India Economy History

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SOUTH ASIA

Geography 200

Dr. Stavros Constantinou



INDIA

The name India comes from the Sanskrit word sindhu

which was used to identify the ancient civilization in the

Indus Valley.

This word became sinthos in Greek descriptions of thearea and then sindus in Latin.

Corrupted to indus (means river), it was applied to

what constitutes today's Pakistan.

Subsequently it was again modified to India to refer generally to the land of river basins and clusters of

peoples from the Indus River in the west to the

Brahmaputra River in the east.



INDIA: LOCATION AND SIZE

India is located between 8° N and 37° N. TheTropic of Cancer passes through northern India.

Such cities as Ahmadabad, Kolkata (Calcutta),

Karachi, Bhopal and Dhaka are located close tothe tropic.

India, the world's seventh largest country, has an

area of 3,286,170 sq km (1,269,340 sq mi)which represents 2.2 percent of the total landarea of the planet (57,900,000 sq mi).



INDIA: LANDFORMS

There are three main landform regions in South Asia: Alpine chains,sedimentary covers, and Gondwana Shield.

Alpine system: The Himalayas form a major barrier to the movementsof air masses north and south and exceed 6,096 m (20,000 ft) in severallocations.

± Mount Everest (Nepal: Sagarmatha; Tibetan: Chomolungma) is theworld¶s highest mountain at 8,848 m (29,035 ft).

± The climate ranges from tropical lowlands to Arctic conditions in the highaltitudes of Mount Everest and other peaks.

± The Karakoram Pass provides access from north-central India through theHimalayan and Hindu Kush mountains.

± The Khyber Pass in the west was used by invading groups. ± Population in the Himalayas is limited except in the Vale of Kashmir and

in Nepal (25,200,000 people).

± Bhutan has 900,000 and Sikkim less than one million. Sikkim has beenincorporated into India and is one of its provinces.

± Rice and wheat are the dominant grain crops.



INDIA: LANDFORMS

Sedimentary covers: The riverine plains of the Indus, theGanges (known as Ganga to Indians), and the Brahmaputra andthe coastal plains of the Indian Peninsula form this region.

± The North Indian Plain forms a belt of alluvial lowlandsstretching from Pakistan¶s Indus River on the west to theBrahmaputra on the east.

± The Ganges River with its various tributaries is the major river of northern India.

± This region of plains is from 320 to 500 km (200 to 300 mi)

wide and it extends through Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. ± The climate varies from arid in Punjab to tropical around the

Bay of Bengal.

± Soils (inceptisols) are derived from alluvium and they arerelatively fertile and generally level. In the arid areas,

irrigation has created environmental problems through



INDIA: LANDFORMS

Gondwana Shield: This landform region extends southwardfrom the southern borders of the Ganges drainage area and

includes the lava covered Deccan Plateau.

± This plateau is framed on the north by the Vindhyas and the

Tapti and Godavari Rivers; on the west, the Western Ghats(Hills) lining the Malabar Coast; on the east, the EasternGhats paralleling the Coromandel Coast; at the southernmargin are the Blue Mountains which exceed 2,600 m (8,800ft).

± The central portion of the Deccan Plateau has fertile soils(vertisols), derived from volcanic materials, primarilycultivated with cotton.

± Elevations of the Deccan Plateau are approximately 305 to450 m (1,000 to 1,500 ft).

± The coastal areas have a humid tropical climate with abundant



INDIA: CLIMATE

The monsoon (the seasonal reversal of wind systems) is the dominant

climate force. With few exceptions the climate of Monsoon Asia is tropical or sub-

tropical.

Air flows from land to sea with dry conditions in winter and a sea-to-landmovement in summer with humid conditions.

The causes of the monsoon are the shifting of the jet streamnorth andsouth of the Himalayas and the differential heating between land andwater.

During the summer the jet stream moves north of the Himalayas allowingmoist air to penetrate the continent from the oceans.

