Definition of Indian subcontinent

This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia. For geopolitical treatments, see South Asia.

The Indian subcontinent is a large section of the Asian continent consisting of countries lying substantially on the Indian tectonic plate. These include countries on the continental crust—  India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and parts of Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan, island countries on the continental shelf—Sri Lanka, and island countries rising above the oceanic crust—Maldives. The term subcontinent signifies "having a certain geographical or political independence" from the rest of the continent, or "a vast and more or less self-contained subdivision of a continent." There is no agreement on what constitutes a subcontinent.