Indian subcontinent: Difference between revisions

Indian subcontinent
	Hindu Kush Iranian; Plateau Makran Indus; Valley Thar Desert Arabian Sea Karakoram Tibetan Plateau Himalaya Deccan; Plateau Brahmaputra Ganges Indo-Burma; Range Bay of Bengal Topographic map of the subcontinent and surrounding regions (in Black)
	Geopolitical coverage of the subcontinent
Area	4,440,000 km2 (1,710,000 sq mi)
Population	c. 1.9 billion
Countries	7 Bangladesh ; Bhutan ; India ; Maldives ; Nepal ; Pakistan ; Sri Lanka ;
Dependencies	External (1) British Indian Ocean Territory (United Kingdom) ; Disputed (1) Kashmir ;
Languages	Official: Bengali ; Dzongkha ; English ; Hindi ; Maldivian ; Nepali ; Sinhala ; Tamil ; Urdu ;
Time zones	List: Bangladesh Standard Time (BST) ; Bhutan Time (BTT) ; Indian Standard Time (IST) ; Maldives Time (MVT) ; Nepal Standard Time (NPT) ; Pakistan Standard Time (PST) ; Sri Lanka Standard Time (SLST) ;
Largest cities	10 largest cities on the Indian subcontinent Delhi ; Mumbai ; Dhaka ; Karachi ; Kolkata ; Chennai ; Lahore ; Bangalore ; Hyderabad ; Ahmedabad ;

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The Indian subcontinent^{[note 7]} is a physiographical region in Southern Asia, mostly situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geographically, it spans the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, the British Indian Ocean Territory (United Kingdom), India,^{[note 1]} Maldives,^{[note 2]} Nepal,^{[note 3]} Pakistan,^{[note 4]} and Sri Lanka.^{[note 2]}^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] Although the terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are often used interchangeably to denote the region,^[5] the geopolitical term of South Asia frequently includes Afghanistan, which is not considered a part of the subcontinent, while excluding the British Indian Ocean Territory which is geologically associated with the subcontinent.^{[citation needed]}^[6]

Geologically, the subcontinent originates from Insular India, an isolated landmass that rifted from the supercontinent of Gondwana during the Cretaceous and merged with the landmass of Eurasia nearly 55 million years ago, forming the Himalayas.^[7] It is one of the most populated regions in the world, holding roughly 20–25 percent of the global population. Geographically, the peninsular region in Southern Asia is located below the Third Pole, delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Indo-Burman Ranges in the east.^[8] The neighboring geographical regions around the subcontinent include the Tibetan Plateau to the north, the Indochinese Peninsula to the east, the Iranian Plateau to the west, and the Indian Ocean to the south.

Apart from Maritime Southeast Asia (the Malay Archipelago), the maritime region of the subcontinent (littoral South Asia) is the only subregion of Asia that lies partly within the Southern Hemisphere: the British Indian Ocean Territory^{[citation needed]} two of the 26 atolls of the Maldives lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere.

Name

Historically, the region surrounding and southeast of the Indus River was often simply referred to as "India" in many historical sources. Even today, historians use this term to denote the entire Indian subcontinent when discussing history up until the era of the British Raj. Over time, however, "India" evolved to refer to a distinct political entity that eventually became a nation-state (today the Republic of India).^[9]

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term subcontinent signifies a "subdivision of a continent which has a distinct geographical, political, or cultural identity" and also a "large land mass somewhat smaller than a continent".^[10]^[11] Its use to signify the Indian subcontinent is evidenced from the early twentieth century when most of the territory was either part of the British Empire or allied with them.^[12]^[13] It was a convenient term to refer to the region comprising both British India and the princely states.^[14]^[15]

The term has been particularly common in the British Empire and its successors,^[16] while the term South Asia is the more common usage in Europe and North America.^[17]^[18] According to historians Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal, the Indian subcontinent has come to be known as South Asia "in more recent and neutral parlance".^[19] Indologist Ronald B. Inden argues that the usage of the term South Asia is becoming more widespread since it clearly distinguishes the region from East Asia.^[20] While South Asia, a more accurate term that reflects the region's contemporary political demarcations, is replacing the Indian subcontinent, a term closely linked to the region's colonial heritage, as a cover term, the latter is still widely used in typological studies.^[21]^[22]

Since the Partition of India, citizens of Pakistan (which became independent of British India in 1947) and Bangladesh (which became independent of Pakistan in 1971) often perceive the use of the Indian subcontinent as offensive and suspicious because of the dominant placement of India in the term. As such it is being increasingly less used in those countries.^{[note 8]} Meanwhile, many Indian analysts prefer to use the term because of the socio-cultural commonalities of the region.^[24] The region has also been called the "Asian subcontinent",^[25]^[26] the "South Asian subcontinent",^[27]^[28]^[29]^[30] as well as "India" or "Greater India" in the classical and pre-modern sense.^[5]^[6]^[31]^[32]

The sport of cricket is notably popular in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. Within a cricket context, these countries are often referred to simply as the subcontinent around the world e.g. "Australia's tour of the subcontinent".^[33] The word is also sometimes used as an adjective in this context e.g. "subcontinental conditions".^[34]^[35]

Geology

From left to right, rifting of the Indian subcontinent away from Gondwana at 150 million years ago (Ma), 120 Ma, 80 Ma and during the Paleocene

Due to plate tectonics, the Indian Plate split from Madagascar and collided (c. 55 Mya) with the Eurasian Plate, resulting in the formation of the Himalayas.

The Indian subcontinent was formerly part of Gondwana, a supercontinent formed during the late Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic.^[7] Gondwana began to break up during the Mesozoic, with Insular India separating from Antarctica 130-120 million years ago^[36] and Madagascar around 90 million years ago,^[37] during the Cretaceous. Insular India subsequently drifted northeastwards, colliding with the Eurasian Plate nearly 55 million years ago, during the Eocene, forming the Indian subcontinent.^[7] The zone where the Eurasian and Indian subcontinent plates meet remains geologically active, prone to major earthquakes.^[38]^[39]

Physiographically, it is a peninsular region in South Asia delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Arakanese in the east.^[8]^[40] It extends southward into the Indian Ocean with the Arabian Sea to the southwest and the Bay of Bengal to the southeast.^[1]^[41] Most of this region rests on the Indian Plate and is isolated from the rest of Asia by large mountain barriers.^[42] Laccadive Islands, Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago are three series of coral atolls, cays and Faroes on the Indian Plate along with the Chagos–Laccadive Ridge, a submarine ridge that was generated by the northern drift of the Indian Plate over the Réunion hotspot during the Cretaceous and early Cenozoic times.^[43]^[44]^[45] The Maldives archipelago rises from a basement of volcanic basalt outpourings from a depth of about 2000 m forming the central part of the ridge between Laccadives and the Great Chagos Bank.^[45]

Geography

According to anthropologist Patrap C. Dutta, "the Indian subcontinent occupies the major landmass of South Asia."^[46] According to historian B. N. Mukherjee, "The subcontinent is an indivisible geographical entity."^[47] According to geographer Dudley Stamp, "There is perhaps no mainland part of the world better marked off by nature as a region or a 'realm' by itself than the Indian subcontinent."^[48]

This natural physical landmass in South Asia is the dry-land portion of the Indian Plate, which has been relatively isolated from the rest of Eurasia.^[49] The Himalayas (from Brahmaputra River in the east to Indus River in the west), Karakoram (from Indus River in the east to Yarkand River in the west) and the Hindu Kush mountains (from Yarkand River westwards) form its northern boundary.^[47]^[50] In the west it is bounded by parts of the mountain ranges of Hindu Kush, Spīn Ghar (Safed Koh), Sulaiman Mountains, Kirthar Mountains, Brahui range, and Pab range among others,^[47] with the Western Fold Belt along the border (between the Sulaiman Range and the Chaman Fault) is the western boundary of the Indian Plate,^[51] where, along the Eastern Hindu Kush, lies the Afghanistan–Pakistan border.^[52] In the east, it is bounded by Patkai, Naga, Lushai and Chin hills.^[47] The Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea form the boundary of the Indian subcontinent in the south, south-east and south-west.^[47]

Given the difficulty of passage through the Himalayas, the sociocultural, religious and political interaction of the Indian subcontinent has largely been through the valleys of Afghanistan in its northwest,^{[citation needed]} the valleys of Manipur in its east, and by maritime routes.^[49] More difficult but historically important interaction has also occurred through passages pioneered by the Tibetans. These routes and interactions have led to the spread of Buddhism out of the subcontinent into other parts of Asia. The Islamic expansion arrived into the subcontinent in two ways: through Afghanistan on land, and to the Indian coast through the maritime routes on the Arabian Sea.^[49]

Geopolitics

In terms of modern geopolitical boundaries, the subcontinent constitutes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, besides, by convention, the island country of Sri Lanka and other nearby island nations of the Indian Ocean, such as Maldives and the British Indian Ocean Territory.^{[citation needed]}^{[original research?]}^[2]^[3]^[53]^[54]^[55] Unlike "South Asia", sometimes the expression "Indian subcontinent" may exclude the islands of Maldives and Sri Lanka.^[5] According to Pawan Budhwar, Arup Varma, and Manjusha Hirekhan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan constitute the Indian subcontinent. Budhwar, Varma, and Hirekhan also maintain that with Afghanistan and Maldives included the region is referred to as South Asia.^[56] The periphery of the subcontinent, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the island chains of Maldives, features large Muslim populations, while the heartland, including most of India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, are overwhelmingly Hindu or Buddhist.^[57] Since most of these countries are located on the Indian Plate, a continuous landmass, the borders between countries are often either a river or a no man's land.^[58]

The precise definition of an "Indian subcontinent" in a geopolitical context is somewhat contested as there is no globally accepted definition on which countries are a part of South Asia or the Indian subcontinent.^[59]^[60]^[61]^[4] Whether called the Indian subcontinent or South Asia, the definition of the geographical extent of this region varies.^[31]^[32] Afghanistan, despite often considered as a part of South Asia, is usually not included in the Indian subcontinent.^[59]^[62]^[63]^[64]^[65] Maldives, an island country consisting of a small archipelago southwest of the peninsula, while largely considered a part of the Indian subcontinent,^[3] sometimes is mentioned by sources, including the International Monetary Fund, as a group of islands away from the Indian subcontinent in a south-western direction.^[66]^[67]

Society

Population

The population of Indian subcontinent is about 1.912 billion which makes it the most populated region in the world.^[68] It is socially very mixed, consisting of many language groups and religions, and social practices in one region that are vastly different from those in another.^[69]

Country	Population(2023)^[70]^[71]	% of world^[72]	Density (per km²)	Population growth rate^[73]
Country	Population(2023)^[70]^[71]	% of world^[72]	Density (per km²)	2005–10	2010–15	2015–20
Bangladesh	171,466,990	2.15%	1301	1.18	1.16	1.04
Bhutan	786,385	0.00978%	20.3	2.05	1.58	1.18
India	1,438,069,596	17.5%	473.4	1.46	1.23	1.10
Maldives	525,994	0.00647%	1738.2	2.68	2.76	1.85
Nepal	29,964,614	0.384%	204.1	1.05	1.17	1.09
Pakistan	247,504,495	2.98%	300.2	2.05	2.09	1.91
Sri Lanka	22,971,617	0.272%	347.2	0.68	0.50	0.35
Indian Subcontinent	1,912,753,691	23.322%	-	-	-	-

