Geography
E-cisco
ch8_south-asia.pptxSouth Asia Chapter 8
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BASICS
Clearly defined physiographically and bounded by mountains, deserts, and oceans/seas
World’s most poverty-afflicted realm:
Low average incomes, low levels of education, poorly balanced diets, poor overall health
Accounts for one-fifth of the world’s population but two-thirds of the world’s poorest inhabitants
Only 3% of the world’s land area, but 24% of the world’s population:
High population growth rates – India is set to surpass China in terms of population in this century
Half the population are subsistence farmers
Heart of world’s second largest population cluster - lower Basin of Ganges River (India)
British colonialism unified South Asia but realm fragmented along cultural lines after Britain’s departure
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BASICS Cont.
Cultural Geography:
Complex cultural mosaic
Birthplace of major religions
Hinduism and Buddhism
Religion is a powerful force and is showing fundamentalist and nationalist tendencies
Hinduism – India
Islam – Pakistan
Buddhism – Sri Lanka
Monsoons vital to life
Foreign influences came mainly through a narrow passage in the northwest Khyber Pass
Boundary problems:
Kashmir/Jammu between Pakistan and India
Northern mountains between China and India
Notice that we have some interesting countries in this realm. Pakistan, which is a theocracy and currently buddy-buddy with the U.S., and India, which is a democracy. As we will see, these two countries have had issues with one another, especially in regards to the region known as Kashmir.
Notice that this realm is also one of the most populous (only East Asia is more populous) and the poorest in the world.
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PHYSIOGRAPHY
Mountains dominate in the north – why?
Hindu Kush
Karakoram
Bhutan Ranges
Himalayas
River Lowlands:
Indus Valley - Pakistan
Ganges Valley – India
Brahmaputra - Bangladesh
Double Delta of Ganges and Brahmaputra – Bangladesh
Southern Plateaus:
Deccan – Peninsular India
Deccan = tableland of basalt formed when India broke away from Africa
Deccan tilts to east (so elevation is higher in the west)
Western and Eastern Ghats (Hills)
Why do mountains dominate in the North? Think back to plate tectonics. After Pangaea split apart, the Indian subcontinent moved towards the Asian continent and collided with it. The mountains in the north have been built due to this collision. In fact, these mountains are STILL growing! They grow about 0.2in per year (or 1in every decade). And for those of you who do not know, these are the highest mountain ranges in the world (Mt. Everest is the highest mountain and K2 is the second highest – and both are part of the Himalayan mountain range).
As we will see in East Asia (and especially China) three rivers prove extremely important. This is a fairly rural realm and so agriculture is the mainstay of the economy in these countries. Rivers, of course, provide irrigation water and allow crops to grow.
The Deccan in India was formed when India split apart from Africa. Remember how we said Africa was a plateau continent? Well, part of India (i.e. the southern portion) is also a plateau for the same reason.
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PHYSIOGRAPHY Image obtained from www.100gogo.com/canyon.htm
Plate Tectonics formed the Himalayas and other mountain ranges
Indian tectonic plate collided with Eurasian tectonic plate
Material was pushed up, creating the Himalaya mountain chain
The Himalayas are the highest mountains in the world (and they are still growing!).
Mt. Everest
K2
Notice in the above pictures how the Eurasian plate and the Indian subcontinent have collided to form the Himalayas. This is what we term a convergent boundary.
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PHYSIOGRAPHY The Himalayas
Don’t you think this is BEAUTIFUL?
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PHYSIOGRAPHY The Himalayas
All the white represents mountains.
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PHYSIOGRAPHY Indus River Basin
Notice how green it is along the river, but how this changes as you move away from the river.
This river is the lifeline of Pakistan.
Where does it originate? The Himalayas.
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PHYSIOGRAPHY Image obtained from www.nasa.gov
Brahmaputra
River
Ganges
River
Double Delta
of Ganges
and
Brahmaputra
I LOVE satellite images. This image shows the double delta that is formed by the meeting of the Brahmaputra and Ganges Rivers.
This delta is the world’s largest delta.
The rivers flow into the Bay of Bengal (that bluish area at the bottom of this image).
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PHYSIOGRAPHY Deccan and Ghats Images obtained from commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:South_India_...
Deccan Plateau
Ghats
Notice how the western Ghats have lots of vegetation on the very western portion of India (the green area). This is another example of the rainshadow effect and orographic rainfall. Air moves form the west to the east. As air flows onto the Indian subcontinent it hits the Western Ghats. Because the air has nowhere else to go, it rises, forms clouds, and rains down on the western side of the western Ghats.
