1. Learning Objectives
Understand the unique climatological challenges of this region, which include monsoons and cyclones, and accompanying flooding
Learn about the challenges and strategies of feeding a large and growing population
Become familiar with the physical, demographic, cultural, political, and economic characteristics of South Asia
Understand the following concepts and models:
- Monsoon
- Green Revolution
- Caste system
- Orographic rainfall
- Subcontinent
- Hindu Nationalism

2. South Asia Indus River Ganga River Brahmaputra River Arabian Sea
Bay of Bengal
Eastern Ghats Mts.
Western Ghats Mts.
Himalayas Mts.
Hindu Kush Mts., Thar (Great Indian Desert), Deccan Plateau

3. Russia
China
Iran

5. Continents Adrift 5

6. Plate Tectonics, Subduction Page 23

8. South Asia Indus River Ganges River Brahmaputra River Arabian Sea
Bay of Bengal
Eastern Ghats Mts.
Western Ghats Mts.
Himalayas Mts.
Thar (Great Indian Desert) Deccan Plateau Hindu Kush Mts.
Indus River

9. South Asia Indus River Ganga River Brahmaputra River Arabian Sea
Bay of Bengal
Eastern Ghats Mts
Western Ghats Mts
Himalayas Mts
Thar (Great Indian Desert
Indus River
Ganga River

10. South Asia Indus River Ganges River Brahmaputra River Arabian Sea
Bay of Bengal
Eastern Ghats Mts
Western Ghats Mts
Himalayas Mts
Thar (Great Indian Desert
Brahmaputra R.
Indus River
Ganges River

11. South Asia Indus River Ganges River Brahmaputra River Arabian Sea
Bay of Bengal
Eastern Ghats Mts
Western Ghats Mts
Himalayas Mts
Thar (Great Indian Desert
Brahmaputra R.
Indus River
Ganges River
Arabian Sea

12. South Asia Indus River Ganges River Brahmaputra River Arabian Sea
Bay of Bengal
Eastern Ghats Mts
Western Ghats Mts
Himalayas Mts
Thar (Great Indian Desert
Brahmaputra R.
Indus River
Ganges River
Bay Of
Bengal
Arabian Sea

13. South Asia Indus River Ganges River Brahmaputra River Arabian Sea
Bay of Bengal
Eastern Ghats Mts
Western Ghats Mts
Himalayas Mts
Thar (Great Indian Desert
Brahmaputra R.
Indus River
Ganges River
Eastern Ghats Mts.
Bay Of
Bengal
Arabian Sea

14. South Asia Indus River Ganges River Brahmaputra River Arabian Sea
Bay of Bengal
Eastern Ghats Mts
Western Ghats Mts
Himalayas Mts
Thar (Great Indian Desert)
Brahmaputra R.
Indus River
Ganges River
Eastern Ghats Mts.
Bay Of
Bengal
Western Ghats
Arabian Sea

15. South Asia Indus River Ganges River Brahmaputra River Arabian Sea
Bay of Bengal
Eastern Ghats Mts
Western Ghats Mts
Himalayas Mts
Thar (Great Indian Desert
Brahmaputra R.
Indus River
Himalayas Mts
Ganges River
Eastern Ghats Mts.
Bay Of
Bengal
Western Ghats
Arabian Sea

16. South Asia Indus River Ganges River Brahmaputra River Arabian Sea
Bay of Bengal
Eastern Ghats Mts
Western Ghats Mts
Himalayas Mts.
Thar (Great Indian Desert) Deccan Plateau Hindu Kush Mountains
Brahmaputra R.
Indus River
Thar
Desert
Himalayas Mts
Ganges River
Eastern Ghats Mts.
Bay Of
Bengal
Western Ghats
Arabian Sea

17. South Asia’s Monsoon Climates
Monsoon: distinct seasonal change of wind direction
-Summer monsoon brings
rain and flooding
-Winter is dry
Orographic rainfall:
Precipitation from uplift
and cooling of moist winds
-Western Ghats and Himalayas
-Rain-shadow effect: area of
low rainfall on the leeward
(or downwind) side of a
mountain range
South Asia’s Monsoon Climates

19. MONSOONS “To know India and her people, one has to know the monsoon.”
To the people of India the monsoons are a source of life.
Seasonal reversal of winds
General onshore movement in summer
General offshore flow in winter
Very distinctive seasonal precipitation patterns.