In winter, the jet stream is divided with one part south of the Himalayas. The air movement effectively prevents moisture from the oceans from

moving into the core area of India along the Ganges and dry conditions predominate.

Land heats quickly and loses the heat quickly while bodies of water heatup slowly and lose heat slowly.



INDIA: CLIMATIC REGIONS

1. Tropical rainforest (Am): Coromandel and Malabar coastal regions. Controls-latitude and orographiceffect.

2. Humid subtropical (Cwa): Ganges Valley.

3. Tropical savanna (Aw): Western reaches of VindhyaRanges to Ganges Delta.

4. Subtropical steppe (BSh): Deccan Plateau.Inadequate summer moisture. Rainshadow effect of

Western Ghats.5. Subtropical desert (BWh): Indus Valley and the

Thar (Great Indian) Desert.



INDIA: VEGETATION

The main vegetation regions of India are the following:1. Broadleaf deciduous: Extensive area in northwestern India and

Pakistan. Shrubs can grow to a maximum of one meter (three feet)singly or in groups.

2. Broadleaf deciduous: Same as above except trees grow to a

minimum of one meter singly or in groups. It surrounds the areaabove.

3. Broadleaf deciduous ( terai): An extensive area from the GangeticPlains to southern India. Terai Lowlands in Nepal.

4. Broadleaf evergreen: Malabar Coast, Coromandel Coast and SriLanka.

5. Semi-deciduous: broadleaf evergreen and broadleaf deciduous:They are found in an area inward from the Malabar Coast and thelower valley of the Ganges.

6. Broadleaf deciduous trees. Bihar and Orissa. Broadleaf evergreen, shrub form, minimum height one meter (3 feet).



INDIA: SOILS

The main soil regions of India are the following:1. Aridisols: Northwestern India and Pakistan. Salts may

accumulate on or near the surface of these soils which are poor in organic matter.

2. Alfisols: Northern sections of the Gangetic plain and extending

to Kathiawar Peninsula. They are also found in area south of 20 degrees N latitude and along the Coromandel Coast.

3. Inceptisols: They are found in the Gangetic plains and theMalabar Coast. They are immature and weakly developedsoils.

4. Vertisols: An extensive area from north of Mumbai (Bombay)to the Ganges River. These soils are rich in clays and crack deeply during dry periods.

5. Ultisols: They are found in northeastern India (Bihar andOrissa).



INDIA: RESOURCES

India has a rather poor resource base. The country does not lead theworld in any of the important minerals or other sources of energyuseful for industrialization and development.

India is the second largest producer of grains. The possibility for expanding production of grains remains very low, despite gains.Low productivity per person in the agricultural sector accentuatethe problems of population, making it difficult to increase

production.

India has the largest deposit of high-grade iron ore in the world.In Bihar state alone, a single range is estimated to hold nearlythree billion tons of iron ore. Iron ore deposits are also importantin the state of Karnataka. India produces 5.6 percent of theworld's iron ore and has 6.6 percent of the world's reserves iniron ore.



INDIA: RESOURCES

India produces 3.8 percent of the world's coal. Coal andsteel are produced in the Damodar Valley fields of northeastern India which account for more than 50 percentof coal production. Limited coking-coal deposits are found

in Chota Nagpur . India has discovered oil deposits in the Bay of Bengalwhich hold promise for further expansion.

India has a great hydroelectric potential, provided dams areconstructed to exploit the rivers of the country.

India has important deposits of uranium; phosphates in theThar Desert, and manganese (5.2 percent) in the centralDeccan plateau and eastern Coromandel Coast.

India produces 2.5 percent of the world's bauxite, and it

produces 5.2 percent of the world's chromite.



INDIA: POPULATION GEOGRAPHY

India had 1,068,600,000 people in 2003 (17% of the

world total), the world's second largest country in population after China.

