1. Introduction to South Asia

2. Population
India has 3x as many people as the United States and is 3x smaller.
Do you think they have exceeded their carrying capacity?

3. Where is South Asia?
Right there.

4. Countries of South Asia
6. Bhutan
1. Pakistan
7. Nepal
2. India
5. Bangladesh
4. Sri Lanka
3. Maldives
Islands

5. While South Asia is bordered by bodies of water in the east, west, and south, what are the borders to the north?
1. Afghanistan
2. China
3. Myanmar (Burma)

6. Physical Geography South Asia is a sub-continent
A large landmass forming a distinct part of a continent.

7. Physical Geography
The region is a land of extremes, from the tallest mountains in the world to some of the driest deserts to areas inundated by the monsoon rains.

8. Physical Geography
With headwaters in the Himalayan Mountains, three of the world’s great rivers flow through this region.
Indus (Pakistan)
Brahmaputra (Bangladesh)
Ganges (India)

9. Physical Geography Himalayan Mountains
Mt. Everest: tallest mountain in the world (29,000+ ft.)
That’s almost 5.5 miles!
Himalayas separate South Asia from the rest of the continent.
The Himalayas are a result of tectonic activity.
India “crashed” into Asia, creating the crumpled mountains.
~203 people have died climbing Everest.

10. Physical Geography Monsoons Seasonal winds
Crucial for life on the subcontinent.
Beneficial and disastrously unpredictable.

11. History Most of South Asia was formerly known as “British India”.
Today it is made
up of ….

12. History In 1947, India became independent from Britain.
What other country received independence in this year?

13. History Mohandas Gandhi Led an independence movement in India.
Encouraged “non-violent resistance” which greatly influenced what American?

14. Gandhi
“Man can never be a woman's equal in the spirit of selfless service with which nature has endowed her.”
“Action expresses priorities.”
“An eye for an eye only
ends up making the whole
world blind.”

15. History Why did British India divide like it is today?
Religious conflict between Hindus and Muslims dictated that “British India” be divided into predominantly Hindu (India), *Muslim (Pakistan) and *Muslim (Bangladesh).

16. Religion
Four of the world’s major religions are practiced in this region.
There has been conflict between Hindus and Muslims and between Hindus and Sikhs.
Hinduism
Islam
Buddhism
Sikhism

17. Population
South and East Asia account for over 50% of the world’s population.
3 billion+ people.

18. Population
India alone accounts for nearly 20% of the world’s population.
1+ billion people
- It is estimated that within 50 years India will pass China as the world’s most populous country.

19. Population
India
What can you tell about the future of these countries by their population pyramids?
Pakistan
Bangladesh

20. World Clock

21. Population
Despite the large number of people, India has still not exceeded it’s carrying capacity.
They are not overpopulated.
They can feed their people.

22. Population
Most of the villages have been left behind when compared to modern cities like Mumbai (Bombay), Bangalore, and Madras.

23. Population
India has not exceeded its carrying capacity because of the Green Revolution.
A breakthrough in agricultural technology that allows India to produce enough food for its population.

24. The Green Revolution
The Green Revolution allowed farmers to use genetic engineering to produce more crops quicker.
The main researcher behind the Green Revolution was Norman Borlaug of Texas A&M

25. Government and Economies
India is the world’s largest democracy.
They practice “universal suffrage”.
The ability for all adult citizens from the age of 18 and up to vote.

26. Government and Economies
They speak many different languages in South Asia, but the “lingua franca” is English.

27. Government and Economies
The economy of India today is growing rapidly.

28. Government and Economies
Tata Nano car, released in India.
It costs ~$2000.

29. Government and Economies
While much of the economy of India is growing, there are still hundreds of millions who are mired in poverty.

30. Government and Economies
The “caste system”.
Acquired status: you just get it through birth, there is no hope for movement up the ladder.

31. Government and Economies
Outsourcing!
Many technical jobs, such as call centers, have moved to India.
How is time an important factor here?
Many qualified, educated Indians will work for much less than Americans.

32. Government and Economies
India produces more films than any other country.
“Bollywood” (Mumbai/Bombay) is the capital of their film industry.

33. Government and Economies
Most of India lacks adequate infrastructure, but the country has more miles of train tracks than any other in the world. This is a remnant of British rule.

34. Government and Economies
Pakistan
Has fallen behind India economically because of unstable government and religious fundamentalism.
There is a history of conflict between India and Pakistan.

35. Government and Economies
Education is available in Pakistan, though many attend “madrasas” (religious schools).

36. Government and Economies
While Bangladesh is a country of contrasts, it is still a heavily agrarian society that lives on the whim of cyclones and monsoons.

37. Government and Economies
The Grameen Bank, started in Bangladesh gives small loans to women to start small businesses. This method was very successful and copied worldwide.

38. Grameen banks
These loans have allowed women to become self-sufficient and participate in the global marketplace.

39. Government and Economies
Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.

40. Government and Economies
Sri Lanka (the “tear drop of South Asia”) is one of the largest growers of tea in the world.
Like most of South Asia, Sri Lanka is a blend of the old and the new.
A civil war has plagued this region for many years. (Tamil Tigers)
Bike military unit.

41. Sri Lanka
In recent floods, 325,000 were displaced.

42. Maldives
80% of it’s islands are only 1m above sealevel.

43. Government and Economies
South Asia has many roots in British culture.
Games such as cricket transcend conflicts that have broken out in the past.
Rinku Singh and Dinesh Kumar Patel