Notes

^ ^a ^b
Excluding:
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands, close to the Malay Archipelago.
- Ladakh, Spiti, and other areas which lie to the north of the Greater Himalayan Mountain Range.
- Significant portions of northeast India which lie on the Indo-Burman Ranges (spanning Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram) as well as the Tibetan Plateau (northern Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d As island countries, Maldives and Sri Lanka are sometimes not considered parts of the subcontinent, as they lack geographic contiguity with the mainland. They are considered parts of the region in cultural geography or geology instead.
^ ^a ^b Excluding Upper Mustang and other areas which lie to the north of the Greater Himalayan Mountain Range.
^ ^a ^b
Excluding:
- Significant landmasses from East Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (like Federally Administered Tribal Areas) which are situated on the Iranian Plateau.
- Parts of Northern Areas (like Baltistan) which lie to the north of the Greater Himalayan Mountain Range.
^ Administered by the United Kingdom, claimed by Mauritius as the Chagos Archipelago.
^ Disputed territory with undetermined political status. Administration is split between China (Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract), India (Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan). China claims a small portion of the territory, Pakistan claims the majority of the territory, and India claims the entire territory (see: UN mediation of the Kashmir dispute).
^ It is sometimes simply just referred as the subcontinent in South Asian contexts.
^ For example, a history book intended for Pakistani B.A. students by K. Ali uses the term "Indo-Pakistan" instead.^[23]

References

Media related to Indian subcontinent at Wikimedia Commons

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^ ^a ^b Jim Norwine & Alfonso González, The Third World: states of mind and being, pages 209, Taylor & Francis, 1988, ISBN 0-04-910121-8 Quote: ""The term "South Asia" also signifies the Indian Subcontinent""
Raj S. Bhopal, Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies, pages 33, Oxford University Press, 2007, ISBN 0-19-856817-7; Quote: "The term South Asian refers to populations originating from the Indian subcontinent, effectively India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka;
Lucian W. Pye & Mary W. Pye, Asian Power and Politics, pages 133, Harvard University Press, 1985, ISBN 0-674-04979-9 Quote: "The complex culture of the Indian subcontinent, or South Asia, presents a tradition comparable to Confucianism."
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^ Akhilesh Pillalamarri, South Asia or India: An Old Debate Resurfaces in California, The Diplomat, 24 May 2016;
Ahmed, Mukhtar (2014), Ancient Pakistan – An Archaeological History: Volume II: A Prelude to Civilization, Foursome, p. 5, ISBN 978-1-4959-4130-6
^ Ira M. Lapidus (2014). A History of Islamic Societies. Cambridge University Press. pp. 269, 698–699. ISBN 978-0-521-51430-9.
^ Ludwig W. Adamec (2013) [First published 1998]. "Afghanistan". In Robert Wuthnow (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion. Vol. 1. Routledge. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-136-28493-9.
^ Kumar, Dhavendra (20 October 2004). Genetic Disorders of the Indian Subcontinent - Google Books. Springer. ISBN 9781402012150. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
^ Prior, Katherine (1997). The History of Emigration from the Indian Subcontinent - Katherine Prior - Google Books. Franklin Watts. ISBN 9780531144183. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
^ Ludwig Paul, Persian Origins, page 31, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 2003, ISBN 9783447047319, "Maldive Islands which are scattered about the sea south-west of the Indian subcontinent, extending over more than 1,000km in a north-south direction."
^ Legal Department, International Monetary Fund, Maldives: Detailed Assessment Report on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism, page 15, International Monetary Fund, 2012, ISBN 9781463979676, "Maldives is the smallest Asian country in both population and land area. Its closest neighbors to the north are India's Laccadive Islands. To the northeast is the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka. To the south it borders the British Indian Occan Territory. About 2.600 kilometers (1,600 miles) further east, across the Indian Ocean, is Malaysia. To the west, the Horn of Africa is approximatcly 3,000 kilometers (1,300 miles) away."
^ United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2014). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision, custom data acquired via website. http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Excel-Data/population.htm Archived 4 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine
^ Baten, Jörg (2016). A History of the Global Economy. From 1500 to the Present. Cambridge University Press. p. 249. ISBN 978-1-107-50718-0.
^ "World Population prospects – Population division". United Nations. Archived from the original on 5 February 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
^ "Overall total population" (xlsx). United Nations. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
^ "World Population Prospects 2017 Key Findings" (PDF). United Nations. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
^ "United Nations Population Div, World Population Prospects 2017, File: Population Growth Rate, retrieved 5/20/18". Archived from the original on 27 September 2016.

[India-1] Excluding:
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, close to the Malay Archipelago.

Ladakh, Spiti, and other areas which lie to the north of the Greater Himalayan Mountain Range.

Significant portions of northeast India which lie on the Indo-Burman Ranges (spanning Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram) as well as the Tibetan Plateau (northern Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim)

[2] Andaman and Nicobar Islands, close to the Malay Archipelago.

[3] Ladakh, Spiti, and other areas which lie to the north of the Greater Himalayan Mountain Range.

[4] Significant portions of northeast India which lie on the Indo-Burman Ranges (spanning Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram) as well as the Tibetan Plateau (northern Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim)

[Island_country-2] As island countries, Maldives and Sri Lanka are sometimes not considered parts of the subcontinent, as they lack geographic contiguity with the mainland. They are considered parts of the region in cultural geography or geology instead.

[Nepal-3] Excluding Upper Mustang and other areas which lie to the north of the Greater Himalayan Mountain Range.

[Pakistan-4] Excluding:
Significant landmasses from East Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (like Federally Administered Tribal Areas) which are situated on the Iranian Plateau.

Parts of Northern Areas (like Baltistan) which lie to the north of the Greater Himalayan Mountain Range.

[8] Significant landmasses from East Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (like Federally Administered Tribal Areas) which are situated on the Iranian Plateau.

[9] Parts of Northern Areas (like Baltistan) which lie to the north of the Greater Himalayan Mountain Range.

[BIOT-5] Administered by the United Kingdom, claimed by Mauritius as the Chagos Archipelago.

[Kashmir-6] Disputed territory with undetermined political status. Administration is split between China (Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract), India (Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan). China claims a small portion of the territory, Pakistan claims the majority of the territory, and India claims the entire territory (see: UN mediation of the Kashmir dispute).

[TheSubcontinent-7] It is sometimes simply just referred as the subcontinent in South Asian contexts.

[Indo-Pakistan-31] For example, a history book intended for Pakistani B.A. students by K. Ali uses the term "Indo-Pakistan" instead.^[23]

[Oxford-8] "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 into three countries named Bangladesh, India and Pakistan."

[dkumar889-9] Dhavendra Kumar (2012). Genomics and Health in the Developing World. Oxford University Press. p. 889. ISBN 978-0-19-537475-9. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and other small islands of the Indian Ocean

[pirbhai14-10] Mariam Pirbhai (2009). Mythologies of Migration, Vocabularies of Indenture: Novels of the South Asian Diaspora in Africa, the Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific. University of Toronto Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-8020-9964-8.

[mmann-11] Michael Mann (2014). South Asia's Modern History: Thematic Perspectives. Taylor & Francis. pp. 13–15. ISBN 978-1-317-62445-5.

[McLeod_p1-12] John McLeod (2002). The history of India. Greenwood Press. p. 1. ISBN 0-313-31459-4. Note: McLeod does not include Afghanistan in the Indian subcontinent or South Asia.

[norwineplus-13] Jim Norwine & Alfonso González, The Third World: states of mind and being, pages 209, Taylor & Francis, 1988, ISBN 0-04-910121-8 Quote: ""The term "South Asia" also signifies the Indian Subcontinent""
Raj S. Bhopal, Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies, pages 33, Oxford University Press, 2007, ISBN 0-19-856817-7; Quote: "The term South Asian refers to populations originating from the Indian subcontinent, effectively India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka;
Lucian W. Pye & Mary W. Pye, Asian Power and Politics, pages 133, Harvard University Press, 1985, ISBN 0-674-04979-9 Quote: "The complex culture of the Indian subcontinent, or South Asia, presents a tradition comparable to Confucianism."
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, page 3, Routledge, 2004, ISBN 0-415-30787-2

[Jones2011p267-14] Robert Wynn Jones (2011). Applications of Palaeontology: Techniques and Case Studies. Cambridge University Press. pp. 267–271. ISBN 978-1-139-49920-0.

[Chapman,_Graham_P._p._10-15] Baker, Kathleen M.; Chapman, Graham P. (11 March 2002), The Changing Geography of Asia, Routledge, pp. 10–, ISBN 978-1-134-93384-6, This greater India is well defined in terms of topography; it is the Indian sub-continent, hemmed in by the Himalayas on the north, the Hindu Khush in the west and the Arakanese in the east.

[Encyclopedia_Britannica_2022_t419-16] "Indian subcontinent Map, Countries, Population, & History". Encyclopædia Britannica. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2023.

[17] Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, Merriam-Webster, 2002. Retrieved 6 December 2016; Quote: "a large landmass smaller than a continent; especially: a major subdivision of a continent ! e Indian subcontinent | "

[OED-18] "subcontinent - definition of subcontinent in English | Oxford Dictionaries". 20 December 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2024. A large distinguishable part of a continent

[19] Milton Walter Meyer, South Asia: A Short History of the Subcontinent, pages 1, Adams Littlefield, 1976, ISBN 0-8226-0034-X

[20] Baker Henry D. (1915). British India With Notes On Ceylon Afghanistan And Tibet (1915). p. 401.

[21] "subcontinent". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)

[22] "Indian subcontinent". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)

[23] 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
Boniface, Brian G.; Christopher P. Cooper (2005). Worldwide destinations: the geography of travel and tourism. Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-7506-5997-0.
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

[24] Judith Schott & Alix Henley, Culture, Religion, and Childbearing in a Multiracial Society, pages 274, Elsevier Health Sciences, 1996, ISBN 0750620501

[25] Raj S. Bhopal, Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies, pages 33, Oxford University Press, 2007, ISBN 0198568177

[sugata-26] Bose, Sugata; Jalal, Ayeha (2004) [First published 1998]. Modern South Asia. Routledge. p. 3. ISBN 0415307872.

[inden-27] Ronald B. Inden, Imagining India, page 51, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2000, ISBN 1850655200

[28] McArthur, Tom (2003). The Oxford Guide to World English. Oxford University Press. p. 309. ISBN 9780198607717.

[29] Lange, Claudia (2012). "Standards of English in South Asia". In Raymond Hickey (ed.). Standards of English: Codified Varieties around the World. Cambridge University Press. p. 256. ISBN 9781139851213.

