South Asia
1
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
2
THE REALM
•
•
•
•
•
Five Regions
India
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Mountainous
North
Southern Islands
3
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
4
POPULATION PROFILES
INDIA
MALE
JAPAN
AGE
FEMALE
MALE
FEMALE
70
60+
50-59
69
403049
20-29
39
10-19
0-9
30
15
0
15
Percent of Population
30
20
10
0
10
20
Percent of Population
5
POPULATION DENSITY
World Average = 117/mi2
36
Pacific
Southeast Asia
315
East Asia
341
865
South Asia
Subsaharan Africa
82
52
53
N. Africa/S.W. Asia
South America
176
Middle America
7.6
Austral
874
Japan
42
North America
Russia
22
265
Europe
0
Realm
200
400
600
People per square mile
800
1000
6
POPULATION DENSITY
7
POPULATION GROWTH
8
9
DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION MODEL
10
POPULATION DENSITY COMPARISON
United States - Bangladesh
UNITED STATES
77 people/
sq mile
BANGLADESH
133,000,000
50,300
2,644 people/
11
sq mile
12
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
13
Monsoons
14
MONSOON
RAINS
ESSENTIAL FOR
RICE PRODUCTION.
HOWEVER…15
POTENTIALLY NEGATIVE
EFFECTS OF MONSOONS
• Widespread flooding
• Property damage
• Destruction to agricultural
lands
• Damage to transportation
infrastructure
• Homelessness
• Disease
• Malnutrition
• Serious injury
• Death
16
India - Historical
•
•
•
•
Ancient India (2700 BC-1000 AD)
Medieval India (1000-1756)
Freedom struggle (1757-1947)
Modern India (1947-Present day)
17
Harappa/Mohenjodaro
18
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.
19
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.
20
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 IndoEuropeans (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
21
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
22
35m
RELIGION
23
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
24
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
25
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.
26
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
27
ORIGINS AND SPREAD OF BUDDHISM
• Siddhartha Gautama (563 - 483 B.C.)
• Emperor Asoka (3rd Century B.C.)
28
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
29
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
30
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
31
WHERE ARE THE MUSLIMS
Millions
168.3
?
Indonesia
180
India
160
140
120
128.8 125
Pakistan
104
Bangladesh
100
80
Turkey
62 61.7
57.1
Iran
60
Egypt
40
18.2
Saudi Arabia
20
0
# of
Muslims
32
PAKISTAN (AT PARTITION)
India
West Pakistan
East Pakistan
33
PARTITION
CHALLENGES:
•STABILITY
•REFUGEES
34
1931
MUSLIMS IN INDIA
1991
1951
35
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
36
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 Pakistanibacked 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.
37
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 Indianadministered 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-ITalyibah 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
38
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
39
Pakistan Ethnic Groups
• Notice the geography
dominated by
Pushtuns?
– Relevance to
Afghanistan?
– Relevance to Taleban?
40
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.
41
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
(INDIA)
• LEVELS OF DEVELOPMENT
(TECHNOLOGY)
• A MIXTURE OF TRADITIONAL VILLAGE
FARMING AND MODERN AGRICULTURE
• HANDICRAFTS, OLD AND NEW
BRANCHES OF INDUSTRY
• A MULTITUDE OF SUPPORT SERVICES
AND NUCLEAR POWER
42
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
43
TARGETED AREAS
44
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
45
Bangladesh
• One of the poorest
countries
• High population
density
• Prone to natural
hazards
– Cyclones
– Flooding
46
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
47
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
(BANGLADESH)
• LEVELS OF DEVELOPMENT
(TECHNOLOGY)
• 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.
48
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
49
SRI LANKA
• Sinhalese vs Tamils
• Tamils - demanded equal rights
in:
-----
education
employment
landownership
linguistic & political representation
• Insurgent State
• LTTE - Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam
50
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.
51
Nepal
• A poor country
• Capital is Kathmandu
• Main language is
Nepali
– Related to Hindi
52
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
53