INDIA is a huge subcontinent located in South Asia. More than a billion people live in India. Given that the country's family planning policy is not as strict as China's, demographers predict that in the medium term this country will become the most populous in the world. In addition, 162 India is considered the most multicultural country in the world. Physiographically, India can be divided into three natural regions: the Himalayas, the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Deccan Plateau.

Economically, India can be characterized as a “key developing country”, which in terms of macroeconomic indicators is comparable to great powers (GNP - about 500 billion dollars in 2002; 11th place in the world), and in terms of per capita income it is one of the poorest countries in the world ($480 per person in 2002; 159th place in the world). The country's agrarian-industrial economy combines the development of basic industries with diversified agriculture.

The textile industry has become widespread.

The country's subsoil is rich in a variety of minerals (coal, iron ores, diamonds, manganese, etc.).

From the point of view of tourism, the largest cities in India are of greatest interest: Delhi - the capital of India, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, the former Portuguese enclave, and now the 25th state of India - Goa; national parks Corbet, Sariska, the famous Taj Mahal mausoleum. Kolkata is the birthplace of the world famous Indian writer Rabindranath Tagore. The Tagore House is also located here. The most popular Indian resorts are located on the west coast of India, in the state of Goa. Until 1963 there was a Portuguese colony here. This area is considered the most developed in terms of tourism and is very popular among Europeans. Those who prefer a comfortable, relaxing beach holiday with lunch in hotel restaurants will most likely like it here. But Goa is far from the only popular holiday destination in India.

The state of Kerala is famous - the southernmost state on the west coast and one of the most developed states in India.

A classic trip to India is considered a tour of the Golden Triangle with a visit to the world famous Taj Mahal - a monument of Indian architecture, a five-domed structure made of white marble with a mosaic of colored stones, as well as the ancient ghost town of Fatihpur Sikri and the exotic pink city of Rajasthan. India is also a center of religious pilgrimage. The main centers of Hindu communities are located in this country. India attracts ecotourists who dream of conquering mountain peaks.

Mountaineering ecotourism is also common in NEPAL, the world's only Hindu kingdom. Until the mid-1950s, Nepal was closed to foreigners and therefore largely retained its originality and national flavor. This is a poor country whose people do not consider themselves poor, have their own human values ​​and live by their own rules.

Tourists are attracted here by the world's highest peaks of the Himalayas, pristine jungles in the south, the picturesque Kathmandu Valley with unique pagodas and elegant architecture of residential buildings, vibrant holidays, as well as the unique culture of the population.

Another small state of South Asia is located in the spurs of the Eastern Himalayas - BUTANE(translated as “Land of Thunder Dragons”). For many centuries, Bhutan's connection with Tibet has been very close, so Lamaist Buddhism, the Tibetan national language and writing are widespread in the country. The Kingdom of Bhutan is one of the underdeveloped patriarchal states of the world, forgotten by time. Subsistence farming predominates in the country. The main production sector of the economy is agriculture. Rice, wheat, and barley are grown here. South of Bhutan, Cherrapunji (India) is the wettest place in the world, receiving over 11,000 mm of rainfall per year. The rainforests of Bhutan are poorly understood and little explored. It has the highest density of elephants per unit area.

Bhutan is still a largely closed country for travel.

Modern Bhutan is somewhat reminiscent of Tsarist Russia at the beginning of the 19th century, when permission to leave had to be obtained personally from the emperor, and a foreign passport cost 500 silver rubles.

A similar situation has developed in modern Bhutan. There are a large number of places where you can only get there after a special permit signed personally by the king. In this case, you should stock up on a significant amount of money, much higher than the official cost of the trip. At the same time, only a true adventure lover can appreciate the exoticism of this country.

The main attraction of Bhutan is Buddhist monasteries, the largest of which are located in Thimphu, the capital of the country.

To the south of India there are important international tourism destinations: the island of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Since 1984 the capital SRI LANKA is Colombo. A mixture of cultures and religions, times and peoples have left their mark on the unique appearance of the city: ancient colonial-style mansions coexist with skyscrapers and ancient oriental temples. The largest number of historical and cultural monuments are concentrated in the center of the island and form a “cultural triangle”: Anuradhapura - the first ancient capital of Sri Lanka, Polonnaruwa - the medieval capital of the state, Kandy - the last bastion of the rulers of the independent Sinhalese state. Sri Lanka is also famous for its elephant nurseries. Nowadays, the country is considered one of the leading exporters of tea, MALDIVES is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean located southwest of the island of Sri Lanka. The Maldives consists of 1,190 tiny coral islands, of which only 220 are developed. On 77 islands there are hotels ranging from 2 to 5 stars.

Maldivians are a mixed race, influenced by emigrants from Sri Lanka, India and Arab countries. The population of the islands is about 240 thousand people, a quarter of whom live in the capital of the country, Male.

Asia got its name from ancient Greek mythology. Once upon a time, Asia (Asia) was the daughter of the titan god Oceanid, who became the wife of Prometheus. The ancient Greeks borrowed the word “Asia” from the Assyrians, who called it the place where the Sun rises. Therefore, the Greeks began to call the territory that lies east of Greece Asia.

In modern Asia, states are at different levels of development. If Bangladesh and Afghanistan are firmly stuck in the Middle Ages, then South Korea, Singapore, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan are countries with developed economies.

Geography of Asia

Asia is the largest continent on Earth. Its total area is more than 43.4 million square meters. km (this is 30% of the Earth's territory). Asia is considered part of the Eurasian Peninsula.

In the west, the border of Asia runs along the Ural Mountains. In the north, Asia is washed by the waters of the Arctic Ocean, in the east by the Pacific Ocean (East China, Bering, Okhotsk, South China, Japan and Yellow Seas), and in the south by the waters of the Indian Ocean (Arabian Sea).

In addition, the shores of Asia are also washed by the waters of the Red and Mediterranean Seas.

Since Asia occupies a huge territory, it is clear that the climate on this continent is very diverse. In Western and Eastern Siberia the climate is continental, in Central and Central Asia - desert and semi-desert, in Eastern, Southern, and Southeast Asia - monsoonal (monsoon season - June-October), in some regions equatorial, and in the far north – arctic.

Among the Asian rivers, one should, of course, name the Yangtze (6300 km), Yellow River (5464 km), Ob (5410 km), Mekong (4500 km), Amur (4440 km), Lena (4400) and Yenisei (4092 km ).

The five largest lakes in Asia include the following: Aral Sea, Baikal, Balkhash, Tonle Sap and Issyk-Kul.

A significant part of Asia is mountains. It is in Asia that the Himalayas, Pamirs, Hindu Kush, Altai and Sayan Mountains are located. The largest mountain in Asia is Everest (Qomolungma), its height is 8,848 meters.

