Post-Colonial Governments in Asia Answers

As Britain prepared to end its rule after World War II, disagreements grew between the Indian National Congress, which sought a united and independent India, and the Muslim League, which called for a separate homeland for Muslims. Rising communal tensions and violence made agreement on a united country increasingly difficult. In 1947, the British government accepted a plan to partition British India into the independent states of India and Pakistan. The new borders caused millions of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs to move across them, and the migrations were accompanied by widespread violence and loss of life. Partition also left lasting hostility between India and Pakistan, including disputes over Kashmir.

Gandhi organized the Noncooperation Movement, urging Indians to boycott British schools, courts, goods, and government institutions. He led the Salt March in 1930 to protest the British salt tax, beginning a wider Civil Disobedience Movement in which people openly disobeyed unjust colonial laws. In 1942, he helped organize the Quit India Movement, which called for the British to leave India. These campaigns used mass participation and emphasized nonviolent resistance.

Aung San Suu Kyi is a Burmese, or Myanmar, political leader who became prominent in the movement against military rule. She helped lead the National League for Democracy, a party that called for representative government. The military government kept her under house arrest for many years because of her opposition. Her peaceful resistance and willingness to endure imprisonment made her an international symbol for people who support democracy and political freedom. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her efforts to promote democracy through nonviolent means.

The Chinese Civil War was fought mainly between the Nationalists, led by Chiang Kai-shek, and the Communists, led by Mao Zedong. The two sides had previously fought before temporarily joining forces against Japan during World War II. After Japan’s defeat in 1945, their conflict resumed, and the Communists gained control of most of China. In 1949, Mao proclaimed the People’s Republic of China. Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist government retreated to Taiwan, leaving the mainland and Taiwan under separate governments and creating a division that has continued to shape relations across the Taiwan Strait.

Both the partitioning of India and the partitioning of Vietnam divided a former colonial territory amid intense political conflict, and both contributed to violence and displacement. British India was divided in 1947, largely amid disagreement over the political future of its Hindu and Muslim populations, creating the independent states of India and Pakistan. The partition led to mass migrations and communal violence, and India and Pakistan remained separate countries. Vietnam was divided after the 1954 Geneva Accords into a communist North and an anti-communist South, with national elections intended to reunite the country. The division led to a prolonged war, and Vietnam was reunified under communist rule in 1975. Thus, unlike the continuing separation of India and Pakistan, Vietnam’s partition was eventually ended by reunification.