1. South Asia Vocabulary

3. Subcontinent

4. Separate region of a continent. India is a subcontinent of Asia.

6. Subsistence Farmers

7. Farmers that grow only enough food for their families, but nothing to sell to anyone else. People that live high in the Himalaya mountains in isolated villages are often subsistence farmers who grow food for their basic needs.

9. Monsoon

10. Seasonal winds that bring intense rainfall during part of the year. Monsoons are an important feature of South Asia’s climate.

12. Arable

13. Fertile land; suitable for farming. South Asia’s arable land is very important because it feeds nearly 1.5 billion people.

15. Famine

16. A long period of food shortage. Despite vast farmland, India have often suffered from terrible famines.

18. Sustainable Farming

19. Use new technologies and methods that can be continued without long term damage to the environment. Using natural fertilizers and crop rotation help sustain fields and protect the environment.

21. Conservation

22. Protection of the environment. In South Asia this includes protecting the tigers in India and Bangladesh and preserving the marine ecosystems in the Maldives.

24. Ecosystem

25. A group of interacting organisms and their natural environment.

27. Aquifer

28. A layer of rock beneath Earth’s surface that contains water

30. Cultural Hearths

31. Cultural Hearth Center of civilization from which ideas and technology spread

33. Caste System

34. A social structure in India composed of four main levels, which was started by the Aryans.

36. Reincarnation

37. The birth of the soul into another physical life

39. Karma

40. In Hinduism, the negative or positive effect one received as a result of his or her actions

42. Infrastructure

43. The basic systems of a society such as roads, bridges, sewers, and electricity.

45. Outsourcing

46. The shifting of jobs to workers outside of a company, often to a foreign country

48. Mircolending

49. The practice of making small loans to people starting their own businesses.

51. Modernization

52. Policies and actions designed to bring a country up to date in technology and other areas.

54. Push/Pull Factors

55. Reasons why people migrate; “push” factors cause them to leave; “pull” factors make them come to a place.

57. Military Dictatorship

58. A form of government in which the army runs the government.

60. Cyclones

61. A storm with rotating winds, called a typhoon in the Eastern Hemisphere; a hurricane in other parts of the world.