Numerous deserts await travelers in Asia, among which, perhaps, we should highlight the Gobi, Taklamakan, Karakum and deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. In total, there are more than 20 deserts in Asia.

Population of Asia

At the moment, the population of Asia already exceeds 4.3 billion people. This is about 60% of the total population of the Earth. At the same time, the annual population growth in Asia is about 2%.

Almost the entire population of Asia belongs to the Mongoloid race, which, in turn, is divided into small races - North Asian, Arctic, South Asian and Far Eastern. In Iraq, southern Iran and northern India, the Indo-Mediterranean race predominates. In addition, there are many other races in Asia, such as Caucasian and Negroid.

Asian countries

There are 55 states wholly or partially located on the territory of Asia (5 of them are so-called unrecognized republics). The largest Asian country is China (its territory covers 9,596,960 sq. km), and the smallest is the Maldives (300 sq. km).

In terms of population, China (1.39 billion people) is ahead of all countries in the world. Other Asian countries have fewer people: India has 1.1 billion people, Indonesia has 230 million people, and Bangladesh has 134 million people.

Regions of Asia

The territory of Asia is so large that politicians, journalists or scientists sometimes divide it into the Middle East, Western Asia and the Far East. However, geographically it is more correct to divide Asia into 5 regions:

• East Asia (China, Japan, South and North Korea and Mongolia);
• Western Asia (Armenia, Lebanon, Syria, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Yemen, Qatar, Iraq, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Turkey);
• Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, East Timor, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Myanmar);
• South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Afghanistan, Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka);
• Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan).

Asian cities are the most populous in the entire world. The largest of all Asian cities is Bombay (India), whose population is already more than 12.2 million people. Other major cities in Asia are Seoul, Jakarta, Karachi, Manila, Delhi, Shanghai, Tokyo, Beijing and Tehran.

Features of the development of the countries of the southern Asia region and their relationships

South Asia is a political-geographical region that includes, in addition to three main states - India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, which constituted the world before 1947.

The territory of a united British India, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the Republic of Maldives, the Kingdom of Nepal and the Kingdom of Bhutan. A single cultural and civilizational basis and, in many respects, a common history are a powerful cementing principle in the development of relations between the countries of the region, which were in varying degrees of dependence on the British Empire and fought for their sovereign rights. However, the political systems that have developed in the states of South Asia are different. India, the largest country in the region, is

a parliamentary republic with the most stable democratic institutions and a developed party-political structure. The presidential republics of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka gravitate towards authoritarian centralized forms of government; in the first two, military regimes have repeatedly been in power. The government structure of the constitutional monarchy of Nepal is very unique. The Kingdom of Bhutan remains the most isolated from the unified processes taking place in the South Asian region.

All countries in the region are distinguished by a complex ethno-religious composition of the population. It should also be noted that the religious heterogeneity of the South Asian states is dominated by a certain religious group in each of them (the Hindu population predominates in India and Nepal, the Muslim population predominates in Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Maldives, and the Buddhist population predominates in Sri Lanka and Bhutan).

The problems of relations between the countries of the South Asian region are multifaceted: territorial and border, religious, ethnic and migration, economic, military, political. Conflict in the development of the countries of South Asia, turning into open military clashes (especially India and Pakistan), is a characteristic stable feature of their development. India's dominance in the region gives rise to the desire of its neighbors to confront it and establish bilateral relations.

The dismemberment of the subcontinent in 1947 into the Indian Union and Pakistan, the subsequent independence of the rest of the countries in the region, and then the separation of independent Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971 destroyed the usual economic relationships and created new economic structures that existed separately from each other. The level of socio-economic development of the countries in the region is different, and the strategies for economic and political development are different. There is no consensus on regional security issues. The levels and types of established political cultures are not the same.

At the same time, there is also a growing desire of the countries of South Asia to develop intra-regional political and economic ties, which was expressed, in particular, in the creation of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (CAAPK), which became an important milestone in the development of the political and economic development of the countries of the region. However, over the years, there are more differences in the political and economic structures of the countries of the South Asian region than similarities. Small countries in the region are distinguished by an ambivalent attitude towards partnership with huge India: the desire to establish cooperation with a powerful neighbor and fears of its re-monist manifestations.

All the states of South Asia have a long history of cultural and economic contacts, as well as contradictions and tensions between the peoples inhabiting them. Politicians of the small countries of the region have always closely followed events in India and largely borrowed the political experience of Indian leaders and socio-political movements, but defended the right to their own path of development and proclaimed their state-national values, emphasizing the independence of the chosen political courses and economic strategies development.

The internal situation, the level of socio-economic development, the nature of the emerging party system, relations with the British side on the eve of obtaining independent status in the regions that made up the current states of Sri Lanka and the Republic of Maldives. Nepal and Bhutan were very specific and in many ways did not coincide with the situation in the central regions of Hindustan.

The acquisition of Sri Lanka (during the colonial period and until 1972 - Sri Lanka Ceylon) became one of the first countries in the South

independent Asia, which fell into colonial subjugation; from the beginning of the 16th century. - Portugal, from the middle of the 17th century. - Holland, from the beginning of the 19th century. - Great Britain. Since 1800, Ceylon became a British royal colony, endowed with a colonial administration independent from India, headed by a governor-general, reporting to the Colonial Department in the metropolis. Compared to India, the national liberation movement on the island was fragmented and immature, and the emerging tendency to overcome inter-communal strife did not prevail. The first political organization that united Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim entrepreneurs was formed only in 1919 on the model of the Indian National Congress (INC), which arose in 1885. It received a similar name - the Ceylon National Congress (CNC), but this organization was not destined to was to play the role that was assigned to the history of the INC. In 1921, a split occurred within the CNC, which led to the secession of the Tamil community organization Tamil Mahajana Sabha, which began a struggle to increase Tamil representation in the Legislative Council. This consolidated the tradition of building political parties along national-religious principles. Along with the CNC, which represented the interests of the Sinhalese part of the population, the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, which defended the rights of the so-called “Ceylon Tamils,” the Ceylon Indian Congress, which defended the “Indian Tamils,” and the Ceylon Muslim League, which expressed the demands of the Ceylon Moors, were formed.

The role of the party that led the country to independence, like the INC, fell to the lot of the organization formed in 1946, just two years before the country gained independence, and was called the United National Party (UNP). Ceylon received dominion status soon after India - on February 4, 1948, but the country became a republic much later: India acquired republican status in 1950, while Ceylon was proclaimed the Republic of Sri Lanka only in 1972. In the first years after independence, internal political courses The INC in India and the UNP in Ceylon were different, as was their orientation in the global coordinate system that arose after the end of the Second World War and the beginning of the collapse of the colonial system. The UNP government turned out to be pro-Western and, unlike India, which pursued the “Nehru course,” emphasized economic policies related to the development of a free market economy, not subject to state control.

