Library: Asian Studies by Credo Reference: South Asia

South Asia

Afghanistan: Topic Page
Officially Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, republic (2005 est. pop. 29,929,000), 249,999 sq mi (647,497 sq km), S central Asia. The capital and largest city is Kabul.
Bhutan: Topic Page
Officially Kingdom of Bhutan, kingdom (2005 est. pop. 2,232,000), 18,147 sq mi (47,000 sq km), in the E Himalayas, southern Asia.
India: Topic Page
Country in southern Asia, bounded to the north by China, Nepal, and Bhutan; east by Myanmar and Bangladesh; northwest by Pakistan and Afghanistan; and southeast, south, and southwest by the Indian Ocean.
Maldives: Topic Page
Group of 1,196 islands in the north Indian Ocean, about 640 km/400 mi southwest of Sri Lanka; only 203 of them are inhabited.
Sri Lanka: Topic Page
Island in the Indian Ocean, off the southeast coast of India.

Nepal

Nepal: Topic Page
Independent nation (2005 est. pop. 27,677,000), c.54,000 sq mi (139,860 sq km), central Asia. Landlocked and isolated by the Himalayas. Katmandu is the capital.
Kathmandu: Topic Page
Capital of Nepal, situated at 1,370 m/4,500 ft in the southern Himalayas
Nepalese Literature
In Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century
Around forty different languages are spoken in the kingdom of Nepal. Modern literature is published in Nepali (Nepal’s national language), Maithili, Hindi, Newari, Tibetan, and several minority hill languages, while Sanskrit and Tibetan are sacred languages of scripture.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh: Topic Page
Officially People's Republic of Bangladesh, republic (2005 est. pop. 144,320,000), 55,126 sq mi (142,776 sq km), S Asia.
Dhaka: Topic Page
Capital of Bangladesh since 1971 following the war of independence from Pakistan.
Bengali Language: Topic Page
The national language of Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) and also spoken by the great majority in the Indian province of West Bengal
Bengal: Topic Page
Region, 77,442 sq mi (200,575 sq km), E India and Bangladesh, on the Bay of Bengal.

Pakistan

Pakistan: Topic Page
Officially Islamic Republic of Pakistan, republic (2005 est. pop. 162,420,000), 310,403 sq mi (803,944 sq km), S Asia.
Balochistan: Topic Page
The country's largest and least populous province.
Islamabad: Topic Page
Capital of Pakistan from 1967 (replacing Karachi).
Karachi: Topic Page
Largest city and former capital of Pakistan.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Topic Page
Province of Pakistan... It includes the strategic Khyber Pass, the site of constant struggle between the British Raj and the Pathan warriors.
Lahore: Topic Page
Capital of Punjab prov., E central Pakistan, on the Ravi River. It is the second largest city of Pakistan.
Peshawar: Topic Page
Capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province).
Panjabi Language: Topic Page
Panjabi belongs to the Indo-Aryan languages and to the dialect continuum of northern India and Pakistan.
Pashto Language: Topic Page
Speakers in Pakistan are known as Pathans or Afghans.
Punjab: Topic Page
Historic region in the NW of the Indian subcontinent. Since 1947 it has been separated into an Indian state and a Pakistani province bearing the same name.
Sind: Topic Page
Province (1998 pop. 29,991,161), c.50,000 sq mi (129,500 sq km), SE Pakistan, roughly coextensive with the lower Indus River valley and bounded by India on the east and south and by the Arabian Sea on the southwest.
Urdu Language: Topic Page
One of the Indo-Aryan Languages, Urdu is the twin of Hindi. It has the same origin in the regional language of the country around Delhi. Culturally, the two languages are a world apart.