HIST104 Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Indian National Congress, Indian Independence Movement, High Standard Manufacturing Company
12 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Decolonization
WW2 had a major impact on world affairs
○
European powers like Britiain and France were significantly weakened by
the war
Impacted their overseas empires
§
They fell apart
§
○
Large number of new independent states came into existence
○
The process by which the european powers gave up their powers is called
decolonization
○
British govt took direct control over India after the indian revolt in _____
(?) but the revolt failed
Europeans took the failure of resistance as a sign that non
Europeans were incapable of running their own lives
§
So indians were expected to obey their british rulers
§
British enjoyed a high standard of living in india
§
○
•
Over time a powerful force arose to challenge british power - nationalism
Powerful because it fundamentally challenged britain's authority to rule
india and questioned the legitimacy of the empire
○
Nationalist movement took off in the second half of the 19th century as a
reaction to the arrogance of the british as well as an objection to Britain's
economic policies
Argued that british rule was set up to serve british economic
interests
§
○
•
First nationalists in India were almost all from upper-class backgrounds and had
received an education
Thought that india needed to modernize before it could think about
becoming independent
Thought the best strategy was to persuade the british to develop
the indian economy and society
§
○
•
Indian National Congress (INC), 1885
Did not demand immediate independence
○
Did demand that indians should be allowed to take part in the
government of their country
○
Called on the british to spend more on economic development and less on
the military
○
British responded with a very slow pace of chance - started to frustrate
the radical members of the INC
Some radicals split off and founded the Hot Faction
This faction called for violence to be used to achieve
independence for India
□
§
○
Another problem the INC had was to overcome religious differences
among its members
Majority were Hindu, but many were Muslim
§
INC said they would represent the interests of ALL indians, but most
of the leaders of the INC were Hindu and many muslims began to
feel their interests were not represented
Muslim league (1906) was founded to represent their
interests
□
§
○
•
Indian independence movement was transformed by Mohandas Gandhi
(1869-1948)
Family was not of high cast (can tell by his name - Gandhi)
○
Became a lawyer in London
○
In 1893 he went to south Africa - diff part of the british empire
Here he worked for a law firm that represented indians working as
laborers there
§
He quickly saw the indians in south Africa were being exploited and
experienced racial prejudice
§
Gandhi tried to protect their interests. This became very important
experience for him. Deeply influenced his later career
§
○
Gandhi returned to india in 1915 and when he returned he got involved in
the indian independence movement
Drew on his experience in south africa to set up a non violent
resistance movement - satyagraha ("truth force")
Confront an evil situation in a spirit of peace□
Adamant that his followers should not use violence, but
rather refuse to obey british laws
□
Led campaigns of non cooperation and peaceful civil
disobedience
□
§
○
Gandhi wanted his movement to increase indian's sense of self respect
Wanted them to see beyond the inequalities
§
○
Very concerned about the millions of indians referred to as Dalits
("untouchables")
Lowest class in society - lived outside the cast system and seen as
impure
§
Gandhi wanted to see the Dalits get a fair deal and be treated
equally
§
○
Wanted to reform the society of india as well as get independence
○
Showed his support in solidarity through:
The clothes he wore - no longer going to wear the clothes of
wealthy indians or lawyers
Wore the most basic kinds of peasant clothing (dhoti)□
Insisted the cloth for his clothes had to be handmade□
§
Spinning wheel was a sign of greatness for him
Spoke about india being reduced to just a supplier□
Wanted to say that they could be independent on themselves□
Spinning wheel showing indias needless dependency on other
countries
□
Also a symbol of his resistance to the western world's
obsession over material comforts
□
§
○
Gandhi's solution for india was to return to the indian village life
Other nationalists disagreed with him - they favored industry and
modernism
§
His emphasis on peasant life helped him to develop a big following
They called him Mahatma ("great soul")□
§
○
By praising traditional indian ways and belief, he helped to give them a
sense of moral superiority and confidence over the british
○
•
INC became a powerful mass movement under Gandhi's rule
He chose to campaign against the tax on salt
British monopolized the production of salt - salt was heavily taxed
and it was illegal for any indian to manufacture or sell it