India has a rate of natural increase of 1.7% (compared

to a 1.3% world rate) and a projected population of

1,363,000,000 by 2025.

At this rate, it is only a matter of time before India

becomes the world's most populous country.

The largest clusters of the Indian population are foundin the Gangetic plains in the north and the coastal areas

of the country. These are the most fertile parts of India.




There was an increase of 19,100,000 people from 2002to 2003.

From 2001 to 2002, the absolute population increase of

16,500,000.

In 2000, India had 1,002,100,000 people, while in 1920the population of the country was 250,000,000.

The population of the country quadrupled in 80 years.

The Ganges-Brahmaputra and Indus River systems are

crucial lifelines for hundreds of millions of people.




In India, population arithmetic density (in 2003) was

325 persons per sq km (842 persons per sq mi);

physiological density (in 2000) was at 557 persons per

square kilometer (1442 persons per square mile).

In neighboring Bangladesh the arithmetic density is

approximately 2.5 times as high, 1,040 persons per sq

km (2,639 persons per sq mi).




In 1952, the Indian government adopted family planning as a national policy.

± By 1961, there were 4,165 family planning clinics. ± As a part of the government campaign to limit the number of children, the

government has put up billboards with the following slogan: "four is afamily, five is a crowd."

In 1976, a national population policy was adopted including:

± the increase of the age of marriage for females to 18 years and for males to21,

± tying financial grants from the federal government to the stategovernments to their performance in limiting births,

± provision of sex education in schools,

± expansion of compensation for voluntary sterilization, ± and use of incentives by governments to encourage people to limit their

family size.

In 1977, this policy was made voluntary following the collapse of the IndiraGandhi government. Only 8% of federal assistance was tied to performanceon birth control by states.



INDIA: URBAN GEOGRAPHY

In 2003, India was one of the least urbanized of the large in

population countries of the world, given that only 28 percent of the country's population resided in urban areas.

Although the proportion classified as urban is small, in absolute

numbers India had 299,208,000 people residing in urban centers.

Mumbai (formerly Bombay), with 11,914,398 people, is thelargest city of India in terms of population. Delhi ranks second

with 9,817,439 followed by Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) with

4,580,544.

11 Indian cities have populations in excess of one millioninhabitants.

The largest metropolitan area populations of India are:

± Mumbai 16,368,084

± Kolkata 13,216,546 ±




The location of India's modern urban centers is a reflection of

colonialism. The British founded and developed Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai

(Bombay), and Chennai (Madras) as regional trading centers and ascoastal focal points for their colony's export and import traffic.

In Chennai (Madras), they built a fort in 1640.

In Mumbai (Bombay) in 1644, they fostered the growth of a port-citythat was closest to Britain and Europe. Mumbai is located on the westcoast of India

Kolkata (Calcutta) lies 130 kilometers (80 miles) from the east on theHooghly River, and a myriad of Ganges River delta channels connect

it to its hinterland. Kolkata (Calcutta) lost a large part of its hinterland to Pakistan at the

time of the partitioning of British India. This area is now a part of Bangladesh.

An 1812 rebellion forced the British to move the colonial capital fromKolkata (Calcutta) to the safer interior city of New Delhi, builtadjacently to the old Mogul headquarters of Delhi.




Population densities in urban centers are very high.

Kolkata (Calcutta) averages 13,900 persons per sq km (36,000

persons per sq mi) for its entire area of 1036 sq km (400 sq mi).

By comparison, New York City averages 1544 persons per sq km

(4,000 persons per sq mi). In Kolkata (Calcutta), an estimated 200,000 residents are known

as street people and sleep under bridges, railway overpasses, in

doorways or wherever they can find a spot.

Slightly better off are the residents of the bustees, hovels madeof cardboard, burlap, or other scrap material.

An estimated 2,000,000 people live in bustees.



