Most of South Asia was once known as “British India.” South Asia today is made up of the countries of?

India

Pakistan

Bangladesh

Sri Lanka

Nepal Bhutan

Maldives Islands

Religious conflict between Hindus and Muslims dictated that “British India” be divided into predominantly Hindu (India), *Pakistan (Muslim) and *Bangladesh (Muslim.)

Why was British India divided?

While South Asia is bordered by bodies of water in the east, west, and south, what are the borders to the north?

The region is a land of extremes, from the tallest mountains in the world to some of the driest deserts to areas inundated by the monsoon rains.

With their headwaters in the Himalayas, three of the world’s great rivers flow through South Asia. Pakistan (Indus), Bangladesh (Brahmaputra) and India (Ganges.)

Four of the world’s major religions are practiced in South Asia.

Hindu

Islam

Buddhist

There has been violence and conflict between Muslims and Hindus and Hindus and Sikhs in India.

Sikh

South Asia accounts for roughly 20% of the world’s population.

It is estimated that within 50 years India will pass China as the world’s most populous country.

India

Pakistan

Bangladesh

What can you tell about the future of these countries by their population pyramids?

In the countryside and in the cities, India’s population continues to grow. Judging by our geographic standards, is India overpopulated?

No! If a country does not exceed its carrying capacity, it is not -

considered overpopulated

Mumbai

India’s population is not starving. India can feed its people.

Most villages have been left behind when compared to modern cities like Madras, Bangalore, or “Bollywood” (Bombay.)

India is the world’s largest democracy. Universal suffrage is practiced in India.

While most farms in India are small subsistence farms, the country produces enough food for all with the help of the “Green Revolution,” a breakthrough

advance in technology that allows India to keep food production up to meet the growing population.

The Green Revolution promoted genetic engineering to allowed farmers to grow more crops quicker. The main researcher responsible was Norman Borlaug (Texas A&M.)

                      

  

Texas A&M Aggies

There are a large number of languages spoken in South Asia, but the lingua franca of each would be?

English. Why?

The economy of India today is growing rapidly. Note the gross domestic product and compare with the USA.

Can you say “outsourcing?”

Many technical jobs such as call centers have moved to India.

How is “time” an important factor there?

Many qualified and educated Indians will work for much less than Americans.

India produces more movies than any other country. “Bollywood” (Bombay/Mumbai)is the capital of their film industry.

While much of the economy of India is growing, there are still hundreds of millions who are mired in poverty.

Most of India lacks adequate infrastructure, but the country has more miles of train tracks than any other in the world. This is a remnant of British rule.

Pakistan has fallen behind India economically as a result of unstable governments and fundamentalist Islam.

India has the third largest Muslim population in the world. Conflict has often flared between Hindus and Muslims in India and between Pakistan & India.

Education is available in much of Pakistan, although many students attend the “madrasas” or “religious schools.

While Bangladesh is a country of contrasts, it is still a heavily agrarian society that lives at the whim of cyclones and the monsoon rains.

These loans have allowed women to become self sufficient and become a part of the global marketplace.

The Grameen Bank, started in Bangladesh, provides small loans to women to start small businesses. This has proved to be very successful and is now worldwide.

Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.

The island of Sri Lanka is one of the largest growers of tea in the world.

Like most of South Asia, Sri Lanka is a blend of old and new.

A civil war has raged off and on for over thirty years.

The architecture of South Asia rival any in the world.

South Asia still has many of its roots in British culture. Games such as cricket are popular and transcend political conflicts that have flared in the past, particularly between India and Pakistan and Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The simple tasks of washing clothes can be difficult to poor infrastructure.

Subsistence farming

Modern cities mixed with incredible poverty

end The world’s second most popular sport?