Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent[note 7] is a physiographical region in Southern Asia, mostly situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it spans major landmasses from the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,[note 1] the Maldives,[note 2] Nepal,[note 3] Pakistan,[note 4] and Sri Lanka.[note 2][1][2][3][4] The neighboring geographical regions around the subcontinent include the Tibetan Plateau to the north, the Indochinese Peninsula to the east, the Iranian Plateau to the west, and the Indian Ocean to the south. Although the terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are often used interchangeably to denote the region,[5] the geopolitical term of South Asia frequently includes Afghanistan, which is not part of the subcontinent.[6]
This article is about the physiographical region of Eurasia. For the geographical subregion of Asia, see South Asia. "The subcontinent" redirects here. For general usage of the term, see Continent § Subcontinents.Area
4,440,000 km2 (1,710,000 sq mi)
c. 1.9 billion
South Asian
Desi (colloquial)
- Bangladesh Standard Time (BST)
- Bhutan Time (BTT)
- Indian Standard Time (IST)
- Maldives Time (MVT)
- Nepal Standard Time (NPT)
- Pakistan Standard Time (PST)
- Sri Lanka Standard Time (SLST)
Geologically, the subcontinent originates from Insular India, an isolated landmass that rifted from the supercontinent of Gondwana during the Cretaceous and merged with the Iranian Plateau and Eurasian Plate nearly 55 million years ago, forming the Himalayas.[7] Historically, as well as to the present day, it is and has been the most populated region in the world, holding roughly 20–25 percent of the global population at all times in history. Geographically, it is the peninsular region in Southern Asia located below the Third Pole, delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Indo-Burman Ranges in the east.[8]
Name[edit]
Historically, the region surrounding and southeast of the Indus River was often simply referred to as "India" in many historical sources. Even today, historians use this term to denote the entire Indian subcontinent when discussing history up until the era of the British Raj. Over time, however, "India" evolved to refer to a distinct political entity that eventually became a nation-state.[9]
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term subcontinent signifies a "subdivision of a continent which has a distinct geographical, political, or cultural identity" and also a "large land mass somewhat smaller than a continent".[10][11] Its use to signify the Indian subcontinent is evidenced from the early twentieth century when most of the territory was either part of the British Empire or allied with them.[12][13] It was a convenient term to refer to the region comprising both British India and the princely states.[14][15]
The term has been particularly common in the British Empire and its successors,[16] while the term South Asia is the more common usage in Europe and North America.[17][18] According to historians Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal, the Indian subcontinent has come to be known as South Asia "in more recent and neutral parlance".[19] Indologist Ronald B. Inden argues that the usage of the term South Asia is becoming more widespread since it clearly distinguishes the region from East Asia.[20] While South Asia, a more accurate term that reflects the region's contemporary political demarcations, is replacing the Indian subcontinent, a term closely linked to the region's colonial heritage, as a cover term, the latter is still widely used in typological studies.[21][22]
Since the Partition of India, citizens of Pakistan (which became independent of British India in 1947) and Bangladesh (which became independent of Pakistan in 1971) often perceive the use of the Indian subcontinent as offensive and suspicious because of the dominant placement of India in the term. As such it is being increasingly less used in those countries.[note 8] Meanwhile, many Indian analysts prefer to use the term because of the socio-cultural commonalities of the region.[24] The region has also been called the "Asian subcontinent",[25][26] the "South Asian subcontinent",[27][28][29] as well as "India" or "Greater India" in the classical and pre-modern sense.[5][6][30][31]
Geopolitics[edit]
In terms of modern geopolitical boundaries, the subcontinent constitutes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, besides, by convention, the island country of Sri Lanka and other nearby island nations of the Indian Ocean, such as Maldives and the British Indian Ocean Territory.[2][3][49][50][51] Unlike "South Asia" sometimes the expression "Indian subcontinent" may exclude the islands of Maldives and Sri Lanka.[5] According to Chris Brewster and Wolfgang Mayrhofer, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan constitute the Indian subcontinent. Brewster and Mayrhofer also maintain that with Afghanistan and Maldives included the region is referred to as South Asia.[52] The periphery of the subcontinent, including Pakistan, Bangladesh and the island chains of the Maldives, features large Muslim populations, while the heartland, including most of India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, are overwhelmingly Hindu or Buddhist.[53] Since most of these countries are located on the Indian Plate, a continuous landmass, the borders between countries are often either a river or a no man's land.[54]
The precise definition of an "Indian subcontinent" in a geopolitical context is somewhat contested as there is no globally accepted definition on which countries are a part of South Asia or the Indian subcontinent.[55][56][57][4] Whether called the Indian subcontinent or South Asia, the definition of the geographical extent of this region varies.[30][31] Afghanistan, despite often considered as a part of South Asia, is usually not included in the Indian subcontinent.[55][58][59][60][61] Maldives, an island country consisting of a small archipelago southwest of the peninsula, while largely considered a part of the Indian subcontinent,[3] sometimes is mentioned by sources, including the International Monetary Fund, as a group of islands away from the Indian subcontinent in a south-western direction.[62][63]