Topics:•South Asia as a birthplace of religions
•Cutting-edge IT, backward agriculture
•Two nuclear powers quarrel over Kashmir
•The Indian Ocean Basin: A new geopolitical arena
•South Asia’s missing girls
SOUTH ASIA
DEFINING THE REALM
SOUTH ASIATHE GEOGRAPHIC
PANORAMA
• Subcontinent.
• Divides Indian Ocean between Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.
• Demarcated by mountains, rivers, and deserts.
• British Empire—unifying force.
• Partitions in 1947 based on religion—Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist.
• Large, growing population.
• Disputed territory—Kashmir.
• English—Lingua franca.
SOUTH ASIA’S PHYSIOGRAPHY
Unique Tectonic Boundary•Collision of Indian and Eurasian Plate.
‒ Continental plate-to-continental plate collision created Himalaya Mountains (north).
‒ Earthquakes and tectonic activity.
•Permanent snow/ice provide meltwater to sustain rivers.
•Headwaters of the great rivers:‒ Indus River‒ Ganges River‒ Brahmaputra River
Double delta in Bangladesh!
The Monsoon Climate•Monsoon-annual rains•Warm land mass, low air pressure, onshore winds, warm waters = precipitation.•Wet monsoon brings rains for 60 days or more!•Short dry season.•Important for agriculture, ecosystems and wildlife.
[Tropical Monsoon (Am)]
SOUTH ASIA
Physiographic Regions
•Northern Mountains‒ Hindu Kush‒ Karakoram ‒ Himalayas
•River Lowlands‒ Indus Valley‒ Gangetic Plain• Double delta—Ganges and
Brahmaputra in Bangladesh
•North Indian Plain‒ Punjab
•Plateaus‒ Deccan—tableland‒ Central Indian Plateau
•Eastern and Western Ghats
SOUTH ASIABIRTHPLACE OF CIVILIZATIONS
Indus Valley Civilization
•Centered on Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro (2500BC).
•Name of state—Sindhu.
•Complex and technologically advanced.
•Influence extended eastward to Delhi.
•Did not last because of environmental change.
BIRTHPLACE OF CIVILIZATIONS
Aryans and Origins of Hinduism•Northern India invaded by Aryans—peoples speaking Indo-European languages (1500 BC).
‒ Sanskrit—Language related to Old Persian (base of Indo-European fam).
•Hinduism—emerged out of Vedism religious texts.
•Social stratification system:‒ Solidified powerful position of Aryans.‒ Organized villages into controlled
networks.‒ Small city-states emerged. ‒ Hierarchy of power—Brahmins
(highest-order priests).‒ Caste system – religion/past lives• Less with urban areas/modern times.
Languages and Culture•Dravidian family—dominant in the South
‒ Indigenous languages:• Telugu, Tamil, Kanarese (Kannada), Malayalam
•Northern and northeastern areas‒ Sino-Tibetan languages
•Eastern India and Bangladesh‒ Austro-Asiatic languages
Buddhism and Other Indigenous Religions
•Buddhism—around 500 BC‒ Arose in eastern Ganges Basin.‒ Less than 1% of population in India.‒ Important in Bhutan (state religion) and Sri
Lanka (70% of population).‒ Influence greater in Southeast/East Asia.
•Jainism—developed alongside Hinduism‒ More purist, principled, and deeply spiritual
form of Hinduism.‒ Less than 1% of population.
•Sikhism—emerged around AD 1500‒ Blend of Islamic and Hindu beliefs.‒ Keep good, rid the bad.‒ About 2% of population.
The Reach of Islam
•Invaders spread eastward to Indus Valley (10th century AD).
•Mughal (Mogul) Empire—Islamicized Mongols.
‒ Afghanistan into the Punjab.
‒ Ousted the Delhi Sultanate (13th C).
‒ Expanded Islam with tolerant policies toward Hindus.
‒ Built Taj Mahal!
•Today Islam is dominant in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The European Intrusion
•Mid-18th century—British had taken over trade of South Asia,
•East India Company (EIC) Represented the British empire.
•British took advantage of weakened power of Mughals.
•“Indirect rule”—left local rulers (maharajas) to rule.
•1857—”East India” became part of the British Colonial Empire.
Colonial Transformation•Raw materials via railroads, city ports, to Europe.
•Decline of local industries, loss of markets, bad for local people.
•A new elite among South Asian natives emerged.
THE GEOPOLITICS OF MODERN SOUTH ASIA
Partition and Independence•Partition—separation of India and Pakistan.
‒ Tensions between Hindus and Muslims.
‒ New boundaries drawn through areas where both sides historically coexisted.
‒ Refugee migrations, Millions displaced.
•Created a new cultural and geopolitical landscape in South Asia based on religion.
India-Pakistan-Bangladesh•Tenuous relationship to this day.
