Region and plateau in India
The
Deccan
is a large
plateau
and region of India located between the
Western Ghats
and the
Eastern Ghats
, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the
Narmada River
. To the north, it is bounded by the
Satpura
and
Vindhya Ranges
. It covers the modern-day
Indian States
of
Maharashtra
,
Telangana
and
Karnataka
.
A rocky terrain marked by boulders, its elevation ranges between 100 and 1,000 metres (330 and 3,280 ft), with an average of about 600 metres (2,000 ft).
[1]
It slopes generally eastward, and thus its principal rivers?the Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri (Cauvery)?flow eastward from the Western Ghats to the Bay of Bengal. The plateau is drier than the coastal region of
southern India
and is arid in places.
The Deccan Plateau has produced some of the major
dynasties
in
Indian history
, including the
Pallavas
,
Satavahana
,
Vakataka
,
Chalukya
, and
Rashtrakuta
dynasties, also the
Western Chalukya Empire
, the
Kadambas
, the
Yadava
dynasty, the
Kakatiya Empire
, the
Musunuri Nayakas
regime, the
Vijayanagara
and the
Maratha
empires, as well as the
Muslim
Bahmani Sultanate
,
Deccan Sultanates
, and the
Nizam of Hyderabad
.
Etymology
[
edit
]
The word
Deccan
is an anglicized version of the
Prakrit
word
dakkha?a
,
[2]
[3]
[4]
which is used in other languages of the Deccan including
Kannada
,
Telugu
,
Marathi
, and
Dakhni
. It has etymological roots in the
Sanskrit
dak?i?a
which evolved into the later Prakrit one.
Extent
[
edit
]
Geographers have variously defined the Deccan region using indices such as rainfall, vegetation, soil type, or physical features.
According to one geographical definition, it is the peninsular
tableland
lying to the south of the
Tropic of Cancer
. Its outer boundary is marked by the 300 m
contour line
, with
Vindhya
-
Kaimur
watersheds
in the north. This area can be subdivided into two major geologic-physiographic regions: an
igneous rock
plateau with fertile
black soil
, and a
gneiss
peneplain
with infertile
red soil
, interrupted by several hills.
Historians have defined the term Deccan differently. These definitions range from a narrow one by
R. G. Bhandarkar
(1920), who defines Deccan as the Marathi speaking area lying between the
Godavari
and
Krishna
rivers, to a broad one by
K. M. Panikkar
(1969), who defines it as the entire Indian peninsula to the south of the Vindhyas.
Firishta
(16th century) defined Deccan as the territory inhabited by the native speakers of
Kannada
,
Marathi
, and
Telugu
languages.
Richard M. Eaton
(2005) settles on this linguistic definition for a discussion of the region's geopolitical history.
Stewart N. Gordon
(1998) notes that historically, the term "Deccan" and the northern border of Deccan has varied from
Tapti River
in the north to Godavari River in the south, depending on the southern boundary of the northern empires. Therefore, while discussing the history of the
Marathas
, Gordon uses Deccan as a "relational term", defining it as "the area beyond the southern border of a northern-based kingdom" of India.
[8]
Geography
[
edit
]
The Deccan plateau is a topographically variegated region located south of the Gangetic plains -the portion lying between the
Arabian Sea
and the
Bay of Bengal
- and includes a substantial area to the north of the
Satpura Range
, which has popularly been regarded as the divide between northern India and the Deccan. The plateau is bounded on the east and west by the Ghats, while its northern extremity is the
Vindhya Range
. The Deccan's average elevation is about 600 metres (2,000 ft), sloping generally eastward; its principal rivers, the Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri, flow from the Western Ghats eastward to the Bay of Bengal.
Tiruvannamalai
in Tamil Nadu is often regarded as the Southern gateway of the Deccan plateau.
The Western Ghats mountain range is very massive and blocks the moisture from the southwest
monsoon
from reaching the Deccan Plateau, so the region receives very little rainfall.
[9]
[10]
The eastern Deccan Plateau is at a lower elevation spanning the southeastern coast of India. Its forests are also relatively dry but serve to retain the rain to form streams that feed into rivers that flow into basins and then into the Bay of Bengal.
