harshavardhana and author of Harsha Charita and
Kadambari.
 Charak : He was an Ayurvedic expert wrote Charak-Samhita and established the
Aitereya branch of Ayurvedic medicines.
 Amoghavarsha : He was a famous Rashtrakuta ruler.
 Dhanananda : He was a powerful king of Magadha. Alexander did not go forward to in-
vade Magadha only after hearing his reputation.
 Darius I : The ruler of Iran (Persia) who invaded India in 6th century BC.
 Gautami Putra Shatakarni : He was the most famous Satavahana king in 2nd Century.
 Harisena : He was the writer of Pryaga Prashasti or Allahabad Pillar Inscription.
 Kharavel : Ruler of Kalinga in I century AD. The Famous Hathigumbha inscription
belonged to him.
 Kanishka : (I century AD) : Most powerful Kushan king. Started Shaka Era. Organised
fourth Buddhist council at Kundalvan near Kashmir.
 Karikala : Chola ruler who founded the city of Puhar (Kaveri patanam) in I century BC.
 Kautilya : also known as Vishnugupta or Chanakya. He wrote Arthasasthra, which is
compared to ‘The prince’ of Machiavelli.
 Kalidas : Famous Sanskrit poet who wrote, Raghuvamsa, Kumara Sambhavam,
Abhigyana Shakuntalam, Vikramorvashiyam and Malavikagnimitram. He also wrote
Meghadootam and Ritusamharam.
 Kamban : A Tamil poet of 11th century who wrote Ramayan in Tamil.
 Mihir Bhoja : Famous Prathihara ruler of 9th century.
 Kalhana - Famous Kashmiri poet and historian.He wrote Raja Tarangini.
  Marco Polo : Venitian Traveller to India in 13th century.
 Menander : He came to India as a foreign aggres-sor in II Century BC. MilindaPanho, a
book writ-ten by Nagasena, is about him.
 Nagarjuna : Famous Buddhist monk. He popounded the philosophy known as
Madhyamika.
 Makkali Gosala : Philosopher of 6th Century BC. H was the founder of Ajivika sect.
 Mihirkula : Huna conqueror defeated by Yashodharma.
 Skand Gupt : Last mighty Gupta ruler.
 Shushrut : He was a doctor of Ayurvedic medi-cine. He started the Dhanwantri branch
and was an expert in Plastic Surgery.
 Pulkeshin II. Most powerful king of Chalukyas of Vatapi who defeated Harshavardhana
in North and Mahendravarman of South.
 Pushya Mitra sunga : He killed the last Mauryan ruler and laid the foundation of Sunga
dynasty in 185BC.
 Pliny : He was a Roman historian who wrote the Natural History. He wrote about the
Mauryas of India.
 Panini : Sanskrit scholar specially of Grammar. He wrote Ashtadyayi.
 Varahamihira : He was famous astronomer who wrote Brihat Samhita.
 Sankaracharya : He was born in Kaladi in Kerala. He propagated Advaita Philosophy.
MEDIEVALINDIA
Medieval India
Arab Conquest of Sindh
 During the Khaliphate of Omar, Arab forces made fertile attempts to get Bombay under
their control.
 Arabs captured Sindh in 712 AD. The Arab conquest of Sindh was led by Muhammed Bin
Qasim.
 Muhammed Bin Qasim was the nephew of Al-Hajaj, the governor of the Arab province
of Basra.
 Dahir, a Brahmin was the ruler of Punjab at that time. He was killed by Qasim.
 The Arabs lost control over Sindh in 779 AD. Arab conquest of Sindh resulted in the
spread of Islam to North India.
 But Islam was first introduced in India by Malik Ibn Dinar in Kerala in 644 AD.

Turkish Invasions
 Ghazni in Afghanistan was ruled by a Turkish family called Gamini of Ghaznavid dynasty.
 Mahmud of Ghazni was the first Turkish conqueror of North India.
 Ghazni’s father was Sabuktigin. He attacked India only for want of wealth.
 He attacked India seventeen times between 1000 and 1027 AD. He made all the raids in
the guise of Jihad.
 First Invasion was in 1001 AD- He defeated Jaipal and Anandpal of Shahi dynasty in
1001 and 1009 respectively.
 The most important raid of Mahmud was the Somanath expedition. It was in 1025. He
completely destroyed the temple. Somanath Temple was on the sea coast of Gujarat.
 Mahmud Ghazni died in 30th April 1030. Later his son Masud attacked India and
caputred Kashmir.
 The famous Persian poet Firdausi who wrote ‘Shahnama’ (The Book of Kings) lived in his
court.
 Alberuni, an Arab Historian, who wrote Tarikh-ul-Hind (Reality of Hindustan),
accompanied Muhammed Ghazni to India.
 Firdausi is known as ‘Indian Homer’, ‘Persian Homer’, or ‘The Immortal Homer of the
East’.
 Muhammed of Ghore( Ghurid Empire) attacked India betwen 1175 and 1206 AD. He is
credited with laying the foundation of Muslim rule in the Indian subcontinent, which
lasted for several centuries. He reigned over a territory spanning over parts of modern
day Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
 Muhammed Ghori made his first expedition to India and captured multan in 1175 AD.
 In the First Battle Tarain in 1191 (near Taneswar). Muhammed Ghori was defeated by
the Rajput forces under Prithviraj Chauhan III.
 In the Second Battle of Tarain (1192 AD) Muhammed Ghori assisted by Qutub -ud-din
Aibek a slave, defeated Prithviraj Chauhan III and killed him.In 1193 Muhamed Ghori
attacked Jaichand, fa ther in law of Prithviraj . III at Kanauj, Jaichand was defeated.
 Muhammed Ghori returned from India by intrusting his territories in India in the hands
of QutubUddin Aibak.
 Qutub-ud-din Aibak died 1210 by falling from horseback.
  After the death of Ghori in 1206 Aibek founded the Slave Dynasty.
 Muhammed Ghoris Indian invasion resulted in the foundation of Islamic rule in India.
 After the death of Qutubuddin, cended the throne but he was deposed by Ilthumish and
crowned himself the Sulthan.
 Qutub-ud-din Aibak started the construction of Qutub Minar in 1199 in Delhi in memory
of the Sufi saint Quaja Qutub - ud-din Bhaktiar Kaki. Its construction was completed by
Ithumish. It is a five storied building.
 During the period of Ilthumish (1210-1236) Chengizkhan, the Mongole conqueror
attacked India (1221).

Delhi Sultanate
 The five dynasties which founded subsequently after the Turkish invasion were
collectively known as Delhi sulthanate. They are: Slave Dynasty (1206 – 1290), Khilji
Dynasty(1290 – 1320), Tughlaq Dynasty(1320 – 1412), Sayyid Dynasty(1414 – 1451),
Lodi Dynasty(1451 – 1526)
Slave Dynasty (1206 - 1290)
 Slave Dynasty was also called Ilbari Dynasty, Yamini Dynasty or Mamluk Dynasty.
 Qutub-ud-din Aibak was a slave of Muhammed Ghori and he founded the Slave Dynasty
in 1206 AD.
 Aibak was the first Muslim ruler of India. The capital of Qutub-ud-din Aibak was at
Lahore.
 Ilthumish is considered as the real founder of Delhi Sulthanate. Ilthumish was the first
Sulthan of Delhi to get recognition of the Khalifa of Bagdad.
 Ilthumish was also the first Sulthan to make Delhi his capital.
 He issued a purely Arabic coinage of Silver and was the first to do so.
 Coins introdued by Ilthumish, ‘Silver Thanka’ and ‘Copper Jital’ were the two basic coins
of the Sulthanate period.
 He organised the ‘Chalisa’ or the famous Turkish forty to help him in the administration.
 Iltumish completed the construction of Qutub Minar. The revenue system of the
Sulthanate ‘Iqta system’ was introduced by Ilthumish.
 Ilthumish was succeeded by his son Ruknuddin Firoz Shah. But he was later executed and
Razia became the sulthan (daughter of Ilthumish)
 Sultana Raziya, the only women ruler of, the Sultanate came to power in 1236 and
reigned till 1240. She rejected the Pardah, she adorned the male dress and held open
courts.
 In October 14, 1240 both Razia and Altunia who earlier raised arms against Razia but
later joined with her were, beheaded at Kaithal.
 After Raizya Behran Shah (1240 - 42) Allaud-din-Masudshah (1242 - 46) and Naziruddin
Muhammad (1246 - 1266) ruled and Balban, the founder of the second Ilban dynasty,
became the Sulthan.
  Balban described himself as ‘shadow of God’ or the ‘viceregent of God on Earth’ (Zil-i-
illahi). The Chalisa or forty established by Ilthumish was abolished by Balban.
 His policies are considered to be ‘Draconian’. He started the Iranian system of Sajda and
Piabos.
 He was a patron of men of letters and showed special favour to the poet Amir Khusrau.
 After Balban’s death in 1286, Kayqubad (1287 -90) became the Sulthan. Balban’s Tomb is
situated in Delhi. It was constructed by Balban himself.
 Kaqubad was the last Slave Sulthan. (Kayumar who ruled for a term of three months was
actually the last Slave Sulthan. He was killed by Jalaluddin Khilji) and founded the Khilji
Dynasty.

Khilji Dynasty (1290 -1320)

 Khilji dynasty was founded by Malik Firoz in 1290 and assumed the title Jalaluddin Khilji
(1290-96).
 In 1292 the Mongols under Abdulla accepted defeat from Jalaluddin Khilji.
 Alauddin Khilji, the nephew of Jalaluddin Khilji, killed him after his victory on Devagiri in
1296.
 Alauddin Khilji’s early name was Ali Gurushap.He became the Sulthan in 1296 AD and
ruled till 1316 AD.
 In 1303 Alauddin Khilji attacked Chittor, the capital of Mewar, to marry Padmini the wife
of Chittor king Ratna Singh.
 But Padmini and other Rajput women committed Juhar (Juhar is a mass suicide by
Jumping into fire, committed by Rajput women to escape from being polluted by others)
 Padmavat is a historical kavya about Padmini epi-sode written by Malik Muhammed
Jayasi.
 Malik Muhammed Jayasi was the court poet of Shershah Suri.
 Alauddin Khilji was the first Muslim ruler to attack South India.
 Malik Kafur was Alauddin Khilji’s Commander who attacked South India.
 Alauddin Khilji was the most famous ruler of the Khilji Dynasty. Alauddin had a dream of
a World Conquest so he assumed the title ‘Sikhandar-i-sani’ or Second Alexander.
 Alauddin abolished the Zamindari System and imposed tax on cattle. He was the first
muslim ruler of Delhi to introduce measurement of land for tax assessment.
 His market regulations were to get goods at controlled price to the people of Delhi.
 Alauddin Khilji was the first Sulthan of Delhi who separated religion from politics.He was
also the first to proclaim ‘‘I am the Khalifa’’.
 Alauddin constructed Alai Darwaza the gate way of Qutub Minar.
 He built the city of Siri, the second of the seven cities of Delhi, near Qutub Minar.
 The first marriage between a muslim ruler and a Hindu princess was between Alauddin
and Kamla Devi, the widow of the ruler of Gujarat.
 Alauddin Khilji was killed by his commander Malik Kafur by poisoning.
 Amir Khusru was the court poet of Alauddin. Khusru is known as the ‘Parrot of India’
  He is considered as the father of Urdu language and the inventor of Sitar. Laila Majnu
and Tughlaq Nama are the famous works of Amir Khusru.
 Alauddin khilji was the first Sulthan to maintain a permanent standing army. He also
introduced postal system in medieval India.
 Mubarak shah khilji was the last ruler of the khilji Dynasty. Khilji dynasty came to an
end when the Mubarak shah Khilji was killed by Khusrau Khan. Some historians consider
Khusrau Khan as the last Khilji Sulthan.

Tughlaq Dynasty (1320 - 1412)

 Tughlaq Dynasty was founded by Ghiazuddin Tughlaq. His real name was Ghazi Malik.
He founded the dynasty after killing Khusrau Khan in 1320. Ghiazuddin died by the
collapse of a pavilion.
 He built the Tughlaqabad Fort in Delhi the third city of Delhi to the east of Qutub
complex.
 He was the first Sulthan to start irrigation works. He was succeeded by his son Jauna
Khan, popularly known as Muhammed Bin Tughlaq.
 Muhammed Bin Tughlaq is considered as the single most responsible person for the
decline of Delhi Sulthanate. Ibn Batuta called him ‘‘an illstared idealist’’.
 He shifted his capital from Delhi to Devagiri (Daulatabad) in 1327. In 1330 he introduced
token currency of bronze and copper. Moroccan Traveller Ibn Batuta visited India during
his period.He was succeeded by his elderly cousin, Firoz Shah Tughlaq.
 Firoz Shah Tughlaq was the first Sulthan of Delhi to impose Jaziya. It was a religious tax
for the freedom of worship. He imposed it only upon Brahmins.
 He built the city of Firozbad in Delhi. The Firoz shah Kotla was also built by him. The gate
way of Firozshah Kotla is Khooni Darwaza, or blood stained gate. It was constructed by
Shersha Suri.
 He transplanted two Ashokan Pillars to Firozabad. He is the author of Fatuhat -i-
Firozshahi.
 After Firozshah Tughlaq Muhammed Shah Tughlaq or Naziruddin Muhammed came to
the throne.
 It was during the period of his reign that Timur the Lame or Tamerlain a Turkish
conqueror of Tartar tribe from Samarkhand attacked India in 1398.
 Timur appointed Khizr Khan, the governor of Multan as his authority in India.

Sayyid Dynasty (1414 - 1451)

 Sayyid Dynasty was founded by Khizr Khan in 1414. Last Sayyid Sulthan was Alauddin
Alamshah or Shah Alam I. He was killed by Bahalol Lodhi in 1451.

Lodhi Dynasty (1451-1526)

 Lodhi dynasty was founded by Bahlol Lodhi in 1451. The dynasty lasted upto 1526.
 Lodhi dynasty was the first Afghan dynasty or first Pathan dynasty in India.
  Sikhandar Lodhi, who ruled from 1489 to 1517 shifted the capital from Delhi to Agra.
Sikhandar Lodhi is considered as the Maker of Agra City.
 Last Lodhi Sulthan or last Delhi Sulthan was Ibrahim Lodhi. Rana Sangram Singh of
Mewar defeated him. His brother Daulat Khan Lodhi invited Babar to India to defeat
Ibrahim Lodhi in 1524.
 Babar defeated Ibrahim Lodhi in the First Battle of Panipat in 1526 April 21.
 The title Sultan was started by the Turkish rulers. Mahmud of Ghazni was the first to
assume the title Sulthan.
 The official language of the Delhi Sulthanate was Persian.

Bahmani and Vijayanagara Kingdoms

 The decline of the Sulthanate of Delhi gave birth to two mighty states in South India the
Bahmani Kingdom of Gulbaraga and the Vijayanagara Empire.
 The Bahmanis were Muslim rulers, while the rulers of the Vijayanagar were Hindus.
 The Bahmani kingdom was founded by Zafar Khan (Hassan) who took the title of
Alauddin Bahman Shah. He selected Gulbaraga as its capital and renamed it
Ahsanabad.
 There were total eighteen Sulthans and they ruled from 1347 to 1527. Muhammed
Gawan was the famous minister of Bahmini kingdom.
 The last prince of the Bahmani Kingdom was Kalimullah.
 By 1527, the Bahmani kingdom was split up into five independent principalities.
1. The Adil Shahis of Bijapur -founder - Yusuf Adilshah (1489 - 90)
2. The Nizam Shahis of Ahamadnagar - founder - Malik Ahmad (1499)
3. The Imadshahis of Berar - founder -Fateh Ulla Imadshanti (1490)
4. The Qutubshahi kingdom of Golconda - founder - Qutabshah (1512)
5. The Baridshahis of Bidar - founder - Amir Ali Barid (1527).

Vijaya Nagara Empire

 The founders of Vijaya Nagar Empire were Harihara and Bukka Rai, the revenue
officers of the Kakatiya ruler Pratap Rudra Deva II of Warrangal.
 They founded the dynasty in 1336 with the capi-tal as Vijaya Nagara on the banks of
Tungbhadra river witht the help of Saint Vidyaranya.
 Vijayanagara kingdom lasted for 230 years and produced four dynasties- Sangama
(1336 - 1485) Saluva - (1485 - 1505) Tuluva (1505 - 1565) and Aravidu (1565 - 1672).
 Krishna Deva Raya (1509 - 1529) belonged to the Tuluva dynasty. The Ital-ian
traveller Nicolocont visited his court.
 Krishnadeva Rayar is known as ‘Andhra Bhoja. Allasani Peddanna, a Telugu poet was
a courtier of Krishna Deva Raya. He is considered as the ‘‘Andra Kavita Pitamaha’’
the Grand Father of Telugu poetry.
 ‘Ashtadiggajas’ was the famous Scholastic Assembly in the court of Krishna Deva
Raya.
  Vijayanagar Empire was visited by many foreign travelers like Nicolo Conti - Venitian
traveller, visited during the reign of Devaraya I. Abdur Razzak : Ambassador of
Sulthan ShahRukh to the court of Devaraya II. Damingos Paes : He visited Krishna
Devaraya’s court. Ferona Nuniz : A Portuguese who visited during Achyuta Raya’s
reign. Durate Barbosa : A portuguese who visited Krishnadeva Raya’s court.
Athenasius Nikitin (1415) : He was a Russian, who visited during Deva Raya I’s period
He wrote, ‘Voyage to India’.

The Mughal Empire

 The Mughals were originally Turks. They belonged to the Chaghtai branch of the Turkish
race.
 Period of the Mughal empire is known as Second Classical Age. First Classical Age is the
period Guptas.
 Mughal Empire is also known as Timurid Empire because of its relation to Amir Timur.
 Mughal Emperors are 20 in number. They ruled India from 1526 to 1857. Only six are
considered great They are: Zahiruddin Muhammed Babur (1526 - 1530), Naziruddin
Mirza Muhammed Humayun (1530 - 40&1555 -1556), Jalaluddin Muhammed Akbar -
(1556 - 1605), Nuruddin Muhammed Jahangir (1605 – 1627), Shahabuddin
Muhammed Shah Jahan (1628 - 1658), Muhiyuddin Muhammed Aurangazeb Alamgir
(1658- 1707)

Babur
 Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, was the fifth descendant of Timur on
Father’s side and the four-teenth descendant of Chengizkhan on mothers side. Babur
was born in Farghana in Turkey on 14 Feb. 1483.
 Babur’s father Umershiek Mirza was the grand son of Amir Timur and the ruler of
Farghana. He became the ruler of Samarkhand at the Age of 11. He captured Kabul in
1504.
 Then Babur attacked India 5 times for want of wealth.
 Babur’s first Attack of India was in 1519 Bhera was the first place captured by Babur.
 In 1524 Daulatkhan, Ibrahim Lodhi’s brother invited Babur to India.
 On 21 April 1526 Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodhi, the last Lodhi Sulthan in the First
Battle of Panipat.
 On 16 March 1527 he defeated Rana Sangha of Mewar, in the Battle of Khanwa.The
Rajputs in 1528 under Medini Raj of Malwa fought against Babur in the Battle of
Chanderi, but they were defeated.
 In 1529 the Afghans under Muhammed Lodhi fought against Babur in the Battle of
Ghaghra but were defeated.
 In 1530 December 26, Babur died and was cremated at Kabul. Babur was the first to
use Artillery in India.
  His memoirs or autobiography ‘Tuzuk-i-Baburi or Baburnamah was written in Turkish
language, Babur’s mothertongue.

Humayun
 Humayun was born in 1507 in Kabul as the son of Babur and Mahim Sulthana.
 He became the Mughal Em-peror on 29 December 1530 at the age of 23. He divided
the empire among his brothers - Askari, Hindal and Kamran. Human was an
accomplished mathematician and astronomer.
 In 1539 by the Battle of Chausa, Humayun was defeated for the first time by
Shershah Suri. In the next year (1540) Shershah completely defeated Humayun in the
battle of Kanauj and founded the Sur dynasty.
 After the lapse of 15 years Humayun re-captured the Empire by defeating the last Sur
ruler Sikhandar Shah Suri by the battle of Sirhindh in 1555, July.
 After the restoration Humayun ruled for only six months.
 The period from 1540 to 1555 is known as the period of temporary eclipse of the
Mughal. Humayun died by an accidental fall from the straicase of his Library
‘Shermandal’ at the Puranaqila in Delhi on 24 January 1556.
 The Purnqila was constructed by Humayun but its construction was completed by
Shershah.
 Humayun’s biography Humayun Namah was written by Humayun’s sister Gulbadan
Begum. The language used to write this biography was a mixture of Turkish and
Persian.
 In 1533 Humayun built the city of Dinpana (world refuge) in Delhi. Humayun’s tomb is
situated in Delhi (first building in India having double domes)
 Humayun tomb is known as predecessor of Tajmahal, because Taj was modelled after
this, also known as a dormitory of the house of Timur. Mirak Mirza Ghias is its
architect.

Akbar
 Akbar was born at Amarkot in Sindh in 23 Nov. 1542. He came to the throne on February
14, 1556 at the age of 14 at Kalanur.
 Hemu the Hindu Prime Minister of Muhammed Adilshah of Bihar occupied Agra and
accepted the title Maharaja Vikramaditya.
 Akbar killed Hemu in the Second Battle of Paniput in 1556 November 2. Akbar became
an independent ruler at the age of 18 in 1560, after dismissing Bairamkhan.
 Later he married Bairam Khans widow Salima Begum. In 1561 he defeated the musician
Sultan of Malwa - Baz Bahadur.
 In 1562 Akbar married Joda Bhai, the daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amber.
 In 1564, he abolished the religious tax Jaziya. Jaziya was impossed for the first time by
Firozshah Tughlaq.
 In 1572 he captured Gujarat and in memory of that he built a new capital city Fathepur
sikri (city of Victory) near Agra. Buland Darwaza is the gate way of Fathepur Sikri, built
by Akbar.
 In 1575 Akbar constructed a prayer house in Fathepur Sikri known as Ibadatkhana.
 In 1579 he issued the Infallibility Decree by which he made himself the supreme head in
religious matters.
 In 1580 the first Christian missionaries (Jerome Xavier) (Spanish)arrived at the court of
Akbar.
 In 1585 Ralph Fitch the first English man to reach India, reached Akbar’s court. He is
known as pioneer English man or torch bearer Englishman.
 In 1582 Akbar founded a new religion for universal peace and monotheism known as
‘Din Ilahi’ means Divine Faith. In 1583 he started a new Calendar called Ilahi Calendar.
 In 1576 Akbar defeated Maharana Pratap of Mewar in the battle of Haldighat. Haldighat
is a mountain pass in the Aravally hills in Rajasthan.
 The Portuguese introduced tobacco for the first time in India in the court of Akbar in
1604.
 Akbar was the Mughal Emperor when the English East India Company was being
founded in 1600 December 31.
 Akbar died in 1605. His tomb is situated at Sikhandra near Agra. Akbar was an illiterate
person, but he was a patron of men of eminence. He maintained a Scholastic Assembly
in his court. They included the following personalities.
Abul Fazal : Akbar’s court historian who wrote Akbar’s biographical works Ain-i-Akbari
and Akbar Namah.
Abul Faizi : Persian poet and brother of Abul Fazal. He translated Mahabharata into
Persian in name ‘Razam Namah’ and Bhaskaracharya’s mathematical work Leelavati
into Persian.
Mian Tansen : His original name was Ram Thanu Pande. He was the court Musician of
Akbar. He composed a Raga, Rajdarbari in honour of Akbar.
Birbal : His real name was Mahesh Das. He is the court jester of Akbar.
Raja Todarmal : RajaTodarmal was Akbar’s fi-nance or revenue minister. He formulated
Akbar’s revenue system Zabti and Dashala systems. Raja Todermal also translated
Bhagavatapurana into Persian.
Maharaja Mansing : Akbar’s military commander.
Badauni : a historian who translated Ramayana into Persian - Tarjuma -e-Ramayan.
Tulasidas : Hindi poet who wrote Ramacharitamanas.
 Akbar’s military system was known as Mansabdari system, which included
Ranks from 10 -7000.
 He divided the Mughal Empire into 12 Subahs (provinces) for the
administrative conveniences.
  Akbar was also the first ruler to organise Hajj pilgrimage at the government
expense. The Port Cambay in Gujarat is known as the ‘Gate way to Mecca
from Mughal India’.
 Akbar was an accomplished Sitar player.
 Mughal - Rajput friendly relation began during the period of Akbar.

Jahangir
 Early name of Jahangir was Salim. Akbar called him Sheika Baba. Jahangir came to the
throne in 1605.
 Jahangir was the son of Akbar and Jodabai.
 He married Mehrunnisa, an Afghan widow in 1611 Later he gave her the titles, Noor
Mahal (light of the palace) Noor Jahan (light of the world) and Padusha Begum.
 In 1606 Jahangir executed fifth Sikh Guru Guru Arjun Dev, because he helped Jahangir’s
son Prince Khusru to rebel against him.
 In 1609, Jahangir received William Hawkins, an envoy of King James I of England, who
reached India to obtain trade concession.
 In 1615 Sir Thomas Roe reached the court of Jahangir as the first ambassador of James I
of England in the court of Jahangir. As a result of his efforts first English factory was
established at Surat in Gujarat.
 Period of Jahangir is considered as the Golden Age of Mughal Painting. Jahangir himself
was a painter. Ustad Mansur and Abul Hassan were famous painters in the court of
Jahangir.
 Jahangir built Shalimar and Nishant Gardens in Srinagar. Jahangir wrote his
autobiography Tuzukh -i-Jahangiri in Persian language.
 Jahangir died in 1627 and was cremated at Shahdhara in Lahore.

Shah Jahan
 Shah Jahan was born on 5th January 1592 at Lahore.
 His mother was Jagat Gosain and his childhood name was Khurram.
 He married Arjumand Benu Begum, daughter of Asaf Khan, brother of Noor Jahan.
She later came to be known as Mumtaz Mahal which means beloved of the Palace.
 Shahjahan destroyed the Portuguese settlements at Hoogly.
 Shah Jahan’s period is considered as the Golden Age of Mughal Architecture and
Shah Jahan is known as the Prince of Builders.
 In 1631 he started the construction of Tajmahal in memory of his wife and completed
in 1653. It is situated on the banks of Yamuna river in Uttar Pradesh. Utad Iza a
Turkish/ Persian was its architect. British administrator Furgurson called it ‘a love in
marble’. In 1638 Shah Jahan built his new capital Shah Jahanabad in Delhi and shifted
the capital from Agra to there.
 In 1639 he started the construction of Red fort in Delhi on the model of Agrafort built
by Akbar. Its construction was completed in 1648. The Diwan-i-Am, Diwan-i-Khas and
 the Moti Masjid are situ-ated inside the Red fort. The Mothi Masjid in Agra was
constructed by ShahJahan. The INA Trial in 1945 was conducted at the Red Fort.
 The Gateway of Redfort is the Lahore Gate. It is here at the Lahore Gate that the
Prime Minister of India hoists the National Flag and addresses the nation on the
Independence day.
 In 1656 ShahJahan constructed the Juma Masjid in Delhi. It is the biggest masjid in
India. First masjid in India was constructed at Kodungallur in Kerala (Cheraman Palli)
in 644 AD by Malik Ibn Dinar.
 The Portuguese introduced European painting in India during the reign of Shah Jahan
 In 1658 Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son Aurangazeb and he died in 1666, after
eight years. His daughter Jahan Ara was also kept in prison along with him at the Agra
fort.
 Shah Jahan’s son Dhara Shikoh was a famous scholar. He translated Bhagavat Gita
and Sixty Upanishads into Persian. He also wrote a book titled Mujm-ul-Behrain
(Mingling of the Oceans) He also translated Atharva Veda into Persian.
 ShahJahan was a famous Lyricist. He wrote Lyrics in Hindi.
 The famous Peacock Throne was built by Shah Jahan. It was abducted from here by
Nadirshah in 1739 during his Indian invasion (Persian conqueror). Now it is kept at
the London Tower Museum, Britain.
 French travellers Bernier and Tavernier and Italian traveller Manucci visited India
during ShahJahan’s period.

Aurangazeb
 Aurangazeb imprisoned his father and made him-self the Padushah in 1658. But his
actual coronation was conducted in 1659.
 Alamgir was the name adopted by Aurangazeb when he became the Badshah.
 In 1675 he executed 9th Sikh Guru Guru Tej Behadur because of his reluctance to
accept Islam. Guru Teg Behadur was executed at the Chandni Chauk.
 In 1679 Aurangzeb constructed the tomb of his only wife Rubiad Daurani at
Aurangabad in Maharashtra. It is known as Bibi ka Makabara. It is otherwise known
as Mini Tajmahal as it was the blindand cheap imitation of Tajmahal. In the same year
he reimpossed Jaziya upon all the non Muslims, which was earlier abolished by Akbar.
 In 1660 he entrusted Shaisthakhan to defeat Shivaji. Later in 1665 the treaty of
Purandar was signed between Maharaja Jaisingh of Amber and Chatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj.Jaisingh was deputed by Aurangazeb.
 The Mughal Rajput relation became worse dur-ing the period of Aurangazeb.
Aurangazeb was the only Mughal Emperor who was not a drunkard. He was also a
temple breaker. He persecuted the Hindus and imposed prohibition against the free
exercise of Holi and Divali.
 Aurangazeb died in 1707 February 20,at Ahmednagar. Aurangazeb’s tomb is situated
at Daulatabad in Maharashtra.
Later Mughals
 Bahadurshah I came to the throne after the death of Aurangazeb. His real name was
Muassam.
 In 1739 Nadirshah Quli the Persian conqueror attacked India during the period of the
Mughal Emperor Muhammed Shah or Rustan Khan (1719-1748) and took away
ShahJahan’s famous Peacock Throne and Kohinoor Diamond.
 Ahmedshah’s (1748 -1754) period saw the mighty invasion of Ahmed Shah Abdali of
Afghanistan.
 Akbar Shah II (1806 - 1837) conferred the title ‘‘Raja’’ upon Ram Mohan Roy.
 Bahadurshah II (837-1862) was the last Mughal emperor. On 17th May 1857
Bahadurshah II was declared the independent Emperor of India by the Mutineers. He
was surrendered to Lt W.S.R. Hudson at Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi.
 In 1859 he was deported to Rangoon in December where he ex-pired on Nov. 7, 1862.
The Tomb of Bahadurshah II is in Pwin Manah, the capital of Myanmar.
 Bahadurshah II was also a famous Urdu Poet. He was also known as Bahadurshah
Zafar Zafar means gifted poet.

Shershah Suri
 His original name was Farid.
 He was born in Hissar Firosa. His father was Hassan Khan
 His family came to India from Afghanistan.
 He entered the service of Baharkhan Lohani of Behar from him he received the title of
Sherkhan, for killing a lion single handed.
 Later he became a member of the Mughal court of Babur.
 In 1539 by the battle of Chausa, Sherkhan defeated Humayun for the first time and
assumed the name Shershah.
 Later in 1540 he completely defeated Humayun in in the battle of Kanauj and
founded the Sur dynasty.
 While directing the operations of his artillery at Kalanjar against the ruler of
Bundelkhand Raja Kirat Singh, Shershah was seriously wounded by a sudden fire from
his own artillery and died on May 22, 1545.
 Shershah constructed the Grand Trunk Road from Sohargaon to Attock (Calcutta to
Amritsar).
 He introduced the National Highway concept for the first time in India.
 Now the Grand Trunk Road is known as Shershah Suri Marg. Its part from Delhi to
Amritsar is known as National Highway -1.
 Grand Trunk Road is also known a ‘Long Walk’. He was the first ruler to introduce
Silver Rupiya (one rupiya was equal to 64 dams) and gold coin Ashrafi.
 He built the Purana Qila in Delhi (its Construction was started by Humayun) and his
own Mousoleum (Tomb) at Sasaram in Bihar.
  He also constructed the Khooni Darwaza (blood stained gate) the gate way of
Firozshah Kotla in Delhi.
 Hindi poet Malik Muhammed Jayasi completed his Padmavat, during his reign.
 His Revenue system was excellent and hence Akbar’s administrative reforms were
modelled after him. He is regarded as the forerunner of Akbar.
 Shershah was succeeded by his son Islam Shah. The last Sur ruler was Sikkandar Shah
Sur. Who was defeated by Humayun in 1555 by the battle of Sirhindh.

The Marathas
 The first great leader of the Marathas was Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj.
 The Marathas became prominent in the later half of the 17th century.
 Shivaji belonged to the Bhonsle clan of the Marathas. Shaji Bhonsle and Jiga Bai were
the Parents of Shivaji.
 He was born in 1627 February 19 at the fort of Shivner near Junnar.
 His father was a military commander under the Nizam Shahi rulers of Ahmedanagar
and later of Bijapur. Shivaji’s tutor was Dadaji Kondadev.
 Shivaji received the help of Malavi tribe to capture the territories of Bijapur Sulthan.
 Torna was the first place captured by Shivaji in 1646. Shivaji came to conflict with the
Mughals for the first time in 1657, during the period of Shah Jahan.
 In 1659 Bijapur Sulthan Ali Adilshah sent Afzal Khan to kill Shivaji. But he killed Afsal
Khan.
 In 1660 Aurangazeb deputed his viceroy of Deccan, Shaisthakhan to kill Shivaji. 1665,
Shivaji signed the treaty of Purandar with Raja Jai Singh of Ambher, who was
deputed by Aurangazeb.
 In 1666 Shivaji visited Aurangazeb in his court at Agra. But he and his son Sambaji
were imprisoned by Aurangazeb in the Jaipur Bhavan.
 On 16th June 1674 Shivaji crowned himself an independent Hindu king became the
Chatrapathi and assumed the title ‘Haidavadhasmodharak’.
 Shivaji died in 1680 at the age of 53. Shahu became the Chatrapathi in 1708 and his
period witnessed the rise of Peshwaship.
 Balaji Vishwanath (1712 - 1720) Baji Rao (1720 - 40) Balaji BajiRao I (1740 - 61) and
Madhav Rao I (1761 - 1772) were the Peshwas who ruled Maharashtra.
 Baji Rao popularised the idea of Hindu Badshahi or Hindu Empire.
 Balaji Baji Rao’s period witnessed the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761. In this battle
Ahmed Shah Abdali of Afghanistan defeated the Marathas.
 Madhava Rao was the last great Peshwa. Last Peshwa was Baji Rao II.
 Madhava Rao’s period witnessed the disintegration of the Maratha power and the
formation of independent kingdoms – Holkar of Indor, Bhonsle of Nagpur, Sindhya of
Gwalior and Gaekwad of Baroda.
 Shivaji’s Council of Ministers was known as Ashtapradhan. They were Peshwa, Pandit
Rao, Sumant, Sachiva, Senapathi, Amatya, Mantri and Nyayadhyaksha.
  Peshwa was the Maratha Chief Minister.
 Chauth and Sardesh Mukhi were two special laxes collected by the Marathas.
 The first Maratha war (1775 -82) Swai Madhav Rao Vs Raghunath Rao with English
support. The last great Soldier and statesman of Maratha was Nana Phadavnis (1800)
 Peshwaship was abolished in 1818.
 Baji Rao was the ablest of the Peshwas.
 Shivaji did not allow women in his military camp.
 The Marathas were equipped with an efficient naval system under Shivaji.
 Kanhoji Angre (August 1669 – 4 July 1729) was the chief of the Maratha Navy in 18th
century India.

