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South Asian Realm
Term | Definition |
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Monsoon | Refers to the seasonal reversal of wind and moisture flows in certain parts of the subtropics and lower-middle latitudes. The dry monsoon occurs during the cool season when dry offshore winds prevail. The wet monsoon occurs in the hot summer months. |
Indo-European Languages | The major world language family that dominates the European geographic realm. This language family is also the most widely dispersed globally, and about half of humankind speaks one of its languages. |
Dravidian Languages | The language family, indigenous to the South Asian realm, that dominates southern India today; as opposed to the Indo-European languages, whose tongues dominate northern India. |
Partition | The subdivision of the British Indian Empire into India and Pakistan at the end of colonial rule on August 15, 1947. |
Forward Capital | Capital city positioned in actually or potentially contested territory, usually near an international border; it confirms the state’s determination to maintain its presence in the area of contention. Ex: Islamabad |
Population Density | The number of people per unit area. Also see arithmetic density and physiologic density measures. |
Physiologic Density | The number of people per unit area of arable land. |
Demographic Transition | Multi-stage model, based on western Europe’s experience, of changes in population growth exhibited by countries undergoing industrialization. High birth rates and death rates are followed by plunging death rates, producing a huge net population gain. |
Fertility Rate | More precisely the Total Fertility Rate, it is the average number of children born to women of childbearing age in a given population. |
Population Pyramid | Graphic representation or profile of a national population according to age and gender; typically displays the percentage of each age group as a horizontal bar, whose length represents its relationship to the total population |
Sex Ratio | A demographic indicator showing the ratio of males to females in a given population |
Communal Tension | Persistent stress among a country’s sociocultural groups that can often erupt into communal violence, particularly in India. |
Hindutva | “Hinduness” as expressed through Hindu nationalism, Hindu heritage, and/or Hindu patriotism. The cornerstone of a fundamentalist movement that has been gaining strength that seeks to remake India as a society dominated by Hindu principles. |
Caste System | The strict social stratification and residential segregation of people—specifically in India’s Hindu society—on the basis of ancestry and occupation. |
(Business-Process) Outsourcing | The subcontracting of specific business tasks, such as subscriptions or payroll, to another, specialized, company (sometimes abroad), at lower cost. |
Non-Governmental Organization | A legitimate organization that operates independently from any form of government and does not function as a for-profit business. Mostly seeks to improve social conditions, but is not affiliated with political organizations. |
Micro-credit | Small loans extended to poverty-stricken borrowers who would not otherwise qualify for them. The aim is to help combat poverty, encourage entrepreneurship, and to empower poor communities—especially their women. |
Buffer State | A country or set of countries separating ideological or political adversaries. In southern Asia, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Bhutan were parts of a buffer zone set up between British and Russian-Chinese imperial spheres. |
Taliban | Refers to the Islamist militia group that emerged from madrassas in Pakistan and ruled neighboring Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001; it has been trying to regain control of that country in its continuing conflict with U.S.led NATO troops. |
Al-Qaeda | The terrorist organization that evolved into an expanding global network under the directorship of Usama bin Laden between the mid-1990s and his elimination by the U.S. in 2011. |
Rising Sea Level | One of the expected major impacts of global climate change on the world ocean. Low-lying coastal settlements and human activities are at greatest risk of inundation. In the vast Pacific Basin, its thousands of low islands are the most vulnerable. |
Drone Warfare | The use of remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as delivery systems to conduct military attacks. Tactical advantages include highly precise targeting, long flight times without refueling, and difficulty of detection from the ground. |