Formation and Since the beginning of the 50s, during the time of the uncontested INC in power in India, the Ceylon two-party society created a political system, the main system in the new one with periodic changes in power of two

Sri LYANKb U LTTTT TT

* main political parties - UNP and Parti

Svoboda (PS), which was formed in 1952 as a result of a split in the UNP. PS leader Solomon Bandaranaike came up with the following program: the creation of an independent republic, the withdrawal of British armed forces from Ceylon and the return of foreign military bases to it, the nationalization of the most important sectors of the economy and the creation of the public sector, the introduction of planning, and the implementation of agrarian reform. The ideological system of the new party was a synthesis of “democratic socialism” and “Buddhist nationalism.” The social support of the PS became the urban and rural middle strata, the intelligentsia, and representatives of the Buddhist clergy.

The system of two-party dominance in a multi-party political structure became a distinctive feature of the development of Ceylonese society and led to the formation of a specific coalition politics, significantly different from the Indian model: smaller political parties were grouped either on the basis of adherence to the course of the UNP, or blocked around the Freedom Party. Another type of coalition was associated with a unification movement within Tamil political circles, some of which advocated autonomy for provinces with a predominance of the Tamil population, and some under separatist slogans. In the modern political development of Sri Lanka, there are stages associated with the successive change in power of the UNP and SLPP:

1948 - 1956 - UNP (Prime Ministers D.S. Senanayake (1948-1952), D. Senanayake (1952-1953), D. Kotelawala (1953-1956);

1956 - 1965 - PS (Prime Ministers Solomon. Bandaranaike (1956-1959), Sirimavo Bandaranaike (1960-1965);

1965 - 1970 - UNP (Prime Minister D. Senanayake);

1970 - 1977 - PS (Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike);

1977 - 1994 - UNP (Prime Minister, then President D. Jayawardene (1977-1988), presidents R. Premadasa (1988-1993), D. Wijetunge (1993-1994);

since 1994 - PS (President Chandrika Kumaratunge).

Such a scheme is very different from the Indian one, where the INC lost its monopoly on power only in 1977. When the Freedom Party first came to power in 1956 with a program similar to the Congressist one during the “Nehru course” and setting as its main goal the creation of a state-controlled economy with a strict planning system, carrying out agrarian reform, developing cooperation with all countries, including states of the socialist camp, it began to be compared with the ruling party in the subcontinent. However, the Freedom Party introduced a "Buddhist motif" into its political strategy and eventually led the country to adopt a constitution in 1972 that declared Sri Lanka a "Buddhist republic" in contrast to secularist India. The "Buddhist strategy" of SLPP leaders Solomon Bandaranaike and later his widow Sirimavo Bandaranaike put an end to comparisons with Jawaharlal Hepy and Indira Gandhi associated with a secular political outlook.

India, on the contrary, has not created a stable system of two alternative political parties, alternately replacing each other in power: since the late 70s, broad political coalitions have been created here - National Fronts - with the composition of their constituent parties varying from election to election, as all-Indian , and regional, and since the second half of the 90s, there have been three really competing forces: the Indian National Congress, the United Front and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been in power since 1998.

The tendency to create coalitions turned out to be much stronger in the political life of India than in Sri Lanka. While coalitionism has manifested itself most forcefully in India since the turn of the 70s and 80s, the interest of political circles in Sri Lanka in the formation of broad associations has been weakening. The creation of the most powerful inter-party blocs in this country dates back to the second half of the 50s - the first half of the 60s, the time of the formation and effective stay in power of the United Popular Front as part of the Freedom Party, communists and socialists. The adoption of a new presidential constitution in 1978 after the UNP came to power noticeably weakened the position of supporters of coalition politics: the formation of electoral fronts was prohibited, as well as the participation of “independent” candidates, which led to an increase in the number of voters for the two leading political parties.

Constitution Unlike India, which in Sri Lanka adhered to the formation of a parliamentary constitution in 1950 throughout the entire period of independent development, in Sri Lanka the presidential constitution was changed three times: the first (1946) form of government was the constitution of the Dominion of Ceylon, the second (1972) d) legitimized the republican status and the new name of the country - Sri Lanka (both were built in accordance with parliamentary forms of government), the third (1978) established a presidential form of government and changed the majoritarian electoral system to proportional representation. The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka of 1978 proclaimed the rejection of parliamentarism and the creation of a state mechanism based on the personal power of the head of state - the president. The president is the head of state, head of the executive branch and government, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He is elected by universal suffrage for six years (with a ban on re-election for more than two terms) and during his term of office he is irremovable and independent of the legislative body - the unicameral parliament. By endowing the president with the broadest powers and formally declaring his responsibility to the legislative bodies, the constitution actually legitimizes the subordinate role of parliament and the transformation of the government from an independent body into an integral element of the mechanism of presidential power. The Constitution does not provide for the post of vice president. The concentration of political power in the hands of one person is further enhanced by the fact that the current president is the leader of the ruling party. However, despite the frequent introduction of a state of emergency and the strengthening of authoritarian methods of governance due to the severity of the ethno-religious situation, civilian rule is maintained in Sri Lanka.

The presidential form of government, in the opinion of the UNP leaders who came to power in 1978, was more appropriate than the parliamentary form of government for the current situation in the country. The course chosen by the party was aimed at denationalizing public sector enterprises and expanding the scope of activity of private capital, including foreign capital. The government established a special “investment promotion zone”, or “free trade zone”, designed to help attract foreign investors to the country. A number of agreements were signed on extensive financing of the Sri Lankan economy by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund, and foreign monopolies. Sri Lanka ranks first among South Asian countries in terms of foreign investment per capita. Continuing to pursue a generally traditional foreign policy for Sri Lanka, based on the principles of non-alignment, the UNP intensified cooperation with the USA, Great Britain, Japan and other capitalist countries (in contrast to the PS, which paid great attention to the development of relations with socialist states, primarily the CCCP and the PRC) .

The UNP remained in power until 1994, when the PS won the parliamentary elections. Since then, the president of the country has been Chandrika Kumaratunge, the daughter of Solomon and Sirimavo Bandaranaike. (Sirimavo herself served as Prime Minister until August 2000, and died in October 2000 during the election campaign). The presidential elections at the end of 1999 confirmed Ch. Kumaratunge's tenure in power, and the parliamentary elections of 2000 brought victory to the ruling coalition, the People's Alliance, led by the Freedom Party. To date, the internal political courses of the PS and the UNP differ little from each other: the main strategy of both parties is related to economic liberalization programs. The main differences between the country's two leading parties relate to the different proposed ways out of the Sinhala Tamil crisis, which has plunged Sri Lanka into a state of civil war.

