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India Explorer

Run the India Explorer MicroSim Fullscreen

About This MicroSim

India Explorer shows India's 28 states and 8 union territories as a tile cartogram: every state or territory gets one tile of the same size, placed roughly where it sits in the country. It is not a traced map. Tiny Goa gets the same tile as huge Rajasthan, and no borders are drawn. Squares are states; round tiles are union territories.

The menu colors the tiles in two ways:

  • Language family: the family of each place's main official language or languages (Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Tibeto-Burman, or a mix of families).
  • Region: an informal grouping into North, Northeast, East, West, Central and South. Different sources group states a little differently.

Tap any tile to see its capital, its official language or languages, its language family and a short note. The checkbox highlights the 8 union territories. The list and capitals follow the National Portal of India (checked October 2026).

How to Use

  1. Read the "India at a glance" card on the right (or below, on a phone).
  2. Look at the Language family colors. Find the block of teal tiles in the south and the purple tiles in the northeast.
  3. Tap Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Telangana. Compare their official languages.
  4. Switch the menu to Region and see which regions the colors now show.
  5. Check Highlight the 8 union territories and tap each one. Notice which ones are islands, cities or former colonies.

Learning Objective

Students will be able to explain how India's federal structure of states and union territories connects to its languages, using the idea of linguistic states.

Bloom level: Understand (explain, classify).

Iframe Embed Code

<iframe src="https://aaryavvatts-lab.github.io/south-asian-culture-textbook/sims/ch17-india-explorer/main.html" height="842px" width="100%" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Lesson Plan

Grade level: 9-12 (world geography, civics, ethnic studies, or a South Asian student club meeting)

Duration: 15 to 20 minutes

Activity:

  1. (4 min) In pairs, students tap five tiles in different colors and record each capital and official language.
  2. (5 min) Students sort the five southern states and the five largest northern states by language family and write one sentence about the pattern.
  3. (4 min) Students highlight the union territories and list two reasons a place might be a union territory instead of a state.
  4. (5 min) Class discussion: why would a country draw its internal borders around languages?

Assessment questions:

  1. How many states and union territories does India have in 2026?
  2. What is the capital of Telangana, and what is its official language?
  3. Which language family do the official languages of Kerala and Tamil Nadu belong to?
  4. Name two union territories that are groups of islands.
  5. Why does a tile cartogram show Goa and Rajasthan the same size?

Chapter 17: India