South Asia

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• South Asia
• Notes

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Countries

• South Asia is often called a subcontinent- a very
  large landmass that is smaller than a continent
• Bangladesh
• Bhutan
• India
• Maldives
• Nepal
• Pakistan
• Sri Lanka

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India Taj Mahal
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Pakistan
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Nepal
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Mumbai, India
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Bangladesh
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The Maldives
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The Maldives
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Bhutan
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Sri Lanka
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Mountains Plateaus.

• Himalayas
• Pangaea theory that the earth was once a giant
  landmass
• When the continents broke apart, Africa rammed
  into Asia causing the land to crumple up forming
  the Himalayas
• Over 1000 miles long
• Contains Mount Everest
• Worlds highest mountain
• 29,028 feet high
• Lies on border between Nepal China

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Himalayas

• Roof top of the world.
• Formed by the collision of tectonic plates
• Everest is the highest peak

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Everest
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Mountains Plateaus Cont

• Karakoram Mountains
• Hindu Kush Mountains
• Vindhya Mountains
• Separate north and south India
• Different cultures in these two regions due to
  the separation

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Mountains Plateaus cont

• Eastern Western Ghats
• Deccan Plateau
• Form a triangle at Southern India
• Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats are mountains
  along each coast
• The Deccan Plateau is in between the mountains

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Rivers.

• Indus
• Brahmaputra
• Ganges

• The major rivers start in the Himalaya Mountains
• Rivers carry fertile soil washed down from the
  mountains
• When rivers overflow, deposit alluvial soil
  (fertile soil from the silt) onto the flood plain

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Indo-Gangetic Plain

• Indo-Gangetic Plain- alluvial plain that has been
  created by the flooding of the Indus and Ganges
  Rivers
• Largest alluvial plain in the world
• Alluvial plain - flat landform created by the
  deposition of sediment over a long period of time
  by one or more rivers.

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Deserts.

• Thar Desert (Great Indian Desert)
• lies in India Pakistan
• Dry monsoon winds keeps desert arid and hot

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Monsoons.

• Monsoons are seasonal winds that greatly affect
  the climate
• Between October-May- winter winds blow from the
  north and northeast and are dry
• Between June-September- summer winds blow from
  the south and southwest over the Indian Ocean and
  bring warm, moist air
• Heavy rains during this time
• People depend on the heavy rains for farming
• Sometimes the heavy rains can cause disastrous
  floods

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Cyclones.

• Cyclone- storm marked by high winds and heavy
  rain
• Affects Bangladesh
• storm surges waters wash ashore like a very
  high tide
• cause major disasters by flooding farmland and
  also causing rivers to flood
• In 1991, a cyclone killed 131,000 people

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Population.

• India is the 2nd most populated country in the
  world (1.1 billion people)
• Highest population growth rate in South Asia
• Improved health care and sanitation
• Lower death rate
• Population will double in 40 years if it
  continues to grow

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Population.

• High Population Density
• Densely populated areas
• Along the fertile Indo-Gangetic Plain
• Along monsoon watered coasts
• Near where rice is grown
• Bangladesh
• Country with the highest population density in
  the world
• Problem - difficult to produce enough food
• Less densely populated areas
• Deccan Plateau
• Thar Desert
• Mountains

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Urbanization.

• 70 of people live in rural villages in India
• It is increasing because South Asians are
  migrating to cities in search of better jobs and
  higher wages
• Largest cities in India
• Calcutta (3rd largest in world)
• Bombay (9th largest in world)
• Delhi (14th largest in world)
• Cities are
• Overcrowded
• Polluted
• Putting a strain on public facilities like
  schools and hospitals

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History.

