Decolonization and Nation Building

1. Decolonization andNation Building HIST 132 4/8/13

2. Indian Nationalism • 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.

3. Barriers to 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 class • Religion: • Hinduism: division into 100s of occupational castes • Muslims: had ruled before British; ¼ of population • Gender

4. British Rule and Industrialization • Colonial India governed by a British viceroy • Indian Civil Service: primarily British • Encouraged industrialization which benefited British rule (railroads, telegraphs, etc.) • Discouraged industrialization which would benefit India (cotton and steel industries, limited training of Indians, etc.)

5. India at the turn of the 20th century • Despite famine and droughts (killing 2 million people from 1896-1900 alone), India’s population exploded. • 1900 = 250 million; 1941 = 389 million • Population growth placed new economic pressures on India • Despite deforestation and irrigation, not enough land available for peasants • Landless peasants moved to the cities, but there weren’t enough jobs • Conditions difficult for both rural and urban lower class.

6. Indian Nationalism • Many Indians accepted British rule • Did not accept British racism • Macaulay’s Children and lack of access • Indian National Congress: Founded in 1885; increased access to government positions • Partition of Bengal • 1905: Lord Curzon divides Bengal into two provinces • Angers nationalists who were not consulted • Angers Hindu Bengalis who were now minorities in East Bengal • Demonstrations, boycotts of British goods, and violence

7. Divide and Conquer • All-India Muslim League: founded in 1906 to protect against Hindu domination • British grant limited rights to vote based on wealth • Muslims 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

8. WWI and Indian Nationalism • 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

9. The Amritsar Massacre, 1919 • 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 wounded • Protests sweep across India • British House of Lords vote to approve of Dyer’s actions • A fund established to raise money in appreciation of Dyer’s service.

10. Mahatma Gandhi • Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) • “Mahatma” = “great soul” • English educated • Lawyer for Indian community in South Africa • 1915: Joined Indian National Congress • Preached ahimsa (non-violence) and satyagraha (truth-force) • Famous for organizing non-violent, non-cooperation protests against British rule

11. Gandhi • 1921: Gandhi gives up both Western style dress and upper class Indian style • Wears a length of homespun cloth and a shawl • Pushes independence movement as a mass movement by speaking to the harijan (Children of God) or the poor and outcaste • Protests include encouraging homespun cloth and gathering salt from the sea. • How are these effective protests?

12. Gandhi “Indian Home Rule” • 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?

13. Move to Home Rule • 1920s: British begin offering India control over “national” areas; education, economy, and public works. • Increase enrollment of Indians in the Civil Service • India 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 Indians • Wanted to push India as a modern industrial nation

14. Independence • 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?

15. Nehru, Speech on the Granting of Indian Independence, 1947 • 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?

16. Partition • 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 unheard • British calls for unification were ignored.

17. 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 south • 12 million people relocated • Trainloads of refugees attacked and killed • Train to Pakistan: Khushwant Singh

18. Kashmir • 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…

22. Africa: French North Africa • 1952-1956: France grants independence to Morocco and Tunisia • Algeria is a different story… • 150 years of French rule • French settlement (10% of population) • Political rights to settlers • Fiction of integration with French nation • Like India, little real benefit… • Vietnamese success provokes Algerian response.

23. Battle for Algiers • 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 independence • Colonists return to France • Despite long war for independence, strong ties remain between Algeria and France

24. Sub-Saharan Africa • Independence through negotiation. • Like in India, leaders of independence movements often Western educated • Colonial organizations (schools, bureaucracies, labor associations) and imposed languages brought unity to independence movements. • Population growth added a youth movement to independence movement.

25. Kwame Nkrumah and Ghana • 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 decolonization • 1947: Returns to Gold Coast • 1951: Becomes Prime Minister • 1957: Full Independence

26. Kenya and the Mau Mau • White settler population resists independence • Protests amongst Kikuyu people • Settlers call the movement “Mau Mau” to make it sound primitive and savage • 1952: Violence escalates between settlers and anti-colonial groups • British troops hunted down Kikuyu leaders and resettled population

27. Jomo Kenyatta (1894-1978) • 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 Kenya • 1964: Kenyatta becomes first president of Kenya

28. Benefits of French Rule… • 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, 1958 • Does not stop the drive to independence.

29. Belgian Congo and the Cold War • 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 SeseSeko seizes power in a military coup. • Results in corrupt regime, stays in office until 1997.

30. Results of Decolonization • Underdevelopment and poverty • Most trained professionals return to Europe • New nations push economic agendas in UN • Anti-Imperialist appeal of Soviet Union • New map reflects colonial experience, not ethnic, linguistic, religious, etc. divisions • Conflicts over political future of newly independent nations • Conflicts can take ethnic/sectarian turn…