Indian Independence
Amritsar Massacre
► 1919-
Indian nationalist increase their
demands for freedom.
► Britain began limiting freedoms (press,
speech)
► General Reginald Dyer banned all public
gatherings
Continued
► April
13, 1919, over 10,000 Indians gathered in
Amritsar in peaceful protest.
► General Dyer order his troops to open fire on men,
women and children.
► 379 Indians killed and over 1,100 wounded
Gandhi's principles
► Influences-
Studied law in England, Learned
non-violence in South Africa
► Influences- Studied Hindu, Christian ideas
as well as Henry David Thoreau
► Satyagraha- Means “truth force”- method of
non-violent resistance
► Civil disobedience- The refusal to obey
unjust laws
Salt March
► British
controlled India’s salt. Indians could
not produce salt and it was heavily taxed
► Gandhi led followers on a 200 mile march to
the sea where they began making salt.
► Gandhi and over 50,000 others were
arrested
► The salt march increased international
support for Indian independence
Quit India Movement
► During
WWII most Indians had no desire to
fight in support of the British.
► INC refused to support the war without a
guarantee of immediate independence
► The INC urged Indians to follow a policy of
non-cooperation with the British.
► 20,000 congress members were arrested
► War-weakened could no longer control India
Hindu-Muslim Conflicts
► Muhammad
Ali Jinnah and the Muslim
League demanded a separate Muslim nation
► 1946, rioting broke out between Hindus and
Muslims
► 1947, India gains independence into two
nations
► Hindu dominated India and Muslim
dominated Pakistan
Formation of Pakistan
► Jinnah-
became governor general of
Pakistan
► Jawaharlal Nehru became prime minister of
India
► Mass violence broke out between Hindus
and Muslims despite religious toleration of
both nations
► More than 500,000 people were killed.
Gandhi’s Assassination
► January
1948- Gandhi
falls victim to the
violence.
► Killed by a Hindu
extremist who believed
Gandhi betrayed his
own people