Tamil-Syngalese - National issue related to the long-term conflict in the confrontation between the Sinhala and Tamil communities

Sri Lanka on the island is the most pressing problem

on the decision of which the future fate of the country depends. The search for ways out of a protracted crisis situation determines the political life of Sri Lanka in the last two decades of the 20th century and significantly influences the internal situation in the South Asian region in general, where the problem of maintaining the integrity and indivisibility of state entities, closely related to problems of regional security, has long been the subject of heated discussions between the leaders of the countries included in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Despite the fact that the confrontation between the Sinhalese and the Tamils ​​has deep roots, it did not take the form of military confrontation until the mid-50s. From the second half of the 50s to the beginning of the 80s, there were periodically recurring conflict situations, often ending in bloodshed, but they were local in nature and represented sporadic outbursts of accumulated mutual hostility.

Back in 1949 t. from. The Federal Party emerged from the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, dissatisfied with BTK's cooperation with the UNP. The Ceylon Indian Congress also fought against BTK, but there was no unity among the Tamil parties. The Federal Party envisaged the transformation of Ceylon from a unitary to a federal state, in which the provinces with a predominant Tamil population would form one or more Tamil autonomous regions, the Tamil and Sinhala languages ​​would be given equal status as the official languages ​​of the country, immigrants from India living in Ceylon would receive civil and voting rights, Sinhala colonization of the North-Eastern Province, populated predominantly by Tamils, will end.

The growing wave of “Sinhala nationalism”, the formation of new pro-Sinhala parties (for example, the National Liberation Front - Jatika Vimukti Peramuna), the government’s decision to give the Sinhala language state status, along with the discussion about the introduction of an article in the constitution stipulating the special position of the Buddhist religion in the country , led to the creation of an explosive situation in the northern and northeastern regions of the country, where the bulk of the Tamil population lived. A federal party that declared a struggle for autonomy for the Tamil provinces and granting the Tamil language the status of a second state language.

entered into open confrontation with the government and called on the population for satyagraha. Since 1958, the national and linguistic issue has become the most controversial issue among the country's leading political forces.

The pro-Sinhala bias of the governments, along with the objective difficulties associated with finding ways to solve the problems of citizenship of Indian Tamils, the state language, and the administrative structure of the North-Eastern Tamil province, led to periodic increases in tension between the Sinhalese and Tamil communities and the development of a protracted conflict situation that broke out every now and then out of the control of government authorities. The activation of Tamil nationalists on the one hand and Sinhala nationalists on the other kept the country in a state of tension. The Constitution of 1972, according to the Tamil side, ignored two main demands of the Tamil population: the recognition of Tamil as the second state language of the country along with Sinhala and the establishment of the principle of a federal state structure, which presupposed the autonomy of the Tamil regions.

In 1972, the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) was created. TOFO made demands for the inclusion in the constitution of a clause granting the Tamil language equal status with the Sinhala language, recognition of the secularist nature of the state and ensuring the equality of all religions, decentralization of the state on a federal basis, providing all persons living in the country who speak the Tamil language with guarantees of full civil rights in eliminating differences in categories of citizenship. The main method of struggle of the TOFO was civil disobedience - satyagraha. However, there were also terrorist groups in the Tamil movement, such as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), whose ranks were replenished mainly by unemployed Tamil youth who had lost faith in the possibilities of political dialogue. The increased activities of Tamil extremists created tension in the country. The activity of the nationalist pro-Sinhala parties Sinhala Bhasha Peramuna (Sinhala Language Front), Jatika Vimukti Peramuna (National Liberation Front), Eksat Bhikkhu Peramuna (United Front of Bhikkhus - Buddhist Monks), etc. also increased.

In 1983, the ethnic conflict entered its most acute and serious phase and grew to the size of a civil war, disturbing the entire country, paralyzing the economic life of a number of regions, and claiming a significant number of human lives.

India's mediation in a series of peace talks between government representatives and leaders of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), as well as the entry of Indian peacekeeping forces into Sri Lanka (1987) and their presence on the island until the decision was made on their phased withdrawal, completed in 1990, were unable to resolve the conflict. Terrorist actions of the extremist organization “Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam”, demanding the creation of an independent Tamil state in the northern and north-eastern regions of Sri Lanka, are replaced by massive offensives by units of the Sri Lankan regular army against Tamil rebel groups, during which civilians are killed.

In 1991, Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was trying to promote a settlement to the conflict, became a victim of Tamil terrorists; in 1993, the President of Sri Lanka, R. Premadasa, was killed as a result of a suicide bomb explosion; the current President of the country, Ch. Kumaratunge, was wounded during presidential elections 1999; A number of other political figures in the country, including members of the cabinet, were killed as a result of extremist terrorist attacks.

Maldives Unlike Sri Lanka, which was a classic example of a country under colonial rule, the neighboring Maldives never completely lost its independence, except for a short period in the 16th century when the country was ruled by the Portuguese from Goa. From 1887 to 1965, the Maldives were under British protectorate, but there was never a permanent British administrative presence on the islands. The rulers of the Maldives Sultanate carried out internal policy, while the British were “responsible” for defense and foreign relations - a system of government that was fully consistent with the system of British government in the princely states of the Indian subcontinent. In 1932, the country's first constitution was adopted, providing for the election of the Sultan from among the local nobility. In 1965, the Maldives declared full independence, and in November 1968 a new constitution was introduced, according to which a republican, presidential form of government was proclaimed in the country. In accordance with the constitution, the president (since 1978 - M.A. Gayoom) is the head of state and the head of the highest executive body - the cabinet of ministers, whose members are appointed by the president from among the deputies of the Majlis (a unicameral parliament, which is the main legislative body). The Majlis consists of 48 deputies, 8 of whom are appointed by the president, and 40 are elected for a period of 5 years through direct elections. An effective party-political system has not been created in the Republic of Maldives, and socio-political life has accordingly not been developed, but the country is known on the world stage for a series of initiatives to create a system of international guarantees for the security of small states and environmental protection of island states. The Maldives has been a member of the UN since 1965, the Non-Aligned Movement since 1976, the British Commonwealth since 1984, and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (CAAPK) since 1985. The population of the Maldives is 300 thousand people and belongs to several ethnic groups groups: these are people from India and Sri Lanka, as well as Arabs and Malays. The state religion is Islam.

The country has traditionally been focused on developing relations with Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh - in the region, as well as with the Muslim countries of the Near and Middle East - beyond its borders. Since the late 80s, political and economic cooperation with India began to develop. It began with the help of the government of the Indian Republic in suppressing a military coup attempt in November 1988, carried out by mercenaries from among extremist Tamil groups in Sri Lanka who had connections with those opposed to President M.A. Gayoom forces. At the request of the Maldivian government, some Indian troops remained in the archipelago for one year. Mutual visits by government officials from both countries have become more frequent, and a number of agreements on economic, technical, trade and cultural cooperation have been signed. A high-level meeting was held in the capital of the Republic of Maldives, Male, between the leaders of the countries included in the CAAPK. Until the end of the 80s, the Republic of Maldives occupied different positions from India on regional security issues: it supported the Pakistani proposal to declare South Asia a nuclear-free zone and the Nepalese proposal to declare Nepal a “zone of peace.”

