Purpose
This paper is going to elaborate the process of decolonization of India from the British rule with the advent of World War II. The Second World War proved to be fatal to Britain’s desire to build an empire as they received immense pressure from the United Nations to grant their protectorates independence. It also explores the Partition that led to the emergence of India and Pakistan as both failed to agree on a ruling power with the present day Indians wanted the government wanted to have a majority Indian government while the largely Islamic state of Pakistan wished to be independent of India.
Decolonization of India
Decolonization is the process of a country breaking free from its colonial masters, and it has resulted in today's so-called third world countries as they still try to break from the grapples of colonialism. India, led by Mahatma Gandhi, who advocated for nonviolent protests, did not use violence to regain their independence but resulted to massive boycotts and civil disobedience. The Second World War seemed to be what India had been praying as it accelerated its decolonization as more and more of the world started opposing imperialism. (unknown author, 2012). The country had already formed a strong revolution against the British rulers, but they were strong enough to quell t. However, during the war, the country was facing some backlash, and the United States threatened to revoke their support for the British. The UK thus started loosening the reins on all their colonies.
The British still boasted the largest empire in the world and the rest of the countries termed it a threat, and they started putting pressure on them to break up their colonies to allow states to be self-ruling. During the war, Britain obtained their supplies, including food and enlisting young men in their armies to fight for them from their colonies. However, by the end of the war due to the anger of many revolutionary leaders like Gandhi, they found it unprofitable to continue maintaining some of their colonies, especially India. The British tried to get the Indians to enlist in the army in exchange for some independence, but it was quickly rejected by Gandhi and his supporters citing that they required full autonomy. The revolution in India resulted in massive strikes all over the country, and the Empire was making huge losses as people refused to work.
The rise of the Japanese empire could also be accredited to the charged revolution of the Indians. The Japanese were able to capture Singapore, which had been considered impenetrable. It was a blow to the British image, and they could not recover from it. For the longest time, the British ruled their empire by instilling fear of how far-reaching their power was, but this view waned after the Indians fought for the British in the First World War where they saw many British soldiers die in a similar fashion to them. The British preached their superiority, but perhaps the Indians to fight with them was a catalyst that started the revolution. A British soldier was no more immune to a gunshot wound than an Indian, and thus, the seeds were planted. (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.).
The independence movement was indeed the fatal blow the British Empire received from the Indians led by Mohandas Gandhi. India was Britain's most valuable colonies, but as the British focused on their crises, their 1930s economic crisis, and the Second World War, the independence was brewing quite strongly and became fully pledged after 1945. While the leaders responsible for the movement were detained from 1942, they were later released at the end of the war and reawakened the movement. Finally, the British could no longer ignore the cry for independence in India due to outside pressure, lack of internal support and India’s unprofitability they came to an agreement in 1946 where they granted the country partial independence, where some provinces were still directly under the British and other were completely liberated.
The Partition of India
At the beginning of the fight for independence in India, which had two main religions, Hindu and Islam were united, but as the country inched closer to independence, the Islam population felt that they were underrepresented in the government. They were not happy about the power sharing because the country was left in the hands of the Hindu Indians National Congress and some rebellions were beginning to brew internally. It did not matter that Mohandas advocated for peace and asked his supporters to accommodate the Muslims. His supporters did not share his views, and it led to the Partition.
The leaders of the Muslim League, who represented the Muslim population, failed to accept the call by the last British Viceroy of India about their power-sharing once they gained full autonomy in 1948 but only Gandhi agreed with him. They decided to split the country to present-day India and Pakistan. It was a fair solution but then came the debacle of marking the borders. The Sikhs also wanted a nation of their own, but their wish was not granted. (About Education, 2016). The independence day was also pushed up to 1947, but it only spelled doom for the country as it delved into a sectarian war waged against the Hindus and Sikhs by the Muslims on August 16, 1946. It resulted in the death of more than 4,000 Sikhs and Hindus, and it is known as "Direct Action Day."
All the parties did not believe in the equitable share of the country, and they fought to gain control of the fertile region of Punjab, which was originally inhabited by Hindus and Muslims. The new borders drafted by the British proved unsatisfactory for both regions, and they also neglected other religions as the Sikhs and the Christians. The already weakened government could do nothing to quell the war, and it saw the largest mass migration of the century with over 10 million people relocating to the south to escape slaughter by the Muslims in the north. It also resulted in the death of over one million people. The country had already been experiencing the Great Depression that led to uncontrolled inflations, and many died from the war. As the country recovered from the famine, they plunged back into war because the country had social discord because the government had no political or military control. A further breakdown in governance was observed with the uprising of the Telangana region against the British, and they saw it futile to try and regain control.
While the Muslims were left in the north and the Hindus, Christians and Sikhs in the south after the partition, both countries continued to fight for Kashmir and to this day is yet to be resolved.
Conclusion
The Second World War served as a propeller for the dissolution of the British Empire and especially in India, which was granted independence shortly after independence. However, the British were also desperate to get out of the country because of rising tensions about power sharing and it greatly undermined their role of governance in the country. The country did not have a peaceful takeover of the country by the ruling Hindu party as the Muslims felt left out in the power sharing. Effectively, the country delved into a sectarian war as the Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus sought to establish their states independent of each other. The governance of the new government collapsed because they lacked social cohesiveness. Finally, India and Pakistan were thus born but still experience some tensions today but have nonetheless coexisted.
References
About Education. What Was the Partition of India? Retrieved from <asianhistory.about.com>
Bates, C. (2011). The Hidden Story of Partition and its Legacies. BBC UK. Retrieved from www.bbc.co.uk
No author.(2012). To what extent was World War II the catalyst or cause of British Decolonization.
The Saylor Foundation. (n.d.). Decolonization in the British Empire. Retrieved from www.saylor.org.hist103/#9.2.2
