SOUTH ASIA GUIDED NOTES
South Asia:
· ____________________________is a large landmass that is smaller than a continent
· Mt. Everest is the world’s __________________mountains peak at 29,035 feet above sea level
· Hindu Kush Mountains lies west of the Himalayas and separates Pakistan from Afghanistan
· _____________of World’s Population
*The Deccan Plateau:
§ 31,800 square miles in size.
§ Elevation range: 2,000 – 8,000 feet high.
§ From the Sanskrit word, “dakshina” [“the south”].
§ Very rugged landform making access difficult
The Tibetan Plateau:
§ The “Roof of the World.”
§ average elevation is 16,400 feet.
The Thar Desert:
§ The Great Indian Desert
§ 200 - 1500 feet in elevation.
§ up to 127ºF in July.
Climate of South Asia: *Define each climate from your textbook found on p. 60-63*
· Tropical Wet-
· Tropical Wet and Dry-
· Semiarid-
· Arid-
· Humid Subtropical-
· Highlands-
*India’s Monsoons:
• Monsoons (seasonal winds) sweep India every year have a positive and negative effects on their culture. These rains help with the crops but also can lead to flooding of India’s major rivers
• Monsoons also cause the water to become _____________________which could lead to disease killing many more people
Farming in South Asia:
· About _______________________of India’s people rely on farming for their livelihood
Himalayan Mountains:
• Region that includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Maldives.
• System of a parallel mountain ranges stretch for 1500 miles
• Nearly two dozen peaks above 24 000 feet
• Growing because of tectonic plates _______________________
• “him” [snow]
• “aalaya” [home]
• Mt. Everest is 29,035 feet. It is the highest Mt. peak in the world.
Hindu Kush:
• Found in Afghanistan
• Name means
• “Mountain of the Indus”
Great Rivers:
• Indus: through Pakistan and then to Arabian Sea
• Ganges: northern India
• Brahmaputra: through Bangladesh
*Vital role in agriculture and irrigation
Alluvial plains: rivers overflow their banks, they deposit soil that is most fertile for farming
*The Ganges, above all is the river of India, which has held India's heart captive and drawn uncounted millions to her banks since the dawn of history. The story of the Ganges, from her source to the sea, from old times to new, is the story of India's civilization and culture, of the rise and fall of empires, of great and proud cities, of adventures of man…
Human Environment Interaction
• _______________________is the religion of most Indians
• *Ganges River is an important river and is also considered to be sacred by followers of Hinduism
• Millions of Hindus _________________in the river annually at special holy places (tirthas).
• Many cast the ashes of their dead into its waters, and cremation temples are found along its banks in numerous places.
• It flows 1560 miles
• *It is polluted with dangerous chemical wastes, dead bodies, human wastes, making it one of the _______________________________rivers in the world.
Early History
• Began in Indus Valley (in Pakistan) around 2500 B.C.
• 1000 years later Aryan invaders from Iran pushed native Indians(Dravidians) south.
Aryans:
• Many aspects of culture were adapted from the Aryans, such as:
• Language
• Religion
• Caste System
Mughal Empire:
• In the fifth century Muslims conquered the Indus valley and then the Ganges plains.
• By the 1500’s they established the Mughal Empire.
• Muslim rule brought new customs that sometimes conflicted with those of native Hindus.
Europeans Arrive:
• In the 1500’s European traders came to India to trade.
• British East India Company gained control of trade in 1757.
South Asia
• Energy is generated from mineral resources
• Six main climate zones range from frigid cold in mountains to intense heat in deserts
• *Seasonal winds effect both the ________________and vegetation of climate, monsoons.
• Rainfall is crucial to life in this area
• _____________________ is a violent storm with fierce winds and heavy rain,
• Bangladesh cyclone killed 300,000 in 1970
Religions of South Asia:
Hinduism:
• Hinduism is the religion of the _____________________of people in India and Nepal.
• About ______________ of the Indian population regard themselves as Hindu.
• Hindus believe that existence is a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, governed by Karma.
