Where is India? Where is Pakistan?
Printed From: History Community ~ All Empires
Category: Regional History or Period History
Forum Name: History of the South Asian subcontinent
Forum Discription: The Indian sub-continent and South Central Asia
URL: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=26997
Printed Date: 24-Apr-2024 at 13:34
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Topic: Where is India? Where is Pakistan?
Posted By: Jallaludin Akbar
Subject: Where is India? Where is Pakistan?
Date Posted: 14-Apr-2009 at 17:15
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We all know where the modern day Republic of India is. But geographically there is often confusion. How would you define India geographically? What are the borders of India, in the sense of it's geographical term? Would it be the same as it's modern border today, or would it be to the extent of the entire subcontinent? Below is a map of the Indian Subcontinent.  Also, would Pakistan be considered a geographical term? I've seen it used numerous times. Then what would would be considered Pakistan and what would be considered India--in Geographical terms. ------------- "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -Mahatma Gandhi 
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Replies:
Posted By: Temujin
Date Posted: 14-Apr-2009 at 19:26
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that's a good and difficult question actually. borders of India i would say Himalayas in the north, Indus river in the westand don't know what in the east. however i don't necessarily like natural features etc as borders.... i also wouldn't use Pakistan as geographical term, but i was often lacking a good term to describe the historical area of Afghanistan + Pakistan. |
Posted By: Goocheslamb
Date Posted: 14-Apr-2009 at 20:42
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Ancient India was actually the current Pakistani land. Most empires that came did not even go to the territory that is India today. Even Hinduism has said to be started in the northern Pakistan Kashmir Area. |
Posted By: Zomaan Shilogh Dyak
Date Posted: 16-Apr-2009 at 22:35
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The correct geographical term for what is now Pakistan is the Indus Basin.
Gooch, the Vedic religion started out in what is today Western Punjab, not Kashmir. ------------- Chaaghli Ay Chaagh Mo Korey, Yarkhun O Darband Aa Asum Surkhum Sthor Ma Mulo, Pong Lakhee Alghaan Aa Asum, Gaah-e-Badakhshan Aa Asum |
Posted By: Jallaludin Akbar
Date Posted: 21-Apr-2009 at 23:36
Here is a map of the Indus River Basin: Do you feel Pakistan is an appropriate geographical term? Or would the Indus River Basin be Ancient Pakistan? How about India? In ancient times, would the Ganges river plain be seperate from the Deccan Platea or would it all just be called India? Is there a source that draws the 'official' geographical boundries of both India and Pakistan? ------------- "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -Mahatma Gandhi
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Posted By: Omar al Hashim
Date Posted: 22-Apr-2009 at 06:14
Forget ancient times, its only in the last 150 years at most that even thinking about the two as one entity has started. If we go 1 to 2 thousand years ago, there was quite a distinction between the Indus Basin & the Ganges basin, but that distinction started to disappear in the middle ages as empires started to rule both. A few of the great empires (Mayuran, Delhi Sultanate, Mughal, British) have controlled all of the Deccan, Ganges, and Indus regions, but none have done so for very long. As far as I can remember from the top of my head, Republic of India is the first to control the Ganges and Deccan without the Indus or all of Bengal. ------------- |
Posted By: MarcoPolo
Date Posted: 01-May-2009 at 01:07
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Most ancient maps clearly show a distinction when comparing the regions of ancient Pakistan with the rest of South Asia.
Additionally, The Thar/Cholistan deserts along the eastern border, and the Rivers of Panjab(the bulk of whom are in Pakistan), which prior to British colonial irrigation projects were small mini-desserts interspersed with fertile lands also acted as natural barriers which seperated the region of Pakistan from the rest of South Asia and allowed it to cultivate its own unique identity distinct from that of the rest of South Asia.
While Pakistan, with this current name, is a new nation state, the political entity that it has right now has existed at various times throughout history showing continuity. As with most ancient cultures and civilizations, the river Indus bound the people in Pakistan's 4 provinces and Northern regions together. Prior to the aforementioned British colonial projects, the Indus river was navigatable allowing peoples from all regions of Pakistan to sail in either way and acting as a natural highway for trade, commerce and people to people contact.
Infact, if one even compares the current eastern border Pakistan has, it correlates quite precisely to ancient Greek maps when the region was part of the Hellenic empire and the Persian empire before that. Later Arabic and Afghan empire maps also show nearly identitical continuity.
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