SOUTH ASIA

1. SOUTH ASIA Topics: • South Asia as a birthplace of religions • Cutting-edge IT, backward agriculture • Two nuclear powers quarrel over Kashmir • The Indian Ocean Basin: A new geopolitical arena • South Asia’s missing girls DEFINING THE REALM

2. SOUTH ASIATHE GEOGRAPHIC PANORAMA • Subcontinent. • Divides Indian Ocean between Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. • Demarcated by mountains, rivers, and deserts. • British Empire—unifying force. • Partitions in 1947 based on religion—Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist. • Large, growing population. • Disputed territory—Kashmir. • English—Lingua franca.

3. SOUTH ASIA’S PHYSIOGRAPHY Unique Tectonic Boundary • Collision of Indian and Eurasian Plate. • Continental plate-to-continental plate collision created Himalaya Mountains (north). • Earthquakes and tectonic activity. • Permanent snow/ice provide meltwater to sustain rivers. • Headwaters of the great rivers: • Indus River • Ganges River • Brahmaputra River Double delta in Bangladesh! The Monsoon Climate • Monsoon-annual rains • Warm land mass, low air pressure, onshore winds, warm waters = precipitation. • Wet monsoon brings rains for 60 days or more! • Short dry season. • Important for agriculture, ecosystems and wildlife. [Tropical Monsoon (Am)]

4. SOUTH ASIA Physiographic Regions • Northern Mountains • Hindu Kush • Karakoram • Himalayas • River Lowlands • Indus Valley • Gangetic Plain • Double delta—Ganges and Brahmaputra in Bangladesh • North Indian Plain • Punjab • Plateaus • Deccan—tableland • Central Indian Plateau • Eastern and Western Ghats

5. SOUTH ASIABIRTHPLACE OF CIVILIZATIONS Indus Valley Civilization • Centered on Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro (2500BC). • Name of state—Sindhu. • Complex and technologically advanced. • Influence extended eastward to Delhi. • Did not last because of environmental change.

6. BIRTHPLACE OF CIVILIZATIONS Aryans and Origins of Hinduism • Northern India invaded by Aryans—peoples speaking Indo-European languages (1500 BC). • Sanskrit—Language related to Old Persian (base of Indo-European fam). • Hinduism—emerged out of Vedism religious texts. • Social stratification system: • Solidified powerful position of Aryans. • Organized villages into controlled networks. • Small city-states emerged. • Hierarchy of power—Brahmins (highest-order priests). • Caste system – religion/past lives • Less with urban areas/modern times.

7. Languages and Culture • Dravidian family—dominant in the South • Indigenous languages: • Telugu, Tamil, Kanarese (Kannada), Malayalam • Northern and northeastern areas • Sino-Tibetan languages • Eastern India and Bangladesh • Austro-Asiatic languages

8. Buddhism and Other Indigenous Religions • Buddhism—around 500 BC • Arose in eastern Ganges Basin. • Less than 1% of population in India. • Important in Bhutan (state religion) and Sri Lanka (70% of population). • Influence greater in Southeast/East Asia. • Jainism—developed alongside Hinduism • More purist, principled, and deeply spiritual form of Hinduism. • Less than 1% of population. • Sikhism—emerged around AD 1500 • Blend of Islamic and Hindu beliefs. • Keep good, rid the bad. • About 2% of population. The Reach of Islam • Invaders spread eastward to Indus Valley (10th century AD). • Mughal (Mogul) Empire—Islamicized Mongols. • Afghanistan into the Punjab. • Ousted the Delhi Sultanate (13th C). • Expanded Islam with tolerant policies toward Hindus. • Built Taj Mahal! • Today Islam is dominant in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

9. The European Intrusion • Mid-18th century—British had taken over trade of South Asia, • East India Company (EIC) Represented the British empire. • British took advantage of weakened power of Mughals. • “Indirect rule”—left local rulers (maharajas) to rule. • 1857—”East India” became part of the British Colonial Empire. Colonial Transformation • Raw materials via railroads, city ports, to Europe. • Decline of local industries, loss of markets, bad for local people. • A new elite among South Asian natives emerged.

10. THE GEOPOLITICS OF MODERN SOUTH ASIA Partition and Independence • Partition—separation of India and Pakistan. • Tensions between Hindus and Muslims. • New boundaries drawn through areas where both sides historically coexisted. • Refugee migrations, Millions displaced. • Created a new cultural and geopolitical landscape in South Asia based on religion. India-Pakistan-Bangladesh • Tenuous relationship to this day. • Pakistan and Bangladesh separated (1971) • Cold War divisions: • India tilted toward Moscow. • Pakistan found favor in Washington. • Arms race led to both becoming nuclear powers. • Muslims in India are the largest cultural minority in the world.

