114-607: South Asians in the United Kingdom have been present in the country since the 17th century, with significant migration occurring in the mid-20th century. They originate primarily from eight sovereign states in South Asia which are, in alphabetical order, the countries of Afghanistan , Bangladesh , Bhutan , India , Nepal , Pakistan , and Sri Lanka . There is also a history of migration of diasporic South Asians from Africa and Southeast Asia moving to, and settling in,
228-474: A "Turkish bath room" in Somerset Street, London. In 1863 he added a Victorian Turkish bath to his establishment which remained open till the early 1870s. He made important contributions to the study of high blood pressure . Another of Sake Dean Mahomed's grandsons, Rev. James Keriman Mahomed, was appointed as the vicar of Hove , Sussex, in the late 19th century. James married Emma Louisa Black ,
342-507: A "native of Patna" belonging to a Shia Muslim family that claimed Arab and Afshar Turk origin. However other sources indicate that he belonged to the Nai caste of barbers. In his work Shampooing , he described himself as a native of India, born in the city of Patna in Hindoostan : "The humble author of these sheets, is a native of India; and was born in the year 1749, at Patna,
456-486: A description of Mahomed's voyage to Britain where he arrived at Dartmouth in September 1784. While Mahomed gives an insightful and sympathetic account of India and Indian customs, as Mona Narain points out this is done from an essentially European cultural perspective - he consistently uses the pronoun "we" to describe himself and Europeans, and does not in his writings seek to challenge poor governmental management within
570-602: A flower painter whose work was displayed at the Royal Academy. Together they had a son, RAF Captain Felix Wyatt. Felix was killed in action during the First World War after he was shot down whilst flying over France. During the war, Frederick and James' children changed their surnames from Mahomed to Deane and Wyatt, respectively, in order to avoid xenophobic attention at a time when racial prejudice
684-696: A full 5-year term in office. India has grown significantly, having slashed its rate of extreme poverty to below 20% and surpassed Pakistan's GDP per capita in the 2010s due to economic liberalisation from the 1980s onward. Bangladesh, having struggled greatly for decades due to conflict with and economic exploitation by Pakistan, is now one of the fastest-growing countries in the region, beating India in terms of GDP per capita . Afghanistan has gone through several invasions and Islamist regimes, with many of its refugees having gone to Pakistan and other parts of South Asia and bringing back cultural influences such as cricket . Religious nationalism has grown across
798-708: A land mass which extends from the Himalayas into a portion of the basin under the Indian Ocean, including parts of South China and Eastern Indonesia , as well as Kunlun and Karakoram ranges, and extending up to but not including Ladakh , Kohistan , the Hindu Kush range, and Balochistan . It may be noted that geophysically the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet is situated at the outside
912-611: A large part of the region between the 4th and 7th centuries, a period that saw the construction of major temples, monasteries and universities such as the Nalanda . During this era, and through the 10th century, numerous cave monasteries and temples such as the Ajanta Caves , Badami cave temples , and Ellora Caves were built in South Asia. Islam came as a political power in the fringe of South Asia in 8th century CE when
1026-487: A legacy of luminous architecture. Gradually expanding rule of the British East India Company followed, turning most of South Asia into a colonial economy, but also consolidating its sovereignty . British Crown rule began in 1858. The rights promised to Indians were granted slowly, but technological changes were introduced, and modern ideas of education and the public life took root. In 1947
1140-642: A little English and know how to buy what they want. In 1932, the Indian National Congress survey of 'all Indians outside India' estimated that there were 7,128 Indians in the United Kingdom. It is estimated that from 1800 to 1945, 20,000 South Asians emigrated to Britain. There was further significant migration after World War II, particularly from the Punjab in India, Mirpur in Pakistan and
1254-727: A native of Patna in the Indian state of Bihar . Due to the majority being lascars , the earliest Muslim communities were found in port towns, found living in barracks, Christian charity homes and hostels. The first and most frequent South Asian travelers to Britain were Christian Indians and those of European-Asian mixed-race descent. For Muslim Indians considerations about how their dietary and religious practices would alienate them from society at large were brought into question but these considerations were often outweighed by economic opportunities. Those that stayed often adopted British customs, dress and diet. Naval cooks also came, many of them from
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#17327719464621368-622: A need for more South Asians in the sport nationally. In 2022, figures from the Professional Footballers' Association highlighted this further with the findings that 0.45 percent of academy players were South Asian. In 2021, Bristol City F.C. signed their first-ever South Asian British player. In 2021, the England and Wales Cricket Board found that state-educated South Asian Britons were 34 times less likely to become professional cricketers than privately educated players from
1482-792: A principality for himself by expanding the Islamic world, and thus laid the foundation for the Muslim kingdom that became the Delhi Sultanate . Some historians chronicle the Delhi Sultanate from 1192 due to the presence and geographical claims of Mu'izz al-Din in South Asia by that time. The Delhi Sultanate covered varying parts of South Asia and was ruled by a series of dynasties: Mamluk, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, and Lodi dynasties. Muhammad bin Tughlaq came to power in 1325, launched
1596-585: A quarter of the crew on returning East India Company ships. Baptism records in East Greenwich suggest that young Indians from the Malabar Coast were being recruited as servants at the end of the 17th century, and records of the EIC also suggest that Indo-Portuguese cooks from Goa were retained by captains from voyage to voyage. In 1797, 13 were buried in the parish of St Nicholas at Deptford . It
