It is only because of political sensitivities that some call it 'South Asian Subcontinent' or 'South Asia', some term it 'Indo-Pak Subcontinent' and some refer to it as 'Indian subcontinent'.

South Asia's religions suggest that South Asia and Indian Subcontinent is one and the same thing. Both the terms - 'South Asia' and 'Indian subcontinent' are used in an interchangeable manner. The Indian subcontinent is one of Asia's regions, which is located on the Indian tectonic plate. This territory was once a part of Jammu and Kashmir's British Indian princely state, but is Xinjiang's Chinese autonomous regions' administered part. The region might also include Aksai Chin's disputed territory. Afghanistan is also a part of the Indian Subcontinent. The other continents of Asia have different geographical and climatic features. The climatic conditions of each of these seven countries match because they are joined together geographically. These regions were initially India's part, but were separated because of political or geographical reasons. This group, when combined together, form the Indian subcontinent. India is not the only part of Indian subcontinent, but other SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries - Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Maldives - are also a part of the Indian subcontinent. Later after separations, it became Asia's part, but the area is separated by the Himalayan region. However, originally, India was a continent with large landmass. Even though it might have all the features required to be a continent, it cannot be called as one because it is not that big as it should be. India is also referred as a subcontinent because of its distinct landmass.

A place can be determined as a subcontinent only when it belongs to a continent, but is politically or geographically a separate entity or when it is smaller compared to a continent.

Google maps sri lanka