South Asia Notes
Unit 10- 3wks Test
Indian Subcontinent
• India, Pakistan, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the
Maldives
• called Indian Subcontinent
because India dominates the
region
• Though half the size of U.S.,
area has 1/5 of world’s
people
• Natural barriers separate
subcontinent from rest of
Asia
• mountains form northern
border, Indian Ocean
surrounds rest
• Arabian Sea to west, Bay of
Bengal to east
Himalaya
Mountains
• 1,500-mile-long
system of parallel
ranges − include
world’s tallest
mountain—Mt.
Everest
• form barrier between
Indian subcontinent
and China
• kingdoms of Nepal,
Bhutan are also in
these mountains
The Maldives
• Maldives is archipelago—
island group—of 1,200
small islands
• stretch north to south for
500 miles off Indian coast,
near equator
• Islands are atolls—lowlying tops of submerged
volcanoes
• surrounded by coral reefs,
shallow lagoons
• Total land area of Maldives
is 115 square miles
• only 200 islands are
inhabited
Tropical Climate
• Proximity to the Indian
Ocean and the equator
creates tropical climate
in much of India.
Monsoons
• seasonal winds that
affect entire region
• dry winds blow from
northeast October–
February
• moist ocean winds blow
from southwest June–
September
• moist winds bring heavy
rainfall, especially in
southwest, Ganges Delta
• unpredictable; cause
hardship in lowlands of
India, Bangladesh
Impact of the Monsoons
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Summer monsoons
nourish rain forests,
irrigate crops
floodwaters bring rich
sediment to soil, but can
also damage crops
Cyclones are common
with summer monsoons
called hurricanes in North
America
Cause flooding,
widespread destruction
1970 Bangladesh cyclone
killed 300,000
Winter monsoon droughts
turn lush lands into arid
wastelands
Cyclone
• violent storm with
fierce winds, heavy
rain
• In Bangladesh low
coastal region
swamped by high
waves
Rivers- Pollution
• Rivers play a central
role in the lives of
South Asians.
• Water pollution and
flooding pose great
challenges to South
Asian countries.
Human Interaction
• Human interaction with
the environment in
South Asia has
intensified
environmental issues.
• Such as building on the
river flood plains in the
Himalaya
• Deforestation
• And other activities,
destabilize slopes are
responsible for loss of
life.
Ganges
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Ganges is the best-known
South Asian river
it’s shorter than the Indus,
Brahmaputra
flows 1,500 miles from
Himalayan glacier to Bay of
Bengal
drains area three times
France; home to 350 million
people
Sacred home of the goddess
Ganga
Provides drinking and farming
water, transportation
Known as Gangamai—
“Mother Ganges” becomes
the Padma where it meets the
Brahmaputra
Sacred River
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Hinduism is the religion of
most Indians
To Hindus, the Ganges
River is the sacred home
of the goddess Ganga
Hindus believe waters
have healing powers;
temples line its banks
pilgrims come to bathe,
scatter ashes of dead
at sacred site of Varanasi
they gather daily for
prayer, purification
float baskets of flowers,
burning candles on water
Polluted River
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Centuries of use have made
Ganges most polluted river
in world
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sewage, industrial waste,
human bodies poison the
water
Users get stomach and
intestinal diseases,
hepatitis, typhoid, cholera
In 1986, government plans
sewage treatment plants,
regulations
Today few plants are
operational, factories still
dump waste
Clean up will take time,
money, a change in how
people see river
Religions
• India- most are
practicing Hindus
• Also home to Muslims,
Buddhists, Jains, and
Sikhs
India’s Independence
• India gains its independence from
Britain in 1947
• Muslim Pakistan splits from Hindu
India; violence, migrations result
• Constitution is created under first
prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru
• a democratic republic since 1950
• System has federation of states,
strong central government, like
U.S.
• parliamentary system, like U.K.
• India is mostly Hindu, but with
large Muslim, Sikh, Tamil
minorities
• Sikhs kill Gandhi’s daughter, Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi, 1984
• Tamils assassinate her son, Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi, 1991
Mohandas K. Gandhi
• Early and mid- 1900s, led
India’s fight for independence
• Mohandas K. Gandhi.
• Using nonviolent methods,
such as boycotting British
product and staging peaceful
demonstrations, Gandhi
inspired the peoples of India to
seek self-rule. He worked to
end the rigid social system and
promote local industry, such as
spinning and weaving.
• Enduring prison and hunger
strikes in the struggle for
independence, Gandhi earned
the name Mahatma or “Great
Soul.”
Hinduism
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80% of Indians are Hindu;
complex Aryan religion includes
many gods
reincarnation—rebirth of the
soul after death
Original Aryan caste system of
social classes:
Brahmans—priests, scholars;
Kshatriyas—rulers, warriors
Vaisyas—farmers, merchants;
Sudras—artisans, laborers
Dalits (untouchables) are
outside caste system—lowest
status
Dharma is a caste’s moral duty;
only reincarnation changes
caste
Partitioning of India and Pakistan
• Muslims in India fled to
Pakistan
• Hindus in Pakistan fled to India
• New political borders were
created to divide ethnic groups.
• 1947 partition creates Hindu
India, Muslim Pakistan
• Hindu-Muslim violence killed
one million people
• 10 million crossed borders:
Hindus to India, Muslims to
Pakistan
• Ethnic differences led to civil
war between West and East
Pakistan
• East Pakistan won
independence in 1971, became
Bangladesh
Flooding Zones
• Physical process
responsible for creating
flood zones are silt
deposits along the
major river systems
create low lying areas
that flood easily during
snow melt and
seasonal rains.
Bangladesh Floods
• Adapting to the
extensive flooding is
necessary
Kashmir
• Source of conflict
among nations of
South Asia because its
people are
predominantly Islamic,
though controlled by
India.