Our Country, India
India's states, seas and neighbours
Say which countries and seas lie around India and in which direction, and name the state that a few of India's great cities are the capital of.
India lies in the south of Asia, the largest continent on the earth. It is a big country and a crowded one, and it does not sit alone: it has neighbours on land in three directions and water on the other three sides. Inside, it is divided into states and union territories, each with a capital city of its own, and the capital of the whole country is New Delhi.
The neighbours, by direction
To the north-west lie Pakistan and Afghanistan. To the north lie China, Nepal and Bhutan. To the east lie Bangladesh and Myanmar — and Bangladesh is almost surrounded by India, with Indian land to its north, west and east. To the south, across the water, lie two island neighbours: Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
The water around India has three names, and which one you are looking at depends only on which way you are facing. The Arabian Sea is along the western coast. The Bay of Bengal is along the eastern coast. And to the south, beyond the southernmost point of the mainland at Kanyakumari, is the Indian Ocean, which the other two open into. Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow strait — the Palk Strait — and by the Gulf of Mannar.
Some states have a sea coast and some have none. Gujarat and Kerala look out on the Arabian Sea; Odisha and West Bengal look out on the Bay of Bengal. Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have no coast at all: they are surrounded on every side by other parts of India. A few state capitals worth knowing to start with are Jaipur in Rajasthan, Mumbai in Maharashtra, Kolkata in West Bengal, Chennai in Tamil Nadu and Dispur in Assam.
Worked example
Someone tells you they crossed India's border going north-east from Rajasthan and kept going until they reached a mountain kingdom between India and China. Where might they have ended up, and what can you rule out?
Going north from India rules out Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka at once.
The first two are to the east and the third is an island to the south, so no journey northwards reaches any of them.
Try it together
You are looking at a map of India with north at the top.
Answer each step with a name.
1.Your finger is on the coast on the left-hand side of the map. Which sea is it in?
Have a go
Have a go on your own. Which of India's neighbours lies to the east, with Indian land on its northern, western and eastern sides?
Ready to practise?
Eight questions on what you have just read. Nothing is timed, and you can play as many times as you like.