South Asia

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South Asia

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MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES OF SOUTH ASIA

• WELL DEFINED PHYSIOGRAPHICALLY• THE WORLD’S SECOND LARGEST

POPULATION CLUSTER• SIGNIFICANT DEMOGRAPHIC PROBLEMS• LOW INCOME ECONOMIES• POPULATION CONCENTRATED IN

VILLAGES - SUBSISTENCE AGRICULTURE• STRONG CULTURAL REGIONALISM

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THE REALM

Five Regions

• India

• Pakistan

• Bangladesh

• Mountainous North

• Southern Islands

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POPULATION GEOGRAPHY

• THE SPATIAL VIEW OF DEMOGRAPHY– STUDY OF POPULATION DISTRIBUTION,

COMPOSITION, RATES OF GROWTH, AND PATTERNS OF FLOW

• POPULATION DENSITY (INDIA)– ARITHMETIC- 904/sq mi

– PHYSIOLOGIC- 1,615/sq mi (US=415/sq mi)

• KEY MEASURES– RATE OF NATURAL INCREASE

– DOUBLING TIME

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INDIA JAPAN

70+60-

6950-5940-4930-3910-19

0-9

AGEMALE FEMALE MALE FEMALE

20 10 0 10 2030 15 0 3015

Percent of Population Percent of Population

POPULATION PROFILES

20-29

6

26522

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8747.6

17653

5282

865341

31536

0 200 400 600 800 1000

People per square mile

Europe

Russia

North America

Japan

Middle America

South America

N. Africa/S.W. Asia

Subsaharan Africa

South Asia

Southeast Asia

Europe

Russia

North America

Japan

Austral

Middle America

South America

N. Africa/S.W. Asia

Subsaharan Africa

South Asia

East Asia

Southeast AsiaPacific

POPULATION DENSITYWorld Average = 117/mi2

Realm

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POPULATION DENSITY

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POPULATION GROWTH

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DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION MODEL

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133,000,00050,300

2,644 people/sq mile

UNITED STATES 77 people/

sq mile

POPULATION DENSITY COMPARISON

United States - Bangladesh

BANGLADESH

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MONSOONS

• 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 regime

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MonsoonsMonsoons

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MONSOONRAINS

ESSENTIAL FOR RICE PRODUCTION.

HOWEVER…

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POTENTIALLY NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF MONSOONS

• Widespread flooding• Property damage• Destruction to agricultural

lands• Damage to transportation

infrastructure• Homelessness• Disease• Malnutrition• Serious injury• Death

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India - Historical

• Ancient India (2700 BC-1000 AD)

• Medieval India (1000-1756)

• Freedom struggle (1757-1947)

• Modern India (1947-Present day)

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Harappa/Mohenjodaro

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India - Historical

• Harappa was an Indus Valley urban center.• There are also the well-known accounts in the

Rig Veda of northern or Aryan people driving an indigenous Dravidian people into south India.

• It is unclear whether the ancient Harappans would have been Aryans or Dravidians.

• All these sites flourished between 3000 and 2000 B.C., if not earlier.

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CULTURE

• A culturally fragmented realm

• Religious and linguistic diversity

• Religious Patterns

– Islam is predominant in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

– Hinduism is predominant in India.

– Sikhism thrives in northern India.

– Buddhism is predominant in Sri Lanka.

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CULTURE 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

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LANGUAGES

Hindi 320 m

Bihari 70 m

Marathi 67 m

Rajasthani 44 m

Gujarati 39 m

Oriya 31 m

Assamese 23 m

Sindhi 17 m

Sinhalese 13 m

Telugu 71m

Tamil 67m

Kannada 43m

Malayalam 35m

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RELIGION

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HINDUISM

• The world’s oldest religion

• Culture hearth of the Indus River

• Diffused south and east down the Ganges

• Absorbed and eventually supplanted earlier native religions and customs

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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

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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.

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RELIGIOUS CONTRASTS

• ISLAM– Monotheistic

– No idols

– One sacred book

– Uniform dogma - 5 pillars

– Intolerant (of other religions)

– Eat beef/Sacrifice cows

– Bury Dead

– Social Equality (in theory)

– Theocratic society

• HINDUISM– Polytheistic

– Many idols

– Various sacred writings

– Varying beliefs

– Absorbed other religions

– Venerate cows

– Burn dead (& alive)

– Caste separation

– “State” of secondary importance

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ORIGINS AND SPREAD OF BUDDHISM

• Siddhartha Gautama (563 - 483 B.C.)• Emperor Asoka (3rd Century B.C.)