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PHYSIOGRAPHY Monsoons
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PHYSIOGRAPHY Monsoons
“To know India and her people, one must know the monsoon.”
Monsoons are a source of life.
Causes:
Seasonal reversal of winds
In the winter – dry, cold mountain air comes down from the Himalayas and desiccates (dries) the landscape.
In the summer – moist, warm ocean air from the Indian ocean and Bay of Bengal.
A monsoon is a very distinctive seasonal precipitation (rainfall) regime where there is little rainfall in the winter months and torrential rainfall in the summer months.
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Monsoons occur when the direction of the winds shift.
In the winter, the winds are coming from the north and thus off of the mountains. This brings very dry air into India.
However, in the summer, the winds reverse and come from the south. This brings moist, warm air from the oceans (India, Bay of Bengal etc) to India. This warm, moist air forms huge cloud systems which bring torrential rains to the Indian subcontinent. Although there are a lot of negative things associated with monsoons , the monsoon rains are essential to the livelihood of most of the people in this realm.
Why is the wet monsoon so important? Take a look at the Table in the back of the Introduction chapter and find the percent urban population. I can guarantee you that the remaining percent that is NOT urban make their living off the land as farmers. So tell me the percent rural population and tell me why monsoons are so important to a country like India.
PHYSIOGRAPHY Monsoons
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Precipitation (rainfall) is represented by the blue bars in the graph above.
Notice how precipitation changes over the year.
In the winter months, precipitation is almost non-existent. Talk about dry!!
In the summer months, whew! Precipitation goes up like crazy. THIS is what we term the monsoon.
PHYSIOGRAPHY Monsoons
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The big cloud in the picture is a monsoon cloud. It looks like the monsoon is going right over the double delta of the Brahmaputra and Ganges Rivers (and hence the country of Bangladesh). Cool, huh?
In the other images (top right) you can see monsoonal clouds moving over the Indian subcontinent and (bottom right) boys playing in the street after a monsoonal rain.
Is this a lot of rainfall? HECK yea!
PHYSIOGRAPHY Monsoons
These are some crazy images.
These images both show the same location.
The image on the left was taken during the winter months and shows the desiccation (drying out) that takes place on the landscape.
The image on the right was taken during the monsoon season and shows the changes the monsoonal rains bring.
Are monsoonal rains important? In an area where so many people are subsistence farmers, the answer is an emphatic YES.
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HISTORICAL/CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY The Human Sequence
Birthplace of Civilizations
Indus Valley
Culture hearth (concurrent with Mesopotamia), 2500 B.C.
Did not last due to environmental and political changes
Aryans and Origins of Hinduism
Invasion of Indo-Europeans from northwest, 1500 B.C. - Aryans
Aryans – people speaking Indo-European languages based in what we call Iran today.
Brought new belief systems:
Hinduism and social stratification (a population divided into a hierarchy of social classes)
Buddhism (1%)
Jainism (1%) - purist form of Hinduism that stands for nonviolence and vegetarianism.
Sikhism (2%) – blend of Islam and Hinduism
The Southern Peninsula:
The South was isolated and protected from invasions from the north
Inhabited by ancient people, the Dravidians
Around 3500 years ago, Indo-Europeans penetrated this area. They introduced a system of social stratification into the culture and this turned into the Indian caste system.
The Caste System
Traditional, hereditary system of social stratification.
Each class (caste) has certain rules to follow which include such things as the clothes they wear, the jobs they do, the way they treat others from different castes, who they can marry, where they live. In all, the caste system affects ALL aspects of life.
Hinduism
Look at the tenets of Hinduism. These ideas perpetuate the caste system as it is believed that if you have been born into a lower caste you are being punished for something you did in a previous life. The only way to get out of your situation is to follow the rules in this life, and in the next you will be rewarded by moving up higher on the social ladder. Thus, the idea is that people of the lower castes deserve to be where they are as they are being punished for something they did in a past life.
Buddhism
Buddhism first came about when a prince (Prince Siddhartha) gave up all of his worldly possessions in a search to find the true meaning of life and gain some semblance of internal peace. He became known as Buddha.
Originated in India, but less than 1% adheres to religion.
