Chapters 23, 24 and 25:Cultural Geography of South Asia

South Asia: The Land Is a subcontinent because its countries- India, Pakistan,

Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives are separated from the rest of Asia by mountains.

Northern Landforms Himalayas created when India slammed into Asia.

1,500 miles across northern edge of peninsula and hundreds of miles wide. Mt. Everest- highest mountain at 29,028 ft.

Meet the Karakoram Mountains in the northern most part of South Asia.

Further west are the Hindu Kush. Khyber Pass is one of the few places you can cross these mountains.

Plains at the base of the Himalaya ranges. Watered by great rivers like the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra. 1/10th of the world’s people live in this area known as the Gangetic Plain.

South Asia: The Land Central and Southern Landforms

Vindhya Ranges in central India. Satpura Range. Narmada Rive flows in between. Divide India into separate places.

At the base of subcontinent are the Eastern and Western Ghats. Triangle of rugged hills. In between is the Deccan Plateau. Rich black soil.

Sri Lanka is a tear drop shaped island. Maldives is a chain of volcanic outcroppings and of tiny coral atolls.

Maldives covers 35,200 square miles of ocean, its land area only totals 116 square miles.

South Asia: The Land Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers

Ganges comes east from Himalaya. Most important river. Keeps its waters during dry season because of snow. Floods during the wet season.

Gangetic Plain cleared to make way for rice, sugarcane and jute. Longest alluvial plain in world.

Brahmaputra River flows east through Himalaya and into western India. Joins the Ganges in Bangladesh and forms a fertile delta.

Indus River Flows mainly through Pakistan. Transportation route.

Cradle of ancient civilizations.

South Asia: The Land Natural Resources

Rivers provide drinking water, alluvial soil, transportation, and hydroelectric power. Fish.

Water resource management is a challenge because rivers cross national borders. Work together.

India is leading exporter of iron ore and mica. Nepal has copper and mica. Sri Lanka is one of the world’s largest producers of

graphite. Also has precious stones. Do have some oil reserves and uranium deposits. Timber includes sandalwood, sal and teak. Sri

Lanka banned timber exports in 1977 and several countries have cut back on timber industry.

South Asia: Climate and Vegetation Tropical Regions

Western coast of India, Ganges Delta in Bangladesh, and southern Sri Lanka.

Rain forests absorb great amounts of moisture. Sundarbans- swampy area in southwestern

Bangladesh and the north-eastern coast of India. Tropical dry surrounds central Indian steppe and

eastern Sri Lanka. Mid latitude and Highland Regions

Himalaya block cold winds from Central Asia. Humid subtropical extends across Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and northeastern part of India.

Coldest climate lies along northern edge. Himalayas and Karakoram snow year round.

South Asia: Climate and Vegetation

Dry Regions Lower Indus in the northwestern part of South Asia

keeps dry climate. Thar Desert- east of Indus River. Surrounding desert is

steppe climate. Average rainfall is less than 20 inches. Monsoon Rains

3 seasons- hot (February to June), wet (June to September), and cool (October to February). Depend on monsoons.

700 million people depend on these rains for livelihoods.

Natural Disasters Temperatures and rainfall impact agriculture. Monsoon

winds are good and bad. Not enough or too much rain. Cyclones- high winds and heavy rains. Tsunamis also

prevalent.

India- Population Patterns 1.1 billion people live there. 15% of world’s population. Largest number descended from Dravidians (southern India for

8,000 years) and Aryans who came from Central Asia about 3,000 years ago.

Most identify themselves by religion. Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, or Christians. Hindus sub identify by jati, or caste.

869 people per square mile. Average density is 7 times world average.

Location is depended on climate, physical features and vegetation. Where the agriculture is good the density can reach 2,000 people per square mile.

70% live in villages and are rural. Subsistence farming. More and more migrate to urban areas for better jobs and higher wages.

Mumbai has 18.3 million.

India- History and Government Indus Valley civilization dates back 4500 years to area that is now

Pakistan. Settled by the Aryan peoples. 2000s BC. Created the caste system.