•Pakistan and Bangladesh separated (1971)
•Cold War divisions:‒ India tilted toward Moscow.
‒ Pakistan found favor in Washington.
‒ Arms race led to both becoming nuclear powers.
•Muslims in India are the largest cultural minority in the world.
Contested Kashmir•Territory of high mountains surrounded by Pakistan, India, and China.
•Pakistan’s forward capital—Islamabad.
•Kashmir and the Partition‒ Maharaja was Hindu (pro-autocratic)
‒ Population Muslim (pro-Pakistan)
‒ Indian intervention
•Tensions remain.
The Specter of Terrorism•Mumbai, India: 2008 terrorist attacks.
‒ Lashkar-e-Taiba—Pakistan-based organization with aims to return Kashmir to Islamic rule.
•Pakistan’s northwestern frontier is managed by the Taliban.•Majority of India’s Muslims are uninvolved in extremism.•Geopolitical chess game between India, Pakistan, and the United States.
Chinese Border Claims•Jammu and Kashmir
•Arunachal Pradesh
•China + Pakistan ally vs. India + SE Asia ally.
•Indian Ocean trade to China’s advantage.‒ Issue remains unresolved today.
SOUTH ASIAEMERGING MARKETS AND FRAGMENTED
MODERNIZATION
• “India Shining”—rising economic growth rates‒ Due to globalization,
modernization, and integration into global economy.
• Poverty‒ Over half the population of
India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh live in poverty.
• Benefits of economic growth unevenly distributed.
Economic Liberalization•Neoliberalism—deregulation to spur business activity = economic growth.
•Results noticeable in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
‒ Manufacturing, services, finances, and information technology.
•Yet 1 billion South Asians have not attained middle-class status!
SOUTH ASIA’S POPULATION GEOGRAPHY
• Population geography focuses on the characteristics, distribution, growth, and other aspects of spatial demography.
• 4 demographic dimensions in South Asia:‒ The role of density‒ The demographic transition‒ Age distributions and economics‒ The gender bias in birth rates
SOUTH ASIA’S POPULATION GEOGRAPHY
Population Density and Overpopulation•Population density measures the number of people per unit area.
•Overpopulation and “carrying capacity”‒ High population growth and densities
unsupportable.‒ Not all high-density countries are struggling.
• Human Use vs. Natural Resources‒ Countries with high education levels,
institutional efficiency, and technological know-how are able to use natural resources more efficiently.
‒ South Asia’s large population is illiterate, undereducated; thus, unsustainable.
*India’s Ganges River Wildlife Refuge example:Kaziranga National Park.Tigers, Rhinos, and Elephants.Few protected places, few park rangers, few remaining in the wild. Habitat loss to farming, poaching and black-market trade, animal vs. human use.
• Most South Asian countries in the 3rd stage—rates stabilize, deaths decline due to medical advances.
• Fertility rates—the number of births per woman.‒ Fertility rates have dropped across realm.
The Demographic Transition•Structural change in birth and death rates:
o Rapid population increase.o Decline in growth rates.o Stable population.
Demographic Burdens•Proportion of population that is either too old or too young to be productive and that must be cared for by productive population.
•Low death rates and high birth rates will have large share of young and old resulting in a high demographic burden.
•Population Pyramid—diagrams showing age-sex structure…
SOUTH ASIA’S POPULATION GEOGRAPHY
The Missing Girls
•Sex ratio ‒ Among young children males outnumber
females.
•Gender bias‒ Higher value on boys.‒ Thought to be more productive income-
earners, entitled to land and inheritance, and do not require a dowry.
•Female infanticide‒ Ultrasound scanning and rising incomes have
resulted in abortion of females.
•“Bachelor angst”—difficulty in finding brides (many men, few women).
‒ Has resulted in changing attitudes.
SOUTH ASIAFUTURE PROSPECTS
Realm in Transition•Politically
‒ India-Pakistan relations.
•Economically‒ India’s rise in global economy.‒ Growing middle class.‒ IT is a leading economic sector, giving it
future advantage (+ Indian Ocean trade).
•Demographically‒ Pass through demographic transition.‒ India is world’s largest democracy.‒ India soon to have largest national
population!• 1.2 billion people in India
Significant Agriculture•More than half the workforce employed in agriculture.
‒ Low productivity and only 20% contribution to overall economy.
•70% of South Asia’s population is rural.
•Dependence on a good harvest:‒ Eastern India and Bangladesh—rice.‒ Northwestern India and Pakistan—wheat.
Homework
1. Read Textbook Chapter 8 2. Homework: • Choose one “@from the Field Notes”
subsection topic in Ch.8 textbook; research and summarize (1 page).
OR• Choose a realm/region within or adjacent
to South Asia to review in detail (1 page). Regions include Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, the Maldives. Choose a culture, country, or feature to research and write about.
