Old Ncert World History Class 10 PDF Format PDF

THE STORY OF
CIVILIZATION
Volume Two
History Textbook for Class X
ARJUNDEV
"<ilj'4 ~~ ~Q"R ~ saf\t~ QRIISII~

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING
First Edition
May 1989 Vmsakha 19ll
Thirteenth Reprint Edition
January 2002 Magha 1923
P D 70 T + SOT M B
([)Natconal Cowlctl of Educatwnnl Resewch and Twuzing, 1989
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Ufl
Foreword
1986, the Nahonal
Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) developed a framework of
national curriculum for elementary and secondary education, and syllabus guidelmes and detailed syllabi m various subJects for all stages of school education New
textbooks and other instructional watenals have also been brought out.
The NCERT' s courses in his tory, wluch is one of the social sc1ence subJects from
Class VI to Class X, have been des1gned keepmg in v1ew the requirements of general
education. The course for Classes VI to Vlll comprises a general i..'"ltroduction to the
history of India from the earliest to the modem times. For Classes IX-X, it mainly
comprises a general introduction to world histoncal development covering the
period from the earliest t:l.mes to the most recent. The primary objectJ.Ve of these
courses IS to develop in the pupil a broad histortcal perspective and to introduce
her /him to the national as well as the world heritage.
The present course for Classes IX and X conSists of a broad survey of the lustory
of the world with its focus on the. rnam stages in the growth of human Cl vilization,
and on major events and socio-economic, political and cultural developments
which are of world histoncal importance. The emphasis is on the aspects of change
and development and on the contnbutwns of different peoples and cultures to the
heritage of rnankmd. An attempt has also been made to focus on certam aspects of
Indta's cultural heritage and modem Indian history that have a close bearing on
contemporary India. The details of pohhcal history, particularly dynastic history,
have been reduced to the mirumum. Many important developments Fnc many
cultures and civilizations have had to be left out owing to the hrmtations imposed
by the time allotted to the teaching of the subject. However, in spite of these
limitations, an attempt has been made to deal with the main course ofhumanhistory
in its aspects of unity and diversity, contmuity and change. [tis hoped that the study
of this course will help to deepen the pupils' understanding of the world, and help
them appreciate that the world of man is indivisible
The course for Classes IX and X has been covered m two volumes. The first
volume, for Class IX, covers the period from the pre-historic times to about the end
of the nineteenth century The second volume covers major trends m the history
of the world from the nse of Imperialism to our own times when imperialism, at
least m the form of direct political control, has ended. Besides introducing the
young student to major trends in contemporary world history, this volume also
attempts to provide a broad historical perspective to an understanding of contemporary lnd1a. This has been sought to be done by mtroducing three charters
AFTER the adoption of the National Policy on Education in
(1'1)
exclusively on India. These chapters have as their focus certam aspects of the
development of India's cultural heritage, the process of the awakerung of the Indian
people that began m the nineteenth century, and the successful struggle that the
Indian people waged to throw off the foreign yoke and build a new India
The first version of the present revised edition of this volume was brought out
mApnll990soonafterthelastbastwnofcolorualtsmmAfnca-SouthAfrrca'shold
over Namibia-had collapsed. Since then many sigmficant changes and develop-.
rnents have taken place in the world Some of these have been so far-reaching that
ibs possible to view them as mar kmg the beginning of a new phase mworld his tory.
An attempt has been made in this revtsed version to reflect some of the more
important changes and developments that have taken place smce tlus book was first
brought out T.his volume, It Is hoped, will sbmulate the yoWlg student's mterest
mcomprehending the contemporary events and developments m abroad historical
perspective that this book seeks to provide
The NCERT IS grateful to Professor ArJun Dev who has prepared the original
as well as the revised versiOn of this volume, and to Ius colleagues, parttcularly Ms
Indira AIJun Dev, for their help at vanous stages mits preparation and fmahzal1on
We are grateful to the many experts and teachers whose comments and suggeshons
were extremely useful m preparmg the original and the revtsed verstons of fuis
book, to Dr Qamaruddm for his help in reviewmg the exercise:::., to Shri Bhupen
Sharma for preparing the maps, to Dr R P Pathak for assisting m the preparation
of the press copy and Shri NasiruddmKhan for Ius many editonal suggestions We
also place on record our grab.tude to the institubons, agencies and indrvrduals,
parhcularly the Archaeological Survey of India and theN ehtu Memonal Museum
and Library, who have provided illustrations mcluded m this volume.
The NCERTwill be grateful for any comments, criticisms and suggestions from
readers on any aspect of the present volume.
NewDelh1
May 1989
A K. SHARMA
Drrector
Nahonal Council of Educahonal
Research and Trammg
Contents
CHAPTER9
Imperialism and Colonialism

Conchhons that Helped the Growth of Imperialism - The Conquest
of Asia - Impenalism in Afnca - The Americas and the
Pacific - Effects of lmpenahsm
255
CHAPTER
10
The Ftrst World War

ImpenalistRivalnes -Confhcts within Europe-Formatton of Alliances
- Incidents Precechng the War- The Outbreak of War- The Course of
War- End of the War- Peace Trealles -Consequences of the War and
the Peace Trealles
282
CHAPTER
11
The Russian Revolutwn

Conchttons m Russta before the Revolutwn- Growth of Revoluhonary
Movements m Russia- Beginning of the Revoluhon- Consequences of
the Revolution
296
CHAPTER 12
The World from 1919 to the Second World War

Europe between the Wars- FaSCism m Italy- Naztsm m GermanyDevelopments m Britain and France - Uruted States Emerges as the
Strongest Power - The Emergence of the Soviet Unton - Nahonalist
Movements m Asta and Afnca- Begiruung of Fasctst Aggresston- The
Second World War- Resistance Movements- The Damage Caused by
the War
308
CHAPTER 13
The World aftt:r the Second World War

Immediate Consequences of the Second World War- Europe after the
Second World War- The Cold War- Rlse of As1a and .AfncaEmergence ofindependentNahonsm Asia-Developmentsm West Asia
andNorthAfnca-Achlevemet'ltofFreedombyAfricanNati.ons-AfroAsian Ututy and Non-Ahgnment- Recent Developments
339
CHAPTER
14
TheHeritageoflndUI
The Land and the People- The Ancient Penod- The Medieval Penod
-The Modem Period- Art and Architecture- The Development of
Pamhng in India -languages ~d Literature- Mustc and D01nce
373
CHAPTER
15
IndumAwakening
412
Inchan Soc1etym the Eighteenth Century-Impact ofBrihsh Rule on Indta

- Rehgious and Soctal Reform Movements - Impact of the Reform
Movements - Growth of Education - Modem Art and Literature Growth of Press m the Nrneteenth Century
(Vl)
CHAPTER 16
Indta 's Struggle for Independence

"nte Revolt of 1857 - Rise of Indian Nationalism ~ Early Political
Movements and the Indian Nahonal Congress- Rise of Extremism"nte Boycott and Swadeshi Movements - Morley-Mmto Reforms Revolut10nary Movement- Formation of the Muslim LeagueNab.onahst Movement during the First World War- The Nationahst
Movement Becomes a Mass Movement-Klulafat andNon-Coopera hon
Movements - CommunaliSln and 1ts Dangerous Effects- From Swaraj
to Complete Independence, 1927-1939 -The Sunon Commission Lahore Congress and the CiVIl Dlsobed.tence Movement - Influence of
Socialist Ideas - The States People's Movement - The Nationalist
Movement and the World- Constitutional Developments -Towards
Freedom- The Nationalist Movement, 1935-1939- Indian Nati.onahst
Movement dunng the Second World War- Nahonahst Upsurge after
the Second World War- Aduevement oflndependence,1947-Buildmg
theN ew Indla
Front Cover
(Bottom)AsceneoftrenchwarfarewhichcameintovogueintheFirstWorldWar. Overttisshown
a part of Pablo Picasso's famous pamti.ng 'Guermca' deptcting the destruchon of the ctty of that
name by the fascists dunng the Spanish dvtl War. (Top) The explOSlon of the Atom Bomb
dropped on Nagasaki. On tlus exploslon scenus sup'enmposed the logo of the conference of the
foreign mtrusters of the non- aligned cO,untnes held in Cyprus
Back Cover
Pohce attack on demonstrators in South Afnca
CHAPTf:lR9
Imperialism and Colonialism

THE term
'lmpenalism' means the practice

of extendmg the power, control or rule by
a country over the political and economic
hfe of areas outside its own borders. Tilt&
may be done through ffilhtary or other
means, and particularly through 'colonialIsm' or the practice of acquiring colomes by
conquest or other means and making them
dependent It may be I remembered that
occupation of or direct rule over a country
or people by another country IS not always
an essential feature of impenahsm The
essential feature of the relations between
an.irnpenalist country and the country over
which 1t has established its control or the
colony wluch It has acqmred, IS explmta~
tion, With or Without direct pohbcal con~
trol. This means that the 1mpenalist country, or metropolts (literal meamng 'mother
country'), as it IS sometnnes called, subordmates the colony or the country which the
metropolis ii].directly controls to serve its
own economic and political mterests.
Most countries of Asia, mcludmg India,
and Afnca, and many other parts of the
world were unhl recent years under the
control of one 1mperiahst country or another. These included countnes which were
not dnectly 1ruled by the imperiahst countries but were exploited by them more or
less in the same way as countries over
which direct impenahst rule had been es-
tabhshed In U1e present-day world, when

almost all countnes of the world are politically mdependent,trnperiahst control over
other countnes has not come to an end The
practice of explOitation, parhcularly econoffilc explmtation and dommation of independent but economically less developed countries, ts often called 'neo-colonialism'.
The first phase of llie tmperialis t control
and colonization of Asta, Africa a:nd the
Amencas began in the sxxteenth century.
During the penod from the Sixteenth to the
eighteenth century, as you have read in
Chapter 6 (Vol. 1), the voyages of dtscovery were followed by the foundmg of vast
coloma! empues by Portugal, Spam, Holland, England and France In the Amen cas,
Spam occupted most of South Amerrca
(excluding Brazd wluch was occupted by
Portugal), Central Amenca, Mex1co, West
Indtes and parts of what is now the Umted
States of Amenca. England and France
occupted parts of North Amenca Many
people from thesecountnes ofEuropewent
to settle in these colomes permanently
Durmg this period, the European control m
Africa extended only to about one-fifth of
the continent, mamly in the coastal areas.
This was the period of slave trade The
European slave traders enslaved and transported about 5000 Africans- to the Amen-
256
THE STORY OF CIVILIZATION
political and economrc control and domi(i\S every month durmg the seventeenth
century In Asia, the Europeans came nation over almost the rest of the world
mamly With the purpose of trade The trad- The forms of control and dommation mers from Portugal, Holland, England, France cludmg drrect coloma! rule, spheres of inand other countnes, with the backmg of fluence and various types of economic and
thetr respechve governments, set up their commercial agreements The power of
tradmg posts and tried to estabhsh the1r some of the 1mpenahst countnes ~>uch as
monopoly of trade With the countries of Spain and Portugal dechned dunng this
As1a, and each tr1ed to exclude the others penod, and new countries emerged whrch
through war and by extendmg their pohh- played an mcreasingly Important role durcal tnfluence and control. The Portuguese ing this phase of impenahs t expansiOn and
who controlled the trade WJth Asia were nvalnes. Besides the old imperialist counousted from that posJbon by the Dutch and tries --Bntam and France -which contithe English who extended their control nued to be powerful and expand, the new
over Indonesia and Ind1a, respectively
imperialist countries which emerged durGenerally speakmg, the first phase of mg thts penod were Germany, Italy, Belzmpenahsm and colomzatwn came to an giUm, US A and, later, Japan.
end by the c).ose of the e1ghteenth century.
The British conquest of India which had
started m the middle of the e1ghteenth
CONDITIONS THAT HELPED THE
century, was completed by about the
GROWTH OF IMPERIALISM
middle of the nineteenth century. In the
meantime, the imperialist penetration of If you study the condtbons that exrsted m
the world m the nineteenth century, you
Chma had begun.
will
find thatthesecondttionsfavourecl the
The period between the SIXteenth to the
growth
of imperiahsm The impertalist
e1ghteenth century was a penod of naked
countries
took full advantage of these conplunder by European colorual powers In
ditions
and
easily jushfted any and every
Chapter 7 (Vol.l), you have already read
conquest that served their interests. In fact,
about the role which thrs plunder played in
the more powerful nations made rmpenalthe growth of the capitalist system and m
rsm seem necessary and natural
the Industrial RevolutiOn
During the mihal period of the Indus- Demands Created by the Industrial
trial Revolution, the pursuit for colonies Revolution
had slowed down TI1e pursuitfor colonies As you have read, the Industrial Revoluand colonial nva lnes re-emerged m the last tion resulted m a very great mcrease m the
quarter of themneteenth century This new production of goods It also created the
phaseofimperiahsm, wh1chbeganmabout cap1talistsystem ofproduchon. Under ca?i1875 and contlnued hll 1914, IS often talism, maximum profit for the capitalist
described as New Imperialism It was the was the pnmary purpose of production
result of the economic system that had Cap1tahsts followed two courses to make
developed as a result of the Industnal Revo- big profits -more and more production
lution Duringthrs phase, a fewindustnal- and minimum wages to workers The proized capitalist countnes established their duction of goods was far m excess of the
IMPERIALISM AND COLONIALISM
demand at home. Low wages meant low

purchasmg power of the maJority of the
populatmn and this also restricted their
demand at home. So capitalist countnes
had to fmd new markets and buyers for the
goods the1r mdustnes were producing.
The poss1bilihes of one mdustnalized
country sellmgits manufactures to another
mdustnahzed country were also limited.
W1th the spread of the Industnal Revolution to all the countnes of Europe, each
country tned to protect and stimulate Its
new mdustnes To do tlus, as you learned
m Chapter 7, all the European nations began to follow a 'protectionist policy'. That
IS, each country put a heavy tanff or tax on
goods imported from other countries.
European countnes could find markets
for their surplus goods m Asia and Afr1ca
where the Industrial RevolutiOn had not
taken place Sellmg was made eas1er
through political domination of these
areas. Then each country could protect Its
market from other European nvals and
also elimma te any competition from goods
produced locally.
In add1t10n to markets, European countries needed new sources of raw matenals.
As mdustnes grew, more and more raw
materials were needed to fee those mdustnes. And all that was needed could not be
had mternally, at any rate not enough of It.
India and Egypt were good s0urces of
cotton, Congo and the East Indies, of rubber Other products needed were
foodgrains, tea, coffee, indigo, tobacco and
sugar. To oblam these, it was necessary to
change the pattern of production in the
countries where they could be grown.
Sometimes, goods produced in one country were sold m another country to pay for
the good.s from that country For example,
the Enghsh promoted the cultivation of
257
opium in Indta, they smuggled the opmm

from Jndm mto China and m this way paid
for the goods that they bought m Chma. In
some countnes, the Imperialists forced the
cultivatiOn of only one or two crops which
they needed as raw materials for their Industries Ccal, 1ron, tin, gold, copper and,
later, Oil were other resources of Asia and
Africa that European countries wanted to
control.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Imperiahst countnes began lookmg
upon Asm, Africa and South Africa as
good places to mvest their capital The
abundance of raw matenals in Asia and
Afnca, and the number of people who
could be made to work for lower wages
made the two contments very attractive to
investors. Capitalmvested mEuropewould
fetch only 3 or 4 per cent profit, in Asm or
Afnca, It was as h1gh as 20 per cent From
about the end of the nmeteenth century,
export of capital for mvestment m other
countries began to become more important
than the export of goods. This happened as
a result of the growmg mfluence and power
of the fmanCial mstituhons such as banks.
They exercised control over industries by
gtvmg them credit The investment of capitalmthecolonieswasnotmade With a view
to mdustriabzmg the colonies, It was to
promote mdustries which would produce
goods maml y for export, such as in mimng,
or which would further strengthen the
Impenalist country's control over the
colony's economy, such as the railways
But, as m the case of markets and raw
materials, pohtical dommatlon was often
necessary Investments might not be 'safe'
without pohhcal domination, Europeans
'reasoned'. An uprismg that a weak government could not control, or a'change m
government, could mean a loss of profits or
25B
Hong Kong, Smgapore an<;!. Cyprus -not

to protect England but to protect her conquered lands and trade route to lndia from
nval nations. At these places she established naval bases and coaling stahons to
strengthen her overseas power Rival naImprovement in Transportation and
tions got similar bases elsewhere, as you
Communication
will see. Acqmrmg a colony also had a
Changes m transport and cornrnumcahon chamreachon If a county acqmred a colony,
that carne with the Industnal Revolution it needed another to protect it and so on
made the spread of impenahsm easier.
Overseas possessions were also useful
Steamships could carry goods between because they added to an impenahst
home countries mEurope and the acquired country's manpower Some of the people
terntories in Asia and Africa much faster of the colomzed countries were taken mto
thanoldsadmgvessels With cheap labour, the army, often by force, for use in wars of
1rnpenalist countnes built railroads and conquest, others were contracted to work
mland waterways in conquered area. On on plantations and mines in some other
these they could get raw matenals out of colonial possessiOn for a speCifled numthe mterior of the continents and send their ber of years. The manpower of the colomanufactured products mto new markets mes was alsoused in the adnumstrahon
Thus every area of the world was brought of the colonies at lower levels.
Within easy reach of the mdustr1alized
The 'Civilizing Mission': Men and
tountr1es
even of the wholemvestment, they argued
Tlus was how Morocco inNorthAfnca, for
example, became 'French Morocco', after
French mvestors appealed to their government to annex It.
Extreme Nationalism : Pride and Power
The later part of' the nineteenth centmy was

a period of mtense nationalism. Germany
and Italy had just succeeded in becoming
Ulllfied nations. Nationalism m the late mneteenfu century came to be associated with
chauvinism Manynations developed myths
of therr superiority over-other peoples Each
one felt that it, too, must have colonies to add
to 1ts prestige and power. Imper_1apsm became the fashion of the age. Wnters and
speakers m England, France and Germany
opened institutions to promote the 1dea of
rmperialism, and took great pride in callmg
thetr territories empires.
Imperiahst countries took over some
places m Asta and Africa because of their
md1tary or strategic importance. For example, England needed Port Said, Aden,
Ideas
In the mmds of many Europeans, ImperialISt expansion was very noble. They considered it a way ofbrmging Civilization to the
'backward' peoples of the world The famous English wnter, Rudyard K1plmg,
asked his countrymen to shoulder what he
called 'thewruteman'sburden' Jules Ferry,
m France said, 'Supenor races have the
duty of civihzing the inferior races'.
Chnshan rrusswnanes, dedicated to
spreading cru:lstianity, also played their
part m promoting the 1dea of impenahsm.
Usually they went alone mto unknown
areas in a sp1rit of duty. Very often they
were followed by profiteering traders and
soldiers. WfiT') often took place to protect
thenuss10naries. All this seemed quite natural to most Western people who considered it thetr nahen' s destmy to ClVihze
1
259
and Chnstiaruze the peoples of As1a and runeteenth century, though m ancient and
Africa President McKmley of the United medieval bmes powerful empires had exStates summed up the reasons for annex- isted there. In the nineteenth century, the
ing the Pluhppmes m these words "There old ways of governing were still followed,
was notlung left to <,lo but to take them all, even though they had outhved their usefuland to educate the Filipmos and uplift ness. Strong nation-states in the modern
and crvihze and Christiamze them as our sense had not developed. The people's
loyalties were shll to local princes as in
fellow men for whom Christ also dted".
Explorers and adventurers, also helped feudal times, Of to tnbal crueftams. These
m spreadmg tmperiahsm. They went mto rulers cared little for the welfare of the
unknown or little known terntones and people. TI1ese conditions help to explain
brought back reports that often indicated how small bands of Westerners succeeded
opportumhes for trade and development. in gairung power and, finally, with the
On the basis of such reports, a tradmg post backing of their governments, in conquerwould first be set up; next, gradually the ing entire countnes.
explorer's home government would
arrange to take over 'protection' of the
entire area around the tradmg post Then
THE CONQUEST OF ASIA
tlus government would proceed to claim
the enhre terntory The work of explorers The British in India
and adventurers was particularly ImporTI1e declme of the Mughal empire m India
tant m Europe's takmg over of Africa.
gave the Bntish and the French, who had
come to trade, an opportumty to conquer
Conditions that Favoured Imperialism
India. The Enghsh East India Company,
in Asia and Africa
The most Important condition favourmg formed in 1600, was victonous in Its conthe imperiahst,conquest of Asia and Afnca flict with France, wh1ch ended m 1763.
was that the Industrial Revolution had not Beginning With Bengal, almost the enhre
come to thts part of the world. The crafts- country came under the rule of the English
men produced goods of fine quahty that East India Company. After the Revolt of
Westerners admired and desired. But they 1857, the British government took over
relied entirely on hand tools whtch meant direct control of India. Many pnncely
production on a small scale In companson states surviVed but they were free more m
With the production of Western countnes name than in fact. Bntam' s conquest of
m the nineteenth century, Asian and Afri- India was complete.
The conflict betwgen the Enghsh East
can methods were backward. Also, because of the lack of knowledge that the India Company and the French was over
Industrial Revolutlon had brought to the establishmg a monopoly of trade. After the
West, the two continents were militarily English company gained control, the
unable to stand up to the armed might and country's vast resources fell into its
hands. There was no longer any need to
power of Europe.
The governments of the countries of brmg money from England to buy Indtan
Asia and Africa were very weak m the goods. These were purchased with the
260
Jll:'l"
MUlS
VA.w.
DEN
T/te East Ind111 House, lleadqum ters of tile

English East Ind111 Company m London
money made from British conquests m

India and sold m England and Europe
Fortunes were made by the officers of the
Company Indta was known as the brightest Jewel of the 13ntish empue. With the
coming of the Industrial Revolution in England, Bntish goods poured mto this country. This rumed Indian handicraft industries. Milhons of pounds were dra ned out
of India to England m the form of profits
and as payment to the Bntish government
asdirecttnbuteandHomeCharges. India's
mterests were subordinated more and
more to Brihsh intere~ts. In 1877, the
Bnbsh queen took the htle 'Empress of
India', hke the one u~Pd earlier by the
lv1 ughals
The British conquest led to many

changes m the Indian social and economic
hfe. To extend Indian markets for Bribsh
goods and to make use of Indm' s natural
resources rmlway construe tion was started
on a large scale British rulers gave special
pnvileges to thetr own planters, and
within a short time a number of tea, coffee
and mdigo plantations grew up In 1883,
all import and export duties were waived
Indian resources, both human and material, were used to promote the mterests of
Bnhsh impenahsm m China, Central Asia
and Afnca. To prevent opposition from the
Ind1an people, the Bnbsh Imposed laws to
stifle the expressiOn of pubhc opmwn
They excluded Indians from responsible
positions in government, and discnmmated
agamst them 111 other institutiOns and 111
social life
Imperialism in China
Impenahst domination of Chma began
with what are known as the Opmm Wars
Before these wars, only two ports were
open to foretgn traders British merchants
bought Chmese tea, silk and other goods,
but there was no market for British goods
In Chma. Then British merchants started
smuggling opmm into Chma on a large
scale
The Illegal opium trade was profitable
to the British traders but chd tmmense
physical and moral damage to the Ch111ese.
In 1839, when a Chinese govenunenl official seized an opmm cargo and destroyed
It, Bnta111declared war and easily defeated
the Chinese. The Chinese were then forced
to pay heavy damages to the British and to
open five port cities to Bntish traders The
Chinese government also agreed that 111
future, Bntish subjects in these ports would
be tried for any cnmes m Enghsh rather
than 111 Chmese courts This provision,
261
The Port ofCantrm wl11rh fwd [Jmz opened to European fladers Jm twde wzth Ouna The jlngs o{the
comzfnrs wltzch fwd bm1 penmtted [,y the Clrlnese nutlun ities to trade wztl! Clmw are sew m the pich11 e
wh1ch other We::,Lez n countrzes copied,

came to be known as extralerritonal nghts.
The Chmet.e government wa::, nD longer
free to unpose tanff on foretwl gauds The
zsland of Hong Kong was turnt-d over to
Bntain.
Soon France entered mto stmtlar unequal Lreabes wzth Chma. On the pretext
that a French mzss1onary had been murdered, Englan~ and France fought another
war wrth Chma Chma was defeated and
wa5 forced to grant more pl'lvtleges to her
conquerors
The next nnporlant stage in the growth
ot unpenCJhst control ovez ChmCJ came
after the wat With Japan This came about
when Japan tned lo mcrease her influence
over Korea whzch was under Chme5e
overlordshtp. ChinCJ resented thzs :md the
two countnes went Lo war, whzch ended m
victory for Japan Chma gave Korea her

mdependence and ceded Formosa and
other Islands to Japan. She was also forced
to pay J<~pan heavy war damages amuunttng to about 150 nulhon dollars.
France, Ru5sia, Bn tam and Germany
gave loan~ to Chma to help her to meet this
payment. But not for notlung! These western countnes then dzvided Chma mto
sphl?res of mfluence, which meant that each
country had certain regwns of Chma
reserved exclusively for tts purposes Foz
example, m tb sphere of mfluence, a
country mzght have the right to bmld razlways or work mzncs. Germany got
Ktaochow Bay and exclusive nghtt> tn
Shantung and in the Hwang-Ho valley.
Russia took Liaotung Penmsula, along wzth
the nght to build railroads m Manchurta.
France recetved Kwangcl10w Bay and
262
TPF. STORY OF CIVILIZATION
the foreign powers were victonous and

levied heavy damages on China as punishment lmpenalism contmued, with the cooperation ofCh1rese warlords. These military commanders were supported by the
loans which they got from foretgn powers
in exchange for more pnvileges. Though
Chma was not conquered and occupted by
any 1mperia list country, the effects of these
developments on Chma were the same as
m areas wh1ch had been colonized In a
penod of a few decades, Chma had been
teduced to the &tatus of an mternabonal
colony
The diVIsion of Chma mto spheres of
mfluence has often been descnbed as the
'cuttmg of the Chinese melon'
Impenalism in South and

South-East Asia
South and South-East Astamcludes Nepal,
exten!:>tve nghts m three southern Burma, Sn Lanka, Malaya, Inclonesta,
lndo-Chma, Thatland and the Philippines
provmce~ ofChma Bntamgot Wet-ht-Wet
maddttmn to her sphere oftnfluence m the Even before the n~e of the new impenalYangtze valley
tsm, many of these countnes were. already
The Umted State!> feared that Chma don;unated by the Europeans Sn Lanka
would be completely parcelled out m ex- was occupted. by the Portuguese, then by
clusive &pheres of influence and that its the Dutch, and later by the Bntish England
hade wtth Clnna would be shut off. The mtroduced tea and rubber plantations,
Umted States, therefore, suggested the whtch came to form seven-etghths of Sn
pohcy known as the 'Open Door'. This Lanka's exports. The Dutch lo&t Malaya to
policy IS abo de&cnbed as 'Me too' pohcy the Bnttsh, including Singapore, lying at
Accordmg to th1s poliCy, all countnes the ttp of the Malaya pemm.ula. The conwould have equal nghts to trade any- quest of Malaya and Singapore meant
where m Chma Bntam supported the control of all the trade of the Far East that
Umted States thmkhlg that this policy passed through the Strmts of Malacca. Inwould discoumge the annexa bon of Chma doneslrt and the surroundmg Islands were
by Japan and Ru&sJa, the two countnes that undel' Dutch control Afte1 1875, Holland
could mci!:>t easily ~end their arm1es to tlw extended her control over a group of ISmainland
lands known as the Moluccas.
The scramble for privilege~ stopped m
The area in South-East As1a once called
Chma after an upnsmg agamst tl1e foreign indo-Chma conststs of Lam,, Cambodia
puwers known as the Boxet Rebelhon. But and Vietnam. When England was fighting
Bnhsh and French troops entered Hel)lllg and
captured II 111 October 1860
263
A contempbrary Chmes? pri11t showmg the French wvns1011 of Son Tay in Indo-C/mm m.1884
Chma over the opium trade, France wa~

trymg to extend her commerce in IndoChma. In a senes of planned ~leps wh1ch
mcluded threats of war, France became the
master of [ndo-Chma and the separate
:;tates w-::re grouped together under a
French governor-general Frequ~nt revolt:;

agamst F1 ench rule followed, but they
were :;uppressed or, a:; the Fnmch said,
'pac1fJed'
In 1880, the kmg of Burma gave France
the nght to build a railway from Tonkin to
264
Presont E11tarnal Bcundary
oflndLB.shownth~ls-
The terruorml wauHs oil mho Pill end mto the ~Ra to d
d1stanct.. of IWlllva n~UILLill m1lcs measured !rom th1
apprvmmt~baschnc
~fi=============~
IMPERIALIST POSSESSIONS
IN ASIA 1911.
RilSponsLbLhtv lpr the correctness olmternal deta1ls
=-===--u_s___ / shoW/lOOJIe nlcqH;re::tlthepubtLs._"'_'_ _ _L_L__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___...J
Mandalay TheFrenchweretrymgto dominate all of South-East Asm. The Brihsh

govenunent, fearing French expansiOn,
started a war With Burma. The Burmese
kmg was captured and sent to India
Burma was annexed and became a part of
Bri tam's empue in Indm in 1886.
Thailand, or Siam, remamed an mdependent state, though sandwiched bet-
ween the French conquests m Indo-Chma

and of the Brihsh m Burma But France and
England exercised much power and authonty over its affairs
The Umted States JOined m the race of
impenahst expansiOn mSouth-East Asia in
the late nineteenth century A revolt of the
Cubans m the Canbbean agamst Spantsh
rule led the United States mto a war with
Spain There was a revolt of the Filipinos

agamst Sparush rule and the Umted States
occupied Cuba and the Philippines The
F1hpmos revolted agamst the American
occupation but were suppressed and the
Pluhppmes became an Amencan possessiOn The Umted States pa1d 20 rmlhon
dollars to Spain for the Phllippmes.
I
Imperiahsm in Central and Western

Asia
England and Russia were nvals m the
struggle to control Central Asia, Iran (PerSia), Afghanistan and T1bet The Russian
empire succeeded m annexmg almost all
of Central As1a m the second half of the
mneteenth century TI1.e conflict between
England and Russia came to a head over
Iran and Afghams tan Besides some mmor
econom1c mterests m these countries, Bntam was mamly concerned about defending
her conquests m India agamst the expansiOn of Russia m Central As1a. Russia and
England set up banks in Iran to obtain
econom1c control In 1907, England and
Russia reached an agreement according to
which southern Iran became Bntam' s
sphere of mfluence and northern Iran the
Russian sphere of mfluence. The central
part of Iran was neutral and open to both
Meanwhile, the struggle was on between
Britam and Russia for mastery over
Afghamstan and T1bet Fmally in 1907,
Bntam and Russia reached an agreement
over these tvvo countnes and Iran Both
powers agreed not to mterfere m Tibet
Russia agreed to recognize Afghamstan as
bemg outside her mfluence and Britam
agreed not to annex Afghanistan as long as
her ruler remamed loyal to her The diVISion of Iran mto three zones has already
been mentioned This meant the establishment of JOmt Anglo-Russian supremacy
over Iran. After the Russian Revolution
265
broke out m 1917, the new Soviet government denounced the old Anglo-Russian
agreement and gave up her nghts m Iran
However, Iran was occupied by Bntish
troops
Meanwhile, ml had been found m Iran
and Bnbsh and Amencan oil mterests became powerful Iran remained nominally
mdependent but was mcreasmgly under
the domina bon of foreign oil companiesthe Standard 01l Company of the Uruted
States and the Anglo-Pers1an 01l Company
of England. After the overthrow of the
monarchy m Chma m 1911, Tibet mcreasmgly passed under Bntish mfluence.
Germany, dunng these years, was extendmg her mfluence over Turkey and the
Asian po&sesswns of the Turkish emp1re. A
German company obtamed a concessiOn to
budd a railway from Constantmople to
Baghdad and the persian Gulf. Through
this railway, Germany hoped to promote
her economiC mterests m this region, and
on to Iran and India France, England and
Russia opposed this, but an agreement to
divide the regiOn was reached between
Germany, France and England. The F1tst
World War, however, changed the Situation. Germany and Turkey, allies in the
war, were defeated Syria, Palestme,
Mesopotamia (Iraq) and Arabia were
taken away hom Turkey and they passed
under the control of England and France
Thus, Germany as an Imperialist nation
was completely eliminated from Asia and
other parts of the world. Soon, oil and the
concessions to control oil resources became the maJor obJectives ofthe Imperialist
countnes in Western Asia American ml
compames, m partnership With England
and France, got o1l concesswns in Arabta
Japan as an Imperialist Power
Japan started on her programme ofimpen
ahst expanswn m the last decade of thE
266
mneteenth century Western countnes had

tried to establish their foothold there In
1853 Amencan warsh1ps under Commodore Perry had, after a show of force, compelled the Japanese to open their country
to American sh1ppmg and trade This was
followed by similar agreements by Japan
with Bntam, Holland, France and Russta.
However, Japan escaped the expenence
and fate of other Asian countries. In 1867,
after a change in government, known as
MeiJl Restoration, Japan began to
modernize her economy Withm a few
decades, she became one of the most mdustnalized countnes of the world But the
forces that made many of the Western
countries Impenahs t were also actiVe m the
case ofJapan. Japan had few raw matenals
to support her mdustnes. So ~:.he looked
for lands that had them and for markets to
sell her manufactured goods
Chma prov1ded ample opportumbes
for Japan's Irnpenahst des1gns. You have
already read of the war between Chma and
Japanover Korea,in 1894 After thi!:t, Japan's
influence m Chma mcreased The AngloJapanese Treaty of 1902 recognized her as
a power of E'qual standmg w1th the great
European powers. In 1904-5 she defeated
Russ1a. A.., a re5ult of this war, the southern
half of Sakhahn wa::. ceded to Japan. Japan
also gamed control of the southern part of
the Liaotung Pemnsula with Port Arthur
wh1ch was leased to her Tn 1910, Korea
became a colony of Japan. When the First
World War began m 1914,Japancould look
back With some pride at her record of the
last fifty years. She had become a great
power e~nd could expand further at the
cost of Chma 1f the Western powers would
only allow her to do so
However, her own record was, if anything, worse than that of Western 1mperi-
ahsts In fact, Japan's nse as an impenahst

power helped to show that tmpenahsm
was not limited to any one people or
regiOn Rather, it was the result of greed
for economic and political power whtch
could d1stort the pohcy of any country
regardless of tts race or cultural claims.
To sum up, almost all of Asia had been
swallowed up by the tmperiahst countries
by the early years of the twentieth century.
IMPERIALISM IN AFRICA
You have already read in Chapter4 (Vol.l)

about the emergence of civ1lization and the
formatiOn of states, kingdoms and empires
m different parts of Afnca You have also
read about the contact~ which Afncan cultures and civilizations had wtth the rest of
the world smce anCJent times From the
time of European explorations m the later
part of the fifteenth century, a new phase
began m the h1story of some parts of Afnca
Besides the establishment of commercial
relations with some parts of Africa, th1s
phase was charactenzed by slave trade As
menhoned earlier, till about the last quarter of the nmeteenth century, European
control over Afnca extended over about
one-fifth ot the territory of the continent.
However, within a few years almost the
entire continent was parhhoned among
vanous European Impenahst countnes
though it took them much longer to estabhsh their actual effective occupation
Slave Trade
The European penetration of Afnca from
the late fifteenth century onwards was confined for a long time mainly to certam
coastal areas However, even these luruted
contacts led to the most trag~c and dtsastrous consequences for the people of
Slave Chains
Africa. One of the hrst results of these

contacts was the purchase and sale of people
-the slave trade. The Sp;:111ish rule m the
Amencas had resulted in the large-scale
extermmation of the ongmal mhabltants of
the Amencas The Portuguese had established a slave market m Lisbon and the
Spamards bought slaves from there and
took them to their colonies m the Americas
to work there. African villages were raided
by slave traders and people were captured
and handed over to the European traders
Earlier, the Arabs had dommated the slave
trade. Subsequently, some African chiefs
al~o took part in the slave trade by trading
slaves In exchange for firearms wh1ch the
European traders sold to them .The Euro-
267
peans themselves also ra1ded the VIllages

and enslaved the people, who were then
transported. When the demand tor slaves
m Amenca mcreased, they were sent
duectly from Africa by the traders.
The trade m Afncan slaves w~s started
by the Portuguese. Soon the English took
over. In 1562, Su John Hawkms, a nch
English merchant, who was known to be
very religious, went on his first voyage to
Afrka to bnng slaves m a sh1p called Jesus
The reigmng English monarch, Elizabeth I,
received a share ofthe profits that Hawkms
made m sellmg the slaves that he had
brought In Lhe seventeenthcentury,aregular company recetved a charter from the
Kmg of England for purposer:. of trade m
slaves Later, Spam gave the monopoly of
slave trade With her por:.r:.esswm in
Amenca to England The share of the k1ng
111 the profits from slave trade was fixed at
25 per cent
Up to about the mtddle of the mneteenth century th1:, trade contmued. Mtlhons of Afncans were uprooted from their
homes Many were k1lled whtle resistmg
the ra1ds on their villages by the traders.
They were taken in shtps as mammate
objects and m such unhyg1emc conditions
that the smlors on the slups often revolted
Lakhs of Lhem d1ed dunng the long JOurney. It I& estimated that not even half of the
slaves captured reached America ahve.
The mhuman conditiOns under winch they
were forced to work on the plantatiOns
cannot even be Imagmed today Extieme
brutahbes were mfhcted on tho~ewho tned
to escape. The person who killed a runaway slave wa& glVen a reward by the
governi~lent. Slavery had become an mtegral part of the colonial syr:.tem established
by European countnes dunng this penod.
By early nineteenth century, trade m
21iR
Slm>es bemg sold at an auction
slaves lost Its tmportance m lhe ~ystem of

coloma! exploitation Slavery was also a
hmdrance if the mterior of Afnca was to be
opened to colonial explmtahon In fact,
~orne colonial power~ used the pretext of
abohshmg slave trade to go to war against
Afncan ch1efs and kmgs to expand their
terntonal possessmns. In the meantune,
exploration of the intenor of Afnca had
begun and preparalions made by the European powers to impose another kmd of
slavery on the contment of Africa -for the
direct conquest of almost enllre Afnca
Scramble for Africa
The in tenor of Africa was almost unknown
to the Europeans up to about the middle of
the mneteenth century. The coastal reh'lons
were largely m the hands of the old tradmg
nations --the Portuguese, the Dutch, the
English and the French They had set up
thetrforts there Therewereonlytwoplaces
where the European rule extended dE>ep
mto the Intenor. In the north the French had
conquered Algena. In the south the English
had occupted Cape Colony to safeguard
the1r commerce With India. It had earher

been a Dutch colony where a number of
Europeans, mamly the Dutch, had settled.
These settlers, known as Boers, haJ taken
to farming Thts was the only part of Afnca
where a large number of Europeans were
settled Within a few year~, however, a
scramble for rolomes begai~ and almost the
entire contment had been cut up and diVIded among European powers
Explm ers, traders and IDISSionanes
played thexr respecttve roles m the conquest of Afnca. The explorers aroused the
Europeans' mterest m Afnca The mJssionanes saw the continent as a place for
spreadmg the messagE' of Christianity. The
mte-rests created by explorers and misswnanes were soon ut>ed by the trade1 s
Western governments supported all these
mterests by sending troops, and the stage
was set for conquest
Even though the European powers met
With stiff resistance from the Afncans
and It took them a long lime to establish
effective occupation of theu colonies, the
speed wzth which the European powers
269
I'
co~quered Afnca is wtthout a parallel It is

necessary to understand the reasons for
this The external factors have been
broadly mentioned m an earher secllon of
th1s chapter. The economic might of the
unpenahst powers was much greater than
the econom1c resources ofthe African states
The latler d1d no~ have the resources to
fight a Ion~ war In terms of m1htary
strength, the impenahst countnes were far
more powerful than the Afncan states The
Afncans had outdated firearms which had
been sold to them by the Europeans They
were no match for the new nfles and
guns whJCh the Europeans used The couplet of an Enghsh poet 1s often quoted to
bnng out th1s supenonty.
Afnca. For example, the' Anglo-German

nvalries m East Afnca were resolved in
1890 when Germany agreed to concede
Uganda to Br1tam m exchange for Britam
givmg away Hehgoland to Germany In
1884-85, lhere was a Congress in Berlin
where a group of European states met and
d1scussed how to ~hare out Africa among
themselves No Afncan t.tate was represented at this Congress. Treaties were
signed between European powers to settle
disputes over claims to Afncan territones
between themselves Treaties were also
srgned between Afncan rulers and ch1efs,
and the representatives of European governments or European companies and Individuals wh1ch were later sanctwned by
the1r respechve governments. These treaties were often fraudulent and bogus In
Whatever happens we have got
the
cases where these were genume, they
and
they
have
not
The max1m-gun
were Illlsrepresented m negotJatwns Wtth
The Maxun-gun was a fast fmng new other European countnes and the wrong
gun whtch was used agamst the Afncans mterpretations put on them were
recognrsed by other European powers For
who often fought W1th axes and kmves
Pohbcally, hke Indian states m the etgh- example, tf an Afncan ruler signed a treaty
teenth century, the Afncan states were not wrth a European country to seek the latter's
umted There were conflict!> between states support~gamsta nvat that European counand w1thm states and the rulers and try m seekmg approval of other European
chiefs otten sought the support of the Euro- countnes mterpreted rt to mean that the
peam, agamst thetr nvals As a result of Afncan ruler had agreed to make his state
the~e confltcls, the boundanes of the AfJ Ja 'protectorate' of that European country
ean states were often changing As against Thrs mterpretatlun was then accepted by
th1t., the Imperialtst countries participating other European power!> and the process of
in the scramble for Afnca were umted The occupation began wrthout any hmdrance
scramble had created serious rivalnes from them In this way, the partition of
among them. In fact, the scramble to grab\. Africa was nearly completed by the end of
the maximum of Afncan terntory m the the nmeteenth century. This position 1s
::.hortest poss1ble time was the resull of generally referred to as 'paper partition' at.,
these rivalries. Many a ttme during the the actual partition took much longer and
scramble wars between these countries was accomplished by the use of the supewere rmminent But m every case, war was rior milrtary m1ght of the European powers
avmded and agreements reached between to suppress the reststance by the Afncans
them as to who w1ll get which part of A look at the map of Afnca after partitiOn
270
THf:
~T,QRY
OF CIVILIZATION
will show how the contment of Afnca was uraruum, timber and copper became more
parhtioned on paper in conference rooms Important than her rubber and 1vory.
m Europe About th1rty per cent of all . Many of the countries, includmg England
and the Umted States, joined Belgmm m
boundanes in Afnca are m strmght lmes
It w1ll be eas1er to understand the con- exploitmg these resources The company
quest of Afnca by European powers If we wh1ch controlled the copper resources of
study 1t reg10n by region. We must remem- Katanga provmce (presentShaba) was one
ber, however, that occupation did not take of the biggest copper compames in the
world. This company, JOmtly owned by
place m the order described here
Enghsh and Belg.an mterests, played a
West and Central Africa
very big role m Congo's pohtical affairs
In 1878, wth the financial assistance of
Locate the Niger river, the second great
King Leopold II of Belgmm, H M. Stanley nver of western Afnca, on the map The
founded the Internahonal Congo Associa- control over the Niger meant the control
tion which made over 400 treaties with
Afncan chiefs They did not understand
that by placing thetr 'marks' on bits of
paper they were transfernng their land to
the Congo Association m exchange for
cloth or other articles of no great value
Stanley acquired large tracts of land by
these methods. In 1885 some 2.3 million
square kilometre~, nchm rubber and IVory,
became the' Congo Free State' with Leopold
as Its king.
Stanley called the occupatiOn of Congo
(the pre:.ent Zatre) 'a umque humamtanan
and pohhcal enterpnse', but It began wtth
brutal explmtat10n of the Congo people
They were forced to collect rubber and
IVory Leopold alone IS said to have made French soldzers displaymg the head of an Afncan
a profit of over 20 m1lhon dollars The
ktlled by them dunng the suppression of the
treatment of the Congolese people was so reszstance to French occupatwn of the Ivory Coast
bad that even other coloma! powers were
m the early years of the twentieth century
shocked To gtve an example of the brutality, soldiers of the Congo Free State over the land with nch re~ources The
chopped off the hands of the defiant VIllag- BntJsh had occup1ed a part of this 1eg10n
ers and brought them as souvemrs In 1908, called Nigena, to get slaves for export to
Leopold was compelled to hand over the their plantations m Amenca The Bnhsh
Congo Free State to the Belg1an govern- company took the mitiabve m the conquest
ment, and It became known as Belgian of N1gena For a tJme there was a sharp
Congo
rivalry with a French company, but 111 the
Gradually, Congo's gol9, d1amond, end the Bntish company was able to buy
IMF~RIALISM AND COLONIALISM
271
\''
out the French and became the ruler of

N1gena After a few years the Bnhsh government declared N1gena a protectorate of
Bntam In West Afnca, Bntam also occupted Gamb1a, Ashanti, Gold Coast and
Sterra Leone
When Stanley was carvmg out the empue for Kmg Leopold m Congo, a Frenchman, de Brazza, was achve north of the
Congo nver Followmg the methods of
Stanley, de Brazza won the area for France,
th1s area became what was unhl recently
called the French Congo w1th its cap1tal
town named Brazzaville, after de Brazza.
On Africa's west coast, Senegal and been
occup1ed by France earlier Now France set
out to extend her emptre m West Africa.
Soon she obtained Dahomey (p1 esent
Bemn), the Ivory Coast and French Gwnea
By the year 1900, thEi French empu e extended further into the mtenor. More
terntones were added to theWestAfncan
conquests after 1900 and French West
Cennnn t1oops on wny to suppress the 1ebellw11

111 South-West Africa (Namzbia) wluch had
broken aut nxamst German nccupatran in 1904
Africa came to mclude present Senegal,

FrenchGumea, the Ivory Coast, Dahomey,
Mauritama, French Sudan, Upper Volta
and N1ger Terntory. The French conquest
resulted m brutal explmta tion ofthe people
everywhere m Africa For example, in a
period of only 20 years, the population of
the French Congo was reduced to onethird of 1 ts former s1ze.
After 1880, Germany also got very mterested m possessiOns m Africa First she
occupied an area called Togoland on the
wPst coast; soon after, the Cameroons, a
httle farther south. Still farther south, the
Germans established themselves m SouthWest Africa where, to suppress local
rebels, more than half of the population
wa~ e:-stermmated. But these conque1>ts d1d
not sa .1sfy Germany; she wanted the Portuguese colomes of Angola and Mozambique
and Congo for herself Before the F1rsl
World War star ted, England and Germany
agreed to partition Angola and
Mozambique between themselves, but the
war shattered Germany's dreams. After
the war, when the German colome~ were
gtven to the victonous powers, Togoland
and the Cameroons were diVIded between
England and France, and German SouthWest Africa was giVen to South Afnca
Spam had only two colomes on the
western coast of Africa -Rw de Oro (SpanIsh Sahara) and Span1sh Gumea. Portugal
possessed valuable regiOns of Angola and
Portuguese Gumea. Thus, with the exceptiOn of Ltbena, the whole of West Afnca
was divided up among Llw Europeans
Ltbena was settled by slave1> who had been
freed m Amenca. Though she remamed
mdependent, she came mcreasmgly under
the mfluence of the Umted States, particularly the Amencan mvestors in rubber
plantahon1>
272
THE STORy OF CIVIL!ZATION
273
been occupted by any European power

before 1884. In that year a German adventurer, named Karl Peters, came to the
coastal region. Usmg bribery and threats,
he persuaded some rulers to sign agreements placmg themselves under German
protection Since France and Britam als~
had plans in tlus area, an agreement was
signed by whtch France got Madagascar,
and East Africa was divided between Germany and England. The ruler of Zanzibar
who claimed East Africa as h~s property
got a strip of coast land, 1600 kilometres
long and 16 kilometres deep The Northern
half of th1s strip was reorgaruzed as a
Brihsh sphere of mfluence, and the southern part. Tanganyika, a German sphere of
mfluence. These were later occupied by
England and Germany But the Afncans
rose m revolt agam and agam because the
Germans had taken land from them wtthout making any payment Dunng a rebellion in 1905,120,000 Afrtcans were killed m
thiS German colony In 1890, there was an
agreement between Germany and England
according to which Uganda was 'reserved'
for England. In exchange Germany was
giVen Heligoland In 1896, Uganda was
declared a British protectorate Germany
also gave up her claims to Zanzibar and
Pemba Island, Witu and Nyasaland (present
Malawi), but made more conquests m the
mterior The Portuguese colony of
Mozambique was to be shared out between Germany and England, but the First
World War stopped the plan and Germany
lost all her colomes. German East Africa
was gtven to England after the war and was
renamed Tanganyika. (Tanganytka and
Zanzibar now'form the republic of Tanzania) Bntish East Africa was renamed
East Africa
Except for the Portuguese possessiOn of a Kenya. The German possessxonofRuandapart of Mozambtque, East Africa had not Urundi was gtven to Belgmm
South Africa
In south Afnca, the Dutch had es tabhshed
the Cape Colony, which the British took
over m the early nmeteenth century. The
Dutch settlers, known as Boers, then went
north and set up two states, the Orange
Free State and the Transvaal. By 1850 both
these states were ruled by the Boers
The English adventurer, Cecil Rhodes,
came to south Afnca in 1870, made a fortune m mining dmmond and gold of tlus
region and gave his name to an African
colony Rhodesia. (Northern Rhodesia IS
now mdependent and is called Zambia.
Southern Rhodesia wluch became an mdependent nation in Apnl 1980 IS Zimbabwe.) Rhodes became famous as a great
philanthropist who founded the 'Rhodes
scholarships', but lie was first of all a profiteer and empire-builder. 'Pure philanthropy' ,he said,' IS very well m its way, but
philanthropy plus five per cent IS a good
deal better' Rhodes' dream was to extend
the Bnbsh rule throughout the world, and
he certamly succeeded m extendmg the
British emptre m Africa. The. Bnhsh occupted Bechuanaland, Rhodesta, Swaziland
and Basutoland. They plotted the overUrrow of the Boer government of Transvaal
which was nch in gold This led to the Boer
War (1899-1902) m wluch the Boers were
defeated though they contmued to remain
there.
Soon after thts, the Umon of South
Africa was formed consxstmg of the Cape,
Natal, Transvaal and Orange River Colony.
Tins Umon was ruled by the white minonty -Boers, Enghshmen, and a few settlers
from other European countries The South
African government later declared Itself a
republic.
274
Like Germany, Italy entered the colomal race late. TI1e Italians occupied two
desert areas m what Is called the 'horn of
Afnca' -Somahland and EritrE-a. The country of Abyssima, now known as Eth10pia,
was an independent state. Italy wanted to
declare Abyssima its protectorate and invaded her. The king of Abyssima rejected
Italy's cla1m and m 1896 defeated the Italian invadmg army Unhke other Afncan
state&, Abyssima had been able to get arms
from France This histone battle m which
an Afncan &tate had defeated a European
state's army I& known as the Battle of
Adowa So the Itahans had to Withdraw
Italy made another attempt to conquer
Abyssima m 1935, before the Second
World War Except for a bnef penod durmg those years, Ethwp1a, except Entrea,
was able to mamtam her mdependence
North Africa
Algena, on the north coast of Afnca, was

conquered by France in 1830, but It took
her about40years to suppress the Algerian
reststance. It was the most profitable of
France's colonial possess10ns, prov1dmg
her a vast market for French goods To the
east of Algena 1s Turus1a which was coveted by France, England and Italy Accordmg to an agreement m1878, England gave
France a free hand m Tums1a m return for
Bntish occupation of the island of Cyprus,
and a few years later Tumsia became a
French possessiOn
Morocco IS Situated on the north coast
of Afnca, JUSt &outh of Gibraltar Thus tt I&
very tmportant to the western entrance of
the Mediterranean Both France and Italy
wanted to clatm 1t dS thPJr terntory The
two countnes agret:>d, m19i)(], to the French
occupaL1on of Morocco and to the Itahan
occupat1onofTnpoli c~nd Cyrenaica, to the
east of Tunisia In 1904, France and England signed an agreement whtch gave
Morocco to France, and Egypt to England.
After these agreements had been signed,
France proceeded with her plans of conquest of Morocco
Germany had been Ignored when
England, France and Italy were Signmg
agreements to partition North Africa She
threatened to oppose the French occupation Spam had been promised Tang~er m
return for French occupation of Morocco.
So It became necessary to appease German
amb1 aons m NorthAfnca There were many
internatwnal crises and It appeared as if
war would break out The German Foreign
Mimster said, "You have bought your
hberty m Morocco from Spam, England,
and even from Italy, and you have left us
out." But who should occupy Morocco was
decided, as m other cases, m Europe The
people of Morocco were.never consulted.
. Ultimately, France agreed to give Germany
250,000 square kilometres of French Congo.
Spam was further appeased by g~vmg her
a small part of Morocco In 1912 France
established her protectorate over Morocco
However, it took the French many years
after the Fust World War to suppress the
rebellions there.
As you have seen earher, Italy had assured herself the support of European nahons in her claims over Tnpoh and
Cyrenaica, wh1ch were the possess10ns of
the Turktsh empire Italy then declared
Wdr agamst Turkey and occupied the two
provmces, which were g~ven the old Roman name of Libya
Egypt was a province of the Turktsh
emp1re when the scramble for colonies began m the mneteenth century. It V\ as ruled
by a representative of the Turktsh Sultan,
called Pasha Smce the time of Napoleon,
France had been mterested m Egypt A

French company had gamed a concesswn
from Ismail Pasha, the Governor of Egypt
to dig a canal across the Isthmus of Suez.
The canal was completed m 1869 and
aroused Bnhsh mterest m the area Disraeli,
the Bnhsh Prime Mimster, bought a large
number of shares of the canal from the
Pasha to make sure of keepmg the route to
India safe The canal was descnbed by
Disraeh as 'a highway to our Indtan empue'
The financial troubles of the Pasha led tc
mcreased JOint Anglo-French control over
Egypt When the Pasha tried to resist, he
was forced to abdicate and a new governor
was appomted In 1882, there was a revolt
against the Anglo-French control and, in
suppressmg the revolt, the Bnhsh drmtes
-mnquered Egypt Restoration of law and
order and protectiOn of the Suez Canal
were the reasons gtven for the mihtary
mtervention mEgypt England announced
that she would Withdraw her troops as
soon as order was res to red After the revolt
was suppressed, Egypt came under British
control. In 1914, when the Fust World War
started, England announced that Egypt
was no longer a Turktsh provmce but a
Bnhsh protectorate. The Egyptians never
reconoled themselves to the Bnhsh conquest. After the war was over, leaders of
Egypt started for the Pans Peace Conference to plead the case of Egypt, but they
were arrested. In 1922, though she still
retamed her nghts over the Suez and many
other concessions, Bntam was forced to
recogntze Egypt as an mdependenl sovereign state
Sudan, or what was earlier known as
Egyptian Sudan, was jomtly exploited by
Egypt and Bntam. A Sudanese leader who
had proclaimed himself the Mahdi had m
275
Bnt1sh troops posing agamst the S]:!hmx, the

ancient Egyptian monument, m 1906
the 1880s succeeded m overthrowmg Egyptian and Bnhsh control over Sudan His
army had defeated Egyptian and Bnbsh
troops In 1898, British and Egyptian troops
succeeded m recaptunng Sudan after a
long and bloody war m Which 20,000
Sudanese troops, includmg the successor
of the Mahd1, were killed. Sudan came
under Bnhsh rule. The French at this time
tried to occupy southern parts of Sudan but
were forced to withdraw by the British
France, however, was givPn a free hand to
ex tend her control over what was known as
western Sudan and the Sahara France occupied these areas after a long war of conquest. With these gams, France was able to
276
connect her equatorUil conquests with her

west and north African conquests
THE AMERICAS AND THE PACIFIC
You have already read about the colomzabon of the Americas by Spam, Portugat
Bntam, France and other European countnes, and the emergence of the Umted
States of Amenca as an mdependent natwn. The freedom movements in some of
the countnes of South Amenca and the
Canbbeans have also been briefly menboned By 1820s, almostailcountnes of the
Amencas had gamed their mdependf'nce
from Spam and Portugal Only a few colomes ruled by European countnes were left
mthispartoftheworld. Amongthesewere
Cuba and Puerto Rico which were still
under Spanish rule and a few others under
Bnhsh, French, Dutch and Damsh rule
The United ftates in themneteenth century emerged as the biggest power m the
Amen cas. She had extended her tern tones
through war with MeXICO and purchase of
LoUismna Flondaand Alaska from France,
Spam and Russia, respectively Wthm a.
short penod after the Civil War (1861-65)
whtch ended m the abohtron of slavery, the
Umted States emerged as a maJOr industnal and military power in the world. By
1900, her naval strength was thud in the
world The forces that had led to the emergence of 1mpenahsm in Europe and later m
japan also led to the emergence of the
United States as a maJor Impenahst power
by the later half of the mneteenth century
You have already read about the treaty
which the Umted States signed wtlh Chma
m1R44 on the lines which some European
countnes had forced on Chma <1fter the
Opnun War Cmnmodor:> P:>rry's show ot
force m Japan m 1853 has also been menhoned After the US.- Spanish War, the
Philtppines had become a U.S. colony.
U S A. had also taken Puerto Rtco and.
Guam (in the Pactfic) from Spain, and Cuba,
thbugh independent in name, had in fact
become an appendage of US A
When the scramble for colomes began,
the leaders of U S A declared that she
'mustnotfall out ofthe hne of march'. They
also claimed, hke the European 1mpenahst
countnes, the nght to 'ovthze' the backward countries of the world and, of course,
to interfere m the affatrs of other countnes
to protect their markets and investments
Dunng ti)e penod from the 1890s to the
early years of the twentieth century, the
Umted States spread Its control, direct and
mdirect, over South Amenca and the Pacific In 1823, the President ot the Umted
States had proclaimed the Monroe Doctrme which warned the European powers
agamst any attempt to extend thetr power
m the Western/Hemisphere In 1895, the
Monroe Doctnne was giVen a new meanmg There was a territorial dtspute between Bnttsh Guiana (now Guyana) and
Ntcaragua, and the Bntish threatened to
send troops agamst Nicaragua The U 5
government forced Bntam not to send her
troops and declared that"Todaythe Umted
States IS practically sovereign on this Contrnent". A new corollary was added to the
Monroe Doctrme m 1904 by the then U.S.
President, Theodore Roose-velt Brilainand
Gern 1any had tmposed a naval blockade of
Venezuela as she had failed to repay the
loan which she had taken from them
Theodore Roosevelt forced Bntam and
Germany to hft the blockade and declared
that the Umted States alone had the nght to
mtervene m Lhe affairs of her neighbounng
countries tf they were unable to maintain
IMP,FRIALISM AND COLONIALISM
order on then own, The United States took

control of the fmances of the Domaucan
Repubhc wluch she retained for lliree decades andoccup1ed thatcountrym 1916for
eight years In 1906, Amencan troops were
sent to Cuba and remained there for three
years to 'protect' Cuba from disorder. In
1909, Amen can troops were sent to NICaragua in support of a revolt which had been
mspired by an Amen can mimng company
The Umted States secured from the governmentwhichhad been installed there the
nght to mtervene m that country to prolect
Amencan interests In 1915, Amencan
troops Were sent to Ha1t1 and remamed
there till J 934 In Mex1co, where the United
States had huge mvestments, Fransisco
Madero, a popular leader was deposed
w1th the support of the Umted States The
mtervenhon by the United States m Mexico
contmued for many years
TI1e pohcy of the Umted States was
de~cnbed as the 'Big Sttck' pohcy and one
of an' mternabonal policeman', The extenSIOn of the US mfluence through economic mvestments in the region IS known
as the 'Dollar dtplomacy' The econom1c
and pohtical dominationofSouth Amenca
was faCilitated by the absence of strong
governments m the countnes of South
Amenca, Many of these countnes were
ruled by caud1llos, or crude and corrupt
military leaders w1th armed gangs They
floated loans for ready cash and sold concesslOns to foreign compames toexplmt the
natural resources of the1r countries They
served as markets for manufacture~ and
sources of raw materials for mdustri;lized
countnes, particularly the Umted States, as
well as avenues for mvestme'1t of capttal
from these countries. Most of the countnes
of South Amenca, though p Jhhcally mdependent, came under thE' economic and
277
Before Fmnscsco Madero came to power rn 1911,

Mexico was rrtled by Porfnrzo Duzzfor over
t1urty years In this satmcal portrait by the
jmnous Mexican pamter S1queros, Vzaz is shown
sctting wtih Ins feet on the constifutwn
pohtical control of the Umted States

One of the maJOr acqmsitions by the
United States in thi~ penod was the Panama
Canal. A French company had started the
construction of the c.1nal m the fsthmus of
Panama m Colombia (Central Amenca),
The canal wh1ch would link the Atlantic
and the Paoflc Oceans was of great economic interest In 1901, the United States
dectded to undertake the canal pro1ectalone
278
She patd $ 40 mtlhon to the French company and entered into an agreement with
the government of Colombta. According to
Lhe agreement, Colombta was to gtve the
Umted States perpetual nghts to a Mx-mile
wtde 'canal zone' across her territory in
exchange for ten million dollars plus
$ 250,000 as annual rent. The agreement
was completely against the mterest& of Colombia and Colombta' s Parhament refused
to rattfy tt In 1903, the Umted States
fmanced and orgamzed a tevolt tn Panama
and landed her troops there Soon after, the
Umted State& recognized Panama as an
Independent state The government of
Panama stgned a new agreement With the
Umted States accordmg to whtch the
amount of compen!:>atlon remamed the
same but instead of the six-mile Wide canal
zone, ten-mile canal zone was granted to
the Umted States The canal was openee tn
1914 and the canal zone has remamed under the occupahon of the United States
smce then.
The United States also extended her
control m the Pactfic durmg this penod
The tslands of Hawaii had been tmportant
for American shippmg and for trade wtth
Chma The Umted States' econorntc and
commerctal influence gradually increased
II1 these Islands and wtth the settling of
Amencans there, particularly as sugar
planters, these tslands became closely tted
to the economy of the Umted States The
Umted States had s~cured the exdusive
use of Pearl Harb01 ns a naval station. In
1893, the Amencan residents tn the Hnwau
tslands revolted agatnst the queen of
Hawati and. asked for the annexa bon of the
~lands by the Un1ted State~. By 1898,
Hawau had been annexed by the United
States. Later, it became one of the states of
TI-IE ~TORY OF CJ
the Umted States

