South India. III

Until 1857, India was under the control of the British. Only, oddly enough, the country was ruled not by representatives of the British crown, but by a trading company - the East India Company. Naturally, the company could not cope with this titanic task.

The company was unable to effectively manage such a huge country as India, by definition. In pursuit of their mercantile interests, the East India Company flooded the Indian market with cheap imported goods, which undermined local production. Peasants left their lands due to high taxes. Rumors spread among the people about the imminent fall of the East India Company, which, according to the prediction, remained to rule India until 1857. Gangs of robbers and murderers operated in the country, among which the sect of stranglers, who strangled people and sacrificed to the goddess Kali, was especially “famous”. . The active westernization of the Indian population by the English "enlighteners" provoked protests in orthodox circles. Dissatisfied voices were also heard among the Indian aristocracy, as many rulers were deprived of their lands - they were annexed by the English governor-generals. But the main danger was in the dissatisfaction of the military, who were increasingly sent to fight abroad or suppress the rebellions of the local population, which was contrary to their religious beliefs. They also had many other reasons for dissatisfaction. Everything went to the Great Indian Rebellion, which did not take long.

The rebellion (or, as it is also called, the Sepoy Rebellion) began in the barracks of the city of Mirat in the state of Uttar Pradesh on May 10, 1857. There was a rumor among the soldiers that beef and pork fat were used as a lubricant for gunpowder cases. Since at that time the shells of gunpowder were torn apart with teeth before use, this caused resentment among both Hindus and Muslims. The military refused to use cartridge cases. On the part of the British command, repressive measures followed, which ended with the fact that the soldiers attacked their commanders, killed them and moved to Delhi. The riot soon spread to other barracks. The military held Delhi for 4 months and besieged the British Residence in Lucknow for 5 months, but the rebels did not have a clear plan of action and unanimity. In addition, some military units remained loyal to the British. By the end of 1857, the uprising was crushed, but left deep scars on both sides.

In 1858, the British Crown removed the East India Company from the government of India, and took power into their own hands. India officially became a British colony. The colonial authorities began to pursue a more flexible and soft policy, promising not to interfere in the affairs of the Indian principalities as long as they remained loyal to British rule. A new tax policy was introduced, the British began to pay more attention to the economic development of the country, the construction of railways and other infrastructure facilities, Indians began to be appointed to high administrative positions ... But the seed of the desire for independence had already fallen into fertile soil. How soon it will germinate and bear fruit is only a matter of time.

Opposition to British rule grew and grew stronger, and by the beginning of the 20th century had grown into a real force that the British could no longer ignore. At the head of the opposition was the Indian National Congress, the oldest political party in India. The leaders of the party were Hindus who supported the independence of India. Muslims also formed their own party - the Muslim League, which advocated the creation of a Muslim state from those territories of India where the Muslim population prevailed.

With the advent of the First World War, the political situation in India somewhat normalized. The Indian National Congress Party approved of the participation of Indians in the war on the side of Great Britain, in the hope that the British would make significant concessions and concessions in gratitude. During the First World War, over 1,000,000 Indian volunteers fought in the ranks of the British Army. About 100,000 of them died. But after the end of the war, the British made it clear that they were not going to make any concessions. Massive anti-colonial protests began to take place throughout the country, which were often brutally suppressed. On April 13, 1919, British soldiers opened fire on a crowd of unarmed people in Amritsar (Punjab), killing 379 and injuring 1,200 people. News of this massacre quickly spread throughout India, and many of those Indians who had previously been neutral towards the authorities began to support the opposition.

By this time, the Indian National Congress had a new leader - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, also known as Mahatma (Great Soul) Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi called on the people to non-violent protest against the actions of the British authorities: a boycott of foreign goods, peaceful demonstrations and actions. Showing by his own example how to deal with power without violence, observing the ancient religious law of ahimsa (non-use of violence), Mahatma Gandhi earned himself the fame of a saint and millions of supporters throughout India.

In 1942, Mahatma Gandhi, sensing the near end of British rule in India, organized a massive anti-British campaign under the slogan "Get out of India!".

After the Second World War, the British government began to understand that it would not be possible to keep India. The Indians understood this too. The Muslim League called for the creation of its own Muslim state. The problem of relations between Hindus and Muslims has taken on a nationwide character. Not without bloody clashes on religious grounds, in which thousands of people died. In the end, the parties came to the conclusion that it was necessary to separate Muslim territories into a separate state - Pakistan.

On August 15, 1947, India finally gained independence, and a new state was formed - Pakistan, consisting of two parts - West Pakistan (the territory of the modern state of Pakistan) and East Pakistan (the territory of the modern state of Bangladesh).

The problem with the formation of Pakistan was that it was very difficult to draw a line between Muslim and Hindu territories. The British took on the role of arbitrators, but no amount of effort could provide a perfect option. The border was drawn between the cities of Lahore and Amritsar in the state of Punjab, as well as east of Calcutta. But the difficulty was that on both sides of the border there were territories with mixed Indo-Muslim populations, or there were Hindu settlements in Muslim territories and vice versa.