Sikhism:
• There are _____ million Sikhs in the world, most of whom live in the Punjab province of India.
• Sikhism was founded in the 16th century in the Punjab district of what is now India and Pakistan.
• Sikhism stresses the importance of doing good actions rather than merely carrying out rituals
• Sikhs believe that the way to lead a good life is to:
1. keep God in heart and mind at all times
2. live honestly and work hard
3. treat everyone equally
4. be generous to the less fortunate
5. serve others
*Kashmir:
• Kashmir is an area on the __________________________of India and Pakistan and the southwestern border of China
• This area has been in dispute between India and Pakistan since they gained independence from the British in 1947.
• It’s people are predominately _________________though controlled by India.
• Both countries claim Kashmir as a part of their country, and as a result, numerous military actions have occurred.
Sri Lanka:
• Located in Indian Ocean off of India’s coast
• “______________________”
• Lush tropical land of great natural beauty
• Sinhalese occupied islands in 6th century BC.
• Tamils are the minority
• Europeans colonized Sri Lanka- first the British and then the Dutch
• British called it Ceylon 1796-1948
• ___________________________makes up 75 % of the population
• One of the Worlds’ leading tea exporters
Maldives:
• Off the Indian coast to the southwest
• _______________________________- island group of more than 1200 small islands
• Stretch over 500 miles
• Low-lying tops of submerged volcanoes surrounded by coral reefs, which is called atoll
• Population has converted to Islam
• Sultans governed the region
• 1968 it was declared Independent
India:
• The ______________________country in South Asia
• Large population has led to water pollution, deforestation, soil erosion
• The _________________________________economy
• Its culture is deeply influenced by its religion
• Ancient culture that dates back more than 4000 years
• Began in Indus Valley around 2500 BC
• Mughal Empire was established in 1500s
• *Large growth of cities due to water resources, trade routes, and transportation Centers
Taj Mahal:
• Built under ___________________Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
– Considered the perfect wife
• It is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture,
– a style that combines elements from Persian, Turkish, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles.
– In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site and was cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in India”
MOHANDAS GHANDI:
• Major Political and Spiritual leader
• Pioneer of Satyagraha- (resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience)
• Firmly believed in _____________________________________protest
• Credited for his main role in Indian Independence
• Came to India looking for spices and cloth
• 1857 British established control
• _________________is period of British control for 90 years
• Mohandas Gandhi began a nonviolent opposition against Britain
• India gained independence on August 14, 1947
Demographics
• Democratic Republic
• World’s largest democracy
• Majority is Hindu with minority being Islamic
• Challenge is economic growth and raising standards of living
• _____________rely on farming for their livelihood
• Land reform
• Procedures to increase and improve production is called ____________________________(new farming techniques, expansion of farms, higher-yielding grain)
• Largely vegetarian diets based on rice
• India has 18 major language groups
*4 Basic Caste Systems:
• Brahmans: priests and scholars
• Kshatriyas: rulers and warriors
• Vaisyas: farmers and merchants
• Sudras: artisans and laborers
• According to the Hindu belief, each person is born into a caste and has a certain moral duty, known as dharma that is specific to that caste.
• A person can move into a different caste only through reincarnation.
• *Was outlawed in 1947
2004 Earthquake In Indonesia: Tsunami Devastates Indian Ocean Coastlines!
• The earthquake that generated the great Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 is estimated to have released the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
• By the end of the day more than 150,000 people were dead or missing and millions more were homeless in 11 countries, making it perhaps the most destructive tsunami in history.
Nepal:
• Landlocked Himalayan kingdoms
• Fastest growing industries is tourism
• Sherpas who are guides when climbing Everest.
– They have developed larger lungs.
• Mandalas are geometric designs that are symbols of the universe and aid in meditation
Pakistan:
• Created by partitioning of India in 1947
• Islamic State
• 147 million people
• Half of population lives in ______________________(which is a geographical region straddling the border between India and Pakistan)
• Largely dependent on agriculture
• Lacks in Political Stability
Today’s Issues
• Explosion in population numbers
• Citizens lack basic necessities:
• Fastest growing area