Laxmi

The compilation of these Air Notes makes students exam preparation simpler and organised.

Layers of Atmosphere and Importance of Air

Layers of Atmosphere are divided into five different layers according to temperature changes and altitude, which is Exosphere, Thermosphere, Mesosphere, Stratosphere, Troposphere. Let us find out more about layers of atmosphere and the importance of air.

Layers of Atmosphere

• Exosphere
• Thermosphere
• Mesosphere
• Stratosphere
• Troposphere

Before discussing Layers of Atmosphere in detail let us have a look at the Importance of Air first.

Importance of Air

Air is a mixture of various gases. It is found in the Earth’s atmosphere. Usually, the air is colorless, odorless, tasteless and it cannot be seen. One can’t touch air but he/she can feel it. It is a mixture of about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.9% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and very small amounts of other gases.

There is an average of about 1% water vapor. Pollution of Air is known as Air pollution. It can be polluted by some gases (such as carbon monoxide), smoke, and ash. This pollution causes various problems including acid rain and global warming.

Layers of Atmosphere of Earth

Exosphere
The outermost layer of the atmosphere is the exosphere and it fades in space. It lies between 400-1500 km above the earth. The air here is extremely thin.

Thermosphere
The thermosphere is the layer of the Earth’s atmosphere directly above the mesosphere. It extends from mesopause and consists of two layers (a) Ionosphere and (b) Exosphere.

Mesosphere
The mesosphere layer lies above the stratosphere and extends to a height of 90 km from ground level. This temperature in this layer decreases with height and reaches a minimum of −110 degrees Celcius.

Stratosphere
The stratosphere lies above the tropopause. There is a total absence of water vapor in this layer. It extends to a height of 50 km from sea level. The temperature here is around −55 degrees Celcius.

Troposphere
The troposphere is the lowermost and densest layer. Its height varies from 18 km at the Equator to 8 km at the Poles. Seventy-five percent of the atmosphere is found in this layer.

Example:

Question 1.
Climate is the average condition of the weather in any area from a long time period like
a. Twenty Five Years and so.
b. Five years or so.
c. One year or so.
d. None of the above
Answer:
The correct answer is option “a”.
Climate is the average condition of the weather in a place over a long period of 25 years and so. While the weather can change in just a few hours, climate takes hundreds, thousands, even millions of years to change. It characterizes a region’s general weather patterns that happen over the course of many years.

The climate of an area is affected by its latitude, terrain, and altitude, as well as nearby water bodies and their currents. Climates can be classified according to the average and the typical ranges of different variables, most commonly temperature and precipitation.

Question 2.
The narrow band of land, water, and air where all kinds of life are possible is known as:
a. Atmosphere
b. Biosphere
c. Lithosphere
d. Hydrosphere
Answer:
The correct answer is option “b”.
The biosphere is the narrow band of land, water, and air where all kinds of life are possible. This layer ranges from heights of up to ten kilometers above sea level. It is the fourth component of the earth. The biosphere is a life-supporting global ecosystem, where each living things depend on the other and the environment.

The biosphere extends over the Earth’s surface in a thin layer from a few kilometers into the atmosphere, in very cold environments, to the deep-sea vents of the ocean depths, in a very hot environment.

The compilation of these Geography Notes makes students exam preparation simpler and organised.

What is Air?

What is Air? Have you ever wondered why do astronauts wear a helmet when they go to space? Or why do divers carry oxygen tanks with them while driving? Because there is an absence of Air in space and water which makes it impossible for people to survive there. Air is a basic need and people would die without it. Let’s find out more about it.

• Importance of Air

The compilation of these Agriculture Notes makes students exam preparation simpler and organised.

Introduction to Agriculture

We often hear that India is an agricultural country. This basically means that agriculture is an important part of our livelihood. In India, agriculture is our primary economic activity and about two-thirds of our population is engaged in the same. Let us get acquainted with the types of farming done in India.

Agriculture

The word agriculture is derived from a Latin word- ager or Agri meaning soil, and ‘culture’ meaning the cultivation of the soil. In modern terms, agriculture comprises “the art and science of cultivating the soil, growing crops and rearing livestock.”

You can consider farming to be rather a complete system which includes inputs, processing, and outputs. The inputs here are seeds, fertilizers, machinery, which then, undergoes operations like ploughing, sowing, irrigation, weeding, and harvesting. And thus, we get the final outputs like crops, dairy, and poultry products.

Subsistence Farming

Subsistence Farming– This is farming which is done for consumption of the farm owners, can be either Primitive or Intensive. Here the only aim is to fulfill the needs of the farmer and his family.

