Composite satellite image of South Asia
Map of South Asia. (Note that this map represents the
line of control in
Kashmir as the international border between India and Pakistan, a position that neither party considers acceptable.)
South Asia is often considered synonymous with the term Indian subcontinent. South Asia is aptly described as the landmass located inbetween Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia and Central Asia. It includes the following sovereign states:
All of these countries are members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
Also worth noting is the inclusion of Afghanistan and Iran into the United Nations' subregion called Southern Asia.
Geographically, the Indian subcontinent would additionally include some disputed territory currently controlled by China and Myanmar. It covers about 4,480,000 km² (1,729,738 mi²), or 10 percent of the Asian continent. However, its population accounts for about 40 percent of Asia. Some or all of Afghanistan is sometimes considered part of the region of South Asia because Afghanistan has shared many historical currents with the region, but is not located on the subcontinent.
Geo-politically, the Indian subcontinent can be divided into the following regions:
Nomenclature
The term "South Asia"' is a common contemporary term for what in times before 1947, the end of the British Raj and the beginning of the First Indo-Pakistani War, was simply known as "British India", Hindustan, or references were used to denote local empires such as the Mughal Empire, Delhi Sultanate, etc. as the borders of present South Asia were largely defined by British rule. Prior to Independence that term referred to those portions of the country that were directly administered by the British, as opposed to the princely states.
Historically, South Asia and South-East Asia together constitute what is known as the East Indies, with the first being defined as Hither India or India Citerior and Further India or India Ulterior. These terms, however, have ceased to be current and have become arcane and largely used, if at all, by academics, with only the "East Indies" still retaining some current usage.
Politically, South Asia makes sense as it does not apply only to countries found on the Indian plate, geologically, but can include other countries due to geographic proximity. The United Nations, for example includes Iran, Afghanistan, and Myanmar in South Asia for its own geographic reasons, while others exclude these countries. Myanmar (formerly Burma) is often grouped in this region due to the fact that it was a part of British India for nearly a century, and has historical and cultural ties to India.
Geography
The Indian and Eurasian landplates run through Pakistan and Kashmir and often cause earthquakes in the region such as the October 2005
Kashmir Quake.
Geographically, the region is bound by the Himalaya to the north and east, and the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal to the south. The Hindu Kush mountains that run through Afghanistan and northern Pakistan are usually considered the northwestern edge of the subcontinent.
Geologically, most of this region is a subcontinent because it rests on a tectonic plate of its own, the India Plate, separate from the rest of Eurasia, and was once a small continent before colliding with the Eurasian Plate and giving birth to the Himalayan range and the Tibetan plateau. Even now the India Plate continues to move northward with the result that the Himalaya are growing taller by a few centimetres each decade. In addition, is also home to an astounding variety of geographical features that are typical of much larger continents, such as glaciers, rainforests, valleys, deserts, and grasslands in an area about half the size of the United States.
Further, the peoples of the region possess several distinguishing features that set them apart anthropologically from the rest of Asia; the dominant peoples and cultures are Indo-European and Dravidian, and have a greater affinity with Europe than with most other regions of Asia, excepting the Iranian Plateau and the Caucasus.
South Asia ranks among the world's most densely-populated regions. About 1.6 billion people live there — about a quarter of all the people in the world. The region's population density of 305 persons per square kilometre is more than seven times the world average.
The region has a long history. Ancient civilizations developed in the Indus River Valley. The region was at its most prosperous before the 18th century, when the Mughal Empire held sway in the north; European colonialism led to a new conquering of the region, by Portugal and Holland, and later Britain and to a lesser degree France. Most of the region gained independence from Europe in the late 1940s.
- See also: Geography of India & History of South Asia
Climate
The climate of South Asia is called the Monsoon climate. Its is quite opposite of the Mediterranean climate. For the monsoon climate, the weather in this region remains humid during summer and dry during winter. Instead of four seasons, it basically has two main seasons, the wet and dry. The monsoon climate favours the cultivation of jute, tea, rice, and various vegetables in this region.
Demographics and Culture
See Ethnic Groups of South Asia
Other subregions of Asia
External links
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The content of this page is retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Asia under GFDL