[11]
[12]
Most Deccan plateau rivers flow south. Most of the northern part of the plateau is drained by the
Godavari River
and its tributaries, including the
Indravati River
, starting from the Western Ghats and flowing east towards the Bay of Bengal. Most of the central plateau is drained by the
Tungabhadra River
,
Krishna River
and its tributaries, including the
Bhima River
, which also run east. The southernmost part of the plateau is drained by the
Kaveri River
, which rises in the Western Ghats of Karnataka and bends south to break through the
Nilgiri Hills
at the island town of
Shivanasamudra
and then falls into Tamil Nadu at
Hogenakal Falls
before flowing into the
Stanley Reservoir
and the
Mettur Dam
that created the reservoir, and finally emptying into the Bay of Bengal.
[13]
On the western edge of the plateau lie the
Sahyadri
, the
Nilgiri
, the Anaimalai and the Elamalai Hills, commonly known as Western Ghats. The average height of the Western Ghats, which run along the
Arabian Sea
, goes on increasing towards the south.
Anaimudi
Peak in
Kerala
, with a height of 2,695 m above sea level, is the highest peak of peninsular India. In the Nilgiris lie Ootacamund, the well-known
hill station
of southern India. The western coastal plain is uneven and swift rivers flow through it that form beautiful lagoons and backwaters, examples of which can be found in the state of Kerala. The east coast is wide with deltas formed by the rivers Godavari, Mahanadi and Kaveri. Flanking the Indian peninsula on the western side are the
Lakshadweep Islands
in the Arabian Sea and on the eastern side lie the
Andaman
and
Nicobar
islands in the Bay of Bengal.
The eastern and southeastern Deccan plateau regions which include
Rayalaseema
, Andhra Pradesh, majority of
Bengaluru division
, Part of
Tamilnadu
and
Telangana
, is made of vast sheets of massive granite rock, which effectively traps rainwater. Under the thin surface layer of soil is the impervious gray granite bedrock. It rains here only during some months.
The plateau is drained by the Godavari River taking a southeasterly course; by the Krishna River, which divides the peneplain into two regions; and by the Pennai Aaru River flowing in a northerly direction. The plateau's forests are moist deciduous, dry deciduous, and tropical thorn.
Most of the population of the region is engaged in agriculture; cereals, oilseeds, cotton, and pulses (legumes) are the major crops. There are multipurpose irrigation and hydroelectric-power projects, including the Pochampad, Bhaira Vanitippa, and Upper Pennai Aaru. Well known Industries are cotton textiles, sugar, foodstuffs, tobacco, paper, machine tools, and pharmaceuticals. Cottage industries are forest-based (timber, firewood, charcoal, bamboo products) and mineral-based (
asbestos
, coal,
chromite
, iron ore,
mica
, and
kyanite
).
Having once constituted a segment of the ancient continent of
Gondwanaland
, this land is the oldest and most stable in India. The Deccan plateau consists of dry tropical forests that experience only seasonal rainfall.
The large cities in the Deccan are
Bengaluru
,
Mysuru
,
Tirupati
,
Pune
,
Nagpur
,
Nashik
and
Hyderabad
. Other major cities include
Hubli
,
Belagavi
,
Kalaburagi
,
Bidar
,
Hampi
and
Bellary
in Karnataka;
Aurangabad
,
Solapur
,
Osmanabad
,
Amravati
,
Kolhapur
,
Akola
,
Latur
,
Sangli
,
Jalgaon
,
Nanded
,
Dhule
,
Chandrapur
and
Satara
in Maharashtra;
Hosur
,
Krishnagiri
,
Tiruvannamalai
,
Vellore
and
Ambur
in Tamil Nadu;
Amaravati
,
Visakhapatnam
,
Kurnool
,
Vijayawada
,
Guntur
,
Anantapur
,
Kadiri
,
Kadapa
,
Puttaparthi
,
Chittoor
,
Madanapalle
,
Kuppam
in Andhra Pradesh;
Warangal
,
Karimnagar
,
Ramagundam
,
Nizamabad
,
Suryapet
,
Siddipet
,
Nalgonda
,
Mahbubnagar
in present-day
Telangana
;
Jagdalpur
,
Kirandul
,
Dantewada
in Chhattisgarh and
Jeypore
,
Koraput
,
Bhawanipatna
in
Odisha
in the Northeastern part of the Deccan Plateau.
