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| label2 = GDP (Nominal) | data2 = $2.9 trillion (April 2015)〔(IMF )〕 | label3 = GDP (PPP) | data3 = $9.9 trillion (April 2015)〔 | label4 = Languages | data4 = Primarily Indo-Aryan but also, Dravidian, Iranian, Austroasiatic and Sino-Tibetan languages, as well as some others | label5 = Time zones | data5 = UTC+04:30, UTC+05:00, UTC+5:30, UTC+5:45, UTC+06:00 | label6 = Capital cities | data6 = |label7 = Other major cities | data7 = }} South Asia or Southern Asia is a term used to represent the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan SAARC countries and, for some authorities, adjoining countries to the west and east. Topographically, it is dominated by the Indian Plate, which rises above sea level as Nepal and northern parts of India situated south of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush. South Asia is bounded on the south by the Indian Ocean and on land (clockwise, from west) by West Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. The terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are sometimes used interchangeably.〔〔Milton Walter Meyer, ''South Asia: A Short History of the Subcontinent'', pages 1, Adams Littlefield, 1976, ISBN 0-8226-0034-X Jim Norwine & Alfonso González, ''The Third World: states of mind and being'', pages 209, Taylor & Francis, 1988, ISBN 0-04-910121-8 Judith Schott & Alix Henley, ''Culture, Religion, and Childbearing in a Multiracial Society'', pages 274, Elsevier Health Sciences, 1996, ISBN 0-7506-2050-1 Raj S. Bhopal, ''Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies'', pages 33, Oxford University Press, 2007, ISBN 0-19-856817-7 Lucian W. Pye & Mary W. Pye, ''Asian Power and Politics'', pages 133, Harvard University Press, 1985, ISBN 0-674-04979-9 Mark Juergensmeyer, ''The Oxford handbook of global religions'', pages 465, Oxford University Press US, 2006, ISBN 0-19-513798-1 Sugata Bose & Ayesha Jalal, ''Modern South Asia'', pages 3, Routledge, 2004, ISBN 0-415-30787-2 Shiv R. Jhawar, ''Building a Noble World'', page 39, Noble World Foundation, 2004, ISBN 9780974919706 Erika Lee and Judy Yung, ''Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America'', page xxiii, Oxford University Press, 2010, ISBN 9780199752799〕 The current territories of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka form the countries of South Asia. In addition, with deviating definitions based on often substantially different reasons, the British Indian Ocean Territory, Mauritius, and the Tibet Autonomous Region are included as well. South Asia is home to well over one fifth of the world's population, making it both the most populous and the most densely populated geographical region in the world. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation(SAARC) is an economic cooperation organisation in the region which was established in 1985 and includes all eight nations comprising South Asia. Containing Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives as the constituent countries – South Asia covers about 5.1 million km² (1.9 million mi²), which is 11.51% of the Asian continent or 3.4% of the world's land surface area.〔Desai, Praful B. 2002. (Cancer control efforts in the Indian subcontinent ). ''Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology''. 32 (Supplement 1): S13-S16. "The Indian subcontinent in South Asia occupies 2.4% of the world land mass and is home to 16.5% of the world population...."〕〔"(Indian Subcontinent )". ''Encyclopedia of Modern Asia''. Macmillan Reference USA (Gale Group), 2006: "The area is divided between five major nation-states, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and includes as well the two small nations of Bhutan and the Maldives Republic... The total area can be estimated at 4.4 million square kilometres, or exactly 10 percent of the land surface of Asia... In 2000, the total population was about 22 percent of the world's population and 34 percent of the population of Asia."〕 Overall, it accounts for about 39.49% of Asia's population (or over 24% of the world's population) and is home to a vast array of peoples.〔〔("Asia" > Overview ). ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2009: "The Indian subcontinent is home to a vast diversity of peoples, most of whom speak languages from the Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European family."〕〔 ==Definitions== The area of South Asia and its geographical extent is not clear cut as systemic and foreign policy orientations of its constituents are quite asymmetrical. Aside from the central region of South Asia, formerly part of the British Empire, there is a high degree of variation as to which other countries are included in South Asia.