VIDEO LECTURE-17

UNIT-4
INDIAN TRADITIONS,
CULTURE AND SOCIETY
(KNC 602)

MR. VIKAS ROSHAN

A.P., AS&H Deptt.
AKGEC, GZB
 VIDEO LECTURE-17
UNIT-4
❖GEOGRAPHY IN INDIA
❖BIOLOGY IN INDIA
❖HARAPPAN TECHNOLOGIES
❖WATER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA
 GEOGRAPHY IN INDIA
• Indian geography has a long history. The main sources of ancient Indian geographical works are the
Vaidikas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the work of Buddhists, Jains and the Puranas.
• Travel accounts of Chinese and Arab travellers to India provided valuable information about the
places they travelled, particularly the travel accounts of Chinese pilgrims like Hiuen Tsang, Fa-Hien,
and Sung-Yun, and the Arab travellers like Ibn-Batuta and Al-Beruni. A number of European
travellers who toured India during 16th, 17th and 18th centuries also narrated and recorded their
experiences which contain information about the various geographical aspects of India.
• The ancient Indian scholars had a very good knowledge of the various dwipas (continents),
mountain systems, rivers, fauna and flora of the brahmatvarsa (subcontinent) and the land lying in
its vicinity.
• The work has done by Varahmihira, Brahmagupta, Aryabhatta, Bhaskaracharya, Bhattila, Utpala,
Vijaynandi and others have made substantial development in the field of astronomy, mathematical
geography and cartography.
 GEOGRAPHY IN INDIA
• The ancient Indian literature describes the Universe as brahmand, which means very immense and
wide. The ancient Indian astronomers believed in the geocentric Universe. They were also conscious
of the causes of grahnas (eclipses). They believed in the spherical shape of the earth. About the size
of the earth, no definite information was given in Vedic and Puranic literature, but later literature of
the 5th and 6th centuries A.D on astronomy gave some convincing information about the
dimensions of the earth. They were also conscious of the importance of akshansa (latitudes) and
deshantra (longitudes) in the determination of a point or place on the surface of the earth. The
Puranas and the Vedic literature also gave descriptions of the mountains and rivers of
Bharatvavsha.
• The Puranas also mention the mountains like the Himavat, Uttra-kuru, Uttar-Madra, Trikakud
(Hindukush), Vindhya, Durdura and Mahendra. The Rig Veda mentioned about the various rivers
like the Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Sutudri (Sutlej), Parusni (Ravi), Asikni (Chenab), Vitasta
(Jhelum) and Sindhu (Indus).
According to the Vedic information, river Ganga is said to flow from the
Vindusarovar (Gangotri). There is also a mention of river Lauhitya
(Brahmaputra) which debouches at Dihang near Sadya (Assam).
 BIOLOGY IN INDIA
• Biology is the study of living being. It is divided into Zoology and Botany.
• Indian systems Ayurveda originated around 1500 BCE from Atharvaveda (one of the
four most ancient books of Indian knowledge, wisdom and culture). The ancient
Indian Ayurveda tradition independently developed the concept of three humours,
resembling that of the four humours of ancient Greek medicine, though the
Ayurvedic system included further complications, such as the body being composed
of five elements and seven basic tissues. Ayurvedic writers also classified living
things into four categories based on the method of birth (from the womb, eggs,
heat & moisture, and seeds) and explained the conception of a fetus in detail. They
also made considerable advances in the field of surgery, often without the use of
human dissection or animal vivisection. One of the earliest Ayurvedic treatises was
the Sushruta Samhita, attributed to Sushruta in the 6th century BCE. It was also an
early materia medica, describing 700 medicinal plants, 64 preparations from
mineral sources, and 57 preparations based on animal sources.
In the field of Biology Mrga-paksi-sastra was compiled by
Hamsadeva; Jahangir‟s Tuzuk-I jahangiri recorded his
observation and experiments on breeding and hybridisation.
 POPULAR BIOLOGISTS OF INDIA
1. SAMIR BRAHMACHARI: Director of the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), New Delhi, his
main contribution has been in the field of functional genomics. Molecular genetics of neurological and
psychiatric disorders has been a major area of interest and along with his team, he has been able to identify a
gene associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Brahmachari has also done extensive computational
analysis of repetitive sequences in the genome and his team was one of the first to propose a functional role of
such sequence.
2. DR LALJI SINGH: Director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) since 1998, Singh is best
known for developing a unique way of DNA fingerprinting that has been accepted by Indian courts as valid in
forensic evidence, paternity determination and seed stock verification. This technique was used during the probe
into the Rajiv Gandhi murder case. This new technique prompted the government to set up the Centre for DNA
Fingerprinting and Diagnostics for further exploration in the field.
3. PROF M VIJAYAN: An honorary professor at the Molecular Biophysics Unit at Indian Institute of Science,
Bangalore, Vijayan has made original contributions in the study of structure and properties of lectins, apart from
his insightful research on the evolutionary implications of molecular recognition and aggregation of amino acids
and peptides. Vijayan has extensively studied the structural genomics of mycobacterial proteins, which, among
other things, opened up avenues for structure-based inhibitor design.
4. KANURY VENKATA SUBBA RAO: Rao is organic chemistry's loss and biology's gain.
A PhD in chemistry from MS University, Vadodara, Rao switched to the investigation
of immune systems and now leads the immunology group at the International
Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi. His team at
ICGEB aims to understand the regulatory parameters that influence the outcome of
an immune response.
 HARAPPAN TECHNOLOGIES
Harappan Civilization was one of the oldest civilizations of ancient India, also known as Indus
Valley Civilization. It was the urban culture of the ancient Indian subcontinent along with Harappa
and Mohenjodaro. The Harappan civilization stretched from the Montgomery District to modern-day
northeast Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northwest India. Harappan cities have their urban planning,
baked brick houses, detailed drainage systems, water supply systems, clusters of large non-residential
buildings. Harappan civilization people also used new techniques in Handicrafts, Karelian products,
Seal carving, and metallurgy such as copper, bronze lead, and tin.
The cities of the Harappan civilization were very well planned and beautifully constructed, with baked
bricks used to construct houses and buildings in rows on both sides of the road. Some houses were
also built in the streets. The houses built in cities used to be five feet in length and 97 feet in width.
Their buildings also had two-roomed houses. Some houses had private bathrooms with pottery in the
walls, which also provided water drainage. In some cases, there was a provision of a crib to sit in the
toilet.
The Indus Valley Civilization advances may include bullock carts that are
similar to the boats seen everywhere in South Asia today. Most of these boats
were probably small, flat-bottomed craft, probably powered by sails, which
can be seen today on the Indus River; However, there are secondary
evidences of seagoing craft. Archaeologists have discovered a huge, dry canal
as a docking facility in the coastal city of Lothal in western India (Gujarat
state). An extensive canal network, which was also used for irrigation.
 HARAPPAN TECHNOLOGIES
• Research published in the Journal of Archaeological Science confirms
that the Indus people were the first to use complex multi-cropping
strategies in both seasons, growing foods during the summer such as
rice, millet, and beans etc. and in winter wheat, barley, and pulses,
which required separate sorting management.
• The people of the Indus Valley civilization were technically very
developed and had a good knowledge of metallurgy, they also used
standardized burnt bricks, precision weights, and cotton. Many
subdivisions also had a standardized system of weights and
measurements with calibration. According to the evidence found in the
excavations, they used gold, silver, copper, lapis lazuli, turquoise,
amethyst, alabaster, jade etc.
 HARAPPAN TECHNOLOGIES
• The people of the Indus civilization had achieved great accuracy in measuring
length, mass, and time. They were among the first to develop a system of
equal weights and measures. A comparison of the available items indicates
large-scale variation in the Indus regions. Their smallest division, marked on
an ivory scale found in Lothal, Gujarat, was about 1.704 mm, the smallest
partition recorded on the Bronze Age scale.
• Harappans were familiar with medical science and used various herbs and
medicines to treat diseases. The people of the Indus Valley Civilization
practiced trephination which is a kind of medical intervention, in which a hole is
made in the skull to treat skull and brain disorders. Evidence of traction has
also been found at Lothal, Kalibangan, and Burjholm, but not at Harappa or
most other sites.
The people of the Indus Valley were familiar with the use of
wheel-drawn potters. Paintings and glazing of potters were
also known. He also knew using lime as a plaster. He used
pyro-technology to heat lime. The people of the Indus Valley
also manufactured ‘fans’ by heating silica up to 1200C.
 WATER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA
Management of Water Resources in India is done by following ways:
Desiltation: Canals, tanks, yeris, etc. must be desilted regularly during the summer months.
People should be encouraged to revive the ancient practice of protecting trees around tanks. Major
rivers were sanctified and groves were established around villages and on the river banks.
Afforestation: Afforestation of barren, hilly slopes on a warfooting should be carried out. Trees
withstand drought better than crops. They check dust, replenish streams, provide shade to cattle and
man and give fodder for cattle. They provide innumerable uses for man. Denuding the land of trees
without compensatory afforestation is a suicidal and short-sighted approach to solving immediate
needs.