• Early Civilizations
• Civilization began around the Indus river around
  2500 B.C.
• Aryans moved into northern India from central
  Asia
• Spoke an early form of Sanskrit
• Aryans come into this region and left their ideas
  in Vedas
• 1. four books about Aryan religious beliefs
• divided Aryan society into 3 classes
• Nobles
• Priests
• ordinary people
• eventually developed into the caste system
• During Aryan time, Siddhartha Gautama taught
  concepts of Buddhism

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History

• Islamic Empires
• A.D. 1000 Islamic empires began attacking India
• 1398 Timur attacked
• Babur then took over most of northern India and
  founded the Mughal Empire
• During this time Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal

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European Colonization.

• British began trading with India in the 1490s
• Formed the East India Company
• Became the most powerful trading corporation
• Built trading posts and forts in strategic
  locations

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• Sepoy Rebellion
• By 1857 British East India Company controlled
  most of India
• Sepoys- Indian soldiers under command of British
• In 1857 sepoys rebelled against their British
  commanders
• Sepoy resented the British trying to (force)
  impose Christianity European customs on them
• The Sepoys were not successful but it did force
  the British to tighten its control of India
• Sent a viceroy to take over Indias territory
• India became a British colony

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European Colonization.

• jewel in the crown for the British empire
• A viceroy is a governor ruling as a royal
  representative to take over a territory
• The viceroy gained control and alliances with
  other Indian states
• Indian Nationalism
• Nationalism is the desire for self rule

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European colonization.

• To try to stop more unrest in India, the British
  spend lots of money on Indias economy
  development
• Built paved roads
• Built railway system
• Installed telegraph lines
• Dug irrigation canals
• Established schools and universities

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Problems Under British Control

• British officials discriminated against Indians
• Forced Indians to change their ancient ways
• Forced farmers to grow cotton instead of wheat
• British textile industries needed cotton
• Lack of wheat led to food shortages that killed
  millions of Indians
• Indians began to demand more rights
• Formed Indian National Congress
• Political group that led to the long struggle for
  independence

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Independence for India.

• Indians wanted independence and equality
• Mohandas Gandhi led the independence movement
• Encouraged Indians to boycott British goods
• Led peaceful marches

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India Pakistan.

• Following WWII, Britain granted India
  independence
• Hostility between Hindus and Muslims grew
• 1947 India was partitioned into 2 countries
• India
• Pakistan
• 1971 East Pakistan broke away from West Pakistan
  forming Bangladesh

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Government.

• India is the worlds largest democracy
• Indias government is based on British model
• Parliament
• Prime minister
• Pakistan has a president who is elected
  indirectly by members of the legislature
• Bhutan and Nepal are monarchies

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Language.

• Many different languages
• Indo-Aryan Language family
• Most languages spoken in Pakistan, India and
  Bangladesh fall in this language family - group
  of related languages that have all developed from
  one earlier language

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Language.

• Major languages spoken
• India- Hindi English
• Pakistan- Urdu
• Bangladesh- Bengali
• Nepal- Nepali
• Sri Lanka- Sinhalese

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Religion.

• Indias government is secular
• The major religions are
• Hinduism
• Buddhism
• Islam
• India and Nepal - Hinduism
• 80 of India is Hindu
• Pakistan, Bangladesh, Maldives Islam
• Sri Lanka Bhutan - Buddhism
• Two of the worlds major religions began in India
  - Hinduism and Buddhism

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Hinduism.

• Believe that
• Every individual must live according to his or
  her own dharma ones moral duty in life
• Karma positive or negative forces caused by a
  persons actions
• Reincarnation repeated rebirth of ones soul in
  different forms
• Those who fulfill their dharma earn good karma
  and may be reborn as persons of higher status
• Many gods and goddesses
• Reincarnation and karma maintain the caste system

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Caste System.

• caste system group of people who are born into
  a certain position in society
• 4 major castes
• Brahmins priests and intellectuals
• Kshatriyas warriors
• Vaisyas traders and merchants
• Sudras farmers and laborers
• Dalits the oppressed
• Born into caste cannot move into another
• Indian constitution abolished caste system but
  still remains large part of daily life

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Hinduism Distribution
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Buddhism.