Caste, or jati, is something you are born into. The Vedas explain how this works. Understanding religion is how you understand their culture.

Hinduism- every person has to carry out dharma or moral duty. Reincarnation. The law of kharma, good deeds, gets you to good reincarnation.

Buddhism- Siddhartha Gautama, Buddha. People suffer because they are too attracted to material goods. Think clearly, work hard, and show compassion.

Other groups came through the Khyber Pass in the Hindu Kush mountains. Mauryan and Gupta Empires. Final invaders were Europeans. Mercantilism introduced.

British practiced imperialism. Called their Indian empire the British raj. Introduced English, reconstructed educational system, built railroads and developed civil service.

Fight for independence led by Mohandas Gandhi. Achieved it in 1947. divided land into Muslim Pakistan and Hindu India. World’s largest democracy.

India-Culture School required until age 14. 65% literacy rate.

Working on getting education to women and lower classes.

Health care is improving. State run. 18 official languages. Hindi is the most widely

spoken. Most people are Hindus. Other religions include

Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Sikhism. Family is the most important social unit.

Extended families live together. Arranged marriages happen frequently. Clear order to gender and age.

Pakistan and Bangladesh- Population Patterns

Became separate because of diverse ethnic heritages. Pakistan is diverse because of invasions and migrations.

5 main ethnic groups: Punjabis, Sindhis, Pashtuns, Mohajirs, and Baluchis.

Bangladesh- most people are Bengali and are Muslim. Most densely populated country in South Asia with 2,569 people per square mile. Dhaka is the third most densely populated city in the world. Despite advancement cannot feed their population. 1991 total fertility rate was 4. number has declined. Give women money to start businesses to help them not have as many children.

Pakistan- most urbanized country. 34% live in cities. Shortages in housing and jobs. Pollution.

Pakistan and Bangladesh- History and Government

2500 BC one of world’s most advanced societies developed along Indus River. Writing system, strong central government, and overseas trade. First cities. Mohenjo Daro and Harappa. Disappeared and Aryans moved in.

700s Islam brought by the Muslim traders. Played a huge role in development.

1930s the idea of a separate Hindu state emerged. British gave them independence.

Kashmir- area between India and Pakistan that is contested especially after the first nuclear testing happened.

Bangladesh got its independence in 1971. happened after hard civil war.

Both countries have parliamentary rule but neither has worked. Violence in past years.

Pakistan and Bangladesh- Culture Education is not good. Literacy rates 43-48%. For

females it is about 35%. Differs based on social class and gender.

Heath care is very poor. Cannot take care of their people especially during natural disasters.

Bangladesh- main language is Bangla. Urdu is main language in Pakistan but most people speak local languages. Islam and Hinduism main religions.

Extend families live together. Arranged marriages.

Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka- Population Patterns

Nepal- Indo-Nepalese and Tibeto-Nepalese two main groups. Bhutan- majority of people are Bhote. Descendants of Tibetan

peoples. Speak Tibetan dialects and practice Tibetan Buddhism. Nepalese are 35% of population. Speak Nepali and are Hindus.

Maldives- people from India, Sri Lanka, East Africa and Arab countries.

Sri Lanka- two main groups. Speak difference languages. Buddhist Sinhalese are majority. Hindu Tamils fighting for independence.

Southern Bhutan and Nepal average density goes from 55-447 people per square mile. Higher elevation the lower the density.

Sri Lanka- 778 density. Maldives- 2,586 people per square mile.

Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka- History and Government

Nepal- Licchavi dynasty established in 400. 9th century ceased to exist and replaced by three new dynasties. They were conquered by Shah dynasty. Contact with British during the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814-1816). Nepal kept independence and original size.

Bhutan history starts with introduction of Buddhism from fleeing Tibetan monks in the 800s. Politics and religion tied together.

Sri Lanka- Sinhalese arrived in 500s B.C. Bhutan- early 600s lama consolidated power. When he died

chaos ensued. 1800s ruler established tie with British. Now has constitutional monarchy with a representative government.

Nepal- fairly isolated from European influences. Going back and forth between monarchy and representative government.

