Nazism-Rise of Hitler Class IX History CBSE

Dictatorship is the anti-thesis of democracy. It gives no right to people, tolerates neither opposition nor criticism. It envisages one party rule, controlled by one leader and total authority.

Dictator is a leader who has complete authority and power in a country and has NOT been elected by the people.

RISE OF DICTATORSHIP IN ITALY AND GERMANY:

The interwar period (1919-1939AD) saw the rise of dictatorship in Italy and Germany. Unsettled economic and political conditions after the war paved way for the termination of democracy in both these countries. Several common factors in Italy and Germany led to dictatorship under Fascism and Nazism.

1.    Dissatisfaction with the humiliating peace treaty

2.    Economic crisis

3.    Inefficient and weak democratic system

4.    Political instability

THE RISE OF NAZI DICTATORSHIP IN GERMANY:  Germany, a powerful empire in the early 20^th century fought WWI alongside Austria-Hungary against the Allies, i.e., England France and Russia. All major powers joined the war but the war stretched on and drained Europe of all its resources. The combined forces of USA, Britain and France defeated the Austrians and the Germans in the War and forced them to ask for peace. This Great War ended on 11/11/1918, when the Germans signed the Armistice.

The Peace Settlement:  a conference of the representatives of different countries was held in Paris to settle the terms for Peace. Germany signed the Treaty of Peace on 28/06/1919, the terms were:

1.    Germany lost its overseas colonies, 1/10^th of its population, 13% of its territories, 75% of its iron and 26% of its coal to France Denmark and Lithuania.

2.    Allied powers demilitarized Germany to weaken its powers.

3.    War Guilt Clause held Germany responsible for the war & damages the Allied suffered.

4.    Germany was forced to pay a compensation of 6 billion pounds.

5.    The Allied armies occupied the resource rich- Rhineland for much of the 1920’s.

After its defeat in WWI, Germany faced economic crisis, revolts, lawlessness, unemployment, inflation etc. William Kaiser II was unable to solve these problems; he was forced to abdicate on 10/11/1918. Elections were held to the new constituent Assembly on 19/01/1919, which met at Weimar & adopted the new constitution, which set up a democratic govt. called “Weimer Republic”.

Causes of the Rise of Nazi Dictatorship in Germany OR “The Crisis in Germany”:

1: Weimer Republic: the republic was not accepted by the Germans because of the terms it was forced to accept after Germany’s defeat. Many Germans held the Weimar Republic responsible for not only the defeat in the war but the disgrace at Versailles. Those who supported the Weimar republic, mainly socialists, Catholics and democrats were mockingly named “November Criminals” and were attacked by conservative nationalist circles.

At the same time, workers of Germany wanted to establish a soviet style of govt. which led to a revolutionary uprising of the “Spartacist League” like the Russian Bolsheviks. The Weimar republic tried its best to crush the uprising with the help of war veterans organizations called “Free Corps”. This political instability gave Hitler a chance to come into power.

2: Reaction to the Humiliating Treaty of Versailles: Paying huge amounts of penalties to the victors, ceding large areas of German territories to them including overseas colonies and disbanding German armies. This treaty was signed in Paris in 1919 AD; people looked upon the Weimar Republic as a symbol of national disgrace and an act of betrayal of the German people.

3: The Economic Disaster: unemployment, inflation, price-rise, ruin of German trade and industry, world depression created an economic disaster. 1923 value of Mark collapsed and the price of goods soared. Germany faced ‘hyper-inflation’ under which prices rose very high. Americans intervened and bailed Germany out of the crisis introducing ‘Dawes Plan’.

4: Threat of Communism:  the communists in Germany tried to stage revolution on the Pattern of the Russian revolution of 1917AD; the German capitalists extended full support to Hitler’s Nazi party as the party was against socialism.

5: Hitlers Dynamic Personality: Hitler had a dynamic personality, being influential, charming, a great organizer, excellent orator, and a tireless worker. His logics were very convincing and his appeals touched the reasons and the emotions of the people.

The Ideology of Nazism OR The Aims of Hitler OR Features of Nazism:

Hitler’s cult, creed and philosophy were called Nazism, the main principles or aims:

1.    People exist for the state rather than the state for the people, he believed in totalitarian state.

2.    To tolerate no criticism, opposition and to allow no party to form other than its own.

3.    To end all parliamentary institutions & democratic government.

4.    To have full control over media, press, radio, education and any other means of propaganda.

5.    To crush communism and liberalism.

6.    To turn out Jews from Germany, as they had caused great hardships to the Germans due to their greed and conspiracy, during the WWI.

