Studied by 9 peopleMohandas K. Gandhi
His teachings blend all religions
Became known as “Mahatma” - “Great Soul”
“If we lived by the principle of an eye for an eye, the whole world will be blind"
Civil disobedience: Examples/Results
Deliberate and public refusal to obey an unjust law; always nonviolent
Examples:
Boycotts
Refuse to buy British goods
Refuse to attend government schools, pay taxes, vote in elections, ride railroads
1 Day work stoppage
To slow work and income
Cloth burning
Homespun movement → Which was making their own cloth and not buying it from the British
The Salt March
Spring 1930
Gandhi organized demonstration - defy Salt Acts
Over 20+ days, walked 240 miles to the coast to make salt
Defies British law
Gandhi gains followers along the way
Results:
60,000 were arrested, including Gandhi
British brutally attack demonstrators
Jails overcrowded
Government of India Act
1935 (5 years after the Salt March, 4 years before WW2)
Gives India local self government (not total)
Indian Nationalism grows against British imperialism
It was an attempt at compromise to give Indians some autonomy
autonomy = on their own (independence)
PROS:
Provinces gained full representative and elective (Indian) governments
30 million Indians could vote (but India’s population was far greater than this)
‘Only’ most “crucial” government tasks - defense, revenue, and foreign affairs - were reserved for “appointed officials” (The British)
CONS:
Provincial governors (British) still held more power than the elected officials (Indians)
British could suspend elected representatives
Both Indian National Congress and Muslim League opposed the act
Post WWII problems in India
The Quit India campaign
India wanted the British to leave and give them independence
The Raj starts to fall apart which causes…
Religious Divide
Indian National Congress - Represented Hindus (75% of pop.)
Muslim League - Represented Muslims (25% of pop.)
Gandhi wants unification ONE INDIA
Violence
INC mocked Jinnah (leader of Muslim League)
Hindu-Muslim riots
Calcutta Riots
Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League
Muslim Leader
Muslim League would not accept a Hindu-controlled government
Wanted a separate country
The INC mocked him so he called for strikes across India
He died in 1948, one year after Independence
Jawaharlal Nehru
Friends with Gandhi
First Prime Minister of India (1947-1964)
Advocated for 1 India but agreed to partition
Longest serving Prime Minister (16 years)
Relatively secular
Led a democracy
1950 - The Indian constitution takes effect
Calcutta Riots
“Direct Action” for Muslim Homeland:
Muslims vs. Hindus
3 days in August 1946
4,000 people were killed (between both sides)
British didn’t really see India as an asset anymore… more of a liability
This was really destroying Gandhi! He fought for 1 India. He visited the city and threatened fasting until death unless the rioting stopped
Independence (1947)
After WW2, Britain “gives up” the colony of India
India was not as profitable to the British due to protests, boycotts, and resistance
Indian nationalists succeeded in building enormous support for independence
Leads to the question… who will rule the country? Muslims or Hindus?
Partition of India – Impact/Results
British rule ended and the subcontinent was freed
With the British leaving, so did their stability
August 1947: India was split into two separate countries:
Pakistan (Islam)
India (Hindu)
Resulted in mass migration
1947: 12-14 million people moved across borders → the greatest mass migration in history
People saw the violence that occurred towards people of their religion and wanted to leave to where their religion was safe
Hindus left the new state of Pakistan
Muslims departed India for Pakistan
An estimated 1 million people were murdered during this crossover
Cyrus Radcliffe
The British official responsible for the partition lines
He never visited the border areas or knew the cultural differences
Very careless about it → They just wanted to get out of the region quickly
Used outdated maps and census information
He simply took a pencil and drew lines
Creates further hostility
Nehru’s leadership
“Non-alignment”
Wanted India to develop industry
Adopted socialist policies
Included state-owned industries, which did not do well and were inefficient
India remained a poor nation with widespread poverty
Mohandas Gandhi’s death
January 1948: assassinated by Hindu extremist upset by Gandhi’s tolerance of Muslims
Conflict over Kashmir
Territorial dispute between India and Pakistan over the region of Kashmir.
Both countries claim the area and have engaged in several wars.
The conflict is rooted in religious and cultural differences.
It remains unresolved, with occasional outbreaks of violence and tensions between the two nations.
Nehru and Mrs. I. Gandhi’s policy of nonalignment
A policy of neutrality in the Cold War, nonalignment was advocated by Nehru and Mrs. I. Gandhi. It aimed to maintain India's sovereignty and pursue international cooperation.
