Dark green region marks the approximate extent of northern India while the regions marked as light green lies within the sphere of north Indian influence.

Northern India is a geographic and linguistic-cultural region of India. In traditional Indian geography, India is divided into five major zones: North India, North-East India, East India , West India and South India. The Vindhya mountains, in particular the line marked by the Narmada River and the Mahanadi River marks the southern boundary of north India. The line made by the Son river and the Kosi river marks its eastern border. The dominant geographic feature of northern India is the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Image File history File links NorthIndianinfluence. ... Image File history File links NorthIndianinfluence. ... The Himalayas in Sikkim North-East India is the easternmost region of India consisting of the contiguous Seven Sister States and the state of Sikkim. ... The Indies, on the display globe of the Field Museum, Chicago The Indies or East Indies (or East India) is a term used to describe lands of South and South-East Asia, occupying all of the former British India, the present Indian Union, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and... A map of West India. ... South India is a linguistic-cultural region of India that comprises the four Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Pondicherry, whose inhabitants are collectively referred to as South Indians. ... The Vindhya Range is a range of hills in central India, which geographically separates The Indian subcontinent into northern India and Southern India. ... The Narmada or Nerbudda is a river in central India. ... The Mahanadi River is a river of eastern India. ... The Ganga receives numerous tributaries from the Southern Uplands among which the Son is the largest and it joins ganga from the south along with Gandak, Gumti, Ghaghara, and sarda rivers. ... Dudh Kosi (Milk River) is a river in eastern Nepal. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

However, the socio-cultural boundaries of north India have actually surpassed these traditional boundaries. As a linguistic-cultural and political region, North India consists of twelve Indian states: Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan (Bihar and Jharkhand are also considered as parts of East India). The National Capital Territory of Delhi is also a part of northern India. It shares most of its cultural, historical, musical, and linguistic heritage with neighboring Pakistan, which was part of the region prior to Partition. , Jammu and Kashmir   (IPA: , Kashmiri:ज्वम त॒ कॅशीर جۄم تٕہ کٔشِیر, Urdu:جموں Ùˆ کشمیر) (often abbreviated as Kashmir), is the northern-most state of India, lying mostly in the Himalayan mountains. ... Himachal Pradesh   (Hindi: हिमाचल प्रदेश, IPA: ), formerly the Punjab Hill States, is a mostly mountainous state in northern India. ... , Uttarakhand (Hindi: उत्तराखंड), known as Uttaranchal from 2000 to 2006, became the 27th state of the Republic of India on November 9, 2000. ... , Haryana   (HindÄ«: हरियाणा, PunjabÄ«: ਹਰਿਆਣਾ, IPA: ) is a state in north India. ... , This article is about the Indian state of Punjab. ... Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: , Urdu: ‎, translation: Northern Province, IPA: ,  ), also popularly known by its abbreviation U.P., is the most populous and fifth largest state in the Republic of India. ... Bihar (Hindi: बिहार, Urdu: بہار, IPA: ,  ) is a state of the Indian union situated in the eastern part of the country. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Chhattisgarh (छत्तीसगढ़), a state in central India, formed when the sixteen southeastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained statehood on November 1, 2000. ... , Madhya PradeÅ›   (HindÄ«: मध्य प्रदेश, English: , IPA: ), often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. ... , Rājasthān (DevanāgarÄ«: राजस्थान, IPA: )   is the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area but encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert (Thar Desert) which has an edge that parallels the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with... The Indies, on the display globe of the Field Museum, Chicago The Indies or East Indies (or East India) is a term used to describe lands of South and South-East Asia, occupying all of the former British India, the present Indian Union, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Delhi. ... Look up partition in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

North India remains primarily rural, but its vast population has ensured that it has always supported very large cities: apart from the great metropolis of Delhi, the cities of Lucknow, Patna, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Meerut, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Srinagar, Jammu, Bhopal and Indore would rank with the most populous cities of Europe. Delhi   (Hindi: , Urdu: , Punjabi: ), sometimes refered to as Dilli, is the second-largest metropolis in India after Mumbai with a population of 13 million. ... Lucknow   (Hindi: लखनऊ, Urdu: لكهنو, ) is the capital city of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... VārāṇasÄ«   (Hindi: , IPA: ), also known as Benares, Banaras, or Benaras (Hindi: , , IPA: ), or Kashi or Kasi (Hindi: , ), is a famous Hindu holy city situated on the banks of the river Ganges (Ganga) in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... , Jaipur   (Hindi: जयपुर, Urdu: جے پور), also popularly known as the Pink City, historically sometimes rendered as Jeypore, is the capital of Rajasthan state, India. ... Chandigarh   (Punjabi: , Hindi: , pronunciation: ) also called The City Beautiful , is a city in India that serves as the capital of two states: Punjab and Haryana. ... Ludhiana (Punjabi: ) in India is the largest city in Punjab, with an estimated population of 3. ... Amritsar (Punjabi: ), meaning Pool of the Nectar of Immortality, is the administrative headquarter of the Amritsar District in Punjab, India. ... For the Jalandhar meteorite of 1621, see meteorite falls. ... Patiala   (Punjabi: ਪਟਿਆਲਾ) is a city in the Punjab state of India. ... Srinagar   (Hindi: श्रीनगर, Urdu: سرینگر, Kashmiri: سِرېنَگَر सिरीनगर) , is the summer capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India, and is situated in the valley of Kashmir. ... Jammu   (Hindi: जम्मू, Urdu: جموں) is one of the three regions comprising the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. ... For other uses, see Bhopal (disambiguation). ... This article is about Indore city. ...

Introduction and History

The defining features of northern India are ethnicity of its people, linguistics and its history. Northern Indians are primarily defined to be of the Indo-Aryan ethnic group ^[1], although there has been a significant diffusion of all Indian populations since independence. The languages spoken in northern India, namely, Hindi (around 300 million), Punjabi (37 million), Bhojpuri (23 million) and others are classified by linguists as being Indo-Aryan languages. They differ from southern Indian languages which are classified Dravidian languages but share great similarities with western and eastern Indian languages. The key historical differences between northern and other regions of India is the influence of Islam and the interaction with Middle Eastern civilization through the ages. These influences can be understood by reviewing articles on Indian History and the Mughal Empire. Linguistics is the scientific study of language, which can be theoretical or applied. ... Hindi (Devanagari: or , IAST: , IPA: ), an Indo-European language spoken mainly in northern and central India, is one of the official languages of the Union government of India. ... Prehistory The prehistory of India goes back to the old Stone age (Palaeolithic). ... It has been suggested that Mughal Era be merged into this article or section. ...

People

In the last thousand years or so, northern India was subjected to various invasions from neighbouring kingdoms than any other region of India. Indeed, such invasions has left a major mark on the cultural and linguistic traditions of North India. Genetically, South/East/West Indians are closer to northern Indians than other neighbouring nations or Europeans. In spite of repeated invasions northern India was quite resilient and re-built itself rather quickly.

In terms of religion, northern India is generally speaking a stronghold of Vaishnava sects of Hinduism; Shaktism and Shaivism. Northern Indians generally believe in unity of God and that Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma constitute the trīmurtī, or trinity. Having been ruled for nearly eight centuries by Muslim invaders from Central Asia, northern India is the main centre of Islam in India. Vaishnavism is the branch of Hinduism in which Vishnu or one of his avatars (i. ... Hinduism (known as in some modern Indian languages[1]) is a religion that originated on the Indian subcontinent. ... Shaktism is a denomination of Hinduism that worships Shakti, or Devi -- the Hindu name for the Great Mother -- in all of her forms whilst not rejecting the importance of masculine and neuter divinity. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... Islam in India is the second-most practiced religion after (after Hinduism 80. ...

Geography

Northern India lies mainly on continental India and a very small part of it lies on the Indian peninsula. Towards its North are the Himalayas which largely define the boundary between India and China. To its west is the Thar desert and the Aravalli hills. The Vindhya mountains are generally taken to be the southern boundary of northern India. Perspective view of the Himalayas and Mount Everest as seen from space looking south-south-east from over the Tibetan Plateau. ... This article is about Faerûn, a fictional continent, the primary setting of Forgotten Realms Official Material Brief description by Ed Greenwood Categories: Forgotten Realms stubs | Forgotten Realms places ...

The predominant geographical feature of northern India is the Indo-Gangetic plain which spans the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and supports more than half the regions population. The melting of glaciers in the summer and the monsoon rains ensure that the Ganges and its tributaries are perennial, this along with the fertile alluvial nature of the soil have historically been able to be support increasing populations. Additionally, the plains in Punjab and Harayan support large populations there. Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: , Urdu: ‎, translation: Northern Province, IPA: ,  ), also popularly known by its abbreviation U.P., is the most populous and fifth largest state in the Republic of India. ... Bihar (Hindi: बिहार, Urdu: بہار, IPA: ,  ) is a state of the Indian union situated in the eastern part of the country. ...

The Thar desert is an arid and semi-arid region that receives very little rain from the monsoons. The state of Madhya Pradesh has large areas under forest cover as do Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chattisgarh. ^[2] The sate of Jammu and Kashmir is generally mountainous and only supports a population of around 6 million people.

Traditional economy The economy of northern India, especially the region surrounding is growing at a remarkable pace. Shown here are commercial buildings in Gurgaon, Haryana

The economy of this region is predominantly agrarian; culturally, socially and historically the country has always been defined by its village societies. It is therefore proper to devote space to a detailing of the north Indian socio-agrarian structure.

Northern India largely retains a feudal agricultural setup, with a preponderance of tenant farmers as against southern or eastern India, where extensive land reforms and land redistribution policies over the second half of the 20th century put in place an equally bad system of small, fragmented land holdings being farmed by their owners, who are actually almost as impoverished as the tenant farmers of northern India. Some of these differences stem from the later Mughal emperors' practice of relying on zamindars, or 'hereditary tax farmers', who collected taxes from rural communities in return for a percentage of the proceeds, and were granted certain administrative powers. The Zamindari system was never as prevalent in the south, as Mughal rule did not extend to much of the South.

The British administrators of the Bengal Presidency (Eastern India) inherited and expanded upon the Zamindari system, while the Madras Presidency which governed much of south India, relied on textpanchayats, or village councils, for rural administration and tax collection. Although the zamindari system was formally abolished after India's independence, a rural economy dominated by landlords is still prevalent across much of northern India. Tensions between landlords and their tenant farmers are widespread in northern India, notably in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh these tensions have given rise to landlord-tenant strife in several northern states, and has fueled Naxalite movements.

References

• Demographics of India. Retrieved on 21st Dec 2006.
• FOREST SURVEY OF INDIA - STATE OF FOREST REPORT 2003. Retrieved on 21st Dec 2006.

External links

• Ampur: A Virtual Village
• More Info about Northern India
• North India - New Delhi (Capital) City Guide

See also

• South India
• North-East India
• West India
• East India
• Hindi belt