The Subcontinent of India and Pakistan

A. India’s varied geographic features helped to shape its culture and history

• India is considered to be a subcontinent of Asia
• The Himalayan Mountains in the North, jungles in the northeast, and oceans and seas to the east and west have in part isolated India from the rest of Asia
• Geographic features have influenced the development of local cultures and have aided the development of regionalism
• The monsoon plays a vital role in the life of the people of India
• River valleys and coastal regions are centers of population
• Climate has affected the development of culture and history
• Most of India had a subtropical climate

B. Outside forces have brought great changes to Indian society, culture, government and religion.

2. • The Dravidian civilizations at Mohenjo-Daro and Harrapa show the advanced stated of the first Indian civilization
   • Aryan invaders from the north brought many changes to the subcontinent
   • The Islamic religion was brought to India by traders and invaders
   • The Indian spice trade had a great effect on Indian history and the history of America, Africa and Southeast Asia
   • No all-India empire existed throughout the history of the subcontinent. Political history was regional
   • The British gained control after defeating an Indian-French army at Plassey. The British ruled through Indian leaders
   • The subcontinent became the “brightest jewel in the British crown”. Conflicts and challenges to traditional ways of life developed
   • The Sepoy Rebellions stimulated growth of nationalism
   • The 20^th century has been marked by struggles between Indian nationalists and Great Britain and between Hindu and Muslim nationalists
   • The careers of Gandhi and Nehru show the struggle for Indian independence.

C. Economic problems present great troubles for the leaders of India

3. • The monsoons dominate economic life in most parts of India
   • Over 80% of the people live in rural areas. There are over 500,000 villages, averaging about 100 families each
   • Rice is the main food and is important as a money raising crop
   • Wheat, millet, tobacco and cotton are raised in drier areas
   • Small-scale farming on a subsistence level is the rule for India
   • Population pressure makes it difficult for people to survive in the face of poverty and hunger
   • The Indian government has adopted programs to increase agricultural production and encourage birth control
   • India has a mixed economy. Public and private funds are used to develop the land and industry
   • India receives aid from both the US and Soviet Union
   • India faces all of the problems of a developing nation

D. Religion is a way of life, which influences the social structure, history, economic activity, and political organization of India.

4. • Religion often regulates customs, diet, occupations and other aspects of life.
   • Knowledge of Hinduism is a must for an understanding of India’s past and present
   • Hindus believe in reincarnation (rebirth of the soul). This is part of the Hindu belief in the holiness of all living things
   • Religious differences between Hindus and Muslims have historic roots and have greatly influenced the development of modern India

E. India has played an important role in world affairs since independence

5. • India’s size and differences in religion, language and ethnic background create political unrest within its borders
   • The new state of Bangla Desh creates a new set of problems for India
   • Relations between India and Pakistan have been poor since independence
   • India has tried to follow a policy of nonalignment and to maintain friendly relations with all, especially the US, USSR and China
   • Border disputes with China, rooted in past history, have caused war between the two, and a troublesome situation still remains
   • Problems with Pakistan have led India to closer relations with the Soviet Union and distrust the USA
   • India has been an active member of t he United Nations

India – Colony to Independence

Background:

• 1 million Indian soldiers had fought for the British during WWI
• During the inter-war period there were the violent revolutionaries and then there was Mohandas Gandhi who believed in passive resistance
• Britain promised India Dominion status after WWII

Problems:

• Muslim minority vs. the Hindu majority
• Britain did not want to loose a major trading partner, and independence would lead to a bloody revolution between the 2 religious groups
• 1919 division of India into 11 provinces with 2 levels of power: Indians would control health, education and agriculture, the British would control finance and law and order

Unrest:

• Self-determination was taken seriously by India, reforms were not fast enough
• Protests arose, Britain overreacted
• The Armistar massacre: 379 protestors were killed, 1000 wounded – 1919

The Congress Party:

• A Hindu group led by Gandhi and Nehru
• Spent a lot of time in prison
• Used passive, non-violent resistance

“Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction by the ingenuity of man” – Gandhi

Muslim League

• Called for the formation of a separate state called Pakistan
• Direct opposition to Gandhi’s ways

The Government of India Act 1935:

• The act gave full control of the Provinces to India, while Britain shared power with the central government
• The Muslims could not gain enough control, wanted to split, British wanted to hold things together

After WWII

• Britain could no longer control India
• Lord Mountbatten was instructed to prepare India for independence
• Indian leaders decided to divide the country into India for the Hindu’s and Sikh’s, and Pakistan (east and west) for the Muslims
• People were then forced to move to where their religion was going
• Violence between the groups led to 500,000 deaths
• India received official independence with Nehru as the first Prime Minister
• A parliamentary democracy was established
• Gandhi was assassinated in that same year.

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