Nationalism Triumphant: The Emergence of

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Chapter 31 Nationalism Triumphant The Emergence
of Independent States in South and Southeast Asia
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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
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• 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

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• Democratic Socialism
• Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964)
• Political system reflective of Britains
  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

5

• 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

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• 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 governments
  decision to adopt Urdu the national language
• New Democracy, 1958
• Election of 1970
• East Pakistan declares independence, March 1971,
  becomes Bangladesh
• General Zia Ul Haq, 1977

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• 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

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Rich and poor in Bombay. Slum housing, with
upscale apartments in background
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• Caste, Class, and Gender
• Caste determines marriage, occupation, moral and
  social-obligations, 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

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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. Question 1. Why did the U.S. get involved
in Southeast Asian affairs? Consequences?
Post-War Conflicts in East Asia
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• 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

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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
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• Era of Independent States
• Burmas government gives way to the military
• Thailands 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

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• 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

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• 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