South Asia Notes

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South Asia Notes

• South Asia
• Nuclear Proliferation
• Jammu and Kashmir

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South Asia

• Britain controlled India since the mid-1700s
  made many changes to the Indian way of life some
  of those changes were beneficial others were not
• Mohandas Gandhi used nonviolent methods to help
  India gain independence from Britain

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South Asia

• When India became independent in 1947, it was
  divided into two countries, India and Pakistan
  (Pakistan had two parts West Pakistan and East
  Pakistan)

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South Asia

• After a civil war in 1971, the eastern part of
  Pakistan became the nation of Bangladesh

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South Asia

• Most Indians live in rural villages where
  traditional ways of life remain
• Most villages now have electricity and television
  reaches about 75 of all Indians
• The growth of cities and the rise of a middle
  class are major trends in modern India

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South Asia

• Indian society has been organized into a caste
  system for hundreds of years
• Today the caste system continues to shape
  peoples lives despite the fact that it has
  become less rigid
• Indias government is working hard to raise the
  countrys standard of living

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South Asia

• Pakistan
• Along its Northern and Western borders is one of
  the worlds highest mountain ranges the Hindu
  Kush
• Mountains keep cold air from penetrating during
  the winter so temperatures are generally warm or
  hot
• The Indus River is the lifeline of this largely
  dry country

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South Asia

• Afghanistan
• As a result of invasions and migrations,
  Afghanistan includes many ethnic groups
• Russia and Britain both tried unsuccessfully to
  conquer Afghanistan
• When the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan
  in 1989 the Taliban came to power

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South Asia

• Bangladesh
• The country is an enormous delta formed by three
  powerful rivers
• The soil is very fertile but flooding occurs
  regularly
• Overpopulation is a problem. Bangladesh is the
  ninth most populous country of the world

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South Asia

• Nepal and Bhutan
• Nepal is about 90 percent Hindu
• Bhutan is about 75 percent Buddhist
• Both high mountains and politics kept these
  countries separated from the rest of the world
  until the middle of the 20th century

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South Asia

• Sri Lanka
• Deforestation may have helped changed Sri Lankas
  weather and caused droughts
• The Tamils (TAHM uhlz) minority are seeking a
  separate state

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Nuclear Proliferation in South Asia
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Nuclear Proliferation in South Asia

• India and Pakistan have both refused to sign the
  Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the
  Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
• India detonated a nuclear device in 1974 that it
  said was peaceful

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Nuclear Proliferation in South Asia

• India conducted underground testing on five
  nuclear weapons in May of 1998
• Seventeen days later Pakistan conducted its own
  tests detonating six devices to equal the number
  of Indian tests

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Nuclear Proliferation in South Asia

• It is estimated that India has about 85 nuclear
  weapons and that Pakistan has about 25 nuclear
  devices
• Both nations have surface to surface missiles
  that could deliver these weapons into any part of
  the other nations territory
• These countries have been hostile since
  independence in 1947

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Jammu and Kashmir

• Of particular concern is the situation in Jammu
  and Kashmir

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Jammu and Kashmir

• Under the plan for independence in 1947 Kashmir
  was supposed to be free to join either Pakistan
  or India
• The ruler of Kashmir decided to join with India
  in return for military aid and a promise of a
  referendum
• Pakistan believes that Kashmir should have been
  made part of Pakistan in 1947 because the
  majority of the inhabitants are Muslim

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Jammu and Kashmir

• Neither Pakistan nor India favor independence for
  the region
• The Line of Control separates Pakistan
  controlled Kashmir from Indian controlled Kashmir
• China also controls a small part of Kashmir

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Jammu and Kashmir

• Rival forces have entrenched themselves on the
  Siachen glacier (more than 6,000 meters high)
• More die from the harsh conditions of the
  environment than from combat

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Jammu and Kashmir

• Insurgents have been fighting Indian defense
  forces in Indian controlled Kashmir since 1989
• India claims that these forces are being armed by
  Pakistan
• Pakistan claims that while they support the
  insurgents politically they are not supplying
  them with arms

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Jammu and Kashmir

• The UN deployed a peacekeeping force to the
  region in 1949 to monitor a ceasefire
• UNMOGIP
• Formal hostilities renewed in 1971 (despite the
  presence of UNMOGIP)