An Introduction to South Asia Pakistan

Nepal

Pakistan

Maldives

Arunchal Pradesh, India

Sagamartha (Mt Everest), Nepal

Kabul, Afghanistan

Kathmandu, Nepal

Bangladesh

Goa, India in monsoon

Bangladesh

Pakistan

Pakistan, NW Frontier

Bhutan

Kandahar, Afghanistan

Nepal

Maldives

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Kerala, India

Rajastan, India

Tamil Nadu, India

Bhutan

Population Density South Asia has the second largest population of any region in the world. It has the fastest growing population in the world. Compare pop. densities: India 819 per sq mi China 338 per sq mi U.S. 75 per sq mi

The population density is greatest along the fertile Plains and Coastal regions.

% Arable Land Pop. Density /km GDP PPP % Literate Life Exp. Poverty Rate India49% 392$2,80061%70 yrs25% Pakistan24% 199$2,60050% 65 yrs24% Nepal16% 226$1,70049%65 yrs31% Bangladesh55%1165$1,50043%60 yrs45% Comparative Statistics for Selected Countries in South Asia

Poverty is a tremendous problem in South Asia

Consider these indicators of poverty for the countries of South Asia

Demographics in South Asia Mumbai- 16 million Kolkatta- 13 million Delhi- 13 million Dhaka- 13 million 70% of South Asians live in rural areas, in villages, yet South Asia has some of the world’s largest cities:

Reasons for migration to cities: Higher salaries Business opportunities Anonymity and individualism Rise in caste status Agricultural modernization (reduces rural incomes and jobs) Population pressures Refugees of drought or flooding

India’s natural increase rate: 1.5% (2009 est) China’s natural increase rate: 0.6% More than one-third of India’s population is under the age of 15 years old. India’s population is expected to exceed China’s by 2020.

Srinigar, Kashmir, Indian side photo: Zaid Abraham Kashmir: A Regional and Global Contested Space

3 Wars Between Pakistan and India in 50 years, 2 over Kashmir Most militarized space in the world 80,000 dead over this conflict A regional problem gone global

Borat Lake, Gilgit, Pakistan-Controlled Kashmir photo: Ali Ahmed

Colonial History of the Region Indian independence in 1947 Partition Creation of Pakistan (East and West) Problem of the Princely States

Religious Geography There are many different world and local religions practiced in South Asia. Notice where Islam is practiced. In India there are 1600 languages spoken.

REGIONBuddhistHinduMuslimOther Kashmir Valley -4%95%- Jammu-66%30%4% Ladakh50%-46%3% REGIONBuddhistHinduMuslimOther Northern Areas --99%- Azad Jammu and Kashmir --99%- Religious Groups in India-Controlled Kashmir Religious Groups in Pakistan-Controlled Kashmir Source: BBC World News, Pakistani and Indian Census Data

Map: BBC World News India and Pakistan War in Kashmir results in present division of 5 regions- 2 regions in Pakistan, 3 in India nd Indo-Pakistani War rd Indo-Pakistani War, and creation of Bangladesh 1972 Simla Agreement establishes Line of Contol (LoC)

Soldiers at Shakti nuclear test site, India, 1998 How Kashmir grew to a larger regional issue, and eventually a global issue: 1989 Kashmir Insurgency 1998 India and Pakistan hold nuclear weapons tests Sept and The Brink of War at LoC 2003 Cease Fire at the LoC

Photo: Punit Paranjpe/Reuters Mumbai Bombings, Nov 26, people die from terrorist bombings A Kashmir Connection? Lashkar, Regional History and Islamist Militarism Taj Mahal Hotel

Each year India adds 18 million people. To accommodate this, each year India would have to add: 127,000 new village schools 373,000 new teachers (at 50 students per teacher) 2.5 million new homes (with 7 people per home) 4 million new jobs 180 million new bushels of grain and vegetables

India began its population programs in mid-1960s: they opened camps for mass insertions of IUDs. 1970s: “Vasectomy camps” 10 million men were coerced into sterilized by vasectomies during the “Emergency Drive” for family planning in the 1970s. Backlash against family planning and distrust of gov’t 1998: the Indian government abandoned targets for sterilizations and contraception. Focus on education. South Asia has been trying to reduce births since 1952.

Family planning poster from India

“Why only a boy?” family planning poster from India

How is it that population continues to boom even with declines in fertility? Significant part of population is in early reproductive years Poor, rural, uneducated people see children as their only source of wealth. Because there is little access to healthcare, infant mortality rates are high (67/1,000 live births). View sons as more beneficial than daughters.

“May you be the mother of one hundred sons.” 2001: India: 933 females for 1,000 males in India. U.S.: 1038 females for 1,000 males.

The Social Problems of Caste and Gender Caste Purdah: Practice of concealing women from eyes of non- family men, especially during their reproductive years. Bride Price: money and gifts paid to bride’s family at marriage Dowry: money and gifts paid to groom’s family at marriage Bride Burning and Female Infanticide Education and Status of Women