What influenced Indias shape and position?

The movement of the Earths tectonic plates

What is a subcontinent?
Large landmass that is a part of a continent but still distinct from it

What is the worlds longest alluvial plain?

The Gangetic Plain

What is Indias most densely populated area?

The Gangetic Plain

What is the Deccan Plateau covered in?

Rich, black soil

What is primarily grown in the Nilgiri Hills?

Tea and coffee

Where do the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, and the Indus Rivers carry fertile soil from?
The Himalaya and Karakoram ranges

Which river is sacred to the Hindus?

Ganges

What three factors influence the climate of India?

Shape of the continent, proximity to the Equator, and the Indian Ocean

What creates monsoon winds?

Difference in temperatures of the air over the ocean and the air over the landmass

What two factors affect the amount of rain that monsoons bring?
Location and landforms

What are cyclones, and where in this region do they originate?

Storms with heavy rains and high winds ... Arabian Sea or Bay of Bengal

What are tsunamis?

Huge sea waves caused by undersea earthquakes

What is the significance of wetlands to this area?

Used for growing rice and are important wildlife habitats

What are Indias most abundant resources?

Minerals and petroleum... also big in agriculture

Who were the Aryans?

A group of hunters and herders from the northwest who settled in India and created a rigid
social structure based on castes

What is a caste, or jati?

The social position into which a person is born

What is the Vedas?

The Aryans sacred writings that outline Aryan ideas about social structure and form a basis of
the Hindu religion

What did the Gupta Empire do?

United much of India and built one of the worlds most advanced civilizations

Who invaded in the 700s?

Muslims of mixed Mongol and Turkish heritage, the Moguls

What was the final group to invade India?

The Europeans

What is mercantilism?
The theory or practice of merchant or trading pursuits

What is imperialism?
The actions by which one country is able to extend power to control another country

Who dominated India?

The British

What were positive effects of British rule?

They introduced the English language, restructured the educational system, built railroads, and
developed a civil service and judiciary

Who led Indians to seek freedom using nonviolent methods of civil disobedience?
Mohandas K. Gandhi

Which two ethnic groups make up a majority of the Indian population?

The Dravidians and the Aryans

Where does most of Indias population live?

Rural areas/villages
What is the most widely spoken language in India?
Hindi

What is the highest caste and the lowest?

Highest is the Brahmans, lowest is the Shudras

What are some of the things Hindus believe in?

Reincarnation, the law of karma

What do Sikhs believe?

Believe in one God who is formless, all-powerful, one can achieve unity with God through
service to humanity, meditation, and honest labor

What is a big problem in Indias largest cities?

Housing... many are homeless or live in slums, as real estate is very expensive

Who is usually the head of the family?

The oldest man in the household

What changes to Indias economy have helped spark growth, and what negative effects
have these changes brought?
Opening of its economy to direct foreign investment, deregulation of industries, privatization...
also contributed to growing economic inequality

What industry does half of Indias population work in?

Agriculture

What are Indias most important crops?

Rice, wheat, and other grains

What was the green revolution?

Program to produce higher-yielding, more productive strains of crops... these usually require
carefully managed irrigation, fertilizers, and pesticides

What are some arguments for and against the green revolution?
For: increased food production and alleviated hunger... Against: chemicals pollute waters, pose
health hazards, pest resistance

What are cottage industries?

Businesses that employ workers in their homes... weaving textiles, etc.
What kind of landforms do Bangladesh and Pakistan have?
Bangladesh: low and flat... Pakistan: low flat plains and high mountains
What caused the formation of the Himalaya mountain ranges?
Continental drift

What is the second-highest mountain in the world?

Karakoram/K2

What is the most important pass in the Hindu Kush?

Khyber Pass

What are the mountainous regions of Pakistan prone to?

Earthquakes

What is the Indus River valley rich in?

Alluvial soil

What kind of solution do mangrove tree live in?

Mixture of saltwater and freshwater

What are the three major river systems flowing from the Himalayas?
The Indus, the Ganges, and the Brahmaputra

What are floodplains?

Low-lying land along a river

What four tributaries feed into the Indus River?

The Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, and Sutlej

What are the two dams on the Indus and Jhelum and what do they do?
The Mangla and Tarbela, generate electricity

What is the most important river in South Asia?

The Ganges

What are haors?

Bowl-like basins that flood during monsoon

Beels?
Saucers that fill with water and then support plant growth

Baors?
Lakes that form after rivers change course

Which city serves as Pakistans most important port and largest city?
Karachi

What kind of resources does Pakistan have?

Limestone, oil, natural gas

What is the most abundant resource besides water in Bangladesh?

Natural gas

What is the main religion in this region?

Islam

From the 1500s to the 1800s, which empire were Pakistan and Bangladesh a part of?
The Moguls

What did Muslims in this area want, territory-wise?

A separate state from India

What area is a source of conflict between India and Pakistan?

Kashmir

What kind of government does Pakistan have?

A parliamentary republic

What kind of government does Bangladesh have, and what are challenges to stability?
Parliamentary republic... political and ethnic rivalries

What are some challenges cities are facing as more people are moving in?
Strains on resources, lack of housing, poor sewage management

What is the most densely populated country in South Asia?

Bangladesh

What has the government in Bangladesh started to do in an effort to encourage Bengali

women to have fewer children?
Programs to give women small loans to start their own businesses

What are the six main ethnic groups in Pakistan?

Punjabis, Pashtuns, Sindhis, Sariakis, Muhajirs, and Balochis

What is the official language of Pakistan, and what do people speak more?
Urdu.... Punjabi

What are a majority of the people in Bangladesh?

Bengali
What religion do a majority of the people in this area belong to?
Islam

How is education in this region?

Literacy rates are low

What is a burka?
Loose garment women wear that covers the face and body when they are in public

What industry has Pakistan and Bangladesh traditionally relied on?

Agriculture

What is the principle mode of transportation in this area?

Railways

What is Bangladeshs top export?

Clothing

What is sustainable development?

Economic growth that meets the needs of present populations without hampering the ability of
people in the future to meet their own needs

What was the goal of defining this?

Reduce the gap between the wealthy and poor, promote progress in less developed countries

What three principles does sustainable development rest on?

Promoting economic development, protecting the environment, promoting social fairness

What is the most threatened environmental region in these two countries?

The Sundarbans

What is threatening Indias largest mangrove forest?

Rising sea levels