Sikhism
 ‘Sikh’ is a sanskrit word which means ‘desciple’. Sikh religion was founded by Guru
Nanak.
 Guru Nanak was born was born at Talwandi in Lahore, belonged to the Khatri Caste
(Mercantile Community). Nanak called his creed as Gurumat or Guru’s wisdom.
 GuruNanak was born in 1469 and died in 1538. He was the first Guru of the Sikhs.
 Nanak preached only in Punjabi. Nanak nominated Guru Angad as his successor.
 Guru Angad introduced Gurumukhi Script. He also compiled Guru Nanak’s biography
Janam Sakis.
 Langar or free community dining was also intro-duced by Guru Angad.
 Third Sikh Guru was Amar Das. He started the Manji system ie, branches for the
propagation of Sikhs. He made Guruship hereditory.
 Guru Ramdas was the fourth Sikh Guru. He founded the city of Amritsar. The place for
the city was donated by Akbar.
 Under the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjun Dev, Sikhism became an organised religion. He
compiled the ‘Adi Grandh’ the sacred book of the Sikhs. He built a temple at Amritsar ,
(later the Golden Temple) Har Mandir Sahib. He helped Jahangir’s son Prince Khusru to
rebel against the Emperor so he was executed by Jahangir at Lahore in 1606 AD.
 The sixth Guru Hargovind, created a Sikh army and turned against Shah Jahan. He
founded a palace opposite to Harmandir Sahib known as ‘Akaltakt’. He also adopted the
title Sacha Padusha, which means true ruler. (the title was not adopted by Teg Bahadur)
 Seventh Guru was Har Rai. He was succeeded by Guru Harkishan. Har Kishan became
the Guru at the age of five, hence he is the youngest Sikh Guru.
 The 10th and the last Guru, Govind Singh formed the Khalsa or the Sikh brotherhood.
 He introduced ‘Panchkar’ of Sikhism –i.e Kesh (long hair) Kanga (Comb) Kripan (Sword),
Kachha (Underwear) and Kara (Iron bangk).
 He introduced baptism and wanted every Sikh to bear community surname ‘Singh’ or
lion.
 His aim was the establishment of a Sikh State after overthrowing the Mughals. In 1708
he was killed by an Afghan.
  ‘Vichithra Natak’ is the autobiography of Guru Govind Singh.
 Kartarpur Dabir is the root form of Guru Grandh Sahib. Govind Singh proclaimed the
Grandh Sahib as the eternal Guru.

Ranjit Singh (1780 - 1836)

 Ranjit Singh became the ruler of Punjab in 1799. He assumed the title Maharaja in 1801.
 The 1809 the British and Renjith Singh made the Treaty of Amritsar during the period of
Lord Minto.
 In 1809 Shah Shuja the grand-son of Ahmedshah Abdali presented the Kohinoor
diamond to Ranjith Singh.
 Later Punjab was annexed to the British territories by Lord Dalhousie in 1849. Sir John
Lawrence became the first Chief Commissioner of Punjab.
 The Sikhs fought two wars against the English First Anglo-Sikh War (1845- 1846) and the
Second Anglo-Sikh war (1848 – 1849).

The Bhakti Movement

 Love and devotion to one personal God is the basic concept of Bhakti.
 The Alvars or Vaishanava saints and Nayanars or Saivite, saints became the promoters
of Bhakti movement in South India.
 Ramanuja, a Vaishana saint of 12th century AD, was born at Sriperumbathur and
founded philoso-phy of Vishistadvaita or qualified monism.
 The leader of Bhakti movement or Hindu revival-ism was Sankaracharya. His philosophy
was Advaita or pure monism. He wrote Commentary on Brahmasutra and Upanishad.
He founded four matts- Sringeri, Dwaraka, Puri and Badrinath.
 Vallabhacharya promoted the philosophy of Pushtimarga. He was the founder of
Sudhadvaita.
 The North India the Bakti movement was pro-moted by two sects of thought - the
Saguna and Nirguna schools.
 Ramanand, born at Prayag preached Vaishnavaism. He was a followers of Ramanuja.
 Kabir (1398 -1458) a nirguna was born near Benaras. His followers started the
‘Kabirpanthis’.
 Tulasi Dasa (1532 - 1623) a worshipper of Rama compossed Ramcharithamanasa in
Hindi. His other works are Kavitavali and Gitavali.
 Mirabai (1498 - 1509) a Rajaput princess hailed from the Sisodiya dynasty of Chittoor
was a devo-tee of Lord Krishna. Her lyrics were written in Brijbhasha and in Rajasthani.
 Jnanadeva, Namadeva, Eknatha Tukaram and Samarth Ram Das were the leading
Maratha saints of Bhakti movement.
 Jnanadeva founded the Maharashtra Dharma. His famous work ‘Jnaneswari’ is a
commendment on Bhagavatgita.
 Ekanath promoted the custom of singing Kirthana and he composed ‘abhangas’ or
typical poems.
  Tukaram a contemporary of Shivaji was the pro-moter of Maratha nationalism.
 Samarth Ramdas, the spiritual guide of Shivaji, wrote ‘Dasabhodha’.

Sufism
 Mythical movement of the Muslims was known as Suficism. Sufi movement first
came to India in the wake of Muhammed Ghazni’s invasion in the 11th cen-tury.
 Sufi orders are called Silsilahs. Chishti Silsilah was founded by Khawaja Moinuddin
Chishti of Ajmir. Sufism declined in the 17th Century.

Famous Personalities in Medieval India

 Al Masudi - An Arabian traveller who came to India in 10th century AD.
 Al Beruni - He came to India with Muhammed Ghazni, his book, Tahrik-ul-Hindh.
 Abbas Khan Shervani : He was a historian of Shershahs time. He wrote Tarikh-1-
Shershahi.
 Abul Fazal : He was a a great scholar poet Histo-rian in the court of Akbar. He
wrote Akbarnamah and Ain-i- Akbari.
 Bhaktiyar Khilji : Commander of Muhammed Ghori who conquered Bengal and
crushed the Sena dynasty.
 Bhar Mal : He was the Rajput ruler of Amber. His daughter Jodabai was married to
Akbar. Akbars commanders Bhangavandas and Mansingh were his son and
grandson respectively.
 Chathaniya : He popularised ‘Bhakti’ in Bengal. He was worshipper of Krishna.
 Chand Bibi : She was the daughter of Nizam Shai ruler of Ahmed Nagar and was
married to the Adil Shahi ruler of Bijapur. As a widow she fought with Mughals to
save her dynasty.
 Bairam Khan : He helped Akbar to defeat Hemu.
 Firadusi : famous poet in the court of Muhammed Ghazni He wrote Shah Namah
(The book of kings). He is known as Indian Homer or Persian Homer.
 Ibn Batuta : He was an African (Morocco) who visited the court of Muhammed bin
Tughlaq and wrote the book ‘Rihala’.
 Hasan Gangu - founder of Bahmani dynasty un-der the name Alauddin
Bahamanshah.
 Jai Chandra - He was the ruler of Kanauj, be-longed to the Gahawala dynasty. He
was defeated in 1194 by Muhammed Ghori in the battle of Chandwar.
 Khawaja Moinuddin Chisti : He was a sufi saint of 12th century who started the
Chishtia sect at Ajmir.
 Islam Shah : Second Sur ruler, son of Shersha He codified the law and introduced
an impartial sys-tem of Justice.
 Lalitaditya of Karkota dynasty : He ruled over Kashmir from 724 to 760. The
famous Martand Mandir temple was built by him.
  Malik Kafur : He was an army commander of Alauddin Khilji - who conquered
south India for him. He was converted to Islam from Hinduism.
 Muhamed Gawan : He was a minister to the Bahmani rulers.
 Malik Amber : He was a Syrian slave who could became the Prime Minister of
Ahmed Nagar. He administered the State very well fought against the Mughals
and Marathas.
 Mirza Ghias Beg : He was the father of Nur Jahan and received the title
Etmatuddaula. His tomb is in Agra.
 Murshid Quli Khan : He was an independent ruler of Bengal, who founded the city
of Murshidabad.
 Rana Kumbha : He was a Rajput ruler of 15th century He built a kirti Stambh at
Chittar.

Modern India
Advent of the Europeans
 A new Sea route to India via Cape of Good Hope (Southern tip of South Africa) by Vasco
da Gama in 1498 AD marked the beginning of European period in Indian History. He first
arrived at Kapad near Kozhikode in Kerala.
 Saint Gabriel was the name of the ship in which Vasco-da-Gama landed at Kappad, the
port of Zamorine of Calicut.
 The most famous Portuguese men from the point of view of India Vasco da Gama,
Almeida and Albuquerque.
 Vasco-da-Gama arrived for the second time in 1502 and for the third chance in 1524. He
died at Fort Cochin and was cremated at the St. Frnacis Church there. Later his remains
were brought back to Portugal.
 Don Francisco de’Almedia was the first Portu-guese governor in the East. His policy was
called ‘‘the bluewater policy’’ which aimed at the establishement of strong navy.
 In 1507 the Portuguese arrived at Madras. The city finally got its name from their leader
Madra.
 The greatest Portuguese governor to the East was Albuquerque. He was the real
founder of the Por-tuguese authority in India.
 Albuquerque tried to abolish Sati.
 His policy mixed colony system was to encourage intermarriage between the
Portuguese and Indians.
 The Portuguese introduced agricultural products such a cashew, coconut, custardapple,
pineapple etc in India.
 They introduced Tobacco in the court of Akbar in 1604. Portuguese authority in Indian
seas remained upto 1595. The Portuguese started the first press in India at Goa in 1556.
 The first Portuguese fort in India was constructed at Cochin. Portuguese captured Goa
from the Bijapur Sulthan in 1510.
The Dutch
 In 20 March 1602 the United East India Company of the Netherlands was formed. The
Name of the Dutch Company was Vereenidge Oostindische Companie (VOC). The Dutch
set up their first factory at Masulipattanam in 1605.
 In 1663 the Dutch captured Cochin.nIn 1741 Marthandavarma, the Travancore ruler
defeated the Dutch in the Battle of Kolachal.
 The final Collapse of the Dutch came with their defeat by the English in the Battle of
Bedara in 1759.

The English and the French

 The English East India Company was formed by a group of Merchants known as ‘The
Merchant Adventurers’ in 1599. Early Name of the company was John Company.
 English East India Company was formally estab-lished on 31st December 1600 by a
Charter issued by Queen Elizabeth of the Tudor dynasty.
 Hector, the first ship of the English East India company reached Surat on 24 August
1606.
 In 1612 the Company became a joint stock company.
 Sir Thomas Roe, first ambassador of James I of England landed at Surat and met
Jahangir in 1613 and the first English factor, was established at Surat.
 The company acquired Bombay from Charles II on lease which he got as dowry from
Portugal.
 The designation of ‘Chief Justice’ was introduced in India by the English in 1678.
 Madras became the first presidency chartered as municipal corporation with Mayor’s
court 1687.
 Job Charnock founded the city of Calcutta.
 Colbert the minister of Louis XIV created the compangnile des Indes Orientales in
1664.
 Francis Carton set up the first French factory at Surat in 1668.
 The First French Governor of Ponicherry was Francois Martin.
 The arrival of Dupleix as French Governor in In-dia in 1742 saw the beginning of
Anglo- French Conflict.
 The first Carnatic war between the French and the English for supremacy in South
India occured in 1742. It ended in 1748 by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapple.
 The second Carnatic war was from 1748 to 1754. Robert Clive was the Governor of
the English during the Carnatic wars.
 The Gregorian calendar came to be used through-out the British dominion in 1752.
The Second Carnatic war ended with the treaty of Pondicherry in 1754. The Third
Carnatic war was from 1758 to 1763.
 At the Battle of Wandiwash Eyre Coot defeated French general Lally in 1760.
 With the treaty of Paris in 1763 peace was settled between the French and English.
  The battle of Plassey was fought in the year 1757 June 13. In 1756 Siraj-ud-daula, the
Nawab of Bengal, attacked Calcutta and captured it. 146 British pris-oners including
their commander John Zepheria Holwell and four women were locked in a small
room. 123 of them died inside due to suffication. This incident is known a Black-hole
tragedy.
 Battle of Plassey was fought Siraj-ud-daula between Robert Clive and Siraj-ud-daula,
the Nawab of Bengal. Siraj-ud-daula was defeated in the battle. Mir Zafar was made
the Nawab of Bengal after the battle of Plassey.
 After the battle of Plassey Robert Clive became the first Governor of Bengal. The
Construction of fort William of Calcutta was started by Lord Clive.
 In 1764 the European Bengal Regiment mutinied which was followed by the First
Indian Freedom struggle against the British.
 The combined forces of Mir Qasim, Emperor of Delhi and Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula of
Oudh were defeated in the Battle of Buxar on October 23 1764.
 Robert Clive introduced official postal system in India in 1766. Robert Clive
introduced ‘Dual government’ in Bengal.

Conquest of Mysore
 Haider Ali was the son of Fatheh Muhammed.He was born in 1722.
 In 1766 he became the ruler of Mysore after the death of Mysore Raja Krishna
Wodeyar.
 First Mysore war between Haider Ali and the English started in 1767 and ended in
1769.
 First Anglo-Mysore war ended with the defeat of English and the treaty of Madras.
Second Mysore war was from 1780 to 1784.
 Haider Ali died in 1782 and Tipu Sulthan became the Mysore ruler. The second
Mysore war ended by the treaty of Mangalore in 1784.
 Second Mysore war was fought during the period of Warren Hastings.
 Third Mysore war started in 1790 and ended in 1792. The third war ended by the
treaty of Seringapatnam on March 19th1792.
 Fourth Anglo Mysore war was in 1799.
 Fourth Mysore war was fought during the period of Governor general wellesley.
 In this battle Tipu was killed in 1799 at Srerangapatanam by Col. Arthur Wellesley.
 Tipu’s Capital was Srerangapatanam.
 Tipu is known as Mysore Tiger.
 Fathul Mujahiddin is the book written by Tippu which describes about Rockets.

Maratha Wars
 First Anglo Maratha war (1775-82) It ended by the treaty of Salbai.
 Second Anglo-Maratha War was from 1803 to 1805.
  The treaty of Bassein was signed between the last Peshwa Baji RaoII and the English in
1802.
 The second Maratha War was ended by the treaty of Rajghat, 1806.
 The third Anglo Maratha war was from 1817-1818. Thus by the end of third Maratha
war the Maratha power disappeared and the English created the State of Sathara.

Subsidiary Alliance system and other Policies

 Subsidiary Alliance System was used by Wellesley to bring Indian States within the
orbit of British political power.
 First Indian ruler to join the Subsidiary Alliance System was the Nizam of Hyderabad.
 Lord Wellesley is consdiered as the ‘Akbar of English East India Company’ by
Marshman.
 Permanent Revenue Settlement was introduced in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and districts
of Benaras and northern districts of Madras by Lord Cornwallis in 1793. It was
planned by Johnshore.
 Ryotwari System was introduced in Bombay, Madras and Assam. This system was
similar to Akbar’s revenue policy Zabti system.
 Mahalwari System was introduced in Awad region, Punjab, NWFP and parts of
Central India.

Executors of British Policies

 Warren Hastings : (1772-85) He introduced quinquennial settlement of land revenue in
1772.
 He codified the Hindu and Muslim laws.
 He founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal with the help of William Jones in 1784.
 The trial of Maharaja Nandakumar (1775) and his Judicial Murder was during the period
of Warren Hastings.
 He abolished the Dual Government in Bengal in 1772.
 After his return to England he was impeached there in 1785.
 By the Regulating Act 1775 of appointed him the first Governor General.
 First Anglo - Maratha war took place during his period.
 In 1780 James Augustus Hickey started a weekly paper called Bengal Gazette or Calcutta
General Advertiser during the period of Warren Hastings.
 Warren Hastings established a Muhammedan Madrasa in Calcutta.

Lord Cornwallis (1786 - 93)

 He introduced Permanent settlement in 1793.
 The Police system was introduced in India.
 Cornwallis Code was introduced. It was based on the separation of powers.

Lord Wellesley (1793 - 1798)

  Described himself as Bengali Tiger.
 He created the Madras presidency.
 Introduced the system of Subsidiary Alliance.
 The first state to sign the Subsidiary Alliance system was Hyderabad in 1798. Then
Mysore, Tanjore, Awadh, Peshwar, Bhonsle, Sindhia, Jodh-pur, Jaipur, Mecheri,
Bundi, Bharatpur and Berar signed the subsidiary treaty.
 Lord Wellesley fought the second Maratha war.
 Raja Ram Mohan Roy wrote the Tuhfat-ul-Muwahiddin (gift to the Monotheists)
during his period.

Lord Minto (1807-1813)

 Signed the treaty of Amritsar in 1809 between Ranjith Singh of Punjab and the
English.

Lord Hastings (1813-23)

 He was made Marques of Hastings due to his success in the Gorkhar war or the Anglo
Nepalis war.
 He abolished the Peshwaship and annexed his territories to the Bombay presidency
after the third Anglo-Maratha war (1818)
 Introduced the Ryotwari System in Madras presi-dency by Governor Thomas Munroe
in 1820 un-der the governor generalship of Hastings.
 Mahalwari System of land revenue was intro-duced in North West Province by James
Thomson.

William Bentinck (1828- 35)

 First Governor General of India by the govern-ment of India Act of 1833.
 Known as benevolent Governor General.
 Banned the practice of Sati in 1829. Banned female infanticide.
 Created the province of Agra in 1834.
 Made English to be the court language in higher court but Persian continued in Lower
courts.
 Appointed Macaulay as president of the commit-tee of public instruction, Mecaulays
Minutes was submitted in 1835.

Sir Charles Metcalfe (1835 - 36)

 Abolished restriction on press
 He is called the ‘‘Liberator of Press’’
 First Afghan war was started during the Gover-nor Generalship of Lord Auckland.
 Slavery was abolished by Governor general Lord Ellenborough.

Lord Dalhousie (1849 – 56)

  Introduced the policy of ‘Doctrine of Lapse’.
 Indian states annexed through the Doctrine of Lapse were Satara (1848), Jaitpur and
Sambalpur (1849) Baghatpur (1850), Udaipur (1852) Jhansi (1853) and Nagpur (1854).
 Introduced the Woods Despatch known as the Magnacarta of English Education in India
prepared by Charles Wood in 1854.
 Boosted up the development of Railways and laid the first Railway line in 1853 from
Bombay to Thane and Second from Calcutta to Raniganj.
 Gave a great impetus to Post and Telegraph. Tele-graphic lines were laid - first line from
Calcutta to Agra.
 Shimla was made summer Capital and Army Head Quarters.
 Hindu Marriage Act was passed in 1856.
 In 1853 started recruitment of the Covenanted Civil Service by competitive
examination.
 A Post Office Act was passed in 1854. Postage stamps were issued for the first time.

Socio - Religious Reform Movements

Rammohan Roy (1772 - 1883) and Brahmo Samaj

 Raja Ram Mohan Roy is known as the father of Modern India, ‘Herald of New Age’,
‘Bridge between Past and Future. ‘First Modern Man in India’ Father of Indian
Renaissance, Pathfinder of his Century etc.
 Believed in monotheism and opposed idol worship.
 Established the ‘Atmiya Sabha’ in Calcutta in 1815 inorder to propagate monotheism
and to fight against the evil customs and practices in Hinduism.
 He got legitimisation to his views from Upanishads.
 In 1821 he started a paper called Samvat Kaumudi.
 In 1822 he started Mirat-ul-Akbar, which was the first journal in Persian.
 In the same year Rammohan and Dwarakanath Tagore jointly started a newspaper
called Bangadatta.
 In 1825 he started the Vedanta College at Calcutta.
 The Mughal Emperor Akbarshah II gave Ram Mohan the title ‘Raja’.
 After the death of Raja Ram Mohan Roy Brahmasamaj was divided into several sects.
 Adi Brahmasamaj lead by Devendra Nath Tagore and Bharatiya Brahmasamaj led by
Keshav Chandra Sen were started in 1866.
 Sadharana Brahma Samaj was started by Anandmohan Bose in 1878.
 Devendra Nath Tagore was the founder of Tatvabodhinisabha in Calcutta in 1839.
 Keshav Chandrasen started a paper called Indian Mirror in 1861. Brahmasamaj reached
outside Bengal under Keshav Chandra Sen.
 Keshav Chandra Sen was the first Indian who attempted to reform the society on an all
India basis.
  Surendra Nath Banerjee was the first Indian to took up his political activity on an all
India basis.
 ‘Precepts to Jesus’ is a book written by Rajaram Mohan Roy.
 Thuhafath ul - muvahiddin or Gift to Monothe-ists is also a work of Raja Ram Mohan
Roy.

Prarthana Samaj
 Founded in 1867 in Bombay by Dr. Atmaram Pandurang (not by MG Ranade) as an
offshoot of the Brahmasamaj.
 It was later joined by M.G. Ranade and R.G. Bhandarkar.
  In 1828, August he founded the BrahmaSabha. Later in 1845 the name Brahmasamaj
was given to it by Devendranath Tagore.
 In 1829 December 4 Sati was abolished by governor general William Bentinck.
 In 1831 he went to England to argue the case of Akbar II before the Board of Control.

Arya samaj
 It was founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswathi in 1875.
 He considered Vedas as eternal and infalliable and said ‘Go back to Vedas’
 Dayanand Saraswati (1824 - 1883) was a Sanyasi from Gujarat. He was the first to teach
an aggressive, reformed and militant Hinduism.
 Dayanand, was known in his early life as Mul Shankar.
 He founded the Arya Samaj at Bombay in 1575.
 He is known as Luther of Hinduism.
 He was the first to use the terms - Swarajya Swabhasha and Swadharma.
 He was the first to consider Hindi as a National Language.
 He started the Suddhi Movement to re-convert to Hinduism those who were converted
to other religions.
 His book Satyartha Prakash is a commentary on Vedas. He started Dayanand Anglo Vedic
College in 1866.
 Aryaprakash was the news paper started by Dayanand Saraswati.

Ramakrishna Mission
 Shri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa (1834 - 1886) was born in Kumarpukur village in the
Hoogly village of Bengal.
 His early name was Shuddirama Gadhadhar Chatterjee.
 He was a priest in the Dakshineswar Kali temple. So he is called the Saint of
Dakshineswar.
 The most famous disciple of Ramakrishna was Vivekananda (1861 - 1903).
 Vivekananda was born in a Kayastha family of Calcutta.
 He attended the Parliament of Reigions at Chicago in 1893, September 11.
 He was invited to the Congress of the History of Religions at Paris in 1900. He
founded the Ramakrishana Mission on 1st May 1897.
 In 1899 the Matha or the centre of the mission was shifted to Belur. He started two
papers - the monthly Prabudha Barat in English and Udbodhana a Bengali fort-
nightly.
 He is called the‘patriot saint of India’. He was also described as a ‘‘Cyclonic Hindu’’.
 In 1898 Sister Nivedita, (Margaret Elizebth Noble) an Irish lady was initiated to
brahmacharya by Vivekananda.

Theosophical Society
  The Theosophical Society was founded by Madame Blavatsky and Col. H.S.Olcott in
Newyork in 1875.
 In 1882 it shifted its head quarters to Adayar near Madras. Its philosophy was inspired
by the Hindu Upanishads.
 Dr.Annie Basant came to India in 1893, was its notable President. In 1898 she started
the Central Hindu School at Benaras, it later became Benaras Hindu University under
Madan Mohan Malavya (1916).
 She was the first woman to become the president of INC in 1917.
 She started the Home Rule League with the Co-operation of Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1916
with Dadabhai Naoroji as its President.

Young Bengal Movement

 Started by Henry Vivian Derozio, teacher in the Calcutta Hindu College. His followers
were known as the Derozians They attacked the old traditions and decadant customs.
 In 1828 he started the Academic Association.

Gopal Ganesh Agarkar

 Reformer from Maharashtra he advocated the power of human reason. He founded the
Deccan Education Society at Poona in 1884 with Tilak, V.K. Chiplunkar and N M Joshi.

Jyotiba Phule
 Belonging to the low caste of Mali from Maharashtra, struggled against upper caste
domi-nation and Brahamincal supremacy through his Sathyashodhak Samaj founded in
1873.
 He wrote Ghulam-giri in 1872 exposing the con-ditions of the backward castes.
 He pioneered the Widow Remarriage Movement in Maharashtra and worked for the
education of women.

Deva Samaj
 It was started in 1887 by Shiv Narayan Agnihotri at Lahore. The religious text of this
Samaj was Deva Shastra and the teaching Devadharma.

NM Joshi
 Initially a member of Ghoklale’s Servants of India Society. He founded the Social Service
League at Bombay in 1911.
 He also founded the All India Trade Union Con-gress in 1920 at Bombay.
 He left AITUC in 1929 and started the Indian Trades Union Federation.

HN Kunzru- He founded the Seva Samiti at Allahabad in 1914 with the objective of organising
social service during the natural calamities and promoting edu-cation sanitation, physical
culture etc.
Shri Ram Bajpal
 Founded the Seva Samiti Boys Scouts Associa-tion in 1914 at Bombay on the lines of
world wide Baden Powell organisation, which at that time banned Indians from joining it.

Veerasalingam Pantulu
 Most prominent social reformer of South India in the second half of the 19th Century.
He founded the Rajmundri Social Reform Asso-ciation in 1878 with the principal
objective of pro-moting widow remarriage.

Muslim Reform Movements

Aligarh Movement
 This movement was started by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817 - 98).Sir Syed’s journal
Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq advocated a rational approach towards religion.
 He founded the Muhammadan Literarary Society at Calcutta in 1863.
 In 1875 he founded the Aligarh Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, (later Aligarh
Muslim University)
 Altaf Hussain Hali, Dr. Nazir Ahmad, Nawab Mutin Ul Mulk, Chirag Ali etc were the
prominent leader of Aligarh Movement.
 In 1866 Syed Ahmed Khan founded the Muslim Educational Conference.

Ahmadia Movement
 Founded by Mirza Ahmad at Quadiani in Punjab.

Sikh Reform Movements

 In 1873 the Singh Sabha Movement was founded at Amritsar.
 The Akali Movement was also started for Sikh reform.
 Kuka Movement was started with the aim of Sikh reform and restoration of Sikh
sovereignty in Punjab by driving the British away.
 Kuka movement was founded by Bagat Jawaharmal, popularly known as Sian Sahib in
the 19th century. Kukas recognised Guru Govind Singh as the only true Guru of the
Sikhs.

Some other Reformers

 Prof. D.K. Karve who took the cause of widow remarriage started the Indian Women
University at Bombay in 1916.
 B.M. Malabari started a Crusade against child marriage and his efforts were crowned by
the en-actment of the Age consent Act. 1891.
 Ahrar Movement was founded in 1910 under the leadership of Maulana Mohamed Ali.
The Revolt of 1857- The Freedom struggle of 1857 took place during the period of Lord
Canning.

The Centres and Leaders of the Revolt

 Lucknow - Begum Hazrat Mahal
 Kanpur - Nana Saheb
 Delhi - General Bhakt khan
 Bihar - Kunwar Singh
 Jhansi - Rani Lekshmi Bai
 Faridabad - Maulavi Ahmmadulla
 Bareili - Khan Bahadur
 The revolt of 1857 ended in failure but it promoted the spirit of Nationalism and
Patriotism. The 19th Native Infantry at Berhampur which re-fused to use the greased
Cartridge and the enfield rifle, started mutiny in February 26, 1857.
 The first shot was fired on March 29 by Mangal Pandey (of Ballia, UP) of the 14th
Bengal Infantry at Barrakpore of Bengal.
 Mangal Pandey was hanged to death on 29 March 1857. May 10, 1857 witnessed the
real mutiny at Meerut then in Delhi on 11th May.
 The first British to loose his life was Col.Finnis Meerut.
 Bahadurshah II surren-dered to Lt. W.S.R. Hodson on Sep-tember 21, 1957 at
Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi.
 The capture of Delhi and the proclamation of Bahadurshah as the Emperor of
Hindustan gave a positive political meaning to the revolt.
 The immediate cause for the 1857 revolt was the introduction of the greased
Catridges.
 Educated middle class section of Indian population did not support the revolt fo
1857.
 As a result of the revolt of 1857 the then Governor General Lord Canning was
appointed as the Viceroy of India. On November 1, 1858 a proclamation was made by
the Queen to the people of India in eighteeen languages.
 ‘‘The best and the bravest military leader of the rebels’’ sir Hugh Ross said this about
Rani of Jhansi. The original name of Rani of Jhansi was Mani Karnika.
 The administration by Indian Jhansi Rani civil service officers started as a result of the
Queen’s proclamation.
 The revolt was completely crusted in 1858. Benjamin Disraeli described the revolt as
a ‘‘National Rising’’.
 V.D. Savarkar in his book ‘‘First war of Inde-pendence’’ called it ‘‘The First War of
Independence’’.
 ‘‘Eighteen Fifty Seven’’ is a book written by Surendra Nath Sen.
The Great Indian National Movement-
 The most important events during Lord Duferin’s Period (1884-1888) were the third
Anglo Burmese War (1885-86) and the establishment of the first All India
organisation, the Indian National Congress.
 The INC was founded in December 28, 1885 at the Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College,
Bombay. 72 delegates participated in the first session of the INC.
 It was founded by A.O. Hume a retired Civil Servant. W.C. Banerjee was the first
president of INC.
 The Indian Association of S.N. Banerjee and Anand Mohan Bose, organised an All
Indian National Conference in 1883 December. They had given a call for another
conference in 1885.
 The name Congress was suggested to the organisation by DadaBai Naoroji.
 Dadabai Naoroji founded the East Indian Association in 1866.
 A.O. Hume was the General Secretary of INC till 1892.
 The Second Session of the INC met at Calcutta in December 1886, under the
presidentship of Dadabhai Naoroji. Here the National Conference merged itself with
the INC.
 The second session was attended by 436 delegates and there were 2000 delegates in
1889.
 The period from 1885 to 1905 is known as the Moderate Phase of Indian National
Congress. Prominent leaders of this phase were Dadabhai Naoroji, Badruddin Tyabji,
Pheroz Shah Mehta, Surendranath Banerjee, Gopalakrishna Gokhale etc.
 ‘‘We do not ask favours, we only want justice’’, these were the words Dadabhai
Naroji.
 Dadabhai Noaroji is the author of the book ‘‘Poverty and UnBritish Rule in India’’
which contains the famous ‘‘drain theory’’.
 The British committee of INC was founded in 1889.
 Aurobindo Ghosh called INC a ‘‘begging institute’’.
 Bibin Chandra Pal viewed ‘‘INC playing with bubble’’.
 Tilak, the father of Indian unrest said ‘‘INC should distinguish between begging and
claiming right’’ Tilak said ‘‘Rights are not begged they are claimed’’.
 The congress sessions lasts only for three days a year.
 Dadabhai Naoroji is known as ‘‘The Grand Old Man of India’’. He was the first Indian
to become a member of the House of Commons on the Lib-eral Partys ticket. He
became the president of INC thrice, in 1886, 1893 and 1906. He founded ‘Gyan
Prakash Mandali’ and Bombay Association in 1852. He is also known as father of
Indian Economics and Politics.
 Badruddin Tyabji was the first Indian barrister at Bombay High Court. He was the first
Muslim president of INC. He became the third president of INC in Madras session in
1887.
 W.C. Banerjee founded the Bombay chronicle in 1913 and the ‘Moderate school’. S.N.
Banerjee founded the Indian Association in 1876. He was the first President of Indian
National Liberal Federation (1918).
 Gopalakrishna Gokhale founded the ‘Servants of India Society in 1905. K.T. Telang
became the first ‘‘Hardworking secretary’’ of INC.
 Jawaharlal Nehru observed the Early Congress to be ‘‘an English knowing upper class
affair’’.
 George Yule was the first foreigner to become the President of INC. (1888,
Allahabad).
 Gopala Krishna Gokhale was populary known as the ‘Socrates of Maharahstra’. M.G.
Ranade was the political guru of Gokhale.
 Gokhale is considered as the political guru of Gandhiji.
 Sarojini Naidu was the first Indian woman to become the president of Indian National
Congress (1925 Kanpur session)
 Nellin Sengupta became the third woman President of INC, 1933 at the Calcutta
Session in 1906.
 The word Swaraj was first used in the Calcutta session in1906. First Joint session of
Congress and Muslim League was held at Lucknow 1916.
 First session held in a village was 1937 session held at Fazipur.
 Only session presided over by Gandhi - Belgaum (1924).
 Complete independence was demanded for the first time (1929) at Lahore.
 For the first time National Song was sung in the Calcutta session (1896) of INC i.e
Vande Mataram.
 During the fourth session of INC (1888, Allahabad) emphasise was given on the
formation of its con-stitution.
 During the Nagpur session 1891, the word Na-tional was added to congress. During
the Poona session (1895) representives for the second time discussed on the
formation of its Constitution.
 In the Lucknow session of the Congress (1916) the two factions of congress
(extremists and moderates) reunited.
 During the special session of the congress in Calcutta (1920) Gandhi proposed to start
Non-co operation Movement. Instead of Constitutional self-government congress
declared Swaraj Party in 1922.
 During the Delhi session (1923) Indian National Congress decided to establish All India
Khadi Board.
 During the Guwahati session of INC (1926) wear-ing Khadi was made cumpulsory to
its workers. During the Madras session (1908) its constitution was formed.
 In Madras session of the INC (1927) proposals for independence and to boycott Simon
Commission were passed.During the Karachi session (1931) Fundamental Rights and
Economic Policy proposals were passed.
 During Faizpur session (1937) Congress decided to takepart in election of 1937. 1938
session of Congress was held in a village Haripura.
 In the Ramagarh session (1904) decision was taken on Individual Satyagraha. While
Britishers tried to use Congress as a safety valve, Indian leaders tried to use it as a
lightning conductor.
 During the Tripura session (1939) Subash Chandra Bose defeated Pattabhi
Sitaramayya (Gandhi’s candidate in presidential election) but later resigned and
Rajendra Prasad became the president.
 During Calcutta session (1928) first All India Youth Congress was established. During
the Delhi session (1918) along with S.N. Banerjee many liberals resigned and Rajendra
Prasad became its president.
 Aurobindo published New Lamps For Old. It was the first systematic critic of the
Moderates.
 The radical wing of the INC that emerged at the end of the 19th century is referred to
as the Extremist Group. The main leaders of the Extremist Group were Lala Lajpat Rai,
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, B.C. Pal and Aurobindo Ghosh. Tilak asserted Swaraj is my
birthright and I shall have it.
 Tilak started two newspapers the Mahratha in English and the Kesari in Marathi. He
started Sivaji festival to stimulate nationalism.
 Lord Curzon Partitioned Bengal on 20th July 1905 as a part of the ‘Divide and Rule
Policy’. Rabindra Nath Tagore composed ‘Amer Sonar Bengla’ as a part of anti-
partition movement, which later became the National Anthem of Bangladesh.
 Boycott of British prod-ucts was first suggested by Krishna Kumar Mitra in Sanjivani.
 The Swadeshi Movement was started in 1905.‘Charka’ (spinning wheel) came to
typify the popular concern for country’s economic self sufficiency.
 Swadesh Bandhav Samiti of Barisal founded by Ashwini Dutt was the largest
Volunteer body to support Swadeshi Movement.
 First real labour union - The Printers Union was formed on October 1905. Vande
Mataram Movement was started by Chandra Pal in Madras
 Tilak began the Swadesh Vastra Pracharine Sabha to propagate Swadeshi Movement.
 Savarkar founded ‘Mitra mela’..Chakravarthi Vijiaraghavacharya was the first Indian
leader to undergo imprisonment in 1882. He was an extremist leader. He was the first
In-dian to draft a Swaraj constitution for India which was presented at the Madras
session in 1927.
 First congress leader to suffer severe terms of imprisonment for the sake of the
country was Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Tilak wrote ‘Gita Rahasya’.
 Bipin Chandrapal started an English weekly New India. Bipin Chandrapal founded
Bande Mataram in 1906 (an organization) Lala Lajpat Rai is popularly known as Sher-
e-Punjab (Lion of Punjab). He founded and edited ‘‘The Punjabee’’, ‘The Vante
Mataram’ and the English weekly ‘‘The people’’.
  The Bengali daily Yugandar was started by Aurobindo Gosh. He also started weeklies
‘Karma Yogin’ and ‘Dharma’.

