NCERT Solutions for Class 7th Social Science Chapter 14 Framing the Neighbourhood — LET’S EXPLORE
Book page 30 Updated on2026-09-19
Q1.
Identify the three large water bodies that surround India in the map on the facing page (Fig.2.2).
Answer
The three large water bodies labelled around India in Fig. 2.2 are:
The Arabian Sea — to the west of India, between the Indian coast and the Arabian Peninsula. Lakshadweep lies in it, and Oman faces India across it.
The Bay of Bengal — to the east of India, between the Indian coast and Myanmar, Thailand and the Malay Peninsula. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands lie in it.
The Indian Ocean — to the south, into which the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal open. Sri Lanka and the Maldives lie in these southern waters.
The three water bodies around India: the Arabian Sea to the west, the Bay of Bengal to the east, and the Indian Ocean to the south.
Why this matters: these three waters are why the chapter calls India a maritime nation with a “central and strategic place in South Asia”. India's coastline of about 11,100 km touches all three, and the peninsula pushes into the middle of them — which is exactly what makes India a link between Southeast Asia, West Asia and Africa.
Check it yourself: Fig. 2.2 also names the routes, not only the waters. Its legend has three entries — Land Route, Land Route (India) and Maritime Route. Trace one maritime route from India's west coast to Oman and one from the east coast to Indonesia, and you will see the two seas doing exactly the work the chapter describes.