The Umted States also ext
control over other Islands in
There was rivalryamongthe Ul'
Bntam and Germany over s~
lands In 1899, Germany and
States dlVided these Islands bet1
selves and as' compensatton'
given ISlands elsewhere in the
EFECTS OF IMPERIAl
By 1914, almost all parts of the
tnahzed world had come undE

or mdnect control of a few inc
countries Most countries o
Africa had lost their political fr
we_re ruled by one or other
country. The econormes of all
tries as well as of those which
cally mdependient were control
tmperiahst countnes to serve
rests. All parts of the world W1
together under a world econ
which was based on the exploi1
colomes. Smce 1946, most Astc
can colomes have become fre
pendent You wtll read about t
later But the effects of imperu
hfe of the people m these count
evident.
The most Important and la:
quence ohmpenahsm and colo
the economic backwardness of
as well as of t~ose countnes
mdtrectly controlled by the
countnes Impenahsm led to
hon of local mdustnes m thes
For example, India for centurj
an exporter of textiles. During 1
impenalis t rule, Ind1a' s mdtgE
mdustry was destroyed and sh
1mporter of BntJsh cloth The natural resources of the colonies came under the
control of the 1mpenahst countnes and
were exploited for thetr own benefit. The
mdustnahzahon of these countnes was
prevented Where industries were started,
these were subordinated to the mterests of
the industnes of the impenalist countnes
or for making profits for the comparues of
U1e Impenalist countries. The modern mdustnes in the colorues had httle 1mpact on
the hfe of the people there. The patterns of
agnculture m the colonies were also
changed to meet U1e reqmrements of the
mdustnes of the impenahst countries In
some countnes, the entire agriculture was
reduced to the growing of one or two crops
For example, Cuba was reduced to the
position of a sugar-producing country and
little else. There was also naked plunder of
natural resources, and expl01tat10n through
high demands of revenues and taxes. Some
of U1e best lands m the colomes were taken
over by the European planters Impenaltsm further aggravated the econormc backwardness of the non-mdustriahzed countnes of the world. The subordmabon of the
economics of these areas to those of the
Imperialist countries was so complete that
even after political mdependence, most of
these countries found 1t dtfftcult to develop
their economtcs to smt thetr own interests.
The impovenshment of the people of the
colomes and of other non-mdustnahzed
countnes Is a contmmng consequence of
tmpenahsm.
Impenalism also bred ractal arrogance
and dtscrimmahon T11e idea of the superionty of the whtte race whom God had
created to govern the world, was popularIzed in the nnperiahst countnes. In theu
colomes, the wh1te rulers and settlers discnmmated against the local mhab1tants
279
who were considered mfenor to them Tn

most European colomes, there was no mternuxmgwith the local populat::wnand the
Europeans lived m areas excluslVely reserved for them The worst example of
racbm was South Africa where mtermtxmg of whttes and blacks was made a cnminal offence It ts mlerestmg to know that
wh~n Japan emerged as an Impeuahst
power, the Japanese were excluded from
bemg branded as belongmg to an mfenor
race In fact, South A fn ca gave the Japanese
the status of what they called 'honorary
wh1tes'
Struggle AgaiYlst Impenalism
At every Mep, the 1mpena1Jst powers met
w1th the resistance of peoples they were
trymg tn enslave Even when the conquest
by arms was dectstve, foretgn rule that
en~ued wa~ never peaceful for the rulers
The conqueted peoples orgamzed movements not merely to overthrow fore1gn rule
but abo to develop their countrie~ mto
modern natwns In a sen~e, these movements agamst Impenalism were mternahonalm character People stnvmg for freedom m one country supported the cause of
peoples in other countnes.
Generally speakmg, the nnpenalist
countnes retamed the1r colon1a I possess tons up to the Second World War But
w1thm two decades after the end of the
War, most of the countnes succeeded m
regammg their independence
Most of the nmeteenth century and the
first quarter of the twentieth century were
the years in which the nations the we:, tern world held Asia and Afnca as the1r
coloma! possess1ons In the later years of
this per1od ohmpenahsm,about two-thtrd::.
of the world's population was livmg
under the rule of one fore1gn government
of
2RO
or the other. The empues acqmred by the

European nahons were the largest in
world h1story
Imperialism is a story ofdeceptton, brutahty, and armed might The 1mpenalist
powers, however, JUstified their enslavement of other nations and peoples m the
name of 'spreadmg CIVIhzattov'
Gettmg posseSSIOn of new markets and
raw materials and establishing industries

to be worked by cheap labour created many
'small' wars and two world conflicts Despite the 'gentlemen's agreements', there
was a contmuous effort among the western
powers to rediv1de the world as betWeen
themselves-- but never w1th any consideration for the welfare of the people to whom
the terntory really belonged.
EXERCISES
Tlmzgs to Know
1 Explam why the Industnal Revoluhon led to the emergence of tmpenahsm
2
Descnbe the steps, givtng examples, by whtch the nnpenahst countnes 'took over' most
of Afnca
4
5
6
Why were Asian and Afncan countnes so eastly dommated by the Western powers?
How d1d natwnahsm help to make tmpenahsm 'popular' m Europe?
Descnbe the emergence of the United States of America as an 1mpenahst power Give
examples
Descnbe the impenahst expanswn ot Japan up to lY 14
Explam the meanmg of the fo!lowmg terms, With examples.
Sphere of mfluence, explott.ltJon, extra-territorial nghts, protectorate, Monroe Doctnne,
Dollar diplomacy
Tlmzgs to Do
1
2.
3
Prepare maps of Asia and Afnca showmg the colonies and spheres of mfluence of the
various tmperialist powers before the Ftrst World War
Study the developments that have taken place m Africa after the revolutwn m
Portugal in Apnl1974
Wnte an essay on 'Slavery and Slave Trade and the Struggle for their Abohtwn'
Thmgs to Thmk about and Dzscuss

1
How did the empires of the mneteenth and twenheth centunes differ from the emptres
of anctent times -for example, those of the Mauryas, the Romans and of Alexander?
2 DI~cuss the dtfferences between the Imperialist expansron durmg the stxteenth to the
3.
4
2Hl
etghteenth cemune::. o.~Itu il:$70 to 1'::114

Name and dtscusssotne of the big problems faced by newly independentcountnes Why
are thetr problems also the problems of all countries?
D1scuss the long-term impact of 1mpenaltst control on the countnes of Asta, Afnca and
South Amenca
CHAPTER 10
The First World War

IN 1914, a war began m Europe which soon
engulfedalmostLiwentlreworld Thedam
c1)!,e c.1u::,ed by thl~ war had no precedent in
h12.tory. In the earlier wars, U1e civilian
populclllom we1 11 ' :'11''1 .11. in,,l p,l
and theca!:ludlti .. : ,<' ,d:. .. qlmd
tothewarrmga1:11 :~~.. 11 ,,',"lll'.
gan in 1914 wa~ a total warm wh1CI''l all the
re~nurce~ of the warnng ::,tates were :mobl
l1zed. It affected the economy of th~ entire
world The ca::,ualtws suffered by the CIVdmn population from bombmg of the ctv'Ilian areas and the famines and epidemics
cau5ed by the war f.:tr exceeded those suf-'
fend by the arnues In ils 1mpact also, the
war had no precedent Itmarkl;"d a turning
point 111 world h1slory The battles of the
war were fought m Europe, Asia, Aftica
rlnd the Pac1flc. Beca\.ISe ot the unprec~
edented extent of Its spread and 1ts total
nature, tt IS known as the Ftr~t World War
Impenahst Rivalries
The underlym~ cau:::.es of the war were the
nvnlrirs and conflicts among the imperial~
t:::.Lcow1lnes. Y11uhave~eenbefore, in Chapter 9, that the impenahst conquest of Asia
and Afnca was accompamed With conflkts
between the imperialist countries. Sometimes the Jmpenali&ts were able lo come to
'pcacetul settlements' and agree to dlVtde
a part of A'sta or Afnca among them:::.elves
w1thovt rt'sort,ng to the u~e offorceagainst
each od1er. At other tunes thetr nvalnes

created situcltiOn::. of war. Wars were generally avmded at lhat hme bE'cause the
possibilities of further conquest we1e :::.till
there. If an impenahst country was excluded from a certam area, 1t could find
some other ,,~ea to conquer. Somettmes
wars did break out between nnpenahst
countnes as happened, for tnstance, between Japan and Russia By the end of the
nineteenth century,however,lhe sttuatlon
had changed. Most of Asia and Afnc.1 l1Ml
already been dwtded up and further con
quests could take place only by dbposses::,ing some1mperialist country oft ts colonie5
.So ih the period bl-'ginning from the last
decade ofthenineteenth century, Imperialist nval~tes resulted m atteJI\pts to redtvtde
the WOtld, creating conditwns of war
You have read before that Germany
enterec\ the scramble for colomes late
After the unification of Germany had been
achieved, It made tremendous economtc
progress By 1914, 1t had left Bntain and
France far behmd li1 the prod uchon of tron
and steel and in many manufactures. It had
entered the sh1pping trc~de 111 a lJJg WJy
One of 1ts sh1p~, the Imperato1, bullt m 1912,
was the largest m the world Both Britam
and France were alarmed at the expanswn
of G~rman manufacture5> a~ they considered it a senous thre<1t tothe1r po51hon.
Yllu have ::.een that Germany could not
THE FIHST WORLD WAR
grab many n)lomes, havmg arnved late on

the scene Most of Asm and Afr1ca had
already been occupied by the older imperiahsl powers The German Impenahsts,
therefm e, dreamed of expanding in the
east Their ambition was to control the
l:'COnomy of the dechmng Ottoman empll'e.
For this purpose, they had planned the
constructmn of a railway from Berhn Lo
Baghdad ThiS plan created a fear m Bntam, France and Russ1a as the completiOn of
the Berhn-I3aghdad railway would endanger their unpenahst ambttrons m the Ottoman emptre. The Germans had 1mpenalist
amb1hons elsewhere also, indudmg m Afnca
Like Germany, all the maJOr powers m
Europe, and Japan also had the1r 11npenal-
1st ambitions. Italy, which after her umftcahon had become almost an equal of France
m power, coveted Tnpoh in North Africa
which was under the Ottoman empire She
had already occupied Entrea and Somaliland. France wanted to add Morocco to
her conquests in Afnca. Ru~sm hild her
ambihons m Iran, lhe ternlorie~ of the
Ottoman empire mcludmg Constantmople, the Far East and elsewhere The Russmn plans clashed With the mleresls and
amb1hons of Britam., Germany and Au~
tna. Japan which had also becorne an
1mperiahst power had amb1 tions in the Few
East and was on way to fulfJlhng them. She
defeated Russia m 1904-05 after havmg
signed an agreement w1th Britain and was
able to extend her mfluence m the Far East
A ccmteutpomry Japanese print showing a naval battle during the Russo-Japanese! War of1904-05
l3ntam was mvolved 111 a confl1ct With all

other impenahstcountnes because she had
already acqUired a ~ast emptre whtch was
to be defended. The nse of any other country was cons1dered a danger to the Bnbsh
emp1re. She also had her va&t international
trade to defend agamst the competition
from other countries, and to mamtam her
control over what she considered the lifeline of her empire. Austna had her ambitions m the Ottoman emp1re The United
States of Amenca had emerged as a powerful nation by the end of the nmeteenth
century She had annexed the Phihppmes
Her mam mteres twas to preserve lhe independence of trade asher trade was expandmg at a tremendous rate The expansiOn of
other ma1or powers' influence was considered a threat to Amencan mterests
Conflicts wtthm Europe

Be&tdes the conflicts resultmg from nval11es over colonies and trade, there were
conflicts among the ma1or European power& over certam developments withm Europe There were stx maJOr powers m Euwpe at th1s time -Britain, Germany, Austna-Hungary, Russia, France and Italy One
of the question~ wtth which almost all these
counb1e~ gotmvolved concerned the countJ 1es compnsmg the Balkan penmsula m
Europe The Balkan countnes had been
under the rule of Ottoman Turks However, 111 the nmeteenth century, the Ottoman rule had begun to collapse There
were revolts by various natiOnalities for
mdependence The Russmn Czars hoped
that the~e areas would come under their
control once the Ottomans were ousted
from there They encouraged a movement
called the Pan-Slav movement whtch was
ba~ed on the theory that all the Slavs of
eil.Stern Europe were one people Many
areas m Austna-Hungary were mhabrted

by the Slavs Rus&ia, therefore, encouraged
movements both agamst lhe Ottoman empire and Austria-Hungary The major
Balkan country, Setbia, led the movement
for umtmg the areas mhabtted by the Slavs
m the Ottoman empire a!) well as m Austna-Hungary TheSerb1an nat1onalrsm was
ertcouraged by Russia Other ma1or European powers were alarmed at the growth of
Russian influence m the Balkans. They
wanted to check the Russ1an mfluence,
while Austna-Hungary had plans of expansion m thb area.
Corresponding to the Pan-Slav movement, there was a Pan-German movement
which armed at the expansion of Germany
all over central Europe and m the Balkans
Italy cla1med certam areas whicN. were
under Austnan rule. France hoped to recover not only Alsace-Lorrame Which she
had lost to Germany in 1871 but also to
wreak vengeance on Germany for the hurnJliatmg defeat that she had suffered in
the war w1th Germany m 1870-71.
Formahon of Alliances
The conflict~ withm Europe and the conflicts over colomes mentioned earher had
begun to create a very tense situation m
Europe from the last decade of the nmeteenth century European countnes began
to form themselves into opposmg groups
They also started spending vast sums of
money to mcrease the s1ze of the1r armies
and navtes, to develop new and more
deadly weapons, and to generally prepare
themselves for war, Europe was gradually
becommg a vast armed camp Simultaneously, propaganda for war, to breed hatred agamst other countnes, to paint one's
own country as superior to others, and to
glonfy wor, was started m each country.
IHE FIRST WOJ{LD
285
WAI~
There were, nt cour!>e, people who ra1sed

the1r votce ag,llmt the danger of war and
agamst m!litanzatton You have read of the
att1tudeoftheSecond Internat1onaland the
vanous sooali~t pr~rtles Gut soon all these
vo1cet. were to be drowned m the drumbeats of war
The opposmg- group~ of countnes of
alliances that were formed m Europe not
onlv added to the danger of war, but also
made 1t mevttable that when the war broke
out 1t would as~ume a worldw1de magnttude European countne~ had been form-
mg and reformmg alhances smce the nmeteenth century. Fmally, m the f1rst decade
of the twentteth century, two group~ of
countne1> or alltances, emerged and faced
each other with their armed 1mght In 1882
was formed the Tnple Alhance compnsing
Germany, Austna-Hungary and Italy
However, Italy's loyalty to th1s Alhance
was uncert<un as her mam am1 wa::. to gain
terntones m Europe from Austria-Hungary and inconquermgTnpoh with French
support At. opposed to this, emerged the
Triple Entente compnsing France, Russ1a
EUROPE lN 1914
Mos~ow
RUSSIAN
EMPIRE
IOC.OMILES
I
Kl-1
2Rh
and Bnt,un m 1907. In theory It was only a

loo-.e group based on mutu~l understand11 Ig as the word 'Eatente' (meamng 'an
under::, tanding') md1cates The emergence
ot these twl' hostile camps made It ineviLable that a confhct mvolvmg any one of
the::.e countnes would become an all-European war As the aims of the countnes m
the~e camps included the extens10noftheu
cnlonml possessions, an all-European war
.1lmost certamly would become a world
war The formation of these hostile camps
was arcompamed wtth a race to build more
and more deadly weapons and have larger
and larger arm1es and navtes.
A ::,eries of cn::,es took place dunng the
years precedmg the war. Thesecnses added
to tl1e bitterness and tensmn m Europe and
engendered national cha uvumm European
countne'> alsoenteted mto secret treaties to
gam terntorws at the e>..pense of others.
Often, these secret treatre::, leaked out and
tt\u and :,uspic10n grew m each country
about such treatws Thl?se fear~ and suspiCions hrought the danger of war near
Incidents Precedmg the War
The outbreak of the war was preceded by a
senes of modents whtch added to the prevadmg tenwm and ulllmately led to the
war. One ot the~e was the dash over Morocco ln 1904 Britam and France had entered mlo a secret agreement accordmg to
which Bntam was Lo have a free hand m
Egypt, and France was to take over Morocco The agreement became known to
Germany and aroused her indignation. The
German emperor went to Morocco and
prmm::,ed the Sultan of Morocco hts full
~upport for tlw mdependence of Morocco.
The antagoni~mover Momcco,ttappeared,
wnuld IE:'Ml to a war. However,lhewarwas
avei tedwhenm 191 J France occupied most
of Morocco and, m exchange, gave Germany a part of French Congo. Even though
the war had been averted, the ~1tuatwn m
Europe, Wtth each country prepanng for
war, had becomP dangerous
The othE'r inCidents wh1ch wor~ened
the already dangerous ~1tuahon m Europe
occurred m the Balkans. ln 1908 Austua
annexed the Ottoman provmces of Bosma
and Herzegovina These provmces were
also coveted by Serbta which had the backmg of Russia m e::,tabhshmg cl umted Slav
state m the Balkans. Russ1a threatened to
start a war againstAustnanannexahon but
Germany's open support to Austna compelled Russia to retreat The mcident. however, not only embtttered feeling5 lil Serbm
but also created further enm1ty between
Russia and Germany The sttuallon m Europe had become even more tense.
The cns1::, resulting from the annexa bon
of Bosma and Herzegovina by Auslna was
followE'd by Balkan wars ln 1912, four
Balkan counlnes -Serbia, Bulgana,
Montenegro and Greece -started a war
agamst the Turks. As a resull of this wa1,
Turkey lost almost all her possessiOns m
Europe However, the Balkan countnes
fought another war over the question of
distributing the former Turkish territory
among themselves. Fmally, Austna succeeded m rnakmg Albama, whrchhact been
clmme.d by Serb1a, as an independent state.
The frustration of Serbia's ambitions further ernbtttered her feehng:, agamst Austna The:,e modents brought Europe on the
verge of war.
The Outbreak of War
The war was pnc1p1tated by an InCident
whtch would not have created much stir rf
Europe had not ~tuod dtvided mto two
hoshle armed camps, preparing for war for
THE F~RST WORLD WAR
287
many years On 28 fune 1914 Archduke

Franczs Ferdmand, the heir to the throne of
Austna-Hungary, was assassinated at
SaraJevo, ca pztal of Bosnia. (Bosnia, it may
be recalled, had been armexed by Austria
only a few years earlier.) Au:-t,;'a saw the
hand of Serbia behind the a ~.:at~~ination
and served her wtth an ult1matum Serbia
refused to accept one of the demands of the
ultnnatum whtch went agamst the independenceofSerbia On28July1914Austria
declared war on Serbia. Ru~~Ja had vromised full support to Serbm and ~tar ted full
scale preparations for war On 1 August,
Germany declared war on Ru~:.sia arli.J on
3 August on France German tmopb
marched into Belgium to press on Lo France
on 4 August and on tlte same day 13ritam
declared War on Germany
Many other countries soon entered the
war. Japan declared war on Germany w1U1
a view to captunngGermancolomes m the
Scene depicting trench ,warja1 e du1 mg the Fn st W01 /d War
28&
The tank was a new weapon to be 11sed d11rmg the Fmt World War It was developed first by Bntam
Far East, Turkey and Bulgana JOmed on the

s1deofGermany ltaly,mspiteofher member~htp of the Tnple Alhance, remamed
neutral for some hme, and jomed the war
agamst Germany and Au~tna-Hungary m
1915
The Course of the War
Germany had hoped that through a lightnmg stoke through Belgmm, she would be
able to defeat France w1thm a few weeks
and then turn agaimt Rus~JCI. The plan
seemed to succeed for a whtle and the
German troops were wtthin20 km of Pans.

Rus&ta had opened attacks on Germany
and Austna and some German troops had
to be dtverted to the eastern front Soon
the German advance on France was halted
and the wa1 in Europe entered a long
penod of stalemate. In the meantime the
wa1 had spread to many other parts of the
world and battles were fought m West
Asia, Afnca and the Far East
After the German advance had been
halted, a new type of warfare developed.
The warnng aumes dug trenches from
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
whtch they conducted ratds on each other.

The kinJ of warfare that the armtes were
used to earher - ftghhng m the open almostdtsappeared. On the Western Front,
whtch mduded eastern France and Belg.tum, the troops of the watrmg stdes dug
trenches and continued thetr ra1ds on each
other's positions For about four years,
netther stde could dtslodge the other The
European countnes made use of the troops
recrmted from thetr colorues 10 the war
Labour from colomes was also used to dig
trenches in Europe On the Eastern Front,
Germany and Austna succeeded mrepulsmg the Russian attack and capturmg parts
of the Russian emptre. They were also succes~ful agamst Rumama, Serbia and Italy.
Outside Europe, there were campatgns
agamst the Ottoman emptre in Palestine,
Mesopotamia and Arabta and agamst Germany and Turkey in Iran where they were
trymg to establish theu mfluence Japan
occupted German possess10ns in East Asia,
and Bntam and France setzed most of Lhe
German colomes 10 Africa
A large number of new weapons were
mtroduced. The machme gun and hqmd
flre were two such yveapons. For the 6.rst
time, atrcrafts were used m warfare and for
bombing the Clvihan population The Bnttsh mtroduced the use of the tank which
was to become a major weapon later. Both
the warnng groups tned to block each
other's supplies of food, manufactures and
arms and the sea warfare played an Important part m this Submannes called U-boats
were used by Germany on a large scale not
only to destroy enemy ships but also ships
of neutral countries headmg for Bntrsh
ports Another horrible weapon used in the
war was potson gas. The war dragged on,
taking a toll of hundreds of thousands of
human lives.
289
On 6 Apnl 1917, the Umted States of

America declared war on Germany USA
had become the mam source of arms and
other essential supplie~ for the Entente
countries In 1915, the German U-Boats
had sunk a Bnbsh ship LusLtama. Among
the 1153 passengers killed were 128 Amencans. The Amencans were generally sympathetic to Bntam, and this inCident further
roused anti-German feehngs 10 USA. Economic constderabons had turned them even
more m favour of the Entente countries
These countries had raised vast amounts of
loans m USA to pay for the arms and other
goods bought by them Many Amencans
had subscnbed to these loans whtch could
be paid back only, If these countnes won
the war. There was als-o a fear that tf Germany won the war, ~he would become a
senous nval to USA. The sinking of ships,
mdudmg Amen can sh1ps carry10g Amencan citizens, by the German U -boats finally
led USA to JOII1 the war
Another maJor development that took
placein 1917was thewtthdrawalofRussm
from the war after October Revolu tron The
Russian revolutwnanes had opposed the
war from the begmnmg and, under the
leadership of Lenm, had decided to transformitmto a revolutionary war to ovethrow
the Russian autocracy and to se1ze power
The Russtan empire had suffered serious
reverses in the war Over 600,000 Russian
soldters had been killed. The day after theBolshevik government came to power, It
Issued the Decree on Peace With proposals
to end the war Without any annexatiOns
and indemnities. Russia decided to withdra~ from the war and signed a peace
treaty With Germany m March 1918. RealIZing that the Russian government was not
prepared to continue the war, Germany
imposed terms which were very harsh on
'
290
Germany used submarmes, called U-Boats, durmg the Fm;t World War
Russia But the Russmn government accepted these terms The Entente powers
which were opposed to the revolution m
Russia and to the Russian withdrawal from
the war started their armed mtervention 111
Rus~m m support of the elements which
were opposed to the revolution. Thtt> led to
a civil war wh1ch lasted for three years and
ended with the defeat of foretgn mtervenhon and of those Russmns who had taken
up arms against the revolutionary government
End of the War
Many efforts weremadetobnn_,;thewar to
an end In early 1917, a few sooahstparties
proposed the convening of an mterna honal
socmhst conference to draft proposals for
endmg the war Wtthout annexatwn& and
tecognibon of the nght of peoples to selfdeternnnation. However, the conference
could not be held The proposal of the
Bolshevik government in Russia to conclude a peace "without annexations and

mdemmties, on the basis of the self-determmatlOn of peoples" was welcomed by
many people m the countn es whtch were at
war. However, i:hese proposals were reJected The Pope also ,!Jl:tde proposals for
peace but these too were not taken seriously. Though these efforts to end the war
Jid not get any posttive response from the
governmentsofthewarringcountries, antiwar feehngs grew among the people There
was Widespread unrest and disturbances
and even mutmies began to break out. ln
some countries, followmg the success of
the Russian Revolution, the unrest was
soon to take the form of upnsings to overthrow the governments
In January 1918, Woodrow Wilson,
Pre:s.1dent of the Umted States, proposed a
peace programme. This has become
famous as Pres1dent WJ!son' s Fourteen
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
Pmnts These included the conduct of negohahons between states openly, freed~m
of navigahon, reduchon of armaments, mdependence of Belgmm, restoration of
Alsace-Lorrame to France, creation of
mdependent states m Europe, format10n of
an mternatronal orgamzahon to guarantee
the mdependence of all states, etc. Some of
fuese pomts were accepted when the peace
treaties were signed at the end of the war
Bntam, France and USA launched a
mihtary offensive in July 1918 and Germany and her allies began to collapse. BulganawithdrewfromthewarmSeptember,
and Turkey surrendered m October. IJohlical discontent had been nsmg m AustnaHungary and Germany. The emperor of
Austna-Hungary surrendered on 3
November In Germany revolut10n broke
out. Germany became a repubhc and rthe
German emperor Kmser Wilham II fled to
Holland The new German government
stgned an arrmshce on 11 November 1918
and the war was over ThE' new~ was receiVed with tremendous JUbilation all over
the world
Peace Treaties
The victorious powers or the Alltes, as they
were called, met m a conference first in
Versailles, a suburb of Pans, and later m
Pans, between January and June 1919.
Though the number of countnes represented at the conference was 27, the terms
of the peace treaties were really decided by
three countries - Bntain, France and USA
The U1ree persons who played the determuting role m frammg the terms of the
treaties were Woodrow Wilson, President
of the Umted States, Lloyd <;:eorge, Prime
Mimster of Bntam, and George
Clemenceau, Pnme Minister o fFrance. The
defeated counlTies were not represented at
291
the conference. The v1ctonous powers also

excluded Russia from the conference The
terms of the treaty were fuus not the result
of negotiations between the defeated and
the v1ctonous powers but were unposed on
the defeated by tt}e v1ctors.
The mam treaty was s1gned With Germany on 28 June 1919 It IS called the Treaty
of Versailles. TI1e repubhcan government
of Germany wa!':. compelled to s1gn this
treaty under the threat of invasiOn The
treaty declared Germany and her alhes
~Stulty of aggresswn Alsace-Lorrame was
returned to France The coal mmes m the
German area called Saar were ceded to
Francefor15yearswhilethatarea was to be
governed by the Leagm' of Natmns. Germany also ceded pa1 ts ofhet pre-war territory to Denmark, Belgmm, Poland and
Czechoslovakia The area of the Rhme va 1ley was lobe demilitarized The treaty also
contained prov1s10ns for d15anmng Germany. The shength other army was to be
limited to 100,000 and shew as reqwred not
to have any atr force and &ubmarines She
was dispossessed of all her colomes which
were taken over by the victors. Togo and
fue Cameroon were div1d ed and shared by
Bntam and France German colome& m
South-West Afnca and East Afnca were
gwen to Bntain, Belgium, SouthAfnca and
Portugal German colomes m the Pacific
and the spheres under her control in Chma
were given to Japan Chma was aligned
Wtth the Allies dunng the war and- was
even represented at the Paris Conference
But her areas under German possession of
control were not restored to China, mstead
they were gwen awny to fapan Germany
was also reqmred to pay for the los~ and
damages spffered by the Allies durmg the
war The amount of reparations was f1xed
at an enounous f1gure of [ 6,600,000,000.
292
Separate treaties were signed With the

a1hes of Germany Austna-Hungary was
broken up and Aushm was requtred to
recognize the mdependence of Hungary,
Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Poland
She had to cede terntones to them and to
Italy Many changes were made in the
Balkans where new states weie. created
and transfers ofterntones from one state to
another took place Balhc states which earlier 'tanned parts of the Russian emp1re
were made mdependent. The treaty With
Turkey stipulated the complete dismemberment of the Ottoman empire Bntain
was given Palestine and Mf'sopotamia (Iraq)
and Syna went to France as what were
called 'mandate!>' In theory, the 'mandatory' powers, that is Bntam and France,
were to look after the mterests ofthe peopl'
of the 'mandates' but actually they were
governed as colorues Most of the remammg Turkish terntories were to be given to
Greece and Italy and Turkey was to be
reduced to a very small state. However,
there was a revolution in Turkey under the
leadership ofMustapha Kemal. The Sultan
wa~ deposed and Turkey was proclaimed
a republic m 1922. Turkey regained control
of AsmMmor and the City of Constantinople
(Istanbul) and the Allies were forced to
abandon the earlier Lreaty
An Important part of the peace treaties
was the Covenant of the League of Nations
WII~on' s Fom teen Pomts mcluded the creatwn of al). jnternattonal orgamzation for
the preservation of peace and to guarantee
the mdependence of all states The League
of Nahons was created. It was mtended as
a world orgamzation of all mdependent
stales. It aimed at the preservatwn of peace
and 5ecunty and peaceful settlement of
mternational conflicts, and bound Its
members 'not to resort to war' One of Its
important proviSions was With regard to

sanctwns Accordmg to th1s provisiOn, econormc and military action would be taken
against any country which comrmtted aggressiOn. It also bound Its members to Improve labour and social conditions m their
countnes. For this the International Labour
Organization was set up which ts now one
of the specialized agencies of the United
Nations.
The hopes ofhavmg a truly world orgamzabon devoted to the preservation of
peace and mdependence of nations were,
however, not realized With the formation
of the League Two maJOl' countries- Germany and the Soviet Umon -were not
allowed to become Its members for many
years while India, which was not mdependent, was made a member The Umted
States which had played an 1mportant part
m the settmg up of the League ultimately
decided not to JOin 1t. The League was
never an effective orgamzatwn In the 1930s
when many countrtes resorted to aggressiOn, the League was either Ignored or
defied
An Important feature of the peace treaties which mdrcates Its nature was the deciSIOn With regard to the colomes of the
defeated powers. The Allies had entered
mto many secret agreements for dividmg
the spoils of war The Soviet government,
to brmg out the Imperialist nature of the
war, made these treaties public. Dunng tl"Ie
war, tl"Ie Alhes had been claiming that the
war was bemg fought for freedom and
democracy President Wilson had said that
tl1e war was bemg fought "to make the
world safe for democracy". The publication of secret treaties by the Soviet government exposed these claims However, m
spite of thrs, the dtstnbution of the colomes
of thedefeatesi countnes among the v1ctors
THE FIRS.! WORLD WAR
293
took place as has been mentioned before "sia, Austna and Prussia m the etghteenth
Of course, the Soviet Urnon which had century was re-formed as an mdependent
repudrated all the secret agreements drd state.
The penod after the war saw the war
notrecerveany spmls whrchhad been prom1sed to the Russian emperor The League of saw the beginmng of the ePd of the EuroNahons also recogrused nus dtvrston of the pean supremacy m lhe world Economispoils Legally most of the colomes which cally and mdttanly, Euwpe wa5 surpassed
were transferred to the victonous powers by the Umted States whtch emerged from
were' mandates' and could not be annexed. the war as a world power The Sov ret Uruon
was also to soon come up as a maJor world
Consequences of the War and the
power The penod after the war also saw
Peace Treaties
the strengthemng of the freedom moveThe First World War was the mostfnghtful ments m Asia and Afnca The weakenmg
war that the world had so far seen The of Europe and the emergence ot the Sovtet
devastation caused by 1t, as stated earher, Umon which declared her ~upport to the
had no precedent. The number of persons struggles for natiOnal mdependence conwho fought m the war rs staggenng. Esti- tnbuted to the growing strength of these
mates vary between 53 and 70 million struggles The Allied propaganda dunng
people The total number of those krlled the war to defend democracy, and the
and dead m the war are esl1mated at about partiopatwn ot As1an and Afncan sold leis
nme million, Lhat rs, about one-seventh of m the battles m Europe also helped m
those who parhcrpated m tt Several nul- arousmg the peoples of Asra and Atnca
han became mvahds. The air rmds, epi- The European countnes had utiltzed the
demics and fammes killed many more resources of their colome.:. m the war The
among the crvrlian populations. Bestdes forced recrmtmentofsoldterscmd labourer~
these ternble human losses, the economy for war, and the exploitatwn of resources
of many countries was shattered. It gave of the colome.:. for war by the unperiallst
rise to many senous social problems The count! Ies had created resentment among
pohbcalmshtuhons as they had been evolv- the pe' 1ple of the culomes. The population
mg m vanous countnes also suffered a of the coloma! countnes had been nurtured
senous setback
on the myth that the peoples of Asta and
The war and the peace treatJe~ trans- Afnca weie infenor to the Europeam The
formed the political map ot the world, role played by the soldrers from Asia and
particularly of Europe Three ruhng dynas- Afuca m wmnmg the war for one group of
ties were destroyed- the Romanov m Rus- natwns of Europe agamst another shatSia dunng thew clr itself, the Hohenzollern tered this myth Many Asran leaders had
in Germany and the Ha.bsburg m Austna- supported the war effort m the hope that,
Hungary. Soon after the war, the rule of once the war was over, theu countnet.
Ottomans came to an end 111 Turkey Aus- would be given freedl;rn, These hopes
tna and Hungary became separate mde- were, however, behed While the Europendent states. Czechoslovakia ar\d Yugo- pean nations won the right to self-determtslavia emerged as mdependent states Po- natwn, coloma! rule and explmtalwn conland which had been d1v1ded among Rus- tirmed m the countnes of Asta and Atnca
294
THE STORY pF CIVILIZATION
a Moscow
I
I____
The contrast between the two Situations
wa::, too glanng to be missed.lts increasmg
awareness led to the growth of natwnahst
feehngs in thE' colorues. The soldiers who
relurned to their respectLve countrres from
the theatres of war m Europe and elsewhere also brought with them the new
stirnngs All these factors strengthened
nahonahst movements in the colomes In
some countries, the first stirrings ofnahonahsm were felt after the war
The FmtWorld War had beenbeheved
to be 'a War to end all war'. However, the
PL'ace TreabE's had failed to ensure this. On
the contrary, the treahes contamed certam

'provisJOns whtch were extremely harsh on
the defeated countnes and thus they sowed
the seeds of further conflicts. Surularly,
some victorious countries also felt cheated
because all their hopes had not been fulnlled Impenalism was not destroyed as a
result of the war The victonous powers
had in fact enlarged their possessiOns The
factors which had caused n valries and conflicts between 1mpenahst countries leadmg to the war still existed. Therefore, the
danger that more wars woulQ. be foughtfor
another 'rediViswn of the world' re-
Tf:!E FIRST WORLD WAR
mamed lurkmg. The emergence of the SoThese factors, combined wtth certam
vtet Umon was ccmsideted a dangt>r to the
developments that took place m the next
ext&bng sooal and economic system m
many countnes The destre to destroy 1t twenty years, created condttions--{or anmfluenced the poltcie5 of tho?e countnes. other world war.
EXERCISES
Thmgs to Know
1 Explam the baste reasons for the confl1cts between European nation~ from the late
mneteenth century lo the early years of the twentieth century.
2 What were the countries compnsmg the Tnple Alh:J.nce and the Tnple Entente 7
What were the mam auns of th!O!f>e groupings?
3 Whatts meant by the Pan-Sbv movement? Why dtd tt add to the confllcl betweenRuss1a
and Austrta?
4 Explam the rea~:oons fm the entry of the Umted States m the First World War
5. Why IS th(;' war that broke out m 1914 called the Fm>t World War?
6 Explam the consequences of the Fm,t World War on Germany, Austria-Hungary and
Turkey
7. What were the purpose:; for whtch the League of Nahons was estabhshed?
8 Why dtd Russta Wtthdraw from the war after the 1917 Revolul10n?
Tlnngs to Do
1 On o map of the world, show 81e nreas m A~w and Afnca which caused confhcts among
vartou!:> European countrtes Also show the European countttes which emerged as
mdependent states after the F1rst World War
2. How was the world' redtvtded' among the victonous powers? Prepare amap to show
the temtone<> whtch were taken ovr.>r from the defeated countnec; by the VIctorious
counlnes
.
3 Study the Fourteen Pomts of Prestdent Wllson and the peace treatu,!.., that were stgned
after the war Make a check-ltst to show wruch of the Fourteen Pomts were covered by
the peace trea hes and whtch were not
Thmgs
1
2
3
to Thmk about and D1scuss

How far were tmpenahst nvalnes the baste cau&e of the Fir&t World War 7
,Do you thmk the peace treaties latd thefoundat10n<> of a JUSt and stable peace? Dtscuss
How ts 1t thatanotherwtse nunor mc1dentled to the outbreak of a world war? Dtscuss
CHAPTER 11
The Russian Revolution

IN a previous chapter, you have read about
the nse and growth of the socialist movement. By the early years of the twenbeth
century, pohhcal movements based on the
1deas of sociahsm had emerged m a num
ber of countries m Europe. With the outbreak ofthe F1rst World War, however, the
socialist movement m most countnes of
Europe suffered a setback The Second International faced a split on the question of
attitude to the War and ceased to function
Durmg tillS period, however, unrest was
brewmg m Russia. The RusstanRevolution
took place m 1917, affectmg the course of
world htstory for many decades.
Conditions in Russia before the
Revolution
In the nmeteenth century, almost enhre

Europe was undergoing tmportant' soctal,
economic and political transformation
Most of the countries were republics like
France or consbtuhonal monarchies hke
England The rule of the old feudal aristocracu:~s had been replaced by that of the new
middle classes. Russ1a, however, was shll
hving in 'the old world' under the autocratic rule of the Czars, as the Russian
emperors were called. Serfdom had been
abolished m 1861, but 1t dtd not improve
the cond1hon of peasants. They still had
miserably small holdmgs of land w1th no
capttal to develop even these. For the small

holdmgs they acquired, they had to pay
hea\ry redemphon dues for decades. Land
hunger of the peasants was a maJOr social
factor m the Russian soclety
Industnahzation began very late in
Russm,lq the second half of the nineteenth
century Then 1t developed at a fmrly fast
rate, but more than half of the capital for
mvestment came from fore1gn countnes
Foretgn investors were mtercsted m quick
profits and showed no concern for the
conditions of workers Russian capttahsts,
With insuffi.Cient capttal, competed with
foreign mvestors by reducmg workers'
wages. Whether factories were owned by
foreigners or Russians, the condthons of
work were horrible The workers had no
political rights and no means of ,gaining
even minor reforms The words of Marx
that workers have 'nothmg to lose but their
chams' rang literally true to them
The Russian state under the Czars was
completely unsmted to the needs of modern times Czar Nicholas II, m whose re1gn
the Revoluhon occurred, still believed m
the diVme right of kings. The preservation
of absolutism was regarded by rum as a
sacred duty The only people who
supported the Czar were the nob1hty and
the upper layers of the clergy All the rest of
the population in the vast Russmn empirE
THE RUSSIAN REVOLU110N
was hostile The bureaucracy that the Czars

had budt was top-heavy, mflexible and
mefficrent, the members bemg recrmted
from amongst the privileged classes rather
than on the basis of any ab1hty
The Russian Czars had built a vast empue by conquest of diverse nationalities in
Europe and Asia In these conquered areas,
they 1mposed the use of the Russian language and tned to behttle the cultures of
the people of these areas. Also, Russm's
Impenahst expansionbroughther mto conflicts with other Impenalist powers. These
wars further exposed the hollowness of the
czanst state
Gr6wth of Revolutionary Movements
in Russia
There were many peasant rebelhon:; in
Russia before the nineteenth ~ntury but
theywere::.uppressed Many Russian thinkers had been influenced by developments
m Western Europe and wanted to see stmllar change:; m Russra. The1r efforls had
helped to bring about the abolition of serfdom Trus, however, turned out to be a
hollow vtctory The hopes of gradual
changes in the direction of constitutional
democratic government were soon shattered and every attempt at gradual improvement seemed to end m fmlure In the
conditions that existed m Russia, even a
moderate democrat or reformer had to be
a revolut10nary. In the last quarter of the
nineteenth century, there was a movement
known as 'gomg to the people' when intellectuals started preachmg then ideas to the
peasants.
When the workers' orgamzations were
set up after mdustnalizatwn began, they
were dommated by Ideas of soc1ahsm. In
1883, the Russian Social Democratic Party
was formed by George Plekhanov, a fol-
297
lower of Marx Thts party alongwtthmany

other socialist groups was umted mto the
Russian Sonal Democratic Labour Party m
1898. However, the party was soon split
over questions of orgamzahon and pohcy.
One group which was m a mmonty (hence
knowna1> the Mensheviks) favoured a party
of the type that existed m countries like
France and Germany and parl:lcipated in
elections to the parliaments of their countries The maJonty, known as the Bolsheviks, were convinced t};lat m a country
where no democratic rights existed and
where there was no parliament, a party
orgamzed on parliamentary lmes would
not be effectiVe. They favoured d party of
those who would abide by the disciphne of
the party and work for revoluhon.
The leader of the Bolsheviks was
Vladimir Ily1ch Ulyanov, popularly known
as Lenin. He is regarded as one of the
greatest leaders Of the SOCJahst movement
after Marx and Engels. He devoted himself
to the task of orgamzmg the Bolshevik
Party as an mstrument for bnnging about
revolution His name has become mseparable from the Revolution of 1917 The
Russmn soctalists, including Plekhanov and
Lemn, had played an tmportant part m the
Second Internahonal
Bestdes the Menshevrk and the
Bloshevik parties, which were the pohttcal
parhes of mdustnal workers, there was the
SocJahstRevolutionary Party which vOiced
the demands of the peasantry. Then there
were parties of the non-Kussian nationalities of the Russian empire which were workmgto free their lands from colomal oppression.
The revolutionary movement in Russia
had been growing when the 1905 Revolution broke out. In 1904, a war had broken
outbetweenRussiaandJapan TheRussian
THE S'lOl<Y OF CIVILIZATION
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r1 ;cene jtvlll the famcms frlm Battlcshtp Potemkm by Etsemtem deptctmg an met dent
durmg the 1905 Revolutw>l
anmes had suHered reverse!:> in the war.

Tins lMd further strengthened the revolutionary movement m Rttsbia. On 9 January
1Y05, a mass ofpt'acdul workers with their
w1ve:> and children was fned at m St. Petersburg wluie un 1ts way to the Wmter
Palace to pre:.ent a petitiOn to the Czar
:v1ore than a,~housarld ot them were killed
and thousands of other:. were wounded.
Tlu~ day lb known as Bloody Sunday The
news of the k1 llmg~ provoked unprecedented disturbance~ throughout Russia.
E\en secl11ms of the army and the navy
1 evolted. The sailors of the battleship
ratcmkin JOmed Lhe revoluUonanes A new

formoforganizahondeveluped m thi::.revo~
lution which proved decisive in the up-
heaval of 1917. Tlus wa~ the 'Soviel', or the

council ot workers' representat1ves. Begmnmg as committee~ to conduct strikes, they
became the mstruments of political power
Soviets of peasants were also formed.
In October, the Czar yielded and announced h1s mamfesto grantmg freedom
of speech, prebs iind assoCiatiOn, and' con
ferred the power to make laws upon an
elected body called the' Duma'. The Czar's
mamfpsto contamed prmClples which
would have made Russ1a ct constitulional
monarchy like England However, the Czar
soon relapsed into l11S old-ways. No longer
could one hope tor gradual reform. The
1905 Revolution proved to be a dress rehearsal of the revolution that came 1n 1917.
299
THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
Jt aroused the people and prepared them

for revolution. It drew ~oldters and lhe
peoples of non-Russian natlunahhes into
close contact Wtth the Russ1an revolutiOnaries.
Hopmg to satisfy h1s impt'rial ambitions by annexmg Constanbm>ple and Lhe
Straits of the Dardanelle&, thC:' Czar took
Russia into the FtrsL World War Thb
proved fatal and brought about the fmal
breakdown of the Russian autocracy. The
Czanst state was mcapable of canying on
a modern war. The decadence of the royc1l
family made matters worse, Nicholas II
was completely dommatt>d by h1~ w1fe
She, in turn, was ruled by ~l f1cnd lldlluxl
Rasputm who vtrtually ron the gtiwmment. Corruptton m the ~tatP rt>sulttd m
great suffenng among tlw ptople Then
was a shortage of bredd The Ru~~I<ln army
suffered heavy reverses The government
_was completely unmindful (IJ the cnndthons of soldters on the front. By Ftbru.uy
1917,600,000 &oldiers had ller-1 1 k1lled m Ll1e
war There was widespred:i dt~content
throughout the empire as wen a.s Ill tht
army. The condition Wrl.'> rtpe fm rl revnluhon In setting forth' the fundamental law
for a successful revolution', Lemn had mcluded two condittLm.'>- J,.he people ~hould
fully understand that revolutiOn is necessary and be ready to sacnfJce their live!> for
it; the existing governmenl ::,hould bema
state of crists to make tt pns:,Jble for Il tube
overthrown raptdly. That ttme had certamly arnved in Russta m 1917.
Beginning of the. Revolution

Minor incidents usually '&el off' revolu
tions Inthecaseofthe Rw-.sianRt->volution,
it was a demonstratmn by workmg-ci,I:-.~
women trying to pw dM.>e h,ead. A. general strike of worker::. followed, in wluch
~. ~ 1lchers and others &oon JOmed. On: 12

March 1917 the cap1tal city of St. Petersburg (renamed Petrograd,later Leningrad
and once agam, after the collapse of the
Sov1et Umon, St Petersburg) fell mto the
hands of the revolutionaries. Soon the revolutumanes took Moscow, the Czar gave up
his thrmw and the fir<JtProvistonal Governmt't 1 w .111 tonnfd on 15M arch The fa.mous
pod MayHkcwsky, expressing-the contempt
oft he Rus.Sic1f'l people for the Czar, wrote on
the fall uf the Czar
L1ke Lhe chewed &tun:p of a fag

W(' ~pat tlwir dyna:,ty out.
l'he fed! nf tlw Czar IS known as the
February Revolutwn because, according to
tl1e Jld Ru:oswn calendar, 1L occurred on 27
Fel uary 1917 The fall of the Czar, however, mart-.ed only tht: begin.mng of the
l'f:'VC1}Utl011
The must nnportant demands of the

peuplt> were four-fold peace, land to the
tiller, control of industry by worker::., and
equ,\l 5talus for the non-RussMn natwnalitres The Provrsional Government under
lbe leadership of a man named Kerensky
d1d not implement any of these demands
anct lust the support of the people. Lenin,
who was in exile in Switzerland at the time
of the February Revolution, returned to
Rus,ia m April Under hts leadership, the
13< 1L~hevik Party put forward clear polides
ln t>nd the wM and transfer land to the
pea.;<mt::, and advanced the slogan 'All
f'owpr 1o Lhe Stmel&'. On Lhe queshon of
non-Russian na ti< mahties, Bolsheviks were
the only pcll'ty' tlwn with a clear policy
Lemn had described the Russian empire as
a 'pnson of nations' and had declared that
nn ?,l'nuuw d1:'I111lC! acy could lw established
unks~ all :11e non-Ru::.sian peoples were
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A room i1,1 the Winter Palace after tilf fall of the Kerensky government
1:,'1ven equal nghts He had proclaimed the

right of aU peoples, includmg those under
the Russian empire, to self deternunation
The unpopularity of the Kerensky government led to its collapse on 7 November
1917, when a group of sailors occupred the
Wmter Palace, the seat of the Kerensky
government Leon Trotskywhohad played
an important role in the 1905 Revolution
returned to Russia in May 1917 As head of
the Petrograd Soviet, he was one of the
most outstanding leaders of theN ovember
uprising. AnAll-Russ1anCongress of Soviets met on the same day and assumed full
pohtical power Tlus event which took place
on 7 November is known as the October
Revoluhon because of the correspondmg
date of the old Russmn calendar, 25
October.
The Congress of Soviets on the next day

Issued a proclamation to all peoples and
bdhgerent st<.~.tes to open negotia hons for a
Jllf,t peace wtthout annexa bon ;md indemnities Russra withdrew from the war,
though formal peace wat. 111gned With Germany later, after cedmg the territories Lhat
Germany d.emanded as a pnce for peace
Followmg thP decree on land, the estates of
the landlmcb, the Church and the Cz;u
were confiscated and transferred to
peasants' sonehE's to be allotted to peasant fam1lies to be cultivated wilhoul hired
labour The control of industries was transferred to shop committees of workers. By
the mtddle of 1918, banks and msurance
companies, large mdu5tnes, mine~;, Wdter
transport and railways were nahonalised,
foreign debts were repudiated and fore1gn
.,.. 11xe Stormmg of the Wmter Palace, 7 November 1971
302
mm
CyOtlon
28 Ol!tii6PR 1911
ll1
r.
lll!lzy CCl:Llll~ Dl ~c~:ll;: :,'Il':h~:.;..,m ;;I!C~ tr:~~: 1!:~;: ,~:n:.ro C'lot~
CcnTOn. Kpom.rmc1Cin Jlccyr~roJ~. IQletTb!IHl>AtllefaTOBlo ur:tx::.ll::mrl. ~~~
tropoll Bcopoeel!c!d!
'lqHICilno oaan.a~
C'!ot~ C:Bt':'OE'L
r~6o"mn 2: Co:~~;;,rn;r., ):tc::jl'~':'CBl
:rr1:'r'~l ~'L J~cm:n
:rrm
:ttJ:.;l
Decree of land signed l1y Lemn and publ!sh<d in the fi.ussinn !!eusrJapez, [zv~stia on 28 October 1917
(accordmg to the old calendar) The l)pcrrc stnted '.1/L domzmcallands, attached to titles, lands
belongmg to the Empe1or's cnbmet, to mm1n1;terhs, cltu!'clles, pJSSPS9icm bnds, entazled lands, przvate
estatr5, communal lands, peasant freehnlds, and othen are confcscated wztlwut compensation and
'become natwnal property, a11d nre placed at the disposal of tlz~ workers who cultzvate them'
mvestments were conf,scatE>d. A Declarahon of the Rights of Peoples was issued

conferrmg the nght of selfdeterrnination
upon all nationalities A new government
called the Council of People's Commissars, headed by Lerun was formed. Thesr
first acts of the new governmentwerehatled
as the begmnmg of the era of socmhsm.
The October Revolutwn had been
almost completely peaceful. Only two persons were reported killed in Petrograd on
the day tht' Revolution look place. Howevet, soon the nt>w state was mvo lved in a
ClVll war. The ofhcers of the army nf the
fallen Czar orgamsed an armed rebellion
agamst the Soviet state Troops o( foreign
powers- England, France, Japan, Un1tt'd
States and other -;oined them. War raged
bll 1920. By tlus hme lhe 'Red Army' of
the new state was m tontrol of almost all
the lands of the old Chnst empin'. 1he
Red Army was badly equipped and com
posed mainly of worker~ and pea.,ants
However,itwonover better equipped and
better tramed forC"es, JUSt as the cthzen

armies m the American and French revolutions had won.
Consequences of the Revolution
The owrthrow of autocracy and the des-
truchonofthe anstocracy and the power of

tl1e church were the f-irst acluevements of
tht> Russtan Revolution. The Czar1st empm~ was transformed mto a new state
called the Umon of Sovtrt Socialist RepubhC's (U.S.S.R) for short Soviet Union. The
pohctes of the new sta tewere to be directed
to the realization of the old sociahst ideal,
'from each accordmg to his capacity, to
each according to his work'. Private property m the means of production was abolished and the mohve of pnvate profit
ehmmated from the system of production.
Econonw planmng by the state was
adopted to bmld a tedmologically advanced
economy at a fast rate and to eliminate
glanng inequahtws 111 society. Work became an essentral reqmrement for every

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People readmg the Den ees of the So~id Government on Land and Peace
personas there was no unean1ed income to

hve on. The nght to work became a consti~
tutional right and 1t became the duty of the
state to prov1de employment to every mdi~
vtdual. Education of the entire people was
giVen a high priority. The equality of all the
nahonahhes in th~ U S S.R. was recogmzerl
in the constituhon framed ml924 and later
m 1936 Theconstitutiongave therepubhcs
formed by the nationalities autonomy to
develop their languages and cultures These

developments were parbculdrly significant
for the Asian repubhcs of U S.S R whtch
were much more backward than the European part.
Wtthina few years of the revolution, the
Soviet Umon emerged as a major power m
the world. The !lOClal ami economiC systems thal began to be built there was hat led
by many as the begtnning of a new nviliza~
UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBUCS
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,,THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
tion wlule others called it an evil system

After about 70 years of the revolution, the
system collapsed and m 1991 the Sovtet
vmon ceased to exist as a state. ('The map
ill tlus chapter shows the 15 republics wluch
formed the Soviet Union before 1ts breakup ) You will read in the next two chapters
about some of the major developments that
took place ill the Soviet Union and the role
it p~ayed in world affatrs from the hme of
its emergence hll its collapse.
In Its impact on the world, the Russian
Revoluhon had few parallels m htstory.
The ideas of soCialism which the socmlist
movement had beenadvocahngand wluch
the Russian Revolution espoused were in
tend!=!d for universal application. The Russian Revolution was the first successful
revoluhoninhistory which proclaimed the
bmldmg of a socialist society as 1ts objechve. It had led to the creation of a new state
over a vast area of the globe. It was, therefore, bound to have repercussions for the
rest of the world.
Soon after the revoluhon, the Communist Internahonal (also known as the Thud
Intemahonal or Commtern) was formed
for promohng revolutions on an mtemational scale The split in the socmlist movement at the time of the Fust World War has
been menhoned before. The leftwing sections m many socialist parhes now formed
themselves into commurust parhes and
they affiliated themselves to the Comintem.
Communist parhes were also formed m
other countries, often wtth the active involvement and support of the Commtern
Thus the international comrnurust movement arose under one organization which
decided on pohctes to be followed by all
communist parties The Sovtet Uruon was
considered the leader of the world communistmovement by the communist parties in
305
vartous countries and the Commurust Party

of Soviel Union played a leadmg role m
determrmng the pohcu~s of the Comintem.
It 1s generally agreed that Conuntern was
often used by the Soviet Uruonasaninstrumentforpursuingtts ownobJechves However, the formahonof communist parties m
many countries of the world with the obJeChve of brmgmg about revolution and fol- .
lowmg common policies was a major consequence of the Russian Revolution.
With the formation of the Commtem,
the socmhst movement was divtded into
two sechons - ~octalist and communist.
There were many differences between them
on the methods ofbrmgmg about soCiahsm
and about the concept of sociahsm itself
Despite these differences, socmlism became
one of the most Widely held ideologtes
Within a few decades after Its emergence.
The spread of the mfluence of socmlist
Ideas and movements after the First World
Lenin during the second anmversary celebrations

of the Bolshevik Revolutwn
306
W,ar was m no smal~ measure due to the

success of the Russian Revolution.
The growmg popularity of socialism
and many achievements made by the SoVIet Umon led to a redefmition of democracy. Most people who d1d not beheve m
soc1alism al~o l>egan to recogruze that for
democracy to be real, polihcal nghts Without soCial and econmmc nghts were not
enough. Econorruc and socml affairs could
not be left to the capitalists. The idea ot the
slateplaymganacli.verolemregulatmgthe
economy and planrung the economy to
improve the condtbon:, of the people was
accepted. The biblical idea, rev1ved by the
socialist movement and the Russian Revoluhon, 'He that does not work neither shall
he eat', gained widespread acceptance, adding anew digmty to labour. The populanty
of socialism also helped to m1tigate dis, cnmmabons based on race, colour and sex.
TI1e spread of sociahst Ideas also helped
mpromotmginternahonalism. Thenabons,
at least m theory, began to accept the idea
thatthen relationswithothernahons should
go farther than merely promoting their
narrow self-mterest Many problems wluch
were considered nahonal began to be
looked upon as concerns of the world as a
whole. The umver~ahty and mternationalIsm which were fundamental prmcples of
socialist ideology from the begmrung were

totally opposed to imperialism The Russian Revolution served to hasten the end of
tmperiahsm According to Marx, a nation
which enslaves another nation can never be
free. SoCialists all over the world orgaruzed
campaigns for putting an end to
1mperiahsm.
The new Soviet state came to be looked
upon as a f-riend of the peoples of the
colonies struggling for national mdependence R.ussiaafter the Revolution was the
first country in Europe to openly supP.ort
the cau~e of independence of all nahons
fr.om foreign rule. Immediately after the
Revolution, the Sovtet government had
annulled the unequal treaties wluch the
Czar had imposed on Chma It also gave
assistance of vanous kmds to Sun Yat Sen
mhts sttugglE- tor the urufication of China
The RussmnRPvolutionalsointluenced the
movements for mdependence m so far as
the latter gradually broadened the obJeCtives of independence to mdude sooal and
econormc equahty through planned economic development. Wnting about the
Russian Revolution in his Autobiography,
Jawaharlal Nehru said, "It made me think
of pohhcs much more m terms of socml
change."
EXERCISES
Thtngs to Know
1
2,
3
Explam the followmg terms Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, Soviet, February Revolutmn

October Revolution, Bloody Sunday, Communist Intemahonal
Descnbl) the social and economic cond1'tions mRuss1a before the Revolution of 1917 How
d1d Russia's parttc1pattonin the First World W<~rhelp createcond11:J.ons for the fall of the
Russian autocracy?
What were the main objectives of the Russian revoluhonaries ?
4.
5.
307
Describe the immedtate consequences of the October Revolution on Russia's parhctpatlon in the Fust World War, the ownerslup of land, and posthon of the non-Rus&tan
nationahhes of the Russian empire
Explam the athtude of the US S.R. towards the movements for mdependence m Asta.
Thing to Do
1. Collect pictures connected with the Russian Revolution for dtsplay. Describe the events
2.
and the role of personalihes shown m the ptctures.

