Independence Movements in the Indian Subcontinent

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering the rise of nationalism, key leaders, and the challenges of post-colonial India and Pakistan based on the lecture transcript.

Mughal Empire

An empire founded by Babur that lasted for 300 years, from $1526$ to $1858$, and controlled most of the Indian subcontinent from modern-day Afghanistan to Bangladesh.

Viceroy

The highest official in the British colonial administration who ruled India on behalf of the British monarch.

Indian Mutiny or Sepoy Rebellion

The first Indian uprising involving peasants, workers, landlords, and princes, caused by pay inequality and suspicions regarding the use of animal fats in British rifles.

British East India Company

A powerful joint-stock company that evolved from focusing on Asian trade to becoming a major ruling power of India before the British Crown took control.

Indian National Congress (INC)

A nationalist organization that initially represented the interests of the wealthy and called for greater Indian representation in legislative councils and easier access to the Indian Civil Service.

Muslim League

A political league originally led by the elite class, created by Muslims to protect their interests after feeling underrepresented by the Indian National Congress.

Diaspore

The movement of people away from their home country, which occurred in India due to the indentured labor system set for British colonies.

Indian Civil Service (ICS)

An administrative body of British India and the backbone of colonial rule that implemented policies through British officers recruited via exams.

Partition of Bengal

A British attempt to divide the province into two for better administration, which Bengali-Hindus viewed as a threat to weaken nationalism.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak

The first leader of the Indian National Congress who advocated for swaraj and more active opposition to British rule.

Caste system

A social hierarchy created $2500$ years ago that separates society into groups where life privileges are determined by birth.

Amritsar Massacre

An event where General Dyer ordered troops to fire on a group of $5000$ people, resulting in $379$ deaths and $1000$ injuries.

Mahatma Gandhi

A pivotal leader of the Indian independence movement who championed nonviolence, satyagraha, non-cooperation, and civil disobedience.

Satyagraha

A practice of non-violence used by Gandhi that emphasizes love, truth, and morality to oppose evil through civil disobedience.

Partition

The act of dividing a country or territory into parts; in the context of India, this resulted in the creation of the nation of Pakistan.

Hindutva

A nationalist ideology defining India's identity as Hindu and seeking to make India a predominantly Hindu state.

Salt March

The start of the civil disobedience movement where Gandhi united thousands of Indians against the Salt Tax to weaken British control.

Khaliat

An Indian Muslim movement intended to protect the Ottoman Caliphate, the leader of Sunni Islam, from the destruction of the Ottoman Empire.

Mohammed Ali Jinnah

The founder of Pakistan and leader in British India who shifted from advocating for Hindu-Muslim unity to seeking separate statehood for Muslims.

Motilal Nehru

A lawyer, nationalist leader, and two-time president of the Indian National Congress who co-founded the Swaraj Party.

Dominion status

A term for a self-governing state within the Commonwealth that has autonomy while still acknowledging the British Crown as the head of state.

Dr. B. R Ambedkar

The main architect of India’s Constitution and a leader for Dalit, women’s, and labor rights who protested against the caste system.

Jawaharlal Nehru

The first Prime Minister of India, a champion for democracy, and a proponent of non-alignment during the Cold War.

Subhas Chandra Bose

A leader who advocated for armed resistance against the British by forming the INA (Indian National Army) with support from Axis powers.

Quit India Campaign

A civil disobedience campaign championed by Mahatma Gandhi and the INC with the goal of immediate Indian independence from British rule.

Stafford Cripps

A British politician and Chancellor of the Exchequer in Churchill's wartime coalition, significant for mitigating Britain's economic crises after the war.

Winston Churchill

The Prime Minister of the UK who led the British to victory in WWII and refused to surrender to the Axis powers.

Bengal Famine

A humanitarian disaster caused by a cyclone, food hoarding, and supply chain disruptions that led to the starvation and death of $3$ million people.

Direct Action Day

A day of protest called by the All India Muslim League that led to large-scale violence between Hindu and Muslim communities in Calcutta.

Mountbatten

The last viceroy of India responsible for overseeing the transfer of power and deciding how the states would be divided.

Great Calcutta Killing

A period of fighting between Hindu and Muslim communities where $4000$ people were killed, marking a turning point in British views on Indian communal unity.

Kashmir

A highly disputed state that has been the cause of three wars and ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan.

Sikhs

A separate religious group with their own culture and language who felt excluded from the partition plan and were denied their own state.

Princely states

Approximately $500$ territories in India ruled by local Indian rulers who maintained autonomy over local affairs through treaties with the British.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)

An organization dedicated to the promotion of Hindu values and the creation of a state based solely on Hindu culture.

Green Revolution

An economic policy shift in India from industry to agriculture using techniques to increase food production and achieve self-sufficiency.

Non-alignment

A Cold War policy where India and other countries (the Third World) refused to take sides with either the West or the Soviets.

East Pakistan

A territory of Pakistan that was underdeveloped, highly populated, and geographically separated from West Pakistan.

Containment

A Cold War strategy used by the US to prevent the spread of communism through anti-communist alliances.

SEATO and CENTO

Anti-communist organizations created by the US that Pakistan joined to prevent the spread of communist ideology.

Imperialist historians

Historians who focus on the role and progress of the British during the Indian Independence Movement.

Indian nationalist historians

Historians who focus on the contributions of great leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi to the movement.

Subaltern Studies historians

Historians who focus on how ordinary people contributed to the independence movement and promoted change.

Urvashi Butalia

An individual who examines the partition of India through the 'human dimension,' focusing on the personal perspectives and impacts on people.