However, despite the expanding ties of the Maldives with the outside world, the country largely depends on the political situation in neighboring Sri Lanka. Diplomatic relations are conducted primarily through the Maldivian embassy in Colombo, which influences the island nation's orientation in the South Asian region. The peripheral position of the Maldives in relation to the political centers of South Asia, the small size of the territory and the small population, as well as the exclusive orientation of the economy of the islands of the archipelago on tourism and the service sector determine the insufficient ability of this state to really influence the political process in the region.

Nepal. Nepal in If Sri Lanka and the Maldives “close” the southern Asian region from the Indian Ocean,

existence, then two other states - Nepal and Bhutan - cover it unlimitedly with a wide strip from the side

monarchies of the foothills of the Himalayas. Despite a number of significant differences, they have common features: in terms of government structure, both countries are constitutional monarchies; in terms of economic system and level of development, they are the most archaic formations in South Asia, incomparable in terms of the level of development of productive forces with other countries in the region.

Nepal was a closed state, isolated from the outside world, which had emerged at the beginning of the 19th century. and transformed by the dominant Rana clan from the mid-19th century. in British India, dependent on the British for agricultural raw materials, and in special contractual relations with the British colonial administration. Political stagnation, cultural and economic stagnation became characteristic features of the Rana regime. Although Nepal was recognized by the British as an independent state in 1923, British control over foreign policy continued to be maintained. Intrigues and infighting within the ruling elite represented practically the only form of political activity.

Artificially cut off from the political processes taking place in South Asia during the development of the national liberation movement, Nepal, later than other countries in the region, took the path of creating a modern party-political system. Political organizations that arose here in the 30s of the 20th century and called for the establishment of a parliamentary monarchy were destroyed; the surviving part of their founders organized emigrant political groups in neighboring India, in Calcutta and Benares. They formed the basis of the Nepal National Congress (HHK) party created in 1947, whose activities were gradually transferred to the territory of Nepal. The main method of political struggle of the HHK was civil disobedience campaigns, and the main demand of the Satyagraha participants was the introduction of a constitution guaranteeing democratic freedoms and the introduction of the principle of election to the legislative bodies of power. The struggle for the adoption of the prepared draft constitution of 1948 ended with the ban on the activities of the HHK.

According to the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, signed between India and Nepal in 1950, the complete independence and sovereignty of Nepal was proclaimed, and according to the temporary constitution of 1951, adopted as a result of the fierce struggle of HHK cp by supporters of the Rana regime, the liquidation of the “Ranacracy” was legally formalized. . The establishment of a constitutional-monarchical system in Nepal meant the abolition of the exclusive rights and privileges of members of the Rana family and the granting of broad powers, including lawmaking, to the king.

In the 50s, along with the strengthening of royal power, the process of formation of the party system took place. With the abundance of parties and groups that emerged (by the mid-50s there were already more than a hundred of them), the Nepalese Congress was one of the few political organizations capable of really influencing the process of democratization of Nepalese society. Most of the formations that emerged were associations on an ethno-caste and clan basis and primarily realized the personal ambitions of their leaders.

The royal government, taking advantage of the weakness and disunity of political parties and trying to concentrate power as much as possible, carried out a coup in December 1960, announcing the dissolution of the cabinet of ministers, the banning of all parties and political organizations and the establishment of a regime of personal power for the king. The 1962 Constitution established a “panchayat system” of government in Nepal, under which all power in the state (executive, legislative and judicial) was concentrated in the hands of the monarch. Under the conditions of a non-party system, the social organizing role was assigned to self-government bodies - panchayats, starting from the village ones and ending with the parliament, which was called the national panchayat. The “panchayat system” existed until the end of the 80s.

In 1990, under pressure from mass protests

Nepal during the period „ , > „ t,

constitutional and armed struggle led by Nepal-

The New Monarchy, the Kim Congress and the United Left Front, consisting of 7 communist groups, adopted a new constitution providing for the establishment of parliamentary democracy on a multi-party basis. According to the 1990 constitution, Nepal is a constitutional monarchy and the head of state is the king (Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev).

Legislative power in the country belongs to the monarch and a bicameral parliament consisting of the House of Representatives (lower house, 205 deputies of which are elected by direct, universal and secret suffrage for a term of five years) and the National Assembly (upper house, consisting of 60 members, with a term of office of 6 years ).

In April 1990, a coalition cabinet of HK and ALF was formed, and HK Chairman K.P. Bhattarai was appointed Prime Minister. Parliamentary elections were held in 1991, in which the Nepalese Congress won a landslide victory. However, disagreements that arose between Prime Minister G.P. Koirala and HK leader G.M.S. Shreshtha led to a split in the ranks of HK and made the government ineffective: in July 1994, the Prime Minister resigned, and the new elections were scheduled for November of that year.

The 1994 elections brought victory to the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML), whose government was in power from November 1994 to September 1995, when it was subject to a vote of no confidence. After a vote of no confidence in parliament, power passed to a coalition government consisting of the Nepali Congress, the National Democratic Party and the People's Choice Party, led by HK leader Sh.B. Deuba. However, the lack of unity within the leading political parties, expressed in the splits of HK into two groups and the PDP also into two components, led to the fall of this government, a vote of no confidence in which was passed in February 1997. The group that left the PDP, led by L.B. Chand, formed an alliance with the Communist Party (united Marxist-Leninist), which remained in power until October 1997. The artificiality of the union between the communists and people from the PDP, composed of politicians who previously supported the “panchayat system,” made this alliance unviable. After the fall of the Communist-PDP government, PDP President S.B. Thapa was appointed Prime Minister and headed the newly created PDP-NC coalition government. The withdrawal from the coalition of two leading figures of both parties - K.P. Bhattarai from HK and L.B. Chand from the PDP, who disagreed with the government's policies, predetermined the inevitability of the imminent fall of this cabinet. The departure of L.B. Chand from the PDP led to the long-awaited split of this party: in January 1998, the New National Democratic Party was formed.

The leaders of the Communist Party (united Marxist-Leninist) criticized the activities of the government, trying to raise the question of a vote of confidence in parliament - only the king’s disagreement with this temporarily extended the life of another stillborn coalition. However, the lack of unity prevented them from further defending their line: in March 1998, forty of its former functionaries left the Communist Party (Unified Marxist-Leninist) and formed a new organization - the Communist Party of Nepal/Marxist-Leninist (CPN/ML) - and called to create a revolutionary movement aimed at establishing a republican system in the country.

Another ultra-left party - the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN/M) - by this time had widely launched an armed struggle for the reconstruction of Nepalese society, which they called the “People's War”. This movement began in February 1996 in three districts of western Nepal, but by 1998 it had already covered 50 districts of the country. It was accompanied by countless acts of violence, robberies, arson, murders and became a threat to security and stability in the country. The terrorist activities of the Maoists represent one of the most difficult problems to solve in modern Nepal: the low standard of living of the bulk of the country's population is fertile ground for the further growth of the movement and the expansion of the circle of its supporters. Although the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has no representation in the government structures, the goals pursued by it are almost officially encouraged by the leaders of the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist), who express disagreement only with the forms of conducting the “people's war”.

In accordance with the preliminary agreement on the successive succession of the leaders of the two parties making up the ruling coalition in the post of Prime Minister, in April 1998, S.B. Thapa (PDP) transferred his powers to G.P. Koirala (NC), who, having barely taken office, post of Prime Minister, informed his predecessor about the dissolution of the coalition due to the recent split within the PDP and the transfer of power entirely to the Nepali Congress. In the 40 months since the 1994 elections, Nepal has seen five governments. NK at that time was the dominant force in parliament and did not need allies, but the actions of G.P. Koirala aroused outrage among 60 representatives of his party, who boycotted the parliamentary session and led to a split within NK. ·

To stay in power, HK formed a coalition with an unexpected ally - the Communist Party / Marxist-Leninist - in August 1998, and by December of the same year the coalition inevitably collapsed. A new coalition was formed: this time the partners of the Nepali Congress were the Communist Party (United Marxist-Leninist) and the People's Choice Party. The new formation lasted three weeks: parliament was dissolved and new elections were scheduled for May 1999.

39 political parties took part in the elections, 7 of them received representation in parliament. HK received the largest number of seats - 110, the second largest number of seats in parliament was the CPN - UML - 68. The split in the PDP into the followers of L.B. Chand and S.B. Thapa did not allow it to take a strong position in the new parliament. K. P. Bhattarai became the new Prime Minister of Nepal, but his position turned out to be difficult: immediately after his appointment, a fierce struggle began between him and G. P. Koirala, who tried to regain his lost positions and won in this rivalry. The Nepali Congress found itself facing a split, while the two factions of the PDP were once again reunited.

The “Maoist problem” also remains a threat to stability. The government's call for the Maoists to come to the negotiating table remains unheeded. The Maoists completely control a number of territories of the country that are not under the control of the central government, which makes the further development of the situation in Nepal unpredictable. 35 out of 75 districts are controlled by terrorists, 4 (Rolpa, Rukum, Jagarhot and Kalikot) are under their direct control. Maoist attacks reached the capital Kathmandu. Nepalese militants maintain close ties with Indian ideological brethren - Maoist extremist groups in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. The Indian authorities have experience in fighting ultra-left organizations and movements that became widespread in this country at the turn of the 60s and 70s: the Naxalite movement was suppressed by force. However, the Nepalese leadership has not yet resorted to extreme measures, fearing the escalation of the “people's war” into a civil war and considering overcoming poverty and corruption the main task in the fight against the Maoists.

Features The immaturity of the political process in Nepal as a whole, the instability and youth of the political development of parties, the intense factional struggle in them, leading to endless splits, the ill-conceived coalition politics, which is in the nature of throwing and shirking from one extreme to another, lead to political instability . Frequent changes of governments lead to the impossibility of carrying out

a unified economic policy and Nepal’s recovery from the most acute crisis. Corruption and nepotism remain characteristic features of Nepalese political life.

Despite the introduction of representative institutions in Nepal, the influence of the king and the royal family on the socio-political life in the state remains: the symbolic nature of royal power in the context of the proclamation of a constitutional monarchy often takes on real meaning in a country with an archaic social organization. The 1990 Constitution gives the king pride of place in both the executive and legislative branches: the former consists of "His Majesty and the Cabinet", the latter of "His Majesty and the two Houses of Parliament". The constitution states that “His Majesty is the symbol of the Nepalese nation and the unity of the Nepalese people. His Majesty preserves and protects the constitution for the interests and prosperity of the people of Nepal." The King of Nepal retains the most important right to declare a state of emergency in the country and issue corresponding decrees in the event of a threat to the national security of the country, both internal and external. The current King of Nepal, Birendra, remains a sacred figure for most Nepalese.

The instability of the political situation is aggravated by the presence in the party-political system of Nepal of a significant number of parties whose activities are not of a parliamentary nature, but are associated with “street agitation”, which is fraught with escalation into armed protests. The Communist Party (Maoist) is not alone in choosing forms and methods of defending its views.

The framers of the Nepalese constitution, unlike the Indian legislators, rejected secularism as the basis of state policy. Nepal is a Hindu state. Despite the fact that Hindus make up the absolute majority of the country's population (89%), followers of Buddhism, Islam and various local cults also live in the country. Nepal is a multi-ethnic state with historically complex relations between the main ethnic groups - Nepali, Maithili, Newar, Avadhi, Bhojpuri, etc. Ethnic confrontation is intertwined with caste. Relations between faiths, ethnic groups and castes have a direct impact on the political struggle, often influencing the nature of coalition blocs formed contrary to the principles of compatibility of ideological guidelines and programs of the political parties included in them.

The political development of Nepal reveals two opposing trends: orientation towards political processes in India and the assimilation of the political experience of first the Indian national liberation movement, then the party system (it is no coincidence that the leading and oldest political party in the country was an organization called the Nepalese National Congress), on the one hand , and opposition to a strong and powerful neighbor, on the other. Thus, the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between India and Nepal, signed in 1950, caused some dissatisfaction on the Nepalese side with a number of points that placed Nepal in a dependent position and imposed certain obligations on it in relation to India.

In order to eliminate the one-sided orientation toward India, Nepal actively developed ties with China, which often led to a deterioration in relations between the Nepalese and Indian sides during periods of aggravation of Indo-Chinese contradictions. King Birendra's proposal to declare Nepal a “zone of peace” was negatively assessed by Indian politicians, who saw in this initiative an attempt to separate from India and annul the 1950 treaty. Nepalese governments actively developed trade with other countries in order to avoid economic dependence on India: complications in bilateral relations inevitably led to a crisis economic situation. The Indian-Nepalese conflict of 1989 hit the Nepalese economy particularly hard, when the trade and transit agreement was not extended and the Nepalese side, which declared India’s actions an economic blockade, had difficulties transporting goods.

A serious problem complicating relations between Nepal and India is the problem of political refugees from Bhutan, who campaigned under the slogans of democratizing the kingdom and creating a truly functioning political system in it, and their status on Nepalese territory. The conflict situation that has arisen between Nepal and Bhutan, according to Nepalese politicians, cannot be resolved without the participation of India, with which Bhutan has a Treaty of Friendship, concluded after the proclamation of Indian independence and which actually consolidated the transition from control over the external relations of Bhutan, carried out by the British, to Indian control over the kingdom's foreign policy.

