1- India

I) Invasions, Empires, and Independence

A) Early History
a) the first civilization in the area was in the Indus River Valley around 2500 BCE
(i) two very advanced cities existed here with grid system city planning and
advanced plumbing in each house
1 Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
b) about 1000 years later, the civilization was in major decline and was invaded by the
Aryans from the Caucasus region
(i) these people brought sacred text called the Vedas that helped form the basis for
Hinduism
c) various kings ruled over the years
(i) Alexander the Great invaded in 326 BCE, but left before finishing his conquest
d) in 321 BCE, the Mauryan Empire united most of the people of India
(i) by this time Buddhism was a secondary religion of India, and the Mauryans
spread Buddhism throughout Asia
e) about 320 CE, the Gupta Empire took hold and reestablished Hinduism as the primary
religion
(i) invaders from Central Asia began entering India by about the 5th century
(ii) Muslim groups used these same invasion routes and by the 1500s had established
the Mughal Empire
1 new Muslim customs clashed with Hindu rituals
B) Europeans Arrive
a) also in the 1500s the first European traders (Portuguese) arrived for spices, cloth, and
other goods
(i) eventually the French and Dutch joined in, followed by the English
1 the English took direct control of the region in 1857
 in some ways English rule was good, but most Indians the oppressive
means the British used to keep control
 in 1947, Mohandas Gandhi began a peaceful opposition movement to
resist British rule
 don’t forget, the British had just fought WWII and did not have the
resources to reestablish control, so they granted India independence
 independence brought issues out between the Muslims and Hindus
that the British had long suppressed
 Gandhi attempted to keep the peace, even ending the Hindu
belief of untouchability, but he was eventually assassinated by
a Hindu radical
 in order to finally restore peace, India split away the two
Muslim majority regions to form East and West Pakistan (now
just Pakistan and Bangladesh)
II) Governing the World’s Largest Democracy
A) India mixed their form of democracy to use elements of both British and American styles
a) they have a strong central government that holds together a federation of states
 b) they also have a parliamentary form of legislature with a prime minister as head of
state
B) religion plays a key role in Indian politics
a) Hinduism is the largest, but politicians must also consider the rights and beliefs of
Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Tamils(ethnic group, not religion), etc
III) Economic Challenges
A) Dependence on Farming
a) about 2/3 of India relies on farming for income
(i) most farms are small with low yields of crops
(ii) this means much of the country is subject to weather and famines
B) Growing Industry
a) textiles, steel, iron, chemicals, and electronics are all parts of India’s industry
b) many international companies take advantage of India’s low wages and highly skilled
workers
IV) Life in Modern India
A) Daily Life
a) marriage and family are the center of Indian life
(i) many still follow the custom of arranged marriages
(ii) often many generations will live together under one roof
b) India is home to the second largest creator of movies in the world, which is dubbed
Bollywood
(i) often these movies incorporate elements of India culture, like dance and music
B) Education
a) India has a high literacy rate
(i) in slums and rural areas, schooling is irregular and literacy rates are very low
b) higher education often has more rigorous requirements than in the US
V) Indian Culture
A) Many Languages
a) there are 22 major language groups containing over 1000 languages and dialects
(i) Hindi is the official language, followed by English as the next most spoken
b) Southern India is more varied
(i) they have 4 major languages: Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam
B) Hinduism
a) about 80% of the population is Hindu
(i) until the 1950s, Hinduism had a complex caste system that separated people by
their families
1 originally those classes were determined by job
(ii) Hindus believe in reincarnation (rebirth), which is determined by karma, the
consequences of a person’s life choices
C) Other Religions
a) these include Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism

pg. 572 (1, 3ab) R (1, 3ab, 4) H

2- Pakistan and Bangladesh

I) New Countries, Ancient Lands
A) Early History
a) the Indus Civilization, discussed in section 1, is technically located in present-day
Pakistan
b) the region was subject to the same empires and conquerors as India in section 1
B) Partition and War
a) the end of British rule in 1947 brought about the partition
(i) India was created because it was primarily Hindu
(ii) East and West Pakistan were created because they were primarily Muslim
b) the split caused tensions to explode in territories that held large numbers of both
religions, and about 1 million people were killed in disputed territories
(i) another 10 million fled across borders
c) while East and West Pakistan shared religion, the physical separation by India and the
fact that they ethnically different led them to split
(i) East wanted to form their own country, but West didn’t want to lose them, so civil
war broke out in 1971
1 India helped East break from West and become Bangladesh
C) Military Rule
a) both Pakistan and Bangladesh have had issues with political corruption
(i) after brief periods under elected rulers, the military often would take power
(ii) each has also had women prime ministers, surprisingly
b) Pakistan has fought numerous wars with India over old disputed territory
II) Struggling Economies
A) Subsistence Farming
a) most farmers in both countries work small plots of land and grow just enough to
survive
b) harsh climate and older farming methods keep yields small
c) the most productive areas lie in river deltas
B) Small Industry
a) neither country is highly industrialized
(i) most factories are small and lack the money to expand
(ii) both countries produce cotton for textiles
III) One Religion, Many Peoples
A) Islamic Culture
a) since the Mughal Empire, Islam has been integral, especially in the northern areas of
South Asia
(i) Pakistan is generally more strict in the enforcement of Islamic (Sharia) Law
1 this includes the seclusion of women, similar to (but not as harsh) as Saudi
Arabia
(ii) Bangladesh is much less strict and allows general freedom to women (who are
still not equal)
B) Ethnic Diversity
a) Pakistan has 6 ethnic groups
(i) each group has its own language
1 Urdu was set as the national language because it prevented any one group
from seeming to be favored more than others
 b) Bangladesh has a few ethnicities, but most are Bengali
(i) most speak the same language, though there is a small group of Urdu speaking
Muslims and about 10% of the population is Hindu

