Important Questions: Human Settlements | Geography Class 12 - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Q1: Name any two modern towns built by the British in modern style.
Ans: Mumbai and Chennai are two modern towns built by the British in modern style.

Q2: Name any two towns of India initially developed as educational centers.
Ans: Varanasi and Aligarh are two towns in India initially developed as educational centers.

Q3: Why is India a popular tourist destination in the world?
Ans: India is a popular tourist destination due to favorable climatic conditions, medical services, heritage homes, national parks, and more.

Q4: Name two most ancient towns in India.
Ans: Varanasi and Ayodhya are two of the most ancient towns in India.

Q5: Name three satellite towns around Delhi.
Ans: Ghaziabad, Rohtak, and Gurgaon are three satellite towns around Delhi.

Q6: Which type of the rural settlement in India includes Panna, Para, Palli, Nagla, Dhani, etc.
Ans: Hamleted settlement.

Q7: Name any one area of hamleted settlement in India.
Ans: Chattisgarh, Lower Valleys of Himalayas.

Q8: Name three nodal towns of India.
Ans: Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

Short Answer Type Questions

Q9: What are the factors responsible for different types of rural settlements in India? Explain briefly.
Ans: Various factors contribute to the different types of rural settlements in India. These factors include physical features such as terrain, altitude, climate, and water availability. Cultural and ethnic factors such as social structure, caste, and religion also play a significant role. Additionally, security factors, like defense against thefts and robberies, influence the layout of rural settlements.

Q10: List and explain the four main types of rural settlements in India.
Ans: Rural settlements in India can be broadly categorized into four types:

• Clustered, agglomerated, or nucleated: These settlements consist of compact houses clustered together. There is a clear separation between the living area and farming land. Clustered settlements are often rectangular or linear in shape.
• Semi-clustered or fragmented: In these settlements, the village is fragmented based on social and ethnic factors. Units like pauna, para, palli, nagla, and dhani form the fragmented units. These are commonly found in the middle and lower Ganga plains.
• Hamleted: Hamleted settlements are units separated from each other but share a common name. These units, like pauna, para, and dhani, have their distinct identities but are part of the same village.
• Dispersed or isolated: Isolated settlements, also known as dispersed settlements, are found in remote areas such as forests, hill slopes, and fragmented fields. These settlements include hamlets with only a few huts. The dispersion is caused by the rugged terrain and fragmented nature of the land.

Q11: Explain the meaning of a settlement and its basis.
Ans: A settlement refers to a cluster of dwellings or structures where human beings live. It involves grouping people and apportioning territory as their economic support base. People erect houses and other structures and claim a specific area or territory as their resource base for living and economic activities.

Q12: What is the fundamental difference between rural and urban settlements in India?
Ans: The key difference between rural and urban settlements lies in their economic activities. Rural settlements rely on land-based primary economic activities for their basic needs, while urban settlements depend on the processing of raw materials, manufacturing of finished goods, and various services for their economic sustenance.

Q13: Explain how urban agglomerations develop.
Ans: Urban agglomerations, often found in metropolitan and mega cities, can develop through three main combinations:

• A town and its adjoining urban outgrowths.
• Two or more contiguous towns, with or without their outgrowths.
• A city and one or more adjoining towns with their outgrowths, forming a contiguous spread.

Long Answer Type Questions

Q14: What is a Town? Classify Towns according to urban Historians and describe their evolution.
Ans: Town is defined in different ways in different countries. In India, the census of India 2001 identifies two types of towns : Statutory and Census :

• Statutory Towns: Ail places which have municipal, or corporation, or cantonment board, or a notified town area committee.
• Census Towns: All other places which satisfy the following criteria :
  • A minimum population of 5,000 persons;
  • At least 75 percent of male wmrking population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits;
  • A density of population of atleast 400 persons per sq. km.

Evolution of towns in India
Towns flourished since prehistoric times in India. Even at the time of Indus valley civilisation, towns like Harappa and Mohanjodaro were in existence. The second phase of urbanisation began around 600 B.C.E. It continued with periodic ups and downs until the arrival of Europeans in India in the 18th century. Urban historians classify towns of India as :

• Ancient Towns: At least 45 towns have historical background and have been in existence at least for over 2000 years. Most of them developed as religious and cultural centres. Varanasi is one of the important towns among these. Ayodhya, Prayagraj (Allahabad), Pataliputra (Patna), Mathura and Madurai are some other ancient towns.
• Medieval Towns: About 100 of the existing towns have their roots in the medieval period. Most of them developed as headquarters of principalities and kingdoms. Most of them are fort towns and came up on the ruins of earlier existing towns. Important among them are Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Agra and Nagpur.
• Modern Towns: The British and other Europeans modified the urban scene. As an external force, starting their foothold on coastal locations, they first developed some trading ports such as Surat, Daman, Goa, Puducherry, etc. The British later consolidated their hold from three principal nodes – Mumbai (Bombay), Chennai (Madras) and Kolkata (Calcutta) – and built them in the British fashion.

Rapidly extending their domination either directly or through super control over the princely states, they established their administrative centres, hill-towns as summer resorts, and added new civil, administrative and military areas to them. Towns based on modern industries also evolved after 1850. Jamshedpur can be cited as an example. After independence, a large number of towns emerged as administrative headquarters (Chandigarh, Bhubaneshwar, Gandhinagar, Dispur, etc.) and industrial centres (Durgapur, Bhilai, Sindri, Barauni, etc.). Some old towns also developed as satellite towns around metropolitan cities such as Ghaziabad, Rohtak, Gurgaon, etc. around Delhi. With increasing investment in rural areas, a large number of medium and small towns have developed all over the country.