20. Monsoons

21. MONSOON
RAINS
ESSENTIAL FOR
RICE PRODUCTION.

22. POTENTIALLY NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF MONSOONS
(RESULTS OF CATASTROPHIC RAINFALL)
Widespread flooding
Property damage
Destruction to agricultural lands
Damage to transportation infrastructure
Homelessness
Disease
Malnutrition
Serious injury
Death

23. MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES OF SOUTH ASIA
THE WORLD’S LARGEST POPULATION CLUSTER
SIGNIFICANT DEMOGRAPHIC PROBLEMS
LOW INCOME ECONOMIES
POPULATION CONCENTRATED IN VILLAGES - SUBSISTENCE AGRICULTURE
STRONG CULTURAL REGIONALISM

24. CULTURE A culturally fragmented region
Religious and linguistic diversity
Religious Patterns
Islam is predominant in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Hinduism is predominant in India and Nepal.
Sikhism thrives in northern India.
Buddhism is predominant in Sri Lanka and Bhutan.

26. CULTURAL HEARTH: The Indus River
Where an early culture emerged and developed
Arts and trade routes emerged from isolated tribes and villages to towns and beyond.
Hinduism emerged from the beliefs and practices brought to India by the Indo-Europeans (Aryans). (6th century BC)
Buddhism born of discontent; made the state religion of India in 3rd century BC
Islam sweeps through central India from the 8th -10th centuries AD

27. RELIGION

28. Religion Buddhist Monastery Hindu Temple in Ponda, Goa
Globalization & Diversity 2e: Rowntree, Lewis, Price, Wyckoff

29. HINDUISM The world’s oldest religion
Cultural hearth of the Indus River
Diffused south and east down the Ganges
Absorbed and eventually supplanted earlier native religions and customs

30. HINDUISM Not just a religion
An intricate web of religious, philosophical, social, economic, and artistic elements
No common creed
No single doctrine
No direct divine revelation
No rigid narrow moral code

31. MAJOR TENETS OF HINDUISM
Three main ideas are important in understanding the Hindu religion and the caste system
Reincarnation
Karma
Dharma

32. REINCARNATION Every living thing has a soul.
When a living thing dies, its soul moves into another living creature.
Souls are reborn in a newly created life.

33. KARMA Every action brings about certain results.
There is no escaping the consequences of one’s actions.
Good behavior is rewarded when the soul is reborn into a higher ranking living creature.

34. DHARMA
A set of rules that must be followed by all living things if they wish to work their way up the ladder of reincarnation.
Each person’s dharma is different.

35. Regulations of the caste system
THREE
BASIC PRACTICES
Puja or worship
Cremation of the dead
Regulations of the caste system

36. RELIGION 36

37. BUDDHISM Adherents objected to harsher features of Hinduism
Siddhartha Gautama (563 B.C.), the Buddha
From elite caste, but rejected wealth and power
Sought to attain mystical union with the universe (enlightenment)
Elimination of worldly desires, determination not to hurt or kill people or animals

38. FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS Sorrow and suffering are part of all life.
People suffer because they desire things they cannot have.
The way to escape suffering is to end desire, to stop wanting, and to reach a stage of not wanting.
To end desire, follow the “middle path,” i.e., the path that avoids the extremes of too much pleasure and desire.

