Introduction
Korea and India were both separated after the events of the World War II. Korea was separated into the Communist North Korea and the Republic of South Korea while the Indian Nation was partitioned into the Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of India. Both division and partition was the effect of the conflicts of two major groups. However, there are factors the differentiate one from the other division. In this essay, the factors that led to the division of the two great nations are analyzed and their similarities are discussed. The essay also opts to evaluate whether the division of Korea and the division of India were inevitable.
Korea
The division of Korea was the result of the actions taken by the winners of the World War II which is the Allied Forces (Barry, 37). The nation of Korea before the war was a colony of the Imperial government of Japan. After their defeat, they are forced by the Allied forces to surrender Korea and to leave their posts in the nation. The US and the Soviets agreed to establish a provisional Korean government but their initiatives did not materialize due to some disagreements (Barry, 39). The absence of the provisional government resulted to the establishment and evolvement of separate governments in the South and in the North. The Communist state was established in the North while the pro-western group of people established the Republic Government in the South. This separated government grows and resulted to the separate nation of the North Korea and South Korea (Barry, 40).
India
The British Empire gave the independence of India and Pakistan after the World War II in 1947 (Metcalf & Metcalf, 221). The partition was facilitated by the British Commonwealth and the assets, population and the land areas were divided to Pakistan and India through the election of each Provinces of the British Indian Empire. The partition of the British Indian Empire was accompanied by war, Muslim Nationalism and non-cooperation of the congress. The partition resulted to mass murders and migration although peace and order was given by the British government (Metcalf & Metcalf, 226). The partition of the British Indian Empire was accompanied by religious conflicts. The Republic of India regained their government which is mostly inhabited by the Buddhists while the Republic of Pakistan was mostly inhabited by the Muslims.
Similarities
One of the major similarities of the two divisions is that they are accompanied hasty and temporary decisions. The Korean Division was a result of the hasty decisions of the Allied Forces. The US and the Soviets forced Japan to leave the colony but they did not agree for the provisional government that should control the devastated nation (Barry, 53). The Indian division is also accompanied by hasty decisions of the British Government. They gave the independence of the large nation of India although they did not control or regulate the separate ideals of the two major religious groups which led the wars (Metcalf & Metcalf, 229).
Conclusion
The division of Korea and India were both result of the war and influence of the Allied forces which generally won the World War II. In the analysis of the two cases, the division and partition are inevitable since the conflict of two major and influential groups were not in agreement. The Soviets and the US disagreement led to the division of the Korea while the disagreement of the Indian Government and the Muslims led to the Partition of the British Indian Empire.
Works Cited:
Barry, Mark. The U.S. and the 1945 Division of Korea: Mismanaging the “Big Decisions”. International Journal on World Peace. 2012. Print.
Metcalf, B., & Metcalf, T. A Concise History of Modern India. Cambridge University Press. Print.
