South Asia

Despite long years of violence, today, Sri Lanka is experiencing strong growth and has become one of South Asia's wealthiest nations.

True

Throughout the 1970s, governments in Afghanistan became increasingly more:

authoritarian

Which occurrence was perhaps the MOST damaging outcome of Britain's colonial domination of India?

the Partition of India into two states, India and Pakistan

Hindus believe that eating cows brings them closer to the ultimate divinity.

False

Which statement is NOT true of LGBT issues in South Asia?

South Asian countries are the least likely countries in the world to formally recognize the existence and rights of transgender people.

The climate of the northeastern South Asia subregion is BEST described as:

wet and tropical.

The MOST privileged of the castes in terms of ritual status are the:

Brahmins

Which factor should help reduce corruption in politics?

the spread of cell phones

The most well-developed international water treaties in South Asia cover the four rivers that start in India and flow into Pakistan, largely because there is so much potential for water disputes to fuel a war between these two nations.

True

Which development was NOT a part of the green revolution that came to South Asia in the late 1960s?

greater use of hydroponics

Many Hindus believe that the Ganga River is a goddess who purifies all that she touches.

True

The Maoist revolutionaries in Nepal were aided by China.

False

Caste considerations are mostly a thing of the past in India, especially with regard to marriage arrangements.

False

Features of Pakistan do NOT include:

a pro-Western leadership.

During the early days of the Kashmir conflict, most Kashmiris wanted to join India.

True

The shifting of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) contributes to the intensity of the rainfall during South Asia's summer monsoon.

True

In Bangladesh, the increased availability of contraceptives has likely contributed to a reduction in fertility rates.

True

The United Nations has never made an official declaration of the Indian-Pakistani border in Kashmir.

True

Which statement is TRUE of village life in South Asia?

The men and boys tend to work in the fields and return to the village at night.

South Asia is home to nine of the world's ten most polluted cities.

True

The objective of Britain's partition of its South Asian colony in 1947 was to carve up the region's territory according to the general geographic distribution of languages.

False

The green revolution and agroecology have just about eliminated malnutrition in South Asia.

False

During the winter months, South Asia is relatively dry because cool air from the Eurasian landmass blocks the advancement of warm moist air from the ocean.

True

Which statement accurately reflects the social landscape in Afghanistan?

The population is growing fast.

The abundance of rainfall during summer in South Asia is amplified by:

the ITCZ.

The early winter monsoons of South Asia release rains over parts of:

Sri Lanka and southeastern India.

Which statement is TRUE of the Indus Valley (Harappa) civilization in South Asia?

Its trade network extended to Mesopotamia and eastern Africa.

Water in the Northwest India subregion arrives in the northern reaches of the subregion mostly by way of:

rivers descending from the Himalayas.

Which factor is NOT a likely, currently observed, or possible effect of climate change on the Himalayan glaciers and rivers of India?

the movement of more human population into the higher altitudes of the Himalayas

The vast majority of borrowers in a microcredit arrangement are women.

True

The desire to preserve forestland is often at odds with the needs of a growing population.

True

In the 1990s, economic reforms in South Asia were initiated by:

the Indian government.

South Asia is characterized by great ethnic and linguistic diversity.

True

What is the natural occurrence that is common in Afghanistan and Pakistan due to continued tectonic activity in the area?

earthquakes

The GNI per capita of Bhutan and Nepal are roughly the same.

False

Relationships between Hindus and Muslims are often quite tense.

True

The nodi bhanga lok, or "people of the broken river," are widely admired by their neighbors.

False

Which statement is NOT true of the languages spoken in South Asia?

Hindi is the native language of the majority of the South Asian people.

Pakistan's population is about five times that of Afghanistan.

True

The benefits of the green revolution in South Asia have been uneven, with some regions benefiting much more than others.

True

Contemporary South Asia governments still have institutions put in place by British colonial rule.

True

Which tasks have the Dalits traditionally performed?

killing animals

Which statement is NOT true of the regional conflict in Sri Lanka?

Sri Lanka had a thriving economy before independence, yet is now one of the poorest countries in South Asia.

Which statement does NOT accurately describe the ranking of South Asian countries on various human well-being scales?

Wealth disparities are very low in South Asia compared to other world regions.

What occurred as a result of the 1947 Partition of British India?

Muslims migrated from India to Pakistan; Hindus migrated from Pakistan to India.

Which statement is NOT true of agriculture in West Bengal?

Agricultural land is well managed and farmers use traditional methods to continually increase soil fertility.

