South

Asia
Topic Discussants;
Leizl Libetario
Danica San Miguel
Ma. Milagros Sardonidos
BSED Social Studies
 CONTENT
Geographical features of South Asia
Ancient Kingdoms and Empires
The Rise and Fall of Ancient Civilization
Political Institution
Colonialism
Rise Modern States
Social Institution and Economic Transformation , Caste System and
other Social Practices
Contribution of Ancient Civilization
What is all
about about
South Asia?
Lies suspended like a great exploratory wedge reaching into the
Indian Ocean from mainland . India occupies most of the
subcontinent’s land mass.

It is divided into two main division;

Deccan

The southern triangle or the peninsular portion which lies

entirely in the tropics.

Hindustan

The northern or continental half, also triangular shape has a

temperature ranging from the tropical heat to the intense cold of
the northern mountain peaks.
 The northern half is bounded on
the north by the lofty Himalayas and
is separated from the southern
Deccan by the low lying Vindhaya
Mountains.

Most of the Hindustan is a level

plain drained by the great rivers
systems of the Indus and the
Ganges.
Mother of Ganges
• The sacred river of the Hindus
• The mouth of Ganges is surrounded by a forbidding
jungle, and desert separates the lower Indus Valley from
the Ganges and its tributaries.

Indo-Gangetic region
• Lavishly endowed by nature, hence the most influential
centers of Indian civilization arose in these areas lying
along the region.

Central Valley
• Most densely populated spot in the world
Indus River
Indo-Gangetic region
Ancient
Empires
and
Dynasty
Ancient Dynasties Time Ruler Significant Events
and Empires Happen

• Conquered the little

kingdoms of Indus valley.
Darius I • Introduced Aramaic
Persian Invasion- 521-484 B.C. writing, Zoroastrianism and
Purdah
Archeamenid empire

• Opened European trade

The Greek Invasion 326 B.C Alexander the Great of and he paved the way for
Macedonia Indian unity
• Roused by his cry of
nationalism
322 B.C • Covered the whole Indian
The Mauryan Empire Chandragupta Peninsula except South
India
• Expanded reams of military
conquest
INDIA’S DARK AGE
• Disunity and chaos
• Adopted Indian customs and were
Sunga Dynasty 185-73 B.C. • Pushyamitra Sunga, in 185 BC converted to Buddhism
73-30 B.C. • Vasudeva Kanva
Kanva Dynasty
40-266 B.C. • Kujula Kadphises
Kushan Dynasty

• Succeeded by his son

Sumadragupta, who hailed by the
Western historians as the
“Napoleon of India”.
• Conquered all kingdom in North
and Central India
Gupta Empire, 320-647 A.D. Chandragupta I, Raja of Magadha • Eleven kings of the south and nine
kings of the north acknowledge
India’s Golden his authority
• The island Ceylon , fearing his
Age military powers, gave him homage
and gifts
• Died in about 380 B.C. after a long
prosperous reign
Rise and Fall
of
Ancient
Civilization
 Civilization Rise Fall
 Developed out of earlier Neolithic  Invasion of the Aryans from the
Indus Civilization or
cultures in the hills and valleys of north may be contributed to the
Afghanistan and Baluchistan to the disappearance of the early
Harappan Civilization west
 First people to domesticate fowl.
inhabitants
 Massacre of the city’s inhabitants
 Were seafaring, commercially
enterprising people  Recurrent floods and other
 Establishment of twin capitals the natural causes 
Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa ( 400
years ago)

 Aryan tribes believe to have came

Vedic Period from Southern Russia and reached
India by West Asia.  Large kingdom took place

 Comes from Vedas which are the

religious hymn of their Gods.
Colonialism
 Islamization of India
Ruler Time Significant Events

Muhammad Quasim A.D 711 ( 1st Invasion) • Conquered Sindh

• A Muslim ruler of Afghanistan

Mahmud of Ghazni 1001 (2 Invasion)
nd
who used Turkish troops in his
war
• Invaded annexed Punjab

Muhammad of Ghor 1152 ( 3rd Invasion) • Began his series of attacks on

India and extended the Muslim
rule as far as Benares
 • Ablest General of
Muhammad of Ghor
• Continue the Islamization of
Qutbud-din 1206 India
• Estblished the Sultanate of
Delhi with himself as Sultan
• Founded the “Slave Dynasty”

