UIL Social Studies Modern South Asia: 1857-Present

Pandey, Mangal (1827-1857)

Mangal Pandey was an Indian soldier who played a key role in the events taking place just before the outbreak of the Indian rebellion of 1857. He was a sepoy in the 34th Bengal Native Infantry regiment of the British East India Company.

Gayoom, Maumoon Abdul

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is a Maldivian politician who served as the President of Maldives from 1978 to 2008.

Singh, Milkha

Milkha Singh, also known as "The Flying Sikh", was an Indian track and field sprinter who was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army. Won gold medals in 1958 and 1962.

Nasheed, Mohamed

Mohamed Nasheed GCSK is a Maldivian politician and activist currently serving as the 19th speaker of the People's Majlis since May 2019.

Salam, Abdus

Mohammad Abdus Salam NI SPk was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and a Nobel Prize laureate. He shared the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Jinnah, Mohammed Ali

Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a barrister, politician and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, and then as the Dominion of Pakistan's first governor-general until his death in 1948.

Khan, Ayub

Muhammad Ayub Khan was a Pakistani military officer and politician who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 to 1969

Zia-ul-Haq, Muhammad

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq was a Pakistani military officer and politician who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until his death in 1988.

Naoroji, Dadabhai (1825-1917)

Naoroji was the first Indian elected to the British Parliament. A Parsi from Bombay, he dedicated himself to advancing Indian development, maintaining political careers in both India and England. His 1901 book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India exemplified the drain of wealth theory: if it were not for colonialism, Indian surpluses would have been invested in India rather than Britain.

Narayanaswami, Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer

Narayan RK - Indian writer and novelist known for his work set in the fictional South Indian town of Malgudi.

Nehru, Jawaharlal (1889-1964)

Nehru was the first Prime Minister of Independent India. Nehru was also an important leader of the Indian nationalist movement.

Sri Lanka

formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. Capitals are Colombo and Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

Adi Granth

"Original collection"; the primary scripture of the Sikhs

Adivasis

( Hindi: "Original Inhabitants") official name (in India) Scheduled Tribes, any of various ethnic groups considered to be the original inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent.

Musharraf, Pervez

(1943-2023) Pakistani general; he overthrew the elected government of Pakistan in 1999 and became president, serving until 2008.

Battle of Plassey

1757 Battle that established British control over India

Mother Teresa

1910-1997. Roman Catholic nun who founded Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India in 1950. Ministered to sick, poor, orphaned, and dying for over 40 years. Received Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2005.

Mountbatten, Lord Louis

1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma was a British statesman, naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Last Viceroy of India. He oversaw the transfer of power from Britain to India and Pakistan in 1947.

Wangchuck, Jigme Dorji

3rd Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan. He began to open Bhutan to the outside world, began modernization, and took the first step towards democratization.

Bay of Bengal

A Bay that the Ganges River flows into, North of the Indian Ocean, On the eastern side of India, South of Tibet, West of China

Balochistan

A southwestern province of Pakistan, as well as the desert/mountain region that it's located in-- contains southwestern Pakistan and southeastern Iran

Khan, Abdul Qadeer

Abdul Qadeer Khan, NI, HI, FPAS, known as A. Q. Khan, was a Pakistani nuclear physicist and metallurgical engineer who is colloquially known as the "father of Pakistan's atomic weapons program"

Huq, A.K. Fazlul

Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq, popularly known as Sher-e-Bangla, was a Bengali lawyer and politician who presented the Lahore Resolution which had the objective of creating an independent Pakistan. He also served as the first and longest Prime Minister of Bengal during the British Raj.

Hume, Allan Octavian

Allan Octavian Hume, CB ICS was a British political reformer, ornithologist, civil servant and botanist who worked in British India. He supported the idea of self-governance by Indians and founded the Indian National Congress.

Subbulakshmi, Madurai Shanmukhavadivu

M. S. Subbulakshmi - Indian Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor.

Mahendra, King

Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev was the King of Nepal from 13 March 1955 until his death in 1972,

Rajapaksa, Mahinda

Mahinda Rajapaksa is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022.

Didi, Muhammad Amin

Maldivian politician. He served as the first president of the Maldives and as the head of government between January 1, 1953, and August 21, 1953.

Ambedkar, Dr. Bhim Rao (1891-1956)

Ambedkar was the most important leader of India's untouchables. A brilliant lawyer and economist, Ambedkar surmounted many difficulties to obtain an education in India, England, and the United States. He led both Dalits and workers in movements to obtain social and political rights. Ambedkar never had a close or easy relationship with the Indian National Congress. Ambedkar is also justly revered for his important role in drafting and enacting the Indian Constitution.

Muhammad

Arab prophet; founder of religion of Islam.

Kalam, Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam BR was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the 11th president of India from 2002 to 2007.

Modi, Narendra

BJP - Prime Minister of India since 2014, and former successful and controversial Chief Minister (governor) of the state of Gujarat

Vajpayee, Atal Bihari

BJP prime minister of India, 1998-99.