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BUDDHISM

• Adherents objected to

harsher features of

Hinduism

• Focuses on knowledge,

especially self-knowledge

• Elimination of worldly

desires, determination not to

hurt or kill people or

animals

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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

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FALL OF BUDDHISM ON THE SUBCONTINENT

• Hinduism - broad and tolerant, accepting many of the teachings of Buddha

• Buddhists in India - willing to compromise with the beliefs and customs of Hinduism

• Final blow - 8th century - arrival of Islam-- Destroyed the great Buddhist monasteries-- Burned libraries

-- Killed monks• Today - only 1 million Buddhists in India

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WHERE ARE THE MUSLIMS ?

Millions

# ofMuslims

168.3

128.8 125

104

62 61.7 57.1

18.2

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

# ofMuslims

Indonesia

India

Pakistan

Bangladesh

Turkey

Iran

Egypt

Saudi Arabia

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West PakistanEast Pakistan

India

PAKISTAN (AT PARTITION)

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PARTITION

CHALLENGES:•STABILITY•REFUGEES

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MUSLIMS IN INDIA1931

1951

1991

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KASHMIR• INDEPENDENCE & PARTITION

– JAMMU & KASHMIR FACED WITH THE CHOICE OF JOINING EITHER HINDU INDIA OR MUSLIM PAKISTAN

– KASHMIR – HINDU MAHARAJA BUT MUSLIM POPULATION

• 1947 – PAKISTANI TRIBESMEN INVADE

• MAHARAJA FLEES TO DELHI AND ACCEDES TO INDIA

• INDIAN and PAKISTANI TROOPS MOVE IN

• JANUARY 1949 – U.N. CEASE FIRE

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Kashmir and Violence• 1998 - Both India and Pakistan test nuclear weapons.

– These tests prompt international condemnation and consequently the U.S. imposed sanctions on both countries.

• May 1999 - For the first time in thirty years India launched air strikes against Pakistani-backed militants who had infiltrated into the mountains of India-controlled Kashmir.

– India claimed these militants were engaging in terrorist operations in India-controlled Kashmir with the aid and support of the Pakistani government. Pakistan claimed, and still claims until this day that these militants are merely “freedom fighters” for the liberation of Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir.

• October 1999 - General Pervez Musharraf led a military coup in Pakistan, forcing out the elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

– Musharraf suspended the constitution and dismissed the Parliament, ending the hopes of a return to civilian rule for the world’s newest nuclear power. The coup was condemned by all the western powers and by the international community, which called for democratically administered elections. The coup led to further sanctions against Pakistan by the U.S.

• May 2000 - General Musharraf agreed to honor a Pakistani Supreme Court ruling that would return Pakistan to democratic rule within three years.

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Recent Developments

• September 2001 - Just eleven days after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers, President George W. Bush ended all sanctions against Pakistan and India.

– President Bush said the sanctions were not in US interests. Pakistan agreed to cooperate with the U.S. and root out terrorist cells throughout the region

• October 2001 - Thirty-eight people were killed in an attack by Pakistani terrorists on the state assembly building in Srinagar, the capital of Indian-administered Kashmir.

– The Jaish-e Mohammad (Army of Mohammad) militant group carried out the attack, in which a Pakistani national drove up to the main entrance and detonated a bomb

• December 2001 - Fourteen people were murdered in an unprecedented suicide attack on the Indian parliament in Delhi when five armed intruders stormed the building.

– The attackers were assumed to be Pakistani-based separatists groups Lashkar-I-Talyibah and Jaish-I-Mohammed. After the attack, a huge build-up of troops occurred on both the Indian and Pakistani side of the border. On December 25, both the Indians and Pakistani’s moved nuclear missiles closer to their borders

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Pakistan

• Officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

• Originally West Pakistan + East Pakistan– East Pakistan later broke away as Bangladesh

• Original capital was Karachi– Later moved to Islamabad

• Another example of a forward capital

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Pakistan Ethnic Groups

• Notice the geography dominated by Pushtuns?– Relevance to

Afghanistan?

