Indian subcontinent

This article is about the geophysical region of Asia. For the geopolitical subregion of Asia, see South Asia. "The subcontinent" redirects here. For general usage of the term, see Continent § Subcontinents.

Indian subcontinent
Geopolitical coverage of the subcontinent
Area4,440,000 km2 (1,710,000 sq mi)
Populationc. 1.9 billion
Countries
7
Dependencies
Languages
Official:
Time zones
List:
Largest cities
10 largest cities

The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia encompassing most of the Himalayas and the land to their south, projecting into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. Politically, the Indian subcontinent is divided among Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, whose territories were part of historical and British India before its partition in 1947. Although the terms Indian subcontinent and South Asia are often used interchangeably to denote a wider region which includes, in addition, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, the Indian subcontinent term is more geophysical, whereas South Asia is more geopolitical. South Asia is also frequently defined to include Afghanistan, which is not considered part of the subcontinent even in extended usage.

Name

The region surrounding and southeast of the Indus River was often simply referred to as India in many historical sources. Even today, historians use India to denote the entire Indian subcontinent when discussing history up until the era of the British Raj. Over time, however, the term India evolved to refer to a distinct political entity that eventually became a nation-state.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term subcontinent signifies a "subdivision of a continent which has a distinct geographical, political, or cultural identity" and also a "large land mass somewhat smaller than a continent". Its use to signify the Indian subcontinent is evidenced from the early twentieth century when most of the territory was either part of the British Empire or allied with them. It was a convenient term to refer to the region comprising both British India and the princely states.

The term has been particularly common in the British Empire and its successors, while the term South Asia is the more common usage in Europe and North America as well as in most countries in South Asia itself sometimes. According to historians Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal, the Indian subcontinent has come to be known as South Asia "in more recent and neutral parlance". Indologist Ronald B. Inden argues that the usage of the term South Asia is becoming more widespread since it clearly distinguishes the region from East Asia.

Since the Partition of British India, citizens of Pakistan (which became independent of British India in 1947) and Bangladesh (which became independent of Pakistan in 1971) often perceive the use of Indian subcontinent as offensive and suspicious because of the dominant placement of India in the term. As such it is being increasingly less used in those countries. Meanwhile, many Indian analysts prefer to use the term because of the socio-cultural commonalities of the region. The region has also been called the "Asian subcontinent", the "South Asian subcontinent", as well as "India" or "Greater India" in the classical and pre-modern sense.

The sport of cricket, introduced to the region by the British, is notably popular in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Within a cricket context, these countries are sometimes referred to simply as the subcontinent e.g. "Australia's tour of the subcontinent". The term is also sometimes used adjectivally in cricket e.g. "subcontinental conditions".

Geology

Cimmeria, having rifted from Gondwana shown drifting towards Eurasia, closing the Paleo-Tethys Ocean to the north, opening the Neo-Tethys Ocean to the south, and carrying parts of what is today the Tibetan Plateau
The accretions of the Karakoram, the Kohistan-Ladakh island arc, and the Gangdese belt to Eurasia preceded the final India-Eurasia collision. The stars mark the syntaxis-causing obtrustions.

Before the Indian plate rifted from Gondwana and drifted northward toward Eurasia, two other landmasses, the Qiangtang terrane and Lhasa terrane, had accreted to Eurasia. The Qiantang and Lhasa terranes were part of the string of microcontinents Cimmeria, today constituting parts of Turkey, Iran, Pakistan (including the Karakoram), China, Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia, which closed the Paleo-Tethys Ocean to the north of them and opening the Neo-Tethys Ocean between them and Gondwana, eventually colliding with Eurasia, and creating the Cimmerian Orogeny.

After the Lhasa terrane had adjoined Eurasia, an active continental margin opened along its southern flank, to the south of which the Neo-Tethys oceanic plate had begun to subduct. Magmatic activity along this flank produced the Gangdese batholith in what is today the Tibetan trans-Himalaya. Another subduction zone opened to the west, in the ocean basin above the Kohistan-Ladakh island arc. This island arc—formed by one oceanic plate subducting beneath another, its magma rising and creating continental crust—drifted north, closed its ocean basin and collided with Eurasia. Ladakh is today in the Indian-administered region of Kashmir and Kohistan in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, both on the Indian subcontinent.