Principal Cities of South Asia

1,104,209

2,051,320

2,207,340

2,540,069

2,540,069

2,707,215

3,449,878

3,515,361

3,637,892

4,216,268

4,292,223

4,580,544

4,901,627

9,817,439

11,914,398

- 2,000,000 4,000,000 6,000,000 8,000,000 10,000,000 12,000,000 14,000,000

Faisalabad

Nagpur

Lucknow

Kanpur Poona (Pune)

Lahore

Hyderabad

Ahmadabad

DhakaChennai (Madras)

Bangalore

Kolkata (Calcutta)

Karachi

Delhi

Mumbai (Bombay)



INDIA: CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY India is indeed a Babel of languages. In 1947, the Indian subcontinent

had 550 princely states, 900 separate dialects and 15 major languages.

The two major linguistic families are the Indo-European and theDravidian.

Languages that are members of the Indo-European family are spokenin the central and northern parts of the country, and languages that

belong to the Dravidian family are spoken in southern India.

Dravidian languages are spoken by about 25 percent of the Indian population. They include Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam.

Today India has fourteen official languages including Hindi andEnglish (associate official). Hindi is the official and predominantlanguage of India.

Hindi was one of the 14 languages given national status by the Indianconstitution, 10 in the north and 4 in the Dravidian south.

Before World War II, the British recognized 179 official languages and544 dialects (total=723).

English would remain a lingua franca when Hindi could not serve as

a medium of communication at government and administrative levels.



INDIA: CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY

Religions:

Hinduism 81.3%

Muslim 12.0%

± Sunni 9.0%

± Shiite 3.0%

Christian 2.3%

± Protestant 1.1%

± Roman Catholic 1.0%

Sikh 1.9%

Buddhist 0.8%

Jain 0.4%Zoroastrian 0.01%

Other 1.3%




Hinduism:

Four broad castes exist in Hindu Society:

1. Brahmans: are the teachers, religious leaders,

and scholars.

2. K shatriya: political leaders and warriors.

3. Vaisya: are engaged in trades or farming.

4. Sudra: are the lowest class and provide

services to support the society.




Hinduism: Each of these four broad groups is broken down into

subgroups whose relative status is dependent upon their extentof ritual purity (avoidance of contact with unclean objects).

Those dealing with death or decaying materials were in thelowest classes of the sudra.

At the very bottom of the order are the untouchables(harijans), so called, because in the past (and among manyIndians today) it is believed that they would contaminate

others¶ ritual purity if there was any personal contact betweenthem.

Untouchables lived in separate communities, had separatewells for water, and in the 19th century, were prohibited fromusing roads used by other castes




Hinduism:

Aspect of life related to the cycle of life, death, and

rebirth, or reincarnation.

For the Hindu, life is not simply a progression from birth until death, but a progression in a circular fashion

until freedom is obtained from the cycle.

Freedom from continued reincarnation can be obtained

through nirvana, which consists of obtaining spiritualunification with the cosmic forces, and being liberated

from the human processes of death and birth.



INDIA: HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY

By 1858, nearly 2/3 of the subcontinent was ruled directly by the

company; the remaining inaccessible areas were controlled by

more than 500 princely states.

Rebellion of Indian troops against the British in 1857 culminated

in a decision to strip the British East India Company of its

monopoly and proclaim the subcontinent a crown colony (1858). Britain exercised outright political control over India from 1857

to 1947.

The British introduced many innovations to India, but forced the

colonial economy of India to become a raw material producer subservient to the English master.



INDIA: HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY

The impact of colonialism on India can be summarizedas follows: ± Pros:

Creation of a civil service patterned after the British model

which became part of the new independent governmentsthat were set up upon the departure of the British.

Development of an extensive railroad and roadtransportation system. Although the development of thissystem had as its objective the movement of troops to

troubled spots, India inherited a well planned anddeveloped system.

Improvements in sanitation and simple hygienic practicesthat led to the beginnings of rapid population increases.



