Unit 9 South Asia

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Unit 9 South Asia
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South Asia and Southeast Asia make up the two
regions in Southern Asia.
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The South Asian subcontinent includes the
countries of India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh,
and Bhutan.
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Additional countries in South Asia include
Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives. India is the
largest country on the subcontinent.
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A subcontinent is a large landmass that is part
of a continent, such as Asia, but it is separated
geographically.
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The Northern Plains, the Northern Mountain Rim,
and the Deccan Plateau are the major geographic
regions in the subcontinent.
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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.
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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.
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The Karakoram Mountains lie between the Hindu
Kush Mountains to the west and the Himalayas to
the east.
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The Ganges and Indus Rivers valleys, like the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in the Mesopotamia
valley, contributed to the development of ancient
civilizations.
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Geologists and other scientists theorize that the
northern edge of South Asian subcontinent moved
towards the Asian tectonic plates that perhaps
formed the Himalayas.
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One theory introduced by Alfred Wegener
(1880-1930), a German meteorologist and geologist
referred to this movement of tectonic plates as
the continental drift.
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He is the author of the book called, Origin of
Continents and Oceans," where he calculated that
200 million years ago the continents
wereoriginally joined together, forming a large
super-continent.
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The name given to this super-continent is known
as the Pangaea, meaning "All-earth".
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The South Asian region is dominated by India,
whether in terms of geography-landmass,
population, or gross domestic product.
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Historically, a common influence affecting the
development of South Asian civilizations and in
more recent times, has been their colonial
heritage and traditions.
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One of the major cultural influences has been
provided by the Muslims who believe in the
Islamic holy book, the Quran and the traditions
of Muhammads life.
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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.
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However, under British rule, the people and the
land of the subcontinent were tied together in
many ways.
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The British are linked to the creation of new
institutions such as the government bureaucracy,
civil service, military and universities.
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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.
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English became the national language of
government, business and higher education.
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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.
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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.
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They wanted the Muslims and non-Muslims
partitioned into two nations. Hindus and Sikhs
were influenced by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhis
and Jawaharlal Nehrus inspirations, thus, they
were in opposition to separate British India into
two nations.
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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 Indias first
Prime Minister.
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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.
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. 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.
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Conflict and war between the two regions occurred
because East Pakistan was annoyed with West
Pakistan because they were taking charge of the
government.
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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.
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. 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.
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These cultural factors impact South Asias
government and political boundaries and
distinctly make their mark across culture regions.
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