in the

taries and branches, furnishes some thousands of miles of waterways, which are of immense economic importance. The Brahmaputra also in its lower course affords some facilities of transport. The Indus and its tributaries are navigable by small boats, and by steamers during a part of the year. In the southern half of the country, the nature of but difficult the surface has placed great impediments in the way peninsula. of communication. Roads are not easy of construction, and railways have become possible only in certain parts of the peninsula, and even there only with the aid of much engineering skill. The rivers also are not quite so useful as waterways, all of them being too impetuous in times of flood and too scantily supplied with water at other times.

The long sea-board of India offers facilities of communication between the coast districts of the country. The number of natural harbours, however, is few, and during the monsoons the Indian Ocean becomes exceedingly rough. But in spite of these disadvantages, the sea has now become a natural highway connecting India with the other parts of the world.

The sea, the great highway.

few.

We have now finished our brief survey of the Natural advantages physical environment in India and its relation to many, disthe economic aspect of the life of her people. We advantages have noted the many natural advantages which the country enjoys and the few difficulties it labours under. It is necessary to recognise the dependence of the people on nature; but it would be a mistake Dependence to suppose that this dependence is absolute. Man not absolute.

on nature

Natural can, in some measure, modify his environment.

obstacles

able.

And

surmount- the people of India can, by their intelligence and knowledge, control the forces of nature to a considerable extent. Let us try to understand this point clearly.

The productiveness of the land depends on the fertility of the soil. But natural fertility is increased by the effort of man and decreased by lack of proper care. Wasteful cultivation may turn the best land into the poorest; while the worst land can be converted into the most fertile by the application of proper manures and the adoption of a well-regulated method of agriculture. In mining, the extension of knowledge and inventiveness may lead to the artificial manufacture of new and useful metals, supplementing and even superseding the use of the minerals which are now known to the world. As for the climate, it is essentially unalterable; but even here modifications may be secured in various ways. Afforestation may lead to an increase of rainfall where it is at present scanty, and irrigation may be so practised as to carry water to any place where it is wanted. Extensive drainage works, the reclamation of swamps and marshes, and the re-excavation of silted rivers may also affect for the better the climate of the country, the health of the people, and the moisture conditions of the land. The effects of extreme heat and cold may be mitigated by various artificial means. The enervating influence of the climate on body and mind may be counteracted by the adoption of proper care and a scientific mode of living.

The flora and fauna of the country are determined partly by the physical conditions and partly by the will of man. Scientific knowledge may be applied to the improvement of the existing vegetables and fruits, and new sorts may be made to grow. So also, the breed of cattle may be improved and certain new kinds may be introduced.

As for communication, science has surmounted most of the difficulties which nature placed in certain parts of the country. Railways have penetrated into places which would otherwise have remained inaccessible, and distance is no longer a bar to communication. The formidable ocean now affords the easiest and cheapest means of transport.

Population.

Density.

CHAPTER III

THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE

THE PEOPLE

NATURE and man are the two chief agents in the production of wealth. In the last chapter we described the part played by nature in the economy of Indian life. The present chapter will be devoted to a brief discussion of the human element.

The total population of India is about 315 15 millions, of which British territory contains 244-26 millions or 77.5 per cent., and the Native States 70.88 millions or 22.5 per cent.1

In the whole Empire there are on the average 175 persons to the square mile, or much the same as in Europe outside Russia. In British territory the number to the square mile is 223 and in the

1 The population of India is considerably more than three times that of the United States of America. The United Provinces and Bengal with the States attached to them have each as many inhabitants as the British Islands, Bihar and Orissa as France, Bombay as Austria, and the Punjab as Spain and Portugal combined (vide Census of India, 1911).

distribution

Native States 100.1 But in India, distribution of Local the people is not even throughout the country. unequal. The density of population depends on several factors, the most important of which are rainfall, the climate, the soil, the configuration of the surface, and the state of civilisation. As a rule, the population is the densest in those parts in which there is an abundant supply of water, either natural or artificial, or in other words, where the primary requirements of human life are satisfied with the greatest ease. But there are exceptions. The greatest density is to be found in the province of Bengal, which has an average population of 551 to the square mile, and the next densest tract is the Gangetic plain of the United Provinces, with 427 to the square mile. The density is the lowest in Upper Burma, the North-western Frontier Province, and Baluchistan. Between these extremes there is

almost every shade of variety.2

mainly

The people for the most part live in villages. Population Only 95 per cent. of the population are found in rural. towns with over 5000 persons each, compared with 78.1 per cent. in England and Wales and 45'6 per cent. in Germany. The proportion of the urban to

1 Sir A. J. Baines pointed out (in an article in the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, December, 1904), that, in the case of India, "the mean density figure is in itself peculiarly devoid of significance." The population per mile of the United Kingdom is 379; Germany, 290; France, 190; the United States, 21; Russia in Europe, 50; Russia in Asia, 3-6; Belgium, 589; Holland, 400; Egypt (Delta), 939; Canada, 1·5; Australia, 1·2.

2 In Assam the density is 110 to the square mile, in Baluchistan 6, Bengal 551, Behar and Orissa 344, Bombay 145, Burma 52,