〔Bertram Hughes Farmer, ''An Introduction to South Asia'', pages 1, Routledge, 1993, ISBN 0-415-05695-0〕 However, modern definitions of South Asia are consistent in including Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives as the constituent countries. The current territories of Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, which were the core of the British Empire prior to 1947, form the central region of South Asia, in addition to Afghanistan,〔〔〔〔〔〔 which was a British protectorate until 1919, after the Afghans lost to the British in the Second Anglo-Afghan war. The mountain countries of Nepal and Bhutan, and the island countries of Sri Lanka and Maldives are generally included as well. Myanmar is often added, and by various deviating definitions based on often substantially different reasons, the British Indian Ocean Territory, Mauritius, and the Tibet Autonomous Region are included as well.〔〔Arthur Berriedale Keith, ''A Constitutional History of India: 1600-1935'', pages 440-444, Methuen & Co, 1936〕〔"Indian subcontinent". ''New Oxford Dictionary of English'' (ISBN 0-19-860441-6) New York: Oxford University Press, 2001; p. 929: "the part of Asia south of the Himalayas which forms a peninsula extending into the Indian Ocean, between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Historically forming the whole territory of greater India, the region is now divided between India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.〕〔N.D. Arora, ''Political Science for Civil Services Main Examination'', page 42:1, Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 2010, 9780070090941〕〔Stephen Adolphe Wurm, Peter Mühlhäusler & Darrell T. Tryon, ''Atlas of languages of intercultural communication in the Pacific, Asia, and the Americas'', pages 787, International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies, Published by Walter de Gruyter, 1996, ISBN 3-11-013417-9〕〔("Indian subcontinent" > Geology and Geography ).〕〔''The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia'', 6th ed. Columbia University Press, 2003: "region, S central Asia, comprising the countries of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh and the Himalayan states of Nepal, and Bhutan. Sri Lanka, an island off the southeastern tip of the Indian peninsula, is often considered a part of the subcontinent."〕 The common concept of South Asia is largely inherited from the administrative boundaries of the British Raj,〔Navnita Chadha Behera, ''International Relations in South Asia: Search for an Alternative Paradigm'', page 129, SAGE Publications India, 2008, ISBN 9788178298702〕 with two major differences. The Aden Colony, British Somaliland and Singapore, though administered at various times under the Raj, have not been proposed as any part of South Asia.〔United Nations, ''Yearbook of the United Nations'', pages 297, Office of Public Information, 1947, United Nations〕 The 562 princely states that were protected by but not directly ruled by the Raj became administrative parts of South Asia upon joining Union of India or Dominion of Pakistan.〔''Encyclopædia Britannica: A New Survey of Universal Knowledge'' (volume 4), pages 177, Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 1947〕〔Ian Copland, ''The Princes of pre-India in the Endgame of the British Empire: 1917-1947'', pages 263, Cambridge University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-521-89436-0〕 Geopolitically, it had formed the whole territory of Greater India,〔〔 The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), a contiguous block of countries, started in 1985 with seven countries — Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — and added Afghanistan as an eighth member in 2006. China and Myanmar have also applied for the status of full members of SAARC.〔Chatterjee Aneek, ''International Relations Today: Concepts and Applications'', page 166, Pearson Education India, ISBN 9788131733752〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=SAARC Membership: India blocks China's entry for the time being )〕 This bloc of countries include two independent countries that were not part of the British Raj - Nepal, and Bhutan. Afghanistan was a British protectorate from 1878 until 1919, after the Afghans lost to the British in the Second Anglo-Afghan war.〔 The World Factbook, based on geo-politics, people, and economy defines South Asia as comprising Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, British Indian Ocean Territory, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=South Asia )〕 The South Asia Free Trade Agreement incorporated Afghanistan in 2011, and the World Bank grouping of countries in the region also includes all eight members comprising South Asia and SAARC as well.〔(South Asia: Data, Projects and Research ), The World Bank〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=SAFTA Protocol )〕 The United Nations Statistics Division's scheme of sub-regions include all eight members of the SAARC as part of Southern Asia, along with Iran〔(Geographical region and composition ), Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings, United Nations〕 only for statistical purposes.