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{{Short description|Geographical area in South Asia}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox
| image =
| bodyclass = geography
| above = Northwestern South Asia
| captionstyle = text-align:left
| caption1 =
| label1 = Area
| data1 =
| label2 = Population
| data2 =
| label3 = Population density
| data3 =
| label4 = GDP (PPP)
| data4 =
| label5 = GDP (nominal)
| data5 =
| label6 = GDP per capita
| data6 =
| label7 = HDI
| data7 =
| label8 = religions
| data8 =
| religions_year = 2011
| religions_ref =
| label9 = [[Demonym]]
| data9 = [[Desi|Northwestern South Asian]]
| label10 = Countries
| data10 = {{flag|Afghanistan}}<br />{{flag|Pakistan}}<br />{{flag|India}} ([[Kashmir]])<br />{{flag|China}} ([[Aksai Chin]])
| label15 = Largest city
| data15 =
| label11 = Languages
| data11 = [[Languages of South Asia|Most common first languages]]: {{hlist

|[[Urdu]],
[[Punjabi]],
[[Dari]]
}}
| label12 = Time zones
| data12 = [[UTC+5:30]]; [[UTC+5:45]]; [[UTC+06:00]]
| label13 = Internet [[Top-level domain|TLD]]
| data13 =
| label14 = [[Calling code]]
| data14 = [[List of country calling codes|Zone 9]]
| label16 = Religions
| data16 = [[Hinduism]], [[Islam]], [[Christianity]], [[Buddhism]], [[Irreligion]], [[Sikhism]]
| label17 = [[Ethnic groups]]
| data17 = [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan]], [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]], [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burmese]]
}}
'''Northwestern South Asia''' is a geographical area in [[South Asia]], and is the northwestern region of [[the subcontinent]]. It includes the entirety of [[Afghanistan]] and [[Pakistan]], with India and China controlling parts of the disputed [[Kashmir region]] within this part of South Asia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kachmar |first=Oleh |date=18 June 2020 |title=China Joins India and Pakistan in the Kashmir Battlespace |url=https://newlinesinstitute.org/strategic-competition/china/china-joins-india-and-pakistan-in-the-kashmir-battlespace/ |access-date=5 October 2023 |website=New Lines Institute |language=en}}</ref> Some notable regions of Northwestern South Asia include the [[Punjab]] and [[Sindh]].

Northwestern South Asia is the site of many of the first civilisations in South Asia, such as the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Decline of the Indus River Valley Civilization (c. 3300-1300 BCE) |url=https://www.science.smith.edu/climatelit/decline-of-the-indus-river-valley-civilization-c-3300-1300-bce/ |access-date=5 October 2023 |website=Climate in Arts and History |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Thornton |first=Christopher P. |title=Introduction: Between Two Civilizations |date=2016 |url=https://rune.une.edu.au/web/handle/1959.11/20329 |access-date=5 October 2023 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology |language=en |isbn=978-1-934536-06-3 |last2=Cable |first2=Charlotte}}</ref> It was historically the most-conquered region of South Asia because it is the first region that invading armies coming from the west had to cross to enter South Asia;<ref>[https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/120933/2010_08_South%20Asias%20Geography%20of%20Conflict_Robert%20D.%20Kaplan_0.pdf South Asia’s Geography of Conflict] https://www.files.ethz.ch/ Robert D. Kaplan</ref> notable conquests include the [[Indian campaign of Alexander the Great]] in the fourth century BCE and several [[Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent#First phase (8th to 10th centuries)|Muslim invasions]] from the 8th century CE to the 18th century.<ref>{{Citation |last=Thornton |first=Christopher P. |title=Introduction: Between Two Civilizations |date=2016 |url=https://rune.une.edu.au/web/handle/1959.11/20329 |access-date=5 October 2023 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology |language=en |isbn=978-1-934536-06-3 |last2=Cable |first2=Charlotte}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Anjum |first=Tanvir |date=2007 |title=The Emergence of Muslim Rule in India: Some Historical Disconnects and Missing Links |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20839068 |journal=Islamic Studies |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=217–240 |issn=0578-8072}}</ref> Because of these many invasions, Northwestern South Asia has significant influences from various sources outside of South Asia, mainly from the [[Muslim world]]. Prior to Islamic influence, the region was largely Hindu and Buddhist, and was home to hotbeds of Buddhist activity such as [[Gandhara]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Neelis |first=Jason |url=https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/38155 |title=Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange within and beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia |date=2010 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-19458-8 |language=English}}</ref>