1710-460: A scholar of political science at Carleton University , the terms South Asia, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia are distinct, but the confusion and disagreements have arisen due to the geopolitical movement to enlarge these regions into Greater South Asia, Greater Southwest Asia , and Greater Central Asia . The frontier of Greater South Asia, states Cutler, between 2001 and 2006 has been geopolitically extended to eastern Iran and western Afghanistan in
1824-503: A sketch of his early years. He then describes his travels over the period 1770 to 1775 as a camp follower to the Bengal army as it moved around North East India . A series of military conflicts are described along with descriptions of some major cities, including Kolkata (Calcutta) and Varanasi (Benares) . This is accompanied by first hand accounts of Indian culture, trade, military conflicts, food, wildlife, etc. The book concludes with
1938-463: A study showed that British-Pakistani women faced cultural and language barriers and were not aware that breast screening takes place in a female-only environment. A 2020 study found that UK residents of South Asian heritage were the most likely group to die from Covid-19 after being admitted to hospital. The following year, a study published in The Lancet suggested that South Asians were at
2052-695: A total area of 5.2 million sq.km (2 million sq.mi), which is 10% of the Asian continent. The population of South Asia is estimated to be 2.04 billion or about one-fourth of the world's population, making it both the most populous and the most densely populated geographical region in the world. In 2022, South Asia had the world's largest populations of Hindus , Muslims , Sikhs , Jains, and Zoroastrians. South Asia alone accounts for 90.47% of Hindus, 95.5% of Sikhs, and 31% of Muslims worldwide, as well as 35 million Christians and 25 million Buddhists. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
2166-601: A war of expansion and the Delhi Sultanate reached it largest geographical reach over the South Asian region during his 26-year rule. A Sunni Sultan, Muhammad bin Tughlaq persecuted non-Muslims such as Hindus, as well as non-Sunni Muslims such as Shia and Mahdi sects. Revolts against the Delhi Sultanate sprang up in many parts of South Asia during the 14th century. In the northeast, the Bengal Sultanate became independent in 1346 CE. It remained in power through
2280-495: A woman called Jane Daly. He converted to Anglicanism in order to marry her, as it was illegal at the time for non-Protestants to marry Protestants. They later moved to Brighton. After reports of lascars suffering from poverty made their way to the ear of the general public, the East India Company responded by making lodgings available for them, but no checks were kept on the boarding houses and barracks they provided to
2394-555: Is a high degree of variation as to which other countries are included in South Asia. There is no clear boundary – geographical, geopolitical, socio-cultural, economical, or historical – between South Asia and other parts of Asia, especially Southeast Asia and West Asia. The common definition of South Asia is largely inherited from the administrative boundaries of the Indian Empire, with several exceptions. The current territories of Bangladesh , India , and Pakistan which were
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#17327719464622508-467: Is an economic cooperation organisation in the region which was established in 1985 and includes all the nations comprising South Asia. The geographical extent is not clear cut as systemic and foreign policy orientations of its constituents are quite asymmetrical. Beyond the core territories of the Indian Empire (territories of the British Empire which were under the system of British Raj), there
2622-460: Is estimated 8,000 Indians (a large proportion being lascar sailors) lived in Britain permanently prior to the 1950s. Although, the comparatively few lascars that gained work often opened shops and helped initiate social and political community associations. Indians were less likely to settle permanently because of wage differentials. Due to the majority of early South Asian immigrants being lascars ,
2736-814: Is surrounded by three water bodies – the Bay of Bengal , the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea – and has acutely varied climate zones. The tip of the Indian Peninsula had the highest quality pearls. Most of this region is resting on the Indian Plate , the northerly portion of the Indo-Australian Plate , separated from the rest of the Eurasian Plate . The Indian Plate includes most of South Asia, forming
2850-671: Is the only subregion of Asia that lies partly within the Southern Hemisphere . The British Indian Ocean Territory and two out of 26 atolls of the Maldives in South Asia lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere . Topographically, it is dominated by the Indian subcontinent and is bounded by the Indian Ocean in the south, and the Himalayas , Karakoram , and Pamir Mountains in the north. Settled life emerged on
2964-655: The Bengal Army which mainly recruited from the area of Bihar and the historian, Michael H. Fisher believes that Dean Mahomed's father was recruited by Robert Clive during a recruitment drive in the town of Buxar . He claimed he had ancestors who worked in administrative service under the Mughal Emperors and the Nawabs of Murshidabad. Sake Dean Mahomed grew up in Patna and his father died in battle when Mahomed
3078-515: The British East India Company , with some choosing to settle down in Britain after either being abandoned by their captains or choosing to desert from their positions of employment. Many were unable to find jobs and were described in letters as "miserable objects", who were often "shivering and starving in the streets". Letters to newspapers in 1785 talked of "the number of miserable objects, Lascars, … shivering and starving in
3192-619: The British Indian Ocean Territory and the Tibet Autonomous Region may be included as well. Myanmar (Burma), a former British colony and now largely considered a part of Southeast Asia, is also sometimes included. Afghanistan is also included by some sources. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), a contiguous block of countries, started in 1985 with seven countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,
