South Asia

1. Sri Lanka

1.1. Civil War

1.1.1. Tamil v Sinhala: linguistic diversity has created conflict between these two groups of people

1.2. Religious Diversity

1.2.1. Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam

1.3. Economic Expansion: port of Colombo expanded & Southern expressway built to allow for more trade and to boost the economy

2. Nepal

2.1. Ethnic Group Diversity: mainly Pahari and Bhotia but many different groups present

2.2. Religious Diversity

2.2.1. Mainly Hinduism (largest percent of followers in any nation)

2.3. Linguistic Diversity: one national language (Nepali) while others are marginalized

2.4. Bikas: relating to women as a category and reinforcing gender roles

3. India

3.1. Colonial History: British imperialization greatly influenced the nation economically, socially, & politically

3.2. Caste System, a social and political hierarchy that includes Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras, and Pariahs

3.3. Religious Diversity

3.3.1. Main: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism

3.4. Gandhi: nonviolence, noncooperation movement. did not want a partition of India, rather numerous autonomous communities

4. Pakistan

4.1. Kashmir, a region in Northern India that is highly disputed between India and Pakistan (anticipated to go to Pakistan)

4.2. Wars with India: four wars were fought in regards to partition of India on religious grounds

4.3. Religious Diversity

4.3.1. Mainly Islam

4.4. Jinnah: Vision included that Islam was sufficient basis for separate nationhood

5. Bangladesh

5.1. Pakistan Rule: After British rule, Pakistan split into East and West, and East became Bangladesh

5.2. Religious Diversity

5.2.1. Mainly Islam

5.3. Garment Industry: one of the main reasons for economic growth and prosperity in the country

5.4. NGOs: influence the government but also a way of oppressing women in society