Primitive subsistence farming is the type of subsistence farming that is typically done on small areas of land with traditional tools like hoe, dao, digging sticks, etc. This is rather the most natural method of growing crops, because, the natural environment like heat, rain, wind, and condition of the soil contribute to the growth of crops. Primitive farming further includes:

Shifting cultivation: In this primitive method, farmers clear the cultivated land, after harvesting the crops and burn the land. As a result, they maintain the fertility of the soil, so whoever uses the land next can get a good yield. This method is known by different names in different regions of India. Shifting cultivation is also practised in some countries in South America and Southeast Asia

Nomadic herding: This kind of farming method involves herders and farmers travelling from place to place with their flocks of animals. And, the herders also source wool, meat, hide, and dairy products from the livestock. Nomadic herding is very common in Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir with herders rearing sheep, goats, yaks, and camel.

Intensive subsistence farming is quite in contrast to primitive farming, farmers practice intensive farming on wider areas of land, use modern machinery and tools and add chemical fertilizers for better crops.

Commercial Farming

When farmers grow crops and rear animals for economic activity, it becomes Commercial Farming. Due to the need for a high amount of output, farmers cultivate larger areas of land, with heavy use of machinery. Commercial Farming has three main categories:

Commercial grain farming: Just as the name suggests, in this method, farmers grow grains and trade them in the market. Wheat and maize are the most common crops of commercial grain farming. Farmers of Asia, Europe, temperate grasslands of North America generally practice this type of farming.

Plantation farming: Plantation farming is a mix of agriculture and industry and is practiced across a vast area of land. Plantation owners usually grow a single crop like banana, coffee, tea, etc. in a plantation and use technological support to process the crop on the farm itself or a factory attached to it. The end product also works as a raw material for industries. For example, the rubber industry uses the rubber produced from its plantation as raw material.

Mixed farming: This farming method involves the cultivation of crops, rearing livestock, and growing their fodder. It is a common practice in parts of the USA, Australia, and New Zealand, Europe, and South Africa to do mixed farming for a living.

Major Crops of India

With different kinds of farming methods to our knowledge, the farmers grow different kinds of crops, from staple grains to industrial crops and plants.

Rice – This is the staple food crop of the world. In India rice grows in areas with high heat, humidity, and rainfall, like in West Bengal, Kerala, and parts of the North East. Around the world, China is a leading producer of rice, followed by India, Japan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

Wheat – This is another staple food in the world which needs moderate temperature. Wheat needs good rainfall during planting and strong sunshine while harvesting. As a result, wheat in India mostly grows in the winter season, and in the northern states of the country.

Maize – Like wheat, maize also needs moderate rainfall and a good amount of sunshine. Countries like North America, Mexico, China, Russia, Brazil, Canada, and India are primary producers of maize.

Millets – They need low rainfall and dry soil and comprise grains like jowar, bajra, and ragi. Millets are common in Nigeria, China, and dry areas of India.

Cotton – A plantation crop, cotton is the main raw material for the cotton textile industry. It grows best on black and alluvial soil, with low rainfall, no snow, and bright sunshine. Countries like Egypt, China, Pakistan, the USA, and India are leading producers of cotton.

Jute – Also called ‘golden crop’, jute grows best in tropical regions, where rainfall is high and the weather is humid. Hence you will find jute cultivation is common in the coastal areas of India and Bangladesh.

Tea – It is a plantation crop and an important beverage across Asia. Tea grows best in a sloping landscape where rainfall is even all around the year and temperatures are cool and not too high. China, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka are the major countries to produce the best tea in the world.

Coffee – Coffee grows best in a warm and wet climate and on well-drained soil. Hence, countries like Brazil, Columbia, and India have the best coffee plantations in the world.

Example:

Question 1.
What is plantation farming?
Answer:
Plantation farming is a type of commercial farming. It involves farming on large areas of land to maximize output and profits. This type of farming requires huge capital and involves extensive labour. Some crops grown in plantations are rubber, coffee, cotton, sugarcane, etc.

Question 2.
What are the cash crops farmers cultivate in India?
Answer:
Some of the major cash crops grown by Indian farmers are Sugarcane, Jute, Tobacco, and Oilseeds.

The compilation of these Agriculture Notes makes students exam preparation simpler and organised.

Farming in India

The Indian farmer had discovered and begun farming many spices and sugarcane more than 2500 years ago. Did you know that our country is the 2nd largest producer of agricultural products in the world? In fact, agriculture contributes as much as 6.1% (as of 2017) to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Let us find out about the different methods adopted by an Indian farmer and how it helps him grow all the variety of crops that we consume and export.

Agricultural Methods of the Indian Farmer

Farming is one of the oldest economic activities in our country. Different regions have different methods of farming. However, all these methods have significantly evolved over the years with changes in weather and climatic conditions, technological innovations, and socio-cultural practices. Farming methods prevalent in India can be classified as follows

Primitive Subsistence Farming

This is a primitive farming method and farmers still practice it in some parts of the country. While this type of subsistence farming is typically done on small areas of land, it also uses indigenous tools like a hoe, Dao, digging sticks, etc. Usually, a family or the local community of Indian farmers are engaged in this farming method who use the output for their own consumption. This is the most natural method, where the growth of crops but dependent on the rain, heat, fertility of the soil and other environmental conditions.

The key to this farming technique is the ‘slash and burn’ method. In this practice, once the crops are grown and harvested, the farmers burn the land. They then move to a clear patch of land for a new batch of cultivation. As a result, the land gains back its fertility, naturally. Because no fertilizers are used for cultivation, the primitive subsistence method yields good quality crops and also retains the properties of the soil.

Different names of this farming method are:

• ‘Jhumming’ in the North-Eastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Pamlou district of Manipur, Bastar
• district of Chattisgarh, and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• ‘Bewar’ or ‘Dahiya’ in Madhya Pradesh
• ‘Podu’ or ‘Penda’ in Andhra Pradesh,
• ‘Pama Dabi’ or ‘Koman’ or Bringa’ in Orissa
• ‘Kumari’ in the Western Ghats
• ‘Valre’ or ‘Waltre’ in South-eastern Rajasthan
• ‘Kuruwa’ in Jharkhand and
• ‘Khil’ in the Himalayan region

Crops grown: Some of the crops grown through the primitive method are bananas, cassava, rice, maize, and millet.

Intensive Subsistence Farming
This is yet another variation of subsistence farming. In this method, cultivation happens across larger areas of land and thus, it is labor-intensive. Also, to get a high quantity of produce chemical fertilizers and different irrigation methods are used to yield more crops.

Crops grown: Intensive subsistence farming yields two types of crops- wet and dry. While the wet crops include paddy, the dry ones vary from wheat, pulses, maize, millets, to sorghum, soya beans, tubers, and vegetables.

Commercial Farming
This type of farming is what contributes to the country’s economy with huge volumes of yield. In fact, the crops grown commercially in India are used as export items across the world.

In this farming method, the Indian farmer uses a high amount of fertilizers, pesticides, and insecticides to enhance and maintain the growth of the crops. Depending on the crop best suited to the respective weather and soil, commercial farming in India varies across different regions.

For example, Haryana, Punjab, and West Bengal grow rice commercially, while it is a subsistence crop in Orissa. Major crops grown commercially in India are wheat, pulses, millets, maize and other grains, vegetables, and fruits.

Another method of commercial farming is ‘plantation’. Plantation farming is a blend of agriculture and industry, practiced across a vast area of land. It is a labor-intensive farming method that also uses the latest technological support for sustaining, cultivating, and yielding. The produce yielded from plantations is treated as raw materials to be subsequently used in their respective industries.

Crops grown: Some of the significantly grown crops in plantation farming are tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane, banana, coconuts, etc

Example:

Question 1.
What is primitive subsistence farming called in different regions of India?
Answer:
Different regions of India call primitive subsistence farming by different names:

• Jhumming’ in the North-Eastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Pamlou district of Manipur, Bastar district of Chattisgarh, and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• ‘Bewar’ or ‘Dahiya’ in Madhya Pradesh
• ‘Podu’ or ‘Penda’ in Andhra Pradesh
• ‘Pama Dabi’ or ‘Koman’ or Bringa’ in Orissa
• ‘Kumari’ in the Western Ghats
• ‘Valre’ or ‘Waltre’ in South-eastern Rajasthan
• ‘Kuruwa’ in Jharkhand
• ‘Khil’ in the Himalayan region

Question 2.
What is the basic difference between subsistence farming and commercial farming?
Answer:
Subsistence farming is a traditional and indigenous method of cultivation. In this method, the farmer is involved in agriculture with the family or the community. On the other hand, Commercial farming is more of an industrial level farming method. In commercial farming, the objective of the Indian farmer is to contribute to the country’s economy while he also exports agricultural produce.

Subsistence methods do not use fertilizers or technological support for cultivation or irrigation. On the contrary, commercial farming is heavily dependent on the use of chemical fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides, and other technology-driven machines and equipment to get a higher yield.

