Transcript Modern South Asia

Chapter 31
Nationalism Triumphant: The Emergence of
Independent States in South and Southeast Asia
Modern South Asia
1. On July 15, 1947, by act of Parliament, India and Pakistan were granted independence. All authority was surrendered to the two new states on
August 15. Their creation was based upon a division according to the Hindu and Muslim religions. Not only were Hindu and Muslim provinces
separated but Bengal, the Punjab, and Assam were split in order to prevent large Hindu minorities from being assigned to Muslim Pakistan. Even
before the partition was completed a mass exodus of more than ten million people took place. Hindus and Sikhs fled for fear of Muslim domination
and Muslims sought refuge fearing Hindu persecution. The worst violence was in the eastern half of the province of the Punjab which had been a
Sikh kingdom but was mostly assigned to Pakistan. The Sikhs had preferred a separate state but neither India nor Pakistan were supportive of such.
The border separating the two territories in the Punjab became a killing ground between the Sikhs and Muslims. Half a million were left dead and two
million made refugees.
2. India and Pakistan clashed over control of the border states. In Hyderabad on the Decca, the prince was deposed and its administration taken
over by India. In Kashmir, the maharaja who had hoped to remain independent asked for Indian help to stem invading Muslims but the price was
Indian control. What ensued was a struggle between Indian and Pakistani troops. Peace, brokered by the U.N. in 1949, resulted in a partition. The
desire for independence remained strong, however.
3. An enemy of colonialism, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru ordered in 1961 the forced occupation of the Portuguese colonies of Goa, Diu, and
Daman.
4. In 1966, Indian Punjab was split again to form the state of Haryana for the Hindus. Sikhs continued to agitate for the independence of the now
reduced Punjab. The center of their activity was the Golden Temple at Axnritsar which witnessed a bloody battle as Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
ordered troops to occupy it in June 1984. On October 31, 1984, she was assassinated by two Sikh officers. This was followed by acts of terrorism
as thousands of Sikhs were murdered by Hindu mobs.
5. Pakistan and East Pakistan were separated by a thousand miles. In 1972 East Pakistan succeeded in separating itself forming Bangladesh. The
war of liberation from March to December 1971 was filled with atrocities, especially an apparent program of genocide by the West Pakistani soldiers
India entered the war in early December and on December 16 West Pakistan surrendered.
6. Ceylon, renamed Sri Lanka in 1972, gained freedom from Britain in 1948. It has been plagued by a guerrilla war from Tamil separatists.
Question:
1. How did the Hindu-Muslim struggle affect the Indian subcontinent?
Modern South Asia
 End of the British Raj
 India committed to World War II without consulting Indians
Indian rejection of dominion status after the war and
the right of secession for individual states
 Lord Louis Mountbatten (1900-1979) appointed viceroy
Partition
 Division of Bengal and Punjab
 Pakistan
Independence of India and Pakistan, August 15, 1947
 Independent India
 Problem of border disputes
India invaded Hyderabad and annexed the area
Seizure of most of Kashmir
 Democratic Socialism
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964)
Political system reflective of Britain’s parliamentary
system
Moderate socialism
 Neutral and independent position
Continued friction with Pakistan
 War between India and Pakistan, 1965
 Supports East Pakistan in confrontation with
Pakistan, 1971
Problems with China
 Post-Nehru Era
 Indira Gandhi (1917-1984), 1966-1984
Endorses democratic socialism
Neutrality in foreign affairs
Concern over poverty
Problem of population growth
Rise of ethnic and religious strife
Assassinated by Sikh bodyguard
 Rajiv Gandhi (1944-1991)
Problems on Sri Lanka
 Pakistan
 Independence in August, 1975
 West Pakistan perennially short of water
 East Pakistan (parts of East Bengal) made up of marshy
deltas
 Islamic state sought by the Muslim League
 Division between supporters of a state based on Islamic
principles and those who supported Western-style
democracy
 East Pakistan riots in 1952 over government’s
decision to adopt Urdu the national language
 New Democracy, 1958
 Election of 1970
East Pakistan declares independence, March 1971,
becomes Bangladesh
 General Zia Ul Ha’q, 1977
 Poverty and Pluralism in South Asia
 Indian constitution of 1950
 Communalism
 Corruption
 Sikh separatism
 Hindu and Muslim antagonism
 Issue of caste
 Economy
 Nehru sought socialist ownership through five-year plans
 Agricultural problems
 Overpopulation
 Privatization and foreign investment
 Environmental damage
Rich and poor in Bombay. Slum housing,
with upscale apartments in background
 Caste, Class, and Gender
 Caste determines marriage, occupation, moral and socialobligations, social status, and eating habits
Castes accepted by the 1950 constitution but tried to
eliminate the worst abuses
Untouchables
Role and women and sexual relationships
 Purdah
 Indian Art and Literature
 Indo-Anglian literature
 Anita Desai and Salman Rushdie
 Art affected by the colonial experience
Post-War Conflicts in East Asia
1. On July 4, 1946, the United States fulfilled its long ago promise to grant independence to the Philippines. In 1965 Ferdinand Marcos subverted the
constitution and ruled as a dictator until 1986 when ousted in a spectacular electoral victory for the presidency by Corazon Aquino. The Anericans, however,
maintained military bases in the Philippines until 1992 when the last was closed.
