South Asian subcontinent

The “South Asian subcontinent” or the “Indian subcontinent” is a geographical term referring to the large, self-contained landmass which covers most of South Asia. The term “Indian subcontinent” refers to a large, self-contained landmass which is geographically separated from the rest of the Asian continent.

Due to similar scope, the terms “South Asia” and “Indian subcontinent” are used by some academics interchangeably. Due to political sensitivities, some prefer to use the terms “South Asian Subcontinent”, the “Indo-Pak Subcontinent”, or simply “South Asia” or “the Subcontinent” over the term “Indian subcontinent”. According to some academics, the term “South Asia” is in more common use in Europe and North America, rather than the terms “Subcontinent” or the “Indian Subcontinent”. Indologist Ronald B. Inden argues that the usage of the term “South Asia” is getting more widespread since it clearly distinguishes the region from East Asia.

Territory and region data 2009 referenced population figures except where noted.

Core countries

This region covers about 4,480,000 km² (1,729,738 mi²) or 10 percent of the Asian continent, and accounting for about 40 percent of Asia’s population. Bangladesh: Approximately 162,221 people; Parliamentary Republic; language: Bengali

Bhutan: Approximately 697,000 people Constitutional Monarchy; Language: Dzongkha

India: Approximately 1,198,003,000 people; Federal Republic, Parliamentary Democracy 22 official languages

Maldives: Approximately 396,334 people; Rufiyaa Republic; Language: Dhivehi

Nepal: Approximately 29,331,000; Democratic Republic; Language: Nepali

Pakistan: Approximately 180,808,000; Islamic Republic; Language: Urdu, English, Balochi, Pashto, Punjabi, Siraiki, Sindhi

Sri Lanka: Approximately 20,238,000; Democratic Socialist Republic; Languag: Sinhala, Tamil, English

Afghanistan: Approximately 33,609,937; Islamic Republic; Languages: Dari (Persian), Pashto

The largest spoken language in this region is now Hindi, its speakers numbering almost 422 million; the second largest spoken language is Bengali, with about 210 million speakers. Urdu is also a major language spoken in the subcontinent, especially in Pakistan and India, and is similar linguistically to Hindi; Hindi and Urdu together make up Hindustānī. Hindi is spoken is some states of India, and is similar linguistically to Urdu. Many people are not aware of the fact that most of the Indians speak local languages and are not familiar with Hindi. Other languages of this region fall into a few major linguistic groups: the Dravidian languages and the Indo-Aryan languages, a sub-branch of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. The other great sub-branch of Indo-Iranian, the Iranian languages, also have significant minority representation in South Asia, with Pashtu and Baluchi being widely spoken along the northwestern fringes of the region, in modern-day Pakistan. Many Tibeto-Burman ethnic groups, who are speakers of their language-group, are found in northeast India, Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan. Other small groups, speaking Austro-Asiatic languages, are also present in South Asia. English is another language which dominates South Asia, especially as a medium of advanced education and government administration. Most of South Asia writes using various abugidas of Brāhmī origin while languages such as Urdu, Pashto, and Sindhi use derivatives of the Perso-Arabic script. Not all languages in South Asia follow this strict dichotomy though. For example, Kashmiri is written in both the Perso-Arabic script and in the Devanagari script. The same can be said for Punjabi, which is written in both Shahmukhi and Gurmukhī. Dhivehi is written in a script called Tāna that shows characteristics of both the Arabic alphabet and of an abugida.

South Asia, which consists of the nations of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, is ethnically diverse, with more than 2,000 ethnic entities with populations ranging from hundreds of millions to small tribal groups. South Asia has been invaded and settled by many ethnic groups over the centuries – including various Dravidian, Indo-Aryan and Iranian groups – and amalgamation of Dravidian, Indo-Aryan and native societies has produced composite cultures with many common traditions and beliefs. But, the traditions of different ethnic groups in South Asia have diverged throughout earlier times, sometimes giving rise to strong local traditions such as the distinct South Indian culture.

Other ethnic groups, successively streaming in later mainly from Central Asia and Iran, e.g. Sakas, Kushans, Huns etc. influenced pre-existing South Asian cultures. Among the last of these new arrivals were the Arabs followed by the Turks, the Pashtuns and the Moghuls. However, Arab influence remained relatively limited in comparison to that of the Turks, Pashtuns and Moghuls, who brought in much cultural influence and contributed to the birth of Urdu, a syncretic language of combined Indo-Persian heritage, which is widely spoken today. Ethnic Englishmen and other Britons are now practically absent after their two centuries long colonial presence, although they have left an imprint of western culture in the elite society