J&K Region Explained

An interactive map that shows the divisions and areas of Jammu-Kashmir that are illegally occupied by Pakistan and China across the Line of Control (LOC) and the Chinese LOC. Note the area that resides inside the LOC and Chinese LOC lines that is now left with India after Pakistan and China's illegal occupations. Click to expand the legend button on top-left corner of the map window and check the content details. Zoom-in or out and play around the map to check the locations.

Jammu & Kashmir Disputed Area

Jammu and Kashmir is a region in northern India that has a complex history and a disputed present status. Here's a brief overview of the state on history and present status:

History:
The region was ruled by various dynasties and kingdoms throughout history, including the Mauryas, Mughals, Sikhs, and Dogras. In 1947, when India gained independence from British rule, the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir had to decide whether to join India or Pakistan. The ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh, initially wanted to remain independent but eventually decided to join India. Pakistan, however, disputed this decision and sent troops to seize the region. This led to the First Indo-Pakistan War in 1947-48, which ended with a ceasefire line known as the Line of Control (LoC) dividing the region into Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-administered Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Since then, there have been several other wars and conflicts between India and Pakistan over the region, including the Kargil War in 1999.

Present status:
India considers Jammu and Kashmir to be an integral part of its territory, while Pakistan claims the region as its own and supports separatist movements within it. In 2019, the Indian government revoked the region's special autonomous status, which had been granted under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. The move was controversial and has been criticized by many, including some human rights organizations, for being undemocratic and violating the rights of the region's residents. Since then, the region has been under direct control of the Indian central government and divided into two union territories: Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. The Indian government has said that its aim is to integrate the region more fully into the rest of India and bring development and prosperity to its people. However, critics say that the move is part of a larger Hindu nationalist agenda and has led to increased tensions and violence in the region.

Read More

Seven Sisters of the North-East India

An informative map showing the geographical positions of the seven north-eastern sister states of India. Click on the polygons to know details about that state in the Legend Box.

The North-East Region of India

In India, North-East is a cumulative synonym for the seven north-eastern states namely Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. These states cover about 8% of India's total area. Although there is great ethnic and religious diversity within these seven states, they bear similarities in terms of the political, social and economic spheres. The land of North East India has the most eco-friendly destinations full of natural attractions, the great wildlife, adventure options, tribal attractions and much more for perfect unexplored holiday tours.

The Northeast region can be physiographically categorised into the Eastern Himalayas, Northeast Hills (Patkai-Naga Hills and Lushai Hills) and the Brahmaputra and the Barak Valley Plains. The region is covered by the mighty Brahmaputra-Barak river systems and their tributaries. Northeast India has a subtropical climate that is influenced by its relief and influences from the southwest and northeast monsoons. It is the rainiest region in the country, with many places receiving an average annual precipitation of 2,000 mm (79 in), which is mostly concentrated in summer during the monsoon season. Cherrapunji, located on the Meghalaya plateau is the rainiest place in the world with an annual precipitation of 11,418.7 mm (449.6 in).

Read More

United Kingdom Explained through Map

An informative map that illustrates the difference between England, Britain and the United Kingdom, which appears as the same place in general, but are geographically different places. Click to expand the legend button on top-left corner of the map window and click to check-uncheck the layer names to visualize the differences.

Difference between England, Britain and the United Kingdom

When people refer the terms United Kingdom, England, or Britain, I am sure most of them think these are the same place, unless they know the truth. And the truth is that these are different places. The above map on top of Google map tries to illustrate the differences, highlighting the following areas:

1.  The United Kingdom - The United Kingdom is not a single country but instead is a country of countries. It contains the following 4 sovereign nations:
  1.  England - Often confused as United Kingdom, largest and most populous of the 4 countries, shown in red.
  2.  Scotland – Situated towards north of England, shown in green.
  3.  Wales – Situated towards west of England, shown in orange.
  4.  Northern Ireland - Often forgotten or excluded, shown in light blue.
Although people of United Kingdom are thought as British, but actually people from England are English, people from Scotland are Scottish, Wales are Welsh, and Northern Ireland are Northern Irish. So the full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