7.    To denounce the treaty of Versailles as disgraceful and regain lost or ceded German territories.

Hitler’s Rise to Power or The Rise Of The Nazi Party:  The rise of Hitler and the Nazi party are interlinked:

·     Adolf Hitler was born in 1889 A.D. He fought on the German side in the WWI and received the ‘Iron Cross’ for his bravery.

·     In 1919 Hitler joined a small political group, called the German Workers Party in Munich.

·     He became its ‘Fuhrer’, the leader, changed the name to Nationalist Socialist German Worker’s Party which became more famous by the name of the Nazi Party.

·     1923, Hitler was arrested & jailed for five years, here he wrote his famous autobiography named “Mein Kampf”-My Struggle.

·     After his release, he reorganized the Nazi Party from 1925-29.

·     He defamed the Weimar Republic for the sufferings of the people.

·     In the election of Jul 1932, the Nazis polled more than 13 million votes and captured 230 seats of the Reichstag.

·     The Nazi Party made the functioning of the coalition government headed by Von Papen impossible and he could not continue for long.

·     Ultimately, President Hidenberg of Germany was compelled to appoint Hitler as the Chancellor(PM) of the coalition government in January 1933.

·     Hitler ordered fresh elections to the German Parliament (Reichstag) to be held on 5 March 1933.

·     Hitler blamed the opposition, particularly the communist for setting the Reichstag building on fire just a day before the election. He crushed them with a heavy hand.

·     In such circumstances, he got passed the Enabling Act, which authorized his Government to take any action without the approval of the Reichstag.

·     Thus without even having a majority, Hitler became all powerful.

·     All political parties and trade unions were banned except for the Nazi Party.

·     Established complete control over the economy, media, army and judiciary.

·     The Nazi regime practically became one-man show.

·     President Hidenberg died on 2 Aug 1934, on the very day, Hitler combined in his own person the offices of the Chancellor (PM) and President and assumed the title of the “Fuhrer” and became the absolute dictator of Germany.

Hitler’s Policy of Nazification: Gleichschaltung subjected all major German institutions-universities, schools, professions, youth organizations- to Nazi control. Only the armed forces, Catholic Church and some dissenting Lutheran congregations resisted takeover. Trade unions were abolished. In 1934 the German Parliament voted its powers to Hitler through the Enabling Law. Popular support for Nazism was mobilized by the dramatization of the leader cult (Fuhreprinzip) and through mass political spectacles. The party rally at Nuremberg was an annual highlight. A strong appeal to Germanic traditions and folk culture was a major element. Mountains, forests and peasant costumes were favoured elements of his propaganda.                                                                                  

IMPACT OF NAZISM: After coming to power, Hitler followed a vigorous domestic and foreign policy:

Domestic Policy:

1.    Setting up a strong national state of Germany: Germany became a dictatorship:

a. All powers were in the hands of its Fuhrer- Adolf Hitler.

b. All opposition parties abolished.

c.  Criticism disallowed.

d. Rights denied of the people.

e. Democracy crushed.

f.  A secret state police under the name of Gestapo was established to spy over everyone.

g. Those suspected of disloyalty were executed without proper trial.

h. Germans were told that Hitler was Germany and Germany was Hitler.

i.   Established the rule of one man, one leader, and one party, which brought about national unity.

j.  Radio, press and all means of propaganda were controlled by the state including education was re-planned so as to promote Nazism and German nationalism & its unity.

k. Religion was brought under state control.

2. Economic Reforms and Development Work:  Hitler assigned the responsibility of economic recovery to the economist Hjalmar Schacht who aimed at full production and employment through a state funded work creation programme:

·     He reorganized German economy and administration.

·     New jobs were created and bureaucracy was expanded.

·     Factories were started and agricultural farms set up.

·     Workers were given more facilities, but no right to strike.

·     Hitler ordered the production of armaments at a large scale and introduced compulsory military service.

·     Under militarism, naval ships & aeroplanes began to be manufactured within Germany’s factories

·     He kept prices under control to keep the youth happy.

·     Import & export were controlled to maintain favourable balance of trade.

·     He ordered the construction of govt. buildings, offices, art galleries, stadiums, houses etc.