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HISTORICAL/CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY Indus Valley Civilization
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Historical/Cultural Geography The Human Sequence
The Power of Islam
Late 10th century
Indus Valley and Punjab = 2/3 converted
East and Southeast India = less success
Bangladesh = Muslims arrived by boat and converted locals
Delhi Sultanate, 13th century
The Islamic Mogul (Mughal) Empire, 1526-1857
The European Intrusion
Sought raw materials, markets and political influence
British East India Company – governed realm
Sepoy Mutiny, 1857
Mutiny against the British East Indian Company by Indian troops
British gov’t took over and ruled until 1947
Colonial Transformation
Mismatch of colonial and traditional feudal systems
Could not minimize cultural/political differences
Assets: railroads, seaports, irrigation, industrialization, education, medicine
Partition
The Power of Islam
Islam came like a wave across South Asia spreading across Persia Afghanistan Indus Valley Punjab Ganges Basin. This was the precursor to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Islam also came by boat to the eastern portion of this realm Bangladesh.
Delhi Sultanate, 13th century
Long-surviving and powerful Islamic civilization.
Invade by Islamicized Mongol armies Mughal Empire.
Mughal Empire
Fairly enlightened rulers that were tolerant towards other religions.
Time of architectural achievements Taj Mahal.
Decline in 18th century.
Islam survives today in countries of this realm.
Pakistan = 96% Islamic
Bangladesh = 90% Islamic
India = 15% Islamic (Hinduism was a powerful force that withstood Islam)
Enter the British and Colonialism
The British were the main colonial power in this realm. At first the British East India Company controlled this area until the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 after which the British government took control.
Upon independence, the realm could not stay united.
Look at the previous three numbers and you will understand one of the major reasons why.
In any event, three entities were formed:
West Pakistan (present-day Pakistan),
India,
East Pakistan.
The creation of these countries, however, led to one of the largest migrations of people in the shortest amount of time the world has ever witnessed. Hindus living in West Pakistan migrated to India and Muslims living in India migrated to the Pakistans. In all, millions of people migrated.
This does not mean, however, that no Muslims live in India now. India, in fact, has the largest minority population in the world with its Muslim population. About 180 million Muslims live in India. This constitutes only 15% of the Indian population, but it is almost larger than the entire population of Pakistan (193million) and is half the population of the U.S. (U.S. has 300 million people – and we are the fourth largest country in the world in terms of population!).
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Historical/Cultural Geography The Human Sequence
Upon independence, it was realized that the realm could not stay united. Islam and Hinduism were at odds and there were distinct clusters of each group in certain places.
The idea of a separate state was pushed by the region’s Muslims
Problem = both Muslims and Hindus lived together.
India, East Pakistan, and West Pakistan created, 1947
Cross-border refugees:
Largest number of people and shortest amount of time to migrate ever seen in the world
India = largest minority population (Muslims)
Muslim minorities in India almost outnumber Pakistan’s entire population!
Notice in this image what happened between 1931 and 1951.
1947 was the partition.
Thousands upon thousands of people migrated.
Notice how much of the migration took place in a westerly, easterly, or northerly direction.
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CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
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Hindi is the most widely spoken language, but with 1.3 billion people you can bet there are a LOT of other languages spoken.
CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
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Look at this realm and figure out what religions dominate in the following countries…
India (there are two here)
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Hinduism is…
not just a religion but….
an intricate web of religious, philosophical, social, economic, and artistic elements with….
no common creed
no single doctrine
no direct divine revelation
no rigid narrow moral code
CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
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Three main ideas are important in understanding the Hindu religion and the caste system:
Reincarnation
Every living thing has a soul
When a living thing dies, its soul moves into another living creature
Souls are reborn in a newly created life
Karma
Every action brings about certain results
There is no escaping the consequences of one’s actions
Good behavior is rewarded when the soul is reborn into a higher ranking living creature
Dharma
A set of rules that must be followed by all living things if they wish to work their way up the ladder of reincarnation
Each person’s dharma is different
CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY Tenets of Hinduism
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The caste system and Hinduism are tightly bound together. We will take a look at how later in the lecture.
Buddhism
Adherents objected to harsher features of Hinduism
Focuses on knowledge, especially self-knowledge
Elimination of worldly desires, determination not to hurt or kill people or animals
CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
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The Four Noble Truths
Sorrow and suffering are part of all life.
People suffer because they desire things they cannot have.
The way to escape suffering is to end desire, to stop wanting, and to reach a stage of not wanting.
To end desire, follow the “middle path,” i.e., the path that avoids the extremes of too much pleasure and desire.
CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY Buddhism
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POPULATION GEOGRAPHY
Terminology:
Population Distribution - distribution of population (dense, sparse etc) across the surface of the earth
Physiologic Density – number of people per unit of arable land…what countries have high physiologic densities?
Rate of Natural Increase – percentage population grows in a year….1.8% for realm
Doubling Time – number of years it would take the population to double
If rate of natural increase is 1%, what is the doubling time?
