• Examine the impact of geographic
phenomenon on the Indian subcontinent.
• Trace the history of India from ancient
times to modern times
• Analyze the impact of imperialism on India
• Identify reasons why native Indian’s were
unhappy with British rule.
• Located on the subcontinent of India
– A large landmass that juts out of Asia
– Situated just south of the Himalayan & Hindu
Kush Mountains
– Located in between the Indus River and the
Ganges River
– Climate dominated by monsoons
• Strong, often violent winds that change direction
with the seasons
India’s Monsoons
• India’s winters
are hot and
dry: winds
blow from the
northeast with
very little
moisture
India’s Monsoons
• India’s summer sees
winds blowing from
the southwest
• The summer is
dominated by
torrential rainstorms
often causing violent
landslides; however
are welcomed by
farmers and to
provide electricity
• These factors
kept the
culture of the
Indus River
very isolated
from the rest of
Asia
• The Indus River Valley grew into a thriving
civilization by 2500 BCE.
• The Dravidians lived in the south and were
eventually eclipsed by the Aryans migrating
from the northeast.
• India initially was consolidated under the
Gupta Dynasty
– Other powerful dynasties included the Magadha,
Kosla, Kuru and Gandhara Dynasties
Dravidians
Aryans
• In the 10th century a Muslim rulers from
Turkey & Afghanistan began invading and by
the 12th century, had established the Delhi
Sultanate (Sultan = tsar, emperor, king)
– 5 Dynasties that ruled India as a kingdom
• The Delhi Sultanate was absorbed by the
Mughal Empire which ruled the land for over
300 years (1526–1857).
– Led to an "Indo-Muslim" fusion of cultures
• Europeans Arrive Europeans began
arriving in India in 1500’s – they were
hoping to make money from the
lucrative spice trade
Vasco da Gama of
Portugal
Seven Years’ War: British defeat French
(Here we know it as the French & Indian War!)
• A company that was founded by way of a
charter from the monarch of Britain for
pursuing trade with the East Indies, but
ended up trading mostly with the Indian
subcontinent, present-day Pakistan, and
parts of Iran
Tea
Silk
Cotton
• During the 1700’s and 1800’s the East India
Company slowly took control of India
• As the Mughal Empire grew weak, the East
India Company grew in economic and
political strength and began to build its own
military force
• The military force mainly consisted of
sepoys , Indian soldiers, led by British
commanders
• The British wanted many of the raw materials
India produced
– cotton, indigo, jute (burlap), spices, sugar, and tea
• These material were shipped to Britain for use
in British factories – finished products were
then shipped around the world to British
colonies
• Advantages of the British invasion – railroads,
education, hospitals, common language,
• Disadvantages– low wages, few rights, no say
in government
• The strength of British control angered many
of the Indians
• 1857 the sepoy troops rebelled
• The British suppressed the rebellion and
abolished the British East India Company
• India officially became a British colony In 1877
• Queen Victoria took the title Empress of
India…India becomes known as the British Raj
– Raj = means "royalty" or "kingdom" in Sanskrit and
Hindu languages
• Indians never really accepted British rule
• In the late 1800’s Indian nationalists created
the Indian National Congress
• Rather than demand independence, the
Congress asked for equal treatment and
representation in government
– The British refused
– National Congress’s goals slowly changed from
seeking reform to demanding independence
• Britain promises
India self-rule if they
help fight in the war
– 1.25 million Indians
served with British
military
• When war ends,
Britain made a few
reforms but refused
to grant India selfgovernment
• High casualty rates, increasing inflation
compounded by heavy taxation, the deadly
1918 flu pandemic, and the disruption of
trade during the war escalated human
suffering in India
• Result: Revival of Independence
Movement
• Amritsar was a city in Punjab (Indian state)
where protests and gatherings were making
the British increasingly nervous
• 1919, British general (Reginald Dyer)
banned public meetings in the city of
Amritsar
• Many people ignored the order and gathered
in a public garden called Jallianwala Bagh
for the Sikh Festival "Baisakhi fair” & to
protest British rule
• Dyer arrived with British troops
• Giving no word of warning, ordered 50
soldiers to fire into the gathering
• In 10 to 15 minutes 1,650 rounds of
ammunition were unloaded into the
screaming, terrified crowd
• Dyer then marched away, leaving 379 dead
and over 1,500 wounded
• Dyer—without warning the crowd to
disperse—blocked the main exits. He
explained later that this act "was not
to disperse the meeting but to punish
the Indians for disobedience.” Dyer
ordered his troops to begin shooting
toward the densest sections of the
crowd. Firing continued for
approximately ten minutes. Cease-fire
was ordered only when ammunition
supplies were almost exhausted, after
approximately 1,650 rounds were
spent
Entrance to the public garden, Jallianwala Bagh
Passageway to the public garden, Jallianwala Bagh
Memorial monument to those lost in the massacre
Bullet Marks still left from April 13, 1919
Martyr's Well
Martyr's Well
• The Amritsar Massacre stirred nationalist
feelings across India and had a profound
effect on many Indians
• After the Amritsar Massacre many became
convinced that India should accept nothing
less than full independence.