3306-623: The Department for Education to include the Partition of India in the UK's national curriculum. The figures below represent data collected for the 2021 United Kingdom census with the country as a reported birthplace recorded (i.e. does not include British born people of South Asian origin). The census in Scotland was delayed for a year and took place in 2022. In 2020, Amar Cymru, or My Wales,
3420-698: The Ganges and Indus river basins (where up to 60% of non-monsoon irrigation comes from the glaciers ) may be faced with severe water scarcity due to both climate and socioeconomic reasons. By 2030, major Indian cities such as Mumbai , Kolkata , Cuttack , and Kochi are expected to end up with much of their territory below the tide level. In Mumbai alone, failing to adapt to this would result in damages of US$ 112–162 billion by 2050, which would nearly triple by 2070. Sea level rise in Bangladesh will displace 0.9–2.1 million people by 2050 and may force
3534-634: The Himalayas and Kuen Lun mountain ranges and east of the Indus River and the Iranian Plateau , extending southward into the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea (to the southwest) and the Bay of Bengal (to the southeast). The climate of this vast region varies considerably from area to area from tropical monsoon in the south to temperate in the north. The variety is influenced by not only
South Asians in the United Kingdom - Misplaced Pages Continue
3648-576: The Hindu Kush region of South Asia for several years and then later moved into the Indus valley region. Later, the Maurya Empire extended over much of South Asia in the 3rd century BCE. Buddhism spread beyond south Asia, through northwest into Central Asia. The Bamiyan Buddhas of Afghanistan and the edicts of Aśoka suggest that the Buddhist monks spread Buddhism (Dharma) in eastern provinces of
3762-597: The Kuru -Pañcāla union was the most influential. The first recorded state-level society in South Asia existed around 1000 BCE. In this period, states Samuel, emerged the Brahmana and Aranyaka layers of Vedic texts, which merged into the earliest Upanishads. These texts began to ask the meaning of a ritual, adding increasing levels of philosophical and metaphysical speculation, or "Hindu synthesis" . Increasing urbanisation of South Asia between 800 and 400 BCE, and possibly
3876-778: The Mature Harappan period, from 2600 to 1900 BCE. According to anthropologist Possehl , the Indus Valley civilisation provides a logical, if somewhat arbitrary, starting point for South Asian religions, but these links from the Indus religion to later-day South Asian traditions are subject to scholarly dispute. The Vedic period, named after the Vedic religion of the Indo-Aryans , lasted from c. 1900 to 500 BCE. The Indo-Aryans were Indo-European -speaking pastoralists who migrated into north-western India after
3990-536: The Partition of India into a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan, which resulted in significant displacement and violence and harder religious divides in the region. In 1947, the newly independent India and Pakistan had to decide how to deal with the hundreds of princely states that controlled much of the subcontinent, as well as what to do with the remaining European (non-British) colonies. A combination of referendums, military action, and negotiated accessions took place in rapid succession, leading to
4104-760: The Seleucid Empire , and possibly even farther into West Asia. The Theravada school spread south from India in the 3rd century BCE, to Sri Lanka, later to Southeast Asia. Buddhism, by the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE, was prominent in the Himalayan region, Gandhara, Hindu Kush region, and Bactria. From about 500 BCE through about 300 CE, the Vedic-Brahmanic synthesis or "Hindu synthesis" continued. Classical Hindu and Sramanic (particularly Buddhist) ideas spread within South Asia, as well as outside South Asia. The Gupta Empire ruled over
4218-546: The Sylhet region of Bangladesh. The Commonwealth Immigrants Act was passed in 1962 and restricted this. In 2020, South Asian Heritage Month was set up as an annual awareness month by co-founders Jasvir Singh (barrister) and Dr Binita Kane to celebrate South Asian identity in the UK and beyond. The 2020 George Floyd protests had sparked solidarity and support from British South Asians in support of black British protest movements. In 2021, South Asian campaigners petitioned
4332-553: The Sylhet Division of what is now Bangladesh . One of the most famous early Muslim immigrants to England was Sake Dean Mahomed , a captain of the British East India Company who in 1810 founded London's first Indian restaurant, the Hindoostane Coffee House . He is also reputed for introducing shampoo and therapeutic massage to the United Kingdom. In 1784 he migrated to Ireland where he fell in love with
4446-662: The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific for the region excludes Afghanistan from South Asia. Population Information Network (POPIN) excludes Maldives which is included as a member Pacific POPIN subregional network. The United Nations Statistics Division's scheme of subregions , for statistical purpose, includes Iran along with all eight members of the SAARC as part of Southern Asia . The boundaries of South Asia vary based on how
4560-524: The White British census ethnic group. In 2018, research from the University of Surrey showed that South Asian people in Britain had low-levels of Vitamin D intake in a national context. In the UK, women of South Asian heritage are the least likely to attend breast cancer screening . Research is still needed to identify specific barriers for the different South Asian communities. For example,
4674-655: The 16th century after the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama returned to Europe. British, French, and Portuguese colonial interests struck treaties with these rulers and established their trading ports. In northwestern South Asia, a large region was consolidated into the Sikh Empire by Ranjit Singh . After the defeat of the Nawab of Bengal and Tipu Sultan and his French allies , British traders went on to dominate much of South Asia through divide-and-rule tactics by
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4788-459: The 17th century, the East India Company employed thousands of South Asian lascars , scholars and workers (who were mostly Bengali or Muslim ) mainly to work on British ships and ports around the world. The first group of South Asians to migrate in notable numbers, in the 18th century, were lascars (sailors) recruited from the Indian subcontinent (largely from the Bengal region) to work for