Collect documents connected with the Russ1an Revoluhon (for example, the text of the
Decrees on Land and Peace) and select statements for a bulletm board display.
Things to Think about and D_iscuss

1 Dtscuss the tmpact of the Russtan Revolunon on the world.
2.
Dtscuss the view that the Russian Revoluhon was brought about by a small group of
revoluhonanes without the support of the masses
CHAPTER 12
The World from 1919 to the

Second World War
HARDLY twenty years had passed smce the
end ot the Fast World War, when, m 1939,

the Second World War broke out It was the
most destruchve war m history which affected the hfe of the people m every part of
the globe. The twenty years between the
First and Second World Wars were apenod of tremendous changes all over the
world Many developments took place in
Europe which paved the way for the outbreak of the Second World War A major
economic cnsis took place d urmg this peIIOd whtch affected almost every part of
the world and/ more particularly/ the most
advanced capitahst countnes of the West.
In Asia and Afrtca, the penod saw an unprecedented awakenmg of the peoples
whtch found tts fulhlment after the Second
World War The changes and developments m thts penod are tmportant not only
tor understandmg the forces and factors
whtch led to the Second Wotld War but
also the worllf that emerged after the war.
Thus they are cructal to an understanding
of the present-day world.
Europe between the Wars
The misery caused by the First World War
mfluenced the polihcal developments in
many countries You have read earlier about
the revolution m Germany towards the end
of the war which forced the German emperor to flee Lhe country Germany became
a republic. The proclamation of the republic did not satisfy the German revolutwnaries who attempted another uprismg m
January 1919. The upnsmg was, however,
suppressed Two leaders of the German
revolutionary movement Karl Liebknecht
and Rosa Luxemburg/ were as::.assmated.
There was an upnsing in Hungary but the
revoluhonary government which came mto
being was overthrown w1thma few months
Inspired by the Russian Revolution, there
were revolutions m many other countnes
of Europe such as Finland, and Bal be States
of Latvta, Estoma and Llthuarua which had
earlier been parts of the Russian empue.
But all these revolutions were shorthved
There were movements i~ other parts of
Europe for Improvement m hvmg conditions. The pohhcal situation m almost
every country m Europe was complicated.
The penod saw the growth of soc1ahst and
corrununistparhes malmostevery coWl try
of Europe However, withm a few years in
many countnes of Europe/ the soc1ahst
movement::. were defeated and d1ctatonal
governments came to power. These governments not only suppressed sociahst
movements but also destroyed democracy.
The emergence of dictatorial governments
THE WORLD FROM 1919 TO TIIE,SECOND WORLD WAR
in Europe m this penod had dangerous

consequences not only for the peoples of
Europe out for the whole world The most
dangerous development was the triumph
of fascism in Italy and Germany whtch
paved the way for the Second World War.
Fascism in Italy
A number of pohtical movement~ which
arose in Europe after the First World War
are generally giVen the name 'fascist'. The
common features of these movements were
their hostility to democracy and socialism,
and the aim of establishing dictatorships.
They succeeded, in many countries of Europe, such as, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Germ..my, Spain. 'TI1eu success in
Italy and Germany had the most senous
consequences.
The term :fascism' IS of Italian ongm. It
was first used for the movement which
started in Italy under the leadership of
BerutoMussoliru. Mussohnihad orgarused
armed gangs against socialists and communists in 1919. You have read earlier
about the uru&cation of Italy and her imperialist ambitions. The Itahan government
had shown httle concern for the welfare of
the agncultural and mdustnal workers
whose conditions were miserable in the
extreme. It had, instead, plunged Italy into
the First World War in the hope of gainmg
colorues. About 700,000 Itahans were killed
in the war. The conditions of the people
had worsened further. The growing
strength of the socialist movement in Italy
posed a threat to the existing system.
Italy had JOined the war with the aim of
gainmg colorues. However, the peace tref!-.
ties had failed to sahsfy her ambitions. The
Italian government at the time was dominated by capitalists and landlords. These
sections began to support anti-democratic
309
111ovements which prom1sed to save them

from the danger of socmhsm as well as to
satisfy their colomal aspiratiOns. The movement started by Mussohm was one such
movement His armed gangs were used by
landlords and mdustnalists to orgamze
violence against soCialists and communists.
A systematic campa1gn of terronsm and
murder was launched but U1e government
showed little interest in curbing it
In 1921, elections were held m Italy.
However, no single party could win a maJOrity and no stable government could be
Mussolzni (third from nght) wzth his followers

during the march on Rome
formed. In sptte of the terror organized py

Mussolini' s gangs, his party could get only
35 seats while the socialists and commumsts together won 138 seats. In spite of hts
poor showmg in the elections, Mussohru
openly talked of se1zmg power. On 28
October 1922, he organized a march on
Rome. The government. of Italy did not
show any sign of resistance agamst the
volunteers of Mussolini. Instead, on 29
October 1922, the king of Italy invited
Mussolini to join the government Thus
without firing a shot, fascists under
310
Mussohm' s leadershtp came to power m

Italy.
The take-over of the government by
fascists was followed by a reign of terror.
The sociahst movement was suppressed
and many sociahst and communist leaders
were either Jailed or killed. In 1926 all
pohtlcal parties except Mussohni's party
were banned The victory of fasCism in Italy
not only led to the destruction of democracy and the sup pres::.wn of socialist movemenl, 1t also led to'the preparation for war
The fascists beheved that there could be no
harmony between two or more nahons
They glonfied war which, according to
them, ennobled people. Titeyopenlyadvocated a pohcy of expans10n and satd that
nations which do not expand cannot surVIVe for long.
The victory of fasctsm in Italy WliS neither the result of a VIctory m elections nor
of a popular uprising. The government of
Italy was handed over to the fasctsts because the ruling classes of Italy considered
democracy and socmhsmas threats to their
power
Nazism in Germany
Withm eleven years of the fascist capture of
power m Ilaly, Nazism tnumphed m Germany. Naztsm which was the German versiOn of fasCism was much more sintster
than the onginalltalian version TheNazis,
under the Ieade~shtp of AdolfHitler, estabh~hed the most barbarous dictatorship of
modern times
You have read earlier about the unificatton of Germany and certam aspects of
Germany's history up to the FirSt World
War Germany had sought to satisfy her
1mpenal ambtbons through war but she
had suffered defeat The outbreak of revolution in Germany towards the end of the
Firsl World War led to the collapse of the
The suffermgs of the unemployed people in

Eul'Dpe as deptcted by the German artist
Kathe Kollwitz
German monatchy. However, even Lhough
Cieunany l.Jecame a 1epublic, the fo1ces behmd the monatchy -the industuahsts, the btg
landowncts and the officets of the army- remamcd quite powerful The govelllment of
the German wpuhltc was Qot able to desuoy
theirpoweJ. These forces began to lllln to the
anti democratiC f01ccs Iepre~encted hy Nazism lo extend theu powe1 and Lo check the
power of lhe soctallst movement.
The lerm 'Naztsm 1 deuved hom the
name of the pat!\' wlwh lliller founded m
1921--the N,ttional Socialisl German
THE WORLD FROM 1919 TO THE SECOND WORLD WAR
Workers' Party, for short Nazi Party. L1ke

Mussohm, Httler had also planned to capture power through a march on Berlm He
was arrested and Jailed, but released long
before his term was over. In Jail he wrote
hts book Mezn Kampf (hteral meaning 'My
Struggle') wruch expressed some of the
most monstrous tdeas of :he Nazi movement. He glorified the use of force and
brutality, and the rule by a great leader and
ridtculed internationalism, peace and democracy. He preached extreme hatred
agamstthe German Jews who were blamed
not only for ti1e defeat of Germany in the
Fust World War but for all the ills of Germany He glon&ed violent nabonahsm and
extolled war. The dreadful ideas of the
Naz1s found favour With the army, the
mdustrialists, the big landowners and the
anti-repubhcan politiCians. They began to
look upon Httler as the savwur of Germany.
The Nazis capitalized on the sehse of
humiliation wruch many Germans felt at
theu defeat in ti1e war and the unjust proVISions of the T teaty of Versailles. They
also explmted the mtsery of the people
which had worsened due to the reparations which Germany was made to pay lo
the Alhed powers. In 1929 occurred the
most serious economic cnsis which affected
all the captlahst countries of the world
About tlus, you will read later. As a result
of tlus crisis, eight mtlhon workers, about
half of the workmg population of Germany, were rendered unemployed. It was
dunng this period that the Nazi Party,
wh1ch was no more tl1an a conspiratonal
group i~ the begtnning, began to spread Its
mfluence. The Soctal Democratic Party and
the Commumst Party were powerful parties with huge followmg. These two parties, however, failed to unite agamst the
311
Nazis.
The vtctory of Naztsm m Germany, hke
that of fasctsm in Italy, was netther the outcome of a popular upnsmg, nor the re&ult of
a sham march on Berlin such as Mussohm' s
on Rome. In the elections held m Germany
before Httler came to power, the Nazt Party
had polled less votes than the Socialist and
Communist vote put tog~tl1er It had won
only 196 seats out of a total of about 650.
Hiller's corrung to power was the result of
polihcal mtngues ln sptte of his poor showing m the elechons, H1tler was appomted the
Chancellor of Germany by the President uf
Germany on 30 January 1933. Wtthm a few
weeks, t.he entire fabnc of democl'acy m
Germany was shattered.
Soon after corrung to power, Hitler ordered fresh elections and let loose a retgn of
terror. Assassinab.on of anti-Naz1 leaders
A Naz1 Rally, Nw emb1t1'g, 1936
TJ:;'IE STORY OF CIVILIZATION
312
was orgamzed on a large scale On 27

February 1933, the Rerchstag (Parliament)
bmldmg was set on fire by the Nazis. The
Commurust Partybf Germany was blamed
for the fire and w~s suppressed In spite of
the terror orgamztd by the Nazrs, the Nazi
Party could not win a majority of seats m
Parliament. HowejVer, Hrtler assumed dtctatonal powers aid, m 1934, became the
President. Trade Omans were suppressed
and thousands o~ socrahsts, communists
and anti-Nazr poHhcallt>aders were extermmated. The Na~s started huge bonfires
mto whtch the wc.wks of some of the. best
wnters of Germahy and other countnes
were thrown Besides soCialists and communts(s, Jews were made vrchm5 of an
orgamzed campa1gn of humilmtion and
vtolence Wrthm a few years they were to
be completely extermmated Simultaneously, a massrve programme of militarization was launched and preparatwns for
war began. The vrctory of Nazism was a
calamity not only for the German people
but for entire Europe and many other parts
of the world. It prought m the Second
World War
The policies and acts of the fascist governments of Italy and Germany which ultimately led to the Second World War are
de5cnbed m another section.
Developments in Britain and France

The two maJor countries of Europe which
dtdnot succumb to fascist movements were
Bntain and France. However, both these
countnes were faced WJthserious econorruc
dllfi.culties. ln 1921, there were 2 million
unemployed persons m Bntain The workers' movement made great advances. In
1924, the first Labour Party governni'ent
came to power However, itd1dnotremam
in power for long In 1926 occurred the
brggest strike m the history of Britam mvolvmg 6 milhon workers "The strike ultirpately failed. A few years later, Britam was
badly affected by theworld-w1de econorruc
crisis and about three milhon people were
unemployed. In 1931 1 the National government comprising the Conservative, the
Labour and the Liberal parties was fo!med
11us government took some steps to over-
Tlu unemployed queue-up in Paris, November 1931,for free bread
313
come the serwus economic difficulhe~> world and the growing unpot tance of the
though the unemployment situation re- Vruted States of America She had, m fact,
rlamed senous After the VIctory of fas- emerged as the nchest .md the mosl
cism m Germany, a fasCl~t movement powerful country m the world .'t the end of
started in Bntam but it could not make the war ThiS was clear from the Important
much headway and Bntam contmued as a role that she played durmg the frammg
of the peace treaties While lhe war had
democratic country
The government of France for many severely damaged the economy of the Euroyears was dommated by b1g bankers dnd pean counhtes, the economy of USA during
industnahsts It hoped that by making use tlus tuue had in fact become stronger She
of the 1 esources of the German areas which had made tremendous mdustnal prot,tress
had come under her conhol after the war, and was begmrung to make heavy investit would be able to make France economi- ments m Europe However, m spite of thts
cally strong However, these hopes were progrt!SS, the Umted States was frequently
not fulftlled France could not attain pohll- besetw1th:.erious economic problems These
cal stability also. Many governments came problems were the result of the capttahst
and fell. Political mstabihty was made system about which you have read before.
The world-wtde economic cnsts whtch
worse as a result of the economiC cnsts, and
corruption became rampant Fascist move- began m 1929 has been mentioned before
ment rose ItS head and there was VIolence The cn~Is ongmated m USA The years
m the streets Ultimately, to meet the threat after Fust World War had seen a btg inposed by fase~st and other anti-c!_~mocratlc crease m the production of good~ m
forces, a government compnsmg Socrahst, America. In &pile of th1~, however, more
Radical SoCialist and Communist parties than half of the populatiOn hved at less
was formed in 1936 This IS known as the than the mimmum subs1stence level. In
Popular Front government and 1t las led for October 1929, the entire economy began to
about two years During this penod many collapse. The stock market m New York
important economic reforms were mtloduced m France.
Thus Bntam and France succeeded in
remammg dernuc~atic countries even
though they were faced with senous problems. However, the foreign pohcy of these
countries, as you will ~>ee later, was not
conduCive to the mamtenance of democracy m other parts of Europe and in preventmg the outbreqk of war
United States Emerges as the
Strongest Power
One of the most important features of the
penod afler the First World War was the
dedme m the supremacy of Europe m the
New York Stock Exchange area

on the day of the crash
314
crashed The fall mlhe value of shares had

created so much panic that in one day 16
millwn shares were sold m New York Stock
Exchange. In some 'compames, the shares
held by people became totally worthless.
During the next four years, more than 9,000
Amencan banks closed down and mtlhons
of people losl therr hfe't.. savmgs. The
manufacturer~ and farmers could not gel
any money touwestand as peoplehadlittle
money to buy, the goods could not be sold
Th1s led to the closmg of thousands of
factcH tcs and throwmg of workers out of
employment The purchasmg power of the
people was thus reduced whrch led to the
clohmg down ot more fctctones and to unerpployment.
The DepressiOn, as thrs s1luatJon 1s
called, began to spread to all the cap1tahst
countnes of Europe in 1931 After the First
World War, the economics ofthecountnes
of Europe, exdudmg Russia, had become
closely connected wtth and even dependent on the economy of USA, particularly
on the Amencan banh The consequences
of the DepressiOn m Europe were Similar to
those m the USA and in some caseh even
worse The economies of the colomes of the
European countnes were also affected
The DepressiOn resulted in. large scale
un~mployment, Joss of productiOn, poverty and starvation ltcontmued throughout the 1930s even though after 1933, the
economies of the affected countnes began
to recover. Thecnsisaslongas1tlasted was
the most ternble and affected the ltves of
scores of mtlhons of people all over the
world. The estimates of unemployed during this pe110d all over the world vary
between 50 and 100 million. In USA alone,
the nchesl country m the world, the number of the unemployed exceeded 15 milhan. Thousands of factones, banks and
busmess enterpn&es::.topped working. The

industrial productton fell by about 35 per
cent, 1rt some countnes by about half
It may appear surpnsmg that the cnsis
was caused by over-production You have
read earlier how under capttalism, the owners of factones and busmess enterprises try
to maximize thetr profits by producing
more and mote goods When produchon
mcreases but the purchasmg power of the
workers remams low, the goods cannot be
sold unless their prices are reduced. However, the pnces cannot be reduced because
this would affect the profits So the goods
temain unsold and U1e factories are closed
to stop further production. Wtth the closure of factones people are tluown out of
employment whtch makes the Siluahon
worse as the goods which have been produced cam1ot be sold. Such crises occurred
often m almost every country after the
spread of the Indu::.tnal Revolution. The
cns1s of 1929-33 was, however, the worst in
history In this cnsis while mllhons were
htarvmg, lakhs of tonnes of wheat were
burnt down in some areas to prevent the
price of wheat from fallmg
The economic cns1s had serious pohh.:'
cal consequences. You have read how the
Nazis in Germany exploited the discontent
of the people to promote lheu anti-democrabc programme. In many countnes,
hunger marches were organized and the
socialist movement pressed for far-reaching changes m the economic system so that
such cnses would not recur The only
country which was not affected by the
economic cns1s ot 1929-33 was the Soviet
Umon.
The economic cns1s had worst affectedthe economy of the Umted States. It led to
t:he v1ctory of.the Democratic Party and
Franklin D. Roosevelt became the Presi-
315
dent of the Umted States m 1933 Under his tions of severe scarcity, certains trong mealeadershtp a programme of economtc re- sures were taken The peasants were made
construction and social welfare was start- to part With their produce whtch was m
ed Thts programme 1s known as the New excess of what was essential for lheu own
Deal Steps were taken to 1mprove the needs They were not allowed to sell It in
condthons of workers and to create em- the market. The payment of salanes m cash
ployment. As a result of the New Deal, the was stopped and mstead people were paid
economy of the Umted States recovered in kmd, that IS foodstuffs and manufacfrom the crisis and the industnal produc- tured goods These measures had created
tion picked up agam In 1939, however, unrest among the peasants and other secthere were still 9 rmlhon unemployed tions of society but were accepted because
they were considered essential to defend
people m the Umted States
The Umted States had retamed her po- the revolution After the etvd war ended,
Sition a& a mighty power However, her these measures were Withdrawn and m
foreign pohcy was not very different from 1921, the New Economic Pohcywas mtrothat of Bntam and France She, like Bntam duced Under this poltcy, the peasants
and France, did not adopt a strong positiOn were allowed to sell their produce m the
to Iesist aggressive acts of fascist powers open markets, payment of wages in cash
unbl after the outbreak of the Second was re-mtroduced and production of
World War when she herself had to enter goods and the1r sale in some industnes
under private control was permitted. A
the war.
few years later, m 1929, the USSR slatted
The Emergence of the Soviet Umon
Its vigorous programme of economic reThe penod after the First World War saw construction and mdustnahzahon when It
the emergence of the Sov1et Umon as a adopted the ftri;"t of a senes of Its FIVe Year
maJOr power and she began to play a cru- Plans Wtthmafewyears, the Soviet Unwn
etal role in world affaus. The mihtary mter- emerged as a maJor mdustrlal power The
venhon by Bntain, France, USA and Japan extraordinary economic progress that the
10 Russta m support of the counter-revoluSov1et Umon ach1eved was agamst heavy
tiOnary forces has already been mentwned. odds. Though the foreign intervention had
By 1920 the counter-revolutiOnary forces been ended, many countnes of Europe,
had been defeated and the foreign armtes and the United States followed a policy of
dnven out
economic boycott With the aim of destroyRussm's partiCipation in the First World mg the revolution. However, the Soviet
WM and the long penod of etvll war and Union not only survtved but contmued to
foreign mtervenbon which followed the grow economically at a fa~:.t rate She was,
revolution had completely shattered the as men boned before, the only country which
economy of the country This was a period remamed unaffected by the economic enof acute economic distress tor the people. SIS of 1929-33 On the contrary, its indusThere was a severe shortage of food. The h Ial development went on as before while
productiOn of mdustnal goods had fallen mllhons of people in the west were unemfar below the pre-war level To make the ployed and thousands offactories had come
distnbuhon of goods eqmtable m cond1- to a standstill.
316
MaJOr changes weremtroduced magriculture After the revolutwn the estate~ of

the landlords, the church and the nobihty
had been dmfisc,lted and distributed
among Lht peasants There were in all about
25 nulbon land-holdmgs most of which
were very small The small land-holdings
ut f.:u ms were considered notveryproducttve To mcrease produchon, it was considered e~senttal to mh oduce tTactors and
other farm madunery. It was thought that
tlm, could be done only If the s1ze of the
fcHms was large For thts, the government
~tarled Its own farms. Bestdes, tt adopled
Lhe pohcy of prornotmg collective farms by
bungmg the small tarms of the peasants
together In these farm~, mdiv1dual ownership of farms by peasanls was ended and
the peasant~ worked on these 'collechve
farm~ collectively The government pursued the pohcy of collechvizabon vtgorouslyand byJ 937 almostallcultwable land
was brought under collective farms lrutially, the peasants were free to decide
whether they wanted to JOin the collective
farm~ or not. Later, they were forced to
JOlll The nch peasants who opposed collectrvizahon were severely dealt wtth. TLe
proces~ of collectivizahon of agnculture
was accomparued by many atrocities. Accmding to some estimates, milhon~ of
people pen shed m this penod. Thus, while
the oppressiOn by landlords had been
ended, the introduction of new measures
wa~ notwtthout senous problems and oppresston In mdustry also, while productron of gauds to profit a few capitalists had
been ended and industrializatiOn of the
country took place at a fast rate, the production of goods of daily necessities was
neglected
The main centres of the revolution in
1<:117 were m Russia In the following years,
the revoluhon spread to many other parts

of the old Russian empire and the Bolshevik Party and Its supporter~ formed governments m the areas inhabited by nonRussian nationalities In 1922 all these
tern tones were formallyumted m the Union
of Soviet Socmhst Republics (USSR), for
short Soviet Umon, which was a federation
of many republics At that time, the number of Republics cons btu hng the USSR was
five. Whenanewconstitutionwasadopted
m1936, their number was eleven A few
years later,m 1940, their number rose to 15.
After the death of Lemn in 1924 many
senous differences arose Wtthm the ruling
Commumst Party- the only polihcal party
which extsted - over pohcies to be followed There wa::. also serious struggle for
power between different groups and mdividual leaders In this struggle, Stahn
emerged VICtonous. In 1927, Trotskywho
had played an Important role m the revolu~
hon and had orgamzed the Red Army was
expelled from the Communist Party In
1929, he was sent mto exile In the 1930s,
almost all the leaders who had played an
tmportant role m the revolution and m the
followmg years were ehmmated False
charges were brought against them, and
after fake tnals they were executed Political democracy and freedom of speech an.d
press were destroyed The expression of
differences even Wlthtn the party was not
tolerated. Stalin, who had been the General
Secretary ofthe Commurust Party, assumed
dictatorial powers which he exercised till
his death m1953 These developments had
an adverse effect on the bmldmg of socmltsm m the USSR and mtroduced features
which were contrary to the humanistic
Ideals of Marxrsm and of the revolution
The development of art and literature also
suffered because of restnchons ,on
Jl7
I
freedom
The Soviet Umon was not recognized
by most European powers and USA fm a
long time You have read before that she
was not allowed to be represented al the
Peace Conference which was held al the
end of th.e Fm.t World War nor m the
League of Nahons She remained surrounded by countries whtch were openly
hostile to her Howevet, With Its growing
strength she could not be tgnored and
gradually one country after another recogmzed her Bntam established diplomatic
relations wtth the Sov1et Union m 1933. In
1934 she also became a member of the
League of Nahons However, m sptte of
the ending of the Isolahon of the Soviet
Umon, the hostility towards the Sovtet
Umon conhnued The Soviet Umon followed a pohcy of support to the movements for mdependence. The help gtven to
Chma IS notable in thts context When the
fasc1st countries started then acts of aggression, the Soviet government pressed
for actiOn agamst them. However, the
Western countnes did not agree to the
Soviet proposals They contmued toregard the Soviet Umon as a danger to them
and hoped that the fascist countnes would
destroy her. Thetr hostihty to the Soviet
Umon led to the appeasement of fascist
powers and paved the way for the Second
World War
Nationalist Movements in Asia
and Africa
The penod followmg the F1rst World War
~aw the strengthening of the movements of
the peoples of Asm and Afnca for mdependence As slated earher, many leaders of
freedom movements m As1a and Africa
had supported the war effort of the Allies
m the hope that their countrres would V\,\m
freedom, or at least mor'e nghls afte1 Wdl

was over Their hopes had been belled anl
the 1mpenahsJ leaders soon made tt cledl
that the war-time slogans ot freedom ;md
democracy were not meant for then co!{Jmes However, the war had weakened the
imperialist countries and had contnbuted
to the awakening of the coloma! people',
Their struggles for freedom entered a new
phase after the war The r:,upport of the
Soviet Umon further added to the strength
of the freedom movements. Even though
most of the countnes of AMa and Afnca
emerged as independent nat1ons after tlw
Second World War, the period after the
First World lVar saw senous weakenmg of
1mpenahsm
In India th1s was the pE'riod when U1e
freedom movement became a mass movement under the leadership of Mahatma
Gandh1. Many countnes in Asia made
Significant advances towards freedom You
have read before that Iran had been divtded mto Russian and British spheres of
mfluence before the First World War. The
Soviet government after the revolution of
1917 had gtven up the sphere under h"r
control and had w1thdrawn all her troops
from there. The Bntish, however, tned to
extend the1r mfluence over the entire country These efforts were met With a widespread upnsmg. In 1921, powerwas setzed
by Reza Khan who m 1925 became the
emperor The British troops left Iran and
the modermzatwn of Iran began
The BntJsh government had waged
many wars against Afghanistan m the nineteenth century. As a result of these wars,
the independence of Afghamstan had been
curbed The foreign relahons of Afghamstan had passed under Bnhsh control. In
1919, the king of Afghamstan was assas::,tnated and h1s son, Amanullah became the
31fl
kmg Amanullah proclatmed complete independence of Afghamstan, wluch was

immedmtely recogmzed by the Soviet
Umon. The Bnbsh government m lndta
waged a war agamst the new Afghan government but in the end Britam agreed to
recogmze tht> mdependence of Afgharustan. Amanullah' s government made vigorous efforts to modernize Afghanistan.
There was an upsurge in Arab countries
agamst Bn tain and France The Arabs had
been asked by the Alhes, dunng the Ftrst
World War, to ftght agamst Lherr Ottoman
t ulers However, the end of the war dtd not
result m the mdependence of Arab countnes. These countnes had assumed additional tmportance after rt was known that
they had tmmense ml resources Bntam
and France had extended thetrcontrolover
these countnes as their protectorates and
'mandates'. There were upnsmgs agamst
Bntan< m Egypt and Bntam was forced in
1922 to grant mdependence to Egypt though
Bntlsh troops continued to stay there
Syna had been handed over to France
after the war. However, from the very
beginmng France met wrth mtense opposition there In 1925 there was an open
rebellion and the French government resorted to a reign of terror. The city of
Damascus which became a centre of revolt
was reduced to rums when the French
troops bombed tlw crty from the all' and
made use of heavy artillery to shell the city.
About 25,000 people were ktlled as a result
of bombmg and shelling of Damascus.
However, m sptte of these massacres, the
resistance to French rule conhnued,
One of the most important events in the
national awakening of the peoples after the
Ftrst World War was the revolutiOn m
Turkey You have read ear her of the dtsmtegrahon of the Ottoman empire whtch
THE STORY OF CIV lLIZA TION
began m the mneteenth century and was

completed after Turkey's defeat m the First
World War. Dunng this period, many nations which were formerly under the subJUga bon of the Ottoman empire had become free The Arab territones of the
emptre had been gtven away to Bntam and
France as mandates after tlte Fust World
War The Allies, however, dtd not stop at
the dismemberment of the empire. T~ey
wanted to establish their dommahon over
Turkey Itself and to gtve away parts of
Turkey to Greece and Italy. The treatment
meted out to Turkey by the Alhes had led
to a mass upsurge m Indm directed against
Britam. This upsurge is known as the
Klulafa tmovementwhtd< had merged With
the Indian nahonahst movement
The nationalist movement m Turkey
was organised to prevent the dommatmn
of the country by the Alhed powers and the
annexation of parts of Turkey by Greece
and Italy The Sul1tan of Turkey agreed to
the terms dictated by th~ Alhed powers
However, even before the treaty was stgned
by the Sultan, a national government had
been established under the leadershtp of
Mustafa Kemal wtth its headquarters at
Ankara This government stgned a treaty
of fnendshtp wtth the Soviet government
m 1921 under wh1ch Turkey receiVed Sovtet pohtical support and arms for the
nationalist cause Followmg the treaty w1th
the Sultan, Turkey had been invaded by
Greece The Turks under Kemal' s leadershtp were able to repel the mvaswn and the
Alhes were forced to repudtate the earlter
treaty The Allied troops were withdrawn
from Turkish territory and the areas whtch
were to be annexed by European countnes
remained m Turkey. Thus Turkey was able
to wm her complete mdependence.
The success of the Turks m winning the
THE WORLD FROM 1919 TO TI-IE SECOND WORLD WAR
complete independence of the1r country

was followed by a programme to modernIZe Turkey and to end the mfluence of
backward-looking feudal elements. Turkey was proclaimed a republic The Turkish Sultan had carr1ed the title of Caliph.
The new government abolished the institution of Cahph. Education was taken out of
the hands of the rehgious leaders Rehgwn
was ~eparated tram the state
The revolution m Turkey became a
source of mspirahonfor the movements for
freedom in Asia. It also helped to promote
the Ideas of social reform and modernization.
Movements for mdependence ""ere
strengthened in the other parts of Asia In
Indonesia, for examp \~, there were uprisings agamst the Dutch rule In 1927 the
National Party Was orgar d with the aim
of achieving mdepender, In Korea there
was a movement for independence from
Japanese rule. Movements for independence gathered strength m Indo-Cluna,
Burma and other countries.
One of the most powerful movements
m tlus period began in Chma. You have
read before about the Imperialist domination of China. In 1911, there was a revolution m Chma which resulted m the estabhshrnent of a repubhc. However, power
passed into the hands of conupt governors
called warlords The nabonal movement
m China aimed at the overthrow of foreign
dominabon and the Ufllflcation of China by
endmgthe rule of thewarlords The founder
of the nabonal movement in China was Dr
Stm Yat-Sen. He had played an Important
role in the 1911 revolutiOn and in 1917 had
set up a government at Canton in south
China The party formed by him called
Kuommtang Jed the nabonal struggle in
Chma for a number of years
319
TI1e Russtan Revol ubon h3d a dPep

Impact on China. ThL new government m
RussmhadrenOlmced all !:he unequal treaties wluch the Russtan emperors had imposed on Chma and had promised full
support to the Chmese national struggle.
In 1921 the Commun1stParty ofChma was
formed. In 1924, the Kuomintang and the
CommumstPartydectded to work together
and the Sovtet government gave various
kinds of atd, such as the tr dtmng of a revolutionary army. A number of Soviet political and military advisers worked with the
Clunese hberahon movement. After the
death of Sun Yat-Sen in 1925, lhe umty
behveen the Kuommtang and the Communist Party was broken and a peri.od of civtl
war began In the 1930s when the Japanese
attacked China with the ann of s ubJugatmg
the entire country, the two parties agreed
to work together to res1st the Japanese
invasiOn. The Commurust Party play~>d a
leading role m the war of resistam:e against
the Japanese invas10n. It was able to establish its supremacyinthecounhyand within
a few years after the end of the Second
World War was v1cLorions in the civil war.
Thts penod also saw the eme'rgence of
poht1cal and national consciousness m
Afrtca. Though the struggles for nahonal
mdependence in Afrtca gained momt>ntumafter the Second World War, the 1920s
and ~e ~930s were a period whe~ the first
political associations were formed An
important role in the growth of national
consciousness in Africa was played by a
senes of Pan-African Congresses. The PanAtrtcan movement asserted the identity
and unity of the African people, and inde. pendence of Africa. 'llie national movement in 'the Union of South Africa had
emerged earlier than m other parts of
Africa. In 1912 had been formed the
320
A contemporm y Chmese woodcut dqnctmg the mutmy of soldters durmg the 1911 revolutwn whrch
led to the overthrow of the Manchu rule
African Nahonal Congress wh1ch became

the leadmg orgamzahon of the South Afncan people. The people ofEthiop1a fought
hermcally agamst the Italian mvaswn of
Li1en country m 1935-36 and their resi~
tancc served as a source of inspiration to
the people of Africa
Thenahcmalawakemngofthepeopleof
As1a and Afnca and the growing strength
of their :::.truggle for freedom were factors
of great tmportance m the makmg of the
modern world Wh1le'the long-oppressed
peoples in tl1ese two contments were begmmng to a~sert their right to mdependence, preparations tor another war were
bemg made m Europe.
Beginning of Fascist Aggresswn
ln the 1930s the fasc1st powers began the1r
war:, of conquest whtch ultimately led to tl!e
Second World War. The maJor fasCist countries were Italy and Germany. They acquired
an ally m tl1e militarist regime which came
to power m }apm The triumph of fasCism
m Italy and Germany has already been descnbed. You have also read earlier about the
nse of Japanese tmpenahsm, her wars
agamst Chma and Russia, the conquest of
Korea and het acqmsihon of the German
spheres in Cluna after the Ftrst World War.
The govermnent of Japan gradually passed
mto the hands of 1111htansts These three
countries started '\ ..,enes of aggressions 111
Europe,Asiaand Atnca Allofthemclmmed
to have been fightmg agamst communism
and were uruted in 1937 under the AntiComintern Pact (Commtem IS short for
Communist lntemab.onal wruch, as menboned before, had been formed after the
Russian Revolubon and to wluch the Com-
THE WORLD FROM 1 rn q TO THE SECOND WORLD WAR
H1tler and Mussolzni
mlmi:;,t Parties of vanous countries were

affiliated.) Germany, ItalyandJapancame to
be known as the Axis Powers
When the acts of aggression began, the
aggneved countnes, the Sov1et Umon and
many leaders m different countnes of the
world demanded collective achon to defeat the aggresswns. In 1935, the Commumst International advocated the formation
of Popular Fronts consisting of Commumsts, Socialists and other anti-fascists to
counter the danger of fasetsm and war. It
may be recalled that Httler had come to
power m Germany because the Commumst and Soctfll Democratic Parlles of Germany had fat led to umte agamst the Nazts.
The Commtern' s advocacy of umtmg all
anti-fascist forces wa:;, followed by the formahan of Popular Pronts in many countnes In France, the Popular Front sue-
321
ceeded m preventmg a fascrst takeover

The pohcy of Popular Front also had a
s1gmftcant mfluence m bnnging together
vanous anLI-tmpenahst forces m the colomes. It also created a world-wtde awareness of the danger that fasCism posed to all
countnes and helped m Luilding support
for the vichms of fasCist aggression The
leader of the Comintem at th1s time was
Georgt Dim1trov, a Bulgarian Commumst,
who had been arrested along with German
Communists, by the NaziSm 1933 after the
Re1chstag fire. His courageous defence at
the tnalhad wonlum world-Wide adrmration and he had been released
You have read earlier that the covenant
of the League ofNahons contained a provisiOn for economic and m1htary sanctions
and collective action agamst aggre,swn.
However, the Western governments, Instead ofresishng U1e aggressiOns, followed
a policy of appeasement of the aggressive
powers. Appeasement meant a policy of
conciliating an aggressive power at the
expense of some other country But for the
Western countnes' policy of appeasement,
fasCism could not have survived as long as
rt drd and would not have been able to
unleash the Second World War
Germany, Italy and Japan whtch
launched a senes of aggressions m the 1930s
claimed fuattheywerefighting commumsm
Hitler had bme and agam declared that Germany had ambtbons of conquenng the vast
~ 1 esources and tern tory of the Soviet Union
In all these countries, the soCiahstand commurust movements had been suppressed. Smce
the success ot the Russian Revolution, the
Western countnes had been haunted by the
danger of communism and they hoped that
fascist countnes would rid them of tlus danger The attitude of the Western powers to
the fascist aggressions has been summed up
322
by a historian thus "There was no queshon

that the Nazis had done theu best to convince the world that they were out to smash
Bolshevism and conquer th(;' Soviet Umon.
Hitler's speech sa}'lng that 1f he had the
Urals all the Germans would be swmuningm
plenty was only an outstandmg example at
tlm, propaganda Nor was there any reluctance among the ehtes in the Westem world
to believe him. The great landowners, aristocrats, mdustnalists, bankers, high churchmen, army leaders -magnates of every kmd
m Westem Europe, together with many
ffi!ddle-dass elements -had never lost thetr
fear that their own workers and peasants
might demand a social revolution, perhaps
one spearheaded and orgaruzed by communists The1r support of fascism as a force,
albe1t a gangster one, which would defeat
commurusm and at the same time leave the
vested mterests largely m control, had been
mstinctive and sincere. There can be ]1ttle
doubt that many powerful people m Britain
and France worked to strenglhen and build
up the AXIs powers w1th a v1ew to an attack
by them upon the Soviet Uruon" TI1ePolicy
of appeasement .strengthened the fascist
powers and led to the Second World War
Japanese Invasion of China

One of the first major acts of aggression
after the Frst Worlrl War was the Japanese
mvasionofChinaml931 AI1Unorinc1dent
mvolvmg a ratlway hne owned by the Japanese in Manchuna, the north-eastern provmce of China, was made the pretext for
themvasion Chma,amemberofthe League
of Nations, appealed to the League fat
sanchons agai.nstJapan to stop the aggression. However, Britam and ,France, the
leadmgcount.nes m the League, were completely mdifferent to U1e appeal and acquiesced m the aggression. Japan occupied
THE STORY OF CIV1LIZATION
Manchul'i.a,mstalled a puppet government

there and proceeded to conquer more areas The Uruted States also dtd nothmg to
counter the aggressiOn. In 1933, Japan quit
the League of Nations. She had also started
setzing the Brtbsh and Amencan property
in Chma. However, the appeasement of
Japan continued as the Western countnes
thought that the Japanese could b~ used to
weaken China as well as the Sov1et Uruon.
Bntain had an additional reason. She d1d
not want to ahenate Japan and thus endanger her posseso:;tons in Asia
German Militarization
Germany had been admitted to the League of Nations some hme after its formation but soon after Hitler came to
power, she quit the League and undertook a massiVe programme of mthtarizatwn. According to the Treaty of
Versailles, severe rcslnctlons had been
imposed on the military strength of
Germany. The begmnmg of German
re-mthtanzabon in v1ola.tion of the
Treaty created a sense of msecurity in
many countries, particularly France. It
was m tlus situation that the Sovtet
Union became a member of the League
in 1934. However, nothing was done to
st'op' the German re-militarization.
According to the Treaty of Versailles,
the German area bordering France
called the Rhineland had been demilitanzed to make a German attack on
France d1fficult. In 1936, Hitler's troops
entered the Rhmeland in viOlation of
the Treaty. Though this step alarmed
France, nothmg was done to stop Germany. By then Germany had built an
army of 800,000 men while the Treaty
of Versailles, you may remember, had
imposed a limtt of 100,000 men She
323
Occupatwn ofBeljll1g by Japanese troops m July 1937
had also started buildmg a strong navy.

Italian Invasion of Ethiopia
In 1935, Italy mvaded Eth10pm On the
appeal of Ethiopia, the League of Nations
passed a resolution condemning Italy as an
aggressor The resolutiOn also mentioned
the use of economiC sanctions agamst Italy,
mcludmg a ban on the sale of arms to Italy
However, no action was taken to pumsh
Italy and by 1936 Italy had completed thE:'
conquest of Ethiopia
The Spanish Civil War
The next event which marked the beginning of an alliance between Germany and
Italy was the mtervention by these two
counlnes in the Civil War mSp<:lln In J931

Spain had become a republic. In 1936 a
Popular Front comprismg the Socmlist,
Commumst and other democratic and antifdsost parties came to power. A section of
the army under the leadership of General
Franco with the armed support ot Italy and
Germany revolted agamst the government
italy and Germany started m tel'venmg
openly in theCiv11 Wal'that followed. They
&ent forces, tanh and warsh1ps m support
of the rebels. The German aircrafts cond~cted air-raids on Spanish town& and
villages The government of the Spanish
Repubhc appealed fm help agamst the fasCISt&. Only the Sov1et Umon came to the
help of the Republican fmces Bntam and
:l24
France advocated a pohcy of non-mter- the Second World War

venlton and refused to give any aid to the
The Munich Pact
government of Spam They remamed mdtfferent to the German and Itahan mter- Whrle the Sparush Civil War was shll gomg
vention m the war However, the cause of on, Hitler's troops marched into A ustna m
thE? Republicans evoked tremenrlous res- March 1938 and occupied 1t Even though
ponse the world over TI1ousands of anti- this was a vwlahon of the peace treaties
fascist volunteers from many countnes in- s1gned after the First World War, the Westcluding many anti-fascist Germans were em powers dtd not protest agamst it
The final acl of appeasement of fascism
orgamzed mto international brigades who
by
the Western powers was the Munich
went to Spain and fought alongstde the
Pact
Germany coveted Czechoslovakia
Spamards against fasosm Thousands of
was
very Important because of her
which
them were killed inS pam Some of the best
mdustrtes
The area also had strategic
wn ters and artists of the twentieth century
importance
for
the expansion of Germany
actively ~up ported the cause of the Repubm
the
east
towards
the Soviet Umon Hitler
licans The battle m Spain assumed an
claimed
a
part
of
Czechoslovakia called
mternational significance as it was increasSudetenland
which
had substantial Germgly reahzed that the vtctory of fasosm in
Spam would encourage more fascist ag- man population. Thts area formed about
gressions The sacnflce of the1r hves by one-fifth of the area of Czechoslovakia and
thousands of non-Spaniards m Spain m the had one of the largest rnumtion factories in
cause of freedom and democracy IS one of the world Instead of meeting the threat
the finest examples of mternahonahsm m posed by Germany, the Pnme Muusters of
history. The Civil Warm Spam contmued Bntainand France met Hltler and Mussolm1
for three yeat~. About a mtlhon people at Mumch m Germany on 29 and 30 Sepwere killed in the war. Fmally, the fascist tember 1938 and agreed to Germany's terms
forces under General Franco succeeded m Without the consent of Czechoslovakia
destroymg the Repubhc m 1939 Soon the Soon after, the Sudetenland was occupied
new government was recognized by most by German troops A few months later m
March 1939 entire Czechoslovakia was ocof the Western powers.
It may by recalled that the Ind1an na- cupied by Germany.
The Mumch Pact was the last maJOr
honahst movement whtch was ahve to the
act
of appeasement by the Western powdanger 01 fascism had extended its support
ers.
It led Germany to make more deto the Republican cause Jawaharlal Nehru
mands
The only way the fascist aggreswent to Spam dunng thts penod as a mark
SIOn could have been checked and
of solidanty ofthe Indmnnahonalist moveanother world war prevented was an
ment wrth the Republicans.
alhance of the Western powers With
The VICtory of fascrsm was the result of the Soviet Unwn. The Soviet Umon
the Westerncountnes' appeasementoffas- had been pleading for such an alliCit~m, which made the fasCis tcol.\ntries more ance. However, the Western polic1es of
aggressive. Germany had tested the effec- appeasement had convmced the Sov1.,et
tiveness of many new weapons in the Union that their mam mterest was to
Spamsh C1Vll War which she was to use m d1vert the German expansion towards
325
theSov1etUmon The Mumch Pact was

an add1honal proof to the Sov1et Umon
that the Western powers were trymg to
appease Germany With a VIew to d.uectmg her aggresswn eastward agamst
the Soviet Umon The Soviet Union at
this time signed a Non-Aggression Pact
With, Germany m August 1939 The
signing of th1s Pact by the Soviet Umon
shocked anti-fascists the world over.
In the meantime Bntam and France
promised lo come to the aid of Poland,
Greece, Rumania and Turkey in case
their independence was endangered
THE SECOND WORLD WAR
The Second World War, hke the First, start~d m Europe and assumed the character of a
world war. In sp1te of the fact that Western

countnes had acqUiesced mall the aggre~
SIOns of Japan, Italy and Germany from the
mvasion of Manchuna to the annexation of
Czechoslovakia, the fascist countnes' ambitions had not been satisfied These cow1tnes
were planmng another redlVISIOn of the
world and thus had tocomemto confltctw1 th
the established tmpenahsl power::. The
Western pohcy of diverhng the aggressiOn of
the.fasCistcountries towards theSov1et Uruon
had failed w1th the s1gnmg of the SovietGermanN on-Agb'Tesswn Pact Thus the war
began in Europe between the tascbt countnes and the maJOr West European PowersBntain ,md France Withm a few months It
became a world war as It spread to more and
more areas, ultimately involving almost
every country in the world
I
THE STORY, OF CIVILIZATION
326
(.
r ',{
D11fislt P11111e Mnmfe1' Nevzlle Champerlain (jt1 at from left) and F1ench Prmze Minister Edourd
Dnlndier (second from left) wztll Hitler and Mussolini in Munzch on 29 September 1938
The Invasion of Poland

After the First World War, East Prussia had
been separated from the rest of Germany
The Clty of Danzig wh1ch separated East
Prus::na from the rest of Germany had been
made a free city mdependent of German
control. H1tler had dr;>manded the return of
Danz1g to Germany but Bntain had refused to accept this demand.
On 1 September 1939 German arrmes
marched mto Poland. On 3 September Britam and France declared war on Germany
Thus the mvasion of Poland marked \ 1W
begmnmg of the Second World War. The
German arn11e~ completed the conquest of
Poland in less than three weeks as no aid
reached Poland. Insp1te of the declaration of
war, however, there was httle actual fighting
for many months. Therefore, thewarduring
this penod from September 1939 to Apnl
1940 when Germany mvaded Norway and
Denmark 1s known as the 'phoney war'.
Soon after the German invasion of
Poland, the Soviet Umon attacked eastern

Poland and occup1ed the terntones which
were earher in the Russian empue. It 1s
~
t
believed that th1s occupation was a part of
the secret provistons of the Soviet~German
Non-AggressiOn Pact. In 1940, the Balhc
States of Latvia, Estoma and L1thuania
whtch had become mdependent after the
First World War "'!ere also occupied by the
Sov1et Uruon. They, along with Moldavia,
became republics of USSR. In November
1939, the Sov1et Umon also went to war
against Finland.
Conquest of Norway, Denmark,
Holland, Belgium and France
Germany launched her mvas10n of Norway and Denmark on 9 Ap~il 1940 and
w1tlun three weeks completed the conquest of these two countries In Norway,
the German mvaders werf' helped by Qwsling, leader of Norway's fa~-::1st party, who
set up a puppet government m Norway
327
German t?oops m Wa1saw, Poland, October 1939
under German occupabon. The very name

'Quisling' has come to mean a traitor who
collaborates with the mvaders of his country. In early May began the mvasiOn of
Belgmm and Holland winch was completed before the end of May Soon the
German armies marched mto France and
by14June 1940, the capital city of Pans had
fallen mto German hands almost without a
f1ght. In the meantime, Italy also had JOined
the war on the s1de of her ally, Germany
On 22 June 1940, the French government
surrendered and signed a truce wtth Germany according to which about half of
France was occupiPd by Germany The
remaining part remmned under the French
government which was required to diSband the French army and prov1de for the
maintenance of the German army1nFrance
The French government which had surrendered to Germany ruled from Vichy. With
the defeat of France, Germany became the
supreme power over the contment of Europe ThewarconductedbyGermanywith

great speed and force IS known as blltzkrzeg
which means a 'lightning war'.
The Battle of Britain
Bntam was the only major power left in
Europe after the fall of France Germany
thought that Bntain would surrender soon
as she was without any allies in Europe.
German air force began bombing ra1ds on
Britain in August 1940 with the aim of
terrmizmg her mto surrender The battle
that ensued 1s known as the Battle of Entam. The Royal Air Force of Britam played
a hero1c role m 1ts defence against mr rmds
and conducted au ra1ds on German territories m retahat10n The Prime Minister of
Britain durmg the war years was Wmston
Churchill Under his leadership, the people
of Britain successfully resisted the German
au raids with courage and determmatio11.
328
German troops occupy Paris, June 1940
In the meantime, Italy had started nuhtary operations m North Africa. She also
invaded Greece, but the Itahan. attack in
both the areas was repulsed. However,
Germany succeeded in capturing the
Balkans -Greece, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and
also large parts of North Africa.
He thought that the destruction of the SoVIet Uruon would take about eight weeks.
Hitler had grm,sly underestimated the
strength of the Sov1et Union In the first
phase of the war With the Soviet Union,
Germany achieved significant VIctones.
Vast areas of the Sov1et Union were devastated, Lemngrad was bc::.ieged and G~r
German Invasion of Soviet Union
man troops were marchmg towards MosHaving conquered almost the entire Eu- cow However, m sptte of the initial Gerrope, except Bntam, Germany attacked the man successes, the German onslaught was
Soviet Umon, despite the Non-Aggression halted. The Soviet Union had built up her
Pact, on 22 June 1941 As mentwned be- mdustrial and nulitary strength She refore, Hitler had always coveted the vast sisted the German mvas10n hermcally and
territory and resources of the Soviet Umon. the German hopes of a quick victory were
329
Japanese were deterrruned to conquer Asm

thwarted.
Wtth the German mvasion of the Soviet and the Pacific. With this the Second World
Umon, a new vast theatre of war had been 1war became truly global. "The United States
opened. An important development that
followed was the emergence of the BritishSoviet-Amencan unity to fight against aggression. Soon after the mvas10n, Churchill
and Roosevelt declared Bntish and American support, respectively, to the Soviet
Umon in the war against Germany and
prormsed a1d to her. Subsequently, agreements were s1gned between the Soviet
Uroon and Britain, and Sovtet Union and
USA. It was as a result of this uruty that
Germany, Italy and Japan were ulbmately
defeated.
Pearl Harbor after the Japanese attack on
7 December 1941
The Expansion of the War
You have read before about the Japanese
mvasmn of China m 1931. In 1937, the Japanese had started another invasion of China
Japan was one of the three members of the
Anb-Commtem Pact along With Germany
and Italy. In &:ptember 1940, these three
countnes had s1gned another pact whtch
bound them together even more Japan
recogmzed ''the lt:!adership of Germany and
Italy in the establishment of a new order in
Europe" and Japan's leader&hlp was recognizedfor establishing a new order in Asia. On
7 December 1941, the Japanese, without a
declarabonofwar,conductedamassiveraid
on the AmeriCan naval base at Pearl Harbor
m Haw an The American Pacific Fleet which
was stationed there was devastated. The
Americans lost 20 warships, and about 250
arrcrafts About 3000 persons were killed
The Americans were complelely taken unawares Negobations had bef'n gomg on
between the Japanese and American governments to settle their differences in Asta and
the PaCJfic The attack on Pearl Harbor m
the midst of negotiabons showed that the
declared war on Japan on 8 December 1941

and soon after Germany and Italy declared
war on the Urnted States. Followmg the U.S.
entry mto the war, many countries in the
Amencas JOmed the war against Germany,
. Italy and Japan The Japanese ach1eved
stgni&cantvictoriesinthewarmAsm. Withm six months of the attack on Pearl Harbor,
they had conquered Malaya, Burma (now
Myanmar),Indonesia, thePhihppines, Smgapore, Thailand, Hongkong and numerous
other areas.
By the middle of 1942, the fascist
powers had reached the peak of the1r
power After that the decline began
The Battle of Stalingrad

In january 1942 the unity of the countries
&ghtmg agamst the fa::.d::.t powers was
cemented The representatives of 26 nahons, mcludmg Britam, the United States
and the Soviet Umon, signed a dr>claralion,
known as the Umled Nation:, DeclaratiOn.
The signa tones to tluE- Declarahon resolved
to utilize all their resources to pursue the
THESTORY OF CIVILIZATION
330
EUROPE IN
1942
ATLANTIC
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D~IS COUNTRIES
tLJ !~ft
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1931-1942
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The tero10nal Wd\eJS of l1o.:l1a exlEot"d 1nLo1ne:: sE<.3 o <t d.sl.:~m:euf1welve

nau1cal ml.:...s.mr-a~ured frn'lll~"' aoprop11atE: base t.ne
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resl:. ~''''"''thE' ~ubhsh!o't
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war until VIctory was achteved and to co- the war

operate with one another agamst the comThe 'Second I'ront'
mon enemy, and promised not to have a
The fascist countries began to suffer reseparate peace treaty
mother areas also. Japan had failed
verses
One of the most important tunung
to
capture
Australia and Hawan In North
pomts m the war was the BattleofStahngrad
Afr1ca,
the
German and Ita han troops were
(now called Volgograd) InNovemberand
routed
by
early
1943. Thedestruchonofthe
December 1941, the German adva!lCe on
fasc1st
army
111
North Afr1ca was also a
Moscow met w1th stubborn res1stance and
major
turmngpomtinthewar.
InJuly1943,
the mvasiUn was repulsed Germany then
Bnhsh
and
Amencan
troops
occup1ed
launched an offensive m soulhern Russia
S1cdy
Many
sections
111
Italy
had
turned
In August 1942, the German troops 1eached
agamst
Mussoltm.
He
was
arrested
and a
the out~k1rts of Stalingrad. For over five
new
government
was
formed.
This
govmonths, the battle raged It involved about
errunent
joined
the
war
aga111st
Germany
2 mtllion men, 2000 tanks and 2000 aeroplanes. The civ1han populahon of Stalin- However, German troops mvaded northgrad joined the soldiers m the defence of ern Italy and Mussolini, who had escaped
the city In February 1943, about 90,000 with the help of Germans, headed a proGerman officers and soldiers surrendered. German government there. Meanwhile,
In all, Germany had lost about 300,000 men Bnhsh and American troops entered Italy
m this battle Tins battle turned the tide of and a long battle tu throw the Germans out
German defeat at the Battle of Stalmgrad, February 1943
of Italy followed The Soviet Union was

attairung sigruficant victories agamst Germany and had already entered Czechoslovakia and Rumama wluch had been under
German occupation
On 6 june 1944, more than 100,000 BritISh and American troop5 landed on the
coast of Normandy in France. By September their number had reached 2,000,000.
The op~::ning of this front played a veiy
crucial role in the defeat of Germany. This
IS known as the openmg of the 'Second
Front'. Smce 1942 in Europe the most
ferociOus battles had been fought between
Germany and the Soviet Union The Sovtet
umon had been demanding the openmg of
the second front for long, as this would
compel Germany to fight on other fronts
also and would thus hasten the defeat of
Germany. From thts time onwards the
German arrmes were on the run on all
fronts.
End of the War in Europe
After 6 June 1944, German armies had to
face the forces of the Alhes from three
directions. In Italy, the Bntish and American troops were advancmg. Northern and
western France and the c1ty of Paris had
been freed and the Alhed troops were
movmg towards Belgmmand Holland On
the eastern front, the Germans were-facmg
a collapse The Soviet army from the east
and other Alhed troops from the west were
closingm on Germany. On2 May 1945 the
Soviet armies entered Berlin Hitler had
committed suicide on the mormng of the
same day On 7 May 1945 Germany uncondthonally surrendered. The end of all
hostilities in Europe became effective
from 12.00 a.m. on 9 May 1945
The Capitulation of Japan
After the defeat of Germany, the war in
333
Asta continued for another three monlhs.

Bntam and USA had launched successful
operations agamst Japan m the Paetfic and
in the Philippines and Burma In spite of
senous reverses, however, the Japanese
were shll holdmg large parts of Chma. On
6 August 1945, an atom bomb, the deadliest weapon developed dunng the war,
was droppPd on ti e Japanese oty of
Hiroshima. This was the first time that the
atom bomb had been used. With one smgle
bomb, the c1ty of Hiroshima was obliterated Another atom bomb was dropped on
the oty of Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. The
city was destroyed In the meantime, the
Soviet Umon had declared war on Japan
andhadstartedmtlitaryoperatmnsagamst
Japanese forces m Manchuna and Korea
On 14 August Japan conveyed Its acceptance of the Alhed demand to surrender
but the actual surrender took place on 2
September 1945 Wtth the Japanese surrender, the Second World Warcamt"toanend.
Resistance Movemt!nts
In all the countnes of Europe which had
fallen vtchm to the aggressions of fascist
countnes, the people organised resistance
movements. In many countries, tbe governments capitulated before the aggres=-sors without much fightmg but people of
those countnes conhnued to resist the fascist rule. For example, when the government of France surrendered, the people of
France organ1zed a popular resistance
movement agamst the German occupahon A French ,army was also formed
outside France under the leader~hip of
General de Gaulle which actively participated m the war. Similar armies of other
countries were also organized. Inside the
occupied countnes, the resistance movements set up guerilla force5 Large-scale
guerilla achv1ttes were organized m many
334
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.
"
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t'
The Soviet troops entered Berlm on 2 May 1945 The p1cture shows a Soviet soldier
rmsmg the banner of the Sovwt Umon as a mark of victory.
countnes such as Yugoslavia and Greece.