§
Gandhi decided to campaign against the tax - "salt march"
In 1930 Gandhi and 80 of his followers walked 240 miles to
the coast (took about a month). March was being reported
around the world evert day
□
People around the country broke the law daily to collect salt -
many people, along with gandhi were arrested
□
When people heard of his arrests their were protests, some
violent
These violent protests were much more frequent than
gandhi wanted
®
□
§
○
•
After WW1 there is a significant movement for indian independence
British realized they would have to give in to some demands of the INC
1920s - indians given control over education policies
§
Little later they were put in control of economics
§
○
Despite these concessions the INC continued to demand full indepenece
Still disagreement as to what an independent india should be like
Had Gandhi's village life idea□
Some people in the INC said this was impractical and industry
had to be the basis
Most important critic of Gandhi was Jawaharlal Nehru
(1889-1964)
Came from wealthy background
◊
Disagreed with gandhis rejection of the modern
world - believed in science and rational thought,
less spiritual
◊
Proposed a modern, industrial india
◊
®
□
§
○
•
More serious divide developed in 1930s between hindus and muslims
Muslims feared that Hindus would dominate and they would become a
powerless minority
○
Argued muslims should have a separate state called Pakistan (land of the
pure)
○
Muslim leader called Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876-1948)
Regarded as the father of Pakistan
§
○
•
All these tensions were put on hold when WW2 broke out
British gov't admitted india to the war without consulting any indian
officials
○
Meant that hundreds of thousands of indians were pressed into military
service - typical of the high handed way of british rule
○
INC was outraged by this and opposed the war
○
Gandhi began a new campaign of civil disobedience - arrested again
○
•
When the war ended 1945 the british realized it would be very costly for them
to keep putting down opposition to their rule in india
British had a new socialist govt that was less committed to preserving the
empire
○
British began to prepare for independence as the rule came to an end
○
•
Independence process was complicated by hindus and muslims
Argue if Pakistan should exist or not
○
Violence started to break out where there was a mix of hindus and
muslims
○
Gandhi appealed for toleration and that india should not be split or
violence would break out
But by this time many indian leaders saw gandhi as a figure of the
past. His views were ignored
§
○
•
Nationalists agreed it should be divided to 2 states - one secular (nonreligious)
dominated by hindus and the other muslim
As tension and violence increased, the british got out asap
○
•
Aug 15, 1947, partition of india
Pakistan and India came into existence
○
•
Bangladesh 1971
East pakistan split off and became Bangladesh
○
•
Massive movement of people across the borders of these states
Muslims moving to pakistan, hindus moving from pakistan to india
○
Over 12 mill people migrated in 1947 and 1948
○
This mass migration was often accompanied by a lot of violence -
massacres
As many as 1 mil died
§
○
One of the casualties of the violence was gandhi himself
Assassinated as he was going to morning prayer in 1948
Hindu assassinated him, and said that he killed him because
of his opposition to a hindu india
□
§
○
•
Since Indian independence:
Democratic nation
○
INC was party in power for much of the years of their independence
○
Indian economy is shaky - been uneven over the years
Expecting a more prominent role in global economics in the coming
years
§
○
2/3 of the population still live in the countryside
○
Indian cities are in poverty
○
Also has economic strengths
Call centers, etc
§
Bangalore
Booming high tech industry□
§
○
Pakistan
hasn’t shown as much of a high tech industry
§
Politically, they started as a democratic pakistan, but is under
military rule
§
For the past few years they have been under civilian government
§
○
•
Kashmir
Pakistan and india have had big differences since 1947
○
Disputed region called kashmir
○
At independence in 1947 kashmir had a hindu ruler but muslim
population
Despite its muslim majority it became a part of india
§
Pakistani forces took part of it
§
○
Continued to fight over kashmir
○
Today is still divided between india and pakistan
Heavily militarized borders
§
Still remains a dangerous issue
§
○
Should be a referendum where the people of kashmir get to choose what
happens - could even choose independence
○
•
India: Independence and Partition
Monday, April 30, 2018
3:36 PM
Decolonization
WW2 had a major impact on world affairs
○
European powers like Britiain and France were significantly weakened by
the war
Impacted their overseas empires
§
They fell apart
§
○
Large number of new independent states came into existence
○
The process by which the european powers gave up their powers is called
decolonization
○
British govt took direct control over India after the indian revolt in _____