The collision of India with Eurasia closed the Neo-Tethys Ocean. The suture zone (in this instance, the remnants of the Neo-Tethys subduction zone pinched between the two continental crusts), which marks India's welding to Eurasia, is called the Indus-Yarlung suture zone. It lies north of the Himalayas. The headwaters of the Indus River and the Yarlung Tsangpo (later in its course, the Brahmaputra) flow along this suture zone. These two Eurasian rivers, whose courses were continually diverted by the rising Himalayas, define the western and eastern limits, respectively, of the Himalayan mountain range.

Religion

This section is an excerpt from Religion in South Asia.[edit]
Religion in South Asia (2010 estimate)
  1. Hinduism (60.0%)
  2. Islam (34.0%)
  3. Others (6.00%)

In 2010, South Asia had the world's largest population of Hindus, about 510 million Muslims, over 27 million Sikhs, 35 million Christians and over 25 million Buddhists. Hindus make up about 60 percent or about 900 million and Muslims at 34 percent or 510 million of the overall South Asia population, while Buddhists, Jains, Zoroastrians, Sikhs, and Christians constitute most of the rest. The Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, and Christians are concentrated in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan, while the Muslims are concentrated in Afghanistan (99%), Bangladesh (91%), Pakistan (96%) and Maldives (100%).

Indian religions (also known as Dharmic religions) are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent; namely Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. The Indian religions are distinct yet share terminology, concepts, goals and ideas, and from South Asia spread into East Asia and Southeast Asia. Early Christianity and Islam were introduced into coastal regions of South Asia by merchants who settled among the local populations. Later Sindh, Balochistan, and parts of the Punjab region saw conquest by the Arab caliphates along with an influx of Muslims from Persia and Central Asia, which resulted in spread of both Shia and Sunni Islam in parts of northwestern region of South Asia. Subsequently, under the influence of Muslim rulers of the Islamic sultanates and the Mughal Empire, Islam spread in South Asia. About one-third of the world's Muslims are from South Asia.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Excluding:
  2. 1 2 As island countries, Maldives and Sri Lanka are sometimes not considered parts of the subcontinent, as they lack geographic contiguity with the mainland. They are considered parts of the region in cultural geography or geology instead.
  3. ↑ Excluding Upper Mustang and other areas which lie to the north of the Greater Himalayan Mountain Range.
  4. ↑ Excluding:
  5. ↑ Administered by the United Kingdom, claimed by Mauritius as the Chagos Archipelago.
  6. ↑ Disputed territory with undetermined political status. Administration is split between China (Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract), India (Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan). China claims a small portion of the territory, Pakistan claims the majority of the territory, and India claims the entire territory (see: UN mediation of the Kashmir dispute).
  7. ↑ For example, a history book intended for Pakistani B.A. students by K. Ali uses the term "Indo-Pakistan" instead.
  8. ↑ Terrane: "A far traveled crustal block accreted to a continent. Due to its remote origin, the terrane shows a different geological evolution compared to adjacent parts of the continent."

