WOH 2001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Satyagraha, Political Philosophy, Muhammad Ali Jinnah
• Why did colonial empires fall after World War II rather than before?
o Conjuncture: the coming together of several separate developments at
a particular time
o The World Wars had weakened Europe while discrediting any sense
of European moral superiority
o Both the United States and the Soviet Union generally opposed the
older European colonial empires
o The establishment of the United Nations- platform for leaders to
express anti-colonial sentiments
o New generation of Western-educated elites in the colonial world who
increasingly insisted on independence
o Ordinary colonized people also wanted independence
• Who (individuals, groups) were most important in ending empire? Is it the
leaders of independence movements themselves? Or is it the colonized
peoples?
• What challenges did leaders of independence movements face?
o Movements were divided
o Fragile alliances of conflicting groups and parties representing
different classes, ethnic groups, religions, or regions
o Struggled with one another over questions of leadership, power,
strategy, ideology, and the distribution of material benefits
o Lead to questions such as, What group of people constituted the
nation that deserved to rule itself? And who should speak for it?
• How did the Indian National Congress change during the 20th century?
o Established in 1885
o It was originally an association of English-educated Indians drawn
from regionally prominent high-caste Hindu families
o Initially it was moderate in it demands
o They did not want to overthrow British rule
o They hoped to gain greater inclusion within the political, military, and
business life of British India
o Remained an elite organization in the beginning of the 20th century
o After many repressive actions (including the massacre at Amritsar),
Gandhi transformed the INC to include the masses
• What was the role of Gandhi in India’s struggle for independence?
o Experienced overt racism in South Africa
o Became involved in organizing Indians, mostly Muslims, to protest
that country’s policies of racial segregation
o Had the political philosophy of satyagraha (truth force) was a
confrontational, though nonviolent, approach to political action
o Transformed the INC into a mass organizations because of his conduct
and actions (his simple and unpretentious lifestyle, his support for
Muslims, his frequent reference to Hindu religious themes)
o Did not call for social revolution but sought the moral transformation
of individuals
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