What is the Indian sub-continent

A.� Thanks to stoogmeister for that rather broad question. In brief, it's three countries: India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is a well-defined subcontinent, divided from the rest of Asia by the northern mountain rampart of the Himalayas and by lesser adjoining mountain ranges to the west and east. Until 1947, it was one country.< xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

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Q.� What happened then

A.� It was part of the British Empire: The jewel in the crown. After a campaign led by Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, independence was granted in 1947. The sub-continent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan - two parts on either side of India. East Pakistan became the separate nation of Bangladesh in 1971 after a war.

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Q.� A rundown, please, starting with India.

A.� India is the seventh-largest country in the world, covering 1,222,559 square miles, and has a population of 1.14 billion, second largest after China. The Republic of India -�Hindi Bharat or Bharatavarsha - is a constitutional republic comprising 25 states, each with a substantial degree of control, and seven union territories with lesser powers.

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Q.� And Pakistan

A.� Officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan - Urdu Islam-i Jamhuriya-e - it is surrounded by Iran to the west, Afghanistan to the north, China to the north-east and India to the east and south-east. The Arabian Sea lies to the south. It has an area of 307,374 square miles, a population of 141 million, and the capital is Islamabad.

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Q.� How was it formed

A.� By the partition of British India in 1947 to create a separate homeland for India's Muslims after demands from Islamic nationalists, principally by the All India Muslim League led by Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Until 1971, Pakistan was split into two regions - West Pakistan, in the Indus River basin, and East Pakistan, more than 1,000 miles away.

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Q.� And that brings us on to Bangladesh

A.� Yes. The People's Republic of Bangladesh - Bengali Gana Prajatantri - came into being in 1971 when it split from West Pakistan. Bangladesh - Land of the Bengals - has a population of 129 million, mainly Muslim. It has an area of 55,598 square miles and is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Bangladesh, in the delta of the Ganges and Jamuna (Brahmaputra) rivers, is surrounded by the Indian states of West Bengal to the west and north, Assam to the north, Meghalaya to the north and north-east, and Tripura and Mizoram to the east. To the south-east lies Myanmar (Burma) and the Bay of Bengal to the south. A third of this desperately poor country floods during the monsoon rainy season every year, restricting normal economic development.

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Q.� Leaders of all three

A.� India's president since July, 1997, has been Kicheril Raman Narayanan. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has been in power since March, 1998. In Pakistan, the president is Mohammad Rafiq Tarar. He remains only the ceremonial head after a military takeover in October, 1999, when army chief General Pervez Musharraf suspended Pakistan's constitution and assumed title of chief executive. Bangladesh has been led since October, 1996, by President Shahabuddin Ahmed.

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By Steve Cunningham

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