South Asia in Transition

South Asia in Transition
An Overview of South Asia

Overview Politics and Government Economics Population, Health, the Environment, and Conflict South Asia Social and Cultural Issues South Asia and World Affairs

Overview Home of the ancient Indus Valley civilization

Birthplace of four major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism Hinduism is the world's oldest existing major religion A worldwide religious tradition based on the Vedas and the beliefs and traditions of the various groups in India…Hinduism's origins include cultural elements of the Indus valley civilization (c.3300 BC)

Birthplace of four major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism Buddhism is a non-theistic religion, a philosophy and a system of psychology, also known as – comes from the teachings of “the awakened One”, Siddhartha Gautmama or “the Buddha” Buddhism spread throughout the Indian subcontinent in the five centuries following the Buddha's passing, and thence into Central, Southeast and East Asia and Eastern Europe over the next two millennia

Birthplace of four major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism Jainism is a religion and philosophy originating in Ancient India with the teachings of Mahavira - growing immigrant communities in the United States, Western Europe, Africa, the Far East and elsewhere Jains have significantly influenced the religious, ethical, political and economic spheres in India for more than two millennia - stresses spiritual independence and equality of all life with particular emphasis on non-violence

Birthplace of four major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism Sikhism is a religion that began in sixteenth century Northern India with the teachings of Nanak and nine successive human gurus - system of religious philosophy Sikhism advocates the pursuit of salvation through disciplined, personal meditation on the name and message of God - the followers of Sikhism are ordained to follow the teachings of the ten Sikh gurus, or enlightened leaders, as well as the holy scripture “Guru Granth Sahib.” Sikhs consider the holy book to be their perpetual guru. It has 1430 pages and contains the actual words spoken by the Sikh Gurus and various other Saints from other religions including Hinduism, Islam, the Kabirpanthi religion and the Ravidasi religion.

Other important contributions Cotton Clothes Arabic numeral system Yoga Games of chess and dice

The Natural Setting: A Region of Contrasts Some of the world’s wettest locations and also the home of the highest mountains in the world – Mt. Everest at 29,035 ft 1.4 Billion people – world’s most densely populated area India is the world’s largest democracy, fourth largest economy, and largest middle class

South Asia in Transition The Natural Setting: A Region of Contrasts
Overview – Many Challenges One-third live under the international poverty level of $1 a day 66% lack decent sanitation facilities 300 million are undernourished Highest illiteracy rate Several serious conflicts

Overview – Recent U.S. Interest Taliban regime in Afghanistan Osama bin Laden and al Queda terrorist network Opium

Natural Setting – A Region in Contrasts The Himalaya and Hindu Kush mountains form the northern boundary of the area – the highest mountain range in the world

Natural Setting – A Region in Contrasts The Hindu Kush mountains cut across Afghanistan in a southwesterly direction – centuries of traffic across the Hindu Kush’s high mountain passes have made Afghanistan the crossroads between South and Central Asia

Natural Setting – A Region in Contrasts South of the mountains is the Indian subcontinent/South Asia Slightly more than half the size of the United States – 2,000 miles by 2,000 miles Eight countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka

Natural Setting – A Region in Contrasts Bounded on the North and Northeast by the former Russian republics and China Myanmar and the Bay of Bengal to the east The Indian Ocean to the South Iran and the Arabian Sea to the West

Heat and Rain As the high mountains give way to the Indian subcontinent, the climate and geography change dramatically – the Himalayas help provide much of the region with a warm-to-hot climate year round Rain is also important and the monsoon rains sweep out of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal to feed crops across the region – Bangladesh and parts of India are two of the wettest areas on earth A monsoon season with little rain = economic disaster for millions of farmers across the region A monsoon with too much rain can bring disastrous floods that wash away homes and crops

Indo-Gangetic Plain The most densely populated part of the subcontinent is the Indo-Gangetic Plain – formed by the basins of the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra rivers All three rivers originate in the Himalayas within 100 miles of each other and flow in strikingly different directions The plain includes some of the richest soils, as well as the sparse Thar Desert

Indo-Gangetic Plain The Ganges is the Hindus’ most revered river and it gently flows southeasterly across the plain – drains on-quarter of India’s territory before combining with the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh to form one of the world’s largest river deltas India is named for the Indus River which flows northwesterly through Kashmir and then drains to the south through Pakistan – as long ago as 2500 BC its banks supported one of the earliest human civilizations