In many countnes there were large-scale
upnsings. The heroic uprising of the Polish
people m Warsaw IS a glorious chapter m
the history of the resistance movements.
There were resistance movements within
the fasCist countries also. The fascist governments ofltaly and Germany had physically exterminated hundreds of thousands
of people v4lo were opposed to fasCism
However, many anti-fascists from these
countries continued to fi.ght against fascism inside and outside their countries
TI1e anh-fasc1st forces in Italy were very
powerf~l and played an Important role in
the war against Mussolini and in fighting
agamst German troops in Italy. In France,

Greece, and under the leadership of Marshal T1to, m Yugoslavia, the people fought
most her01cally against fascist aggression
The socialists, the commurusts and other
anh-fascists played a very Important part
in the resistance movements. Millions of
civihannghters agamst fasCism penshed in
the war.
The people in countries which were
VIctims of aggression fought back valiantly.
In Asia, the people of China had to bear the
brunt of Japanese aggressiOn from the
early 1930s. The c1vi1 war that had broken
out in Chma betwee1 the communists and
the Kuommtang in the late 1920s was
THE WORLD FROM1919 TO THE SECOND WORLD WAR
335
Berlm m nllns at the end of the war
converted a large part of Europe into a vast

graveyard and a slave-camp. The Nazis'
hatred of the Jews has been mentioned
before lns1de Germany and m those parts
of Europe which carne under German
occupat10n before and dunng the war, Jew~
were picked up and six million of them
were exterminated. Thelabourofthe countries occupied by Germany was utllized
and most hornble labour camps were
started Millions of people were transferred to what are known as concentration
camps and killed Many of these camp~
such as those in Buchenwald, Osw1ecim
and Dachau were death camps where new
ways of killing people were mtroduced.
People were burnt m gas chambers. There
The Damage Caused by the War
were mass massacres Prboncrs were made
The Second World War was the most des- to dig mass graves, were shot and then
tructive war m h1story The fascists had buried in those graves. Certain kmds of
superseded by a maSsive national resistance against Japanese aggressiOn. In other

parts of Asia also which were occupied by
Japan, for example m Indo-China, Korea,
Indonesia, the Philippines and Burma,
people organized themselves mto strong
resistance movements. The peoples who
had been fighting against British a French
irnpenalism expressed their support to the
war agamst fascism. Fascism was orgaruzed barbarism and was not considered
an ally by the peoples who were struggling
for their mdependence. For example, the
Indian NatiOnal Congress while fighting
for the mdependence of India from Bntish
rule expressed Itself against fasCism.
336
Josip I3roz T1to (extreme nght) wzth leaders of the

Yugoslr1v resistance, 1944
factones were located near the concentrahon camps which produced goods made
from human &kms and bones. The kinds of
tortures and brutalities that the fasctsts,
particularly the GermanNazts, perpetrated
had no precedent nor did the mass scale on
which they were pracbsed Many of these
brutalities came fully to hght when Germany lost the war, after the discovery of
places of mass murders and from the
descnptions of those m the concentration
camps who had survtved. The atrocthes
comnutted by the Japanese in countries
occup1ed by them were no less brutal. Inhuman medical expenments were conducted by Japanese 'doctors' and 'scientists' on human beings.
The destruchon caused by the war in
terms of human hves has no precedent in
lustory. Over 50 million people penshed m
the Second World War. Of them about 22
rnrlhon were soldters and over 28 million
ctvihans. About 12 rrulhon people lost their
hves m concentration camps or as a result
of the terror unleashed by the fascists
Some countries lost a large percentage of
their population !"or example, Poland lost
six ffillhon people, about five m1lhon of
The survivors from a German

concentration camp
them civilians, which was about 20 per cent
of the Polish population. The Soviet Uruon
m absolute terms suffered the worst about 20 ffilllion people wluch was about
10 per cent of the population. Germany
lost over SIX mtlhon people, about 10 per
cent of her population. Besides the human
losses, the economy and material resources
of-many countries were badly damaged.
Many anetentdties were almost completely
destroyed. The total cost of the Second
World War has been estimated at the staggermg figure of$ 1,384,900,000,000.
. Many new weapons of destruction
were dev1sed and used m the Second
World War The most dreadful of these
was the atom bomb. The atom bomb was
first devtsed m the United States durmg the
Second World War. Scientists of many
countries, includmg those who had come
to the United States to escape the fascist
tyranny m Europe, had helped in developingtt. The project to develop the bomb was
taken up when a number of sc1enhsts, suspecting that the Nazi Germany was developmg the atom bomb, approached the US
government They had feared that If the

Nazis developed the bomb, they would use
1t to terronze the world into submission.
The atom bomb was flrst tested in July
1945 By then, Germany had already surrendered Many of those who had helped
m Its developmen~ appealed to the US
government not to use it agamst Japan
agamstwhom the war was shll continuing.
They also warned of the danger of starting
a race in the production of atomic weapons
1the atom bomb was used against Japan.
However, the government of the United
States used the atom bombs against the
Japanese cities ofHuoshima and Nagasaki,
as has already been menhoned. The two
bombs killed over 320,000 people almost
instantaneously and completely wiped out
large parts of the two cities The effects of
these bombs on the health of those who
survived and on theu children contmue to
this day The government of the United
States justified the use of the atom bomb on
the ground that it brought the Second
World Wanmmed1ately to a close and thus
337
helped to save human lives which would

have been lost if the war had continued.
Many o_ther people, includmg many E'Cienhsts who had ~elped m makmg the bomb,
conderrmed. the use of the atom bomb
After the defeat of Germany and the ending of the war m Europe, Japan was not m
a position to continue the war and her
capitulation was a matter of days Some
scholars hold the view that the main reason
for using the atom bomb was to e~;Jtabhsh
the superionty of USA in the world after
the war as at that time she alone possessed
these weapons. In any case, the prediction
of the sc1entists that the use of the atom
bomb would lead to a race for producing
atomic weapons came true. Within a few
years after the Second World War, some
other countries also developed atorruc
weapons. Also other nuclear weapons,
thousands of times more destructive than
the ones used against Japan, were developed which, if used, can completely destroy all human life on earth.
EXERCISES
Things to Know
1
2.
3
4
5.
6
7.
8
9.
What were the main features ot the fascist and Nazi movements?
Explam the consequences of the ,econom1c crisis of 1929-33.
What 1s meant by the term 'Ax1s Powers' '
Descnbe the consequences of the victory of fascism on Italy and Germany
What were the main atms of the foretgn polic1es of Italy and Germany ? Of Japan?
Descpbe the mam events between 1936 and 1939 whtch created condthons for another
world war
What dtd the Western powers do to counter the aggressive acts of Japan, ,Italy and
Germany between 1931 and 1938 ?
Descnbe the growth of natiOnal movements in Asia after the First World War. N arne the
Astan countries wh1ch won their mdependence between 1919 and 1939
Explam the terms: 'Phoney War', Second Front, the Battle of Britam
338
Things to Do
1
On an outlme map of Europe, show the countnes whtch were occupted by Germany
between 1936 and August 1939
2 On an outlmema p ofAsw, show the areas which were under Japanese occupation during
the Second World War
3 Try to collectthevtews of]awah.:u!al Nehru and theindtanNahonal Congressonfasctsm
from books on lndtan freedom movement
4
Read about the new weapon!> devdoped after the Second World War Wnte an essay
comparmg the destructive power of these weapons w1th those used m the Second World
War.
Thmgs to T/unk about and Discuss
1
Do you thmk Western policy of appeasement of the fascist powers brought about the
Second World W:u? Why? Or why not?
2 What Wa!> the ba~tc reaGan for the policy of appeasement?
3 Do you thmk the Umted States Waf' ]Ushfted in u~mg the atom bomb agamst Japan?
4 Why did the Su\ wt Umon Sl!j'Tl the Non- AggressiOn Pact wtth Germany? What did she
gam from It? Dt.;;cu&s
CHAPTER 13
The World after the Second World War

world has been completely transformed during the years smce the end of
the Second World War in 1945. Its pohtical
map has also changed. The mfiuence and
thedomma non wrnch a few Europe>ammperJahstpowers exercised in the pre-war years
became thmgs of the past A large number
of nahons m Asra and Afnca wluch had
been suffering under colorual rule emerged
as mdependent nations Together, they
have become a major factor in the world.
The United States had emerged as the biggest power after the Fust World War. The
Soviet Union also emerged as a mighty
power after the Second World War, in spite
of the terrible devastahon that she suffered durmg the war Before the Second
World War, the Soviet Union was the only
countrym the world which professed socialism After the war, a number of other
countnes jmned her
The two world wars, fought Witlun a
brief penod of about 30 years/ resulted m
the loss of millions of human lives The
danger of a new world war which would
destroy human life altogether created a
new awareness of the need for establisrung
lashng peace Peoples and nations made
efforts in th1s dtrechon by promotmg mutual relations based on fnendslup and
cooperation. They also created many new
mstrtutwns and agencies for the purpose
THE
However, in sp1te of these efforts the petnd after the Second World War has been
full of stresses and strains. It has seen many
confhcts and wars in which hundreds of
thousands of people have been killed even
though the world has escaped a large-scale
conflagration.
Smce the late 1980s, further changes
havetakenplacemsomepartsoftheworld
Some of the consequences of the Second
World War and, in some cases/ even of the
Fust Wodd War have been undone
durmg the past five yeats. During this
penod, some of the issues which dominated the world and some of the forces and
factors which shaped the world for about
four decades after the war have become
irtelevant. The 'threat of communism'
which had been a major factor m determinmg the pohcies of many countries smce the
Russ1an Revoluhon and, even more so,
after the Second World War is no longer an
issue. Comm.umst regrmes m the Sovlet
Union and in the countries of Eastem Europe have collapsed. The Soviet Union has
broken up mto 15 independent States.
Many other changes have taken place the
world over and it is poss1ble to think of the
period from the late] 980s as the one markmg the begmning of a new phase in the
h1story of the world after the Second World
War.
340
Immediate Consequences of the

Second World War
Dunng the war, the major Alhed nahons
had held many conferences and had Issued
declarations stating the prmciples which
would form the bases 'of peace. The first
ma1or declaration had been issued by Britain and USA in 1941. It stated that Bntam
and the Uruted States would not seek any
territory. It also supported C1e right of
every people tu have the form of government of their chmce. Early m 1942 was
1ssued, as mentioned before, the Umted
Nations Declaration. This Declaration supported the one issued by Bntam and USA
earher. Another declaration stated that all
theChmese terntories taken by Japan would
be restored to her. In 1943, Churclull,
Roosevelt and Stalin, leaders of Bntam,
USA and the Soviet Union, respectively,
met at Teheran They declared theu resolve to "barush the scourge and terror of
war'' and to create a world m which all
peoples "may hve free hves untouched by
tyranny and accordmg to their varying
desires and their own consCiences'' Early
m 1945 when Germany was on the verge of
defeat, the heads of the three big nations
met at Yalta m the Soviet Union. Here they
agree~ on a number of Issues such as how
to deal With Germany and the non-German
tern tones wh1ch had been liberated from
Germany
The Yalta Conference also took the deciswn to set up a new organisation to replace the League of Nations. Subsequently,
a conference was held at San Franosco,
USA, from 25 Apnl1945. The conference
was attended by 50 nations. On 26 June the
conference adopted the United Nations
Charter under which a new world organization was set up This was the Uruted
NatiOns Organization whlch was based on
the prmCiple of "the sovereign equality of

all peace-lovmg states" The purposes of
the Uruted Nations Orgaruzation were to
mamtam mtemabonal peace and secunty,
to develop friendly relations among nations and to aclueve international cooperation m solving international problems of an
econonuc, social, cultural or humanitanan
character
To carry out these objectives, SIX prinCIpal organs of the Uruted Nations Organization (now referred to as the United Nations or snnplythe UJ\f) were created These
were (1) the General Assembly composed
of all the members of the UN; (2) the Security Council composed offive permanent
members, viz. the Umted States, the Soviet
Union, Bntam, France and Chlna, and SIX
others to be elected by the General Assembly for a penod of two years The Security
Council was made primanly re.spons1ble
for the mamtenance of peace and security
(The number of non-permanent members
was subsequently raised from SIX to ten );
(3) the Economic and Soctal Council of 18
members to promote "respect for, and observance o( human nghts and fundamental freedoms for all"; (4) the Trusteeslup
Winst01t Church1ll, Franklm Roosevelt and

Joseph Stalm at Yalta, February 1945
THE WORLD AF1ER THE SECOND WORLD WAR
341
Council; (5) the Internahonal Court of Jus- had committed cnrnes agamst humanity
tice, and (6) the Secretanat with a Secre- Deoswns were also taken rt:!gardmg the
tary-General appointed by the General As- border between Poland and Germany,
sembly as Its head. A number of special- and the transfer of the northern part of East
Ized agenctes of the UN were also created Prussia to the Sovtet Umon and the southsuch as the Umted Nahons Educational, ern part to Poland.
The various conferences held during
Scientific and Cultural Orgamzatwn
(UNESCO), the World Health Organiza- and after the war mfl<.Ienced the pohtical
bOn (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organi- developments after the war
zation (FAO), the Intemahonal Labour Organization (ILO) (this body had been cre- Europe after the Second World War
ated after theF1rstWorld War), etc !twas Many countnes in Europe had been
hberat.ed from German occupation by the
reahz~d that unless all the permanent memSoviet
armies These countries. were Pobers of the Secunty Council, who were at
land,
Hungary,
Rumania, Bulgaria and
that time the biggest powers, were agreed,
Czechoslovakia
no course of action for the rnamtenance
The Comrnurust parties and other anbof peace and secunty could be effective
fasctstparties
m these countnes had played
Hence it was provided that any deoswn of
an
1mportant
role m the struggle agamst
the Security Cow1Cll must have the support
German
occupation
of these countnes By
of all five permanent members.
the
end
of
1948,
the
governments of all
The settmg up of the Uniteq Nations
these
countnes
'were
dominated by the
was one of the most Important conseCommumst
parties.
In
Albama and Yugoquences of the Second World War.
slavia, the struggle agamst German occuThe Potsdam Conference
pation had. been led by the Communist
Another maJor conference of the heads of parhes of these countnes. In these coun
government of Bntam, the United States tries too Communist parties formed the
and the Sov1et Union was held at Potsdam governments. The establishment of the
(near Berhn) from 17 July to 2 August 1945 Communist parties' rule m these countnes
The declaratiOn issued by this conference was a significant development after the
mentioned the main a1ms of the Allies with Second World War Up to the Second
regard to Germany which had already World War, the only country m Europe,
surrendered Germany had been parti- and the world, ruled by a Communist
tioned mto four zones, each under the con- party was the Sovtet Umon Now a large
trol of Bntain, France, the Umted States number of European countries were ruled
and the Soviet Umon The declaration by Commumst parties. In these countnes,
stated that the mm of the Allied occupation other political parties were either not alof Germany was to bring about the com- lowed to exist or had only a nommal presplete disarmament of Germany, to destroy ence. The pohtlcal power was. exclusively
the Nazi Party and to prepare condthons in the hands of the Commumst parties. The
for the creation of a democratic Germany presence of Soviet troops in these countries
It was also decided to set up an interna- ensured the continuance of the Commumst
tional tnbunal to bring to tnal persons who parties' monopoly of power. Sometimes,
AFTER SECOND
WORLD WAR
--
,;;:=-==----=--=---=-- -Je2j
SOCIALIST COUNTR"lESj -
--
--
-MEDITERRANEAN
THE WORLD Af.'TER THE SECOND WORLD WAR
343
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A rally m Berlin to mark the formatzon of the Socmltst Unzty ParL:t of Germany, .1pnl1946
the Soviet troops were used to suppress

movements whtch opposed the dommation of Communist parties Wtthm the
Commurust parties them..,dves, differences over pohcies were noL allowed and
the power wtthmthe Communist parties
became concentrated m a few hands As m
the Sovtet Umon, d1ssent even wtthm the
ruling parties was not tolerated and many
veteran communists were shot or sentenced to long penods of tmprisonment after
faketnals. Sometimes thesecountnes were
branded as 'satellites' of the Sov1et Umon.
The Commumst party of Yugoslavin was
the only ruling Communist Party which
refused to be dominated by the Soviet
Uruon. But at the same time, the govern-
ment of Yugo~lavia chd nnt allow other

pohbcal parties to funct10n
Withm ahttle more than four years after
the end of the Second World War, certam
developments took place wh1ch resuhed in
the division of Germ<wy The four powers
-Britam, Franct:>, the Umted States and the
Soviet Union- whiCh were m occupation of
tour different zone~ of Get many followed
different pohc1es in dealmg with the social,
economic and political problems m their
respective zones ln the British, French and
American zone5, the erunonuc development continued on cap1tah~t line:, The
two major parties in lhe:o.l:' znm~., were the
Chn::.ttan Democr,\hc !'t11 ty nnd the SoCial
Democr,1Lic P.uty. ln 19 HVli ilc1m, France
344
and the Umted States decided to merge

the three zones under their control which
were in West Germany and forma separate
government there. In September 1949
these zones were uruted and a separate
state m West Germany called the Federal
Repubhc of Germany with 1ts capital at
Bonn came into bemg. In East Germany
which was under Soviet occupation, the
pohcies pursued were different from those
that had beenfollowedm the western zones.
Lands were distributed among peasants
and all the major mdustries were taken
over from private hands and made the
property of the state In 1946 the Commurust Party and the Social Democratic Party
m the Soviet zone of Germany merged to
form the Socialist Uruty Party of Germany.
In October 1949, the Soviet zone became a
separate state called the German Democratic Republic The Sociahst Umty Party
of Germany became the ruhng party in the
German Democratic Repubhc. Thus Germany came to be divided into two states,
each followmg Its own pattern of social,
economic and pohhcal development The
dtvtston of Germany into two Independent
states, which lasted for over four decades,
was a maJOr consequence of the Second
World War.
In other part8 of Europe also, unportant political changes took place. The Communist parties of France and Italy had
played an Important role jn the resistance
movements m these countnes They had
emerged as powerful parties at the end of
the war In the fust government formed m
France after the war, the Communist Party
of France was represented. However, 1t
quit the government in 1947 because of
differences over econormc policies and over
the quesbon of mdependence for the countnes comprismg Indo-Chma. The French
government was trymg to reestabhsh Its

rule over Indo-China wh1ch the Commurust Party oppo&ed. In the ltahan government, the Communist Party and the SocialISt Party were an Important force. In 1946,
monarchy was abolished and Italy became
a republic In 1947 the ChnstJan Democratic Party came to power and the Commurust Party qmt the government. However, even though the Commumst and Socialist parties were out of the government
in these two countries, they were together
a powerful force m the pohttcs of the two
countries. For many years, in both these
countries, the sociahst parties became the
' rulmg parties either alone or m alhance
with other parties The Comtnumst parties, however, were almost throughout the
penod after 1948 kept out of the government. In recent years, while the Italian
Communist Party -it 1s now called the
Democratic Party of the Left-has remained
a powerfulforce, the influence of the French
Communist Party has declined
In Britain, theelechonswereheldinJuly
1945. TheConservahvePartywhoseleader
Winston Church1 U had been the Prime
Mirusterduringthewarlostand the Labour
Party came to power Indm won her mdependence dunng th1s penod. Dunng the
Labour Party'::, rule many stgmficant
changes took place in the economy of the
country Many tmportant industries such
as coal mmes and rmlways were nahonahzed. Steps were taken to provide soc1al
security to the people,' and to build a welfare state m Brltam. In 1951, the Conservative Party was returned to power and the
Labour Party became the ruhng party Ill
1964 Thus, netther of these parties remamed m power for long and both of the
parties were more or less equally matched
Only m recent years, there seems to have
THE WORLD AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR
been a decline 1n the mfluence of the

Labour Party.
The pohhcal system m most countnes
of Western Europe was based on the parhamentary form of government. Their economies had suffered a senous setback, and it
affected their international position Gradually through their own efforts and With
massive American aid, these coun l:nes were
soononthewaytorebmldtheireconorrues
However, the dorrunahon that these conntnes exercised over the world before the
First World War and to a lesser extent after
that had declmed. The penod after the
SecondWorldWarsawtherapiddeclmeof
their empnes
The Cold War
Smce the end of the F1rst World War, the

United States had emerged as the strongest
power in the world. After the Second
World War, her power had grown still
more compared with the European powers
who had dominated the world for centuries. This was both m the spheres of economic and llllitary strength. After she
acquired the atom bomb, the awareness of
her power was further strengthened. The
Umted States at that time was the only
country which possessed the atom bomb
Next to the Umted States the mightiest
power m the world after the Second World
War was the Sovtet Union. She had suffered more than any other country in the
war Besides the 20 milhon people that she
lost during the war, hundreds of her towns
and thousands of factories hl}d been completely destroyed. However, in sp1te of
these losses, her power and prestige had
increased This was to some extent due to
theveryimportantrolethatshehad played
in defeatmg Germany. Since the revolution, she had been ostracized and boy-
345
catted and had faced the open hosbhty of

the other big powers However, after the
war, a number of countries in Europe, as
has already beenmenlioned, were ruled by
communist parhes. The Sovtet Umon exeretsed a lot of mfluence over the governments of these countnes. As a result of
these developments, the tsolation of the
Soviet Union had come to an end. Also, in
many countries of Europe, as well as of
Asia, commumst parties had emerged
stronger after the war. These parties were
generally supporters of the Soviet Umon
Some of these parties were actively engaged m orgamzmg revolutions in their
countries. For example, lhe conunumsts
had been a maJor force m the resistance
against German occupation of Greece. A
large part cf the conntry carne under their
control when the German army retreated
from there However, after the war was
over, monarchy was restored m Greece
and the new government began to suppress the commumsts. This resulted m a
civil war which lasted till1949 when the
conunumsts were fmally defeated.
Durmg the war, Britam, the Umted
States and the Soviet Umon had together
fought agamst the fascist countries. Many
declarations issued during the war had
emphasized that the umty among these
countries would continue after the war
also and would be the basis of a durable
peace and international brotherhood. These
declarations had aroused hopes all over
the world However, the war was hardly
over when confhcts and tensions began to
emerge between Bntain and the Umted
States on the one hand and the Sov1et
Umon on the other. The relations between
them began to detenorate and came to be
charactenzed by what has been called the
Cold War Gradually, the Cold War be-
346
came more and more intense and the world

was divided mto two maJor blocs -the
ljmted States and West European countnes forming one bloc and the Soviet Umon
and/he socialist countrtes of Eastern Europe forming the other. Sometimes the
'cold' war became 'hot' but U1e hostdittes
remamerl confmed to speo&c areas.
The most Important reason for the 'outbreak' of the Cold War was the Western
countries' fear of communit:.m. With the
increase m the might of the Soviet Union,
the emergence of governments ruled by
communist parties m Eastern and Central
Europe and the growing strength of communist parties m many parts of U1e world,
alarmed the governments of the Umted
States, Britam and other .Wt't:.t European
countnes In 1949, the victory of the Commumst Party of China m the CIVIl war
which had been ragmg there for about two
decades added to the alarm. The Umted
States openly declared that her pohcy was
to prevent the spread of commumsm One
of the objectives of the massive economic
aid that the Umted States gave to West
European countries was also to 'contam'
communism The lJmted States began to
look upon every development in the world
frol}l this standpomt, whether it promoted
or helped in checkmg communism Bntam
and West European countnes became
a~igned with the Umted States and began to
follow a pohcymamly aimed atcurbmgthe
growth of commumsm This had many
adverse consequences for democracy, and
freedom movements m the colonies Restrictions were Imposed on the hberhes of
the people, for example, in the United States,
and jush&ed on the ground of nabonal
security and preventmg commtmist mfluence The freedom movements in many
countnes began to be considered
THE S10RY OF CIVILIZATION
unsympathetically by countr1eswhich were

not themselves colonial powers but were
ahgned to the coloma! powers For example, the Umted Statet:. t:.upported France
m suppressmg the freedom movement m
Indo Chma. Countne& which wanted to
pursue an mdependent pohcy and promote relations w1th the Sov 1et Umon were
looked upon With suspiciOn. All these
factors made the internatiOnal Situation
tense In somt areas 1 t re& ulted m wars and
m many other ateas 1t led to prolongmg of
conflicts
The growing tenswn m the world was
worsened by the t:.ettmg up of mihtary
Llocs In l949 was formed the North Atlantic Trea ~y Orgamza twn (NATO) for defence agamst the Soviet Umon. The members of this alliance were the Umted States,
Canada, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Portugal, Bntain, France, Belgium, Holland
and Luxemburg. Tlllkey, Greece, the Federal Repubhc of Germany and Spam became Its members later A NATO army
wat:. created which e&tabhshed its bases in
many countnes of Europe Sumlar military
alhances were t:.el up by the United States
and Bntam in other parts of the world In
1954 was sel up the South-East Asia Treaty
Orgamzahon (SEATO) With the Umted
States, Butam, France, Australia, New
Zealand, Thailand, the Phihppmes and Pakistan as members. In 1955 the Baghdad
Pact was brought mto bern~ It consisted of
Bntam, Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan and Iran
The Umted States estahhshed Its rnihtary
base& all over the world for use agamst
what she considered the danger ot commurust aggressiOn. The 'formation of these
alhances and the establishment ot military
bases worsened the already tense mternational s1tuahon These alhances and the
military bases came to be looked upon by
countries, wluch were not members of the

alliances, as a danger to peace and to their
mdependence In some countnes wluch
were members of these alliances, these alliance'> we revery unpopular For example,
when there was a revolution IIi Iraq m
1958, that country withdrew from the
Baghdad Pact whtch had been named after
capttal of Iraq The name of Baghdad Pact
was then changed to the Central Treaty
Orgaruzahon (CENTO) These alliances
were generally unpopular m the count-ries
of Asta and Afnca as all the Impenahst
powers of Europe were members of these
alliances and used itto suppress the movements for freedom Most of the countnef!, of
Asta and Afrtca which had won their freedom refused to JOm these alliances. As
agamst these Western and Western-spon~ored alhances, the Soviet Umon and the
socmhst countries of Europe -Poland,
Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Rumama, Bulgaria and the German Democratic Republic -formed the Warsaw Pact. Under thts
pact, the Sovtet Union statwned her troops
m these countries However, the Soviet
Union and the other members of the Warsaw Pact did not have any military bases 111
other parts of the world The Soviet Uruon
had treahes of frtendship and mutual assistance with Chma
The formahon of the military alliances
was accompanied by another dangerous
development. Tlus was the race for deadher weapons of destruchon. You have
already read about the use of two atom
bombs against Japan towards the end of the
Second World War. For about four years
after the Second WorldWar,onlythe United
States possessed atomtc weapons. In 1949,
the Soviet Umon tested her fust atom
bomb. A few years later nuclear weapons
wh1ch were thousl'lnds of bme& more destructive than the atom bombs used agams t
Japan, were developed. These wen~ the
thermonuclear or hydrogen bomb& The
teshng alone of these bombs created senous hazards to hfe. Many movements were
launched 111 all parts of the world to demand a ban on the te:.ting and manufacture
of nuclear weapon:,. Most 11f the leadmg
soenhsts such as E111stem and Linus Paulmg
also supported th1sdemand. However. the
arsenals of nuclear wec~.pon& m U1e woi'ld
went on 1ncreasmg There <He so many
nuclear weapons 111 the world todc1y that
the world c,m be de~troyed many times
over. Along wtth the m.tclea r we apons and
many other kinds of weapon~, new bombers, submarines and missiles have been
developed which can carry these WPapons
over thousands of kllometr es. The race tor
armaments wh1ch was a part of the Cold
War has creaLed the danger to Lhe very
survtval of human race. Vast resources
have been spent on developinglhe~e Vv eapons These resources, If they had been
utilized for peaceful purposes, would have
gone a long way m abohshing want and
poverty of which milhons of people all
over the world are vtchms.
As has been mentioned l"arlier, many
newly mdependentnahons of Asia and
Afnca as well as many natiOns mother
contmenls d1d not JOin the mihtary
blocs They began to follow a policy of
non-ahgnment w1th any military bloc.
Then emergence played a very Important role m reducmg the intensity of
the Cold War and m creatmg an atmosphere of peac.e A crucial role m promotmg non-ahgnment and peo.ce wa::;
played by Indta after her mdependence.
RISE OF ASIA AND AFRICA

The n~e and growth of natlonahsm m A~w
and Afnca ha~ been bnefly mentioned m
Chapter 12 The penod after the Second
World War saw the emergence of most
countnes of Asia and Afnca as mdependent nation::. One country after another m
these continent:. became mdependent They
won their mdependence through long.and
hard struggles against coloma! power:.. To
!>nnw countne::. independence came only
atter long and bitter armed, !>truggle, to
others without much bloodshed but not
without a long penod of stnfe. Generally,
the coloma! powers were not wilhng to
give up theu hold on the colomes and left
only when they found that It wa:. not pos:.Ible to mamtam their rule any more.
Durmg the Second World War, many Impenah~t countries had been ousted from
the1rcolonies, but after the war they tried to
re-t>::.tablt::.h their rule. For some ttme they
:,ucceeded in domg ~o but were ultimately
torced to Withdraw
The achievement of mdependence was
the result pnmanly of the struggles of the
peoples of the colonies However, the
change::. m the intemahonal climate wluch
followed the Second World War helped
the peoples struggling for mdependence
Impenahsm as a whole had been weakened as a result of the war. The economies
of many 1m penalts t countnes had suffered
Forces withm the Impenalist countnes
which were fnendlywith the peoples strugglmg for mdependence also had grown
powerful Freedom and democracy were
the ma1or aims for which the Allies had
fought agamst the fasctst countnes and
these a1ms had been made the basis for
arousmgpeoples all over the world against
fascism. The fulfilment of these aims could
no longer be confmed only to Europe, a~

had beendoneafterthe Fir~tWorld War In
many colomes wh1ch fa~Cist countnes had
occupied by ou~tmgthe older coloma! power:., the freedom movement~ had played an
Important role 111 the struggle agam~t fa~
Cist occupatllm For example, Japan had to
face the IesJstance of the freedom move,
ments m the countnes of East and SouthEast Asm which ~he had occupied It was
not easy to restore the rule of the former
coloma! powers over these countne:. dbAnother ma1or mternattonal factor
whtch facilitated the end of tmpenahsm
was the emergence of the Sov1et Umon and
other ~oCiahst countne~ as a maJOr force
These countne::. were li1JllliCa! to ImpenalIsm and often gave aid and support to the
freedom movements m the colomes Similarly, the movements of socialism which
had grown powerful the world over, includmg m the colonial countnes, also supported the movement~ of freedom in the
colonies
The entire mternatwnal context m
which the freedom movements were
launched had changed after the Second
World War. At the mternational forums,
parbcularly atthe Umted Nations, the cause
of the mdependence of colome& began to
gam populanty 1l1e mternahonal opmion
was clearly agamst the contmuahon of Iffipenahsm. Impenahst .countnes resorted
to vanous means to mamtam thetr rule
They tried to create divisiOns m the freedom movements They resorted to the use
of terioc In some countries they trted to
mstall governments wluch were nominally
free but were m fact thetr puppets However, most of the freedom movements
were able to defeat these methods of disruphon.
An Important role m the achievement of
THE WORLD AFfER THE SECONp WORLD WAR
mdependence by the countnes of As1a and

Africa was played by the unity wluch freedom movements in vanous countnes
achieved The freedom movement m one
country supported the freedom movements
in other countries The role of countnes
which had aclueved their independence
was very crucml m tlus regard. These
countnes supported the cause of those
peoples who were sbllnnder colonial rule
at the Umted Nations and other internahOnal forums. They also gave achve help
to the freedom movements. India played
a crucial role m promoting the cause of
freedom in Asia and Afr1ca Besides the
movements in the colomes for independence, there were also movements in Asian
and Afncan countries to oust outdated
political systems, to moderruze the social
and economic systems and to assume control over the resourc::es of one's country
which had remamed under foretgncontrol
even after freedom. These movements
expressed the resolve of the peoples of Asia
and Africa to become fully mdependent as
well as to lannch programmes of rapid
socml and economic development. Within
two decades of the end of the Second World
War, the political map of Asm and Africa
had been completely changed.
Emergence of Independent Nations

in Asia
Within a few years after the Second World
War r a large number of Asian countrieS
became independent One of the first to
wm her mdependence was India about
which you will read m detail m Chapter 16.
India had, however, been partitioned and
along With India, another independent
state, Pakistan, also came mto bemg.
(Pakistan broke up in 1971 when her eastern part -now Bangladesh-became mde-
pendent) The mdependence of Indta w.ts