(?) but the revolt failed
Europeans took the failure of resistance as a sign that non
Europeans were incapable of running their own lives
§
So indians were expected to obey their british rulers
§
British enjoyed a high standard of living in india
§
○
•
Over time a powerful force arose to challenge british power - nationalism
Powerful because it fundamentally challenged britain's authority to rule
india and questioned the legitimacy of the empire
○
Nationalist movement took off in the second half of the 19th century as a
reaction to the arrogance of the british as well as an objection to Britain's
economic policies
Argued that british rule was set up to serve british economic
interests
§
○
•
First nationalists in India were almost all from upper-class backgrounds and had
received an education
Thought that india needed to modernize before it could think about
becoming independent
Thought the best strategy was to persuade the british to develop
the indian economy and society
§
○
•
Indian National Congress (INC), 1885
Did not demand immediate independence
○
Did demand that indians should be allowed to take part in the
government of their country
○
Called on the british to spend more on economic development and less on
the military
○
British responded with a very slow pace of chance - started to frustrate
the radical members of the INC
Some radicals split off and founded the Hot Faction
This faction called for violence to be used to achieve
independence for India
□
§
○
Another problem the INC had was to overcome religious differences
among its members
Majority were Hindu, but many were Muslim
§
INC said they would represent the interests of ALL indians, but most
of the leaders of the INC were Hindu and many muslims began to
feel their interests were not represented
Muslim league (1906) was founded to represent their
interests
□
§
○
•
Indian independence movement was transformed by Mohandas Gandhi
(1869-1948)
Family was not of high cast (can tell by his name - Gandhi)
○
Became a lawyer in London
○
In 1893 he went to south Africa - diff part of the british empire
Here he worked for a law firm that represented indians working as
laborers there
§
He quickly saw the indians in south Africa were being exploited and
experienced racial prejudice
§
Gandhi tried to protect their interests. This became very important
experience for him. Deeply influenced his later career
§
○
Gandhi returned to india in 1915 and when he returned he got involved in
the indian independence movement
Drew on his experience in south africa to set up a non violent
resistance movement - satyagraha ("truth force")
Confront an evil situation in a spirit of peace
□
Adamant that his followers should not use violence, but
rather refuse to obey british laws
□
Led campaigns of non cooperation and peaceful civil
disobedience
□
§
○
Gandhi wanted his movement to increase indian's sense of self respect
Wanted them to see beyond the inequalities
§
○
Very concerned about the millions of indians referred to as Dalits
("untouchables")
Lowest class in society - lived outside the cast system and seen as
impure
§
Gandhi wanted to see the Dalits get a fair deal and be treated
equally
§
○
Wanted to reform the society of india as well as get independence
○
Showed his support in solidarity through:
The clothes he wore - no longer going to wear the clothes of
wealthy indians or lawyers
Wore the most basic kinds of peasant clothing (dhoti)□
Insisted the cloth for his clothes had to be handmade□
§
Spinning wheel was a sign of greatness for him
Spoke about india being reduced to just a supplier□
Wanted to say that they could be independent on themselves□
Spinning wheel showing indias needless dependency on other
countries
□
Also a symbol of his resistance to the western world's
obsession over material comforts
□
§
○
Gandhi's solution for india was to return to the indian village life
Other nationalists disagreed with him - they favored industry and
modernism
§
His emphasis on peasant life helped him to develop a big following
They called him Mahatma ("great soul")□
§
○
By praising traditional indian ways and belief, he helped to give them a
sense of moral superiority and confidence over the british
○
•
INC became a powerful mass movement under Gandhi's rule
He chose to campaign against the tax on salt
British monopolized the production of salt - salt was heavily taxed
and it was illegal for any indian to manufacture or sell it
§
Gandhi decided to campaign against the tax - "salt march"
In 1930 Gandhi and 80 of his followers walked 240 miles to
the coast (took about a month). March was being reported
around the world evert day
□
People around the country broke the law daily to collect salt -
many people, along with gandhi were arrested
□
When people heard of his arrests their were protests, some
violent
These violent protests were much more frequent than
gandhi wanted
®
□
§
○
•
After WW1 there is a significant movement for indian independence
British realized they would have to give in to some demands of the INC