39. EIGHTFOLD PATH TO THE MIDDLE WAY
Right understanding
Right purpose
Right speech
Right conduct
Right means of earning a living
Right effort
Right awareness
Right meditation

40. FALL OF BUDDHISM ON THE SUBCONTINENT
Arrival of Islam
Around 700 A.D. Arab armies conquered lower Indus Valley
Mughal Empire, a powerful Muslim state, dominated
Conversion in northwest (Pakistan) and Northeast (Bangladesh)
Final blow - 8th century - arrival of Islam
-- Destroyed the great Buddhist monasteries
-- Burned libraries
-- Killed monks
Today - only 1 million Buddhists in India

42. RELIGION 42

43. LANGUAGES Hindi 320 m Bihari 70 m Marathi 67 m Rajasthani 44 m
Gujarati m
Oriya m
Assamese 23 m
Sindhi m
Sinhalese m
Telugu m
Tamil m
Kannada m
Malayalam 35m 43

44. KASHMIR INDEPENDENCE & PARTITION
JAMMU & KASHMIR FACED WITH THE CHOICE OF JOINING EITHER HINDU INDIA OR MUSLIM PAKISTAN
KASHMIR – HINDU MAHARAJA BUT MUSLIM POPULATION
SOCIOECONOMIC DIFFERENCES

45. Under British rule, Kashmir was ruled by a Hindu maharaja, who joined this mostly Muslim province to India. Today many Kashmiris wish to join Pakistan, while others want an independent Kashmir.
Conflict in Kashmir
Geopolitical Change
Mughal Empire,
British Colony,
Independence

46. Population and Settlement: The Demographic Dilemma
India has more than 1.2 billion people
Concern about producing enough food
India’s TFR at 2.58
Preference for males creates problems
Pakistan has 190 million people
Pakistan lacks an effective, coordinated family planning program
Overall TFR is 3.02
Linked to Muslim culture
Early childhood mortality, and low rate of female contraception
Bangladesh has 163 million people
Has one of the highest settlement densities in the world
TFR is 2.5
Strong government support for family planning
Muslim culture, but more flexible

47. POPULATION DENSITY

48. -This region is growing more than twice as fast as East Asia
Population (Fig. 12.9)
-This region is growing
more than twice as
fast as East Asia
-In the coming years,
South Asia will become
the world’s most
populous region
(surpassing East Asia
and China)
Globalization & Diversity 2e: Rowntree, Lewis, Price, Wyckoff

49. POPULATION DENSITY World Average = 117/mi2 36 315 341 865 54 52 53 176
Pacific
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
315
East Asia
341
South Asia
South Asia
865
Subsaharan Africa
Iowa, USA 54
N. Africa/S.W. Asia
N. Africa/S.W. Asia 52
South America
South America 53
176
Middle America
Middle America
7.6
Australia
874
Japan
Japan
North America
North America 42
Russia
Russia 22
265
Europe
Europe
400
600
800
1000
200
Realm
People per square mile

50. POPULATION DENSITY COMPARISON
United States - Bangladesh
UNITED STATES
77 people/
sq mile
BANGLADESH
2,932 people/
sq mile
163,000,000
55,598

51. INDIA’S GREAT CITIES MUMBAI (BOMBAY)- 19.4 MILLION
ACHIEVED “PRIMACY” BASED ON ITS SITUATION (SUEZ CANAL)
KOLKATA (CALCUTTA) MILLION
500,000 HOMELESS
FORMER BRITISH COLONIAL CAPITAL- 1772
ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY PARTITION
DELHI (NEW AND OLD) MILLION
BRITISH AND INDIAN SEAT OF GOVERNMENT
India’s urban population is only 28% (U.S. urban population 78%)

