1. The
Indian subcontinent

2. South Asia

3. 8 Independent Nations India Pakistan Bangladesh Nepal Bhutan
Island nations of Sri Lanka and Maldives
Afghanistan in the northwest is also often considered part of South Asia.

4. Large landmass in Southern hemisphere- broke up (Gondwanaland)
1 landmass pushed north-collided-mainland Asia
Himalaya and Hindu Kush mountains moved.
Formed barriers separating South Asia from the rest of Asia.

5. Religious Traditions Hinduism is the chief religion of India.
No founder
No formal church
Ancient Aryan beliefs and practices

6. What is the symbol of Hinduism?
Aum is the main symbol of Hinduism. It is the sound heard in deepest meditation and is said to be the name most suited for God.

7. Sacred Texts Vedas Upanishads ( oo pan ih shadz)
Internal truths that were reveled to wise men
Upanishads ( oo pan ih shadz)
Helped to explain the ideas contained in the Vedas
The Ramayana (rah mah yuh) and the Mahabharata (muh hah bah rah tuh)
Two of the most famous hindu epics.

8. Brahman Hindus worshiped thousands of Gods.
Each god is part of a single supreme force called brahman.
the eternal, unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe

9. 3 Main Gods Brahma- creator Vishnu- preserver Siva- destroyer
Each has own family.
Sects- group with distinctive religious, political or philosophical beliefs.
Atman (AHT MUHN)- an essential self, part of a universal soul.

10. Karma
“to do”
Every deed, mental or physical, in this life affects a persons fate in future life.

11. Buddhism Guatama’s enlightenment
Realized there was suffering and misery
Set out to find the cause of misery
6 years-found the answer
Known as Buddha or “enlightened one”

12. The Buddha’s Teachings
Four Noble Truths
1) Suffering is universal
2) Cause of suffering is desire
3) only way to end suffering is to crush desire
4) the only way to end desire is to follow the Noble Eightfold Path.
Denied the existence of Gods
Rejected the caste system

13. Noble Eightfold Path The Noble Eightfold Path: right understanding,
right thought, right speech, right action, right
livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and
right concentration.

14. Other Religious Traditions
Mahavira, the historical founder of Jainism
elder contemporary of the Buddha
known as Jina (literally, conquerer) after he overcame the wretched cycle of rebirth by achieving enlightenment.
Jain devotees often commissioned manuscripts of sacred literature for temple libraries in order to gain spiritual merit.
Many of these manuscripts contain vibrant illustrations that depict Mahavira meditating or teaching.

15. Satellite View of South Asia

16. The Size of South Asia

17. Countries Afghanistan China Iran Bhutan Nepal Pakistan Myanmar India
Bangladesh
Sri Lanka

18. cities Kabul Islamabad Lahore Kathmandu New Delhi Benares Thimbu
Karachi
Dacca
Calcutta
Bombay
Madras
Colombo

19. Ten Geographic Qualities
1. Sub-region of Asia - Indian Subcontinent
2. Mostly Dry Flat Plateau Area
3. Soon to be the largest population concentration in the world Billion
4. Center of Hindu Religious Concentration
5. Hundreds of languages & ethnic groups

20. 6. Colonial Exploitation of this resource rich area
7. Highest Mountains in the world
8. Historically an Asian crossroads for trade

21. 9. Region is dominated by monsoon rains
10. Culturally vibrant Hindus, Moslems, Jaines, Seiks

22. Topography of
South Asia

23. South Asia: Physical Map

24. Bodies of Water Indus R. Brahmaputra R. Ganges R. Bay of Bengal
Arabian Sea
Indian Ocean

25. Surrounded by the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean.
Highways (link)

27. Indus River- empties into the Arabian Sea.
Principal river in Pakistan
Majority of Pakistan's live in the Indus River Basin
South Asia’s earliest civilization developed in the Indus Valley.
Ganges
Most holy river
Thousands of pilgrims come to purify themselves in the river.

28. Mountains & Peaks Hindu Kush Khyber Pass I I Karakoran Mts. Himalayas
Mt. Everest ▲
Himalayas
Vindhya Hills
Eastern Ghats
Western Ghats

29. Himalayas- stretch 1500 miles east to west, snowcaped.
Many of the worlds tallest mountains
Mt. Everest, on the border of Nepal and Tibet
Hindu Kush (death)
Khyber Pass- is a mountain pass that links Pakistan and Afghanistan.

30. Hindu Kush

31. The Khyber Pass

32. The Himalayas “him” [snow] “aalaya” [home]
Mt. Everest is 29,035 feet. It is the highest mt. peak in the world.

33. The Himalayas

34. “Fire Rim of the Pacific”

35. Earthquake Zones in India

36. Deserts / Plateaus
Tibetan Plateau
Thar Desert
Deccan Plateau

37. Completed Map Hindu Kush Khyber Pass I I Karakoran Mts.
Tibetan Plateau
Kashmir
Mt. Everest ▲
Punjab
Indus R.
Himalayas
Brahmaputra R.
Indo-Gangetic Plain
Thar Desert
Ganges R.
Vindhya Hills
Bay of Bengal
Deccan Plateau
Eastern Ghats
Western Ghats
Arabian Sea
Indian Ocean