Deccan Plateau The southern boundary of the Indo-Gangetic plain begins along the southern edge of the Thar Desert and continues east along several low mountain ranges called the central highlands – below this boundary is the Deccan Plateau, bordered by the Western and Eastern Ghats – these mountains keep the monsoons from moving onto the Deccan Plateau

The Islands South Asia also includes the island countries of Sri Lanka and the Maldives Sri Lanka generally has a hot and humid climate and has dry plains and cool plateaus Off the southwest coast of India are the Maldives – a scenic, tropical beauty with 1,190 islands made up of the coral crests on a submerged volcanic mountain range

South Asia in Transition Peoples, Languages, and Religions
South Asians generally have strong ethnic or sub national identities – each have languages associated with them Three broad linguistic divisions: Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, and tribal Linguistic Division No. of Members Examples of Location Languages Indo-Aryan 1.1 Billion Hindi, Urdu, Mid-India Bengali, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati 2. Dravidian 250 Million Tamil, Telegu, Southern India Kannada, Malayalam

With this variety of languages, what factor determines the ability to communicate between languages? – Physical Closeness Neighboring languages can be mutually understood, whereas different dialects of the same language can be unintelligible if there is a large enough distance between them – many cities have extensive linguistic diversity

There are intense debates over the recognition and use of local languages The push to make Urdu the national language sparked riots in East Pakistan/Bangladesh in the 1950s The establishment of Sinhala as Sri Lanka’s only national language caused protests by the country’s Tamil minority in 1956 Despite such tensions, every country in the region has at least one national language

English was brought to the region by Great Britain – it remains an important language of trade and government Knowing English can be a source of job opportunities and social enhancement – an important asset as regional economies have opened to foreign trade and investment

Religion is at the heart of South Asian history, art, and philosophy Birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and many tribal beliefs Other religions in the area include Islam, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Judaism Hinduism and Islam are by far the two most influential religions in the area – 63% Hindu and 30% Islam

South Asia in Transition Brief History of South Asia
South Asia from the Indus Valley Civilization to British Colonialism History extends back over 4,000 years – an ancient civilization existed in the Indus Valley around 2500 BC The remnants of two ancient cities in present-day Pakistan reveal significant urban planning Sometime after 1750 BC, for unclear reasons, the civilization declined Around 1500 BC peoples speaking Indo-Iranian languages moved into the area and profoundly changed life

The Aryans are a subset of peoples speaking Indo-European languages who came from Central Asia’s Caspian Sea Basin sometime around 2000 BC By 1500 BC peoples speaking Indo-Aryan moved into South Asia through the Hindu Kush Mountains – Aryans were herders who migrated into South Asia gradually over centuries

The Vedas are collections of ancient Aryan hymns, prayers, and other religious works that later became sacred Hindu Texts – they commemorated the movement of the Aryans and their social practices Evidence of warfare Evidence of discrimination by class and gender – forerunner of the caste system Worshipped many nature-related gods Music, wine, and gambling also present

Over a thousand years Indo-Aryan-speaking tribes spread across the Indo-Gangetic plain The Aryans used iron tools, cleared forests, and cultivated land – population grew, regional states and kingdoms developed In 326 BC, Alexander the Great and his armies reached the western part of the subcontinent – establishing contact between the Greeks and Indian civilizations

State of Magadha On the eastern part of the Indo-Gangetic plain the state of Magadha extended its power into neighboring areas

Out of the state of Magadha grew the Mauryan and Gupta Empires The Mauryan Empire lasted from 326 to 184 BC and covered a large portion of the subcontinent

The Mauryan’s used military force to extend its rule – successors to the first emperor failed to deal effectively with administering the empire, and over time it eventually declined and fell For 500 years after the Mauryan Empire collapsed, the subcontinent was broken up politically – trade links grew and Buddhism flourished

From 320 AD to the sixth century the Gupta Empire controlled much of the subcontinent – many achievements in education, medicine, literature and the arts Gupta kings fused Hindu and Buddhist values that remain the core of South Asian society

Invaders from Central Asia undermined the empire in 600 AD and for the next 600 years the subcontinent was again dominated by regional kingdoms and local communities Regional conflicts and power struggles occurred frequently – the center of power shifted to the south

Also during this period, a priestly, scholarly, and often land-owning class of people, the Brahmins, sat at the heart of the social order – top of the caste system that started during this period Buddhism and Jainism declined in importance and Hinduism dominated

In the seventh century, Arab armies brought Islam to Afghanistan, coastline traders brought the religion to Pakistan soon thereafter By the end of the tenth century Islamic invaders and traders made significant moves into South Asia and by the early thirteenth century a collection of Islamic dynasties known as the Delhi Sultanate extended Islam’s control across the Indo-Gangetic plain – often brutal, the sultans showed disdain for local Hindu leaders and their subjects

