Unit 9 South Asia

South Asia and Southeast Asia make up the two regions in Southern Asia.

The South Asian subcontinent includes the countries of India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Bhutan.

Additional countries in South Asia include Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives. India is the largest country on the subcontinent.

A subcontinent is a large landmass that is part of a continent, such as Asia, but it is separated geographically.

The Northern Plains, the Northern Mountain Rim, and the Deccan Plateau are the major geographic regions in the subcontinent.

Each of the three regions varies in their landforms and climate. South and southwest of India, are the islands of Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India lies in the Bay of Bengal. It consists of about 527 islands both small and large.

The Karakoram Mountains lie between the Hindu Kush Mountains to the west and the Himalayas to the east.

The Ganges and Indus Rivers valleys, like the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in the Mesopotamia valley, contributed to the development of ancient civilizations.

Geologists and other scientists theorize that the northern edge of South Asian subcontinent moved towards the Asian tectonic plates that perhaps formed the Himalayas.

One theory introduced by Alfred Wegener ( ), a German meteorologist and geologist referred to this movement of tectonic plates as the continental drift.

He is the author of the book called, “Origin of Continents and Oceans," where he calculated that 200 million years ago the continents were originally joined together, forming a large super- continent.

The name given to this super- continent is known as the Pangaea, meaning "All-earth".

The South Asian region is dominated by India, whether in terms of geography-landmass, population, or gross domestic product.

Historically, a common influence affecting the development of South Asian civilizations and in more recent times, has been their colonial heritage and traditions.

One of the major cultural influences has been provided by the Muslims who believe in the Islamic holy book, the Qur’an and the traditions of Muhammad’s life.

Historically the early invasions of India by Muslims impacted the political boundaries that cut across South Asia, including the Sub-Indian continent, and planted the seeds of conflict that exist in the present day.

However, under British rule, the people and the land of the subcontinent were tied together in many ways.

The British are linked to the creation of new institutions such as the government bureaucracy, civil service, military and universities.

The British influenced the South Asian region by the means of common communication such as the English language, the use of the telephone, telegraph, the postal system, and the press.

English became the national language of government, business and higher education.

As the years went by, the South Asians began to resist the British resence because of racism and discrimination against natives which included not providing equal reatment in the armed forces, universities and other civil services.

The Indian National Congress Party of 1885 and the Muslim League of 1906 were critical forces behind independence from Britain. The Muslim League pressed to divide British India into two nations.

They wanted the Muslims and non-Muslims partitioned into two nations. Hindus and Sikhs were influenced by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s and Jawaharlal Nehru’s inspirations, thus, they were in opposition to separate British India into two nations.

Gandi was a major political and spiritual leader of India and Indian independence movement. He inspired movements for civil rights and freedom around the world. Nehru was a member of the Indian National Congress Party and India’s first Prime Minister.

On August 15, 1947, India gained independence from British rule. However, the British and the establishment of the Indian National Congress Party did not settle the differences between the Muslims and the Hindus.

. Thus, the Muslims moved to Pakistan and the Hindus in Pakistan moved to India. Thereafter, when Pakistan became a nation, it divided itself into East Pakistan (formerly East Bengal) and West Pakistan.

Conflict and war between the two regions occurred because East Pakistan was annoyed with West Pakistan because they were taking charge of the government.

In 1971, East Pakistan became the nation of Bangladesh. South Asia has many religions, including Islam and Sikhism, and languages which continue to play a role in the politics, culture, and geographic distribution and patterns among its citizens.

. The religions and many of the languages that are related to each other in South Asia establish a relationship that links or separates cultures and societies.

These cultural factors impact South Asia’s government and political boundaries and distinctly make their mark across culture regions.