Transcript Indian Subcontinent get Independence

1.
Long-standing cultural and religious differences and conflicts are still evident
in the post-colonial world.
3. The end of World War II led to the ending of colonization, the creation of new
countries and conflict between the superpowers for influence.
Indian Subcontinent get Independence
1. Final exam essay – Thursday, Jan 5– see website for final exam essay questions on
the top of the important course documents page. Please Complete Graphic
organizer for each of the three essays. You may use this completed g.o. on the day of
the final.
2. Complete Asia map – packet page 1
3. Complete p 4 to review homework
4. Read p 5 – First Servant of the Indian People - Nehru
A. identify the purpose for the speech,
B. list the economic problems India faced,
C. list the solutions Nehru proposes.
D. What role does he suggest the regular Indian citizen must play?
5. Online, read current events about the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka) What are the current conflicts? What is the current
political, religious and demographic situation? Where are there examples of the
results or effects of colonialism and the above EU’s? Why should we care?
6. Work on Core 2
Decolonization
• Decolonization—the
process by which a colony
gains independence from
an imperial power
• Why?
– Imperial powers began
to rethink the cost of
maintaining their
colonies after World
War II
– People in the colonies
began to realize their
rulers were not
unbeatable
India
•
Jewel in the Crown, Sepoy Mutiny, Rowlatt Acts, Amritsar Massacre –
key events in the early independence movement during the 19th
century.
1 - Mohandas Gandhi – leader of the independence movement who
promoted non-violence resistance to achieve political ends through
satyagraha.
– Goals – independence, equality for Hindus and Muslims, improved
standards of living for the untouchables
• Britain commits India’s armed forces to World War II without first
consulting the colony’s elected representatives
– Indians unhappy that they were not consulted
– Indians believe that if they fight for the principles of the Atlantic
Charter, that they should then have the same rights to selfdetermination - independence
• Gandhi leads the Quit India movement
• Britain calls into question the very basis of imperialism  Was it
acceptable to take by force the land and resources of another nation in
order to enrich the imperial nation?
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India
Indian National Congress (Congress Party)—national political party,
claimed to represent all of India
Muslim League—founded to protect Muslim interests in India
2 - Concerned that the INC would only promote interests of
Hindus
India in the 1940s had approximately 350 million Hindus and 100
million Muslims
Muslim League proposed the partition of India along religious
lines, much to the dismay of Gandhi who wanted a united and
multi-religious country
Britain supported partition, grants India independence in 1947
Mass migrations and killings precede independence
How does the information on this slide and the history of Indian
Independence support the understanding that : Long-standing cultural
and religious differences and conflicts are still evident in the postcolonial world.
India
3 - Problems to be solved before Independence on
August 15, 1947 –
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What about courts?
Who will be part of the civil service?
What should be the structure of the military?
How will so many people be transported once
partition occurs?
Violent fighting between Hindus and Muslims as
partitioning occurred and each group wants as
much land as possible.
4 - Cease-fire brokered by the UN led to the division of the Kashmir region – 1/3 to Pakistan
and 2/3 to India – and so began the largest migration in the history of the world 0- over 12
million people relocated
- Gandhi was assassinated by Hindu for promoting Muslim rights and equality
5 - Jawaharlal Nehru, first prime minister of India attempted to modernize India:
a. Social reforms
b. Industrialization
c. Ending the caste system
d. Promoted rights for women
- Today—more than 1 billion people, issues of social inequality (caste system); Indian industry is
on the rise, new oil and coal resources have been discovered, scientific and technical education
6 – creation of Bangladesh
A. 6 - East and West Pakistan were both Islamic, but the people were
culturally, linguistically and ethnically different.
B. East Pakistan was governed from Islamabad in West Pakistan, but
felt that its needs and interests were being neglected.
C. For 24 years after independence the Bengalis organized, used
elections and protests to achieve better political and economic
conditions.
D. In 1971 the protests got very heated and the Pakistani Army
attempted quell the protests through force.
E. Bengali freedom fighters fought hard, and India came in on the
side of the Bengalis militarily, diplomatically and politically.
F. Pakistan gave up so…
G. East Pakistan became independent from West Pakistan and
adopted the name of Bangladesh – “Country of Bengalis.”
H. Another big area of conflict is over Kashmir
India faced big problems
After the Nehru era, when India led the non-aligned movement of 3rd world countries,
India faced big problems:
1. Population growth
2. Poverty
3. Growing an economy in a very poor country
4. Ethnic conflict
5. Religious conflict
6. Managing its role in the world during the Cold War while bordering both the
USSR and China while staying friendly with the US
7- Indira Gandhi, the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru but no relation to MK Gandhi, was the
first and only woman to be prime minister of India. She governed from 1966 to 1977
and then again from 1980 to her assassination at the hands of her Sikh bodyguards as
a result of her direction of military force against Sikh separatists in the North west
state of Punjab.
Big issues were economic growth, the position of India during the Cold War, Conflict
with Pakistan, but mostly the issue of Sikh extremists who wanted their own
autonomy in the Punjab – North West India.
8- Sri Lanka
1. Mixing Sinhalese Buddhists and Tamil
Hindus, Sri Lanka has a religio-ethnic
conflict.
2. The conflict was greatly exacerbated
by British colonial policy that
elevated the minority Tamils political
and economically over the majority
Sinhalese
3. In 1971, conflict between Tamils and
Sinhalese began violently in earnest.
4. The civil war continues until 2009
when the Tamil tiger Rebels were
defeated by government forces