pg. 577 (1, 3) R (1, 3, 4) H

3- Nepal and Bhutan

I) Mountain Nations
A) Geographic Isolation
a) the main feature of Nepal and Bhutan is the mountainous landscape
(i) steep ridges and deep valleys characterize the region
b) both nations have remained isolated simply because it’s hard to reach them
(i) despite influence from China and Britain, the nations have generally remained
independent
B) Evolving Monarchies
a) for much of their history, Nepal was ruled by Hindu kings and Bhutan by Buddhist
kings
b) today, both countries are constitutional monarchies
(i) the monarchies are hereditary, but they are limited by a constitution
1 currently, Nepal is shifting to a federal democratic republic, like the US
II) Developing Economies
A) Limited Resources
a) both economies are mainly agricultural
(i) due to the landscape, most of the land can’t even be used
(ii) most farms end up being small
1 farmers use terraces on the mountainsides to increase farmland and reduce
erosion
(iii)they also have livestock- generally cattle, sheep, and yaks
b) timber is important, but like many other areas, deforestation is a problem (especially
in Nepal)
c) most trade occurs with India
B) Increasing Tourism
a) as the popularity of the mountains and climbing Everest increased, so did the tourist
industry in Nepal
(i) while increasing income, though, it has hurt the environment
b) Bhutan limits the number of tourists per year to increase income, but protect their
land
III) Rich Cultural Traditions
A) A Mix of Peoples
a) the people of the region are various, but most trace back to early India and Tibet
B) Religious Customs
a) both Hinduism and Buddhism are very popular in the region
(i) Buddhism’s founder, Siddhartha Gautama, was born on the border of Nepal and
India
 b) often, images of large fortress-monasteries set in the mountains are based on the
Buddhist strongholds in Bhutan

pg. 583 (1, 3) R (1, 3, 4) H

4- Sri Lanka and the Maldives

I) History of the Islands

A) Settlement of Sri Lanka
a) the Sinhalese were people from northern India who migrated to Sri Lanka
(i) absorbed the native inhabitants
(ii) adopted Buddhism
b) Tamils were Hindus who migrated hundreds of years later
(i) they brought new language and culture
(ii) took over the north, while the Sinhalese moved south
c) Europeans colonized starting in the 16th century
(i) left Sri Lanka when Britain granted India independence
1 after independence, the Tamils (the minority) claimed mistreatment by the
Sinhalese and demanded an independent state
 eventually this led to civil war in the 1980s between the Sri Lankan
government and the Tamil Tigers
 Sri Lanka was victorious in 2009
B) A Muslim State in the Maldives
a) the Maldives are an island chain of about 1200 islands
(i) populated by Hindus and Buddhists
(ii) Arab traders in the 12th century brought Islam with them, and most eventually
converted
b) the islands were briefly controlled by foreign groups, but in 1968 the Maldives
declared itself a republic under an elected president
II) Life in the Islands
A) Ethnic Mosaic of the Islands
a) Sri Lanka
(i) about 69% Sinhalese Buddhists
(ii) about 18% Tamil Hindus
(iii) about 8% Muslim
(iv) the rest are Christians called Burghers
b) Maldives
(i) more equally diverse than Sri Lanka ethnically
(ii) Islam is the state religion
B) Culture in Sri Lanka
a) religion is important
(i) landscape is dotted with Buddhist and Hindu temples, Muslim mosques, and
Christian churches
b) art and literature are heavily influenced by religion
C) Culture in the Maldives
a) Islam is the driving force behind all customs in the Maldives
III) Economic Activity in the Islands
A) Economic Strengths
a) Sri Lanka
(i) mostly based on agriculture
(ii) timber also important, but the region suffers from deforestation
b) Maldives
(i) mostly based on fishing
(ii) tourism is a major part of their economy
B) Challenges
a) Sri Lanka has little income from tourism because of the long civil war
(i) the war also destroyed needed infrastructure
b) the Maldives have a significant worry with climate change
(i) rising water levels put them at risk of disappearing since most of the islands lie
within a meter of sea level

pg. 587 (1, 3a)