The Indian Subcontinent Gains Independence Chapter 18-1 The Indian Subcontinent Gains Independence I) A Movement Towards Independence II) Independence brings Partition to India III) Modern India IV) Pakistan and Sri Lanka

I) A Movement Towards Independence Britain had ruled India for many years and committed India’s armed forces to World War II without consulting the colony’s elected representatives. The war brought soldiers from widely separated colonies into contact with one another, and the Japanese defeat of the European forces in Asia was a sign the Europeans were not unbeatable. Due to the enormous cost of the war, Britain began to rethink the expense of maintaining and governing distant colonies, and the new government called into question the very basis of imperialism; was it acceptable to take by force the land and resources of another nation?

II) Independence Brings Partition to India The Amristar Massacre in 1914 had caused millions of Indians to become strong nationalists overnight, and Gandhi was admired as the Mahatma or “Great Soul” of the independence movement. The Indian National Congress or Congress Party was the national political party and claimed to represent all of India‘s 350 million Hindus and 100 million Muslim. Most members of the Congress Party were Hindu, and the Muslim League was an organization founded in 1906 by its leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah to protect Muslim interests. When Jinnah proposed to partition India along religious lines Gandhi was deeply hurt, and did his best to reduce the violence between Muslim and Hindu. British Lord Louis Mountbatten was the last viceroy of India, and accepted the partition out of fear that the Muslims and Hindus would never be able to live together in peace. Mass migration and killings preceded independence as people tried to get to India or Pakistan, and Gandhi himself was killed by a Hindu extremist.

III) Modern India Kashmir remains a disputed territory, between India, Pakistan and even China One of Gandhi’s most devoted followers, Jawaharlal Nehru, led India for the first 17 years of its independence. He led other newly independent nations in forming an alliance of neutral countries in the Cold War. On the home front he tried to elevate the status of the lower castes, expand rights for women, pushed for industrialization and reorganized states by language.

III) Modern India Following his death in 1964, Nehru’s daughter, Indira Gandhi was chosen prime minister. She is assassinated by extremists in 1984 as is her son Rajiv Gandhi by a bomb in 1991. India today continues to develop; new oil and coal resources have been discovered and technical education has been expanded. India will be challenged by its steadily climbing population (almost 1,000,000,000) and the caste system undermines social equality.

IV) Pakistan and Sri Lanka Both Pakistan and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) have suffered from ethnic and religious fighting since their independence in 1947. Pakistan began as a divided country, only the Islamic religion tied them together. With the larger population East Pakistan felt neglected by the government in the West, and with India's help, formed the new nation of Bangladesh in 1971. After Jinnah died, Pakistan has went through a series of military coups which disposed of elected prime ministers. Ali Bhutto took over leadership following the civil war, but a military coup in 1977 led by General Zia removed Bhutto and executed him. After Zia’s death, Bhutto’s daughter, Benazir Bhutto, was twice elected prime minister. She was assassinated in 2007. Sri Lanka’s recent history has also been one of turmoil, with the minority Hindu Tamils forming a strong armed resistance to the majority Buddhist rulers.