Delhi Sultanate

In 1526 the Mughals invaded the subcontinent and created the most extensive kingdoms in South Asian history Generally showed respect for regional and local cultures they conquered – Hindus and Muslims rose in the Mughal system of hierarchy and rank Impressive achievements in art and architecture – the Taj Mahal, the mausoleum built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his wife By 1707 the empire was reverting to regionalism

Mughal Empire

In 1498 Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed on India’s western coast – by 1510 the Portuguese had established a trading outpost and working with the Mughals they came to dominate the spice trade with India and the rest of Asia Through the seventeenth century the Dutch and British challenged Portugal’s control and established the Dutch East India and English East India Companies The French arrived in the late 1600s As the Mughal Empire weakened, European presence grew

European Presence in India – 1600s

The British and French presence became the most important – regional leaders sought alliances with the European powers By the mid-eighteenth century England and France were at war and that war included South Asia – the British eventually established the upper hand in South Asia

From 1757 to 1857 British rule on the subcontinent was conducted primarily through the English East India Company – granted this control by the British monarchs One event that helped the East India Company to consolidate its control in India was the 1756 attack on the British in Calcutta – led to the Black Hole of Calcutta (The Black Hole of Calcutta was a small dungeon where Indian troops, held British prisoners of war after the capture of Fort William on June 20, John Holwell claimed that following the fall of the Fort, British and Anglo-Indian soldiers and civilians were held overnight in conditions so cramped, 14x18ft, that a large proportion of those held died from suffocation, heat exhaustion and crushing. He claimed that 123 prisoners died out of 146 prisoners held. Doubt has been cast on both the numbers alleged and on whether the incident happened at all and some modern historians have suggested the incident was fabricated by Holwell as a piece of propaganda to blacken the image of the Indians.) Following this the British gained territory in several ways: treaties, military conquest, and annexation backed by military force Calcutta .

Britain’s trade in South Asia quickly diversified past spices to include textiles, opium, and other products – greatly fueled the economy of the British Empire As British control expanded in South Asia, the government struggled to control the East India Company – the company was seen as corrupt and racist in their practices with the locals Protracted military battles also occurred

In the early nineteenth century Christian missionaries flocked to India to “civilize” and convert the masses – communicate and educate Many British officials considered them as subversive The missionaries’ efforts in education helped sow the seeds for rebellion and independence – they introduced the radical ideas of liberalism and nationalism

Liberalism - Liberalism is distinguished by its focus on the primacy of the individual in all spheres of human life - political, economic, and social. Liberalism helps identify the rules necessary to achieve the harmony between self-interest and social good: limited government, rule of law, private property, free competition, and voluntary interactions. Nationalism - Refers to the consciousness and expression of political, social, religious and ethnic influences that help mould national consciousness

Also during the first half of the nineteenth century, Britain extended its rule up toward Russia through Afghanistan – resulting in the first Anglo-Afghan war and the beginning of a decades-long struggle between Britain and Russia called the “Great Game” At the beginning of the war Afghan forces attacked and eventually destroyed an Indian and British force at Kabul – showed the people of the subcontinent that the English could be defeated Following a second Afghan war in 1880 the British withdraw from Afghanistan and consolidate their position in India

In the mid-1800s, in India, the East India Company’s governor-general, Lord Dalhousie began an aggressive modernization effort to improve the civil service system; build railroads, bridges, irrigation systems, and telegraph lines; and initiated a postal system Unfortunately the 1857 Sepoy Rebellion will interrupt these initiatives and result in a drastic change in British policy in India

The 1857 Sepoy Rebellion was an uprising of Indian troops or sepoys, employed by the East India Company – outnumbered British soldiers 6 to 1 Three primary causes: The company began to annex princely lands when there was no direct male heir Perceived Christian conspiracy to undermine Hinduism and other local beliefs Sepoys were forced to use rifle cartridges thought to be smeared in pig and cow fat – Muslims regarded the pig as unclean and the Hindus believed the cow to be sacred – those who refused were jailed

The rebellion began near Delhi and escalated into a brutal full-scale war – as the rebellion spread the British lost control of several areas The rebellion failed because it never became fully unified – it was repressed within a year As a result the Mughal dynasty was formally disbanded Delhi .