The separation of part of the Indian territories into a separate state of Pakistan led to the emergence of huge flows of refugees from one side and the other. A fierce inter-ethnic conflict flared up. The trains filled with refugees were attacked by crowds of fanatics - Hindus, Sikhs or Muslims - and staged massacres. Pogroms did not bypass the cities either. The division of India affected the fate of a huge number of people: 12,000,000 became refugees, 500,000 died in Indo-Muslim clashes. Paradoxically, 1947 - the year of independence - was one of the darkest in the history of India.

Note: The Portuguese colony of Goa in India lasted until 1961, the French colony of Pondicherry until 1954. Until 1948, the British colonies in Hindustan also included Sri Lanka and Burma (modern Myanmar).

The modern world includes a power whose size, potential and historical traditions guarantee future greatness. Maintaining ties with the British metropolis in all spheres, India will establish close partnership relations with the USSR

The leaders of the movement for independence have been fighting for the freedom of the motherland throughout the 20th century. Graduated London lawyer Mohandas Gandhi offered his people Satyagraha - non-violent resistance to the colonial administration. The Indian Tolstoyan, who corresponded with the great Russian novelist, involved millions of people in politics and received from them the title of mahatma - "great soul". A follower of Gandhi, a graduate of Cambridge, Jawaharlal Nehru, has been heading the Indian National Congress, the country's leading party, for 20 years. In Britain, too, they understand that the independence of its largest colony is inevitable: in 1935, India was granted partial autonomy, and in 1942, it signed the United Nations declaration separately from the mother country.

Muslims, fearing the domination of the future country by more numerous Hindus, demand the division of British possessions along religious lines. Even before independence, two Muslim parts were singled out: East Pakistan (future Bangladesh) and West (future Pakistan itself). Another 562 principalities themselves choose whom they will join - almost all will choose India. August 15, 1947 Nehru, the first head of government, raises the Indian flag over the Red Fort in Delhi. Almost immediately, a war with Pakistan begins over the disputed state of Kashmir, and there will be many such conflicts in the future. Muslims and Hindus are also at odds within India. Gandhi, the spiritual leader of both communities, tries to reconcile them, but in January 1948 he is assassinated by a radical Hindu.

Despite wars with neighbors, civil strife and poverty of the population, political competition will take root in India, and it will be called "the largest democracy in the world." The West sees the only comparable Asian giant as a counterbalance to communist China. Nehru takes advantage of the interest in India of various forces, but will not join any military bloc. Already in August 1947, the prime minister sent his sister as ambassador to Moscow. The logic of the Cold War divides the world into two camps for the Kremlin, and India, as a British dominion (until 1950) and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, is from the camp of enemies. Relations will warm up sharply after almost a decade.

Phenomena mentioned in the text

Indo-Pakistani Incident 1965

In August - armed clashes, in September - already a full-scale war between India and Pakistan over Kashmir

Russians and Chinese brothers for a century 1950

For the first time, the USSR acquires an ally of equal size - half a billion China. The local Red Army won the civil war, and the head of the Communist Party Mao Zedong comes to Moscow

Non-Aligned Movement 1961

At the beginning of September 1961, the first conference of non-aligned states was held in Belgrade. Its initiators are the leader of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, the United Arab Republic, Gamal Abdel Nasser, and Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito. Non-Aligned Movement founded

Cold War 1946

The anti-Hitler coalition of the Western powers and the USSR was no more. In his speech in the American town of Fulton, British ex-Prime Minister Churchill speaks of the "Iron Curtain" that divided Europe, with which the Kremlin fenced off its satellites. Stalin replies that true democracy reigns in Eastern Europe and likens Churchill to Hitler. The confrontation between the "free world" and the "Soviet bloc" will spread to the entire planet, sometimes leading to "hot" local conflicts. The Cold War will last more than forty years

Friendship with India. "Hindi Rusi bhai bhai" 1955

Soviet propaganda picks up the Indian slogan: "Indians and Russians are brothers!" It is customary to proclaim it in the original language. Paying a visit to India, Nikita Khrushchev also copes with pronunciation. Friendship with the second Asian giant will be very useful in case of frustration with the first - China

The history of Indian independence in modern times actually began in 1947, when England was forced to abandon its colonial rule in this country and grant it the status of a dominion. Such a decision was not taken by England voluntarily: it was preceded by major strikes of an anti-English character in Calcutta and other cities, an uprising of sailors in Bombay, supported throughout the country, and a broad peasant movement against English oppression. Hoping to maintain their positions, the British colonialists divided the country into two dominions along religious lines - India (Hindus) and Pakistan (Muslims). They kindled religious strife between them and a war over Kashmir.

