Chapter 1 Objectives and Tools of World Regional Geography

EZ.Urban and Economic Geography

FA.Social and Political Challenges

55. Vulnerable Bangladesh

56. Nepal and Bhutan: Mountain Kingdoms

57. Sri Lanka: Resplendent and Troubled

58. The Laid-Back, Low-Lying Maldives

South Asia contains the countries of the Indian Subcontinent (India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) plus the island countries of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The subcontinent is clearly offset from the rest of Asia by the mountain wall of the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and Himalaya mountain ranges to the north, and the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal to the west and east respectively. Most of the area is hot and humid, though desert conditions prevail over Pakistan. Precipitation falls mainly during the short wet southwest monsoon. Major rivers such as the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra flow through the northern plains. Much of peninsular India is covered by the Deccan Plateau, with mountains along the western coast.

South Asia is a culture hearth (the ancient Harappan civilization) and several subsequent waves of immigration and conquest spread over the region. The Islamic Mogul empire, which created such works as the Red Fort and Taj Mahal, ruled over much of India before falling to rebellious Hindus and then the conquering British, who ruled most of the region until 1947. India and Pakistan were later split apart along religious lines, though significant numbers of Muslims still live in India. Sikhs, Jains, and other religious minorities are also found in India. Sectarian (or communal) violence is not uncommon in India, especially between Hindu nationalists and Muslims; violence also occurs between speakers of India’s many different languages.

While British colonization had some benefits to India, such as the development of its cities and a rail network, the partition between India and Pakistan led to many problems. Millions of people migrated towards one country or the other, and violence was widespread. India also got the bulk of the infrastructure, industry, mineral wealth and energy of the subcontinent, leaving Pakistan far behind, a pattern that persists today. The disputed area of Kashmir also became a flash point, leading to several wars. Kashmir has a majority Muslim population, but its Hindu ruler elected to join India in 1947. Both countries claim the region, India on legal grounds and Pakistan on religious.

Most of India’s population is rural, but India has several megacities, including Mumbai and Kolkata. India is presently experiencing an economic boom, which is based more upon modern information technology rather than heavy industry. Though India has a rapidly growing middle class and has a skilled and educated workforce, a large segment of India’s population remains abjectly poor, and ancient practices such as female infanticide and the caste system remain ingrained in the culture. Many Indians have left India for the United States or other Western nations where their skills are needed and pay is higher. India is agriculturally productive and has managed to feed its growing population so far.

Arid, rugged Pakistan has 169 million people. In addition to foreign aid, Pakistan relies on agricultural exports, especially cotton and rice, for revenue. Textiles are also important, though other industries are few. Pakistan experiences clashes between its Sunni and Shi’ite populations, and a region called the Northwest Frontier is effectively beyond the control of the government. Pakistan is a source of Western concern for Islamist activity in the country, as well as the thousands of madrasa schools.

Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, was part of Pakistan until 1971. Its 149 million people are crowded into its small area, which is mainly flat floodplain land and is prone to catastrophic flooding from cyclones. To the north lie the mountain nations of Nepal and Bhutan. Nepal has been combating a Maoist insurgency, and Bhutan has witnessed clashes between the Drupka tribe and ethnic Nepalis.

Sri Lanka has also experienced ethnic clashes, between the Sinhalese and the Tamils. The Tamils, fighting for an independent state, are Hindus brought to the island by the British. The majority Sinhalese population is mostly Buddhist. The fighting has been ongoing since 1983, though peace talks are underway. Sri Lanka is the world’s largest tea exporter. Textiles and clothing are also important to the economy. The 1,100 islands that comprise the Maldives are all small and very low-lying, and prone to disappear under the ocean surface if global warming continues. Tourism is the mainstay of the economy of the Maldives.

114. 
     The Indian Subcontinent is one of the world’s culture hearths. Some of the world’s first cities developed along the Indus River by the Harappans, the likely ancestors of today’s Dravidians. The Aryans arrived in the subcontinent centuries later, and modern-day languages such as Hindi and religions such as Hinduism likely originated from their practices. Arabs arrived in the eighth century, introducing Islam to the region. Europeans began exploring the Indian coast in the 1500s, and would eventually colonize the entire subcontinent. The Moguls, a Mongol-Turkish dynasty, took control of India before that happened; their reign did not last very long, but many of India’s artistic, scientific, and architectural achievements date from this era. [pp. 308-309]
     

115. 
     The three major rivers of the northern plain of the subcontinent are the Indus, Ganges, and the Brahmaputra. The Indus flows through Pakistan, the Ganges through north central India, and the Brahmaputra through Bangladesh and northeastern India. The outer mountain wall defines the northern reaches of South Asia. The tallest mountains in the world are here, and the largest concentration of ice outside polar regions, but it is rapidly melting. The northern plain has a humid subtropical climate and is India’s core area, holding most of its population and producing most of its agricultural output. Peninsular India is largely covered by the Deccan Plateau. The interior of the peninsula has a tropical savanna climate, but rainforest conditions prevail along the coasts. Sri Lanka is a large island off the southeastern coast of India with topical climates, and is the world’s largest supplier of tea. [pp. 308, 312-318]
     

116. 
     After independence, India and Pakistan argued over water allocation from the rivers running through the Punjab region from India into downstream country Pakistan. The resolution came in 1960 with the Indus Waters Treaty. The water of the three eastern rivers of the Punjab is reserved for India, and the waters of the two western rivers flow into Pakistan unrestricted and undiminished. This treaty has held since its signing even through the periodic wars and tensions between India and Pakistan. [p. 314]
     