of great Importance m the history o{ fn~
dam movements m Asia and Afr1ca Thl'
policies pursued by the government nf 1r
dependent India under the leadu:ship m
her first Prime Mrrbster, Jawaharlal Nehru,
helped in strengthening the freedom movements in other countries and in hastening
the achievement of independence by them
Burma, renamed Myanmar recently,
aclueved her mdependence from Britam a
few months after Ind1a became independent. Jn 1944, the Ann-Fascist People's
Freedom League (AFPFL) had been formed
in Burma. Its a1m was to resist the Japanese
invasion of Burma and to win independence for 13urma After the war, the British
tried to restore their rule over Burma This
led to the mtens1fication of the movement
for freedom. In the course of the struggle,
many leaders of the Burmese freedom
movement were assassinated However,
Britam was forced to agree to the demand
for freedom and Burma became independent on 4 January 1948.
The begtnning of the nahonahst movement in Indonesia has been referred to m
the previous chapter. After the defeat of
Japan, Sukamo, one of the pwneers of :.he
freedom movement in Indonesia, proclaimed the Independence of Indonesia
However1 soon after the British troops
landed there in order to help the Dutch to
restore their rule. The government of mdependent Indonesia wluch had been formed
by Sukamo resisted the attempt to reestab~
hsh colomal rule. There were demands m
many countries of the world to put an end
to the war wluch had been started in Indonesia to restore the Dutch rule. In Asian
countries, the reaction was particularly intense The leaders of the Indian freedom
movement demanded that Indian soldiers
350
~~~--l.,~I~
~
~~:'
1
(',
ol I
1
~ .... ~ .... 4
A youth rally m Java to celebrate the mdependence of Indonesia
wno had been sent to Indonesia as a part of

the Bnbsh army should be withdrawn.
After Indta became free, she convened a
conference of Asmn nations in support of
Indonesia's independence The conference
mel in New Delhi in January 1949 and
called for the complete mdependence of
Indonesia. The resistance of the Indonesian
people and the rnoW1ting pressure of world
opmwn and Asmn countnes compelled
Holland to set the leaders of Indonesian
people free. On 2 November 1949, Holland
recogmzed the mdependence of Indonesia.
W1tliin a few months of India's mdependence, Sn Lanka (Ceylo~) also became
free m February 1948. Thailand had been
occup1ed by Japan and after the defeat of
Japanbecamemdependent. During the war,
Japan had dnven out the Amencan forces
from the Ph1hppmes. In 1946, the government of the Umted States agreed to the
independence of the Phihppmes. In Malaya Bntish rule had been reestablished
after the war In 1957, Malaya (now MalaySia) became an mdependent nahan.
The Revolution in China
You have read earher about the unity
between the Kuomintang and the Commumst Party of Chma which had been built
under the leadership of Dr Sun Yat-Sen for
the complete mdependence and umfication of Chma. Tlus umty had been broken
after the death of Smt Yat-Sen and a civil
war started m Chma between the
Kuommtang under the leadership of
Chiang Ka1-Shek and the Commurust Party
ofChmawhosemostimportantleaderwas
Mao Zedong. After the Japanese invasion
of Chma, the two parhes ;,nd thetr arm1E's

cooperated for some hme to res1st the Japanese aggressiOn However, the confl1cts
betweE-n the two never ceased ThE'
Kuommtang under Chtang Ka1-Shek was a
party wruch mmnly represented the interests of capitalists and landlords The Cornmumst Parly, on the other hand, was a
party of workers and peasants. In the areas
under Commurust Party's controt the
estates oflandlords had been expropnated
and the lanQ_ distributed among the peasants. Because of the pohcies pursued by the
Communist Party, it gradually had won
over millions of Clunese people to its side.
The Communist Party had also organized
a huge army called the People's Liberation
Army After the defeat of Japan and Lhe
dnvmg out of the Japanese forces from
China, the civil war agam broke out. The
government of the Umted Stated gave
mass1ve aid to Chiang Km-Shek, but by
1949 his arnues were completely routed.
W1th the remnants of Ius troops, Cluang
Km-Shek went to Taiwan (Formosa), an
Island wh1ch had been occupied by Japan
after sh.- had defeated Chma m 1895 On 1
October 1949, the People's Repubhc of
Chma was proclaimed and the Commums t
Party of China under the leadership of Mao
Zedong came to power.
The victory of the Commumst revoluhon m Chma was a world-shaking event
The most populous country m the world
had come under commumst rule. Besides
the socialist counlnes of Europe, there
were now two mighty powers in the world
-the Sovret Uruon and Chma- wh1ch were
ruled by commumst parhes. Impenahsm
was furthe1 weakened in ASia as a result of
the Chinese revolution.
The estabhshment of the People's Republic of China was a defeat for the United
351
States She refused to recogmze the government of Cluna for over two decades.
Accordmg to the United Stdtes, the legal
government of Chma was that of Chmng
Kat-Shek 111 Taiwan (Formosa). Because of
the USathtude, thernostpopulous country
in the world was derued even membership of the United Nations for over two
decades
For many years, friendly relatwns exIsted between India and Chma. Together,
the two co1mtnes played a very Important
role m the freedom movements of the
peoples of As1a and Africa and in bringing
about the umty of the Asian and African
nahons. However, towards the end of the
1950s, the fore1gn policy of the Chinese
government began to change. In 1962, Cluna
committed aggression against Indm which
dealt a severe blow not only to the friendship between India and Chma but also to
the umtyof Asian Africannahons China's
relations With the Soviet Umon also began
to deteriorate She supported Pakistan
against India over various 1ssues. After
1970, her relations with the United States
began to Improve. She was admitted to
the Uniled Nations and is now one of the
five permanent members of the Security
Council
The Korean W at
Korea, as you have read before, had come
under Japanese rule m 1910. After Japan's
defeat m the Second World War., she was
div1ded mto two zones, the northern zone
under Soviet occupation and the southern
zone under Arnencan ciccupahon, to bring
about the surrender of Japanese troops.
The a1m was to make Korea an mdependent state. However, as in the case of Germany m Europe, two different governments m Korea were formed in 1948- the
352
THE STORY OF CNILIZATION

I
Democratic People's Repubhc of Korea

(North Korea) nnder the leaderslup of Korean Commnnists and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) by a group of parhes
under the leadership of Syngman Rhee.
Rhee was an anh-commumst and wanted
an alliance with Chiang Kai-Shek to prevent the spread of commumsm Both the
states orgaruzed then armtes and there
were frequent clashes between them In
1948, the Soviet troops withdrew from
Korea followed by thP Amencan troops
who Wtthdrew m 1949 Both the government:::. ot Korea favoured unification of thE'
conntry but there was no meeting gronnd
between them.
In June 1950 war broke out between
North and South Korea The Chineserevoluhon had already taken place and the
Umted States feared further expansiOn of
commurusm m thiS area. The Umted States
sent troops to support South Korea in the
war Troops from some other countries
ahgned w1th the Uruted States also fought
m Korea. These troops fought as the troops
of the United Nations because the Secun!)'
Counctl of the United Nations had passed
a resolution condemrung North Korea and
had asked members of the United Nations
to aid South Korea. After the entry of the
Amencan forces in the war, the Chmese
forces also entered the war and the situation took a very serious turn. There was a
!eal danger.of another world war breakmg
out, as by this time the Soviet Union also
had acqmred atomic bombs. However,
though the war m Korea raged for three
years, it dtd not turn mto a world war The
arrrustice was stgned in 1953 Korea remamed divided into two separate states
lndm played a very important role in bringmg the war m Korea to an end Even
though the war was confmed to Korea,
hundreds of thousands of people were

killed, mcludmg over 142,000 Amencans.
The Korean war added to the danger of
another world war It also worsened the
tensions in the world and led to the intenstficahon of the Cold War.
The Struggle in Viehtam
One of the most herOic battles for freedom
was fought by the people of VIetnam Thts
country along with Laos and Cambodia
comprised Indo-Chma which had come
under French colonial rule. After the French
government surrendered to Germany,
many parts of Indo-Chma were occupied
by Japan. The movement for the freedom
oflndo-Chma from French rule had star ted
many years earlier The greatest leader of
th~ people of Vtetham was Ho Chi-Mmh.
He had been engaged m organtzmg the
commumst and the nationalist movements
m Vietnam smce soon after the end of the
Fust Worid War. The Vtetnamese people
under Ho Clu-Minh's leadership resisted
the Japanese occupation and orgamzed a
people's army called the Vtet Minh By the
time the Second World War ended, the VIet
Minh controlled a large part of VIetnam. In
August 1945, the Democrahc Republic of
Vietnam was proclaimed with Ho ChiMinh as President However, the British
troops as well as the troops of Chtang KaiShek arnved in Vietnam on the pretext of
completing the surrender ofJapanese troops
there In October 1945, the French troops
also arrived wtth the aim otrestoring French
rule. In 1946, the French army started
fighting against the V1et Minh. They also
setup a government with Bao Dai, who had
headed the puppet government nnder Japan earher, as the ruler The war between
the Viet Mmh and France continued for
etght years. In 1954, the French forces
TI-IE WORLD AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR
suffered a severe blow at the hands of the

V1et Mmh at the fortress of D1en Ben Phu.
The French defeat at Dien Bien Phu has
becon1e famous because a people's army
wtthout any sophisticated weapons had
defeated the army of a powerfultmpenalist country. The debacle at Dien Bien Phu
compelled the French government to start
negotiations with the government of the
Democrabc Republic of V1etnam. In July
1954, an mternatlonal conference was held
at Geneva. It was agreed to partibon VIetnam temporarily into North VIetnam and
South Vretnam and to hold elections all
over Vtetnam within two years to untfY the
country under a smgle government. Cambodm and Laos, the other two countnes of
Indo-China, were made independent.
With the partibon of Vietnam, another
phase m the freedom movement in Vietnam
began. The government that was established
m South Vietnam, With the support of the
United States, refused to abide by the decisiOns of the Geneva conference w1th regard
to the holding of elections and the uruftcabOn
of VIetnam. It came to be mcreasmgly regarded as being under the control of the
Uriited States wluch was opposed to the
uru&cahon of VIetnam under the leader ship
of the commurust party. In the early 1960s,
up:rismgs broke 011tmSouth VIetnam against
the government there. This was followed by
the massive military intervenbon of the
UrutedStatesm VIetnam. Hundredsofthousands of Amencan troops were sent there
With some of the most advanced weaporuy
to suppress the popular upnsmg. The war
continued for a number of years. The South
VIetnanlese people led by the Nabonal Liberation Front earned on guenlla warfare.
They had the support of North VIetnam
The American troops carried the war into
North V1eh1am. Incalculable damage was
353
done to Vietnam as a result ot the heavy

bombmgs by Amencan force~:, The Amencan troops also used weapons of bactenologJcal warfare. Vast areas of VIetnam
were devastated and hundreds of thousands ofpeople killed The Amen can forces
also suffered heavy casualties.
The Uruted States was almost completely
isolated m the world over the war m Vietnam. Bestdes the opposthon to this war by
scores of governments, there was a worldWide movement of protest agamst the U.S.
government and of sohdanty with the
people of Vietnam The only movement of
this kmd had emerged in U1e 1930s m ~up
port of the Republican cause m the Spamsh
Civil War and agamst Germany and Italy
who were actively helpmg-fhe faso:;ts m
Spain The opposition to the war grew m
the United States 1tselfonan unprecedented
scale Thousands of Americans refused to
be drafted m the U.S. army and many
American soldiers deserted
No other
single issue had united millions of people
all over the world as the war m V1etnam
However, the U.S government continued
the war even though it was clear that she
could not win It
Early in 1975, the war took a decisive
turn. The armies of NorU1 VIetnam and of
the Natwnal Liberation Front of South
Vietnam swept acros~ the country roubng
the American supported troop~ ofthe government of South V~eb1am In January
197:3, the Ameucan uoops had begun to withdraw from Vielltam. Dunng the warm
Vietnam,58,000 of U1emhad lost thetr lives
By 30 April1975, all the Amencan troops
had withdrawn and the capital of South
VIetnam, Saigon, was liberated. North and
South VIetnam were formally urn ted as one
country m 1976. The City of Saigon was
renamed Ho Ch1-Minh C1ty after the great
TilE STORY OF CIVILIZATION
354
leader of the VIetnamese people who had

died a few years earlier ln 1969
The emergence of VIetnam as a uruted
and mdependentnahonts anhtstoric event
m the history of the world A small country
had succeeded m Winning her mdependence and urufication m the face of the
armed opposition of the greatest power m
the world The help given to V1etnam by
the !lOCialist countries, the political support
extended toherbyalargenurnber of Asran
and Afncan countnes, and the solidanty
expressed by the peoples mall parts of the
world had helped m brmgingvictory to the
people of VIetnam.
The warm Vietnam had also spread to
Cambodia In 1970, the government of
Prince N arodomSihanouk was overthrown
and a puppel government was installed
there. TI1e ~roops of the USA and South
VIetnam had earned the war to Cambodia
on the ground that the VIetnamese were
rece1vmgthetr supphes from bases in Cambodia. By the time the Umted States Withdrew from the warm 1975, a party which
called itself l(h, ,,er Rouge had taken control of Cambodia under the leadership of
Pol Pol. The government of Pol Pot established a regime of terror in Cambodia and
started following a policy of genocide
agamst 1ts own people. The estimates of
people murdered by the Khmer Rouge
vary from 01 1e Ltlhon to three million. In
1979, Pol Pot's governmentwas overthrown
with the help of VIetnamese troops. However, the war in Cambodia continued as the
Khmer Rouge still had some area& under its
control instde the country. It also operated
from across the border With Thmland. In
the meanllme, three groups, mcludmg the
Khmer Rouge and the group led by
Narodom S1hanouk, came together m opposthon to the government m Cambodia
which was supported by VIetnam

Peace was restored 111 Cambodm recently The United Nations brought the
various warring factions together and an
agreement was s1gned under the auspices
of the Umted Nations. The VIetnamese
troops were withdrawn from Cambodm.
In 1993, elections were held and a coalihon
government was formed. The Khmer
Rouge, however, remamed outside the government and its troops conhnued thetr
armed attacks in some parts of the country.
'
DEVELOPMENTS IN WEST ASIA AND

NORTH AFRICA
Syria and Lebanon Become
Independent
As m other parts of Asut, there was an
upsurge for freedom 111 West As1a also
1mmed1ately after the Second World War
You have read "in the previous chapter
about the movement of the people of Syna
against the French rule. After the war, the
French tned to restore theu aulhonty over
Syria and Lebanon but, 111 the face of oppoSition from the people of these countnes
and the world opmwn, they were forced to
withdraw. BothSyna and Lebanon became
independent by the end of 1946
There was an upsurge m all the Arab
countnes at this time and the 1950s saw
their emergence as 111dependenl nations
Some countries which had been nommally
free asserted their mdependence. There
were also movements to overthrow the
outdated political systems whichextsted in
some countnes All these led to conflicts
and, m ~orne cases, prolonged wars between the Arab countnes and the impenalIst powers The period saw the growing
TI-IE WORLD AFTER TI-IE SECOND WORLD WAR
power of Arab nahonahsm which led to

efforts by the Arab people and governments to come together to face and solve
common problems. The Arab League was
formed comprising all the Arab states
However, before many of the Arab countries could gam their independence, a
development took place m West Asta
which was to become a source of tension
and lead to many wars in the years to come.
Tlus was the creation of the state of Israel.
The State of Israel

Palestine, as has been mentioned before,
had become a Bnhshmandatein 1919. The
Brihsh troops again occupied the country
in 1945. Palestine was inhabited by Arabs
and Jews. A movement called the Ziorust
movement clmmed that Palestine was the
homeland of all the Jews, wherever they
may be hving, and should be restored to
them. The persecut10n which the Jews m
Europe had suffered for centuries had culminated m the Nazi Germany's policy of
exterminatmg them M1lhons of Jews were
lolled 1n Germany and in those countries of
Europe wh1ch had been occupied by Germany. The ternble tragedy had won them
the sympathy and support of the world.
Tile British m Palestme had permitted
some Jews from outside Palestme to settle
there The Ziorusts had, meanwhile, been
campaigmng for a Jewish state there. This
had complicated the freedommovementm
Palestine themajonty of whose mhab1tants
were Arabs. In 1947 the Uruted Nations
passed a resolution according to whtch
Palestme was to be div1ded into an Arab
state and a Jewish state. However, m 1948,
the Bnosh Withdrew the1r troops from Palestme and soon after ihe state of Israel was
proclaimed This led to a war bet-.veen the
Arab states and Israel. The Arab states
355
were defeated m the war

The creation of Israel becanw a source of
tenswn m West As1a. The Arab states refused to recogn1ze her as a legihmate state.
The policies pursued by the government of
Israel further added to the bttterne5s About
900,000 Arabs were forced to leave their
homes and lands m Palestme and were
rendered homeless. They found shelter m
various refugee camps in Arab states. Most
countries of Asia and Africa condemned
the Israeh government's treatment of the
Ar:tbs of Palestine and for following ractst
polictes. In 1956 Israel jomed Britam and
France in invadmg Egypt Later there were
other wars between Israel and the Arab
states as a result of whiCh lsrael occup1ed
large parts of the terutone:::. of other Arab
states
These tern tm1es mdude the Gaza Strip,
the Golan H1ghts and the West Bank. More
than a million Palesbmans hve m the occupted tern tones in spite of the resolutiOns
of the Umted Nations, Israel refuse to vacate Arab territories and restore the rights
of the Pales tip1an Arabs many of whom live
as refugees m various Arab states. In 1964,
the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
was formed to fight for the establishment
of a Paleshruan state. It enJoys the status o!=
a meml}er-state of the Non-Aligned Movement Recently an agreement was signed
between the government of Israel and the
PLO. Under this agreement, the PLO recognized the state of Israel and the govemment of Israel agreed to give the 'Palestinians autonomy in some areas presently
under Israeli occupabon
The Revolution in Egypt
After the Ftrsl World War, Egypt had become a British 'mandate'. However, under
the pressure of the nationahst movement,
-356
Egypt had been declared mdependent m

1922 though Bribsh troop:(continued to
remam there. Aftet the Second World War,
the demand for the withdrawal of Bnhsh
troops gamed strength There were senous
clashes between the Egyphans and the Bntish soldiers m which hundreds of Egyptians were ktlled The discontent was also
duecled agamst the king of Egypt who had
been mstalled by the Bnhsh. The dtscontent agamst the Bntish and the king led to
a revolution in 1952 when the Egypban
army under the leadership of Lt Colonel
Carnal Abdal Nasser and General Muhammad N agmb overthrew the monarchy and
declared Egypt a republic The new Egyphangovernment demanded the withdrawal
ofBnhsh troops and they were withdrawn
in June 1956.
The government of Egypt under the
leadership of Col Nasser began the econonuc reconstruction of the country. Egypt
refused to be aligned with the Urn ted States
and the latter stopped the sale of arms to
Egypt. Egypt, howeve~, began to receive
Colonel Nasser and General Naguib' after they

!tad led a successful revolution in Egypt
THE STORY OF CIVILlZATION
nulitary and economic atd from the Soviet

Umon In 1956, Egypt announced the nationalization to the Suez Canal which had
been under the control ofBntamand France
Three months later, Israel, Britam and
France, accordmg to a plan, invaded Egypt.
The aggression conumtted agamst Egypt
led to world-wide protests The countries
of Asia voiced thetr vehement condemnation of the mvaswn. There were massive
protest demonstrations agamst the British
government inside Britain also. The Soviet
Union warned the aggressor countnes that
unless they withdrew from Egypt she
would send her forces to crush the aggressors Almost every country in the world,
including the Umted States, denounced
Britam, France and Israel m the United
Nations The umversal condemnation of
aggressiOn led to the withdrawal of Bnhsh
and French forces from Egypt. The ending
of aggresswnstrengthened further the unity
of Asian and African countries m general
and of Arab countries m parhcular. It also
showed the growmg strength of the countnes whlch had won their mdependence
only a few years ago The Suez War also
added to the presbge and mfluence of the
Soviet Union as a frrend of the peoples who
were trymg to assert their mdependence.
Libya Gains Independence

You have read before that Libya had come
under Itahan rule in 1911 During the
Second World War, some of the most ferocious battles between German and Bnhsh
troops were fought m Ltbya. At the end of
the war, the country was occupied by Bntain and France. In 1951, L1bya became
independent with a monarchical form of
government. From 1960 she became one of
the largest petroleum producmg countnes
m the world and as a result So)Ue sections
357
French soldrers takmg suspected Algerran guerillas for questioning, 1955
of Ltbyan society grew very nch while the

majonty of the populahon remained extremely backward. The king dtdnot permit
anyopposthan to htsrule. The Uruted States
bmltone oftts strongest mr bases on Libyan
territory. In 1969, a group of army officers
captured power and soon after abohshed
Lhe monarchy. The new government proclatmed that it would give pnmacy to the
umty and solidarity of the Arab people
Freedom Struggle in Algeria
Tile 1950s saw the emergence of a number
of mdependent nations m North Africa.
However, the mdepend ence was preceded
by years of struggle agamst the impenahst
countries whtch wanted to retain their co-
lomal possessions. As m Indo-China, the

French returned to Tumsra1 Morocco and
Algena However, m 1956 Tunisia and
Morocco won their mdependence
The North African country whtch had
to wage the longest and the hardest battle
for freedom was Algeria She had been
conquered by France as early as 1830 though
it had taken France another four decades to
fu1ly establish her rule there As m IndoChina, the struggle agamst French rule in
Algeria had a long history behmd It. ln
1954 the nahonahst organisation of the
people of Algena called the FLN (National
Liberation Front) gave a call for an armed
struggle against the French rule Armed
clashes resulted m thousands of casualties
JSB
Soldzers of the Natwnal Lzberation Front (FLN) of Algeria m 1962
on both sides By1958, theAlgellimnationahsts had organized a large army of their

own and proclaimed the formation of a
government of the republic of Algena. The
war m Algena had serious consequences
mside France. It created political instability m France. The Communist Party of
France alongwtth many other French leaders had been supporbng the cause of Algenan mdependence However, many sections m the French army were under the
influence of the French settlers in Algena
who where opposed to any ~egobations
With the Algerian leaders over the question
of independence. ln 1958, General de
Gaulle became the PrestdentofFrance He
conceded the right of the Algerian people
to self-determination and opened negohatio'\S wtth the leaders of the FLN This
policy was opposed by some sections of the

French army m Algeria who revolted
agamst de Gaulle and even made attempts
to assas~inate him However, the revolt'
wa~ suppressed. On 1 July 1962 a referendum was held inAlgena and the people of
Algeria voted almost unanimously for independence On 4 July 1962 Algeria became an mdependent repubhc. The independence of Algena had been won at the
cost of over 140,000 Algerian hves.
Achievement of Freedom by African
Nations
You have read m Chapter 9 that wtth the
exception of Ethiopia and Liberia, almost
every part of Africa had been conquered by
European tmpenalist powers by the end of
the mneteenth century. After the Fust
J5'l
TIIE WORLD AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR
nEir- NATJONs--l
IN DE pEN
OF AFRICA
~==========~====~
---S~ATL
AN riC_-_-_-__ -_-_-_-_-_-_
-----OCEAN--------
' 360
World War, the only change that took place

there was the transfer of the former German colorues in Africa to the v1ctonous
Alhed powers. However, the period after
the First World War saw, as m Asia, a
resurgence of nationalist movements m
Afr1ca. After the Second World Wat, the
disintegration of the colorual rule m Africa
began The achievement of independence
by North African countnes has been menboned already. The countries of southern
Africa began to gam their mdependence
after the nud-1950s. W1lhm two decades,
almost every country m Africa, w1th the
exception of South Afnca and South-West
.-- Kwame Nktumah
Afnca (Narrubm), became moependent.

The freedom movements m Afrtca, as in
other parts of the world, were the consequence of the growth of nat10nahsm and
the mcreasmg resentment agamst the explOitation and oppression by the colorual
countries. The international situahon further strengthened these movements. The
Second World War had resulted m the
general weakenmg of impenalism It had
also shattered the myth of the mvinCibihty
of some maJor colomal powers m Afnca
such as France and Belgmm wh1ch had
suffered defeat in Europe durmg the war
The collapse of colomabsm m Asia wiUun
a few years after the war also had a tremendous impact on freedom movements m
Afr1ca. The question of Afr1ca' s freedom
gradually became one of the maJor issues in
the world.
The first country in southern Africa to
gam independence was Ghana You have
read earher (Vol. I, Chapter 4) about the
powerful kingdom of Ghana in West
Africa during the eighth to the twelfth
centuries. The Bntishhad conquered a part
of this regwn to which they gave the name
Gold Coast The most promment leader of
the people of the Gold Coast colony was
Kwame Nkrumah who in 1949 had organized the Convention People's Party A
strong trade union movement had also
emerged m Gold Coast. The Convention
People's Party and the trade uruons JOmed
together to demand independence from
Britam However, most of the1r leaders
were arrested and attempts were made to
suppres1:. the demand for freedom. After
1950, the British government started mtroducmg certain constitutional reforms.
Under pressure from the People's Party
which had won a resounding VIctory m
electiOns, the Bnbshgovernmel)tagreed to
SEYCHELLES
SIERRA LEONE
SINGAPORE
SOMALIA
SOUTH AFRICA
SRI LANKA
SUDAN
SURINAM
SWAZILAND
SYRIA
TANZANIA
TOGO
TRINIDAD
AND TOBAGO
o98 TUNISIA
99 UGANDA
100. UNITED ARAB
EMIRATES
85.
86.
87
88
89
90.
91.
92
93
94.
95.
96
97
~C:J
360
'7
WorldW1
Afnca.
l\ ;
d1smtegr>
1
began. r~ ,
byNorth\S ~
tioned al
Afnca b(
after the ~
almost erl@
exceptio
'
-co
~
t
UZBEKISTAN
VANUATU
VENEZUELA
VIETNAM
.YEMEN
YUGOSLAVIA
ZAIRE
ZAMBIA
ZIMBABWE
The F1rst Summit Conference ol Non-AI1gned Collnlrles held at Belgrade from

11o 6 September 1961 was attended by 25 member-countrtes lllese counlne
have been marked 1n the list wllh , Egypt and Syna at thai t1me rormed one
Slate -- the United Arab Republic. After the lormahon ol a democrat1
government, South Alnca also became a member of the Non-Aligned
Movement In 19 4
361
Mau Mnu pnsoners bemg taken to a concentration camp
the independence of Gold Coast. The new

independent state whtch came mto being
on 6 March 1957 called Itself Ghana, after
thenameoftheold WestAfr1cankingdom
The part of Togoland which had been under Bnbsh control also jomed Ghana.
The next country to achieve her independence was the French colony of Guinea
mWestAfr1ca. In 1958, wmle embroiled m
the war in Algena, France held a referendum in her colomes which had been
grouped together as French West Africa
and French Equatonal Afr1ca. The people
of Guinea voted for complete independence and Gumea was proclaimed a republic on 2 October 1958.
The achievement of mdependence by
Ghana and Gumea gave additional conhdence to the freedom moven'lents mother
parts of Afr1ca and accelerated the pace of
achievement of independence by other
nations. The promotion of the cause of
African freedom was a maJor obJective of
India's foreign pohcy from the hme India
',
'1.
'
]o1to Kenyntta
362
won her mdependence India's struggle

- for freedom had also been a source of
mspnation to African nahonabsts.
The year 1960 IS generally regar?-ed as
the Afrtca Year. In that year, seventeen
countries m Africa gained thetr mdependence. These mcluded all the French colorues in French West Africa and Equatonal
Afnca, Nigena and Congo (formerly Belgtan Congo, now called Zaire).
Between 1961 and 1964, a number of
countries m East and Central Africa also
became independent. These were Kenya,
Uganda, Tanganyika, Zanzibar, Nyasaland,
Northem Rhodesia, Rwanda and Burundi.
Sierra Leone, Gambia, Lesotho (formerly
Basutoland) and Botswana (formerly
Bechuanaland) also gamed theu mdependence. The freedom movement in Kenya
was led by Jomo Kenyatta, leader of the
Kenya African Union. In 1952, a revolt by
peasants had broken out This IS known as
the Mau Mau rebellion It was directed
against the seizure of land by the Bntish
coloma! authonhes. To suppress the rebellion, 15,000 Kenyans were killed and about
80,000 sent to concentrahon camps Jomo
Kenyatta was 1mpnsoned in 1953 on the
cha~ _pf supporting the Mau Mau rebelhan Having fa1led to suppress the freedom movement, Bntam had to giVe in and
Kenya became mdependent m 1963.
Many of the newly mdependent CO!Jntries of Afrtcafaced serious problems during the years followmg their mdependence. The tmpenahst powers tned their
best t6 mamtam their hold over thetr former colomes by direct mtervent10n and by
creatmg dissensiO{'S. In Congo, for mstance, Belgium, w1th the help of some
other countrtes and the mercenanes from
vanous countries, brought about the secession of the rich province of Katanga. On the
TI-lE STORY OF CIVILlZATION
appeal of Patrice Lumumba, Prime Minister of Congo, United Nahons troops were
sent to bring about the withdrawal of foretgn troops and mercenanes. However,
Patrice Lumumba was assassinated and
the country thrown into chaos for a number
of years.
Before the end of the 1960s, almost entire Africa, with the exception of Portuguese colonies of Angola, Mozambique and
Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde Islands,
and South Africa, South-West Afru:a and
Rhodesia, had become free. Powerful freedom movements had started in the Portu
guese colonies. They had organized their
hberation forces and had secured the help
of many countries m their struggle for
freedom. In April 1974, the Portuguese
army, which had be!'!n mamly used to suppress the freedoms truggles in the colorues,
overthrew the 50-year,old dictatorship m
Portugal With the support of the people.
The commurusts, socialists and other radical elements m the armed forces and the
new government of Portugal were opposed
to the conhnuatiort of the Portuguese rp.le
m Afnca. They entered into negotiations
w1th the freedom movements in the Portuguese colomes and by 1975 all the former
Portuguese colomes m Africa became mdependent. Zimba_!Jw~ (formerly Sou,thern
Rhodesia) became independent m April
1980
,;,The last country in Africa to become
independentwas Namibia, formerly SouthWest Africa It was a German colony be
fore the First World War and was handed
over to South'AfrKa as a 'mandate' after
the defeat of Germany in that war. South
Afr1ca treated South-West Africa 2s her
colony and refused to withdraw from there
Is sprte of the resoluhons of !he United,
Nahons. The freedom movement there
363
was led by the South-West Africa People's vote and no say m the governance of the
Orgaruzation(SWAPO) whtchwas formed country. The system of aparthet~ was used
m 1960. It gained momentum when to maintam the rule of the whtte minority
SWAPO started a war with the help of its over about 80 per cent of the population
guerilla forces to hberate the country It Which comprised black and coloured people
was made a member of the Non-Ahgned as well a& people of Indian origin. Thts
Movement. The Non-Ahgned Movement, system, m the name of separatiOn of the
the African governments and the United races, denied human rights to the majority
Nations played an Important role m the of the populat1on. It may be recalled that
success of the freedom movement in Mahatma Gandhi had started the fight
Namibia. The war m Narrubia came to an agamst ractal dtscnminahon m South Afend in 1989 when South Afnca agreed to a rica long before he became a leader of the
plan for the independence of the country. freedom movement in lnd1a
SWAPO won a maJority of seats m the
elections which were held in Novernber
1989 and on 21 March 1990 Namibia became independent.
South Africa - Uruon of South Africa
smce 1910 and Republic of South Afrtca
since1961-hasbeenanindependentconntry in the sense that she was not ruled from
another country The government of South
Africa was, however, among the most oppressive regimes in the world m the twenbeth century. It was under the exclustve
control of the ~hite mmonty practising the
~orst form of racism. Under the system of
apartheid established m South Africa, all
people were dassifled and separated on
the basis of race Each group had to live m
a separate area,. Therewereseparateschools
and uruversities, separate theatres, separ~te shoppmg centres, separate coaches m
tra~ns forwhttes and blacks and others The
teams for sports also were formed on the
Demonstrators profestmg agamst apnrthetd laws
basis of race. Marriage between persons
were massacred at Sh4rpevtlle m South Afnca, 22
belongmg to d1fferent races, was a crmtinal
March 1960.
offence. There were restrictions on movement from one, place to another The best
The mam organizatiOn of the South Aflands in the country were under the control
ncan people which led the movement for
of the whites who had all the ~onorruc and
ending the rule of the wh1te mmonty and
Polihcal power. The non-whites had no
establishmg a non-ractst democratic South
364
South Afrtcan. pollee assaultmg demonstrators, Johannesburg, 1972
Africa was the African Nahonal Congress

(ANC). It was set up in 1910. The movement against the obnoxious system of
apartheid was intensified in the 1950s The
government depended on the use of terror
to mamtamits rule. There were incidents of
massacres of peaceful protestors. In 1960,
the Afncan National Congress was banned
and most of its leaders were arrested The
ANC then orgamzed its own army to fight
~gainst the racist regime
South Africa was mcreasmgly tsolated
from the rest of the world India had been
from the begtnnmg in the forefront m support of the struggle to d1smantle the apartheid regtme. Shew as theftrst country m the
world to sever relations with South Afr1ca
and to extend her fu~l support to the people
of South Africa Many ?ther countr1es fol-
lowed smt. The United Nation::. also cundemned the pohc1es of South Africa ln the
1980s some Western countnes which had
mamtained m1htary and economic relations with South Africa also Imposed sanenons agamst her. By the end of the 1980s,
the mternationalisolahon of the South !\fncan regtme was complete
From the. end of the 1980s, the process of
ending the system of aparthe1d began. The
ban on the Afi'tcan National Congress wa:;
hfted and Its lead~rs released. Among them
was Nelson Mandela who had been in
prison for 26 years and had became a symbol of the struggle agamst aparthe1d Many
apartheid laws were abolished and negotiations were started bE>tween the ANC and
the South Afncan gov,ernment for framing
a new constitution wh1ch would gtve all
South Africans the right to vote. Elections
THE WORLD AFTER THI; .SEC~N'D WORLD WAR
365 :
in wh1ch all Soulh Afucans fm the fu.st time opments have also taken place m Central
tlgh! LO vote WelC heJdmAp:ll and South Amenca and the Caribbean The
1994 Allel these electiOns, a new non-l~CISt countries wluch were under European coand dcmoctatlc govewment came to power
loma! rule m ttus part of the world have
/11 South AJJJCa. Nelson Manclcla was elected
become mdependent The Um~ed States
p1e6idcnl ot the counl1y
Thu~ wtthin the last three decades, most
frequef\tly mterfered m the mternal affairs
of Afnca has become mdependentand the of these countnes, particularly when radimdependence of the remaimng parts can- cal governments came to power and tned
not be deferred for long. Many Afncan to assert their pohtical and econorruc mdecountnes have changed theu names. The pendence. One of the significant developcoloma! powers had gwen them names ments m this region was the Cuban revoluwhtch had httle to do w1th their past his- tion whtch overthrew the carr Ltpt and dictory and culture Some countries and c1hes ta tonal government headed by Batista on
had been named after colonial adventur- 31 December 1958 In 1961, the United
ers, for example, Rhodesia, Leopoldvdle, States sent mercenanes to Cuba but the
Stanleyville, etc. The African peoples are mvasion ended m a fiasco and was crushed
trymg to overcome the damage caused to in less than three days
Havmgcommon problems and sharing
them during the coloma! rule Renaming
the1r coun.tnes and Cities after their on gina! common aspirations, the peoples of these
names IS a part of their effort to reestablish countnes began to act together although
and assert their mdependence an~ na honal there was no orgamzahon bmdmg !hem
Identity. The need to umte m the face of However, they began to develop some comcommon tasks and for achtevmg common mon understandmg on world affaus, para1ms led to the emergence of the unity of all ticularly on the question of the mdepenAfrican states These aims mcluded the dence of nations which were still under
safeguardmg of thetr mdependence and to fore1gn rule In 1955, an Important event
help the hberatton movements m those took place wluch helped to strengthen the
countries m Afnca wtuch were sbll fighting unity of African and As1an countnes. Ttus
br their independence. The most stgnifi- was the Afro-As1an conference which was
cant step taken m this duechon was the held at Bandungin Indonesia The conferformation of the Orgamiatwn of Afncan ence was attended by 23 Asian and 6 AfriUnity (OAU) m 1963.
can countnes The leaders of three Asmn
nabons, lnd1a, China and Indonesia played
an important role m the deliberations of
this conference The growing Importance
NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT
of the Afro-Asian countnes was reflected
The emergence of the countries of Asia and in the United Nations where on a number
Afrtca as mdependent nations marked a of tssues the countnes of Asia and Afnca
new phase in the history of the world functioned as a group.
These countries wluchhad been suppressed
Another Signif1cantdevelopment m the
and kept under subjugation for a long time world after the mdependence of Asian and
came to thetr own and began to play an Afru;an countries was the emergence of
important role m the world Similar devel- Non-Aligned Movement You have read
WClC.I(lVCD the
366
before about the Cold War &nd the formabon of military blocs and the growth of
tension ul many parts of the w~rld. Most of
the newly mdependent countnes of Asia
and Africa refused to JOin the Cold War.
They considered the forma bon of tJUhtary
blocs as a senous danger to peace and to
theu mdependence These countnes were
faced with the enormous task of social and
economic reconstruction whtch could be
done only m a world free from Wai' and
tens10n. Some countries in Asia had JOined
the mthtary alliances and had allowed foreign bases to be set up on the1r sc;>il. The
extension of military alliances and the setting up of foreign bases were considered by
most As1an countries as a threat to theu
mdependence anrl a source of tenston
Hence they opposed these alliances. They
were also aware of the danger which the
contmuance of 1mperiahsm in some parts
of Asia and AfriCil posed to them and to
world peace. The. non-ahgned nations of
Asm and Africa, therefore, were m the
forefront of the struggle for the liquH:I.atiOn
of colomalism. Non-alignment has primanly been a pohcy aming at the strengthenmg of independence, ending of colomalism
and promoting world pea~e. It was not
merely a pohcy of non-involvement w1th
mtbtary blocs but a pohcy for creating a
better world
I~dta under the Pnme Mu1Jstership of
Jawaharlal Nehru played a piOneering role
m makmg non-ahgnment a ma1or force m
the world. The other leaders who played an
important role m the non-aligned movement were PresidentSukamo of Indonesia,
President Nasser of Egypt and President
Tito of Yugoslavia The first sumrrut conference of non-aligned nations was held at
Belgrade in Yug9slavia mSeptember 1961.
It was attended by heads of state or govern-
lliE STORY ~F CIVILIZATION
ment of 25 countrles. Besides Yugoslavia

and Cuba, from Europe and the Americas,
respectively, the other parbClpahng countnes were from Asu\ and Afttca Three
other countries attended as observers The
statement 1ssucd at tile end of thts confereltce affirmed the basic principles of nonalignment such as the stabI hzatwn of peace,
hquidation ofcolomalism and imperialism
in all thelT forms, peaceful coexistence between nations, condemnation of raCial discnminabon, opposition to m1htary alhances,
disarmament, respect for human nghts,
estabhshwent of ~conormc relations between nations based on equality and free
from exploitation, etc.
The populanty of the policy of nonalignment was reflected by the number of
countries which joined the group of nonaligned nations. Begmnmg with 25 countries which attended the Belgrade conference 10 1961, there are today 109 countnes
whiCrh are followmg the pohcy of nonalignment They are dra\\n from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Amencas. The Tenth
Summit of the Non-Ahgned Movement
was held at Jakarta, in Indonesia) 10 September 1992. The Seventh Summit had
been held at N~w Delhi wtth Indta' s Pnme
Minister Ind 1ra Gandhi as the Chauperson,
and the Stxth Summit at Havana, in Cuba,
in 1979 under the Cha)rmanship of President Fidel Castro. Two movements of
nahonal liberation -the Palestme Liberation Organization and South- We&t Africa
People's Organization -were made fullfledged member-states ofthe Non-Aligned
Movement. (As mentioned earlier, Namibia, whose struggle for mdependence was
led by SWAPO, has already become independent). AU countnes of Africa, including
South Afrtca, are members of the NonAligned Movement. The Non-Ahgned
1}1E WORLD AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR
367
NON-ALIGNMENT
The word 'Non-Ahgned' may be dtfferently mterpreted, but basicallytt was comed
and used with the mearung of bemg non-ahgned with the great power blocs of the
world 'Non-ahgned' has a negahve meanmg. But if we give i~ a posihve connotation it means nahons whtch object to hnmg up for war purposes, to military blocs,
to military alhancesand thehke Wekeepawayfrom suchanapproachand we want
to throw our weight m favour of peace In effect, therefore, when there IS a cnsis
mvolvmg the posstbihty of war, the very fact that we are unaligned should stu us
to feel that more than ever 1t is up to us to do whatever we can to prevent such a
calamity down upon us ...
Some SiX, seven o~ eight years ago, non-ahgnment was a rare phenomenon A
few countries here and there asked about it and other countries rather made fun of
it or at any rate dtdnot take itserwusly "Non-alignment' What Is this' You must
be on this stde or that,' I -that was the argument That argumentts dead today, The
whole course of history of the last few years had shown a growmg opiruon spread
m favour of the concept of non-alignm.ent Why? Because it was m tune with the
course of events, 1t was m tune with the thmkmg of the vast numbers of people,
whether the country eoncemed was non-aligned or not, because they hungered
passiOnately for peace and dtd not hke thls massing up of vast armtes and nuclear
bombs on etther stde Therefore, thetr mmds turned to those countries who refused
to hne up
The most fundamental fact of the world today ts the development of new and
mtghty forces We have to thmk m terms of the new world There ts no doubt that
Imperialism and the old-style colonialism will varush Ye>t the new forces may help
others to dommate mother ways over us, and certainly the under-developed and
the backward. Therefore, we cannot afford to be backward
I
We have to build in our own countrtes soctehes where freedom is real Freedom
ts essenhal, because freedom wlllgtve us strength and enable us to build prosperous
soctehes These are for us baste problems. When we thmk m terms of these basic
.problems, war becomes an even greater folly than ever If we cannot prevent war,
all our problems suffer and we cannot deal wtth them. But If we can prevent war,
we can go ahead in solvmg our other problems We can help to Hber?te the parts of
the world under colonial and tmpenal rule and we can puild up our own free,
prosperous societies m our respechve countries That is posthve work for us to do .
From ]awaharlal Nehru's speech at ,the

first Conference of Non-Aligned Nations
held at Belgrade, 2 September 1961
\
368
Movement has played a very important

role m world affairs, parhcularly in endmg
colonialism and in promoting peace. The
non-aligned countnes are also working for
the creation of a new mternabonal economic order m wh1ch the economic relations between nations would be based on
equahty, non-explmtahon of one nation by
another, and the narrowing down of economtc disparihes between nahons.
Recent Developments
Some of the changes that have taken place
in recent years such as those m Cambodm,
Israel (Paleshne), Namibia and South Afnca have been mentioned in this chapter.
Many other changes which have taken place
m the world, along with these, are so farreachmg that they can be said to mark the
beginrung of a new phase in the lustory of
the world after the Second World War.
Some of them have been so sudden that it
would take some time to fully comprehend
their sigruficance
,
A major feature of the history of the
world for almost four decades after the end
of the Second World War was the antagonism between the United States and the
Soviet Umon and the armed confrontation
between the ffilhtary blocs headed by them.
Tlus was the ,penod of the Cold War and
the race in the designing and production of
ever new weapons of mass destruction. It
posed a danger to the very survival of
humankind. In the 1970s and early 1980s,
some beginnings were made to end the
Cold War. Agreements were reached between the United States and. the Soviet
Union to eliminate some categones of carriers of nuclear weapons and to reduce the
number of certain types of weapons installed m certam areas. The process of
ending the Cold War, however, suffered
many setbacks In 1979, Soviet troops entered Afgharustan. Thts development increased the tension between the United
States and the Soviet Union. The Umted
States launched a programme of developing new and even more deadly weapons,
popularly known as the Star Wars. These
weapons would have meant taking the
conflict mto outer space and launching
attacks from there However, the world
situation began to Improve after the nud1980s and by the end of the 1980s it could be
said with much certamty that the era of
Cold War had came to an end. By early
1989, Soviet troops were Withdrawn from
Afghamstan. Many other changes took
place from the late 1980s and it is generally
agreed that we are now hvmg in a pm+
Cold War world. This can be considered as
the most stgmficant and posihve development that has totken place in recent years.
Many changes of greathtstoncalimporLance have taken place m the Soviet Union
and m countnes of Eastern and Central
Europe. The most sigruficant of these has
been the collapse of the Soviet Umon and
the ending of the communist regimes there
and in other countries of Europe. In 1956,
three years after the death of Stalm, the
Commurust Party of Soviet Union had denounced the excesses and cnme~ comnutted by Stalin. From 1985, many important
reforms began to be introduced m the pohtical system of the Soviet Uruon with a
vtew to promotmg pohttcal democracy.
There was free and open discussiOn on
~very issue and curbs on the freedom of
thought and expressiOn were hfted.
Reformsineconomywere alsoimhated
to end the stagnahon that had set in and
to Improve the hving condihons oi the
people. TI1e 1mportance of these reforms
was recognized the world over. Two Rus-
THE WORLD AFlER THE SECOND WORLD WAR
sian words --peresfrOlka, meaning 'restructuring', and glasnost, meaning 'openness'wluch were used to descnbe these reforms
gamed internabonal currency The hold of
the Communist Party over the political hfe
of the country was loosened and other
political parbes were allowed to function.
In the meanbme, there was a demand for
greater autonomy by the republics which
conshtuted the Soviet Union. Some repubhcs wa~ted to become independent. Attempts were made to frame a new treaty
wh1ch would provide greater autonomy to
the repubhcs and at the same hme preserve
the Uruon However, m Augu&t 1991, there
was an attempt to stage a coup by some
leaders of the Communist Party Though
the coup collapsed, the Soviet Umon began
to break up Many republics declared then
mdependence On 25 December 1991,
M1khall Gorbachev, who was the President
of the Soviet Umon dunng this penod and
had rmtiated the reforms mentioned earher, resigned and the Soviet Umon formally ceased to ex1st. In place of the Sov1et
Umon which had been a major mfluence on
world historical development for about
seven decades, there emerged 15 mdependentrepublics. Though the rule of the communist parhes has ended mall these republ~es, many of them are faced with serious
pohtlcal and econom1c problems. There are
also-many problems between the republics
although 12 of them have formed a loose
federation called the Commonwealth of
Independent States. [These republics can
be seen in the map of U.S.S.R. g~ven m
Chapter 11 of this book. However, the
name~ of republics have changed. The new
names are Russian Federation (formerly
RSFSR), Kazakhastan (formally Kazakh
SSR), Estonia (formerly Estonian SSR),
Latvia (formerly Latvian SSR), Lithuania
369
(formerly Lithuanian SSR), Ukraine (formerly Ukram1an SSR), Moldova (formerly

Moldavian SSR), Armenia (formerly Armeman SSR), Georgia (formerly Georgian
SSR),AzerbaiJan(formerly AzerbatjanSSR),
Turkmemstan (formerly Turkmen SSR),
Uzbekistan (formerly Uzbek SSR),
TaJikistan (formerlyTaJikSSR), Belarus (formerly Byeloruss1an SSR) and Kyrgystan
(formerly Kngluz SSR)]
Equally important changes have taken
place ill those countnes of Europe wh1ch
were ruled by commumst parties There
had been outbursts of resentment ill some
of these countries against Soviet control
and against the Soviet supported commumst governments smce the 1950s. There
were occasions when Soviet troops were
used to suppress the unrest m these countnes The changes m the Sov1et Union affected these countries directly. There were
mass upheavals in all these countrtes in the
late 1980s. By 1989, Soviet control over
them came to an end. The monopoly of
political power enjoyed by the commum~t
parties m these countnes was ended. There
were free elections and new governments
were formed. It is notable that these farreachmg changes took place in most countries without the use of vwlence In some
countnes, leaders who had misused i:heu
position for personal gain and power wen~
tned and jailed Manycommumstparhesno longer rulmg parties m the1r countries
-expelled some of th(m former leadt~rs
who had comnutted excesses when they
were m power. In one country,' Rumama,
the Commumst Party leader who tor about
15 years had been the virlual d1ctator was
executed. The Warsaw Pact, the military
alliance which was headed by the Soviet
Umon and of wh1ch the commumst-rult>d
states of Emope were members, was dis-
370
solved in 1991.
The changes which took place in Germany
were even more far-reaching. The divtsion
of Germany mto two mdependent states a
few years after the end of the Second World
War has been mentioned in tlus chapter.
The diVision of Germany had been a source
of tension in.Europe and a major factor in
the Cold War. East Berlin was the capital of
East Germany (German Democratic Repubhc or CDR) while West Berlin which
was located wttlun the CDR terntory was
treated as a partofWestGermany (Federal
Repubhc of Germany or FRG) In 1961, the
GDR authorttles built a wall between East
and West13erlin ~o prevent East Germans
from gomg away to West Berlin The bmldmg of the wall became a further source of
tension m Europe The process of endmg
commumst rule in CDR and of the
reunification of Germany began m 1989
when the Berhn Wall was opened and polihcal parties whtch were outstde the control of the communist party (called the
Soctahst Umty Party) were allowed to funchon. In early 1990 electrons were held and
a new government came to power. On 3
October 1990, the division of Germany was
ended and a unified Germany again
emerged.
The collapse of the Soviet Umon and of
communist governments in Europe has
been a major factor in endmg the Cold War.
It has also been seen as marking the retreat
of socialism It caR, however, be satd that
,the system whtch was built m these countnes was only a distorted ,vers10n of the
soctahst tdeal and that soctal JUStice which
was fundamental to that tdeal has become
a part of the conscwusness of the people the
world over.
The changes m Eastern and Central Europe, as m the former Soviet Union, have
not been w1thout problems, both economic

and polihcal. Czechoslovakia which had
emerged as a new state after theFtrst World
War has broken up into two mdependent
states- the Czech Republic and the Slovak
Republic. 'In unified Germany, there have
been many instances of violence by neoNazts against immigrants.
Developments of a tragrc nature have
taken place m Yugoslavia in recent years.
Yugoslavia whtch had emerged as a state
after the F1tst World War was ruled by a
communist party since the end of the Second World War. The commurust government of Yugoslav1a had kept itself free
from the Soviet Union almost from the
beginning. Yugoslavta was one of the
founders of the Non~Aligned Movement.
She was a federahon of six republics In
four of these republics, the rule of the
communist parhes came to an end m 1990.
By 1992, Yugoslavia broke up into ftve
independent states -the new state of Yugoslavia comprismg Serbta and Montenegro,
Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia and BosniaHerzegovina However, the problems of
Yugoslavia did not end with its break-up.
A large party of Bosma-Herzegovina is
under the control of Serbians and Croats
A bloody war has been gomg on between
Bosnian Croats, Bosman Serbs and Bosnian
Mushms, particularly between the latter
two, causmg terrible suffenngs to the
people.
Whtle the&e developments have taken
place in one part of Europe, in another,
Western, part (including Germany), there
had been a move towards European unity
It consists m creahng' a Europe without
borders, w1th a common currency and unrestricted movement of goods and people
and ultimately a political union wtth a
common parliament. Some steps have
371
THE WORLD AFTER 1HE SECOND WORLD WAR
already been taken in this direchon It may,

however, be remembered that the concept
of European uruty at present excludes all
East European countrtes and some others.
Significant changes have also taken place
m other parts of the world There were
many turmmls m the political and economic life of Cluna after the establishment
of commumst rule there. After the death of
Mao Zedong m 1975, many changes have
taken place m the economtc pohcies of the
country. These are aimed at moderruzmg
the economy For this, foi'eign companies
and foretgn captal have been mvited and
are playing an tmportant role Many practices wluch were at one hme considered
basJC to the concept of socialism have been
given up There have also been changes in
Chma's fore1gn poHcy. There has been an
Improvement m Chma' s relations With India In the pohbcallife of Chma, however,
there has been httle change and tt continues
to be under the exclustve control of the
Commumst Party. The demand for democracy vmced by students and others some
)lears ago was suppressed
In spite of the many positive changes
that have taken place m recent years, the
world in the 1990s IS not without tensions
and confl1cts. While the danger of war
involvmg the use of nuclear weapons has

ended, or at least receded, there has been
no reduction m the arsenals of weapons of
mass anruJ;ulabon Theu very existence IS a
source of threat to the survtVal of humankmd. Surularly, wtth the end of the Cold
War, whether the world has moved, irreversibly, to a period of detente and, much
more importantly, cooperation is shU to be
seen. With thecollapseoftheSoviet Umon,
the Umted States became the only super
power in the world. While the Warsaw Pact
has been dissolved, NATO, the military
bloc headed by the United States, has continued to exist. There have beenmisgiVmgs
that the present situation would make tt
possible for the Umted States, the only
super power now, to dtctate to others.
The world in the 1990s, with all Its
problerns,Is a very dtfferent place to live in
compared with any preceding age People
the world over have a much greater say in
shaping their destiny than ever before. For
theftrst bmeinhumanhJstory, the creation
of One World has become a possibility m
whtch all peoples would cooperatewith
one another and would contnbute their
best to enrich then own lives and of the
entire humankmd
EXERCISES
Thmgs to Know
1
2
3
4
What were the Immediate consequences of the Second World Warm Europe?
How was the pohttcal map of Europe after the war dtfferent from the pre-war days?
What IS meant by Cold War? What were the factors whtch gave nse to it?
Trace the history of the freedom movements m Asian countries.
What were the main atms of the fore1gn pohcy of the United States? What was the reason for the military mterventton of the United States m Vtetnam ? What were 1ts
consequences ?
What was the Impact of the Portuguese revoluhon of 1974 on the Portuguese
colomes m Afrtca ?
THE STOl<Y OF CIVILIZATION
372
6 What are the countries m Afnca in which the shuggle for liberation IS still g01ng on?
7. What is n1eant by non-ahgrunent? Why dtd most of U1e newly mdependent countnes
follow thts pohcy ?
8. Trace the htstory of the freedom movements m Afnca
9 D!:!Bcrtbe the changef:! whtch h<~ve taken place m South Afl'ica after 1989
10. Trace the developments that led to the collapse of the Soviet Uruon.
11 Descnbe the maln.-changes which have occurred m Germany and the countries of
Southern Europe since 1989
Things to Do
1
2
3
4
5
6.
On an outhne map of Europe, show the countnes which came to have commumst
governments after the Second World War
Collect mformahon on the African countries whtch gamed the1r mdependence after 1960.
Show these countries on a map
Try to get a copy of the declaration issued by the &ummit of the Non-Aligned Movement
held at Jakarta m 1992 Dt~>play it m the classroom
Prepare a hstof countnes where summits of the Non-Ahgned Movement have been held
as well as a list of parhc1patmg countr1es
Collect mformatlon about developments which have taken place m South Afnca after
1993 aml prepare a report
Collect mformahon about the s1tuation mYugoslavia and the steps taken to 1mplament
the ag1eement between Israel and PLO smce 1993.
Thmgs to Think aboJtt and D1scuss

1 Discuss the factors whtch led to the weakPnmg of impenahsm after the Second World
War
2 Do you think the Cold War has fmally E'nded'
3. Some countrtes of Asia had become members of m1htary alliances. Do you thtnk it helped
in strengthenmg their independence ? Why ? Or why not ? Gtve arguments With
examples
4. Dlscuss the rmpact of the emergence of Asian and Afncan countries as mdependent
nahons on the world.
5 What/ in your view, led to the collapse of the Soviet Umon and of the commttrust
govyrmE>nt~thereandtnothercountnes of Europe? Do you thmk tluscollapsemeans that
ideas of sociahsm are no longer relevant? Dtscuss.
6 Do you thmk the post- Cold War world 1s a safer place to live m and there IS no danger
of any country dominating over other sountries?
CHAPTER 14
The Heritage of India

THE hentage
of India is the result of developments m the social, economic, cultmal

and polittcaJ hfe of the Indian people over
a penod of thousands of years. You have
already read bnefly about the&e developments In th1s chapter, you Will read about
some a&pects and featm es of thtse developments which are Important for an understandmg of India's hentage
The Land and the People
Two lJas1c components nt Hus hentage,
which have at the same tune shaped this

hentage, are the land, thenaturaland physical environment of lttdia, and the people
who have mhabited this land The generanons of people who have inhabrted India
durmgvarwus penods of her history have
interacted w1th the1r physical and natural
envuonment. They have also interacted
among themselves Through these pwcesse& of mteraction -between people and
therr natural and physical envm.mment and
among themselvt>s -the people have created their history, their social, economic,
cultural and pohtlcal hfe. These proces&es
of interacbon.have been gomg on for thousands of years, bringing m changes m the
life of the people The world of man,
therefore, hat; never been stationary
"india IS a vast country. lt extends for
nearly 3000 kilometres from Kashmtr in the
north to Kanyakuman mlhe south and for
the same distance ftom its western-most

parts to its easleii1-most parts Nature has
made It mlo a drstmct geog1 aphica 1ent1ty
The Himalayan range::, m the north a,nd lhe
sea in the east; we&t ,md b>nuth :,.,(:'par(1le 1t
from the rest of the world The people
Inhabitmg the country from wry early times
as well as peopleofotherpa1 b oftlu"'world
have VIewed it a& a smgle mtegral and
di~tmctive untt
These-geogiaphical features, however,
while Q1akmg her a well ~defmed un1t
separated from the rest of the world, h~ve
not becnnw a barnPJ to contacts with the
rest of the world Since the time of the Old
Stone Age, people from neighbounng as
well a:, distant regmns have been commg
mto lnd1a through the mountam pas~e~
c:nd the seas and makmg JndJa tlwi1 home
The peoplE' uf Indta have been formed,{;; a
result of these mtgration& over thnu&and&
of year::,. They are the descendant~ of
group:, of people belongmg to almost all
the 'racial stocb' of mankmd and their
admixtures who made India then home
The mam 'raCJal type~:. whteh have gone'
mto the making of the Indian populnbon
are the Proto-Australmds, the PalaeoMediterraneans, the Caucasoids, the Negt mds and the Mongolmds lll their varytng
degrees ofnuxtures In ht~torical times, the
eth.'lic grlHtps which have come to India
and made India their home include the
374
Indo-European speaking people (the IndoAryans), the Persians, the Greeks, th~
Ku~hanas, the Shakas, the Hunas, the
Arabs, the Turks, the Afncans and the
Mongol::.. During the past few hundred
year!:>, many Europeans have also made
India ther home All these 'racial' and
ethnic groups have Intermingled with one
another and few of them can be recognized
m their onginal form. Thu::., India has been
a crucible of vanous 'races' and etluHc
groups. They have' all contributed to the
making of Indian htstory and culture
The migration of people mto India has
been a ma1or factor m the development of
vartous aspects of India's ltfe and culture
since pr'e-ht~ tone tunes In htstoncal times,
theimportanceofthtsfactorisconspicuous
m almost every penod of lndta's history.
The people from other cultures and civihzatJOns have brought with them thetr own
traditions which got mtermixed and mtegrated with the pre-extstmg traditions
Sm11larly, people of India have gone to
other parts of the world and various elements of culture camed by them have
intermixed and have been mtegrated With
the pre-extstmg cultures there. Durmg the
past 2000 years, the mfluence of various
eleroents of Indian culture has been partlcularly evident m many countnes of Asia
The vastness of the country and the
great vanations m Its geograplucal features -land forms, natural resources, elimate and other~ -have provided the bases
for a great vanety m ways of hvmg from
very early times The mountams and the
river systems have been an Important factormtheemergenceofanumberofdtstinct
cultural zones Withm the country. The
Vindhya ranges, for example, diVIded
In'dia into north and !:>outh with the people
of the Indo-European famtly of languages
predominatmg in the northern, and ~ose

ofthe Dravidian family oflanguages m the
southern parts of the country These factors, however, have not made any part of
the country tsolated from the other parts.
The physical barners between different
parts were not insurmountable even in
early times when means of travel were not
developed They did not prevent the movement of the people from one part of the
country to another. Despite the Vindhya
ranges, for example, the movement of
people from the north to the south and v1ce
versa has been gomg on from very early
bmes. Thuswhllegeographtcalfactorshave
deeply influenced the emergence of distmchveways ofhvmgofpeople in different
parts of the country, the interaction between them has been gomg on The availability of different natural resources in the
country has also furthered links between
Its dtverse parts. These factors have helped
the processes of both umty and divers1ty
The historical development of the country
has brought the people together and has
led to the growth of a common culture to
which all parts of the country have contributed. At the same time, each part of the
country has developed tts own distinct
tdentlty. Because of this, the h1stoncal and
cuI tural development of India is often
de::.cnbed as one of umty in dtverstty and
the culture of the country as a whole a
compos1teonecompnsmgdistmctparts It
has never been a monolith
As mentiOned above, people ofall'parts
of the country have contnbuted to the
emergence of a common culture. No particular part of region of the country has
been the mam centre or source of Indian
culture, and different regwns during dtf_ ferent periods have played a leadmg
, role -setting new trends and mfluencmg
TilE HERITAGE OF INDIA
developments 10 other parts ofthe country

This has been true as much of pohtical
history as of other aspects of h1stoncal
development. The first maJOr pohtrcal
power arose 10 northern India wtth tts
centre m the regiOn around modern Pa tna
In the subsequentcentunes, powerful kmgdom and empires were bmlt m north-western India, the Deccan and the south The
Turk1sh Sultans and the Mughal emperors
ruled over large parts of India with their
centre at Delhi and, for some time, at Agra.
In the eighteenth century, the Marathas,
after settmg up their kmgdom m w-estern
Indm, bwlt a vast all-IndJa empire In th1s
context, tt is Important to remember the
concept of the chakravartin ruler whtch was
developed in Indta in anCient times. This
Ideal envisaged pohbcal unification of the
entire country
Another feature of lndta' s culture has
been that tt dtd not develop mto a fimshed
form 10 any pertod. Throughout her long
history, Indta' s culture has been changmg
and developmg due to mternal factors and
contacts Wt~h other cultures. This process
of change and development continues. The
cui ture of Indta, as of any other country, is
not a fixed entity. Many aspects of culture,
if they retard further progress, get discarded, others are changed, sometimes
beyond recogmtion; some others contmue
to survive and remau1 important, while
many new elements are added
A remarkable feature of Indtan his toncal and cultural development has been tts
continwty. This continutty has few parallels m the htstory of other CIVIhzahons. For
example, the cultures of some of the earliest CJVJlizatJOns in human history left httle
evidence of their mfluence overs ub&equen t
cultural developments of the countnes m
wh1ch they had developed In Indta, on the
375
other hand, some elements of the Harappan

culture contmue to exist to thts day
It IS mteresting to know the story of the
name of our country. The ancient Indians
referred to their country as 'jambudv1pa'
or the continent of the Jambu tree The
anCient Persians referred to our country a&
the land beyond the nver Smdhu (Indus).
They, however, pronounced It as 'Hindu'
The word spread westward and the whole
country came to be known by the.name of
Its rtVer. The Greeks called 1t'Inde' and the
Arabs 'Hmd'. In medieval times, the countrywascalled 'Hmdustan' fromthePersian
word. The Enghsh called 1t 'Indta' from the
Greek 'Inde' The present name 'Bharat',
derived from the ancient usage, means 'the
land of the Bharatas', an ancient Indian
tnbe.
Before studymg the development of a
few selected aspects of Ind1a' s culture, tt
may be worthwhile to recap1tulate broad
features of Indian histoncal development
The Ancient Period
You have read in an earher chapter that
India was one of the oldest centres of the
preh1stoncculturesoftheworld.Ind~a was
also the cradle of one of the earhest CIVthzations m history -the Harappan culture
The Harappan culture was the first urban
culture to emerge in Indm Many of its
features distinguished 1t from all its contemporary cultures m other parts of the
world, and made it d1stmctly Indian.
Larger in extent than any of Its contemporary civilizahons, it wa_s spread over
parts of Baluchistan, Sind, Punjab,
Haryana, RaJasthan, western Uttar pradesh
and GuJarat and had hnks with some other
parts of India as well as with contemporary ctvihzations m West Asia After Its
declme, India did not have cities for about
a thousand years. However, all that this
376
ctviliza tton had built was not forgotten and

many of Its features became a part of the
Indian culture in the subsequent years.
The next maJOr phase in anc1ent lndtan
history 1s the Ved1c age which began With
the coming of the Indo-European speakmg
people (the Indo-Aryans) and ended m
about seventh century B.C. Imtially, this
phase marked a reversal in some respects
-:~or example, it marked the end of city hfe,
r:versal to a pastoral economy and the
predommance of a tribal system of pohhcal
organization. However, With the knowledge and use of iron teclmology, 1t saw the
beginnmg of the spread of agriculture
throughout the country. It thus la1d the
foundations of a civllizatlOn in all parts of
the country, whereas the Harappan culture
had been confmed to parts of north-western India. The culture that began to emerge
dunng this phase was the result of the
intermtxmg of the Indo-Aryans wtth the
pre-ex1stmg inhabitants of India. It is mtereshng to remember that some elements of
the culture of this period have survived
over a penod of 3000 years and continue to
be a part of Indmn culture today
The next phase, covermg the penod
from about the sixth century B C to about
200 B.C, is marked by far-reachmg changes
in almost every aspect of hfe m India This
penod saw the spread of agriculture over
large parts of the country, the nse of ottes
and the formatiOn of states. The period also
saw the nse and dec! me ofthe first all-Indm
empll'e in Indian history. This period IS
Important not only for pohtical unity but
also for cultural unity. Two major rehgions
-Jamsm and Buddhism -which arose m
the sixth century B C. left a lasting mfluence on Indian life and culture These rehgwns abo influenced rehgwus behefs and
practices which, grouped together, art>
knownas Hinduism Hmdmsmasitdeveloped, included many Vedic behefs and

practices but had many other features
whtch dishngmshed 1t from the rehgwn ot
the Vedas Thts penod saw the spread
throughout the country of beliefs and practices assooated With Hindmsm, mcluding
VediC rehgwn, as well as Buddhtsm and
Jami sm. Alongstde these, a large number of
other beliefs and practices also continued.
The Varna system, the system of socml
orgamzahon popularly known as the caste
system, whtch had arisen m the Vedtc Age
now became well-estabhshed and gradually became the dommant form of social
organizahon throughout the country This
form of social organization was peculiar to
India The nse of obes, crafts and trade also
furthered the process of cultural unity.
Thts process ts best exemplified by Ashoka
He unified almost the entire country under
one empire but renounced the use ofwar as
state policy Instead he declared the victory
of righ~eousness as the real VIctory. In him
we also\{md a change m the tdeal of kingship Ashoka, in one of his edicts, satd,
"Whatever exertions [make, I stnve only to
discharge the debt that I owe to all hvmg
creatures''. Most ofhts mscriptions spread
over different parts of the country are m
Praknt, which seems to have become the
lm.gua franca of the country, and in Brahmi
script, the earhest known Indtan script,
and mother of most Indian scnpts. However, in areas where the language and scnpt
were different, the Ashokan edicts were
mscnbed in the local languag_e and the
local script Though he htmself became a
Buddhist, Ashoka made no effort to impose it on others In one of hts edicts, he
said, "One who reveres one's own religwn
and dtsparages that of another from devo~
non to one's own rehgton and to glorify it
THE HERITAGE OF INDIA
over all other rehgwns, does mjure one's

own religion most certamly".
Thenextphasem anCient Indmnhistory
covers the period from about 200 B C. to
about A.D. 300. This phase is extremely
Important for the changes that took place in
economic and political hfe, and sigmficant
developments m vanous aspects of culture, mcludmg rehgon, art and science and
technology. In economic life, this penod is
stgmflcant for advancement in India's International trade, both by land and sea
routes, and the emergence of crafts and
towns, unknown to earlier phases of ancient Indian history. In pohhcal hfe, large
parts ofnorth-western, northern and western India were ruled by dynasties of nonIndianongm These were the Indo-Greeks,
the Shakas, the Partluans and the k ushanas
These poh heal contacts facdi tated developments m the economy mentwned above
and brought Indm into close contact With
the cultures of Central and West Asia and
with the Graeco-Roman world This mteractwn played anunportantrole m the flowering of Ind1an culture dunng this phase
Most of the foreign rulers of Indian terri tones adopted one or the other Indian religion A significant event was the growth of
the MahayanasectofBuddhism, which the
Kushana ruler Kamshka patromzed, and
the development of the great Buddhist art
assoCiated w1th it. In the Deccan and the
south, a number of states emerged, including the powerful kmgdom of the
Satavahanas. These states also developed
close trade relations With other parts of the'
world. There was Significant progress of
Buddhist art m the Deccan, and the begmnmgofTamilliteraturein the south. Indta's
first 'contact With Chnsbamty IS beheved
to have taken place dunng this period,
though 1t was many centunes later that
377
Christlamty came to have a significant

followmg in India
The last phase of the anoent penod of
Indmnhtstory starts in early fourth century
A. D and ends in about the etghth century
The Guptas built a large kmgdom durmg
this period which remamed powerful for
about a century. In the Deccan and the
south, there were two major kmgdoms
dunng this penod -of the Pallavas and of
the Chalukyas. In some respects, this was
also a penod of reversals, wluch wttnessed
a gradual decline of towns and trade, of
strong centralized slates, and the beginning of the system of land grants. These
developments, accmdmg to some scholars, mark the begmnmg of feudalism m
Indm Some of the finest achievements m
various fields of culture -art arch1 tecture,
hterature, phtlosophy, science, technology
-can, however, be dated to this period.
Becau.~e of these achtevements, thts penod
1s often described as the classical age of
Indian Civilization In religion, this lS a
penod of declme ofBuddh1sm and the rise
ofBrahmamcal religion or Hmdmsm as we
know It today. Idol worship became popular and bmlding of temples on a large scale
started m the south and the Deccan as well
a~ m the north. Art insptred by Buddlusm
also continued, particularly m sculpture
and paintmg. Great progress was made in
hterature, both religious and ~ecular, m
Sanskrit which also became the language of
the courts m most parts of the country
Tam1l literature also made great prog{ess
and the Alvars and Nayanars, the
Vaishnav1tE' and Sha1vtte~amt~, made lasting contnbutwns to It Jn spite of the dominant posthon of Sansknt in most parts of
the country, this period mark:; the begmnmg of rnany modern Indian language~ as
well as dtstmct scnpt:> 111 different parts of
378
the country. The period IS also 1mportant

for some of the most sigmf1cant advances
m science and technology Most of the
