This book offers for the first time a comprehensive study of South Asia in one volume, analyzing not only the riches of the past but also the problems & achievements of the present, placing them where appropriate in their global context. The South Asian region, which comprises the present day states of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, & the Maldives, has long been significant in world affairs. Today more than one out of every five members of the human race lives in the region, & each month their absolute number increases by well over a million. This fifth of mankind embraces enormous diversity: every level of human development from stone-age tribesman to Nobel prizewinner; many levels of wealth from mass poverty to comfortable middle class consumerism; the believers of seven major religions; the bearers of three racial strains; & the speakers of languages in two major families with India alone acknowledging fourteen official languages & 1,652 mother tongues. The international team of contributors presents the world of South Asia in an accessible & enjoyable form, which will appeal to both specialists & general readers. The Encyclopedia is richly illustrated with many photographs, maps, & tables closely interwoven with the text.