The Independence of India
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Transcript The Independence of India
What is now
India
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Sri Lanka
India was a colony of
Great Britain
1757-1857 India is run by the East India Tea Company
1858-1947 British Government rules India using royal
governors and viceroys
British use raw materials
from India to build their
Empire
INC – Indian National Congress
Formed in 1885
Mostly Hindu
After independence, became India’s main political party
Muslim League
Formed in 1906
Political party in Pakistan and Bangladesh
More than 1 million Indian troops
serve in British Army during war
Indian wheat and cotton used in
war effort
1917 British promise to work
toward self-government
(same year as the Balfour
Declaration)
Why did Indians call for independence after World
War I?
Indians felt that the British did not deliver the
significant reforms promised during the war as
acknowledged for their services. Amritsar massacre
intensified dissatisfication.
Harsh laws enacted after
WWI leading to many arrests
British pit Hindus vs. Muslims
In Amritsar, all large gatherings are banned
British threaten to use force
10,000 unarmed demonstrators in walled garden
Local British commander decides to set example
Blocks entrance and opens fire when crowd doesn’t leave
400 Dead, 1200 Wounded
Increased desire for Independence, lacked unity.
Known as “The Mahatma” (great soul)
Born in 1869 (4 yrs after Civil War)
Family was middle class, Hindu
Married at 13 in an arranged marriage
Went to college in London, became a lawyer
1893-1914 lives in South Africa and fights against
apartheid
Returns to India during WW I and begins “fighting”
for independence
Pacifism
Civil Disobedience
Henry David Thoreau
Martin Luther King Jr.
Nelson Mandela
Joins with INC to work toward Indian independence
Urged “non-c00peration”
Ahimsa, nonviolence and reverence of life, “love”
Arrested in 1922 for sedition, served 2 years
Series of arrests and hunger strikes
Fought to end harsh treatment of Untouchables, members
of the lowest class
Urged Indians to boycott British
made goods
Only wore Homespun clothing,
symbol during protests was the
spinning wheel
Believed that denying British the
profits of colonialism would lead
to independence
1930 – Protest against salt tax
charged to citizens
Marched 240 miles to the sea to
make salt
British arrest 60,000
What methods did Indians under Gandhi use to resist
British rule?
They staged boycotts and other nonviolent protests.
They increased their own industries so India would be
more self-sufficient.
What did the salt march symbolize?
Indian protest against oppression.
1935 – Government of India Act
Increased suffrage
Limited self-government
Hindu – Muslim Disputes
Hindus outnumbered Muslims 3-1
Controlled 7 out of 11 provinces
Muslims wanted a separate country
INC led by Jawarharal Nehru and Gandhi wanted one
united India
British agree to grant independence
after WW II
Violence continues between Hindus
and Muslims
1947 Independence achieved
India
West Pakistan and East Pakistan
Migration ensued, over 100,000 deaths
India
2nd most populated country – over 1 Billion People
Economic power
US imports many Indian goods
Many US jobs outsourced to India (technology)
Nuclear Weapons
Pakistan
US Ally?
Home of Bin Laden?
Nuclear Weapons