About South Asia
Overview | Bangladesh | Bhutan | India | Nepal | Pakistan | Sri Lanka
Overview:
South Asia, otherwise known as the Indian Subcontinent, commonly refers to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, and the British Indian Ocean Territories. Most agree with this definition, but controversy still remains about whether Iran, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Tibet should be included in the geography. The problem generally lies in the fact that these regions are closely connected in terms of history and culture.
South Asia is unique compared to much of the rest of the Asian continent, because most South Asians speak languages of Indo-Aryan or Dravidian descent. Indo-Aryan languages include Hindi, Urdu, Bengali-Assamese, Punjabi, Nepali, and Sindhi. Those of Dravidian descent speak the Dravidian languages, which include Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Tulu and Kannada.
The South Asian region holds about 1.6 billion, or a quarter, of the world’s world’s population. Its population density is about 305 people per square kilometer, which is much higher than the world average.
Most of the inhabitants of South Asia are Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist, although a small Christian minority exists.
Bangladesh:
Official name: Gana Prajatantri Bangladesh (People’s Republic of Bangladesh)
Capital: Dhaka
Official language: Bengali (Bangla)
Official religion: Islam
Monetary unit: Bangladesh taka (Tk)
Before 1971, Bangladesh was known as East Pakistan, one of the five provinces of Pakistan when it broke away from India. Like Pakistan, its official religion is Islam.
Bangladesh’s history stretches back far before it was assimilated into Pakistan. Much of its landmass was formerly East Bengal in India, and the main language of the country is Bengali.
The first attempts at partitioning Bengal came in 1905 by the British, who wanted to counter the Hindus’ advocacy of self-government with a larger Muslim community. This was unsuccessful because of a large campaign against it; the attempt was eventually abandoned in 1912. Later, during India’s freedom struggle in 1947, the Muslim League insisted on the creation of a separate Islam state. When the Indian Congress and the British proved reluctant, a day of peaceful protests began on August 16, headed by the Muslim League. This quickly turned into a massacre – the Great Calcutta Killings – and the British quickly realized that a fully united India could not be achieved.
Soon after the partition, however, Bengalis began to feel that they had no real connection with the central government, which was stimulating development in East Pakistan but neglecting the West. When political tensions escalated in 1971, troops were sent in from West Pakistan to restore order. India, anxious over the unrest, preferred Bangladesh dependent upon it, and invaded Bangladesh, eventually defeating the Pakistan military. In 1972, Bangladesh was declared an independent country.
Bangladesh today is one of the world’s most densely populated countries. It lies in an extremely fertile river region, in the delta of the Ganges and Jamuna rivers, which also subjects it to annual floodings and cyclones. Although Bangladeshi politics has been tainted with corruption, the interim government, along with the military, has been attempting to rid the country of corrupt politicians. On the other hand, national media and private television stations have been censored by the government, and since January 2007, the country has been in a state of emergency law.
Bhutan
India
Official name: Bharat (Hindi); Republic of India (English)
Capital: New Delhi
Official languages: Hindi; English
Official religion: None
Monetary unit: Indian rupee (Re, plural Rs)
India makes up much of the landmass of the South Asian region, which is why the area is sometimes referred to as the Indian Subcontinent. It is home to one of the oldest civilizations on earth – people have lived in various regions of India since the 8 th millennium BC. Several major religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism arose in India, and Islam was brought there by the Arabs, Turkish and Persians around the 8 th century AD.
The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrived in India in 1498, which paved the way for European influence in the country. Later, the arrival of the British in 1858 unified India’s economy and politics, vestiges of which remain in the country’s government. Colonial rule lasted until 1947, when independence movements, characterized mainly by non-violent protests, arose and drove out the British.
This was also the time when India was partitioned into India – whose citizens are mainly Hindus – and Pakistan, which has a Muslim majority.
Since 1947, India’s economic and social conditions have seen great progress. The caste system was much more pervasive in those days than in present times, and the “lower” castes and rural tribes were largely ignored. However, recently many social reforms have been attempted to give the minority castes and tribes more economic equality.
Despite the economic and social progressions made, a quarter of the population is estimated to live below the poverty level. India also has one of the world’s most diverse populations; much effort has been expended by its government in creating a sense of nationhood, but the various political and religious factions clash occasionally.
Still, India has made significant progress since independence; its economy has in recent years burgeoned, and is now estimated to be the twelfth largest economy in the world. It is also said to have one of the largest communities of scientists and engineers in the world.
