South Asia Vocabulary

The most famous building in India, a tomb built for the wife

of a Mughal emperor.

Taj Mahal

A large ancient city in the Indus River valley.

Mohenjo~Daro

A hurricane that occurs in the western Pacific Ocean

Typhoon

An inherited social class of traditional Hindu society that separates people

from other classes by birth,occupation, or wealth.

Caste

A village council in India

Panchayat

Small fragments of rock or other materials that can be moved around by wind, water,or ice.

Sediment

A large landmass that is part of a continent but that has its

own geographic identity.

Subcontinent

In India, a group formed in 1885 to provide a forum for Indians to

discuss their problems.

Indian National Congress

Money or property given by a bride’s family to her new husband and his family.

dowry

A regional variety of language

dialect

A member of an ethnic group that migrated from what is now

southern Russia, settling in India.

Aryan

The Books of Knowledge of the ancient Aryans which were

the basis of Hinduism

Vedas

Indian leader who encouraged his followers to use nonviolence to resist

the British and bring about social

change.

Mohandas K. Gandhi

(“Mahatma”)

A group of fundamentalist Muslims who took control of Afghanistan’s

government in 1996.

Taliban

Includes computers, software, and the Internet, that helps us process and use information.

Information Technology

A mountain range that stretches about 1,500 miles across south-

central Asia.

Himalayas

A fibrous plant used to make twine, and burlap.

Jute

A language spoken in Pakistan

Sindhi

A seasonal wind brings a great amount of rain

Monsoon

A member of a group of people in India formerly known

as “untouchables”.

Dalit

The classical language of India and Hinduism

Sanskrit

A temporary military rule during a time of war when the normal

government has broken down.

Martial law

A religion developed in ancient India

Hinduism

Mauryan emperor who created a unified government

Ashoka

A series or chain of islands

archipelago

A movement begun in the 1960’s which introduced new farming methods to developing nations.

Green Revolution

Related to the family of languages that includes almost all European and many Indian

languages.

Indo~Aryan

The official language of Pakistan.

Urdu

An empire lasting from 1526-1707 that covered most of the

subcontinent of India.

Mughal Empire

A group formed by Muslims in in India in 1906 to protect their

rights.

Muslim League