11. Contested Kashmir • Territory of high mountains surrounded by Pakistan, India, and China. • Pakistan’s forward capital—Islamabad. • Kashmir and the Partition • Maharaja was Hindu (pro-autocratic) • Population Muslim (pro-Pakistan) • Indian intervention • Tensions remain. The Specter of Terrorism • Mumbai, India: 2008 terrorist attacks. • Lashkar-e-Taiba—Pakistan-based organization with aims to return Kashmir to Islamic rule. • Pakistan’s northwestern frontier is managed by the Taliban. • Majority of India’s Muslims are uninvolved in extremism. • Geopolitical chess game between India, Pakistan, and the United States. Chinese Border Claims • Jammu and Kashmir • Arunachal Pradesh • China + Pakistan ally vs. India + SE Asia ally. • Indian Ocean trade to China’s advantage. • Issue remains unresolved today.

12. SOUTH ASIAEMERGING MARKETS AND FRAGMENTED MODERNIZATION • “India Shining”—rising economic growth rates • Due to globalization, modernization, and integration into global economy. • Poverty • Over half the population of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh live in poverty. • Benefits of economic growth unevenly distributed. Economic Liberalization • Neoliberalism—deregulation to spur business activity = economic growth. • Results noticeable in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. • Manufacturing, services, finances, and information technology. • Yet 1 billion South Asians have not attained middle-class status!

13. SOUTH ASIA’S POPULATION GEOGRAPHY • Population geography focuses on the characteristics, distribution, growth, and other aspects of spatial demography. • 4 demographic dimensions in South Asia: • The role of density • The demographic transition • Age distributionsand economics • The gender bias in birth rates

14. SOUTH ASIA’S POPULATION GEOGRAPHY Population Density and Overpopulation • Population density measures the number of people per unit area. • Overpopulation and “carrying capacity” • High population growth and densities unsupportable. • Not all high-density countries are struggling. • Human Use vs. Natural Resources • Countries with high education levels, institutional efficiency, and technological know-how are able to use natural resources more efficiently. • South Asia’s large population is illiterate, undereducated; thus, unsustainable. • *India’s Ganges River Wildlife Refuge example: • Kaziranga National Park. • Tigers, Rhinos, and Elephants. • Few protected places, few park rangers, few remaining in the wild. • Habitat loss to farming, poaching and black-market trade, animal vs. human use.

15. Most South Asian countries in the 3rd stage—rates stabilize, deaths decline due to medical advances. • Fertility rates—the number of births per woman. • Fertility rates have dropped across realm. The Demographic Transition • Structural change in birth and death rates: • Rapid population increase. • Decline in growth rates. • Stable population.

16. Demographic Burdens • Proportion of population that is either too old or too young to be productive and that must be cared for by productive population. • Low death rates and high birth rates will have large share of young and old resulting in a high demographic burden. • Population Pyramid—diagrams showing age-sex structure…

17. SOUTH ASIA’S POPULATION GEOGRAPHY The Missing Girls • Sex ratio • Among young children males outnumber females. • Gender bias • Higher value on boys. • Thought to be more productive income-earners, entitled to land and inheritance, and do not require a dowry. • Female infanticide • Ultrasound scanning and rising incomes have resulted in abortion of females. • “Bachelor angst”—difficulty in finding brides (many men, few women). • Has resulted in changing attitudes.

18. Significant Agriculture • More than half the workforce employed in agriculture. • Low productivity and only 20% contribution to overall economy. • 70% of South Asia’s population is rural. • Dependence on a good harvest: • Eastern India and Bangladesh—rice. • Northwestern India and Pakistan—wheat. SOUTH ASIAFUTURE PROSPECTS Realm in Transition • Politically • India-Pakistan relations. • Economically • India’s rise in global economy. • Growing middle class. • IT is a leading economic sector, giving it future advantage (+ Indian Ocean trade). • Demographically • Pass through demographic transition. • India is world’s largest democracy. • India soon to have largest national population! • 1.2 billion people in India

19. Homework Read Textbook Chapter 8 Homework: Choose one “@from the Field Notes” subsection topic in Ch.8 textbook; research and summarize (1 page). OR Choose a realm/region within or adjacent to South Asia to review in detail (1 page). Regions include Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, the Maldives. Choose a culture, country, or feature to research and write about.