38. Climate of
South Asia

39. Climate Regions of South Asia

40. Natural Hazards
Many natural hazards--monsoons, typhoons, volcanoes, and earthquakes
Monsoon--a seasonal shift in the prevailing winds that influences large climate regions
Typhoon--a destructive tropical storm occurring in the western Pacific Ocean or the China Sea, similar to a hurricane

41. Monsoon “To know India and her people, one has to know the monsoon.”
To the people of India the monsoons are a source of life.
Key to farmers
Influenced art and literature of South Asia
Very distinctive seasonal precipitation regime
(RESULTS OF CATASTROPHIC RAINFALL)
Widespread flooding
Property damage
Destruction to agricultural lands
Damage to transportation infrastructure
Homelessness
Disease
Malnutrition
Serious injury
Death

42. Monsoon

43. Winter Monsoons: Nov.-April

44. Summer Monsoons: May-Oct.

45. Temperature

46. Demographic
Data
for
South Asia

47. People of South Asia
Did you know that more people live in India than in Central America, North America and South America – altogether!
The population of Hindus approximately 3 times bigger than population of the USA.
More than 60% of the world's population live in Asia.
In China live 1.3 billion of people and in India 1.1 billion.
In South Asia live more Muslims than in the whole Middle East, yet Muslims in South Asia is less than 15% of total population.

48. Patterns of Life
Indian society developed into a complex system based on class and caste systems.
Caste- based on the idea that there are separate kinds of humans.
Higher caste- purer than lower
Rules were meant to help people remain spiritually pure.
Governed cooking, eating, marriage, employment
Ex)Braham could only eat food prepared by another Braham.

49. Modernization and the Caste System
People from different castes mix.
Former untouchables might be allowed to draw water from the village well and worship at the village temple.
Children attend public schools (separate rooms)

50. Five different levels
Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra, and Harijans.
Within each of these categories are the actual "castes" or jatis within which people are born, marry, and die.

51. Brahman
Priest

52. Kshatriya
ruler, warrior, landowner

53. Vaishya
merchants

54. Shudra
artisans, agriculturalists
Service worker (lowest class)

55. Harijan "outside" the caste system (once known as "untouchables")
Gandhi said it was wrong to call people 'untouchable', and called them Harijans, which means children of God.

56. Cultural Geography of South Asia
Population
1.4 billion
concentrations on coasts & rivers
high overall population due to large base numbers & high growth rates
Large numbers in Pakistan & Bangladesh

57. Clear sign of diversity here is language.
Nepal, size of Illinois has 13 languages.
India has more then 700 languages and dialects.
What’s a dialect?

58. Dialect- regional version of language with its own words, expressions, and pronunciations.
Most widely spoken language in India is Hindi.
India recognizes 15 official languages

59. Language Families in South Asia

60. Improving Education
When India became independent, 10% could read and write.
Today 80% of elementary age children get some schooling, and 52% of Indians can read and write.’
Free and required for all children up to 14 years of age.
More boys attend then girls

61. INTERESTING FACTS
India is the 1/3 the size of the United States with 5 times the population
Bangladesh has about half the population of the United States alone
South Asia is the fast growing of the large population concentrations and will soon surpass China as the largest

62. What is this a picture of?

63. Taj Mahal
located in Agra, India. It is one of the most recognizable structures in the world.
It is widely considered as one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and stands as a symbol of eternal love.
Taj Mahal is the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Islamic and Indian architectural styles

64. South Asia in the World Today
“Love your neighbor, but do not thrown down the dividing wall,” Indian proverb
Respect for others-cautioned
Dealing with one another and the world

65. Nuclear Weapons India and Pakistan Armed with nuclear weapons
1998-successful weapon tests
Increase tensions between to powers
Went to war in in 1947, 1964 (Kashmir)
And 1971 when India helped Bangladesh break away from Pakistan.

66. India and the World
After India won independence, the Cold War influenced its foreign policy.
India chose to follow a nonalignment policy.
Rejected alliance with either superpower, it welcomed aid from both U.S and Soviet Union.

67. Pakistan and the World
Took a strong anti-communist stand during the Cold War.
Soviet-threat
Joined military alliances set up by the U.S to stop Soviet expansion.(got aid)
Soviet weakened- Pakistan loosened ties and turned to Muslim countries of Middle East.

68. Ties to Middle East Pakistan and Middle East- close ties
As an Islamic nation sought friendship with Iran and Turkey.
Accepted aid from oil-rich nations in Persian Gulf.
Work in Middle East and send money home.

69. Afghanistan
Buffer state, small country located between larger, hostile powers.

70. Looking to the Future
Chipko Movement- group founded in 1972 to prevent the destruction of the nations forests.
Women would protect trees with their bodies
Gandhi’s philosophy of satyagraha, nonviolent resistence

71. Environmental Issues
Narmada Valley Project- angered environmentalists.
Calls for building three major dams and more then 3,000 smaller ones.
Pros: water to irrigate millions of acres of land, electricity
Cons: flooding, destroy wildlife, submerge shrines.

72. Crisis in numbers Population growth- land size
More then a quarter of people of South Asia are under 15 years of age.

73. Limiting Growth Governments see the need to limit growth
Encourage family planning
Slogan “a small family is a happy family”
Mixed success

74. Art and Literature
Most sculpture from South Asia relates to three world religions that emerged in India—Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism.
Each of these faiths constructed exquisite and distinctive monuments in honor of its deities and spiritual teachers.
shrines and temples contain sculpted images that lead devotees to contemplate cosmic powers or greater realities.