2. Burma (Myanmar) received its independence from the British in 1948. The army seized power in 1962 and has remained in control since then.
3. In Malaysia, the native people feared and disliked the Chinese who had immigrated in the nineteenth century. Local Chinese communists launched
guerrilla activity after Britain indicated it would give the Malays a dominant voice in government. The communists were defeated and in 1957 Malaysia
became self-governing. Independence was granted in 1961. Four years later, largely Chinese Singapore withdrew from the Federation of Malaysia.
4. Dutch efforts to reconquer the Netherlands East Indies after World War II failed and independence was granted for Indonesia in 1949 under Achmed
Sukarno. Beginning in 1957, he initiated a "guided democracy." In reprisal for a communist uprising in 1965, the army killed a half million or more Indonesian
communists, radicals, and non-communist Chinese. Sukarno, whose communist ties angered the army, was eased out by General Suharto in 1967.
Suharto permitted a return to representative government and was elected president. Suharto's government collapsed in 1998. In 1999 the Indonesia came
under world criticism for its actions in East Timor which sought independence (the Portuguese half of the island of Timor had been annexed by Indonesia in
1975).
5. After World War II, the French sought to reimpose their rule over Indochina. At the time of the Japanese surrender in August 1945, Ho Chi Minh, leader of
the Indochinese Communist Party, launched a general uprising and seized power throughout most of Vietnam. By fall, the French had regained the southern
area followed by all out war in December 1946. Despite American aid, the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Subsequent peace brought
Indochina independence. Laos and Cambodia became independent while Vietnam was divided into two sections at the 17th parallel. The United States
opposed any settlement involving loss of the whole territory to communism. In 1959 Ho returned to war in the south. With the southern government on the
verge of collapse in 1963, the South Vietnamese military seized power. United States troops were rushed in to preclude total defeat in 1965. Unwilling to
engage in all-out war for fear of provoking a larger conflict, the war became a stalemate. In 1969 withdrawal of U.S. troops began. A peace treaty was
signed in January 1973 that would remove of American forces and require the north to seek a political settlement with the south. Negotiations failed and in
early 1975 communists resumed the offensive. At the end of April, South Vietnam surrendered and Vietnam was unified.
6. Britain acquired Hong Kong from the Chinese by the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 that ended an opium war. It was returned to China, by treaty, in 1997.
7. Defeated by the forces of Mao Zedong, Chiang Kai-shek and about one million Chinese fled to Taiwan where they proclaimed the Republic of China.
Worried about the communist threat in Asia at the beginning of the Korean War, the United States promised to defend the island from mainland China. In
1954 this was formalized into a mutual defense treaty. In 1972, the U.S. began removing troops from Taiwan. Diplomatic relations were ended in 1978
when relations were opened with China. The following year the mutual defense treaty was ended.
8. On the eve of the Japanese surrender, the U.S. and U.S.S.R. agreed to divide Korea into two zones at the 38th parallel. As U.S.-Soviet relations
deteriorated, two separate governments emerged. On June 25, 1950, with Soviet approval, North Korea invaded the south. The United States and the U.N.
responded immediately. The conflict lasted until an armistice was signed July 27, 1953.
