India is a land blessed with a myriad of mysterious and charming experiences that can leave one feeling enthralled and in awe of the natural splendour when they visit. Those who think they know everything about this country, will be pleasantly surprised by the sheer number of facts, places and stories that are still waiting to be discovered.
India is also one of the oldest civilizations and countries across the globe, with at least 4000 years of history known through developed and oral documents. Today, India has become a world power with regard to it’s progress, economies and people.
One of the most distinct features about India is the fact that it is also a subcontinent. A subcontinent is a part of a continent that is politically and geographically separate from the rest of the continent.
Here’s 5 reasons why India is regarded a subcontinent in Asia –
- It covers 2.4% of the earth’s total land area. It has a long land frontier of about 15,200 km and coastline of about 7516.6 km.
- It’s natural frontiers like the Himalaya’s in the North and the Deccan Peninsula in the South give it a unique identity on the globe.
- From a political perspective, the Indian subcontinent consists of at least 7 countries : India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives.
- The people of the Indian subcontinent have shared ethnic, linguistic, cultural and historical connections.
- Historically, India used to be a continent. Later due to continuous movement of land and continental drift, it became a part of Asia.