4902-401: The 1940s, two rival camps had emerged among independence activists: those who favored a separate nation for Indian Muslims, and those who wanted a united India . As World War II raged, over 2 million Indians fought for Britain; by the end of the war, Britain was greatly weakened, and thus decided to grant independence to the vast majority of South Asians in 1947, though this coincided with
5016-590: The 20th century. Between 1870 and 1950, South Asians had an impact on several areas of British society, including minority rights, war, and representation. Many South Asians came from ships and boats as servants and maids for the more rich. English commerce on the Indian subcontinent brought some of these people to England and four South Asian men in London answered the call for sailors for the first English East India Company fleet to Asia. Their Portuguese names identifies them as mixed-race Portuguese Luso-Asians . Since
5130-536: The Arab general Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh , and Multan in southern Punjab, in modern-day Pakistan. By 962 CE, Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms in South Asia were under a wave of raids from Muslim armies from Central Asia. Among them was Mahmud of Ghazni , who raided and plundered kingdoms in north India from east of the Indus river to west of Yamuna river seventeen times between 997 and 1030. Mahmud of Ghazni raided
5244-704: The Baker family. There he studied to improve his English language skills at a local school, and fell in love with Jane Daly, a "pretty Irish girl of respectable parentage". The Daly family was opposed to their relationship because it was illegal for Protestants to marry non-Protestants at the time, so the couple eloped to another town to get married. Mahomed and Daly were married in the Diocese of Cork & Ross in Cork . They moved to 7 Little Ryder Street in London , England, at
5358-419: The British Indian Empire was partitioned into two independent dominions , a Hindu-majority Dominion of India and a Muslim-majority Dominion of Pakistan , amid large-scale loss of life and an unprecedented migration. The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War , a Cold War episode resulting in East Pakistan 's secession, was the most recent instance of a new nation being formed in the region. South Asia has
5472-418: The Delhi Sultanate. Babur defeated and killed Ibrahim Lodi in the Battle of Panipat in 1526. The death of Ibrahim Lodi ended the Delhi Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire replaced it. The modern history period of South Asia, that is the 16th century onwards, witnessed the establishment of the Mughal Empire, with Sunni Islam theology. The first ruler was Babur had Turco-Mongol roots and his realm included
5586-564: The East India Company. The historian Michael Fisher, who published a biographical essay to accompany an edition of the book, suggested that some passages in the book were closely paraphrased from other travel narratives written in the late 18th century. In 1810, after moving to London, Sake Dean Mahomed opened the first Indian restaurant in England: the Hindoostane Coffee House in George Street , near Portman Square , Central London . The restaurant offered, among other items, hookah "with real chilm tobacco, and Indian dishes, ... allowed by
5700-402: The Eurasian plate nearly 55 million years ago, towards the end of Palaeocene. This geological region largely includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Historians Catherine Asher and Cynthia Talbot state that the term "Indian subcontinent" describes a natural physical landmass in South Asia that has been relatively isolated from the rest of Eurasia. The use of
5814-527: The Indian Ocean blows towards the center. The monsoons are the second coolest season of the year because of high humidity and cloud covering. But, at the beginning of June, the jetstreams vanish above the Tibetan Plateau , low pressure over the Indus Valley deepens and the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) moves in. The change is violent. Moderately vigorous monsoon depressions form in the Bay of Bengal and make landfall from June to September. South Asian countries are expected to experience more flooding in
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#17327719464625928-586: The Indian subcontinent in the western margins of the Indus River Basin 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BCE. By 1200 BCE , an archaic form of Sanskrit , an Indo-European language , had diffused into India from the northwest, with the Dravidian languages being supplanted in the northern and western regions. By 400 BCE , stratification and exclusion by caste had emerged within Hinduism , and Buddhism and Jainism had arisen, proclaiming social orders unlinked to heredity. In
6042-422: The Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka – and admitted Afghanistan as an eighth member in 2007. China and Myanmar have also applied for the status of full members of SAARC. The South Asia Free Trade Agreement admitted Afghanistan in 2011. The World Bank and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recognises the eight SAARC countries as South Asia, The Hirschman–Herfindahl index of
6156-404: The Mughal Empire, which marks the beginning of modern India, in the early 18th century, provided opportunities for the Marathas , Sikhs , Mysoreans , and Nawabs of Bengal to exercise control over large regions of the Indian subcontinent. By the mid-18th century, India was a major proto-industrializing region. Maritime trading between South Asia and European merchants began at the turn of
6270-401: The Mughal emperors after their revolts and were executed when they refused to convert to Islam. Religious taxes on non-Muslims called jizya were imposed. Buddhist, Hindu, and Sikh temples were desecrated. However, not all Muslim rulers persecuted non-Muslims. Akbar , a Mughal ruler for example, sought religious tolerance and abolished jizya. The death of Aurangzeb and the collapse of
6384-422: The Queen's Hotel. Located on the seafront, the luxurious bathhouse offered therapeutic baths and shampooing with Indian oils. He described the treatment in a local paper as "The Indian Medicated Vapour Bath, a cure to many diseases and giving full relief when every thing fails; particularly Rheumatic and paralytic, gout, stiff joints, old sprains, lame legs, aches and pains in the joints". Jane Daly, Mahomed's wife,
