Indian Subcontinent

Indian Subcontinent

The Indian Subcontinent is a southern region of Asia, mostly situated on the Indian Plate and projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, the Indian Subcontinent includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Geography

The Indian Subcontinent is surrounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with China and Afghanistan to the north, and Iran to the west. The region is home to a variety of geographical features, such as glaciers, rainforests, valleys, deserts, and grasslands.

History

The history of the Indian Subcontinent begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens, as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from c. 3300 to 1300 BCE, was the first major civilization in the region.

Culture

The Indian Subcontinent is home to a diverse range of cultures, languages, and religions. It is the birthplace of four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—and has also been influenced by several other world religions.

Cuisine

The cuisine of the Indian Subcontinent includes a variety of regional and traditional cuisines. Given the range of diversity in soil type, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary significantly from each other and use locally available spices, herbs, vegetables, and fruits.

See also

• South Asia
• History of India
• Culture of India
• Cuisine of India