Posted by admin on August 22nd, 2008
I have always had a habit of seeing Maps. Be it the India map or the Worlds. When I am immensely bored, I just log onto Google Maps or Wikimapia and randomly navigate areas.
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Sometimes I search for places I hear about in the world news (Like South Ossetia because of the Russian – Georgian war) or I plan my future trips by hobnobbing locations to fill my timebound itinerary.
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Here I present some quacky facts about Indian Geography, many of which you may already know about. But its always interesting to explore again.
1)
How many Countries does Sovereign India share its Border with?.
Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China are the easy ones to count. With some knowledge of Geography you will add Myanmar(Burma) and Bhutan.
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The surprise off course is Afghanistan. As we Indians see it, the whole state of Jammu and Kashmir forms an integral part of India. This includes POK and the Northern Areas Territory. The Northern Territories have a border with the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan.
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See the map below. Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor Region marked in red Shares a border with Jammu and Kashmir.
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During the late 19th century, the Wakhan area situated in the Pamir Mountain ranges was a narrow strip of land between Afghanistan, British India, Soviet Russia and China. The British then ceded this land to the Afghans for it to act as a buffer between India and Soviet Russia.
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So India shares its borders with 7 countries.
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If u see the map, you will notice that the country of Tajikistan is just 50 km’s away to the north. So we are not that far off from Central Asia as most people think.
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2)
Do u know as to Which is the Northern Most Point in India ?
It is the Dafdar / Kilik Dawan Pass( 4755 M ) which is present in the Pamir Mountain range in Northern Areas of Jammu and Kashmir State. This region is also called the Tagdumbash Pamir. Its just at the junction of the border of India, China and Afghanistan. Click on this WikiMapia Link below and explore.
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This Below map of the Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir, published in 1909 is taken into reference whenever the Land Dispute arises. Click on the Map to see a bigger version.
3)
A Weird thing I have noticed when talking about Geography with friends is, Most of them don’t know where there are placed on the map, relative to the world.
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For eg : Many people think Singapore is far higher towards the North East of India somewhere near China, but actually its lower in the South East of India, much below Kanyakumari in latitudinal terms . Singapore is nearly on the Equator and India much higher in the Northern Hemisphere.
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The Indian city of Bangalore has Chennai, Bangkok , Manila, Venezuela’s Capital Caracas and Somalia’s Horn Of Africa’s Tip as its Latitudinal Sisters. (Cities and Places approximately along the same Latitude)
4)
In terms of Area, How smaller is Pakistan compared to India ?
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Or let me put it in another way, if you would super impose Pakistan’s size on India, how many of Indian States would it cover ? . Take a Calculated guess.
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- India’s total Area is : 32,87,263 sq km and it’s the 7th Largest Country in the World
- Pakistan total Area is : 7,96,095 sq km and it’s the 36th Largest Country in the World
Below i will list 3 possible combination of states and also their population
SCENARIO 1
- Rajasthan 342,236 sq km + Gujarat 196,024 + Punjab 50,362+ Haryana 44,212-+ Himachal 55,673 + Uttarakhand 53,566 + Meerut Division of UP 52,000 + Delhi 1400 == 7,95,473 sq Km , which is nearly the total Area Of Pakistan.
The above Indian States have 206 million Population according to census 2001. In Pakistan the Population at the same time was 145 million.
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SCENARIO 2
- Karnataka 191,791 sq km + Andhra Pradesh 275,068 + Tamil Nadu 130,058 + Kerala 38,863 + Pondicherry 492 + Goa 3,702 + Orissa 155,707 == 7,95,681 sq km, which is nearly the total Area Of Pakistan.
The above Indian States have 263 million Population according to census 2001. In Pakistan the Population at the same time was 145 million.
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SCENARIO 3
- UP 238,566 sq km + MP 308,144 + BIHAR 94,164 + JHARKHAND 79,700 + WB ( total WB is 88,752, Except Siliguri – Darjeeling region which is about 14,000 sq km, WB is about 74,752) == 7,95,326 sq km which is nearly the total Area Of Pakistan.
The above Indian States have 411 Million Population and is probably the most populated contiguos land mass on earth. In Pakistan the Population at the same time was 145 million.
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5)
Which is the Tallest Mountain In India ?
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The Tallest Mountain in Sovereign India is K2 (8,611 metres,28,251 ft) located in the Karakoram Range of J&K . The mountain is on the border with China’s Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County. K2 is also the second tallest mountain in the world after Mt.Everest(8,848 metres ,29,029 feet) in Nepal.
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Click to see the WikiMapia Location of K2. [ View at the center of the screen ]
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But the tallest mountain in Indian Administered Territory is the Kangchenjunga(8,586 metres ,28,169 ft) in Sikkim,India. It lies on the border with Nepal and is the 3rd tallest mountain in the world.
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Click to see the WikiMapia Location of Kangchenjunga.
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Everest and Kangchenjunga are some 150 kms apart from each other . From atop Tiger Hills near Darjeeling on a clear and lucky day, both Kangchenjunga and Everest can be seen spectacularly.
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Guys, please do mention in the comments any interesting fact that you know off relating to the Geography of India. Thank You.
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Hey awesome facts..
I never knew many of them…Kangchenjunga looks cool..
I want to really visit it now..
Afghanistan has a border with india is not known to so many people…nicely written blog
Hey!! neat info.. I really didnt know most of the facts which you have mentioned..particularly the distance between Mt.Everest & Kangchenjunga… I had been to tiger hills & was not quite lucky to view both of them due to awsome clouds
But I am planning a trip again to north east & before I leave wud get some for fact from u 
You improved my geographical skills a bit…dude..
But with current situation J&K i feel we will have another niegbhourhood very soon
Cool info! I guess geography should be taught like this in schools to get students interested, otherwise it’s a boring drag
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Very Nice and quite interesting too……….. Keep posting.
Hey very neat info…
I dont know if the beautiful entire land of Kashmir will ever be India’s, but i would like to go the Northern Edge of India..
Pls write more stuff like these..very interesting to read… ur Independece day Post also was neat
hi,
the fact of Afganishtan is given in test book many times. i know many sophisticated professional do not know that fact and the fact that the Map shown in text book is not the actual terrotory under control on indian administration.
a shame but a facts
All the above facts would be true only if the whole of J7K would be under India. However in the current scenario, most of these places are in pakistan. Its only us in india who are deluded in thinking that it is a part of india…however the whole world does recognize these parts as pakistani territory.
K2 is in the interior of Kashmir and does not border Chinese territory. The whole of the area in Kashmir from K2 to Kukalang pass in Kashmir on the Kuen Lun range in Kashmir has been illegally ceded by Pakistan to the Chinese occupiers of East Turkistan.
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