why is india called a subcontinent?????

India along with its neighbours is called as a subcontinent due to the presence of certain unique geographical factors. While the area of the landmass is smaller than a continent, the diverse physical, topographical, climatic, cultural, ethnic, linguistic features distinguish it as a subcontinent. The physical and topographical features include Himalayan mountains, Northern plains, Deccan Plateau, Western Ghats, coastal plains, islands and delta regions. Climatic variations include extremely cold regions in mountains to hot deserts and tropical climate. Monsoons are another unique feature of this part of the world. The rich biodiversity, particularly in Himalayas and the Western Ghats along with a wide variety of species of flora and fauna make this region very different from other places. People of different ethincity and culture who also speak different languages live in this region. Thus, the region appears to encompass the features of many nationalities at a single place. This unique development has to a large extent been made possible by the Himalayas that have isolated this landmass from the rest of Asia. These characteristics have led to the coinage of the term sub-continent to highlight its diversity.