References

  1. ↑ "Indian subcontinent (noun)", Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, March 2025, doi:10.1093/OED/1205710598, retrieved 31 March 2025, (subsidiary remark) Also used with wider application to include Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. The term is roughly equivalent to South Asia, esp. in the wider use, although Indian subcontinent is sometimes considered to be more of a geophysical description, and South Asia more geopolitical.
  2. 1 2 Jim Norwine & Alfonso González, The Third World: states of mind and being, pages 209, Taylor & Francis, 1988, ISBN 0-04-910121-8 Quote: ""The term "South Asia" also signifies the Indian Subcontinent""
    Raj S. Bhopal, Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies, pages 33, Oxford University Press, 2007, ISBN 0-19-856817-7; Quote: "The term South Asian refers to populations originating from the Indian subcontinent, effectively India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka;
    Lucian W. Pye & Mary W. Pye, Asian Power and Politics, pages 133, Harvard University Press, 1985, ISBN 0-674-04979-9 Quote: "The complex culture of the Indian subcontinent, or South Asia, presents a tradition comparable to Confucianism."
    Mark Juergensmeyer, The Oxford handbook of global religions, pages 465, Oxford University Press US, 2006, ISBN 0-19-513798-1
    Sugata Bose & Ayesha Jalal, Modern South Asia, page 3, Routledge, 2004, ISBN 0-415-30787-2
  3. ↑ "Indian subcontinent Map, Countries, Population, & History". Encyclopædia Britannica. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  4. ↑ Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, Merriam-Webster, 2002. Retrieved 6 December 2016; Quote: "a large landmass smaller than a continent; especially: a major subdivision of a continent ! e Indian subcontinent | "
  5. ↑ "subcontinent - definition of subcontinent in English | Oxford Dictionaries". 20 December 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2024. A large distinguishable part of a continent
  6. ↑ Milton Walter Meyer, South Asia: A Short History of the Subcontinent, pages 1, Adams Littlefield, 1976, ISBN 0-8226-0034-X
  7. ↑ Baker Henry D. (1915). British India With Notes On Ceylon Afghanistan And Tibet (1915). p. 401.
  8. ↑ "subcontinent". Oxford English Dictionary (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  9. ↑ "Indian subcontinent". Oxford English Dictionary (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  10. ↑ Milton Walter Meyer, South Asia: A Short History of the Subcontinent, pages 1, Adams Littlefield, 1976, ISBN 0-8226-0034-X
    Jim Norwine & Alfonso González, The Third World: states of mind and being, pages 209, Taylor & Francis, 1988, ISBN 0-04-910121-8
    Boniface, Brian G.; Christopher P. Cooper (2005). Worldwide destinations: the geography of travel and tourism. Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-7506-5997-0.
    Judith Schott & Alix Henley, Culture, Religion, and Childbearing in a Multiracial Society, pages 274, Elsevier Health Sciences, 1996, ISBN 0-7506-2050-1
    Raj S. Bhopal, Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies, pages 33, Oxford University Press, 2007, ISBN 0-19-856817-7
    Lucian W. Pye & Mary W. Pye, Asian Power and Politics, pages 133, Harvard University Press, 1985, ISBN 0-674-04979-9
    Mark Juergensmeyer, The Oxford handbook of global religions, pages 465, Oxford University Press US, 2006, ISBN 0-19-513798-1
  11. ↑ Judith Schott & Alix Henley, Culture, Religion, and Childbearing in a Multiracial Society, pages 274, Elsevier Health Sciences, 1996, ISBN 0750620501
  12. ↑ Raj S. Bhopal, Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies, pages 33, Oxford University Press, 2007, ISBN 0198568177
  13. ↑ Bose, Sugata; Jalal, Ayeha (2004) [First published 1998]. Modern South Asia. Routledge. p. 3. ISBN 0415307872.
  14. ↑ Ronald B. Inden, Imagining India, page 51, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2000, ISBN 1850655200
  15. 1 2 B.H. Farmer, An Introduction to South Asia, page 1, Methuen and Co. Ltd., 1983, ISBN 9780416726008, "The 'Indian sub continent' is a term that certainly recognises the dominant position of India in both area and population. Since the partition of Indian Empire, use of this term becomes offensive to the Pakistanis and the Bangladeshis."
    Jona Razzaque, Public Interest Environmental Litigation in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, page 3, Kluwer Law International, 2004, ISBN 9789041122148 "Yet, because citizens of Pakistan (which was carved out of India in 1947 and has had recurring conflicts with India since then) and of Bangladesh (which became separated from Pakistan by civil war in 1971) might find offensive the dominant placement of India in the term "Indian subcontinent", many scholars today prefer the more recently adopted designation 'South Asia.'"
    Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby, Religions of South Asia: An Introduction, page 3, Routledge, 2006, ISBN 9781134593224
