1. What are the four subregions of South Asia?

Describe their
similarities and differences.
- Mountains of North: - this was formed by collision of indian subcontinent
with asian landmass
-Indus Ganges Brahmaputra Lowlands: - Lowlands created by three major
river systems
-Penninsular India: - Deccan plateau covers most of the India
-The southern Island: - Srilanka and Maldives

2. What causes the South Asian monsoon? How does it affect

different parts of South Asia?
- During the warmer months a low pressure tends to develop over land and
high pressure over the adjacent water bodies, which leads to wet monsoon
and vice versa in cooler months
Seasons are defined by precipitation pattern and not by temperature
pattern. Monsoon in south Asia is the most anticipated one where in the
structures present in the area effect the monsoon and the winds from
Arabian Sea are north east for six months and south east for next six
months.

3. What is orographic rainfall? Where is it important for South

Asian agriculture?
- Orographic rainfall results from the uplifting and cooling of moist
monsoon winds over the Western Ghats. Which results are that some
regions receive over 200 inches of rain during a 4-month period. Not all of
South Asia receives a significant amount of rain during the monsoon region
and so agriculture varies across the South Asian region. Nonetheless,
whether or not rain falls onto the land, agriculture improves with the
Orographic rain

4. How and why does the birthrate differ geographically within

South Asia?
- Literacy Rates: Typically where womens literacy rates have increased,
birthrates have dropped significantly Southern South Asia.
-Government Support: Advertisement of family plan policies through radio
and billboards
-Easier access to oral contraceptives: Lack of government support/policy
ends with higher fertility rate.

-Religious Influence- Strong Muslim culture discourages women from using

contraceptives

5. What are some of the infrastructural problems faced by South

Asian cities? Give some specific examples.
- Though South Asia is one of the least urbanized regions, it has grown
rapidly. Because the infrastructures in the cities werent able to support the
growing population, there are a lot of infrastructure problems. There are a
lot of squatter settlements and temporary housing. There are overloaded
or overpopulated infrastructures in Calcutta. The cities are generally
overburdened with the amount of people that are in the cities. Sometimes,
there arent enough structures to house everyone in the city in multiples
places in the South Asian region.

6. Describe the geography of Islam within India. That is, where

are the significant Muslim minorities located in India?
- Though Islam is a minority in this region, its still very important. With
having more than 400 million members, the South Asian Muslim
community is one of the largest in the world. The countries that are the
most Muslim or Islamic are Pakistan and Bangladesh. Though Muslims
only make up about 13 to 15% of the religious community in India, that
percentage translated into 160 million people. The Muslims or the Islamic
community in India is the 3 rd. largest in the world

7. What are the major Indo-European languages in South Asia?

Where are they located? Where are the non-Indo-European
languages located?
- Indo-European languages are Iranian languages like Baluchi and
Pashtun found in western Pakistan; Indo-Aryan languages are closely
relatedHindi is most widely spoken in South Asia, with Bengali second;
Urdu is official language of Pakistan. four main Dravidian languages, each
associated with an Indian state: Kannada in Karnataka, Malayalam in
Kerala, Telugu in Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil in Tamil Nadu; Sinhalese is
dominant language of Sri Lanka; Divehi is national language of the
Maldives.

8. Describe three different regions of geopolitical and ethnic

tensions within South Asia?
- After the independence of India in 1947, India wanted to set itself up as a
independent state. The leaders tried to organize itself according to

language and religion. But this lead to a lot of conflicts Kashmir this is
where there are turmoil in between the relations between India and
Pakistan. Punjab: religious conflict has caused political tensions; area
originally composed of Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh; divided in 1947; Sikhs
demand independence. Northeastern Fringe: upland areas of India's
northeast; various ethnic groups demand greater autonomy

9. Where are the centers or core areas of economic development

within the different South Asian countries?
- India's Centers of Economic Growth are found mostly in south and west;
west-central states of Gujarat and Maharashtra noted for industrial and
financial clout and agricultural productivity; benefit from connections with
Indian diaspora; Mumbai, located in Maharashtra, is financial center, media
capital and manufacturing powerhouse; large industrial zones located in
state; center of India's fast-growing high-technology sector in the south,
especially in city of Bengaluru other high-tech centers include Hyderabad
and Chennai.
Sri Lanka is second most highly developed in South Asia; exports
concentrated in textiles and agricultural products; but remains poor; hopes
to benefit from port, high levels of education, and tourism potential; the
Maldives' economy based on fishing and international tourismboth
vulnerable.
Nepal and Bhutan disadvantaged by rough terrain and remote locations;
many areas subsistence-oriented; Bhutan has remained isolated from
global economy. The government promotes 'gross national happiness'
instead of 'gross national product'; Bhutan also exports substantial
amounts of hydroelectricity to India; Nepal more heavily populated and
suffers severe environmental degradation; tourism has brought some
prosperity to Nepal, but also suffers; remittances from Nepalese migrants
help sustain economy

10. What kinds of relationships are seen between women's

literacy and different aspects of economic and social
development?
- Women used to be more oppressed and not allowed to be educated or
even own land but in modern times, women leave their home after puberty
to have their own families. Economics plays a major lore in the biased sex
ratios because boys are typically seen as a blessing since theyre more
likely to stay and provide for their families while girls will leave and create a
family of their own. Since more people want boys, there has been a
shortage of girls and women which in some parts has created a status for
women and has allowed them to have higher literacy rates.