Climate
[
edit
]
The climate of the region varies from
semi-arid
in the north to
tropical
in most of the region with distinct wet and dry seasons. Some patches of
desert
exist in the deep centre.
Rayalaseema
and
Vidarbha
are the driest regions. Rain falls during the
monsoon
season from about June to October. March to June can be very dry and hot, with temperatures regularly exceeding 35 °C.
The plateau's climate is drier than that on the coasts and is arid in places. Although sometimes used to mean all of India south of the
Narmada River
, the word Deccan relates more specifically to that area of rich volcanic soils and lava-covered plateaus in the northern part of the peninsula between the Narmada and
Krishna
rivers.
Deccan Traps
[
edit
]
The northwestern part of the Deccan Plateau, a
Precambrian
shield
, is partially covered by the Deccan Traps ("Deccan steps"), a
large igneous province
made up of a series of
flood basalt
lava flows
. This rocky material covers the whole of Maharashtra, thereby making it one of the largest
Volcanic Provinces
in the world. It consists of more than 2,000 metres (7,000 ft) of basalt lava flows and covers an area of nearly 500,000 km
2
(190,000 sq mi) in west-central India. Estimates of the original area covered by the lava flows are as high as 1,500,000 km
2
(580,000 sq mi). The volume of basalt is estimated to be 511,000 km
3
. The deep, dark,
silty
soil found here is suitable for cotton cultivation.
Geology
[
edit
]
Typically, the Deccan Plateau is made up of
basalt
, an
extrusive
igneous rock
, extending up to
Bhor Ghat
near
Karjat
. Also, in certain sections of the region we can find
granite
, which is an
intrusive
igneous rock
.
The difference between these two rock types is that basalt rock forms on eruption of lava, that is, on the surface (either out of a volcano, or through massive fissures?as in the Deccan basalts?in the ground), while granite forms deep within the Earth. Granite is a
felsic
rock, meaning it is rich in
potassium feldspar
and
quartz
. This composition is continental in origin (meaning it is the primary composition of the
continental crust
). Since it cooled relatively slowly, it has large visible crystals.
Basalt, on the other hand, is
mafic
in composition?meaning it is rich in
pyroxene
and, in some cases,
olivine
, both of which are
Mg
-
Fe
rich minerals. Basalt is similar in composition to
mantle rocks
, indicating that it came from the mantle and did not mix with continental rocks. Basalt forms in areas that are spreading, whereas granite forms mostly in areas that are colliding. Since both rocks are found in the Deccan Plateau, it indicates two different environments of formation.
The volcanic
basalt
beds of the Deccan were laid down in the massive
Deccan Traps
eruption, which occurred towards the end of the
Cretaceous
period between 67 and 66 million years ago. Some
paleontologists
speculate that this eruption may have been one of the causes of the
Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event
. Layer after layer was formed by the volcanic activity that lasted many thousands of years, and when the volcanoes became extinct, they left a region of highlands with typically vast stretches of flat areas on top like a table. The
volcanic hotspot
that produced the Deccan traps is hypothesized to lie under the present-day island of
Reunion
in the Indian Ocean.
[14]
The Deccan is rich in minerals. Primary mineral ores found in this region are mica and iron ore in the
Chhota Nagpur
region, and diamonds, gold and other metals in the
Kollur
region and
Kolar Gold Fields
.
Fauna
[
edit
]
The large areas of remaining forest on the plateau are still home to a variety of grazing animals from the
four-horned antelope
(
Tetracerus quadricornis
),
[13]
chinkara
(
Gazella bennettii
),
[13]
and
blackbuck
(
Antilope cervicapra
) to the
gaur
(
Bos gaurus
;
/?a??r/
) and
wild water buffalo
(
Bubalus arnee
).
People
[
edit
]
Northern Deccan is inhabited by
Indo-Aryan peoples
. Major groups include
Marathi people
and
Deccani people
. The
Marathi language
is spoken in the Maharashtra State while the
Deccani language
, which is a variety of
Hindustani
is spoken in northern Telangana, northeastern Karnataka and southeastern Maharashtra with the city of
Hyderabad
being a major stronghold of the language.