INDIA: ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

Primary Sector:

Indian agriculture is inefficient and labor intensive. Animals are frequently used for power.

The village is the focus of life for 74 percent of the Indian population with an estimated 580,000 villages.

Approximately 2/3 of India's huge working population (63 percent) depends directly on the land for its livelihood.

Substantial progress toward modernization has been made in thePunjab's wheat zone.

In the early 1980s more than 1/4 of India's cultivated area was

still owned by only 4 percent of the country's farming families. Half of all rural families either owned as little as a half hectare

(1.25 acres) or less, or no land at all.

Land consolidation efforts have had only limited success, exceptin the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.




Livestock: India has more livestock than any other country in the

world. ± Cows - 200,000,000

± water buffalo - 60,000,000 ± Goats and sheep - 60,000,000

± Horses, donkeys, and elephants - 5,000,000

Sheep are of major importance in the drier west where

the Islamic population is clustered. Water buffalo is dominant in the Ganges Delta and

coastal regions.

Cattle (particularly the Brahman or Zebu breeds) are

found throughout India.




Cattle are an integral element of the Indian agricultural economy.

± They are the primary source of draft power (plowing, pulling carts, grindinggrain, and a host of other tasks).

± Cattle graze on forage which would otherwise be wasted during a dry season.

± Cattle consume secondary agriculture byproducts (straw, rice husks, and cornstalks).

± Cattle produce an estimated 771,000,000 metric tons (850,000,000 tons) of cowdung, the principle source of domestic fuel a year.

± Dung is also mixed with mud and used for plaster; also a major source of fertilizer.

± Cattle also produce most of India's milk (the bulk of which comes from thewater buffalo).

± When a cow dies, it is consumed by the untouchables (who have no prohibitionsabout consuming beef when it is available) of the large Hindu population.

± Cow hides are a major source of leather.

± The maintenance of the large numbers of cows and buffalo is a completelyrational activity in the Indian agricultural economy.




Green Revolution describes the development of extremely high-

yielding grain crops that allow major increases in food production, particularly in subtropical areas.

In 1953, scientists developed rust-resistant dwarf wheats whichdoubled Mexico's per acre production in the next decade.

After a major drought in India in 1965, Mexican dwarf wheat

was widely planted in the Punjab region, producing dramaticincreases in wheat yields.

The improved rice (IR)- IR-8 was spotted in 1965 at the LosBa>os research institute in the Philippines, which was set upusing aid from the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations.

Its first harvest, from 60 trial tons of seeds, produced a six-foldincrease of rice under field conditions.

About 10% of India's paddy land is now planted with IR-8varieties.




Secondary sector:

At the time of independence (1947), Indian industries emphasizedtextiles and food processing.

Gandhi championed development of the cottage industries thatexisted prior to the intervention of Britain.

± A cottage industry involves small scale production using highlabor inputs.

± Cottage industries are very important because they are labor intensive.

± They employ 40 individuals for every one employed in a large

automated factory producing the same products. ± A total of 750 products is produced by small industries which

use <=$100,000 in capital. (Receivers, tools, plumbingfittings, etc.).

Manufacturing employs only 13% of the labor force.




Manufacturing Regions:

1. K olkata (Calcutta) and Jamshedpur form anemerging industrial region in northeastern India.

± Calcutta forms the center of the Bihar-Bengal area where jute manufacturing dominates, but engineering, chemical

and cotton industries also exist. Jute: a strong, coarse fiber used for making burlap, gunny, and cordage; it is obtainedfrom two East Indian plants-Corchorus capsularis andCorchorus olitorius of the linden family.

± The Jamshedpur region 240 km (150 mi) west of Calcutta

has the Tata Steel Works, India¶s single largest steel makingcomplex (Indian Ruhr).

± In the nearby Chota-Nagpur district, coal mining and ironand steel manufactures have developed, and Bhilai is agrowing nucleus of heavy industry.




