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 Himalayas | Tallest mountains on earth separate Indian subcontinent from China |
| Hindu Kush | Rugged mountains located in Afghanistan |
| Khyber Pass | Used as a trade route through the Hindu Kush |
| Vindhya Mountains | Located in north central India |
| Ghats | Located on the east and west coasts of India |
| Subcontinent | Large land mass that is smaller than a continent |
| Indus | Term that means river, and the source of the name India |
| Thar Desert | Located in northwest India |
| Monsoon | A seasonal wind that dominates the climate of South Asia |
| Dialect | A regional version of a language with its own words, expressions, and pronunciations |
| Decipher | Determine the meaning of something (writing) |
| Rajahs | Hereditary chiefs who ruled villages |
| Varna | Term used to explain the divisions of people into four classes |
| Caste | Social groups based on birth |
| Brahman | Single supreme force that is nameless, formless and unlimited |
| Reincarnation | Rebirth of the soul in various forms after the body dies. |
| Karma | The idea that every deed in this life will affect a person's fate in a future life |
| Dharma | Duties or obligations that must be performed as part of a caste |
| Dynasty | A ruling family of a nation |
| Stupas | Shrines containing remains of the Buddha |
| Sultans | Rulers who governed much of northern and central India from 1200-1500 |
| Purdah | The way higher caste system women lived in complete seclusion (veils over their faces and rarely left home) |
| Monopoly | Complete control over a market or product |
| Sepoys | Indian troops who served in the British military |
| satyagraha | truth force |
| civil disobediance | the refusal to obey unjust laws |
| parliamentary democracy | government ruled democratically by a national representative body that has supreme legislative powers |
| coalition | ruling alliance of several political parties |
| tenant farmer | people who rent land from large landowners and pay the owner a portion of their crops |
| land reform | redistributing land |
| cottage industry | small businesses run from home |
| infant mortality | rate of which babies die |