The Formation of the Muslim League (1906)

 All India Muslim League was founded under the Leadership of Aga Khan to divert the
Muslims from the National Political Movement. On December 30th Nawab Salimulla
Khan of Dhaka became its first President.
 Muhammed Iqbal, who presided over the Allahabad session of the League in 1930
gave the idea of Separate Muslim State in North West India. Hence Iqbal is known as
the father of the idea of Pakistan. But the name ‘Pakistan’ was framed by Rahmat
Ali.
 Mohammed Ali Jinnah gave his famous Two Nation Theory in March 1940, at the
Lahore session of the Muslim League.

Surat Split (1907)

 The clash between the Moderates and Extremists culminated in a split which
occurred at Surat in 1907.
 Dr. Rash Bihari Bose was the INC President during the Surat Split. After the Surat Split
the congress remained un-der the control of the Moderates.
 The Moderates did not approve the boycott of foreign goods but the Extenmists
favoured it. The Moderates continued to have faith in the good intensions of the
British government. They wanted self government in gradual stages, while the
Extremists wanted complete autonomy at the earliest.

Minto-Morley Reforms of 1909

 The Minto Morley Reforms for the first time tried to introduce communal
representation (for muslims) and a popular element in the govt.
 The real purpose of the reforms of 1909 was to confuse the Moderate nationalists and
to check the growth of unity among Indians.

Home Rule Movement (1916)

 Home Rule Movement was started by Annie Besant and Tilak in 1916. Self government
for India in British Empire and work for national education, social and political reform
etc were the aims of Home Rule League.
 Annie Besnat was the first woman president of INC (1917, Calcutta Session). Annie
Besant set up the newspapers -New India, Common Weal and Young India (1916).
 Home Rule Movement marks the beginning for the attainment of Swaraj.
 The Montague declaration of 1917 was the greatest achievement of the Home Rule
League.
 The Lucknow session of the Indian National Con-gress in 1916 marked the re union of
the Moder-ates and Extremists together at Lucknow in 1916.
  The Lucknow pact was executed between the congress and Muslim League in 1916.

Montegue - Chelmsford Reforms 1919

 It is also known as the Government of India Act of 1919. In 1918, Edwin Montague, the
Secretary of State and Lord Chelmsford, the Viceroy produced their scheme of
constitutional reforms which led to the enactment of the Government of India Act of
1919.
 The Provincial Legislative Councils were enlarged and the majority of their members
were to be elected. The provincial governments were given more powers under the
system of dyarchy.
 Indian National Congress in a special session at Bombay in August 1918 criticised the
reform as ‘disappointing and unsatisfactory’.
 The Montague Chelmsford reforms introduced dyarchy in the provinces. Provincial
subjects were divided into ‘Reversed subjects’ and ‘‘Transferred Subjects’’.
 Central legislature was made bicameral by this reform.

Jalianwala Bagh Massacre - April 13, 1919

 In 1919, Rowlatt Act, which authorised the gov-ernment to detain any person
without trial was passed. The Act was passed during the period of Lord Chelmsford.
 The official name of the Rowlatt Act was the An-archical and Revolutionary Crimes
Act (1919).
 Sir Sydney Rowlatt was the president of the com-mittee to make proposals for the
Act.
 C.Sankaran Nair was the only Indian official member who supported the bill, while all
the 22 elected Indian members in the Imperial Legisla-tive Council opposed the bill.
Gandhiji set up ‘Rowlatt Committee’ to protest this act.
 The protest against this ‘Black Act’ was the strongest in Punjab where it led to the
Massacre at ‘Jalianwala Bagh’ Amritsar on April 13, 1919. It was on a Baishaki day.
The British Officer General Dyer ordered his troops to open fire at un-armed
gathering, who were gathered there to pro-test against the arrest of their popular
leaders Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal.
 On this occasion Tagore renounced his Knight-hood in protest. Michael O’Dyer
Governor of the Punjab prov-ince supported the incident and on March 15, Martial
law was declared.
 Gandhiji renounced the ‘Kaiser-i-Hind’ medal given to him for his work during the
Boer War.
 Hunter Committee was appointed to enquire into the Jallianwallah Massacre (1920)
 Hunter Commissions report was described by Gandhiji as a ‘white wash’.
 Sardar Udham Singh, who took the name Ram Muhammed Singh, Sonak Murdered
Dyer in England as revenge to the Massacre. The English House of Lords presented a
jewelled sword to General in which was inscribed ‘‘saviour of the Punjab’’.
Non-Cooperation Movement (1920)
 Non Co-operation Movement was started with the aim of the annulment of the
Rowlatt Act, and correcting the ‘Punjab wrong’ changing the ‘Khilafat wrong’ as well
as moving towards the cherished goal of ‘swaraj’.
 It was the first mass based political movement under Gandhiji.
 The movement was launched as per the resolu-tion of Calcutta session and ratified in
Nagpur session in December 1920.
 The main emphasise of the movement was on boycott of schools, colleges, law courts
and advocacy of the use of Charka.
 The whole movement was called off on 11th Feb-ruary 1922 at Gandhi’s insistence
following the news of burning alive of 22 English plicemen by the angry peasants at
ChauriChaura (Chauri Chaura Incident) in Gorakhpur district of Up on 5th February
1922.
 The Non Cooperation movement converted the national movement into a mass
movement. It strengthened Hindu-Muslim unity.

Khilafat Movement (1919)

 The main object of the Khilafat Movement was to force the British Government to
change its atti-tude towards Turkey and restore the Turkish Sulthan (Khalifa) to his former
position.
 A Khilafat committee was formed under the leadersip of Ali brothers Maulana Azad,
Hakim Ajmal khan, and Hasrat Mohani.
 The Khilafat Movement lost its relevance due to the reforms of Mustafa Kamal Pasha in
Turkey. Pasha abolished Khilafat and made Turkey a secular state.
 On 1 June 1920 the Khilafat Committee at Allahabad unanimously accepted Gandhi’s
sug-gestion of non co-operation and asked him to lead the Movement.

Indian Working Class

 First organised strike by any section of the work-ing class was the Signaler’s Strike in
May 1899 in the ‘Great Indian Peninsular (GIP) Railway’. AITUC was formed in 1920 with
Lala Lajpat Rai as its first President and Dewan Chaman Lal as its General Secretary.
 Indian National Congress at its Gaya session of 1922 welcomed the formation of AITUC.
Government appointed the Royal Commission on Labour in 1929.

Simon Commission
 In November 1927, the British Government ap-pointed the Indian Statutory
Commission, popu-larly known as Simon Commission, to go it to the question of further
constitution reform.
 The Congress passed a resolution to boycott the Simon Commission at its Madras
session 1927.The day Simon landed at Mumbai ; 3 February 1928 all the major cities and
towns observed a complete hartal.
  The Madras session 1927 was presided over by Dr. Ansari. On the arrival of the
Commission in Mumbai in 1928, it met with the slogan ‘‘Go back Simon’’. There were
Seven members in the Simon Com-mission. but no Indian. Lala Lajpat Rai was severely
wounded in a police Lathi charge and died while protesting against the Commission.
 To avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhagat Singh shot dead General Saunders.

Some Commissions
 Amini Commission on Land Revenue and Famine (1878)
 Fraser Commission on Agriculture (1902)
 Hunter Commission on Punjab Disturbance (1919)
 Rowlatt Commission on Sedition (1919)
 Butler Commission on Indian States (1927)
 Sapru Commission on Unemployment (1935)
 Whitley Commission on Labour (1939)
 Floud Commission on Tenancy in Bengal (1940)

Peasant Movements
Indigo Revolt - 1860
 The revolt was directed against the British Plant-ers who behaved like Feudal Lords in
their estates.
 The revolt began after Hemachandrakar deputy Magistrate, published on 17 August,
1859 a proc-lamation to policmen that they should interefere with the rights of the
peasants to saw whatever they preferred.
 It began at Govindpur village in Nadia and was led by Digambar Bishwas and Bishnu
Bishwas.
 Din Bandu Mitra’s novel Neel Darpan protrayed this struggle.
 An Indigo Commission was also appointed in 1860.

Pabna Revolt (Bengal)

 In may 1874 an Agrarian League was formed in Pabna. Main leader was Ishan Chandra
Roy. The revolt was against increased rent.

Champaran Satyagraha (1917)

 The peasants in this region were forced to culti-vate indigo at the prices decided by the
British. This system was known as Tinkathia system.
 Gandhiji’s first Satyagraha in India was the Champaran in 1917.

Kheda Satyagraha (1918)

 Chiefly directed against the government.
 It was started by Madan Mohan Malavya later taken up by Gandhiji in 1918.
Swaraj Party (1923)
 C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru resigned from con-gress on 31 December 1922 and founded
the Swaraj Party on 1st January 1923.
 Its early name was Congress Khilafat Swaraj Party.
 C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru were the frist presi-dent and Secretary respectively of the
Swaraj Party.
 C.R. Das gave the slogan ‘Enter the Council’. Swaraj Party was formed at Allahabad.
 The 1924 when Gandhi came out of Jail he sup-ported the programme of Swaraj Party.

Trade Union Movement in India

 First Textile Mill : Bombay (1853)
 First Jute Mill at Rishra in Bengal (1855)
 First Factory Act was passed in 1881.
 The Second Factory Act was passed in 1891.
 First Industrial Commission was appointed in 1875.
 The first real labour union was formed in October 1901 in Calcutta called the Printers
Union.
 The Madras Labour Union was the first organisation with regular membership and was
started by G. Ramanujalu Naidu, G. Challapathi and was presided over by B.P. Wadia in
1918.
 The All India Trade Union Congress was founded in 1920. The Indian National Congress
President of the year was elected as its President.
 The Trade Union Act of 1926 organised trade unions as legal Associations. The
Jamshedpur Labour Association was founded by S.N. Haldar and Byomkesh
Chakravarthy in 1920.
 In 1929, All India Trade Union Federation was formed under the leadership of NM
Joshi.
 The Congress Socialist Party was founded in 1934.
 Kanpur Labour Enquiry Committee was founded under the chairmanship of Rajendra
Prasad. In 1944 national leaders lead by Sardar Patel organised the Indian National
Trade Union Congress.

Civil Disobedience movement -1930

 In 1930, Gandhiji launched the Civil Disobedience Movement. In 1929 INC adopted
‘Poorna Swaraj’ (complete independence) as its goal at the Lahore session of the
congress under the Presidentship of Nehru. It also decided for launching a Civil
Disobedi-ence Campaign.
 At midnight on 31 December 1929, Jawaharlal Nehru unfurled the newly adopted
Tricolour Flag of freedom on the bank of river Ravi. 26 January 1930 was fixed as the
first independent day.
 The Civil Disobedience Movement was started by Gandhiji with his famous Dandi March.
He started his Salt Satyagraha or the Dandi March on the morning of 12 March 1930
with a band of 78 volunteers. It was 385km (240 miles) Journey from Sabarmati Ashram
at Ahmedabad to Dandi on the West Coast. On April 5, at 6 in the morning Gandhiji and
his volunteers picked up Salt lying on the sea-shore. (Sarojini Naidu, at this hailed
Gandhiji as ‘‘Law breaker’’).
 In Tamil Nadu C. Rajagopalachari led a Salt March from Trichirapalli to Vedaranyam on
the Tanjore Coast. He was arrested on 30 April, 1930. In Malabar K. Kelappan, the hero
of the Vaikkom Satyagraha, walked from Calicut to Payyannur to break the Salt law.
 Gandhiji was arrested on May 5, 1930. After his arrest his place was taken by Abbas
Tyabji and after the arrest of Abbas leadership passed on to Sarojini Naidu.
 Lord Irwin, the then Viceroy called the decision of Gandhi as a ‘Kindergarten stage’ of
revolution. Irwin called Gandhi’s breaking of salt law as a ‘Storm in a tea cup’
 ‘Salt suddenly became a mysterious word, a word of power’’ These words were spoken by
Nehru on the occassion of Salt Satyagraha.
 On 18, April 1930 Chittagong Armoury was raided by Surya sen. On 23 April 1930, Khan
Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s Khudai Khidmatgar activated the NWFP leading to rioting where
the Hindu Gahrwal Rifles refused to fire on Muslim rioters.
 Darshana Salt Works (21 may) Satyagraha led by Sarojini Naidu, Imam Saheb and
Manilal Gandhi.
 One notable feature of the Civil Disobedience Movement of Gandhiji was wide
participation of women.

Round Table Conferences

 The British government organised the First Round Table Conference at London to
discuss the Simon Commission Report.
 The first Round Table Conference was from 12 Nov. 1930 to 19 January 1931. British
Prime Minister Ramsay Mac Donald pre-sided over the First Round Table
Conference.
 The first Round Table Conference was attended by Tej Bahadur Supru B.R. Ambedkar,
Muhammed Shafi, M.A. Jinnah etc. Gandhiji did not partici-pate in it.
 As a result of the Gandhi Irwin pact (1931) Con-gress decided to stop the Civil
Disobedience Movement.
 Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed on 5th March 1931.
 The Second Round Table Conference started in London on 7 September 1931. It was
attended by 107 Indians including Gandhiji.
 The Second Round Table Conference was a fail-ure. So the Civil Disobedience
movement was re-started on 3rd January 1932.
 Sarojini Naidu participated in the Second Round Table Conference.
  The Communal Award was announced on Au-gust 16, 1932 by British Prime Minister
Ramsay Mac Donald. By the Communal Award minority communities were given
Separate Communal Electroates.
 The Communal Award was opposed by Gandhiji and he decided to go on fast unto
death.
 The Third and the last Round Table Conference was held between Nov. 17 and
December 24, 1932.
 The Third Round Table Conference agreed upon certain broad principles for the
future constitu-tional set up: Which were published later as ‘white paper’ (March
1933).
 The Poona Pact was signed on 25 September 1932 at Bombay. By this the separate
electorate for depressed classes was abolished. Harijan upliftment now became
Gandhiji’s main concern. He started an All India Anti-Untouch-ability League in
September 1932 and the weekly Harijan in January 1933. The January 8, 1933 was
observed as ‘‘Temple Entry Day’’.
 Only Indian to participate all the three Round Table conference was B.R. Ambedkar.

Socialists
 It was above all Jawaharlal Nehru who imported a socialist vision to the national
movement. At the Lahore session in 1929 Nehru introduced this idea. The Congress
Socialist Party was founded in October 1934 at Bombay under the leadership of Jaya
Prakash Narayan, Acharya Narendra Dev and Minoo Masani.
 The CSP supported the Quit India Movement. Socialist ideas led to the emergence of
Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Congress So-cialist party.
 Towards the end of 1920 M.N. Roy and other Indian emigres at Tashkant formed a
communist party of India. In India on 1st September, 1924 Satyabhakta in a press note
announced the formation of the Communist Party of India with him-self as the
Secretary.
 In December 1928 the All India Worker and Peas-ants Party came into existence. The
government declared CPI illegal in 1934.

Revolutionary Nationalism
 Ram Prasad Bismil, Jogesh Chatterjee and Sachindranath Sanyal founded the Hindustan
Republican Associations (HRA) in 1924, whose object was to establish a Federal
Republic.
 On 9 August 1925 ten revolutionaries robbed the 8-Downtrain at Kakori, near Lucknow.
This is known as Kakori Conspiracy. HRA became Hindustan Socialist Republican
Association in 1928.
 Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt threw bomb on the Central Legislative Assembly against the
passage of the Public Safety Bill and the Trade Disputes Bill.
 Chittagong Armoury Raid was planned by Suryasen and his associates on 18 April 1930.
  In March 1929, a group of 31 labour leaders were tried in Meerat Conspiracy Case.
Provisional Government of Free India was set up at Kabul in 1915 by Mahendrapratap
and Barkatulla.
 Death of Jitin Das, a revolutionary in jail on the 64th day of a hunger strike was in 1929.
 Execution of Bhagat singh Sukh Dev and RajGuru by the British was on March 23, 1931.
 Death of Chandrasekhar Azad in 1931 in an en-counter with police at Allahabad.

Government of India Act (1935)

 The government of India Act 1935 proposed a government based on Federal System. It
ensured complete autonomy
 First general election as per the Act of 1935 was held in 1937, Congress got the majority.
But all the Congress Ministers resigned in 1939 as a protest against Britain’s decision to
drag India into the Second World War.

August offer (1940)

 The famous proclamation made by Lord Linlithgow on 8 August 1940 is known a August
Offer.
 This ensured to give dominion status and free-dom to frame constitution based on
representative nature.

Cripps Mission 1942

 The mission under Stafford Cripps (the Lord Privy Seal and a member of the British War
Cabinet) ar-rived in India on March 22, 1942 to find out a politi-cal formula for transfer
of power to Indians.
 The main proposals of the mission were to grant Dominion status to India at the end of
the Sec-ond World War and setting up of an interim government to administer the
country in all matters except defence.
 The Congress and the League rejected the offer Gandhiji called the cripps offer ‘‘a Post
Dated Cheque on a Crashing Bank’’.

Quit India Movement (1942)

 The failure of the Cripps Mission was the major reason for the beginning of Quit India
Movement.
 The All India Congress Committee met at Bombay on August 8, 1942 passed the famous
Quit India resolution.

The Movement began on 9 August 1942.

 On the occasion of the Quit India Movement Gandhiji gave his famous call of ‘Do or Die’.
The term Quit India was coined by an American Journalist while interviewing Gandhiji.
‘‘Quit India’’, ‘‘Bharat Chodo’’ ‘Do or Die’ these were the powerful slogans of Quit India
movement.
  Muslim League new slogan during the Movement was ‘‘Divide and Quit’’.
 C. Rajagopalachari evolved, in 1944, a formula called the CR Formula to end the struggle
between the Congress and Muslim League.
 Lord Wavell, the then Governor General offered the famous Wavell plan in 1945 at
Shimla.
Wavell Plan and Shimla Conference
 Lord Wavell broadcast to the people of India the proposals of the British Government to
resolve the deadlock in India on 14th June which is called Wavell Plan.
 It was constituted to resolve the political deadlock of existing India but due to
disagreement between leaders of Muslim League and Congress,finally the proposals
were dissolved at the Shimla Conference.
 Formation of a new Executive Council at the centre in which all the members
except the Viceroy and the Commander in Chief would be Indian.
 All portfolios except Defence were to be under the control of Indian members.
 In the Proposed Executive Council which was to have 14 members, the Muslims
who constituted only about 25 % of the total population were given the right to be
over represented by selecting 6 representatives.

Royal Indian Navy Mutiny (1946)

 On 18thFebruary 1946 1,100 naval ratings of the Signal School of HMIS Talwar (ship) in
Bombay went on strike against racial discrimination regard-ing pay and food.
 BC Dutt was arrested for writing ‘Quit India’ on HMIS Talwar. Both Congress and Muslim
league did not help the mutineers.

Cabinet Mission (1946)

 The British Government headed by Attlee of the Labour Party, appointed a Cabinet
Mission con-sisting of Pethic Lawrence, Stafford Cripps and A.V. Alexander.
 Cabinet Mission proposed a federal government for the whole of India.
 Elections to the Constituent Assembly were held under the Cabinet Mission Plan, in
1946.
 Cabinet Mission arrived in India in 1946 March 23. The Mission was headed by Lord
Pethwick Lawrence.
 It provided an interim government during the time of Lord Wavell.
 It also provided for the establishment of a Constitutent Assembly to frame a
constitution.
 On 2 September 1946 an Interim Government headed by Nehru came to power. It was
a 12 member Ministry.Three members were Muslims.
 Liakqat Ali Khan was the Finance Minister in the Interim Government
 The Muslim League proclaimed ‘Direct Action Day’ on 16 August 1946 with battle cry of
Pakisthan’, ‘Larke Lenge Pakistan’.
 The Muslim League proclaimed September 2, 1946 as a ‘Day of Mourning’.
  Communal riots broke out in Naokhali from No-vember 7, 1946 to March 2, 1947
Gandhiji toured in these 49 villages.
 December 3 - 6, 1946 The British Prime Minister Clement Atlee summoned Jawaharlal
Nehru, Baldev Singh, MuhammedAli Jinnah and Liaqat Ali Khan for an extraordinary
conference at 10 Dawning Street London.
 Constituent Assembly: The constituent Assem-bly started its session on December 9,
1946 in the Library of the Council Chamber without the par-ticipation of the League.
 Rajendra Prasad was elected as the President of the Constituent Assembly.

Mountbatten Plan (1947)

 Mountbatten arrived in India on March 22, 1947. Mountbatten became the last Viceroy
of India, the last Governor General of India and first gov-ernor general of free India.
 Mountbatten proposed a plan to divide India.
 Clement Atlee announced the plan in the House of Commons on 2 June 1947, hence it
came to be known as 3rd June Plan.
 Work of the demarcation of the boundaries was done by Radcliff . Hence the line is
known as Radcliff line.
 The 3rd June Plan was given effect by the Indian Independence Act 1947.
 The dominion of Pakistan was inaugurated in Karachi on 14th August 1947. India
became free on 15th 1947.

Integration of States
 The integration of Princely States was done by Sardar Patel with the assistance of V.P.
Menon.
 By August 1947, all the 554 States, with the ex-ception only of Hyderabad, Kashmir and
Junagarh acceded to the union.
 On 26th October the Maharaja of Kashmir, Harisingh signed the ‘‘Instrument of
Accession’’.
 The Nizam of Hyderabad signed the agreement to join the Indian Union through police
action in 1948.

Indian National Army (INA)

 The idea of Indian National Army was first con-ceived by Mohan Singh at Malaya, an
officer in British Indian Army.
 The first division of INA was formed in Septem-ber 1942 with Japanese help.
 Subash Chandra Bose began to associate with INA by July 1943. The command was
handed over by Rash Bihari Bose.
 To the Indians Subash Chandra Bose said ‘you give me blood I will give you freedom’..
 Subash Chandra Bose set up two INA headquar-ters at Rangoon and Singapore. The
women’s regiment called the ‘Rani Jhansi’ regiment was under Captain Lekshmi Segal.
  He was the first to address Gandhiji as the ‘Fa-ther of the nation’’ in his appeal on the
‘Azad Hind Radio’ Singapore.
 In may 1944 INA captured Mowdok and hoisted the tri-colour flag on Indian soil. The
Japanese government handed over the Andaman and Nickobar island to him which
were renamed ‘Shaheed and Swaraj’ islands respectively.
 The INA troops surrendered before the British army in 1945.
 The British Government of India charged INA soldiers of waging war against the king.
The tri-als were held in the Red Fort in Delhi.
 The first three accused were capt. P.K. Sehgal , Capt. Shah Nawaz and Gurbaksh Singh
Dhillon.
 Subash Chandra Bose was born at Cuttack in Orissa. He appeared for the Indian Civil
Service in 1920 and passed with merit, but resigned before com-pleting his probation in
April 1921, he joined the Congress and plunged into the national movement.
 He was unanimously elected President at the Haripura Congress session in 1938 and
was re-elected for the second term at the Tripuri session in 1939, defeating Dr. Pattabhi
Sitaramayya, who was supported by Gandhiji.
 He resigned the Presidentship of INC in April 1939 and founded All India Forward Block
and the Kisan Sabha. But in January 1941, he escaped out of India and reached Berlin
(Germany) from where he arrived in Singapore in 1943.
 Bose was popularly known as the ‘Netaji’.He was reportedly killed in an air cash over
Taipei, Taiwan on August 18, 1945.
 A.N. Mukherjee Commission enquired about the mysterious disappearance of Subash
Chandra Bose.

The Viceroys of India

Lord Canning (1856 - 62)
 Revolt of 1857.
 Queen Victoria’s Proclamation and passing of the Indian Act of 1858.
 Withdrawal of the ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ in 1859, which was passed by Lord Dalhousie.
 Foundation of the Universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in 1857.
 Indigo Revolt in Bengal in 1859-60.
 White Mutiny by the European troops of East India Company in 1859.
 Bahadurshah II was sent to Rangoon
 Enactment of Indian Penal code.
 Indian Councils Act of 1861.
 Enactment of Indian Code of Criminal Procedure.

Lord Elgin (1862 - 63)

 Supressed the Wahabi Movement

Sir John Lawrence (1864 - 69)

  Famine commission was constituted.
 Followed a policy of rigid non-interference in Af-ghanistan called policy of masterly
inactivity.
 Set up highcourts in Calcutta Bombay and Ma-dras (1865).

Lord Mayo (1869-72)

 Wahabi and Kuka movements were active.
 Mayo was murdered

Lord Lytton (1876-80)

 Passing of the Royal Titles Act of 1876 and the assumption of the title empress of
India (Qaiser-i-hind) by Queen Victoria.
 Holding of Delhi Durbar in 1877.
 Passing of the Vernacular Press Act of 1878.
 Passing of the Arms Act of 1878.
 Lowering of maximum age from 21 years to 19 years for the Civil Services
Examination, an attempt to prevent Indians from entering Civil Services.
 Appointment of first Famine Commission under Sir Richard Strachy.
 Started Statutory Civil Service.
 Second Anglo Afghan war in 1878.

Lord Ripon (1880-84)

 Passing of the first Factory Act in 1881 for the welfare of child labour.
 Repeal of Vernacular Press Act in 1882.
 Foundation of the Local Self Government (1882).
 Holding of the first decennial and regular census in 1881 which put the total
population at 254 million.
 Appointment of an Education Commission under Sir William Hunter in 1882.
 The Ilbert bill controversy.
 Famine code of 1883.

Lord Dufferin (1884 - 88)

 Foundation of Indian National Congress
 Third Anglo Burmese war
 Commented on the Congress being a microscopic minority.

Lord Curzon (1899-1905)

 Creation of a new province called the North West Frontier Province.
 Appointment of Universities Commission in 1902 under Sir Thoma Releigh and passing
of Indian Universities Act 1904.
  Partition of Bengal

Lord Hardinge (1910-1916)

 Coronation durbar in 1911 at Delhi in honour of George V
 A separate state of Bihar and Orissa was created in 1911.
 India’s capital was decided to shift to Delhi in 1911 and shifted in 1912.
 Kamagata Maru incident.
 1916, Saddler committee on Univerisities appointed.
 Tilak founded Home Rule League.

Lord Chelmsford (1916 - 21)

 Foundation of women’s university at Poona.
 Hunter Commission on Jalianwala Bagh Massacre.
 Chamber of Princes established in 1921.
 Home Rule League founded by Annie Besant.
 Third Afghan war started.
 Aligarh Muslim University was founded in 1920.

Lord Reading (1921-26)

 Foundation of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh by K.B. Hedgewar at Nagpur in 1925.
 Beginning of Indianisation of the officers cadre of the Indian Army.
 Railway Budget was separated from General Bud-get in 1921.
 Hilton Young Committee on currency was ap-pointed in 1926.
 Viswa Bharati University started by Rabindra Nath Tagore.
 Train Robbery at Kakori.

Lord Irwin (1926-31)

 Popularly known as Christian Viceroy.
 Simon Commission arrives in Bombay.
 Meerut conspiracy case.
 Gandhi started his Dandi March.
 Chitagong Armoury Raid.
 First Round Table Conference.
 Gandhi-Irwin pact.

Lord Willington (1931-36)

 Communal Award in 1932 by Ramsay Mac Donald.
 Third Round Table Conference in 1932.
 White Paper on Political reforms in India was pub-lished in 1933.
 Burma was separated from British Empire in 1935.
 Lord Linlithgow (1936-43)
 August Offer by the Viceroy in which he declared dominion status as the ultimate goal
of British policy in India.
 In 1940 individual Civil Disobedience Movement was started.
 1942 Cripps Mission came.
 Congress starts Quit India Movement.

Lord Wavell (1943-47)

 Wavell Plan, Shimla conference Congress repre-sented by Maulana Azad
 RIN Mutiny (1946)
 Interim Government was formed (September 2, 1946)
 Prime Minister of Britain Clement Atlee an-nounced to give independence to India by
June 1948.
 Cabinet Mission 1946.
 16th August 1946, Muslim League begins ‘Direct Action day’.

Lord Mountbatten (1947-48)

 His plan to make India free on August 15 1947 is also known as June 3rd Plan.
 First Governor General of free India

Rajagopalachari (1948-50)
 First Indian Governor General of Dominion of India.
 Indian Polity
Constituent Assembly & Preamble

Constituent Assembly
 A constituent assembly is a body of representatives which is composed for drafting a
constitution.
 Drafting the constitution is the only function of a constituent assembly. Once the
constitution is ready and adopted; the assembly is dissolved
 Further, since members of constituent assembly are representatives (elected or
unelected); it’s a form of representative democracy.

Idea of Constituent Assembly

 The idea of Constituent assembly of India was first put forward by Manabendra Nath Roy
or MN Roy in 1934. In 1935, it became the official demand of INC.
 It was accepted in August 1940 in the August Offer however, constituted under the Under
Cabinet Mission plan 1946.
 It was first elected for undivided India but after partition, some of its members ceased to
exist as a separate constituent assembly was created for Pakistan.

Elections of Members of Constituent Assembly

 Members of Constituent Assembly were indirectly elected.
 The members of the Constituent assembly were indirectly elected by the members of the
provincial assemblies by method of single transferable vote system of proportional
representations.

Number of members of Constituent Assembly

 Initially, its total membership was kept 389.
 After partition, the Constituent Assembly of India had 299 representatives.
 These included 229 members from provinces and 70 from princely states.
 There were total nine women members also.
 The membership plan was roughly as per suggestions of the Cabinet Mission plan. The
basis of divisions of seats was “population” roughly in 1:10 Lakh ratio.
 The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly of India took place in Constitutional Hall,
New Delhi, on 9th December 1946.
 Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha was the first president of the Constituent Assembly.
 The report of the committees formed the basis on which the first draft of the constitution
was prepared. It reassembled on 14 August 1947 as Constituent Assembly for
independent India.
 After partition, Dr. Rajendra Prasad became the president of Constituent Assembly of
Independent India. Professor Harendra Coomar Mookerjee was Vice President of the
Constituent Assembly. While Dr. Rajendra Prasad later became President of India, Prof. HC
Mookerjee becam first Governor of West Bengal.

Objectives Resolution
 The historic Objectives Resolution was moved by Jawaharlal Nehru on 13 December 1946.
 It defined the aims of the assembly and enshrined the aspirations and values behind the
Constitution making.
 On the basis of the Objectives Resolution, India’s Constitution gave institutional expression to
the fundamental commitments: equality, liberty, democracy, sovereignty and a cosmopolitan
identity.

Different committees of the Constituent Assembly

 A number of committees were created by constituent assembly to perform different taks related
to framing of constitution. Most important among them was drafting committee headed by Dr.
B R Ambedkar, which had to draft the constitution.
 Other members of drafting Committee-The drafting committee of the constituent assembly was
made of total seven members including chairman Dr. B R Ambedkar. The six other members
were as follows:
N Gopalaswamy Ayyangar
Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar
Dr K M Munshi
Syed Mohammad Saadullah
N Madhava Rau (NMR was Diwan of Mysore state and had replaced B L Mitter who had resigned
due to ill-health. He strongly opposed to the imposition of Hindi language as the lingua franca
for India)
T T Krishnamachari (TTK had replaced D P Khaitan who died in 1948. He was one of the members
of Nehru cabinet and served as Union Minister for two times)
 The Constituent assembly set for total 11 sessions.
 The first session was held in December 1946. The draft constitution was published in January,
1948 and people of India were given eight months to input their feedback on this.
 The Constitution of India was adopted on 26 November, 1949 and the members appended their
signatures to it on 24 January, 1950. Constitution of India came into force on 26 January, 1950.
 On that day, the Constituent Assembly ceased to exist, transforming itself into the Provisional
Parliament of India until a new Parliament was constituted in 1952 via general elections.
 The constituent assembly took 2 years, 11 months and 17 days to frame the constitution. It
spent Rs.64 Lakh in the preparation. The final outcome of the almost three year’s long process
was the constitution document with 22 parts, 395 articles and 8 schedules.
 Provisions of Constitution that came into immediate effect on 26 November 1949. Though, the
constitution came into force on 26 January 1950, some provisions relating to Citizenship,
Elections, provisional parliament, temporary & transitional provisionsweregiven immediate
effect on 26 November 1949.
 The articles which came into force on 26 November 1949 included articles 5, 6, 8, 9, 60, 324,
366, 372, 388, 391, 392, and 393. Out of them, citizenship was most important and had to
immediately come into force to constitutionally handle the refugee crisis due to partition of
India.

Parts and Schedules

 Originally the constitution contained 395 articles divided in 22 parts and 8 schedules.
 When our constitution was amended for adjusting the Right to Education, a new Article 21A was
inserted below Article 21. Further, some articles get repealed from time to time. For example,
the article 2-A [Sikkim to be associated with Union], Article 31. [Compulsory acquisition of
property] are some of the repealed articles of the constitution.
 Overall, there are around 450 articles currently in the constitution including those added by
amendments and those repealed. This makes India’s constitution to be lengthiest in the world.

Total parts of Indian Constitution

 Currently, Indian Constitution has 26 Parts plus a preamble. Preamble is also considered
to be a part of constitution of India. Parts 1 to Part 22 were original. Several amendments
have added other parts such as IV-A, IX-A, IX-B etc. These 26 parts are as follows:
Part I – Union and its Territory
Part II – Citizenship.
Part III – Fundamental Rights
Part IV – Directive Principles of State Policy
Part IVA – Fundamental Duties
Part V – The Union
Part VI – The States
Part VII – States in the B part of the First schedule (repealed)
Part VIII – The Union Territories
Part IX – The Panchayats
Part IXA – The Municipalities
Part IXB – The Co-operative Societies.
Part X – The scheduled and Tribal Areas
Part XI – Relations between the Union and the States
Part XII – Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits
Part XIII – Trade and Commerce within the territory of India
Part XIV – Services Under the Union, the States
Part XIVA – Tribunals
Part XV – Elections
Part XVI – Special Provisions Relating to certain Classes
Part XVII – Languages
Part XVIII – Emergency Provisions
Part XIX – Miscellaneous
Part XX – Amendment of the Constitution
Part XXI – Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions
Part XXII – Short title, date of commencement, Authoritative text in Hindi and Repeals.
 As mentioned above, part VII stands repealed at presently, thus, there are total 25 parts
of Constitution of India in force today.

