Download Ch 12 Section 4 Terms

Ch 12 Section 4 Terms
From “Ghandi & India’s
Independence” DVD
Indian Nationalism/Hindu
Nationalism
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Indian nationalists called for South Asia’s
independence from the British. The
movement was dominated by the British
educated elite (upper/middle class) who
were divided about what direction an
independent India should take (some
favored modernization; some wanted to
hold onto traditional Hindu values – they
were called Hindu Nationalists).
INC/Mohandas Gandhi/Muslim
League…
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The Indian National Congress: (INC) worked for
independence, at first peacefully & at times
aggressively.
Mohandas Gandhi - (Hindu) took over the INC in
1920.
Muslim League: grew out of concern that an
independent South Asia would be dominated by
Hindus, whom they didn’t always trust. Lead by
Muhammad Jinnah who called for the creation of
2 independent nations – one for Hindus and one
for Muslims.
Mohandas Gandhi…
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Gandhi was a middle-class Hindu who
became a lawyer & worked for a time in
South Africa. There he developed a method
of nonviolent resistance called “satyagraha”
which aimed to educate the British and the
world about the injustices of Imperialism,
thus causing the British to see the error of
their ways (“convert the wrongdoer”) and
end their control of India.
Gandhi continued…
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Gandhi believed civil disobedience (the
refusal to obey unjust laws) would be more
effective than war. He called on the people
of South Asia follow a policy of noncooperation with the British (called “Quit
India”) which eventually wore down the
British & by 1945 plans were made to end
British rule in South Asia.
Gandhi’s appeal…
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Because of some of the beliefs of Hinduism,
it was difficult to rally the Hindus of South
Asia to work for their freedom. Gandhi
appealed to Hindus of all classes. His
“March to the Sea” (aka “Salt March”)
catapulted him into the national spot light &
made him a significant leader in the
independence movement.
Amritsar Massacre…
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Not everyone was devoted to peaceful negotiations
to achieve independence. The British often used
force against the Indian people. In April of 1919 a
large, peaceful gathering occurred in the
northwestern city of Amritsar. British troops
opened fire on the peaceful crowd & killed close to
400 & injured over 1,000 (“Amritsar Massacre”).
This was a turning point b/c it deepened distrust
for the British & led some Indians to call for
violent resistance.
Independence for South Asia…
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By 1946 as independence approached, the
Hindus & Muslims were conflicted over
how the new government would look.
Widespread rioting led the British to pass
the Indian Independence Act to end British
rule in India. The Act also partitioned the
subcontinent into 2 separate nations: Hindu
dominated India; & Muslim dominated
Pakistan.
Impact of WWII on Gr. Britain
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“The collapse of British imperial power - all but complete by the mid-1960s can be traced directly to the impact of World War Two.
The catastrophic British defeats in Europe and Asia between 1940 and 1942
destroyed its financial and economic independence, the real foundation of the
imperial system.
Britain had survived the war, but its wealth, prestige and authority had been
severely reduced. It also erased the old balance of power on which British
security - at home and abroad - had largely depended.
Although Britain was one of the victorious allies, the defeat of Germany had
been mainly the work of Soviet and American power, while that of Japan had
been an almost entirely American triumph.
Britain had survived and recovered the territory lost during the war. But its
prestige and authority, not to mention its wealth, had been severely reduced
and in 1947 Britain withdrew from India.”
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Excerpt from BBC History
Partition of British India
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Radcliffe Line - The Radcliffe Line became the international border
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between India and both West Pakistan, that included East Pakistan. The line divided
Bengal into Indian held West Bengal and East Bengal which later became Bangladesh.
The line was decided by the Border Commissions headed by Sir Cyril Radcliffe, who was
to divide equitably 175,000 square miles of territory with 88 million people.
The line took effect on 17 August 1947 after the Partition of India. When the partition
was implemented, there were some problems, for example, some areas that were mostly
Muslim were given to India & vice versa. Also – sometimes the line divided villages, so
one part of the village was in each country. At other instances, it went through houses, so
that different rooms of the same house were in different countries
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http://www.slideshare.net/jcrowder/partition-of-india
Independence continued…
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August 15, 1947 – date of India’s
independence.
Muhammad Jinnah became governor
general of Pakistan;
Jawaharlal Nehru became India’s Prime
Minister.
Partition led to civil war as millions of
people struggled to move to their newly
designated areas of self-rule & over half
million people died.
Independence continued…
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Gandhi was sickened by the violence b/c he
favored one nation with a democratic government
that would serve both Hindus and Muslims;
January 1948 – Gandhi is assassinated by a Hindu
extremist Nathram Godse.
Godse was executed on 11-15-49 with 1 coconspirator.
India & Pakistan’s relationship has never been a
positive one as you will see when you finish
reading section 4. Both nations have nuclear
weapons & have come to the brink of war on
several occasions.