Zafar, Bahadur Shah (1775-1862)

Bahadur Shah II, usually referred to by his poetic title Bahadur Shah Zafar, was the twentieth and last Mughal emperor, as well as an Urdu poet.

Wazed, Sheikh Hasina (1947-)

Bangladeshi politician who has served as the prime minister of Bangladesh since January 2009.

Koirala, B.P.

Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala, better known as B. P. Koirala, was a Nepali revolutionary, political leader, and writer. He was the Prime Minister of Nepal from 1959 to 1960.

Curzon, Lord

British conservative politician and writer who served as Viceroy of India from 1899 to 1905.

Ponnambalam, G.G.

Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and cabinet minister. He was the founder and leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, the first political party to represent the Ceylon Tamils

Kumaratunga, Chandrika

Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, commonly referred to by her initials CBK, is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the fifth President of Sri Lanka, from 12 November 1994 to 19 November 2005.

Radcliffe, Cyril

Cyril John Radcliffe, 1st Viscount Radcliffe, GBE, PC, FBA was a British lawyer and Law Lord best known for his role in the Partition of India

Gandhi, Indira

Daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru (no relation to Mahatma Gandhi); installed as a figurehead prime minister by the Congress Party bosses in 1966; a strong-willed and astute politician, she soon became the central figure in India politics, a position she maintained through the 1970s and passed on to her sons.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Elongated chain of islands in Bay of Bengal, bigger and more numerous than Lakshadweep Islands

Bandaranaike, Sirimavo

First female prime minister of Sri Lanka (Ceylon)

Ahimsa

Hindu belief in nonviolence and reverence for all life

Annapurna

Hindu goddess of food and cooking

Guatama Siddhartha (Buddha)

Hindu prince who founded Buddhism

Ershad, Hussain Muhammad

Hussain Muhammad Ershad was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the president of Bangladesh from 1983 to 1990, a time many consider to have been a military dictatorship.

Nasir, Ibrahim

Ibrahim Nasir was sworn in as the second President of the independent Republic of Maldives on 11 November 1968. He was the mastermind behind the genocide in Havaru Thinadhoo.

Khan, Imran

Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi is a Pakistani former cricketer and politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

Indian People's Party; Hindu nationalist party that governed from 1998 to 2004

Tata, J.R.D.

Indian aviator, industrialist, entrepreneur and chairman of Tata Group.

Bangalore

Indian city that is home to many high-tech industries

Patel, Vallabhbhai

Indian independence nationalist and barrister who served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of India from 1947 to 1950.

Bose, Subhas Chandra

Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan left a legacy vexed by authoritarianism, anti-Semitism, and military failure.

Chawla, Kalpana

Kalpana Chawla was an Indian-born American astronaut and aerospace engineer who was the first woman of Indian origin to fly to space in 1997

Islam, Kazi Nazrul

Kazi Nazrul Islam, popularly known as Nazrul, was a Bengali poet, writer, musician, and is revered as the national poet of Bangladesh. 1899-1976

Zia, Khaleda

Khaleda Zia is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the prime minister of Bangladesh from March 1991 to March 1996, and again from June 2001 to October 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Bangladesh.

Didi, Muhammad Fareed

King Muhammad Fareed Didi KCMG, the son of the Sultan Prince Abdul Majeed Didi, was the last Sultan of Maldives and the first Maldivian monarch to assume the title of "King" with the style of "His Majesty". He was the Sultan of the Maldives from March 7, 1954, until November 11, 1968.

Vivekananda, Swami

Leading religious figure of nineteenth-century India (1863-1902); advocate of a revived Hinduism and its mission to reach out to the spiritually impoverished West.

Khan, Liaquat Ali

Liaquat Ali Khan was a Pakistani lawyer, politician and statesman who served as the first prime minister of Pakistan from 1947 until his assassination in 1951.

Sharif, Nawaz

Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms.

Yousafzai, Malala (1997-)

Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate at the age of 17. She is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate.

Awami League

Political party dedicated to East Pakistan's independence from West Pakistan

Patil, Pratibha

Prathibha Devisingh Patil is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the 12th president of India from 2007 to 2012. She was the first woman to become the president of India.

Tagore, Rabindranath (1861-1941)

Rabindranath Tagore FRAS was an Indian poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter.

Gandhi, Rajiv

Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India from 1984 until 1989. Rajiv was the son of Indira Gandhi and the grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru. He took up the reins of power when his mother was assassinated in 1984. Rajiv was assassinated in 1991.

Bharata

Rama's half brother who governs in his stead during his exile.

Shankar, Ravi

Ravi Shankar, KBE, LH was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known expert of North Indian classical music in the second half of the 20th century.

Rokeya, Begum (1880-1932)

Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, commonly known as Begum Rokeya, was a prominent Bengali feminist thinker, writer, educator, professor, teacher and women empowerment and political activist for Muslim girls.

Naidu, Sarojini

Sarojini Naidu was an Indian political activist and poet. She was the former Governor of Uttar Pradesh. A proponent of civil rights, women's emancipation, and anti-imperialism, she played an important role in the Indian independence movement against the British Raj.

