Border: Runs along Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Link from nature: The Indus river begins in Tibet, crosses Ladakh and flows through Pakistan to the Arabian Sea. Its five big tributaries are the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. The Thar Desert begins in Rajasthan and carries on into Pakistan.

Link from the past: India and Pakistan were one country until 1947. When British rule ended, the land was divided into two countries. This is called the Partition.

Did you know? About 4,500 years ago, people of the Indus Valley Civilisation built well-planned cities. Harappa and Mohenjo-daro are now in Pakistan. Lothal and Dholavira are in India.

Border: A very short border of about 106 km, high in the mountains at the northern edge of Ladakh. It is shown on India’s official map and is India’s shortest land border.

Link from nature: The Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan join the Karakoram and the Himalayas. Together they make one long mountain belt.

Link from the past: Long ago, the Buddha’s teachings travelled from India to Afghanistan. Giant statues of the Buddha were once carved into the cliffs at Bamiyan.

Did you know? Afghan traders brought almonds and raisins to Indian cities. Rabindranath Tagore’s story “Kabuliwala” is about a fruit seller from Kabul. Afghanistan is landlocked: it has no sea coast.

Border: Runs along Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

Size: China is the only neighbour bigger than India. It is about three times India’s size.

Link from nature: The Himalayas stand between India and China like a giant wall. A river called the Tsangpo begins in Tibet, enters Arunachal Pradesh and becomes the Brahmaputra in Assam.

Link from the past: Chinese monks came to India to study Buddhism. Fa Hien came about 1,600 years ago. Hiuen Tsang came about 1,400 years ago and studied at Nalanda. Silk and tea came from China. Spices and cotton went from India.

Border: Runs along Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim. Nepal is landlocked.

Link from nature: India and Nepal share the Himalayas. Mount Everest (8,848.86 m), the highest peak in the world, stands on Nepal’s border with China. Kangchenjunga (8,586 m), the third-highest peak, stands partly in Nepal and partly in Sikkim. Rivers such as the Kosi and the Gandak flow from Nepal into India and join the Ganga.

Link from the past: Gautama Buddha was born at Lumbini, which is in Nepal today. He taught mostly in places that are now in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, such as Bodh Gaya and Sarnath.

Did you know? Gorkha soldiers from Nepal have served in the Indian Army for many years.

Border: Runs along Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Bhutan is landlocked.

Link from nature: Bhutan sits in the eastern Himalayas. The Manas river flows through Bhutan, enters Assam and joins the Brahmaputra. Forests on both sides protect tigers and elephants.

Link from the past: About 1,300 years ago, a Buddhist teacher from India called Padmasambhava went to Bhutan. People there call him Guru Rinpoche.

Did you know? Bhutan is called the “Land of the Thunder Dragon”. One Bhutanese ngultrum has the same value as one Indian rupee.

Border: Runs along West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. At about 4,097 km, it is India’s longest land border. India lies on three sides of Bangladesh.

Link from nature: The Ganga and the Brahmaputra flow from India into Bangladesh. There the Ganga is called the Padma and the Brahmaputra is called the Jamuna. Before reaching the sea they make the world’s largest delta. The Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world, is shared by West Bengal and Bangladesh. The Royal Bengal tiger lives there.

Link from the past: This land was part of British India. In 1947 it became the eastern part of Pakistan. In 1971 it became the independent country of Bangladesh.

Did you know? Rabindranath Tagore wrote the national anthems of both countries: “Jana Gana Mana” for India and “Amar Sonar Bangla” for Bangladesh. Kazi Nazrul Islam, the national poet of Bangladesh, was born in what is now West Bengal.

Border: Runs along Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. Myanmar was earlier called Burma.

Link from nature: The border passes through green, forest-covered hills and narrow valleys. A long highway is being built from Moreh in Manipur, through Myanmar, to Thailand.

Link from the past: Traders and monks carried the Buddha’s teachings from India to Myanmar. The golden Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon is a famous Buddhist shrine. Burma was governed as a part of British India until 1937.

Did you know? The British sent the freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak to a jail in Mandalay. After the revolt of 1857, they sent the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, to Rangoon, which is now called Yangon.

Where: An island just off the southern tip of India. On the map it looks like a teardrop below Tamil Nadu. It was earlier called Ceylon.

Link from nature: A narrow strip of sea called the Palk Strait lies between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. Like the south-east coast of India, Sri Lanka gets rain in two seasons.

Link from the past: Emperor Ashoka sent his son Mahinda and his daughter Sanghamitra to Sri Lanka to share the Buddha’s teachings. Sanghamitra carried a young branch of the Bodhi tree. A temple in Kandy is believed to keep a tooth of the Buddha.

Did you know? Tamil is spoken in Tamil Nadu and also by many people in Sri Lanka. Colombo is Sri Lanka’s largest city, but it is not the official capital.

Where: A chain of about 1,200 tiny coral islands in the Indian Ocean. It is the smallest country in Asia.

Link from nature: The islands are made by corals, just like India’s Lakshadweep islands, which lie just to their north. Most of the land is only a metre or two above the sea, so rising sea levels are a big worry.