Schedules of Constituion of India

 Schedules are basically lists which categorize and tabulate various items related to
constitutional matters. There are total 12 schedules in Indian Constitution as follows:
 First Schedule: List of states and union territories
 Second Schedule: Salaries of persons holdings various constitutional offices such as
President, Vice President, CAG, Supreme Court Judges, Governor etc.
 Third Schedule: Forms of Oaths which the persons elected / appointed on constitutional
posts need to take.
 Fourth Schedule: Allocation of seats in the Rajya Sabha
 Fifth Schedule: Administration and control of Scheduled Areas
 Sixth Schedule: Provisions made for the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya,
Tripura, and Mizoram.
 Seventh Schedule: Division of subjects for powers and responsibilities in union, state and
concurrent lists.
 Eighth Schedule: List of India’s official languages.
 Ninth Schedule: Validation of certain Acts and Regulations
 Tenth Schedule: This is called anti-defection law
 Eleventh Schedule: Lists of various subjects of Panchayat Raj
 Twelfth Schedule: List of various subjects for Municipalities

Sources of Indian Constitution

Government of India Act 1935
 Federal Scheme (also from constitution of Canada)
 Office of Governor
 Judiciary
 Public Service Commission
 Emergency Provisions
 Administrative Details

British Constitution
 Parliamentary form of government
 The idea of single citizenship
 The idea of the Rule of law
 Institution of Speaker and his role
 Lawmaking procedure
 Procedure established by Law

United States Constitution

 Preamble
 Fundamental Rights
 Federal structure of government
 Electoral College
 Judicial review
 President as supreme commander of armed forces
 Equal Protection under law

Irish Constitution
 Directive principles of state policy {Ireland itself borrowed it from Spain}

Australian Constitution
 Freedom of trade and commerce within the country and between the states
 Power of the national legislature to make laws for implementing treaties, even on matters
outside normal Federal jurisdiction
 Concurrent List
French Constitution
 Ideals of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity

Canadian Constitution
 A quasi-federal form of government — a federal system with a strong central government
 Distribution of powers between the central government and state governments
 Residual powers retained by the central government

Constitution of the Soviet Union

 Fundamental Duties

Other Constitutions
 Emergency Provision Under article 356 Weimar Constitution(Germany)
 Amendment of Constitution, South Africa
 Due Procedure of Law, Japan

Preamble
 A preamble is an introductory and explanatory statement in a document that explains the
document’s purpose and underlying philosophy.
 The Preamble of our constitution reads as follows:
 WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, have solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN
SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE,
social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all
 FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the
Nation; IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do
HERE BY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.
 The words Socialist, Secular, and Integrity were not in the original constitution and have
been inserted by 42nd amendment act 1976. Thus, the express declaration that India is a
secular state came only with the 42nd amendment. Currently, the word “secular appears
in constitution for two times – in Preamble and then in Article 25.
 The preamble indicates that the source of constitution is “we the people of India”.
 It has been also called Political Horoscope of Indian Constitution (by KM Munshi), Soul of
the Constitution (by Thakurdas Bhargav) and identity card of the constitution (by NA
Palkhiwala).
 Preamble is a part of the constitution. In Berubari Case (1960), Supreme Court had held
that Preamble is NOT a part of the constitution but later in Kesavanada Bharati Case
(1973), the supreme Court gave an elaborate verdict which inter alia said that Preamble is
Part of Constitution and is subject to the amending power of the parliament as any other
provisions of the Constitution, provided the basic structure of the constitution is not
destroyed.
 Preamble Indicates basic structure of the Constitution (SR Bommai Case)
 Preamble can be amended by Parliament using its amendment powers as per article 368.
We note here that preamble has been amended only once so far through the 42nd
Constitution Amendment Act 1976. The words Secular, Socialist and Integrity were added
to the constitution.
 Preamble enshrines the ideas and philosophy of the constitution, and NOT the narrow objectives
of the governments.

Union & Its Territories, Citizenship

Part-I: Union and Its territories

 Article 1(1) of the constitution of India says that “India, that is Bharat, shall be Union of States”.
 The word Union was deliberately chosen in place of Federation to indicate that Indian Union is
not the result of an agreement between states {which can be broken at whim} and its
component states have no freedom to secede from it.
 Thus, while states can be broken, reorganized by alternation of boundaries, the country is a
union which cannot be broken.
 Central Government can change the name, boundaries of the states without their permission
also. That is why Dr. B R Ambedkar called India as an “indestructible Union of destructible
states“.

Creation of New States

 The First schedule of the constitution has the list of all the states and union territories. A new
state in India can be created by three different means as follows:
 Breaking / reorganizing an existing state(s)
 Giving status of full-fledged state to a union territory
 Acquiring a new territory

 Article 3 empowers the parliament to create new states and alter the areas, boundaries or
names of existing States by making suitable law
 A union territory may be upgraded to a full-fledged state by making suitable law in parliament.
 Process for changing the name of a state can be initiated by state itself. However, by virtue of
article 3, the parliament has power to change the name of a state even if such proposal does not
come from the concerned state.

Part-II: CITIZENSHIP
Constitutional provisions of Citizenship
 Provisions related Citizenship in the constitution were among those few which had been given
immediate effect on 26 November 1949.
 Framing the correct provisions was not an easy task in an environment when millions of people
were moving in and out of borders due to partition and when integration of princely states was
a work in progress. Due to these, the constitution included only those citizenship related
provisions which were urgently needed that time.
 The articles 5 to 9 were included in the constitution not as a permanent law but something to
address the contemporary problems only. These provisions provided that:
1) Any person living in India since or before January 26, 1945 was an Indian Citizen.
2) Those who came to India from Pakistan before July 19, 1948 would automatically become Indian
Citizens.
3) Those who came to India from Pakistan after July 19, 1948, would become Indian citizens but
they would need to register as prescribed by Indian Government.
4) If a person had migrated to Pakistan but then decided to return back and live here in India
permanently, would need to get a separate “permit”.
5) If a person is living abroad but either he was born in India or his parents / grandparents were
born in undivided India, then he can be registered as citizen of India by the diplomatic or
consular representatives in that country.
 Thus, nature of provisions from Article 5 to 9 shows that the objective of the constituent
assembly was not to make a permanent law for citizenship. For enacting a detailed law on
citizenship, the constitution gave plenary power to the parliament plenary powers via article 10
and 11.

Citizenship Act 1955

 India has single citizenship and there is no dual citizenship except for minors where the second
nationality was involuntarily acquired.
 A citizen of India is a citizen of all Indian territories. This feature is a unitary feature in contrast
with the double citizenship prevailing in several countries. For example in USA, a citizen of US at
the same time is also a citizen of California or other states.
 The single citizenship also reflects the social and political conditions created at that time by
partition. During communal riots, large number of Hindus and Muslims migrated to and from
Pakistan. At that time, it was necessary to respond to situation created by lots of refugees. At
the same time, many people who lived abroad applied for Indian Citizenship because now they
had decided to live in newly freed country. All these factors had made the matter of citizenship
very complicated.

How one can become Indian Citizen?

 Constitution of India did not codify permanent laws for citizenship and put this onus on
parliament. Using the powers of article 10 and 11, the parliament enacted Citizenship Act 1955
which has been amended from time to time. This act mentions four ways in which a person may
be Indian citizen viz. by birth, by descent, by registration and by naturalization. Citizenship by
birth and descent are called natural citizens. Summary of these provisions are as follows:
Citizenship by Birth-Every person born in India on or after Jan 26, 1950 is a citizen of India
provided his / her father is not an enemy alien or representative of a diplomatic mission.
Citizenship by Descent- A person born outside India on or after Jan 26, 1950 shall be a citizen of
India by descent if his father or mother is a citizen of India at the time of his birth; provided such
birth is registered in any of Indian consulates.
Citizenship by Registration- A person can acquire citizenship by registering themselves with
prescribed authority. Such categories of persons are:
 Persons of Indian origin residing outside the territories of undivided India
 Those persons of Indian origin who are ordinarily residents in India and have been so resident
for 6 months immediately before making application for registration Women who are married to
citizens of India
 Children of Indian citizens
 Adult citizens of commonwealth country or republic of Ireland

Citizenship by Naturalization- A foreign citizen not covered by any of the above methods can get
Indian citizenship on application of Naturalisation to the Government of India; with the following
conditions
 Belongs to a country where the citizens of India are allowed to become subjects or citizens of
that country by naturalization.
  Renounces the citizenship of his country and intimated the renunciation to the Government of
India.
 Has been residing in India or serving the government for 12 months before the date of making
application for naturalization.
 Possess a good character
 Posses working knowledge of Indian Languages
 Intends to reside in India after naturalization.
 Further, Government of India can waive any or all of the above conditions in case of a person
who has rendered distinguished service in the cause of Philosophy, science, literature, arts,
world peace etc.

How a person can lose Nationality?

 The Citizenship Act envisages three situations under which a citizen of India may lose his Indian
nationality. Section 9 deals with the automatic termination of citizenship and Section 10 deals
with the deprivation of citizenship.
 By Renunciation: If any citizen of India who is also a national of another country renounces his
citizenship through declaration of in the prescribed manner, he ceases to be Indian Citizen.
 By Termination: Any person who acquired Indian Citizenship by naturalization, registration or
otherwise, has voluntarily acquired citizenship of another country at anytime between January
26, 1950 to December 30,1955, shall have ceased to be an Indian Citizen.
 Deprivation: Section 10 of the Citizenship Act 1955 empowers the government to deprive a
citizen of his citizenship by issuing an order. However this power may not be used in case of
every citizen. It applies only to those, who acquired Indian Citizenship. This might be because of
obtaining citizenship on false documentations etc.

Part-III: Fundamental Rights

 Fundamental Rights are certain secured and guaranteed rights, which are generally considered
inherent in man and cannot be taken away by the state.
 The fundamental rights are also called the natural rights which command higher sanctity than
other rights such as legal rights. The fundamental rights under the constitution can be classified
under the following six groups:
 Right to equality – Article 14 to 18
 Right to freedom – Article 19 to 22
 Right against exploitation – Article 23 and 24
 Right to freedom of religion – Article 25 to 28
 Cultural and educational rights – Article 29 and 30
 Right to constitutional remedies- Article 32 to 35
 Article 31 stands repealed.

Doctrine of Severability
 Article 13 of the constitution says that a law is void if it is inconsistent with the Fundamental
Rights.
 A void statute is devoid of any legal force and courts take no notice of such a statute. The same
article makes clear that in future, the State shall not make any law which takes away the
Fundamental Rights given by Part III.
 The law here does not only include the legislation but also an ordinance, order, bye-law, rule,
regulation, notification. This means that state cannot make any law which takes away the
fundamental rights of the individuals.
 Importance of article 13 is that it has provided basis for judicial review of all legislations in India,
past as well as future. All laws whether made by a legislature or by a delegated authority and all
executive acts must respect and conform to the fundamental rights.
 The ordinances promulgated by the president under art.123 or by the governor under art. 213
must also not be inconsistent with the implement the fundamental rights.
 Aticle 13 impose an obligation on the state to respect and implement the fundamental rights
and at the same time confers a power on the courts to declare a law/act void if it infringes a
fundamental right

Right to Equality
Difference between equality of law and equal protection of law
 Article 14 of the Constitution of India says that State shall not deny to any person equality before
the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India. Both of these differ
subjectively.
 Equality before law means that no one is above the law of the land. Thus it has slightly negative
connotation. It means that law does not discriminate on the basis of birth, position, gender or
other personal attributes. Thus, privileged, underprivileged and unprivileged are equal before
law.
 Equal protection of law means that law provides equal opportunities to all those who are in
similar circumstances or situations. This concept is slightly positive in connotation.
 Both Equality before law and Equal protection of law aim to establish the “Equality of Status and
Opportunity” as embodied in the Preamble of the Constitution. Further, because all persons are
not, by nature, attainment or circumstances in the same positions; article 14 provides that state
can treat different persons in differently if circumstances justify such treatment.
 This is called Doctrine of Reasonable classification and it says that protective discrimination is
also a facet of equality.

Article 15 and 16
 Article 15 (1) and (2) prohibit the state from discriminating any citizen on ground of any religion,
race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.
 These articles provide that there shall be no restriction on any person on any of the above bases
to access and use the public places such as shops, restaurants, hotels, places of public
entertainment etc. or use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort
maintained wholly or partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public.
 Article 15(3) empowers the state to make special provisions for women and children.
 Article 15(4) empowers the state to make special provisions for advancement of socially and
educationally backwards or SC/STs.
 Article 15(5) goes one step further and empowers the state to make reservation in admission
into education institutions including private schools or colleges whether or not aided by
government. Only minority educational institutions (such as Madarsas) have been left out of this
provision. Thus, article 15(3) and 15(4) are foundational bricks of reservation in the country.
 Articles 16 (1) and (2) give a general rule that there shall be equal opportunity for all citizens in
government jobs.
Abolition of Untouchability
 Abolition of untouchability has been included among fundamental rights under article 17.
 This is one of the few fundamental rights available against individuals. To make untouchability
law further strong, parliament passed Untouchability (offences) Act in 1955 which came into
force 1st June, 1955.
 This act was further amended and renamed in 1976 as Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955.

Abolition of Titles
 Article 18 prevents the state from confirming any title except military and academic distinction.
 Article 18 prohibits the Indian citizens from receiving titles from any foreign state.
 The foreign nationals holding the office of profit under the state may accept titles from the
foreign government with the consent of President.
 In a true democracy, there is no space for artificial distinctions among the same society. Titles
such as Rai Bahadur, Sawai, Rai Sahab, Zamindar, taluqdar etc were prevalent in medieval and
British India. All these titles were abolished by article 18 of the constitution.

Right to Freedom
 Articles 19 to 22 of the Indian Constitution deal with the different facets of the Fundamental
Rights.
 These four articles form a charter of personal liberties, which provides the backbone of the
chapter on Fundamental Rights.
 Of these, Article 19 is the most important and it may rightly be called the key-article embodying
the “basic freedoms” under the Constitution, guaranteed to all citizens.

Six basic freedoms guaranteed by constitution

 Article 19 embodies the six basic freedoms. Originally, these freedoms were seven as right to
property was also included them. This freedom was taken off from fundamental rights and was
put as a constitutional right under article 300-A via 44th amendment act. The six freedoms are
as follows:
1) freedom of speech and expression
2) to assemble peaceably and without arms;
3) to form associations or unions or cooperative societies
4) to move freely throughout the territory of India;
5) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India;
6) to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business. The words
cooperative societies have been inserted via 97th amendment Act 2011.

Safeguards available to a person accused of Crimes (Article 20)

 Article 20 has taken care to safeguard the rights of persons accused of crimes.
 Persons here mean the citizens, non-citizens as well as corporations.
 Please note that this article cannot be suspended even during an emergency in operation under
article 359.
 Article 20 also constitutes the limitation on the legislative powers of the Union and State
legislatures.
Ex-Post facto Law
 Article 20 (1) says that no person shall be convicted of any offence except for violation of a law
in force at the time of the commission of the Act charged as an offence, nor be subjected to a
penalty greater than that which might have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of
the commission of the offence.
 This is called Ex-Post facto Law. It means that legislature cannot make a law which provides for
punishment of acts which were committed prior to the date when it came into force. This means
that a new law cannot punish an old act.

Doctrine of Double Jeopardy

 Article 20(2) says that no person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more
than once. This is called Doctrine of Double Jeopardy.
 The objective of this article is to avoid harassment, which must be caused for successive
criminal proceedings, where the person has committed only one crime

Self Incrimination Law

 Article 20(3) of the constitution says that no person accused of any offence shall be compelled
to be a witness against himself.
 This is based upon a legal maxim which means that No man is bound to accuse himself.
 The accused is presumed to be innocent till his guilt is proved. It is the duty of the prosecution to
establish his guilt.

Protection of Life and Personal Liberty (Article 21)

 Article 21 says that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to
procedure established by law.
 This article protects the right of life and personal liberty not only from executive action but also
from the legislative action. This right extends to citizens as well as non-citizens.
 In context with this article, the Supreme Court has held that Part III of the constitution should be
given widest possible interpretation and a fundamental right is not necessarily that one, which is
specified in an article. Even if it is not specified in an article, but if it is integral part of a named
fundamental right or partakes the same basic nature and character as that of a fundamental
right.

Article 22: Safeguards against Arrest

 Article 22(1) and (2) ensure the following four safeguards for a person who is arrested:
1) He is not to be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds of
his arrest [Article 22 (1)].
2) He shall not be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his
choice [Article 22 (2)].
3) A person arrested and detained in custody is to be produced before the nearest magistrate
within a period of twenty-fours of his arrest excluding the time necessary for the journey from
the place of arrest to the magistrate’s court [Article 22 (2)].
4) No such person is to be detained in custody beyond this period without the authority of a
magistrate [Article 22(2)].
5) A person needs to be informed before he is arrested to enable him to prepare his defence and
move to court for bail etc. Failure to inform the person arrested of the reasons of his arrest
 would entitle him to be released. If information is delayed, there must be some reasonable
grounds justified by circumstances.
 However, Article 22(3) says that the above safeguards are not available to the following: If the
person is at the time being an enemy alien.
 If the person is arrested under certain law made for the purpose of “Preventive Detention”

Article 23: Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour

 Article 23 prohibits the traffic in human beings and forced labor such as begar.
 Begar is unpaid labour and considered as modern form of slavery.
 The parliament passed Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956 and Bonded Labour System
(Abolition) Act 1976 to give legal teeth to this constitutional provision. Bonded labour is a kind of
forced labour which is either underpaid or unpaid.

Prohibition of Child Labour: Article 24

 Article 24 mandates that no child below age of 14 years shall be employed to work in any factory
or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.

Right to Freedom of Religion: Article 25-28

 Article 25 to 28 of the constitution of India guarantees the right of Freedom of religion. Some
important notes for Prelims are as follows.
 India is a secular state and by 42nd amendment, Preamble states this explicitly.
 Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion is one of the conditions set already in article
15. However, article 25 to 28 make these rights more explicit and clear.
 Article 25 mandates that subject to public order, morality and health,all persons enjoy the
freedom of conscience and have the right to entertain any religious belief and propagate it.
 The condition of public order, morality and health has been put to make it clear that freedom of
religion is not absolute. Use of loudspeakers, cracking on Diwali, use of loudspeakers for Ajan
has come under scrutiny of Supreme Court.
 Article 26: gives every religious group a right to establish and maintain institutions for religious
and charitable purposes, manage its affairs, properties as per the law. This guarantee is available
to only Citizens of India and not to aliens.
 Article 27: This Article mandates that no citizen would be compelled by the state to pay any
taxes for promotion or maintenance of particular religion or religious institutions.
 Article 28: This Article mandates that no religious instruction would be imparted in the state
funded educational institutions.

Cultural & Educational Rights: Article 29-30

 Both Article 29 and Articles 30 guarantee certain right to the minorities.
 Article 29 protects the interests of the minorities by making a provision that any citizen / section
of citizens having a distinct language, script or culture have the right to conserve the same.
 Article 30 provides an absolute right to the minorities that they can establish their own linguistic
and religious institutions and at the same time can also claim for grant-in-aid without any
discrimination.

Article 32: Right to Constitutional Remedies

 Article 32 provides the right to Constitutional remedies which means that a person has right to
move to Supreme Court (and high courts also) for getting his fundamental rights protected.
 While Supreme Court has power to issue writs under article 32, High Courts have been given
same powers under article 226.
 Further, the power to issue writs can also be extended to any other courts (including local
courts) by Parliament via making a law for local limits of jurisdiction of such courts.
 Kindly note that Court Martial i.e. the tribunals established under the military law have been
exempted from the writ jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the high courts via article 33.
 Article 32 was called the “soul of the constitution and very heart of it” by Dr. Ambedkar.
Supreme Court has included it in basic structure doctrine.
 Further, it is made clear that right to move to Supreme Court cannot be suspended except
otherwise provided by the Constitution.
 This implies that this right suspended during a national emergency under article 359.
 Article 32 makes the Supreme Court the defender and guarantor of the fundamental rights.
 Further, power to issue writs comes under original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. This means
that a person may approach SC directly for remedy rather than by way of appeal.
 Article 32 can be invoked only to get a remedy related to fundamental rights. It is not there for
any other constitutional or legal right for which different laws are available.

Meaning and Types of Writs

Habeas Corpus
 Habeas Corpus literally means ‘to have the body of’.
 Via this writ, the court can cause any person who has been detained or imprisoned to be
physically brought before the court.
 The court then examines the reason of his detention and if there is no legal justification of his
detention, he can be set free. Such a writ can be issued in following example cases:
 When the person is detained and not produced before the magistrate within 24 hours When the
person is arrested without any violation of a law.
 When a person is arrested under a law which is unconstitutional When detention is done to
harm the person or is malafide.
 Thus, Habeas corpus writ is called bulwark of individual liberty against arbitrary detention.
 A general rule of filing the petition is that a person whose right has been infringed must file a
petition. But Habeas corpus is an exception and anybody on behalf of the detainee can file a
petition.
 Habeas corpus writ is applicable to preventive detention also. This writ can be issued against
both public authorities as well as individuals.
Mandamus
 Mandamus means “we command”. This writ is a command issued by court to a public official,
public body, corporation, inferior court, tribunal or government asking them to perform their
duties which they have refused to perform.
 Due to this, Mandamus is called a “wakening call” and it awakes the sleeping authorities to
perform their duty.
 Mandamus thus demands an activity and sets the authority in action. Mandamus cannot be
issued against the following:
 a private individual or private body.
 if the duty in question is discretionary and not mandatory.
 against president or governors of state
 against a working chief justice
 to enforce some kind of private contract.
 A petition for writ of mandamus can be filed by any person who seeks a legal duty to be
performed by a person or a body. Such a filing person must have real or special interest in the
subject matter and must have legal right to do so.

Prohibition
 The writ of prohibition means that the Supreme Court and High Courts may prohibit the lower
courts such as special tribunals, magistrates, commissions, and other judiciary officers who are
doing something which exceeds to their jurisdiction or acting contrary to the rule of natural
justice. For example if a judicial officer has personal interest in a case, it may hamper the
decision and the course of natural justice.

Certiorari
 Certiorari means to “certify”.
 It’s a writ that orders to move a suit from an inferior court to superior court. It is issued by a
higher court to a lower court or tribunal either to transfer a case pending with that to itself or
squash its order.
 This is generally done because superior court believes that either the inferior court had no
jurisdiction or committed an error of law. Thus, certiorari is a kind of curative writ.

Quo warranto
 Quo warranto means “by what warrant”?
 This writ is issued to enquire into legality of the claim of a person or public office.
 It restrains the person or authority to act in an office which he / she is not entitled to; and thus
stops usurpation of public office by anyone.
 This writ is applicable to the public offices only and not to private offices.

Suspension of Fundamental Rights

Following are the instances when fundamentals rights get suspended:
 During national emergency, all the basic freedoms guaranteed by article 19 automatically get
suspended. During emergency, President can suspend all other fundamental rights also except
Article 20 (protection in respect of conviction for offences) and Article 21 (Protection of life and
personal liberty). Such suspension needs parliamentary approval.
 Article 33 empowers the Parliament to restrict or abrogate the application of the fundamental
rights in relation to the armed forces, paramilitary forces, police etc.

Directive Principles of State Policy

 The directive principles are guidelines by the constitution to the state as defined in article 12
(central, state, local government and bodies). Basic idea is that the “state” should keep these
principles while framing laws, policies, ordinances etc.
 India borrowed the DPSP from Irish Constitution of 1937 which itself had borrowed it from
Spanish Constitution. Further, the Government of India Act had some “instruments of
Instructions” which became the immediate source of DPSP.

Key Features
 DPSPs are not enforceable in a court of law.
 They were made non-justifiable keeping in view that the state may not have resources to
implement them.
 All of them are novel principles which call upon the state to provide a welfare government which
can bring live ideals of the constitution. The directive principles are as follows:
 Article 38 directs the state to secure a social order with economic, political and social justice for
the promotion and welfare of the people. Article 38(2) says that state shall strive to minimize
the inequalities of income, status, facilities, opportunities etc.
 Article 39 says that while framing policies, state would strive to provide adequate means of
livelihood, equal pay for equal work, resource distribution, safety of citizens and healthy
development of Children.
 Article 39-A says that then state will try to make legal system fair and would provide free legal
aid by means of some scheme or law etc.
 Article 40 says that the state shall take steps to organize Panchayats and endow them with such
powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self
government. The 73rd and 74th amendments of the constitution later culminated as
constitutionally backed framework for this DPSP.
 Article 41 says that state shall (within its limits of economic capacity & development) will make
effective provisions for securing right to work, education etc. and to Public Assistance in case of
unemployment, old age, sickness, disablement or any other case of undeserved want. This
article is used as a guiding principle for various social sector schemes such as social assistance
programme, right to food security, old age pension scheme, schemes for sick and disabled,
MGNREGA etc.
 Article 42 says that state shall make provisions for securing just and humane conditions for work
and for maternity relief.
 Article 43 says that the state will endeavor to secure by suitable legislations or economic
organizations or in other way to all workers, agricultural, industrial or otherwise, work, a living
wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and full enjoyment of leisure &
social cultural opportunities and in particular promote cottage industries on an individual or
cooperative basis in rural areas.
 Article 43-B inserted by 97th amendment act in 2011 says that state shall endeavor to promote
voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic control and professional
management of the co-operative societies.
 Article 44 says that the State shall endeavor to secure for the citizens uniforma civil code
throughout the territory of India.
 Article 45 says that State shall endeavor to provide early childhood care and education for all
children until they complete the age of six years. The ICDS programme and other related
schemes try to achieve this ideal.
 Article 46 says The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests
of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the
Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.
 Article 47 says that the State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of
living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties and, in
particular, the State shall endeavor to bring about prohibition of the consumption except for
medicinal purposes of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health. Most of the
social development programmes such as National Health Mission, Mid Day Meal scheme, ICDS
etc. which target the women, children, weaker sections of the society are inspired by Articles 45,
46 and 47.
 Article 48 says that the State shall endeavor to organize agriculture and animal husbandry on
modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the
breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.
 Article 48A says that shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard
the forests and wild life of the country.
 Article 49 says that state will be obliged to protect every monument or place or object of artistic
or historic interest, declared by or under law made by Parliament to be of national importance,
from spoliation, disfigurement, destruction, removal, disposal or export, as the case may be.
 Article 50 says that State shall take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive in the
public services of the State.
 Article 51 says that state shall endeavor to promote international peace and security, maintain
just and honorable relations between nations, foster respect for international law and treaty
obligations in the dealings of organized peoples with one another; and encourage settlement of
international disputes by arbitration.

DPSPs added by Amendments of Constitution

42nd Amendment 1976
 Four Directive Principles were added by 42nd amendment as follows:
 To secure opportunities for healthy development of children (Article 39)
 To promote equal justice and to provide free legal aid to the poor (Article 39 A)
 To take steps to secure the participation of workers in the management of industries (Article 43
A)
 To protect and improve the environment and to safeguard forests and wild life (Article 48 A).

44th Amendment 1978

 The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 added article 38(2) which said that state shall, in particular,
strive to minimize the inequalities in income, and endeavor to eliminate inequalities in status,
facilities and opportunities, not only amongst individuals but also amongst groups of people
residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations.

97th amendment 201

 Article 43-B inserted by 97th amendment act in 2011 says that state shall endeavor to promote
voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic control and professional
management of the co-operative societies.
 Further, the 86th amendment changed the subject of article 45 and brought it among
fundamental rights as article 21-A for children of 6-14 age.

Fundamental Duties
 The 42nd amendment Act 1976 added a new part in the constitution part IVA. It incorporated the
fundamental duties by inserting a new article 51A below article 51. The objective of
incorporating the fundamental duties is to place before the country a code of conduct, which
the citizens are expected to follow. The Fundamental duties are as follows:
1. to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the
National Anthem;
2. to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom;
3. to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;
4. to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;
5. to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India
transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices
derogatory to the dignity of women;
6. to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
7. to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and
to have compassion for living creatures;
8. to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform
9. to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
10. to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation
constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement;
11. who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case
may be, ward between the age of six and fourteen years.

Swaran Singh Committee

 Sardar Swaran Singh committee was constituted by Indira Gandhi soon after emergency was
imposed in the country.
 The objective of this committee was to study the question of amending the constitution in the
light of past experiences and recommend the amendments.
 The 42nd amendment act which is also called “Mini Constitution” which amended many articles
and even the Preamble was a result of the recommendations of Sardar Swaran Singh committee.
 The 10 fundamental duties were also added as per the recommendations of Sardar Swaran
Singh committee.

Union Legislature and Executive

 Most of the modern democracies follow the Montesquieu Model of Separation of Powers in
which government is divided into three estates viz. executive, legislature and judiciary.
 Further, the press / media is sometimes called fourth estate because it has considerable
influence upon public opinion.
 While main function of the legislature is to make laws and control finances, main function of
executive is to execute or implement the laws.
 Judiciary is mainly responsible for administration and interpretation of law.
 For India: The Union Legislature is Parliament with its two houses viz. Lok Sabha (Lower House)
and Rajya Sabha (Upper House)
 The Union Executive is President, Vice President, Council of Ministers and Attorney General.
 The Union Judiciary is only Supreme Court.
 Articles 52 to 78 in Part V of the Constitution deal with the Union executive.

President of India
 India’s president is head of the Indian state, first citizen of India and supreme commander of the
Indian armed forces.
 Article 58 of the constitution lays down the qualifications of a president in India. These
qualifications are:
 He should be a citizen of India,
 He must have completed the age of 35 years
 He must be qualified to become a Lok Sabha member.
 He should not hold any office of profit under Union or state government.
Election Process
 The president is elected for a term of 5 years.
 He may terminate his own term by writing a resignation addressed to Vice president.
 He can be removed from the office ONLY by impeachment.
 He is eligible to re-elect for the same office for unlimited times.
 The president is not elected by the people directly. A president is elected by an electoral college
which is made of:

 Elected members of parliament (MPs from Lok Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha).
 Elected members of State legislative members, including that if NCT of Delhi and Pondicherry
 Members of legislative councils in the states where there are bicameral legislatures can NOT
participate in election of President.
 Further, nominated members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha don’t participate in election of
President.

Proportional Representation
 With a view to ensure uniformity of the representation of different states and parity between
the Union and the states, the constitution in article 56 provides an ingenious method. The
formula for value of vote for an MLA is as follows:

 The formula for value of the vote for an MP is as follows:

 This is called system of proportional representation. In this, the MPs and MLAs do not have one
vote each but their votes are equal to the average number of people they represent Since MPs
represent the whole country they have more votes, and MLAs have fewer votes than MPs as
they represent only the people in their states.
 MPs in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have 708 votes each {as per Census 1971}.
 Compared to this, MLAs have about 100 or 200 votes, depending on the size of their states.
 MLAs from Uttar Pradesh have largest number of votes. The value of vote of each Member of
the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh is 208 and that of Sikkim is 7.
 The population of the States for the purposes of calculation of value of votes for the Presidential
Election shall mean the population as ascertained at the 1971-census.

Process of Election
 The elections of President are conducted by Election Commission.
 By convention, the Secretary General, Lok Sabha and the Secretary General, Rajya Sabha is
appointed as the Returning Officer by rotation.
 The MPs and MLA cast vote on the ballot paper / machine by marking their preference to the
candidates.
 Once all the votes have been cast, the total valid votes are multiplied by the value of each vote
and that total is credited to the candidate as the total value of votes secue.
  To win the election, the candidate needs to secure a quota of votes which is arrived at by
dividing the total value of valid votes by 2 and adding one to the quotient, ignoring the
remainder, if any.
 All doubts or disputes arising out of election of the president are decided by the Supreme Court
which is the only authority to try an election petition regarding President’s election.

President in Office: Conditions

 Although Parliament of India is made of President, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, yet President is
not a member of any house of the parliament or any state legislature.
 If a presidential candidate is a MP or MLA, he will need to vacate the seat once elected. Further,
he should not hold any office of profit.
Impeachment of President
 As per Article 61, President of India can be impeached on ground of violation of the Constitution.
However what amounts to violation of the Constitution has not been defined.
 The process of impeachment can begin either in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha.
 The charges for impeachment should be signed by 1/4 members of the house in which the
process begins and a notice of 14 days should be given to the President.
 The impeachment bill has to be passed by majority of not less than two-thirds of the total
membership of the House {special majority}.
 One passed in that house, the bill reaches to another house, which shall investigate the charges.
President has right to appear and be represented in case of such investigations.
 If other house also sustains those charges, then it would again need to pass the bill by special
majority and thus president stands removed from the office on which the bill is passed in other
house. Since it is a bill for removal of president himself, no presidential assent is needed here.
 It worth note here that the nominated members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha don’t participate
in election but participate in impeachment of president.
 The elected members of legislative assemblies of the states though participate in election of the
President, but have no role to play in his impeachment.
 The nominated members of state assemblies and elected as well as nominated members of
legislative councils of the bicameral houses in states participate in neither election nor
impeachment of president.
 No president of India has been impeached so far.
Vacancy in Office of the President
 A vacancy in office of the president may occur due many reasons such as Expiry of his tenure of
five years
 Resignation or impeachment
 Death or any other disqualification.
 The election to fill a vacancy arising out of expiration of the term of president must be
completed before expiration of his / her term. If there is a delay, the president continues to hold
the office, until his / her successor takes charge.
 If any vacancy arises out of death/ resignation / removal, it must be filled within 6 months.
 During the vacancy in the office of president, Vice president would be discharging the duties of a
president. If Vice President is also NOT available, Chief Justice of India will discharge the function
of the president. If Chief Justice of India is also unavailable, then senior most judge of the
Supreme Court will discharge this function.
 Any person (vice president / chief justice of India/ senior most Judge of Supreme Court) while
discharging the duties of the president shall be entitled to all powers and privileges of the
president.
 Example: In 1969, when President Dr Zakir Hussain died, Vice-President VV Giri worked as acting
president. However, VV Giri resigned soon to contest election of the President. Due to this, Chief
Justice of India, M Hidayatullah worked as the officiating President from 20 July, 1969 to 24
August, 1969.

Powers of President of India

 President of India is the head of the government and supreme commander of armed forces.
 His powers can be classified into several heads such as executive powers, legislative powers,
financial powers, judicial powers, Diplomatic powers, Military powers as well as emergency
powers.
Executive powers
 Article 53(1) vests the executive power of the union in the president.
 All executive actions of the Government of India and all contracts and assurances of the
property are made by the Government of India are formally taken in the name in president.
Appointments made by president
 President of India makes appointment to other constitutional officers and other important
members of union government. These include:
 Prime Minister
 Other ministers on advice of Prime Minister
 Chief Justice of India
 Other Judges of Supreme Court on advice of the Chief Justice Chief Justice and other judges of
high courts
 Chairman and other members of UPSC and Joint Public Service Commissions Attorney General of
India
 Comptroller and Auditor General of India
 Chief Election Commissioner and other members of election commission Governors of states
 Administrators of Union Territories
 Chairman and members of National Commission of Scheduled Caste Chairman and members of
National Commission of Scheduled Tribes Finance Commission chairman and members
 Central Chief Information Commissioner
 Central Vigilance Commissioner
 Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission
 Union Lokpal Chairman and its members on recommendation of selection committee

At the same time, also note that:

 Chairperson of National Commission of Women is not appointed by President but by Central
Government.
 Solicitor General is NOT appointed by President. His appointment is done by Central
Government.
 The chairman and member of state public service commissions are although appointed by
Governor, the removal of any of them (chairman or members) will be done by president.