major works m astronomy, mathemahcs
and medtcine belong to this penod.
Dy the hme the anctentpenod ofindian
history came -to a close, India had developed a culture which was marked by features that have charactenzed It ever since.
The Medieval Period

During the medieval penod, some of the
achievements of the anCient times were
earned forward and new an1 magmftcent
structures were bUilt on those foundatwns.
Many new elements appeared m lndwn
society whtch mtluenced the growth of
vanous aspects of culture.
The penod from the eighth to the twelfth
century m pohhcal hfe is dommated mainly
by the presence of a large number of states.
The bigger ones among them tned to establish their supremacy in northern Indta and
the Deccan The mam contenders m thts
struggle for supremacy were lhe Pratiharas,
the Pal as and theRashtrakulas In the south,
the most powerful kmgdom to emerge
during this period was that of the Cholas
TI1e Cholas brought about the polipcal
uruficatwn oflarge parts ofthe country but
the general pohtical ptcture was that of
fragmentatiOn, particularly in northern
Indm. The process ofdeclmem trade and of
urban centres had conhnued In social hfe,
there was greater ngid1ficationofthe caste
system than before. In some respects, the
penod was characterized by stagnation
and insularity. Seen as a whole, however,
the sttuahon was not so dtsmal. Some of the
most splendid temples in India were bUllt,
m a vanety of regional styles, during this
pmod, both in the north and the south. The
penod IS also important for the grm~th of
modem Indian languages Architecture,

sculpture, literature, and phtlosophy tlourJshed under the patronage of the Chola
kings Trade and cultural contacts w1th the
countries of South-East Asia received an
impetus in the Chola kmgdom. New trends
towards cultural umty also emerged during tlus period. One of these trends bassocmted With the name of the phtlosopher
Shankaracharya who set up lus maths or
monastenes m different parts of the country. The other was the beginning of the
Bhakh cult throughout the country It had
ongmated with the Alvars and Nayanars,
the V a1shnavtte and Shaivtte samts, in
southf'rn India In the followmg centum'S,
this cult became a major feature of the
religious hfe of the people m ffiL)St parts of
the country.
It was in this pcnod that Ind1a' s contact
with the new rehgion of Islam b~gan The
contacts began late m Lhe seventh century
through the Arab traders. Later, in early
eighth century, the Arab& conquered Smd
In the tenth century, the Turks emerged as
a powerful force m Central and West Asia
and carved out kingdoms for themselves
They conquered Persia but, in turn, their
hfe was deeply influenced by the old and
rich Persian culture The Turks fust Invaded Ind1a dunng the late tenth and early
eleventh century and PunJab came under
Turkish rule. Another series of Turkish
invasions m the late twelfth and early thirteenth century led to the estabhshment of
the Sultanat of Delhi W1thm a few centunes after the nse of Islam in Arabia, it
tiecame the second most popular rehgton
in India wtth followers m every part of the
country.
The establishment of the Sultanat of
Delh1 marked the begmmng of anew pha&e
in the history of medieval India Poh hcally,
THE HERITAGE OF INLJIA
it led to the umhcation of northern Indm

and parts of the Deccan for almost a century.
Its rulers, almost from the time of the
estabhshment of the Sultanat, succeeded m
separahng it from the country from wh1ch
they had ongmally come The Sultanat
dismtegrated towards the end of the
fourteenth century leadmg to the emergence
of a number of kingdoms m different parts
of the country. Some of these, for example,
the Bahmani and VIjayanagar kingdoms,
became very powerfuL In society, the
penod IS important for the mtroduction of
new elements -the Turks, the Persians, the
Mongols and the Afghans, besides the Arabs
who had settled sown m some coastal
regwns -mto Indm Th2re were 1mportant
changes m economic hfe also. Trade and
crafts re.ceived a stimulus ahd many new
towns arose as centres of admmistratwn,
trade and crafts New elements of
technology were also mtroduced durmg
tlus period.
Culturally, this penod marks the
beginnmg of a new stage m the growth of
Indm' s composite culture. It saw the
mtroductwn ot new features m art and
architecture of India and their diffusiOn to
all parts of the country. The arclutecture
that developed durmg this period was the
re$ult of the synthesis of the Lrad1hons of
Central Asmand Pers1a with the pre-existing
Indian styles Durmg the fifteenth and
sixteenth centunes, distinctive styles of art
and architecture also developed m the
regional kingdoms, which had emerged
wtlh the dismteg1 at10n of tl1e Sultanat.
Durmg this hme notable advances were
made in the development oflanguages and
hterature Modern lndtan languages,
which had started developmg earher,
became maJor vehicle~ of literature. These
languages were ennched by the Bhakti
379
samts and thts gave ti1e literature of the~e

languages many common features Two
new languages-Arabic and Persian
became a part of India's hnguistic hen tage.
Of these, Arabic was mamly the> language
of Islamic learnmg. For literature and in
its widespread use, Persian was more
important In many areas, it replaced
Sanskntas the court language and throughout the country, along With Sansknt, tt became the language of learnmg. HIStoncal
wrihngs for the first time bec'lmeanirnportantcompLment oflndian hteraturE' Under
the influenc~ of Pe1 sian, new forms of
literature such as the gltazal were introduced.
The penod saw two great rehgwus
movements, besides the spread of a new
religion. The Bhakti movement which had
started many centunes earlier, spread
throughout the country S1gnificantly, the
Bhakt1 movement, best represented by
Kabir and Nanak, d1sapproved ofrehgwus
narrow-mindedness, supersbhons and
observance of formal ntuals. The Bhaktl
samts condemned caste mequalities and
laid stress on human brotherhood. The
othel' was the Suft movement The Sufis, or
the Muslim mystics, preached the message
oflove and human brotherhood. These two
movements played a Ieadmg role in
combating rehgwus exclusiveness and
narrow-rmndedness and in bringmg the
people of all commumbes togethel'. Sikhism
began to emerge as a new rehgi.on based on
the teachmgs of Guru Nanak and other
samts.
The growth of a 'Composite culture
reached its highest pomt under the Great
Mughals m the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries The Mughals built an emp1re
which once again brought aboul the political uniftca han of a large parl of the country.
Urdu, and the contmumg process of the

commg together of people belongmg to
different commumties.
Thts penod, when looked at m the context of changes takmg place in some other
parts of the world, is one of stagnation. You
have read before about some of the developments U1at had been bnnging about far-reachmg changes in the social, economtc, cultural and polthcal hfe of Europe.
Significant advancements had taken place
in the field of soence, and soon new technologies were to further transform the social, economic and political hfe in many
countnes of Europe. The process of colonizatiOn of vast areas of the world by a few
European countnes had been under way
smce the sixteenth century Changes of a
comparable nature fad~d to take place in
Tndta, as also in other countries of Asia and
Africa There was also no awareness of the
importance of the changes ta.kmg place m
Europe m spite of contacts with European
traders, mrsswnanes and others From
about the nuddle of the eighteenth century,
the conquest of Indta by Bntam began. It
was completed m a few decades and by the
The Modem Period
middle of the mneteenth century, the entire
Tl1e eighteenth century marks the begm- country was under the drrect or mdirect
mng of the modern penod of India's his- rule of the Bnhsh. For the first hrne m her
Lory Puhttcally, t11e penod saw the dechne his tory, Indta carne under foreign rule. She
nf the Mughal empire and the rise of a was ruled by foreigners who had not come
number of sm~lland btgmdependent states to settle but to rule m tile interest of their
Ill d1ffert>nt parts uf the country None of
mother country A new system of exploitathe~,t !:>tatet> was able to replace the Mughal
tion of one country by lhe dominant classes
emptrewhrchhad pohlically um&ed a large and groups of anotl<er country came into
pr:Ht uf the country for about 150 years. In bemg. Under the new conditwns created
~p1te of thiS 1 however, the process of the
by foretgn rule, the peopte of India were
growth of a compos1te cultme contmued
awakened and fuis awakemng expressed
TlliS 1:, evident from the new schools of itself, fmally, m the struggle for mdepenpamtmg Which arose as a result of the dence, the end of impenahst exploitatiOn
mfluence nt the Mughal pamtmg, literature of India and the budding of a new Indm.
in vanous Indian language&, mcluding From the early decades of the nineteenth
Ltke Ashoka earher, Akbar, the greatest of

tlw Mughal emperors, followed a pohcy of
Sullz-lwl ('peace With all'). He said, "The
v,umu~ rehgiou~ commumties are Divme
trea~ures :>n.trused to us by God We must
lnve them as such. It should be our firm
fc1ith that every rehgion ts blessed by Htm,
and our earnest endeavour to enJOY the
bh~s of the evergreen garden of universal
toleration Tile Eternal Kmg showers his
favour& on all men without distmctJOn.
Kmgs who are 'shadows of God' should
never give up th1s prmciple" Some of the
hne~t spe121men~ oflnd1an architecture and
literature bdong Lo thiS period A new
si&mfJcanL arl form was pamtmg whtch
flL!wished under the partonage of the
Mughal court. Influenced by the Perstan
trc~ditJOns, the Mughal pamtmgdeveloped
mto a d1stmct Indian style It later spread to
other part~ of the country m various regiOnal style&. Another ~Igntficant development was the emergence of a new language
-Urdu-wh1ch became the lmgua franca of
the pt>ople of the towns m many parts of the
counLry
381
century, various social, religiOus, cultural

and mtellectual movements tookrootwh1ch
a1med at removmg the state of stagnatwn
of Indtan society. These movements were
influenced by the modern democratic, humamstic and scientific thought and played
an Important role in promoting nahonal
conscwusness and m laying the foundations of a new phase In India's cultural
development. The nahonalist movement
united the Indian people on a new basts It
recogmzed and chenshed the umty m diyersity and the composite nature oflndla' s
culture as Its unique feature. The nurturmg
of thts feature was an mtegral part of the
nabonahst movement's objective of buddmg an mdependent, umted and forwardlookmg India You will read about some
aspects of the developments that took place
m India m the mneteenth and twentieth
centunes in Chapters 15 and 16
The his to neal background discussed m
thrs section provided the broad context for
studymg the development of a few aspects
of culture which are described in the
followmg sections
the Mauryan penod It was a penod of

econom1c prosperity, 1rnportant developmentmrehgwus thmkingand pract1ceand
also one of rematkable artistic achievements. Megasthenes, who ~Came to Ind1a a&
the ambassador ofthe Greek ruler Seleucm,
described the palace of Chandragupta
Maurya m glowmg terms It was large and
luxunous and bmlt of carved wood The
earhest stone buildmgs were based on
wooden model:;
The monohth1c p1llars of Ashoka on
which are mscnbed h1s famous edicLs are
ART AND ARCHITECTURE
The story of Indian art begins With

Harappan culture You have seen that the
Harappans were great budders, skJlled m
town plannmg The houses wt~h the various fae1hbes, the grananes, the Great Bath,
show how skilful and efficient the people
were m construction. The terracotta and
stone 1mages, the bronze 6gure of the danCing girl and the arhsbc seals reveal the
exquisite workmanship of the artists
Mauryan Period
The next stage of Ind1an art begins wrth
Rnmpurva Bu11 Capital
TBE STORY OF CIVILIZATION
382
the great monuments of the Mauryan age

Some scholars trace these p1llars to the
mfluence of Pers.a. The most strikmg feature of these p1llars IS the fmely carved
capital w1th magnificent ammal figures
WeareallfamiharwithSarnathUoncap1tal
which forms pal't of India's Nahonal Emblem The Rampurva Bull capital is one of
the best specimens of ammal sculpture
The pohsh and smootlmess of these pillars
are amazmg.
Another artistic achievement of thi~:>
penod is the famous stupa at Sanch1. In
every stu pa there was a small chamber 111
wh1ch a ca~:.ket With rehcs of the Buddha or
the Buddhist monks were placed The surface of the stupa was generally bUilt of
brtcks with a thick layer of plaster. The
stupa was crowned byanumbrellaofstone
The monument was surrounded by a fence
with a path provided for Pmdakshina
(Circumambulation) The original stupa~:.
were enlarged and beautified from.tirne to

time The Sanchi stupa which still stands
intact is a well-preserved and splendid
monument A number of lesser stu pas and
other buildmgs such as mon<J~:>tenes and
rest-houses are found in and around the
mamstupa
The stupa at Sanch1 as 1t stands today
has stone radmgs and gateways around it.
These were added later after the Mauryas.
The gateways are a very stnking feature
There are four gateways at the four cardinal points and they con tam very hvely and
beautifully carved panels In these panels
are ctepicted events from the hfe of the
Buddha and details from the ]a taka stories.
They also depict a landscape of trees and
floral designs, groups of ammals and birds,,
beautiful figures ot yaksllas and yakshzms,
and men and women. Thus the Sanchi
reliefs present the &tory of the Buddha and
provide glimpses mto Indmn hfe through
Sanch1 Stupa
'lHE HERITAGE OF lNDlA
clear, simple and dramatic scenes.

The Buddha 1s deptcted nt these panels
not throughh1s image butthrough the use
ofvanou~ symbols; tor exdmple, the hur&e
represents h1s 'remmciation', the 'boddhi'
tree Ius enlightenment
Gandhara and Malhura Schools of Art
The next important stage in the growth of
arhs assoetated w1th the name of Gandhara
in the north-west. By th1s lime the worship
of the Image of Buddha had become common. Aftei theGteekmvaswnsand during
the penod of the Kusham s, many artist~
from West Asia had :.ettlrd down m the
north-we~t of Indra. They were deeply
mfluenced by lhe Graeco-Roman art.
Mahayana Buddhism encouraged image
worshtp. The l~ushflr .a kmgs, parhcularly
Kanishka, ent onra1 d the Gandhara_ artzsts to sculpt me H1r r,es from Buddha's hfe
and the fa takas. Th--: clistinchve school of art
wh1ch grew hel'e 1S called the Gandhara
school of art. A large number of the Images
of the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas were
pwduced
Another school of art to develop m the
early centunes of the Chris han era 1s that of
Ma thura. From the beginning of the Chns
tian era, Mathura became an important
centreofarhstic achvitiesand the figures of
the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas were
produced there. "D1e fme quahties of mdigenow,, art tradthons were preserved and
Improved upon by the Malhura sculptors.
The images produced here became U1e
models for the succeedmg generations o(
arhsts.
Tilis was also the penod of the growth
of art m Amaravati, developed under the
Satavahana kmgs Like the stupa at Sanchi,
there was a great stupa m Amaravati in the
lower Godavari valley. The stupa has
chsappeared but many of 1ts hne pleces are

still mtact in vanous museums Many basrehef medallions and panelled tnezes decorated U1e stupa. These, hke the stupa at
Sandli, deptcl event& from the hfe of the
Buddha and the ]a taka stones One of these
depicts the story of the taming of the
elephant by the Buddha. A ro!:)ue-elephant
was let loo"e to kill the Buddha while he
was w alkmg along the streets of RaJagnha.
The panel shows the elephant ruslung
',,I
I
Boddhisattvn, Gandhara
through the streets, the paruc it caused, the

rcact10ns of men and women and fmally
the elephant kneeling before the Buddha.
Tile chmax' is portrayed' svbtly and the
magic ofthe s lory 1s brought out by a single
panel.
384
There are a number of other places m

this reg10n where Buddhist remains have
been discovered The excavations at
Nagarjuna-konda before that Site was submerged m the waters of theNagaiJunasagar
darn have added to the treasures of the
Buddhist art.
The Gupta penod saw the flowering of
anoent lndian culture. One of the significant developments was the beginning of
the Hmdu temple An example of Ibis is the
Cave Architecture
The development of the cave architecture
is an important phase m the history of
Indian architecture. More thana thousand
caves from about the second century B.C.
to tenth century A D. were excavated m
dtfferent parts of India. Most of them are
Buddhist; some are Hmdu and Jam Beautiful chartyas (worsluppmg halls), viharas
(monasteries), mandapas, rnthas and cave
temples have been cut out of rocks The
stability and permanence of the rock attracted the patrons to encourage the building of endunng monuments and dedicate
tliemfor religious purposes The rocks were
turned mto lovely shrines with pillared
halls and hving-rooms decorated with
sculpture. This is an amazing evidence of
Amaravati medallton deptcting the tarnmg of the

elephant by the Bttddlu:l
temple at Deogarh which was a small shrmeroom where the image of the god was
placed The varahavatar depicted in the '
Udaygm cave is a very Impressive one. The
simple and lovely Buddha 1mages from
Sarnath are an evidence of the skill of the
sculptors of the Gupta period. Some of the
caves of Ajanta and Ellora also belong to
this period
The Hmdu temple wh1ch began m this
penod had a srmple square as its groundplan
Gupta Temple, Deogarh
38&
the extraordmary skill and patience of the Mahayana Buddhism, Hindmsm and
craftsmen and mastery that they acqmred Jauusm stimulated budding activities. The
cave temples of AJanta, Elephanta, Ellora,
over the hard rock.
The earliest rock-cut temple;s were ex- themandapas, the rathas ofMahabahpuram,
cavated m western Deccan in the early and the Kailasa temple atEllora are some of
years of the Chris ban era The first monu- the great acruevements of tills period. The
ment of tlus period xs the Cha1tya at Karle. Size of these monuments, the infinite variIt has a fine hall with lughly pohshed and ety of themes from Mahayana Buddhism,
Hindmsm and Jamism, the colossal Images
decorated p1llars and a vaulted roof
of
the Buddha, the magnificent panels deThe second phase of rock architecture
all aspects of hfe -these strike us
picting
produced some exq4is1te creations. The
when
we
visit the caves of AJanta, Ellora
growing popularity of image worshtp m
and Elephanta Some of the excellent sculptures in these caves were executed under
the patronage of the Chalukyas and the
Rashtrakutas.
In the Elephanta caves we see the magmficent 'tnmurh'. The very idea of a colossal Image of three aspects of the godhead IS
grand. The excellence of the details is revealed if we study each of the faces carefully.
There are 27 caves in AJanta They contain the finest pamtmgs of the ancient times
m Indta. Some of the caves contain extraordinanly beautiful tmages of the Buddha,
scenes from Ius hfe and from the Jataka
stones
At Ellora there are about 35 caves with
fine sculptures. Some of the dramatic events
fromHmdumythology captured the attention of the sculptors who have ImmortalIzed them. The greatest work here, the
Kailasa temple, is a contnbuhon of the
Rashtrakutas. Tlus temple, which has been
hewn out of a massive rock, Is an example
of the daring resourcefulness and love of
beauty of the sculptors of the time. The
temple is elaborately adorned With figures
and decorations. In al11ts details it is like a
structural temple, butitls a gem of rock-cut
architecture.
The artistic progress of the Gupta age
continued for centunes and spread widely
The Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas and the
Budha Preachmg, Sarnath
386
TI-lE STORY OF CIVILIZATION
Pallavas of the Deccan and southern India of the Ganga' mMahabalipuramtsa uniquE
added ma)Wtflcentmonuments, both caves rock-cut sculpture. The story of Bhagiand structural temples.
ratha' s penance to bring down the Ganga is
Both the rock-cut and structural manu~ . the theme of the panel
mef)-tS of the Pall was are magnificent speciThe Rathas of Mahabalipurarn are_well
mens of architecture. The Mandapas at known. The 'Ratha' 1s a shnne carved out of
Mahabahpuram are excavated halls Wtth a single rock and it looks like a structural
fmely carved pillars and panels.
temple. These Rathas are named after the
The splendid panel called the 'Descent Pandavas When you look at these 1\athas,
THE
HE!~ IfAGE
or INDIA
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387
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kmlasa Te111plc, Ellma
Descent of the Ganga, Mahabaltpuram
The Ratlias, Mahabaltpttram
388
you find th3:t each one of them IS different

in shape and size.
The Structural Temples
'The Pallava~ built a number of structural
, temples also. The most famous of these is
the 'Shore temple' at Mahabahpuram. It IS
located on the sea shore and hence It has
been called the 'Shore temple'. The twm
towers of this temple set m a picturesque
background, make it an enchanting sight
on a moonht night. Kanchipuram was the
capital of the Pallavas and numerous
temples were built there. Two of them
stand out prommently The Kailasanatha
temple with Its lovely vzmana and the numerous panels depictmgShiva as Nataraja
is a fme specimen of Pallava art The
Vatkunthaperumal temple IS noted for its
vzmana and the series of panels depicting
the htstory of the Pallava dynasty
The Cholas with their capttal at
Than1avur were great builders The greatest temple of India, the B1rhadeeshwara
temple at Than1avur, was built dunng the
rei~'Tl of Ra1ara1a r::hola. The most stnkmg
feature of this temple _1s 1ts vimana. It 1s

about 65 metre& h1gh and Is built m such a
way tl1at Its shadow does not fall on fue
ground. TI1e grace and grandeur of the
vnnana have not been excelled by any other
such creatiOn The pillared halls and the
sculptures are fme speCimen& of Chola art.
In one of the halls, the vanous_ dance postures mentioned m Bharata's Nntyaslmstra
are shown 111 sculptures. In the walls of the
illller shrme there are a number of fine
paintings
Many other famous temples were built
rn the south. The Pandya rulers encouraged the building of high outer walls With
entrance gateways topped by gopurams
Attention was now concentrated on the
gopurams rather than the vzmana or the
shikhara above the main shrine The arhshc
glory of the gopuram became so popular
that it became a speCial charactenstic of
south Indmn temple~. The gopurams of
Kanch1 and Madura1 temples can be seen
from long distances.
The Hoysala rulers of M ysorewere great
patrons of art Magnificent temples were
Kailasanath Temple, Kmzchipuram
389
built m Belur, Haleb1d and other places.

These temples are noted for the profusion
of marufold pillars With rich and mtrlcate
carvings The dehcately c~rved friezes, the
nunute details of the panels deptctmg gods
and goddesses, are like the work of the
Jeweller rather than of the sculptor
The Bronze Sculpture of the Cholas
Starting d unng the late Pallava penod, the
bronze sculpture reached he1ghts of glory
dunng the Chola rule The IInage ofNa tara1a
(the Lord of Dance) ts a superb masterptece
of the Chola bronze sculpture. The grandeur of its conception, tts symbolism, its
arbshc excellence and its charm have impressed connoisseurs throughout the
world. There are many images of Nataraja
in d1fferent dance poses The bronze sculptures were one of the most stgmflcant contnbuhons of the Cholas to Indtan art
North Indtan Temples
As msouthem Indta, several styles of temple
architecture developed m northern Indm.
Some of the most magmftcent temples
were bwlt m Orissa The LmgaraJa temple
of Bhubaneswar ts located in an extenstve
area, With a number of substdiary shrmes
The sptre of the Lingaraja temple IS about
40 metres htgh and is very tmpresstve The
Immense sptre IS curved and has a rounded
top. Though there are many stmilarihes
between these and the temples in the south,
the differences m style are stnkmg
The sun temple in Konarak, popularly
Bronze-Image of NatarUJa
390
Sun Tempi e, Konarak
known as the 'black pagoda', perhaps because of the black stone used, is unique m
design Since 1t1s dedicated to the sun god,
the whole temple IS designed as a chanot
With twelve masSIVt;> wheels drawn by
seven horses Each wheel with Its nch carvmgs 15 a masterptece The human and ammal f1gures carved out in black stone are
most lifehke. The poses of dancing apsaras
depicted m sculptures are studied by dancers even today and are brought ahve by
them in their performances. The theme of
several of these sculptures is amorous.
The Chandella rulers of central Tndia
built the great temple& of Khajuraho. The
shiklzara of these templt's IS grnceful and
refmed and 1s adorned -w1th :.culpture~.
The style of the shzkhara varie~; from that of

the others The sculptures m Konarak and
Khajuraho are some of the fmest m India.
They are full of life and vitahly
The Jam temples at Mount Abu are the
&nest monuments of the Solanki long~; of
Gujarat who were great patn 111~ of art. The
prosperous trade brought m wealth that
was used for buildmg Hindu and Jain
temples The Abu tempi~;>~; are very attractive because of the dehcate and mtricate
cal'vings m white marble.
New Elements in Medieval Art and

Architecture
ThecommgoftheTurk, inc~.ugw ahd .t new
era 10 the hJ~;tnr'y' 11/ln h.tn al'cllllt>dUJ l', the
turks broughtw1th tlwm ar'<'hitlctur<ll 1deos
391
THE HERITAGE Or INDIA
developed in l~ersia, Arabm and Central

Asia When these new rulers started erecting religiOUS and secular bmldmgs such as
palaces and mosques, they came mto contact with the tradit10ns that had already
been developed u1 India The interaction of
these two traditions resulted 111 a new synthesis of arcluteclural stylet> The rulers of
the Sultana t were great patrons of arch1 tecture and under them the process of syntheSIS started
It continued With many regtonal vanations m the different kmgdoms.
Dunngthe Mughal penod, the flowering of
this synthesis took place and some of the
greatest monuments of Indta were built.
Based on the mteractwn of the two tradihons, a umque Indian style of architecture
was developed in this penod
Before we describe this development, it

may be useful to see the distmctive features
of the Islam1C architecture which were to
play an Important part m the development
of a new style m Indian arclutecture
These features are clearly seen in the
standardized architecture of the mosque
and the mausoleum. The mosque consisted of a large, rectangular open courtyard surrounded by arcades on all four
sides The mehrab which faces Mecca indicates the direction to the prayer. The call to
worship was made from a tall tower or
mmaret In some mosques there were many
mmarets Another charactenstic feature
wat> the arch in the gateway and other
places. The dome was another promment
feature of the mosque and the mausoleum.
Knudm iyn Mahndeo Temple, Kha]uralw
392
The chief decorabve element was sculpturmg the buildmg With geometrical des1gns
and lettermg m calligraphic style Some of
these features were new to Indian architecture. The ancient Indtan buildings were
decorated Withbeaubful carvmgand sculpture whlle the Muslim buildings were
marked by stmplicity and lack of adornment. When the new bmldmgs began to be
erected, the two styles were gradually synthesized mto a new and umque style.
Architecture under the Sultanat
The Turkish rulers utilized the services of
the local designers and craftsmen who were
a~ong the most skilful in the world The
new fusion that started to take place avoided
the extreme snnphcity of the Islamic ai"chitecture and the lavish decoration of the
earher Indmn architecture.
Among the first bmldmgs to be erected
were the mosques at Delh1 and AJmer by
Qutb-ud-dm Aibak The mosque built in
Delh1 was called the Quwwat-ul-Islam
mosque. It measured about 70 x 30 metres.
The central arch of this mosque which is
decorated withbeauhful sculptured calhgraphy still stands and IS about 17 metres
high and about 7 metres w1de.
The successor of Qutb-ud-din,
Iltuhrush, was a great budder He further
extended the mosque He also completed
the building of the Qutb Mmar which had
beens tar ted byQutb-ud-dm and now stood
in the extended courtyard of the mosque.
This IS a tower nsmgto a height of about 70
metres and IS one of the most renowned
monuments of India
The next important buildings belong to
the reign of Ala-ud-dm KhaiJi. He enlarged
the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque still further
and bmlt a gateway to the enclosure of the
mosque, the Alai Darwaza Decorative
One of the arches of the Quwwat-ul-Islam

Mosque, Delht The Iron Pillar, belongmg to the
Gupta perwd, can be seen in the front
element was introduced to beautify the

buildmg. He also started buildmg a minar
which was designed to be double the height
of Qutb Minar, but the proJect remained
unfulfilled.
The Tughlaqs who came after the KhalJiS
concentrated. on the building of new obes
m Delhi hke Tughlaqabad, Jahanpanah and
Ferozabad. A number of bmldings were
erected wruch differed in their style from
the earlier bmldings. Massive and strong
structures like the tomb of Ghiyasuddin
Tughlaqand the walls ofTughlaqabad were
built The buildings of the Tughlaq period
were sigruficant from the point of view of the
development of architecture. They were not
beaubful but massive and very Impressive.
393
fHE HERITAGE OF INDIA
ln Jaunpur, the Sharqi kings bmlt an

1mpressive monument, the Atala mosque
A huge massive screen covers lhe dome
The walls and the cellmgs are decorated
with many anc1ent Im1mn designs hke the
lotu~.
The rulers of Gujarat bmlt many strucnotable for their grandeur and the
excdlr>nce of lhe1 r carving and other decorr~ti iE' torm~ Ahmad Shah, the founder of
Altmt'ddbdd, built the Tm Darwaza and
the lam1 Ma~pd The finest bmldmg m
Ahmedabad IS the Sadi Saiyy1d mosque
popularly known as the Jaliwah MaSJid
Thl dehcnry oftheworkis evident from the
::.cm~n;, Mahrnud Begarha bmlt the Imposmg lama Masjid at Champaner
'The buildings at Mandu developed a
dl'i!HKhve style of the1r own under the
Sultam; ofMalwa. Here were bmlt the fama
MasJld, the Hmdold Mahal, the Jahaz Mahal
and a number of tombs The bu1ldings of
Malwa have widP and irnposmg arches
and thewmdow~ ,tre grac.efullydecorated
The tombofHo~hangShah.Is made entirely
of marble, the first of Its kind m lncha, and
is delicately decorated w1th yellow and
bla<.'k marble mlay wen k
Tlw rulert> of Kashntir also built many
beautiful blilldmgs T1mber, stone and
brick were used in the Jama Mat>Jid completed bySultanZain-ul-Ab1dm 111e turret
ts a stnkmg feature of the mosques of
Kashmir and recall& to mind the Buddhist
pagodas The tomb of Zain-ul-Abidin's
mother, built entilely of brick and glazed
tile::,, hasbeendesignedm the Pers1anstyle.
The Bahrnam Sultans m the Deccan
erected a number of bmldmgs m ,l distinctive ::,tyle at Bid,u and Gulbarga They
borrowed from the styles of Persia, Syna,
Turkey and U1ose of U1e temples of southem India. The Jarna Masjtd in Gulbarga is
ture~
Qutb M11mr, Drlln
Architecture in the Regional Kmgdoms

The reg~.onal kmgdoms, building ot. the
achievements of the previous period, developed their own dishnchve styles of
architecture. The process of synthesu, contmued in these kmgdoms also and resulted
in the construction of some of the fmest
bUildings in India.
In Bengal were bUilt the Adina mrsque
and the tomb of Jalal-ud-din Muhammad
Shah at Pandua and the Dakhil Darwaza
and Tantipara mosque at Gaur. The oblong
shape of many structures and the pecuhar
style of roof cons true tions were some of the
distincttve features of the regiOnal architecture of Benga 1
3()4
quite well known The courtyard of thts

mosque is coveted with a large number of
domes. It is the only mosque m lndm which
has a covered courtyard. Instead of nunarets, there are domes at the four comers
and a fifth and brgger one above the prayer
chamber The absence of decorative work
does not mar 1ts grandeur There are two
groups of tombs The first group has the
tombs of the first two Sultans and shows
the impress of the Tughlaq archrtecture.
The second group called the halft gumbad
or 'seven tombs' shows the influence of
Persian and ancrent h1dian styles. Bidar
also has a number of tombs. 111e tomb of
Sultan Ahmad Shah Ali is nchly decorated
with beautiful paintings. The fmest monument at Bidar is the madrasa of Mahmud
Gavan, the great minister of the Bahmam
kmgdom for many years It rs a threestoreyed building and has two towering
minars at the front corners.
After the Bahmani kingdom was split
up, many other buildings, such as the
Mehtar Mahal and the lbralum Rauza, were
erected m the new prmcipalittes The Col
Gumbaz, which is one of the largest domes
in the world, at Bijapur, and the fort of
Golconda, whrch IS one of the strongest m
India, and many lambs in Golconda also
belong to this penod.
These regwnaf kmgdoms, in the north
and the south, played a signtficant role m
the development of a common culture
TI1e ViJayanagar kingdom in the south
wh1ch arose in the fourteenth century and
was destroyed rn A.D.1565 also had anumber of achievements in architecture to its
credit Only the ruins remain to tell the
story of their past magnificence The best
examples of the Vrjayanagar architecture
were the VIthalswamr and Hazar Rama
temples at Hamp1 The former has three
TI-i.E STORY OF CIVILlZATION
gopurams and a number of highly decorated pillars. The ptllars of the latter were
richly carved as were the inner walls and
depicted scenes from the Ramayana.
I{
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Tomb at Golconda
The Mughal Architecture

The process of synthesis was completed
under the Mughals and the new architecture which had started taking shape Wlth
the estabhshment of the Sultanat reached
the pinnacle of glory. The achievements of
the Mughal period are the finestm arcllitecture as well as mother fields of culture and
can-be--very well compared with any precedmg age rn Indian history.
Babur and Humayun, the first two
Mughal kings, erected a number of buildmgs with the help of Persian architects and
these, now m rums, are not very ImpresSIVe Humayun had to flee the country m
the face of the rising power of the Afghan
ruler, Sher Shah Suri There was a short
mterregnum of Afghan rule before
Humayun recovered the Indian territories
for theM ughals The mosttmporlant build-
395
,\1
1kbm 's Mausolellm, Slkmzdara
THE STORY Of CIVILIZATION
396
mgert>cteddunngthe Afghan mterregn um

IS the mau&oieum otSher Shah atSasaram.
The mausoleum ts a well-propm tioned
buildmg and stands in the mtdd le of a tank.
The Mughal archrtecture, properly
~peakmg, began in the retgn of Akbar The
first important butldmg of Akbar's reign I~
Humayun' s tnmb at Delhr ln tht& magmli
cent tomb, the Perstan mfluence 1s very
strong, parhcularly m the constructJun tlf
the dome However, unhke the Perbtam'
use ol bnch and glazed ttle~, the ludtan
bmlders ofthe tombu~ed stone and marblt:>
The two s1gniiicant featureb of the Mughal
architecture are also evident here - the
large gateways and the placement of the
bmldmg in the tmclst of a large park The
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tomb provided many ardutectural tdeas

for the bmldmg of the TaJ Mcthallater
The next Important bmldmgs erected
under Akbar were the forb at Agra and
Lahore He built his palace Within the Agra
fort. ManynE'W bmlding~ were cunstructed
m the fort and perhaps the old ones altered
by Akbar's succe~&or& Howewr, the part5
attnbuted to Akbar's retgn Wt>re built
under the stron~ mtluence of !he ancient
Indmn ~tylt> and have courtyard~ ,md pillat ~ For the first time m the architecture of
tht& style, hvmg bemgs ---elephants, lions,
peacocks and other birds - were sculptured m the brackets
.
The crowmng achrevt'ment of the reign
of Akbar wab the bulldmg of hiS new capi-
'f'""'~~
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Tomb of Itmad-ud-da11la, Agra
THE HERITACP. OF INDIA
tal at Fatehpur Sikll, about 40 k1lometre~

fromAgra. Thebuddmgs atFatehpurS1kn
have been btul t m a variety of styles makmg
1t one of the most magnificent capitals in
thewerld It had a Circumference of over 10
kilometres. Even now there exts t a number
ofmagruhcent structures m Fatehpur Sikn
The arch of the Buland Darwaza is about 41
metres h1gh and is perhaps the mostimposmg gateway in the world. The tomb of
Sahm Ch1shh built m white marble is exqui!:.Ite m 1ts beauty: T.he bmldmg popularly known as the palace of Jodha Bai was
built m the style of anCl~nt Indmn arclutecture The Jami Masjid shows the mfluence
of the Persmnstyle Theclmsters surrounding It have a large number of domes and
rooms. The Diwan-1-aam and the Diwan-ikhas are remarkable buildings and theu
plannmg and decoration have a umque
Indian style Birbal' s house is profusely
sculptured with beautiful patterns Another notable building IS the Ibadat-Khana
or the 'House of Worship' where learned
people belonging to various religiOns gathered together and discussed questions of
philosophy and theologym the presence of
the emperor. Then there ts the PanchMahal,
a five-storeyed bmldingmodelled perhaps
on the Buddhist viharas.
During the retgn of Jahangir, the mausoleum of Akbar was constructed at
Sikandara. Tills is a magntficent monument in many ways. After a long time, the
mmar became architecturally significant
here. It has beautiful arches and domes
But the whole structure, as Ferguson suggested, IS insptred by the Buddhist vtharas
}ahangir also extended the palace buddmgs m the Agra fort and built the beautiful
tomb oflhnad-ud-daula, the father of Nur
Jahan. The tomb was bmlt in marble and is
notableforitsbeautifulcolouredmlaywork.
397
Jahan6Ir' s wife Nur Jahan built a beautiful

mausoleum for her husband at Shahdara
near Lahore.
The greatest of the Mughal builders was
Shah Jahan, the successor of Jahangir. His
reign marks the highest development of
Mughal architecture. Some of the finest
monuments of our country were bmlt durmg his reign. Under him we fmd an E'Xceedmgly hberal use of marble, delicate
dE'corahvE' designs, a vanety of arches and
beauhful mmarets. The hst of Shah Jahan' s
buildmg~ IS very large -the completion of
a large number of bmldmgs m the Agra
fort, the city ofShahjahanabad and the Red
Fort of Delhi WIth its many buildmgs, the
Jama Masjid at Delhi, the TaJ Mahal and
many others. Only a bnef descnption of
these buildings Is possible here. The D1wan-
Entrance Gate, Agra Fort
39S
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TaJ Mahal, Agra
1-aam and the Moti Masjid m the Agra tort

are built mamly in wh1te marble With
beautiful coloured inlay work The Diwani-khas and the Dhyan-i-aam in the Red Fort
are richly decorated and are works of great
beauty. The D1wan-i-khas rightly bears the
mscription: Agarfirdaus barrooe zaminasthaminasto hammasto haminast (if there is a
paradise on earth, 1t is here, 1t 1s here, It is
here). The Red Fort has become associated
w1th the history <'four country during the
past 350 years and it 1s here that the national flag was unfurled on the day after
h1dia became free The Jama' MasJid at
Delhi w1th 1ts 1mposmg domes and mma,rets is the most famous mosque in the
country and one of the finest in the world.

The most magruficent of Shah Jahan' s
buildings is the Taj Mahal built in memory
of Ius wtfe, Murntaz Mahal. It represents
mdia' s culture at its best and has been aptly
described as 'the dream m marble'. It 1s
remarkably well concelVed and a\l1ts parts
- the gateways, the central dome, the
elegant mznars, tile delicate decoration, the
mlay work m coloured marbles and precious stones, U1e lovely gardens surroundingit and the fountams in front -have been
perfectly executed.
The only notable buildmgs of the reign
ofAurangzeb,thelastofthegreatMughals,
are the Badshahi mosque at Lahore and the
niB HERITAGE OF INDIA
399
Red Fort, Delhz
Moh MasJid at Delhi. The penod after him

IS one of general declme.
A significant contribution of the
Mughals, e&pecially Jahang~r, was the laying of gardens. Some of the finest gardens
were laid by him m Lahore and Srinagar.
The new style of architecture had a
significant mfluence on the construction of
Hmdu temples a.J;l.d the secular buildings of
the Rajputs during tlus period.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF PAINTING

IN INDIA
As m architecture, the qlltural heritage of
India m the field of painting is very rich.
Thefustand themostcreativepenodof+he
art of pamting extends from the first to the
seventh centunes of the Chnshan era. Of
this the richest hentage is that of the AJanta
painhngs. Many murals which once decorated the walls of the Ajanta caves have
disappeared due to neglect and the ravages
ofbme.
The paintings of A]anta depict vanous
themes. There are tttose which depict the
pomp and splendour of the royal courts
and the romance of love and the joy of
feasting, smgmg and dancing and the manmade world W1thluxur10usproducts, bmldings, textiles and Jewellery. Some depict
the world of nature -vegetation and flowers, animals and birds. Many themes depicted are from the Buddha's life and the
jataka stories All the scenes depicted c~.re
full of vitality. The figures are drawn with
'admirable skill. The intense human appeal
gives the message of the mrity of hfe depicted through the panorama of all forms
of life Every form receives the equal>attention of the artists and the vanous worlds of
400
THE STORY OF CNJLIZATION
pambng comb me to give a fuller p1cture of

real hfe. T11e medmm through which this is
done is the lme In the Westwhatis achieved
w1th colour is achieved with hne in India.
The line used by the AJanta artists IS unique,
sweepmg over vast areas with firmness
and rhythm It can accomphsh with equal
skill the calm and serene Buddha and the

restless eager crowds in a dance or a mar:
ket-place This style in ancient bmes spread
to Central Asia and IS ev1dent in wall pamtings and m pamhngs on woqden panels.
In northern Indta, the frescoes at Bagh
are the best surv1vals, most of the othPrs
Boddhtsattva- A]antn Pm'ntm&
401
havmg been lost to us. The tradition of of Persian paintmg. Humayun brought
pamting conbnued for some time in other with rum to Indta two pupils of the great
parts of India, e.g. at Badami, Kancht'and painter Behzad. They came into contact
Ellora. It later spread to Sri Lanka where with thetr counterparts m Indta and tmder
the beautiful frescoes at Sigriya seem to be Akbar the synthesis of the two styles was
directly related to the trad1hons of Ajanta encouraged. He gathered together anumGradually the art of wall painting died, ber of painters from Persia, Kashmu and
though the art of book-lllummation conti- GuJarat. The Ain-t-Akban mentions anumber of artists -Abdus Samad, Mir Saiytd
nued, particularly in Jain texts.
The next great era m the art of painting Ali, Miskin, Daswant, Basawan, Mukand
was ushered in by the Mughals. The and many others They tllustrated manuMughals brought wtth them the traditions scripts like the Dastan-t-Amtr Hamza and
Palace Scene- A]anta Painting
402
Babar Nama. Individual pieces were also

painted. By the end of Akbar's reign, an
independent Mughal style of painting had
been developed.
}ahangir himself was a great connoisseur and patron ofpainbng Un9er him the
Mughal school of painting was fully deve
loped and made remarkable progress. The
painhng was no longer confined to bookIllumination Portrait pamhng and depichon of subJects drawn from life and nature
became popular Some of the fmest painters in this penod were Nadir, Murad, Bishan
Das, Manohar, Govardhan, Mansur and
Farrukh Beg. Wnting about Ius own know
ledge of painting m his autobiography,
Jahangir says that he could distmguish
between the work of each noted painter
even if a pambng was the product of joint
work. The competence and skill of the
Indian artists are evident from the incident
which Sir Thomas Roe, who came to the
court of Jahangir, mentions. The artists of
Jahangir' s court made several copies of a
pamhng wluch Roe had presented to the
emperor on fue same day. The copies were
so perfect that Roe found It difficult to spot
the anginal.
Thus m the course of a few decades, fme
works of pamting were created. The deve.
lopmentcontinued under ShahJahan. Dara
Shlkoh, son of Shah Jahan, was a great
patron of painbng. With Aurangzeb, the
art declined m tlie..Mughal courts.
With the withdrawal of court patronage
many arhsts went to different parts of the
country and influenced the development
of new schools ofpambng. Two ofthe most
important schools of painbng that thus
emerged were the Rajasthani and the Pahari
schools. The subJects of the pamhngs of
these schools were drawn from the epics,
myths and legends and love themes.
'IHE STORY OF CNILIZATION
LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE

India's heritage in languages and hterature
iS one of the nchest m the world. Through
the many centunes of India's lustory, many
languages have grown and have influenced
one another. Some of the languages that
were.spoken m h1dia m ancient times and
had
a rich literature have become extinctI
'
others remamimportant For example, Sanskrit, though no longer a spoken language,
is shll a language of many religious rituals
and of literature. However, the old languages have left their mark on the languages which we speak today and wluch
began to develop towards the dose of the
ancient period. These languages have bequeathed a very nch hterature to us.
Languages
Besides many small groups, there are two
main groups of languages - the IndoEuropeanor Indo-Aryan and the Dravidian.
Most of the languages spoken m the northem parts of India belong to the former
group and those of the southern parts to the
latter. However, these two groups have not
developed in isolation from each other.
You have read about the Harappan
script which has not yet been deCiphered.
We also do not know what language the
Harappans spoke. Sanskrit was the language of the Indo-Aryans who came to
India and belongs to the Indo-European
group of languages. Sanskrit was gradually standardized and gwen a hlghly scientific grammar by Panini, the great grammarian, in about fourth century B.C. Sanskrit was the language of religton, philosophy and learning and was used by the
upper castes, the brahmanas and the
kshatriyas. The conunon people spoke a
numberofdiitlects which are called Praknts.
Buddha, as you already know, preached in
403
the language e;fthe people. Buddhistliteraturewas wntten in Pah, one of the Praknts
Ashoka had lus rock and pillar ed1cts inscnbed m the popular languages
Among the Dravidian languages Tamil
1s the most ancient. The others developed
durmg the first rmlenruum of the Christian
era.
Though Sanskrit again became the predominant language of learning m the period of the. Guptas, the Prakrits contmued
to develop. The vanous spoken languages
that developed are called Apabhramshas.
These formed the basts of the modem illdian languages wluch developed m the
various regions of Ind1a durmg the medieval period.
Durmg the period of the Turks and the
Mughals, as you have read before, two new
languages -Arab1c and Persian -entered
Indta. Of these Pers1an is more important.
It was the court language for hundreds of
years and contmued to be used widely
nght up to the nineteenth century: A rich
tradition of Persian literature grew in India
dutmg this period and led to the growth of
a new language- Urdu-based on the
dialects of Hindi and drawing much of Its
vocabulary from Persian. It became the
common language of towns all over northern India and the Deccan and developed a
very nch literature in poetry and prose
Throughout the course of the development of Indian languages, vanous foreign
languages have played a significant part
and helped Indian languages to enrich their
vocabulary. This happened as a result of
close contacts w:th the cultures of many
peoples outside India.
Thusthelanguagesthatwespeaktoday
have a long history behmd them. There are
eighteen languages which have been mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Consti-
tuhon of India. In addition to these, hundreds of other languages are spoken by

people in various parts of the country. This
vanety of languages has made lnd1a a
multilingual countiy The languages spoken today have grown over a period of
centuries and have influenced and enriched
one another
Ancient Indian Literature
The earliest known work of the Aryans m
India was the Rtg Veda which IS a colleenon
o: 1028 hymns m Vedic Sanskrit Most of
the hymns are in prmse of different Vedic
deities and were intended for rec1tation at
the Yajnas or sacnfices. Many of them are
beauhful descnptions of nature. Some of
the most enchanting are addressed to Ushas,
the goddess of dawn, like trus one:
In the sky's framework she has gleamed
w1th brightness. TI1e goddess has cast
off the robe of darkness. Rousmg the
world from sleep, w1th ruddy horses,
Dawnmherwell-yoked chariot is arn'.'mg (Rig Vccf:1,
1,
1 1 B)
The Rzg Veda was followed by three

more Vedas - Yajur Veda which gives
directions for the performance 0fthe Yajna,
the Sarna Veda which prescnbes the tunes
for the recitation of the hymns of the Rzg
Veda,andtheAtharvaVedawluchprescnbes
rites and rituals. After the four Vedas, a
number of works, called the Brahmanas,
grew which contamed detailed explanation of Vedic literature and instruchons.
The Aranyakas, which are an appendtx to
the Brahmanas, prescribed certvin rites and
also laid the basis of a body of more
philosophical hterature. It was the
Uparushadic hterature which dealt With
questions hke the origm of the universe,
birth and death, the matenal and spuitual
world, nature of knowledge and many other
questions. The earliest Upanishads are the
404
Brthad-Aranyaka and Chanddogya The

Upamshads a~~ m the form of dialogues
and express the lughest thoughts m simple
and beautiful Imagery. Another body of
literature to grow m the ear~y period was
the Vedangas which, besides ntuals, were
concerned with astronomy, grammar and
phonehcs One of the most outstandmg
works of this period was a classic on Sanskrit grammar, the Ashtadhyayi by Parum
All these works were m Sansknt They
were handed down from generahon to
generahon orally and were put to writing
much later
The two great epics, the Mahabharata
and the Ramayana, were developed over a
penod of centunes and were perhaps put
to writing m their present form m the second century A. D The Mahabharata contams about 100,000 verses and IS the longest smgle poem m the world Besides the
mam storyofthewar between the Pandavas
and the Kauravas, a number of other mterestmg stones are woven mto this epic The
Bhagvad Gita, a later addition to the
Mahabfzarata, enshrmes a ph1losoph1cal
doctrine and m it are described the three
path& to salvation, v1z. Kanna, Gyan and
nhakti. The Ramayana, the story of Rama, is
shorter than the Mahabharata and 1s full of
mterestingadventures and episodes. TI1ese
two epics have mfluenced the thmkmg of
millions of people for centuries.
This period abounds m both rehgious
and secular literature m Sanskrit. The
Puranas are important, for they were the
mam mfluence m the development from
early Vedic rehg10n to Hmdmsm There
were many other shastras and smrztzs The
shastras contained works of science and
philosophy For example, the Arthashastra
by Kauliiya was a treatise on the science of
governance There were shnstras on art,
mathemabcs and other sciences The smritis

dealt with the performance of duties, customs and laws prescribed accordmg to
dharma The most famous of these IS the
Manusmriti
The early Buddhist hterature was in
Pah and consists of two sechons. The Suttapitaka consists mainly of dialogues between
the Buddha and his followers The Vinayapitaka is concerned mamly with the rules of
the organization of the monastenes. The
Milznda-panha is another great Buddhist
work consisting of dialogues between the
Indo-Greek king Menander and the Buddlustphtlosopher Nagasena. Another great
Buddhist work conststs of hundreds of
Jataka stories which became the subJects of
Buddhist sculpture and are popular all
over the world for their wisdom. Later
many Buddhist works were written mSansknt Of these the most famous is the
Buddhac1zarita or 'Life of Buddha' by
Ashvaghosha.
The period begmrung a little before the
reign of the Guptas ushered m the glorious
period of Sansknt hterature, particularly
secular. This was the greatest penod for the
growth of poetry and drama The great
writers of tlus period are well knownKahdasa, Bhavabhuh, Bharavi, Bhartrilian,
Bana, Magha and many others Of these,
Kalidasa is known all over the world. His
works - the Kumarasambhava, the
Raghuvamsha, the Meghaduta, the
AbhiJnanashakunialam and others - are
unrivalled for their poetry and style Bana
wrote the Harshacharita, a biOgraphy of
Kmg Harsha, and Kadambari Among the
other famous works of the penod are
Dhavabhuti's Utter-Ramachartta, Bharavi's
Kzrtar;u.mya, Vishakhadatta' s Mudra
Rakhshasa, Shudraka' s Mricchakattka.
Dandin wrote the Daskumaracharita or the
THE HERITAGE OF lNDIA
'tales of the Ten Pnnces' The subjects of

these and other works werepohbcal events,
romances, allegories, comedies and philosophical questions. Besides these, there
was also a growing body of philosophical
literature. The most famous of these in the
later period are the great commentaries of
Shankaracharya. There were also great collections of tales and stones. The mo~t famous collections are the Panchatantra and
the Kathasant-sagarwmchhave been translated into many languages all over the
world.
The four Dravidtan languages-Tamil,
Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam -developed their own dtstinct scnpts and hterature. Tarml is the oldest of these With its
literature gomg back to the early centunes
of the Christian era. Accordmg to tradt tion,
three literary gatherings or Sangams were
held at which many sages and poets reCited their compositions. This body of
hterature consists of many themes hke pohncs, war and love. The famous works of
tlus body ofliterature mclude the Ettutogaz
('Eight Anthologies'), the Tolkappiyam (a
work of Tanul gramm~r) and the
Pattuppattu('Th.eTenSongs'). Thiruvalluvar
wrote the famous Kural which, in verse,
deals with many aspects of life and religiOn. The Silappadtkaram and the
Mammekalaz are some of the other most
famous works of early Tamil literature
Literature in the Medieval Period

In the early medieval period m northern
'
India, Sanskrit continued to be the language ofliterature. This is the penod of the
works of two wnters in KashmirSomadeva' s Katha-sarlt-sagar which we
have already mentioned and Kalhana' s
Rajataringin'i. The latter1 a history of Kashmir, is a work of greatimportance as this is
405
the first proper lustoncal work m India.

Another famous work of tlus penod is the
Gitagovinda by Jayadeva, which IS one of
the fmest poems m Sansknt literature. As
we have satd before, this was the penod
when the Apabhramsha languages had
started developmgmto modern Indian languages. One of the earhest works in an
early form of Hmdi was PritllVlraJ Rasa by
Chandbardai This work wrnch marks the
begmnmg of bard1c literature deals With
the hermc deeds of PnthviraJ Chauhan.
In the southern parts, thts penod saw
the flounshmg of Sanskrit literature We
have already men honed the plulosophical
commentane~ of Shankara. Another important Sansknt work of this period 1s
Bllhana' s Vtkramankadeva-chartta, a blOgraphy of the Chalukya king V1kramaditya VI
However, this period 1s moreimportantfor
the growth of literature m the Dravidlan
languages Nnpatunga wroteagreatwork
of poetry m Kannada called the
Kavzrajamarga. For a few centuries, the
Kannada literature was deeply mfluenced
by Jaimsm Pampa wrote the Adzpurana
and the Vzkramarjuna-Vijaya, the former
dealing with the hfe of the flfst Jam
tirthankara and the latter based on the
Mahabharata. Pmma wrote the Sltantipurana,
a legendary history of the SIXteenth
tirthankara Another great Kannada writer
was Ranna, a contemporary of Pampa and
Panna. Two of his famous works are the
Ajztapurana and the Gadayuddha Pampa,
Panna and Ranna are known as the Three
Gems of the early :Kannada hterature.
Kamban wrote the Ramay(lnam m Tamil In
Tamil1 this was the period of the composition of the great hymns of the Alvars and
the Nayanars The hymns of the Alvars are
collected mto the Nalayira-Divya
Prabandham Some of the Nayanar works
406
are the Thiruvasagam, the Thirumanatram

and the Thiruttondattogai Telugu also produced great religious and secular literature
in this period Thts included translations of
the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, works
of grammar, science and other secular literature. Literature m Malayalam also
started growing
The penod of the Sultanat of Delhi saw
a great advance in the growth of modem
Indian languages and literature. Braj Bhasha
and Khar{ Boli, forms of Hmdi, began to be
used in literary composthons. Many devotional songs were composed in these languages. Hermc literature was wntten m
RaJasthani, which was akirt to Hindi and
Gujarah. The famous ballad Alha Udal and
the Vishaldeo Raso belong to this penod.
The literature in other modem Indian languages was also growmg. Mulla Daud
wrote perhaps the oldest poem in Awadht
language called Chandayana Cornmentanes on ancient scriptures, however, contmued to be wntten in Sanskrit.
Persian was the court language of the
Sultanat. Because of its literature many
Persian words became part of the vocabulary of Indian languages. A very notable
contribution of the Turks. was in the field of
h1stoncalliterature in Persian. In ancient
h1d1a, there was no traditwn of rustorical
writing. The Turks introduced the Arab
and Persian traditions of lustoncal wntmg
m India and with them we get a fatrly
systematic account oflndia:nlustory beginrung with the Sultanat ofDellu. There were
many lustonans m this period. Z1auddm
Baran1 wrote the Tarikh-i-Firozshahi wluch
grves a detailed account of the reigns of the
Khaljis and the Tughlaqs He also wrote a
work on political theory called the Fatawar-Jahandan. Perhaps the most outstandmg
hterary &gure of this penod was Amlf
Khusrau. He was a poet, rustorian, mystic

and composer of mus1c. He was also a
dtsctple of Nizamuddm Auliya. He wrote
the A.shiqa, lhe Nuh Szpihr, the QrranalSadayan, the Khazaw-ul~Futuh and several
works of poetry. He symbolizes the composite culture which was growing under
the new impact. He took great pride m Ius
bemg an Indtan and praised India as the
'Earthly Paradtse'. He praised India's fauna
and flora, its beauty, its buddings,1ts know.
ledge and learning. He believed that in
many respects the essence of Hinduism
resembled Islam. He considered Hzndawi,
the Hindi spoken around the region of
Delhi, lus mother tongue and composed
many verses in it. He composed a number
of bihngual quatrains and verses m Hmdi
and Persian. The healthy tradition started
by him continued for centunes after him.
The regwnalkingdoms provided a great
stimulus to reg10nallanguages and literature. The Sultans of Bengal, Gujarat and
other states patroruzed local languages and__
literature. Bhakh saints preached in the
language of the people. Many of them hke
Kabir were great poets There were two
main forms of Hindi m this periodBhojpuri and Awadhi. Kabir wrote in
Bhojpuri and lus dohas or couplets have
become a part of the folklore. Malik
Muhammad Jayasi wrote the Padmavat in
Awadhi. The farnam, Ramacharitamanas by
Tulstdas was also written mAwadlu m this
penod. There were many other poets of
Awadhi in _this penod. For example,
Qutban, a disciple of the Sufi samt Shaikh
Burhan, wrote the Mrigavati.
Literature in other languages also developed m this period In Bengali the
Ramayana by Knthvasa and the hundreds
of lyncs by the famous poet Chand1das
were wntten under the patronage of the
407
rulers. With Cha1tanya, the tradihon of country. It was also m Akbar's time that the
wrihng devotional songs began Narasi great Sanskntwork on styles ofwribng, the
Mehta wrote devotional songs m Gujarah Alankarashekhara by Keshava Misra, apandNamdevandEknathmMarathJ There peared
were Important developments m Kashmir
This was a penod of many notable writunder Zamul Abidm, under whose patron- mgs in the Persian language Abul Fazl
age many Sansknt works like the wrote the Auz-i-Akbart and the Akbar Nama
Mahabharata and the Ra]ataringinz were Azn-z-Akban giVes details of Indian custranslated mto Persian.
toms and manners, rehgions and phtlosoUnder the VIjayanagar kmgdom, San- phy, economic conditwns and almost evsknt literature continued to grow. How- ery other aspectofhfe. As a histoncal work,
ever, trus was an 1mportant penod for the it 1s perhaps unparalleled Abul Fazl' s
growth of Telugu literature. Knshnadeva brother Fa1zi was a great poet of Persian
Raya, the greatest of Vijayanagar rulers, and was responsible for the translation of
was also a Telugu and Sanskrit writer. He many Sartsknt works mto Persian Akbar
wrote the Vishnuchittzya. There were many had started a whole department for transpoets m his court, the most famous of lation of works like the Mahabharata, th~
whom was Allasam Peddana who wrote Ramayana the Atharva-Veda, the Bhagvad
the Manucharita. Dhurjati wrote the Gita and the Panchatantra
Kalahast{ Mahatamya.
Many important hlstoncal works were
As in art and architecture the Mughal produced under the emperors after Akbar.
penod also saw great developments m Some of the most important histonans of
literature. Many Mughal emperors and this period were Abdul Hamid Lahon,
members of the royal family were great Khafi Khan, Muhanunad Kazim and Sujan
men of letters Baqar, the first Mughal ruler, Rai Bhandari Literature mmodernlnd1an
was one of the piOneers of Turkish poetry languages also contmued to grow The
and also the author of a very valuable famous book of Bihari Lal called the Satsaz
autobiography in Turkish, Babar Nama, m Hind1 belongs to this period.
which was later translat~d into Persian.
One of the most significant developGulbadan Begum, Sister of Humayun, ments during the medieval period was the
wrote the Humayun Nama Jahangu, the btrth of the Urdu language. This new
great connmsseur of paintmg, wrote his language soon developed one of the richest
autobiography, the Tuzuk-i-Jahangzn. literatures as a modern Indian language. It
Aurangzeb also was a prolific wnter and produced great poets hke Wah, M1r Dard,
the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Mir Taq1Mir, Nazu Akbarabadi, Asadullah
Khan Ghahb and, in the twentieth century,
'Zafar' was a notable Urdu poet.
Hmd1 literature made sigmficant Iqbal and others Urdu prose also develprogress during Akbar's.reign. Tulsidas, oped early m the eighteenth century when
who has already been mentioned, and the the translation of most of the histoncal
famous samt Surdas wrote in th1s pertod works fromPers~anand Sanskrit mto Urdu
Keshavdas, a great poet, wrote on themes began At the 'same time many ongmal
of love. Rahim's do has or couplets are prose works in Urdu were written like
extremely popular in many parts of the Muhammad Husam Azad' s Darbar-z-
408
Akban The Urdu novel was one of the

earliest to develop m the Indtan languages
Urdu became the language of the urban
people of northern Indta and the Deccan
and 1s one of the best examples of the
growth of a common culture
MUSIC AND DANCE
As in architecture, pamting,languages and

literature, stgn& of growth and synthests
are VISible m the evolutiOn of other aspect~
of culture Governed by almo~t the &ame
bastc 1deas, the mustc and dances of Indw
developed a very nch vanety on the foundatiOns latd in the ancient times The earliest tradrhons of Indian music can be traced
back to the Vedas which prescnbed the
pttch and accent for the chantmg of Vedic
hynms The music of the Vedic chant
survives to this day The earltest known
treatise of Indian musiC, dance and drama
ts as old as second century B.C This is
Bharata' s Natyashastra. Much ofthe musical termmology used hll today IS denved
from Bharata' s treatise. Another maJor
work composed over a thousand years
later wa& Matanga' s BnhaddesL The concept of raga was discussed at great length m
this work. A thuteenth century work,
Sarngadeva's Sangzta-ratnakara, mentions
264 ragas lndmn musiC, both vocal and
mstrumental, developed with seven basic
notes and five others, A vanety of stnng,
wmd and drum mstruments were later
mvented. Mus1c has, from times Irnmemonat been one of the most cherished arts of
Ind1a. Bes1des provtdmg patronage to
mustc1an~, many rulers themselves were
accomplished mu~Jclans. We see, for example, Srtmudragupta's com m wh1ch the
kmg himself rs shown playmg on the Vma.
Mustc was abo assooated With the wor-
ship of gods and goddesses and m Its perfection it has received the same devohon as
worship.
The medieval penon witnessed further
developments in mus1c Mustc was not a
part of the orIgmallslarruc tradttion (though
the form of recrtahon oJ the Quranic verses
IS musical), but It developed under the
mfluence of the Sufts and became a part of
court life Many new forms and mstruments were developed Amir Khusrau,
about whose contnbuhon to literature and
h1~toncal writing you have read, ts believed to have mvented some of these musical imtruments. He was the ongmator m
Indra of the early form of the popular mu!:ncal style known as Qawwall Khayal, one
of the most Important forms of Indtan clasSical musiC, IS also believed to be h1s contnbutJOn. Then there are the legendary figures of Baz Bahadur, the ruler of Malwa,
and his queen Rupamati m the Sixteenth
century. They were not only accomplished
musicians but also mtroduced many new
ragas The most notable figure in mus1c in
medieval b1dta was Tansen, the court musiCian of Akbar His attainments in rnuslC
have become a legend and hiS memory is
deeply cherished by every musicran to this
day. The patronage of music contmued at
the courts of rulers m the eighteenth century and the t~aditions evolved through
the centuries were kept ahve The contnbution of the Bhakh and Sufi saints m the
development and promotion of musiC 1s
very important.
The growth of Indmn classical muSIC
has been a major force of India's cultural
umty For hundreds of years, most of the
words and themes of the lnd1an classical
musiC have been derived from Hindu mythology but some of the greatest masters of
thts music have been Mushins. It 1s mter-
esting to mention here the Kitab+Nauras, a

collection of songs m pra1se of Hmdu deities and Mushm samts, which was wntten
by a seventeenth centmy ruler Ibrahim
Adil Shah II.
Both in vocal and mstrumental music,
two malfi classical styles have evolvedHmdustani and Carnatic Some of the
greatest figures in Carnatic mus1c were
Purandaradasa1 Thyagaraja, Muthuswarni
Dtkshltar and Syamasastri whose compositions conbnue to dommate Carnahc muSIC even now. These two styles have many
tlungs incorrunonand each has a vanetyof
forms. The rich hentage of classical music
that has come down to us has been further
enriched m the hands of masters tn India
today and has won admirers all the world
over Besides classical music,Indian people
have developed nch trad1b.ons offolkmus1C
Indian dance has also developed a rich
classical tradition It has become the medium of expression of emohons, of telhng
a story and of drama The story of Indian
dance can be seen in the temple sculptures
of anCient and medieval hmes. The popular Image of ShiVa m the form of Nataraja
symbolizes the mfluence of this art form on
the hfe of the Indian people. It received the
patronage of emperors and kmgs as also of
the common people. Some styles of classical dance that have evolved through the
centuries areKathakali, Kuchipudi, Bharat
Natyam, Kathak and Manipun. All these
styles have developed over a long penod of
bme. Practically every regmn and area m
the country has abo developed rich tradition~ of folk' dances The nch vanety in
mus1c and dance forms, classical and folk,
IS a major component of India's cultural
heritage.
Through their music and dance, lmlian
people have expressed thetr Joys and sor-
409
rows, their struggles and aspuatlons, and a

mynad other c>motions While at work and
dunng then hours of leisure, they have
danced, sung and played mus1c These art
forms have beenmsp1red by hfe and m tum
have enriched hfe
In this chapter, only a few components and

aspects of India's cultural development
ha~e b.een descnbed. lndmns throughout
theu history, made s1gnificant advances m
vanous fields of know ledge~ uch as sCience
and mathematics, medicrne and surgery,
and philosophy You have read about
some of the achievements m these flleds m
earlier chapters of this book (Vol. I). Some
of the great names in Indmn scrence, rna thematics, medicine and surgery are
Aryabhata, Brahmagupl.a, Charaka and
Sushruta A prommentfgurem the field of
snence in the sixteenth century was
Fathullah Sh1razi. In all these fields, Indm' s
achievements reached other countnes.
Many works of these men of science were
translated by the Arabs and through the
Arabs they reached the Europeans. You
are already farmhar with the story of the
Indian numerals Indians also benehted
from the scH:'nhflc achievements of other
cultures, particularly m astronomy and, m
medieval times, also m medicine SCience
in India failed to keep pace with scientrfrc
development m some oLher parts of the
world only from about the SIXteenth century when modern science began to develop m Europe. In technology, this situation came even later. The comparatiVe
backwardness of Indian science and technology grew more acute as science and
technology made rap1d progress in the
West. This, as you have seen, had disastrous consequences.
In plulosophy also, Indm made s1gnifi-
THE STORY OF CIVILTZA TION
410
cai'lt-advances m ancient and medieval

times. Manydistmct schools of philosophy
grew, both ideahst and matenallst. In later
hmes, however, there was too much emphasts on wntmg commentaries on ear her
philosophical works rather than developmg new thmking. Though India's heritage
in this area of intellectual hfe is of great
Importance and has been a significant influence in phllosophtcal writings m other
countnes, the neglect of certam developments in philosophy had a negative effect
on Indian mtellectuallife. These developments, particularly of scientific, humanistic and rahOnalist thinking, began to be
nnbibed in Ind1an intellectual hfe in the
mneteenth century.
This m brief IS the story of Indian cultUial development through the ages.
Through the long years, people hvmg in
India and tho&e commg to India mtermmgled with each other They developed
a rich and dynam1c culture always evergrowing through lts internal evolution and
through contacts with other cultures. Many
streams of fhoughl, behef and expression
ongmating dsewhere have mixed Wtth the
ever-growmg streams m Ind1a and coalesced to form the ocean of Indtan culture.
Many streams of faith and rehgion, of styles
of archtteclure and art, and of languages
literature have developed during
rich
the course of centums. In its vanety Ind1an
culture Is one of the richest in the world. All
the diverse streams have developed m this
country and are Indmn. ThiS riclmess ha~
come about as a result of the freedom
which every region and community has
enjoyed to develop its gemus and through
their mutual mterachons. It also needs to
be remembered that the culture of any
country is a dynamt~ and ever-growmg
entity whtch needs to be further developed
and enriched by every generation.
in
EXERCISES
T/tmgs to Know
1 Name the many groups of people who came to India and settled down here from about
1500 B.C to A D 1800
2 Name one Important work of each of the followmg persons
Bana, Kalidasa, Ashvaghosha, Pamm, Abu! Fazl, Jahangir, Am1r Khusrau, Kauhlya,
Thtruvalluvar, Kamban, Pampa, Tulstdas, Z1auddin Baram, Kalhan
3 How dtd the temple architecture begin m Indta ? What were the main features of 1ts
development m the southern parts of Indta? Name some of the Important temples of the
anctent and early medieval periods
4 What were the lang!Jages of literature m anctei\t Ind1a ? How did the modem Indian
languages develop ?
T/lrngs to Do
1 On an outline map oflndta, show the places where Important monuments of the ancrent
and medreval penods are found
2. Vtstt the monuments belonging to the same or different periods and try to fmd out
differences tn style
411
THE HERlTAGE OF INDIA
With the help of your teacher, prepare a hbt of about 100 words belongmg to other
languages which have become a part of your mother tongue.
Things to Think about and Dzscuss

1. Why do we say that the hentage of Indwn culture ts very rich? Has 1t somethmg to do
with tts diversity? If so, 1s 1t desirable, m your opiruon, to have such a dtversity of
culture ? Why 7 Or why not ?
2 What lessons do you learn from lnd1a's cultural hentage?
3 What are the mam contnbutions of the medieval penod to rehgton, art and architecture,
htera lure and languages ?
4. Is it true that the charactenshc feature of Indian culture m dtfferent penods of India's
history has been' umty m diVersity' ? Study more intensiVely any one period of history
and dtscuss concretely whether thts is true or not.
CHAPTER15
\
Indian Awakening
You have read about the changes brought
about by the Renaissance, the Industrial
RevolutiOn and the soclo-pohtical
revolubons which laid the foundations of
the modern world in Europe. TI1ese changes
led to the growth of rationalism and
scientific thinking, a vast mcrease in the
productiOn of goods, mcreasing
participation of people in the govemment
of their countries and a growing reahzation
of human equality and respect for the
d1gnity of the individual Indtan society
during the same penod was, however, still
hvingmits old ways, largely uninfluenced
by these developments. It had stagnated
and had topaythepnceofstagnahon when
It failed to resist the onslaught of British
Imperialism.
Indian Society in the Eighteenth
Century
Each ~i~lage ~roduced ~lrnost all. its bare
necessitiesoflife.Its rela~onsmpw~thother
parts.of ~e country for 1ts econon11c needs
was lmuted ~e t~chruques of agnculture
also had not sigmficantly changed for ~undreds of years. Local crafts and agncultural op~rations were earned out With the
help of simple tools. The econom1c bonds
thatuniteacmmtrywereweak. Towns and
ci.ttes. had developed ~s administrati~e,
p1lgn~age or commercial centres . Themdustnes produced luxu~ or seffil-luxury
goods With the help of stmple tools. These
goods were produced mainly for the urban

populahon or for exports.
Indtan merchants traded With other
countries and made vast profits. These
prohts,however, werenotused to develop
industnes Technologtcal Improvements
were not introduced. Some changes were
begmrung to take place as a result of mternal and foreign trade. For example, the
domestic system had begun. In course of
time, these forces nughthave become stro}lg
enough to brmg about fundamental
changes. However, before this could happen, India fell a prey to Bribsh conquest,
and processes of internal change m fudia,
howevlilr slow, were disrupted.
The economtc stagnahon was accornpa~
nied by a similar stagnation m the socml
sphere. The social system of the Hmdus
was predommantly based on the caste systern which had ansen m ancient times. In
course of bme, It had undergone many
changes, but 1ts hereditary and unequal
basis had remained unchanged. The caste
system was one of the most important
causes of social disuruty There were hundreds of castes and sub-castes in the country which led to the fragmentation of.
society. Thesenseofbelongmgtoacasteor
sub-caste was strong. A large part of the
populahon was considered by the people
of higher castes as 'untouchable'.
The life of the Hmdus, in theory, was
governed by the Dharmashastras which
INDIAN AWAKENING,
prescribed different rights and duties for

different castes. But there were several evil
customs and practices which had become a
part of the Hindu social system, such as
sati, infantictde, child ffi,!lrriages, and belief
m superstitions. The status of women in
society had deteriorated. A widow's life
particularly tf she belonged to a 'higher'
caste, was miserable. She could not remarry even 1 she became a widow during
her childhood.
The Muslims were also divided by caste,
ethnic and sectanan differences The backward economic system, together wtth a
socialsystemlackingincohesion and equaltty, retarded the forces of progress. TQ.e
pohtical system presented an equally dismal picture. Political loyalties were primarily local or regional. The Mughal empire
had declined after fue death of Aurangzeb
m 1707. India was divtded into a number
of small and big states fighting against one
another. The Marathas who emerged as the
strongest power in India after the decline of
the Mughal empue had no conception of a
united Indtan nation. Their conception of
nationality was narrow and hmtted, and
theythoughtofdominatingoverother parts
of the country rather than welding them
into a nation. The concept of 'nation' as we
understand it today had not developed.
It was m such conditions that the Euro, pean trading companies, ru::tive in India
smce the early seventeenth century, started
interfermg in .the political affairs of the
country Takmg advantage of the political,
econormc, and social weaknesses ofhld1an
soctety, the British were able to conquer
Indta.'
IMPACT OF BRITISH RULE
ON INDIA
The conquest of India, as you have alrejj.dy
read, was undertaken by the English East
India Company established in A.D. 1600
413
for purposes of trade with India. In 1765, ~

after the Battle of Buxar, the Company
recetved, the right to collect the revenue of
Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The British power
gradually mcreased and withm a penod of
about 50 years, it had emerged as the
supreme power in India.
W1th the expans10n of the British
empiremlndia, themfluence and the privileges of the Company declined and those of
the British government increased. The
Industrial Revolutipn had already begun
m England and the power of the new class