Ponds and Tanks: Creation of small reservoirs and percolation tanks to hold
run-off water must be implemented and maintained well. Agronomic practices
like off-season tillage (prior to pre-monsoon showers) conserve soil moisture.
Moisture penetration to a depth of 90 cm. is achieved if the land is ploughed to
a depth of 30 cm. Other practices like early sowing of seeds, moderate use of
fertilisers, weeding, pest and disease control and timely harvesting increase the
yield inspite of limited moisture in the soil.
 WATER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA
Terrace cultivation of hilly slopes prevents water run-off. Contour ploughing and planting of grasses
and trees check run-off water and increase the soil's capacity to retain moisture.
Green manuring (incorporation of fresh green leaves into the soil) and crop-rotation (cultivating
different crops in rotation depending upon the soil and climate, e.g. cereals followed by legumes)
conserve soil moisture. Mulching the soil with organic residue conserves soil moisture.
The use of sprinkler irrigation for closely-spaced crops like millet, pulses, groundnuts, etc., conserves
30 to 40% of the surface water.
Drip irrigation is most suited for closely-spaced row crops like vegetables, cotton, sugarcane. The
efficiency of this system is around 25 to 30% in conserving soil moisture. The cheapest and easiest
form of drip irrigation is to drill one to three holes in a mud pot and bury it partially in the soil next to
the plant. The water in the pot drips slowly, ensuring that the soil is continuously moist and the plant
gets a constant supply of water.
Harvesting rain water and storing it in small ponds ensures water supply
during summer.
Deep trenches can be dug adjacent to bunds to collect run off water and soil.
All these practices are useful only if utilised properly.