[30] Ali, K. (1980). A New History of Indo-Pakistan up to 1526 (4th ed.). Lahore: Aziz Publishers.

[farmerplus-32] B.H. Farmer, An Introduction to South Asia, page 1, Methuen and Co. Ltd., 1983, ISBN 9780416726008, "The 'Indian sub continent' is a term that certainly recognises the dominant position of India in both area and population. Since the partition of Indian Empire, use of this term becomes offensive to the Pakistanis and the Bangladeshis."
Jona Razzaque, Public Interest Environmental Litigation in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, page 3, Kluwer Law International, 2004, ISBN 9789041122148 "Yet, because citizens of Pakistan (which was carved out of India in 1947 and has had recurring conflicts with India since then) and of Bangladesh (which became separated from Pakistan by civil war in 1971) might find offensive the dominant placement of India in the term "Indian subcontinent", many scholars today prefer the more recently adopted designation 'South Asia.'"
Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby, Religions of South Asia: An Introduction, page 3, Routledge, 2006, ISBN 9781134593224
S K Shah, India and Its Neighbours: Renewed Threats and New Directions, page 26, Vij Books India Pvt Ltd, 2017, ISBN 9789386367501 "Indian analysts, who talk of the Indian sub-continent, wish to keep in mind, in their analyses, the common historical, political, religious and cultural heritage of these three countries. The term sub-continent is used less and less in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The political leadership and the policy-makers in these two countries do not wish to be reminded of this common heritage. Any highlighting of this common heritage by Indian analysts is viewed by them with suspicion—— as indicating a hidden desire to reverse history and undo the 1947 partition."

[33] Crouch, Lizzie; McGrath, Paula (30 March 2014). "Humanity's global battle with mosquitoes". BBC News. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024.

[34] Kronstadt, K. Alan (2011). Terrorist Attacks in Mumbai, India, and Implications for U. S. Interests. DIANE Publishing. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-4379-2953-9.

[35] Ahmad, Aijazuddin (2009). Geography of the South Asian Subcontinent: A Critical Approach. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 978-81-8069-568-1.

[36] Ayesha Jalal (2008). Partisans of Allah: Jihad in South Asia. Harvard University Press. p. xiii. ISBN 9780674028012.

[37] K. D. Kapur, Nuclear Non-proliferation Diplomacy: Nuclear Power Programmes in the Third World, page 365, Lancers Books, 1993, ISBN 9788170950363|Daya Nath Tripathi (ed), Discourse on Indo European Languages and Culture, page 193, Indian Council of Historical Research, 2005, ISBN 9788178271200

[38] Khan, Muhammad Akram (1 January 2013). What Is Wrong with Islamic Economics?: Analysing the Present State and Future Agenda. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78254-415-9.

[mittal-39] Mittal, Sushil; Thursby, Gene (18 April 2006). Religions of South Asia: An Introduction. Routledge. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-134-59322-4.

[Kathleen_M_page_10-40] Baker, Kathleen M.; Chapman, Graham P. (11 March 2002). The Changing Geography of Asia. Routledge. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-134-93384-6.

[41] "Khawaja in the subcontinent - unselectable to indispensable". ESPNcricinfo. 10 March 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2024.

[42] "Subcontinent lessons for Australia's youngsters". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 September 2024.

[43] "A distinctly sub-continental wicket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 September 2024.

[44] Gaina, Carmen; Müller, R. Dietmar; Brown, Belinda; Ishihara, Takemi; Ivanov, Sergey (July 2007). "Breakup and early seafloor spreading between India and Antarctica". Geophysical Journal International. 170 (1). Oxford Academic: 151–169. Bibcode:2007GeoJI.170..151G. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2007.03450.x.

[45] Torsvik, T.H.; Tucker, R.D.; Ashwal, L.D.; Carter, L.M.; Jamtveit, B.; Vidyadharan, K.T.; Venkataramana, P. (October 2000). "Late Cretaceous India-Madagascar fit and timing of break-up related magmatism". Terra Nova. 12 (5): 220–224. Bibcode:2000TeNov..12..220T. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3121.2000.00300.x. ISSN 0954-4879. S2CID 128896193.

[46] Bethany D. Rinard Hinga (2015). "Eurasian Plate". Ring of Fire: An Encyclopedia of the Pacific Rim's Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Volcanoes. ABC-CLIO. pp. 89–90. ISBN 978-1-61069-297-7.

[47] Alexander E. Gates; David Ritchie (2006). Encyclopedia of Earthquakes and Volcanoes. Infobase. pp. 116–118. ISBN 978-0-8160-7270-5.

[48] Dhavendra Kumar (2012). Genomics and Health in the Developing World. Oxford University Press. pp. 889–890. ISBN 978-0-19-537475-9.

[49] McLeod, John (2002). The history of India. Greenwood Press. p. 2. ISBN 0-313-31459-4.

[EB-50] Pannell, Clifton W. (2009). "Asia". Encyclopædia Britannica. The paleotectonic evolution of Asia terminated some 50 million years ago as a result of the collision of the Indian subcontinent with Eurasia. Asia's subsequent neotectonic development has largely disrupted the continents pre-existing fabric. The neotectonic units of Asia are Stable Asia, the Arabian and Indian cratons, the Alpide plate boundary zone (along which the Arabian and Indian platforms have collided with the Eurasian continental plate), and the island arcs and marginal basins.

[51] E. Bredow, R. Gassmöller, J. Dannberg and B. Steinberger, Geodynamic Models of Plume-Ridge Interaction in the Indian Ocean and its Effect on the Crustal Thickness of the Réunion Hotspot Track (abstract), Astrophysics Data System (ADS), Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

[52] T.R. McClanahan, C.R.C. Sheppard and D.O. Obura, Coral Reefs of the Indian Ocean: Their Ecology and Conservation, page 327, Oxford University Press, 2000, ISBN 9780195352177

[RHK-53] Rudie H. Kuiter and Timothy Godfrey, Fishes of the Maldives – Indian Ocean, page 1, Atoll Editions, 2014, ISBN 9781876410971

[54] Dutta, Patrap C. (1984). "Biological Anthropology of Bronze Age Harappans: New Perspectives". In Lukacs, John R. (ed.). The people of South Asia: the biological anthropology of India, Pakistan, and Nepal. Plenum Press. p. 59. ISBN 9780306414077.

[BNMNSI-55] Bratindra Nath Mukherjee, Nationhood and Statehood in India: A historical survey, page 4, Regency Publications, 2001, ISBN 9788187498261

[56] L. Dudley Stamp (1957). India, Pakistan, Ceylon and Burma. London: Methuen. p. 185. OCLC 213547929.

[AsherTalbot2006-57] Asher, Catherine B.; Talbot, Cynthia (2006), India Before Europe, Cambridge University Press, pp. 5–8, 12–14, 51, 78–80, ISBN 978-0-521-80904-7

[58] Samiul Hasan, The Muslim World in the 21st Century: Space, Power, and Human Development, page 84, Springer Science & Business Media, 2012, ISBN 9789400726321

[59] S. Mukherjee, R. Carosi, P.A. van der Beek, B.K. Mukherjee and D.M. Robinson (ed.), Tectonics of the Himalaya, Geological Society of London, 2015, ISBN 9781862397033

[60] Shroder, John F. (2011). "Hindu Kush". In Singh, Vijay P.; Singh, Pratap; Haritashya, Umesh K. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers. Springer. p. 525. ISBN 978-90-481-2641-5.

[61] Bertil Tikkanen (1996). "Languages of interethnic communication on the Indian Subcontinent (excluding Nepal)". In Stephen A. Wurm; Peter Mühlhäusler; Darrell T. Tryon (eds.). Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific, Asia, and the Americas. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 787. ISBN 3-11-013417-9.

[62] Peter Haggett (2001). Encyclopedia of World Geography. Vol. 1. Marshall Cavendish. p. 2710. ISBN 0-7614-7289-4.

[63] Tatu Vanhanen (1997). Prospects of Democracy: A Study of 172 Countries. Routledge. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-415-14405-6. The seven countries of South Asia constitute geographically a compact region around the Indian Subcontinent ... Nepal and Bhutan ... the Maldives

[64] Pawan Budhwar; Arup Varma; Manjusha Hirekhan (2018). "HRM in the Indian subcontinent". In Chris Brewster; Wolfgang Mayrhofer; Elaine Farndale (eds.). Handbook of Research on Comparative Human Resource Management. Edward Elgar. p. 534. ISBN 978-0-85793-871-8.

[65] Marc Gaborieau (2008). "Indian Cities". In Salma K. Jayyusi (ed.). The City in the Islamic World. Vol. 1. Brill. p. 198. ISBN 978-90-04-16240-2.

[66] Chandra K. Sharma (1990). Geology of Nepal Himalaya and Adjacent Countries. Kathmandu: Sangeeta Sharma. p. 14. OCLC 23292211. Except Sri Lanka, and Maldives ... all [India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh] are located on Indian plate which is a continuous land mass the borders between two states are either a river course or no man's land.

[anderson5-67] Ewan W. Anderson; Liam D. Anderson (4 December 2013). An Atlas of Middle Eastern Affairs. Routledge. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-136-64862-5., Quote: "To the east, Iran, as a Gulf state, offers a generally accepted limit to the Middle East. However, Afghanistan, also a Muslim state, is then left in isolation. It is not accepted as a part of Central Asia and it is clearly not part of the Indian subcontinent".

[Jona_Razzaque_2004-68] Jona Razzaque (2004). Public Interest Environmental Litigation in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Kluwer Law International. pp. 3 with footnotes 1 and 2. ISBN 978-90-411-2214-8.

[69] Akhilesh Pillalamarri, South Asia or India: An Old Debate Resurfaces in California, The Diplomat, 24 May 2016;
Ahmed, Mukhtar (2014), Ancient Pakistan – An Archaeological History: Volume II: A Prelude to Civilization, Foursome, p. 5, ISBN 978-1-4959-4130-6

[70] Ira M. Lapidus (2014). A History of Islamic Societies. Cambridge University Press. pp. 269, 698–699. ISBN 978-0-521-51430-9.

[71] Ludwig W. Adamec (2013) [First published 1998]. "Afghanistan". In Robert Wuthnow (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion. Vol. 1. Routledge. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-136-28493-9.

[72] Kumar, Dhavendra (20 October 2004). Genetic Disorders of the Indian Subcontinent - Google Books. Springer. ISBN 9781402012150. Retrieved 20 July 2022.

[73] Prior, Katherine (1997). The History of Emigration from the Indian Subcontinent - Katherine Prior - Google Books. Franklin Watts. ISBN 9780531144183. Retrieved 20 July 2022.

[74] Ludwig Paul, Persian Origins, page 31, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 2003, ISBN 9783447047319, "Maldive Islands which are scattered about the sea south-west of the Indian subcontinent, extending over more than 1,000km in a north-south direction."