• Worthy descendant of
Genghis Khan
Tamerlane 1398 • Invaded North India routed
the forces of the Sultanate of
Delhi
• Conquered Iran, Afghanistan,
Mesopotamia and Palestine
 The Mogul Empire
Ruler Time Significant Events
• His military exploits equaled to
those of his two greatest
ancestors, Genghis Khan and
Timur
Babur ( Tiger) 1526-1857 • His kingdom fell by Fargana
• Sought a new Kingdom beyond
the Himalayas
• Invaded Punjab
• Defeated Ibrahim Lodi ( April 21,
1526) in the battle of Panipat
• Founded the Mogul Empire
 The Mogul Empire
Ruler Time Significant Events
• Greatest emperor of India
• Babur’s grandson
• Conquered Kashmir in the North,
Bengal in the east, Sindh in the
west and Deccan in the South.
Akbar the Great 1556 • He was a benevolent and wise
monarch
• Promoted arts and literature,
encouraged trade and industries
• Abolished the special tax imposed
on the non-Muslims and
tolerated all regions
• Died on October 17, 1605
• Reign of 49 years.
 The Mogul Empire
Ruler Time Significant Events
• Akbar’s grandson
• Not as a dashing warrior but
as a generous patron of
Shah Jahan 1627-58 arts.
• He built the Taj Mahal at
Agra in memory of his
beloved wife , Mumtaz
Mahal
• Acclaimed as the world’s
most beautiful tomb.
 Bristish Colonial Period 1700-1857

• As early as the 1500’s

Europeans had tried to control
parts of India
• 1600’s English presence began in
India
• By mid 1800’s controlled more
than half of India Early Empires
 British Empire
( Positive)

• Schools and colleges were founded and literacy

increased

• World’s third largest railroad, modern rod network

telephone and telegraph lines, dams, bridges and
irrigation canals

• Sanitation and public health improved

 British Empire
( Negative)

• Not treated as equal

• The British held all positions of
power
• Restricted of Indian-owned
industries such as cotton textiles
• Racism against Indians in their
own land loss of cultural
practices and languages
 of
Modern
States
 Bangladesh
Until 1947 Bangladesh was known as East Bengal province and had been part
of Great Britain's India holding since the 1700s. In 1947, Britain, in conjunction
with India's leading indigenous political organizations, partitioned the Indian
colony into India and Pakistan.

The province of East Bengal was made part of Pakistan and was referred to as
East Pakistan. West Pakistan was carved from the northwest provinces of the
British Indian empire. This division of territory represented an attempt to
create a Muslim nation on Hindu India's peripheries.
 Bangladesh