1920s - indians given control over education policies
§
Little later they were put in control of economics
§
○
Despite these concessions the INC continued to demand full indepenece
Still disagreement as to what an independent india should be like
Had Gandhi's village life idea□
Some people in the INC said this was impractical and industry
had to be the basis
Most important critic of Gandhi was Jawaharlal Nehru
(1889-1964)
Came from wealthy background
◊
Disagreed with gandhis rejection of the modern
world - believed in science and rational thought,
less spiritual
◊
Proposed a modern, industrial india
◊
®
□
§
○
•
More serious divide developed in 1930s between hindus and muslims
Muslims feared that Hindus would dominate and they would become a
powerless minority
○
Argued muslims should have a separate state called Pakistan (land of the
pure)
○
Muslim leader called Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876-1948)
Regarded as the father of Pakistan
§
○
•
All these tensions were put on hold when WW2 broke out
British gov't admitted india to the war without consulting any indian
officials
○
Meant that hundreds of thousands of indians were pressed into military
service - typical of the high handed way of british rule
○
INC was outraged by this and opposed the war
○
Gandhi began a new campaign of civil disobedience - arrested again
○
•
When the war ended 1945 the british realized it would be very costly for them
to keep putting down opposition to their rule in india
British had a new socialist govt that was less committed to preserving the
empire
○
British began to prepare for independence as the rule came to an end
○
•
Independence process was complicated by hindus and muslims
Argue if Pakistan should exist or not
○
Violence started to break out where there was a mix of hindus and
muslims
○
Gandhi appealed for toleration and that india should not be split or
violence would break out
But by this time many indian leaders saw gandhi as a figure of the
past. His views were ignored
§
○
•
Nationalists agreed it should be divided to 2 states - one secular (nonreligious)
dominated by hindus and the other muslim
As tension and violence increased, the british got out asap
○
•
Aug 15, 1947, partition of india
Pakistan and India came into existence
○
•
Bangladesh 1971
East pakistan split off and became Bangladesh
○
•
Massive movement of people across the borders of these states
Muslims moving to pakistan, hindus moving from pakistan to india
○
Over 12 mill people migrated in 1947 and 1948
○
This mass migration was often accompanied by a lot of violence -
massacres
As many as 1 mil died
§
○
One of the casualties of the violence was gandhi himself
Assassinated as he was going to morning prayer in 1948
Hindu assassinated him, and said that he killed him because
of his opposition to a hindu india
□
§
○
•
Since Indian independence:
Democratic nation
○
INC was party in power for much of the years of their independence
○
Indian economy is shaky - been uneven over the years
Expecting a more prominent role in global economics in the coming
years
§
○
2/3 of the population still live in the countryside
○
Indian cities are in poverty
○
Also has economic strengths
Call centers, etc
§
Bangalore
Booming high tech industry□
§
○
Pakistan
hasn’t shown as much of a high tech industry
§
Politically, they started as a democratic pakistan, but is under
military rule
§
For the past few years they have been under civilian government
§
○
•
Kashmir
Pakistan and india have had big differences since 1947
○
Disputed region called kashmir
○
At independence in 1947 kashmir had a hindu ruler but muslim
population
Despite its muslim majority it became a part of india
§
Pakistani forces took part of it
§
○
Continued to fight over kashmir
○
Today is still divided between india and pakistan
Heavily militarized borders
§
Still remains a dangerous issue
§
○
Should be a referendum where the people of kashmir get to choose what
happens - could even choose independence
○
•
India: Independence and Partition
Monday, April 30, 2018 3:36 PM
Document Summary
Ww2 had a major impact on world affairs. European powers like britiain and france were significantly weakened by the war. Large number of new independent states came into existence. The process by which the european powers gave up their powers is called decolonization. British govt took direct control over india after the indian revolt in _____ but the revolt failed. Europeans took the failure of resistance as a sign that non. Europeans were incapable of running their own lives. So indians were expected to obey their british rulers. British enjoyed a high standard of living in india. Over time a powerful force arose to challenge british power - nationalism. Powerful because it fundamentally challenged britain"s authority to rule india and questioned the legitimacy of the empire. Nationalist movement took off in the second half of the 19th century as a reaction to the arrogance of the british as well as an objection to britain"s economic policies.