Also as a result of the rebellion, Parliament passed the Act for Better Government which stripped the East India Company of its governing responsibilities and troops – reinstated “Crown Rule”

“Crown Rule brought several changes in Britain’s administration of India Politically, a governor-general ran the government and was assisted by district officials who formed the Indian Civil Service, which only begrudgingly accepted local participation Economically, South Asia became more tightly bound to the British Empire with opening of the Suez Canal – it great reduced the travel time between Great Britain and South Asia and thereby helped Great Britain to control the subcontinent Britain also built additional infrastructure throughout India to ease movement of troops, help take raw materials from the region, and expand markets for British manufactured imports

Suez Canal

By the late 1800s, Indians began to show a growing political awareness, calling for more local participation in political decision-making – justification based on ideas learned through the British education system In 1885, members of the Indian elite and sympathetic Britons formed the Indian National Congress, which called for moderate political, economic, and social reform. By 1905, nationalists made more demands for change when Viceroy George Nathaniel Cruzon partitioned the large province of Bengal into a largely muslim east and Hindu west. This took place almost no input form the Hindu elite.

Widespread Hindu protests erupted and British goods were boycotted, several British officials were assassinated and the intensified pressure led the British to reunify Bengal in 1911. The heated Hindu reaction helped expand the smaller Muslim elite who opposed the idea of an independent Indian state dominated by the Indian National Congress – they saw they had fallen behind the Hindus in education, political influence and social standing and in response, in 1906, they formed the All-India Muslim League and appealed to Great Britain for a stronger Muslim political voice

When World War I began in Europe, the British feared they might face a revolt in India; however, they received loyalty and support in the hope the British would grant independence after the war – as the conflict wore on, tensions increased and faced with renewed Indian nationalism, the British Secretary of State for India announced the British desire of a gradual self-governing India Over 1 million Indian troops fought for the British in World War I

In 1919, the British Parliament passed the Rowlatt Acts, which the Indians called the Black Acts that gave the viceroy power to disregard civil liberties to suppress agitation – in response, Mohandas Gandhi called for strikes and protests and soon the situation turned tragic as a British commander to fire on unarmed crowds of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs peacefully protesting

In 1915, Gandhi returned to India from South Africa After touring India he concluded that the country’s leaders had lost touch with the masses He joined with the Indian National Congress in protesting the Black Acts – Gandhi became the leader of the Congress in 1920 Gandhi focused on independence and a nationwide campaign of nonviolent civil disobedience – Gandhi’s Congress Party urged Indians to boycott British schools, courts, and products as well as to quit their government jobs and refuse to pay taxes In 1922, the protests turned violent in the face of massive British repression – Gandhi called off the campaign since the effectiveness of mass protests had been demonstrated

In the 1920s and 1930, Gandhi continued to rally the Indian masses for change – jailed several times, his popularity soared Despite his popularity, political differences led to gridlock in the Congress Party and there were poor relations between the Congress Party and the Muslim League – by the 1937 elections the Congress Party dominated and the the Muslim League fared poorly

As World War II erupted in Europe, the British declared war on British India’s behalf without consulting the Indian leadership The leaders of the Congress Party were enraged and proclaimed they would not support the war until London promised full independence after the war – the British did not comply and provincial Congress governments resigned in protest The Muslim League supported the war effort in an attempt to gain influence with the British – under its longtime leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah, they passed the Lahore Resolution which demanded a separate and independent Muslim state at independence

All during World War II repeated Congress-led protests led to the jailing of thousands – negotiations continued to fail and Gandhi threatened the British with widespread civil disobedience if they did not end their rule By mid-1942, Gandhi and thousands of others were back in jail and thousands more died in anti-British riots After World War II ends, Great Britain wanted to withdraw from India, but differences between the Congress Party and the Muslim League led to a deadlock on what would happen after the British left Savage Hindu-Muslim violence broke out When Jawaharlal Nehru became interim prime minister in 1946 a united India no longer seemed possible

In early 1947, Britain announced that it would leave the subcontinent in June 1948 Increasing violence forced the viceroy to shorten the timetable by a couple of months Prime Minister Nehru publicly declared that he could agree to the creation of a Muslim state called Pakistan – Gandhi refused to accept this proposal and went on a pilgrimage to prevent Hindu-Muslim violence On July 15, 1947, the British House of Commons announced that in one month the separate countries India and Pakistan would be established

Partition of India

The consequences of this decision were immense The boundaries had to be decided in a month and fourteen million South Asians had to move Hindus and Sikhs fled Pakistan into India Muslims moved from India to Pakistan Approximately 500,000 died as India and Pakistan gained their independence in August 1947 30 January 1948, Mohandas Gandhi was assassinated on the way to a prayer meeting

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