However, the west and east wings of Pakistan were separated

by more than 1,000 miles of India, creating cultural discontinuity
between the two wings. The ethnic groups of Pakistan and the
Indian Muslims who left India after partition were greatly different
in language and way of life from the former East Bengalis: West
Pakistan was more oriented toward the Middle East and Arab
Islamic influence than was East Pakistan, which contained Hindu,
Buddhist, Islamic, and British cultural influences.
 Bhutan
In the sixteenth century, the region came under
Tibetan rule. Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal
(1594–1651), who was referred to as "Zhabdrung
Rinpoche" (which translates to "the precious
jewel at whose feet one submits"), set up a dual
system of administration headed by a spiritual
leader and a civil government leader. This system
endured until 1907 when a hereditary monarchy
was established.
 Bhutan
In the nineteenth century, the British sought to
incorporate Tibet within their influence, which posed a
threat to Bhutan, but this problem was successfully
eliminated by Penlop Ugyen Wangchuck, who played the
role of mediator between British India and Tibet.
Wangchuck became the first hereditary monarch of
Bhutan in 1907. In 1949 Bhutan officially became an
independent nation.
 India
In 2700 B.C.E. , the first genuinely urban civilization in the
Indus Valley and western India emerged. After its
disappearance around 1500 B.C.E. , there was a bewildering
variety of princely states and kingdoms, small and large,
throughout the subcontinent, creating a long history of war
and conquest that was punctuated by foreign invasions and
the birth of some of the world's largest religions: Buddhism,
Jainism, Hinduism, and Sikhism.
 Maldives
Maldives has always been an independent political entity
except when it was under Portuguese control from 1558 to
1573. In 1887, the Maldives agreed to become a protectorate
of the British government, allowing the British to take
responsibility for it defense and foreign relations while
maintaining for itself internal control. The first constitution was
ratified by the Sultan in 1932, and the sultanate became an
elected rather than hereditary position.
 Nepal
Hinduism flourished in the third and fourth centuries C.E. under
the Licchavis, an Indo-Aryan people from northern India, and after
the migration of Hindus from India during the Mughal period. The
Hindu Malla dynasties reigned in the Kathmandu Valley between
the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, encouraging tolerance
toward Buddhism and an orthodox, caste-oriented form of
Hinduism. Since unification in the late eighteenth century and
through the hundred-year period of Rana rule, the culture of hill
Hindus, Parbatiya, has been dominant.
 The birth of the nation is dated to Prithvi Narayan
Shah's conquest of the Kathmandu Valley kingdoms in
1768. The expansionist reigns of Shah and his successors
carved out a territory twice the size of modern Nepal.
However, territorial clashes with the Chinese in the late
eighteenth century and the British in the early nineteenth
century pushed the borders back to their current
configuration.
 Pakistan
An independent nation dates only to 1947, the
history of the territory it encompasses dates back many
thousands of years, during the period when the
territory was a portion of the Indian subcontinent. In
addition, the land is home to the famous Khyber Pass,
which is the route that many invaders into India used.
These include Mogul invaders and Alexander the Great.
 Many centuries ago a number of Buddhists also used that
northern section as a route, so Pakistan today has many
interesting Buddhist sites and historical notes as part of its
history. Punjab is also a portion of the country; it was the home
of the founder of the Sikh religion, and it continues to play a
significant role in Pakistan. Lines of demarcation between India
and Pakistan in northern border areas are unclear in places or in
dispute, and controversy continues to surround these lines.
 Sri Lanka
There is archaeological evidence that the island was inhabited as
early as 10,000 B.C.E. The present-day Väddas, who live in remote areas
of Sri Lanka and use a simple technology, are apparently descended
from these early inhabitants mixed with the later arriving Tamils and
Sinhalas, who were both well established on the island by the third
century B.C.E. It is widely believed that the Sinhala people migrated to
the island from north India, bringing their Indo-Aryan language and
some version of Brahmanism with them, although Buddhism was
introduced in their principal areas of settlement during the third century
B.C.E
 The Tamils emigrated to the north of the
island from southern India, bringing Hinduism
and their Dravidian language with them. The
Sinhalas, the Tamils, and various south Indian
invaders built powerful kingdoms with advanced
agricultural projects and elaborate religious
institutions, kingdoms that periodically brought
the island under the authority of a single regime.
 Political
Institution
Country Government System
Sri Lanka Republic

Pakistan Republic

India Republic

Bangladesh Republic

Nepal Monarchy

Bhutan Monarchy

Maldives Republic
Republic
A government in which supreme
power in a body citizens entitled to vote
and is exercised by elected officers and
representatives responsible to them and
governing according to law

Monarchy
Government in which a country is rule
by a king and queen
 and
Economic
Transformati
on
 Bangladesh
• Marriage is almost always an arranged affair and takes place when the parents
• Allow polygynous marriage, but its occurrence is rare and is dependent on a man's ability to
Family support multiple households.
• Extended family living in a household called abarhi.
• Inheritance rules specify that a daughter should receive one-half the share of a son

Economy A per capita gross national product (GNP) of $350 and an overall GNP of $44 billion, Bangladesh is
one of the poorest countries in the world. The only significant natural resource is natural gas.

Education Great value is placed on higher education, and those who have university degrees and professional
qualifications are accorded high status. In rural areas the opportunities for individuals with such experience are
limited; thus, most educated people are concentrated in urban areas.

Religion Islam is a part of everyday life in all parts of the country, and nearly every village has at least a small mosque
and an imam (cleric). Prayer is supposed to be performed five times daily, but only the committed uphold that
standard. Friday afternoon prayer is often the only time that mosques become crowded.
 Bhutan
• Marriages may be arranged by the parents or by the individuals entering the marriage.
• A bride does not necessarily move into her husband's household
• the new couple may set up their own household on their own plot of land
• Divorce is permitted in Bhutanese society, although compensation is required from the party seeking the separation.
Family

Based on agriculture and forestry and provides the livelihoods for 90 percent of the population. Agriculture is primarily
Economy subsistence farming and animal husbandry. The economy of Bhutan is aligned with that of India through strong trade and
monetary links.

Educatio Education is not compulsory. The educational system consists of seven years of primary schooling followed by four years
of secondary school. In 1994, primary schools enrolled 60,089 pupils. In the same year, secondary schools enrolled 7,299
n students.

Religion Buddhism, which was introduced in the seventh century, is the official religion of Bhutan
 India
• Ties very strong
• Large extended family
•
Family •
Marriages arranged by the parents
Men care of family money and relations with the outside world and women managed household
• Recent years the extended family system has begun to break up result of new opportunities in
the cities.