Southern Deccan is inhabited by
Dravidian peoples
who speak include
Telugu
and
Kannada
, the predominant languages of
Telangana
and
Karnataka
respectively, occupy those states' portions of the plateau.
History
[
edit
]
The Deccan produced some of the most significant dynasties in Indian history, such as the
Vijayanagara Empire
, the
Rashtrakuta dynasty
, the
Chola dynasty
, the
Thagadur
dynasty, Adhiyamans
Pallavas
, the
Tondaiman
,
Satavahana dynasty
,
Vakataka dynasty
,
Kadamba dynasty
,
Chalukya dynasty
,
Yadava dynasty
,
Kakatiya Dynasty
,
Western Chalukya Empire
,
Maratha Empire
, and
Mysore Kingdom
.
Of the early history, the main facts established are the growth of the
Maurya Empire
(300 BCE) and after that the Deccan was ruled by the
Satavahana dynasty
, which protected the Deccan against the Scythian invaders, the
Western Satraps
.
[15]
Prominent dynasties of this time include the
Cholas
(3rd century BCE to 12th century CE),
Chalukyas
(6th to 12th centuries),
Rashtrakutas
(753?982),
Yadavas
(9th to 14th centuries),
Hoysalas
(10th to 14th centuries),
Kakatiya
(1083 to 1323 CE), and
Vijayanagara Empire
(1336?1646).
Ahir
Kings once ruled over the Deccan. A cave inscription at
Nasik
refers to the reign of an
Abhira
prince named
Ishwarsena
, son of Shivadatta.
[16]
After the collapse of the
Satavahana dynasty
, the Deccan was ruled by the
Vakataka dynasty
from the third century to fifth century.
[
citation needed
]
From the sixth to eighth century, the Deccan was ruled by the
Chalukya dynasty
which produced great rulers such as
Pulakesi II
, who defeated the north India Emperor
Harsha
, and
Vikramaditya II
, whose general defeated the Arab invaders in the eighth century.
From the eighth to tenth century, the
Rashtrakuta dynasty
ruled this region. It led successful military campaigns into northern India and was described by Arab scholars as one of the four great empires of the world.
[17]
In the tenth century, the
Western Chalukya Empire
, which produced scholars such as the social reformer
Basavanna
,
Vijn?ne?vara
, the mathematician
Bh?skara II
, and
Someshwara III
, who wrote the text
Manasollasa
, was established.
From the early 11th century to the 12th century, the Deccan Plateau was dominated by the
Western Chalukya Empire
and the
Chola dynasty
.
[18]
Several battles were fought between the Western Chalukya Empire and the Chola dynasty in the Deccan Plateau during the reigns of
Raja Raja Chola I
,
Rajendra Chola I
,
Jayasimha II
,
Someshvara I
and
Vikramaditya VI
, and
Kulottunga I
.
[19]
In 1294,
Alauddin Khalji
, emperor of Delhi, invaded the Deccan, stormed Devagiri, and reduced the
Yadava
rajas of Maharashtra to the position of tributary princes (see
Daulatabad
), then proceeded southward to conquer the
Orugallu
,
Carnatic
. In 1307, a fresh series of incursions led by
Malik Kafur
began in response to unpaid tributes, resulting in the final ruin of the Yadava clan; and in 1338, the conquest of the Deccan was completed by Sultan
Muhammad bin Tughluq
.
The imperial hegemony was brief, as soon the earlier kingdoms reverted to their former masters. These defections by the states were soon followed by a general revolt of the foreign governors, resulting in the establishment in 1347 of the independent
Bahmani
dynasty.
[20]
The power of the
Delhi sultanate
evaporated south of the
Narmada River
. The southern Deccan came under the rule of the famous
Vijayanagara Empire
, which reached its zenith during the reign of Emperor
Krishnadevaraya
.
Vijayanagara Empire
jostled for control over the key regions in the Deccan as territories were regularly fought out for against the Bahmani Sultanate.
Krishnadevaraya
of the
Vijayanagara Empire
defeated the last remnant of Bahmani Sultanate power after which the Bahmani Sultanate collapsed.