6498-482: The Rajput kingdoms and Vijayanagara, its boundaries encompassed almost the entirety of the Indian subcontinent. The Mughal Empire was marked by a period of artistic exchanges and a Central Asian and South Asian architecture synthesis, with remarkable buildings such as the Taj Mahal . However, this time also marked an extended period of religious persecution . Two of the religious leaders of Sikhism , Guru Arjan , and Guru Tegh Bahadur were arrested under orders of
6612-409: The Sepoys maintain their formations, which they call 'lines', they are like an immovable volcano spewing artillery and rifle fire like unrelenting hail on the enemy, and they are seldom defeated." Mahomet 1794 Born c. May 1759 in the city of Patna , then part of the Bengal Subah of the Mughal Empire and today the capital of the Indian state of Bihar . Dean Mahomed described himself as
6726-592: The UK are represented by many different ethnic groups native to the region of South Asia . The BBC has frequently described them as South Asian groups, or South Asian ethnic groups, due to the diversity of ethnic and ethnolinguistic groupings that might be considered as South Asian people. Various British institutions consider there to be eight South Asian sovereign states.The London School of Economics 's South Asia Centre describes its academic objective as "Unravelling South Asia — Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — to
6840-576: The United Kingdom. Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak is of South Asian descent. There are approximately 5 million people of South Asian heritage in the UK, or 7.5% of the British population. According to the 2021 United Kingdom census , there are 1,927,150 people of Indian/British Indian ethnicity (2.9%), 1,662,286 people of Pakistani /British Pakistani ethnicity (2.5%), 651,834 people of Bangladeshi/ British Bangladeshi ethnicity (1.0%), and an estimated further 700,000 from other South Asian heritage backgrounds. South Asians in
6954-406: The World." The Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth (a UK Government cabinet office) covers the Asian subregion, with the junior position also representative as the Minister for Afghanistan. South Asian peoples began arriving in cities in Britain, such as London, around the mid-17th century. The most significant period of migration from South Asia , however, was in the middle of
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#17327719464627068-402: The altitude but also by factors such as proximity to the seacoast and the seasonal impact of the monsoons . Southern parts are mostly hot in summers and receive rain during monsoon periods. The northern belt of Indo-Gangetic plains also is hot in summer, but cooler in winter. The mountainous north is colder and receives snowfall at higher altitudes of Himalayan ranges. As the Himalayas block
7182-410: The area adjustment to Pakistan and western India records lower than 20%–30%. Climate of South Asia is largely characterised by monsoons. South Asia depends critically on monsoon rainfall. Two monsoon systems exist in the region: The warmest period of the year precedes the monsoon season (March to mid June). In the summer the low pressures are centered over the Indus-Gangetic Plain and high wind from
7296-430: The border of the regional structure, while the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan are situated inside that border. The Indian subcontinent formerly formed part of the supercontinent Gondwana , before rifting away during the Cretaceous period and colliding with the Eurasian Plate about 50–55 million years ago and giving birth to the Himalayan range and the Tibetan plateau . It is the peninsular region south of
7410-483: The broader Indo-Pacific . According to Saul Cohen, early colonial era strategists treated South Asia with East Asia, but in reality, the South Asia region excluding Afghanistan is a distinct geopolitical region separated from other nearby geostrategic realms, one that is geographically diverse. The region is home to a variety of geographical features, such as glaciers , rainforests , valleys , deserts , and grasslands that are typical of much larger continents. It
7524-422: The capital of Bihar, in Hindoostan, about 290 miles N.W. of Calcutta. I was educated to the profession of, and served in the Company's Service, as a Surgeon, which capacity I afterwards relinquished, and acted in a military character, exclusively for nearly fifteen years. In … the commencement of the year 1784, [I] left the service and came to Europe, where I have resided ever since." Dean Mahomed's father served in
7638-403: The collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization. Linguistic and archaeological data show a cultural change after 1500 BCE, with the linguistic and religious data showing links with Indo-European languages and religion. By about 1200 BCE, the Vedic culture and agrarian lifestyle were established in the northwest and northern Gangetic plain of South Asia. Rudimentary state-forms appeared, of which
7752-513: The concerns of Pakistan and Bangladesh, particularly given the recurring conflicts between India and Pakistan, wherein the dominant placement of "India" as a prefix before the subcontinent might offend some political sentiments. However, in Pakistan, the term "South Asia" is considered too India-centric and was banned until 1989 after the death of Zia ul Haq . This region has also been labelled as "India" (in its classical and pre-modern sense) and " Greater India ". According to Robert M. Cutler –
7866-404: The core territories of the British Empire from 1857 to 1947 also form the core territories of South Asia. The mountain countries of Nepal and Bhutan , two independent countries that were not under the British Raj but were protectorates of the Empire, and the island countries of Sri Lanka and the Maldives are generally included. By various definitions based on substantially different reasons,
7980-497: The country most likely to be the worst-affected. In the 2017 edition of Germanwatch 's Climate Risk Index , Bangladesh and Pakistan ranked sixth and seventh respectively as the countries most affected by climate change in the period from 1996 to 2015, while India ranked fourth among the list of countries most affected by climate change in 2015. Some research suggests that South Asia as a whole would lose 2% of its GDP to climate change by 2050, while these losses would approach 9% by
8094-405: The earliest South Asian communities were found in port towns. The small, often transitory presence of Lascars continued into the 1930s, with the Port of London Authority mentioning Lascars in a February 1931 article writing that "Although appearing so out of place in the East End, they are well able to look after themselves, being regular seamen who came to the Docks time after time and have learnt
