INDIA independence

When talking about independence of the colonies, We usually focus on those that took place in the American zone, forgetting that there are many more independencies in places like Asia or Africa. From these Asian independencies some of the great powers of today have been born and, to know the origin of one of them, in this lesson from a PROFESSOR we offer you a indian independence summary.

The India region over the centuries it has been a key location for many of the greatest powers in history, passing through its lands such powerful peoples as the Persians, the Macedonians, the Arabs, the Mongols or different European peoples such as the French or the Portuguese.

All this situation of great changes due to the influence of such disparate peoples had its end in the mid-nineteenth century, when they were conquered by the British in a total way and the call was formed British Raj. The previous 100 years had been marked by the dominance of the area by the East India Company, So although the British crown did not take the area until 1858, the region had already had a century of influence British.

For years there were not too many independence movements in the region, maintaining good relations with the British crown, and taking small steps of autonomy such as the appointment of viceroys in the region. It was with the arrival of the First World War When everything changed, the post-war situation in India was one of massive casualties and impoverishment that ravaged a severe economic crisis in the region, causing India to ask the UK for its independence. The demonstrations were made throughout the country and the United Kingdom reacted with a harsh repression to curb pro-independence ideas.

In this situation of great repression appeared the independence leader from India, Gandhi, who signed a statement calling on the leaders and people of India not to cooperate with the colonial government but that at the same time all this was maintained as a movement not violent. It was all this that started the independence of India.

After the First World War and before the Second World War, a independence process very strange in India, where the vast majority of congressional parties started a series of nationalist movements based on the Gandhi's principles of non-cooperation and non-violence, but that the same time it did not attempt any change with regard to the attitude towards the British government.

The people of India did not participate in the elections, did not pay taxes, did not attend English schools and boycotted English products, seeking the system of not cooperating that Gandhi had requested and causing the greatest social and economic havoc for the British.

The whole situation of non-cooperation was maintained with the start of the Second World War when India refused to help UK if they didn't give him the independence they asked for. In addition to not participating in the war, Gandhi asked the people of India to initiate a process of civil disobedience, causing a harsh repression of the British that would continue until the end of the war.

Division of India and Hindu Constitution

After the war, in 1947, the English government divided India into two territories, on the one hand trying to stop disobedience and on the other hand dividing the population according to their religion. From this division was born:

• India with Hindu population
• Pakistan with the Muslim population of the region

The division maintained the independence movements and also caused a hard confrontation between Muslims and Hindus that brought the death of thousands and thousands of people and the emergence of wars between both regions.

Finally, on August 15, 1947, a new Constitution for India, seeking the total independence of the region. Three years later India was totally independent, but Gandhi could not see it when he was assassinated by a Muslim fanatic who hated the division caused by Gandhi's management.

To continue with this lesson on the independence of India, we must talk about the main consequences who had the independence of India for the future of the nation and other nearby nations. The main consequences of the independence of India were the following:

• Gandhi was assassinated, being one of the main architects of independence but not being able to see it due to Muslim hatred. The figure of him has been maintained for years as that of a staunch defender of non-aggression and Asian independence.
• The formation of a state as Pakistan he created a tough war between the two regions mainly over religion, causing thousands of deaths in subsequent years.
• India achieved its independence creating a state that in a short time became very important.
• The big ones raw materials and their trade That much the United Kingdom had used remained after independence, causing India to be an economic power in a very short time and currently being one of the ten most powerful countries.
• The British repression and the war against Pakistan brought a huge number of deaths to the population of India.