Meanwhile, supported by aid from China and the Soviet Union, North Vietnam strengthened its air defenses. By November 1967, the number of American troops in Vietnam was approaching 500,000, and U.S. casualties had reached 15,058 killed and 109,527 wounded.
The seven independent countries of the region are India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri. Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives. India has been the central core of this region both physically and. culturally. The other countries form the peripheral region that has been influenced historically. and politically by the core for many centuries. South Asia is located at the southern extremity of.
The ancient diamond shaped country of India, the largest region of the Indian Subcontinent, extends from the Himalayan Mountains in the north and south into the tropical reaches of the Indian Ocean. With a population of 1,220,800,359 (2013 est), India is the most populous country in the world, and certainly one of the most intriguing. This diverse and fertile country, which once included the lands of today's Bangladesh and Pakistan, was plundered over eons of time.