Post-War Conflicts in East Asia
Question:
1. Why did the U.S. get involved in Southeast Asian affairs? Consequences?
 The Vision of Mahatma Gandhi
 India has not rejected its past, but adjusted it to meet the
needs of the present
 Gandhi glorified poverty and the simple Indian village
 Importance of karma and predestination
 Dismantling of Colonialism in Southeast Asia
 Philippines granted independence from U.S., July 1946
 Britain gave independence to Burma in 1947 and after
subduin communist guerrillas, Malaya in 1957
 Dutch resist Indonesian independence until 1950
 France withdraws from Vietnam in 1954
Modern Southeast Asia
1. On July 4, 1946, the United States fulfilled its promise to grant independence to the Philippines. In 1965 Ferdinand Marcos subverted the
constitution and ruled as a dictator until 1986 when ousted in a spectacular electorial victory for the presidency by Corazon Aquino. The Americans,
however, maintained a military presence until 1992 when the last American base was closed.
2. Burma (Myanmar) received its independence from the British in 1948. The army seized power in 1962 and has remained in power since then.
3. In Malaya the native Malays feared and disliked the Chinese who had immigrated in the nineteenth century. Local Chinese communists launched
guerrilla activity after Britain indicated it would give the Malays a dominant voice in government. The communists were defeated and in 1957 Malaya
became self-governing. Independence was granted in 1961. Four years later, largely Chinese Singapore withdrew from the Federation of Malaysia.
4. Dutch efforts to reconquer the Netherlands East Indies after World War II failed and independence was granted for Indonesia in 1949 under
Achmed Sukarno. Beginning in 1957, he initiated a guided democracy. In reprisal for a communist uprising in 1965 which included the murder of
seven generals, the army killed a half million or more Indonesian communists1 radicals, and non-communist Chinese. Sukarno was forced to resign
and Muslim generals have ruled since.
5. After World War II, the French sought to reimpose their rule over Indochina. At the time of the Japanese surrender in August 1945, Ho Chi Minh,
leader of the Indochinese Communist Party, launched a general uprising and seized power throughout most of Vietnam. By fall, the French had
regained the southern area followed by all out war in December 1946. Despite American aid, the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.
Subsequent peace brought Indochina independence. Laos and Cambodia became independent while Vietnam was divided into two sections at the
17th parallel. The United States opposed any settlement involving loss of the whole territory to communism. In 1959 Ho returned to war in the
south. With the southern government on the verge of collapse in 1963, the South Vietnamese military seized power. U.S. troops were rushed in to
preclude total defeat in 1965. Unwilling to engage in all-out war for fear of provoking a larger conflict, the war became a stalemate. In 1969
withdrawal of U.S. troops began. A peace treaty was signed in January 1973 that called for the removal of all American forces. In return, the north
was to seek a political settlement with the south. Negotiations tailed and in early 1975 the communists resumed the offensive. At the end of April,
South Vietnam surrendered and was soon unified.
Question:
1. What was the role of the communists in Southeast Asia?
Modern Southeast Asia
 Era of Independent States
 Burma’s government gives way to the military
 Thailand’s democracy undermined by influential landed
elite
 Indonesia fell under the control of Sukarno (1901-1970)
and “Guided Democracy”
 Ethnic disputes
 ASEAN and Issue of Regional Integration
 Association for the Southeast Asian Nations sought
cooperation on social and economic endeavors
 After Vietnam sought political and military cohesion to
resist further communist encroachment in the region
 Problems of National Development
 Failure to bring material prosperity
 Ethnic differences
 Economic and regional tensions
Relevancy of Western-style democracy and
materialistic culture
 Disillusionment
Opposition from the army and orthodox Muslims
 Trends toward more representative governments and
growth of affluence
 Daily Life: Town and Country
 People moving from the country to the city
New urban workers change attitudes and values
 Increased manufacturing to take advantage of cheap
labor
 Growth of materialism
 Developing secular attitudes
 Changes in the middle class
 Increased inroads of the West
 Women