Role of Council of Ministers in Executive Powers

 The executive powers vested in the president have to be exercised in accordance with the advice
of the Council of Minister as per Article 74(1).
 However, he has the power to send back the advice to council of Ministers for reconsideration. If
the council of Ministers adheres to the previous advice, the president has to act as per this
advice. This is the reason that real executive powers are with the Central Government.
 Further, Article 74 (2) says that what advice was tendered by minister to the president shall not
be inquired into in any court. Thus, relation between president and council of ministers are
confidential and cannot be questioned in a court. Further, constitution also mentions some
duties of the Prime Minister towards President in article 78. These are:
 To communicate to the President all decisions of the Council of Ministers Regarding the
administration and legislation of India.
 To furnish such information as the President may call for.
 To submit for the Consideration of the Council of Ministers as desired by the President.

Legislative Powers of President

 President has power to summon or prorogue {Prorogue means discontinuing without dissolving.
 It refers to end of a session of parliament) the two houses of parliament. After a prorogation,
the house must be summoned within 6 months.
 The President may dissolve the Lok Sabha. (Rajya Sabha is never dissolved). After the general
Elections, president addresses both the houses of the parliament.
 He may address either house or a joint sitting.

Nomination of MPs
 President nominated 2 members of Anglo Indian Community in the Lok Sabha (Article 331). He
also nominates 12 members of Rajya Sabha if they excel in Art, Literature, Science, Social
Science, Culture etc. (Article 80)

Giving assent to bills

 The bills passed by the parliament become acts only after assent of president. When a bill is
send to President after it is passed in parliament, President has the following options:
A. can either give his assent (he must give assent in case of Constitution Amendment bill)
B. withhold his assent if it is not a Constitution amendment bill
C. Return the bill to the parliament for reconsideration if it is not a money bill
 When Parliament passes again a bill sent to it with or without amendments, the president has to
give assent to that bill.
 The bills passed by state legislatures are sent to governor for assent. Governor has been given
power to reserve a bill for consideration of president, provided such bill is not a money bill of
that state. When the governor sends such bill to president, president has the following options:
A. give his assent to the bill
B. withhold his assent to the bill
C. Direct the governor to return the bill for reconsideration of the state legislature.
D. If the state legislature again passes the bill with or without amendments; and if the
governor again sent to president, it is NOT obligatory for president to give assent to such
bill.

Pocket veto
 In case of an ordinary bill or a bill got introduced by a private member and passed by both
houses, the president can just keep the bill in his pocket and forget it. When president neither
gives assent nor returns the bill, it is also called “Pocket Veto”. Pocket Veto is applicable to only
ordinary bills. This is also called Absolute Veto.

President’s Assent in case of Constitution Amendment Bills

 Before 24th amendment 1971, President could withhold assent to a Constitution amendment
bill.
 After this amendment, it has been made clear that once passed by parliament, president has to
give his assent.
 Thus, while president cannot block a constitution amendment bill, such bill are subject to judicial
scrutiny and can be nullified by Supreme Court if they are violative of basic structure doctrine.
 The President may either give or withhold his assent to a Money Bill. Under the Constitution, a
Money Bill cannot be returned to the House by the President for reconsideration.

President’s assent in case of Money Bills

 Money bills can be introduced in the Parliament only with prior recommendation of President.
Due to this President can agree to that bill or withhold his assent but can NOT return a money
bill to the house for reconsideration.

The bills that need prior recommendation of President

 Any bill that seeks to alter the boundaries of the states and names of the states. (Article 3)
 Money Bill (as per Article 110)
 Any bill which affects the taxation in which the states are interested (Article 274)
 State Bills which impose restriction upon freedom of trade (Article 304).

Judicial Powers / Power to Pardon

 Article 72 says that the President shall have the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or
remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person
convicted of any offence. The meaning of these terms is as follows:
 Pardon: Complete pardon
 Reprieve: Temporary suspension of sentence
 Respite: awarding less sentence
 Remission: Reducing amount of sentence
 Commutation: Changing one punishment to another

Comparison of Pardoning Power of President and Governor

 Governor also has powers to pardon under article 161. However, while president can grant
pardon to a person awarded death sentence; governor does not enjoy this power. Governor can
commute death sentence to some other kind of sentence.

Role of Union Government and Supreme Court in Pardoning Power

 Power to grant pardon is not absolute and is exercised by the President on the advice of Council
of Ministers like any other powers. Further, the power to pardon is subject to judicial review and
Supreme Court retains the power of judicial review even on matters which has been vested by
the Constitution solely in the Executive.
Military Powers of President
 Article 53 vests the supreme command of the Armed Forces of India in the President. President
of India can declare war or conclude peace, under the regulation by the parliament.

Diplomatic Powers of President

 India is represented on International forum by President of India. He sends and receives
ambassadors.
 All international treaties and agreements are concluded on behalf of the President subject to
ratification by the parliament.

Emergency Powers
 President has been conferred upon by extraordinary powers in case of national emergency
(Article 352), President’s rule (Article 356 & 365) and financial emergency (article 360).

Ordinance Making Powers of President

 Parliament is not always in session and when it becomes necessary to have a law on some
urgent public matter, the constitution via article 123 provides the power to the president to
issue ordinances if he is satisfied with the circumstances of issuing such ordinance.
 Ordinances are promulgated when parliament is not in session.
 The ordinance has similar effect to an act of parliament. However, every ordinance must be laid
before both houses of the parliament within 6 weeks from the reassembling of the parliament.
 If it is not placed in parliament within 6 weeks from reassembly, it becomes invalid. If it does not
get approval of parliament, it becomes invalid. However, it may be withdrawn by the president.

Reports and Statements get by President to be laid before parliament:

Annual Financial Statement
Reports of Auditor General
Annual report of UPSC and JPSCs
Reports of Finance Commission
Reports of Special officers of SC & ST
Report of the Special officers of Linguistic Minorities and Backward Classes

Vice-President of India
 The officer of Vice-President is second highest public office in India.
 Vice-President has second rank in the order of precedence.
 However, practically, his office has been created to provide political continuity of the Indian
state.
 He works as acting president when president is not available.
 His main function is in the form of ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. Thus, in this context,
India’s Vice President is equivalent to speaker of Lok Sabha.

Eligibility to become Vice-President of India

 As per article 66, He must be a citizen of India
 He must have completed age of 35 years
 He cannot hold an office for profit.
 He must be qualified to become a member of Rajya Sabha.
Election, term of office, removal, Oath
 Like Presidential election, election of vice president is held via system of proportional
representation by means of the single transferable vote {indirect election}.
 However, Vice President is elected by Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs.
 The MLAs or MLCs have no role to play here.
 The original constitution laid down the method of election of Vice President of India by members
of both Houses of Parliament assembled at a joint meeting. However, later it was felt that the
requirement that both houses should assemble at a joint sitting for the election of the Vice-
President, is unnecessary and has practical difficulties. So, this difficulty was removed via 11th
amendment in 1961. Since then, the method of voting is same as that in case of election of
President.
 The doubt and dispute arising out of election of President and / or Vice President can be
challenged in the Supreme Court.
 The term of office of the Vice President is five years. The term may end earlier by resignation
which should be addressed to the President.
 The term may also terminate earlier by removal. The Vice President can be removed by a
resolution by the members of the Rajya Sabha.
 To move such resolution, a 14 days’ notice is to be given. Such a resolution, though passed by
the Rajya Sabha only, but must be agreeable to the Lok Sabha. There is no need of impeachment
of Vice President for removal.

Functions of Vice President

 Vice President is the executive Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and cannot hold any other office of
the profit.
 However, during the period when he/ she acts as the officiating President of India, he / she shall
not act as chairman of the Rajya Sabha and shall not be entitled to the salary or allowances
payable to the chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
 Article 65 says that in case the President is unable to discharge his/ her duties for reasons such
as illness, resignation, removal, death or otherwise, the Vice President shall carry out functions
of the President.
 In such case, he/ she shall be entitled for the salary, allowance and all privileges of the President.

Notable points about President and Vice-President

 While office of President is designed on British model, office of Vice-President of India is
designed on lines of American Vice-President.
 While presidential candidate should be qualified to be a Lok Sabha MP, Vice-Presidential
candidate should be qualified to be a Rajya Sabha MP.

Council of Ministers & Prime Minister

 Articles 74 & 75 of the constitution of India deal with the Council of Ministers and Prime
Minister.
 Article 74(1): There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and
advise the President who shall, in the exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such
advice. The president may require the council of ministers to reconsider such advice and
president shall act in accordance with such advice reconsidered.
 Article 74(2): What advice was tendered to the president cannot be inquired into any court.
 Article 75(1): The Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President and the other Ministers
shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
 Article 75(2): The Ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the President.
 Article 75(3): The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of the
People.
 Article 75(4): Before a Minister enters upon his office, the President shall administer to him the
oaths of office and of secrecy according to the forms set out for the purpose in the Third
Schedule
 Article 75(5): A Minister must be a member of any of the houses within 6 months.
 Article 75(6): Parliament will decide the salary and allowances of the Ministers and until
parliament decides, so shall be as specified in the Second Schedule.
 While President is the nominal executive authority (de jure executive), Council of Ministers
headed by Prime Minister is the real executive authority (de facto executive). Further, while
President is the head of the state, Prime Minister is the head of the government.
 Council of Ministers (CoM) is real executive because President acts in accordance with the
advice tendered by it. The president may ask the CoM to reconsider the advice, but if the it
decides to stick to the previous advice, the president acts as per this reconsidered advice. Advice
tendered to the president by the Council of Ministers cannot be inquired by anybody or any
court of law.
 All the ministers are appointed by the president on the advice of the Prime Minister. It is the
Prime Minister who allocates the portfolio to other ministers.
 The prime Minister may call for the resignation of any minister at any time. In case the minister
refuses, the prime minister may advice the President to dismiss the minister. This is also called
the “Rule of Individual Responsibility”.
 There is no specific procedure for appointment of Prime Minister in constitution. However,
convention is that President appoints the leader of majority party in Lok Sabha as Prime
Minister.
 The term of Prime Minister is not fixed. Like any other minister, he holds office during the
pleasure of the president.
 President cannot dismiss him until he enjoys confidence in Lok Sabha.
 Resignation or death of the Prime Minister would dissolve the entire Council of Ministers.
 Prime Minister sets the agenda of the Lok Sabha along with the Speaker
 Prime Minister advises the President as regard to the summoning and proroguing of the
Parliament.
 Prime Minister is answerable to the Parliament for all policy decisions of his Government and his
Ministers
 Prime Minister can recommend the President to dissolve the Lok Sabha if he feels so

Difference between Cabinet and Council of Ministers

 Cabinet is made of Cabinet Ministers, while Council of Ministers is made of all ministers.
 Thus, the later is bigger than former. Both are headed by Prime Minister.
 Cabinet meets as a body regularly to perform government business and make decisions. Such
frequency of meeting and collective work is not seen in CoM.
 While constitution has detailed provisions about CoM, the term cabinet appears only once in
article 352 and that too was inserted via 44th amendment act.
Attorney General of India
 Article 76 Provides for an Attorney General of India. Attorney General is Indian government’s
chief legal advisor and its primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of India.
 The attorney general holds the office during the pleasure of the President.
 The Attorney General represents the government but is also allowed to take up private practice,
provided the other party is not the state. Because of this he is not paid salary but a retainer to be
determined by the President.
 The Attorney General gets a retainer equivalent to the salary of a judge of a Supreme Court. This
retainer is paid from Consolidated Fund of India.
 The Attorney General is the first law officer of the government of India and acts as top advocate
for Union Government.
 He is responsible for giving advice to President / Government of India upon such legal matters
and to perform such other duties of legal character which are assigned to him by the President.

Comptroller and Auditor General

 As per article 148, Comptroller and Auditor General is appointed by President.
 The CAG can be removed only on an address from both house of parliament on the ground of
proved misbehavior or incapacity.
 The CAG vacates the office on attaining the age of 65 years age even without completing the 6
years term.

Parliament of India
 India has a bicameral parliament made of President, Rajya Sabha (Upper House / Council of
States) and Lok Sabha (Lower House / House of People). While Rajya Sabha represents states
and union territories, Lok Sabha represents people of India.

Rajya Sabha
 Rajya Sabha is the upper house of parliament which represents the states and union territories.
 Its membership is fixed to maximum 250 members of which 238 are elected by the
representatives of states and union territories while 12 members are nominated by President on
account of their excellence in literature, science, art or social service.
 The present strength of the Rajya Sabha is 245, of whom 233 are representatives of the
States/Union Territories and 12 are nominated by the President.

Elections of Rajya Sabha Members

 The 233 elected members of Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of legislative
assemblies of the states in accordance with the System of Proportional Representation by means
of Single Transferable Vote.
 Thus election of Rajya Sabha members is an indirect election. We note here that nominated
members of legislative assemblies and members of legislative councils in bicameral legislatures
don’t participate in the election of Rajya Sabha members.
 Rajya Sabha has an indefinite term and not subject to dissolution (Article 83.1). The term of an
Individual Rajya Sabha member is 6 years and one third of its members retire every two years, in
accordance with the rules as prescribed by the parliament of India.
 There is no reservation of seats in Rajya Sabha.
 Vice President of India is the ex-officio chairman of Rajya Sabha. Rajya Sabha members also
choose a Member of the Rajya Sabha as the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
Lok Sabha
 Lok Sabha is the lower house of the parliament which represents people.
 Article 81 deals with the Composition of the Lok Sabha.
 The maximum strength of Lok Sabha is 552 members of which 530 are elected from states, 20
are elected from Union Territories and 2 are nominated by President from Anglo-Indian
community if the president thinks that the community is not adequately represented in the
house.
 The parliament by law can change the strength of the Lok Sabha
 The total seats for elected members of Lok Sabha are distributed among the states in such way
that ratio between the number of seats allotted to each State and the population of the State is,
so far as practicable, the same for all States.
 Further, each State is divided into territorial constituencies in such manner that the ratio
between the population of each constituency and the number of seats allotted to it is, so far as
practicable, the same throughout the State.
 Article 326 provides that the elections for Lok Sabha MPs have to be direct election on the basis
of Adult suffrage. The age to be eligible for voting was 21 years originally and was reduced to 18
years by 61st amendment act 1988.
 Lok Sabha has a fixed term of 5 years and can be dissolved by the President at any time. The
original Constitution had a term of Lok Sabha as 6 years. It was changed to 5 years by
Constitution 44th Amendment Act 1978. While a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation, 5
year period for Lok Sabha may be extended by Parliament by law for a period not exceeding one
year at a time and not exceeding in any case beyond a period of six months after the
Proclamation has ceased to operate.
 As per article 330 (1) seats are reserved in Lok Sabha for SCs and STs. Currently, 84 (15.47%)
seats are reserved for SC and 47 (8.66%) seats are reserved for ST.
 The speaker and deputy speakers are presiding officers of Lok Sabha who are elected by the
members of that house.

Disqualification on Ground of Defection

 Apart from article 102, the Tenth Schedule to Constitution provides for disqualification of the
members on ground of defection. Defection refers to desertion of one’s party in favor of an
opposing one. As per the provisions of the Tenth Schedule, a member may be disqualified if he:
 Voluntarily gives up the membership of his political party which gave him ticket to contest and
win
 Votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction issued by the political party
to which he belongs, unless such voting or abstention has been condoned by the political party
within fifteen days.
 A member elected as an independent candidate shall be disqualified if he joins any political party
after his election.
 However, a nominated member is allowed to join a political party provided he joins such political
party of his choices within a period of six months. After that period, joining a political party
would lead to defection and disqualification.
 The question whether a member is subject to disqualification in all other matters except under
10th schedule (disqualification) is decided by President. However, President should obtain the
opinion of the election commission before taking such decision.
 The question of disqualification under Anti-defection / Tenth Schedule is decided by the
Chairman in the case of Rajya Sabha {i.e. Vice-President} and Speaker in the case of Lok Sabha.
 The decision of Chairman / Speaker in this condition is subject to judicial review.

Speaker and Other Officers of Lok Sabha

 Lok Sabha speaker is the presiding officer or head of Lok Sabha.
 He is the guardian of powers and privileges of members and committees of Lok Sabha.
 Lok Sabha speaker is chosen by the members from among themselves, after the first meeting of
the Lok Sabha. When the office of Lok Sabha speaker falls vacant, the members elect another
speaker on a date fixed by the President.
 A Lok Sabha speaker remains in office during the life of Lok Sabha generally. However, to
remain in office, he needs to remain member of Lok Sabha. Whenever Lok Sabha is dissolved,
the Speaker continues to remain in office until immediately before the first meeting of Lok
Sabha after it is reconstituted.
 The speaker automatically ceases to be so if he is disqualified to be a member of Lok Sabha due
to reasons whatsoever.
 He can vacate his office by addressing a resignation letter to Deputy Speaker. He can also be
removed by the members of Lok Sabha by a resolution passed by absolute majority {majority of
the total members of the House} of Lok Sabha. However, a 14 days advanced notice must be
given for such resolution.
 The motion of removal can be considered and discussed only when it has the support of at least
50 members. These provisions make removal of speaker difficult and provide him security of
tenure.
 When such resolution is under consideration of the house, Speaker cannot preside the meeting
of the house, however, he is eligible to participate and voteexcept the casting vote in case if
equality of votes.

Powers and Functions

 Lok Sabha speaker is the representative and principal spokesman of Lok Sabha and his decisions
in matters of Lok Sabha are final.
 His powers and functions are derived from Constitution, Rules of procedure (Lok Sabha) and
Parliamentary conventions.
 Primary duty of the speaker is to maintain order and decorum in Lok Sabha.
 His interpretations of constitutional provisions, rules and regulations related to Lok Sabha are
final.
 The quorum to constitute a meeting of the Lok Sabha is one-tenth of the membership of the
house. If there is no quorum, speaker decides to suspend the meeting.
 Adjournment of Lok Sabha is done by Speaker.
 During voting in the house on a bill or other matters, he first does vote. However, if there is a tie
due to equal votes, speaker exercises the casting vote. Objective of casting vote is to resolve a
deadlock.
 Joint sittings of both the houses of parliament are although called by President but presided by
Lok Sabha speaker.
 On the request of the Leader of the House, Speaker may allow a secret meeting. None other
than those permitted by speaker can be present in secret meeting.
 Whether a bill is money bill or not, is decided by Speaker and his decision in this matter is final.
When a money bill is passed in Lok Sabha and sent to Rajya Sabha, Speaker’s endorsement is
needed on that.
 Speaker decides the question of disqualification of Lok Sabha members in matters of tenth
schedule / anti-defection law. This decision is subject to judicial review.
 He works as ex-officio chairman of Indian Parliamentary Group of the Inter-parliamentary Union.
 Chairmen of all the parliamentary committees of Lok Sabha are appointed by Speaker, provided
such committees don’t need elected chairmen. Speaker himself is the chairman of Business
Advisory Committee, Rules Committee and General Purpose Committee.
 The Secretary General of the Lok Sabha is appointed by the Speaker.

Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha

 When Speaker of Lok Sabha is not available, his duties are carried out by Deputy Speaker.
 A Deputy Speaker is elected by the Lok Sabha members from amongst themselves.
 Election of Deputy Speaker is done after election of Speaker. The date of election of Deputy
Speaker is fixed by Speaker.
 We note here that Deputy speaker is not subordinate to the Speaker and is directly responsible
to Lok Sabha. If Deputy Speaker is also not present, a person appointed by President will
discharge the duties.

Protem Speaker
 Whenever Lok Sabha is dissolved, the Speaker continues to remain in office until immediately
before the first meeting of Lok Sabha after it is reconstituted.
 President appoints a speaker Pro Tem for the first meeting of the newly elected Lok Sabha.
 He is appointed to administer oath to the new members and enable the house to elect a new
speaker. Usually, the senior-most member is elected as Protem speaker and the President
himself administers oath to him.

Sessions of Parliament, prorogation and dissolution

 From time to time, the sessions of the parliament are called upon by president. According to
constitution, the maximum gap between two sessions cannot be more than six months. Thus, in
each year, there must be two sessions of parliament
 However, there are usually three sessions viz. Budget session (between February to May),
Monsoon Session (between July to September) and Winter Session (Between November to
December).

Adjournment
 Adjournment terminates the sitting of the House which meets again at the time appointed for
the next sitting.
 The postponement may be for a specified time such as hours, days or weeks.
 If the meeting is terminated without any definite time/ date fixed for next meeting, it is called
Adjournment sine die.

Prorogation
 Prorogation is end of a session. A prorogation puts an end to a session.
 The time between the Prorogation and reassembly is called Recess.
 Prorogation is end of session and not the dissolution of the house {in case of Lok Sabha, as Rajya
Sabha does not dissolve}.

Dissolution
 Rajya Sabha is a permanent house so there is no dissolution of Rajya Sabha, though term of
Rajya Sabha members has been fixed for 6 years.
 The Lok Sabha may dissolve at the end of its five year term or by an order of President.
 The five year term can be extended during national emergency for another one year at a time by
making a law.
 However, such extension cannot continue beyond a period of six months after the emergency
has ceased to operate.
 Generally, last session of the existing Lok Sabha before dissolution is called Lame Duck session

Question Hour and Various Motions in Parliament

Question Hour
 Question Hour, is usually the first hour of every sitting of the house. Usually, members ask
questions and ministers’ answer. There are three kinds of questions viz. starred questions, un-
starred questions and short notice questions.
 A starred question is distinguished by an asterisk and needs an oral answer. Since the answer is
oral, supplementary questions might follow a starred question.
 An un-starred question requires written answer. Since the answer is given in written, there
cannot be supplementary questions that follow an un-stared question

Half an hour Discussion

 Members have a right to get information from the Government on any matter of public concern
by means of questions to Ministers.
 When a member feels that the answer given to a question, Starred or Unstarred or Short Notice,
is not complete or does not give the desired information or needs elucidation on a matter of
fact, he may be allowed by the Speaker to raise a discussion in the House for half an hour. The
procedure is, therefore, termed as ‘Half-an-Hour Discussion’.

Zero Hour
 Zero Hour is an informal tool available to the members to raise the matters without any prior
notice.
 It starts after question hour and lasts until the regular business is taken up. Thus, the time gap
between the end of zero hour and beginning of regular business (agenda) of the house is called
Zero hour.
 It is not mentioned in any rule book but is there is existence since 1962 by convention.

Types of Motions
 A motion refers to a formal proposal asking the house to take some action.
 In Parliament, motion is required to be made for any discussion with the permission of presiding
officer.
 The motion are accepted or rejected on the basis of opinions and discussions in the house
among members.
 There are three kinds of motions in parliament viz. substantive motion, substitute motion and
subsidiary motion. Substantive motion is most dominating from of them.
Closure Motion
 Closure is one of the means by which a debate may be brought to an end by a majority decision
of the House, even though all Members wishing to speak have not done so.

Closure versus Guillotine

 Guillotine refers to putting by the Speaker of outstanding question or questions relating to the
business in hand on expiry of the time allotted for its discussion.
 While closure is preceded by a motion, guillotine is not preceded by any motion .On the last of
the allotted days at the appointed time, the Speaker puts every question necessary to dispose of
all the outstanding matters in connection with the demands for grants.
 During budget, guillotine concludes the discussion on demands for grants.

Privilege Motion
 A privilege motion is moved against breach of parliamentary privileges. Parliamentary privileges
are certain rights and immunities enjoyed by MPs, MLAs and MLCs, individually and collectively,
so that they can effectively discharge their functions.
 When any of these rights and immunities is disregarded, the offence is called a breach of
privilege and is punishable under law of Parliament or the state legislature. Each House also
claims the right to punish as contempt actions which, while not breach of any specific privilege,
are offences against its authority and dignity.

Calling Attention
 Calling attention is a type of motion introduced by a member to call the attention of a minister
to a matter of urgent public importance. The minister is expected to make authoritative
statement from him on that matter. It can be introduced in any house of the parliament.

Motion of Thanks
 Motion of thanks is moved and voted in both houses parliament after the inaugural speech of
the president at the beginning of first session of new Lok Sabha or first session of New Year. The
speech of president is generally drafted by ruling party and its contents outline the vision of the
central government.
 This motion must be passed in both of the houses. A failure to get motion of thanks passed
(which may happen rarely) amounts to defeat of government and leads to collapse of
government.

No-Confidence Motion
 Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to Lok Sabha and it remains in office till it enjoys
confidence of majority of the members in Lok Sabha. Thus, a motion of no-confidence is moved
to remove the council of ministers and thus oust the government from office. Following are
conditions of No-confidence motion:
 No-confidence motion can be moved only in Lok Sabha {or state assembly as the case may be}. It
is not allowed in Rajya Sabha {or state legislative council}
 It is moved against the entire Council of Ministers and not individual ministers or private
members.
 It needs support of at least 50 members when introduced in Lok Sabha.
Censure Motion
 A censure literally means expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism.
 It can be a stern rebuke by a legislature, generally opposition against the policies of Government
or an individual minister. However, it can also be passed to criticize, condemn some act.
 A censure motion can be moved in Lok Sabha or in a state assembly.

The Business of Law Making

 The primary function of parliament is to make new laws, amendment existing laws and repeal
old laws. for every such procedure, a bill needs to be passed in both houses of parliament.
 Once passed in both the houses, bill needs to get assent of the president to become an act. The
relevant articles of the constitution are 107 {Provisions as to introduction and passing of Bills},
108 {Joint sitting of both Houses in certain cases}, 109 {Special procedure in respect of Money
Bills}, 110 {money bills) and 111 {assent to bills}.
 If a bill is introduced in the house by a minister, it is called government bill or public bill. If the bill
is introduced by any other member than a minister, it is called private member bill.
 A private member bill can be introduced by both ruling party and opposition MPs.

Important Points
 While money bills can originate only in Lok Sabha, all other ordinary bills including constitution
amendment bills can originate in either house of the parliament.
 A bill does not get lapsed on prorogation of the house. All the bills pending in Lok Sabha get
lapsed when Lok Sabha is dissolved.
 If a bill has been passed by Lok Sabha and is pending in Rajya Sabha, it will lapse if Lok Sabha
dissolves.
 Bill not passed by Lok Sabha but pending in Rajya Sabha does not lapse if Lok Sabha dissolves.
 A bill passed by Rajya Sabha and pending in Lok Sabha will lapse if Lok Sabha dissolves.

Money Bill v/s Finance Bill-

 Every bill which has provisions related to financial matters is a Financial Bill. There are three
kinds of Financial Bills in Indian parliament viz.
 Money Bills
 Financial Bills category-I
 Financial Bill category-II.
 This simply implies that all money bills are financial bills, but all financial bills are not money bills.

Money Bills
 Only those financial bills which contain provisions exclusively on matters listed in article 110 of
the constitution are called Money Bills. On this basis, a bill is money bill if:It results in imposition,
abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax at union or state level but NOT at local
level.
 Thus, money bills exist in Parliament and State legislature only. If a financial bill results in
imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation at local level by a local body, it is not
considered to be a money bill.
 It results in regulation of borrowing of money or results in any guarantee by Government of
India.
 Results in withdrawal of money from Consolidated or Contingency fund Receipt of money in
consolidated fund and public account.
 Question of whether a financial bill is money bill or not, is decided by Speaker. Such bill needs to
be endorsed by Speaker when passed by Lok Sabha and sent to Rajya Sabha.

Procedure for Passing of the Money Bills

 The money bills have special features which make the procedure of their passage in parliament
distinct.
 A money bill can be introduced / originated only in Lok Sabha {or in legislative assembly in case
of bicameral legislature in states}.
 A money bill can be introduced only on prior recommendations of the President {or governor in
case of state}
 A money bill can be a government bill only. No private bill can be a money bill.
 Once a money bill is passed in Lok Sabha, it is transmitted to Rajya Sabha for its consideration.
But Rajya Sabha has limited powers in this context. It can neither reject nor amend the money
bill. It can make only recommendations and has to return the bill with or without
recommendations to Lok Sabha in 14 days.
 The Lok Sabha may or may not accept the recommendations of Rajya Sabha. Whether or not
accepted those recommendations, thus returned bill is considered passed in both houses. If
Rajya Sabha does not even return the bill in 14 days, it is considered passed in both houses.
 President can withhold assent to money bill but cannot return it for reconsideration of the Lok
Sabha.
 There is no question of joint sitting in case of money billsbecause opinion of Rajya Sabha is
immaterial in their case.
 Example of a money bill is Finance Bill which is introduced with Budget in India. Usually such bill
has provisions related to article 110 (1)(a) {imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or
regulation of any tax} and is certified as a money bill. It has its endorsement by speaker as
money bill and Rajya Sabha has no power to change its fate.

Procedure of Budget
 Article 112 of the Indian Constitution, says that every year “the President of India shall cause to
be laid before both the houses of the parliament the “Annual Financial Statement”. This is
popularly known as Budget.
 “cause to be laid” here means that the person through whom President acts, is Finance Minister
of the country, who is known as the custodian of the nation’s Finances.
 The Budget gives the complete picture of the estimated receipts and expenditures of the
Government of India for that year.
 The main Budget documents are presented to the parliament accordingly various articles of our
constitution as follows:
 Annual Financial Statement (AFS) : As per Article 112
 Demand for Grants (DG) : As per Article 113
 Appropriation Bill: as per Article 114 (3)
 Finance Bill: As per article 110 (a)
Discussion on Budget
 On a day subsequent to the presentation of the Budget, the House takes up the General
Discussion of the Budget which is called the first stage followed by second stage i.e. discussion
and voting on Demands for Grants.
 During the General Discussion on the Budget, the house is at liberty to discuss the Budget as a
whole or any question of principle.
 The scope of discussion at this stage is confined to the general examination of the Budget i.e. the
proper distribution of the items of expenditure according to the importance of a particular
subject or service, the policy of taxation as is expressed in the Budget and the speech of the
Finance Minister.
 After the General Discussion on Budget in both the Houses is over and Vote on Account is
passed, the House is adjourned for a specified period.
 The Demands for Grants of each Ministry/Department will be examined by the concerned
Standing Committee having jurisdiction over it during the said recess period.
 The Committee gives separate report for each Ministry. The Demands for Grants are discussed /
considered in the House in the light of the reports of the Standing Committee.
 The reports of the Standing Committees which are of persuasive value are nevertheless treated
as considered advice given by the Committee. The detailed discussions are followed by
Guillotine. Guillotine refers to closure imposed on the debate. On the last of the allotted days at
the appointed time, the Speaker puts every question necessary to dispose of all the outstanding
matters in connection with the Demands for Grants. The Guillotine concludes the discussion on
Demands for Grants.
Cut Motions
 After the budget is presented in Parliament and discussions over it are completed, the members
get an opportunity to move cut motions to reduce the amount of demand.
 The members from particular parties or coalitions may bring their own cut motions.
 The members generally give notice of the Cut Motions for the reduction of the votable heads of
expenditure of the Demands for Grants immediately after the Finance Minister or the Railway
Minister as the case may be, has presented the Budget in the House.
 Every Cut Motion to a demand for Grant represents disapproval of some aspect or other of the
Budget or the economic policy of the Government. Accordingly Cut Motion is of three kinds:
1. Policy Cut- This type of cut motion aims that the amount of the demand be reduced to Re. 1. It
represents the complete disapproval of policy underlying the Demand. This is because the
motion aims to reduce the demand for grant to Re. 1 only, which almost finishes the demand for
grant of a ministry.
2. Economy Cut-This type of cut motion aims that the amount of demand be reduced to certain
other amount and it represents that the demand for grants should be altered.
3. Token Cut-This Cut Motion aims that the amount of the Demand be reduced by Rs. 100” in order
to ventilate a specific grievance, which is within the sphere of responsibility of the Government
of India. Actually, Token cut is symbolic and is humiliating for the Government. To be precise,all
cut motions are humiliating for the ruling party or coalition. The Cut motions provide the
members maximum opportunity to examine every part of the budget and criticize the
Government.
Charged Expenditures or Non-Votable Charges
 Non-votable charges are called Charged Expenditures; and no voting takes place for the amount
involved in these expenditures for their withdrawal from Consolidated Fund of India. Following
are the charged expenditures:
 Salary and Allowances of the President, Speaker / Deputy speaker of Lok Sabha, Chairman/
Deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha, Salaries and Allowances of Supreme Court judges, Pensions of
Supreme Court as well as High Court Judges, Salaries and Allowance of CAG, Lok Pal Debt
charges of Government of India.
 The above expenditures cannot be voted because; these payments are deemed to be
guaranteed by the state. Although voting does not take place on such charges, discussion can
take place in any house of the parliament. The demand for grant for these charges is also made
on recommendation of the president. (Article 113).
 Attorney General or Solicitor General is NOT a charged expenditure upon Consolidated Fund of
India. They are paid a fee which comes from the budgetary allocations of Department of Legal
Affairs, which itself though comes from consolidated fund but is a votable charge.
 Further, while salary of High Court Judges is charged from Consolidated Fund of States, their
pension comes from Consolidated Fund of India.

Votable / Voted Expenditures

 The Votable part is actual Budget. The expenditures in the Budget are in the forms of Demand
for Grants.
 There Budget also presents ways and means – how the government would be recovering the
expenditures. Generally, the demands for Grants of each and every ministry are made separately
in the Budget documents and each demand for grant has the provisions under its different
heads.

Types of Majorities- There are various types of majorities followed in Indian Parliament to pass
specific bills and motions as follows:
 Simple Majority- Simple majority or working majority refers to majority of more than 50% of the
members present and voting. Example:
Total strength of Lok Sabha: 545
Vacant Seats: 5
Members present: 500
Members present, but decide to abstain / not to vote: 50
Members present and voting: 500-50=450
Simple Majority in this case would be: 226
Most of the normal motions and bills in the house such as No-confidence Motion, Motion of
Confidence, Motion of Thanks, Censure Motion, Adjournment Motion, Money Bills, Ordinary
Bills etc.
 Absolute MajorityAbsolute majority refers to the majority of more than 50% of the total
strength of the house.
Example:
Total strength of Lok Sabha: 545
Absolute Majority: 273
Such kind of majority is not required in isolation in the Indian Parliament. There are instances when
such majority is needed with other majority which would be thus called special majority.
 Effective Majority- Effective Majority of house means more than 50% of the effective strength
of the house. This implies that out of the total strength, we deduct the absent and vacant seats.
Total strength of Lok Sabha: 545
Vacant Seats: 5
Effective Strength: 545-5=540
Members present, but decide to abstain / not to vote: 50
Members present and voting: 540-50=490
Effective Majority: 490/2+1=245
In constitution of India, the all“ the then members” present indicates an effective majority. In
Constitution, effective majorities are needed for removal of Vice-President, Deputy Chairman of
Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha speaker and Deputy Speaker.