•
Economy •
Based on agriculture
Manufacturer of textiles
• Imports more goods from other countries than it exports in abroad
• Service industries account for 51 percent of India’s total revenue
•
Education •
Responsibility of central government
Eight years of primary education and 2 years of secondary education
• Great strides in education

• Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Sikh

Religion
 Maldives
Economy • Tourism and fishing are the leading industries
• The main crops is coconuts
• The chief exports are fish products and clothing

Education • Educational standards are high and the literacy rate is nearly 100 percent

Religion • Sunni Muslim

Family • Marriage.The legal age for marriage is eighteen, although half of the women marry by age
fifteen. Marriages are not arranged.
• Domestic Unit. Nuclear families consisting of a married couple and their children comprise
roughly 80 percent of the households, with the father typically recognized as the head of the
family.
• Inheritance.Both men and women may inherit property.
 Nepal
Way of life • Most people live in the countryside
• 14% live in cities or town
• Clothing is varried

Economy • Agricultural ( Rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, livestock)

• Manufactured ( cotton textiles, jute products)

Education • Free primary education was fist introduced in 1965

• Two major Universities Tribhuvan University and Khatmandu University

Religion • Hindu
• Buddhist
 Pakistan
• One form of a Muslim marriage involves anikah
• Women have inheritance rights in Pakistan, so that inheritance benefits can go to women and children
after the death of the husband and father
• A Muslim marriage is seen as uniting the families of both the bride and groom, so the kin group is
expanded after a marriage. In some tribes there can be neither a cross-cultural marriage nor a dual
Family ethnic one, so therefore the kin groups are and basically remain identical ethnically and culturally.

• Is a poor country and its economic outlook is bleak.

Economy
• New education policy from 1998 to 2010, to increase the number of elementary and secondary schools
Education to meet the projected enrollment of twelve million children, including about six million female children
in the primary schools by 2003. 
• establishment of community-based nonformal schools to fill the school gap and to help minimize the
cost of primary schools

• Was formed as an Islamic nation, and Islam continues to be the religion of approximately 95 percent of
Religion the population. There are also small groups of Buddhists, Christians, Parsis, and Hindus
 Sri Lanka
• Live in rural areas
Way of • Traditional dress for men consist of long cloth tied at the waist and a shirt or jacket. Women
life often wear brightly colored saris
• The cooking is much like of India

• Agricultural ( rice, tea , rubber)

Economy • Manufactured ( textiles, copra, coconut oil, wood products, cement
• Mineral ( graphite, gemstone, kaolin)

• Highest literacy rates in Asia

Education • Public and private is free
• Language use in schools are Sinhales and Tamil

•
Religion •
Buddhist
Hindu
• Muslim
• Christian
 System
and
Social
Practices
The system divides the people into rigid castes or
classes:
• Brahmans
Priest and scholars
• Kshatriyas
Rulers and warriors
• Vaisyas
Farmers, artisans and merchants
• Sudras
workers and slaves
• Pariahs ( untouchables)
Persons who do not belong to any caste and
do menial work
 The Caste system began as racial prejudice of
the fair-skinned Aryans against Dravidians.

The Aryans masters made class division a Holy

Law.
The untouchables may not enter temples or use
public baths and wells, for they would desecrate
or pollute other castes and offend the gods.
Contribution
of
Ancient
Civilization
 Indus Valley Civilization

• Irrigation
• Use of Bricks
• Plumbing
• Social Structure
• Grid pattern of roads
• Cotton Clothing
• Use of seals and symbols
• Domestication of animals
• Use of clay and metal for art and craft
 Vedic Civilization
Literary works namely:
Vedas
Composed of hymns, prayers, rituals, magic and poetry
were written about 100 B.C.
There are four Vedas namely
1. Rig Veda ( book of lyrical hymns in the praise of God)
2. Arthvana Veda ( book of magical formulas)
3. Sana Veda ( book of religious chants)
4. Yajur Veda ( book of sacrificial prayers)
 Vedic Civilization
Brahmans
• Prose texts containing observations on religious rites.
• Legends on the exploits of ancient kings and heroes.
Arankayas
• Books of instruction for hermits in the forest
• Elaborate rules in the performance of religious
ceremonies
Upanishads
• Books of instruction which are given by a father to his
beloved son or teacher to his trusted pupil
 Vedic Civilization
Ethics and obligations within the family and society
Sanskrit epic
Ramayana and Mahabhrata
Longest epic in the world
Ramayana
Was written by Valmike about 500 B.C it tells the story of
Prince Rama who invaded Ceylon
Mahabhrata
Tells the tale of five brother’s struggle to recover the
throne from their wicked cousins.
Thank
You