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Indian subcontinent

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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.

Indian subcontinent
Topographic map of the subcontinent and surrounding regions (in Black)
Geopolitical coverage of the subcontinent
Area4,440,000 km2 (1,710,000 sq mi)
Populationc. 1.9 billion
Countries
7
Dependencies
Languages
Official:
Time zones
List:
Largest cities

The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west; it is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan.[1]. Although the terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are often also used interchangeably to denote a wider region which includes, in addition, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, the "Indian subcontinent" is more of a geophysical term, whereas "South Asia" is more geopolitical.[2] "South Asia" frequently also includes Afghanistan, which is not considered part of the subcontinent even in extended usage.[3]

Name

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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 (today the Republic of India).[4]

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".[5][6] 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.[7][8] It was a convenient term to refer to the region comprising both British India and the princely states.[9][10]

The term has been particularly common in the British Empire and its successors,[11] while the term South Asia is the more common usage in Europe, North America as well as in most country's in South Asia it self some times.[12][13] 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".[14] 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.[15] 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.[16][17]

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.[18] As such it is being increasingly less used in those countries.[note 7] Meanwhile, many Indian analysts prefer to use the term because of the socio-cultural commonalities of the region.[18] The region has also been called the "Asian subcontinent",[20][21] the "South Asian subcontinent",[22][23][24][25] as well as "India" or "Greater India" in the classical and pre-modern sense.[26][3][27][28]

The sport of cricket, introduced to the region by British colonialism, is notably popular in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. Within a cricket context, these countries are sometimes referred to simply as the subcontinent e.g. "Australia's tour of the subcontinent".[29] The term is also sometimes used adjectivally in cricket e.g. "subcontinental conditions".[30][31]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Excluding:
  2. ^ a b As island countries, Maldives and Sri Lanka are sometimes not considered parts of the subcontinent, as they lack geographic contiguity with the mainland. They are considered parts of the region in cultural geography or geology instead.
  3. ^ Excluding Upper Mustang and other areas which lie to the north of the Greater Himalayan Mountain Range.
  4. ^ Excluding:
  5. ^ Administered by the United Kingdom, claimed by Mauritius as the Chagos Archipelago.
  6. ^ Disputed territory with undetermined political status. Administration is split between China (Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract), India (Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan). China claims a small portion of the territory, Pakistan claims the majority of the territory, and India claims the entire territory (see: UN mediation of the Kashmir dispute).
  7. ^ For example, a history book intended for Pakistani B.A. students by K. Ali uses the term "Indo-Pakistan" instead.[19]