8208-736: The early 16th century. The state religion of the sultanate was Islam. In South India , the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire came to power in 1336 and persisted until the middle of the 16th century. It was ultimately defeated and destroyed by an alliance of the Muslim Deccan sultanates at the Battle of Talikota . About 1526, the Punjab governor Dawlat Khan Lodī reached out to the Mughal Babur and invited him to attack
8322-695: The early 19th century. The region experienced significant de-industrialisation in its first few decades of British rule. Control over the subcontinent was then transferred to the British government after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 , with the British cracking down to some extent afterwards. An increase of famines and extreme poverty characterised the colonial period, though railways built with British technology eventually provided crucial famine relief by increasing food distribution throughout India. Millions of South Asians began to migrate throughout
8436-461: The early medieval era, Christianity , Islam , Judaism , and Zoroastrianism became established on South Asia's southern and western coasts. Muslim armies from Central Asia intermittently overran the plains of northern India, eventually founding the Delhi Sultanate in the 13th century, and drawing the region into the cosmopolitan networks of medieval Islam . The Islamic Mughal Empire , in 1526, ushered in two centuries of relative peace, leaving
8550-641: The end of the century under the most intense climate change scenario. Ethnolinguistically , Northern South Asia is predominantly Indo-Aryan , along with Iranic populations in Afghanistan and Balochistan , and diverse linguistic communities near the Himalayas. Its borders have been heavily contested (primarily between India and its neighbours Pakistan and China , as well as separatist movements in Northeast India.) This tension in
8664-413: The future as the monsoon pattern intensifies. Across Asia as a whole, 100-year extremes in vapour transport (directly related to extreme precipitation) would become 2.6 times more frequent under 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) of global warming, yet 3.9 and 7.5 times more frequent under 2 °C (3.6 °F) and 3 °C (5.4 °F). In parts of South Asia, they could become up to 15 times more frequent. At
8778-565: The greatest epicures to be unequalled to any curries ever made in England." The restaurant also provided a home delivery service. This venture came to an end in 1812 due to financial difficulties. Before opening his restaurant, Mahomed had worked in London for nabob Basil Cochrane , who had installed a steam bath for public use in his house in Portman Square and promoted its medical benefits. Once again indicating his acceptance by
8892-427: The greatest risk of infection, hospitalisation or death from the second wave of the pandemic when compared with other ethnic groups in Britain. South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia , which is defined in both geographical and ethnic - cultural terms. With a population of 2.04 billion living in South Asia, it contains a quarter (25%) of the world's population. As commonly conceptualised,
9006-699: The lascars. Many lascars found that their new living accommodations were often of a poor quality, and reports of Lascars being mistreated were submitted to the Society for the Protection of Asiatic Sailors, which was founded in 1814. In 1842, the Church Missionary Society reported on the dire "state of the Lascars in London" it was reported in the winter of 1850, 40 Asian men, also known as 'sons of India', were found dead of cold and hunger on
9120-561: The last fifty years was largely forgotten by history. The modern renewal of interest in his writings developed after poet and scholar Alamgir Hashmi drew attention to him in the 1970s and 1980s. Michael H. Fisher has written a book on Mahomet entitled The First Indian Author in English: Dean Mahomed in India, Ireland, and England (Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1996). Additionally, Rozina Visram's Ayahs, Lascars and Princes: The Story of Indians in Britain 1700–1947 (1998)
9234-409: The lowest-emission climate change scenarios . Under the high-emission scenario, 40 million people (nearly 2% of the South Asian population) may be driven to internal migration by 2050 due to climate change. India is estimated to have the world's highest social cost of carbon - meaning that it experiences the greatest impact from greenhouse gas emissions . Other estimates describe Bangladesh as
9348-418: The majority of them being seamen working on ships. Lascars lodged in British ports in between voyages. Most Indians during this period would visit or reside in Britain temporarily, returning to India after months or several years, bringing back knowledge about Britain in the process. One of the most famous early Indian immigrants to Britain was Sake Dean Mahomet , a captain of the British East India Company and
9462-480: The mesolithic sites as evidenced by the rock paintings of Bhimbetka rock shelters dating to a period of 30,000 BCE or older, as well as neolithic times. The Indus Valley civilisation , which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of South Asia from c. 3300 to 1300 BCE in present-day Pakistan , North India , and Afghanistan , was the first major civilisation in South Asia. A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture developed in
9576-472: The modern states of South Asia include Bangladesh , Bhutan , India , the Maldives , Nepal , Pakistan , and Sri Lanka , with Afghanistan also often included, which may otherwise be classified as part of Central Asia . South Asia borders East Asia to the northeast, Central Asia to the northwest, West Asia to the west and Southeast Asia to the east. Apart from Southeast Asia, Maritime South Asia
9690-547: The most notable early non-European immigrants to the Western World . Due to non-standard transliteration , his name is spelled in various ways. His high social status meant that he later adopted the honorific "Sake" meaning "venerable one". Mahomed introduced Indian cuisine and shampoo baths to Europe, where he offered therapeutic massage. He was also the first Indian to publish a book in English . "so long as