Manufacturing Regions:

2. Western Zone-Mumbai (Bombay)-Ahmadabad:

This Maharashtra, Gujarat area specializes in cotton

and chemicals with some engineering and food

processing, automobiles, and petrochemicals.

3. Southeastern Zone- Chennai (Madras): specializing

in textiles.

4. Bangalore supports diversified electricalmanufacturing, machine tools, the construction

industry, and food processing.



INDIA: POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY

India is the world's largest and most complex federal democracy, and it

forms a federation of 28 states and 6 union territories (UTs) and 1 National Capital Territory (NCT).

± The UTs are small in area and population and they come under direct federal control.

The capital of modern India is New Delhi, located in the NCT, along

with Delhi. This area has more than 13,000,000 people. India became independent on August 15, 1947, following partition of

British India (West and East Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka).

As many as 15 million people crossed the superimposed boundarywhich was determined on the criterion that all contiguous civil divisions

and territories with Moslem majorities had to be incorporated in theMuslim state (Pakistan).

The Taj Mahal is a remnant of the Muslim presence in India.

As early as 1953, the federal government yielded to demands for thecreation of a Telugu speaking state from Tamil dominated Madras;

thus, the state of Andhra Pradesh was formed.




Three new states were created in November 2000.Those were the following: Chhattisgarh (11/1/00),Uttaranchal (11/8/00), and Jharkhand (11/15/00).

Chhattisgarh was carved out of the eastern districts of

the state of Madhya Pradesh in order to accommodatethe demands of the local people who felt exploited andwithout a voice in state government.

Uttaranchal covers the northern hilly sections of the

state of Uttar Pradesh, the largest state in population(160,000,000). It was granted statehood because theenvironment and the ways of life are very differentfrom those prevalent in the Ganges Valley.




K ashmir: The state of Jammu and Kashmir is located adjacent to

India, Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan.

The control of Jammu and Kashmir is still under

dispute by India and Pakistan. At the time of independence (1947) this state was one

of the 562 princely states in India.

The population was 4,750,000, about half of them lived

in the Vale of Kashmir where the capital of Srinagar isalso located.

About 45% of the population lived in Jammu with theremainder scattered in the high mountains




K ashmir:

The main conflict between India and Pakistan arose over the sovereignty of thestate of Kashmir, because the ruler was Hindu and about 75% of the populationwas Muslim.

While at the time of independence the maharajah chose autonomy over unionwith either India or Pakistan, soon he was faced with a Muslim rebellion againstHindu rule.

The maharajah invited the assistance of India and Pakistani troops came thehelp of the Muslims.

The war between India and Pakistan lasted for more than one year and thenegotiation of the cease fire line left about 80% of the state¶s population under the control of India.

Pakistan is worried that India, by controlling the Kashmir, controls the vitalwater resources of the Indus River, which also flows through Kashmir.

Moreover, Kashmir presents the same situation that existed at the time of independence with the separation of Muslims and Hindus into Pakistan andIndia.

The recent nuclear tests of both countries do not bode well for accommodation

any time soon.



PAKISTAN

Pakistan is the second largest country in southern Asia, after India, both in area and population.

With 149,100,000 people in 2003, Pakistan is one of the world'sten largest countries in population.

As a dry-world country, Pakistan owes much of its existence tothe waters of the exotic Indus River that originates in thenorthern reaches of the country to flow through the middle of thecountry and empty in the Arabian Sea.

For the most part, Pakistanis live around this river like theEgyptians cluster around the Nile.

Pakistan is an Islamic Republic.

Pakistan is bordered by Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, China andIndia.



PAKISTAN

Lahore with 2,707,215 (3,025,000) residents is located very close tothe sensitive boundary with India.

Founded in the first or second century A.D., Lahore becameestablished as a great Moslem center during the Mogul period.

