Question | Answer |
Himalaya Moutains | a moutain range in South Asia that includes Mount Everest, the worlds tallest moutain peak. |
Subcontinent | a landmass that is like a continent, only smaller such as South Asia, which is called the indian subcontinent |
Alluvail Plain | land that is rich farmland, composed of clay, silt, sand, or gravel deposited by running water. |
Archipelgo | a set of cloesly grouped islands. |
Atoll | a ringlike coral island or string of small islands surounding a lagoon. |
Monsoon | A seasonal wind, especially in South Asia. |
Cyclone | a violent storm with firece winds and heavy rain: the m ost extreme weather pattern is South Asia. |
Hinduism | the dominant religion of india. |
Ganges River | River is South Asia: an important water resourse flowing more than 1,500 miles from its source in a Himlayan glacier to the bay of Bengal. |
Storm Surge | high water level brought by a cyclone that swamps low-lying areas. |
Estuary | A broadend seaward end of river, where the rivers current meet the oceans tides. |
Mughal Empire | The muslim empire establised by the early 1500s over much of india, which brought with it new customs that sometimes conflicted with those of native hindus. |
Raj | The period of British rule in India, which lasted for 200 years, from 1857 to 1947 |
Nonviolent Resistance | a movement that uses all means of protest except violence. |
Land reform | the process of breaking up large landholdings to attain a more balanced land distribution among farmers |
Green Revolution | an argicultural program launched by scientists in the 1960s to develop higher-yielding grain varities and improve food production by incorperating new farming techniques. |
Caste System | the Aryan system of social classes in India and one of the cornerstones of hinduism in which each person is born into a caste. |
Indus Valley Civilization | the largest part of the worlds first civilization in what is now Pakistan; a highly developed uran civilization, lasting from 2500 B.C. to about 1500 B.C. |
Partition | Separation; division into two or more territorial units having sepreate politcial status. |
Kashmir | A region of nothern India and Pakistan over which several destructive wars have been fought. |
Microcredit | a small loan avalible to poor entrepreneurs, to help small businesses grow and raise living standards. |
Entrepreneur | a person who starts and builds a bussniess. |
Ramadan | An islamic practice of month-long fasting from sunup to sundown |
Constitutional Monarchy | a government in which the rulers powers are limited by a constitution and the laws of that nation. |
Sherpa | a person of Tibetan ancestry in Nepal, who serves as a traditional moutain guide of the Mount Everest region. |
Siddhartha Gautama | the founder of Buddism and known as the Buddha, born in southern Nepal in sixth century B.C. |
Mandala | In Tibetan Buddhism, a geometric design that sybolizes the universe and aids in meditation. |
Sinhalese | an Indo-Aryan people who crossed the strait separating India and Sri Lanka in the sixth century B.C. and who created an advanced civilation there, adopting Buddhism. |
Tamils | a Dravidian Hindu, who arrived in Sri Lanka in the fourth century, settling in the north while the Sinhalese moved futher south. |
Sultan | a ruler of a Muslim country. |
Basic Necessities | food, clothing, and shelter. |
Illiteracy | the inablitiy to read or write. |
Summer Monsoon | the season when wind blows from the southwest across the Indian Ocean towards South Asia, from storms and causing severe flooding. |
Winter Monsoon | the season when dry winds blow from the northeast Moutains towards the sea from October through Febuary, sometimes causing drought. |