[75] Legal Department, International Monetary Fund, Maldives: Detailed Assessment Report on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism, page 15, International Monetary Fund, 2012, ISBN 9781463979676, "Maldives is the smallest Asian country in both population and land area. Its closest neighbors to the north are India's Laccadive Islands. To the northeast is the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka. To the south it borders the British Indian Occan Territory. About 2.600 kilometers (1,600 miles) further east, across the Indian Ocean, is Malaysia. To the west, the Horn of Africa is approximatcly 3,000 kilometers (1,300 miles) away."

[76] United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2014). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision, custom data acquired via website. http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Excel-Data/population.htm Archived 4 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine

[77] Baten, Jörg (2016). A History of the Global Economy. From 1500 to the Present. Cambridge University Press. p. 249. ISBN 978-1-107-50718-0.

[UN_WPP_2019-78] "World Population prospects – Population division". United Nations. Archived from the original on 5 February 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2023.

[UN_WPP_2019_2-79] "Overall total population" (xlsx). United Nations. Retrieved 16 July 2019.

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[note 1]

[note 2]

[note 3]

[note 4]

[note 5]

[note 6]

[note 7]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[note 8]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

[29]

[30]

[31]

[32]

[33]

[34]

[35]

[36]

[37]

[38]

[39]

[40]

[41]

[42]

[43]

[44]

[45]

[46]

[47]

[48]

[49]

[50]

[51]

[52]

[53]

[54]

[55]

[56]

[57]

[58]

[59]

[60]

[61]

[62]

[63]

[64]

[65]

[66]

[67]

[68]

[69]

[70]

[71]

[72]

[73]

[23]