of capitalists was on the increase. The empire increash1gly served the interests of this
new class, and India became a vast market
for the consumptionofmanufaQ_tured goods
and a source for raw materials. Thus, in a
matter of a few decades, the character and
purpose of the British empire in India underwent an important change. After the
suppression of the Revolt of 1857, the Indian empire passed to the British Crown
and the British government became the
paramount power in the country. Those
states which were under the Indmn princes
were not sovereign as the British government enjoyed vastpowers over them. Thus,
in about a hundred years, the entire country passed under British control.
The Bntlsh conquest had many important consequences for Indian society
because of its impact on the economic,
social and political system of the country.
The Indian people, under the ill)pact of
Brihsh rule and as a reaction to it, started
movements for the reform and modernization of Indian society, as well as for putting
an end to foreign rule.
Impact of British Rule
A significant result of the British conquest
was the pohtical and adrrunistrative unification of India even though under and in
the interest of foreign rulers, and the
414
establishment of a uniform rule of law. The peasants now depended for many of
While this was, no doubt, done to serve the their needs on the market outside the vilimperialist mterests of Bntam, it became a lage. The new revenue systems led to peas.ant indebtedness and the commercializafactor m the nse of modern India.
The econorruc pohcies of the British tiOn of aglicullure worsened it futlher
government in Tndiahad even more signifi- They also contnbuted to the problem of
cant consequences as they resulted m the landlessness.
The British conquest also led to the rum
disruption of the traditio11al Indian social
and econorruc relationships. New soctal of Indum industry and trade. In the sevenclass'es arose In tl).e areas where the Per- teenth and eighteenth centuries, India was
manent Settlement was introduced a new the princtpal supplier of cotton textiles to
class of landlords, &ome of whom were England and other countries of Europe
very rich, was formed which regarded land Wtth the growth of the cotton mdustry in
as their pnvate property and aimed at En~land following the Industrial Revoluobtairung the maximum monetary gam tion, and with growing restrictions on Imout of it. They did not cultivate the land po~~s mto Europe, the pohdes the British
themselves. The cultivators were mere government pursued destroyed Indmn intenants with no rights and could be evicted dustry. Withm a few decades, India was
by the landowners. In areas whe1e the . reduced from the position of a prmc1pal
Ryotwan System came into force, the exporter to that of one of the largest conpeasant was the owner of the land but his sumers of fore1gn products. It produced
hfe was miserable. He was very often raw matenals to feed the British industries.
heavily in debt and in the clutches of the Restrictions were imposed on the growth
money-lenders who, eventually, came to of Indian mdustries. The Indian traders
control the land and its produce.
had been eliminated from the foreign trade
The land revenue assessmentwas made of India. Gradually, they were reduced to
accordmg to the size of the holdmgs and a mmor position in mtemal trade also.
the revenue demand was flxed in terms of Internal trade between different parts of
money, whatever the achtal produce. The the country also suffered a declme. The
collection of fixed revenue in cash had a development of the means of transport and
far-reaching consequence - agncultural communication, particularly of railways,
production was no longer for use m the was designed to facilitate tlus process and
vtllage only and much of It was sent the to destroy the traditional pattern of the
market for sale. The production for sale m lnd1an economy. In the second half of the
the market led to specialization of cultlva- runeteenth century, a few modern mdusb.on. Crops wh1ch could fetch a higher tnes began to be developed m India. The
price in the market were grown in areas principal among these were cotton, jute1
suitable for thetr cultivation. With the in- and coalmming. Though the growth of
crease m the demand for raw materials to these industrieS was lops1ded and many
feed the industries in England, cash crops restrictions were imposed on them, the
began to be grown. The specialization and beginning of modern industry was a land~
commercialization of crops further under- mark in Indian history.
nuned 'the self-sufficiency of the village.
In the early nineteenth century1 some
to
INDIAN AWAKENING
British administrators of Ind1a were inspired by the hberal ideas popular m the
West at that hme, and tned to introduce
themm India This was reflected m some of
the social legislation of the British government in Indm, and in the mtroductwrt of
modern education. Some of the important
measures taken were the abolition of sati,
ban on infanhctde and granting the legal
nght to widows to remarry. The educational systenl was reorgairized and though
it was done with a view to traming people
for clencal and other lower services, it
brought the E'ducated people 1nto contact
with the modern Ideas of democracy and
nationahsm. The beginning of the Press, in
sp1te of the severe restnctions placed upon
it from time to time, helped progressively
to spread modern Ideas to a large numbE'r
of people.
Another effect of the Bntish rule was the
emergence of new soctal classes in Indta
which played an important part in the
awakening of the people. A significant
development was the emergence of a
middle class. People of ~his class received
modern education and became interested
in public services With the beginrung of
modern mdustry, a class of mdustriahsts
as well as of big and small traders also
started growing. Therewerealso themoneylenders in the vtllages. Another significant
group which emerged was that of professional people who constituted the intelligentsia--offtcials,lawyers, doctors, teachers, JOurnalists, technicians and others. Tius
group, mainly drawn from the new soc1al
classes mentioned above, was very important in the society. It was more liberal in
outlook because It drew Its position and
strength from professional competence
rather than hereditary privilege. By reason
of 1ts acquaintance with the intellectual
415
currents in other parts of the world, lt

became the leading group in the demand
for modernization.
Some other classes also became tmpor
tant in course of time. The Bnnsh rule
created a vast mass of landless peasants
The movements of the landless for tenancy
rights and against exploitation, and movements of peasants began to surface. The
mdustrial working class became socially
::,tgruftcant latct
-111
the twentteth centmy
The Bntish conquest thus had a farreaching impact on the Indirul society. It
was as a result of this tmpact and as a
reaction to It that the people oflndta star~ed
examining their social set-up in order to
reform it and to lay tl1e foundations of
modernization Themneteenthcentury saw
the nse of a series of religtous and sooal
reform movements. They paved the way
for the growth of nahonal consciousness
and a natiOnal movement aiming at the
independence of the country and reconstruction of society.
RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL REFORM
MOVEMENTS
Social and religious reform movements
arose among all commumhes of the Indian
people In rehgwn, they attacked bigotry,
superstition and the hold of the priestly
class. In social hfe, they atmed at the
abolition of castes, chlld marriage and other
legal and socmlmequalities
Ramroohan Roy and th~ Brahmo Samaj
Raja Rammohan Roy (1772-1833) was the
central figure in the awakening of modern
India. Basmg himself on a rational and
sc1entifk approach and the prmciple of
human dignity and social equality, he was
THE STORY OR CIVILJZA T!ON
416
RaJa I<mnmolum Roy
the ftrst Lo take the lead in the dtrechon of

reform and had been called the 'father of modem India'. Hew as well-versed
in Sanskrit, Perstan and English and knew
Arabic a~ well as Latm and Greek He had
mastered ancient lnd ian and European plulosophy as well a~ the tdeas of the etgh- \
teenth century Enlightenment, and combmed m htmself all that was best m the
phllosoplues of the En.st and the West.
Deeply devoted to the work of religwus
and soCial reform, he founded the Brahmo
Samaj m IH2~
In rehg10n, he condemned polytheism
and Idol worsh1p, and propagated the
concept of 'one God of all religwns and
humamty'. Hts rehg10us tdeas had assimilated elements from blam, Chnstiamty,
the Upantshads and modern European
~octal
hberal philosophy He advocated a rahonalapproachtorehgwnandadvised people

to read the scnptures themselves and not
depend on the mtermedmry brahmanas.
For this purpose, he translated anctenl
Indmn works on rehgion and philm,ophy
mto Bengah.
Rammohan Roy attacked the caste system He campa1gned to persuade Lhe government to abolish sat1 and child marnage
He stood for equalnghts for women, advocated the nght of wtdows to marry and the
right of women to property. He stood tor
modern education and the introduction of
Enghsh education for the propagation of
sCience m India All hts efforts were devoted to the spread of modern knowledge
and to the modernizatlon oflnd1an soc1ety
He justiht'- 1 his views not merely on the
basts flf ancient ~criptures but by the hght
of rea~on and humanitanan prmciples and
was prepared to break With tradition. He
had Imbibed the humanitanan ideas of the
'age of reason' For example, he :.atd. "If
mankmd are brought mto extstence, and by
nature formed to enjoy the comforts of
society and the pleasure of an improved
mind, they may be JUStified m opposing
any system, rehgtous, domestic or pohhcal, which is mimical to the happmess of
socie~y, or calculated to debase the human
mtellect" He was an mternationalist and
supported the cau~e of freedom everywhere When the uprising m Naples to
umfy Italy failed m 1821, he cancelled all
his :.ocial engagements. He celebrated the
success of the 1830 Revolution m France
and condemned the conditions of people
who were suffenng under Bntlsh rule m
Ireland
The work started by Rammohan Roy
was continued by the m:gamzation he had
bmlt -the Brahmo SamaJ. The SamaJ was
INDIAN AWAKENING
the first attempt by Indians m the nineteenth century to reform Hmdu soctety. It
d1d stgnal work in the ~eld of removal of
caste distmctiOns and unprovmg the conditwn of women, particularly Widows
Although there were many dissensiOns m
the Samaj, 1t won a large number of adherents and became an Important influence in
the hfe of Bengal Under the leaderslup of
Keshab Chandra Sen, the work of the Sama1
expanded throughout the country and as
many as 124 mstituhons were set up in
d1fferent parts of India
Another outstandmg reformer ,in Bengal was lshwarChandra Vtdyasagar (182091 ). A scholar of great depth, he dedtcated
h1mselfto the cause of the emanopahonof
women It was due to h1s efforts that legal
obstacles to the marnagc of widows were
removed through a law 111 11356. He played
a leadmg role m promoting education of
gtrls and started and helped the settmg up
of a number of schools for girls. VIdyasagar
was also the leading figure m promoting
modern Bengah language and prepared
pnmers for teaching it.
Spread of the Reform Movements
Similar movements soon started in other
parts of the country. After Bengal the most
important region where the movement for
reforms spread was western lndm. The
most sig111f1cant actiVIties of the vanous
orgamzations m western India were m the
fteld of women's education, widow remarriage, raising the age ofrnarnage, condemnation of caste barriers and Idolatry In
1867, the Prarthana SamaJ was founded m
Bombay The social and rehgwus reform
achv 1hes of the Prarthana SamaJ were SliDlIar to those of the Brahmo SamaJ Many
natwnal leade1s like Mahadev Govinda
Ranade (1842-1901) JOined it.
417
Ranade was one of the founders of the

Indian National Congress, but his greatest
passion was social reform As a jctdge m
Poona, he took an active pa:r_:t m the acttvlhes of the Sarvajap.ik Sabha which was a
leading orgamzabon for mobilizing pubhc
opmion. An all India orgamzatJon, the IndmnSocial Conference was formed m 1887.
Ranade was the soul of the Conference and
served as 1ts General Secretary for 14 years
Under Ranade's leadership, the Conference worked as a secular organization and
campaigned for various reforms mmmg at
moderruzahon of Indian society. Some of
the demands of the Conference were the
abolition of caste, intercaste marnages, raising of the marriageable age, discouragement of polygamy, widow remarnage,
women's educatiOn, Improvement in the
condition of the so-called butcaste~, and
settlement of rehgiOus d1sputes between
Hmdus and Muslims by the appoinh~ent
of Panchayats. Ranade was a great mtellectual and took a broad VIew of the problems.
He was convmced that the nation nee<jed
to progress in all spheres of life -social,
educab0.nal, pohhcal and economic. He
said. "You cannot have a good socml system when you find yourselflow m the scale
of political right5 nor can you be nt to
exercise political r1ghts and pnv1leges, unless your 'social system IS based on reason
and JUStice. You cannot have a good economic system when your soCial arrangements are Imperfect. If your rehgwus 1deas
are low and grovelhng, you cannot succeed
m the social, econom1c or pohbcal spheres
This mter-dependence is not an acCident
but is the law of our nature'' Under his
leadership, the work of social reform was
made more broad -based and was extended
all over the country.
The leadmg role in the awakening of the
418
oppressed castes m Maharashtra was

played by Jobrao Govmdrao Phule. He
was popularly known as Mahatma Jotlba
Phule He questioned the supremacy of the
brahmanas and the authonty of the scnptures. In 1873 he organized the
Satyashodhak Samaj to mobilize the socalled lower castes and other oppressed
sections m a movement for equahty and
played a leading role m the spread of educatmnof grrls, particularly of the oppressed
castes. Similar movements arose in other
parts of the country Kandukuri
Veeresahngam (1848-1919) piOneered the
movem~nt m support of Wtdow remarnage and g1rls' education m Andhra.
Shn Narayana Guru (1854-1928) led the
movement agamst caste oppressiOn m
Kerala In 1903 he founded theSn Narayana
Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP)to carry
on the work of sooal reform, the awakenmg of the oppressed castes and to promote
among the people fratermty without dtstmchons of caste and religion
1
The Arya Samaj

Another movement to reform Hindu soCIety was started by Dayanand Saraswah
He founded the Arya Sarna] m 1875.
Dayanand was born m a brahmana family
of Kathiawar and at a very early age rebelled agamst tdol worship At the age of
22, he ran away from home. He turned to
the Vedas for reforming Hinduism His
most Important work Satyart1ta Prakash was
published m 1879. He had met the leaders
of the Brahmo Samaj and had become
famdmr with their Ideas. He attacked chlld
marriage as bemg contrary to the Vedas In
his book, he also denounced other e&tabhshed rehgwns. Accordmg to Dayanand,
the Vedas were infallible and Hmduism
should be purified byretummgto the Vedas.
The aduevements of the Arya Samaj in the
field of social and religious reform were

significant and perhaps more than those of
other contemporary reform movements.
Tl1e influence of the Brahmo Sama1 was
hmited to mamly the intelltgents1a. Some
other reformers mentioned earher questioned the authonty of the scnptures Because ~)fIts emphasts on the mfalhbihty of
the Vedas and Its condemnation of other
rehg10ns, It is sa1d that the Arya Samaj
encouraged revivalist tendencies and was,
in 1ts thmkmg, not so forward-looking in
some respects as some other reform movements of the nineteenth century.
The Arya Samaj repudiated the authority of the brahmanas and condemned a
number of religious ntes and Idol worship
It opposed the existmg caste sys tern as it
was based on heredity, though It was not
opposed to th,; Clsle system as such. It
advocated equal nghls for men and women
However, the greatest achievements of the
Arya Sama1 was m the field of educatiOn A
large number of schools and colleges were
started, both for boys and girls, all over the
country. The medium of instruction rn the
schools was Hmdi, and English was compulsory m the higher classes. The mfluence
of Arya SamaJ was most felt in the PunJab
where its work m spreadmg educatiOn to
all sechons and m nddmg Hindus of many
superstitions was particularly notable.
Vtvekananda and the Ramakrishna

Misston
Ramakri&hna Paramham&a had a tremendous mfluence on the Hmdus. He was a

samt yvho popularized Vedanbc philosophy, mysticism and the path of devotion to
God His greatest disciple was Swami
V1vekananda (1861-1902). He believed m
revivmg all the best traditions of Hinduism
and not merely the Vedas. After the death
of Ramakrishna/ he founded the
INDIAN AWAKENING
Ramakrislma MisslOn to propagate the

teachmgs of his master. The Mission established several educational mstltuhons m
the country. Durmg Ius tour of America, he
argued that Vedanta was the rehgion of all
and not of the Hmdus alone. Though rehgmn was his mission m life, he was keenly
interested in the improvement of all aspects of national hfe. He expressed his
concern for the condttion of the people and
smd that neglect of the masses IS a sin. He
was impressed by the economic prosperity
of the West and the status women enjoyed
there Vwekananda combined m rum dynamism and nahonalismandgreatlyinfluenced the younger generation to take pride
m their country
419
Annie Besant later threw herself mto

the work of soc1al reform and politics. She
orgaruzed the Horne Rule League durmg
the First World War After her detention,
she became President of the Congress m
1917 Although the theosophtcal movement
did not enjoy mass populanty, 1ts work
under the leadership of Anrue Besant for
the awakenmg of the Indtan people was
remarkable. She wrote: "The needs of India
are, among others, the development of a
nfltional spmt, an education founded on
Indian ideals and enriched, not dominated,
by the thought and culture of the West".
She thus contributed a great deal to the
development of thenahonal spmt of India.
Other Reform Movements

Annie Besant and the Theosophical
The movements for religious and social
Society
reform arose in other commumbes and
The theosophical movement was mtro- other parts of the country. The reform
duced by Madame Blavatsky in India m movements m the Muslim community be1882 With Its headquarters at Adyar in gan m the later half of the runeteenth cen1V1adras . The supporters of the theosophi- tury. These movements developed late
cal movement claimed that theosophy among Muslims because the Muslimmtddle
embodied m itself the truths which under- class came later and was weak. The Brihsh
lay all religions. Anme Besant came to conquest had dispossessed most of the
India in 1893 and became the leader of the Muslim jagirdars. These Jagirdars could
movement In the beginmng, she devoted not reconcile themselves to the new situaherself to the reviVal of Hmd ureligwn With tion and sh1ed away from modern educaIts philosophy, ntuals and modes of wor- tion Many Muslims were skilled workers
srup Though her ideas were used by those and were rumed as a result of the economic
who were opposed to soCJal reforms in impact of Bntish conquest. In the Revolt of
their conflict WIth the reformers, they helped 1857, theMushmrnasses andrehgiOusleadto impart to the educated Indians a sense of ers fought against the Bnhsh. After the
pridemtheirowncountry Herachvihesm Revolt was crushed, the Bnbsh governthe field of education were more signifi- ment took repressive measures agamst
cant She foundecl. the Central Hindu Col- Mushms and regarded them as Its enemies,
lege at Banaras wruch she later handed holdmg them responsible for the Revolt.
over to Banaras Hindu University. The The British government followed a dehberheadquarters of the soe1ety at Adyar be- ate anti-Muslim policy and discnmmated
came a centre of knowledge with a library agamst them. It also promoted feelings of
separateness among them. The remaining
of rare Sanskrit books.
420
Mushm jagirdars were feudal m outlook

They hved their hves m the old way,
unmindful of the changes that were takmg
place.
After the Revolt, the need for modernIzation was increasingly felt by the Muslim
community and resulted in the' nse of a
number of movements. Most of these
moven;ents were concerned with Imparting II}6dern Enghsh education to the Muslim commumty, campaigning agamst polygamy and the purdah system and
reinterpreting rehgion in the light of modein ideas Some of these movements devoted themselves to political opposition to
'the Brihsh government. In many ways,
they helped m awakemng the people to the
need for ~hange.
Thr beginnmg was made m Bengal by
Nawab Abdul Lahf He founded the Mohammedan Literary Society m Calcutta in
1863 for advocahng the learmng of the
English language and modern sciences.
The society started a number of educationalinstituhons throughout Bengal. Soon,
however, more widespread movements
arose which greatly influenced the Mushm
community
I
Syed Ahmed Khan and the

Aligarh Movement
The most mfluential movement of reform
'\Aras started by Syed Ahmed Khan (181799). Generally known as Sir Syed, he had
been in the service of the Bnhsh government and, hke many contemporary reformers, was a supporter of the Bnhsh rule. He
wanted to remove the bitter enmity between Muslims and the British government, to mterpret Islam and brmg It m
conformity w1th modern science and philosophy, and to penruade Muslims to recelVe modern education and enter the ser-
vices. In the beginnmg, he devoted himself

'rnamly to theological questions, re-interpretmg Islam and stressmg the humarutariamsm of Islam In 1862 he founded the
Scientific Society to translate and publish
scientific works m Urdu to familianze the
peoplewithmodernsoence. His crowning
acruevement was the establishment of the
Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College at
Aligarh in 1875 wtlich later developed into
the Ahgarh Muslim UniVersity It was
because of this that the movement of reform started by Sir Syed IS known as the
Ahgarh Movement. Aligarh Muslim University became one of the most important
breeding grounds of new trends in the
pohtical, social and cultural hfe of the
Mushms.
In his educational and literary activities, Sir Syed had served all the people of
India Various orgamzations, includmg
Brahmo Sarna) and Arya SamaJ, expr~ssed
their grahtude for the work he did. However, he msisted on the cooperation of the
Mushms with the Bntish government an~
looked at all political movements with distrust. Thus when the Indian Nabqnal Congress was formed, he opposed It. He regarded 'education and education alone as
the means of nahonal progress'.
H1s opposition to the Congress shocked
other Muslim leaders who, beginningwith
moderate reform activities, had JOined the
Indian National Congress and were working for the building up of a secular movement for national regeneration. One of the
reasons for his athtude was ills belief thatm
view of the backwardness of the Mushm
commuruty, the Muslim mterests would be
harmed if they stared taking part in political agitation.
i
Another reason was the extreme upperclass attitude On the Congress demand
JND~ AWAKENING
421
.~~~~
was, more than any other leader, responSible for awakenmg the Mushms to the
realities of the modern world and preparing them to meet the challenge He regarded Hindus and Muslims to be one
Qaum and, usmg the term in the sense of
'nation', said, "For ages th~ word Qaumhas
been used for people of a country thoygh
they may cons1s~ of distmct groups 0,
Hmdus and Muslims ! are you the residents of any other country butindm7 Surely
you live and die on the same hind Remember that Hmdus and Mushms are rehgiuus
terms. Otherwise, Hmdus, Mushms and
Chtistians who live m th1s country are by
virtue of this fact one Qaum. Now, when all
these groups are called one Qaum, they
should act as,such for the common good of
the country which is good for all of them ''
Sir Syed Ahmed .Khan
for havmg_ elected representatives m the

Provincial Legislative Councils and for
holdmg civil service exammations in India
(which were then held mEngland), he sa1d:
"You will see that, in cine of the necessary
cond1hons of sittmg at the same table with
the VIceroy, the person concerned should
have a high social status m the country.
Will the members of noble fam1hes m our
country hke it that a person of lower class
or low status even if he had taken the B.A
or M-A. degree and possessed the necessary ability, should govern them and
dispose of theu wealth, property and
honour 7 Never".
In sptte of these limitations, Su Syed
Other Muslim Reform Movemei\ts

There were many other movements which
in one way or the other helped the national
awakenmg of the Muslims. Mirza Ghulam
Ahmed had founded the Ahmed1ya Movement in 1899. Under this movement, a
number of. schools and colleges were
opened all over the country, imparting
modern education In religwn, it emphasized the umversal and humanitarian cbaracter of Islam and wanted the establishment of cordial relations by tts members
w1th people of all communities.
Another important movement IS associated wtth the centre of a religious school
at Deoband pear Saharanpur m Uttar
Pradesh It was founded by some Ulema,
the Muslim theologians, and their followers who had fought against the Briltsh rule
in 1857. It was also a centre of pohhcal
revolt agamst the Bntish rule, and Imparted to its student~ love for polihcaJ
freedom. When Sir Syed advised Mushm5.
to keep away from the Congress and jom
422
the pro-government Patriotic Association,

about 100 Ulema fr?m all over the counh'Y
and even from Medma and Baghdad issued a fa twa forbidding Muslims to JOin the
Associahon and permitting them to JOin
the Congress The Deoband school and
many similar movements kept alive the
spint of freedom.
There were other more thorough-going
movements of soctal reform amongst the
Muslims. These movements worked for
the emancipation of women, combated the
system of purdah, polygamy and childmarriage These movements were parhcularly shong in western and southern India
Badruddin Tyabji (1844-1906) was the most
outstandmg leader of these movements.
He was the first Indian bar-at-law to start
practice in the Bombay High Court. Along
with other soctal reformers and national
leaders, he was active m the Indian Social
Conference of which you have read before.
He JOmed Pherozeshah Metha and others
infoundmg the BombayPresid~ncy Assoctahon to promote common natiOnal interests He was one of the founders of the
Congress and Its third President.
There were many other leaders belongmg to vanous commumties who played an
important part in the awakening of Indian
society. BehramJt Malaban and Pandtta
Ramabai were two other outstandmg leaders who played a leading role m movements for women's uplift. There were reform movements among Parsis mitiated
by Nauroji Furdonj1 and Dadabhai NaorJi.
The Singh Sabhas played a leading role in
the spread ofeducabonamong Sikhs. Later,
a powerful movement arose among the
S1khs to put an end to the control of the
Gurudwaras by corrupt Mahants.
In the twenheth century, when the nahonalist movement under the leadership
TilE STORY OF CIVILIZA'TION
of Mahatma Gandhi became a mass movement soCial reform became an mtegral part
of the struggle for freedom.
Impact of the Reform Movements
As a result of these movements, sigruficant
advances were made in the field of emancipation of women. Some legal measures
were introduced to elevate their status.
The prachce of satt and infanhCide wer~
made Illegal. In 1856, a law was passed
permittmg widow remdrnage. Another
law, passed in 1860, raised the marriag~
able age of gtrls to ten which was a sigruficant advance in those days. Many superstitions also began to disappear. At the close
of the century, it was no lortger considered
sinful to travel to foreign countries and
exptatory rituals for being accepted back m
the community were no longer thought
necessary on one's return.
The reform movements that grew differed from each other in many ways, but
they all helped in awakening the people to
the need for change. Most of these movements, as you have seen, were religtous m
character and appealed to one's own religwus commumty. This IS understandable.
A,s most of the social evils had become
assoc1ated with rehg1ous practices, these
social reform movements had mevitablyto
be rehgious as well
The reform movements contributed a
great deal to the btrth of Indian nahonaltsm. These were country-wide movements
influencing people everywhere and nat
just in ISOlated areas. The reform activities
united people and the attackoninshtutions
hke caste which hampered social unity
created a sense of oneness m the people.
Therefore, they played an important role in
the nse of nationalism.
But most of these reform movements
INDIAN AWAKENING
had certam limitations The questions to

which they gaye primacy concerned only
small sections of Indtan society Some of
them also failed to emphasize or even recogruze that colomal rule was basically
immical to the interests of the Indian people.
Most of them also worked within the
framework of then respective comrnumties and, in a way, Lended to promote Idennttes based on religion or caste. Many of
these limitations were sought to be overcome durmg the course of the nahonal
movement w1th which many social and
religious reformers were closely associated. Indian nationalism aimed at the regeneratiOn of the entire Indian soc1ety irrespective of caste and community. It was no
longer necessary to confme the movement
of social reform to one's own commumty.
Thenationalistmovementtackledallsocial
evils on a national bas1s and did not deal
With them commumty-wtse.
The awareness of the exploitative nahlre of thecolorual ru1e also began to emerge
m the later half of the nineteenth century. A
pioneer in th1s regard was Dadabhai
Naoroji, who hal) been referred to m connection wtth the reform movement m the
Pars1 community. He was one of the
founders of the Indian National Congress
and was thrice its President He was the
first Indtan to be elected to Bnhsh Parliament. Hemfluenced the economic thinkui.g
of the intelhgents1a through his book Poverty and Un-Bntzsh Rule zn Indza. In this
book, he exposed the disastrous consequences of British rule on Indian economy.
His theory of the British dram of Indtan
wealth provided the basis of the campaign
agamst Bntish rule. He was loved and
respected by the people as the Grand Old
Man of India Besides Dadabhm NaoroJi,
the other leaders who played a promment
423
role m promoting an awareness of the econormc exploitahon of India by the British

were M.G. Ranade, G V Joslu and R.C
Dutt
GROWTH OF EDUCATION
As you have already read, almost all reform movements aimed at the spread of
modern education in Ind1a because of the
part it played in the modernization of soctety.
During the early years oft he nineteenth
century, the gQvernment of the East India
Company followed a policy of mdifference
111 the matter of educahon, which was not
regarded as a part of the responsibdt ty of a
commercial company TI1etradtlional educational sys Lem consisted of sma11 pathshalas
~md madrasas in temples' and mosques and
was confined, besides teachmg the three
R's, mamly to rehg10us educahon Thts
system suffered a dechne under British
rule The first efforts at Imparting modern
education were made by Chnstian rmsSIOnanes and 111dtv1dual officers of the
Company. The misswnanes opened
schools and started prmtmg presses They
pnnted many books. Though they aimed
pnmarily at the spread of Chnshanity
through their educatwnalinstltuhons, they
did much pioneenngwork 111 the spread of
modern education
Beginnings of Modem Educahon
Many Indmns had started reabzmg that
modern educatiOn was necessary to meet
the challenge of modern times. They put
pressure on the government to start educational institutions. Some advance was made
With the help of indtvidual government
officials and other Europeans. One of ,the
most important achievements was the
424
foundmg of the Hindu College at Calcutta

in 1817 Rammohan Roy was associated
With the foundmg of this college along with
many liberal Europeans like David Hare. It
created anew intellectual chmate m Calcutta
and was the centre of the most radical
movement of the hme called the Young
Bengal Movement. The leadmg personalIty m this movement was Henry Loms
VivianDerozw, aPortuguese-illdian youth.
He jomed the Hmdu College as a teacher of
philosophy m 1826 at the young age of 17.
A whole generation of youth came under
his mfluence and learned to think for Itself
m a rational and scientific way He ins tilled
mh1s students love for independent thmkmg, hberty and patnobsm. He was a poet
and expressed ills love for India m ills
poetry.
He was removed from the staff of the
college for preaching atheism and, soon
after, died. H1s hfe symbolized the new
mtellectual atmosphere which was developing as a result of the beginning of modern education. Indian students were becoming farmliar with the revolutionary
Ideas of the French philosophers and the
democratic thought of other cou'ntries of
Europe. Many Indians had also started
schools and colleges for imparting modem
education.
The British Government's
Educational Policy
The Dnhsh government, however, was the
chief agency m spreadmg modern education after the imtial mdtfferenc~. One of the
reason& for the change was the need for
educated Indians in mmor administrative
posts. With the consolidation of the Bntish
rule, the work of admmistrahon had m. creased and Itwas not possible to get people
from England for all jobs People to man
TilE STORY OF CIVILIZATION
minor JObs m administration, commercial

wo1;k and mdustnes were needed Lawyers, doctors, teachers, and other professiOnal people were also reqmred. To meet
all these reqmrements, it was necessary to
impart Enghsh education to some Indians
The zeal of many British adrnimstrators in
spreading Eu,ropean culture, which they
considered supenor to all other, also played
a part in the decision to introduce English
education. In this, they were supported by
many Indians hke Rammohan Roy who
realized the importance of English education as a means of brmging modern knowledge to the people of Indm.
The first step by the government was
taken m 1813 when it was decided to set
apart a sum of hot less than one lakh of
rupees' for education. This Immediately
led to the controversy between two groups
called the Anglicists .and the Onentahsts
The AnghCists led by Macaulay advocated
the teachmg of western learrung wtth Enghsh as the medmm of education Some
Orientahsts advocated the encouragement
of Sanskrit, Persian and Arabic learning,
and others wanted the teaching of modern
knowledge through local languages. The
government ultimately decided in favour
of the Anglicists and clearly stated that ~11
of the funds be henceforth employed in
Imparting to the native population a knowledge of English literature and science
through the medium of the Enghsh language'. Soon after, the use of Persian in the
courts of law was discontinued and the
government started givmg preference to
Enghsh-knowing candidates for government jobs.
The tradtbonal educational system of
the country had suffered as a result of
British conquest. This system had assured
at least the knowledge of tht> three R' s to a
INDIAN AWAKENING
large number of people. The Brihsh government, however, did not take any re3ponsibihty to spread education to the
people Consequently, primary educahon
was neglected.
The next advance came in 1854 With
what IS known as the Wood's D1spatch.
Und~r thls Dispatch, the government undertook to pay more attenhon to the spread
of education. Local languages along With
English were made the media of instruction at the school stage and English at the
college stage The aim of education as
stated by the Dispatch was the spread of
western culture; 1t would seek to foster and
promote loyalty to the State among Indian
students and prepare them for admirustranve respons1bilihes.
It was only towards the end' of the century that sigmhcant advances took place m
the spread of educahon. By then, the role
of Indians themselves m operung educational mstitutions became important. The
Deccan Educahon Society was established
in Bombay and did useful work. The activities of many reformers in the field of educahon, including the education of wnmen,
have already been mentioned
Influence o Education
In spite of the activihes of the missionaries,
the Bntish government and Indtans and
thetr organizations, education remained
confmed to a small mmonty of people
Pnmaryeducation was neglected and this,
combined w1th the decline of the tradihonal system of education, led to illiteracy
of the vast majority of the Indian population. The promoters of Enghsh education
had hoped at creatmg a class of Indians
who would be English m their thinking and
habits. However, althoughEnghsheducation created a ruatus between the English
425
educated and the rest of the populatiOn, 1t

brought Indians into close contact w1th
rahonal and sdenbfic ideas and With sctence and technology Even though it was
done to tram people for mmor admmistrative jobs, it faCilitated the growth of know ledge and the spread of the ideas of democracy, nationalism and, m the twenbeth century, socialism. Another tmportant change
was that it was not confined to any one
caste or sect. It was open to all. However,
English education was not an unrmxed
blessing The educational system was not
designed to promote thmkmg in the interest of the Indian people and tended to
create a group of people who felt themselves to be dtfferent and a class apart from
the rest of society.
Rediscovery of the Past
Modern educatwn, in course of time,
evoked interest m the correct understandmg of Indm 's past Attempts were made to
redtscover and re-study the past of India to
enhance the understandmg of the present.
Laudable efforts were made by many European scholars and enlightened government officials in this direchon. The first
significant begmnmgwas made by Wilham
Jones who came to India m 1783 and
founded the As1ahc SoCiety m 1784. TI1e
atm of the Soc1ety was 'enqutry mto the
history and anhquities, arts, sciences, and
literature of Asm.' The Society built up a
rich collection of old mamiscnpts in vanous languages and pubhshed the learned
Journal of the AsUltlc Soctety of Bengal. Wilham Jones rumself translated Kalidasa's
Abhijnanashakuntalam Many other ancient
works like the Bhagavad Glta, the
Upamshads, the Dharmashastras and the
Vedas were translated. Useful work was
done on ancient Indian history. James
426
Prinsep, for example, discovered the clue

to the inscriptions of Ashoka which led to
the discovery of the achievements of that
gr""'t emperor. Anctent scripts were deciphered and the study of the anctentmscriphons opened new horizons for the study of
Indian htstory and civlltzation. Preservation of ancient monuments, paintings and
sculpture started, and a proper appreciation of Indian art began The study of
Sanskrit was taken up on scientific bnes
Scholars from many other countrtes of
Europe, notably Germany and France, were
attracted to the study of the anc\ent art,
htstory and philosophy of India.
To rule India, the Bntish govemment
felt that the knowledge of Indian history
society, religions and culture was necessary. Thus the govenm1ent encouraged the
study oflnd1an mstitutiOns and many European scholars and government offlcmls
wrote books on Indian society and history.
Some of these works were tendentious and
tr1ed to show that the Indian past was one
of misery, and British rule, 'a blessmg' to
the Indmn people. They also fostered dissensions between the Hmdus and the Muslims
Much of the new knowledge 'about
India's past gaye a sense of pnde to the
Indtan people and helped-in their awakenmg. Many Indian scholars took up the
study of Indtan history and culture in a
systematic way and the apprecration of
Indm from a sp~cifically Indian pomt of
view began. Although some of this led to
glorification ofeverythmg ancient,ttlielped
Indians regain pride and confidence in
themselves- and prepared them for the
struggle for nahonal independence and
reconstruction that lay ahead
Modem Indian Art and Litera hire
Although Indian languages were subordt-
nated to th<> study of English by the Br1tish

government, theu growth was stimulated
undertheimpactofmodernideas.Modern
Indian languages wh1chhad started growmg about a thousand years earlier had
become mature and fecund. These languages were further ennched in the nineteenth century Writers ventured forth into
new literary forms and modes such as the
novel and the drama. The new development was not merely in the use of new
forms but also in content Novel and drama
became mcreasmgly concerned With current problems. Even histoncal novels and
dram;~s were written with an eye on the
present. Nee!
[/111'J!rl/J,
the first Bengali po
'libcal drama, presented lhe story of the

brutality of the Enghsh indigo planters. It
was banned by the Brihsh government.
Mythology was increasingly replaced by
soctal and reahstic literature In poetry also
there was a change It was no longer
confined to devotional songs, and increasingly adopted secular and national themes.
New hterature came more and more to be
related to the rising national consciousness. By the twentieth century, new forms
of literature became fully developed and
played an Important part m revolutiomzing popular attitudes.
There was a revival in the art of paintmg The traditions of AJanta and of the
Mughal arid Pahan paintings wh1ch had
been forgotten were rev1ved and developed Later, trends mart appeared which
were largely influenced by contemporary
Western styles. The developments in art
and lfterature contributed to the growth of
modern culture
Growth of the Press in the Nineteenth
Century,
The Press is an important mtegrating force

m society. It keeps people hving m one part
427
JNLJIAN AWAKENING.
mformed of the developments in other

parts of the country It is an Important
medtum for the dissemination of informa- ,
tiononvariousproblems. ltisalsoameans
to mobihze public' opiruon on important
issues of the day. It is a great help m the
campaigns for social reform and to influence activities of the state. It can be used as
aforurnfortheexpressionofpopularopmion on matters of pubhe interest.
h1India, the growth of the Press started
early m the nineteenth century and played
an important part in the awakening of the
people.
The first newspaper in lnd1a was the
Bengal Gazette started m 1780 However,
the real development of the Press came
earlym thenmeteenthcentury Rammohan
Roy started two p~pers, Samb~d-Kawrt,udi
in Bengali and Mzratul-Akbar m ~ers1an,
which were devoted to propagating the
case for social reform. Many other national
leaders and social reformers were also a~sooated with the growth of the press m
India. DadabhaiNaoroji~ditedRastGoftar,
and Ishwar Chandra Vtdysagar started
Shame ~rakash .. In 1890, anEnghsh weekly,
the Indzan Soczal Refor;mer, was started m
Bombay to propagate social reforms.
In the second ~~
the nineteenth
o!
century,manyEngh~hdatheswerestarted;
many of these are still among the popular

newspapers in Indta hke the Ttmes of India
started in 1861, the Pioneer in 1865, the
Madras Mail in 1865, the Statesman in 1875.
These papers usually supported the Bntish
government's policies. There were ~ther
datlies wluch voiced Indian opnuon like
theAmrita Bazar Patrika started in Bengal in
1868 and thE> Hmdu started m Madras in
1878 There were many newspapers and

journals m Indian languages also By the
end of the nineteenth century, about 500
newspapers and journals in Indian Ianguages and English were published m dtfferentpartsofthecountry. W1ththegrowth
of the national movement, the Indian Pre1:1s
also grew and played an Important part m
rousing the nabonal consc10usness of the
people. The bi-weekly- Kesan, a Marathi
journal, started by Bal Gangadhar Tilak,
was one such journal
TI1e Bribsh government passed many
Acts from time to time to introduce censorship over the Indian Press. In the twentieth
century when the nabonalist Press gl'ew
stronger, the freedom of the Press was
further curtailed However, m sp1te of the
suppressiOn, the Press played the role of
awakening the people to the need for reform,helpedmthedissenunationofknowledge and became one of the mstruments in
the growth of nationalism.
The social and religiOus reform movements were an expresswn of the awakening of the Indian people. Education, in
sp 1teofitslimitednature, promoted awareness of new ideas and of the world and
nurtured ideas for reconstruchon of India.
The rediscovery of fudia 's past and the
growth of new literature were an expressian of the awakerung consciousness and
contributed to its further gtowth. All these
changeswereanexpressionofthenational
awakening of India and contributed to 1ts
further d~elopment. N ahonalism came to
embodytheaspirationsofthelndianpeople
for independence and a new order based
on democracy and social equality. You wm
read about this in the next chapter.
428
EXERCISES
Thmgs to Know
1 Explam the meaning of the followmg terms Domestic System1 AngllClsts, Onentalists, '
Sat!, Permanent Settlement, Ryotwar1 System
2 Wtth whtch orgaruzations were the followmg persons assoctated ?
MG. Ranade, Ramf!J.ohan Roy, Derozto, Dadabha1 NaorDJl, Dayanand Saraswatt,
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Badruddm Tyabji, VIVekananda, Annie Besant, Nawab Abdul
Lanf, Keshab Chandra Sen, Jottba Phule, Sn Narayana Guru
3 What were the new socral classes that arose in Indta after the British conquest?
4.. Descnbe the soctal ills agamst which the social reform movements were dtrected.
5 What were the points of controversy between the Anghcists and the Orientahsts?
6 Descnbe the tnam phases m the spread of modem education m Indta m the nineteenth
century What were the agencies wruch helped in the spread of English education in the
same perwd '
.
7 Name some newspapers wruch were started m the runeteentn century and which are
commg out even today.
Things to Do
1. Arrange the various orgamzations of soctal reform m order of their forma tlon and hst
Important leaders assoctated w1~ each
2 Wnte an essay on the hfe and work of Rammohan Roy.
3 In a scrap book collect pictures and saymgs of the leaders of the social reform
movements
Things to Thtnk about and Dtscus9
1 What do you understand by the term 'modernization' ? In what re~pects was Indian
society not 'modem' m the early nineteenth century?
2 Do you think It was necessary or desirable to mix religion With the work of social
reform ? Why ? Or why not ?
3 How far, m your opmion, were the movements of soctal reform effective m nddmg
Indian society of soCial evds ? What social evils do you think need to be combated
today?
4 Did modern edu{Cation help in the awakerung of Indta ? D1scuss.
5 Read Parts III and IV of the Constitution of India on the Fundamental Rtghts and the
Dnechve Prmciples of State Pohcy How far have these two parts imb1bed and carried
forward the aims of the ru.neteenth cenhtry reformers ?
CHAPTER 16
India's Struggle for Independence

THE heroic struggle wagea by the people
ofindia to liberate themselves from foreign
rule was the result of the nse and growth of
Indian nationalism. Indian nahonahsm
took butl1 in the nmeteenth century as a
result of the condttions created by British
rule. British rule was mtended only to
serve the mterests of the ruhng classes of
Bntain. Thts was the cause of Lhe fundamental antagomsm between the British
government anJ the Tndtan people
The nse of nabonahsm marks a defmite
stage in the developtue" ~of human soctet
ies everywhere m the worJd The Bnt1sh
conquest had dtsrupted the evolution of
Indmn society throub"h nternal prnrPsses.
Nahonahsm, therefore, arose m Indta, as m
other countries which were vichms of imperialist conquest, under conditions ere
ated by foreign rule. Wtth the growth of
nationalism, the demands of the Indian
people assumed an mcreasingly nationalIst character Begmnmg wtth th demand
to have a share In adm1rustration, 1t developed into the struggle for complete independence. The character of the struggle
was also gradually transformed. Begmningwith constitutional agttation by small
sections of educated people, it gradually
turned mtoa revoluhonarystruggle, peaceful though not constitutional, of the overwhelming maJonty of the people of Indta.
Bestdf''> hPmg a struggle for political mdependence, It also became a struggle for the
rf "Onstruchon of Indian society OIL thr basis of democracy and soCial equality
THE REVOLT OF 1857
The people in diffe 'f ntparts ofindm, nght

from the begmmng of the Bntish conquest,
never acquiesced 111 the1r poltttcal subJeCtion. Not a year passed without an armed
resistance to Bnbsh rule in one part of the
country or the other. Some of these revolls
were those of the Sanyast& 111 Bengal and
Bihar (1763 onwards) 1 of the peasanls
{Mtdnapur 111 1766, Rangpur in 1783,
Mysore tn 1830-31, Kh<mdesh in 1852), of
the chiefs and other landed sections (for
example 1 those of the Poligar<> of
Ramnathapuram, Sivaganga and olher
places during 1795-1805, ofVelu Thambt m
Travancore ull808-09, of Ram Chinnamma
of K1ttur dunng 1824-29, etc), and of the
tnbal people (notably of the Bhils dunng
1817-31, theKolsdunng 1820-37, the KhFlsis
under U Tirot S111gh du~mg 1829-33, the
Santhals durmg 1855-56, etc.) There were
also mutimes, for example, at Vellore in
1806 All these revolts were, however,
sporadic and localized and though some of
them lasted many years, they dtd not pose
430
a serious challenge to Bnbsh rule. The

greatest of the revolls, which shook the
very foundatiOns of Bntish rule, occurred
10 1857
The revolt began at Meerut on 10 May
1857, with the uprising of lndmn sepoy~ of
the Bnllsh armies in India. It was the re"l d ~
of accumulated resentment, which had lwe11
growing smce the beginnmg of British con
quest, but was tnggered off by the greased
cartridges mCident In fact the causes were
much deeper Lhan this
You have read m the previous chapter
about the social and economic consequences
of Bnt1sh rule Pea~ants had been disposse~sed of their lands and artisans had been
rumed. The Bn ttsh pohcy of annexatiOn of
terntory had led to the d1~possession of
many lndmn rulers. As a result of these,
dbcontent was Widespread Dalhou5Ie,
who came to lnd1a as the Governor-General, annexed eight new states m the course
of eight years of his stay m oH1ce There
was abo a fear in themmd~ of many people
that the I3nti~h government was out to
forcibly convert them to Chnstiamty. That
the I3nllsh government paid scant regard
to the religious behefs of the Indmn people
I!> clear from the use of the greased cartndges Thu!> the Bnhsh government had
alienated va5t numbers of people -- common people as well as former rulers-- and
the re~entment had been butldmg up for
!>Onw time. Lord Metcalfe, who was the
Governor-Generalm1835-36, had wntten
All India is <lt all time Iookmg out for our
downf<lll The people everywhere would
reJOICe, or fancy they would reJOice, at our
destruction. And members are not wantmg who would promote it by all met~ns in
their power' A httleover20years after, the
revolt broke out.
The revolt soon spread over northern,
central and eastern lndm. The rebels declared Bahadur Shah 11, the nommal Mughal
kmg, the Emperor' of Hmdustan Hmdu 5
and Muslims fought shoulder to shoulder
agamst the British The deeds of valour of
rebels, hke the Rani of Jhan::,J, Maulvi
Ahmadulla, Kanwar Smgh, Bakht Khan
and Tantia Tope, have become proud legends and have msp1red the later generations
The revolt was !>Uppressed after bttter
fightmg for over a year, though peace was
not restored until 1859 The Bnhsh rulers
followed a ruthless and indiscnmmate
pohcy of vengeance Thou!>ands of people
were hanged m Dellu, Lucknow and other
places The mhuman repnsals of the BntISh government provoked resentment even
in England Many Enghshmen protested
against the barbanties of the Bntish rulers
and expre!>sed their sy~npathy and support
for the Indiim people The revoll and tls
CI uel suppression left a legacy of b1lterness
and hatred among~t the people of India.
The revolt marked a turningpomtm the
history of India The rule of the East India
Company came to an end and the control
passed to the Bnttsh Crown. The British
government promised not to annex any
more lnd1an states The Indian states accepted the paramountcy of the Bnhsh government and became loyal allies of the
Bnt1sh rule
The revolt made the Indian people more
polibcallycon~ciou~ than before. The movements of soctal reform and modernization
had already started. These movements
gathered momentum The hold of the Indian prmces on the Indian peopledechned
~nd It wa!> mcreasmgly reahzed that national independence would be attamed
lhrough a movement of the people themselves and not under the leadership of the
INDIA'S STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE
old rulers of India. The struggle agamst the

rulers of Indian states itself became a part
of the natronal struggle for independence.
The most valuable legacy of the revolt was
the memory of a uruted struggle. Soon
India was to wrtness the growth of the
national!st movement aumng at nahonal
independence, democracy, soctal equality
and natwnal development.
RISE OF INDIAN NATIONALISM

EARLY PHASE 1858-1905
Nationaltsm is a phenomenon wluch appeared in world history after the close of
theMiddleAges. Youhaveread in Chapter
6 (Vol I) about the rise of the ftrst nationstates in Europe N atwnalism, as you have
seen, was the result of new social and
economic forces, which had put an end to
feudalism Nation-states had begun to be
formed w1th definite bonndaries, with a
deftrutepoliticalsystem witlunthese boundaries, w1th the uruforrmty of laws and with
the people mhabiting the state livmg nnder
the same political, social and economtc
system and sharmg common aspirations.
The mtddle class had played a s1gnificant
role m the formation of nation-states. In
many countries of Europe, hke Italy and
Germany, nahonalism emerged as a powerful force only m the nineteenth century.
The French Revoluhon of 1789 had added
a new element to the phenomenon of nationalism. It identified the nation With the
people This meant that, in a nation, the
people were sovere1gn. Wherev~r, after
1800 or so, new sovereign states have been
called mto existence or wherever existing
states have experienced a violent or abrupt
change of political order, they were best
explamed as conjlincnonof these two forces
431
at work -nationalism and democracy.

Thegrowthoflndiannahonalismstarted
in the mneteenthcentury. Political um6cation of the country, destruction of India's
old social and economic system, the begmrung of modern trade and industry and lhe
rise of new social classes laid the basis of
natwnalism. The soctal and rehg10us reform movements and popular anh-Bntish
revolts contributed to the growth of nationalism.
Bntish rule was minucal to the mtere~ts '
of almost all sections oflndmn society The
peasants were suffering under the new
land-tenure systems introduced by the British. The Indian industrialists were not
happy because of the economic pohcy of
the Bntish government. For example, all
import duttes on cotton textiles were removed in 1882 which harmed the nascent
Indian textile mdustry The educated
people suffered because they were dJscnnunated agamst. Almost all sections of
Indian soctetyrrealized that their mterest&
were antagonistic to Bnhshrule. The people
of India became aware of the fact that the
development of their country was not possible unless British rule was ended All
these factors forged the people oflnd1a mto
a nation, and t:lus consCiousness expressed
itself in the struggle for national indt:!pendence
Several other 'factors helped in the
growth of national consciousness amongst
Indian people The expl01tation oflndia by
the Brihshrulers an~ the dislocation caused
by their pohcies worsened the condition of
the already impovenshed ~asses. There
was a series of famines, which took a toll of
millions ofhmnan hves, due to the indtffer~
ence of the autocratic Brttish admirustration. The British government made use of
Indian tesources to pursue its imperialist
432
atms mother parts of Asta. The GovernorGeneral (now also the Vtceroy) was the
supreme authonty m the country, responsible only to British parhament thousands
of mtles away He was assisted by executive and legislative counols, which consisted of persons, mostly Englishmen, appointed by him. Indmn people had no say
m the admtmstration of the country. The
Indian Civil Servtce, whtch ran the adminIStration of the country, also consisted
mostly of Englishmen. Though Indians
couldappearforcompehhveexammations,
it was difficult for them to get selected. The
examinations were held m England and
few could afford to appear for them
Another factor was the prachceofracial
discrunmat10n. Before the revolt of 1857,
many Englishmen, officials and others, were
not averse to truxmg socially wtth Indtans.
After the revolt, the feeling of racial superionty grew and everything Indian appeared mfenor and barbaric to them There
were exclusiVe clubs and railway coaches
for Europeans where the entry of Indians
was prohibited As Jawaharlal Nehru put
1t, "India as a nation and Ind1ans as mdivtduals were subjected to msult, hunuliahon and contemptuous treatment " The
feelmg of ractal supenority may be seen
from the failure of U1e llbert B1ll in 1883.
The bill sought to bnng Indians and Europeans on par as far as the crnmnal junsdiction of courts was concerned and to withdraw the prlVllege enjoyed by Europeans
of being tned by a judge of theu own race
only The Europeans latmched anagitahon
against the bill and It was Withdrawn.
The Bn hsh government consIstently followed a pohcy of repression after 1857.
N1any measures of the government provoked widespread agitation Two of these
were the Vernacular Press Act of 187B and
the Arms Act of 1879. The former Act

Imposed severe restrictions on the freedom of the Press and the latt,..r forbade the
possession o{ arms by Indians.
Thus, various factors contributed to the
nse ofthe nationalist movement In the last
quarter of the nineteenth century, the movement started assummg an all-lndm form.
Begmning with the demand for small concessions, thenationalistmovement became
a movement for complete independence of
India The American War of Independence, the French Revolution, the wars of
Italian uruficationand the Ideas ofVoltatre,
Rousseau, Thomas Pame and of Garibaldi
and Mazzim (who were the leaders of the
struggle for Italian umftcation) provided
inspiration to Indian nationalists. In the
twentieth century, the Ideas of socialism
and internationalism mfluenced them.
Early Political Movements and the

Indian National Congress
A number of pohtical orgaruzahons came
mto existence m the later half of t,p.e nineteenthcentury. J:...s early as 1851, the Bnttsh
Indian Association was formed in Bengal
to represent Indian gnE'vances to the British government. In 1H7(,, Surendanath
Banerjea founded the lnd1an AssoCiahomn
Bengal Dadabha1 NaoroJi had started the
Bombay Association. Some of the other
assoCiaho,ns were the Madras Native Associahonformed m 1852, thePoonaSarva1aruk
Sabha and the Madras Maha1ana Sabha set
up m 1870 and 1884, respecttv~ly Attempts were made to form an all-India
organization. In 1883, Surendranath
Banerjea called an All-India National
Conference which was descnbed by its
President as the first step to a National
Parhament. In 1885 was founded the IndianN ahonal Congress In the founding of
Surendranath Baner1ea
the Congress, a retired English civil servant1 A.O Burne, played an 1mportant
part. The Governor-General, Lord Dufferin,
blessed the Congress. He thought the Congress would be a good forum for the government to keep zt~elf 'mformed regarding
the bestind1an public opinion.' Soon, however, the Congress was to become a revolutionary orgamzation leading the Indian
people to mdependence.
Even at the first sessiOn of the Congress,
held m Bombay, under the Prestdentsrup of
W.C. Bonnerjee, all regions of India were
represented. Persons attending the session
433
belonged to different rehgious faiths. The

problems that were discussed concerned
all Indtans, irrespective of their religiOn,
caste, language and region Thus the I:ndiannationalistmovement, which the Congress represented, was from the start, an
all-India secular movement embracmg
every section of Indian society. It was
attended by such eminent persons as
DadabhatNaoroJi, Badruddm Tyabjt, W.C
Bonnerjee, G. Subramanya Aiyer,
P. Ananda Charlu, Behramji Malaban and
N.G. Chandavarkar.
The Congress followed a moderate
programme durmg the fust few years ofits
coming into existence. The aim of the Congress, as outlined by its President, W C.
Bormer1ee, was to 'enable the workers in
the cause of national progress to become
personally know1\ to each other' and to
urute the people of Indxa for common political ends urespective of 'differences in
respect of race and language, or social and
religious mshtutions'. The Congress held
its sess10n once a year and passed resolutions for the consideration of the government. They demanded not mdependence
but representative instltutwns. Some of
the early demands of the Congress were for
elected representatives in the provinoal
and centrallegtslative counctls, holding of
the lnd1an Civil Serv1ce examinations in
India and raismg the rrurumum age of entry, the reduction of military expenditure,
the spread of educatiOn, mdustnal development of India, relief m agricultural indebtedness, and the amendment of the
Arms Act.
The leadership of the(',, 1 ,.ess, which
included leaders like Surendranatl-.
Banerjea, M.G. Ranade, Gopal Krishna
Gokhale, R.C. Dutt and Pherozeshah
Mehta, had faith in the JUStness of their
demands and in the British government
434
1hey believed that, as soon as the Bnt1sh

government was convmced of the justness
of t:heu demands, these would be accepted.
They wanted not separahon but association With Britam Surendranath Baneqea,
for example, said. "It IS not severance that
we look forward to but umficatmn, permanentembodtmentas ~mtegral partofthat
great Empire that has gtven the rest of the
world the models of freemshtutwns". However, critiCism of the government gradually increased at the sessiOns of the Congress and more radtcal demands were
made At the second session of the Congress, one speaker sa1d, "Self-government
IS the arbiter o nature and the wdl of
Divme Providence. Every natiOn must be
the arbiter of 1ts destiny But do we govern
ourselves7No Arewenothvmgtheninan
unnatural state? Yes " With the growth of
these radtcal 1deas m the Congtess, the
government became hostile to 1t Government servants were barred from attending
the Congre~s sess10ns Lord Dufferin referred to 1t contemptuously as representmg a 'mtcroscopic mmority' and being
unworthy of attention.
In the early period, the Co tgrc ..,:, was
dominated by what were called 'moderates'. Its demands were primarily the demands of the educated mtddle class and
nsmg Jnd1an mdustriahsts. However, 1t
played an extremely stgrnflcant role m the
early stages of the growth of the Indian
natwnahst movement. Its emphasis on national unity, its crihc1sm of the drain of
Indian wealth, Its demand for representative institutions and Indiamzation of services, Its opposition to repressive measures like the Arms i.d and its constant
undersconng of people's poverty as the
basic factor oflndian politics helped to put
the nahonahst movement on sound foun-
. dah.ons Thisphaseofthemovementlasted
till about 1905.
INDIAN NATIONALIST MOVEMENT

1905-1919
Even the moderate demands of the Congress were not accepted by British rulers.
The non-fulfilment of demands, combined
with the rising awareness among the people
led to the growth of a radical wing m the
Congress which advanced the movement
further. A new phase began m the history
of the Indian nationahst movement. New
demands were made and new methods of
struggle adopted with increased mass
mobilization.
Rise of Extremism
At the turn of the century, a new trend
developed which has been called 'extremIsm'. Under the influence of, the new trend f
thenahonalist movement gave up the practice of merely issuing appeals to the government and adopted ~ew radtcal ways of
political agitation The demands put forward also 1assumed a more radical character. Several new factors contributed to this.
Cutzc 1, came to India as the new Vtceroy in December 1898. During lus penod of
VIceroyalty,he 1mposed extremely unpopular measures which intensified the opposition to Bnhsh rule. He had said that he
would assist in the' peaceful dermse' of the
Congress, When he left India, the Congress and the nationalist movement were
stronger than ever before and had, in fact,
assumed new dimenswns.
His most unpopular act was the partition of Bengal. The object of the measure
was given out as adrmmstrahve convenience The leaders could clearly see that it
*as actually a measure to divide the

people. East Bengal was to be a Mushm
maJonly province and the West a Hindu
maJOrity province The partition was designed to dxsrupt Hmdu-Muslim umty and
thus weaken the nationalist movement.
However, the effect of the measure belied
the hupes of the British government. It
provoked an agttahon and such angry
reaction against Bnhsh rule that the partition measure had to be annulled.
International events also contributed to
the growth of 'Vtgorous nationahsm.
Russia was defeated byJapanml905 This
was the first victory of anAsiannabon over
an European nation. Although Japan herself was turrung into an impenalist power
and the war had been fought for impenahst
gains m China, Japan's VICtory gave confidence to the Indian nationalists in their
struggle against Britain The defeat of
Russia was followed by the 1905 Revolution m Russia about which you have read.
The revolutiOnhad aimed at the overthrow
of the Czarist autocracy but had been suppressed. This revolution also influenced
the thinkmg of Indian na,tionalists.
The group which led the 'extremists' m
the Congress consisted of Bal Gangadhar
T1lak, B1pm Chandra Pal and Lala LaJpat
Rai. It was usually referred to as 'Lal Bal
Pal'. They extolled the past of lndta in
order to inculcate self-confidence and national pride in the Indtan people. Tllakhad
been active in the Congress smce 1890. In
1897 he was prosecuted and sentenced to
18 months' rigorous Imprisonment for his
'sedttious' writirgs and speeches. As you
have read earher, he had started a paper,
Kesan, m MaraUu through which he conducted rus nationalist campaigns. He revived the Ganapah and Shivaji festivals
and made use of them for arousingnabonal
435
Dadabhm NaorOJ1
feelings He exhorted people to action

whtch, according to h1m, was the true message of the Bhagavad Glta. ln this period, the
'extremist' wing came to be more and mor"
concerned with arousing pnde m Indiar.
culture. In Bengal, the cult of the goddess
Kali was adopted. The 'extremists' condemned the old leadership of the Congress
for their praise ofWestern culture and then
faith in the British government.
There was a wtde divergence between
the views of the' extreffilsts' and the' moderates' on the means to achieve political
nghts. Tilak summed up the difference
thus: "Political rights will have to be fought
for . The moderates think that these can be
won by persuasion. We t:lunk that they can
only be got by strong pressure''. The
436
'extrenust' leaders drew masses ul:to the

struggle, particularly m urban areas The
moblhz tion of the people, particularly the
youth, for the struggle was a maJOr contnbuhon of the 'extremtsts'.
The Boycott and Swadeshi Movements
The partition of Bengal created wttl.espread
indtgnabon all over the country. In the
turbulent atmosphere that followed, the
boy cot~ and the Swadesht movements
started. Swadesru, hterally meaning 'of
one's own country', aimed at the promonon of indtgenous industnes. Along with
Swadesht, boycott of Bntlsh goods was
orgamzed The Swadeshi and boycott
were powerful mstruments dii ected agmnst

foreign rule They attacked the Bnlishrule
wheretthurtmost. AboutC:.wadesru, Lajpat
Rat said "I regard it as the salvation of my
country The Swadesht movement ought
to make us self-respecting, self-reliant, selfsupporti1'1 and last, not least, manly. The
Swadesln movement ought to teach us how
to organize our capital, our resources, our
labour, our energJes and our talents for the
greatest good of alllndtans urespechve of
creed, colour or caste It ought to untte us,
our rehgwus and denominational differences notwtthstandmg. In my opmion,
Swadesht ought to be the common religion
of the Umted India '' On the boycott move-
Bal Grzngadhar Tzlak add1 essing the JUry durmg hzs trial m 1908- a pauzting.
He was sentenced to SIX years' Imprisonment al this trial
INDIA'S STRUGGLE FOR lNDEPENDENCE
ment, he said 1 "The mearung of the boycott

isthis .. Theprimarythingispreshgeofthe
government and the boycott strikes at the
root of that prestige. The illusory thing
they call prestige is more powerful and
potent thanauthorityitself and we propose
to do this by boycott.. . We desue to turn
away our faces from the Government House
and turn them to the huts of people''
It was at the height of nation-wide protest movement against the parhtwn of Bengal that the annual session of the Congress
was held at Calcutta m 1906. At this session
Dadabha1 N aoroji sponsored the new
programme of the Congress whtch had
been advocated by the 'extremists'.
Dadabhai' s support for the ste,wardship of
the programme lee to 1ts general approval.
For the first t1me,1t declared the attainment
ofSwaraJ as theaimoftheCongress. Swaraj
or self-government was defined as the sy~
lem of government obtaining in the selfgoverrung Bntish colomes The Swadeshi
and the boycott movements were favoured
as the means of res1stan.ce. Promotion of
national education was declared as an aim
of the Congress.
The Swadesh1 and boycott movements
soread to many parts of the country. Shops
s~lling foreign goods were picketed. Students played an important part m the
Swadeshi and boycott movements. Meetmgs were held all over the country and
assoCiations were formed. The government resorted to repressive measures.
Meetings we,re banned, the chanbrtg of the
national song Bande Mataram co.mposed by
Bankim Chandra ChatteiJee was prohibIted, recognition was withdrawn from
schools and grants were stopped,
processionists were lathi-charged and various attempts were made to strike ter.ror in
the people. However, aU the measures of
437
oppressiOn were of no-avail. The popular

upheaval was so mtense that many people
came to believe that the end of Bnhsh rule
was near. It wa~ at this time that Tilak
wrote: "Repression is repression; If it is
legal, it must be resisted peacefully; buttfit
ts illegal, it must be illegally met''. He also
gave Congress U1e slogan "Swaraj is my
birthnght and I shall have it" The movement continued mto the year 1907. The
nati,. mahst newspapers were banned and
then editors prosecuted. Many leaders were
1mpnsoned.
In 1907, fhe 23rd sess10n ofthe Congress
was held at Surat. Here the 'moderates'
and tl1e 'extrerrusts' came into conflict. The
'moderates' wanted to modify the resolutions on Swadeshi and boycott passed at
the Calcutta sessiOn in the prev10u:. year.
Theya~<;owanted townteintotheconstitution of the Congress a clause that selfgovernment was to be achieved through
constituhonal means and by reformmg the
existing system of administration. They
were opposed to the mtensihcation of the
movement. Tllak tried to capture the leadership of the Congress. There ensued disorderly sceries and the sessiDH broke up.
Then~ogroupslatermetseparately. Leadership of the Congress remained in the
hands of the 'moderate' group The 'extrellllsts' worked separately until the reuruon in 1916
Meanwhile the repressive measures of
the government continued. The repress10n
was particularly brutal ln Bengal,
Maharashtra, PunJab and Talllll Nadu In
1907 the Seditious Meetmgs Act was passed
to prevent the holdmgof meetings 'hkely to
promote disturbance of public tranqmlhty', In 1910, the Indtan Press Act was
passed which gave the authoribes wide
powers to plJ.!lish the editor of any paper
438
'which published matter wluch in their

view was mcitement to rebelhon'. The
government deported people Without tnal
under a century-old law. A number of
papers were b,mned and leaders impnsoned and deported. Tilak was sentenced to
six yl:'ars' 1mpnsonment and deported to
Mandalay for two arttcles which he had
published in his paper Kesari. H1s arrest
was widely resented and led to one of lhe
earhest strikes in the his tory of India by the
textile workers of Bombay.
Thus 'in the first decade of the twentieth
'century, thenatmnalist movement entered
a new phase More and more people were
drawn mto 1t, and they were no longer
sabshed by appeals to the government.
The assoCiatiOn of religion with the movements in some places encouraged communal thinking and proved harmful.
Morley-Minto Reforms
In 1909, the government announced the
Morley-Minto Reforms to conciliate the
'moderate' nationahsts. In 1861, six nonofficial members had been added to the
legislative council. The council had no
powers and only considered matters wh1ch
were referred to 1t The Indian members
who were nominated were drawn from the
famihes of princes and btg landlords By
the Indtan Councils Act of 1892, the membership of the central and the provmcial
legtslahve councils was enlarged and nonofftctal Indtan members were added. As a
result of the movement following the parbtionofBengal, the Morley-Minto Reforms
introduced further changes m 1909 As
usual, the new measures were too httle and
too late The memberships of the central
and provincial legtslative councils were
enlarged and a few more elected members
were added However, the elected mem-
bers were not popularly elected. They

were elected by landlords and chambers of
commerce. Separate electrorates were introduced for the Mushms. The introducbon of separate electorates was a calculated move 111 accord With the Imperialist
policy of' div1de and rule'. Communalism
was openly introduced into Indian political hfe.
The councils had no real powers and
were not popularly E'lected bodies The
'moderate' leadership welcomed the reforms as conshtuting an advance but ex
pressed 'its strong sense of d1sapprov.al of
the creation of separate electorate on the
basis of religion.' The reforms were con
demned by the' extremists'. Many Mushm
leaders condemned the separate electorates. Gradually, even the 'moderate' leaders of the Congress reahzed the inadequacy
and, in some respects, the harmful nature
of the refurms. At the sessiOn of the Congress m 1909, one delegate satd "We protestagainstitbecauseitmeansthepartlhon
of the whole livmg India, an affair much
more serious than thepartihonofthe boundaries of Bengal "
The reforms were not meantto be a step
in the direction of self-government for In~
d1ans. Morley,SecretaryofState, whohad
framed the reforms along with Minto, the
Governor-General who had succeeded
Curzon, disclaimed any mtentwn of bestowmg self-government on India. He said
that if these reforms 'led directly or mdirectly to the establishment of the Parliamentary System m India, I for one would
have nothing to do With it'.
Revolutionary Movement
Along with the open political movements,
there arose in the first decade of the twenbethcenturyvarious revolutionary groups
m different parts of the country. These

early revolutionaries, active mainly m Bengal, Maharashtra, '!'amilNadu and Punjab,
had no fmth m conshtuhonal agttations
They beheved that by terrorizmg Bntish
offictals, they would be able to demoralize
the entire machmery of the government
and bnng about freedom After the government suppressed almost all open pohl:lcal agitation and impnsoned a large number of nationalist leaders, the activities of
the revolutionary groups were mtensifted
The revolutionary groups orgaruzed assassmation of unpopular police officials,
magistrates and apptovers, committed
dacoities to collect money for then activities and looted arms. Attempts were made
on the lives of two Vtceroys{ Minto and
Hardinge. Such movements were organized
outside India, m Europe and Amenca also.
Of these, the most prominent was the
Ghadar (mearung 'mutiny') party. These
movements collected money for use by
revolutionaries m India, tried to smuggle
arms into India and fomented muhnies of
Indian soldters in India as well as those
stationed in Burma and Smgapore Although the methods of individual terrorism could not be effective against a rmghty
empue, the herOism and self-sacrifice of
these revolutionanes were a source of inspiration to the people and helped in the
growth of popular nationalist feelings.
Formation of the Muslim League
After theRevolto1857, the Bntishgovemmentfollowed a pohcy of' d1v1de and rule'.
Elphinstone had frankly said," 'D1v1de et
irnpera' was the old Roman motto, as it
should be ours." In the begtnning, Mushms were discriminated agamst They
were kept out of the army and the services.
However, when the nationalist m0vement
arose, the pohcy of the government under-
439
went a change. The government branded

the Congress as a Hindu movement and
encouraged the upper class Mushrn5 to
start their own separate organizations
agamst the Congress When the partt tton
of Bengal led to a umted r-rotest movement, Curzon himself toured eastern Bengal and addressed Mushms on the advantages that would accrue to them as a ml_JoritycommurutymEast Bengal However, at
the Calcutta sessiOn of the Congress in
1906, a large number of Muslim delegates
participated. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who
later led the movement for a separate state
of Pakistan, was also present. He moved an
amendment opposing reservation of seats,
which was accepted Moving the amendment, he said "The found ahon upon which
the Ind1an Nahonal Congress is based is
