The Indian subcontinent (also known as South Asia) is a large section of the Asian continent consisting of countries lying substantially on the Indian tectonic plate. These include countries on the continental crust (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal), an island country on the continental shelf (Sri Lanka), and another island country rising above the oceanic crust (the Maldives). The term subcontinent signifies "having a certain geographical or political independence" from the rest of the continent, or "a vast and more or less self-contained subdivision of a continent." See "Geography" below for definition of "subcontinent".