Nationalism in India and Southwest Asia Chapter 14 Section 4

Nationalism in India and Southwest AsiaChapter 14 Section 4 Nationalism  Independence Movements

Late 19th, early 20th century • India divided between Hindus and Muslims • Share the goal of overthrowing British rule and working to establishing democracy

During WWI over a million Indians enlist to fight with the British and in return the British promised reforms toward self-government in India

When Indians returned home, the position of the British and Indians remained the same as they were before the war • Some radical nationalist Indians revolted violently against this injustice • British respond with Rowlatt Acts, 1919 • Meant British officials could arrest and protestors or dissenters without trial for two years

Ironically, Western-educated Indians point out the violation of their individual rights inherent in the Rowlatt Acts • Remember the British brought Westernized education and thought into their colonies

In response to this violation of rights (Rowlatt Acts), about 10,000 Hindus and Muslims went to Amritsar to pray and listen to political speeches • The British were concerned about the coalition of Hindus and Muslims as well as the large, though peaceful, gathering and open fire on the crowd • Several hundred Indians were killed and over 1000 injured • This becomes known as the Amritsar Massacre

Amritsar Massacre revolutionized Indian sentiment toward British rule • Emergence of Gandhi as leader of Indian Nationalism and practice of peaceful tactics of noncooperation and civil disobedience

Gandhi’s weapons: • Boycotts • Refusal to buy British goods, pay taxes, vote, etc. • Strikes and Demonstrations • Suspend British economy and production in India • The Salt March • Symbolic demonstration of defiance toward Salt Acts

Accounts of British violence toward non-violent protestors wins worldwide support for Gandhi’s movement and British grant limited political power for Indian people, still not total independence…

Nationalism in Southwest Asia

Turkey • Ottoman Empire breaks up at the end of WWI • Turkey emerges as a republic

Greek soldiers try to conquer Turkey in 1919 • In 1922 an exceptional Turkish commander Mustafa Kemal leads Turkish nationalists to victory

1923 Kemal becomes president of the Republic of Turkey • Goal to transform Turkey into a modern state with several reforms, many of which challenged the authority of the existing religion (Islam) that include: • Separate religious laws from state laws • Abolishes religious courts and establishes a legal system similar to those in Europe • Females can vote and hold office • Government-funded industrialization

Kemal died in 1938 and become known as the “father of the Turks”

The British and Russia established spheres of influence in an ancient country known to the Greeks as “Persia” during the age of imperialism • After WWI, with Russia involved in their own civil war, the British attempted to take full control of Persia

Persian nationalists revolted, pushed the British out and gave power to a new leader, Reza Shah Pahlavi • Pahlavi decided to modernize like Kemal in Turkey. Progressive decisions included: • Public schools • Better infrastructure • Rights for Women • Expansion of industry • Changing the name of the country from the Greek word Persia to the traditional name, Iran

In the Arabian Peninsula there is a desire for the maintenance of Islamic law, known as Sharia law • A powerful Arabian family (led by Ibn Saud) united the region and renamed in Saudi Arabia (after his family name) • Some modernization but religion is a priority, no attempts at democracy

In the 1920s and 1930s huge deposits of oil are found in Iran, Saudi Arabia and other surrounding countries • Foreign businesses quickly look to develop oil fields • Demand rapidly expands for petroleum products with new technology and industry • Industrial , military, and consumer goods all use oil and the supply is limited

The potential profit to be made off of oil drew many Western nations to these regions as European leaders elsewhere looked to seize the resources of other lands for their own benefit…

Based on your knowledge of an early 20th century nationalist movements, like the ones China, India and Persia/Iran… What is nationalism? Create your own definition in at least three sentences

Nationalism in India and Southwest Asia Chapter 14 Section 4