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use ) Quote: "The assignment of countries or areas to specific groupings is for statistical convenience and does not imply any assumption regarding political or other affiliation of countries or territories by the United Nations."〕 Population Information Network (POPIN) includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as part of South Asia. Maldives, in view of its characteristics, was admitted as a member Pacific POPIN subregional network only in principle.〔(Asia-Pacific POPIN Consultative Workshop Report ), Asia-Pacific POPIN Bulletin, Vol. 7, No. 2 (1995), pages 7-11〕 The Hirschman–Herfindahl index of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific for the region includes only the original seven signatories of SAARC.〔(Mapping and Analysis of Agricultural Trade Liberalization in South Asia ), Trade and Investment Division (TID), United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific〕 The British Indian Ocean Territory is connected to the region by a publication of Jane's for security considerations.〔(Territories (British Indian Ocean Territory) ), Jane's Information Group〕 The region may also include the disputed territory of Aksai Chin, which was part of the British Indian princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, but is now administered as part of the Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang.〔Dale Hoiberg and Indu Ramchandani, ''Students' Britannica India (vol. 1)'', page 45, Popular Prakashan, 2000, ISBN 978-0-85229-760-5〕 The regional affinity of the bordering countries like Myanmar is always confusing. Myanmar with its low-profile foreign policy has not drawn much scholarly attention. Afghanistan was an area of vital importance for British diplomacy during the colonial era, especially after the second Anglo-Afghan war, which resulted from British outrage over the uninvited arrival of a Russian diplomatic envoy in Kabul. The British were able to occupy all of the major cities in Afghanistan, and got wind of an impending rebellion against their occupation, thereafter brutally crushing it in a pre-emptive move. They subsequently set up a puppet ruler and forced the country to hand over control of its foreign affairs to Britain. Afghanistan would remain a British protectorate until 1919, when it was finally granted its independence by Britain following the signing of a treaty of aid and friendship with Vladimir Lenin. After a brief period of border skirmishes, and the bombing of Kabul by the Royal Air Force, Britain conceded Afghanistan’s independence. Shortly after, Britain conspired with conservative religious and land owning elements within the country who were unhappy with Amanullah’s attempts to secularize and reform the country. Following India's partition, it still never lost its importance.〔 From the time of the British withdrawal from India, there was, by and large, agreement among scholars that Afghanistan was part of South Asia, and a minority considered it a part of Southwest Asia as well.〔 The dominant view however remained that it was a part of South Asia. Thus, when Joseph B. Schwartberg edited his book in 1978 titled "An Historical Atlas of South Asia" which dealt with the cultural, political, and geographical analysis of South Asia, he included Afghanistan in his book.〔 During the Soviet war in Afghanistan (1979 to February 1989) American foreign policy dictates briefly included Pakistan and Afghanistan in Southwest Asia for political reasons, but their long standing history as a part of South Asia remained, and both Pakistan and Afghanistan were and are firmly considered South Asian countries on the global stage.〔〔〔〔〔〔〔 In the past, a lack of a coherent definition for South Asia resulted in not only a lack of academic studies, but also in a lack interest for such studies.〔Vernon Marston Hewitt, ''The international politics of South Asia'', page xi, Manchester University Press, 1992, ISBN 0-7190-3392-6〕 The confusion existed also because of the lack of a clear boundary - geographically, geopolitical, socio-culturally, economically or historically - between South Asia and other parts of Asia, especially the Middle East and Southeast Asia.〔Dallen J. Timothy and Gyan P. Nyaupane, ''Cultural Heritage and Tourism in the Developing World: A Regional Perspective'', page 127, Routledge, 2009, ISBN 9781134002283〕 Identification with a South Asian identity was also found to be significantly low among respondents in an older two-year survey across Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.〔Kishore C. Dash, ''Regionalism in South Asia'', pages 172-175, Routledge, 2008, ISBN 0-415-43117-4〕 However, modern definitions of South Asia are very consistent in including Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives as the constituent countries.〔〔〔〔〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「South Asia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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