3. Anti- Jews Policy: the Nazi party & Hitler showed great dislike for the Jews. They held the Jews responsible for German defeat in WWI, due to their betrayal. He put a large number of jews in concentration camps only because they were Jews. They were denied German citizenship, dismissed from govt. jobs and prohibited from practicing medicine, law and other professions. Hitler wanted to remove what he called all ‘non-Aryan’ people from his German state to ensure racial purity. He aimed to exterminate all gypsies and Jews. In this Holocaust, 5.7 million Jewish men, women and children died.

Foreign Policy:

1. Disregarded the Treaty of Versailles:

• Hitler started re-armament & compulsory military service in violation of the ToV.
• He pulled out of the League of Nations in 1933.
• He stopped the payment of war indemnity.
• Took back the territory of Saar from France in 1934.
• In 1936 German troops re-entered Rhineland & fortified it as it was de-militarized by the ToV.

2. An Imperialist and Expansionist Foreign Policy: Hitler had imperialistic designs and wanted to establish the rule of the Swastika over the world.

• When he declared openly that he would not abide by the ToV- Itlay, Czechoslovakia & France entered into a Military Pact against Germany.
• France-Russia signed a Military pact against germany.
• He concluded the Anglo-German Naval Agreement in 1933.
• In 1936, Treaty with Italy called the Rome Berlin Axis, Japan joined in 1937, Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis.
• He concluded the non-aggression pact with Russia.
• Hitler attacked Austria on 13/03/1938 and annexed to German empire.
• Also annexed Sudentland( a part of Bohemia) in sept 1938.
• He seized a part of Czechoslovakia with the connivance of Britain, France due to the Munich Pact.
• Both Britain and France adopted a policy of appeasement towards Germany under Hitler.
• They did not oppose him when he captures the rest of Czechoslovakia in 1939.

NAZIS AND THE JEWS:

There was no equality among people, only a racial hierarchy. He regarded Nordic German Aryans at the top while the Jews at the lowest rung. They were considered as an anti-race, the arch-enemies of the Aryans. Jews remained worst sufferers of Nazi Germany. There are many factors responsible for this:

1.   Role of Traditional Christians: Jews suffered the most in Nazi Germany. This hatred had a precursor in the traditional Christian hostility towards Jews. They had been stereotyped as killers of Christ and ‘usurers’. Jews were barred from owning land and survived mainly on trade and money-lending. They lived separately in marked areas called Ghettos & were often persecuted.

2.   Various Theories: Nazis started using theories of Darwin and Herbert Spencer to propagate against Jews, which justified their hatred as they were considered an inferior race and had no right to survive according to these two theories.

3.   Propaganda at School Level: All Jewish teachers were dismissed from schools. School textbooks were re-written to justify Nazis ideas of race.

4.   Propaganda at Home: all girls had to maintain purity of race. Mothers were supposed to teach Nazi values to their children. There was a code of conduct for all women.

5.   Propaganda Through Press And Radio: ideas were spread through visual images, films, radios, movies etc. Jews were shown as pests.

Once in power the Nazis quickly began to implement their policies to eliminate all those who were seen as ‘undesirable’. The Nazis took steps to create the ‘desirables:’

1.   Total Control Over Schools: Hitler was fanatically interested in the youth of the country. Strong Nazi society could be established only teaching children Nazi ideology. This was done by controlling the child from inside and outside school.

All schools were cleansed and purified. Children were first segregated. Germans and Jews could not sit together or play together. Undesirable children and teachers were expelled-Jews, Gypsies, physically handicapped and finally in the 1940’s they were taken to the gas chambers.

Everyone aged 10-18 had to join the Hitler Youth Movement. At its meetings they not only learnt military discipline, but also games & put on displays of dancing and marching.

2.   New Education Policy: Textbooks were re-written under the New Education Policy. Racial science was introduced to justify the Nazi ideas of race. Stereotypes about Jews were popularized even through a Math classes. Children were taught to be loyal, submissive, hate Jews and worship Hitler.

3.   Spirit of Violence and Aggression: Boxing was introduced to inculcate the spirit of violence and aggression.  To make them strong hearted and masculine.

4.   Different Stages in the Life of a Youth: Youth organizations were made responsible for educating German youth in “the spirit of National Socialism”. All boys age 6-10 went through a preliminary training in Nazi ideology. At the end of the training they had to take an oath of loyalty to Hitler. 10yr old boys had to enter Jungvolk. At 14 all boys had to join ‘Hitler Youth’. After a period of rigorous ideological & physical training they joined the Labour Service, usually at 18 they had to serve in the Armed forces and enter one of the Nazi organizations.