When the Bahmani empire dissolved in 1518, its dominions were distributed into the five Muslim states of
Golkonda
,
Bijapur
,
Ahmednagar
,
Bidar
and
Berar
, giving rise to the
Deccan sultanates
.
[20]
South of these, the Hindu state of Carnatic or
Vijayanagar
still survived; but this, too, was defeated, at the
Battle of Talikota
(1565) by a league of the Muslim powers. Berar had already been annexed by
Ahmednagar
in 1572, and Bidar was absorbed by
Bijapur
in 1619.
Mughal
interest in the Deccan also rose at this time. Partially incorporated into the Empire in 1598, Ahmadnagar was fully annexed in 1636; Bijapur in 1686, and Golkonda in 1687.
In 1645,
Shivaji
laid the foundation of the
Maratha Empire
. The Marathas under Shivaji directly challenged the Bijapur Sultanate and ultimately the mighty
Mughal empire
. Once the Bijapur Sultanate stopped being a threat to the Maratha Empire, Marathas became much more aggressive and began to frequently raid Mughal territory. These raids, however, angered the Mughal Emperor
Aurangzeb
, and by 1680, he moved his capital from Delhi to Aurangabad in Deccan to conquer Maratha-held territories. After Shivaji died, his son
Sambhaji
defended the Maratha empire from the Mughal onslaught but was captured by the Mughals and executed. By 1698, the last Maratha stronghold at Jinji fell and Mughals then controlled all Maratha held territories.
In 1707, Emperor Aurangzeb died at the age of 89, which allowed the Marathas to reacquire lost territories and establish authority in much of modern
Maharashtra
. After the death of Chhatrapati
Shahu
, the Peshwas became the
de facto
leaders of the Empire from 1749 to 1761, while Shivaji's successors continued as nominal rulers from their base in
Satara
. The Marathas kept the
British
at bay during the 18th century.
By 1760, with the defeat of the Nizam in the Deccan, Maratha power had reached its zenith. However, dissension between the Peshwa and their
sardars
(army commanders) saw a gradual downfall of the empire leading to its eventual annexation by the
British East India Company
in 1818 after the three
Anglo-Maratha wars
.
A few years later,
Aurangzeb
's viceroy in Ahmednagar,
Nizam-ul-Mulk
, established the seat of an independent government at
Hyderabad
in 1724.
Mysore
was ruled by
Hyder Ali
. During the contests for power which ensued from about the middle of the 18th century between the powers on the plateau, the French and British took opposite sides. After a brief series of victories, the interests of France declined, and a new empire in India was established by the British. Mysore formed one of their earliest conquests in the Deccan. Tanjore and the Carnatic were soon annexed to their dominions, followed by the Peshwa territories in 1818.
In
British India
, the plateau was largely divided between the presidencies of
Bombay
and
Madras
. The two largest native states at that time were
Hyderabad
and
Mysore
; many smaller states existed at the time, including
Kolhapur
, and
Sawantwari
.
After independence in 1947, almost all native states were incorporated into the
Republic of India
. The Indian Army annexed Hyderabad in
Operation Polo
in 1948 when it refused to join.
[23]
In 1956, the
States Reorganisation Act
reorganized states along linguistic lines, leading to the states currently found on the plateau.
Economy
[
edit
]
The Deccan plateau is very rich in minerals and precious stones.
[24]
The plateau's mineral wealth led many lowland rulers, including those of the
Mauryan
(4th?2nd century BCE) and
Gupta
(4th?6th century CE) dynasties, to fight over it.
[25]
Major minerals found here include coal, iron ore,
asbestos
,
chromite
,
mica
, and
kyanite
. Since March 2011, large deposits of
uranium
have been discovered in the
Tummalapalle belt
and in the
Bhima basin
at Gogi in
Karnataka
. The Tummalapalle belt uranium reserve promises to be one of the top 20
uranium reserve discoveries of the world.
[26]
[27]
[28]
Low rainfall made farming difficult until the introduction of irrigation. Currently, the area under cultivation is quite low, ranging from 60% in
Maharashtra
to about 10% in
Western Ghats
.
