ABSTRACT
South Asia covers just over 5 million square kilometers, a mere 11 percent of the Asian continent, yet it encompasses the world’s second most populous nation (India), it boasts the world’s highest elevations (the Himalayas), and its history extends back to one of the world’s oldest civilizations (that of the Indus Valley). It is defined primarily by its physical location, extending from the Himalayas south through the Indian subcontinent and from the eastern border of India to the western borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Within these geopolitical boundaries, the peoples of South Asia belong to the seven nationstates of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Compared with the population of Europe (excluding Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union), which comprises over twenty-five nations within an area just under 5 million square kilometers, the population of South Asia might appear less diverse. However, the identities of South Asians reside not so much in their nationalities as in their particular ethnic backgrounds, regional cultures, languages, religions, and social categories, which all cut across national and political lines.