Hitler’s Policy Towards Women:

1.   Superiority of Men: children were told that women were radically different from men. Nazis were against democratic rights of women. Boys were taught to be aggressive, masculine and steel hearted, girls were told they had to be good mothers and rear pure blooded Aryan children. Girls had to maintain purity of race and distance themselves from Jews, look after the homes and teach their children Nazi values.

2.   Awards & Punishments: women who bore racially desirable children were awarded by giving them favoured treatment in hospitals, concessions in shops, travel fares and theatre tickets. To encourage women to produce more children Honour Crosses’ were awarded, a bronze for 4, silver for 6 and gold for 8 +. Women who bore racially undesirable children were punished.

3.   Code of Conduct: All ‘Aryan’ women who deviated from the prescribed code of conduct were publicly condemned and severely punished. Those who maintained contact with other races, were paraded through the town with blackened faces and shaven heads. They were sentenced to jail and were separated from their families.

Hitler’s Propaganda: to eliminate inferior races and Jews. Nazis used a code language. They never used words like kill or murder in their official communications. Mass killings were termed ‘special treatment’, ‘final solution (jews)’, euthanasia (for the disabled), ‘selection’ and ‘disinfections’. ‘Evacuation’ meant deporting people to gas chambers. They were labeled as ‘disinfection areas’ and looked like bathrooms equipped with fake showerheads.

The Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of 6 million Jews by the Nazi regime & its collaborators. Holocaust is a word of Greek origin meaning ‘sacrifice by fire’. The Nazis who came to power believed that Germans were racially superior and the Jews were inferior and were an alien threat to the so-called German racial community. During the Holocaust, German authorities also targeted other groups because of their perceived ‘racial inferiority’: Roma (Gypsies), the disabled, and some of the Slavics(Poles, Russians and others).

Media was carefully used to win support for the regime & popularize its worldview. Their ideas were spread through visual images, films, radios, posters, catchy slogans, and leaflets. Groups were identified as enemies of Germans in posters & were mocked, stereotyped, abused and described evil. Socials and liberals were represented as weak & degenerate. They were attacked as malicious foreign agents. Propaganda films were made to create hatred for the Jews.

Ordinary People and the Crimes Against Humanity: Common People’s reaction to Nazism: Many saw the world through Nazi eyes and spoke their minds in Nazi language. They felt hatred & ander surge inside them when they saw a Jew. They marked the houses of Jews and reported suspicious neighbours. They genuinely believed that Nazism would bring prosperity & improve general well being. Nazis used all their power to create hatred in the society.

But there were some who resisted to Nazism braving police repression & death. The large majority of Germans were passive onlookers and apathetic witnesses as they were helpless. They were too scared to act, protest or differ. They preferred to look away.

Mein Kampf:  My struggle is a book by Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler’s National Socialist Political ideology. The book contains: Land Reforms, Racial Superiority, Eliminations of Jews, and Abrogation of the Peace Treaties.

Fall of Hitler:

When Hitler attacked Poland on 01/09/1939, that Britain and France issued an ultimatum to Germany, which Hitler ignored. Thus began the WWII in which Germany was totally defeated by the Allied Powers. She surrendered in 1945 AD. Hitler is believed to have committed suicide, with his end Nazism came to an end.

Comparing and contrasting the role of women in the two periods.

 Role of women during the French Revolution (1789 - 1815) - Women played an important role in French Revolution. They took an equal part in the social and political development of their country. During the French Revolution women marched to the Versailles and brought the king back to Paris along with them. Most of the French women, especially of the Third Estate, had to work for a living along with their men. They worked as seamstresses, sold flowers, fruits and vegetables at the market. Women in France started their political clubs and newspapers to raise their voices. They were free to demand equal rights as men. They were free to change their life-partners. This was not the case in Germany. However, in one thing, the French women and German women resemble very much. Both had to care their families, cook food, fetch water and look after their children. But in other regards the French women were quite free as compared to the German women under Nazi regime.

Role of women in the Nazi society (1933 - 1945) - In Nazi Germany, young people and even children were told that women were radically different from men. According to the Nazi cult, the fight for equal rights for men and women that had become a part of democratic struggles was quite wrong and it would destroy society. While boys were trained for hard jobs, girls were told to prove good mothers and bring up pure blooded Aryans, look after the home and teach their children the Nazi values.

Those mothers who brought up racially desirable children were awarded and favoured in various ways. On the other hand, those women who produced racially undesirable children, by marrying any undesirable men belonging to Jews, Poles, and Russians etc. were severely punished and were considered to have committed criminal offence. Thus all women were not treated equally in Nazi society.