 Special Majority- Any Majority other than simple, absolute and effective majority is called
special majority. These include Majority by two-third strength of the house {example
impeachment of president under article 61}
 Majority by two-third of present and voting members {Example: Power of Parliament to
legislate with respect to a matter in the State List in the national interest, under article 249};
Certain constitution amendment bills etc. Absolute majority + majority of two-third present and
voting {Example: Removal of Supreme Court Judge, CAG etc.}

Parliamentary Committees
 The parliamentary committees are mainly of two types viz. Standing Committees and Ad Hoc
Committees.
 The Standing Committees are constituted every year or frequently and they work on continuous
basis.
 Ad hoc committees are temporary and created for specific task. Once that task is completed, the
ad hoc committees cease to exist.
 The usual ad hoc Committees are Select/Joint Committees on Bills and the Railway Convention
Committee. Further, Lok Sabha classifies Committees on Ethics, MPLADS & Computers as Ad Hoc
Committees. Ad hoc committees include the inquiry committees, joint and select committees on
bills etc.
 As per the “Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha”, there are 19 Standing
parliamentary Committees and 24 Departmentally Related Standing Committees.
 Out of the 19 Standing Parliamentary Committees, three are Financial Committees viz.
Committee or Public Accounts, Committee on estimates and Committee on Public
Undertakings.
 Some committees have members only from Lok Sabha while some have members from both
Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.

Financial Committees
Committee on Public Accounts-
 Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is one of the standing parliamentary committees, which was
first established in 1921 under the Government of India Act 1919 provisions. This committee
examines the manners and results of spending the public funds.
 Public Accounts Committee has 22 members of which 15 are from Lok Sabha while 7 from Rajya
Sabha.
 The members are “elected” by members of Parliament amongst themselves via a system of
proportional representation by means of single transferable vote; so that all parties get due
representation in it.
 Members are elected for a period of one year. A minister cannot be a member of PAC.
 Chairman of PAC is appointed by Speaker from its members. The chairman used to be of ruling
party till mid 1960s, however, now the chairman of PAC is from opposition by convention.
 PAC examines the three audit reports of CAG submitted to President viz. audit report on
appropriation accounts, audit report on finance accounts and audit report on public
undertakings.
 It examines the appropriation accounts and the finance accounts of the Union governmentand
any other accounts laid before the Lok Sabha. While doing this examination, it tries to ensure
that money disbursed to various ministries was used for the purpose for which it was given; and
this money was used as per rules and regulations.
 It also examines the accounts of the public service corporations {except those public
undertakings which have been allotted to committee on public undertakings}, and other such
bodies whose accounts are audited by CAG.
 CAG assists PAC in its work and there is a close working relationship between CAG and PAC to
secure the accountability of executive in the field of financial administration. This is the reason
that CAG is called “Friend, Philosopher and Guide” of PAC.

Estimates Committee
 Estimates Committee was first established during British Era in 1920s but Independent India’s
first Estimates Committee was established in 1950. This committee examines the estimates
included in the budget and suggests ‘economies’ in public expenditure.
 The Estimates Committee has 30 members and all these members are from Lok Sabha.
 There is no Rajya Sabha member in Estimates Committee.
 The chairman is appointed by the Speaker and chairman is always from ruling party or coalition.
 This committee tries to report economy and efficiency in expenditures. It suggests what
changes in policy or administrative framework can be done and what alternative policies can be
considered to bring economy and efficiency.

Committee on Public Undertakings

 Committee on Public Undertakings examines the reports and accounts of the PSUs and the CAG
audit reports related to PSUs.
 This committee was established in 1964 on recommendations of Krishna Menon Committee.
 Committee on Public Undertakings has 22 members from both the houses of parliament {15
from Lok Sabha and 7 from Rajya Sabha}.
 Committee on Public Undertakings examines the reports and accounts of public undertakings
and also the CAG audit reports on public undertakings. It ascertains if the affairs of the PSU is
being managed as per sound business and commercial principles and practices.
 The companies include all the Government Companies whose Annual Reports are placed before
the Houses of Parliament under section 619A (1) of the Companies Act, 1956 and statutory
Corporations whose names have been specified in the Fourth Schedule to the Rules of
Procedure come within the purview of the Committee.
 States and Union Territiores
Governor
 The provisions related to state executive are in articles 153 to 167.
 The state executive is made of Governor, Chief Minister, Council of Ministers and Advocate
General.
 The executive authority of a state is vested in the Governor; and Governor is the constitutional
head of the state in the same way as President is the Constitutional head of the Union.
 The Constitution had provided a Governor for each state but in 1956, the 7th amendment
provided for appointment of same person for two or more states.
 The Governor is appointed and not elected directly or indirectly.
 Governor in a state in India is actually an agent of the President and a servant of the Union of
India. In case there is any conflict between the state and the centre, a directly or indirectly
elected Governor may not prove to be an obedient servant of the Union. This would be
inconsistent with the Idea of a strong centre in the country.
 Governor is expected to be an impartial and independent mediator for the rival factions in the
state and this can be done only when Governor is a nominee of the President.
 Constitution makes only two eligibility conditions in appointment of Governor. First, he should
be a citizen of India and second, he should have completed 35 years of age. Apart from that, it’s
up to President {practically Central Government} to decide who can be appointed as Governor.
 Governor is generally outsider and does not belong to the state in which he holds the office.
This is a convention not constitutional requirement. Its objective is to keep governor free from
local politics
 The Governor should not be member of any house of the parliament.
 A Governor enjoys personal immunity from legal liabilities for his official acts. When he is in
office, he is immune from criminal proceedings even in respect of the personal acts. He cannot
be arrested or imprisoned. Civil proceedings against him can be launched against him during his
term for his personal acts only after giving two months notice.
 Although the governor holds office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters
upon his Office, yet this term is subject to pleasure of president. The “doctrine of pleasure” has
always been used to drop governors any time and thus, Governors have no security of tenure.
Further, a governor can resign from the office by addressing resignation to President.

Powers and Functions of Governor-Being a constitutional head in the state, the Governors have
executive, legislative, financial, judicial and discretionary powers.
 Executive Powers-All the executive actions of the state are taken in his name. He makes rules
specifying the manner in which the orders and other instruments made and executed in his
name shall be authenticated. Further, Governor also can make rules for more convenient
transaction of the business of the state government.

Appointments done by Governor

 Chief Minister and Other Ministers- The Chief Ministers is appointed by Governor and other
ministers in state are appointed by him on advice of Chief Minister. The CM as well as other
ministers hold their office during pleasure of the Governor. However, they cannot be removed
arbitrarily until Council of Ministers has confidence of the state assembly. Further, in Bihar,
Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, the governor also appoints a Tribal Welfare Minister.
 Chairmen and members of SPSC- Governor also appoints the chairman and other members of
State Public Service Commissions. However, removal of chairmen and members of SPSCs can be
done only by President.
 Advocate General-Advocate general is the part of state executive and highest law officer of the
state. He is appointed by governor and his retainer is determined by Governor. Advocate general
has no fixed tenure and holds the office during the pleasure of the Governor.
 State Election Commissioner- Governor appoints the state election commissioner and
determines the conditions of service and tenure of the later. However, Election Commissioners
in states can be removed only in like manner and on like grounds of a state high court judge.
 Vice-chancellors- Governor is the Chancellor of universities in the state and he appoints vice-
chancellors in various universities.
 District Judges-Appointments of persons to be, and the posting and promotion of, district judges
in any State is done by Governor of the State in consultation with the High Court exercising
jurisdiction in relation to such State. {Article 233}

Role in President’s Rule

 Governor has extensive executive powers in terms of imposition of emergency in state under
article 356 Under this article, Governor can send a report to President and recommend
constitutional emergency on the ground that government of the State cannot be carried on in
accordance with the provisions constitution.

Legislative Powers
Powers with regard to state legislature
 Governor has powers to summon and prorogue state legislature and dissolve the state
assembly.
 He addresses the first session of the state legislature after the general elections in the state.
 He also appoints 1/6th members of the State legislative Council in states wherever there is
bicameral legislature.
 He also nominates one member in state legislative assembly from the Anglo-Indian Community
if in view, the community is not well represented.
 All the bills passed by the state legislatures are sent to the Governor for assent. Once a bill is
sent toGovernor for assent, he can: give assent to the bill, withhold the assent, return the bill to
legislature for reconsideration {if it is not a money bill}.

Ordinance Making Powers

 As per provisions of article 213, the Governor has special legislative power of promulgating the
ordinances during the recess of the State legislature.
 To issue an ordinance, the governor must be satisfied with the circumstances that make it
necessary for him / her to take immediate action.
 Governor cannot promulgate an ordinance in any of the three situations give below:
 If the ordinance has the provisions which of embodied in a bill would require president’s
sanction.
 If the ordinance has the provisions which the governor would reserve as a bill containing them
for the president’s sanction.
 If an act of the state legislature has the same provisions that would be invalid without the assent
of the president.
 All ordinances promulgated by the Governor in the state have the same effect and force. The
ordinance must be laid before the state legislature when it reassembles and it must be upheld
by the State legislature, failure to which the ordinance would be invalid.

Financial Powers
 Money bills in the State legislature cannot be introduced without prior recommendation of the
Governor.
 Governor ensures that the Budget of the state is laid before the assembly every year.
 The “Contingency Fund of the state” is maintained and administered by the Governor of the
state.
 Governor can advance money out of it for meeting unforeseen expenditures, but the money has
to be recuperated with the authority of the state legislature.
 The Governor of the state receives the report of the States auditor general pertaining to the
accounts of the legislature and puts it before the state legislature.

Judicial Powers
 President of India consults the Governor while appointing the Chief Justice and other judges of
the High Courts of the states.
 President has powers can grant pardon, reprieve, respite or remission of punishment to persons
convicted of an offense against the any law relating to a matterto which the executive power of
the state extends.
 Further, He cannot pardon a person awarded capital punishment, although he can convert the
same into some other kind of punishment. Further, Governor has no powers to pardon with
respect to a sentence in court martial.

Discretionary Powers of the Governor

Some discretionary powers are as follows:
 Governor can dissolve the legislative assembly if the chief minister advices him todo following a
vote of no confidence. Now, it is up to the Governor what he/ she would like to do.
 Governor, on his/ her discretion can recommend the president about the failure of the
constitutional machinery in the state. On his/ her discretion, the Governor can reserve a bill
passed by the state legislature for president’s assent.
 If there is NO political party with a clear cut majority in the assembly, Governor on his/ her
discretion can appoint anybody as chief minister.
 Governor determines the amount payable by the Government of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and
Mizoram to an autonomous Tribal District Council as royalty accruing from licenses for mineral
exploration.
 Governor can seek information from the chief minister with regard to the administrative and
legislative matters of the state.
 Governor has discretion to refuse to sign to an ordinary bill passed by the state legislature. Thus,
though the Governor is made the constitutional head of a state like president of India, yet there
is a thin line as the Constitution empowers the Governor to act without the advice of the Chief
Minister and his council and can use discretion on certain matters.

State Legislature
 Articles 168 to 212 in the constitution deal with matters related to state legislature. In India,
states can be unicameral or bicameral.
 In unicameral states, only legislative assembly is found in states while in bicameral a legislative
council is found.
 Most states in India have a unicameral legislature. Features of the Legislative assembly resemble
to those of the Lok Sabha in the centre and features of legislative council resemble to those of
Rajya Sabha.
 Article 168 of the constitution of India provides for a Legislature in every state of the country.
The same article mentions that there are some states where there is a legislative council as well.
Thus, Indian Constitution does not adhere to the principle of bicameralism in case of every
legislature.
 The power of abolition and creation of the State legislative council is vested in Parliament of
India as per article 169. But again, to create or to abolish a state legislative council, the state
legislative assembly must pass a resolution, which must be supported bymajority of the
strength of the house and 2/3rd majority of the present and voting(Absolute + Special Majority).
When a legislative council is created or abolished, the Constitution of India is also changed.
However, still, such type of law is not considered a Constitution Amendment Bill. (Article 169).
The resolution to create and abolish a state legislative council is to be assented by the President
also.
 Legislative assembly is the popular house of the State legislature resembling in features with
India’s Lok Sabha.
 It is made up the members directly elected by the people of the state. As per article 128, the
Legislative assembly of each state cannot have number of members more than 500 and less than
60.
 However, there are three exceptions to this viz. Sikkim (32), Goa (40) and Mizoram (40). For
election purpose, the state is divided into the number of constituencies as per the seats for the
assembly. The term of the assembly is 5 years but it can be dissolved prior to 5 years by
Governor.
 During a National Emergency, the parliament by law can extend the term of a state assembly by
1 year.
 The question, whether a person has been subject to any of the above disqualification will be
referred to the Governor who decides in consultation with the election commissioner of the
state. The decision of the Governor is final.
 The Governor of the state nominates one member of the Anglo Indian Community to the state
assembly as per provisions of article 333, if he / she is of the opinion that the community is not
well represented in the state assembly.
 Presiding officer of the state legislative assembly is also known as Speaker who is elected by the
members of the assembly. The members of the assembly also elect deputy speaker.
 Article 163 of the constitution says that there shall be a Council of Ministers in the states with
the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in exercise his functions, except
those which are required to be done by the Governor on his/ her discretion.
 The council of Ministers formulates the policy of the Government and implements it practically.
The all important appointments in the states are made by the Governor and Council of Minister
advices / aids Governor in this work. The Council of Ministers forms and presents the Budget of
the state every year.

Legislative Process in States

 There is hardly anything special with respect to the conduct of the business in state legislatures
and it is almost same as that of process in Lok Sabha.
 The state legislature must meet at least twice a year and the interval between the any two
sessions of the legislature should not exceed 6 months.
 The new session begins with the opening address by the Governor , in which the Governor
outlines the policy of the state Government.
 This address is then debated and then a resolution is passed for thanks to Governor. During this
debate, the opposition parties get opportunity to criticize the policy of the Government.
 Every bill except Money Bill can be introduced in either house of the legislature.
 Governor withholds the assent Governor returns the bill (provided it is NOT a money Bill)
 Reserve the bill for consideration of the President. Please not that Governor may not return the
money money bills however he can withhold assent to a Money bill. However, in case of other
bills, when the bill reserved by the Governor and sent to the President, President may give
assent or withhold it.
 The president can also direct the Governor of the state to send back the bill to the state
legislature for reconsideration. The state legislature, in this case will have 6 months for re-
passing the bill.

Advocate General in State

 Advocate General is the Highest Law Officer and is part of state executive. He is appointed by
the Governor and enjoys the office during the pleasure of the Governor.
 The remuneration / retainer of the Advocate General is decided by the Governor. The
qualification to become an advocate general is the same as that of a Judge of a High Court.
 The advocate general has been assigned the duty to give advice to the state Government on
legal matters which are referred to him/ her.
 Advocate General is entitled to appear before any court of law within the state or Address the
state Legislature as and when required. However, he is not entitled to vote in state assembly.

Union Territories
 The territories of the Union of India have states, union territories and the territories which might
be acquired by India at any time.
 While states are members in the federal system with a share in distribution of power with
centre, Union territories are under the direct control and administration of Union and are thus
prominently display the unitary features.
 Currently, India has Nine Union Territories viz. Andaman and Nicobar Islands; Chandigarh; Dadra
& Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep, NCT of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Laddakh and
Puducherry.

Administration of the Union Territories (Article 239)

 The Union Territories are administered by the President through an administrator, who is
appointed by him with a suitable designation. This designation is called either Lieutenant
Governor or Chief Commissioner or Administrator. In Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Puducherry
and Delhi, administrator is called Lt. Governor, while in Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli,
Daman & Diu and Lakshadweep he/ she is known as Administrator.
 The President may appoint a Governor of an adjoining state as administrator of a Union
territory.
 In such case the Governor works independently with regard to the administration of the Union
Territory.
.
Special Provisions with respect to Delhi (Article 239AA)
 Article 239AA was inserted by 69th amendment act, 199. This article provides special provisions
for the Union Territory of Delhi.
 After the 69th Amendment Act 1991, w.e.f from February 1, 1992, the UT of Delhi is called
National Capital Territory of Delhi.
 The administrator of the NCT as appointed by the President as Lieutenant Governor. Via Article
239AA, a legislative assembly for NCT of Delhi was provided. The power to decide the number of
the seats and reservation of the seats was vested in the parliament.
 With this, Delhi became a state and the Constitutional provisions with regard to Elections
(Article 324-327 and 329) became applicable in NCT. Since then, Delhi has been struggling for a
status of full-fledged state of India.

Chapter 6: Judiciary
 India’s constitution has established an integrated judiciary with the Supreme Court at the top,
high courts below it and subordinate courts below high courts. The single system of courts has
been adopted from Government of India Act 1935 and enforces both central and state laws.

Supreme Court of India

 On January 28, 1950, India’s Supreme Court succeeded the Federal Court of India which was
established by Government of India Act 1935 and the Privy Council, which was highest judicial
body in the country during British Era.
 The organisation, independence, jurisdiction, powers and functions of the Supreme Court are
provided in articles 124 to 147 in Part V of the Constitution of India.
 Every Judge of the Supreme Court is appointed by the President after consultation with the
Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts in states, the president may deem necessary for
the purpose.
 President if thinks necessary, can consult the Judges of the High Courts of States to appoint a
supreme court Judge, as per article 124(2). However, in appointment of the other judges,
president shall always seek consultation from the Chief Justice of India.
 Till 1993, the Judges of the Supreme Court were appointed by the President on recommendation
of the CJI, but now a committee of 5 senior most judges recommends the names to the law
ministry which after scrutinizing send the paper to the president. The president either approves
the names or returns the names for reconsideration of the Supreme Court. If still the Supreme
Court sends the same names president appoints the persons recommended.

Qualifications of the Judges of the Supreme Court

 To be appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court, a person must be a citizen of India and must
have been the judge of a high court for a period of 5 years or an advocate of the High Court for
at least 10 years or in view of the President a distinct Jurist of the country.
 Thus, there is nothing which can prevent the direct appointment of the Judges of Supreme Court
from the Bar, yet, so far the appointments have been made from the Judges of High Courts only.

Tenure of the Judges

 The CJI and other Judges of the Supreme Court of India hold the office until they attain the age
of 65 years { Presently, Supreme Court judges retire at 65 and High Court judges at 62}. A Judge
can relinquish the office by addressing the resignation to President of India. A retired Judge of
the
 Supreme Court is prohibited from practicing law before any court or authority within the
territory of India; however, there is NO constitutional prohibition that a retired judge gets
appointed for some specialized work of the Government.

Removal of Supreme Court Judges

 A Judge of the Supreme Court (and also High Court) can be removed from his position by
President only on the ground of proved misbehavior or incapacity.
 The power for investigation and proof of such misbehavior or incapacity is vested in the
parliament. Each house, in order to remove the judge, will have to pass a resolution which is
supported by 2/3rd of members present and voting and majority of the total membership of the
house {absolute + special majority}

Supreme Court and High Courts as Court of Record

 Both the Supreme Court and High Courts regarded as courts of record. Supreme Court is a court
of record as per provisions of Article 129 and has the powers of such a court including the power
to punish for contempt of itself.

Seat of Supreme Court

 As per article 130, Seat of the Supreme Court is Delhi, but it can hold its meeting anywhere in
India. The decision to hold a meeting anywhere in India is taken by the Chief Justice of India in
consultation with President. There are no regional benches though the demand was made in
past. The demand was turned down by the Supreme Court.

Jurisdiction of Supreme Court

 Supreme Court of India has original, appellate, writ and advisory jurisdiction as discussed below:
Original Jurisdiction-As per article 32, Supreme Court is the guardian / protector of fundamental
rights and any person whose fundamental rights are violated can directly approach the Supreme
Court for remedy. Supreme Court has from time to time interpreted the fundamental rights and
has protected the Citizens of India from any unconstitutional legislation which breech their
fundamental rights. Any matter regarding the enforcement of Fundamental Rights comes under
the Original Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. Apart from this, Supreme Court is the Highest
Interpreter of the Constitution and tribunal for final settlements of the disputes between Center
and States as well as States and States. Supreme Court has original Jurisdiction in matters
related any dispute between:
 Government of India and one or more states
 Government of India and State(s) on one side and State(s) in other side State(s) and State(s)
 The dispute should involve a question whether of law or fact on which depends existence of a
legal right which the court is called upon to determine.

Appellate Jurisdiction
 Supreme Court is the Highest Court of appeal and the writs and decrees of Supreme Court run
throughout the country.
 The cases come to the Supreme Court in the form of appeals against the judgments of the lower
courts and this is called appellate jurisdiction. Appellate jurisdiction involves the Constitution,
Civil and criminal matters.
 An appeal can be made in the Supreme Court against any judgment, decree or final order of the
High Court in the territory of India, whether in a civil criminal or other proceedings, if the High
 Court Certified that the case involves a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the
Constitution.

Advisory Jurisdiction
 Article 143 (Power of President to consult Supreme Court) discusses the advisory jurisdiction of
the Supreme Court.
 If the president feels that a question of law or fact has arisen or is likely to arise and the question
is of such a nature and of such public importance that it is expedient to obtain the opinion of the
Supreme Court upon it, he can refer the same to Supreme Court for its advisory Opinion.
 Such an opinion is NOT binding on the president.

Court of Record
 The judgements, proceedings and acts of the Supreme Court are recognized as legal precedents
and legal references.
 They are recorded for perpetual memory and testimony. These records are admitted to be of
evidentiary value and cannot be questioned when produced before any court.
 In India, both Supreme Court and High Courts serve as Courts of Record.
.
High Courts
 Every state in India has a High Court which operates within its territorial jurisdiction.
 Every High Court is a court of record which has all the powers of such as court including the
power to punish for contempt of itself.

Appointment of the Judges of High Courts

 As per article 217, the chief Justice of the high court is appointed by the President in
consultation with the Chief justice of India as well as the Governor of the state in question.
 A collegium system has evolved over the years in which a Collegium headed by the CJI makes
recommendation to the government for appointment of judges.
 The Collegium recommends the names to the law ministry which after scrutinizing send the
paper to the president. The president either approves the names or returns the names for
reconsideration of the Supreme Court.

Qualification to Become a High Court Judge

 A person to be appointed as a judge of a high court, should be a citizen of India.
 Further, He should have held a judicial office in the territory of India for ten years or should have
been an advocate of high court(s) for ten years.
 There is no minimum age fixed for high Court judges, and unlike in Supreme Court, there is no
provision for appointment of a distinguished jurist as a judge of a high court.

Removal of the Judge of a High Court

 A Judge of the High Court can be removed from office only for proven misbehavior or incapacity
and only in the same manner in which a Judge of the Supreme Court is removed.
 The President of India can remove a Judge of the High Court, from his office only if each house of
the parliament passes a resolution by a two third majority of its members present and voting in
each house requesting him to remove the Judge.
 Jurisdiction of the High Courts
 High Court has original, writ, appellate and supervisory jurisdiction.
 It also has advisory functions and can advice on matters of law or constitution if state
government or governor so desires.
 Further, it has control over the subordinate courts in the state and

Original Jurisdiction
 In several matters high court has power to hear the dispute in first instance, not by way of
appeal. This is called original jurisdiction.
 Like Supreme Court, high court has original jurisdiction in matters of enforcement of
fundamental rights. Further, it has original jurisdiction in matters related to admiralty, will,
marriage, divorce, company laws and contempt of court.
 It also has similar jurisdiction in matters related to election of MPs and MLAs.

Writ Jurisdiction
 Article 226 empowers the High Court with writ jurisdiction for the enforcement of fundamental
rights as well as any other matter within the territory of its jurisdiction.
 The difference between Supreme Court (article 32) and High Court (article 226) is that while
Supreme Court can issue writs only for enforcement of fundamental rights, high court can issue
writs for other matters also.

Appellate Jurisdiction
 The High Court hears the appeals against the subordinate courts in both civil and criminal
matters.

Supervisory Jurisdiction
 High court has the power of superintendence over all courts and tribunals within its territorial
jurisdiction except military courts or tribunals. It also has power to transfer the cases from other
subordinate courts in the state to itself. (227)

Chapter 7
Local Bodies,Scheduled and Tribal Areas

Panchayats & Municipalities

 The subject of ‘Local Government’ is mentioned in the State List under the Seventh Schedule of
the Constitution.
 To provide Local Governments a constitutional backbone, the parliament has enacted 73rd and
74th amendment acts to make framework on their composition, structure, powers, functions
and duties.
 Thus, Part IX and IXA of the Constitution of India deal with the local governments. While Part IX
deals with Rural Local Government, Part IX-B deals with Urban Local Government.

73rd Amendment Act and Features of Panchayati Raj

 The 73rd Amendment 1992 added a new Part IX to the constitution titled “The Panchayats”
covering provisions from Article 243 to 243(O); and a new Eleventh Schedule covering 29
subjects within the functions of the Panchayats.
 This amendment implements the article 40 of the DPSP
 This have upgraded them from non-justifiable to justifiable part of the constitution and has put
constitutional obligation upon states to enact the Panchayati Raj Acts as per provisions of the
Part IX.
 However, states have been given enough freedom to take their geographical, politico-
administrative and others conditions into account while adopting the Panchayati Raj System.

Salient Features
Gram Sabha
 Gram Sabha is a body consisting of all the persons registered in the electoral rolls relating to a
village comprised within the area of Panchayat at the village level.
 Since all the persons registered in electoral rolls are members of Gram Sabha, there are no
elected representatives. Further, Gram Sabha is the only permanent unit in Panchayati Raj
system and not constituted for a particular period.
 Although it serves as foundation of the Panchayati Raj, yet it is not among the three tiers of the
same. The powers and functions of Gram Sabha are fixed by state legislature by law.

Three Tiers of Panchayati Raj

 Part IX provides for a 3 tier Panchayat system, which would be constituted in every state at the
village level, intermediate level and district level.
 This provision brought the uniformity in the Panchayati Raj structure in India. However, the
states which were having population below 20 Lakh were given an option to not to have the
intermediate level.
 All the members of these three level are elected. Further, the chairperson of panchayats at the
intermediate and district levels are indirectly elected from amongst the elected members.
 But at the village level, the election of chairperson of Panchayat (Sarpanch) may be direct or
indirect as provided by the state in its own Panchayati Raj Act.

Reservation in Panchayats
 seats are to be reserved for SCs and STs in proportion to their population at each level.
 Out of the Reserved Seats, 1/3rd have to be reserved for the women of the SC and ST.
 Out of the total number of seats to be filled by the direct elections, 1/3 rd have to be reserved for
women.
 There has been an amendment bill pending that seeks to increase reservation for women to
50%. The reserved seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in the
Panchayat.
 The State by law may also provide for reservations for the offices of the Chairpersons.

Duration of Panchayats
 A clear term for 5 years has been provided for the Panchayats and elections must take place
before the expiry of the terms.
 However, the Panchayat may be dissolved earlier on specific grounds in accordance with the
state legislations. In that case the elections must take place before expiry of 6 months of the
dissolution.

Disqualification of Members
 Article 243F makes provisions for disqualifications from the membership.
 As per this article, any person who is qualified to become an MLA is qualified to become a
member of the Panchayat, but for Panchayat the minimum age prescribed is 21 years. Further,
the disqualification criteria are to be decided by the state legislature by law.

Revenue of Panchayats
 State Government needs to appoint a finance commission every five years, which shall review
the financial position of the Panchayats and to make recommendation on the following:
A. The Distribution of the taxes, duties, tolls, fees etc. levied by the state which is to be
divided between the Panchayats.
B. Allocation of proceeds between various tiers.
C. Taxes, tolls, fees assigned to Panchayats
D. Grant in aids.
 This report of the Finance Commission would be laid on the table in the State legislature.
 Further, the Union Finance Commission also suggests the measures needed to augment the
Consolidated Funds of States to supplement the resources of the panchayats in the states.

Powers and Functions: 11th Schedule

 The state legislatures are needed to enact laws to endow powers and authority to the
Panchayats to enable those functions of local government.
 The 11th schedule enshrines the distribution of powers between the State legislature and the
Panchayats.
 Further, the state legislature can authorize the Panchayats to collect and appropriate suitable
local taxes and provide grant in aids to the Panchayats from the Consolidated Funds of the
states.

Applications to Union Territories

 Provisions of Panchayats shall be applicable to the UTs in same way as in case of the states but
the President by a public notification may make any modifications in the applications of any
part.

Exempted areas and states

 The provisions of part IX are not applicable to the following:
A. Entire states of Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram
B. Hill areas in the State of Manipur for which District Councils
C. Further, the district level provisions shall not apply to the hill areas of the District of
Darjeeling in the State of West Bengal which affect the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.
D. The reservation provisions are not applicable to Arunachal Pradesh.

74th Amendment Act and Municipalities

 Constitution (Seventy Forth Amendment) Act, 1992 has introduced a new Part IXA in the
Constitution, which deals with Municipalities in an article 243 P to 243 ZG.
 This amendment, also known as Nagarpalika Act, came into force on 1st June 1993. It has given
constitutional status to the municipalities and brought them under the justifiable part of the
constitution.

Three Kinds of Municipalities

 Article 243Q provides for establishment of 3 kinds of Municipalities of every state.
Nagar Panchayat: A Nagar Panchayat is for those areas which are transitional areas i.e. transiting
from Rural Area to Urban areas. “Governor” will by public notice, will define these three areas based
upon the population, density of population, revenue generated for local administration, % of
employment in Non-agricultural activities and other factors. Further, a Governor may also if, he fits it
necessary, based upon the industrial establishments, can specify the Industrial Townships by public
notice.
Municipal Council: A Municipal council is for smaller urban area
Municipal Corporation: A municipal Corporation for Larger urban Areas

Composition of Municipalities
 All the members of a Municipality are to be directly elected by the people of the Municipal area
and for the purpose of making the electorate; the municipal area will be divided into territorial
constituencies known as Wards.
 The manner of election of Chairpersons of municipalities has been left to be specified by
theState Legislature. {Article 243R}
 There shall be constituted the ward committees consisting of one or more wards within the
territorial area of all the municipalities with a population of 3 Lakhs or more. { Article 243S}

Powers, authorities and responsibilities

 As per Article 243 W, all municipalities would be empowered with such powers and
responsibilities as may be necessary to enable them to function as effective institutions of self-
government.
 The State Legislature may, by law, specify what powers and responsibilities would be given to
the municipalities in respect of preparation of plans for economic development and social justice
and for implementation of schemes as may be entrusted to them.
 Article 243Y makes provision that the Finance Commission constituted under Part IX for
Panchayats shall also review the financial position of the municipalities and will make
recommendations to the Governor.
 Union Finance Commission also suggests the measures needed to augment the Consolidated
Funds of States to supplement the resources of the panchayats in the states.

Elections Commission
 Article 243ZA makes the provisions that the superintendence, direction and control of the
preparation of the electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to the Panchayats and
municipalities shall be vested in the State Election Commissions.

Application to Union Territories:

 Article 243ZB makes provisions for applications of these provisions to the Union Territories. This
article says that the provisions of Municipalities shall be applicable to the UTs in same way as in
case of the states but the President by a public notification may make any modifications in the
applications of any part.

Not applicability in some areas

Article 243 ZC says that provisions of part IXA are not applicable to
 Scheduled Areas referred in article 244. These include Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
 This part is also not applicable to the area covered under Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.
 If the parliament makes any modifications in the scheduled areas , then the same restrictions
would apply to those areas also.

Scheduled and Tribal Areas

 A scheduled area is an area which is demarcated for some special purpose in relation to its
administration, development etc. Part-X of the constitution in article 244 designates certain
areas as ‘scheduled areas in fifth schedule’ and ‘tribal areas in sixth schedule’.
 Schedules areas are those areas which are treated differently from other areas in a state in the
sense that whole of the administrative machinery operating in the state is not extended to these
areas and the Central Government has somewhat greater responsibility for these Areas.
 The Scheduled areas can be established under Article 244 and 5th Schedule of the Constitution
in any state except Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
 To take care of the welfare of the scheduled tribes, a Tribal Advisory Council is constituted in
each state with a scheduled area.
 This Tribal Advisory Council will be made of maximum 20 members out of which the three-fourth
will be Scheduled Tribes MLAs in the state.
 It advises the Governor on matters pertaining to the welfare and advancement of the Scheduled
Tribes in the State.
 Thus, article 244 confers plenary power on the Governor to bring independent legislations in
respect of tribal affairs in consultation with the TAC. Due to this, the role of TAC is very crucial in
the governance of Scheduled Areas. The negligence to constitute the TAC is equal to negating
the rights of tribals and stalling the process of governance.

Difference Between 5th Schedule and 6th Schedule Areas

 While both the areas under 5th schedule and 6th schedule have dominance of the tribal people,
constitution calls them with different names viz. Scheduled Area under 5th schedule while Tribal
areas under 6th schedule.
 While executive powers of the union extend in Scheduled areas with respect to their
administration in 5th schedule; the 6th schedule areas remain within executive authority of the
state.
 While 5th schedule envisages creation of Tribal Advisory Council , 6th schedule provides for
District Councils and Regional Councils with certain legislative and judicial powers.
 Governors of four states viz. Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram are empowered to
declare some tribal dominated districts / areas of these states as autonomous districts and
autonomous regions by order. No separate legislation is needed for this.
 The Governor also has power to include any other area, exclude any area, increase, decrease,
diminish these areas, unite two districts / regions, and alter the names and boundaries of these
autonomous districts and regions.

Creation of autonomous district councils and regional councils

 Article 244 and 275 make provision for creation of the District Councils and regional councils.
 Each district / regional council is a body corporate which is empowered for administration of the
area under its jurisdiction.
 They are named as “District council of (name of district) and Regional Council of (name of
region). These two bodies have perpetual succession and a common seal and shall by the said
name sue and be sued.
Current Councils
Currently, there are ten such Councils in the region as listed below:

Assam
Bodoland Territorial Council
Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council
Dima Hasao Autonomous District Council

Meghalaya
Garo Hills Autonomous District Council
Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council
Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council

Tripura
Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council

Mizoram
Chakma Autonomous District Council
Lai Autonomous District Council
Mara Autonomous District Council

Chapter 8
Constitutional Bodies, Amendment & Emergency

Finance Commission
 Finance Commission of India is established by President of India as per Article 280 of the
constitution.
 The first finance commission was established in 1951. The Constitutional requirement for setting
up a Finance Commission in India was an original idea, not borrowed from anywhere. That is
why it is called the original contribution.
 Article 280 reads: President should, within two years of commencement of the Constitution and
thereafter on expiry of every 5th year, or at such intervals as he/ she thinks necessary, would
constitute a Finance Commission.
 Finance commission has to make recommendations to the President on How the net proceeds of
taxes should be distributed between the Union and States and On what principles, the grants-in-
aid of the revenues of the State out of the Consolidated Fund of India should be give to needy
states.
 The President, after considering the recommendations of the Finance Commission with regard
to income tax, prescribes by order the percentages and the manner of distribution. So,
parliament is not directly concerned with the assignment and distribution of the income tax.
 Article 281 says that President shall cause every recommendation made by the Finance
Commission under the provisions of this Constitution together with an explanatory
memorandum as to the action taken thereon to be laid before each House of Parliament.
 The role of the Finance Commission has widened after the 73rd and 74th Constitutional
amendments to recognise the rural and urban local bodies as the third tier of government.
Article 280 (3) (bb) and Article 280 (3) (c) of the Constitution mandate the Commission to
recommend measures to augment the Consolidated Fund of a State to supplement the
 resources of Panchayats and Municipalities based on the recommendations of the respective
State Finance Commissions (SFCs). This also includes augmenting the resources of Panchayat and
municipalities.