References

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  1. ^ "Indian subcontinent (noun)", Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, March 2025, retrieved 31 March 2025, The part of Asia south of the Himalayas which forms a peninsula extending into the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, now divided between India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. (subscription required)
  2. ^ "Indian subcontinent (noun)", Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, March 2025, retrieved 31 March 2025, (subsidiary remark) Also used with wider application to include Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. The term is roughly equivalent to South Asia, esp. in the wider use, although Indian subcontinent is sometimes considered to be more of a geophysical description, and South Asia more geopolitical.
  3. ^ a b Jim Norwine & Alfonso González, The Third World: states of mind and being, pages 209, Taylor & Francis, 1988, ISBN 0-04-910121-8 Quote: ""The term "South Asia" also signifies the Indian Subcontinent""
    Raj S. Bhopal, Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies, pages 33, Oxford University Press, 2007, ISBN 0-19-856817-7; Quote: "The term South Asian refers to populations originating from the Indian subcontinent, effectively India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka;
    Lucian W. Pye & Mary W. Pye, Asian Power and Politics, pages 133, Harvard University Press, 1985, ISBN 0-674-04979-9 Quote: "The complex culture of the Indian subcontinent, or South Asia, presents a tradition comparable to Confucianism."
    Mark Juergensmeyer, The Oxford handbook of global religions, pages 465, Oxford University Press US, 2006, ISBN 0-19-513798-1
    Sugata Bose & Ayesha Jalal, Modern South Asia, page 3, Routledge, 2004, ISBN 0-415-30787-2
  4. ^ "Indian subcontinent Map, Countries, Population, & History". Encyclopædia Britannica. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  5. ^ Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, Merriam-Webster, 2002. Retrieved 6 December 2016; Quote: "a large landmass smaller than a continent; especially: a major subdivision of a continent ! e Indian subcontinent | "
  6. ^ "subcontinent - definition of subcontinent in English | Oxford Dictionaries". 20 December 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2024. A large distinguishable part of a continent
  7. ^ Milton Walter Meyer, South Asia: A Short History of the Subcontinent, pages 1, Adams Littlefield, 1976, ISBN 0-8226-0034-X
  8. ^ Baker Henry D. (1915). British India With Notes On Ceylon Afghanistan And Tibet (1915). p. 401.
  9. ^ "subcontinent". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  10. ^ "Indian subcontinent". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  11. ^ Milton Walter Meyer, South Asia: A Short History of the Subcontinent, pages 1, Adams Littlefield, 1976, ISBN 0-8226-0034-X
    Jim Norwine & Alfonso González, The Third World: states of mind and being, pages 209, Taylor & Francis, 1988, ISBN 0-04-910121-8
    Boniface, Brian G.; Christopher P. Cooper (2005). Worldwide destinations: the geography of travel and tourism. Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-7506-5997-0.
    Judith Schott & Alix Henley, Culture, Religion, and Childbearing in a Multiracial Society, pages 274, Elsevier Health Sciences, 1996, ISBN 0-7506-2050-1
    Raj S. Bhopal, Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies, pages 33, Oxford University Press, 2007, ISBN 0-19-856817-7
    Lucian W. Pye & Mary W. Pye, Asian Power and Politics, pages 133, Harvard University Press, 1985, ISBN 0-674-04979-9
    Mark Juergensmeyer, The Oxford handbook of global religions, pages 465, Oxford University Press US, 2006, ISBN 0-19-513798-1
  12. ^ Judith Schott & Alix Henley, Culture, Religion, and Childbearing in a Multiracial Society, pages 274, Elsevier Health Sciences, 1996, ISBN 0750620501
  13. ^ Raj S. Bhopal, Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies, pages 33, Oxford University Press, 2007, ISBN 0198568177
  14. ^ Bose, Sugata; Jalal, Ayeha (2004) [First published 1998]. Modern South Asia. Routledge. p. 3. ISBN 0415307872.
  15. ^ Ronald B. Inden, Imagining India, page 51, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2000, ISBN 1850655200
  16. ^ McArthur, Tom (2003). The Oxford Guide to World English. Oxford University Press. p. 309. ISBN 9780198607717.
  17. ^ Lange, Claudia (2012). "Standards of English in South Asia". In Raymond Hickey (ed.). Standards of English: Codified Varieties around the World. Cambridge University Press. p. 256. ISBN 9781139851213.
  18. ^ a b B.H. Farmer, An Introduction to South Asia, page 1, Methuen and Co. Ltd., 1983, ISBN 9780416726008, "The 'Indian sub continent' is a term that certainly recognises the dominant position of India in both area and population. Since the partition of Indian Empire, use of this term becomes offensive to the Pakistanis and the Bangladeshis."
    Jona Razzaque, Public Interest Environmental Litigation in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, page 3, Kluwer Law International, 2004, ISBN 9789041122148 "Yet, because citizens of Pakistan (which was carved out of India in 1947 and has had recurring conflicts with India since then) and of Bangladesh (which became separated from Pakistan by civil war in 1971) might find offensive the dominant placement of India in the term "Indian subcontinent", many scholars today prefer the more recently adopted designation 'South Asia.'"
    Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby, Religions of South Asia: An Introduction, page 3, Routledge, 2006, ISBN 9781134593224
    S K Shah, India and Its Neighbours: Renewed Threats and New Directions, page 26, Vij Books India Pvt Ltd, 2017, ISBN 9789386367501 "Indian analysts, who talk of the Indian sub-continent, wish to keep in mind, in their analyses, the common historical, political, religious and cultural heritage of these three countries. The term sub-continent is used less and less in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The political leadership and the policy-makers in these two countries do not wish to be reminded of this common heritage. Any highlighting of this common heritage by Indian analysts is viewed by them with suspicion—— as indicating a hidden desire to reverse history and undo the 1947 partition."
  19. ^ Ali, K. (1980). A New History of Indo-Pakistan up to 1526 (4th ed.). Lahore: Aziz Publishers.
  20. ^ Crouch, Lizzie; McGrath, Paula (30 March 2014). "Humanity's global battle with mosquitoes". BBC News. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024.
  21. ^ Kronstadt, K. Alan (2011). Terrorist Attacks in Mumbai, India, and Implications for U. S. Interests. DIANE Publishing. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-4379-2953-9.
  22. ^ Ahmad, Aijazuddin (2009). Geography of the South Asian Subcontinent: A Critical Approach. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 978-81-8069-568-1.
  23. ^ Ayesha Jalal (2008). Partisans of Allah: Jihad in South Asia. Harvard University Press. p. xiii. ISBN 9780674028012.
  24. ^ K. D. Kapur, Nuclear Non-proliferation Diplomacy: Nuclear Power Programmes in the Third World, page 365, Lancers Books, 1993, ISBN 9788170950363|Daya Nath Tripathi (ed), Discourse on Indo European Languages and Culture, page 193, Indian Council of Historical Research, 2005, ISBN 9788178271200
  25. ^ Khan, Muhammad Akram (1 January 2013). What Is Wrong with Islamic Economics?: Analysing the Present State and Future Agenda. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78254-415-9.
  26. ^ John McLeod (2002). The history of India. Greenwood Press. p. 1. ISBN 0-313-31459-4. Note: McLeod does not include Afghanistan in the Indian subcontinent or South Asia.
  27. ^ Mittal, Sushil; Thursby, Gene (18 April 2006). Religions of South Asia: An Introduction. Routledge. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-134-59322-4.
  28. ^ Baker, Kathleen M.; Chapman, Graham P. (11 March 2002). The Changing Geography of Asia. Routledge. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-134-93384-6.
  29. ^ "Khawaja in the subcontinent - unselectable to indispensable". ESPNcricinfo. 10 March 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  30. ^ "Subcontinent lessons for Australia's youngsters". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  31. ^ "A distinctly sub-continental wicket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
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