Sharif, Shehbaz

Shehbaz Sharif is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 23rd prime minister of Pakistan, in office from April 2022 to August 2023.

Rahman, Sheikh Mujibur (1920-1975)

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the founder of Bangladesh. Mujib restored Bengali sovereignty after over two centuries following the Battle of Plassey in 1757. He first served as the titular president of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh between April 1971 and January 1972.

Iqbal, Mohammad

Sir Muhammad Iqbal, was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, and politician, whose poetry in the Urdu language is considered among the greatest of the twentieth century

Khan, Sayyid Ahmad

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan KCSI FRAS, also spelled Sayyid Ahmad Khan, was a South Asian Muslim reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British India.

Jones, William (1746-1794)

Sir William Jones FRS FRAS FRSE was a British philologist, orientalist and a puisne judge on the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal, and a scholar of ancient India.

Ghose, Aurobindo

Sri Aurobindo was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as Vande Mataram. 1872-1950

Adam's Bridge

Sri Lanka

Nanak, Guru

The founder of Sikhism (1469-1539).

Bhagavad Gita

The most important work of Indian sacred literature, a dialogue between the great warrior Arjuna and the god Krishna on duty and the fate of the spirit.

Bhutto, Benazir

Twice prime minister of Pakistan in the 1980s and 1990s; first ran for office to avenge her father's execution by the military clique then in power.

Gandhi, Mohandas K.

Usually referred to by his soubriquet "Mahatma" (Great Soul), Gandhi (1869-1948) was a political leader and the undoubted spiritual leader of the Indian drive for independence from Great Britain.

Prabhakaran, Velupillai (1954-2009)

Velupillai Prabhakaran, was an Eelam Tamil revolutionary. Prabhakaran was a major figure of Tamil nationalism, and the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Bengal Famine of 1943

Was a major famine of the Bengal province in British India during World War II. An estimated 2.1-3 million, out of a population of 60.3 million, died of starvation, or of malaria and other diseases aggravated by malnutrition, population displacement, unsanitary conditions and lack of health care. Millions were impoverished as the crisis overwhelmed large segments of the economy and social fabric. Historians have frequently characterized the famine as "man-made," asserting that wartime colonial policies created and then exacerbated the crisis. A minority view holds that the famine arose from natural causes.

Rahman, Ziaur

Ziaur Rahman is a Bangladeshi chess player who received the FIDE title of Grandmaster in 2002.

Bhutan

a Buddhist kingdom on the Himalayas' eastern edge, is known for its monasteries, fortresses (or dzongs) and dramatic landscapes that range from subtropical plains to steep mountains and valleys. Capitol is Thimphu.

Arunachal Pradesh

a state in north-east India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987.

Bihar

a state of northeastern India where the 24 Tirthankaras were said to have lived and 20 found enlightenment. For most of its history Jainism was found only in and around Bihar.

Black July

anti-Tamil pogrom (genocide) that occurred in Sri Lanka during July 1983.

Bandaranaike, Solomon (SWRD)

known by the Sri Lankan people as "The Silver Bell of Asia" was the fourth Prime Minister of the Dominion of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), serving from 1956 until his assassination in 1959, causing him to die in office. The founder of the left-wing and Sinhalese nationalist Sri Lanka Freedom Party, his tenure saw the country's first left-wing reforms.

Nepal

officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Capital is Kathmandu.

Pakistan

officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of 241.5 million people, and has the world's largest Muslim population as of year 20. Capitol is Islamabad.

India

officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia and a sub-continent. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country as of June 2023. Capital is New Delhi.

Maldives

officially the Republic of Maldives, is an archipelagic state and country in South Asia, situated in the Indian Ocean. It lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 750 kilometres from the Asian continent's mainland. Capital is Malé.

Amritsar Massacre (1919)

over 10,000 Indians gathered in a peaceful rally were killed or wounded by British troops that were ordered to open fire on the unarmed crowd in order to disperse it

Bhutto, Zulfaqir Ali

prime minister of Pakistan (1971-77) who made concessions to the Islamists but was overthrown by the more devout Zia ul-Haqq.

Assam

state in northeastern India known for its wildlife, archeological sites and tea plantations.

Zardari, Asif Ali (1955-)

the president of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party. He served as the 11th president of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013. Husband of Benazir Bhutto until her assassination.

Bangladesh

to the east of India on the Bay of Bengal, is a South Asian country marked by lush greenery and many waterways. Capital is Dhaka.

Bhola Cyclone 1970

tropical depression from tropical storm remnants, av wind speed 140mph, category 4, 6-10m storm surge, no evacuation order - did not see it as a threat (only after landfall, many didn't evacuate) 500,000 did, 85% homes destroyed, 130mm flooding, 65% fishing capacity destroyed. 3.6million affected, $86.4 million 1970 USD damage, cholera, diarrhoea. 3months after 75% ppl receiving food relief lack of understanding of magnitude 7 cyclones 1970-198 = delayed relief efforts masses of international relief - USA+$10mil, UNICEF=water relief etc. slow transportation, refused military support due to political disputes. now cyclone shelters+preparedness programs