NCERT Solutions for Class 6 social science Chapter 5: India That is Bharat Class 6

How do we define India?
Answer:
India is a vast and diverse country located in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country in the world by land area. India is bordered by several countriesPakistan to the northwest, China and Nepal to the north, Bhutan to the northeast, and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. To the south, it is surrounded by the Indian Ocean, with the Arabian Sea on the west and the Bay of Bengal on the east.

What were the ancient names for India?
Answer:
The ancient names for India were ‘Bharatavarsha’, ‘Jambudvipa’ and Bharata.

Consider the physical map of the Indian Subcontinent at the start of the chapter. What are its natural boundaries that you can make out? (Page 77)
Answer:
The natural boundaries which can be seen are the Himalayas and Hindukush mountains in the north. The Arabian Sea in the West and Bay of Bengal in the East.

Have you identified the ‘snowy mountains’? Do you think this brief description of Bharata is correct? (Page 80)
Answer:
The snowy mountains mentioned in the Vishnu Purana are the Himalayas. This brief description of Bharata is correct as it refers to the natural boundaries of India which has helped to protect India against foreign invaders and made it a well defined unit.

Do you recognise the names of any regions given in the below map (on page 79)? List the ones that you have heard of.

Answer:
The names of regions are which I can recognise Kerala, Kalinga, Chola, Pandya, Kashi, Kosala and Avanti.

In the given reproduction of the first page of the original Constitution of India, can you make out the phrase ‘India, that is Bharat’?

Answer:
Yes, I can make out the following phrase from the first page of the original Constitution of India.
India, that is bharat, shall be a union of states. The states and the territories there of shall be the states and their territories specified in parts $A, B$ and $C$ of the first schedule……..

Can you complete this table of the many names of India?

Answer:

Discuss what could be the meaning of the quotation at the start of the chapter.
Answer:
The quotation indicates that the principles that form the foundations of India’s spiritual and cultural unity were laid down. In ancient India itself and were followed down the centuries as a way of life for all.

True or/False?
(a) The Rig Veda describes the entire geography of India.
Answer:
False

If you were bom some 2,000 years ago and had the chance to name our country, what name or names might you have chosen, and why? Use your imagination!
Answer:
I would have chosen the name ‘Bharatavarsha’ as the name covers the entire Subcontinent as it existed in ancient times. Moreover this name would include all the people who inhabited the Subcontinent.

Why did people travel to India from various parts of the world in ancient times? What could be their motivations in undertaking such long journeys? (Hint: There could be at least four or five motivations)
Answer:
People travelled to India for various reasons: Many people travelled to India for trade purposes. Traders and merchants would travel to sell their goods or exchange them for other products. There was a lot of demand for Indian goods like spices, muslin cloth, silk and indigo. In ancient times, India was famous for it’s wealth, culture and philosophy. For traveller’s India was a Land of wonder’s. Thus many people driven by a spirit of adventure and desire to visit new and exciting places came to India. Some people came as part of an army bent on conquest. For e.g. the army of Alexander and the Persian king Cyrus. People also travelled to India in search of knowledge. E.g. The Chinese traveller’s like Fa-Hien, Hiuen Tsang and I-tsing came to India to gain knowledge about Buddhism. Some people like the Shaka tribes were pushed out of their homes in Central Asia, and sought an alternative homeland in India.