– Relevance to Taleban?

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT(PAKISTAN)

• LEVELS OF DEVELOPMENT (TECHNOLOGY)

• A POOR COUNTRY THAT SUPPORTS A LARGE MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT

• ECONOMIC LIBERALIZATION BEGAN IN 1990 TO BOOST FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC PRIVATE INVESTMENT.

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT(INDIA)


• A MIXTURE OF TRADITIONAL VILLAGE FARMING AND MODERN AGRICULTURE

• HANDICRAFTS, OLD AND NEW BRANCHES OF INDUSTRY

• A MULTITUDE OF SUPPORT SERVICES AND NUCLEAR POWER

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GREEN REVOLUTION

• THE SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHER YIELD, FAST-GROWING VARIETIES OF RICE AND OTHER CEREALS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES– INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH PROGRAM-1960s

– FOCUSED ON THE FOOD CRISES

– INCREASED PRODUCTION PER UNIT AREA VIA:• MIRACLE CROPS

• NEW IRRIGATION SYSTEMS

• INTENSIVE USE OF FERTILIZERS

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TARGETED AREAS

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INDIA’S GREAT CITIES

• MUMBAI (BOMBAY)-– Home to the world’s largest slum—Dharavi

• KOLKATA (CALCUTTA)-– 500,000 HOMELESS

– FORMER BRITISH COLONIAL CAPITAL- 1772

– ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY PARTITION

• DELHI (NEW AND OLD)– BRITISH AND INDIAN SEAT OF GOVERNMENT

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Bangladesh

• One of the poorest countries

• High population density

• Prone to natural hazards– Cyclones

– Flooding

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BANGLADESH

• INDEPENDENT SINCE 1971• FORMERLY EAST PAKISTAN• 85% MUSLIM, 12% HINDU• 133 MILLION PEOPLE• PHYSIOLOGIC DENSITY = 3,622/sq mi• 1.9% ANNUAL GROWTH RATE• PER CAPITA GNP = 350 US DOLLARS• NATURAL HAZARDS - CYCLONES

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT(BANGLADESH)


• ONE OF THE WORLD’S POOREST AND LEAST DEVELOPED STATES

• ECONOMY IS OVERWHELMINGLY AGRICULTURAL

• CULTIVATION OF RICE IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ACTIVITY IN THE ECONOMY.

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SRI LANKA

• INDEPENDENT SINCE 1948• 19.7 MILLION PEOPLE (70% BUDDHISTS)• PLANTATION AGRICULTURE:

– TEA, RUBBER, COCONUTS

• SOUTH (MAJORITY OF POPULATION)• ARYAN• BUDDHISTS• SPEAK SINHALA (INDO-EUROPEAN)

• NORTH (18% OF THE POPULATION)• DRAVIDIAN• HINDU• TAMIL LANGUAGE

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• Sinhalese vs Tamils• Tamils - demanded equal rights

in:-- education-- employment-- landownership

-- linguistic & political representation

• Insurgent State• LTTE - Liberation Tigers of

Tamil Eelam

SRI LANKA

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Nepal

• Himalayan Region: – Altitude ranges between 4877 meters and 8848 meters – Includes 8 of the existing 14 summits in the world which exceed an

altitude of 8000 meters. • Mt. Everest (8848), (2) Kangchenjunga - 8586 m, (3) Lhotse - 8516m, Makalu

- 8463m, (5) ChoOyo- 8201 m, (6) Dhaulagiri - 8167m, (7) Manaslu - 8163m, and Annapurna- 8091 m.

• Mountain Region: – This region accounts for about 64 percent to total land area. – Formed by the Mahabharat range that soars upto 4877 meters.

• Terai Region: – The low-land Terai region which has a width of about 26 to 32 kilometers

and a maximum altitude of 305 meters, which occupies about 17% of total land area of the country.

• Kechanakawal the lowest point of the country with an altitude of 70 meters lies in Jhapa District of the eastern Terai.

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Nepal

• A poor country• Capital is Kathmandu• Main language is

Nepali– Related to Hindi

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And the rest …• Bhutan

– “Shangri La” because it is relatively untouched by “modernity”

– Monarchy

• The Maldives– Archipalego in the

Indian Ocean

– The realm’s highest per capita GNP

• Tourism

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South Asia