For a long time Bhutan was

in a state of semi-vassal dependence on Tibet, later - throughout the XDi century. and until 1947 - under the control of the British colonial authorities. Under the India-Bhutan Treaty of August 8, 1949, Bhutan agreed to be guided by the advice of the Government of India in matters of foreign policy. The Kingdom of Bhutan, based on Buddhist-Lamaist institutions, still retains the features characteristic of the traditional theocracy of the Dalai Lama of Tibet: lama monasteries are the legislators of political trends in the country. In 1953, the Bhutan National Congress party was created in Bhutan, demanding the creation of party democracy in the country, but its activities were banned by the king. Political parties and trade unions are still prohibited.

Bhutan is a backward agrarian country with a predominance of subsistence farming and archaic social relations that perpetuate the economic autarky of this state. According to the UN classification, Bhutan is classified as one of the economically least developed countries in the world. In 1961, the first five-year plan, financed by India, was launched. The reforms provoked fierce resistance from large landowning clans and some of the lamas. However, from the mid-60s, the country took the path of creating a constitutional monarchy: this process began with the creation of a partially elected Royal Council, endowed with administrative functions.

Modern Bhutan is a constitutional monarchy in which the head of state and government, the king (since 1972, Jigme Singai Wangchuck, crowned in 1975), is the supreme commander and chairman of the planning commission. Legislative power is exercised by the king and the unicameral National Assembly, consisting of 205 members (105 are elected in general elections for a term of three years, associations of Buddhist monks select 12 people, the remaining 33 deputies represent the government and are appointed by the king). Executive power is exercised by the king through the Council of Ministers. The Royal Advisory Council under the king, consisting of 9 people and determining internal policy in the country, has the most real powers.

Bhutan's entry into the UN in 1971 and the Non-Aligned Movement in 1973 confirmed its independent status, and its participation in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (CAAPK) since 1985 cemented its position in the South Asian region.

The creation of CAAPK was a critical step in the development of political, economic and cultural ties between the countries of the South Asian region: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan. However, the development of centripetal trends continues to be hampered by a number of factors of confrontation: persistent territorial claims fraught with periodically repeated demonstrations of force, lack of political consensus, and economic rivalry.

This is the name given to the part of the world that is part of the Eurasian continent. The land border between Asia and Europe runs along the Ural Mountains, the Emba, Kuma, Manych rivers, the Caspian, Azov, Black, Marmara seas, the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. Asia occupies a third of the entire landmass. It is washed by the waters of three oceans: the Arctic, Indian and Pacific, and it borders not only with Europe, but also with Africa and Australia.

In general, Asia is a high-mountainous part of the world - 3/4 of the area is occupied by mountains and plateaus, but there are also huge, vast plains, such as West Siberian, and there are deep depressions, the bottom of which lies below sea level. In the central part of Asia, the Tibet plateau rises on average 4-5 km. Along its southern edge rise the Himalayas with the highest peak on Earth - Chomolungma (or Everest, Sagarmatha), rising almost 9 km above sea level. Since Asia stretches over a huge distance from north to south and from west to east, the differences in climate in different places in this part of the world are very large. In the Far North there is a long winter, snow lies for many months, blizzards blow, icy winds blow, there are severe frosts, auroras blaze in the dark night sky. There is no sun above the Arctic Circle in winter, but in spring and summer it sets below the horizon for only a few minutes, and then the day lasts around the clock. Most of the northern tip of Asia is occupied by tundra. There are no tall trees here, only grass, colored with many flowers, and low dwarf birches and willows grow. White arctic foxes and small animals - lemmings - are found in the tundra. To the south of the tundra, vast Asian spaces are occupied by dense coniferous forests, called taiga, where larch and Siberian cedar grow. Bears, wolves, foxes live here, agile squirrels jump along the branches and handsome sables hide in the fluffy pine needles. Even further south are the semi-deserts and hot deserts of Central and Central Asia, separated by the high mountains of the Pamirs, Tien Shan, and Altai. The Himalayas and other high mountains bordering the Central Asian plateau shield the southern parts of Asia from the cold northern winds. On the shores washed by the warm Indian Ocean, eternal summer reigns. It is very hot in here. On most of the mainland and on the islands, of which there are many, both large and small, there is a lot of rain and dense evergreen forests grow. South of the Himalayas there is the rainiest place on Earth - Cherrapunji. If all the moisture that fell during the year remained there, it would form a layer as high as a four-story building.

Asia is home to elephants, tigers, rhinoceroses, monkeys, crocodiles and many beautiful birds of paradise. In the southwest, the Red Sea washes the Arabian Peninsula, also part of Asia. This peninsula has a very hot climate. There is a scorching Arabian desert, and date palms, orange and lemon trees grow in the oases. Like hundreds of years ago, camel caravans walk through the desert. The peninsula is very rich in oil, it is extracted here in large quantities and sent to all parts of the world.

In the east, the entire Asian coast is washed by the largest and deepest Pacific Ocean. There are many volcanic islands near the coast; there are frequent volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, and next to high volcanoes there are several deep-sea oceanic depressions, or, as scientists say, trenches. In one of them - Mariana - the greatest depth of the World Ocean is noted: 11022 m. In the Pacific Ocean, terrible hurricanes often arise - typhoons, which form huge waves. Typhoons rush towards land at breakneck speed, destroying everything in their path and bringing heavy downpours.

Asia has many large, full-flowing rivers; the largest lake on the globe, the Caspian Sea, and the deepest lake, Lake Baikal, are located here. Many Asian rivers flow from high mountains from melting glaciers. They have abundant water all year round, making it convenient to build hydroelectric power stations. Rivers flow from the mountains in different directions and flow into the Arctic, Indian and Pacific oceans. In the depths of Asia, huge reserves of a wide variety of minerals have been discovered, especially oil, gas, coal, non-ferrous metals, and precious stones. Over 2 billion people live in Asia, these are people of three races: white - Caucasoid, yellow - Mongoloid, black - Negroid-Australoid. They are divided into many different nations.

Most of our country's territory is located in Asia. Its southern border runs from the Pacific Ocean to the Black Sea. The largest countries in Asia: China, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Vietnam, Laos, Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc.

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The video lesson allows you to get interesting and detailed information about the countries of South Asia. From the lesson you will learn about the composition of South Asia, the characteristics of the countries in the region, their geographical location, nature, climate, and place in this subregion. The teacher will tell you in detail about the main country of South Asia - India. In addition, the lesson provides interesting information about the religions and traditions of the region.

Topic: Foreign Asia

South Asia- a cultural and geographical region that includes states located on the Hindustan Peninsula and its neighboring territories (Himalayas, Sri Lanka, Maldives).