In 1959, after just over a decade as the federal capital of Pakistan,Rawalpindi became the new capital, until Islamabad wascompleted near the boundary of Kashmir.

Islamabad is a forward capital, a manifestation of Pakistan'sdetermination to emphasize its presence in the contested north.

Agriculture is labor intensive and the output is low. In Sind where large estates exist, yields are low because of

outdated irrigation systems and the paucity of incentives for landless peasants.

The most significant industry of Pakistan is textiles that use the

country's substantial cotton production.



PAKISTAN

The political geography of Pakistan has been a turbulent one

since the inception of the country in 1947. At first it was the conflict with India; later the secession of East

Pakistan and the formation of Bangladesh (1971); then the Sovietinvasion of Afghanistan and the 3,000,000 of refugees that fledinto Pakistan.

An additional problem is the manifestation of irredentism inBaluchistan along the border with Iran and Pathanistan which isalong the border with Afghanistan.

Pakhtuns (also called Pashtuns, Pathans, or Pushtuns) constituteabout 50% of the population of Afghanistan (28,700,000) and

have encouraged those living in the northwestern region of Pakistan to demand their own state of Pakhtunistan (Pathanistan).

Pakistan's response to this problem was to hasten integrationthrough education, improved communications, and other facilities, but Afghan irredentism continues.



BANGLADESH

Bangladesh became independent from Pakistan in 1971. Until then, Bangladesh was called East Pakistan and

formed a part of Pakistan, since the partition of the

British India (1947).

East Pakistan provided most of Pakistan¶s foreign

exchange, mostly from jute.

Bangladesh is a comparatively small country in area,

130,173 sq km (50,260 sq mi) with 146,700,000 people(Ohio's area is 40,953 sq mi).



BANGLADESH

Territorially, Bangladesh is surrounded by India on all sides, withthe exception of a short stretch of boundary that adjoins Myanmar (Burma) on the southeast and the southern coastal area.

Bangladesh occupies the deltaic plains of the Ganges-Brahmaputrariver system which empties into the Bay of Bengal through

numerous distributaries. In the hinterland of Chittagong, the flat terrain of the floodplains

rises into hills and mountains.

Bangladesh has a very high proportion of its land that isagriculturally useful.

The land is fertile, with rice, jute, and tea being the major crops.

In most places three harvests of rice per year are possible; however,

harvests are not big enough to support the huge population,

especially following the war of secession.



BANGLADESH

Cyclones (as hurricane or typhoon type storms arecalled there) constitute a major natural hazard becausemuch of southern Bangladesh lies less than four m (13feet) above sea level.

In early 1971, a devastating tropical cyclone exacted600,000 lives.

It was the second greatest natural disaster of the 20thcentury after the 1976 earthquake that killed upwards

of 700,000 in Tangshan, China. Resources of natural gas, coal, timber, and several

minerals remain unexploited because of the focus onthe fighting of malnutrition.



BANGLADESH

In 2003 the population of Bangladesh was 146,700,000-- as compared to 128,100,000 in 2000.

The country has an average annual growth of 2.2 percent and a density of 1,019 persons per sq. km

(2,639 persons per sq. mi). For comparison purposes, the world density is 47

persons per sq. km (122 persons per sq. mi.)and theU.S. density is 30 persons per sq. km (78 persons/sq..

mi). The population of Bangladesh is 87 percent Islamic and

11 percent Hindu.



BANGLADESH

Bangladesh is one of the world's poorest countries witha per capita income in 2000 of only $350.

It lacks any major urban centers with the exception of

Dhaka, the centrally positioned capital, which has

3,637,892 people (6,537,308 in the metropolitan area);

and the port of Chittagong with 1,566,070 residents

(2,342,662 in the metropolitan area).

Only 23 percent of the people live in towns and cities.

SOUTH ASIA: THE



SOUTH ASIA: THE

MOUNATAINOUS NORTH

A tier of landlocked countries occupy themountainous zone between India and China.