Drainage, Chapter 3, Geography, Class IX, CBSE, NCERT

DRAINAGE

Drainage:

• The term “drainage” describes the river system of an area.
• The area drained by a single river system is called a “drainage basin” or river basin.
• Any higher ground, such as mountain or upland separates two adjoining drainage basins. Such upland is known as a water divide or a watershed.
• Depending upon the relief, geological structure and climatic conditions of the area, the streams form different patterns.

Drainage Pattern:

• Drainage of an area is concerned with the study of main rivers and their tributaries with respect to their size, number, direction of flow, drainage basin, slope of the valley.
• A drainage system refers to the origin and development of stream through time.
• Drainage pattern means spatial arrangement and form of drainage system in terms of different rock types, geological structure, climatic conditions and denudational history.

1.    Trellis Pattern: in this system the tributaries can be seen meeting the main stream at right angles. This exists where hard and soft rocks exist parallel to each other.

2.    Dendritic Patterns (Tree shaped pattern): is the most common and widespread pattern to be found on the earth’s surface. In this pattern, the tributaries come from all directions to meet the main river. Like the branches of a tree the small streams meet larger streams and the larger streams meet the much larger streams, in the end they meet the river. This develops where the river channel follows the slope of the terrain.

3.    Parallel Drainage Patterns: comprises numerous rivers which are parallel to each other and follow the regional slope. This pattern is developed on uniformly sloping areas such as coastal plains.

4.    Radial Drainage Pattern/Centrifugal Pattern: develops where streams flow in different directions from a central peak or dome like structure. Streams which diverge from a central higher point in all directions.

WORK OF A RIVER:

On the basis of the slope of the land over which a river flows, its course can be divided into three sections:

     I.    THE UPPER COURSE: river usually flows through mountainous regions. Volume of water is not much, but gradient being steep, the water flows swiftly. Its eroding and transporting powers are at the maximum. The river in this course develops typical landforms:

1.    Gorge or I-Shaped Valley: when a river flows through a mountainous region made up of herd rocks with little rainfall, most of the energy of the river is spent in down-cutting action, resulting in narrow valleys with almost vertical walls.

2.    V-Shaped Valley: when a river flows through a mountainous region made up of relatively soft rock and plenty of rainfall, the sides or the banks of the river erode easily and widen by the increase in volume of the river, resulting in V-shaped Valleys.

3.    Waterfalls: is steep descent of a river over a rocky edge, when the river falls down almost vertically from a sufficient height, it forms a waterfall.

   II.    THE MIDDLE COURSE: here the river enters the plain. As the gradient decreases, the flow of energy slows down and so does its energy. The volume of water increases considerably. As the slope of the course flattens, the river cuts less into its river bed. Instead, it widens its banks and its river bed, giving rise to U-shaped valleys. The main work of the rivers here is to transport sediments. Deposition also takes place. The river develops typical landforms:

1.    Alluvial Fans: as the river enters the plains its velocity declines and the river drops its load of sand and gravel. The course material like boulders, pebbles, and gravel is dropped near the base of the slope while the finer material is carried further. Such depositional features are called alluvial fans.

2.    Flood Plain: due to low gradient the downward erosion is reduced. More of the river’s energy is directed from side to side. As the river cuts away at one bank and then at the other, the valley widens. In this manner, flat valley covered with alluvium brought by the river, is created. This is a flood plain or an alluvial plain.

3.    Meanders: in the plain stretch of its course the downward erosion by the river is replaced by sideways or lateral erosion. Due to lateral erosion the bed of the stream becomes wider. Even a minor obstruction in its path makes the river changes its course and river flows making large curves called meanders.

4.    Ox-Bow Lakes: is produced when a meander forms almost a complete circle and the meandering river cuts across the narrow neck of land. When silt is deposited at the entrance to this backwater, an ox-bow lake is created.

5.    Braided River: when a river carries an enormous amount of load it is unable to carry it all the way to the mouth and the channel becomes clogged, causes the river to divide into many intertwining channels forming islands in the river channel.

 III.    THE LOWER COURSE: river is considerably slow, gradient is almost flat. River flows sluggishly due to the heavy load it carries. The main work of the river here is that of deposition, here the river develops typical landforms:

1.    Delta: a triangular piece of land that develops at the mouth of rivers by the deposition of sediments. The river has less energy to cut into land and it can no longer carry heavy load sediments. When the sediments are deposited in the river channel where the river meets the sea, a new land is formed-delta.