    S K Shah, India and Its Neighbours: Renewed Threats and New Directions, page 26, Vij Books India Pvt Ltd, 2017, ISBN 9789386367501 "Indian analysts, who talk of the Indian sub-continent, wish to keep in mind, in their analyses, the common historical, political, religious and cultural heritage of these three countries. The term sub-continent is used less and less in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The political leadership and the policy-makers in these two countries do not wish to be reminded of this common heritage. Any highlighting of this common heritage by Indian analysts is viewed by them with suspicion—— as indicating a hidden desire to reverse history and undo the 1947 partition."
  16. ↑ Ali, K. (1980). A New History of Indo-Pakistan up to 1526 (4th ed.). Lahore: Aziz Publishers.
  17. ↑ Crouch, Lizzie; McGrath, Paula (30 March 2014). "Humanity's global battle with mosquitoes". BBC News. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024.
  18. ↑ Kronstadt, K. Alan (2011). Terrorist Attacks in Mumbai, India, and Implications for U. S. Interests. DIANE Publishing. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-4379-2953-9.
  19. ↑ Ahmad, Aijazuddin (2009). Geography of the South Asian Subcontinent: A Critical Approach. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 978-81-8069-568-1.
  20. ↑ Ayesha Jalal (2008). Partisans of Allah: Jihad in South Asia. Harvard University Press. p. xiii. ISBN 9780674028012.
  21. ↑ K. D. Kapur, Nuclear Non-proliferation Diplomacy: Nuclear Power Programmes in the Third World, page 365, Lancers Books, 1993, ISBN 9788170950363|Daya Nath Tripathi (ed), Discourse on Indo European Languages and Culture, page 193, Indian Council of Historical Research, 2005, ISBN 9788178271200
  22. ↑ Khan, Muhammad Akram (1 January 2013). What Is Wrong with Islamic Economics?: Analysing the Present State and Future Agenda. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78254-415-9.
  23. ↑ John McLeod (2002). The history of India. Greenwood Press. p. 1. ISBN 0-313-31459-4. Note: McLeod does not include Afghanistan in the Indian subcontinent or South Asia.
  24. ↑ Mittal, Sushil; Thursby, Gene (18 April 2006). Religions of South Asia: An Introduction. Routledge. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-134-59322-4.
  25. ↑ Baker, Kathleen M.; Chapman, Graham P. (11 March 2002). The Changing Geography of Asia. Routledge. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-134-93384-6.
  26. ↑ "Khawaja in the subcontinent - unselectable to indispensable". ESPNcricinfo. 10 March 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  27. ↑ "Subcontinent lessons for Australia's youngsters". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  28. ↑ "A distinctly sub-continental wicket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  29. ↑ Frisch, Meschede & Blakey 2011, p. 197.
  30. ↑ Frisch, Meschede & Blakey 2011, p. 174.
  31. ↑ Zanchi, Andrea; Gaetani, Maurizio (2011). "The geology of the Karakoram range, Pakistan: the new 1:100,000 geological map of Central-Western Karakoram". Italian Journal of Geosciences. 130 (2): 161–262. doi:10.3301/IJG.2011.09. The Tirich Boundary Zone is a complex assemblage of high grade metabasites and gneiss with small remnants of sub-continental peridotites, which separate East Hindu Kush from the Karakoram. Its emplacement has been related to the possible opening of a basin between the two blocks at the end of the Paleozoic, followed by its deformation during the collision of Karakoram with East Hindu Kush, dating to the end of Triassic or beginning of the Jurassic.
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 Frisch, Meschede & Blakey 2011, p. 172.
  33. ↑ Frisch, Meschede & Blakey 2011, p. 173.
  34. 1 2 3 "Region: Asia-Pacific". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  35. ↑ "Table: Religious Composition by Country, in Numbers | Pew Research Center". 9 December 2016. Archived from the original on 9 December 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  36. ↑ "Region: South Asia". 27 January 2011. Archived from the original on 29 December 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  37. 1 2 Adams, C. J., Classification of religions: Geographical Archived 14 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007. Accessed: 15 July 2010; Quote: "Indian religions, including early Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, and sometimes also Theravāda Buddhism and the Hindu- and Buddhist-inspired religions of South and Southeast Asia".
  38. ↑ Alberts, Irving, T., . D. R. M. (2013). Intercultural Exchange in Southeast Asia: History and Society in the Early Modern World (International Library of Historical Studies). I.B. Tauris.
  39. ↑ Balabanlilar, Lisa (2012). Imperial Identity in Mughal Empire: Memory and Dynastic Politics in Early Modern Central Asia. I.B. Tauris. pp. 1–2, 7–10. ISBN 978-1-84885-726-1. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  40. ↑ Pechilis, Karen; Raj, Selva J. (1 January 2013). South Asian Religions: Tradition and Today. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-44851-2.
  41. ↑ "10 Countries With the Largest Muslim Populations, 2010 and 2050". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 2 April 2015. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  42. ↑ Akhilesh Pillalamarri. "How South Asia Will Save Global Islam". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2017.

Bibliography