52. 1130
The Green Revolution
Fertility
Growth Rate

53. The Green Revolution
Green Revolution: agricultural techniques based on hybrid crops, heavy use of industrial fertilizers and chemical pesticides
Use of hybrid, high-yield seeds to bolster production
From 1970 to 1990s: India more than doubled annual grain production (Punjab: “breadbasket”)
But with high environmental and social costs
Chemical fertilizers and pesticides harm environment
Salinization in irrigated areas
Poorer farmers forced from their lands
Only more prosperous farmers could afford to adopt seeds and use mechanization
Bhopal fertilizer factory explosion in 1984 long-term effects
Green Revolution
Increased yields
in Punjab

54. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (INDIA)
MEDICAL PROCEDURES
LEVELS OF DEVELOPMENT (TECHNOLOGY)
A MIXTURE OF TRADITIONAL VILLAGE FARMING AND MODERN AGRICULTURE, MINING
HANDICRAFTS, OLD AND NEW BRANCHES OF INDUSTRY, TEXTILES
A MULTITUDE OF SUPPORT SERVICES (Dell Computers, H&R Block, Credit Card Co.)

56. Prices

57. Primary Economic Activity - An economic pursuit mainly involving natural or culturally improved resources
Agriculture
Mining
Lumbering
fishing

58. Secondary Economic Activity - the processing of materials to render them more directly useful.
Manufacturing
Assembling of raw materials

59. Tertiary Economic Activity - Sectors of the economy that provide markets and exchange for commodities.
Wholesale and retail trade
Personal and professional services
Medicine
Recreation

60. Quaternary Economic Activity - An information oriented economic activity.
Research, Think tanks
Information processing
Finance
insurance
computer and telecommunications
Education
Government information services

61. Geopolitical Framework: A Deeply Divided Region
International and Global Geopolitics
Cold war between India and Pakistan
Nuclear capabilities of both countries escalated tensions
China allied with Pakistan (China-India border conflict)
Terrorist attacks of September 11th complicated matters
Pakistani had supported Afghanistan’s Taliban regime, now helps U.S.
Marxist rebel movement against India in Nepal
Border Tensions
An Indian officer observes Kashmir
Both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons

62. Inherited a reasonably well-developed urban infrastructure
Agriculture, cotton, textile industry are important
Less dynamic economy and less potential for growth
Burdened by high levels of defense spending (large military)
Forward Capital City of Islamabad
pbs.org

64. Poorest country in the region
Heavy reliance on production of commercial crops (rice)
Environmental degradation has contributed to poverty
Internationally competitive in textile and clothing manufacturing

65. Textile safety issues

66. SRI LANKA 20 MILLION PEOPLE (70% BUDDHISTS) PLANTATION AGRICULTURE:
TEA, RUBBER, COCONUTS
SOUTH (MAJORITY OF POPULATION)
BUDDHISTS
SPEAK SINHALA (INDO-EUROPEAN)
NORTH (18% OF THE POPULATION)
HINDU
TAMIL LANGUAGE

67. The Mountainous North 67

68. Mountainous North Nepal Bhutan Home of the world highest mountains
The Himalayas
Political turmoil
Hinduism
Bhutan
Closed to the outside world
Buddhist
‘Happiness’ 68

69. AFGHANISTAN BUFFER STATE TURBULENT HISTORY MUJAHIDEEN TALIBAN ERA
OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM
E. J. PALKA

70. Language and Ethnicity in Afghanistan
Cultural Coherence & Diversity: Meeting Ground of Different Traditions, cont.
Contemporary Linguistic and Ethnic Geography
Language and Ethnicity in Afghanistan
Afghanistan never colonized by outside powers; Dari Speakers:
Tajiks and Hazaras
11% are Uzbek
Afghanistan’s Ethnic Patchwork

72. 90% of the worlds heroin is from
Afghanistan Opium-Poppy fields

74. Conclusions Geopolitical tensions in South Asia cause concern
Nuclear rivalry between India and Pakistan
Religious strife between Hindus and Muslims
Bangladesh draws foreign direct investment and prospects for the future
India may be perfectly positioned for globalization