Cold War and Its Global Impact 1945-1991, Research Paper Example

The events of the second World War II caused a dramatic impact in the way that international powers perceived imperialism. The impact of the war made it difficult for western powers to maintain control over their holdings throughout the larger world.  While Great Britain wished to hold on to its holdings in India, they agreed to allow them a greater amount of independence in exchange for the support of the United States.  An Indian parliament had been formed in 1935, which was the start of an independent, self ruled, India. Finally, at midnight on the 15^th of August in 1947, India was able to gain its independence.

While this independence was well regarded within India, they failed to create a government that satisfied the desires of all its citizens. Particularly, there was a rift between those who wished for a secular state, which was composed of mainly Hindus, and Muslims who wished to have their own Islamic state. Thus, in 1947, India was divided into two states, and Pakistan was formed from its western region. “The British colony was divided along religious lines and two nations were born.” (BBC World News, 2002)

This is why India broke up in 1947. The years of British rule had sparked a sentiment within India, leading to strong nationalism. The way that the British had ruled, by creating divisions among the population based upon cultural differences in order to maintain better control, only served, in the end, to create a schism within the political atmosphere of the country. These divisions were built into the very foundation of the Indian democracy.

While many Hindus had succumbed to British rule, learning English and western ways of life, the Islamic part of the country held out a resistance to conforming to their way of life.  Furthermore, the fact that the Muslims themselves had been the rulers of India before the British had added it to their international empire caused distrust among Hindus, which only helped to further the divide between the two factions.

The implementation of a democratic system of society at the time of India’s independence led to the creation of a republic. The first elected leaders of this state were the Indian National Congress.  “The Congress had long been the principal political party in India, providing the leadership to the struggle for independence”. (Manas, N/D)  While the government was meant to represent all of India’s citizens, the elected party was made up of mainly Hindu nationalists.  Due to this, many of the implemented polices ended up alienating the Muslim community, which served to further divide the young republic.

Furthermore, while the National Congress refused to support the allies during World War II, the Islamic community formed a special group, known as the Muslim League, which, unlike the Congress, gave them their full support. The Congresses refusal to recognize the institutions set up by this group was another issue that widened the gap between the two cultural groups. In the end, it was decided that the only way to satisfy the needs of both of these groups was to split the country in two, thus the separate country of Pakistan was formed.

While much of the country was grouped around these two competing sects, many other groups didn’t necessarily identify with their positions.  The social and political upheavals caused by this divisions sparked a massive movement of people across the borders of the newly formed countries.  “While there were strong feelings of nationalism in India, by the late 19^th century there were also communal conflicts and movements in the country that were based on religious identities rather than class or regional ones.” (Keen, 2012)  Riots and civil unrest claimed the lives of many citizens, from all different religions.  In this way, the decision to partition the country has been viewed as the start of only more problems for the country.

While the country was, in the end, able to gain independence, the negative impacts upon its culture and society as a whole turned out to be severely detrimental.  While the country lacked independence, and was subjected to the foreign policies of an outside ruler that were often inconsiderate of its citizens cultural and religious perspective, at least it can be said that th country was never plunged into such disorder under imperialistic rule. This is how the violence of the break up speaks to some of the benefits of imperial rule.

While information about the economic progress of India under British rule is somewhat obscure, there are a few points that can be gleamed from various sources. First of all, it has been found that the population of the country increased, although at a very slow pace. Despite this, and the decline of the economy, there were some positive impacts of the British system of governance that was applied during their rule of India.

The rule by the British empire had the impact of humanizing the country.  Before their rule, the country had been subjected to various problems, such as famine and dangerous sects, such as the thugs.  After their conquest, the British were able to offer various human rights including religious and political freedoms.  This included the implementation of the right to speech, and greater rights for women and children in society.

Furthermore, various public works, such as telegraph lines, irrigation systems, and railways were implemented which served to connect and unify the country as it had never before been.  Finally, British rule allowed the implementation of educational systems for all of Indian society, and while partiality was often given in favor of those of western origins, there was an overall higher level of justice for all people than there had been in the past. “Though yet only partial, an inestimable blessing as far as it has gone, and leading gradually to the destruction of superstition and many moral and social evils.”

While under the heel of British imperialism, the citizens of India were often subjected to unfair taxation without regard to fair representation for the citizens.  The British government continued to drain money from the Indian economy for its own purposes, leading to impoverishment of the people, as well as a swelling of nationalism among the citizens.  While these economic and social injustices caused a decline in the Indian economy, their rule brought an unprecedented amount of order to the subcontinent.

References

BBC World News (2002). Flashback to Indian Partition. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1751044.stm

Halsall, Paul (1998). The Benefits of British Rule: 1871. Internet Modern History Sourcebook.

Keen, Shirin (2012). Partition of India. Retrieved from http://postcolonialstudies.emory.edu/partition-of-india/

Manas (n/d). Independent India. Retrieved from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/indep.html