1. Indian Decolonization
1947-Present

2. India and Britain
India supported Allies during WWI, GB promised eventual self-rule in return; did not give it
Indian National Congress staged protests after WWI, but divided by religion: Hindu and Muslim
British passed laws that could arrest and jail nationalists without trial
April 1919, Amritsar Massacre
Brits declared all large gatherings illegal
10,000 unarmed Indians gathered in walled garden , British troops blocked only exit and fired; 400 dead (many children), 1200 injured
Indians shocked and more determined to rid British control

3. Gandhi Mohandas K. Gandhi, after massacre became leading nationalist
Educated in GB
Passive resistance, civil disobedience: boycotted British goods, refused to pay taxes, disregarded British laws
Used ahimsa (nonviolence) and satyagraha (search for truth)
Tried to improve status of untouchables
Called Mahatma “Great soul”
Boycotted British cloth, spun cloth 30 minutes a day and always wore homespun clothes, symbol of INC became spinning wheel

4. Salt
Indian workers needed salt to replace what they lost in sweat daily
British controlled salt mines and ocean salt fields, heavily taxed all salt
1930, Gandhi staged a march to the sea
British did not arrest him, but did arrest thousands of followers
Continued throughout the 1930s

5. Government of India Act
1935, passed by Parliament
Gave provincial legislatures control over agriculture, health, public works
GB remained in control of national laws, finance, defense, foreign affairs
Most nationalists rejected, but INC at urging of Gandhi, accepted it as first step toward full independence

6. Hindu-Muslim Relations
As independence grew nearer, Muslims worried about how they would be treated by Hindus, formed Muslim League, headed by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, demanded separate Muslim nation
Hindus led by Jawaharlal Nehru, wanted united India
Gandhi greatly concerned about split

7. Independence and Division
1947, after WWII, British agreed to give India independence
Riots between Hindus and Muslims convinced GB to partition India into India (Hindu) and Pakistan (Muslim)
August 15, 1947: Independence for both countries
Mass migration of 12 million between India and Pakistan
1 Million died in violence between religious groups
Gandhi killed by Hindu extremist angered by Gandhi’s call for peace and reconciliation
More than 60 million Muslims remained in India

8. Doctors in India protesting affirmative action against caste system
Independent India
Democratic government with an elected legislature, led by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru (1947 until his death in 1964)
Wanted modern, industrialized state with religious freedom and social equality
Universal suffrage
Ban caste distinctions
Improve status of women
Mixed economy; private and government owned
Non-alignment: tied to neither superpower
Doctors in India protesting affirmative action against caste system

9. Nehru “Dynasty”
After Nehru’s death, his daughter Indira Gandhi became PM
Continued father’s policies
Accused of violating election laws, forced to resign in 1977
Returned to office in 1980, but ethnic unrest in Punjab region of N. India
Sikhs wanted own state, occupied shrine in Punjab, Gandhi ordered troops to get them out
Gandhi assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguard
Her son, Rajiv Gandhi was PM from , but assassinated in 1991

10. India since 1991 Struggle with poverty, disease, illiteracy
Free compulsory education through age 14, 52% literacy rate
Religious freedoms, but still differences caused by revival of traditional Hinduism in wake of modernization
Five-Year plans helped boost economy

11. Pakistan India has fought three wars with Pakistan; 1947, 1965, 1971
Both claimed Kashmir region; Hindu prince ruled mostly Muslim population
Indian troops helped Bangladesh break away from Pakistan in 1971
Both nations worked to develop nuclear weapons, 1998 both successfully tested nuclear bombs
1999 Indian and Pakistani PMs met and relations became less tense