South Asia

Countries of the Region• India – by far the largest• Pakistan

– separated from India after British granted independence in 1947

– isolated by mountains and deserts

– sees itself surrounded by enemies

– Radical Islamists, like al Qaeda and Bin Laden cross the mountainous border from Afghanistan

– In the north, is the disputed region of Kashimir.

• Bangladesh– ethnically and linguistically

identical to Bengal region of India across the border

– soil is very fertile– close to sea level, flooding

(especially during typhoon season) a serious problem

Countries continue• Afghanistan - remote and

isolated• Sri Lanka – independent island

state• Nepal and Bhutan - isolated by

the Himalayas, but connected to India economically and militarily

• Maldives– function as a Caribbean

getaway for Europeans and wealthy Indian

– very worried about global warming: if the polar icecaps melt only a little, Maldives may cease to exist as they are only 6 feet above sea level

Physical Map of the Indian Subcontinent

Why a subcontinent

• Has greatly influenced the history and lives of the people of India

• Due to geography it is independent or separated from the rest of the continent

• 5 natural barriers– Himalayas Mts.– Hindu Kush Mts.– Bay of Bengal– Arabian Sea– Indian Ocean

• Wall of mountains makes if difficult to cross

• Himalyas Mts. – Home of Snow”

Mountains Guard a flat fertile plain• Fed from snow-capped mountains • 3 Giants, delta regions very populated

– Indus: flows through Thar Desert, irrigated farming

– Ganges: broad fertile valley with intensive agriculture

– Brahmaputra: interesting course,rises in Tibet on other side of Himalayas, flows east, cuts through mountains, flows west, merges with Ganges

• Ganges “Mother” • Earliest civilizations in India developed here• Needed floods for the crops• Floods were unpredictable• River could change course• No one knows for sure how human

settlement began– Maybe people from Africa in the south– Maybe people made their way through the

Khyber Pass• Center of India is a high plateau• Narrow border of lush tropical land lies

along the coasts of southern India

Northern Mountains

• Act as a barrior• Can be crossed• Through the Khyber Pass

through the Hindu Kush Mountains located in the NW

• Route for traders and invaders

Northern Plains

• Indo-Gangetic Plain• From Pakistan – across India

– into Bangladesh• Densely populated• Farmers raise rice, wheat

and jute

Deccan Plateau

• Takes up half of south Asia• Boarders by mts on three

sides– Vindhya Mts.

• North• Rugged but low compared

to others

– East Ghats• Face the Bay of Bengal

– Western Ghats• Borders on the Arabian Sea

Thar Desert

• Almost no rain due to wind patterns

• Like Nile, Indus River runs through Desert

• Like Egyptians, Pakistani people live along river

Flag of India

• India's flag was adopted on July 22, 1947, after India became independent from Great Britian

• The Indian flag has three equal horizontal bars (saffron, white and green)

• A blue Dharma Chakra (the wheel of law) in the center

• The wheel has 24 spokes, representing the 24 hours in a day (at the end of each spoke is a dark blue half-moon).

• The orange (deep saffron) symbolizes courage and sacrifice (saffron is the sacred color of Hinduism)

• The white stands for peace, unity and truth

• The green stands for faith (Islam) and fertility

• The blue symbolizes the sky and the ocean