South Asia
The Indian Plate began its northward journey from ancient Gondwana roughly 50 to 55 million years ago. This massive landmass eventually collided with the Eurasian plate, creating the Himalayan range and the Tibetan Plateau. The collision terminated the paleotectonic evolution of Asia some 50 million years ago. Today, South Asia remains isolated from the rest of the continent by these great mountain barriers. The region extends southward into the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. It covers a total area of 5.2 million square kilometers. This geological formation includes parts of South China and Eastern Indonesia as well. The Indian subcontinent forms a distinct geopolitical region separated from other nearby geostrategic realms.
Settled life emerged on the western margins of the Indus River Basin 9,000 years ago. By 2600 BCE, the Indus Valley Civilisation flourished in present-day Pakistan and North India. A sophisticated urban culture developed during the Mature Harappan period until 1300 BCE. Around 1500 BCE, an archaic form of Sanskrit diffused into India from the northwest. The oldest text, the Rgveda, was composed before the introduction of iron around 1200 to 1000 BCE. These texts were orally transmitted without script in an unbroken line from teacher to student. The transmission ensured an impeccable textual quality superior to classical texts of other cultures. Even the long-lost musical accent has been preserved up to the present day. Evidence suggests new Indo-Aryan-speaking people entered the subcontinent from the north-west after the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization.
Muslim armies from Central Asia intermittently overran the plains of northern India starting in the 8th century CE. Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh and Multan in modern-day Pakistan. Mahmud of Ghazni raided kingdoms in north India seventeen times between 997 and 1030. The Delhi Sultanate was founded in the 13th century by Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad. Muhammad bin Tughlaq came to power in 1325 and launched a war of expansion. His rule saw the largest geographical reach of the sultanate over the South Asian region. In 1526, Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi at the Battle of Panipat. This event ended the Delhi Sultanate and ushered in the Islamic Mughal Empire. The empire lasted two centuries and left a legacy of luminous architecture like the Taj Mahal. Religious taxes called jizya were imposed on non-Muslims during certain periods. Akbar sought religious tolerance and abolished these taxes later.
The British Indian Empire was partitioned into two independent dominions in 1947. A Hindu-majority Dominion of India and a Muslim-majority Dominion of Pakistan emerged from this division. The departing British decreed that hundreds of princes became legally independent with their status settled later. Geographical location and popular sentiment led almost all princes to merge their domains into either Pakistan or India. Simultaneously, central civil and military services split roughly along religious lines. Assets were divided according to a negotiated formula giving 22.7 percent for Pakistan and 77.3 percent for India. Large-scale loss of life and unprecedented migration accompanied the creation of these new states. The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War resulted in East Pakistan's secession as the People's Republic of Bangladesh. This conflict was a Cold War episode involving India and Pakistan.
India and Pakistan gained nuclear weapons soon after independence which increased tensions between the two countries. The Cold War decades contributed to the divide as Pakistan aligned with the West and India with the Soviet Union. The 1962 Sino-Indian War saw India and China move apart while Pakistan and China built closer relations. Pakistan has been beset with terrorism and economic issues since Independence. No Prime Minister of Pakistan has completed a full five-year term in office. India has grown significantly having slashed its rate of extreme poverty to below 20%. A recent phenomenon involves India and China fighting on their border. China partners with Pakistan and uses its superior economy to attract countries surrounding India. America and other countries have strengthened ties with India to counter China in the broader Indo-Pacific region.
South Asia contains about 2.04 billion people making it the most populated region in the world. It accounts for 25 percent of the world's population. The spoken languages are largely based on geography and shared across religious boundaries. Muslims of South Asia such as those in Afghanistan and Pakistan use the Arabic alphabet and Persian Nastaliq script. Non-Muslims of South Asia use scripts derived from Brahmi script for Indo-European languages. The Devanagari script is used for over 120 South Asian languages including Hindi and Marathi. The largest spoken language in this region is Hindustani followed by Bengali and Telugu. English with British spelling is commonly used in urban areas as an economic lingua franca. Sino-Tibetan languages are spoken across northern belts of the region in Himalayan areas using the Tibetan script.
India is the largest economy in the region with a GDP of US$4.18 trillion. Bangladesh has a GDP of $446 billion and the fastest GDP growth rate in Asia. According to a World Bank report, South Asia became the fastest-growing region in the world from late 2014. However, certain parts of South Asia are significantly wealthier than others. About 24.6 percent of the South Asian population was below the international poverty line of $1.25 per day according to a 2011 report. In the most affected parts of South Asia, up to a 15-fold average increase for 100-year extremes is possible under global warming. Sea level rise in Bangladesh will displace 0.9 to 2.1 million people by 2050. Around 2050, people living in the Ganges and Indus river basins may face severe water scarcity due to both climate and socioeconomic reasons.
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Common questions
When did the Indian Plate begin its northward journey from ancient Gondwana?
The Indian Plate began its northward journey from ancient Gondwana roughly 50 to 55 million years ago. This massive landmass eventually collided with the Eurasian plate, creating the Himalayan range and the Tibetan Plateau.
What year did the Indus Valley Civilisation flourish in present-day Pakistan and North India?
By 2600 BCE, the Indus Valley Civilisation flourished in present-day Pakistan and North India. A sophisticated urban culture developed during the Mature Harappan period until 1300 BCE.
Who founded the Delhi Sultanate in the 13th century by Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad?
Muhammad bin Tughlaq came to power in 1325 and launched a war of expansion. His rule saw the largest geographical reach of the sultanate over the South Asian region.
How many people live in South Asia according to recent population data?
South Asia contains about 2.04 billion people making it the most populated region in the world. It accounts for 25 percent of the world's population.
When will sea level rise in Bangladesh displace millions of people by 2050?
Sea level rise in Bangladesh will displace 0.9 to 2.1 million people by 2050. Around 2050, people living in the Ganges and Indus river basins may face severe water scarcity due to both climate and socioeconomic reasons.