Why is India considered as a subcontinent? Elaborate your answer.

Question

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

India is a subcontinent because it sits on its own Indian plate, is sealed off from the rest of Asia by fold mountains and seas, and holds continent-scale diversity of relief, climate and culture. It covers 3.287 million sq km, spans 3,214 km north to south, and Census 2011 recorded 121 languages.

**Introduction**

A subcontinent is a large part of a continent that is physically distinct and varied enough to look like a continent in miniature. India, with its South Asian neighbours, forms such a unit, and India is its core, covering 3.287 million sq km, or 2.4% of the world's land.

**Physical Distinctness of the Indian Landmass**

1. **Own tectonic plate**: India rides the Indian plate, a Gondwana fragment that collided with the Eurasian plate about 50 million years ago, so its rocks have a history separate from the rest of Asia.
2. **Mountain and sea frame**: Young fold mountains seal the land side and three seas wrap the peninsula.

SKETCH: mindmap | Natural Frame of the Subcontinent
- Himalaya-Karakoram north
- Hindu Kush-Sulaiman northwest
- Purvanchal hills east
- Arabian Sea west
- Bay of Bengal east
- Indian Ocean south

3. **Climatic insulation**: The Himalaya blocks Central Asian cold winds and traps the monsoon, giving the region one shared monsoon rhythm.
4. **Continental scale**: The mainland stretches 3,214 km north to south and 2,933 km east to west, nearly two hours of sunrise apart from Arunachal Pradesh to Gujarat.

**Continental Diversity within One Unit**

1. **Every major landform**: Himalaya, Indo-Gangetic plain, Peninsular plateau, Thar desert, coastal plains and islands give India almost every relief type.
2. **Climatic extremes**: Mawsynram is among the wettest places on Earth while western Rajasthan gets under 25 cm a year.
3. **Biological richness**: India is one of 17 megadiverse countries and shares four of the 36 global biodiversity hotspots.
4. **Cultural mosaic**: Census 2011 recorded 121 languages drawn mainly from four families, and every major world religion is practised here.

**Conclusion**

Its own plate, a natural frame and continent-scale variety make India a subcontinent. The Vishnu Purana's Bharatavarsha, the land between the ocean and the snowy mountains, captures the unity in diversity that still binds it.

Why is India considered as a subcontinent? Elaborate your answer.

Model answer

Practise this question

Introduction1 question

Ghissu