19.3: India

Despite the enormous pressure exerted by the superpowers, some independence movements did manage to avoid becoming a proxy conflict within the Cold War. For the most part, the simplest way to avoid superpower involvement was to steer clear of communist rhetoric. From Asia to Latin America, independence movements and rebel groups that adopted communist ideology appeared to be targeted by the US, whereas those that avoided it rarely drew the ire of either superpower. Some countries fighting for independence stayed in the good graces of the USSR without openly embracing communism, such as Egypt. However, because of the Truman Doctrine, it was virtually impossible for a country to embrace communistic tendencies and avoid United States intervention. (The Truman Doctrine committed the United States to armed intervention in the case of a communist-backed uprising.)

While there were only a handful of true proxy wars throughout the Cold War, there were dozens of successful movements of independence. European empires collapsed in the decades following World War II in a phenomenon known as 'decolonization'. Whereas almost all of it was still part of European empires during World War II, nearly the entire continent of Africa was independent of European power by the end of the 1960s. Likewise, European possessions in Asia all but vanished in the postwar era.

Decolonization was often as bloody and inhumane as had been the establishment of an empire in the first place. In some cases, such as Dutch control of Indonesia and French sovereignty in Indochina, European powers clung desperately to colonies in the name of retaining their geopolitical relevance. In others, such as the British in Kenya and the French in Algeria, large numbers of white settlers refused to be “abandoned” by the European metropole, leading to sometimes staggering levels of violence. That being noted, there were also major (soon to be former) colonies that achieved independence without the need for violent insurrection against their imperial masters.

India

The case of India is iconic. As the "jewel in the crown of the British empire," India was both an economic powerhouse and a massive symbol of British prestige. During this time, the Indian National Congress had campaigned for independence without success. An astonishing 2.5 million Indian troops served the British Empire during World War II, but the social and political system was still designed to keep Indians from positions of importance in the Indian administration. Peaceful protests grew in intensity during, and in the aftermath of World War II (in part because of the financial devastation of the war). British politicians finally conceded that India would be granted independence on July 18, 1947.

The British government made it clear that the actual logistics of independence and of organizing a new government were to be left to the Indians. A conflict exploded between the Indian Muslim League and the Hindu-dominated Congress Party, with the former demanding an independent Muslim state. The British came to support the idea and the Congress Party agreed despite the vociferous resistance of the independence leader Mahatma Gandhi. When independence became a reality, India was divided between a non-contiguous Muslim state, Pakistan, and a majority-Hindu state, India.

This event is referred to as "The Partition" of India. Millions of Muslims were driven from India and millions of Hindus and Sikhs were driven from Pakistan. Countless acts of violence accompanied the expulsion of both Muslims and Hindus from what had been their homes. To this day, the countries of Pakistan and India have a strained relationship.

Figure 13.2.1: Refugees during the Partition.

Who was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi? Often referred to as Gandhi, he was an Indian lawyer and anti-colonial nationalist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead a successful campaign for India's independence from British rule. His actions would inspire civil rights and freedom movements across the world, such as the Civil Rights Movement in the United States or the Anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa. Nonviolent resistance is the practice of social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, or other methods. Satyagraha, "holding firmly to truth", or "truth force", was utilized by Gandhi.