HIST 1324/8/13

Decolonization andNation Building

After 1858, emphasis on reducing ethnic, religious, and social divisions - Pan-Indian nationalism

Combined Western ideas with traditional practices

Many nationalists came from growing middle class, merchants and manufacturing.

Indian Nationalism

Deep economic divisions Rural: peasants – landowners – moneylenders – maharajahs

(princes) Urban: urban poor – laborers – craftsmen – merchants

Language: 1,652 dialects spoken in India, 122 spoken by more than 10,000 people, 29 spoken by more than 1 million

English as language of upper classReligion:

Hinduism: division into 100s of occupational castes

Muslims: had ruled before British; ¼ of population

Gender

Barriers to Indian Nationalism

Colonial India governed by a British viceroyIndian Civil Service: primarily BritishEncouraged industrialization which benefited British rule (railroads, telegraphs, etc.)Discouraged industrialization which would benefit India (cotton and steel industries, limited training of Indians, etc.)

British Rule and Industrialization

Despite famine and droughts (killing 2 million people from 1896-1900 alone), India’s population exploded.

1900 = 250 million; 1941 = 389 millionPopulation growth placed new economic pressures on IndiaDespite deforestation and irrigation, not enough land available for peasantsLandless peasants moved to the cities, but there weren’t enough jobsConditions difficult for both rural and urban lower class.

India at the turn of the 20th century

Many Indians accepted British ruleDid not accept British racismMacaulay’s Children and lack of accessIndian National Congress: Founded in 1885; increased

access to government positionsPartition of Bengal

1905: Lord Curzon divides Bengal into two provincesAngers nationalists who were not consultedAngers Hindu Bengalis who were now minorities in East Bengal

Demonstrations, boycotts of British goods, and violence

Indian Nationalism

All-India Muslim League: founded in 1906 to protect against Hindu domination

British grant limited rights to vote based on wealthMuslims tended to be poorer than Hindus

Partially because many lower caste Hindus converted

British offer different voting qualifications for Hindus and Muslims

Shift capital from Calcutta to Delhi, former capital of Mughal Empire

Divide and Conquer

During WWI, 1.2 million Indians volunteered for the army

Millions more contributed money to support British cause

Feeling that British would grant political concessions for loyalty

1917: Announcement of the development of self-governing institutions, but vague

WWI and Indian Nationalism

April 13, 1919: General Reginald Dyer orders British troops to fire on peaceful protestors in the city of Amritsar

At least 370 killed, 1,200 woundedProtests sweep across IndiaBritish House of Lords vote to approve of

Dyer’s actionsA fund established to raise money in appreciation of Dyer’s service.

The Amritsar Massacre, 1919

Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)“Mahatma” = “great soul”English educatedLawyer for Indian community in South Africa1915: Joined Indian National CongressPreached ahimsa (non-violence) and satyagraha (truth-force)Famous for organizing non-violent, non-cooperation protests against British rule

Mahatma Gandhi

1921: Gandhi gives up both Western style dress and upper class Indian style

Wears a length of homespun cloth and a shawlPushes independence movement as a mass movement by speaking to the harijan (Children of God) or the poor and outcasteProtests include encouraging homespun cloth and gathering salt from the sea.How are these effective protests?

Gandhi

Some questions to consider when reading: How does Gandhi see India receiving its

independence?How does he see India responding after

independence?What would Gandhi like to see the British do?

Gandhi “Indian Home Rule”

1920s: British begin offering India control over “national” areas; education, economy, and public works.

Increase enrollment of Indians in the Civil ServiceIndia able to impose tariffs against imports, including British imports, giving Indian industry a needed boost.Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964): Gandhi’s designated successor as leader of Indian National Congress

Appealed to middle and upper class IndiansWanted to push India as a modern industrial nation

Move to Home Rule

Britain did not consult a single Indian when committing India to World War II

Provincial governments dominated by Indian National Congress quit en masse.

