Question

Discuss the spatial pattern of density of population in India.

Answer 1

India has a highly uneven pattern of population distribution. U.P., Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh along with Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Gujarat, together account for about 76 percent of the total population of the country. On the other hand, the share of the population is very small in the states like Jammu & Kashmir (0.98%), Arunachal Pradesh (0.11%), and Uttaranchal (0.83%) in spite of these states having fairly large geographical areas. The density of population in India (2011) is 382 persons per sq km and ranks third among the most densely populated countries of Asia.

Such an uneven spatial distribution of population in India suggests a close relationship between population and physical, socio-economic, and historical factors. As far as the physical factors are concerned, it is clear that climate along with terrain and availability of water largely determines the pattern of the population distribution. Consequently, we observe that the North Indian Plains, deltas, and Coastal Plains have a higher proportion of the population than the interior districts of southern and central Indian States, Himalayas, some of the northeastern and the western states. However, the development of irrigation (Rajasthan), availability of mineral and energy resources (Jharkhand), and development of transport network (Peninsular States) have resulted in moderate to the high concentration of population in are. as which were previously very thinly populated.

Among the socio-economic and historical factors of distribution of population, important ones are the evolution of settled agriculture and agricultural development; the pattern of human settlement; development of transport networks, industrialization, and urbanization. It is observed that the regions falling in the river plains and coastal areas of India have remained the regions of larger population concentration. Even though the uses of natural resources like land and water in these regions have shown the sign of degradation, the concentration of population remains high because of an early history of human settlement and development of transport network. On the other hand, the urban regions of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, and Jaipur have a high concentration of population due to industrial development and urbanization drawing a large number of rural-urban migrants.