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 |photo_caption = Geopolitical coverage of the subcontinent
 |image = {{Annotated image | float=none | caption=Topographic map of the subcontinent and surrounding regions (in {{color|Blue|Black}})| image=South Asia non political, with rivers.jpg | width=300 | height=300| image-top=0
 | annotations =
 {{Annotation|40|40|{{colored link|Black|Hindu Kush}}|font-size=7}}
-{{Annotation|2|70|{{colored link|Black|Iranian Plateau|Iranian<br/>Plateau}}}}
+{{Annotation|2|70|{{colored link|Black|Iranian Plateau|Iranian<br />Plateau}}}}
 {{Annotation|15|108|{{colored link|Black|Makran}}|font-size=8}}
 {{Annotation|60|95|[[Indus River|Indus<br />Valley]]|font-size=8}}
@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 }}
 |image_size = 250px
 |image_caption =
 |countries = {{collapsible list
 | title = {{nobold|[[List of sovereign states|7]]}}
@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 * Significant portions of [[northeast India]] which lie on the [[Geology of Myanmar#Indo-Burman Ranges|Indo-Burman Ranges]] (spanning [[Manipur]], [[Nagaland]] and [[Mizoram]]) as well as the [[Tibetan Plateau]] (northern [[Arunachal Pradesh]] and [[Sikkim]])
 |name="India"}}
-| [[Maldives]]{{refn|group=note|As [[island country|island countries]], Maldives and Sri Lanka are sometimes not considered parts of the subcontinent, as they lack [[geographic contiguity]] with the mainland. They are considered parts of the region in [[cultural geography]] or [[geology]] instead.|name="Island country"}}
+| [[Maldives]]{{refn|group=note|As [[island country|island countries]], Maldives and Sri Lanka are sometimes not considered parts of the subcontinent, as they lack [[geographic contiguity]] with the mainland. They are considered parts of the region in [[cultural geography]] or geology instead.|name="Island country"}}
 | [[Nepal]]{{refn|group=note|Excluding [[Upper Mustang]] and other areas which lie to the north of the [[Great Himalayas|Greater Himalayan Mountain Range]].|name="Nepal"}}
 | [[Pakistan]]{{refn|group=note|Excluding:
@@ Line 48: / Line 48: @@
 | [[Sri Lanka]]{{refn|group=note|name="Island country"}}
  }}
 |list_countries      =
 |dependencies        = {{Collapsible list
 | titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;
 | title      = [[Dependent territory|External]] (1)
-| [[British Indian Ocean Territory]]{{refn|group=note|Administered by the [[United Kingdom]], claimed by [[Mauritius]] as the [[Chagos Archipelago]].|name="BIOT"}} ([[United Kingdom]])
+| [[British Indian Ocean Territory]]{{refn|group=note|Administered by the United Kingdom, claimed by [[Mauritius]] as the [[Chagos Archipelago]].|name="BIOT"}} (United Kingdom)
  }}
  {{Collapsible list
@@ Line 59: / Line 59: @@
 | [[Kashmir]]{{refn|group=note|{{Kashmir-note}}|name="Kashmir"}}
  }}
 |unrecognized        =
 |area                = {{convert|4,440,000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
 |languages           = {{collapsible list
@@ Line 65: / Line 65: @@
 | [[Bengali language|Bengali]]
 | [[Dzongkha]]
-| [[English language|English]]
+| English
 | [[Hindi]]
 | [[Maldivian language|Maldivian]]
@@ Line 75: / Line 75: @@
 |cities = {{collapsible list
 | title = {{nobold|[[List of largest cities#List|10 largest cities on the Indian subcontinent]]}}
-| [[Delhi]]
+| Delhi
 | [[Mumbai]]
 | [[Dhaka]]
@@ Line 99: / Line 99: @@
 }}
-The '''Indian subcontinent'''{{refn|group=note|It is sometimes simply just referred as '''''the subcontinent''''' in South Asian contexts.|name="TheSubcontinent"}} is a [[physiographic region|physiographical region]] in [[United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia|Southern Asia]], mostly situated on the [[Indian Plate]], projecting southwards into the [[Indian Ocean]] from the [[Himalayas]]. Geographically, it spans the countries of [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], the [[British Indian Ocean Territory]] ([[United Kingdom]]), [[India]],{{refn|group=note|name="India"}} [[Maldives]],{{refn|group=note|name="Island country"}} [[Nepal]],{{refn|group=note|name="Nepal"}} [[Pakistan]],{{refn|group=note|name="Pakistan"}} and [[Sri Lanka]].{{refn|group=note|name="Island country"}}<ref name="Oxford">"Indian subcontinent". ''[[Oxford Dictionary of English|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 into three countries named Bangladesh, India and Pakistan."</ref><ref name="dkumar889" /><ref name="pirbhai14" /><ref name="mmann" /> Although the terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are often used interchangeably to denote the region,<ref name="McLeod p1" /> the geopolitical term of [[South Asia]] frequently includes [[Afghanistan]], which is not considered a part of the subcontinent, {{cns|while excluding the [[British Indian Ocean Territory]] which is geologically associated with the subcontinent.|reason=Talk:Indian_subcontinent#Sources_needed_for_BIOT|date=September 2024}}<ref name=norwineplus>Jim Norwine & Alfonso González, ''The Third World: states of mind and being'', pages 209, Taylor & Francis, 1988, {{ISBN|0-04-910121-8}} Quote: ""The term "South Asia" also signifies the Indian Subcontinent""<br />Raj S. Bhopal, ''Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies'', pages 33, Oxford University Press, 2007, {{ISBN|0-19-856817-7}}; Quote: "The term South Asian refers to populations originating from the Indian subcontinent, effectively India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka;<br />Lucian W. Pye & Mary W. Pye, ''Asian Power and Politics'', pages 133, Harvard University Press, 1985, {{ISBN|0-674-04979-9}} Quote: "The complex culture of the Indian subcontinent, or South Asia, presents a tradition comparable to Confucianism."<br />Mark Juergensmeyer, ''The Oxford handbook of global religions'', pages 465, Oxford University Press US, 2006, {{ISBN|0-19-513798-1}}<br />Sugata Bose & Ayesha Jalal, ''Modern South Asia'', page 3, Routledge, 2004, {{ISBN|0-415-30787-2}}</ref>
+The '''Indian subcontinent'''{{refn|group=note|It is sometimes simply just referred as '''''the subcontinent''''' in South Asian contexts.|name="TheSubcontinent"}} is a [[physiographic region|physiographical region]] in [[United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia|Southern Asia]], mostly situated on the [[Indian Plate]], projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the [[Himalayas]]. Geographically, it spans the countries of [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], the [[British Indian Ocean Territory]] (United Kingdom), India,{{refn|group=note|name="India"}} [[Maldives]],{{refn|group=note|name="Island country"}} [[Nepal]],{{refn|group=note|name="Nepal"}} [[Pakistan]],{{refn|group=note|name="Pakistan"}} and [[Sri Lanka]].{{refn|group=note|name="Island country"}}<ref name="Oxford">"Indian subcontinent". ''[[Oxford Dictionary of English|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 into three countries named Bangladesh, India and Pakistan."</ref><ref name="dkumar889" /><ref name="pirbhai14" /><ref name="mmann" /> Although the terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are often used interchangeably to denote the region,<ref name="McLeod p1" /> the geopolitical term of South Asia frequently includes [[Afghanistan]], which is not considered a part of the subcontinent, {{citation needed span|while excluding the [[British Indian Ocean Territory]] which is geologically associated with the subcontinent.|reason=Talk:Indian_subcontinent#Sources_needed_for_BIOT|date=September 2024}}<ref name=norwineplus>Jim Norwine & Alfonso González, ''The Third World: states of mind and being'', pages 209, Taylor & Francis, 1988, {{ISBN|0-04-910121-8}} Quote: ""The term "South Asia" also signifies the Indian Subcontinent""<br />Raj S. Bhopal, ''Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies'', pages 33, Oxford University Press, 2007, {{ISBN|0-19-856817-7}}; Quote: "The term South Asian refers to populations originating from the Indian subcontinent, effectively India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka;<br />Lucian W. Pye & Mary W. Pye, ''Asian Power and Politics'', pages 133, Harvard University Press, 1985, {{ISBN|0-674-04979-9}} Quote: "The complex culture of the Indian subcontinent, or South Asia, presents a tradition comparable to Confucianism."<br />Mark Juergensmeyer, ''The Oxford handbook of global religions'', pages 465, Oxford University Press US, 2006, {{ISBN|0-19-513798-1}}<br />Sugata Bose & Ayesha Jalal, ''Modern South Asia'', page 3, Routledge, 2004, {{ISBN|0-415-30787-2}}</ref>
-Geologically, the subcontinent originates from [[Insular India]], an isolated landmass that [[rift]]ed from the [[supercontinent]] of [[Gondwana]] during the [[Cretaceous]] and [[paleogeography of the India–Asia collision system|merged]] with the landmass of [[Eurasia]] nearly 55 million years ago, forming the Himalayas.<ref name="Jones2011p267">{{cite book|author=Robert Wynn Jones|title=Applications of Palaeontology: Techniques and Case Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mrPiq_8pkAwC&pg=PA267 |year=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-49920-0|pages=267–271}}</ref> It is one of the most populated regions in the world, holding roughly 20–25 percent of the global population. Geographically, the [[peninsula]]r region in Southern Asia is located below the [[Third Pole]], delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the [[Hindu Kush]] in the west, and the [[Indo-Burman Ranges]] in the east.<ref name="Chapman, Graham P. p. 10" /> The neighboring geographical regions around the subcontinent include the [[Tibetan Plateau]] to the north, the [[Mainland Southeast Asia|Indochinese Peninsula]] to the east, the [[Iranian Plateau]] to the west, and the Indian Ocean to the south.
+Geologically, the subcontinent originates from [[Insular India]], an isolated landmass that [[rift]]ed from the [[supercontinent]] of [[Gondwana]] during the [[Cretaceous]] and [[paleogeography of the India–Asia collision system|merged]] with the landmass of [[Eurasia]] nearly 55 million years ago, forming the Himalayas.<ref name="Jones2011p267">{{cite book |author=Robert Wynn Jones |title=Applications of Palaeontology: Techniques and Case Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mrPiq_8pkAwC&pg=PA267 |year=2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-49920-0 |pages=267–271}}</ref> It is one of the most populated regions in the world, holding roughly 20–25 percent of the global population. Geographically, the [[peninsula]]r region in Southern Asia is located below the [[Third Pole]], delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the [[Hindu Kush]] in the west, and the [[Indo-Burman Ranges]] in the east.<ref name="Chapman, Graham P. p. 10" /> The neighboring geographical regions around the subcontinent include the [[Tibetan Plateau]] to the north, the [[Mainland Southeast Asia|Indochinese Peninsula]] to the east, the [[Iranian Plateau]] to the west, and the Indian Ocean to the south.
-Apart from [[Maritime Southeast Asia]] (the [[Malay Archipelago]]), the maritime region of the subcontinent ([[littoral South Asia]]) is the only subregion of Asia that lies partly within the [[Southern Hemisphere]]: {{cns|the [[British Indian Ocean Territory]]|reason=Talk:Indian_subcontinent#Sources_needed_for_BIOT and|date=September 2024}} two of the [[atolls of Maldives|26 atolls]] of the [[Maldives]] lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere.
+Apart from [[Maritime Southeast Asia]] (the [[Malay Archipelago]]), the maritime region of the subcontinent ([[littoral South Asia]]) is the only subregion of Asia that lies partly within the [[Southern Hemisphere]]: {{citation needed span|the [[British Indian Ocean Territory]]|reason=Talk:Indian_subcontinent#Sources_needed_for_BIOT and|date=September 2024}} two of the [[atolls of Maldives|26 atolls]] of the [[Maldives]] lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere.
 ==Name==
@@ Line 109: / Line 109: @@
 According to the [[Oxford English Dictionary]], the term ''[[Continent#Subcontinents|subcontinent]]'' signifies a "subdivision of a continent which has a distinct geographical, political, or cultural identity" and also a "large land mass somewhat smaller than a continent".<ref>''[http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/ Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged]'', Merriam-Webster, 2002. Retrieved 6 December 2016; Quote: "a large landmass smaller than a continent; especially: a major subdivision of a continent
-! e Indian subcontinent | "</ref><ref name="OED">{{Cite web |date=20 December 2016 |title=subcontinent - definition of subcontinent in English {{!}} Oxford Dictionaries |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/subcontinent |access-date=26 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220102611/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/subcontinent |archive-date=20 December 2016 |quote=A large distinguishable part of a continent}}</ref> Its use to signify the Indian subcontinent is evidenced from the early twentieth century when most of the territory was either part of the [[British Empire]] or allied with them.<ref>Milton Walter Meyer, ''South Asia: A Short History of the Subcontinent'', pages 1, Adams Littlefield, 1976, {{ISBN|0-8226-0034-X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Baker Henry D. |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.236168/2015.236168.British-India?view=theater |title=British India With Notes On Ceylon Afghanistan And Tibet (1915) |date=1915 |pages=401}}</ref> It was a convenient term to refer to the region comprising both [[presidencies and provinces of British India|British India]] and the [[princely state]]s.<ref>{{Cite OED|term=subcontinent|id=192528}}</ref><ref>{{Cite OED|term=Indian subcontinent|id=94389}}</ref>
+! e Indian subcontinent | "</ref><ref name="OED">{{Cite web |date=20 December 2016 |title=subcontinent - definition of subcontinent in English {{!}} Oxford Dictionaries |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/subcontinent |access-date=26 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220102611/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/subcontinent |archive-date=20 December 2016 |quote=A large distinguishable part of a continent}}</ref> Its use to signify the Indian subcontinent is evidenced from the early twentieth century when most of the territory was either part of the [[British Empire]] or allied with them.<ref>Milton Walter Meyer, ''South Asia: A Short History of the Subcontinent'', pages 1, Adams Littlefield, 1976, {{ISBN|0-8226-0034-X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Baker Henry D. |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.236168/2015.236168.British-India?view=theater |title=British India With Notes On Ceylon Afghanistan And Tibet (1915) |date=1915 |pages=401}}</ref> It was a convenient term to refer to the region comprising both [[presidencies and provinces of British India|British India]] and the [[princely state]]s.<ref>{{Cite OED |term=subcontinent |id=192528}}</ref><ref>{{Cite OED |term=Indian subcontinent |id=94389}}</ref>