China’s annexation of Tibet and the subsequent war
India had border disputes with China as well.
Mao’s China seized Tibet in 1950.
Tibetans revolted against Chinese rule in 1959, but their revolt was crushed.
The Dalai Llama, the leader of the Tibetans, escaped to India where he found sanctuary
China was upset with India for this, so they claimed land in Kashmir, saying it was territory belonging to southern Tibet.
This caused China and India to fight a one month long war along their Himalayan border. India was beaten badly. China has transformed Tibet into a police state. Tibetans are under constant surveillance and many protest by setting themselves on fire.
W. Pakistan vs. E. Pakistan, War w/ India and the creation of Bangladesh (1971)
The West Pakistanis (Punjabi) attacked East Pakistan (Bengali) in March, 1971. They murdered Bengali's and focused on killing Hindus, who made up 10% of East Pakistan’s population.
Ten million refugees fled to India in search of safety.
Indira Gandhi knew the only way to stop the refugees was to stop the killing.
War broke out between India and Pakistan. 2 weeks later, the fighting was over. India’s army trapped 93,000 Pakistani soldiers in East Pakistan
The Bengalis established their own nation, Bangladesh. Pakistan lost the eastern half of its country: Their military was humiliated.
India becomes 6th country with a nuclear weapon in 1974 after other countries signed the NPT (Nuclear Proliferation Treaty)
India successfully tested an atomic bomb in May,1974, called the “Smiling Buddha.”
India’s success caused Pakistan to develop its own atomic weapons.
India’s Poverty and stunting
During the “Emergency” after Pakistan’s humiliating military experience, India experienced drought, food shortages, cost of oil soared, and economic growth was slowed.
Mrs. Gandhi’s “Emergency”
After the war behind W. Pakistan and E. Pakistan and India, India went through many hardships.
Droughts resulted in food shortages, the cost of oil soared, and the socialist policies slowed economic growth, and corruption.
Because of this, Indira Gandhi declared an emergency.
She ordered the arrest of thousands of people without reason, India’s Bill of Rights was suspended, and the press was censored.
In 1977, voters rejected her and she was no longer India’s leader. (Until 1980)
Golden Temple at Amritsar and Operation Blue Star
Sikh separatists in the state of Punjab seized the Golden Temple of Amritsar. The militants used the temple as a refuge and an arsenal.
Mrs. Gandhi ordered the Indian army to drive them out. → This was Operation Blue Star in 1984
This was the Operation that cost Ms. Gandhi her life.
2 of her Sikh body guards turned their weapons on her.
Mrs. Gandhi’s assassination
October 31, 1984
Two of Mrs. Gandhi's bodyguards, both Sikhs
Revenge for Operation Blue Star (a military operation ordered by Mrs. Gandhi to remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar)
Mrs. Gandhi died from her injuries, leading to widespread riots and violence against Sikhs in India.
Sanjay Gandhi’s death
In 1980, the plane he was piloting crashed and he was killed.
Rajiv Gandhi - forced sterilization; supported Sri Lankan gov’t against Tamil Tigers; Assassination
India was concerned that the Tamils of Sri Lanka might encourage the Tamils of India’s southern state to make separatist demands of their own.
Rajiv sent 45,000 Indian troops to help the Sri Lankan government defeat the Tamil insurgents in 1987.
They fought for 30 months.
As Rajiv Gandhi was advancing through a crowd of supporters, a woman bowed down to his feet and triggered an explosive belt, killing them both.
Rao’s focus on the economy- cutting “red tape”; devaluing Rupee; inviting foreign investment
Rao wanted to “unshackle” the Indian economy.
He cut taxes, devalued the Rupee, cut bureaucratic red tape, (excessive work load) and open the country to foreign investment.
Exports were on the rise and it created jobs.
India’s nuclear weapons test, followed by Pakistan’s nuclear tests
In 1998, India conducted a nuclear weapons test, followed by Pakistan's 5 nuclear tests. This series of nuclear tests was highly controversial and led to international condemnation, as both countries were not signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The event heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, and raised concerns about the possibility of a nuclear war between the two countries.
Babri Mosque incident
Hindus believed that the mosque was built on the birthplace of the god Ram.
In 1992, Hindus came to the mosque with weapons. They reduced the mosque to rubble within hours.
They then set fire to Muslim-owned businesses and houses. Religious riots spread across the country.