Nepal
Official name: Nepal Adhirajya (Kingdom of Nepal)
Official language: Nepali
Official religion: None (declared secular state in 2006)
Monetary unit: Nepalese rupee (NRs)
Pakistan
Official name: Islam-i Jamhuriya-e Pakistan (Islamic Republic of Pakistan)
Capital: Islamabad
Official language: Urdu
Official religion: Islam
Monetary unit: Pakistani rupee (PKR)
Formed in 1947 through the Partition in India, Pakistan existed as East and West Pakistan until 1972, when East Pakistan was declared as the independent Bangladesh.
Pakistan is composed of former states of India – Sindh, Balochistan, the North West Frontier, and portions of Punjab and Bengal. The Kashmir, Jammu territory remains disputed between India and Pakistan, and three wars have been fought over the area.
Although the number of Muslims in India remained a minority until British rule was imposed, Muslims had been in control of the majority Hindu population for more than six centuries, especially during the flourishing Mughal empire. Then the British arrived, and after the mutiny of 1857-1859, the Muslims had to surrender all hope of regaining authority over the country.
When the British began to give India self-governance, the Muslim community, represented by the All-India Muslim League, grew worried that it would entail complete political and social subjugation by the Hindus. The Muslim League insisted on a partitioning of India, and the British worried that they would de-stabilize the country if they were not placated, and Pakistan was created in August 1947. In 1971, much warfare broke out between separatists and the government troops. The Indian military invaded East Pakistan and in January 1972, it was declared to be an independent country, Bangladesh.
Today, Pakistan’s economy performs well, and outpaces many of its South Asian neighbors in terms of income. However there has also been a continual increase in population, which results in the per capita income rising relatively slowly. Additionally, although Pakistan has a lower than average incidence of poverty in relation to other countries in the region, its social development has been considered lacking. Infant mortality remains high, and women occupy a comparatively low socio-economic status. This last seems to be changing recently, however, and some of the country’s prominent journalists, politicians and teachers are now women.
Sri Lanka
Official name: Sri Lanka Prajatantrika Samajavadi Janarajaya (Sinhala); Ilangai Jananayaka Socialisa Kudiarasu (Tamil) (Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka)
Capitals: Colombo (executive and judicial); Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (Colombo suburb; legislative)
Official languages: Sinhala; Tamil
Official religion: none
Monetary unit: Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)
Since ancient times, Sri Lanka has served as a crossroads between various naval trading routes, and has thus been exposed to many European and Asian cultures, including Greek and Arabic cultures. Its culture is characterized by the orthodox school of Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism, but has been considerably influenced by Hinduism and Islam.
In the classical period of Sri Lankan history, the country was ruled by a monarchy that was mainly Brahmanic, but with considerable Buddhist influences. Like Indian society, Sri Lankan culture was built around a caste system, although these divisions were never as stark as India’s. The culture of the country was further influenced by the arrival of the Portuguese in the beginning of the 16 th century. Originally they were simply trading partners of the king of Sri Lanka, but when his successors partitioned the nation and began to fight against each other, the Portuguese offered to help one of the kings in his conflict against the others. Through this avenue they gained control of most of the land and became the effective rulers of the state. Their position, however, was jeopardized when the Dutch arrived as alternative trading partners, and began to monopolize trade. Eventually portions of Sri Lanka were divided between the Dutch and Portuguese, which angered the native king of the island and resulted in numerous battles between the European powers and the Sri Lankans. Finally the Dutch took over most of the land area in 1658 and governed with the help of a few loyal Sinhalese and Tamils.
The second period of the country’s colonial rule came when the British moved into Sri Lanka from India around 1800 while the Netherlands was beginning to be occupied by the French. The Dutch resistance was weak, and the British, realizing Sri Lanka’s naval advantages, settled in the country. British influenced spread through the country in the form of government, law, and the English language as a medium of instruction. However, by the 1900s, nationalist sentiments in Sri Lanka were growing, and there was a general movement away from Christian influences back towards the Hinduism and Buddhism.
The Nationalism grew even more during World War I, but although representative government was granted to the Sri Lankans in 1924, executive government remained under the British. Gradually Sri Lanka gained self-governance; in 1947, the country was given dominion status, and was granted independence in 1948.
For a while after independence, the economy performed well, and the government attracted widespread support. However, subsequent governments began to emphasize its support for the Sinhalese over the Tamils in the population, which alienated the latter. In the 1980s, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was one of the strongest supporters of the separatist movements, which were gaining momentum. Sinhalese for their part also rioted against Tamils, which forced many of them to seek refuge in South India. After negotiations with the government, an autonomous province was granted to the Tamils in 1987, but violence still continued.
The Sri Lankan economy was initially restricted by excessive government controls, but since the 1970s, liberalization of the economy led to accelerating growth. However, after 1984, there has been a notable decrease in income due to the ethnic conflict.