2.  Great Britain - Great Britain is a geographical term rather than a political term and within the United Kingdom it covers the area formed by England, Scotland, and Wales, excluding Northern Ireland. Great Britain is the biggest island within United Kingdom.
Great Britain is also an island of islands belonging to the individual admins England, Scotland, and Wales. For example, the Isle of Wight, Isles of Scilly and Lundy belongs to England. The Isle of Anglesey belongs to Welsh. Scotland has maximum number of islands grouped under Hebrides, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, and Islands of the Clyde. Apart from these islands there are some other islands which come directly under the Crown, controlled by the British monarchy, and are called the Crown Dependencies.

3.  Crown Dependencies –These includes the following islands. These are not considered independent nations, but are granted local autonomy by the Crown and British Citizenship by the United Kingdom.
  1.  The Isle of Man
  2.  Guernsey Islands
  3.  Bailiwick of Jersey

4.  British Islands – The United Kingdom countries, together with the Crown Dependencies form the British Islands. So British Islands includes Great Britain (i.e., England, Scotland, and Wales), Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Guernsey, and Bailiwick of Jersey. One interesting thing to note here is that the British Islands do not cover the whole Ireland, but only Northern Ireland. Ireland is the biggest island in the British Isles. Like Great Britain, Ireland is not a country; it is a geographical term, not political.

5.  Ireland - The island of Ireland contain on it two countries - Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. One interesting fact is that when people say they are ‘Irish’ they are actually referring to the Republic of Ireland and not Northern Ireland.

6.  British Isles - So the two largest islands in the British Isles are Ireland and Great Britain.

 Apart from the above entities two other types of Crown Dependencies, not shown in the map, are:
  1.  Commonwealth Countries – These are independent nations of the former British Empire that still recognize the Crown. These countries do not rely on the United Kingdom for military and economic assistance.
  2.  British Overseas Territories - Unlike the Commonwealth Realm, these have not become independent nations and continue to rely on the United Kingdom for military and (sometime) economic assistance. Like the Crown Dependencies, everyone born in their borders is a British Citizen.

Source: CGP Grey

Read More

Commuting in Mumbai

An informative map that shows the rapid transit commuter railway network system of Mumbai. Mumbai Suburban Railway and Mumbai Metro together forms the rapid transit commuter railway network system in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Click to expand the legend button on top-left corner of the map window and check the content details. Zoom-in or out and play around the map to check the locations.


Map last updated in May 2023

Mumbai Suburban Railway Network

Mumbai Suburban Railway forms the suburban railway network and is also called the Mumbai lifeline. Spread over 465 kilometres (289 miles), the suburban railway operates 2,342 train services and carries more than 7.5 million commuters daily. By annual ridership of 2.64 billion commuters, the Mumbai Suburban Railway is the busiest rapid transit system in the world.

The Mumbai Suburban Railway system is operated by Indian Railways' two zonal divisions Western Railways (WR) and Central Railways (CR) with two corridors in each – The Fast line and the Slow line. The fast commuter rail corridors on Central Railway as well as Western Railway are shared with long distance and freight trains. WR operates the Western Line and CR operates the Central Line, Harbour Line, Trans-Harbour Line as well as the Vasai Road-Diva-Panvel line.

The Western Line follows the Western Railway northwards from Churchgate parallel to the west coast. Local services by electric multiple units (EMUs) ply between Churchgate and Dahanu Road (120 km) on exclusive parallel tracks up to Virar (60 km) while Mainline Electrical Multiple Units (MEMUs) service the section beyond Virar to Dahanu Road (60 km)

The Central Line in Mumbai consists of 3 major corridors, which bifurcate as they run into suburban satellite towns. The two corridors follow the Central Railway run from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) to Kalyan (54 km), from where it bifurcates into two lines – one to Kasara (67 km) in the north-east and the other to Khopoli (61 km) in the south-east. These two corridors constitute the 'main' Central Line. There is also an 18-km corridor between Kurla and Thane stations for use of outstation and cargo trains. The corridor is being extended further from Thane to Kalyan now as a part of the main line. The Central Line has two interchange stations with the Western Line at Parel and Dadar.

