Indian Vs Asian – Idea of Continents

Recently, when Rishi Sunak was elected as Prime Minister of the UK, he was referred to as the first British Prime Minister of Asian origin. Now many people didn’t consider him as “Asian” – because they think of East Asians when they hear  the word Asian. Asia is the biggest continent with so many ethnicities, cultures and civilizations. Then, why is Asian imagined as East & Southeast Asians? And, what exactly defines a continent?

In the West, ethnicity is correlated with the continent. So, a White person is from Europe and a Black person is from Africa. This leaves Asia being identified with someone who looks East Asian. Thus, ethnicity is wrongly connected with a continent.

Now, the whole idea of modern continents is a western concept. A continent is roughly defined as a geographical landmass divided by water and thus forms a cultural sphere. Ancient Greeks considered the Aegean Sea as the centre of the world, and so anything to its west was Europe, south is Libya, that is Africa, and to its East is Asia. Original Asia was modern Anatolia, which is the Asian part of modern-day Turkey. Europe and Asia were divided by the Phasis River & the Black Sea, while Asia and Africa were divided by the river Nile.

Aegean Sea as the centre of the world

The ancient Indian counterpart of continents was the Dvipa – a landmass divided by water from two sides or an island. Indians imagine India as Jambudvipa – meaning Jambul fruit-shaped island. The Shakadvipa is believed to be Central Asia, where the Scythians lived. But the Indian idea of a continent is not as definite, apart from the Indian subcontinent, all other continents can be allegories for spiritual and supernatural realms.

Technically Asia should be broken into many continents based on cultures, like the Indian subcontinent, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Central Asia. But, due to migration and invasions, there can’t be a clear distinction making the idea of ethnicity and continent completely subjective.

Subscribe to Prav Yav Nav's YouTube channel, and follow this blog for content on History, Mythology, Fiction, Food & Culture.