Follow the Rule of 70.
You figure out how many years a population would take to double by using the rule of 70.
70/natural increase percent = number of years to double.
SO, a population with a natural increase percentage of 1% would double in 70/1 = 70 years.
A population with a natural increase percentage of 2% would double in 70/2 = 35 years.
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POPULATION GEOGRAPHY
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Notice how densely populated this realm is, and in particular India.
Remember that one of our basics was…this land covers 3% of the world’s land, but it contains 24% of the world’s population!
With such a dense population, we often hear the term overpopulation.
The idea is that there are too many mouths to feed.
This may be true in some respects, but there are plenty of countries that have VERY high population densities (Netherlands and Japan), who do very well economically.
So, what is the difference between dense population in India and dense population in the Netherlands or Japan?
Population Burden
India and other countries in this realm have large portions of people who have low education levels, have inefficient institutions, and have a lack of technological know-how. This large number of illiterate and undereducated people function as a burden.
With this said about population, notice how much fertility rates have declined over the past few decades.
POPULATION GEOGRAPHY The Demographic Transition Model
We discuss the Demographic Transition model in this class and in the case of India because India has been one of the many developing countries that has had the huge population increase as seen in the . In fact, India is slated to surpass China in the next coming decades to become the largest population in the world.
1st Stage
Birth and Death rates are equal.
Death rates mitigate birth rates, so the population is stable and there is little to no growth.
2nd Stage
Enter the industrial revolution.
Death rates start to decline due to a variety of factors,
Birth rates remain high.
Population growth increases.
3rd Stage
Population explodes.
Death rates continue to fall, while birth rates remain high.
Death rates no longer offset birth rates population explosion.
4th Stage
Population still increasing, but more slowly.
Birth rates have declined and death rates remain low.
5th Stage
This is not on this image, but this occurs when death rates are larger than birth rates.
This is occurring in many European countries, where women are only having one to two children. This leads to population decline.
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POPULATION GEOGRAPHY
The Demographic Burden
Demographic Burden – proportion of the population that is too old or too young to be productive (and that must be cared for by the productive population).
Productive population = 20-50 years old.
Population Pyramids – diagrams that show the age-structure of a population.
The Missing Girls
Millions of girls are missing from the population pyramids.
Female Infanticide – the killing of girl babies.
Boys are more highly prized because it is the son and his wife that take care of the elderly parents.
Sex Ratio – ratio of girls to boys.
Sex ratio is skewed in favor of more boys.
Sex ratio should show a slightly larger number of girls than boys.
Demographic Burden
So, in a country like India where a large percentage of the population is not educated/literate, more people is burdensome.
Population Pyramids
There is an interesting thing that is seen when we take a look at India and China’s population pyramids. Millions of girls are missing!
Why? In China it is because of population restrictions (which we will cover in the next realm).
In India, it is also because of population restrictions, but it is also due to modernization and technology.
Modernization breeds (no pun intended) less children.
Technology allows for a woman to see what the sex of her baby is going to be.
Both of these factors cause boys to be favored (in the case of modernization) and girls to be aborted (in the case of technology).
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POPULATION GEOGRAPHY
Notice how many girls are missing in the population pyramids from 2013!
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ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
Economic Liberalization
Neoliberalism – a national or regional development strategy based on privatization of state-run companies, lowering of international tariffs, reduction of government subsidies, cutting of corporate taxes, and overall deregulation of business activity.
Neoliberalism embraced by most countries in realm.
Rapid growth followed after liberalization of economies.
Growth in manufacturing, services, finance, and Information Technology (IT) in India.
Led to emergence of middle class 25% or 300 million people.
BUT, 1 billion still lower class!
Agriculture
Subsistence agriculture continues to predominate.
Ranges from 40% of population in Pakistan to 80% of population in Nepal
Dependency on monsoons low monsoonal rains economic crisis
Arable (fertile, farmable) land a struggle to find
ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
You can see that all of the countries in this realm have had a tremendous amount of growth, especially between 2004-2006.
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Political Geography Contested Boundaries
Contested Kashmir
Northern piece of land that is divided between Pakistan (Kashmir) and India (Jammu and Kashmir) along the Line of Control.
China
Northeast extension of Kashmir claimed by China
Far northeastern territory claimed by India but controlled by China
China expanding navy into Indian Ocean – this makes India nervous
Kashmir
Kashmir is an important hotspot in the world. We will take a look at why in just a second.
Kashmir is located in the Northern portion of India and the northwestern portion of Pakistan.