117. 
     Rice is grown throughout much of the subcontinent, and is an important export of India and Pakistan. Cotton is grown in the Deccan region of India, Bangladesh, and in Pakistan. Jute is mainly grown in Bangladesh. Tea is one of the main exports of Sri Lanka, and is also grown in northeastern and southern India. [pp. 318, 324, 326, 328]
     

118. 
     There are two main branches of the wet southwest monsoon season. One approaches from the west off the Arabian Sea and hits the Western Ghats, producing heavy rainfall in the mountains and coastal plain. The other approaches from the Bay of Bengal and brings moderate rainfall to the eastern peninsular coast and heavy rain to Bangladesh and northeastern India. The dry northeast monsoon brings cooler and drier conditions to most of the subcontinent. Not enough monsoonal rain reaches Pakistan, and that country remains largely arid. Bangladesh and the Maldives are very low lying and are very vulnerable to flooding. Bangladesh is repeatedly hit by cyclones during the summer monsoon, which can bring catastrophic flooding to the country. [pp. 316-317]
     

119. 
     Female infanticide has taken an estimated 25 million lives in India, causing severe shortages of potential brides in some Indian states. Girls are being killed because of the heavy burden on the girl’s family to provide a dowry, which many families cannot afford. Brides who cannot give a large enough dowry to the groom’s family have also been killed in large numbers. [p. 319]
     

120. 
     In Pakistan, textiles are the most important non-agricultural products. Pakistan is the world’s fourth largest cotton producer, and exports clothing, yarn, and raw cotton. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are also major producers of cotton clothing and other textile exports. India is by far the most industrialized country in South Asia; after India and Pakistan were partitioned in 1947, India retained control over most natural resources and the majority of the industrial infrastructure. India has a diversified economy, producing textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, vehicles, and high-tech data processing equipment, silicon chips, and software. India is also a beneficiary of U.S. outsourcing. Indian industry is concentrated in its cities. Mumbai is India’s “Hollywood” and produces many feature films each year. Mumbai is also the center of India’s textile industry. India’s “Silicon Valley” is around the city of Bangalore. Delhi has a diversified economy, and Kolkata is a major arts and cultural center, along with being the center of India’s iron and steel industry. [pp. 318-321, 324, 326, 328]
     

121. 
     The caste system has been in place in India since ancient times. A Hindu belief is that everyone is born into a certain caste (socio-economic group that determines that person’s rank and role in society) that cannot be changed. Certain castes have different religious, social, and employment obligations that are expected to be followed. The Dalits are “outcaste” or “untouchable,” being at the lowest level in society and outside the caste system entirely. Since the 1950s, India has established affirmative action programs designed to provide better jobs to members of lower castes. The caste system was officially abolished in 1950, and while progress has been made, undoing thousands of years of tradition has been slow. [p. 323]
     

122. 
     Ayodhya is in eastern Uttar Pradesh. A mosque was established there in the sixteenth century on a spot revered by Hindus as the birthplace of the god-king Ram. In 1992, a mob of fundamentalist Hindus demolished the mosque, intending to build a Hindu temple on the site. Subsequent sectarian (“communal”) violence between Hindus and Muslims across India left thousands dead. [pp. 323-324]
     

123. 
     Pakistan’s madrasas are Islamic schools where as many as 700,000 children across the country are educated. The curriculum is based largely on the study of the Koran and other Islamic texts, though they do provide some legitimate instruction and provide an alternative for Pakistan’s poor public schools. The West is concerned about the madrasas because some instructors at these schools advocate jihad against India, the United States, and other infidel entities. Many al-Qa’ida and other Islamist group members were educated in madrasas. [pp. 325-326]
     

124. 
     Sri Lanka is a country torn by ethnic conflict. Specifically, the minority Tamil population, which accounts for approximately 9 percent Sri Lanka’s 20 million inhabitants, has been trying to assert claims for a Tamil homeland. The government, largely representing the Sinhalese majority, has been reluctant to grant political autonomy to the Tamils, and more than 70,000 people have been killed in violence over that past quarter century as a result. [pp. 328-329]
     

125. 
     The mountain kingdoms of both Nepal and Bhutan have been faced with real threats to their traditional political order. Nepal is moving toward a constitutional monarchy that has made concessions to Maoist rebels. These are seen as threats to social and political hegemony of the Hindu majority. The Bhutanese monarchy has also had to contend with internal ethnic competition, as well as immigration from neighboring Nepal. Both countries face limited natural resources, such as arable soils and forests for building material and fuel. Bangladesh is facing resource pressures of its own, which are compounded by its growing population and the vulnerability of its low-lying coast and deltas. [pp. 326-328]
     

126. 
     Global warming is a serious threat to the Maldives because more than 80 percent of this nation of 1,100 islands is less than 3 feet above sea level. Some climate experts see the Maldives going the way of the fabled city of Atlantis. This has prompted its country’s president to declare, “We are an endangered nation!” [p. 329]
     

This module should enable your students to…

• 
  Recognize the correlation between environmental opportunity, environmental constraint, and population densities
  
• 
  Appreciate the catastrophic reach of the December 2004 tsunami and some of the region’s other natural hazards
  
• 
  See how the interconnectedness of the global economic system led to “economic meltdown” in Southeast Asia in 1997
  
• 
  Appreciate the economic strength of minority Chinese populations in many of the countries and how that prosperity provokes resentment in times of difficulty
  
• 
  Understand some of the major political obstacles and environmental consequences associated with large dams, in this case on the Mekong River
  
• 
  Consider how China’s economic ascendancy has forced some of the countries to retool their industries
  
• 
  Understand how demands for self-rule threaten the cohesion of Indonesia and raise alarm there and abroad
  

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