1500s spice trade brought huge profits to Europe so their influence in this area increased. Dutch were the first major power followed by the British. 1972 Sri Lanka got its independence. Parliamentary republic now. Internal conflicts.

Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives- Culture Hinduism and Buddhism major religions. Maldives

influenced by Islam. Nepal- most people speak Nepali. Sri Lankans

speak Sinhalese and Tamil. Maldives speak Dhivehi. Bhutan speak Dzongka.

Maldives have best education with 97% literacy rates. Sri Lankans get free education through university age. Bhutan’s literacy rate is 47% and Nepal’s is 48%.

Health care in all of the countries is low and most rely on tradition medicine because there are not enough doctors.

Economy-Agriculture Subsistence farming using primitive methods. Water is

a major concern. Use animal power. Farms vary in size based on geographic, historic, and

cultural factors. Terracing in highlands. Water used to grow rice. Plantations.

Cash crops big here. Tea, rubber, coconuts, tobacco, bananas, coffee, tea, cotton and jute.

Grains exports and food source. Rise is major crop in this area.

Green revolution- sought to increase crop yields. Has its costs. Good- feed the people. Bad- increased use of chemicals leads to pollution.

Economy- Mining and Fishing Make good money and have potential to be

profitable in the future. Gangetic Plain yield some of the richest

mineral deposits. Iron ore, low grade coal, bauxite and copper in eastern India.

Bhutan rich in coal, lead, marble, zinc and copper. Sri Lanka has precious and semi-precious stones.

Ocean location makes fishing a huge industry

Economy- Industry 1940s India concentrated on promoting home industries and

limiting foreign investments. 1990s reopened country to foreign investments. Deregulated many companies giving them back to private individuals. Growing inequality among classes.

Light industry comes from cottage industry (home industries). Concentration on traditional methods. Microcredit- giving small loans to women to start businesses. Helped decrease birth rates.

Heavy industry- mass production. Steel, iron, cement and heavy machinery. Ship breaking- dismantling old ships for parts.

Service industries- wholesale and retail trade and government services.

High technology sector- world’s leading exporter of software services.

Economy-Tourism Conflicts cause issues with tourism. Regulate tourism to protect natural and

cultural resources. Ecotourism is growing.

Economy- Trade and Transportation Nepal has least developed modern transportation

system. Mountain trails however are crucial to culture and are main trade routes.

India has 20,000 miles of highway. Huge rail system built by the British.

Bhutan and Nepal are landlocked and do not share the advantages of having sea ports as the other countries do.

Communication is restricted is some countries and free in others. 1999 before Bhutan had television and internet service.

Economy- Trade and Interdependence

Want to depend on the other countries but long standing conflict often make that difficult. Trade though has lessened some of the tension.

India has several trading agreements with foreign nations while landlocked Bhutan and Nepal depend on India for certain things. India’s dominance does make some countries wary of becoming dependent on India.

SAFTA- South Asia Free Trade Agreement. Signed in 2004. not solve conflict but it helped.

Environment- Human Impact Key to success is sustainable development. Water is a huge issue. Even in Ida 60% of urban population and

20% of rural population have access to sanitation facilities. Rely on water polluted with human waste. Northern India lose crops to droughts. At same time in southern

India losing crops to floods. Building dams helps with these. Problems with that is disease from increasing bug activity as well as flooding of land causing people to lose their homes.

Deforestation an increasing problem. Mining, population growth and lumber industry have contributed. Agriculture to blame as well. Losing ways that we keep the soil from eroding.

Impacts wildlife. Diverse array of species found here. Many have become endangered in this area. Hunting and poaching problems. Created reserves and are studying erosion and natural disaster patterns.

Environment- Future Challenges 1947 Kashmir is a fought over piece of land between

Pakistan and India. Mostly Muslim people live there. In last 50 years 2 of the 3 wars fought over this.

Line of Control- the unofficial border. Working to make it official.

Hope that trade will help ease this tension. Escalated in 1998 with both countries tested nuclear weapons.

Internal discrimination where one ethnic group wants either more government power or independence. Religious tension and fighting as well.