At partition time, the existing states of British India were given a choice as to which country to join (West Pakistan or India).
Kashmir happened to be one of these states, but the decision was not an easy decision.
The ruler was Hindu, but the majority of the population (75%) was Muslim.
The ruler did a smart thing, and decided to join neither country and remain autonomous.
This did not sit well with the majority Muslim population and an uprising ensured.
The Hindu ruler asked India for help, and for help India asked for Kashmir to join its country.
Many wars later, the territory known as Kashmir remains divided along the Line of Control.
This issue is still not resolved and many worry that it could escalate into violence at any time.
This is BAD! Both Pakistan and India have nuclear weapons.
Interestingly enough, Pakistan moved its capital city from Karachi (on the southern coast), to Islamabad.
Islamabad is what we term a forward capital.
We have seen this term before with Brasilia, Brazil, but this time it really was located there to contest territory.
In this case, Pakistan is contesting Kashmir and has no intention of backing down.
China
There are two locations where China controls territory, but India lays claim to this territory.
One territory is part of Pakistan’s Kashmir.
The other territory was agreed upon by Tibet and India, but China jumped in and claimed the land.
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Regions
of the
Realm
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In the last half of this lecture we will be discussing the five main regions of the South Asian realm. These regions include:
Pakistan
India
Bangladesh
The Mountainous North
The Southern Islands
Regions of the Realm PAKISTAN
Basics:
South Asia’s Muslim Frontier
Gift of the Indus – river is heart
One of world’s ten most populous countries
One of world’s most theocratic states
Islam common bond
Quranic system with Sharia Law
Islamic fundamentalism prevalent
BUT….80% Sunni and 20% Shi’ite Muslim divisive
Economic boom has not filtered down to majority of Pakistanis
Water crisis + insurgency in Baluchistan + lack of control over mountainous Waziristan (al-Qaeda and Taliban hide-outs) + conflict with neighbors (especially India over Kashmir) + severe flood, 2010 = a hard country to govern.
Pakistan has an interesting role in the world right now.
Geographically, they are on the cusp of the Islamic world and lie next to the Middle East. It lies in a wedge between Iran/Afghanistan in the west and India to the east.
Geopolitically, Pakistan is interesting as well.
The government has sided with the U.S. in the ‘War on Terror’.
However, this has upset a large percentage of the Pakistani populace.
Islamic fundamentalism and militancy is increasing.
Pakistan has also become a hotbed of terrorist training (al-Qaeda and the Taliban). These terrorist groups are located in the very western
As the Nile is a gift to Egypt, the Indus is a gift to Pakistan.
Pakistan is one of the world’s most populous states and it is the world’s theocratic state.
Theocracy and Islam do not bind the country together, however. This is a very divided country between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
The economic boom has not filtered down to the majority of Pakistanis.
Literacy rates are not improving and health has been declining. National institutions are weak only 2 million registered taxpayers in a country of 200 million!
Now add the last portion of this slide together and what do you have? A cesspool of woes.
Pakistan moved its capital to Islamabad in order to contest the Kashmir issue. Islamabad is a ‘true’ forward capital.
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Regions of the Realm PAKISTAN
Read about Pakistan’s provinces in the book. Know the provinces below.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Wedged between Punjab in east and Afghanistan in west.
Mountainous physiography isolated and remote.
Zone of ‘tribal areas’ where people are given a degree of autonomy.
Conservative, deeply religious, and militant province.
Hotbed of terrorist activity and training camps.
Exacerbated by location next to Afghanistan.
Remoteness and isolation of province perfect location for terrorists
Crucial to U.S. War in Afghanistan
Khyber Pass
Historic route of invaders
Current route of Islamic militants
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Regions of the Realm PAKISTAN
Pakistan's Prospects
Enormous Cultural Contrasts
Modern and medieval exists side by side
Nationalism still elusive family, clan, village are stronger
State in Transition
Some economic growth
Exporter of rice
Manufacturing and services sectors large growth
Production and trade in opium and hashish large growth
Realms Most Critical Region
Entanglement with western countries over war on terror
Militancy and instability prevalent
Islamic republic that is hated by many of its population
Breeding ground for terrorism
Regions of the Realm INDIA
Basics:
World’s most populous democracy and largest federation
Second largest population in world (projected to be the largest soon – ahead of whom?)