-The term has been particularly common in the British Empire and its successors,<ref>Milton Walter Meyer, ''South Asia: A Short History of the Subcontinent'', pages 1, Adams Littlefield, 1976, {{ISBN|0-8226-0034-X}}<br />Jim Norwine & Alfonso González, ''The Third World: states of mind and being'', pages 209, Taylor & Francis, 1988, {{ISBN|0-04-910121-8}}<br />{{Cite book |last=Boniface |first=Brian G. |author2=Christopher P. Cooper |title=Worldwide destinations: the geography of travel and tourism |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann |date=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c46i9jr9mhgC&pg=PA344 |isbn=978-0-7506-5997-0}}<br />Judith Schott & Alix Henley, ''Culture, Religion, and Childbearing in a Multiracial Society'', pages 274, Elsevier Health Sciences, 1996, {{ISBN|0-7506-2050-1}}<br />Raj S. Bhopal, ''Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies'', pages 33, Oxford University Press, 2007, {{ISBN|0-19-856817-7}}<br />Lucian W. Pye & Mary W. Pye, ''Asian Power and Politics'', pages 133, Harvard University Press, 1985, {{ISBN|0-674-04979-9}}<br />Mark Juergensmeyer, ''The Oxford handbook of global religions'', pages 465, Oxford University Press US, 2006, {{ISBN|0-19-513798-1}}</ref> while the term ''South Asia'' is the more common usage in Europe and North America.<ref>Judith Schott & Alix Henley, ''Culture, Religion, and Childbearing in a Multiracial Society'', pages 274, Elsevier Health Sciences, 1996, {{ISBN|0750620501}}</ref><ref>Raj S. Bhopal, ''Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies'', pages 33, Oxford University Press, 2007, {{ISBN|0198568177}}</ref> According to historians [[Sugata Bose]] and [[Ayesha Jalal]], the Indian subcontinent has come to be known as South Asia "in more recent and neutral parlance".<ref name=sugata>{{cite book |last1=Bose |first1=Sugata |author1-link=Sugata Bose |last2=Jalal |first2=Ayeha |author2-link=Ayesha Jalal |year=2004 |orig-year=First published 1998 |title=Modern South Asia |url=https://archive.org/details/modernsouthasiah00bose/page/3/mode/1up |publisher=Routledge |page=3 |isbn=0415307872}}</ref> [[Indology|Indologist]] Ronald B. Inden argues that the usage of the term ''South Asia'' is becoming more widespread since it clearly distinguishes the region from [[East Asia]].<ref name=inden>Ronald B. Inden, ''Imagining India'', page 51, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2000, {{ISBN|1850655200}}</ref> While ''South Asia'', a more accurate term that reflects the region's contemporary political demarcations, is replacing the ''Indian subcontinent'', a term closely linked to the region's colonial heritage, as a cover term, the latter is still widely used in typological studies.<ref>{{cite book |first=Tom |last=McArthur |title=The Oxford Guide to World English |page=309 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |isbn=9780198607717}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Claudia |last=Lange |chapter=Standards of English in South Asia |editor=Raymond Hickey |title=Standards of English: Codified Varieties around the World |page=256 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2012 |isbn=9781139851213 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZV7AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA256}}</ref>
+The term has been particularly common in the British Empire and its successors,<ref>Milton Walter Meyer, ''South Asia: A Short History of the Subcontinent'', pages 1, Adams Littlefield, 1976, {{ISBN|0-8226-0034-X}}<br />Jim Norwine & Alfonso González, ''The Third World: states of mind and being'', pages 209, Taylor & Francis, 1988, {{ISBN|0-04-910121-8}}<br />{{Cite book |last=Boniface |first=Brian G. |author2=Christopher P. Cooper |title=Worldwide destinations: the geography of travel and tourism |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann |date=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c46i9jr9mhgC&pg=PA344 |isbn=978-0-7506-5997-0}}<br />Judith Schott & Alix Henley, ''Culture, Religion, and Childbearing in a Multiracial Society'', pages 274, Elsevier Health Sciences, 1996, {{ISBN|0-7506-2050-1}}<br />Raj S. Bhopal, ''Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies'', pages 33, Oxford University Press, 2007, {{ISBN|0-19-856817-7}}<br />Lucian W. Pye & Mary W. Pye, ''Asian Power and Politics'', pages 133, Harvard University Press, 1985, {{ISBN|0-674-04979-9}}<br />Mark Juergensmeyer, ''The Oxford handbook of global religions'', pages 465, Oxford University Press US, 2006, {{ISBN|0-19-513798-1}}</ref> while the term ''South Asia'' is the more common usage in Europe and North America.<ref>Judith Schott & Alix Henley, ''Culture, Religion, and Childbearing in a Multiracial Society'', pages 274, Elsevier Health Sciences, 1996, {{ISBN|0750620501}}</ref><ref>Raj S. Bhopal, ''Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies'', pages 33, Oxford University Press, 2007, {{ISBN|0198568177}}</ref> According to historians [[Sugata Bose]] and [[Ayesha Jalal]], the Indian subcontinent has come to be known as South Asia "in more recent and neutral parlance".<ref name=sugata>{{cite book |last1=Bose |first1=Sugata |author1-link=Sugata Bose |last2=Jalal |first2=Ayeha |author2-link=Ayesha Jalal |year=2004 |orig-year=First published 1998 |title=Modern South Asia |url=https://archive.org/details/modernsouthasiah00bose/page/3/mode/1up |publisher=Routledge |page=3 |isbn=0415307872}}</ref> [[Indology|Indologist]] Ronald B. Inden argues that the usage of the term ''South Asia'' is becoming more widespread since it clearly distinguishes the region from East Asia.<ref name=inden>Ronald B. Inden, ''Imagining India'', page 51, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2000, {{ISBN|1850655200}}</ref> While ''South Asia'', a more accurate term that reflects the region's contemporary political demarcations, is replacing the ''Indian subcontinent'', a term closely linked to the region's colonial heritage, as a cover term, the latter is still widely used in typological studies.<ref>{{cite book |first=Tom |last=McArthur |title=The Oxford Guide to World English |page=309 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |isbn=9780198607717}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Claudia |last=Lange |chapter=Standards of English in South Asia |editor=Raymond Hickey |title=Standards of English: Codified Varieties around the World |page=256 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2012 |isbn=9781139851213 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZV7AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA256}}</ref>
-Since the [[Partition of India]], citizens of Pakistan (which became independent of British India in 1947) and Bangladesh (which became independent of Pakistan in 1971) often perceive the use of the ''Indian subcontinent'' as offensive and suspicious because of the dominant placement of India in the term. As such it is being increasingly less used in those countries.{{refn|group=note|For example, a history book intended for Pakistani B.A. students by K. Ali uses the term "Indo-Pakistan" instead.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ali |first=K. |title=A New History of Indo-Pakistan up to 1526 |publisher=Aziz Publishers |year=1980 |edition=4th |location=Lahore}}</ref>|name="Indo-Pakistan"}} Meanwhile, many Indian analysts prefer to use the term because of the socio-cultural commonalities of the region.<ref name=farmerplus>B.H. Farmer, ''An Introduction to South Asia'', page 1, Methuen and Co. Ltd., 1983, {{ISBN|9780416726008}}, "The 'Indian sub continent' is a term that certainly recognises the dominant position of India in both area and population. Since the partition of Indian Empire, use of this term becomes offensive to the Pakistanis and the Bangladeshis."<br />Jona Razzaque, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=7E7al37aYBEC&pg=PA3 Public Interest Environmental Litigation in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh]'', page 3, Kluwer Law International, 2004, {{ISBN|9789041122148}} "Yet, because citizens of Pakistan (which was carved out of India in 1947 and has had recurring conflicts with India since then) and of Bangladesh (which became separated from Pakistan by civil war in 1971) might find offensive the dominant placement of India in the term "Indian subcontinent", many scholars today prefer the more recently adopted designation 'South Asia.{{'"}}<br />Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=n7KCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 Religions of South Asia: An Introduction]'', page 3, Routledge, 2006, {{ISBN|9781134593224}}<br />S K Shah, ''India and Its Neighbours: Renewed Threats and New Directions'', page 26, Vij Books India Pvt Ltd, 2017, {{ISBN|9789386367501}} "Indian analysts, who talk of the Indian sub-continent, wish to keep in mind, in their analyses, the common historical, political, religious and cultural heritage of these three countries. The term sub-continent is used less and less in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The political leadership and the policy-makers in these two countries do not wish to be reminded of this common heritage. Any highlighting of this common heritage by Indian analysts is viewed by them with suspicion—— as indicating a hidden desire to reverse history and undo the 1947 partition."</ref> The region has also been called the "Asian subcontinent",<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 March 2014 |title=Humanity's global battle with mosquitoes |url=http://www.bbc.com/news/health-26724645 |first1=Lizzie |last1=Crouch |first2=Paula |last2=McGrath |work=BBC News |language=en-GB |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120003457/https://www.bbc.com/news/health-26724645 |archive-date= 20 January 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kronstadt |first=K. Alan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ETcz_5SzoMkC&pg=PT9 |title=Terrorist Attacks in Mumbai, India, and Implications for U. S. Interests |date=2011 |publisher=DIANE Publishing |isbn=978-1-4379-2953-9 |pages=7 |language=en}}</ref> the "South Asian subcontinent",<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ahmad |first=Aijazuddin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2QmPHeIowoC |title=Geography of the South Asian Subcontinent: A Critical Approach |date=2009 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |isbn=978-81-8069-568-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Ayesha Jalal |author-link=Ayesha Jalal |title=Partisans of Allah: Jihad in South Asia |url=https://archive.org/details/partisansofallah00ayes |url-access=registration |year=2008 |publisher=Harvard University Press |page=xiii |isbn=9780674028012}}</ref><ref>K. D. Kapur, ''Nuclear Non-proliferation Diplomacy: Nuclear Power Programmes in the Third World'', page 365, Lancers Books, 1993, {{ISBN|9788170950363}}|Daya Nath Tripathi (ed), ''Discourse on Indo European Languages and Culture'', page 193, Indian Council of Historical Research, 2005, {{ISBN|9788178271200}}<br /></ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Khan |first=Muhammad Akram |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fr36Gd1X_rcC&pg=PA183 |title=What Is Wrong with Islamic Economics?: Analysing the Present State and Future Agenda |date=1 January 2013 |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |isbn=978-1-78254-415-9 |language=en}}</ref> as well as "India" or "[[Greater India]]" in the classical and pre-modern sense.<ref name="McLeod p1" /><ref name="norwineplus"/><ref name="mittal">{{Cite book |last1=Mittal |first1=Sushil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n7KCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |title=Religions of South Asia: An Introduction |last2=Thursby |first2=Gene |date=18 April 2006 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-59322-4 |pages=3 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Kathleen M page 10">{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Kathleen M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G-KIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA10 |title=The Changing Geography of Asia |last2=Chapman |first2=Graham P. |date=11 March 2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-93384-6 |pages=10 |language=en}}</ref>
+Since the [[Partition of India]], citizens of Pakistan (which became independent of British India in 1947) and Bangladesh (which became independent of Pakistan in 1971) often perceive the use of the ''Indian subcontinent'' as offensive and suspicious because of the dominant placement of India in the term. As such it is being increasingly less used in those countries.{{refn|group=note|For example, a history book intended for Pakistani B.A. students by K. Ali uses the term "Indo-Pakistan" instead.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ali |first=K. |title=A New History of Indo-Pakistan up to 1526 |publisher=Aziz Publishers |year=1980 |edition=4th |location=Lahore}}</ref>|name="Indo-Pakistan"}} Meanwhile, many Indian analysts prefer to use the term because of the socio-cultural commonalities of the region.<ref name=farmerplus>B.H. Farmer, ''An Introduction to South Asia'', page 1, Methuen and Co. Ltd., 1983, {{ISBN|9780416726008}}, "The 'Indian sub continent' is a term that certainly recognises the dominant position of India in both area and population. Since the partition of Indian Empire, use of this term becomes offensive to the Pakistanis and the Bangladeshis."<br />Jona Razzaque, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=7E7al37aYBEC&pg=PA3 Public Interest Environmental Litigation in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh]'', page 3, Kluwer Law International, 2004, {{ISBN|9789041122148}} "Yet, because citizens of Pakistan (which was carved out of India in 1947 and has had recurring conflicts with India since then) and of Bangladesh (which became separated from Pakistan by civil war in 1971) might find offensive the dominant placement of India in the term "Indian subcontinent", many scholars today prefer the more recently adopted designation 'South Asia.{{'"}}<br />Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=n7KCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 Religions of South Asia: An Introduction]'', page 3, Routledge, 2006, {{ISBN|9781134593224}}<br />S K Shah, ''India and Its Neighbours: Renewed Threats and New Directions'', page 26, Vij Books India Pvt Ltd, 2017, {{ISBN|9789386367501}} "Indian analysts, who talk of the Indian sub-continent, wish to keep in mind, in their analyses, the common historical, political, religious and cultural heritage of these three countries. The term sub-continent is used less and less in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The political leadership and the policy-makers in these two countries do not wish to be reminded of this common heritage. Any highlighting of this common heritage by Indian analysts is viewed by them with suspicion—— as indicating a hidden desire to reverse history and undo the 1947 partition."