2.    Distributary: sediments build up along the river channel, it gets blocked and the river is forced to divide into branches called distributaries.

3.    Estuary: many rivers do not form deltas especially along rocky coasts. Instead they have a narrow, gradually widening bay at the mouth, cutting deep inland. Such a funnel-shaped opening at the mouth of a river is called an estuary.

4.    Levee: active deposition along the banks of an old river when it is flood. Each time this happens, the banks get higher and they are called natural levees.

Drainage System of India:

On the Basis of origin, two broad drainage systems of India are generally recognized:

Drainage System of India Himalayan The Indus The Ganga The Brahmaputra Peninsular Rivers flowing into Bay of Bengal                                          i.    Mahanadi                                         ii.    Godavari                                        iii.    Krishna                                        iv.    Kaveri Rivers flowing into the Arabian Sea                                          i.    Narmada                                         ii.    Tapi                                        iii.    Sabarmati                                        iv.    Mahi

The Himalayan Rivers & The Peninsular Rivers.

I: The Himalayan Rivers:

·     Long courses and Perform erosion and depositional work

1. The Indus Drainage System:

·         Comprises of Indus River and its five main tributaries: Chenab, Beas, Sutlej, Ravi, Jhelum

·         Forms a system of five main rivers after which the state of Punjab is named. They join the Indus at Mithankot in Pakistan.

·         Indus and its tributaries bring a large volume of water and sediments which make their doabs enormously rich and productive lands.

·         Originates from the glaciers of the Kailash range in western Tibet near Mansarovar Lake.

·         Flows west and northwestwards and enters India in J&K. Pierces through Kailash Range forming a Gorge. Several tributaries , the Zaskar, Nubra , Shyok & Hunza join it in Kashmir region

·         Flows through Ladakh, Baltistan and Gilgit till finally emerge out of the hills at Attock. Here the river is joined by river Kabul from Afghanistan. The Indus flows southwards across Pakistan to reach Arabian Sea east of Karachi.

·         With a length of 2900km, is one of the largest rivers of the world.

·         Sharing of water is regulated by the Indus water treaty signed by India and Pakistan.

2. The Ganga Drainage System:

• River system includes Ganga and its tributaries like the Yamuna, Gomti, Gaghara, Gandak, Ramganga, Mahaganga, Kosi Etc. All originate from the Himalayas.

The Ganga: rises in the Garhwal Himalayas in Uttarkhand-altitude 6000mt. The headwaters of the Ganga called the “Bhagirathi” is fed by the Gangotri Glacier and joined by the Alaknanda at Devaprayag in Uttarkhand. At Haridwar the Ganga emerges from the mountains on to the plains. The total length is 2525km. Beyond Farakka, it flows south eastward into Bangladesh where it is known as Padma. This is the northern most point of the Ganga Delta. It bifurcates here: the Bhagirathi-Hooghly flows southwards through thr detaic plains to the Bay of Bengal. The mainstream- Padma joins the Brahmaputra which is known Meghna. The delta formed by the ganga and the Brahmaputra is known as the Sunderbans.

The Yamuna: the largest and most important right bank tributary of the Ganga, meets the Ganga at Allahabad. Originates from the Yamunotri glacier on the Bandurpunch Peak in Garhwal. After cutting a deep gorge across the lesser himlayas, it flows towards the south-west and enters the Ganga plain near Tajewala.

3. The Brahmaputra Drainage System:

• Rises in Tibet east of Mansarowar lake close to the sources of the Indus and the Sutlej
• Originates from the Chemayungdung glacier in the Kailash range.
• Length of 2900km-largest rivers of the world.
• Passes through Tibet, India and Bangladesh.
• In Tibet it is called-Tsangpo, flows here as a sluggish and navigable river through a wide valley.
• Towards the end of its journey in Tibet it takes a southward turn near Namchabarwa and enters AP as Dihang River.
• The Brahmaputra has a braided channel for most of its passage through Assam and forms many riverine islands.
• Its tributaries discharges enormous quantities of water & silt, river causes disastrous floods during monsoons.
• It is marked by huge deposits of silt on its bed causing the river bed to rise.
• The river also shifts its channel frequently.
• Majuli is the largest riverine island in the world.
• Traversing round the stairs of Garo Hills, the Brahmaputra bends southwards and enters Bangladesh near dhubri.
• In Bangladesh it is known as Jamuna.
• At goalundo, the Jamuna joins the Ganga.
• The united stream of the Jamuna and the ganga is known as padma.
• The combination is known as Meghna.
• The meghna forms a very broad estuary before entering Bay of Bengal.