Gujarat Riots
Violent communal clashes that occurred in the Indian state of Gujarat in 2002, resulting in the deaths of over 1,000 people, mostly Muslims.
The riots were sparked by the burning of a train carrying Hindu pilgrims, which was blamed on Muslims. The state government was accused of complicity in the violence because no police or fire officers were sent to the scene, and many of the perpetrators were never brought to justice.
26/11 Terror Attacks- Lashkar e-Taiba; Singh’s decision not to retaliate
Lashkar e-Taiba is a Sunni Muslim militant insurgent group based in Pakistan → Their primary aim is the liberation of Kashmir from Indian control.
They launched an attack on passenger cars serving Mumbai commuters.
Ten men trained in Pakistan were equipped with assault rifles, grenades, and maps of their targets.
Their targets included a train station, two luxury hotels, and a Jewish community center and hospital.
They killed 166 people.
Pakistan denied responsibility for the attack and Singh refused to attack because he feared it would cause war between the two nuclear-armed rivals.
Prime Minister Modi; BJP (Hindu nationalist party); Citizenship Law
Prime Minister Modi: Current Prime Minister of India, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
BJP (Hindu nationalist party): A political party in India that promotes Hindu nationalism, cultural conservatism, and social conservatism.
Citizenship Law: A law passed by the Indian government in 2019 that grants citizenship to non-Muslim illegal immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, sparking protests and controversy.
Zulfiqar Bhutto- Coup d’etat and execution
Pakistani Prime Minister 1973-1977
1971 War between India and Pakistan
Bangladesh was created
1974 He was charged with ordering the assassination of a political rival.
After only 4 years in power, in 1977, he was overthrown in a coup d’etat.
1979 Bhutto was hanged.
General Zia’s objective for Pakistan and his methods (i.e. madrassas)
He led a campaign to introduce Islamic law and create an Islamic system as opposed to secularism.
He encouraged the construction of hundreds of madrassas throughout Pakistan.
His ideas:
Faith should be at the basis of society.
To educate young men in Islamic ideas.
To prepare some for anti-communist jihad.
Soviet-Afghan War and Pakistan’s role (training/weapons)
Soviet Union vs. Afghan rebels.
Mujahedeen supported by Pakistan and the US.
Millions of Afghan refugees fled to Pakistan.
The Soviets planned terror strikes in Pakistan.
General Zia feared Pakistan would be sandwiched between a communist (no faith) Afghanistan and a Hindu (not Muslim) India.
Winning the cooperation of General Zia was key in comparing Soviets.
The US approved $3.2 billion in aid to Pakistan.
They used most of the money for weapons and training.
US aid to Pakistan
The US approved $3.2 billion in aid to the Mujahedeen
Would do anything to get rid of communism!
Taliban takeover in Afghanistan
The Civil War in Afghanistan followed the Soviet Afghan War → Which gave the Taliban a way to take over
Afghans endured anarchy and violence (1989-1996)
Backed by Pakistan, Taliban controlled Kabul - imposed extreme vision of Islamic Law.
Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program
A program initiated in the 1970s to develop nuclear weapons by Pakistan.
It was led by Abdul Qadeer Khan, who is known as the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb.
Pakistan conducted its first nuclear test in 1998.
Abdul Qadeer Khan
Leader of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program.
Developed Pakistan’s first nuclear weapon.
Despite an international agreement to limit arms development, countries were developing weapons.
He sold bomb making equipment and gave technical advice to Libya, North Korea, and Iran.
He was pardoned for his actions.
Conflict in Kashmir
India and Pakistan fought over Kashmir even before they won independence in 1947.
Kashmir eventually chose India after the partition and it caused 3 wars to follow.
This is because Pakistan was blamed for backing separatists in Kashmir.
In India, Kashmir had special privileges (their own flag, constitution, and independence) but were suddenly revoked.
In 2003, they agreed on a cease-fire. But, India blamed Pakistani-groups for an attack on their airbase. → Further violence occurred.
9/11 report and terrorism in Pakistan
Following the 9/11 attacks, US and foreign officials looked at indicators to determine possible terrorist base locations and determined an ideal site would combine:
Rugged terrain (not in plain sight)
Weak governance (not become involved, not stable and secure)
Room to hide or receive supplies
Low population density
Town nearby that allows access to the outside world (to get messages out or transport things)
Pakistan was determined to be a likely spot.
Osama Bin Laden’s death (Pakistan)
Some Taliban members hid out in the mountainous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
2011: Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan by the US Seal Team 6.
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