[29]
Except in developed areas of certain river valleys,
double-cropping
is rare. Rice is the predominant crop in high-rainfall areas and
sorghum
in low-rainfall areas. Other crops of significance include cotton, tobacco,
oilseeds
, and
sugar cane
. Coffee, tea,
coconuts
,
areca
,
black pepper
, rubber,
cashew
nuts,
cassava
, and
cardamom
are widely grown on plantations in the
Nilgiri Hills
and on the western slopes of the Western Ghats. Cultivation of
Jatropha
has recently received more attention due to the
Jatropha incentives in India
.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica (2014),
Deccan plateau India
,
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Archived
29 June 2016 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Henry Yule, A. C. Burnell (13 June 2013).
Hobson-Jobson: The Definitive Glossary of British India
. Oxford.
ISBN
9780191645839
.
- ^
Turner, R. L. (30 October 1966).
A comparative dictionary of Indo-Aryan languages
. London: Oxford University Press.
Archived
from the original on 5 November 2023
. Retrieved
30 October
2023
.
- ^
Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, p. 498
Archived
25 May 2006 at the
Wayback Machine
(scanned image at
SriPedia Initiative
): Sanskrit
dak?i?a
meaning 'southern'.
- ^
Stewart Gordon (1993).
The Marathas 1600?1818
. The New Cambridge History of India. Cambridge University Press. p. 10.
ISBN
978-0-521-26883-7
.
Archived
from the original on 4 July 2023
. Retrieved
29 October
2019
.
- ^
World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001).
"South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests"
.
WildWorld Ecoregion Profile
. National Geographic Society. Archived from
the original
on 8 March 2010
. Retrieved
5 January
2007
.
- ^
"South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests"
.
Terrestrial Ecoregions
. World Wildlife Fund
. Retrieved
5 January
2007
.
- ^
"The Deccan Peninsula"
. sanctuaryasia. Archived from
the original
on 17 October 2006
. Retrieved
5 January
2007
.
- ^
"Eastern Deccan Plateau Moist Forests"
. World Wildlife Fund.
Archived
from the original on 15 April 2013
. Retrieved
5 January
2007
.
- ^
a
b
c
Chisholm, Hugh
, ed. (1911).
"India"
.
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. 14 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 375?421.
- ^
"Deccan | plateau, India"
.
Encyclopedia Britannica
. 11 April 2024.
Archived
from the original on 29 June 2016
. Retrieved
8 August
2016
.
- ^
History of Asia by B.V. Rao p.288
- ^
The Castes and Tribes of H.E.H. the Nizam's Dominions, Volume 1
, by Syed Siraj ul Hassan-page-12
- ^
Portraits of a Nation: History of Ancient India by kamlesh kapur p.584-585
- ^
The Penguin History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300 by
Romila Thapar
: p.365-366
- ^
Ancient Indian History and Civilization by Sailendra Nath Sen: p.383-384
- ^
a
b
Marshall Cavendish Corporation (2008).
India and Its Neighbors
, Part 1, p. 335. Tarreytown, New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation.
- ^
Benichou, Lucien D. (2000).
From Autocracy to Integration: Political Developments in Hyderabad State (1938?1948)
, p. 232. Chennai: Orient Longman Limited.
- ^
Ottens, Berthold (1 January 2003).
"Minerals of the Deccan Traps, India"
. HighBeam Research. Archived from
the original
on 11 September 2016
. Retrieved
8 August
2016
.
- ^
Deccan Plateau, India
. Encyclopædia Britannica.
Archived
from the original on 29 June 2016
. Retrieved
8 August
2016
.
- ^
Subramanian, T. S. (20 March 2011).
"Massive uranium deposits found in Andhra Pradesh"
.
news
. Chennai, India: The Hindu.
Archived
from the original on 24 October 2012
. Retrieved
8 August
2016
.
- ^
Thakur, Monami (19 July 2011).
"Massive uranium deposits found in Andhra Pradesh"
.
International Business Times
. USA.
Archived
from the original on 18 October 2017
. Retrieved
8 August
2016
.
- ^
Bedi, Rahul (19 July 2011).
"Largest uranium reserves found in India"
.
The Telegraph
. New Delhi, India.
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- ^
"Peninsular India"
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Bibliography
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Deserts
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Lowlands
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red mud
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