South Asia

• see also:
  • Asia
  • South East Asia
  • The Far East
  • Central Asia
  • History of the world

South Asia:

• a land of many contrasts, its landscape ranges from the mighty peaks of the Himalayas in the north, through vast plains (the Deccan Plateau) & arid desert (the Thar Desert), to tropical forests & palm-fringed beaches in the south.
• more than 20% of the world's population live here, and a long history of foreign invasions has left a mosaic of hugely different cultures, religions & traditions, and thousands of languages & dialects.
•  

India:

• capital: New Delhi
• area:  3.3m sq.km
• pop:  1,014m (2000)
• govt: federal republic
• currency: Indian rupee
• language: Hindi; English; 16 other main; 20 secondary; > 720 dialects
• religion: Hindu 83%, Muslim 11%, Christian 3%, Sikh 2%
• geography:
  • bordered to the north by China, Nepal & Bhutan, the south by the Indian Ocean, east by Bangladesh, Myanmar & the Bay of Bengal, and west by Pakistan & the Arabian Sea
  • Deccan Plateau to south
  • Himalayas in north
  • Ganges rolling plain

Pakistan:

• capital: Islamabad
• area:  803,943 sq.km
• pop:  141.6m (2000)
• govt: parliamentary democracy in federal setting
• currency: Pakistani rupee
• language: Urdu, English, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pushtu, Baluchi
• religion: Sunni Muslim 77%, Shi'ite Muslim 20%
• geography:
  • bordered to the east by India, to the north-east by China, the north & north-west by Afghanistan, the west by Iran, and the south by the Arabian Sea
  • the Indus River rises in the mountains to the north
  • the Thar Desert & Eastern Plains flank the fertile Indus Valley
• history:
  • one of the earliest civilisations was in the flood plains of the Indus some 3500BC, this civilisation declined ~1500BC, to be replaced by waves of settlers, mainly Aryans from the north & west who are ancestral to modern Pakistanis.
  • Hindu Gupta Empire 4th-6thC AD, later invaded by Huns, Arabs & ultimately rival dynasties of Turks from late 12thC to early 16thC
  • Mughal Empire 1526-1761 included the whole northern India & eastern Afghanistan under Moslem rule.
  •  British influence spreading from the three original centres of the East India Company, reached the north-west long after the rest of India came under its control - in 1843, the Indus plain was annexed & in 1849, the Punjab - home of the impressive & well-organised Sikhs, now mainly in the Indian state of Punjab.
  • the turbulent North-West Frontier Province & Baluchistan became part of British India in 1896.
  • when the British withdrew & India faced partition, Sind, Baluchistan & the North-West Frontier Province opted together with a partitioned Punjab & East Bengal to form the new federal Moslem state of Pakistan.
  • in 1949, Pakistan occupied neighbouring Jammu & Kashmir fighting brief wars with India over the issue in 1965, 1971 and still today.
  • in 1972, East Pakistan left the federation to become an independent state, Bangladesh.

Nepal:

• capital: Kathmandu
• area:  140,800 sq.km
• pop:  24.7m (2000)
• govt: parliamentary democracy
• currency: Nepalese rupee
• language: Nepali
• religion: Hindu 88%; Mahayana Buddhist Muslim
• geography:
  • bordered to the north by China, & east, south & west by India
  • Mt Everest (8848m) lies in its north-east border with China, while Armapurna (8091m) lies to the west of Kathmandu
  •  

Bhutan:

• capital: Thimphu
• area:  47,000 sq.km
• pop:  2m (2000)
• govt: constitutional monarchy
• currency: ngultrum
• language: Dzongkha, Nepali, English
• religion: Buddhist 75%, Hindu 25%
• geography:
  • in the eastern Himalayas, bordered to north & east by Tibet & India, the south by India, & the west by Sikkim
  • mountainous, some fertile valleys, savanna

Bangladesh:

• capital: Dacca (Dhaka)
• area:  144,000 sq.km
• pop:  129.2m (2000)
• govt: republic
• currency: taka
• language: Bangla, Chakma, Magh, English
• religion: Muslim 85%, Hindu 14%
• geography:
  • bordered to the north, east & west by India, the south-east by Myanmar, and the south by the Bay of Bengal
  • much of it lies in an enormous delta created by the Brahmaputra & Ganges rivers.
  • during the summer monsoon, the rivers become swollen by the torrential rains & meltwater from the Himalayas, and the delta floods - over the years, millions have died in the heavy floods.
  •  

Tibet:

• capital:
• area:  m sq.km
• pop:  (2000)
• govt:
• currency:
• language:
• religion:
• geography:
  •  

Sri Lanka:

• capital: Colombo
• area:  65,610 sq.km
• pop:  19.2m (2000)
• govt: republic
• currency: Sri Lankan rupee
• language: Sinhalese, Tamil, English
• religion: Buddhist 69%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7%
• geography:
  • a pear-shaped island about 19km SE of India, separated by a narrow strip of shallow water known as the Palk Strait.
  • south-central area is hilly & mountainous, the coast & northern area are flat.

Sikkim:

• capital:
• area:  m sq.km
• pop:  (2000)
• govt:
• currency:
• language:
• religion:
• geography:
  •  

nn

• capital:
• area:  m sq.km
• pop:  (2000)
• govt:
• currency:
• language:
• religion:
• geography:
  •  

nn

• capital:
• area:  m sq.km
• pop:  (2000)
• govt:
• currency:
• language:
• religion:
• geography:
  •  

nn

• capital:
• area:  m sq.km
• pop:  (2000)
• govt:
• currency:
• language:
• religion:
• geography:
  •  

nn

• capital:
• area:  m sq.km
• pop:  (2000)
• govt:
• currency:
• language:
• religion:
• geography:
  •  

nn

• capital:
• area:  m sq.km
• pop:  (2000)
• govt:
• currency:
• language:
• religion:
• geography:
  •