Election Commission
 For the conduct of free and fair elections an independent Election Commission has been
provided for in Article 324.
 Election commission of India is a permanent body entrusted for the following matters:
 Election of President
 Election of Vice-President
 Election of Lok Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha
 Elections to State Legislatures as well as Legislative Councils Reservation of Seats in Lok Sabha
and State Legislatures Qualifications of the MPs and MLAs
 Determination of population for purposes of election
 The powers of the election Commission are to Superintendence , direction and control of all the
elections mentioned above and Power of appointing election tribunals for the decisions of
doubts and disputes in connection with the elections.

Appointment of Election Commissioners

 India has a three member election commission.
 These all are appointed by the President for a term which is fixed by the President.
 The chief election commissioner or an election commissioner shall hold office for a term of 6
years or age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
 The constitution of India has ensured that the commission shall act as an independent body.
 The chief election commissioner shall not be removed from office except in like manner and on
like grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court. A judge of supreme court can be removed only by
an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a
majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of
the members of that House present and voting has been presented to the President in the same
session for such removal on the ground of proved misbehavior or incapacity.

Other functions of Election Commission

 Preparation of Electoral rolls- One of the most important functions of the election commission
is to prepare for identification the up-to-date list of all the persons who are entitle for voting at
the poll.
 Recognition of political parties and allotment of symbols
 Scrutiny of the nomination papers of the candidates. These papers are accepted if found in
order, but rejected otherwise. This duty is performed by the returning officer who notifies to all
the contesting candidates the date, time and place for the formal scrutiny of nomination papers.
 Monitoring of Election Expenses

Emergency Provisions
 The part 18 of Indian constitution deals with the emergency provisions.
 National / War Emergency: Article 352 says that if the president is satisfied that a grave
emergency exists whereby the security of India or any part of the territory of India is threatened
 by war or external aggression or armed rebellion, he may proclaim an emergency. This
emergency may be with respect to whole or part of India.
 At the time of the proclamation, the house of people has been dissolved or its dissolution takes
place within the period of two months after the proclamation. In these cases, the proclamation
shall be laid before Rajya Sabha. If Rajya Sabha passes it, it must be approved by Lok Sabha
within the 30 days of the new meeting of the Lok Sabha. However, if Rajya Sabha itself does not
pass the proclamation, the proclamation would cease to be valid.
 Please note that Power of President to declare an Emergency may be made use of even before
the actual occurrence of aggression or disturbance.

Effect of Proclamation of War Emergency: Article 353 & 354

 As soon as the emergency is proclaimed, the federal provisions of the Constitution cease to
function in the area affected by the proclamation. As a result, there is a twofold expansion of the
authority of the Union.
 First, the executive power of Union will extend to the giving of any directions to any state
executive in emergency area.
 Second, Parliament’s law making power will extend to the subjects that are enumerated in the
state list.
 Apart from that, the President is empowered to restrict or prohibit by order the distribution of
revenues are that normally assigned entirely to the states under the financial provisions of the
constitution.
 However, all such orders need to be placed before each House of Parliament for approval. The
combined effect of the operation is that there is a emergence of full-fledged Unitary
Government.
 The life of Lok Sabha can be extended by one year at a time up to the period not exceeding
beyond six months after the proclamation ceases to operate.
 It leads to automatic suspension of freedoms guaranteed by art. 19 of the constitution. However
as soon as the proclamation of emergency cases, the freedoms under art.19 are automatically
resorted.
 The president can suspend right to enforce fundamental rights granted by the constitution
(art.359). The order regarding suspension of fundamental rights may extend to the whole be laid
before each house of parliament as soon as possible. It may be noted that the president does
not possess any power to suspend the enforcement of fundamental rights guaranteed in article
20 and 21.

Instances of National Emergency

 The national emergency was for the first time proclaimed in 1962 in the wake of the Chinese
invasion. This emergency was also used by the government to tide over the situation arising out
of the Indo-Pak war of 1965.
 The emergency was finally lifted in January, 1968. The second national emergency was declared
in December 1971 during the Bangladesh war and remained in force till march 1977.
 The third national emergency was declared in June 1975 on grounds of internal disturbance and
was revoked in march 1977.
 However, as a result of the 44th amendment of the constitution it is no more possible to declare
national emergency on grounds of internal disturbances. Instead it can be declared on grounds
of armed rebellion.
 Constitutional Emergency in States: Article 356
 If the president is satisfied on receipt of a report from the governor or otherwise that a situation
has arisen in which the Government in a state cannot be carried in accordance with the
provisions of the Constitution, he / she is empowered to proclaim an emergency.
 President may assume to himself all or any of the functions of the state or he may vest all or any
of those functions in the Governor or any other such authority.
 President may declare that powers of the state legislatures shall be exercisable by the
parliament.
 President may make any other incidental or consequential provisions necessary to give effect to
the object of proclamation.
 However, it must be noted here that President cannot assume to himself any of the powers
vested in a High Court. Further, the proclamation would have to be approved by the Houses of
the parliament in same manner as in case of a War Emergency.
 However,even if Parliament has approved the proclamation, it will normally cease to operate 6
months after the Parliamentary approval
 The proclamation can be repeated if necessary so as to allow the period of emergency to
continue for maximum of one year.
 Every such resolution approving the emergency has to be passed by each of the houses of
Parliament by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting. If the
emergency proclamation authorizes Parliament to exercise the powers of the state legislature, it
is open to parliament to adopt one or other two alternative courses.
 Parliament is also empowered to authorize the president to sanction expenditure from the
Consolidated Fund of the state. Any law made by any of the authorities mentioned above shall
continue in force until repealed or altered by a competent legislative or other authority.

Instances of Constitutional Emergency & Sarkaria Commission Report

 This kind of emergency under Article 356 has been declared for over 110 times in India. For the
first time constitutional emergency was declared in Punjab in 1952.
 In most of the cases constitutional emergency was declared because not stable Government
could be formed as a consequence of elections. However, may times, the states were placed
under presidential rule on grounds of expediency. Some of the governments enjoying
comfortable majority in the assembly were suspended on the plea thatthey had lost contact with
the people, or failed to protect the minority communities, or failed to maintain law and order
etc.
 The issue has been raised for several times that constitution should be suitably amended to
ensure that the union government is not able to get rid of state government which it does not
like. This issue was examined by Sarkaria Commission, which however did not favour the
deletion of this article, as suggested by some critics.
 On the other hand, Sarkaria commission suggested a number of measures to ensure that the
centre makes use of this provisions only on rare occasion.

The main suggestions of Sarkaria commission in this regard as follows:

 Article 356 to be used as a measure of last resort when all available alternative fail to prevent or
rectify the breakdown of constitutional machinery.
 An explanation be obtained from the errant state before taking action under article 356.
 The governor should explore all possibilities to form government which is backed by majority in
the assembly and if it is not possible, it should ask the outgoing ministry to act as caretaker
government and hold fresh elections without avoidable
The governor should recommend proclamation of president rule without dissolving the assembly.
 The state legislative assembly should not be dissolved before the proclamation has been laid
before the parliament and an opportunity accorded to it to consider the proclamation.
 The governor’s report recommending imposition of presidential rule should state all the materia
facts and grounds in precise and clear terms.
 Appropriate amendment be carried out in the relevant provisions of the constitution to make
the remedy of judicial review more meaningful.

Financial Emergency: Article 360

 If the President is satisfied that a situation has arisen whereby the financial stability or credit of
the country or any part of it is threatened, he / she may declare a financial emergency.
 Proclamation in this case also has to be approved by the Parliament as in the case of two other
cases of emergency.
 During the Financial emergency, the executive authority of the Union shall extend to giving of
the directions to any state to observe such canons of financial propriety as may be specified in
the direction or any other direction, the president may deem necessary for the purpose.
 Such directions may include those requiring the reduction of salaries and allowances of the
Government servants and even those of the Judges of Supreme Court and High Courts. Financial
emergency has never been proclaimed in India.

Amendment of the Constitution

 Part XX of the Constitution of India has only one article that is Article 368 that deals with the
amendment of the Constitution.
 As per this article, Parliament may add, amend or repeal any provision of the constitution as per
the procedure laid down for this purpose.
 However, in the Kesavanand Bharati Case 1973, the Supreme Court has ruled that the
Parliament cannot amend those provisions which constitute the Basic Structure of the
Constitution.
Procedure for Amendment
 A constitution amendment bill can be introduced in any house of the parliament. A bill for the
purpose of amendment of constitution can NOT be introduced in any state legislature.
 The Ordinance making power of the President can NOT be used to amend the Constitution.
 A constitution amendment bill can be introduced both as a government bill or a private member
bill. However, if it’s a Private Member, then it has to be examined in the first instance and
recommended for introduction by the Committee on Private Members’ Bills and Resolutions
before it is included for introduction in the List of Business.
 Prior recommendation of President is NOT needed in introducing the constitution amendment
bills
 Constitution Amendment Bills are not treated as Money Bills or Financial Bills even if they have
some provisions related to them.
 A constitution amendment bill must pass in both the houses separately by absolute + special
majority {absolute → more than 50% of strength; special → 2/3 of present and voting}.
 If there is a disagreement between the two houses on a constitution amendment bill, there is
NO provision of joint sitting to resolve the deadlock.
 The bills which result in some changes in the constitution but passed by simple majority are not
deemed to be Constitution Amendments.
 If a bill seeks to amend the federal provisions of the Constitution, it must also be ratified by the
legislatures of half of the states by a simple majority.
 Once the bill is passed in both houses, the bill is sent to president for approval. The 24th
Amendment Act of 1971 had made it obligatory for the President to give his assent to a
constitutional Amendment Bill. Thus, for a Constitution amendment bill, a President can neither
withhold his assent not return the bill for reconsideration.
 There are several amendments which result into some changes in the constitution but can be
passed in the houses by simple majorities. Such bills are NOT considered to be Constitution
Amendment Bills for the purpose of Article 368. These include the following:
 Admission or establishment of new states.
 Formation of new states and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing states.
 Abolition or creation of legislative councils in states.
 Changes in the Second Schedule-emoluments, allowances, privileges and so on of the president,
the governors, the Speakers, judges, etc. Changes in the requirements of quorum in Parliament.
 Salaries and allowances of the members of Parliament.
 Changes in the Rules of procedure in Parliament.
 Changes in the Privileges of the Parliament, its members and its committees.
 Use of English language in Parliament or changes in use of official langauges {Please note that
insertion of a language in 8th schedule or removal from it would need an amendment bill to be
passed as per article 268}
 Changes that need to redefine number of the judges of Supreme Court.
 Changes that extend the jurisdiction of Supreme Court {Parliament can extend but cannot curtail
jurisdiction of Supreme Court}.
 Changes in elections to parliament and state legislatures
 Changes in scheduled areas (5th schedule) and Tribal Areas (6th schedule)
 Bills seeking to amend all other provisions can be introduced in either House of Parliament.

Services under the Union and States

 The Constitution of India provides for the creation of All India Services that are common to the
Union and the States.
 The All India Services Act, 1951 provides that the Central Government may make rules for
regulating the recruitment and the conditions of service of persons appointed to the All India
Services.
 Presently only the IAS, the IPS and the IFS have been constituted as All India Services.
 The recruitment to these services is made through the Union Public Service Commission on the
basis of the annual Civil Services Examination.
 This is intended to insulate the civil service from political influences and prevent the
development of a patronage system.
 The officers of the All India Services are recruited and trained by the Union Government and
serve in the various State Governments as well as Centre.
 Please note that the Indian Revenue Service is called a Central Service instead of an All India
Service as they work only in the Central Government.
Cadres
 The officers of All India Services are organized into cadres, derived from the states they are
allotted to work in for as long as they continue to be a member of the respective Service.
 Twenty-four states have their own cadre, but there are also three joint cadres: Assam-
Meghalaya, Manipur-Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories (AGMUT).
 Recently the North-Eastern Areas (Re-organisation) Amendment Bill, 2011 was approved by the
cabinet which seeks to provide for separate Cadres of All India Services for the States of
Manipur and Tripura.
 There are State Cadres and the Officers of All India Services (AIS) – Indian Administrative Service,
Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service – are divided into State cadres.
 When on probation the All India Service (AIS) Officers are allocated to their States. Officers of
AIS working with the Central Government are posted on deputation for some years.
 The AIS officers in a State cadre may be original residents of that State but almost 2/3 of all
officers are from outside the state.
 The AIS officer cannot demand his home State cadre but may put in request for being
considered for the home cadre. Generally once allotted to a State, an officer for his whole
service stays with that State cadre.
 The All India Services Act 1951 empowers the government of India to make,after consultation
with state governments, rules for the regulation of recruitment and conditions of service of the
persons appointed to an All India Service.

Niti Aayog
 Starting with the Harrod-Domar Model and later statistics of Mahalanobis model, the planning
commission set out sector- specific output and investment targets. It was strong enough to have
a final say on resource allocation.
 For the last few decades, funds were simply tied to not only successful but also failed schemes
because vested interests demanded their continuation.
 There was an increasingly frustration in the states but they had to yield to the arrogant fund
controlling body. Most underdeveloped states including the North East had to suffer due to the
dogged prescription of one-size-fits-all schemes by the planning commission.
 The Niti Ayog seeks to give up the one size fits all prescriptions for a huge country like India with
lots of vertical and horizontal imbalances. Whether it would be able to carve out its unique place
in today’s time, is yet to be seen.

Aims and Objectives of Niti Ayog

 NITI Aayog is essentially anadvisory body that seeks to provide critical directional and strategic
inputs across spectrum of key elements of policy to the centre as well as states.
 It also seeks to put an end to the slow and tardy implementation of the policy by fostering inter-
ministry, inter-state and centre-state coordination.
 It has been envisaged to follow thebottom-top development approach whereby, it would
develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans to the village level and aggregate these
progressively at higher levels of government.
 It would also pay attention to the weaker sections of the society that may not have benefitted
from economic progress.
 It would create aknowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support systemvia a community of
national and international experts, practitioners and partners.
 It would serve as a platform for resolution of inter-sectoral and inter-departmental issues in
order to accelerate the implementation of the development agenda.
 It will also monitor and evaluate the implementation of programme,s and focus on technology
upgradation and capacity building.

Composition of NITI Ayog

Chairperson -Prime Minister
Governing Council – Its members are Chief Ministers and Administrators of the Union Territories
Regional Councils -These would be created as per need and its members would be chief
ministers and administrators of UTs of respective regions.
Vice-Chairperson – The Vice-chairperson of the Niti Ayog will be appointed by Prime Minister.
The first Vice-Chairperson of Niti Ayog is Arvind Panagariya.
Further, the Niti Ayog has full time members (number unspecified), part time members
(maximum 2 these would be scholars from universities and research institutions), Ex-officio
members (maximum 4, these are ministers from Union Council of Ministers), Special Invitees
(appointed by PM for fixed tenure. Finally, there is a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Niti
Ayog, who is appointed by Prime Minister and has a rank similar to Secretary to the Government
of India.

Lokpal and Lokayukta

 The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013 seeks to provide for the establishment of Lokpal for the
Union and Lokayukta for States to inquire into allegations of corruption against certain public
functionaries and for related matters.
 The act extends to whole of India, including Jammu & Kashmir and is applicable to “public
servants” within and outside India. The act mandates for creation of Lokpal for Union and
Lokayukta for states.
 The institution of Lokpal is a statutory body without any constitutional backing. Lokpal is a
multimember body, made up of one chairperson and maximum of 8 members.
 The person who is to be appointed as the chairperson of the Lokpal should be either the former
Chief Justice of India Or the former Judge of Supreme Court Or an eminent person with
impeccable integrity and outstanding ability, having special knowledge and expertise of
minimum 25 years in the matters relating to anti-corruption policy, public administration,
vigilance, finance including insurance and banking, law and management.
 The term of office for Lokpal Chairman and Members is 5 years or till attaining age of 70 years.
 The salary, allowances and other conditions of service of chairperson are equivalent to Chief
Justice of India and members is equivalent to Judge of Supreme Court.
 If the person is already getting the pension (for being a former judge), the equivalent pension
amount will be deducted from the salary.
 The source of salary for Lokpal and Members is Consolidated Fund of India.
 If the chairperson dies in office or has resigned from the post, President can authorise the
senior-most Member to act as the Chairperson until new chairperson is appointed. If
chairperson is not available for certain functions due to leave, his job will be done by senior
most member.
Additional Notes: Prime Minister under Lokpal
 According to the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act 2013, the PM comes within the jurisdiction of Lokpal
but Lokpal will not inquire the PM if the allegation of corruption is related to international
relations, external and internal security, public order, atomic energy and space.
 Further, allegation against Prime Minister can be taken up for inquiry only when the two
conditions as follows are satisfied: Full bench of the Lokpal consisting of its Chairperson and all
Members considers the initiation of inquiry
 At least two-thirds of its members approves of such inquiry
 Such inquiry against the Prime Minister will be done in camera. If the Lokpal concludes that the
allegation is false and the inquiry should be dismissed, the records of the inquiry shall not be
published or made available to anyone.

Zonal Councils
 The idea of creation of Zonal Councils was first of all mooted by the first Prime Minister of India,
Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru in 1956. The zonal councils have been established by the state
reorganization act 1956 to advise on matters of common interest to each of the five zones, into
which the territory of India has been divided.
 Zonal Councils are not Constitutional bodies akin to the Interstate Council. However, since they
have been established via the part III of the States Reorganization Act of 1956, they are
statutory bodies.
 In India, at present, there are 6 Zonal Council. Originally five councils were created as per the
States Reorganization Act 1956 as follows:
 Northern Zonal Council: Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan,
National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh
 Central Zonal Council: Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh
 Eastern Zonal Council: Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Sikkim and West Bengal;
 Western Zonal Council: Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu
and Dadra & Nagar Haveli
 Southern Zonal Council: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory
of Puducherry.

North Eastern Council

 The North eastern council was set up in 1971 to deal with the problems of seven north east
states of India.
 It was set up under the legislation called North Eastern Council Act, 1972. The State of Sikkim
has also been included in the North Eastern Council vide North Eastern Council (Amendment)
Act, 2002 notified on 23rd December, 2002.
 Consequently, action for exclusion of Sikkim as member of Eastern Zonal Council has been
initiated by Ministry of Home Affairs.
 The chairman of the Zonal council is Union Home Minister and Chief Ministers of the States
included in each zone act as Vice-Chairman of the Zonal Council for that zone by rotation, each
holding office for a period of one year at a time.

National Green Tribunal

 National Green Tribunal is a statutory body established by a Government Notification using the
powers of Section 3 of the NGT Act 2010. It has replaced National Environment Appellate
Authority.
 The objective of establishing a National Green Tribunal was as follows:
 To provide effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and
conservation of forests and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal right
relating to environment. Giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property
Other Related Matters.
 Chairperson of NGT is appointed by the Central Government in consultation with the Chief
Justice of India.
 Judicial Members and Expert Members ofthe Tribunal are appointed on the recommendations of
such Selection Committee.
 Chairperson, Judicial Member and Expert Member hold office for 5 years.
 Maximum age of the chairman 70 years if he has been a Supreme Court Judge and 67 years, if he
has been a high court judge.
 Chairperson can be removed from his office via an order made by the Central Government after
an inquiry made by a Judge of the Supreme Court in which such Chairperson or Judicial Member
has been informed of the charges against him and given a reasonable opportunity of being
heard in respect of those charges.
 The National Green Tribunal has jurisdiction over all civil cases where a substantial question
relating to environment (including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment), is
involved and such question arises out of the implementation of the enactments specified in
Schedule I of the National Green Tribunal Act 2010. The acts listed in Schedule 1 are: The Water
(Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974; The Water (Prevention and Control o[Pollution)
Cess Act, 1977; The Forest (Conservation) Act, The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,
1981; The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991; The
Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
 It would deal with all environmental laws on air and water pollution, the Environment Protection
Act, the Forest Conservation Act and the Biodiversity Act.

Marine Products Export Development Authority

 The Marine Products Export Development Authority was set up as a Statutory Body in 1972
under an Act of Parliament. The Authority is responsible for development of the marine industry
with special focus on marine exports. It has Trade Promotion Offices at Tokyo and New York.

Agricultural and processed Food Products Export Development Authority

 The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) was
established in 1986 as a Statutory Body under an Act of Parliament.
 APEDA monitors export of 14 agricultural and processed food product groups listed in the
Schedule to the APEDA Act.
 APEDA has been empowered by an Act of Parliament to enforce the Intellectual Property Right
(IPR) of Geographical Indications (GI) for Basmati Rice.
 Indian Economy
An Introduction
 India is a developing country and our economy is a mixed economy where the public sector
co-exists with the private sector. For an overview of Indian Economy, we should first go
through the strengths of Indian economy.
 India is likely to be the third largest economy with a GDP size of $15 trillion by 2030.
Dadabhai Naoroji is known as the Father of Indian Politics and Economics, also known as the
‘Grand Old Man of India’. Dadabhai Naoroji was the first to calculate the national income of
India.
 In his book “Poverty and Un-British Rule in India” he describes his theory, i.e. the economic
exploitation of India by the British. His theory is popularly called the Economic Drain Theory.
 Thats when economy of India came into discussion as an entity, prior to that it was just a
scramble of princely states and colonisers. Thats all the history there for time being.

Challenges
 Low per capita income.
 Inequalities in income distribution.
 Predominance of agriculture. (More than 2/3rd of India’s working population is engaged in
agriculture. But in USA only 2% of the working population is engaged in agriculture.)
 Rapidly growing population with 1.2% annual change.
 Chronic unemployment (A person is considered employed if he / she works for 273 days of a
year for eight hours every day.)Unemployment in India is mainly structural in nature.
 Low rate of capital formation due to less saving rate.
 Dualistic Nature of Economy (features of a modern economy, as well as traditional).Mixed
Economy
 Follows Labour Intensive Techniques and activities.
Agriculture in Indian economy:-
 While Indian economy introduction is started, the major focus is always on the agriculture
sector. This is because Indian economy is based on agriculture.52% of the total population
of India depends on agriculture..
 India is the second largest sugar producer in the world (after Brazil).
In tea production, India ranks first. (27% of total production in the world).
 Wheat production: Uttar Pradesh is the largest producer. Punjab and Haryana is then the
second and the third largest producer of wheat.
 Rice production:The principal food grain in India is rice. West Bengal is the largest producer.
Uttar Pradesh is the second largest producer of Punjab and is the third largest producer of
rice.
National Income
 The national income is the sum total of the value of all the final goods produced and
services of the residents of the country in an accounting year.
 CSO: Central Statistical Organization is under the Department of Statistics. Govt. of India is
responsible for estimating the national income.CSO was founded by Prof. Mahalanobis. CSO
 is assisted by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) in estimating National
Income.
 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the money value of final goods and services produced in
the domestic territory of a country during the accounting year.
 In India Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is larger than national income because net factor
income from abroad is negative, i.e. foreign payment is larger than the foreign receipt.
 Net National Product (NNP) at market prices = Gross National Product at Market Prices –
Depreciation
Sectors of Indian Economy:-
 Primary Sector: When the economic activity depends mainly on exploitation of natural
resources then that activity comes under the primary sector. Agriculture and agriculture
related activities are the primary sectors of economy.
 Secondary Sector: When the main activity involves manufacturing then it is the secondary
sector. All industrial production where physical goods are produced come under the
secondary sector.
 Tertiary Sector: When the activity involves providing intangible goods like services then this
is part of the tertiary sector. Financial services, management consultancy, telephony and
IT are examples of service sector.
Other Classifications of Economy:-
 In Indian economy introduction, the sectors of economy based on other basis are also
required to get a clear picture of the strengths of Indian Economy.
 Organized Sector: The sector which carries out all activity through a system and follows the
law of the land is called organized sector. Moreover, labour rights are given due respect and
wages are as per the norms of the country and those of the industry. Labour working
organized sector get the benefit of social security net as framed by the Government. Certain
benefits like provident fund, leave entitlement, medical benefits and insurance are provided
to workers in the organized sector. These security provisions are necessary to provide
source of sustenance in case of disability or death of the main breadwinner of the family
without which the dependents will face a bleak future.
 Unorganized Sector: The sectors which evade most of the laws and don’t follow the system
come under unorganized sector. Small shopkeepers, some small scale manufacturing units
keep
all their attention on profit making and ignore their workers basic rights. Workers don’t get
adequate salary and other benefits like leave, health benefits and insurance are beyond the
imagination of people working in unorganized sectors.
 Public Sector: Companies which are run and financed by the Government comprises the
public sector. After independence India was a very poor country. India needed huge amount
of money to set up manufacturing plants for basic items like iron and steel, aluminium,
fertilizers and cements. Additional infrastructure like roads, railways, ports and airports also
require huge investment. In those days Indian entrepreneur was not cash rich so
government had to start creating big public sector enterprises like SAIL (Steel Authority of
India Limited), ONGC(Oil & Natural Gas Commission).
  Private Sector: Companies which are run and financed by private people comprise the
private sector.Companies like Hero Honda, Tata are from private sectors.

Measurement of National Growth

 National income estimates are the most reliable macroeconomic indicators of an economy.
Therefore, it is essential for students to be aware of National Income Concepts. Changes in
national income measure the rate of growth of the economy.
 Similarly, changes in the structure of national income of an economy reflect the changing
significance of different sectors. In India, national income, as also per capita income, have
been continuously increasing.
 In more recent years, the rate of growth of national income has accelerated. It indicates that
the economy has been growing at a faster rate in recent years than in the past.
 Along with this, the structure of national income has also undergone a change, the tertiary
sector has emerged as the dominant sector of the economy.
 The task of preparing national income estimates has been assigned to the Central Statistical
Organisation (CSO). The CSO has been producing annual official estimates of national
income of India since 1955 and publishing the same in its annual report National Accounts
Statistics.

Concept of National Income

 National income accounting comprises of four concepts of calculations- GDP, NDP, GNP,
NNP.
 Factor cost is the input cost that producer has to incur in the process of production. It
includes cost of capital – loan inetrest, prices of raw materials, labour, power, rent, etc. Can
be termed as Production cost.
 Market cost is calculated after adding indirect taxes to the factor cost of the product. It is
basically the cost at which the goods reach the market. Also termed as EX-FACTORY PRICE.
In India we calculate income at factor cost because of non-uniform taxes.
 National Income:The sum total of factor of incomes accruing to the residents of the country,
both from their activities within and outside the economic territory is the national income of
the country.
 National income is calculated for a particular period, normally a financial year (In India,
financial year means April 1 to March 31 of next year). Net factor income from abroad is
added to the domestic product to get the value of National Income.
 National Income = C + I + G + (X – M)
Where,C = Total consumption expenditure
I = Total investment expenditure
G = Total government expenditure ; X – M = Export – Import

The National Income concepts include the following important terms:

 Gross Domestic Product (GDP)- Gross domestic product is the value of all final goods and
services produced within the boundary of a nation during one year. In India one year means
 from 1st April to 31st March of the next year. GDP calculation includes income of foreigners
in a Country but excludes income of those people who are living outside of that country.
 Net Domestic Product (NDP)- NDP is calculated by deducting the depreciation of plant and
Machinery from GDP.

NDP = Gross Domestic Product – Depreciation

 Gross National Product (GNP)- GNP is the value of all final goods and services produced by
the residents of a country in a financial year (i.e., 1st April to 31st March of the next year in
India). While Calculating GNP, income of foreigners in a country is excluded but income of
people who are living outside of that country is included. It is the GDP of a country added
with its income from abroad.
GNP = GDP + X – M
Where,X = income of the people of a country who are living outside of the Country and M
= income of the foreigners in a country
 India’s GNP is always lower than its GDP. This is the national income according to which the
IMF ranks nations.
 It allows for knowledge of factors in production behaviour and pattern of an economy’s
dependence on outside world, nature of human resources internationally, position in world
economics.
 It indicates both qualitative as well as quantitative aspects of an economy in a more
exhaustive fashion than GDP.
 Net National Product (NNP)- Net National Product (NNP) in an economy is the GNP after
deducting the loss due to depreciation.
NNP = GNP – Depreciation
 NNP at Factor Cost:It is the value of NNP when the value of goods and services is taken at
the production cost.
 NNP at Market Price:It is the value of NNP at consumer cost.
 NNP at market cost = NNP at factor cost + Indirect taxes – Subsidies
 Closed Economy: An economy that does not maintain any economic relations with the rest
of the world. Economic Goods: Those goods which are scarce in supply and, hence,
command a price.
 Economic Growth: A sustained increase in real national income of a country.

National Income Measurement: Sector wise distribution

 Primary sector: all production units engaged in exploitation of natural resources
like Agriculture, Fishing, Mining and Quarrying , Forestry and Logging
 Secondary sector: all production units engaged in transforming one good to another
like Registered manufacture, unregistered, Construction, Electricity Gas Water supply
 Tertiary sector: all units engaged in producing services like Banking&Insurance, Trade, hotel,
restaurant, transport, storage , Real estate dwelling, Public administration & defence, other
services.
 Inflation
 Inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a
period of time.
 When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services.
Therefore, inflation also reflects an erosion of purchasing power of money.
 According to Crowther, “Inflation is State in which the Value of Money is Falling and the
Prices are rising.”
 In Economics, the word ‘inflation’ refers to General rise in Prices Measured against a
Standard Level of Purchasing Power.

Here are several variations on inflation used popularly to indicate specific meanings.
 Deflation is when the general level of prices is falling. It is the opposite of inflation. Also
referred to as Disinflation. The lack of inflation may be an indication that the economy is
weakening.
 Hyperinflation is unusually rapid inflation in very short span of time. In extreme cases, this
can lead to the breakdown of a nation’s monetary system with complete loss of confidence
in the domestic currency. One of the earlier examples of hyperinflation occurred in
Germany in early 1920s after the First World War, when prices rose 2,500% in one month.
 Stagflation is the combination of high unemployment with high inflation. This happened in
industrialized countries during the 1970s, when a bad economy was combined with OPEC
raising oil prices led to low growth.
 Inflation is all about prices going up, but for healthy economy wages should be rising as
well. The question shouldn’t be whether inflation is rising, but whether it’s rising at a
quicker pace than your wages, if the answer is a Yes only then inflation is problematic.
 Finally, inflation is a sign that an economy is growing. The RBI considers the range of 4-5 %
as comfort zone of inflation in India.

Impact or Effect of Inflation :

 Inflation affects the pattern of production, a shift in production pattern takes place from
consumer goods to luxury goods.
 On Investment: Inflation discourages entrepreneurs in investing as the risk involved in the
future production would be very high with less hope for returns.Uncertainty about the
future purchasing power of money discourages investment and savings.
 Inflation also results in black marketing. Sellers may stock up the goods to be sold in the
future, anticipating further price rise.
 The effect of inflation is felt on distribution of income and wealth and on production.
 People with fixed income group are the worst sufferers of inflation.Those living off a fixed-
income, such as retirees, see a decline in their purchasing power and, consequently, their
standard of living.
 The entire economy must absorb repricing costs (“menu costs”) as price lists, labels, menus
and more have to be updated.
  If the inflation rate is greater than that of other countries, domestic products become less
competitive.
 They add inefficiencies in the market, and make it difficult for companies to budget or plan
long-term.
 On Exchange rate and trade: There can also be negative impacts to trade from an increased
instability in currency exchange prices caused by unpredictable inflation.
 On Taxes: Higher income tax rates on taxpayers. Government incurrs high fiscal deficit due
to decreased value of tax collections.
 On Export and balance of trade: Inflation rate in the economy is higher than rates in other
countries; this will increase imports and reduce exports, leading to a deficit in the balance of
trade.

Causes of Inflation:
There is no one cause that’s universally agreed upon, but at least two theories are generally
accepted while the debate still goes on:
1. Demand-Pull Inflation – This theory can be summarized as “too much money chasing too
few goods”. It is a mismatch between demand and supply , if demand is growing faster than
supply, prices will increase. This usually occurs in growing economies as more people gain
purchasing power while the supply is not able to catch up to growing demand.When the
government of a country print money in excess, prices increase to keep up with the increase
in currency, leading to inflation.
2. Cost-Push Inflation – When production costs go up, there is an increase in prices to
maintain profit margins. Increased costs can include things such as wages, taxes, or
increased costs of imports.

Measurement of Inflation
 Inflation is measured by calculating the percentage rate of change of a price index, which is
called the inflation rate.
 Inflation is often measured either in terms of Wholesale Price Index or in terms of Consumer
Price Index.
 Wholesale Price Index(WPI) : The Wholesale Price Index is an indicator designed to measure
the changes in the price levels of commodities that flow into the wholesale trade
intermediaries.The index is a vital guide in economic analysis and policy formulation. It is a
basis for price adjustments in business contracts and projects. It is also intended to serve as
an additional source of information for comparisons on the international front.
 Consumer Price Index (CPI) : Consumer price index is specific to particular group in the
population. It shows the cost of living of the group. It is based on the changes in the retail
prices of goods or services. Based on their incomes, consumer spends money on these
particular set of goods and services. There are different consumer price indices. Each index
tracks the changes in the retail prices for different set of consumers.

Measures to control inflation:

  Effective policies to control inflation need to focus on the underlying causes of inflation in
the economy.There are two broad ways in which governments try to control inflation. These
are- Fiscal measures And Monetary measures
 Monetary Policy: Monetary policy can control the growth of demand through an increase
in interest rates and a contraction in the real money supply. For example, in the late 1980s,
interest rates went up to 15% because of the excessive growth in the economy and
contributed to the recession of the early 1990s.
 Monetary measures of controlling the inflation can be either quantitative or qualitative.
Bank rate policy, open market operations and variable reserve ratio are the quantitative
measures of credit control, by which inflation can be brought down. Qualitative control
measures involve selective credit control measures.
 Bank rate policy is used as the main instrument of monetary control during theperiod of
inflation. When the central bank raises the bank rate, it is said to haveadopted a dear
money policy. The increase in bank rate increases the cost ofborrowing which reduces
commercial banks borrowing from the central bank.Consequently, the flow of money from
the commercial banks to the public getsreduced. Therefore, inflation is controlled to the
extent it is caused by the bankcredit.
 Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) : To control inflation, the central bank raises the CRR which
reduces the lending capacity of the commercial banks. Consequently,flow of money from
commercial banks to public decreases. In the process, ithalts the rise in prices to the extent
it is caused by banks credits to the public.
 Open Market Operations: Open market operations refer to sale and purchaseof
government securities and bonds by the central bank. To control inflation,central bank sells
the government securities to the public through the banks.This results in transfer of a part
of bank deposits to central bank account andreduces credit creation capacity of the
commercial banks.

Fiscal Policy:
 Higher direct taxes (causing a fall in disposable income).
 Lower Government spending.
 A reduction in the amount the government sector borrows each year .
 Direct wage controls – incomes policies Incomes policies (or direct wage controls) set limits
on the rate of growth of wages and have the potential to reduce cost inflation.
 Government can curb it’s expenditure to bring the inflation in control.
 The government can also take some protectionist measures (such as banning the export of
essential items such as pulses, cereals and oils to support the domestic consumption,
encourage imports by lowering duties on import items etc.).

