Geography & Trade
Map
South Asia
When people talk about South Asia, they are talking about a specific grouping of countries in the southern part of the Asian continent. People’s definitions of the region differ, but here we will use the United Nations Statistics Division grouping of South Asian countries. These include: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Mapping by Memory
Play a game of hangman using the country names of South Asia. You could include the capital cities in the game, too. They are: Afghanistan – Kabul, Bangladesh – Dhaka, Bhutan – Thimphu, India – New Delhi, Iran – Tehran, Maldives – Male, Nepal – Kathmandu, Pakistan – Islamabad, Sri Lanka – Colombo.
With nine countries making up South Asia, it isn’t surprising that the geography of the area is diverse. The region boasts a spectrum of unique features, from the teardrop-shaped island of Sri Lanka; to the atolls of the Maldives; to the Himalayas of India, Pakistan, Bhutan and Nepal; to the Thor Desert of India and Pakistan. The diverse geography brings with it diverse weather and climate-related problems, from monsoons to droughts to earthquakes to hurricanes. The 2004 tsunami is one example of the type of natural disasters that have affected the region.
There are also many geographical blessings. The Ganges, also known as the “holy Ganga,” is a revered river that runs for about 1,560 miles through India and Bangladesh. People use it for many things—they bathe in it to cleanse their bodies and their sins, they believe its waters have healing properties, devout Hindus make pilgrimages to its source and people cremate their loved ones on its waters. Hindu mythology says the Ganges once flowed through the heavens until it fell to Earth to help humankind.
Geography Facts
Some more geographical facts to get your students thinking about the region include:
- Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world and part of the Himalayan range, is found on the border between Nepal and China. Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 10 highest mountains.
- In the past you couldn’t get to Bhutan by car or plane; you could only get there on foot by walking through the mountain passes of Tibet.
Out of South Asia and Into the Classroom
For a geography class, have students work together to make a model of Mount Everest using Plasticine and any objects that they want to stick into it. Things they could include are figurines for people, small mountain villages, yetis, mountain animals, etc.
The economy of South Asia is largely dependent on the geography. Here are some examples: About 80 percent of the population of Afghanistan is engaged in agriculture, both for subsistence and commercial purposes.
Tea is the most valuable export in Sri Lanka. In the first 11 months of 2005, for example, Sri Lanka exported over two million kilograms of tea. Iran is a predominantly oil-reliant economy, although it is diversifying its exports. In Pakistan, agriculture is the mainstay of the economy—cotton, sugarcane, wheat and rice are the four major crops.