All countries in the region have border disputes with each other, with Afghanistan and Pakistan disputing the validity of the [[Durand Line]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 October 2023 |title=Pakistan says two killed after cross-border firing from Afghan forces in Chaman |url=https://arab.news/r8nbp |access-date=5 October 2023 |website=Arab News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Durand Line |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/durand-line |access-date=5 October 2023 |website=education.nationalgeographic.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Lines of (In)Convenience: Sovereignty and Border-Making in Postcolonial South Asia, 1947–1965 |url=https://read.dukeupress.edu/journal-of-asian-studies/article-abstract/76/4/963/324792/Lines-of-In-Convenience-Sovereignty-and-Border |access-date=5 October 2023 |website=read.dukeupress.edu}}</ref>

== History ==
Greek invasions of Northwestern South Asia over 2,000 years ago produced the [[Indo-Greek Kingdom]] and a syncretised culture.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Behrendt |first=Kurt |date=1 January 2004 |title=The Buddhist Architecture of Gandhāra |url=https://brill.com/view/title/8608 |journal=Semantic Scholar |publisher=BRILL |doi=10.1163/9789047412571 |isbn=978-90-04-13595-6}}</ref>

[[Sindh]] was the first region of South Asia to be conquered by Muslims, falling to the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] in the first Islamic century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Colonial Myths About the Arrival of Muslims in Sindh Still Divide the South Asian Mind |url=https://thewire.in/history/how-colonial-concept-sindh-muslim-arrival |access-date=5 October 2023 |website=The Wire}}</ref> During the subsequent Muslim invasions of the region, the religion of [[Sikhism]] was born, producing a warrior class with affinities to both Hindus and Muslims that was persecuted by and that fought against the invaders.<ref>{{Citation |last=Singh |first=Pashaura |title=Sikhism: Exploring the Notion of a Righteous War (Dharam Yudh) |date=2023 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-companion-to-religion-and-war/sikhism/0A283203A454F718136DE6773769835F |work=The Cambridge Companion to Religion and War |pages=141–163 |editor-last=Kitts |editor-first=Margo |access-date=5 October 2023 |series=Cambridge Companions to Religion |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-88407-5}}</ref> Buddhism [[Decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent|vanished]] from the region during Muslim rule, prompted by persecution and conversions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Truschke |first=Audrey |date= |title=The Power of the Islamic Sword in Narrating the Death of Indian Buddhism |url=http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/696567 |journal=History of Religions |language=en |volume=57 |issue=4 |pages=406–435 |doi=10.1086/696567 |issn=0018-2710}}</ref>

The end of colonial rule in the region saw most Indian Muslims in Northwestern South Asia become part of the new nation of Pakistan during the 1947 [[Partition of India]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 August 2022 |title=Why the Partition of India and Pakistan still casts a long shadow over the region |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/partition-of-india-and-pakistan-history-legacy |access-date=5 October 2023 |website=History |language=en}}</ref>

The 20th and 21st centuries saw Afghanistan invaded several times, with the Taliban having intermittently been in charge of the country.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 May 2011 |title=A historical timeline of Afghanistan |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/asia-jan-june11-timeline-afghanistan |access-date=5 October 2023 |website=PBS NewsHour |language=en-us}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Northern South Asia]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}{{South Asian topics}}
[[Category:South Asia]]

Northwestern South Asia - Revision history