• Please read the
biography of Mahatmas
Gandhi for tomorrow’s
class.
You must be
the change you
wish to see in
the world.
• Trace the biography of Gandhi and his role in
India’s independence movement
• Define and apply the concepts of civil
disobedience and passive resistance
• Analyze statements from Gandhi’s Hind Swaraj
to better understand the ideas of non-violent
protest.
• Explain the concept of “partition” in
relationship to the creation of modern India
and Pakistan.
• What British company essentially took
complete control of India by the early 19th
century?
• After the Sepoy Rebellion in 1857, what did
British Queen Victoria do? What did India
become called after her declaration?
• What were some of the reasons native Indians
were unhappy with British rule?
• What happened at Amritsar in 1919? What
impact did this event have on the native Indian
population?
• What do these images have in common?
• Why do these forms of protest work?
• What do the people in the images have in
common with the people of India in the
early 20th century?
• Mahatmas Gandhi was the primary
leader of India's independence
movement
• Spent 20 years opposing discriminatory
legislation against Indians
• Pioneer of Satyagraha, or resistance
through mass, non-violent civil
disobedience
• The Amritsar Massacre had a profound
effect on Mohandas Gandhi
• Became convinced that nothing but full
independence from Great Britain was an
acceptable resolution
• Gandhi began organizing his first campaign
of mass civil disobedience against Britain's
oppressive rule.
Gandhi as a man in his 60s
fighting for Indian
Independence
Gandhi as a young lawyer
fighting for the rights of
black South Africans
• Gandhi emerges as spiritual leader for Indian
Independence
• A. Civil Disobedience - refusing to obey
unjust laws and purposely breaking them
• B. Passive Resistance - Non-violent protests
using two major aspects:
– Satyagraha = “soul force”, meaning opponents
must be weaned from error by patience and
compassion
– Ahimsa = “Love for all”…even your enemies
• The goal of Satyagraha is to resolve the
conflict with an opponent without inflicting
physical or emotional injury to them, and
with willingness to suffer physical or
emotional injury to oneself.
– No violence ever
– No fear ever
– Examples?
• Literally means compassion
• Inspired by the premise that all living beings
have the spark of the divine spiritual energy;
therefore, to hurt another being is to hurt
oneself.
– To harm another will have karmic effects
– Karma = what you put out in the world will
come back to you
• Boycotts British goods – especially textiles
• He encouraged homespun clothing and wore a
dhoti, simple white garment traditionally worn
by villagers.
• Goes on hunger strikes in prison and calls for
the stoppage of any violent protests.
– Jailed 11 times for writing anti-British articles,
organizing marches and rallies, and organizing
boycotts
• Each of you will be given a
excerpts from Gandhi’s book,
The Hind Swaraj.
• You will work with a partner,
and read through the
excerpts,
• Afterward, you will complete
the “Interpreting Primary
Sources” handout by
rewriting Gandhi’s ideas of
civil disobedience and passive
resistance.
Let’s
Discuss!
• British law claimed that the British had sole
right to produce and sell salt in India
• Gandhi wrote to the British governor
(Viceroy) in India stating his intent to break
the law
• With 78 followers he marched 240 miles to
the sea.
• By the time he reached the sea, thousands of
people had joined the march
• Gandhi and others harvested salt from the
sea and were arrested
• Reporters around the world reported the
incident.