Price Indices in India – An Overview

 There are three major indices used in India for comprehensive assessment of prices and
production.
(WPI) Wholesale Price Index in India
  In India, the Wholesale price index (WPI) is the main measure of inflation. The WPI
measures the price of a representative basket of wholesale goods. WPI captures price
movements in a most comprehensive way. It is widely used by Governments, banks,
industry and business circles.
 Important monetary and fiscal policy changes are linked to WPI movements.It is in use since
1939 and is being published since 1947 regularly.
 Problem with WPI: The major issue with this index is that ‘the general public does not buy at
the wholesale’. Thus WPI does not give real picture of the amount of pressure of increasing
prices on the general public. However, the increase in wholesale prices does affect the retail
prices and as such give some indication of the consumer prices.
 Headline WPI: calculated using above all three groups. primary, fuel and power,
manufactured products.
 Core WPI: calculated using non-food manufactured products. Core WPI
= Headline WPI – (primary + fuel + food mfg. industries)
 It is calculated using Laspeyres formula for weighted arithmetic mean. Currently , Base year
2004.
 The Wholesale Price Index focuses on the price of goods traded between corporations,
rather than goods bought by consumers, which is measured by the Consumer Price Index.
The purpose of the WPI is to monitor price movements that reflect supply and demand in
industry, manufacturing and construction. This helps in analyzing both macroeconomic and
microeconomic conditions of an economy.

Index of Industrial Production (IIP) in India

 Index of Industrial Production (IIP) measures the quantum of changes in the industrial
production in an economy and captures the general level of industrial activity in the
country. It is a composite indicator expressed in terms of an index number which measures
the short term changes in the volume of production of a basket of industrial products during
a given period with respect to the base period(2004).
 The IIP measures volume changes in the production of an economy
Provides a measurement that is free of influences of price changes
Data used in Government policy planning purposes, Industrial Associations, Research
Institutes and Academicians.
 Industrial Production in the IIP comprises three distinct groups of industry, (a) Mining,
(b) Manufacturingand (c) Electricity.
 Core IIP: to provide an indication of how the industries whose production performance was
‘core’ in nature because of their likely impact on general economic activity as well as other
industrial activity, with six industries, viz. Coal, Cement, Electricity, Crude Oil, Refinery
products, and Steel. When the base year for IIP was revised to 2004-05, the base year for
the Index of Core Industries was also revised to 2004.
 The Eight Core Industries are Coal, fertilizer, electricity, crude oil, natural gas, refinery
products, steel, and cement, which have count in IIP. In India, due to constraints of data
availability and other resources, the index is compiled using figures of mining,
manufacturing and electricity sectors only.
(CPI) Consumer Price Index in India
 CPI is a measure of change in retail prices of goods and services consumed by defined
population group in a given area with reference to a base year.The consumer price index
number measures changes only in one of the factors- prices.
 This basket of goods and services represents the level of living or the utility derived by the
consumers at given levels of their income, prices and tastes. This index is an important
economic indicator and is widely considered as a barometer of inflation, a tool for
monitoring price stability and as a deflator in national accounts.
 Consumer price index is used as a measure of inflation in around 157 countries. The
dearness allowance of Government employees and wage contracts between labour and
employer is based on this index. The formula for calculating Consumer Price Index is
Laspeyre’s with base year 2010.
 It is calculated by Central Statistics Office (CSO)
 The origin of Consumer Price Index can be traced to the period after first world war when
there was a sharp rise in prices and cost of living. The erosion in the real wages of the
workers led to a demand by the workers for compensation.
 The index is a measure of the average price which consumers spend on a market-based
“basket” of goods and services. Inflation based upon the consumer price index (CPI) is the
main inflation indicator in most countries.
 Based on the recommendations of Urjit R. Patel Committee report that have been
implemented by RBI, a new CPI (combined) as the key measure of inflation.

Reserve Bank of India

 Establishment: The Reserve Bank of India was established in 1935 under the provisions of
the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 in Calcutta, eventually moved permanently to Mumbai.
Though originally privately owned, was nationalized in 1949.
 The Reserve Bank”s affairs are governed by a central board of directors. The board is
appointed by the Government of India for a period of four years, under the Reserve Bank of
India Act.
 Full-time officials : Governor and not more than four Deputy Governors. There are 3 Deputy
 Nominated by Government: ten Directors from various fields and two government Officials
 Others: four Directors – one each from four local boards

Main Role and Functions of RBI

 Monetary Authority: Formulates, implements and monitors the monetary policy for A)
maintaining price stability, keeping inflation in check ; B) ensuring adequate flow of credit
to productive sectors.
 Regulator and supervisor of the financial system: lays out parameters of banking
operations within which the country”s banking and financial system functions for-
A) maintaining public confidence in the system, B) protecting depositors’ interest ; C)
providing cost-effective banking services to the general public.
  Regulator and supervisor of the payment systems: A) Authorises setting up of payment
systems; B) Lays down standards for working of the payment system; C)lays down policies
for encouraging the movement from paper-based payment systems to electronic modes of
payments. D) Setting up of the regulatory framework of newer payment methods. E)
Enhancement of customer convenience in payment systems. F) Improving security and
efficiency in modes of payment.
 Manager of Foreign Exchange: RBI manages forex under the FEMA- Foreign Exchange
Management Act, 1999. in order to A) facilitate external trade and payment B) promote the
development of foreign exchange market in India.
 Issuer of currency: RBI issues and exchanges currency as well as destroys currency & coins
not fit for circulation to ensure that the public has an adequate quantity of supplies of
currency notes and in good quality.
 Developmental role : RBI performs a wide range of promotional functions to support
national objectives. Under this it setup institutions like NABARD, IDBI, SIDBI, NHB, etc.
 Banker to the Government: performs merchant banking function for the central and the
state governments; also acts as their banker.
 Banker to banks: An important role and function of RBI is to maintain the banking accounts
of all scheduled banks and acts as the banker of last resort.
 An agent of Government of India in the IMF.

Offices and Training Centres:

1. RBI has 20 regional offices, most of them in state capitals and 11 Sub-offices. So, the RBI has
its offices at 31 locations.
2. Has five training establishments – Two, College of Agricultural Banking and Reserve Bank of
India Staff Collegeare part of the Reserve Bank. Other three are autonomous, National
Institute for Bank Management; Indira Gandhi Institute for Development Research (IGIDR);
Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT).

Instruments of Monetary Policy of RBI

 As discussed earlier, RBI executes Monetary Policy for Indian Economy. The RBI formulates,
implements and monitors the monetary policy. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is
entrusted with the task of fixing the benchmark policy interest rate (repo rate) for inflation
targeting.

The main objectives of monitoring monetary policy are:

 Maintaining price stability while keeping in mind the objective of growth
 Inflation control (containing inflation at 4%, with a standard deviation of 2%)
 Control on bank credit
 Interest rate control

Quantitative Measures
 Quantitative measures refer to those measures that affect the variables, which in turn affect
the overall money supply in the economy.
Instruments of quantitative measures:

Bank rate-
 The rate at which central bank provides loan to commercial banks is called bank rate. This
instrument is a key at the hands of RBI to control the money supply in long term lending.
 Increase in the bank rate will make the loans more expensive for the commercial banks;
thereby, pressurizing the banks to increase the rate of lending. The public capacity to take
credit at increased rates will be lower, leading to a fall in the volume of credit demanded.
 The reverse happens in case of a decrease in the bank rate. This increases the lending
capacity of banks as well as increases public demand for credit and hence will automatically
lead to a rise in the volume of credit flowing in the economy.
 This rate has been aligned to the MSF rate and hence, changes automatically with the MSF
rate changes alongside policy repo rate changes.

Liquidity Adjustment Facility-

 Reserve Bank of India’s LAF helps banks to adjust their daily liquidity mismatches. LAF has
two components – repo (repurchase agreement) and reverse repo.
(i) Repo Rate: Repo (Repurchase) rate is the rate at which the RBI lends short-term money
to the banks against securities. When the repo rate increases borrowing from RBI becomes
more expensive. Repo rate is always higher than the reverse repo rate.
(ii) Reverse Repo Rate: It is the exact opposite of repo. In a reverse repo transaction, banks
purchase government securities form RBI and lend money to the banking regulator, thus
earning interest. Reverse repo rate is the rate at which RBI borrows money from banks.The
banks use this tool when they feel that they are stuck with excess funds and are not able to
invest anywhere for reasonable returns.

Marginal Standing Facility (MSF):

 It was introduced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its Monetary Policy (2011-12). The
MSF would be a penal rate for banks and the banks can borrow funds by pledging
government securities within the limits of the statutory liquidity ratio SLR.
 The scheme has been introduced by RBI for reducing volatility in the overnight lending rates
in the inter-bank market and to enable smooth monetary transmission in the financial
system. Currently, it is 6.25%

Varying reserve ratios –

 The reserve ratio determines the reserve requirements that banks are liable to maintain
with the central bank. These tools are:
(i) Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)- It refers to the minimum amount of funds in cash( decided by
the RBI) that a commercial bank has to maintain with the Reserve Bank of India, in the form of
deposits. An increase in this ratio will eventually lead to considerable decrease in the money
supply. On the contrary, a fall in CRR will lead to an increase in the money supply.
(ii) Statuary Liquidity Ratio (SLR)- SLR is concerned with maintaining the minimum
percentage( fixed by RBI) of assets in the form of non-cash with itself. The flow of credit is reduced
by increasing this liquidity ratio and vice-versa. As SLR rises the banks will be restricted to pump
money in the economy, thereby contributing towards a decrease in money supply. The reverse
case happens if there is a fall in SLR, it increases the money supply in the economy. Currently, SLR
is 19.5%.

Open Market Operations (OMOs)

 These include both, outright purchase and sale of government securities, for both, injection
and absorption of liquidity in the economy.

Market Stabilisation Scheme (MSS)

 This instrument was introduced in 2004. Surplus liquidity of a more enduring nature arising
from large capital inflows is absorbed through sale of short-dated government securities
and treasury bills. The cash so mobilised is held in a separate government account with the
Reserve Bank.

Planning In India
 Economic Planning is a term used to describe the long term plans of government to co-
ordinate and develop the economy with efficient use of resources. Economic planning in
India was stared in 1950 after independence, it was deemed necessary for economic
development and growth of the nation.
 The idea of Five year planning was taken from the erstwhile Soviet Union under socialist
influence of first Prime Minister Jawahar lal Nehru.
Long term objectives of our Five Year Plans are:
 A high rate of growth to improve the standard of living of residents.
 Economic self-reliance.
 Social justice and reduction of inequalities.
 Modernization of the economy.
 Economic stability for prosperity.
Case study of Plans
 The first eight plans had their emphasis on growing the public sector with massive
investments in basic and heavy industries, but since the launch of the Ninth Plan in 1997,
attention has shifted towards making government a facilitator in growth.
Plan Objective/Features Assessment

First Five year Plan (1951-
56)
Rehabilitation of refugees, rapid
agricultural development to
achieve food self-sufficiency in the
shortest possible time and control
of inflation.
Targets and objectives more or
less achieved. With active role of
state in all economic sectors.Five
Indian Institutes of Technology
(IITs) were started as major
 Plan Objective/Features Assessment

technical institutions.

Second Five year
Plan (1956-61)
Nehru-Mahalanobis model was
adopted.‘Rapid industrialisation
with particular emphasis on the
development of basic and heavy
industries’Industrial Policy of 1956
accepted the establishment of a
socialistic pattern of society as the
goal of economic policy.
Could not be implemented fully
due to shortage of foreign
exchange. Targets had to be
pruned. Yet, Hydroelectric power
projects and five steel mills at
Bhilai, Durgapur, and Rourkela
were established.

Third Five year Plan (1961-
66)
‘establishment of a self-reliant and
self-generating economy’
Failure. Wars and droughts.
Yet, Panchayat elections were
started.• State electricity boards
and state secondary education
boards were formed.

Annual Plan ( 1966-69)
crisis in agriculture and serious food A new agricultural strategy was
shortage required attention implemented. It involved
distribution of high-yielding
varieties of seeds, extensive use
of fertilizers, exploitation of
irrigation potential and soil
conservation measures.

Fourth Five year
Plan (1969-74)
‘growth with stability’ and
progressive achievement of self-
reliance’Garibi HataoTarget: 5.5 pc
Was ambitious. Big failure.
Achieved growth of 3.5 percent
but was marred by Inflation.The
Indira Gandhi government
nationalized 14 major Indian
banks and the Green Revolution
in India advanced agriculture.

Fifth Five year Plan (1974- ‘removal of poverty and attainment High inflation. Was terminated
79) of self-reliance’ by the Janta govt. Yet, the Indian
national highway system was
introduced for the first time.

Sixth Five year Plan(1980- ‘direct attack on the problem of Most targets achieved. Growth:
85) poverty by creating conditions of an 5.5 pc.Family planning was also
expanding economy’ expanded in order to prevent
overpopulation.

Seventh Five year Plan Emphasis on policies and With growth rate of 6 pc, this
 Plan
(1985-1990)
Annual Plans (1989-91)
Eighth Five year
Plan (1992-97)
Ninth Five year Plan (1997-
2002)
Tenth Five year Plan (2002
– 2007)
Eleventh Five year
Plan(2007 – 2012)
Objective/Features
programmes that would accelerate
the growth in foodgrains
production, increase employment
opportunities and raise productivity
No plan due to political
uncertainities
Rapid economic growth, high
growth of agriculture and allied
sector, and manufacturing sector,
growth in exports and imports,
improvement in trade and current
account deficit. to undertake an
annual average growth of 5.6%
Quality of life, generation of
productive employment, regional
balance and self-reliance.Growth
with social justice and equality.
growth target 6.5%
To achieve 8% GDP growth
rate,Reduction of poverty by 5
points and increase the literacy rate forest cover to 25%, increasing
in the country.
Rapid and inclusive
growth.Empowerment through
education and skill
development. Reduction of gender
inequality.Environmental
sustainability.
To increase the growth rate in
agriculture,industry and services to
Assessment
plan was proved successful in
spite of severe drought
conditions for first three years
consecutively. This plan
introduced programs like
Jawahar Rozgar Yojana.
It was the beginning of
privatization and liberalization in
India.
Partly success.An average annual
growth rate of 6.78% against the
target 5.6% was achieved.
It achieved a GDP growth rate of
5.4%, lower than target. Yet,
industrial growth was 4.5%
which was higher than targeted
3%. The service industry had a
growth rate of 7.8%. An
average annual growth rate of
6.7% was reached.
It was successful in reducing
poverty ratio by 5%, increasing
literacy rates to 75 % and the
economic growth of the country
over 8%.
India has recorded an average
annual economic growth rate of
8%, farm sector grew at an
average rate of 3.7% as against
4% targeted. Industry grew with
annual average growth of 7.2%
against 10% targeted.
 Plan Objective/Features Assessment

4%,10% and 9% resp.Provide clean

drinking water for all by 2009.

Twelfth Five year “faster, sustainable and more

Plan(2012-2017)
inclusive growth”.proposes a
growth target of 8 percent.Raising
agriculture output to 4 per
cent.Manufacturing sector growth
to 10 %
Target of adding over 88,000 MW
of power generation capacity.

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced abolition of Planning Commission on the
Independence Day.
 It is to be replaced by a more relevant institution.
 The planning body lost its relevance after LPG reforms of 1990s. With the an end of the
licence raj, it functioned only as an advisory body without any effective power.

Agriculture
 The share of agriculture in GDP has been constantly declining over the years.
 Since agricultural market provides the backward linkage to Agro-based industries, it has to
be viewed holistically as a seamless farm-to-fork value chain, comprising farming,
wholesaling, warehousing, logistics, processing, and retailing including exports.
State of Agriculture in Economy
 About 60 per cent of the total foodgrains and oilseeds production occurs in the kharif
season.
 Just about 35 per cent of arable area being irrigated, Indian agriculture is still largely
dependent on rainfall.
 The south-west monsoon (from June to September) accounts for nearly 75 per cent of total
annual rainfall in India.
 Horticulture production is estimated at 265 million tonnes in 2013 and for the first time has
exceeded the production of food grains and oilseeds.
 An increase of 40 lakh ha in overall area coverage under food grains in 2013 as compared to
previous year and record food grains production of 264.4 million tonnes is estimated in
2013-14. This increase is due to : A) expansion in area, B) increase in MSPs of select
foodcrops gave incentive to cultivation.

Concerns regarding Agriculture:

 Productivity levels in Indian agriculture are still much lower than the global standards.
Productivity levels of rice and wheat have not risen significantly after the 1980s. Though
cotton yields have taken tremendous leap over the last decade, due to Bt cotton.
  Soil degradation because of declining efficiency of fertilizer use.
 Alarming reduction in the water table, especially in states of Punjab and Haryana due to
their inefficient cropping pattern.
 The nutrient based subsidy (NBS) policy, does not have “urea” under its purview which is
used more than the others, so subsidy benefit is not reaching right beneficiary.
 The predominance of marginal and fragmented farms in India’s agriculture, with
limited capital availability, hampers progress of farm mechanization.
 Domestic and international marketing of agricultural commodities needs immediate
attention but past interventions of government
for building marketing set up have in fact created more barriers to trade. So, there is a need
to reduce these market distortions.
 Recommendation of the Task Force for Direct Transfer of Subsidy (headed by Nandan
Nilekani) to shift to direct transfer of fertilizer subsidy to farmers in a phased manner needs
to be considered.
 The Crop Diversification Scheme has been introduced in the Punjab and Haryana region
to encourage farmers to choose crop alternatives and is also expected to promote
technological innovations.
 There is need to facilitate a National Common Market for agricultural
commodities with uniform taxes in the domestic market, and to foster a long-term stable
trade policy for agricultural products.
 Need to expand the decentralized system of procurement for the PDS from present 11
states and UTs to all the states. This would help in- A) saving transport costs, B) reduce
transit losses and other leakages, C) increase food availability, D) reduce food prices in the
open market and E) ultimately rein in food subsidy.

Food Inflation:
 It has been a result of structural and seasonal factors with different items causing it at
different times. Initially- cereals and proteins, then- vegetables esp. onions. Also, inflation
increased for Protein- based items due to rising income levels and subsequent increase in
consumption.
Three broad reasons for food inflation:
 Wastage of food in the supply chain due to inefficiencies in distribution channels of
government.
 APMC Acts of state governments hamper creation of competitive conditions in distribution
of commodities. No competition leads to ineffectiveness. This has prevented creation of a
national market for agricultural commodities.
 Multiple layers of intermediaries in distribution of food articles have pushed up prices for
consumers.

Fiscal Policy in India

Budget
 A government Budget is basically as an annual statement of all the estimated receipts and
estimated expenditures of the government in a fiscal year from 1 April to 31 March. Though
 the word “Budget” does not finds mention in the Constitution, but it is mandated in Article
112 that the Union government shall present before the Parliament an “Annual financial
Statement” of estimated receipts and expenses of the Government.

The Objectives of Government Budget in India:

In a mixed economy like ours, the government plays a significant role along with the private
sector. The three major functions served by this presentation of estimates.
1. Allocation function: Public goods (national defense, roads, government administration,
measures of lower air pollution,etc.) can’t be provided by Market Mechanism(transaction
between individuals).
2. Distribution function: Government can alter income distribution by making transfer
payments and collecting taxes, therefore affecting personal disposable income of
households. Thus, through its tax and expenditure policy government tries to achieve a fair
income distribution in society.
3. Stabilization function: Fluctuations in economy may lead to inflation and unemployment.
Government policy measures to stabilize domestic economy.

Primary Difference between Public and Private Goods:

1. Benefit of public goods available to all, not limited to any particular consumer. Also one
individual can enjoy the benefits of public good without reducing its availability to others.
2. For public goods, there is no way to exclude anyone from enjoying benefits of the good.
(They are non-excludable). Since non-paying users can’t be excluded, hence difficult to
collect fees for public good. Leads to “free-rider” problem. To combat this missing link
between consumer & producer government has to provide public good and make public
provisions.

Components of Government Budgeting in India

 Constitution mandates presentation of a statement of estimated receipts and expenditures
of government in financial year from 1 April to 31 March before the Parliament, under
Article 112.
 The Annual Financial Statement is the Budget is divided into Revenue and Capital.
Revenue Budget of Government of India:
 The current receipts of government are included in the revenue budget. Estimated
expenditure from these.
Revenue Receipts:
Non-reedemable, i.e., can’t be reclaimed from the government). The revenue receipts are divided
into Tax revenue and Non-tax revenue.
Tax Revenue:
 proceeds of taxes and duties levied by central government. It is divided into direct taxes and
Indirect taxes.
 Direct Taxes: collected directly from firms(corporation tax) & individuals(income tax).
Also includes Paper taxes(wealth tax, gift tax and ) because low revenue yield.
  Indirect Taxes: Excise tax(duties on goods produced within country), customs
duties(taxes on imported goods & exported goods), Service tax(tax on services since
1994 to correct disparity in taxation of goods & services).
 Income tax progressive to achieve redistribution objective, higher income more tax.
 Corporation tax proportional basis. Tax rate in proportion to profit.
 Excise duty necessities of life excluded or exempted/low rate, comfort moderate tax,
luxuries, tobacco and petroleum production heavy tax.

Non Tax Revenue:

 interest receipts on loans given by central government, dividends or profits in investment of
government, fees & other receipts for services rendered by government. Also, cash grants-
in-aid received from foreign countries and international organisations.

Revenue Expenditure:
 Expense other than creation of physical or financial assets of central government, which
means expenditure for normal functioning of government departments(day to day working)
 interest payments on debt taken by government
 grants to state government and others(even for creation of assets).

Budget classifies expense into – Plan expenditure and Non Plan expenditure

 Plan revenue expenditure: It is related to central plan(FYP) and central assistance to states
and UTs Plans.
 Non Plan revenue expenditure: It covers general, economic & social services of
government.
 Interest payments on market loans, external loans.
 defence services(can’t be reduced)
 Subsidies(important policy instrument for welfare)
 Salaries and pensions.

Capital Budget of Government of India:

 Assets and liabilities of central government. Changes occurring capital is considered, shows
capital requirements of government and pattern of their financing.

Capital Receipts:- Receipts creating liabilities, and reducing financial assets. These are:
 Market Borrowings: Loans raised from public.
 Treasury Bills: Borrowings from RBI and other commercial banks and FIs through treasury
bills.
 Loans received from foreign government and international organisation.
 Recoveries of loans granted by central government.
 Small savings in PO savings account, National Saving Certificate, etc.
 Provident Fund
 PSU disinvestment (receipts from sale pf share in Public Sector Undertakings).
Capital Expenditure:- Expense which result in creation of physical or financial asset. Reduction in
financial liabilities. They are:
 Expenditure on Land acquisition, building machinery, equipment.
 Investment in shares
 Loans & advances by Central government to states and UTs, PSUs or others.
Also classifies as Plan and non-Plan expenditures.

Plan Capital Expenditure:

 Related to central plan, central assistance to States and UTs.

Non Plan Capital Expenditure:

 Covers general, social and economic services by government.

Other documents under the FRBM Act

 Along with Budget, there are three other Policy Statements mandated by FRBM
Act(Financial Responsibility & Budget Management).

Medium Term Fiscal Policy Statement:

 Sets 3 year rolling target for specific fiscal indicators.
 examines if revenue expense can be financed through revenue receipts on
sustainable basis.
 how productivity capital receipts (including market borrowing) are being used.

Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement:

 sets priority of government in fiscal area
 examinig current policies
 justifying any deviation in important fiscal measures.

Macroeconomic Statement:
 Assesses economy prospects with respect to GDP growth rate
 fiscal balance of central government
 external balance(gender budgeting which highlights gender sensitivities of
budgetary allocations).

Types of Deficit in India

Revenue Deficit:
 It is the excess of government revenue expenditure over revenue receipts. Therefore, it
indicates that government cannot meet its current expenditure from its current revenue.
Revenue Deficit = Revenue expenses- Revenue receipts
 Revenue deficit includes only such transactions that affect current income and expenditure
of government. This means government is using savings of other sectors of economy to
finance its consumption expenditure. This implies it will have to borrow to finance
 consumption also (along with investment). The revenue deficit is usually represented in
percentage of the GDP.

Budget Deficit:
 Budget deficit is the overall type of deficit. It means the excess of total expenditure over
total revenues. Budget deficit includes both capital and the revenue items mentioned in the
receipts and expenditure
 The term ‘deficit financing’ is used for filling this deficit only. The Budgetary deficit is
financed either by borrowings, taxation, or printing money.But Governments have largely
relied on borrowings for financing the budget deficit, hence, giving rise of Government
Debt.
 Earlier, prior to 1997, the government used to follow the system of automatic monetization
of deficits. It was achieved by issuance of ad-hoc treasury bills for financing the deficit. From
April 1997, the issuance of ad-hoc treasury bills has been discontinued. Instead of ad-hoc
treasury bills, the government issues 91 days’ treasury bills in the market which are also
tradable instrument in the money market, unlike the previous ad-hoc treasury bills. As a
result of this development, the significance of Budget deficit has been lost in the realm of
public finance and hence it is not reported in the Budget documents by the Government of
India.

Fiscal Deficit:
 The difference between governments’ total expenditure and total receipts, excluding the
borrowings is known as the fiscal deficit.
Gross fiscal deficit = Total expenditure – (revenue receipts + Non debt creating capital receipts)
 Non debt creating capital receipts are those which do not give rise to debt, as the name
itself suggests. For instance, loan recovery and PSU proceeds from disinvestment in the
Public Sector Undertakings.
 It should be noted that, revenue deficit is a part of fiscal deficit.
Fiscal Deficit = revenue deficit + Capital expenditure – Non debt creating capital receipts)
 Fiscal deficit is financed by borrowings. therefore it also indicates total borrowings from all
sources. If there is a large share of revenue deficit in the total fiscal deficit then it means
that a large part or amount of the borrowings are being used to finance just the
consumption requirements. This paints a grim picture for the public finance in the country.
 While Fiscal deficit indicates total borrowings by Government from all sources. Budget
Deficit only indicates government’s borrowings from RBI.
 Fiscal deficit is widely used a summary indicator for macroeconomic effect of the budget in
many industrialized countries. The IMF uses this measure as a principal policy target in its
programmes. India began the reporting of its fiscal deficit only after 1991.
Primary Deficit:
 It is defined as fiscal deficit minus the interest payments. This is basically gross primary
deficit. For Net primary deficit, gross primary deficit minus net domestic lending.
 Primary deficit excludes the burden of previous debt and only shows the net increase in the
government’s Debt that is due in the current fiscal year. Therefore, a reduction in the
 primary deficit means the government is following policies to bridge the fiscal gap during
the financial year.

Deficit Financing:
 It refers to the method of Government that is followed to meet the excess of expenditure
over income in its budget. Generally, deficit financing can be achieved through borrowings
from market, borrowing from the RBI or drawing from the government cash balance held by
the RBI.

IMF and World

 The World Bank and the IMF performs different functions, but they are often confused with
each other either with reference to their functions or with their operation. We are
therefore, trying to clearly mark the points of difference between these two. You must
remember that the name World Bank does not refers to a bank in conventional sense (this is
because it performs development function). And International Monetary Fund or IMF
performs the lending function(which we associate with banks).
History of IMF and World Bank:
 The Great Depression of 1930s led to failure of several economies as a result the gold
standard for valuation of currencies(where currencies were back by gold) dissipated.
 Nations raised trade barriers, and devalued their currencies to compete against each other,
in the export markets.
 These factors led to a decline in world trade, which caused high unemployment, and sharp
drop in living standards across many countries.
  The Bretton Woods Conference after World War II in 1944, established a new international
monetary system.
 C.D. Deshmukh was an Indian civil servant who represented India at the Bretton Woods
Conference in 1944. Also remember that he was the first Indian Governor of Reserve Bank
of India(RBI).[/box]
 The international Bank for Reconstruction and Development( now called the World Bank)
and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were established with different mandates.
 Both these IMF and World Bank are also known as ‘Bretton Woods Twins’.

Structure and Size of World Bank and IMF:

The World Bank:
 188 countries member.
 The World Bank has two major organizations in it: The International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development and the International Development Association (IDA).
 Headquarters: Washington, D.C.
 It has 7,000 staff members, and it is about 3 times as large as the IMF.
The International Monetary Fund:
 188 countries member.
 Headquarters: Washington, D.C.
 It has 2,300 staff members.

Functions of IMF & World Bank:

The World Bank functions :
 The World Bank promotes economic and social progress in developing countries. It helps
these countries to raise productivity to enable people to live a better and fuller life.
 Therefore, its primary mandate is to finance economic development.
The International Monetary Fund functions :
 The IMF is basically a lending institution which gives advances to members in need.
 It is the mentor of its members’ monetary and exchange rate policies.
 To maintain the stability in Exchange rate system around the World.

Operations of IMF and World Bank :

The World Bank operations:
 It works to encourage poor nations to develop, by providing technical assistance and
funding for their projects and that will help realize the nations’ economic potential.
 It endeavors to achievement direct involvement of the poor in the economic activity,
through agriculture and rural development, small-scale enterprises, and urban development
lending.
 Since the World Bank’s lending decisions depend on the economic condition of the
borrowing country, it carefully analyses the economy and needs of the sectors for which
lending is contemplated. These studies help in formulation of an appropriate long-term
development assistance strategy for the economy of the concerned country.
The International Monetary Fund operations :
 It primarily urges its members to allow their currencies to be exchanged without any
restriction for the currencies of other member countries of IMF.
 The IMF supervises economic policies that influence the balance of payments in member’s’
economies. This provides an opportunity for early warning of any exchange rate or balance
of payments problem in its member nations.
 It provides short- and medium-term financial assistance to its member nations which run
into any temporary balance of payments difficulties. This financial assistance involves the
option of convertible currencies to alter the affected member’s troubled foreign exchange
reserves. It is done only in return for that government’s promise to reform their economic
policies that have caused the said balance of payments problem.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

 The security market in an economy is that segment of a financial market which raises Long-
term Capitalthrough instruments like shares, securities, bonds, mutual funds, debentures.
This market is known as the security market of economy.
 The security market in India comprises of a Security regulator (SEBI), stock exchanges,
different share indices, brokers, FIIs,etc.
 The security market has two complementary markets – Primary and secondary markets.
 Primary Markets: It is a market where those instruments are traded directly between the
entity raising capital and the instrument purchasing entity.
 Secondary Markets: The market where those instruments of security market are traded
among the primary instrument holders. These transactions require an institutionalized floor
for trading, this platform is known as the stock exchanges.
 The regulator of Indian stock market, is Securities and Exchange Board of India(SEBI). It is
working since 1988 but was granted the statutory status in 1992 by the SEBI Act of 1992.
 SEBI has its headquarters located in Mumbai with regional offices in Kolkata, Chennai, New
Delhi and Ahmedabad.
Objectives of SEBI:
 The Securities and Exchange Board of India has been established under the Section 3 of the
SEBI Act of 1992. This act provides for the establishment of SEBI full with statutory powers
for working towards the following :
(a) The protection of interests of the investors in securities market.
(b) The promotion for the development of the securities market.
(c) Work for the regulation of the securities market.
Composition of SEBI:
The Board of Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is comprised of 9 members, excluding the
Chairman. It is managed by its members, in the following manner:
 A Chairman is nominated by the Union Government.
 2 members of SEBI, are officers from the Union Ministry of Finance.
 1 member of SEBI, is from the Reserve Bank of India.
 There are 3 whole-time members, who are nominated by the Government of India.
 There are 2 Part-time members, who are also nominated by the Government of India.
The Functions of SEBI:
The regulatory jurisdiction of SEBI extends over corporates(in the issuance of capital and transfer
of securities), in addition to all the intermediaries and individuals associated with the securities
market. SEBI performs the following functions to meet its objectives. These functions involve
protective measures, Developmental activity and regulatory functions.
 Registering and stock exchanges, merchant banks, mutual funds, underwriers, registrars to
the issues, Brokers, Sub-brokers, transfer agents,etc.
 Levying various fees and other charges(as 1% of the issue amount of every company issuing
shares kept by it as a caution money in the concerned stock exchange where the company is
enlisted).
 Promoting the knowledge in investor education.
 It conducts audit and Inspections of stock exchanges and their various intermediaries.
 It in involved in performing other concerned functions as may be prescribed to it from time
to time.
 It Regulates the business in stock exchanges and other securities markets in the economy.It
prohibits Insider Trading by keeping a check when insiders of a company buy securities of
that company.
 It takes strict action against insider trading.An Insider is any individual who is connected
with the company like its directors or promoters, etc. These ‘insiders’ possess sensitive
information which has potential to affect the prices of the securities in the market.
However, you would point out that such information is not available to common people,
while the insiders can take advantage of this information to make profit. This is known as
Insider Trading.
 It is involved in registering and regulating the working of players in stock exchanges like
stock brokers, sub-brokers, market makers, etc.
 It Promotes as well as regulates the self-regulatory organizations also.
 SEBI prohibites the fraudulent and unfair trade practices in the securities market.
 SEBI is also interested in calling for information, undertaking inspections, conducting audits
and inquiries of the stock exchanges, intermediaries, self – regulatory organizations, mutual
funds and other persons associated with the securities market in the country.
 It keeps a check on Price-rigging by fraud investors. Price rigging is basically manipulation of
the prices of securities for inflating or deflating the market price of securities. Such practices
are harmful for the performance of market at large.

NABARD
 NABARD is designated as an apex development bank in the country.
 This national bank was established in 1982 by a Special Act of the Parliament, with a
mandate to uplift rural India by facilitating credit flow in agriculture, cottage and village
industries, handicrafts and small-scale industries.
 It is also required to support non-farm sector while promoting other allied economic
activities in rural areas. NABARD functions to promote sustainable rural development for
attaining prosperity of rural areas in India.
  It is basically concerned with “matters concerning policy, as well as planning and operations
in the field of credit for agriculture and other economic activities in rural areas in India”. It is
worth noting with refernce to NABARD that RBI has sold its own stake to the Government of
India. Therefore, Government of India holds 99% stake in NABARD.

Role of NABARD:
 It is an apex institution which has power to deal with all matters concerning policy, planning
as well as operations in giving credit for agriculture and other economic activities in the
rural areas.
 it is a refinancing agency for those institutions that provide investment and production
credit for promoting the several developmental programs for rural development.
 It is improving the absorptive capacity of the credit delivery system in India, including
monitoring, formulation of rehabilitation schemes, restructuring of credit institutions, and
training of personnel.
 It co-ordinates the rural credit financing activities of all sorts of institutions engaged in
developmental work at the field level while maintaining liaison with Government of India,
and State Governments, and also RBI and other national level institutions that are
concerned with policy formulation.
 It prepares rural credit plans, annually, for all districts in the country.
 It also promotes research in rural banking, and the field of agriculture and rural
development.

Functions of NABARD:
 NABARD also prepares guidelines for promotion of group activities under its programs and
provides 100% refinance support for them.
 It is making efforts to establish linkages between Self-help Group(SHG) that are organized by
voluntary agencies for poor and needy in rural areas and other official credit agencies.
 It refinances to the complete extent for those projects that are taken under the ‘National
Watershed Development Programme‘ and the ‘National Mission of Wasteland
Development‘.
 It also supports Vikas volunteer Vahini programs which offer credit and development
activities to poor farmers.
 It also inspects and supervises the cooperative banks and RRBs to periodically ensure the
development of the rural financing and farmers’ welfare.
 NABARAD also recommends about licensing for RRBs and Cooperative banks to RBI.
 NABARD also provides assistance and support for the training and development of the staff
of various other credit institutions, that are engaged in credit distributions.
 It also runs programs for agriculture and rural development.