Compound:

2. Pakistan.

3. Bangladesh.

6. Sri Lanka.

7. Republic of Maldives.

The area of ​​the region is approximately 4480 thousand square meters. km, which is approximately 2.4% of the earth's surface area. South Asia accounts for about 40% of Asia's population and 22% of the world's population.

South Asia is washed by the waters of the Indian Ocean and its parts.

The climate in most of South Asia is subequatorial.

Countries in South Asia with the largest populations:

1. India (1230 million people).

2. Pakistan (178 million people).

3. Bangladesh (153 million people).

The maximum average population density is 1100 people. per sq. km - to Bangladesh. In Indian cities, the population density can reach 30,000 people. per sq. km!

The peoples of South Asia are a huge variety of ethnic entities; more than 2000 varieties can be counted. Each ethnic group can include from hundreds of millions of people to several thousand. Over the centuries, South Asia has been repeatedly invaded by various peoples who have firmly rooted themselves in the region, forming ethnic groups such as Dravidian, Indo-Aryan and Iranian.

The most numerous peoples of South Asia:

1. Hindustani.

2. Bengalis.

3. Punjabis.

In most countries they speak Hindustani, and you can often find people speaking in Bengali or Urdu. And in some parts of India they speak only Khudu.

Judaism and Islam are common in South Asian countries, and in some countries Buddhism is the dominant religion. There are also small tribal religions. The culture of South Asia has been influenced by colonial invaders for more than two centuries, but this has not prevented the preservation of the primitiveness and ethnic diversity of cultural values ​​and traditions.

At the same time, South Asia is a region with persistently high mortality rates. Due to the lack of hygiene conditions and developed healthcare, a large number of children die. The region ranks sixth on the World Hunger Index.

The region's religious composition is diverse. Islam is practiced by the majority of residents in Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Republic of Maldives and some states of India. Hinduism is practiced in India and Nepal, Buddhism in Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

The form of government in Bhutan is a monarchy.

India has the most powerful economy in the region.

All countries of South Asia are characterized by a traditional type of population reproduction.

In most countries, mining, agriculture, animal husbandry, textiles, leather, and spices are common. Tourism is being developed in some countries of South Asia (Maldives, Sri Lanka, India).

India. The Republic of India is located in South Asia on the Hindustan Peninsula. The capital is New Delhi. It also includes the Laccadive Islands in the Arabian Sea and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. India borders Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar. The maximum length of India is from north to south - 3200 km, from west to east - 2700 km.
The economic and geographical position of India is favorable for economic development: India is located on maritime trade routes from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, halfway between the Middle and Far East.
Indian civilization arose in the third millennium BC. e. For almost two centuries, India was a colony of England. India gained independence in 1947, and in 1950 it was declared a republic within the British Commonwealth.
India is a federal republic consisting of 28 states. Each of them has its own legislative assembly and government, but while maintaining a strong central government.

India is the second most populous country in the world (after China). The country has a very high population reproduction rate. And although the peak of the demographic explosion has generally passed, the demographic problem has not yet lost its urgency.
India is the most multinational country in the world. It is home to representatives of several hundred nations, nationalities and tribal groups, at different stages of socio-economic development and speaking different languages. They belong to the Caucasoid, Negroid, Australoid races and the Dravidian group.
The peoples of the Indo-European family predominate: Hindustani, Marathi, Bengalis, Biharis, etc. The official languages ​​throughout the country are Hindi and English. Each state has its own common language.
More than 80% of the inhabitants of India are Hindus, 11% are Muslims. The complex ethnic and religious composition of the population often leads to conflicts and increased tension.
The distribution of the population of India is very uneven, since for a long time the fertile lowlands and plains in the valleys and deltas of rivers and on the sea coasts were primarily populated. The average population density is 365 people. per 1 sq. km. Despite this high figure, sparsely populated and even deserted territories still exist.
The level of urbanization is quite low, but the number of large cities and millionaire cities is constantly increasing; In terms of the absolute number of city residents (more than 310 million people), India ranks 2nd in the world. But, nevertheless, most of the Indian population lives in crowded villages.

The main economic, political and industrial centers of India:

1. Mumbai.

2. New Delhi.

3. Kolkata.

India is a developing agro-industrial country with enormous resources and human potential. Along with India's traditional industries (agriculture, light industry), the mining and manufacturing industries are developing. Currently, the Indian economy continues to grow at a good pace.

The creation of the energy base in the country began with the creation of hydroelectric power stations, but thermal power plants predominate among the newly built power plants in recent years. The main source of energy is coal. Nuclear energy is also developing in India - 3 nuclear power plants are operating.

India produces a variety of machine tool and transport engineering products (TVs, ships, cars, tractors, airplanes and helicopters). The industry is developing rapidly. The leading centers of mechanical engineering are Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Hyderabad, Bangalore. In terms of production volume of the radio-electronic industry, India has taken second place in foreign Asia. The country produces a variety of radio equipment, color televisions, tape recorders, and communications equipment.

In a country with such a role for agriculture, the production of mineral fertilizers is of exceptional importance. The importance of petrochemicals is also growing.

Light industry is a traditional branch of the economy, the main directions being cotton and jute, as well as clothing. There are textile factories in all major cities of the country. 25% of India's exports are made up of textile and clothing products.
The food industry is also traditional, producing products for the domestic and foreign markets. Indian tea is the most widely known in the world.

Ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy developed in the east of the country. Our own raw materials are used.

India is a country of ancient agricultural culture, one of the most important agricultural regions in the world.
Agriculture employs 60% - 70% of India's economically active population, but the use of mechanization is still insufficient.
4/5 of the value of agricultural products comes from crop production; agriculture requires irrigation (40% of the sown area is irrigated).
The main part of the arable land is occupied by food crops: rice, wheat, corn, barley, millet, legumes, potatoes.
The main industrial crops of India are cotton, jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and oilseeds.
There are two main agricultural seasons in India - summer and winter. The sowing of the most important crops (rice, cotton, jute) is carried out in the summer, during the summer monsoon rains; In winter, wheat, barley, etc. are sown.
As a result of several factors, including the “green revolution”, India is completely self-sufficient in grain.
Livestock farming is much inferior to crop production, although India ranks first in the world in terms of livestock numbers. Only milk and animal skins are used; meat is practically not consumed, since Indians are mostly vegetarians.

Rice. 4. Cows on the streets of India ()

In coastal areas, fishing is of considerable importance.

Among other developing countries, India's transport is quite developed. In first place in importance is railway transport in internal transportation and sea transport in external transportation; horse-drawn transport continues to play a significant role.

India is the largest producer of motion pictures after the United States. The authorities and business are developing tourism and banking services.

Homework

Topic 7, P. 4

1. What are the features of the geographical location of South Asia?

2. Tell us about the Indian economy.

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