Here's a request posted on the SAJA students mailing list (it's mentions French, Mexico and Pakistan in one para!). If you can help, please post your answers/thoughts/analysis in the comments section below.
This is sort of a random question, but does anyone know where, when, and by whom the English term "South Asia" first emerged? My friend in Mexico who is writing her undergraduate thesis on Pakistan wants to mention it as an aside, as to whether such categories reflect geopolitical reasoning. In comparison, she mentioned that in French, they say "Asie Meridionale" and thinks this reflects a different view/history with the subcontinent.
Please post below. Thanks.