What commodity formed the economic backbone of Bengal in the eighteenth century?

cotton

Women are well represented in the parliaments of India and Sri Lanka.

False

The Himalayan mountain region is the most economically prosperous part of South Asia.

False

Caste and class are synonymous.

False

Precipitation from the summer monsoon is particularly intense in which area of South Asia?

the eastern foothills of the Himalaya

The Taliban can BEST be described as:

conservative and Islamist.

Urban women in South Asia usually enjoy greater individual freedom than rural women.

True

The first recorded invaders to join the indigenous people of South Asia came from:

Central and Southwest Asia.

The BEST descriptions of Afghanistan and Pakistan are:

Muslim and rural.

Accurate depictions of the preference for sons in South Asian culture do NOT include:

the sale of young girls into prostitution by their parents.

Which statement does NOT describe an effect of sea level rise in South Asia?

Nearly 50 percent of Bangladeshis might have to find new homes.

In the Indian state of Kerala, women have astonishingly little power within both the fishing industry and the family structure.

False

In the modern era, the occupations associated with the caste system are strictly adhered to.

False

Which statement does NOT describe an effect of the dowry system in South Asia?

Dowries have led to a decreased emphasis on purdah in higher-caste communities.

Britain's colonial policy of inhibiting South Asian industrial development encouraged population movement to urban centers.

True

What language is the official language of Pakistan?

Urdu

The Assamese have continually objected to being under Indian control.

True

Mohandas Gandhi was greatly in favor of the British plan of partition for South Asia.

False

Which country has NOT had a woman as head of state?

Afghanistan

The service sector produces more than half of the GNI in every country except Bhutan.

True

Even within the large and populous cities of South Asia, many people live in compact, reconstituted villages where standards of living can be relatively high.

True

Hindi is the first language of a majority of South Asians.

False

Local political efforts designed to get the votes of subcaste members are usually in opposition to official ideologies of Indian governments and political parties.

True

The river valleys and coastal plans of India are densely populated.

True

Political parties based on religious nationalism have gained popularity throughout South Asia.

True

Widows of higher caste rarely remarry.

True

The religious scriptures of Hinduism are known as the:

Vedas

The name Deccan applies to which feature on South Asia's physical landscape?

plateau between the Eastern and Western Ghats mountain ranges

Opportunities for women expanded when the revolutionary group known as the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in the early 1990s.

False

Mohandas Gandhi's tactic of nonviolent resistance to colonial rule became widely supported following the:

the Salt March of 1930.

What impact does a husband's death have on his widow's reputation?

The woman is disgraced and may lose her home.

What is MOST likely the main reason for efforts made by the central government in India to lessen the influence of the Assamese people in the state of Assam?

Assam produces a majority of India's oil and natural gas.

Kashmir has long been dominated by:

Muslims

One benefit of the summer monsoons in South Asia is the fact that the region never experiences droughts.

False

The partition of India can be viewed as part of the British divide-and-conquer colonial philosophy.

True

Results of deforestation in hilly areas do NOT include:

increased soil fertility.

The countries of South Asia have a vibrant culture of environmental activism.

True

Which statement BEST summarizes the end of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan?

The Soviet Union left Afghanistan in defeat after heavy losses.

The usual goal of religious nationalism is:

political control over a given territory.

Incomes and human well-being are rising rapidly in South Asia.

True

Which statement is LEAST characteristic of northeastern South Asia?

Industry is the primary employer.

Efforts to respond to the threats of climate change in South Asia do NOT include:

technologies to disperse or reverse monsoon wind patterns before they reach the region.

In many cases across South Asia, according to the textbook, what is a young bride's relationship to her mother-in-law?

domestic servant

What have the female prime ministers of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh all had in common?

They were all the wives or daughters of previous heads of state.

Which statement is NOT true of Mumbai?

It is a social experiment in which the government provides housing and medical care for all residents.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are largely Hindu.

False

Less than one-quarter of South Asia's sewage is treated at all.

True

The first agricultural communities in South Asia appeared about 4500 years ago along the:

Indus River.

Harappa culture was extremely primitive but did engage in agricultural activities.

False

The frequent occurrence of massive flooding of the Ganga/Brahmaputra River delta has left that area almost completely unoccupied.

False

In the naturally dry regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, current levels of agriculture and industry are probably not sustainable.

True

What is India's MOST densely populated state?

West Bengal

Tectonic forces, which once played an important role in forming the mountain ranges of the Indian subcontinent, have ceased.

False

To which group do MOST members of the Taliban belong?

Pashtuns