</ref> The region has also been called the "Asian subcontinent",<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 March 2014 |title=Humanity's global battle with mosquitoes |url=http://www.bbc.com/news/health-26724645 |first1=Lizzie |last1=Crouch |first2=Paula |last2=McGrath |work=BBC News |language=en-GB |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120003457/https://www.bbc.com/news/health-26724645 |archive-date=20 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kronstadt |first=K. Alan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ETcz_5SzoMkC&pg=PT9 |title=Terrorist Attacks in Mumbai, India, and Implications for U. S. Interests |date=2011 |publisher=DIANE Publishing |isbn=978-1-4379-2953-9 |pages=7 |language=en}}</ref> the "South Asian subcontinent",<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ahmad |first=Aijazuddin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2QmPHeIowoC |title=Geography of the South Asian Subcontinent: A Critical Approach |date=2009 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |isbn=978-81-8069-568-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Ayesha Jalal |author-link=Ayesha Jalal |title=Partisans of Allah: Jihad in South Asia |url=https://archive.org/details/partisansofallah00ayes |url-access=registration |year=2008 |publisher=Harvard University Press |page=xiii |isbn=9780674028012}}</ref><ref>K. D. Kapur, ''Nuclear Non-proliferation Diplomacy: Nuclear Power Programmes in the Third World'', page 365, Lancers Books, 1993, {{ISBN|9788170950363}}|Daya Nath Tripathi (ed), ''Discourse on Indo European Languages and Culture'', page 193, Indian Council of Historical Research, 2005, {{ISBN|9788178271200}}<br /></ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Khan |first=Muhammad Akram |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fr36Gd1X_rcC&pg=PA183 |title=What Is Wrong with Islamic Economics?: Analysing the Present State and Future Agenda |date=1 January 2013 |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |isbn=978-1-78254-415-9 |language=en}}</ref> as well as "India" or "[[Greater India]]" in the classical and pre-modern sense.<ref name="McLeod p1" /><ref name="norwineplus"/><ref name="mittal">{{Cite book |last1=Mittal |first1=Sushil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n7KCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |title=Religions of South Asia: An Introduction |last2=Thursby |first2=Gene |date=18 April 2006 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-59322-4 |pages=3 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Kathleen M page 10">{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Kathleen M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G-KIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA10 |title=The Changing Geography of Asia |last2=Chapman |first2=Graham P. |date=11 March 2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-93384-6 |pages=10 |language=en}}</ref>
 The sport of [[cricket]] is [[Cricket in the Indian subcontinent|notably popular]] in [[Cricket in India|India]], [[Cricket in Pakistan|Pakistan]], [[Cricket in Sri Lanka|Sri Lanka]], [[Cricket in Nepal|Nepal]] and [[Cricket in Bangladesh|Bangladesh]]. Within a cricket context, these countries are often referred to simply as ''the subcontinent'' around the world e.g. "[[Australia national cricket team|Australia's]] tour of the subcontinent".<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 March 2023 |title=Khawaja in the subcontinent - unselectable to indispensable |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/usman-khawaja-in-the-subcontinent-unselectable-to-indispensable-border-gavaskar-trophy-1362704 |access-date=19 September 2024 |website=ESPNcricinfo |language=en}}</ref> The word is also sometimes used as an adjective in this context e.g. "subcontinental conditions".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Subcontinent lessons for Australia's youngsters |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/subcontinent-lessons-for-australia-s-youngsters-770361 |access-date=19 September 2024 |website=ESPNcricinfo |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=A distinctly sub-continental wicket |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/a-distinctly-sub-continental-wicket-232597 |access-date=19 September 2024 |website=ESPNcricinfo |language=en}}</ref>
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 | footer            = From left to right, rifting of the Indian subcontinent away from Gondwana at 150 million years ago (Ma), 120 Ma, 80 Ma and during the [[Paleocene]]
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 According to anthropologist Patrap C. Dutta, "the Indian subcontinent occupies the major landmass of South Asia."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dutta |first1=Patrap C. |editor1-last=Lukacs |editor1-first=John R. |editor1-link=John R. Lukacs |title=The people of South Asia: the biological anthropology of India, Pakistan, and Nepal |year=1984 |publisher=Plenum Press |isbn=9780306414077 |page=59 |chapter=Biological Anthropology of Bronze Age Harappans: New Perspectives}}</ref> According to historian [[B. N. Mukherjee]], "The subcontinent is an indivisible geographical entity."<ref name=BNMNSI>Bratindra Nath Mukherjee, ''Nationhood and Statehood in India: A historical survey'', page 4, Regency Publications, 2001, {{ISBN|9788187498261}}</ref> According to geographer [[Dudley Stamp]], "There is perhaps no mainland part of the world better marked off by nature as a region or a 'realm' by itself than the Indian subcontinent."<ref>{{cite book |author=L. Dudley Stamp |author-link=Dudley Stamp |year=1957 |title=India, Pakistan, Ceylon and Burma |location=London |publisher=Methuen |page=185 |oclc=213547929}}</ref>
-This natural physical landmass in South Asia is the dry-land portion of the [[Indian Plate]], which has been relatively isolated from the rest of Eurasia.<ref name="AsherTalbot2006"/> The Himalayas (from [[Brahmaputra River]] in the east to [[Indus River]] in the west), Karakoram (from Indus River in the east to [[Yarkand River]] in the west) and the Hindu Kush mountains (from Yarkand River westwards) form its northern boundary.<ref name=BNMNSI/><ref>Samiul Hasan, ''The Muslim World in the 21st Century: Space, Power, and Human Development'', page 84, Springer Science & Business Media, 2012, {{ISBN|9789400726321}}</ref> In the west it is bounded by parts of the mountain ranges of [[Hindu Kush]], [[Spīn Ghar]] (Safed Koh), [[Sulaiman Mountains]], [[Kirthar Mountains]], Brahui range, and Pab range among others,<ref name=BNMNSI/> with the Western Fold Belt along the border (between the Sulaiman Range and the Chaman Fault) is the western boundary of the Indian Plate,<ref>S. Mukherjee, R. Carosi, P.A. van der Beek, B.K. Mukherjee and D.M. Robinson (ed.), ''Tectonics of the Himalaya'', Geological Society of London, 2015, {{ISBN|9781862397033}}</ref> where, along the Eastern Hindu Kush, lies the Afghanistan–Pakistan border.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Shroder |first=John F. |editor-last1=Singh |editor-first1=Vijay P. |editor-link1=Vijay P. Singh |editor-last2=Singh |editor-first2=Pratap |editor-last3=Haritashya |editor-first3=Umesh K. |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers |title=Hindu Kush |year=2011 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-90-481-2641-5 |page=525}}</ref> In the east, it is bounded by [[Patkai]], [[Naga Hills|Naga]], [[Lushai Hills|Lushai]] and [[Chin Hills|Chin]] hills.<ref name=BNMNSI/> The [[Indian Ocean]], [[Bay of Bengal]] and the [[Arabian Sea]] form the boundary of the Indian subcontinent in the south, south-east and south-west.<ref name=BNMNSI/>
+This natural physical landmass in South Asia is the dry-land portion of the [[Indian Plate]], which has been relatively isolated from the rest of Eurasia.<ref name="AsherTalbot2006"/> The Himalayas (from [[Brahmaputra River]] in the east to [[Indus River]] in the west), Karakoram (from Indus River in the east to [[Yarkand River]] in the west) and the Hindu Kush mountains (from Yarkand River westwards) form its northern boundary.<ref name=BNMNSI/><ref>Samiul Hasan, ''The Muslim World in the 21st Century: Space, Power, and Human Development'', page 84, Springer Science & Business Media, 2012, {{ISBN|9789400726321}}</ref> In the west it is bounded by parts of the mountain ranges of [[Hindu Kush]], [[Spīn Ghar]] (Safed Koh), [[Sulaiman Mountains]], [[Kirthar Mountains]], Brahui range, and Pab range among others,<ref name=BNMNSI/> with the Western Fold Belt along the border (between the Sulaiman Range and the Chaman Fault) is the western boundary of the Indian Plate,<ref>S. Mukherjee, R. Carosi, P.A. van der Beek, B.K. Mukherjee and D.M. Robinson (ed.), ''Tectonics of the Himalaya'', Geological Society of London, 2015, {{ISBN|9781862397033}}</ref> where, along the Eastern Hindu Kush, lies the Afghanistan–Pakistan border.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Shroder |first=John F. |editor-last1=Singh |editor-first1=Vijay P. |editor-link1=Vijay P. Singh |editor-last2=Singh |editor-first2=Pratap |editor-last3=Haritashya |editor-first3=Umesh K. |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers |title=Hindu Kush |year=2011 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-90-481-2641-5 |page=525}}</ref> In the east, it is bounded by [[Patkai]], [[Naga Hills|Naga]], [[Lushai Hills|Lushai]] and [[Chin Hills|Chin]] hills.<ref name=BNMNSI/> The Indian Ocean, [[Bay of Bengal]] and the [[Arabian Sea]] form the boundary of the Indian subcontinent in the south, south-east and south-west.<ref name=BNMNSI/>
 [[File:Pink sunrise in Langtang.jpg|thumb|The rocky interiors of the [[Himalayas]]]]
 Given the difficulty of passage through the Himalayas, the sociocultural, religious and political interaction of the Indian subcontinent has largely been through the valleys of Afghanistan in its northwest,{{citation needed|date=October 2023}} the valleys of [[Manipur]] in its east, and by [[Indian maritime history|maritime routes]].<ref name="AsherTalbot2006"/> More difficult but historically important interaction has also occurred through passages pioneered by the [[Tibetan people|Tibetans]]. These routes and interactions have led to the [[Silk Road transmission of Buddhism|spread of Buddhism]] out of the subcontinent into other parts of Asia. The [[Islamic conquests in India|Islamic expansion]] arrived into the subcontinent in two ways: through Afghanistan on land, and to the Indian coast through the maritime routes on the Arabian Sea.<ref name="AsherTalbot2006">{{citation|last1=Asher|first1=Catherine B.|last2=Talbot|first2=Cynthia|title=India Before Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC|year=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-80904-7|pages=5–8, 12–14, 51, 78–80}}</ref>
@@ Line 152: / Line 152: @@
 ==Geopolitics==
 {{See also|South Asia#Indian subcontinent}}
-In terms of modern geopolitical boundaries, the subcontinent constitutes [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], [[India]], [[Nepal]], and [[Pakistan]], besides, by convention, the island country of [[Sri Lanka]] and other nearby island nations of the Indian Ocean, such as [[Maldives]] and {{cns|the [[British Indian Ocean Territory]].|date=July 2022}}{{or|date=July 2022}}<ref name=dkumar889>{{cite book |author=Dhavendra Kumar |title=Genomics and Health in the Developing World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BLLmbgt8wNgC&pg=PA889 |year=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-537475-9 |page=889 |quote=India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and other small islands of the Indian Ocean}}</ref><ref name=pirbhai14>{{cite book |author=Mariam Pirbhai |title=Mythologies of Migration, Vocabularies of Indenture: Novels of the South Asian Diaspora in Africa, the Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EsCZZ3K6-uYC&pg=PA14 |year=2009 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-0-8020-9964-8 |page=14}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Bertil Tikkanen |editor1=Stephen A. Wurm |editor1-link=Stephen Wurm |editor2=Peter Mühlhäusler |editor3=Darrell T. Tryon |editor3-link=Darrell Tryon |title=Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific, Asia, and the Americas |year=1996 |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |isbn=3-11-013417-9 |page=787 |chapter=Languages of interethnic communication on the Indian Subcontinent (excluding Nepal)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author=Peter Haggett |author-link=Peter Haggett |title=Encyclopedia of World Geography |year=2001 |volume=1 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=0-7614-7289-4 |page=2710}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Tatu Vanhanen |author-link=Tatu Vanhanen |title=Prospects of Democracy: A Study of 172 Countries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F9rta0WSZdUC&pg=PG141 |year=1997 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-14405-6 |page=141 |quote=The seven countries of South Asia constitute geographically a compact region around the Indian Subcontinent ... Nepal and Bhutan ... the Maldives}}</ref> Unlike "South Asia", sometimes the expression "Indian subcontinent" may exclude the islands of Maldives and Sri Lanka.<ref name="McLeod p1">{{cite book |author=John McLeod |title=The history of India |year=2002 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=0-313-31459-4 |page=1}} Note: McLeod does not include Afghanistan in the Indian subcontinent or South Asia.</ref> According to Pawan Budhwar, Arup Varma, and Manjusha Hirekhan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan constitute the Indian subcontinent. Budhwar, Varma, and Hirekhan also maintain that with Afghanistan and Maldives included the region is referred to as South Asia.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Pawan Budhwar |author2=Arup Varma |author3=Manjusha Hirekhan |editor1=Chris Brewster |editor2=Wolfgang Mayrhofer |editor2-link=Wolfgang Mayrhofer |editor3=Elaine Farndale |title=Handbook of Research on Comparative Human Resource Management |year=2018 |publisher=Edward Elgar |isbn=978-0-85793-871-8 |page=534 |chapter=HRM in the Indian subcontinent}}</ref> The periphery of the subcontinent, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the island chains of Maldives, features large Muslim populations, while the heartland, including most of India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, are overwhelmingly Hindu or Buddhist.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Marc Gaborieau |editor1=Salma K. Jayyusi |editor1-link=Salma K. Jayyusi |title=The City in the Islamic World |year=2008 |volume=1 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-16240-2 |page=198 |chapter=Indian Cities}}</ref> Since most of these countries are located on the Indian Plate, a continuous [[landmass]], the borders between countries are often either a river or a [[no man's land]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Chandra K. Sharma |title=Geology of Nepal Himalaya and Adjacent Countries |year=1990 |location=Kathmandu |publisher=Sangeeta Sharma |oclc=23292211 |page=14 |quote=Except Sri Lanka, and Maldives ... all [India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh] are located on Indian plate which is a continuous land mass the borders between two states are either a river course or no man’s land.}}</ref>
