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Afghanistan
Map of Afghanistan
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Southern Asia page
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Afghanistan
Map of Afghanistan |
Population: 30 million
Capital: Kabul
Official language:
Ethnic groups: Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Uzbek 6%, Hazara 19%,
minor ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others)
Background: Afghanistan was invaded and occupied by the Soviet
Union in 11039. The USSR was forced to withdraw 10 years later by anti-communist
mujahidin forces supplied and trained by the US, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan,
and others. Fighting subsequently continued among the various mujahidin
factions, but the fundamentalist Islamic Taliban movement has been able
to seize most of the country. In addition to the continuing civil strife,
the country suffers from enormous poverty, a crumbling infrastructure,
and widespread live mines.
(Source: Worldfackbook 2000, CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Afganistan
Artists of Afghanistan:
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Bangladesh
Map of Bangladesh |
Population: 129 million
Capital: Dhaka
Official language: Bangla
Ethnic groups: Bengali 98%, Biharis 250,000, tribals less than
1 million
Background: Bangladesh came into existence in 11031 when Bengali
East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan. A third of this
desperately poor country annually floods during the monsoon rainy season,
hampering normal economic development.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Bangladesh
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Bhutan
Map of Bhutan |
Population: 2 million
Capital: Thimphu
Official language: Dzongkha
Ethnic groups: Bhote 50%, ethnic Nepalese 35%, indigenous or
migrant tribes 15%
Background: Under British influence a monarchy was set up in
1907; three years later a treaty was signed whereby the country became
a British protectorate. Independence was attained in 1949, with India subsequently
guiding foreign relations and supplying aid.
(Source: Worldfackbook 2000, CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Bhutan
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India
Map of India |
Population: 1.014 million
Capital: New Dehli
Official language: English enjoys associate status but is the
most important language for national, political, and commercial communication,
Hindi the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people, Bengali
(official), Telugu (official), Marathi (official), Tamil (official), Urdu
(official), Gujarati (official), Malayalam (official), Kannada (official),
Oriya (official), Punjabi (official), Assamese (official), Kashmiri (official),
Sindhi (official), Sanskrit (official), Hindustani (a popular variant of
Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India)
note: 24 languages each spoken by a million or more persons; numerous
other languages and dialects, for the most part mutually unintelligible
Ethnic groups: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and
other 3%
Background: Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism under
Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU led to independence in 1947. The subcontinent
was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state
of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 11031 resulted in
East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. Fundamental concerns
in India include the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive
overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic
strife, all this despite impressive gains in economic investment and output.
(Source: Worldfackbook 2000, CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: India
Artists of India:
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Maldives
No map |
Location: Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India
Population: 300.000
Capital: Male
Official language:
Ethnic groups: South Indians, Sinhalese, Arabs
Background: The Maldives were long a sultanate, first under Dutch
and then under British protection. They became a republic in 1968, three
years after independence. Tourism and fishing are being developed on the
archipelago.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Maldives
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Nepal
Map of Nepal |
Population: 24,5 million
Capital: Kathmandu
Official language: Nepali
Ethnic groups: Newars, Indians, Tibetans, Gurungs, Magars, Tamangs,
Bhotias, Rais, Limbus, Sherpas
Background: In 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old
system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of
government. Reforms in 1990 established a multiparty democracy within the
framework of a constitutional monarchy.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Nepal
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Pakistan
Map of Pakistan |
Population: 141 million
Capital: Islamabad
Official language: Urdu, English
Ethnic groups: Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch, Muhajir
(immigrants from India at the time of partition and their descendants)
Background: The separation in 1947 of British India into the
Muslim state of Pakistan (with two sections West and East) and largely
Hindu India was never satisfactorily resolved. A third war between these
countries in 11031 resulted in East Pakistan seceding and becoming the
separate nation of Bangladesh. A dispute over the state of Kashmir is ongoing.
In response to Indian nuclear weapons testing, Pakistan conducted its own
tests in 1998.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Pakistan
Qawwali music are performed by men alone. The size of qawwali orcherstras varies from 3 to 13 members. Traditional qawwali music and gatherings are built up around the sheikh, the lead singer. Then there are one or two secondary singer, one or two harmoniums, and percussion (dholak and/or tabla). Steady catchy handclap beats are also important. Qawwali music are simple in stucture, but it singing tecniques and the melodies are very sophisticated and full of joy.
The late, Nusrah Fateh Ali Khan, are the main exponent of qawwali at the world music stage, he performed both in traditional and crossover styles. In the Rough Guide to World Music he is referred as "the Pavarotti of the Sufi world". Traditional qawwali music are not concert hall music. Traditionalists argue that it is incorrect to sit upright at a chair they claim that a upright position prevents a deeper experience, it have something with breathing patterns to do. The author have tryed listing to live qawwali music in both positions. The traditonalists may have a point.
Qawwali music are passed from generation to generation. The children are trained by the elders. At first they sit in clapping, later they join the harmonyes, only the best trained and most talented gets the honour of beiing sheikh.
This article, and subarticles are written by: Tim Øsleby
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Sri Lanka
Map of Sri Lanka |
Population: 19 million
Capital: Colombo
Official language: Sinhala
Ethnic groups: Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay,
and Vedda 1%
Background: Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and
the Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in 1802.
As Ceylon it became independent in 1948; its name was changed in 11032.
Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted in
violence in the mid-1980s. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic war
that continues to fester.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Sri Lanka
Artists of Sri Lanka: