Ch. 13.3: South Asia Today

Chapter 13.3

South Asia Today

South Asian Culture: Religion

• Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam are the three big religions in S. Asia

• Most People in India and Nepal are Hindu

• In Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, Muslims are the largest religious group

• Buddhism is strongest in Bhutan and Sri Lanka

Multiple Select

Which religions are NOT practiced much in South Asia? (check all that apply)

• Buddhism

• Christianity

• Hinduism

• Judaism

• Islam

Population and Environment

• South Asia is home to more than 1.5 billion people

• India has about 1.4 billion people

• India was expected to overtake China in population by 2050, but it happened in 2024

• Population is growing rapidly in all countries in South Asia

Multiple Choice

India is the most populated country in the world.

• True

• False

Population and the environment

• Rising populations put pressure on resources

• Existing farmland is not able to provide people with enough food to eat

• Clean water is scarce

• Business dump chemicals in water, and raw sewage leaks into rivers

• Pollution leads to high risk of waterborne diseases

Multiple Choice

Why is there a shortage of drinking water in S. Asia?

• Radiation leaking into rivers

• There are no water sources in this part of the world

• The dumping of chemicals and sewage into rivers

• Dead fish poisoning rivers

Conflicts in South Asia: Afghanistan

• In Afghanistan, gov't is under threat from the Taliban (fundamentalist Muslims)

• U.S. forced Taliban out of Afghanistan in 2001

• The Taliban is still there fighting, hiding in the mountains of Pakistan

Conflicts in South Asia: Kashmir

• Kashmir is an Indian state with a large Muslim population

• Pakistan's gov't has backed Kashmiri groups fighting for independence

• Armed rebel Pakistani and Kashmiri forces clash with Indian troops

• India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons, which is dangerous for the entire world

• This all started with the partition of India in 1947

Multiple Choice

What led to the conflict over Kashmir between India and Pakistan?

• The partition of 1947

• Indians wanting to Pakistanis to practice Christianity

• Pakistan attacking India over food and water resources

• The U.S. fighting the Taliban

Governments and Economies

• India is a secular democracy (not based on religion) and a representative democracy with elections

• Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal are also democratic countries

• Afghanistan, Maldives, Pakistan are all Islamic republics

Multiple Choice

What is a secular democracy?

• A democracy based on religion

• A democracy not based on religion

• A democracy with a dictator

Governments and Economies

• Much of South Asia is very poor, with Bangladesh being the poorest

• India is one of the world's fastest-growing economies

• In the 1990's, the Indian gov't began building software technology parks

• U.S. companies send many computer-related tasks to place like India, this is called outsourcing

Multiple Choice

What is it called when a country sends computer-based jobs to another country?

• insourcing

• mansplaining

• outsourcing

• digital revolution