+In terms of modern geopolitical boundaries, the subcontinent constitutes [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], India, [[Nepal]], and [[Pakistan]], besides, by convention, the island country of [[Sri Lanka]] and other nearby island nations of the Indian Ocean, such as [[Maldives]] and {{citation needed span|the [[British Indian Ocean Territory]].|date=July 2022}}{{original research inline|date=July 2022}}<ref name=dkumar889>{{cite book |author=Dhavendra Kumar |title=Genomics and Health in the Developing World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BLLmbgt8wNgC&pg=PA889 |year=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-537475-9 |page=889 |quote=India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and other small islands of the Indian Ocean}}</ref><ref name=pirbhai14>{{cite book |author=Mariam Pirbhai |title=Mythologies of Migration, Vocabularies of Indenture: Novels of the South Asian Diaspora in Africa, the Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EsCZZ3K6-uYC&pg=PA14 |year=2009 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-0-8020-9964-8 |page=14}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Bertil Tikkanen |editor1=Stephen A. Wurm |editor1-link=Stephen Wurm |editor2=Peter Mühlhäusler |editor3=Darrell T. Tryon |editor3-link=Darrell Tryon |title=Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific, Asia, and the Americas |year=1996 |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |isbn=3-11-013417-9 |page=787 |chapter=Languages of interethnic communication on the Indian Subcontinent (excluding Nepal)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author=Peter Haggett |author-link=Peter Haggett |title=Encyclopedia of World Geography |year=2001 |volume=1 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=0-7614-7289-4 |page=2710}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Tatu Vanhanen |author-link=Tatu Vanhanen |title=Prospects of Democracy: A Study of 172 Countries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F9rta0WSZdUC&pg=PG141 |year=1997 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-14405-6 |page=141 |quote=The seven countries of South Asia constitute geographically a compact region around the Indian Subcontinent ... Nepal and Bhutan ... the Maldives}}</ref> Unlike "South Asia", sometimes the expression "Indian subcontinent" may exclude the islands of Maldives and Sri Lanka.<ref name="McLeod p1">{{cite book |author=John McLeod |title=The history of India |year=2002 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=0-313-31459-4 |page=1}} Note: McLeod does not include Afghanistan in the Indian subcontinent or South Asia.</ref> According to Pawan Budhwar, Arup Varma, and Manjusha Hirekhan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan constitute the Indian subcontinent. Budhwar, Varma, and Hirekhan also maintain that with Afghanistan and Maldives included the region is referred to as South Asia.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Pawan Budhwar |author2=Arup Varma |author3=Manjusha Hirekhan |editor1=Chris Brewster |editor2=Wolfgang Mayrhofer |editor2-link=Wolfgang Mayrhofer |editor3=Elaine Farndale |title=Handbook of Research on Comparative Human Resource Management |year=2018 |publisher=Edward Elgar |isbn=978-0-85793-871-8 |page=534 |chapter=HRM in the Indian subcontinent}}</ref> The periphery of the subcontinent, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the island chains of Maldives, features large Muslim populations, while the heartland, including most of India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, are overwhelmingly Hindu or Buddhist.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Marc Gaborieau |editor1=Salma K. Jayyusi |editor1-link=Salma K. Jayyusi |title=The City in the Islamic World |year=2008 |volume=1 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-16240-2 |page=198 |chapter=Indian Cities}}</ref> Since most of these countries are located on the Indian Plate, a continuous [[landmass]], the borders between countries are often either a river or a [[no man's land]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Chandra K. Sharma |title=Geology of Nepal Himalaya and Adjacent Countries |year=1990 |location=Kathmandu |publisher=Sangeeta Sharma |oclc=23292211 |page=14 |quote=Except Sri Lanka, and Maldives ... all [India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh] are located on Indian plate which is a continuous land mass the borders between two states are either a river course or no man's land.}}</ref>
-The precise definition of an "Indian subcontinent" in a geopolitical context is somewhat contested as there is no globally accepted definition on which countries are a part of South Asia or the Indian subcontinent.<ref name=anderson5>{{cite book |author1=Ewan W. Anderson |author2=Liam D. Anderson |title=An Atlas of Middle Eastern Affairs |date=4 December 2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n-VJAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-64862-5 |page=5}}, Quote: "To the east, Iran, as a Gulf state, offers a generally accepted limit to the Middle East. However, Afghanistan, also a Muslim state, is then left in isolation. It is not accepted as a part of Central Asia and it is clearly not part of the Indian subcontinent".</ref><ref name="Jona Razzaque 2004">{{cite book |author=Jona Razzaque |title=Public Interest Environmental Litigation in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7E7al37aYBEC&pg=PA3 |year=2004 |publisher=Kluwer Law International |isbn=978-90-411-2214-8 |pages=3 with footnotes 1 and 2}}</ref><ref>Akhilesh Pillalamarri, [https://thediplomat.com/2016/05/south-asia-or-india-an-old-debate-resurfaces-in-california/ South Asia or India: An Old Debate Resurfaces in California], The Diplomat, 24 May 2016;<br />{{citation |last=Ahmed |first=Mukhtar |title=Ancient Pakistan – An Archaeological History: Volume II: A Prelude to Civilization |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HbvTBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA14 |year=2014 |publisher=Foursome |isbn=978-1-4959-4130-6 |page=5}}</ref><ref name=mmann>{{cite book |author=Michael Mann |title=South Asia's Modern History: Thematic Perspectives |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uh0cBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT13 |year=2014 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-62445-5 |pages=13–15}}</ref> Whether called the Indian subcontinent or South Asia, the definition of the geographical extent of this region varies.<ref name="mittal"/><ref name="Kathleen M page 10"/> [[Afghanistan]], despite often considered as a part of South Asia, is usually not included in the Indian subcontinent.<ref name=anderson5/><ref>{{cite book |author=Ira M. Lapidus |title=A History of Islamic Societies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kFJNBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA698 |year=2014 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-51430-9 |pages=269, 698–699}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author=Ludwig W. Adamec |editor=Robert Wuthnow |title=Afghanistan |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion |year=2013 |orig-year=First published 1998 |volume=1 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-28493-9 |page=11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MOVJAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA11}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bpl0LXKj13QC |title=Genetic Disorders of the Indian Subcontinent - Google Books |date=20 October 2004 |isbn=9781402012150 |accessdate=20 July 2022 |last1=Kumar |first1=Dhavendra|publisher=Springer }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B2ZXHAAACAAJ |title=The History of Emigration from the Indian Subcontinent - Katherine Prior - Google Books |isbn=9780531144183 |accessdate=20 July 2022 |last1=Prior |first1=Katherine |year=1997 |publisher=Franklin Watts}}</ref> Maldives, an [[island country]] consisting of a small [[archipelago]] southwest of the peninsula, while largely considered a part of the Indian subcontinent,<ref name="pirbhai14"/> sometimes is mentioned by sources, including the [[International Monetary Fund]], as a group of islands away from the Indian subcontinent in a south-western direction.<ref>Ludwig Paul, ''Persian Origins'', page 31, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 2003, {{ISBN|9783447047319}}, "Maldive Islands which are scattered about the sea south-west of the Indian subcontinent, extending over more than 1,000km in a north-south direction."</ref><ref>Legal Department, International Monetary Fund, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=rsEtEUFkVYUC&q=indian+subcontinent Maldives: Detailed Assessment Report on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism]'', page 15, International Monetary Fund, 2012, {{ISBN|9781463979676}}, "[[Maldives]] is the smallest Asian country in both population and land area. Its closest neighbors to the north are India's [[Laccadive Islands]]. To the northeast is the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka. To the south it borders the British Indian Occan Territory. About 2.600 kilometers (1,600 miles) further east, across the Indian Ocean, is Malaysia. To the west, the [[Horn of Africa]] is approximatcly 3,000 kilometers (1,300 miles) away."</ref>
+The precise definition of an "Indian subcontinent" in a geopolitical context is somewhat contested as there is no globally accepted definition on which countries are a part of South Asia or the Indian subcontinent.<ref name=anderson5>{{cite book |author1=Ewan W. Anderson |author2=Liam D. Anderson |title=An Atlas of Middle Eastern Affairs |date=4 December 2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n-VJAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-64862-5 |page=5}}, Quote: "To the east, Iran, as a Gulf state, offers a generally accepted limit to the Middle East. However, Afghanistan, also a Muslim state, is then left in isolation. It is not accepted as a part of Central Asia and it is clearly not part of the Indian subcontinent".</ref><ref name="Jona Razzaque 2004">{{cite book |author=Jona Razzaque |title=Public Interest Environmental Litigation in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7E7al37aYBEC&pg=PA3 |year=2004 |publisher=Kluwer Law International |isbn=978-90-411-2214-8 |pages=3 with footnotes 1 and 2}}</ref><ref>Akhilesh Pillalamarri, [https://thediplomat.com/2016/05/south-asia-or-india-an-old-debate-resurfaces-in-california/ South Asia or India: An Old Debate Resurfaces in California], The Diplomat, 24 May 2016;<br />{{citation |last=Ahmed |first=Mukhtar |title=Ancient Pakistan – An Archaeological History: Volume II: A Prelude to Civilization |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HbvTBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA14 |year=2014 |publisher=Foursome |isbn=978-1-4959-4130-6 |page=5}}</ref><ref name=mmann>{{cite book |author=Michael Mann |title=South Asia's Modern History: Thematic Perspectives |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uh0cBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT13 |year=2014 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-62445-5 |pages=13–15}}</ref> Whether called the Indian subcontinent or South Asia, the definition of the geographical extent of this region varies.<ref name="mittal"/><ref name="Kathleen M page 10"/> [[Afghanistan]], despite often considered as a part of South Asia, is usually not included in the Indian subcontinent.<ref name=anderson5/><ref>{{cite book |author=Ira M. Lapidus |title=A History of Islamic Societies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kFJNBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA698 |year=2014 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-51430-9 |pages=269, 698–699}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author=Ludwig W. Adamec |editor=Robert Wuthnow |title=Afghanistan |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion |year=2013 |orig-year=First published 1998 |volume=1 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-28493-9 |page=11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MOVJAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA11}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bpl0LXKj13QC |title=Genetic Disorders of the Indian Subcontinent - Google Books |date=20 October 2004 |isbn=9781402012150 |accessdate=20 July 2022 |last1=Kumar |first1=Dhavendra |publisher=Springer}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B2ZXHAAACAAJ |title=The History of Emigration from the Indian Subcontinent - Katherine Prior - Google Books |isbn=9780531144183 |accessdate=20 July 2022 |last1=Prior |first1=Katherine |year=1997 |publisher=Franklin Watts}}</ref> Maldives, an [[island country]] consisting of a small [[archipelago]] southwest of the peninsula, while largely considered a part of the Indian subcontinent,<ref name="pirbhai14"/> sometimes is mentioned by sources, including the [[International Monetary Fund]], as a group of islands away from the Indian subcontinent in a south-western direction.<ref>Ludwig Paul, ''Persian Origins'', page 31, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 2003, {{ISBN|9783447047319}}, "Maldive Islands which are scattered about the sea south-west of the Indian subcontinent, extending over more than 1,000km in a north-south direction."</ref><ref>Legal Department, International Monetary Fund, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=rsEtEUFkVYUC&q=indian+subcontinent Maldives: Detailed Assessment Report on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism]'', page 15, International Monetary Fund, 2012, {{ISBN|9781463979676}}, "Maldives is the smallest Asian country in both population and land area. Its closest neighbors to the north are India's [[Laccadive Islands]]. To the northeast is the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka. To the south it borders the British Indian Occan Territory. About 2.600 kilometers (1,600 miles) further east, across the Indian Ocean, is Malaysia. To the west, the [[Horn of Africa]] is approximatcly 3,000 kilometers (1,300 miles) away."</ref>
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