• Siddhartha Gautama was a prince
• He went on a pilgrimage - religious journey
• After years of spiritual searching and
  meditation, he became known as Buddha (or the
  Awakened One)

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Buddha.

• Buddha taught
• People suffer because they are overly attached to
  material things
• To escape this suffering which leads to endless
  rebirth, one must live by certain rules
• The rules include
• Thinking clearly
• Acting wisely
• Behaving kindly towards others
• Buddha taught guidelines so people enter nirvana
  - state of great insight, calm, and happiness

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Sikhism.

• Founded in the 1500s by Guru Nanak
• Combined Hinduism and Islam into one religion
• Monotheistic - believe in one God
• Hindu ideas of karma and reincarnation
• Most Sikhs live in northwest India

The khanda the sikh symbol
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Jainism.

• Began in the 500s BC by a young Hindu teacher
  Mahavira
• Believe in non-violence
• Every living thing has a soul
• 3 million followers in India
• Combines aspects of Hinduism Buddhism

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Influence of Religion.

• Religion has a powerful influence on daily life
  in South Asia
• Prayer flags flap in the wind sending out mantras
  - sacred messages
• Sadhus - Hindu teachers
• In Hindu countries, cows are considered sacred
  and are seen roaming the streets
• Pakistan - women must dress modestly as Islamic
  law requires

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Agriculture.

• 56 of India is arable (fertile)
• 2/3 of people in South Asia are farmers
• Farming contributes 25 of Indias GDP
• Most are subsistence farmers- manage to produce
  just what they need to survive
• Some farmers are getting better technology
  (tractors)
• Often have small plots of land because of
  traditional inheritance practices
• Most farms are less than 2.5 acres
• Land is divided equally among sons
• As generations pass, plots become smaller

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Agriculture.

• Variety of crops
• Major food crop is rice
• India is the worlds 2nd largest producer of rice
• Other crops
• Wheat, Sugarcane , citrus fruits, rubber and
  cotton
• Jute - fiber used to make string and cloth
• Peanuts leading producer
• Tea grown on plantations in Sri Lanka

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Agriculture.

• Improved Agricultural Practices
• Since population is growing rapidly, food
  production must increase too
• Training farmersto use technology
• Programs to teach about irrigation, insect
  control, and fertilization
• Plant two or more crops on the same piece of land
  each year
• Agricultural research
• Green Revolution
• Began in the 1960s
• Plant breeders were worried about world hunger
• Wanted to find ways to grow better crops
  (produced more, grew faster)
• Used genetic engineering on crops

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Industry.

• Some areas are more industrialized than others
• Light industry - production of consumer goods
  (like bikes, TVs, textiles)
• Heavy industry - production of machinery and
  equipment needed for factories

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Tourism.

• Important to the economies of the mountains
  countries
• Nepal - climb or trek in the Himalayas
• Sri Lanka - beautiful beaches
• Maldives - beaches (Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes
  went on their honeymoon there)

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Environment.

• Deforestation
• The loss or destruction of forests due mainly to
  trees being cleared for logging or farming
• Half of Indias forests have been cut down since
  independence
• Soil erosion overgrazing
• India
• Many trees cut down by logging companies to clear
  land for other businesses farming
• Nepal
• Trekkers (mountain hikers) use lots of firewood
• Hikers also leave behind large amounts of trash
• 2010 group of Sherpas led mission to clean up
  trash, oxygen tanks, and dead bodies left behind
  by trekkers

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Effects of Deforestation.

• Mangroves - trees along the coast of the Bay of
  Bengal
• Mangroves provide protection from cyclones and
  tidal waves
• Mangroves are being cut down leaving Bangladesh
  vulnerable to floods
• Himalayas
• Forests act like sponges and absorb the heavy
  rains of the monsoons
• When forests are cut down, it causes flooding and
  landslides

Another effect of deforestation
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Things to Know for the Quiz

• Mountains Plateaus
• Major Rivers
• Indo-Gangetic Plain
• All About Monsoons
• Cyclones
• Sepoys
• Languages