South Asian
Nationalism
March 18, 2014
Review
Which Southeast Asian country did the Japanese not occupy?
Who was Sukarno?
Who was Ho Chi Minh?
Do you see any relationship between the religion of country and the
appeal of Communism there? (Was Communism strong in Islamic,
Catholic, or Theravada Buddhist countries?)
In which Southeast Asian nation were nationalism and Communism the
most closely linked?
In which Southeast Asian country was nationalism the weakest before
1945?
Impact of Japanese rule
in Southeast Asia
Showed that the West was vulnerable --The British,
the Dutch, the Americans, and the French had all been
defeated by an Asian people.
The Japanese claimed to be liberating Southeast
Asians from Western domination, and they actually
brought some local people into their puppet
governments.(They claimed to be promoting a
“Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere.”) This gave
local leaders a taste of self-government, which
stimulated an even greater desire for self-rule.
the modern nation-state
The modern nation-state is different from the countries of
the past on two counts:
it is supposed to be a government chosen by, and
representing, the people it governs.(Trautmann, 183-84)
it should rule in such a way that it improves the lives of
those it governs-----it should not be a predatory
government. (We see movement toward governments
improving the lives of those it governed under
colonialism)
Changes in British Rule
Civil Service exams implemented-but the exams were held
in London,not India!
A census required Indians to state their religious affiliation
The decline of Persian led to more publications in local
languages, and the separation of Hindi from Urdu based on
differences in writing.
The British introduced the notion of the rule of law, and
some limited self-government (though not democracy)
India under the Raj
http://faculty.smcm.edu/rpfeingold/images/19191947ndia.jpg
http://projects.ecfs.org/eastwest/Images/1857_india.gif
Religious Change
Reform movements to “purify” Hinduism by “returning” to the ancient Vedic
scriptures. (pp. 184-88)
Three of those reforms movements (Brahma Samaj, Arya Samaj, and the
Vivekananda Society) have a presence in British Columbia today.
Reform movements in South Asian Islam, to discourage Muslims from going to
shrines for Sufi saints.
Reform among the Sikhs: calls for Sikhs to stop participating in Hindu festivals
Printing press made religious books more available
Yoga is extracted from Hindu texts and taught overseas.
India is portrayed as superior to the West in things spiritual.
British rule and Indian nationalism
How did colonial rule inspire nationalism in India?
economic integration created a more tightly-knit
nation, as did new transportation and
communication technologies.
Western education for Indians also inspired
nationalism.
The Indian National Congress was founded by a
Brit in 1885. It slowly became a nationalist
organization though it remained an example of elite
nationalism until Gandhi came along (p. 191)
Sprouts of Nationalism
Hindu College founded in 1816--taught Western
civilization in English. Led to the founding in 1886 of
an Anglo-Vedic College run by Indians themselves.
1875 First Indo-Muslim college founded.
Division of Bengal in 1905 created a lot of anger at the
British.
Indian anger rises
The great famine of 1899-1902
7See Mike Davis, Late Victorian Holocausts: El Niño
Famines and the Making of the Third World, pp.140-75
This book is available electronically via the UBC
Library. The map is on p. 163.
Other stimulants to nationalism
Anger over famine deaths in 1895-96
growing social isolation of British (after their wives joined them)
growing gap between rich and poor
urbanization
Indian participation in World War I
The Amritsar massacre of 1919 (p. 193)
The swadeshi (buy Indian goods) movement was an early sign of
popular anger at the British.
Nationalistic Organizations
1885 --Indian National Congress founded.
190-91)
(pp.
A later leader was Annie Besant, the head of the
Theosophical Society.
Muslim League was founded in 1906.
At first these were elite organizations, not expressions
of mass nationalism. (Trautmann, 191)
Nationalist leaders
Gandhi-- British-educated but used traditional
symbols to rouse the masses. Created a nonviolent protest movement (pp. 191-96)
Nehru--British-educated socialist. For him, nonviolence was only a tactic.
Jinnah-- British-educated Muslim. (pp.196-99)He
was concerned that Muslims would be dominated
by Hindus in an independent India. Eventually he
called for a separate Muslim state.
Bose--left the Congress to lead armed resistance
to the British during World War II.
Early Indian Nationalists
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jawaharlal_Nehru
for images of Gandhi and Nehru, and of Nehru and
Jinnah
For Gandhi with Jinnah,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gandhi_Jinnah
_1944.jpg
Gandhi and the creation of
mass nationalism in India
Gandhi: the Rise to Fame (part 3 of 8)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh1wXZd0CY
The Massacre
in Amristar
Gandhi: the Rise to Fame (part 4 of 8)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyQiqRvr9nI
Women in Colonial India
The British outlawed child marriage and the burning of
widows alive.
A few women began to receive an education, but at a
much lower rate than men did.
A few women were allowed to join men in voting for
representatives to local assemblies.
Women joined in the demonstrations for independence,
so the British would look bad when they beat women.
evaluating British rule
Stimulated the rise of a middle-class with a modern education,
and of English as a language spoken by the educated elite
across India
stimulated the rise of Indian nationalism, as well as Muslim
nationalism. (British rule hardened religious divisions in India.)
allowed, but did not promote, the beginnings of
industrialization.
Widened the gap between an educated urban elite and the
poor and uneducated majority, who lived in villages.
Unfolding of Nationalism
British began slowly giving Indians limited roles in the
government of India. In 1921 it allowed 5 million Indians to
vote for representatives on provincial legislative assemblies.
Eventually there were separate seats for Hindus, Muslims, and
Sikhs.
There is a rise in Hindu-Muslim violence in the last decades of
British rule, leading to stronger separatist sentiment.
The untouchables (Dalits), led by Dr. Ambedkar, fought for a
political identity distinct from Hindus.
Communism had little appeal
Buddhist nationalism in Ceylon
The British took over Ceylon from the Dutch in 1801, making
it Britain’s first crown colony.
They promoted commercial agriculture, including a plantation
system. This eroded the traditional social system.
Buddhists responded to the British challenge to the traditional
way of life by a) identifying Buddhism with Sinhalese national
identity and b) reforming Buddhism to make it more modern
(looking more like Protestant Christianity).
Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Population grew from 700,000 to 7 million under British rule.
British introduced a plantation system, and imported Tamils
(who were mostly Hindus) to work on those plantations.
Sinhalese responded to British Christianity by reforming their
Buddhism to emphasis texts over “magical” rituals.
Buddhism was identified with the anti-British movement.
In 1919, the Ceylon National Congress appeared.
Ceylon moves toward independence
In 1919, in imitation of the Indian example, a Congress Party was
founded in Ceylon. It included both Sinhalese (Buddhists) and Tamils
(Hindus).
In the 1920s, the British implemented a plan for elections and limited
self-government, which included plans for elected representatives of
specific ethnic groups.
Tamils began to worry that in a majority-rule government they would be
overpowered by the majority Sinhalese.
Universal suffrage in 1932, including women (first in Asia).
Independence gained in 1948.
Consequences of British
Rule
The British created nationalism in South Asia--they
created nations where no real nations had existed
before.
And they created nationalists by educating them, but
then refused to grant them equal treatment.
They hardened ethno-religious differences