Push for full independence; “Quit India”After the war, British Labour Party prepared for

independence.In the British Government Statement: Policy in India, 1946, what is the British government most concerned about?

Independence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wUcw8Ufx_Y

What does Nehru say about the future of India?

How does he relate India to the rest of the world?

Nehru, Speech on the Granting of Indian Independence, 1947

1937: Indian National Congress won provincial elections but refused to share power with the Muslim League

1940: Muhammad Ali Jinnah (leader of Muslim League) demands an independent Pakistan

As independence approached, violence and rioting broke out between Hindus and Muslims

Gandhi’s appeals for tolerance went unheardBritish calls for unification were ignored.

Partition

1947: Indian National Congress accepts partition of Indian into secular, Hindu dominated India and Muslim Pakistan

Midnight August 15, 1947: India and Pakistan gain independence

Nehru and Jinnah become first leaders.Violent outbreaks as Muslims moved north and Hindus moved south12 million people relocatedTrainloads of refugees attacked and killedTrain to Pakistan: Khushwant Singh

Partition

After partition, only one Muslim majority province remains a part of India, Kashmir

Most inhabitants of Kashmir would have voted to join Pakistan, but they were not allowed to.Continues to be a source of conflict between India and Pakistan today…

Kashmir

1952-1956: France grants independence to Morocco and Tunisia

Algeria is a different story…150 years of French ruleFrench settlement (10% of population)Political rights to settlersFiction of integration with French nationLike India, little real benefit…

Vietnamese success provokes Algerian response.

Africa: French North Africa

Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN): supported by Egypt and other Arab countries, interested in liberation of all Arab nations

French colonists see Algeria as theirs and fight brutally until very end.

Battle for Algiers (1966)1962: Algerian independenceColonists return to FranceDespite long war for independence, strong ties remain between Algeria and France

Battle for Algiers

Independence through negotiation.Like in India, leaders of independence movements

often Western educatedColonial organizations (schools, bureaucracies,

labor associations) and imposed languages brought unity to independence movements.Population growth added a youth movement to independence movement.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Studied in U.S. (philosophy and theology) and connects with black pride and independence ideologies of W.E.B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey

West African Secretariat: Pan-Africanist movement for decolonization1947: Returns to Gold Coast1951: Becomes Prime Minister1957: Full Independence

Kwame Nkrumah and Ghana

White settler population resists independenceProtests amongst Kikuyu peopleSettlers call the movement “Mau Mau” to make

it sound primitive and savage1952: Violence escalates between settlers and anti-colonial groupsBritish troops hunted down Kikuyu leaders and resettled population

Kenya and the Mau Mau

PhD in Anthropology (London)1952: British impose a state of emergency in Kenya (British East Africa) and arrest Kenyatta and other nationalist leaders.1961: Kenyatta negotiates with the British, agrees to write a constitution for independent Kenya1964: Kenyatta becomes first president of Kenya

Jomo Kenyatta (1894-1978)

Realization of future discrepancies between different regions (resource rich Ivory Coast vs. desert Niger)

Importance of French investment (a billion dollars between 1947-1956)

Dependence of elites on civil service employment.Push to gain more self-governance under France“One cannot conceive of both an independent territory and a France which continues to aid it.” de Gaulle, 1958Does not stop the drive to independence.

Benefits of French Rule…

Contending political and ethnic groups backed by external allies.

Western business groups tied to mining operations.

Civil War with foreign mercenaries and Cold War rhetoric leads to heavy loss of life.1965: Mobuto Sese Seko seizes power in a military coup.Results in corrupt regime, stays in office until 1997.

Belgian Congo and the Cold War

Underdevelopment and povertyMost trained professionals return to EuropeNew nations push economic agendas in UNAnti-Imperialist appeal of Soviet UnionNew map reflects colonial experience, not

ethnic, linguistic, religious, etc. divisionsConflicts over political future of newly

independent nationsConflicts can take ethnic/sectarian turn…

Results of Decolonization