Today’s Issues:

South Asia

South Asia faces the challenges of rapid population growth, destructive weather, and territorial disputes caused by religious and ethnic differences.

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SECTION 1 Population Explosion

SECTION 2 Living with Extreme Weather

Today’s Issues:

South Asia

Case Study Territorial Dispute

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Section 1

Population Explosion • Explosive population growth in South Asia

has contributed to social and economic ills in the region.

• Education is key to controlling population growth and improving the quality of life in South Asia.

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Growing Pains

Rapid growth • In 2000, India’s population reached 1 billion • Rapid growth means many citizens lack life’s basic

necessities- food, clothing, shelter

• South Asia must manage population growth so economies can develop

SECTION

1

Continued . . .

Population Explosion

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SECTION

1

Population Grows • India’s population was 300 million in 1947; has

since tripled • So large that even 2% growth rate produces

population explosion • Unless rate slows, India will have 1.5 billion by 2045

- would be the world’s most populous country(passing China)

• India, Pakistan, Bangladesh among top 10 most populous countries- region has 22% of world’s population, lives on 3%

of world’s land

continued Growing Pains

Continued . . .NEXT

SECTION

1

Inadequate Resources • Region has widespread poverty, illiteracy—inability

to read or write- poor sanitation, health education lead to disease

outbreaks • Every year, to keep pace, India would have to:

- build 127,000 new schools and 2.5 million newhomes

- create 4 million new jobs- produce 6 million more tons of food

continued Growing Pains

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Managing Population Growth

Smaller Families • India spends nearly $1 billion a year encouraging

smaller families • Programs have only limited success

- Indian women marry before age 18, start havingbabies early

- to poor, children are source of money (begging,working fields)

- children can later take care of elderly parents- have more kids to beat high infant mortality

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Continued . . .NEXT

SECTION

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Education is a Key • Growth factors can be changed with education, but

funds are limited- India spends under $6 per pupil a year on

education- U.S. spends $6,320 per pupil a year

• Education could break cycle of poverty, raise living standards- improves females’ status with job opportunities- better health care education could lower infant

mortality rates

continued Managing Population Growth

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Section 2

Living with Extreme Weather • South Asia experiences a yearly cycle of

floods, often followed by drought.

• The extreme weather in South Asia leads to serious physical, economic, and political consequences.

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The Monsoon Seasons

Summer and Winter Wind Systems • Annual cycle of extreme weather makes life difficult • Monsoon is wind system, not a rainstorm; two

monsoon seasons • Summer monsoon—blows moist from southwest,

across Indian Ocean- blows June through September, causes

rainstorms, flooding • Winter monsoon—blows cool from northeast,

across Himalayas, to sea- blows October through February, can cause

drought

Living with Extreme Weather SECTION

2

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Impact of the Monsoons

Physical Impact • 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

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2

Continued . . .NEXT

SECTION

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Economic Impact • Floods, droughts make agriculture difficult

- countries buy what they can’t grow; famine looms •Weather catastrophes also destroy homes, families

- people often too poor to rebuild, governmentslack funds to help

• People build: houses on stilts, concrete cyclone shelters, dams

• Region gets international aid and billions of dollars in loans- aid can’t keep up with disasters, debts result

continued Impact of the Monsoons

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Continued . . .

SECTION

2

Political Tensions • Weather conditions also cause political disputes •India builds Farakka dam across Ganges before it

enters Bangladesh- India wants to bring water to city of Kolkata- dam leaves little water for Bangladesh- many of Bangladesh’s farmers lose land, illegally

flee to India- dispute is settled in 1997 with a treaty specifying

water rights

continued Impact of the Monsoons

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Case Study Territorial Dispute

BACKGROUND• Kashmir territory is strategically located at foot

of Himalayas • Territory of 12 million people surrounded by

Pakistan, China, India • India and Pakistan have fought three wars over

Kashmir since 1947 • Dispute threatens region’s stability, countries’

economic well-being • Danger increases now that both countries have

nuclear weapons

How Can India and Pakistan Resolve Their Dispute Over Kashmir?

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Case Study

Partitioning • British left India in 1947 and partitioned—divided—

the subcontinent - created two independent countries- India is predominantly Hindu, Pakistan is mostly

Muslim • Britain lets each Indian state choose which country

to join- Muslim states join Pakistan, Hindu states remain in India

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A Controversy Over Territory

Continued . . .

Case Study

Politics and Religion • Kashmir’s problem: population is Muslim, but its

leader was Hindu • Maharajah of Kashmir wants an independent

nation- but is forced to cede territory to India in 1947

• Pakistan invades; a year later India still controls much of Kashmir

• India, Pakistan fight two more wars over Kashmir in 1965, 1971- dispute remains unresolved; each country still

controls part - China has had a small portion since 1962

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continued A Controversy Over Territory

Continued . . .

Case Study

A Question of Economics • Indus River flows through Kashmir

- many of its tributaries originate in the territory • Indus is critical source of drinking, irrigation water

in Pakistan- Pakistan doesn’t want India to control that resource

• Kashmir is a strategic prize neither side will give up

continued A Controversy Over Territory

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Case Study

Dangerous Testing • India and Pakistan each test nuclear weapons in

1998- raise fears that the 50-year-old dispute could go

nuclear- after tests, both countries vow to seek political

solution • Border clashes continue

- Pakistan supports Kashmir Muslims fighting Indian rule

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A Nuclear Nightmare

Continued . . .

Case Study

A Question of Priorities • Both India and Pakistan have large populations,

widespread poverty- both overspend on troops, arms, nuclear

programs- that money could be used for education and

social programs • Resolving Kashmir problem would bring peace

- the quality of people’s lives could start improving

- resolution could reduce the region’s politicaltensions

continued A Nuclear Nightmare

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