Miracle that the country endured as unified
Diverse ethnic, religious, linguistic and economic activities
Powerful centrifugal forces
Poor country
Half country’s population lives in abject poverty
Poor and inconsistent economic planning
BUT…
Rising middle class
Outsourcing of jobs from U.S. to India
Emergence of large Indian companies
Some estimate India will be world’s 4th largest economy by 2020 (behind U.S., China, and Japan)
Regions of the Realm INDIA
Political Geography The Changing Political Map
1st Step
Phase out ‘princely states’
2nd Step
Organized by major regional languages
3rd Step
Further subdivisions
In 2000, many people fought for and gained new states
Now….
28 states
6 union territories
1 national capital territory
New Delhi 17 million inhabitants
India is in many respects a political miracle.
The country is extremely diverse.
It is what we would call a pluralistic society in which cultural pluralism dominates.
Remember, this is the country with the largest minority population in the world, Muslims.
The fact that it has staved off disintegration is amazing. BUT, India has also had its fair share of unrest, as you will see in the next few slides.
However, the country (with its 1.3 billion people!) has survived.
Many have suggested this is because India has been flexible to change. In fact, India’s political map is always changing. In 2000, India granted a handful of people new states. Because India has been able to accommodate change and allow people greater autonomy, it has survived and staved off disintegration.
Each state coincides roughly with a cultural entity and major languages.
Notice which states have large populations, and which ones have relatively small populations.
Accommodations:
The Sikhs
A religion that was created in order to unify Islamic and Hindu beliefs by rejecting negative aspects of Hinduism and Islam.
Sikhs supported British colonists
Upon independence – Sikhs caused huge secession issues.
Formed own state in 1966 – Khalistan
Conflict intensified in 1970’s
Assassination of Indira Ghandi
Continued violence until 1984
Independence brought demand by Sikhs for own state – India agreed and Sikh now dominate Punjab
Naga
Incorporated into state of Assam
Rebelled and war led to India agreeing to the state of Nagaland
Muslims
Nearly 180 million Muslims live within India’s borders. This is more than HALF of the total U.S. population.
No Muslim state exists
Some acts of violence have occurred, but for the most part, this Muslim minority lives, works, and participates in the democratic process within India
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Regions of the Realm INDIA
Political Geography cont.
Naxalite Movement
Series of communist inspired rebellions of late.
Most active in India’s poorest and disaffected states
Appeal to poor and minorities whose plight is blamed on Indian elite and neoliberal economic policies
Active in 1/3 of 600 districts
India declared Naxalites greatest threat to internal security
Counteroffensive, 2010 with success
Deaths by Naxalites – 1100 in 2010 but 600 in 2011.
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Regions of the Realm INDIA
Political Geography cont.
Hindutva - Hinduness as expressed through Hindu nationalism, Hindu heritage, and/or Hindu patriotism.
A fundamental movement that has been gaining strength since the late 20th century.
Seeks to remake India as a society dominated by Hindu principles.
Impose Hindu curriculum on schools
Change family law so unacceptable to Muslims
Inhibit activities of non-Hindu religious proselytizers
Especially prevalent in big states.
Voters have not embraced Hindutva political party
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Regions of the Realm INDIA
Political Geography cont.
The Persistence of Caste
Caste System – the strict social stratification and segregation of people on the basis of ancestry and occupation.
Particular Castes
Perform only certain jobs
Wear only certain clothes
Worship in only certain places
Lower castes could not mingle with upper castes
Belief in reincarnation belief that people deserve to be in the caste they are in led to an unchanging social institution
Caste system is illegal in India!
In rural areas, the caste system is alive and well
Untouchables (Dalits)
Lowest caste
In rural areas, caste system still thriving
Dalit children forced to sit on classroom floor, are not allowed to draw water from the village well.
The caste system is a fascinating social institution.
You can see above what the caste system is, but why is the caste system so entrenched.
First, it has been around for thousands of years.
Second, there is no motive to change it. Hindus believe in reincarnation. ‘Tampering’ with (moving up or down castes) is not permitted because you deserve what you get in this life due to your actions from a previous life. Incentive to change? Nope.
Even though the caste system is illegal in India and there is a lot of affirmative action, it is still very prevalent in rural areas.
The Untouchables or Dalits
The Dalits are the lowest of the lowest castes.
In rural areas, Dalit children are forced to sit on the floor of their classrooms.
Dalits cannot draw water from the village well because they might pollute it.
Dalist must take off their shoes when they pass higher castes.
Dalits cannot take any profession other than what they were born into (sweeping, cleaning, etc.)
About 15% of Hindus are Dalits.
The two sides of the Caste System
In the past, the castes system provided stability, continuity, and unification.
In today’s world, the caste system is a painful reminder of a former bygone time.