The compilation of these Geography Notes makes students exam preparation simpler and organised.

Agriculture

Agriculture is actually the science involved with farming. It involves the whole process from cultivating the farms to selling to the final consumer. Farming, on the other hand, is just the practice of growing crops and herding cattle. In essence, agriculture will include farming and many other activities. Let us take a look.

• Farming in India
• Introduction to Agriculture

Geography Notes | Geography Lecture Notes

• Agriculture
• Air
• Climate
• Drainage
• Environment
• Forest and Wildlife Resources
• Globe – Latitudes and Longitudes
• Human Environment – Settlement, Transport, and Communication
• Human Environment Interactions – The Tropical and Subtropical Region
• Human Resources
• India: Climate, Vegetation, and Wildlife
• India – Size and Location
• Industries
• Inside Our Earth
• Land, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources
• Life in the Deserts
• Life in the Temperate Grasslands
• Life Lines of National Economy
• Major Domains of the Earth
• Major Landforms of the Earth
• Manufacturing Industries
• Maps
• Minerals and Energy Resources
• Mineral and Power Resources
• Motions of the Earth
• Natural Vegetation and Wildlife
• Our Changing Earth
• Our Country – India
• Physical Features of India
• Population
• Resources
• Resources and Development
• The Earth in the Solar System
• Water
• Water Resources

The compilation of these The Mughal Empire Notes makes students exam preparation simpler and organised.

The Mughal Dynasty

History is never complete without the mention of the Mughal Dynasty. Do you know what really attributed to the popularity of the Mughals? Right from Babur to Aurangzeb every Mughal ruler had a major contribution to history. Moreover, some of the notable events of history took place because of the Mughals. So, here we’ll discuss all such notable events along with the rise and fall of the Mughal Empire.

The Mughal Dynasty

In the middle age, there existed a very popular Mughal Dynasty that was the empire of the Mughals. By the 16th century, the Mughals expanded their kingdom from Agra and Delhi. In the 17th century, almost all the subcontinent were controlled by them. The legacy of the Mughals still stands unparalleled.

Who were the Mughals?

The Mughals were the descendants of two great lineages of rulers. From their father’s side, they were the descendants of Timur while on their mother’s side they were the descendants of Genghis Khan.

Mughal Military Campaigns
In the year 1526, the first Mughal Emperor, Babur, defeated Ibrahim Lodi in the Battle of Panipat and went on to capture Delhi. In 1555, Delhi was captured back by Humayun. After Humayun, Akbar came into power and we went on to capture Chittoor (1568), Ranthambore (1569), Gujarat, Bihar, Bengal, Kashmir, Berar Khandesh, etc. (1585-1605).

The role of Akbar is significant in the popularity of the Mughal Dynasty. When the rule of Akbar came to an end, Jahangir came to power and he took against Sikhs and Ahoms. Shah Jahan captured Ahmadnagar and Bijapur and Aurangzeb waged a long battle in the Deccan.

Mughal Traditions of Succession
The Mughals never followed the then common rule of primogeniture. As per primogeniture, it was the oldest son who inherited his father’s estate. They rather followed the custom of coparcenary inheritance. In the coparcenary inheritance, there was a division of inheritance amongst all the sons.

Relation of the Mughals with the other rulers
It was the common habit of the Mughals to campaign against all the rulers who did not accept their authority. However, with the popularity of the Mughals, many rulers voluntarily such as Rajputs. Mughals gave jagirs and mansab that helped them in expanding their territories. The primary source of income for the Mughal rulers was the tax that they charged on the produce of the peasantry.

Policies Prevalent During Akbar’s Rule

Some of the notable policies listed out by Akbar were:

• Brahmanas, Jesuit priests were Roman Catholics and Zoroastrians.
• The works of the Akbar can be found in the book Akbarnama which is written by Abul Fazal.
• The nobles of Akbar commanded large armies. They had access to large amounts of revenue.
• During the time Akbar was at Fatehpur Sikri, he started a discussion on religion with the ulemas. This is when Akbar went on to divide his kingdom into different provinces known as the subas which were governed by a Subedar.
• All the discussions of the Akbar happened in the ibadat khana.

Example:

Question:
What were the central provinces under the control of the Mughal Dynasty?
Answer:
The central provinces under the control of the Mughals were Delhi, Sindh, Kabul, Mewar, Marwar, Gujarat, Bihar, Bengal, Orissa, and Deccan.

The compilation of these History Notes makes students exam preparation simpler and organised.

