AFGHANISTAN*Kabul

ORIGIN Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian Empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919.

POPULATION

652, 230 sq. m.

• 30 M (est.)

• Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, other 4%

AREA

PEOPLE

FACTS Afghanistan has been an ancient focal point of the Silk Road and human migration.

Afghans display pride in their culture, nation, ancestry, and above all, their religion and independence.

Over 99% of the Afghan population is Muslim

KABUL BALA HISAR

has a very strong and complex defensive system; used as a military college since 1939

GARDENS OF BABURthe place features Sultan Ghiyas-ud-din’s tomb.

BANGLADESH* Dhaka

ORIGIN

Europeans began to set up trading posts in the area of Bangladesh in the 16th century; eventually the British came to dominate the region and it became part of British India.

POPULATION

161 M (est.)

AREA

PEOPLE

• 143,998 sq km

• Bengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims)

FACTS

Bangladesh means "Land of Bengal" or "Country of Bengal" 

Bangladesh

• MAHASTHANGARH - THE OLDEST ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Bangladesh

• PAHARPUR - THE LARGEST BUDDHIST SEAT OF LEARNING

Bangladesh

• DINAJPUR - OLD ORNAMENTAL TEMPLE TOWN

BHUTAN* Thimpu

ORIGIN

Names similar to Bhutan—including Bottanthis, Bottan,Bottanter—began to appear in Europe around the 1580s.Jean-Baptiste Tavernier's 1676 Six Voyages is the first to record the name Boutan

POPULATION

716,896 (est)

AREA

PEOPLE

• 38,394 sq km

• Bhote 50%, ethnic Nepalese 35% (includes Lhotsampas - one of several Nepalese ethnic groups), indigenous or migrant tribes 15%

FACTS

The word “Bhutan” translates to “Land of the Thunder Dragon.” It earned the nickname because of the fierce storms that often roll in from the Himalayas.

Mongar

Wangdiphodrang

Paro Valley• an exquisite valley and is home to some of Bhutan's

oldest temples & monasteries.

INDIA* New Delhi

 India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.

ORIGIN

1,205,073,612 (est.)

POPULATION

AREA

PEOPLE

• 3,287,263 sq km

• Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3%

It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world.

Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, andSikhism—originated here

FACTS

Taj mahalepitome of Mughal art and one of the most famous buildings in the world.

Betaab Valley• given after the release of a Bollywood movie “Betaab

Valley” and it is named so as most of the shooting of the films was done in this area. films was done in this area.

Lonavala• is famous for its weather and scenic views.

MALDIVES*Male

ORIGINMaldives was largely terra incognita for

tourists until the early 1970s. Only 185 islands are home to its 300,000 population, while the other islands are used entirely for economic purposes of which tourism and agriculture are the most dominant.

POPULATION394,451 (est.)

AREA

PEOPLE

•  298 sq km

• South Indians, Sinhalese, Arabs

FACTSMaldives is the smallest Asian country in

both population and land area. Planet's lowest country

Mohammad Thakurufaanu was the leading figure that liberated the country from the colonial rule of Portugal.

NEPAL* Kathmandu

ORIGIN

 Nepal by folk etymology - "the country looked after by Ne“

Nepa “Newar Kingdom”

POPULATION

29 M (est.)

AREA

PEOPLE

• 147,181 sq km

• Chhettri 15.5%, Brahman-Hill 12.5%, Magar 7%, Tharu 6.6%, Tamang 5.5%, Newar 5.4%, Muslim 4.2%, Kami 3.9%, Yadav 3.9%, other 32.7%, unspecified 2.8% 

FACTS

Nepal has a rich geography. The mountainous north has eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, called Sagarmatha in Nepali. 

Mt. Everest

Chitwan National Park• Granted

the status of a World Heritage Site in 1984. There are many species of birds, crocodiles, rhinos, sloth bears, tigers.

• Annapurna is a series of peaks in the Himalayas. It's also the popular trekking region of Nepal

PAKISTAN* Islamabad

 Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and India's struggle for independence, Pakistan was created in 1947 as an independent nation for Muslims from the regions in the east and west of India where there was a Muslim majority.

ORIGIN

190 M (est.)

POPULATION

AREA

PEOPLE

•  796,095 sq km

• Punjabi 44.68%, Pashtun (Pathan) 15.42%, Sindhi 14.1%, Sariaki 8.38%, Muhajirs 7.57%, Balochi 3.57%, other 6.28%

Sixth most populous country in the world and has the largest Muslim population after Indonesia.

FACTS

The Pakistan Monument

• It represents the three territories and four provinces of the country. In addition, it also symbolizes the developing economy in the place.

Pakistan

• Lahore is one of the cities of Punjab. The place has a Mughal heritage. Some of the attractions at the city include Maharaja Ranjit Singh Mausoleum, the Roshni Gate and the Alamgiri Gate.

SRI LANKA

* Colombo

ORIGIN

The first Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th B.C., probably from northern India; a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa.

POPULATION

21 M (est.)

AREA

PEOPLE

• 65,610 sq km

• Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10%

FACTS

Sri Lanka has also been a center of the Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times, being the nation where the Buddhist teachings were first written down as well as the oldest continually Buddhist country.

Sri Lanka has been called The Pearl of the Indian Ocean 

Polonnaruwa• most magnificent temple ruins that go as far back as

the tenth century.

Dambulla Cave Temple

• The caves houses more than one hundred various statues of the Buddha, several statues of the country’s great kings as well as a few statues of Hindu gods.

Sigiriya in Matale• rock fortress and palace surrounded by gardens and

two moats.

References:

• www.wikipedia.org• www.google.com• www.cia.gov