II: THE PENINSULAR RIVERS:

• All rivers of the peninsula are in the mature stage.
• Flow through wide valleys
• Except narmada and tapi which drain in the Arabian Sea, the other major streams drain into bay of Bengal.
• Two major directions of flow: the east flowing rivers and west flowing rivers.

1: The East Flowing Rivers:

a.    The Mahanadi:

· rise in the highlands of Chattisgrah

· flows through Orissa to reach bay of Bengal, length is 860km.

· Mahanadi delta covers an area of about 9500sq.m. and 150km broad.

· The drainage basin is shared by Maharashtra, chattisgarh, jharkand and orsissa.

b.    The Godavari:

· Largest peninsular river- Rises from slopes of Western Ghats in the Nashik Distt. Originates from the Trimbak plateau of the North Sahayadri near Nasik.

· Referred to Vriddha Ganga or Dakshin Ganga, Length is1500 kms. Drains into BoBengal

· Drainage basin is the largest of the peninsular rivers, 115832sq.km. About 50% of the basin lies in maharshtra, it covers MP, Orissa, and AP.

· Its principal tributaries include the Pravara, Purna, Manjra, Penganga, Wainganga, Wardha, Pranhita, Indravati, Maner, saberi. Among them the manjra, Penganga and wainganga are the largest.

c.    The Krishna:

· Second largest east flowing river 1400 km long, Rises near Mahabaleshwar in the WG.

· The river has been dammed near Sri Sailem to form the Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir.

· The Bhima & the Tunghabadra are the imp. Tributaries including Koyana, ghatprabha, Musi.  

· The Krishna forms a large delta which spreads across 4600sq.mt. with a shoreline.

· Its drainage is shared by Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.

d.    The Kaveri:

· The most sacred river of S.India, Source lies at Talakaveri on the Brahmagiri range in WG.

· Flows eastward, length is 800km, empty itself into BoBengal.

· River is unique as the upper part receives rainfall during summer from the southwest monsoons and the lower part receives rainfall in winter from the north east monsoon.

· Makes the 2^nd biggest waterfall called Jog falls.

· It is a Perennial river. Main tributaries are Amravati, Bhavani, Hemavati, and Kabini.

· Its basin drains parts of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

e.    Other East Flowing Rivers: the Damoder, Brahmani, Baitarni, And Subarnrekha, Panniyar, Penneru, Vagai are some rivers which flow eastward.

2: The West Flowing Rivers: West flowing rivers of the peninsula India are fewer and smaller as compared to east flowing rivers, narmada and Tapi are two major rivers.

a.  The Narmada Basin:

• Originates from amarkantak in MP, flows through a rift valley between the Vidhyan range on the north and satpura on its south.
• Length is 1078km, form Dhuan dhar falls at Jabalpur.
• Flows through narrow valleys confined by precipitious hills, does not permit large tributaries.
• Forms an estuary on entering Gulf of Khambat,several islands in the estuary of Narmada, aliabet being the largest. Flows into Arabian Sea.

b.The Tapti:

• River originates from the sacred tank of Multai on the Satpura plateau.
• Second largest west flowing river of the peninsular region.
• It meets the Purna River near the western extremity of the Gawilgarh hills.
• Flows in a rift valley parallel to Narmada but is shorter in length.
• Tapti forms an estuary before falling into the gulf of khambat

Other West Flowing River:

c. The Sabarmati: Originates in hills of Mewar in the Aravalli range, drains into Gulf of Khambat

d.The Mahi: rises in Vindhya and empties into Gulf of Khambat

e. The Luni: originates in Aravalli and flows in the south-west direction/only stream that drains through the arid Thar Desert. Sukri is an important tributary. It flows for 482km, before it is finally lost in the marshy ground of the Rann of Kutch.

INLAND DRAINAGE: Inland drainage is formed by rivers with no outlet to any water body.

·     They disappear into the soil-as the soil is porous or less water or evaporation.

·     Large parts of rajasthan desert & parts of Aksai Chin in Ladakh have inland drainage.

·     The Ghaghar is a river of inland drainage, a seasonal stream which rises on the lower slopes of the Himalayas and forms the boundary between Haryana & Punjab. The Tangei, Markanda, Saraswati, and the Chaitanya are the most important tributary of this river.