Link from the past: Long ago, small cowrie shells from the Maldives were used as coins in many parts of India. Sailors and traders have crossed between the Indian coast and these islands for hundreds of years.

📱 Pinch the picture to zoom in.

This map shows India in green and its nine neighbours in other colours.

Key point: Seven neighbours touch India by land. Two neighbours, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, lie across the sea.

Start at number 1 in the west and go round the border to number 7.

One long belt of mountains runs across the north of India.

Key point: It is called the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan, the Karakoram further east and the Himalayas after that.

Six countries share it: Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, China, Nepal and Bhutan.

📱 Pinch the picture to zoom in.

Three big rivers flow through India and also through a neighbour.

Key point: One river has three names: Tsangpo in Tibet, Brahmaputra in India and Jamuna in Bangladesh.

The Ganga is called the Padma in Bangladesh. The Indus flows on into Pakistan.

The Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world.

Key point: It is shared by West Bengal in India and by Bangladesh. The Royal Bengal tiger lives there.

Mangrove trees protect the coast from storms and high waves.

Buddhism began in India about 2,500 years ago.

Key point: The Buddha was born at Lumbini in Nepal. Monks, traders and kings such as Ashoka carried his teachings to the neighbouring countries.

Ashoka’s children, Mahinda and Sanghamitra, took the teachings to Sri Lanka.

A landlocked country has land on all sides. An island has water on all sides.

Key point: Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan are landlocked. Sri Lanka and the Maldives are islands.

A landlocked country sends its goods through another country to reach a seaport.

Every country has its own flag. The flag shows that the country is independent.

Key point: Nepal’s flag is the only national flag in the world that does not have four sides.

India’s flag has three bands: saffron, white and green. A navy-blue wheel with 24 spokes sits in the centre.

Every country has its own money. It is called its currency.

Key point: Four countries call their money the rupee: Pakistan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka (PINS). Each rupee has a different value.

Long ago, cowrie shells from the Maldives were used as coins in many parts of India.

Just before Diwali, Meher went with her Nani to Crawford Market in Mumbai. Nani bought almonds and raisins from an old shop. “These have come all the way from Afghanistan,” said the shopkeeper. “My grandfather bought them from traders who came from Kabul.” Meher looked at the map in her school diary. Afghanistan had no blue sea next to it. It had mountains called the Hindu Kush. “How do the dry fruits reach Mumbai if there is no sea?” she asked. Nani smiled. “They travel a long way by road through other countries first.” That evening, Nani read her the story “Kabuliwala”.

Questions

1. From which country did the dry fruits come? What is its capital?
2. Afghanistan has no sea coast. What is such a country called?
3. Name the mountains of Afghanistan in the story.
4. Why must goods from Afghanistan travel through other countries first?
5. Who wrote the story “Kabuliwala”?

Class 5 of a school in Kolkata went on a trip to the Sundarbans. Their boat moved slowly between trees whose roots stood in muddy water. “These are mangrove trees,” said the guide, Shankar Kaka. “This is the largest mangrove forest in the world. One part is in West Bengal. The other part is in Bangladesh.” Ananya saw paw marks on the wet bank. “A Royal Bengal tiger walked here,” whispered Kaka. He told them that the Ganga and the Brahmaputra drop mud here before they reach the sea. That mud has made the world’s largest delta. “These trees also guard our villages from storms,” he said.

Questions

1. Which two countries share the Sundarbans?
2. What kind of trees grow there? What is special about them?
3. Which animal’s paw marks did Ananya see?
4. Which two rivers have made the delta?
5. How do the trees help the villages?

Tenzin lives in Thane. His cousin Pema lives in Gangtok, in Sikkim. One day a postcard came from her. “Dear Tenzin,” she wrote, “today the sky was clear and we saw Kangchenjunga shining like silver. It is the third-highest peak in the world. Part of it is in Sikkim and part is in Nepal. Our small state touches three countries. Nepal is to our west, China is to our north and Bhutan is to our east. My friend’s uncle drives a truck. He carries goods from Bhutan to the port at Kolkata, because Bhutan has no sea. Come in the summer holidays!”

Questions

1. Which peak did Pema see? Where does it stand?
2. Name the three countries that touch Sikkim.
3. Which is the highest peak in the world? On whose border does it stand?
4. Why do goods from Bhutan go to the port at Kolkata?
5. Which of the three countries that touch Sikkim are landlocked?

Kavin went to Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu with his Thatha. They stood on the beach and looked at the blue water. “Across this narrow sea is Sri Lanka,” said Thatha. “This strip of water is called the Palk Strait.” Kavin was surprised. “So Sri Lanka is our neighbour, but we cannot walk there!” Thatha nodded. “It is an island. Many people there speak Tamil, just like us. Long ago, Emperor Ashoka’s son and daughter went there to share the Buddha’s teachings. His daughter carried a branch of the Bodhi tree.” Kavin drew a teardrop in the sand. “That is the shape of Sri Lanka,” he said.

Questions

1. Which strip of sea lies between India and Sri Lanka?
2. Why can Kavin not walk to Sri Lanka?
3. Which language is spoken in both Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka?
4. Name Ashoka’s son and daughter. What did the daughter carry?
5. Is Sri Lanka a land neighbour or a sea neighbour of India?

Miss D’Souza’s class in Dadar was making a money chart. Arjun brought a picture of a rufiyaa note. “My Mama works in a hotel in Malé,” he said. Zoya brought a picture of a taka note from her aunt in Dhaka. Rohan brought a Nepalese rupee coin. “That is easy. It is the same as our rupee,” said Arjun. “Not so,” said Miss D’Souza. “Four countries use the name rupee, but each rupee has a different value. Only one neighbour’s money has the same value as our rupee. It is the ngultrum.” The class wrote PINS in big letters on top of the chart.

Questions

1. Which country uses the rufiyaa? What is its capital?
2. From which country did Zoya’s taka note come?
3. What does PINS stand for?
4. Was Arjun right that the Nepalese rupee is the same as the Indian rupee?
5. Which country uses the ngultrum? What is special about it?

During the Diwali holidays, Aarav’s family drove from Mumbai to Lothal in Gujarat. A guide showed them straight lanes and neat brick drains. “People built this well-planned city about 4,500 years ago,” she said. “It belongs to the Indus Valley Civilisation.” Aarav asked where the other cities were. “Dholavira is also in Gujarat,” said the guide. “Two famous ones, Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, are now in Pakistan. India and Pakistan were one country until 1947.” She pointed to a map. “The Indus river flows through both countries. Even the Thar Desert begins in Rajasthan and carries on into Pakistan.”

Questions

1. Which civilisation built Lothal? About how long ago?
2. Name two cities of this civilisation that are in India.
3. Name two cities of this civilisation that are now in Pakistan.
4. Until which year were India and Pakistan one country? What is the division called?
5. Name one river and one desert that India and Pakistan share.

Class 5 of a school in Patna visited the ruins of Nalanda. Their teacher, Mr Sinha, told them a story. “About 1,400 years ago, a monk named Hiuen Tsang came here from China. He crossed high mountains to reach India, because Buddhism began here. He studied at Nalanda and wrote about all that he saw. Another monk, Fa Hien, had come about 1,600 years ago.” Isha asked, “What else travelled between India and China?” Mr Sinha smiled. “Silk and tea came from China. Spices and cotton went from India. And remember, China is the only neighbour that is bigger than India.”

Questions

1. From which country did Hiuen Tsang come? Where did he study?
2. Why did monks from China come to India?
3. Who came to India earlier, Fa Hien or Hiuen Tsang?
4. Name two things that came from China and two things that went from India.
5. How is China different in size from India’s other neighbours?

Sanya’s father is in the Indian Army. One Sunday his friend, Subedar Thapa, came home for lunch in Pune. He is a Gorkha soldier, and his village is in Nepal. He showed Sanya a small flag made of two red triangles. “This is the flag of Nepal,” he said. “No other country has a flag of this shape.” He told her about Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world, on Nepal’s border with China. “My village has no sea near it. Nepal is landlocked,” he said. “But Lumbini, where the Buddha was born, is in my country.” Sanya drew the flag in her notebook.

Questions

1. What is special about the shape of Nepal’s flag?
2. Where does Mount Everest stand?
3. What does “landlocked” mean?
4. Who was born at Lumbini?
5. What is the capital of Nepal? What is its money called?

Thoibi lives in Imphal, in Manipur. In the winter holidays she visited her aunt in Moreh, a small town at the edge of India. “Beyond those green hills is Myanmar,” said her aunt. “It was called Burma earlier.” Trucks stood in a line near the border gate. “A long highway is being built from here,” said her aunt. “It will go through Myanmar to Thailand. One day people will drive from India to Thailand.” In a shop Thoibi saw a picture of a golden shrine. “That is the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon,” said the shopkeeper. “But the capital of Myanmar is Naypyidaw.”

Questions

1. In which Indian state is Moreh? Which country lies beyond it?
2. What was Myanmar called earlier?
3. Which three countries will the new highway join?
4. What is the Shwedagon Pagoda? In which city is it?
5. Is Yangon the capital of Myanmar?

Nikhil lives in Kochi, in Kerala. His father is a sailor on a cargo ship that goes to Malé, the capital of the Maldives. “The Maldives has about 1,200 tiny islands,” said his father. “They are made by corals, just like our Lakshadweep islands, which lie just to their north.” He showed Nikhil a photo of a beach. “Most of the land is only a metre or two above the sea. If the sea rises, the water can cover the islands. That is a big worry for the people.” Then he gave Nikhil a small white cowrie shell. “Long ago, shells like this were used as coins in India.”

Questions

1. What is the capital of the Maldives?
2. What are the islands of the Maldives made by? Which Indian islands are made in the same way?
3. Why is a rising sea a big worry for the Maldives?
4. How were cowrie shells used long ago?
5. Is the Maldives a land neighbour or a sea neighbour? In which direction does it lie from India?