9804-506: The north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Arakanese in the east, and which extends southward into the Indian Ocean with the Arabian Sea to the southwest and the Bay of Bengal to the southeast. The terms " Indian subcontinent " and "South Asia" are sometimes used interchangeably. The Indian subcontinent is largely a geological term referring to the land mass that drifted northeastwards from ancient Gondwana , colliding with
9918-557: The north-Asian bitter cold winds, the temperatures are considerably moderate in the plains down below. For the most part, the climate of the region is called the monsoon climate, which keeps the region humid during summer and dry during winter, and favours the cultivation of jute , tea, rice, and various vegetables in this region. South Asia is largely divided into four broad climate zones: Maximum relative humidity of over 80% has been recorded in Khasi and Jaintia Hills and Sri Lanka, while
10032-588: The northwestern and Indo-Gangetic Plain regions of South Asia. Several regions of South Asia were largely under Hindu kings such as those of the Vijayanagara Empire and the Kingdom of Mewar . Parts of modern Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were under local Muslim rulers, namely those of the Deccan sultanates. The Mughal Empire continued its wars of expansion after Babur's death. With the fall of
10146-696: The parish register. Amelia was baptised on 11 June 1809 at St Marylebone, Westminster, in London. By his legal wife, Sake Dean Mahomed had seven children: Rosanna, Henry, Horatio, Frederick, Arthur, and Dean Mahomed (baptised in the Roman Catholic church of St. Finbarr's, Cork, in 1791). His son, Frederick, was the proprietor of Medicated and Hot and Cold Baths at Brighton and also ran a boxing and fencing academy near Brighton. His most famous grandson, Frederick Henry Horatio Akbar Mahomed (c. 1849–1884), became an internationally known physician and worked at Guy's Hospital in London. In 1869, he opened
10260-552: The political integration of the vast majority of India and Pakistan within a few years. India and Pakistan clashed several times in the decades after Independence, with disputes over Kashmir playing a significant role. In 1971, the eastern half of Pakistan seceded with help from India and became the People's Republic of Bangladesh after the traumatic Bangladesh Liberation War . This, along with India and Pakistan gaining nuclear weapons soon afterwards, increased tensions between
10374-496: The region has contributed to difficulties in sharing river waters among Northern South Asian countries; climate change is projected to exacerbate the issue. Dominated by the Indo-Gangetic Plain , the region is home to about half a billion people and is the poorest South Asian subregion. Sake Dean Mahomet Dean Mahomed (1759–1851) was a British Indian traveller, soldier, surgeon, entrepreneur, and one of
10488-405: The region is defined. South Asia's northern, eastern, and western boundaries vary based on definitions used, while the Indian Ocean is the southern periphery. Most of this region rests on the Indian Plate and is isolated from the rest of Asia by mountain barriers. Much of the region consists of a peninsula in south-central Asia, rather resembling a diamond which is delineated by the Himalayas on
10602-615: The region, with persecution causing millions of Hindus and Christians to flee Pakistan and Bangladesh, and Hindu nationalism having grown in India with the election of the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014. A recent phenomenon has been that of India and China fighting on their border , as well as vying for dominance of South Asia , with China partnering with Pakistan and using its superior economy to attract countries surrounding India, while America and other countries have strengthened ties with India to counter China in
10716-420: The relocation of up to one third of power plants by 2030. Food security will become more uneven, and some South Asian countries could experience significant social impacts from global food price volatility. Infectious diarrhoea mortality and dengue fever incidence is also likely to increase across South Asia. Parts of South Asia would also reach "critical health thresholds" for heat stress under all but
10830-425: The ridicule, as well as censure, of some portion of mankind. So it was with me: in the face of indisputable evidence, I had to struggle with doubts and objections raised and circulated against my Bath, which, but for the repeated and numerous cures effected by it, would long since have shared the common fate of most innovations in science." Mahomed died on 24 February 1851 (aged 91–92) at 32 Grand Parade, Brighton. He
10944-476: The same time, up to two-thirds of glacier ice in the Hindu Kush region may melt by 2100 under high warming, and these glaciers feed the water basin of over 220 million people. As glacier meltwater flow diminishes after 2050, Hydropower generation would become less predictable and reliable, while agriculture would become more reliant on the intensified monsoon than ever before. Around 2050, people living in
11058-468: The spread of urban diseases, contributed to the rise of ascetic movements and of new ideas which challenged the orthodox Brahmanism . These ideas led to Sramana movements, of which Mahavira ( c. 549 –477 BCE), proponent of Jainism , and Buddha ( c. 563 – c. 483 ), founder of Buddhism , was the most prominent icons. The Greek army led by Alexander the Great stayed in
11172-545: The streets of London. Shortly after these reports evangelical Christians proposed the construction of a charity house and gathered £15,000 in assistance of the Lascars. In 1856 the Strangers' Home for Asiatics, Africans and South Sea Islanders was opened in Commercial Road , Limehouse under the manager Lieutenant-Colonel R. Marsh Hughes. The Navigation Act 1660 restricted the employment of non-English sailors to
11286-551: The streets". Some lascars took British wives, and some converted to Anglican Christianity (at least nominally) in order to marry, possibly due to a lack of South Asian women in Britain at the time. Most Indians during this period would visit or reside in Britain temporarily, returning to India after months or several years, bringing back knowledge about Britain in the process. 38 lascars were reported arriving in British ports in 1760. Between 1600 and 1857, some 20-40,000 Indian men and women of all social classes had travelled to Britain,
11400-442: The term Indian subcontinent began in the British Empire, and has been a term particularly common in its successors. South Asia as the preferred term is particularly common when scholars or officials seek to differentiate this region from East Asia. 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." This "neutral" notion refers to
