HIST-1103 W10: Interwar India, China, & Japan; WW2 in Asia to 1942

Class of July 9th.

RR: Thomas Weber “Gandhian Nonviolence and the Salt March”
How was the Salt March to Dandi an embodiment of Mohandas Gandhi’s vision?

• Nonviolent campaign in 1930. “Two approaches” - one based on ‘conscientiousness’ or rejection of violence and coercion in general, and one as violence used to challenge power, or ‘pragmatic’

• “We should be the change that we are attempting to bring about” 

• “It (the Salt March) was not merely about removing the British but to demonstrate what an ideal nonviolent society should look like, how ideal lives should be lived.” (p. 46)

Salt March

• Gandhi/followers walk 320km from the city of Ahmedabad to “seaside hamlet” of Dandi

• Opposing salt tax (Indian laborers/people unable to collect and use salt to aid their diets, lest they get taxed exorbitantly by the British)

On the road

• “Microcosm of an ideal nonviolent society” - expected forgiveness, let convicted murderer join march

• “Untouchables” something to do with caste-lessness (like the feudal system?)

• Small examples and actions made a big difference over time, “actions speak louder than words.” EXAMPLES: carries bags instead of having a servant do it, collects his own water, day nine (living sermon) where he refuses to start unless the “untouchables” are allowed to sit among the others, pointing out the irony that the caste villagers were doing the exact same thing the British were to them

Problems

• See issue of sweets - Gandhi’s marchers were treated more kindly than the poor living in the village they were visiting. Followers are supposed to represent what they are for, ‘twas angry

  • More fresh fruit, veg, and a new cup was given. Undertook personal penance as a result

  • March was becoming costly (50x the average daily income in India) and also the boy with the kerosene lamp who was forced to run/be quick; next day hurricane lanterns “better reflected the inner peace” Gandhi found within the assembly

Messages of the Salt March

• “Instrumental in freeing India from the yoke of British imperialism and consequently started the unravelling of global colonialism” 

• Message was not just political, but social - empowerment, voice is not just one

  • “Not designed to establish independence, but to arm the people with the power to do so”

• “Thus the Salt March was both about reforming society and about the self-reformation of the individual. For Gandhi the two were inextricably linked – reform yourself and you have started to reform the world, reform the world nonviolently and you will have reformed the self.”

• Interesting section at the end criticizing those who call Gandhi a “dramatiser” - framed his choices as “acts of dedication to God” and the by-products, such as attracting the world’s attention and a “stroke of political leadership” 

• “Statesmanship of the spirit is infinitely superior to the statesmanship of politics” 

• Mentions of Gandhi mostly being considered a “brilliant and pragmatic politician” hmm

RR: Chamberlin, “Japan, The ‘Have-Not’ State”
What was Japan’s justification for wanting to expand its territory and influence?

• Population rapidly increasing, feeling of overcrowdedness; root cause of difficulties (restrictions on Japanese immigrants/goods, unfair treatment)

• Nationalism equivalent to religion

• Superior Japanese feeling of “Pan-Asian mission” - leader of Asia with no ‘white imperialism.’ 

• Imperialism and dissatisfaction, lack of resources (little essential raw materials)

RR: Herge, The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus (Excerpt on The Manchurian Incident)
What brought Japan and China into conflict in Manchuria? How much of the history in The Blue Lotus is grounded in historical facts?

• Japanese spy blows up railroad and then falsely blames the Chinese for doing so, inciting reasons for their invasion of Manchuria

2/2 

• Japanese then exaggerate what happened in order to justify invasion, spreading the news around the globe (at least in the comic)

• “Japan has fulfilled her mission as guardian of law and civilization in the Far East!... If we have been forced, to our utmost regret, to send troops into China, it is for the good of China herself!” 

One of Herge’s best works in terms of historical facts. Obviously dumbed-down because it’s part of Le Vingtieme Siecle, but helped from Zhang Chongren (consider bias.) Anti-imperialistic views also biased how Japanese were portrayed.

Lecture: India
What was unique about Gandhi’s protests against British rule?

• “Jewel in the crown” for Britain (raw materials, manufactured goods/manpower)

• Infrastructure to suit imperial needs, food exports continued over shortages (FAMINES.)

• Independence Movement - Indian National Congress in 1886

  • Goal: democracy, post-WW1 push for liberation (Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points)

  • Muslim League, 1906 (advocate) - worried about Hindu-dominated India

• Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, 1919 - final straw, unarmed protesters (galvanizes)

• Mohandas Gandhi - Western individualism + Indian religion

  • PEACEFUL protests/non-cooperation

• Jawaharlal Nehru: modernizer, worked w/ Gandhi

Salt Tax Protests 1930-33 

• Castes/classes refused to pay tax

Reforms (self-government, educates elite, national consciousness) 

During WW1

• Denounce war, “Quit India Movement,” 1943 (Gandhi+100k imprisoned)

• Muslim league supports British war effort (2.5M Indian troops, Burma/SE Asia) - vital for war materials/supplies

• INDEPENDENCE, 1947. India split, Gandhi assassinated

Lecture: China

What divided and what (sometimes) united the nationalists and communists in China?

• Revolution of 1911 ends Qing Dynasty, ≠ stability

• WW1 - Japan occupies Shangdong province, 21 demands. Joins Entente for territory (recall Chinese labor corps)

  • May Fourth Movement. Student protests, demand change

• Rivals in 1920s: Nationalists (Kuomintang), Chinese Communist Party

• Dr. Sun-Yat-sen. 3 principles: nationalism, democracy, socialism

• Chiang Kai-shek - Nationalist leader, right-wing (unifies country 1928, takes Beijing)

• Mao Zedong/CCP - inspired by RR/nationalism 

  • Long March 1934-35 - Mao/followers chased

• Invasion by Japan 1937 brings Nationalists/Communists together

Lecture: Japan

How did the Great Depression influence Japanese militarism?

• Regional/global superpower (rising) - WW1 winner (no trenches, economic gain)

• Lack living space (German lebenstraum) 

• Great Depression :( exports decline 50% so strengthens tariffs

Manchuria (Mukden) Incident, 1931 “False-flag incident”

• Japanese agents blow up Japanese-controlled railway, blame Chinese bandits, Japanese invade. Woo.

• Chinese appeal to LON, Japan withdraws + Manchuria → Manchukuo (JP satellite)

• Militarism BOOM (warrior culture, expansion, samurai. Discipline, order, sacrifice.) 

  • General Tojo: prime minister, 1941-44 (backed by Emperor Hirohito)

• Imperialism (dominate Asia) - appeal via removing Western rule (liberator)

• Japanese advance into China, 1937 (Rape of Nanjing, 260k killed)

• Controls coast, 1939 (Kuomintang forces beaten, retreat. Communist forces guerilla war)

*Mirrors Germany/other powers (larger country and land mass does well over time)

• Advance w/ Axis Alliance (Japan, Germany, Italy) 1940

• Pearl Harbor, Hong Kong Dec 1941. Takes Singapore, Dutch East Indies, Burma, Philippines, West Pacific (harsh POW treatment)

• ARMY: Large, but overextended