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Regions of the Realm INDIA
Economic Geography
Divides
North vs. South Divide
North heartland, Hindi (lingua franca), bustling, economic powerhouse
South Dravidian, English (lingua Franca), less agitated, economically poor
East vs. West Divide
West
Outward looking to other countries
Economic progress
Manufacturing
IT/Software Development
Read above about the economic divides.
Agriculture
Agriculture is important in India, but there are lost of problems for people who are farmers.
25% of arable land in the hands of 5% of population.
Half of rural families have less than 2.5 acres, or no land at all.
About 175 million people work as tenants on land that is not owned by them (a tenuous situation).
Hunger and malnutrition are rampant.
Farmers do not have enough land to feed themselves.
Farmers do not have the inputs that are needed or order to yield high-growing crops (fertilizer, equipment, etc.).
Farmers are dependent on climate and physiography. No rain = economic crisis and starvation.
Farmers have trouble selling produce. Lack of roads the biggest problem. Half of India’s villages cannot be accessed by truck (or automobile)!
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Regions of the Realm INDIA
Economic Geography cont.
Agriculture
Agriculture most dominant job in India
More than 2/3 of population still subsistence farmers
Hunger and malnutrition rampant
Manufacturing and Information Technology
Since 2000, India’s economy has grown faster than ever before.
Manufacturing
Improved over time, but pace is still slow
Steel, machinery, building materials global players
Information Technology (IT)
Outsourcing – in this case, the U.S. outsources jobs to India due to the cheaper cost of labor.
Software and IT services account for 8% of GDP, but employs only 2% of workforce.
‘Silicon Plateau’ (state of Karnataka) software company agglomeration in South
Agriculture
Agriculture is stagnant and badly fragmented. Farmland is in need of land reform.
Traditional farming methods and low yields per acre persist with inefficient transportation for farm products
Land reform is needed and much land remained in the hands of the large, wealthy landholders.
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Regions of the Realm INDIA
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Regions of the Realm INDIA
Other Geographies
Urbanization
30% of population is urbanized.
Rate if urbanization is high – 3% growth rate per year.
Similar push and pull factors as Middle and South America
Small shops dominate city landscape more small shops than anywhere in world
Middle Class Expansion (300+ million)
No shopping center (mall), 2000
By 2005, 100+ shopping centers
By 2010, 500+ shopping centers
Major Infrastructural Projects Underway
Golden Quadrilateral Nationwide four-lane highway
Airports
This image should look familiar. It resembles Middle American and South American cities with the juxtaposition between the wealthy portion of the city and the poor portion of the city.
One of the things your book mentions is the proliferation of small, retail shops in India’s cities.
In fact, there are about 15 million retail shops in India, more than in any other country (U.S. only has 1 million but is 13 times richer).
Interestingly enough, these shops do not make much money. So, how do they survive?
Informal Sector – an economic sector dominated by unlicensed sellers of homemade goods and services, the primitive form of capitalism found in many countries that takes place beyond the control of the government.
In essence, these shops are:
Unregistered
Pay no taxes
Use family labor
Sell basic goods
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Regions of the Realm BANGLADESH
Regions of the Realm BANGLADESH
Basics:
Persistent Poverty
One of poorest and least developed countries on earth
Low GNP and industrialization
High population growth 1.5%, and already 170 million people
Physical Geography
Prone to Natural Hazards
During 20th century, 8 of 10 deadliest natural disasters struck this country
Dangerous location
Land barely above sea level double delta causes land to sink
Funnel-shaped Bay of Bengal causes water to pile up, nowhere to go but Bangladesh
Economic Geography
Subsistence Farmers = 50%+
Urbanization = 25%
Population Geography
70% of population under 35 years old demographic burden.
Bangladesh is an interesting country. It is particularly hard-hit my natural disasters. Why?
Look at the shape of the Bay of Bengal. If you were a storm, where would you hit? Bangladesh.
The Bay of Bengal literally funnels all storms into Bangladesh.
That is why Bangladesh experienced 8 out of the 10 deadliest natural disasters in the 20th century.
And of course, the country is very poor, meaning it cannot build seawalls, floodgates, elevated shelters, or adequate escape routes.
In addition to the funnel shape of the Bay of Bengal, two rivers come into Bangladesh (Ganges and Brahmaputra) and form a double delta. These rivers cause the land to sit low and also contribute to the ease of storms getting into the country.
This is a land of subsistence farmers.
Notice the small proportion of people that live in cities.
Also notice the population geography. We are talking about a VERY young population, many of which are a demographic burden to the country as a whole.
