India – Natural and Cultural Heritage

India – Natural and Cultural Heritage

India is the only country that has the spirit to respect all religions and have distinct shrines for them. India has a very rich and diverse natural and cultural heritage.

Its history is quite ancient and goes back to several thousand years. Geography and natural environment also have played a prominent role in shaping India’s personality.

India natural heritageincludes natural features, like mountains, forests, deserts, lakes, rivers, seas, climate, flora and fauna. There are high mountains and hills, mighty rivers traversing long distances to small rivers, rivulets and streams, vast fertile plains and river valleys, dense forests, deserts and a long coastline.

Within this landscape are found different types of soils, rocks and minerals, and plant and animal life. Variations are also seen in climate, ranging from temperature to extreme hot to extreme cold, arid to areas with abundant rainfall.

Cultural heritage is the creation of human beings by the use of their intelligence, skill and artistic ability. It may also be a cumulative result of different practices, ranging from religious to social.

India cultural heritage is broadly divided into two categories:

• Archaeological cultural heritage – It comprises physical objects, materials, concrete forms, etc.
• Living cultural heritage – It includes a host of things, ranging from ideas to traditions, living styles, practices, etc.

India is by area, the seventh largest country in the world, but by population, it is the second largest. India’s northern boundary is demarcated by the Himalayas and other mountain ranges, except in the Nepal region, which is marked by low hills.

China, Nepal and Bhutan are India’s neighbors in the north-east and Pakistan and Afghanistan in the north-west. To the east of India lies Myanmar, while surrounded by India’s eastern and north-eastern states is Bangladesh. Eastern India is, as a result, linked to the north-eastern territories by a strip of land that is only about 50 km wide at its narrowest.

Below the broad territorial expanse of northern India is Peninsular India, with the Arabian Sea to its west and the Bay of Bengal to the east. Just south to peninsular India is Sri Lanka, separated from the mainland of India by the Palk Straight and the Gulf of Mannar. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep and Minicoy in the Arabian Sea are integral parts of Indian Territory.