Greater India

Regions highlighted in dark orange are the Indian subcontinent. Regions highlighted in light orange are places with lots of cultural ties to India. Regions highlighted in yellow are places with significant historical and/or current Indian cultural influence.

Greater India (sometimes known as the Indian cultural sphere) are places that have been influenced by Indian culture. These areas include places like South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Tibet. Even despite the fact that Vietnam is part of Southeast Asia, Northern Vietnam has mainly been part of the Sinosphere. This is because it was influenced by Chinese culture.

Overview

In Southeast Asia, countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia were mainly influenced. Also, countries like Malaysia and Indonesia were influenced by Islam. However, Vietnam for the most part was part of the Sinosphere since it had been influenced by China. The exception for this was in the Southern part of Vietnam, as it was influenced by the Champa Empire and Khmer Empire.

Historically speaking, these regions were culturally similar. They had similarities in music, philosophy, literature, political systems, architecture, and religion (Hinduism and Buddhism).