LAKE:  is a depression filled with water & is entirely surrounded by land. India has comparatively few natural lakes. The three types of lakes found in India are:

1. Fresh Water Lakes: most are in the Himalayan region, glacial region. Thed erosive process of glacier can create U-Shaped valleys and the irregular surface of glaciated lowland in which water can accumulate. The Dal Lake, Bhimtal, Nainital, Loktak, Barapani are fresh water lakes in India.
2. Lakes of Tectonic Origin: folding and faulting produce hollows in the earth’s crust, may contain salty or fresh water. Wular Lake in J&K is a result of tectonic activity.
3. Saltwater Lakes: any lake with no natural drainage outlet or either as a surface stream or as a sustained subsurface flow will become saline. The sambhar in Rajasthan is used for producing salt. Lake Chilika in Orissa is a salted lake.
4. Manmade Lakes or Artificial Lake: in order to harness water for generation of hydel power to provide irrigation water to crops and to provide drinking water to urban places a number of lakes have been constructed. Govind Sagar & Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar are the two most important Man-made lakes of India.

ROLE OF RIVERS IN THE ECONOMY:

1. Development of Civilization:  rivers have played role in the development of civilizations. Most of the ancient civilizations like Indus-Valley, Aztec, etc. developed around river. Rivers have been of fundamental importance throughout the human history. The banks of the rivers have witnessed great cultural and economic progress since ancient times. Water is a basic natural resource, essential for human, agricultural and industrial activities.
2. Rivers and their associated alluvial soils provide the most productive agricultural lands of the country. The Ganga- Brahmaputra basins have been formed by the two great rivers. Agriculture is dependant on the vagaries of the monsoon, irrigation from rivers has been the backbone of the development of Indian agriculture.
3. Settlement: their valleys contain dense and concentrated settlements most of the large cities are located on rivers. They provide us with essential water supply but also receive, dilute and transport waste from settlement.
4. Industrial Development: has flourished along rivers and many industrial processes rely on water as a raw material, coolant and for the generation of hydroelectricity.
5. Means of Transportation: primary channels of inland transportation, directly in the form of navigable waterways, indirectly through their valleys, where roads and railway lines and other routes are built.
6. Recreation, tourist promotion and fishing are also being developed along the water fronts.

RIVER POLLUTION:

1. The growing domestic, municipal, industrial and agricultural demand for water from rivers naturally affects the quality of water. As a result more and more water is being drained out of the rivers reducing their volume.
2. Heavy load of untreated sewage and industrial effluents are emptied into the rivers. This affects not only the quality of water but also the self cleaning capacity of the river.
3. Increasing urbanization and industrialization is responsible for the increase in the pollution level of many important rivers.

Fresh water from the rivers is essential for our livelihood. So to take care of the rivers is the duty of each and every citizen. A proper understanding of our river synthesis is crucial for our well being.

NATIONAL RIVER CONSERVATION PLAN (NRCP):

The activities of GAP phase I, initiated in 1985, were declared closed on 31st March 2000. The steering committee of the NRC authority reviewed the progress of the GAP and necessary correction on the basis of lessons learned and experiences gained from Gap Phase I. These have been applied on the major polluted rivers of the country under the NRCP. The GAP Phase II has been merged in with the NRCP. The expanded NRCP now covers 152 towns located along 27 interstate rivers in 16 rivers. Under this action plan, pollution abatement works are being taken in 57 towns. A total of 215 schemes of pollution abatement have been sanctioned. So far, 69 schemes have been completed under this action plan. A million litre of sewage is targeted to be intercepted, diverted & treated.

MULTIPURPOSE PROJECTS:

1. Generation of Power (Electricity): These multi-power projects are main source of power generation. They provide us neat, pollution free and economical energy.
2. Flood Control:control floods as they store water, many overflowing rivers are controlled.
3. Irrigation: many canals have been taken out to irrigate fields during dry season.

A comparative Study: Himalayan Rivers: originate from lofty ranges of the Himalaya large basins and catchment area Form deep I-shaped valleys called Gorges. Perennial, water flows throughout the year. are in a youthful age rivers form meanders and often shift their courses Form big deltas at their mouth.

Peninsular Rivers: originate in the peninsular plateau small basins and catchment areas Flow in comparatively shallow valleys. seasonal rivers as they are rain-fed, water flows mostly in rainy season mature rivers flow more or less straight course and do not form meanders Form smaller deltas, and estuaries.