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Regions of the Realm BANGLADESH
Problems/Challenges:
High population growth
Major challenge.
Growth rate slower (1.5%) but still high
High demographic burden
Relations with India
Water resources
India controls Ganges River Bangladesh dependent
Problems when India dammed Ganges – loss of farmland, forestland, and drinking water
Territory
Bangladesh refused India transit through northern portion of country at one time
Muslim country but cross border migration creates a sizable Hindu minority (10% of the population is Hindu)
Physiologic Density (one of highest in world) – number of people per unit area of arable land.
UNITED STATES
PopD = 33 people/sq. km
PhysD = 163 people/sq. km
BANGLADESH
PopD = 1176 people/sq. km
PhysD = 1867 people/sq. km
Regions of the Realm BANGLADESH
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Bangladesh is a rural country where the mainstay is farming.
However, population growth has been high which has affected the physiologic density.
Notice that Bangladesh’s Physiologic Density is 1867 people/square km.
Compare that to the U.S. and this tells us that there is not a lot of arable (farmable land) for all the people that live in this country. This can and does create problems when the mainstay of the economy is farming.
Regions of the Realm The MOUNTAINOUS NORTH
Nepal
Buffer State – state that exists as a buffer between two powerful and competing entities (in this case, India and China).
Influenced by both India and China
India 80% population are Hindu (but with Buddhist ideals)
China Maoist (communist) ideologies affecting politics and causing insurrection
Historical Monarchy
Monarchy forced out by Maoist rebels, 2006
Peaceful elections, 2008
Severe underdevelopment
Lowest GDP in realm
Strong centrifugal forces trying to tear country apart
Environmental degradation, crowded farmlands, soil erosion, and deforestation
Tourism dwindled since Maoist insurrection
Bhutan
Mountainous buffer state between India and China
Absolute monarchy multiparty democracy, 2008
State religion Buddhism
Dominates landscape
Isolation and inaccessibility dominate country economy
Regions of the Realm The SOUTHERN ISLANDS
Sri Lanka
Cultural Geography
Majority Buddhist
Sinhalese
Constitute majority in country
Linked to Northern India and came to island 2500 years ago
Practice Buddhism
Speak Sinhala
Dravidians
Minority “Tamils”
Linked to Southern India and came to island during British colonialism
Practice Hinduism
Speak Dravidian
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Regions of the Realm The SOUTHERN ISLANDS
Sri Lanka cont.
Historical Geography
British favored Tamils – created bad blood between two cultures
Upon independence, Sinhalese excluded Tamils
Civil war, 1983
Tamils demanded equal rights in:
Education
Employment
Landownership
Linguistic and political representation
Formation of insurgent state and years of successive violence, cease-fires, and negotiations
Political Geography
Tamil Tigers defeated, 2009
Country on road to recovery
Sri Lanka is a country that dealt with an insurgent state for decades. We’ll get to that.
Basically, there are two groups: the Sinhalese and the Tamils.
The Tamils were brought over by the British to work the tea plantations, and they were the favored culture.
Upon independence, the Sinhalese excluded the Tamils and the Tamils rebelled. The Tamils formed an insurgent group known as the Tamil Tigers (or Tigers of Tamil Eelam)
By 1983, a full-scale civil war had broken out.
The Tamil Tigers took the Jaffna Peninsula in the north, and then more territory to the south of this peninsula.
The Tamil Tigers began publishing maps to show their ‘state.’ Overall, the Tamils wanted territory in the northern and eastern portions of the country, territory they would name Eelam.
Between 2002-2007, the government went back and forth with the Tamils in terms of peace agreements and cease-fires.
Finally, the government went on an aggressive attack that broke the Tamil’s resistance.
In January, 2009, the president of Sri Lanka declared the Tamils defeated.
We will see what happens now in the future, but for all intents and purposes the country is trying to mend.
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Regions of the Realm The SOUTHERN ISLANDS
The Maldives
Physical Geography
Country with 1000’s of tiny islands
Combined area = 115 square miles
Highest elevation 6ft in region of tropical storms
Cultural Geography
Sinhalese and Dravidian
100% Muslim
Economic Geography
Tourist Mecca - brings in huge revenues (30% national GDP)
One of wealthiest countries in realm
Future Issues
Global warming is the Maldives dark cloud – why?
I have this country here because we could very well be witnessing the “Death of a Nation.” One of the most interesting aspects is that the highest point on any of the islands is 6ft. If temperatures on the surface of the earth continue to warm, the Maldives could very well be under water in the near future from the associated sea level rise.
And by the way, GNI is
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