11514-518: The treasuries but retracted each time, only extending Islamic rule into western Punjab. The wave of raids on north Indian and western Indian kingdoms by Muslim warlords continued after Mahmud of Ghazni, plundering and looting these kingdoms. The raids did not establish or extend permanent boundaries of their Islamic kingdoms. The Ghurid Sultan Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad began a systematic war of expansion into North India in 1173. He sought to carve out
11628-488: The turn of the 19th century." In 1786, Mahomed converted from Islam to Christianity . According to leading scholars, and as indicated by parish records in London, Mahomed contracted a bigamous marriage in Marylebone in 1806 to Jane Jeffreys (1780-1850); the banns were read on 24 August for Jane and "William Mahomet." He had a daughter, Amelia (b. 1808) by her and is listed as the father "William Dean Mahomet" in
11742-594: The two countries. The Cold War decades also contributed to the divide , as Pakistan aligned with the West and India with the Soviet Union ; other factors include the time period after the 1962 Sino-Indian War , which saw India and China move apart while Pakistan and China built closer relations. Pakistan has been beset with terrorism , economic issues , and military dominance of its government since Independence, with none of its Prime Ministers having completed
11856-414: The use of the Indian medicated vapour bath, went through three editions ( 1822, 1826, 1838) and was dedicated to King George IV. In this work, Mahomed speaks of the initial resistance to the idea of shampooing among the English he encountered in his new country: "It is not in the power of any individual to give unqualified satisfaction, or to attempt to establish a new opinion without the risk of incurring
11970-463: The wealthy elite, Mahomed and his family lived alongside the rich and titled in Portman Square and Mahomed may have been responsible for introducing the practice of "champi" or " shampooing " (or Indian massage) there. In 1814, Mahomed and his family moved back to Brighton and opened the first commercial "shampooing" vapour masseur bath in England, "Mahomed's Baths", on the site now occupied by
12084-534: The west, and in the north to northeastern Iran, northern Afghanistan, and southern Uzbekistan . Identification with a South Asian identity was found to be significantly low among respondents in an older two-year survey across Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The history of core South Asia 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 earliest prehistoric culture have roots in
12198-481: The world , impelled by the economic/ labour needs and opportunities presented by the British Empire. The introduction of Western political thought inspired a growing Indian intellectual movement, and so by the 20th century, British rule began to be challenged by the Indian National Congress , which sought full independence under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi . Britain, under pressure from Indian freedom fighters, increasingly gave self-rule to British India. By
12312-723: Was about 11 years old. Following his father's death, he was taken under the wing of Captain Godfrey Evan Baker, an Anglo-Irish Protestant officer. Mahomed served in the army of the East India Company as a trainee surgeon and against the Marathas . He remained with Captain Baker until 1782 when the Captain resigned. That same year, Mahomed also resigned from the Army, choosing to accompany Baker, 'his best friend', to Ireland. In 1784, Mahomed emigrated to Cork , Ireland, with
12426-501: Was also actively involved in the bathhouse business. Adverts suggested that, like her husband, Jane possessed "the art of shampooing" and that she superintended the Ladies Baths. The business was an immediate success and Dean Mahomed became known as "Dr. Brighton". Hospitals referred patients to him and he was appointed as shampooing surgeon to both King George IV and William IV . Due to a lack of capital, however, Mahomed's Baths
12540-528: Was buried in a grave at St Nicholas Church, Brighton , in which his son Frederick was later interred. Frederick taught fencing, gymnastics and other activities in Brighton at a gymnasium he built on the town's Church Street. After his death in 1851, Sake Dean Mahomed, once so renowned in Ireland and Brighton's social scenes, began to lose prominence as a public figure and until the scholarly interventions of
12654-584: Was established in consultation with Football Association of Wales to give the group a larger voice over the Wales national football team and provide stadium experiences for South Asians in Wales . In 2021, West Ham United became the first Premier League football club to specifically appoint a South Asian academy mentor to engage with the "more than 325,000 South Asians" living in the "London Boroughs of Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets, Barking and Dagenham and Havering". England coach Gareth Southgate has spoken of
12768-604: Was highly influential in drawing public attention to Mahomed's life and work. Several commemorations of and tributes to Mahomed's legacy have taken place in the 21st century. On 29 September 2005 the City of Westminster unveiled a Green Plaque commemorating the opening of the Hindoostane Coffee House. The plaque is at 102 George Street, close to the original site of the coffee house at 34 George Street. On 15 January 2019, Google recognised Sake Dean Mahomed with
12882-521: Was put up for auction in the late 1830s and Mahomed and his family were forced to relocate to more modest accommodation in Brighton. The literary critic Muneeza Shamsie notes that Mahomed wrote two books connected to his burgeoning trade. The first was Cases Cured by Sake Deen Mahomed, Shampooing Surgeon, and Inventor of the Indian Medicated Vapour and Sea-Water Bath (1820), while the second, Shampooing; or, benefits resulting from
12996-466: Was rife and mixed marriages were disapproved of. On 15 January 1794, Mahomed published a book titled The Travels of Dean Mahomet . The book is in epistolary form as was common for travel books and many novels in that era and consists of 38 letters. The book begins with a brief introduction where he contrasts Ireland and India, writing that "the face of every thing about me [is] so contrasted to those striking scenes in India." and proceeds to give
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