RAS question
The Indian peninsula is part of which ancient landmass?
Correct answer: (A) Gondwanaland.
The Indian peninsula is part of ancient Gondwanaland, the old landmass to which the Peninsular Plateau belonged.
Explanation
The Indian peninsula is linked to Gondwanaland because the Peninsular Plateau was part of Gondwana land, which the Directorate of Education, Govt. of NCT of Delhi, Class IX Social Science Support Material 2023-24 identifies as one of the oldest landmasses. Its rocks are old crystalline, igneous and metamorphic, matching the plateau's ancient geological character. In the wider plate-tectonic sequence, Gondwanaland included South America, Africa, Antarctica and Australia, began breaking apart about 200 million years ago, and the Indian plate separated about 130 million years ago. It then drifted north at about 15 cm per year, collided with the Eurasian plate about 50 million years ago, formed the Himalayas, and eliminated the intervening Tethys Sea. Gondwanaland is the precise ancient landmass associated with the Indian peninsula.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Laurasia refers to the northern continental grouping, whereas the Indian peninsula belongs to Gondwanaland.
- (C) Pangaea is too broad because it split into Gondwana and Laurasia, and the Indian peninsula belongs specifically to Gondwanaland.
- (D) Tethys was the sea between the moving plates that was eliminated during the India-Eurasia collision, not an ancient landmass.
Concept
Indian physiography includes the geological origin of the Peninsular Plateau. The Gondwanaland link explains both India's ancient plateau structure and the later Himalayan collision story.