The Harbour Line is part of the Central Railway, and runs from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) to Andheri and Panvel. All Harbour Line services operate as slow services. The line operates from two separate platforms at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), and the tracks cross over the main line at Sandhurst Road, to head towards stations along Mumbai's eastern dock area. A branch line from Wadala Road joins the Western Line at Mahim and continues towards Andheri. The Harbour Line has an interchange station with the main line at Kurla, where it turns east towards Navi Mumbai. The Harbour Line further bifurcates at Vashi into two lines – one rejoins the main lines at Thane, while the other continues to Panvel.

The Trans-Harbour Line connects Navi Mumbai to Thane. It runs from Thane to Vashi, Nerul and Panvel.

Mumbai Metro Network

Mumbai Metro is a Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) to provide fast, easy and comfortable commute through high-speed trains in Mumbai. The system is designed to reduce traffic congestion in the city, and supplement the overcrowded Mumbai Suburban Railway network. The system comprise of total eleven high-capacity lines, out of which three are fully operational as of now (May 2023), eight are under construction, and six are proposed, spanning a total of 338.5 kilometres (210.3 miles).

With so many metro lines and their extensions under construction or proposed, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is making all efforts in expanding the metro network within and around the Mumbai city. The Mumbai Metro network comprises the following lines:

Fully Operational Metro Lines:
Line 1: Versova - Andheri - Ghatkopar metro corridor, called the Blue Line, having 12 stations, covering 11.40 km
Line 2A: Dahisar(E) - Andheri West metro corridor, called the Yellow Line, having 17 stations, covering 18.60 km
Line 7: Dahisar (East) - Gundavali metro corridor, called the Red Line, having 13 stations, covering 16.50 km

Under Construction Metro Lines:
Line 2B: Andheri West - Mandala metro corridor, called the Yellow Line, having 22 stations, covering 23.60 km
Line 3: Colaba - Bandra - SEEPZ metro corridor, called the Aqua Line, having 27 stations, covering 33.50 km
Line 4: Wadala - Mulund - Thane - Kasarvadavali metro corridor, called the Green Line, having 32 stations, covering 32.32 km
Line 4A: Kasarwadavali - Gaimukh metro corridor, extension of the Green Line, having 2 stations, covering 2.88 km
Line 5: Thane - Bhiwandi - Kalyan metro corridor, called the Orange Line, having 17 stations, covering 24.90 km
Line 6: Swami Samarth Nagar - KanjurMarg - Vikhroli metro corridor, called the Pink Line, having 13 stations, covering 14.70 km
Line 7A: Andheri (E) - CSI Airport metro corridor, called the Red Line, having 2 stations, covering 3.17 km
Line 9: Dahisar (E) - Mira Bhayander metro corridor, called the Red Line, having 8 stations, covering 11.38 km

Proposed Metro Lines:
Line-8: CSIA - NMIA metro corridor, named the Gold Line, having 7 stations, covering 35.00 km
Line-10: Gaimukh - Shivaji Chowk (Mira Road) metro corridor, named the Green Line, having 9 stations, covering 9.20 km (Approved)
Line-11: Wadala - Chhattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus metro corridor, named the Green Line, having 11 stations, covering 12.70 km (Approved)
Line-12: Kalyan - Dombivali - Taloja metro corridor, named the Orange Line, having 17 stations, covering 20.70 km (Approved)
Line-13: Shivaji Chowk (Mira Bhayander) - Virar metro corridor, named the Purple Line, having 20 stations, covering 23.00 km
Line-14: Kanjurmarg - Badlapur metro corridor, named the Magenta Line, having 40 stations, covering 45.00 km

Read More