The independent kingdoms of Nepal and

Bhutan are in the east of this frontier. Sikkim, which was wedged between Nepal and

Bhutan, was taken over by India in 1975 and

made into a state. This development underscores the vulnerability

of these kingdoms.



NEPAL

Nepal faces serious economic problems that stem fromenvironmental degradation.

Deforestation is particularly severe in the alpine

woodlands¶ regions of the country.

A growing population exacerbated these problems.

About 95% of the population is engaged in subsistence

farming (rice, wheat, millet, and corn).

Nepal has substantial tourist industry because of theHimalayas.



NEPAL

Following tensions in the 1980s, the country became aconstitutional monarchy.

But as the bloody royal killings have demonstrated, the

country is far from a tranquil place.

The southern Terai zone is much more similar to

neighboring India than the core of the country.

The Nepalese are fearful of Indian domination.

Nepal has problematic relations with Bhutan over thetreatment of the Nepalese minority in the country.



SIKKIM

Until 1975, Nepal¶s eastern neighbor,

Sikkim, was an independent country.

That year, the overwhelming majority of the people voted to join India.



SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) is a compact, pear-shaped island

located off the southern tip of India. It has been sovereign since 1948.

Population was 18,900,000 people in 2003.

This is neither a Hindu nor a Moslem country; the majority --some 75% of its population -- is Buddhist.

Unlike India or Pakistan, Sri Lanka is a plantation country (alegacy of European colonialism).

The majority of Sri Lanka's people are not Dravidian, but are of Aryan origin with a historical link to ancient northern India.

Emigrants from India brought to Ceylon the Buddhist religionand irrigation techniques.

Today their descendants, the Sinhalese, speak a language belonging to the Indo-Aryan language family of northern India.



SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka is not a large island -- 64,621 sq. km (24, 950sq. mi) but it has considerable topographic diversity.

The upland core lies in the south where elevations reach2,500 m (8,000 feet).

This upland is surrounded by a lowland, most of whichlies below 300 m (1000 feet).

Northern Sri Lanka is entirely low-lying.

Rivers flow radially from the interior highland across

this lowland rim. The focus of Sinhalese Empire was Anuradhapura.

The present focus is the moist upland southwest.



THE MALDIVES

The Maldives are an insular country with more than1,000 islands and an area of 300 sq. km (115 sq. mi).

Their highest point barely exceeds two m (6 ft) above

sea level.

The population is 300,000, about a fourth of which

resides in the capitalMaale.

The country is a popular European tourist destination.

There is a danger of submergence even with a minor rise in the level of the ocean.

The population adheres to Islam



SOUTH ASIA: LIST OF TERMS

Punjab A northwestern province of India.

Tributary A smaller stream that flows into a bigger one.

Exotic (allogenic) A stream that originates in a humidenvironment and flows through a dry area.

Salinization The process by which salts accumulate on the

surface in dry environments. Orographic Mountain induced precipitation.

Monsoon The reversal of the wind systems in southernAsia.

Jet stream A band of fast-moving air usually found in

middle latitudes in the upper troposphere.

Terai A type of vegetation found in northern India.

Green Revolution A western technology package that is used toincrease agricultural production in

developing countries.



SOUTH ASIA: LIST OF TERMS

Typhoon A name used to describe a hurricane type

storm in Asia. Distributary One of the smaller channels into which a

river channel divides before it empties intothe sea.

Sind A region in southern Pakistan.

Forward capital A capital city that is relocated into a newarea where a certain country wants to make astatement of interest about that part of thecountry, i.e. Islamabad in Pakistan.

Sinhalese The majority group in Sri Lanka. TheSinhalese are descendants of people whoemigrated from northern India.

Tamils The minority people in Sri Lanka. They aredescendants of people that emigrated fromsouthern India and laborers that wereintroduced by the British to work in the

India Economy History

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