that we are all equal, that there should be no
reservation for any class or any community, and my whole object is that the reservation should be deleted"
However, m sp1te of the fact that many
Mushms had jomed the umted nahonalist
movement, the influence of the communal
elements among Mushms became strong.
Many leaders still looked for concessions
from the government to promote the interests of the newly emergmg rmddle class
and upper class economic mterests. The
leadership feared that, by opposing the
British government, the Mushm middle
and upper class econormc interests would
suffer Another reason was the suspicion
wruch theHmdu reviValism associated with
some 'extremist' leaders Jf the Congress
had created in the Muslims.
The encouragement given by the govemrnent to upper class Muslims and thus
to communal politics is evident from the
events which led to the formation of the
Mushm League On 1 October, 1906, a
Muslim delegation led by the Agha Khan
440
met Governor-General Minto at Shimla.

The Agha Khan, the religious head of a
Muslim sect, was an exceedingly wealthy
person. He led a life of luxury, mostly in
Europe. Another important leader was
Nawab Salimullah of Dacca (now Dhaka).
The Governor-General encouraged the
deputationists and within three months,
on 30 December 1906, the Muslim League
was formed. The objects of the League
were:
(a) to promote amongst the Mussalmans
of India feellngs of loyalty to the British
government and' to 1emove any misconceptions that may arise as to the intentions
of the government with regard to any ofits
measures,
(b) to protect and advance the political
rights and interests ofMussalrnans of India
and respectfully to represent their needs
and aspirations to the government,
(c) to ,prevent the rise among
M'-'ssalrnans of India of any feelmgs of
hostility towards other communities withaut prejudice to the other objects of the
League.
However, in spite of the 'promotion ...
of loyalty' by the Muslim League, more
and more Muslims were drawn into the
nationalistmovernent. In 1912,AbulKalam
Azad founded the AI Hilal and Maulana
' M9hamed Ali started the Comrade in English and Hamdard in Urdu. These papers
started by eminent nationalists earned on
their advocacy of the popular cause and
mfused the masses with therr fervour. The
Muslim League also, in 1913, adopted the
goal of self-government for India., In 1913
Jinnah joined the Muslim League. He did
so to 'bring the policy of the League into
line with the progressive and national aims
of the Congress'. The outbreak of the war
brou_ght the Muslim masses into the na-
THE STORY OF CIV.JLIZATION
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
tionahst movement on an even greater

scale.
Nationalist Movement during the

First World War
When the First World War broke out, the
British government declared India an ally
and a belligerent. fudian people and Indian
resources wer~ used for fighbng the war.
The strength of the Indian army was raised
to 1,500,000 and compulsory recruitment
of Indians was resorted to. Millions of
pounds were taken from India to be used
by the British government for Its war expenditute. Indian soldiers were sent to
fight in far-off lands.
AlargenumberofMuslimsweredrawn
into the anti-British struggle during the

war. Bntish impenalism was inimical to
the Turkish empire which was ruled by the
Caliph (Khalifa). The defence of theCaliphate (Khllafat) became an important
question for Muslims in many countries.
Muslims irt India were also drawn mto fue
moveme11t for the defence of Turkey and
against the British. Peasant unrest also
grew during the war years and peasant
movements during this period helped prepcire the ground for a mass m<:?vement. The
nationalist mov~ment grew strong durmg
the war years Tilak was releasl::d m 1914
and m 1916, he formed the Home Rule
League. Anme Besant formed another
Home Rule League a few munths later. In
1916 at the Ludmow sc:S!>IOn of the C(J
gress, the 'moderahc::.' and tile 'eAtremist:l
were umtecl. Equally ::ngruHcant W<l'> the
uruty betwe~.::n the Congress and the Mu;:;lim League achieved at Lucknow in 1916.
According to the pact, the Congres~ and
the League agreed to join their efforts tC'
demand (i) that a majority of the members
of the Legislative Councils be elected;'
(1i) that the Legislative Councils be ulvested
With wider powers than herdofore;
(iii) that atleasthalf the seats in the V1ceroy' s
Executive Council be filled by Ind1ans: The
Lucknow Pact, as the Congres&-Muslim
League united programme was called, was
an important achiE'vernent.
Meanwhile the Homf' Rule campaign
was bemg intensified. Many 'moderate'
leaders like Moti.lal Nehru aud C.R. Das
came out m support of Home Rule. Repl'essrve measures followed The papers menhoned before, Al Hilal, Comrade and
Hamdard, were banned. Annie Besantwas
interned, and her paper, New India, was
forfeited. The government action enrageO.
th~ people. ProtPsting azjamst the repres-
441
sian, C.R. Das said: ''I do not tlrink the God

of htlll'anity was crucified only once. Every outrage on humaruty at the hands of
tyrants and oppressors IS a freshnail driven
through his sacred flesh.''
The statement of the Secretary of ~tate
after the outbreak of war that 'the goal of
the British pohcy IS progressive realization
of rz&ponsible government m India'
promptedmanynattonaltstleaders, including (.;mdhiji, to support the Bntish war
campaign in the hope of attaining selgove,.uneut after the war. Gandhiji later
sa:d: "Iu r.n these efforts at service, I was
aci uared by the belief that 1t was possible
by ~nch services to gam a status of full
l'C! '. mhty fur my countrymen.'' The reforms
!'
', vere ;mnounced at the end of the war
cc: ne a~' a drsappointment. The resulting
fnostrahon led to an unprecedented upsurge of nationalist sentiments.
~\I"Y~IONALIST MOVEMENT BECOMES
A MASS MOVEMENT, 1919-1927

G<~nfhiji's
Leadership
<!1 ~attcmal.ll>tfnovem.:>.nt
grew into a wide-
spt~ad mass anti-Imperiahst movement
at
tlw end of the war Many factors contribui ed to tlus development. Mohand as
K(l.!alnchand Gandllicameinto prominence
at this time and became the undisputed
lt~der ot the nationahst movement. After
studying law :in England, he had gone to
Soul::~ Africa to start his iegal practice. In
the sauggle against the dismminatory and
racmlist policy of the government of South
Afrka, he perfected lus philosophy of action. It consisted of non-violent resistance
and, when apphed to the Indian scene, it
served to bring millions of pevple into the
movement for Swat'aj. Powerful mas"
442
movements were launched under his

leadership. These involved defi.ance oflaws,
peaceful demonstrations, boycott of courts,
stoppage of work, boycott of educational
institutions, picketing of shops selling liquor and foreign goods, non-payment of
taxes and the closing of vital busmess.
These non-violent but no less revolutionary methods mfluenced millions of people
belongmg to all sections of society arl.d
mfused in them bravery and self-confidence. Millions now braved the repression
resorted to by the government, boldly
courted imprisonment and faced lathicharges and firmgs. Gandluji lived the
simple life of an ascetic and talked to the
people m a language they could understand. He came to be known to the people
of India as Mahatma Gandlu.
CandhiJI made social reform a part of
the programme of the nahonalist movement His greatest achievement in the field
of socml reform was the campaign agamst
the inh~man institubon of untouchabihty
wluch had degraded milhons of Indians.
His other achievement was m the held of
cottage mdustnes. He s.,w m the charkha,
the spmnmg wheel, the salvahon of the
VIllage people, and its promotion became a
part of the Congress programme. In addition to infusing people with the spirit of
nationalism, it provided employment to
millions and created a large group of people
who were ready to throw themselves mto
the struggle and court imprisonment. The
charkha became so important that it evE;ntually became a part of the flag of the Indian
National Congress.
Gandluji devoted lumself to the ca~se
ofHmdu-Muslim unity. He regarded communalism as anti-nahonal and inhuman.
Under his leadership the unity of the nationalist IT).OVement was secured and the
people of India marched on in theu quest

for mdependence.
Consequences of the War and

Repressive Measures
Apart from Gandlu]i's leadership, several
other factors led to the growth of nationalIst movement into a mass movement The
war expenditure imposed on India had
further Impoverished the masses The
spread of mfluenza epiderruc toC'k ahuge
toll of human lives The war was followed
by an upsurge ofnationalism in many countnes Three autocracies had been overthrown -Hohenzoller~ m Germany,
Habsburg in Austria and Romanov m Russia. The fall of autocracies had a healthy
effect on the political climate of the world
Indtan nationalist leaders were also deeply
influenced by the Russian Revolution. The
Soviet government of Russia proclaimed
the nght of subJect nahons to mdepen
dence and gave up the imperialist gains
which the Czanst regtme had acquired. All
these developments mfluenced the consciousness of the Indtan people and inspued them to plunge themselves into the
nationalist stru~gle with greater vigour
The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms,
wluch became the Government of htdia
Act in 1919, clE>arly defmed the Jurisdiction
of the central and provincial governments.
The central legtslature now consisted of
two houses with elected maJorities. However, the franchise was limited and the
legislature had no real powers. In the provinces, a system called 'dyarchy' was introduced. There were elected majoribesm the
legislative councils, the franchise being
based on property qualifications and communal electorates. There were certam provincial subjects which were under the jurisdiction of the legislative councils but the
443
governors had wide powers of interference enclosed by bmldings on all sides, in

and the legislatures were, for all practical Amritsar General Dyer with lus British
purposes, powerless. The reforms intro- troops entered the park, closed the only
duced were a far cry from the ann ofSwaraj exit and, without giving any warning,
and were condenmed both by the Congress ordered the troops to fire. The meeting had
and the League The reforms further an- been peaceful and there had been no
gered the masses and were condemned as provocation,. Among those who had come
unsatisfactory
to the meeting were women, cruldren and
The defeat of Turkey in the war and the old persons. The firing lasted about 10
dtsmemberment of the Turkish emptre minutes and about 1600 rounds were fired.
angered the Muslim masses and led to an As the exit, which was a narrow passage,
outburst of popular feelmg against the Brit- had been closed, no one was allowed to
ish government.
escape. After some time, Dyer leftwtthhis
The British goverrunent resorted tore- troops. About 1000 dead, according to
pressive measures. In 1919, the Rowlatt unofficial estimates, and about 2000
Act was passed in sp1te of bemg opposed wounded persons lay unattended to in the
by all Indian members of the legislabve Bagh. The monstrous act provoked
counctl. TI1e Act authonzed the gbvem- unparalleled ind1gnat10n throughout the
menttoimpnson people without trial 1hree country.
Dyer's 'unexampled act of brutality'
lndtanmembers-MadanMohanMalaviya,
Mohammad Ah Jmnah and Mazharul and 'dliberately calculated massacre'
Haque - restgned from the council in shocked the conscience of many Enghshprotest. The Rowlatt Act aroused a wave of men,
Immediately after the massacre, marpopular indignation and led to the massacre atJalhanwala Bagh All the repressive tial law was declared throughout PunJab
measures, however, only added fuel to the and a re1gn of terror was let loose. However, the terror failed to crush the movefire of nationahsm.
ment and the 'moral effect' which Dyer
The Massacre at Jallianwala Btlgh
hoped to create falled to materialize. Soon
The Rowlatt Act came mto effect m March the Klnlafat and the Non-Cooperation
1919. Vmces from all over the country movements broke out.
swelled the chorus of protest. On 6 April,
there were strikes, hartals, and Khilafat and Non-Cooperation
demonstrations at many places. In Punjab, Movements
the protest movement was particularly The Khilafat movement was organized by
strong. The government resorted to lathi- the famous Ali brothers, Mohamed Ali and
charge and ftring m many places. On 10 Shaukat Ali, and others m protest against
April, two outstandmg leaders of the the injustice done tb Turkey after the war
Congress, Dr Satya Pal and Dr Saifuddin In fact, it became a part of the IndiannatlonKltchlew, were arrested and taken to an ahst movement. The Congress leaders
unknown place. To protest against the joined in the Khilafat agitahon and helped
arrests, a public meet-.ng was held on 13 in orgaruzing it throughout the countty
In 1920, the Congress a~opted the new
April m Jallianwala rlagn, a sm~l park
444
programme of non-violent Non-Cooperation under the leadership of GandhtjL The

aims of the Non-Cooperahon.,movement
were to redress the wrongs done to Punjab
and Turkey, and the attainment ofSwaraj.
It was to procP.ed in stages, begmning wr th
the renunciation of titles, to be followed by
the boycotl of the legislatures, law courts
and educational institutions and the campaign of non-payment of taxes.
It was decided to organize a corps of
150,000 volunteers to carry on the r.ampatgn of Non-Cooperation
TheNon-Cooperationmovementv Tas a
great success. In the elections to the le~is~a
tures, about two-thirds of voters did not
vote. Educatiqnal inshtuhons were c;e-
serted. A new programme ot national education was started. Such institutions as the
Jarma Mdha and the Kashi Vidya Peeth
were established. Many Indians resigned
their government JObs. Foreign cloth was
burnt m bonfires. There were strikes all
over the country. In Malabar, the Moplah
rebellion broke out. Hindus and Muslims
participated in 'the movement as one, and
scenes of fraternization were witnessed all
over the country Amongst the Sikhs, there
was a movement to d1slodge the pro-govermnent and corrupt mahant::; hom
gurudwaras Thousands of persons Pnrolled themselves as volunteers In the
m1dst of the movement, the rrince ofWales
arrived inlnd1a On the dayoflns arnval on
Delegates to Indran Natwnal Congrers .oessw, held at Anmtsm m D'Jcemher 1919 Srated on chair;
right to left, are: Madan Mohan Mnlamy,, Annie Besant, Swami Shradhannnd, Mottlal Nehru
(.Pmtdent), Bal Gangadhar Tilak n11d othl'rs. Stttmg on the ground, left to right, me. Jnwahnrlal
Nehru, S Sa 1yamurti and otlte1s
415
17 November 1921, he WqS 'greeted' by

general strikes and demonstrahons. At
many places, pohce resorted to firmg at the
demonstrators. The repression continued
and by the end of the year all the top
leaders with the exceptionofGandhiji were
arrested. By the beginmng of 1922,
about 30,000 persons were in Jail.
At the height of the Non-Cooperation
movement and the repressiVe mea~ures of
the Brihsh government, th~ annual session
of the Congress was held at Ahmedabad m
December 1921. The Congress, under the
Presidentship of Hakim AJinal Khan, dectded to contmue the movement until the
Punjab and Kl11lafat grievances were redressed and SwaraJ attaine>d. The mood of
the people can be gauged from the fact that,
at this sessiOn, many people were no longer

sahs&ed with the slogan of SwaraJ which
did not mean complete independence.
Maulana Hasrat Mohan1, an eminent nationalist leader and a leadmg Urdu poet,
proposed that SwaraJ should be defined as
'Complete Independence free from all foreign. control'. The propo~al was not accepted but tt showed the dynamics ot pulihcal consciOusness at work m the people>
Early in February, Gandluj1 deCJded to
launch a no-tax campatgn m Rardoh districtm Gujarat. However,m Chaun Chaura
(111 Uttar Pradesh) people hJrned vwieut
and set fue to a pohce statwr1 causmg the
death of 22 polkemen. When the news
reached GandhtJi, he clecided to call off the
Non-Cooperation movement. Tile Work-
Seated on chair, rigl1f to ltft arc Mohamed All, B1tarh Krzslma Tirntizp (Siwnkarachnryn of Slmrda
Peeth) and Shaukat A.lt. s~ated on the ground is Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew. Thry were tried in 1921 at
Karachr anr'l Al1 Brcthers nnd D1 Kitchlew were sentenced to two vears' imprzsonment.
446
ing Corrumttee of the Congress met on 12 movements in the name of promoting the
February 1922 and decided to concentrate interests of one's own community and proon the populanzation of charkha, promo- testmg against the real or Imaginary adtion of Hmdu-Muslim unity and combat- vantages et~oyed by other commuruties. It
ing of untouchability.
was based on the vtew that the polibcal,
Those leaders of the Congress who were economic, social and cultural mterests of
in ja1l were unhappy to learn that the move- the people belonging to different rehgious
ment had been called off. Gandhijt himself commumbes were not only separate and
was arrested and sentenced to six years' different from one another but also antagotmprisonmebt. However, he was released nishc to one another.
Within two years and started IDS construcHowever, the communal parties did
tive programme for the populanzation of not advance the mterests of thetr commucharkha, promobonofHindu-Muslim unity runes. The interests of onecommuruty could
and combating of untouchability. He also not be separated f-rom the interests of: the
took up the cause of the promotion of entire nahan. The conuuunal parhes were
nabonal education. A section of the Con- not concerned wtth the freedom of the
gress led by Motilal Nehru and C.R Das country but wanted to get concessiOns for
formed the Congress Klulafat Swarajya the upper classes of their communities.
Party and decided to participate in the You have already read about the Mushm
elections to the various legislabve bodies League which cut itself off from the Conwhich had been boycotted earlier, and to gress in the 1920s and started pursumg its
wreck them from wtthin unhl the demands communal demands. Meanwhile, several
ofthepeopleweremet. Subsequently, some Hindu communal organizations had also
of them, led by Madan Mohan Malavtya been formed. The most important of these
and LaJpatRai opposed the policy ofwreck- was the Hindu Mahasabha whtchhad been
mg the councils from withmand decided to formed m 1915. It defila\lded special privioffer Responsive Cooperabon to the gov- leges for Hindus in provmces where they
ernment.
wereinaminorityjustas the Muslim League
demanded special privileges for Mushms
Communalism and its Dangerous
in
provinces where they were ina mmonty.
Effects
Both played mto the hands of Bribsh tmpeAn unfortunate development after t11e call- rialism.
ing off of the Non-Cooperatiqn movement
These tendencies hampered the nahonwas the growth of communal tension and
ahst
movement. They diverted the attenthe occurrence of communal riots Movetion
of
people from the need for indepenments of tabllgh and shuddhi were started
dence
from
foreign rule The communalists
which resulted m the growth of communal
belongmg
to various communities had
tension The tabhgh movement was started
many
thmgs
m common. They attached
by Mushm communalists to promote conmore
importance
to getting more seats in
versiOn to Islam. TI1e shuddhi movement
was started by Hmdu communalists to the legtslatures than to the independence
reconvert to Hindmsm persons who had of the country Both looked up b]the Bntish
been converted to otherrehgions Commu- rulers for p(ltronage They dtd not concern
nalism imphed the starting of political themselves With questions affectin:..: the
common people -poverty, soe1al reforms

and equality They were concerned only
wilh the rights and privileges of the upper
classes of thetr community and were united
in their opposthon to radical soctal reforms
and changes.
Communal thinking also mfluenced
some sections among the Stkhs. Vanous
caste organizations in dtfferent parts of the
country also played a dtsruptrve role smular to the one played by the Hmdu, Muslim
and Stkh communal orgaruzations
Many communal riots occurred m vanous parts of the country as a result of the
activtttes of communal orgaruzations and
the encouragement they recetved from the
British government
FROM SWARAJ TO COMPLETE
INDEPENDENCE, 1927-1939
After the callmg off of the Non-Cooperation movement, for a few years there were
no nation-wide pohttcal campatgns or agttahons and the constructive programme of
Gandruji was taken up But soon this lull
was over. The Congress adopted the slogan of Complete Independence and a
rmghty movement known as the C1vd Dtsobedtence movement was launched to
achteve 1t The nationalist movement now
assu.!?ed a wider character and adopted a
comprehensive programme for the soctal
and economic reconstruction of Indian sooety once independence was attamed. Thus
the struggle for political mdependence became a prereqmsite for the reconstruction
of lndtan soetety.
Next to Gandhtjt, the central figure m
the new phase of the natwnahst movement
was Jawaharlal Nehru After receiving his
ed ucahon m England, Jawaharlal returned
to India m 1912. Soon he came under the
447
)'
..L...
Subhas Clumdra Bose and fawaharla/ Nehru m
Calcutta m 1937
spell of GandhiJt and threw rumselfmto the

nationalist struggle. His contact with the
peasants of Uttar Pradesh, which he developed in the 1920s aroused the deE:pest emohons m rum and made rum a life-long
champiOn of the oppressed He wrote about
his expenence "I was filled with shame
and sorrow at the degradation and overwhelmmg poverty of India A new picture
of India seemed to arise before me, naked,
starving, crushed, and utterly miserable.''
Thts 'dtscovery oflndta' made hisnattonaltst thinking all the more intense, and national independence and the struggle to
improve people's condthon became one to
rum. In December 1921, he was arrested
along wtth Mohlal Nehru, Ius father, and
other nationalist leaders He was released
for a few weeks, then re-arrested and agam
released early m 1923 Then he went to
Nabha, whtch was a prmcely state, to observe the demonstration of Akali Sikhs
against the corrupt mahants He was arrested and sentenced after the pretence of
448
a tnal. His experience of Nabha opened his

eyes to the other Ind1a, the India ruled by
the Indian pnnces. It was no better than
British rule and, in many respects, even
worse. He became the champiOn of the
rights ot the people of the prmcely states.
Within a ft'W years, the movement of the
people ot these states against the oppression by their mlers became an integral part
of the natioH&list movement. He became
one of the general ::.eCtetanes ot the CongresswhenMaulanaMohamed Ah was the
President.
Another tmportant leader to rise in this
period was Subhas Chandra Bose. Educated at Calcutta and Carnbndge, he was
selected to the Indian Civil Service but,
mr,tead, plun~ed htmself into the nationalist struggle He organized student and
youth associations throughout the country

for the strengthenmg of the nationalist
movement and, in 1924, was arrested on
the charge of organizmg terronst activ1hes.
]awaharlal and Subhas became the leaders
of the radical wmg m the nationalist movement and the 1dols of youth all over the
country
The Simon Commission

In November 1927, the Brihshgovernment
appointed the S1mon Corrunission to look
into the workmg of the Government of
Indm Act of 1919 and to ~uggest changes
The Commis::.ion consisted of Englishmen
W1thout a single Indianrepresentative. Also
1ts terms of reference d1d not hold out
hopes of anything remotdy Jike SwaraJ.
At the Congress sesslJH at Madras in
A coutemputary illustratiOn depictmg the police assault on de;:wnstrators led by Lala Lajpat Rai,
P' otesting agamst tlte Simon Commission at Lahore. Lala La]pat Rai dzed of the injuries suffered by
lum during the assa11lt.
December 1927, a resolution calling for

Complete Independence was passed. This
was the first hme that a resolution demandingcomplete independence had been
passed by the Congress. By another resolution , it was decided to boycott the Simon
Commission.
The Comnussion arrived m India in
February 1928 and was met with a countrywide hartal. Even the maJority of the members of the Central Legtslabve Assembly
boycotted the Commisswn. Anti-Simon
Committees were formed all over the country to organize demonstrations and hartals
wherever the Commission went. Peaceful
demonstrators were beaten up by the police at many places. Lala Lajpat Ra1 was
assaulted and soon after died. Govind
Ballabh Pant received a lathi blow which
disabled him for hfe.
Two other events aroused popular resentment in this penod. In March 1929,31
labour leaders were arrested on the charge
of conspiracy. The leaders included three
Englishmen who had helped m the organization of the workers' movement in India.
They were taken to Meerut and were tried.
The tnal which lasted four years is known
as the Meerut Conspiracy Case. Many
defence committees were formed all over
the country and even in England and other
forergn countries. The natwnahst leaders
provided legal defence to the accused. Some
of them were acqmtted while others were
convicted. Theworkers' organizations had
been growing and played an active part in
the nationalist movement. Many British
sociahsts helped in organizing the workers. The British government got scared,
and in'1929 issued the Pubhc Safety Ordinance to remqve from fudia persons it
considered 'Brihshand foreign communist
agents' The government had also enacted'
449
a law to curb trade union achvihes.

Another case Is known as the Lahore
Consptracy Case. After the with<.lrawa1 of
theNon-Cooperahonmovement, there had
been a revival of revolutionary activities.
Four revolutionaries, includmgRamPrasad
Bismil and Ashfaqulla, belonging to the
Hindustan Republican Association had
been hanged after their trial under the
Kakori Conspiracy case. In 1928, Chandra
Shekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Sukh Dev
and others had founded a new revolutionary organization called the Hmdustan Republican Socialist Association. On 8 April
1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt
went to the Central Legislative Assembly
and threw a bomb at government benches
and rmsed slogans of 'Long Live the Revolution'. There were no casualties and probably none was mtended. Bhagat Smgh and
Dutt surrendered and were taken mto custody. Ma:rllf other members of the assoCiation were arrested later and a bomb workshop unearthed. Except for Chandra
Shekhar Azad (who was later killed in an
encounter with the police), all the prominent members were arrested and charged
with the murder of the Superintendent of
Police of Lahore also. ']he prisoners were
brutally treated injail. Jatin Das died after
a hunger strike lasting 64 days. Bhagat
Singh, Rajguru and Sukh Dev were later
. Sentenced to death. Thett execution aroused
a wave of indignation all over the country
Lahore Congress and the Civil
Disobedience Movement
In December 1929, the Congress session
was held at Lahore WithJawaharlal Nehru
as the President. The Con~ess declared
the attainment of Complete fudependence
as its aim and decided to launch a Civil
Disol;Jed1ence movement under the leader-
450
ship of Gandhtji. It was decided to cel- is through non-v10lence. We will, thereebrate 26 January as the Independence Day fore, prepare our selves . for CIVIl disobeall over lhe country. On 26 January 1930, dience, including non-payment of taxes."
meetings were held all over the country
Because of tts stgmhcance m the nahonand the Congress tricolor was hoisted. The ahst struggle,26 January was chosen as the
people took the 'Pledge of Independence' at day to mark the birth of the Indtan Repubhc
these meehngs. The Pledge stated "The in 1950. So Independence_pay of the preBnhsh government m India has not only independence years has become Repubhc
depnved the Indtan people of thetr free- Day in Free Indta.
dom but has based 1tselfonthe exploitation
The CIVil Disobedience movement beof the masses, and has ruined India eco- gan wtth what IS known as the Dandi March.
nomically, politically, culturally and spin- Gandh1j1, along with 78 of his followers,
tually We be1ieve, therefore, that India started from his ashram at Sabarmah on a
inust sevet the Brthsh connection and at- march to Dand1 on the sea-coast on foot
tain Purna Swaraj or complete indepen- anli broke the law by makmg salt. In April,
dence. We believe it to be a crime against he gave instructiOns to launch the moveman and God to submit any longer to a rule ment "Let every village fetch or manufacthat has caused this fourfold disaster to our ture contraband salt, sisters should picket
country We recogmze, however, that the hquor shops, opmm dens and foreign cloth
most effective way of gaining our freedom dealers' shops .. Foreign cloth should be
Gandhtjt, ~long with hts followers, during his march from Sabarmatt Ashram to Dandt
burnt. Hmdus &hould eschew untouchabilIty ... Let students leave government schools
and colleges and government servants reSign theu service .. and we shall soon fmd
that Purana Swaraj will come knocking at
our doors"
As soon as the Civil Disobedience movement started, all the Important leaders includmg Gandruji and Jawaharlal Nehru
were arr.ested. By the beginning of 1931,
90,000 persons were m jatl and 67 papers
had been banned. In April and May 1930,
three dramahc mctdents had taken place
At Peshawar, Indian soldiers refused to
open fire on the demonstrators when ordered to do so. In Sholapur, marhallaw
had to be Imposed to suppress the mass
upsurge In Crnttagong, the revoluhon1trIes captured the armoury and there was a
pitched battle between the government
troops and the revolutionariPs
In January 1931, Gandrujt and some
other l~aders were released. In March an
agreement known as the Gandhi-Irwin Pact
was signed under which the movement
was called off The government prormsed
to release all pohhcal pnsoners except those
charged with acts of violence. The Congress agreed to participate in the Second
Round Table Conference which had been
called to consider a scheme for a new conshtuhon for India.
In 1931, the Congress met at Karachi. It
approved theGandhi-IrwinPact. The most
significant contribuhon of the Karachi session was a resolution 1t passed on Fundamental Rights and Economic Policy. It
outlined a plan for the reconstruction of
Indian society after independence, and was
to furrush many aims and ideals for the
Conshtution of Indta and the social and
econormc policy of the Indian Republic.
The Civil Disobedience movement was
451
revived on Gandhtjt' s return from the

Round Table Conference m London, when
Lord Willingdon, the new Viceroy, declined to grant even an interview to
GandhiJi. Gandhtjt was arrested TI1e movement continued for two years. The repression of the government was more severe
than It had been before. By April 1933,
about 120,000 persons had been Imprisoned In May 1934 the entire Ctv1l Disobedience movement was called off
The Civtl Disobedience movement had
mvolved millions of people, young and
old, men and women, people belonging to
all regions and communities The communalorgaruzations, bothofHmdus and Mushms, during this penod concentrated on
getting more seats m the legislatures and
reframed from an achve role in the independence movement. They had no substanhal followmg and did not senously
affect the course of the movement.
Influence o Socialist Ideas
In 1920 was founded the All Indm Trade
Union Congress The trade uruon movement enJoyed the support of many national
leaders. Bes1des working for improvements in the livmg conditions of workers,
it mobilized the workers m the cause of
independence.
The peasants were drawn mto the nationalist struggle towards the end of the
Fust World War. The economic grievances
of the peasants against landlords and the
government mev1tably drew them mto the
nahonahst struggle. In 1917-18, GandhiJI
lal,lflched what1s known as the Champaran
MovementinBiharagainsttheindigoplanters. During the Non-Cooperation movement, peasants all over the country opposed the heavy land revenue they had to
pay and this beca.II':e an integral part of the
452
I
"-J
struggle for Swaraj. Later on, many peas- later leaders came from the Congress Soant orgaruzahons were formed./These or- Cialist Party and worked m the Indian Naganizations parb.cipated in the struggle for tional Congress.
freedom, campaigned against heavy land
taxes and advocated the abohhon of the The States People's Movement
zamindari system. Many nationahst lead- There were about 600 states in India wluch
ers led peasant struggles. The participa- were ruled over by Indian, princes. They
tion of peasants in the freedom struggle coveredaboutone-tlurdoflndia'sterritory
helped inmaking it more broad-based and and about one-fifth of India's population
extensive, and land reforms to alleviate the Many of these states were so small as to be
sufferings of the peasants became one of its no more than zamindaris There were
important aims.
some hke Hyderabad, which were large
The ideas of socialism also gradually and had a population of several million
gained ground in the nahonahst move- people. These states were allowed to con~
rnent. TheRussianRevoluhonhadmadea hnue after the Revolt of 1857 though they
'deep impact on the thinking of the nahan- were at the mercy of the Bntish governahst leaders. Many leaders were soctalists ment. As they owed their existence to the
in their ideological beliefs and advocated Brihsh government, they were loyal suptheadophonofsoClalistpolictes The most porters of the Bntish rule in Indm. These
outstandingoftheseleaderswasJawaharlal states were ruled by the princes in a most
Nehru. He had been influenced by the authoritarianmanner. Peoplesufferedfrom
ideas of Karl Marx and other soetahst think- extreme economic and pohtical disabilities
ers and had developed ~lose relations with m these states They had no c1vil rights and
socialist leadeJs of Europe. He popular- no law except that of the ruler and had to
tzed the ideas of soctalisrn and persuaded perform forced labour. While the people
the Congress to adopt a radical programme were oppressed, the rulers led opulent and
of social and economic reconstruction. degenerate hves. Any attempt at pohtical,
Although the Congress was not wholly social and economic reform in these states
committed to his idea of socialism, rus wasmostruthlesslyputdown. ThenationJdeas influenced the policies .of the nationalist movement could not be fully national
alist movement with regard to social and unless 1t conce,m,ed Itself also with the libeconomic matters. With the support of eration of the people of the Indian states
Nehru the Congress Socialist Party was from the oppress10n of the1r rulers., The
formed in 1934. It worked within the In- Congress for a longtime dtd not pay much
dtanNational Congress and advocated the heed to the sad phght of these people.
conv~ning of a Constituent Assembly to However,thepeopleinseveralstatesorgadecide the future of India and the establish- nized themselves and demanded civil rights
mentofasocialistsociety. The Communist in the states. In 1927 the All Indta States
Party of India had been formed earlier in-' People's Conference was formed. The
1925 and exercised a powerful influence Conference focused the attenhon of the
over industri!ll workers. It wanted the Indian people all over the country on the
nationalist movement to be based on the conditions prevailing in the states. In a economic demands of workers. Manyofits statement, the Conference pomted out: "In
INDIA'S STRlJLCLT1
' c ' ,,.
'1'
'J"'
fCil~
INDEI'ENDF.NCE
..........
,.. ;.
I. ~ '
~ ~
~. 1 I
f!
...
Jawafmrlal Nehm bemg taken zn a p1ucet>ston m

Ludhuma zn 1939 The All Indzn St'!tes People's
Conference wh1ch lzeld tts sesswn there was
pr~:stded uvc1 by lttm
the<>e states, b1g or &mall, w1th vety few

exceptwns, perwnal, autocratic rule prevails There is no rule of law and taxation
1s excessiVe and unbe<.lfable. Civil liberties
are crushed. The pnvy purse of the rulers
I!> usually not fixed and even where it is
fixed, that 1s not adhered to. On the one
hand, there is the extravagancE' and luxury
of ihe prmces; on the other, the extreme
poverty of the people
"W1lh the hard-earned money of the
poverty-stnckenand nust?rab1P people, enJOJJJlent is bought and luxury is flaunted
by their rult?rs m forPign cnuntnes and m
India._ This !>y&lem Cclrulot cuntinue No
nviHzed people can tnleratl~ it. The whole
453
argument of history 1s agamst it; the temper of the Indian people cannot subrmt to
tt."
The Congress gradually veered round
to this vtew and gave recogmhon to the
rights of the people of the states. It declared "The Congress stands for the same
pohhcal, social and economic freedom in
the States as in the rest of India and considers the States as integral parts of India
whtch cannot be separated Puma SwaraJ
or complete mdependence wluch is the
objective of Congress IS for the whole of
lndm, mdusiVe of the States, for the integrity and umty oflndta must be mamtained
m freedom as It has been mamtamed m
subJection.'' Thus the endmg of the oppressive rule of the Indian prmces became
a part of the nationalist movement's
programme and the aimofbuildinga uruted
India was firmly laid down
The Nationalist Movement and

the World
Throughout Its history, Indian nahonahst
movement was intimately connected With
developments in other countries You have
read earlier about the influence wluch the
Russo-Japanese War, the First World War
and the RussmnRevolutionhad exerted on
the nabonahst movement. Many people
outside Ind1a supported the nahonahst
cause. You have already seen how, as early
as 1857, there were groups in England
whicfi tried to rouse the conscience of the
people of England agamst the atronties
committed by the Brihsh government in
Indm. In the twentieth century, several
orgamzahons were established in various
countnes by Indians with the help of enlightened people there to propagate the
cause of Indian independence in those countries. One of the most tmportant of these
orgamzations was the India League in En-
454
gland whtch did signtficant work m mob1lizing British opinion against the .British
government's policies in Indta. Many Brit.
tsh labour leaders ach vely campaigned for
Indian independence
Our leaders also gradually becamt'
aware of the freedom movements in other
countries and 'made common cause Wttl,
them Jawaharlal Nehru played an impor
tant part m developing the consciousnes!
of the Indian people on international is
sues. In 1927, wherthehad gone to Europe
he attended the Congress of Oppressed
Nationalities, which had been called at
Brussels by thewell-ktwwn ~ctentJ~t Albert
Einstem, lhe writer Ro111am Rolland and
many others. An orgaruzation called the
LeagttP against lmpenahsm wa~ formed
and the Indian National Congl.'ess was affiliated to 1t. The League campaigned for
putting an end to imperialism everywhere.

When the Japanese invaswn of Chma
started m 1931, the people of India extended their support to the people of Chi'l.a
The 1920s and 1930s saw the growth of
fascism in Europe, parllcularly mGerrnany
and Italy where the fascist parties came to
power and destroyed even the elementary
liberties of the people. Democracy and
freedom all over the world were endangered even more than under the old Imperialism when the fascist countries started
plannmg conquests. The Indian nationalists understood the danger wluch fascism
posed to the peoples of the world The
Congress opposed fascism and supported
the peoples struggling agamst it The fasCists of Spain were supportE'd by Hitler's
Germany in their revolt against the democratic government of Spain. The other
]nwahru Tal Nt!/mr addres5mg a public meefiug in support of the Spanish Republicans at Trafalgare
Square, London, 1938
INDIA'S STRUGGL, FOR INDEPENDENCE
countries of E nrope were mdifferent to the

CIVIl war m Spam and the bombing of
mnocent people m Spanish villages and
towns by German planes.
The Spanish civil war had aroused the
conscience of the people everywhere and'
warned them of the danger which fasetsm
presented An international bngade of
volunteer~ formed by ordinary Citizens of
the world fought shoulder to shoulder with
the Republicans mSpam. Jawaharlal Nehru,
who was in Europe at the time of the civil
war, VISited Spam and extended the support of the lndran natronahst movement to
the people of Spain in therr hour of need
WhenM ussolini, thefasci st drctator ofltaly,
expressed adesrretoseeJawaharlalNehru,
Nehru refused to see lum He also had no
illusiOns left regardrng the democratic professions of Western countries. They had
betrayed Spain and were soon to betray
Czechoslovakia and hand rt over to Germany. Jawaharlal Nehru said about the
governments of Western countrres when
they betrayed Czechoslovakia "Hrstory
long ages hence wrll remember tlus infamy
and will not forgive them"
Under Jawaharlal Nehru, the cause of
freedom and democracy rn other countries
beC'ame dear to tile Indian people strugglmg for the mdependence of their country. Tlus fraterruty with the oppressed
peoples all over the world was to become
the basrs of mdependent India's forergn
pohcy At the same time, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, Indians fightin~~
for independence leamed that their confhct was with the British government and
not wifl1 the Brihsh people.
45:J
ofBntrsh Indian Provinces and Indian states

and U1e establishment of provinCial autonomy in the federating provinces Atthe
centre a central legislative assembly and a
council of state~ were to be formed The
lndtan pnnces were to be glVen disproportionately high representation m the nvo
houses at the centre. Theprovi~Ion regarding the formation of the federation never
came mto operatio.Q and the new constitution was mtroduced only 111 the province&.
The Nationalist Movement, 1935-39

In April1936, the Congress sesston was
held at Lucknow under the Presidentship
of)awaharlal Nehru ln 1931, the Congress
had demanded the formation of a Constituent Assembly elected by adult franchise todecidethe consbtutwnfor India.ln
December 1936, al a specwl sessmn, the
Congress m a resolution rejected the CovernmentoflndiaAct of1935 and stated that
the Constitution that had been Imposed on
India was agamst the declared wtll of the
people It reiterated 1ts resolve regarding
the Constituent Assembly.
Although tl)e Congress condemned the
Government of India Act, 1t dectded to
participate in the electrons to the provmCial
lesgislatures which were to take place m
1937. The Election Marufesto of the Congress demanded the ~onvemng of a Con
stituent Assembly. It also advocated land
reforms to save the peasants from ruthless
explOitation, equal rights for men and
women, and improvement m the condition
of workers.
The elections were held in 1937 and
about 15.5 million people cast their votes
Besides the Congress, many other parhes
mcluding the Mushm League participated
Constitutional Developments
The British government promulgated U1e in U1e elect10ns The Congress swept ti1e
Government of lndta Act on 2 August 1935. polls in most parts of the country. In stx
Thts Act envisaged an All-India Federation provinces, it won an absolute maJonty and
4.56
m three other provi..nces,1t emerged as the

single largest party. There were 482 seals
reserved for Mushms_. Of these/ the Muslim League/ which claimed to represent all
the Mushms in lnd1a, won only 108 seats.
In four provmces includmg the NorthWest Frontier Province where Muslims
conshtnted the majority community, the
League failed to secure a single seat. In that
provmce, the nationalist movement under
the leadership of the veteran leader Khan
Abdul Ghaffat Khdl11 secured signiftcant
VIctones and the Mushm League, which
wanted to divide the nationalist movement
on the baf:JS of rehgion failed to have any
influence there.
A~ter the elections/ the queshonof formmgministnes in the provinces arose. Many
leaders were opposed ~o the fmming of
mmistnes by the Congress. However, it
was decided by a maJority vote to form
rmnistnes wherever the Congress had a
maJority. h1July 1937, on the assurance of
the Viceroy that the governors would not
interfere 111 the adffilillstration/ the Congress formed its mmistnes m six pwvinces
-- Pnited Provinces, Central Provinces/
Bihar, Orissa, Madras and Bombay. In the
North-West Frontier Province and Assam,
the Congress formed Its ffilillStrles later
and, m Sind, a mirustry was formed w1th
the support of the Congress.
Titese muustries took some important
steps nnmedialely after cormng to power.
Political prisoners were released and bans
onnewspapers were lifted Important steps
were also taken m the fteld of education.
In 1938 the Congress With Subhas
Chandra Bose as Its President expressed Its
total oppos1bon to the scheme for a federation at the centre proposed by the British
government and prepared to launch a
movement to gain independence immed11
ately: It was proposed that the Bntish

govermnent be presented With an ultimatum to agree to independence/ failing which
a movement would be launched. But the
followmg year the radical and the moderate sechons of the Congress were divided
on this Issue, and Subhas Chandra Bose
dectded to contest against the moderate
candidate for Presidentship at the Tnpun
session of the Congress. This was the first
hme that the office of the Congress President was contested. Subhas Chandra Bose
was elected President but was asked to
form the Working Committee m consultation with Gandhij1. The two leaders could
not agree and Subhas Chandra Bose resigned. He later formed the Forward Bloc
to mobibze radical elements in the country.
Indian Nationalist Movement during
the Second World War
In September 1939, the Second World War
broke out and the Bnhsh government declared India a belligerent. Indian opinion
was not sought and by a unilateral decisiOn, India was made a party to the war
As soon as the war was declared, the
Congress clearly stated its attitude It condemned the aggressiOn committed by fascist countries - Germany and Italy and
their ally, Japan -and expressed Its sympathy with the victims of aggression. Bntam, wruch claimed to be fighting for freedom, had destroyed the freedom of the
Ind1an people and had dragged India into
the war The Working Comnnttee of the
.Congressinaresolubonstated: "The people
of India have/ in the recent past, faced
grave risks and willingly made great sacnfices to seture theu own freedom and establish a free democratic state m India, and
th~ir sympathy is entirely on the side of
democracy and freedom. Eut India cannot
assocmte herself m a war said to be for

democratic freedom when that very freedom 1s denied to her, and such 1imited
freedom, as she possesses, taken away from
her''
The Congress demanded the establishment of an lndtan government responsible
to the Central Legislahve Assembly and
the promise that independence would be
given as soon as the war was over The
British government d1d not agree even to
this. In November 1939, the Congress mmIStries in the provmces resigned because it
was now clear that Britam was pursuing
her own tmpenalist ends in the war. Another similar offer by the Congress m 1940
was also rejected by the government.
In October 1940, the Indrv1dual
Satyagraha was launched by Gandhiji
457
Selected individuals broke the law by makmg anh-war speeches m pub he and offered
themselves for arrest. VmolJa Bhave was
chosen as the hrst person to offer thr
Satyagraha. Soon thelnd1VtdualSalyclgraha
became a nahon-wide movement Wttlun
six months, about 25,000 persons were m
Jail
The movement was progressing when
Germany attacked the U.S.S R., and Japan
attacked the U.S naval stahon at Pearl
Harbor, and started advancing 111 SouthEast Asia. These developments led to the
wtdening of the war mto a world war. You
have read refore that 111 January 1912, the
Alhed countnes, mcluding U.S A., the
Soviet Union and Britam, issued the
Uruted Nahons Declaration The Atlanlic
Charter wl).ich had been Issued by the
Gandhtji and Jawaharlal Nehru at the meetzng of the All Indta Congress Committee in Bombay
on 7 August 1942 The historic 'Qutt India' Resolution was passed at this meetmg on 8 August1942
458
Umted States and Britam in 1941 was agreed

to by all members of the United Nations.
TI1is Charter declared "They (the United
Nations) respect the nght of all peoples to
choose the form of govemmentunderwhich
lltey Will hve, and they wish to see soveretgn rights and self-government restored
to those who havE:' been forcibly depnved
of them". The Prime Mmister of Bntain,
Wmslon Churchill, however, declared that
the Charter did not apply to India but was
concerned With those counbjes of Europe
whtch had been occup1ed by Germany.
Na LIOnahst leaders including the President of the Congress, Abul Kalam Azad,
and Jawaharlal Nehru were opposed to
fascism and condemned 1t as the enemy of
the freedom of peoples everywhere They
expressed their sympathy and support for
victims of fascist aggression. The Indian
nabonalist movement pledged to fight
against fasCLsm side by stde Wtlh the Urnted
Nations but this could happen only If the
lndtan people were m control of the government oftheu country. Many countries,
allies against fascism, put pressure on the
Bntishgovernmentto concede the demand
of the Indmn people.
In March 1942, Str Stafford Cripps came
to India to hold talks with the Indian lead-
A scene of tear-gassing of demonstrators in

Bombay on 9 August 1942
ers However, the talks broke down as the

Bntish were not wilhng to promrse mdependence even after the war was over and
rejected the Congress proposal for lhe formation of a natwnal government dunng
the war.
After the failure otthe talks with Cnpps,
the Congress prepared to launch the thrrd
mass movement against Bntish rule. (The
first was the Non-Cooperation movement
and the second the CIVil Disobedience
movement) lnAugust 1942, Gandhrj1 gave
forth the slogan 'Qmt India'. The Congress
passed a resolution on8 August 1942 which
stated thatthe 'immedmte endmgofBnbsh
rule in India' was 'an urgent necessity both
for the sake oflndia and U1e success of tlw
U1uted Nations'. The Congress resolved to
launch a mass crvil disobedience struggle
on the Widest possible scale 'for the vindication of India's 1nahenable right to freedom and mdependence', if the British rule
did not end Immedjately. The day after the
resolution was passed, the Congress was
banned and all the tmportant leaders were
arrested
The arrestofthenationahst leaders provoked a wave of mdignation among the
people. 'Quit India', the pithte~l call to
action, resounded throughout the country.
There were spontaneous demonstrations
at many places, and people resorted to the
use of vwlence to drs lodge the foreth'll rule
The government used pohce and army to
suppress the movement. Hundreds of persons were killed and (.Wer 70,000 arrested
m less than five mor{ths. Desprte the
government's ruthlessness, tl1e struggles
continued throughout the penod of the
Second World War.
In 1941, Subhas Chandra Bose hadescaped from India and had reached Germany. He earned on achvihes for Jndta's
freedom from there and made broadcasts

exhorting the people of It ldia to overthrow
British rule In July 1943, he came to
Singapore Rash Behari Bose, an lndian
revoluhonarywho had escaped from Indm
to Japan m 1915, had set up the Indian
Independence League. After the Japanese
had defeated the BnhshmSouth-East Asia,
the Indian National A1my was orgamzed
from among the Ind1an soldiers who had
been taken pnsoner by the Japanese. Subhas
Bo::;e took over the leaderslup of 1he Indtan
Independence League and reorgamzecl the
Indian National Army (Azad Hmd Fauj) to
liberate India from Bntish rule. On 21 October 1943, he proclaimed the setting up of
the ProviSIOnal Government of Free Indta
In 1944, three units of the INA along w1th
the Japanese troops moved into the ImphalKohtma region of north-eastern India The
attack was, however, repulsed. Even
though the attempt to hberate Jndm fliiled,
the activities of Subhas Bose and the INA
served to strengthen the antJ-Imperiahst
struggle m Indm. It may, however, be remembered that both Germany and Japan
were aggressor cmmtnes With amb1bons
of world dornrnation The Indian nationalist movement had never viewed them as
friends in Its struggle for freedom and Its
sympathies, from the very beginmng, had
been With the vichms of the German aggress~on in Europe and of the Japanese
aggression m Asm.
The Demand for Pakistan
You have read earher about the rise of
communal parties. These parties were orgaruzed on the basis of rehg10n and clatmed
to be workmg for the promotion of the
mterests of their respechve communities
In reahty these conununal parhes played
mto the hands of the British rulers and
ampert>d the l'dU.".! oi fret>d'ii Dunng

,he period when the nationaiJ ... t movement
vas at tts height, Llwst~ f'dl'ti(" ;wre swept
.. way and failed to get the :,upport of the
. eople. TheMu~InnLeagm !Med badly in
n.e electiOns of 1937. So dh the Hindu
t~nm1tmal organization' h '.'Pver, soon
mlffiunahsm raised tt h, ,~,: dga.in, thts
tme m a more !>U1t~te1 l11t1 and led to
ragrccomeqwmu:ofLlr lilt' pt'i 'J.lleoflndia.
Th"' new dl'VIl'f'llWnt n communal
ohttcs m lnd1. : <~ l111:' ~.... pagatJOn of
,hat IS known d. :!tv twu p,,t~. Ill thtory'
. \Ccordingt1 1th1~ ;J t:L1l'y, thv ~.l u >lim l eague
~d by lmnalt d<ln It'(! U1<11 fnd1a u)l1~bted
,f two sepa1ah' 1.Hwns -- Hmdus and
!{ushm'> Polih, , ;,,1:;;ed 1111 tlu::. !lwm v led
to trag1.: hlcidl'l;b and ulhmately the
a1 tibon nt llw llimlry.
The 'two-nabnn theory' was a tC'tal fal
sifrcahon of the l:"ll ttn hrstory of th!:' Indian
people. In medJeval tunes, I hndu~ and
Muslims had developed a mmnwn udture They were une people In the mneteenth century, before, dunng, and after
the Rt>volt of 1857 they hc~d fought 11s one
people to free tlwmselves f wm f1 n t't 0'1l rule.
In the twentieth century, V\ hen lh~ na~ional
1novemeut bt~Cdl11\' a !lid~,, movenwnl,
people of both commurutie:=;, Hmd u:, c~nd
Mushms alike, ::-uftend r Jlfl '-:>tlll d' tme
people and one natLon. The nattunalist
movement was a struggle 11t tlw t'nhre
Ind1an nation mvJ!vmg nll th( ~.-nmrnuni
hes hving m Ind,d. Now tlw '!wo-natwn
theory' attacked lhe tnlire hbt:- ot Indian
nationalism. Tlw Hindu ~,.ummunallead
ers al&o adVIICai~>,J lh1.s th. "''I 1n/a:-:..ertmg
that only Hindm, ot Imlla ( 1 lihlitUtE'd the
nab on
In 1940, at tlw l.ahorP S(''iSIOn of the
Muslim League, thl'dPrnand fur a separate
stateofPakistanwc~:.made. Itwasbasedon
460
l'HF STORY OF ClVIUZATION
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A scene of anti-Brttish protest m Bombay during the mutmy of the wtmgs of the R11yal
Ind1an Navy m 1946
the 'two-natiol} _theory'. The Muslim

League demanded "that the areas m which
the Muslims are numerically m a maJority
asmtheNorth-WesternandEastemZones
of India should be gr0uped to constitute
'Independent States' m which the constituent units shall be. autonomous and sovereign''
The demand for a separate state was
opposed by large sectmns of Muslims who
were against any separatist den1a11d. Many
nationalist leaders like Maulana Abul
Kalam Azad, who had always been in the
forefront ofthenahonalmovement, stoutly
opposed the demand for a separate state as
anti-national and detnmental to the mterests of Muslims and the people of India as
a whole. Many Mushmorganizations were
also opposed to the demand for a separate
state and fought agamst communal tendencies and fot the freedom of the Indian
people Of tlwse the more prormnent were

the Khudm Kh1dmaLgar m the North-We~t
Prontier Province organi.r.ed by the veteran
leader, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, popularly knmvn as 'Fronl:ier Gandhi', the Watan
Party m Baluchistan, the All-fndm Momm
Conference, the Ahrar PMty, the All-India
Shia PolitJcn 1 Conference and the Azad
Muslim Conference. These org-anizations,
along Wllh the Cons;ress, led a large number of Muslims m the struggle for independence.
The Muslim League was encouraged by
the British governm('nt to press its demaT~d
for a &epara!e ~tate and played the game of
Bribsh Impenah:'.m whtch had the etfect of
disruptmg and weakemng the movement
for mdependence. When the Congress
Withdrew from the provincial governments
in protest agamst Driti:sh attitude to the
demand for independence, the Muslim
League celebrated the event by observing

what It called the 'Deliverance Day', and
tried to form rmrustnes in the provmcE's
although they d1d not have a maJority in
any provmcmllegislature.
Nationalist Upsurge after the
Second World War
The Second World War was fought in the
name of freedom and democracy by the
countnes of the Uruted Nations. The conscience of vast multitudes of peoples had
been stirred by the war agamst fascism.
The demand for mdependence of colonial
peoples swelled to a crescendo after the
war. The peoples of Asm and Africa charged
forward m a crowning bicl for independence 111e political climate of the world
had changed. In this general world-wide
struggle agamst Imperialmr., the struggle
of the Indian people shone forth Unique
and exemplary.
The war had changed the enhre picture
ofthe world The old impenalist countries
--Bntain, France, Holland and others --had
been weakened by the war They were nolonger powerful enough to withstand the
onward march of the natmnahst move
ments. Britam was no longer the world
power 1t had been for centuries and her
supremacy was gone for good. The
US S.R., which had suffered most heavily
dunng the war, emerged stronger. Many
countries of Europe, which had been occupied by Germany, had become socmlist
after the defeat of Hitler's Germany Thus
m the war while fascism had been destroyed, Imperialismhad alsoreceivedheavy
blows.
In Bntain itself, the Conservative Party,
1
which was opposed to the demand for the
mdependence of India, lost heavily in th~
elections. The war-time Pnme MIIUster,
461
Wmston Churchill, who had disclaimed

any mtenlion to 'preside over the dissolution of the Bnhsh Empire' was no longer
the Pnme Mm1ster. There were many
people m the Labour Party, which had
come to power under the leadership of
Attlee, who were opposed to the continuahan of British rule over India. Condihons
were npe for the end of imperialism m
Indta.
In Indta the resentment agamst Brihsh
rule ran at a high pitch at this hme. Indtans
had suffered a great deal durmg the war
The Bl'itish government had shown callous
indifference to the famme-stricken people
during the terrible famine that had raged m
Bengalm 1943-inwhich threem1lhon people
d1ed At the end of the war, all this pent-up
resentment broke out m dealmg a final
blow to foreign rule.
In November 1945, three officers of the
Indian National Army were tried at the
Red Fort in Delhi. They were charged With_
the 'crime' of conspiring agamst the King,
that IS, the Bntish empue. They were
defended by the barnsters among the
nation's leaders. But they were sentenced
to transportahon for life. The sentences
which were later revoked provoked widespread popular upsurge all over the country. 1he armed forces were also affected.
Thousands of ratings of the Royal Indian
Navy revolted. There were demonstrations, strikes and hartals all over the country. The Bnhsh government saw the wntmg on the wall. It was no longer possible to
hold the Indian people in subjection.
Achievement o Independence, 1947
In February 1946, the British government
sent the Cabmet Mission to India to hold
discussions with Indian leaders. The
British Pnme Mmister announced his
462
government's willingness to grant inde~

pendence to Indm. The Cabmet Mission
proposed theformahonofa1Jnionoflndia
in which provinces would be grouped in
four zones with their own consntuhons
and enjoying autonomy except in matters
offore1gn policy, defence and communicanon. It also proposed the formation of a
constirution-rnaking body, not elected by
the people, but by the provinciallegislatures on the basis of communal electorates.
The members from the Ind1an states were
proposed to be appointed by the rulers of
Tndiar\. states. The Congress accepted the
Cabinet Misswn proposal regardmg the
conshrutmn-makmg body. Although the
TiiE DOMINION OF
INDfA
\
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;
.OYHIIORGEN ERAL
Congress had earher msisted on a Con~

shtuent Assembly elected on the basis of
adult franchise, 1t agreed to the Cabmet
Mission proposal in order to avoid any
delay m the achievement of mdependence.
In July, the electwns to the Conshtuent
Assembly were completed. The Congress
had won 201 out of the 210 general seats,
the Muslim League won 73 out of 78 seats
reservedforMuslirns. TheMuslimLeague
boycotted the Assembly and pressed on
with its demand for a.separate slate of
Pakistan. The princes also boycotted the
Assembly. Meanwhile the people of the
states pressed for the integration of the
states into a united India. On 2 September
THE DOMINION OF
PAKISTAN
PRIME IIIIISTER
o'
F'
PANPJ'r ftii:HAU
~;MiLESTONES
,, '
ON THE ROAD TO FREEDOM
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Independence Day Supplement of The Statesman
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I'!IIIIE lilliiSTf.R
463
1946, th~_ Cnng-ress fornwd the Intenm was completed and power was transferred
Government which was headed by to the two States of India and Pakistan.
[awaharlal Nehru. Later, the Mushm Pakistan compnsed West Punjab, East
I .eague also JOined the lntenm Govern- Bengal, Smd, and the N.W F P.
On 15 August 1947, India became indement
On 24 March 1947, Lord Mountbatten pendent Unfortunately, the victory of the
was appomterJ. the VIceroy oflndia and the glorious struggle of the Indian people for
British government announced that It mdependence was tamted by ugly happenwould transfer power to Indian hands not mgs immediately before and after the
later than June 1q43,
achievement of independence, Milhons
On3 Jw1e 1947, Mountbatten presented lost theu homes, several thousand persons
a plan for the diVIsion of India mto two were killed. Gandhiji had seen touring the
mdep<:'ndent stah:s --the Tnd1an Umonand rm t-R ffecLed areas bringmg solace and comPakistan. The Indmn states were given the fort to the people On the day India became
right tndeCide lhL'ir l""~Wn future. Parbtion mdependent, he was in Calcutta which had
.. tJ"':t,.'""
f> .f.r.'~ '~
'\:.~ ~
";t....WI}.....-....-:!~~...;.
,.;.,.lll!~~.....t ew :U.I'IIJ~.Ioi;,.tj~'lill
:w::,...>'l!!l-:""""'lol!>IA14U"-\
_.;r
..
Jawalwrlal Ntlmt makmg hts famous 'Tryst wtth Destiny' speech m the Constituent Assembly
nn the eve o{India's independence
'
~to:.
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464
been ravaged by communal noting. He

came to Delhi only after conununal violence had ceased there. He was shot dead
by a Hmdu fanatic on 30 January 1948.
Building the New India

The Constituent Assembly had sehtself the
task of preparing a conshtution of free
. India Jt started meetmg on 9 December
1946 The Drafting Conunittee under the
chairmanship of Dr B.R. Ambedkar completed 1ts workon26November1949. The
constitution of India came mto force on 26
January 1950 when India became a Republic Every year we celebrate 15 August as
the Independence Day and 26 January as
the Republic Day.
The task of the Assembly was outhned
by Jawaharlal Nehru mhis speech movmg
the ObJectives Resolution m the Assembly
on 13 December 1946. In the Resoluhon
that he proposed, the Assembly expressed
its fum and solemn resolve to proclrum
India as an Independent Sovereign Republic comprismg British India, Indian states
and other territones 'wilhng to be consbtuted into the Independent Sovereign India'. ln the h1dependent Soveretgn India,
the Assembly declared that )ustice, social,
economic, and pohttcal; equality of status,
of opporturuty, and before the law; freedom of thought, expression, bebef, faith,
worslup, vocabon, association and action'
shall be guaranteed and secured to all l t
people of India.
On 14 August 1947, wlule addressmg

the Conshtuent Assembly, whxch funchoned also as the Parhament of Free India,
Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prtme Mmister, spoke these memoraBle words: "Long
years ago we made a tryst with destiny,
and now Lhe time comes when we shall
redeem our pledge, not wholly or m full
measure, but very substanhally At the

stroke of the rmdrught hour, when the
world sleeps, India w1ll awake to life and
freedom. A moment comes, wluch comes
but rarely m h1story, when we step out
from the old to the new, when an age ends,
and when the soul of a nahan, long suppressed, fmds utterance. It 1s fitting that, at
tlus solemn moment, we take the pledge of
dedication to the servtce of India and her
people and to the still larger cause of humamty." He spoke about the aims and
dreams which awatted realizahon and the
future 'that beckons to us now'. "That
future is not one of ease or reshng but of
mcessant strtvmg so that we may fulfil the
pledges that we have so often taken and the
one we shall take today. The service of
India means the service of the millions who
suffer. It means the ending of poverty and
xgnorance and dtsease and mequahty of
opportunity. The ambihon of the greatest
man of our generation has been to wipe
every tear from every eye. That may be
beyond us, but as long as there are tears and
suffering so long will our work not be over.
"And so we have to labour and to work,
and workhard, to givereahtytoour dreams
Those dreams are for India, but they are
also for t11e world, for all the nations and
peoples are too dusely kmt together today
for any one of them to imagine that it can
hve apart. Peace has been said to hP indiVISible; so is freedom, so 1s prosperity now,
and so also is disaster m this One World
that can no longer be spht mto isolated
fragments."
In the name of tlte Assembly he appealed to the people of India "to jam us
wxth fait11 and confidence m this great adventure This Is no time for petty and
destructive cnhbsm, no time for Ill will or
blammgothers. We have to build the noble
465
INDIA'S
CHARTR OF FRDOM
"f11u Conshlncnt fu::Jm~~ d,..-i..,ms itt ~r111 &uc!. sok:nn rcsohn!tl'
~- Illdl..\ as ,ut fn.kp.:u~~nt 0'"'er'lsu f\.cpuMic auJ "111 dr;!.lll upfcrhzr
fr~turt go11crn.utc~ .t (o~n%titution 1
Wm1Un tht ~~ritoril!s that noiV comprist Br:ti5b India, tit
Wrlt~riu iiaat 1!0111 r.:ma tnc Jlldian 5t.tkl. aud nch t'!dtc:- pa:'t~ qf!n&i.t.
I AS arc cutsld.c Srttl.sh lndld and th~ States; .tllmtll ;u sucta MlwrtnrltotiOJ
u 11re wllllng to bt co~t~tltullli Info tilt llkkptadwt SoP<trdgrt irulla.sha.U be
IHWOil of tficna ,JII ; and
Wmunl! floc u.id tmitoriu. amcthtr IIIIth tl:tlr prumt. bo!Uid.u-w
OTIIllilh sudt ot!ata:S IIlAH J,c dttmaill(d. hs the Coru;Ktuat.Lcl.~ .t1Ld.
t!urt.;fttr &c~rAias to thel111 of' tile (onst!tut"'". :m.ill po~:;rc,;:J ~d. rctnl11 ti.
5taw .wto~M~moas u.lllt.s. t~cthtr with rutdua.r9 pown11. and (urclse
.!dl powers and fuctlons of 9011trn11:1tat and .ada&laiJ'trotitoa.u"c ancl. cuef*
sram J"'fllfD .'lad L'uartlon:J IAJ Jll'il! I.IUtorti hi or l!l11i!JIU'd. to tLt Union,lllr <IS
ar11 inherent or i~yli(d lAthe Unioa or rrsultint~ tlul"ffrolll , .and
1
WmiU'I" .ill powu .uui autlaorlty ofilae t\o11mi9n Inderudrut
lladl.1:, its corutlt111at r.artl .and Drg;uu ofs-'a~trnnan~t anr dtrillt from
the people r and.
w~ ,~uu !It ~urantccd And ,sgaartd. to aU tltt peopl4 of
CadiA justict, soci..d.ccono.Jc and pt'htlc.al,tquabt;rf of.~.-f~f'C!rt11ai~.
and l~tforr tlaf l&llll
of iho"sh.t. nprnion. bc!id'. faUh. wors~.&p,
voc&tlon .!sHdatlr;u clr.ul. .acttoa,8fl~jectto l,uu,uad public 'ftordlit!j; .tud
W'mum ~UAie .~u&nU thai! ., 11reuided for mi11ol'ittts.
baduvard aa4 trib.l .mu.ani Lpruued .uul otkr il.stil~M.rd~J&IId
'fV.wM sitaU h IIIIAilltAlDtd ifae lattsrlt.'l of tmitors
tAe ~yuMi: aad ll$ fOI!tri!~D r~Shts Oil land, IIU and .Ur .u'COI diag to
jutice aad the ll.llf ofcluifiHd. natlou; and.
'rau aadcnt land attala lb rightfbl .1111d !totumred. plAte ln
t1u: 111orld .aad 111alat lt f;ill and arillins coatriLption to the promotion of
of
frwlosa
of
me
world peace: aad the Wtlf.m '1naanlilwl.
'IIIII Lt ... Ut d tlo11\.1Hlalln Ullllll1ol1UIJ &Upl<4 Jos C1UIII>IIIt llatmls of lodll. 011 tlo. ~ :o4 J.-u,~ l"'j
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
----
India's Charter of Freedom adopted by the Coustituent Assembly on 22 January 1947
466
mdnsion of free India where all her cluldten may dwell"

. Thus began the effort to build 10 thenoble
mans10rl of free h1dia". The first task was
to complete the IDlification oflnd ia. Many
rulers of the princely states were dreaming
of establislung independent states of their
own. However, as a result of the movement of the people of the states and the able
stewardslup of Sardar Patel, they acceded
to India. In February: 1948, the people of
Junagadh, whose Nawab had fled to Pakistan, voted for accession to India. The
people of Jammu and Kashmir had been
keepmg up the agitation agamst autocracy
as a part of the national movement. After
the mvasion by Pakistani raiders, the Maharaja of Kashmir and Shaikh Abdullah,
the leader of theNatwnal Conference which
had been leadmg the popular struggle m
Kashmir, requested Ind1a to accept the
state's accession on 26 October 1947. The
formal accession of Hyderabad to India
took place in November 1949. By the end
of 1949, the work of the mtegration of
prmcely states had been completed and
they were merged in different states of the
Uruon.
The only Indian territories which were
still under colorual rule were the French
possessions -Pondicherry, Karakal,
Yanam, Mahe and Chandernagore -and
the Portuguese possessions - Dadra and
Nagar Haveli, Goa, Daman and Diu. The
French possessiOns became a part of India
by 1954 and the Portuguese possessions by
1961 when Goa was liberated. With this the
liberation of all parts oflndia from colonial
rule was finally completed.
With independence, a new era opened
m the history of the Indian people and tt~e
str~ggle to _build a new and prosperous
Ind1a, beganm nght earnest and continues
Indm' s national movement was a glori-
ous struggle Through th1s t.tmggle, the

of Indta challenged the mightiest
empire m the world and became independent. The mov~ment drew together millions of people, men and women, belonging to different rehgtous, regtonal and linguistic groups. Jt was a struggle whiCh
untted all the people of Indta as nuthmg
had united them before. Umty ofthepeople
of different rehgtons, castes and creeds
was the first fruit of the resurgence. The
disruptive communal forces, instigated by
impenalism, were overcome and the Indian people threw off the fore1gn yoke
This urutywq.s the best hope for the success
of the struggle Under the leadership of
great leaders like Mahatma Gandh 1
Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and
Maulana Azad, tlus umty was forged. The
c?urageofstandingup to th~ brutal represSIOn which the people displayed and the
solidarity they achieved in the face of divisive power 1s our most cherished hentage.
There were other features of our struggle
which make the hentage an even prouder
one. On the whole, It was a peaceful nonviolentstruggle. No country and no people
can ftght for or mamtam 1ts own freedom
wlule remaining tndifferent or opposed to
the freedom of others While freedomloving peoples supported our struggle, we
supported the eause of freedom everywhere. Whether 1tWatJ Ihe peoples of Asta
and Africa, who were trymg to free themselves from foreign rule or the peoples of
Europe whose freedom was endangered
by the nse of fasctsm, the cause of freedom
m every country we valued as our own
cause. Fnendship for all pl'uples with a
stake in their freedmn became a umque
tenet of our foreign policy in the pre-mdependence days and ::,u 1lha~ n;-maineJ ever
smce.
peo~le
467
Another aspect of the national movement was its aim to reconstruct our soctety
on the basis of seculansrn, democracy and
social equality. The Induin people reahzed
that the backward social system could not
be destToyed and a new one smted to the
needs of people built, unless the people
were fre~d from the yoke of tmpenalism
Thus the struggle to reconstruct Indian

society and economy required first of all
the overthrow of foretgn rule. Our nationalist movement was greatly mspired by the
ideas of socialism. With the ad11evement of
mdependence, an even greater struggle of
buildmg anew prosperous India wttha just
socml order started.
EXERCISES
Thmgs to I&zow
1.
2.
3
4.
5
6.
7
8
9.
What were the basic and 1mmediate causes of the revolt of 1857? What were the mam
centres of the revolt? N<~me some Important leaders of the revolt.
What were the differences between the 'moderates' and the 'extremists'? Why were the
'extremists' more popular than the 'moderates' ?
What were the Khllafat and the Non-Cooperation movements? Name some tmportant
leaders of th~e movements
What d1d the slogan of Swaraj mean? How was the slogan of Complete Independence
different from it ? When and wher,l:! was the slogan of Complete Independence
adopted?
What was the states people's movement ? Why and how did it become a part of the
nabonahst movement?
What was the atbtude of the Indian National Congress towards the Second World War?
When was the Muslim League formed ? Describe bnefly the polictes of the Mushm
League from 1906 to 1940. When was the formation of a separate state of Pakistan
adopted as the ann of the Mushm League ?
How were the Cabinet M.J.sswn' s proposals different from the proposals made earlier by
the British government dunng the Second Worlcl War ? Why were they accepted by the
nllhonalist movement '
'
Wnte notes on the following Partition of Bengal, Lucknow Pact of 1916, Sunon
Comm1sswn; 26 January 1930, Ghad.:~r Party; Indta League, League agamst Imperialism,
the Indtan NahonalArmy, the Meerut and Lahore Consp1racy Cases, Civil Disobedience
Movement,
Things to Do
1.
2
3.
ReadJawaharlalNehru'sautobiographya_ndprepareanessayonlusattitudetowardsthe
following: Non-Cooperabon movement, communal parbes; Ind1an princely states,
Fascism, Soc1ahsm, nature of Bnbsh 1mpenahsm, his VISIOn of Independent India
Prepare a chart of the nahonahst movement from 1858 to 1947 showing the mam stages
in the growth of the movement. The chart should show the year, the main event or events,
the aims and polictes and the important leaders.
Display on wall-papers important resolutions of the Indian National Congress, for
example, the resolutions on Complete Independence and Quit Ind1a
468
--:ATION
Thmgs to Thmk about and Discuss

1 What do you understand by the terms 'natmn' and 'na tionahsm' ? When, in your opmwn,
did Indta become a nal:lon? Gtve arguments in support of your answer
2. It is satd that the conshtut1onal reforms introduced by tht> Bnttsh government from ttme
to ttme were always too httle and too late Discuss Lhe statement relating the constituhortal changes -Morley-Minto Reforms, Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms and the Government of Indta Act of 1935 --wtth refert>nce to the nattonal!st movement.
3 Discuss the character of the commtmal parties and the role played by them durmg the
struggle for mdependence.
4 In the hght of what you have read about revoluhons m a prevxous chapter, do you think
the Indtan nationalist movement was a revolutionary movement? Sub!>tanttate your
answerwttharguments about the polittcal, soctal and economtc pohctes ofthena ttonalist
movement
5 Youhave readm the prevtous chapter aboutvanous reform movements of theruneteenth
century Was the nationalist movement an advance on the nmeteenth century reform
movements as regards modernization of Indian sonety? Give arguments m support of
your answer
6 Thscuss the afutude of thenahonahstmovement in Indta towards developments mother
partsoftheworld,parhcularlytowardsthenationalistmovementsinotherconntrtesand
towards fascism.
7 Wnte an essay on the hentage which the nattonahst movement has bequeathed to us

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THE STORY OF

History Textbook for Class X

"<ilj'4 ~~ ~Q"R ~ saf\t~ QRIISII~

([)Natconal Cowlctl of Educatwnnl Resewch and Twuzing, 1989

All RIGHTS RESERVED

0 The correct pr>ce

r-----------OFFICES OF THE PUBLICATION DIVISION, NCERT------------,

lOB 100 Feet Road, Hosdakere

Na'-11van Trust Bu1ld1ng

AFTER the adoption of the National Policy on Education in

Imperialism and Colonialism

The Ftrst World War

The Russian Revolutwn

The World from 1919 to the Second World War

The World aftt:r the Second World War

Inchan Soc1etym the Eighteenth Century-Impact ofBrihsh Rule on Indta

Indta 's Struggle for Independence

Imperialism and Colonialism

'lmpenalism' means the practice

tabhshed In U1e present-day world, when

THE STORY OF CIVILIZATION

IMPERIALISM AND COLONIALISM

demand at home. Low wages meant low

opium in Indta, they smuggled the opmm

THE STORY OF CIVILIZATION

Hong Kong, Smgapore an<;!. Cyprus -not

Extreme Nationalism : Pride and Power

The later part of' the nineteenth centmy was

IMPERIALISM AND COLONIALISM

THE STORY OF CIVILIZATION

T/te East Ind111 House, lleadqum ters of tile

money made from British conquests m

The British conquest led to many

IMPERIALISM AND COLONIALISM

wh1ch other We::,Lez n countrzes copied,

victory for Japan Chma gave Korea her

TPF. STORY OF CIVILIZATION

the foreign powers were victonous and

Impenalism in South and

IMPERIALISM AND COLONIALISM

Chma over the opium trade, France wa~

French governor-general Frequ~nt revolt:;

THE STORY OF CIVILIZATION

Presont E11tarnal Bcundary

RilSponsLbLhtv lpr the correctness olmternal deta1ls

=-===--u_s___ / shoW/lOOJIe nlcqH;re::tlthepubtLs._"'_'_ _ _L_L__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___...J

Mandalay TheFrenchweretrymgto dominate all of South-East Asm. The Brihsh

ween the French conquests m Indo-Chma

IMPERIALISM AND COLONIALISM

Spain There was a revolt of the Filipinos

Imperiahsm in Central and Western

mneteenth century Western countnes had

THE STORY OF CIVILIZATION

ahsts In fact, Japan's nse as an impenahst

You have already read in Chapter4 (Vol.l)

IMPERIALISM AND COLONIALISM

Africa. One of the hrst results of these

peans themselves also ra1ded the VIllages

THE STORY OF CIVILIZATION