The Mughal Empire

Isn’t it quite strange that most of the famous places in India are actually the artwork of Mughals? One of the seven wonders of the world ‘The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan, who happens to be a Mughal. There are more examples like these to name. But how did the Mughals set foot in India? What happened to the Mughal Empire now? Let us travel back in time and unveil this mystery!

• The Mughal Dynasty

The compilation of these The Making of the National Movement: 1870s-1947 Notes makes students exam preparation simpler and organised.

The Making of the National Movement

Indian history is excessively rich. One event that played a major role in the independence of the country was the National Movement of India. The commencement of the National Movement was not an overnight thing. Started in the year 1947, it was a process that took several years to bear fruits. There were several reasons that contributed to ‘The Making of the National Movement’ in India. Here, let’s discuss some of them.

Onset of Nationalism in India

India as a nation has witnessed an increase in nationalistic feelings somewhere in the latter half of the 19th century. Prior to that, there were mini battles here and there but nothing much at the national level as such. We may say that with the onset of the Indian National Congress, this nation saw a surge of patriotism and a desire to fight against the oppression of British rule collectively with an organized means.

Causes of the National Movement

For any movement to take roots there are several causes that lead up to the final culmination point. Similarly, the making of the National Movement is a result of many things that eventually led to the creation of the Indian National Congress. Some of these reasons are briefly listed here.

Education
British came up with several educational institutes in the nation to ensure that their local subjects could understand their language. The motive behind this was to enable the subjects to serve the Raj better. However, things didn’t go as planned.

The language helped the educated Indians to better understand the world. It instilled in their ideas of liberty and equality that were propagated by many European liberal thinkers. This helped to unite India in a common goal.

Unity through Language
Since the educated elite of India came from all parts of the country, so the language could often become a barrier, but with the introduction of the English language, the thinkers from across the nation found a common language to communicate their ideas, surpassing the barriers of language.

Vernaculars
These same people would take their knowledge and spread it across to other parts of the country by propagating them in their respective languages, thereby spreading the revolutionary ideas far and wide.

Socio-religious Movements
Some revolutionary thinkers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy challenged the conventional and biased orders of the society and enlightened people about the various social evils plaguing our nation. With the rise of knowledge in this department, the nation witnessed the rise of evolving new generation of revolutionaries.

An interesting fact to know is that Indian women never had to bring about a suffragette separately like the USA or France and other developed nations. The fight for the equality of women was a part of the freedom struggle. Many prominent Indian women were part of the freedom movement and were an example of empowered women.

British Economic Policies
The economic policies propounded by the British resulted in widespread poverty and hunger in India. Famines were a constant occurrence leading to lakhs dying. This instilled a feeling of deep-seated resentment against the British, which in turn led to the national movement.

Building of Infrastructure
British built infrastructure such as roads, railways, and telegraph systems in order to improve trade within the country. This, however, helped in connecting the nation. People could easily move from one place to another and also communicate with each other through means of a telegraph, which helped to propagate the idea of nationalism far and wide.

Introduction to Press
With the presence of the press, Indians found a way of circulating their angst against the British Monarch by nationalistic journals in vernacular language and circulating it.

Policies of Lord Lytton
Lord Lytton, the viceroy of India from 1876 to 1880 is credited with one of the biggest famines in south India which claimed the lives of over 10 million people. At the time when India was reeling with the shortage of food and dying of hunger, he would conduct Dilli Durbar in the year 1877, spending obnoxiously on such luxuries.

He is also credited with passing the Vernacular Press Act of 1878 under which all the press material was confiscated as ‘seditious material’. He also is responsible for passing the Arms Act which prohibited Indians from carrying arms. All these arbitrary laws led to excessive anger in Indians which eventually led to the national movement.

Ilbert Bill Controversy
The Ilbert bill introduced in 1883 gave Indian judges a right to try Europeans in Indian Courts. This was widely protested against by the British and exhibited the deep-seated prejudice against Indians.

Example:

Question:
What was the reason for dissatisfaction against the British Rule in India?
Answer:
The dissatisfaction with the British Rule was the result of arbitrary policies introduced by the British Government and the oppressive treatment meted out to the Indians by British officials. Further, several acts and polities too attributed to this. These were:

• Armst Act: It prohibited Indians from carrying weapons.
• Vernacular Press Act: It led to shutting down of press and confiscation of national journals, citing them as seditious materials”.
• Lytton’s Policies: Lord Lytton’s indifference towards the growing hunger and famines in the country and exorbitant expenditure on the Dilli Durbar led to frustration among Indians. Thus, creating a sense of dissatisfaction with the British Rule.