Indian Decolonization

1947-Present

India and Britain

• India supported Allies during WWI, GB promised eventual self-rule in return; did not give it

• Indian National Congress staged protests after WWI, but divided by religion: Hindu and Muslim

• British passed laws that could arrest and jail nationalists without trial

• April 1919, Amritsar Massacre– Brits declared all large gatherings illegal– 10,000 unarmed Indians gathered in walled garden ,

British troops blocked only exit and fired; 400 dead (many children), 1200 injured

• Indians shocked and more determined to rid British control

Gandhi

• Mohandas K. GandhiMohandas K. Gandhi, after massacre became leading nationalist– Educated in GB– Passive resistance, civil

disobedience: boycotted British goods, refused to pay taxes, disregarded British laws

– Used ahimsaahimsa (nonviolence) and satyagrahasatyagraha (search for truth)

– Tried to improve status of untouchables

– Called Mahatma “Great soul”– Boycotted British cloth, spun cloth

30 minutes a day and always wore homespun clothes, symbol of INC became spinning wheel

Salt

• Indian workers needed salt to replace what they lost in sweat daily

• British controlled salt mines and ocean salt fields, heavily taxed all salt

• 1930, Gandhi staged a march to the sea

• British did not arrest him, but did arrest thousands of followers

• Continued throughout the 1930s

Government of India Act

• 1935, passed by Parliament• Gave provincial legislatures control over

agriculture, health, public works• GB remained in control of national laws,

finance, defense, foreign affairs• Most nationalists rejected, but INC at

urging of Gandhi, accepted it as first step toward full independence

Hindu-Muslim Relations

• As independence grew nearer, Muslims worried about how they would be treated by Hindus, formed Muslim League, headed by Mohammed Mohammed Ali JinnahAli Jinnah, demanded separate Muslim nation

• Hindus led by Jawaharlal Jawaharlal NehruNehru, wanted united India

• Gandhi greatly concerned about split

Independence and Division

• 1947, after WWII, British agreed to give India independence

• Riots between Hindus and Muslims convinced GB to partition India into India (Hindu) and Pakistan (Muslim)

• August 15, 1947: Independence for both countries– Mass migration of 12 million

between India and Pakistan– 1 Million died in violence between

religious groups – Gandhi killed by Hindu extremist

angered by Gandhi’s call for peace and reconciliation

– More than 60 million Muslims remained in India

Independent India

• Democratic government with an elected legislature, led by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru (1947 until his death in 1964)– Wanted modern, industrialized state with religious freedom and

social equality• Universal suffrage• Ban caste distinctions• Improve status of women

– Mixed economy; private and government owned– Non-alignmentNon-alignment: tied to neither superpower

Doctors in India protesting

affirmative action against caste

system

Nehru “Dynasty”

• After Nehru’s death, his daughter Indira Gandhi became PM– Continued father’s policies– Accused of violating election laws,

forced to resign in 1977– Returned to office in 1980, but

ethnic unrest in Punjab region of N. India

• Sikhs wanted own state, occupied shrine in Punjab, Gandhi ordered troops to get them out

• Gandhi assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguard

• Her son, Rajiv Gandhi was PM from 1984-89, but assassinated in 1991

India since 1991

• Struggle with poverty, disease, illiteracy– Free compulsory education through age 14, 52% literacy

rate– Religious freedoms, but still differences caused by revival

of traditional Hinduism in wake of modernization– Five-Year plans helped boost economy

Pakistan

• India has fought three wars with Pakistan; 1947, 1965, 1971

• Both claimed Kashmir region; Hindu prince ruled mostly Muslim population

• Indian troops helped Bangladesh break away from Pakistan in 1971

• Both nations worked to develop nuclear weapons, 1998 both successfully tested nuclear bombs

• 1999 Indian and Pakistani PMs met and relations became less tense