• The event embarrassed the British
government who prided themselves on their
democratic traditions.
Gandhi raised a lump of salty mud and declared, "With
this, I am shaking the foundations of the British
Empire.” He then boiled it in seawater, producing illegal
salt. He implored his thousands of followers to likewise
begin making salt along the seashore, "wherever it is
convenient" and to instruct villagers in making illegal,
but necessary, salt
1. The salt tax was a deeply symbolic choice,
since salt was used by nearly everyone in
India, to replace the salt lost by sweating in
India's tropical climate
2. An item of daily use could resonate more
with all classes of citizens
3. He also reasoned that it would build unity
between Hindus and Muslims by fighting a
wrong that touched them equally
• After WWII – Britain realized it could no
longer keep control of South Asia, and in
particular India
• But a whole other set of issues arose
between India’s Hindus and Muslims, which
we’ll discuss tomorrow!
• Explain the basic idea(s) of nonviolent protest.
–Place your response on the slip
provided.
–Make sure your name is on it and
turn it in!
• After WWII – Britain realized it could no
longer keep control of South Asia
• This developed into a new set of problems –
– the mistrust and hostility between India’s
Muslim population and Hindu population
– Neither group trusted the other – the Hindus
greatly outnumbered the Muslims and the
Muslims feared Hindu rule
• In 1947, the Indian subcontinent won its
independence from Great Britain, creating
the world’s largest democracy with over one
billion people.
• However, Muslim League leader
Muhammad Ali Jinnah argued that
Muslims should have their own state.
• In 1947 India was divided into 2
nations:
– Land with a Hindu majority became India
– Land with a Muslim majority became
Pakistan in the west
• Burma (Myanmar) and Ceylon (Sri
Lanka) became independent the
following year.
• The border between the two states was
drawn hastily, using outdated census reports
and maps.
• At the epicenter of the Indian-Pakistan
conflict is the Jammu-Kashmir state, which,
in 1947, had a predominantly Muslim
population but was officially signed over to
India
– Three wars have been fought over this region.
Arbitrary borders divided states – Punjab was divided
between Pakistan & India
• Due to this Hindu-Muslim split, a Great
Migration occurred where Hindus in Pakistan
and Muslims in India left their homes in an
attempt to go where they felt accepted.
– 9 million Hindus left Pakistan and 6 million
Muslims left India.
• Unfortunately, this led to horrendous violence
and riots that killed millions of people.
• Jawaharal Nehru was India’s
first Prime Minister.
– Introduced a Western-style,
secular government based on
universal suffrage, religious
freedom, social equality and
abolition of the caste system.
– Indian economy successfully
combined government-run
industry with private
enterprise
• Relations between Pakistan and India
remain unstable.
– Both nations want to control the Jammu and
Kashmir regions near the Pakistan-India border.
• Tensions continued to increase after both
India and Pakistan tested nuclear weapons
in 1998.
• A grouping acronym that refers to the
countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and
China: BRIC
• All deemed to be at a similar stage of newly
advanced economic development
– Symbol of the shift in global economic power
away from the developed G7
• France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom,
USA, & Canada
• It is estimated that BRIC economies will
overtake G7 economies by 2027
• They account for more than a quarter of the
world's land area and more than 40% of the
world's population
The ten largest economies in the world in 2050, measured in GDP (billions
USD), according to Goldman Sachs
Categories
Brazil
Russia
India
China
USA
Area
5
1
7
3
4
Population
5
9
2
1
3
107
221
90
156
118
5
7
2
1
3
GDP Growth Rate
115
87
13
6
159
Human
Development
Index*
73
65
119
89
4
Exports
22
9
19
1
2
Imports
20
17
10
2
1
External Debt
25
22
27
18
1
Electricity
Consumption
10
5
3
1
2
Mobile Phones
5
4
2
1
3
Internet Users
5
7
4
1
2
Population Growth
Labor Force
• From 1947-1991, India’s economy was a
mix of socialism and capitalism
– Relied heavily on government intervention in
the economy
– Relied on replacing foreign imports with
domestic production
– Result: shortages and inefficiency and
corruption within government
• 1991-present: free-market economy with a
focus on international trade