South Asia

Whatley

India

• Indus Valley Civilization - around 2500 BC in modern day Pakistan

• Aryans - about a thousand years after Indus Valley civilization, light-skinned Aryans crossed the mountains of Hindu Kush and spread across northern India. * key role in Indian Civilization *

Clickers

• Where was the Indus Valley Civilization?– Pakistan– Nepal– Bangladesh– East Pakistan

India

• Aryans– Small kingdoms on the Ganges Plain.

Pushed the darker-skinned, native Indians, called Dravidians, toward the South.

– Later, Persian and Greek invaders occupied the Indus Valley. But they did not conquer the Aryan kingdoms of the Ganges.

Clickers

• Who pushed the Dravidians south?– Mughals– British– Indus Citizens– Aryans

India

• Two great Indian empires eventually emerged on the lower Ganges.

• Mauryan Empire – united most of India– Asoka helped spread Buddhism

• Gupta Empire– Ruled over northern India during an age of

peace and prosperity.

Clickers

• Which empire spread Buddhism?– Gupta– Mauryan

India

• 1500s - Mughal Empire– Muslim rule was implemented and the new

customs sometimes caused conflict with those of the native Hindus.

India

• 1500s - Europeans arrived looking for spices, cloth, and other goods not available in Europe.

• French, Dutch, and Portuguese set up trading companies, but it was the British who won out.

• British East India Company!

India

• British East India Company– 1757– 1857 - British govt put down a revolt and

established direct rule over India. The period of direct rule is called raj.

India

• Mohandas Gandhi began an opposition movement, based on nonviolent resistance.

• 1947 - India became independent.

India

• After British were gone, still problems…• Muslims of West and East Pakistan

(now Pakistan and Bangladesh) chose to separate from India, which was strongly Hindu, and form a separate country. – Violence between the Muslims and the

Hindu.

India

• Democracy - India’s democracy reflects elements of both the American and the British systems. – Like the US, India is a federation of states held

together by a strong central government. – Like Britain, it is a parliamentary democracy. The

leader of the majority party in parliament becomes prime minister and head of the government.

India

• Hindus and Muslims both must accommodate each other regarding politics in order to avoid conflict. – Other minority groups - Tamils and the

Sikhs. • Violence!

India

• Economic Challenges – About 2/3 of India’s people rely on farming for their

livelihood. – Most farm families struggle to survive on what

they can grow for themselves. – Land reform is one solution that is being

considered. • Land reform - a more balanced distribution of land

among farmers. – (in the 1990s, 5 percent of India’s farm families owned

nearly 25 percent of the farmland)

India

• Economic Challenges– Agriculture - since production was low,

scientists developed new farming techniques. This program, called the Green Revolution, increased crop yields. • Many farmers still cannot afford to use these

new technological improvements however.

India

• Life and Culture– Arranged marriages are still common.

More affluent, urban, young people have increasingly chose their own spouses.

– Marriages are usually male-dominated and the divorce rate is very rare.

India

• Daily Life and Culture– Most Indians eat a largely vegetarian diet

based on rice, legumes, and flatbreads. Some Indians eat meat, fish, and chicken, often in spicy dishes called curry. Meat consumption is limited by both Buddhism and Hinduism.

India

• Daily Life and Culture– One of the most popular sports is called

cricket (similar to baseball). – Education - key factor in changing the

economy. Literacy rate has increased since the 1950s.

– In the city slums and rural areas, school attendance is irregular and literacy rates are low.

Pakistan and Bangladesh

• The Indus Valley Civilization - well-planned cities like Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, which had brick buildings and sophisticated sanitation systems.

Pakistan and Bangladesh

• Partition and War– End of British rule in 1947 brought partition, or

division, of British India. – Two new countries were created - India and

Pakistan (West Pakistan and East Pakistan). About 1 million people died in the conflict caused by partition.

– West Pakistan and East Pakistan are both Muslim, but ethnic differences divided them.

– 1971, with the help of India, East Pakistan won its independence as Bangladesh.

Clickers

• What is East Pakistan known as today?– Pakistan– Nepal– Bhutan– Bangladesh

Pakistan and Bangladesh

• Military Rule– Both Pakistan and Bangladesh have had

political struggles since independence. Short periods of elected government have alternated with long periods of military rule. Political corruption has plagued both countries. Pakistan also has fought several destructive wars with India over the territory of Kashmir.

Clickers

• Which territory was fought over between Pakistan and India?– Bangladesh– Bhutan– Kashmir– Nepal

Pakistan and Bangladesh

• Struggling Economies– Both economies rely mostly on agriculture.

Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world.

– Subsistence farming is most common. The government has tried to help modernize farming methods, but many farms follow less productive traditional ways. Climate also affects crops. Large areas of Pakistan are arid, while Bangladesh is affected by monsoons and cyclones.

Clickers

• Which country has been plagued by severe monsoons?– India– Bangladesh– Pakistan– Sri Lanka

Pakistan and Bangladesh

• Small industry – Neither country is highly industrialized. Most

factories are relatively small and lack the capital, resources, and markets required for expansion.

– Exports include wool carpets, leather goods, and cotton garments.

– Introduction of microcredit has been very important. This policy makes small loans available to poor entrepreneurs, people who start and build a business. Businesses that are too small to get loans from banks can join forces to apply for these microloans.

Clickers

• Someone who creates a business.– Entrepreneur– Business person– Microcredit – Microloan

Pakistan and Bangladesh

• Islamic culture – Ramadan– Pakistan is stricter in imposing Islamic law on its

citizens. Purdah (the seclusion of women) is practiced in Pakistan. Women are not allowed to have contact with men who are not relatives. When in public, women must wear veils. In Bangladesh, purdah is much less common and religion practices are less strict.

– Qawwali - a form of devotional singing performed by Muslims known as Sufis.

Clickers

• What is purdah?– Hindu law– Singing performed by Muslims– Seclusion of women– Seclusion of men

Nepal and Bhutan

• Both Nepal and Bhutan are constitutional monarchies - kingdoms in which the ruler’s powers are limited by a constitution. In Bhutan, the king is still the supreme ruler, while in Nepal the King shares power with an elected parliament. Both faces challenges trying to balance the interests of their powerful neighbors (China and India).

Nepal and Bhutan

• Both are poor with economies based mostly on agriculture. Mountainous terrain can be a problem, so many farmers rely on terraced farming. Deforestation is a problem in Nepal, but 70% of Bhutan is still forested.

Nepal and Bhutan

• Sherpas are the nomadic people of the Himalayas who are the traditional mountain guides of the Everest region.