Only by 1949 were the clashes stopped, and India was able to finally formalize its independence: in January 1950, it declared itself a republic. According to the constitution that came into force in 1950, India is a sovereign republic, which is a union of states. The supreme legislative power in the country is the All India Parliament, which consists of two chambers: the House of the People and the Council of States. The states convene their own parliaments, form their own governments.

The President of the Republic is elected by both houses of the All India Parliament. The first elections in independent India were held in 1951, the victory was won by the Indian National Congress (INC) - the party of the Indian bourgeoisie, which received wide support in the country. One of the leaders of the INC, Jawaharlal Nehru, an outstanding politician and statesman of India, became its first prime minister.

Having won independence, the national liberation forces of India dealt a crushing blow to British colonialism. However, India had to solve the enormous complexity of the task of reviving the country economically and socially after almost two centuries of British rule. England hoped to obtain the greatest economic and political benefits for herself through the mutual weakening of India and Pakistan, especially since both sides continued to remain in the system of the world capitalist economy, and India's connection with British capital was quite strong.

But British imperialism miscalculated. He had to deal with a sovereign state, the full owner of its lands and mineral resources. In the early 1950s, the Indian government continued the nationalization of British property and began to carry out agrarian reform.

Economic and political development of India

In 1955, the Nehru government announced an economic program, the cornerstone of which was the creation of a public sector. The plan of industrialization of the country and the further deepening of the agrarian reform was widely embodied in the program.

Despite the fact that the INC represented mainly the interests of the national bourgeoisie, the long struggle against colonial rule revealed its anti-imperialist tendencies. Therefore, the Communist Party of India (CPI) approved and supported Nehru's progressive measures, although this was the program of the bourgeois government. The CPI proceeded from the premise that the national bourgeoisie of India had not lost its revolutionary spirit, that it was still capable of carrying out radical transformations and pursuing an anti-imperialist course in foreign policy.

In a number of statements by Nehru, one could come across a statement about the construction of a socialist-type society in India. Under the concept of "", the ideas of which after the end gained special appeal and popularity, Nehru meant such events as the creation of the public sector, ridding the country of foreign capital, and carrying out an agrarian reform aimed at undermining landownership. It was a progressive program, although it had nothing to do with scientific socialism.

Nehru's program significantly infringed on the positions of Indian monopoly capital and feudal landlord elements, so the activities of the INC were sabotaged by right-wing forces inside the INC and outside it.

The resistance of the right-wing forces prevented the implementation of the planned measures

In 1959, a group of the most reactionary members of the INC withdrew from its membership and formed the Svatantra (Independent) party. The offensive of the right intensified especially after the death of Nehru in 1964. An economic crisis was brewing in the country. The masses were dissatisfied with the policy of the Congress and in the elections of 1967 they had their say: the INC was defeated in 9 of the 17 states of India.

The new prime minister, Indira Gandhi, who took office in 1966, faced a task of extreme difficulty. Further inaction by the government could completely discredit the Congress and lead to the victory of the right-wing forces, and this would mean a radical change in the economic and political course of India.

In the summer of 1969, Indira Gandhi announced the nationalization of the largest private banks in the country (two of them were English). This was the beginning of the implementation of the government program of broad socio-economic reforms. It was announced that control over the export and import of the most important types of goods and raw materials would be transferred to the state; the fourth five-year plan was revised towards the expansion of the public sector and other important activities were carried out. The program of Indira Gandhi found support from the Communist Party of India and aroused fierce resistance from the reaction.

Within the Congress, a reactionary group, the Syndicate, hostile to Indira Gandhi, was formed, which included mainly representatives of big business. Outside Congress, they were supported by the reactionary Swatantra and Jan Sangh parties. However, the majority of parliament and state legislatures supported Gandhi, which made it possible to continue the intended course. In 1970, additional appropriations were allocated for the public sector and the nationalization of a number of other enterprises was announced.

In order to have a solid majority in parliament, Indira Gandhi held snap elections in March 1971, which showed that her policies had massive support in the country. The right-wing parties suffered a crushing defeat in the elections, and the CPI significantly strengthened its position.

In 1972-1973, 100 textile industry enterprises, metallurgical enterprises and coal mines were nationalized. There was a further expansion of the public sector.

However, the development of private entrepreneurial capital continued, and although the government sought to direct its activities in the direction necessary for the state, this was not always successful. In 1974-1975, economic hardship increased, indicating that the INC had failed to deliver on promises to improve the lot of the masses. The class struggle grew in the country. Reactionary circles stepped up their attacks on the government. Having been defeated in the central government and in the states, they began open sabotage, sabotage and terror, thereby creating a threat to internal security. Left-wing extremist, pro-Maoist elements, who criticized the government from leftist adventurist positions, practically found themselves in the same camp with the country's reactionary forces.

To prevent the actions of these forces, the government of Indira Gandhi introduced a state of emergency in India on June 26, 1975. On July 1, 1975, the government adopted a new economic program of 20 points in favor of the poorest segments of the population of India: the suppression of smuggling and speculation, price stabilization, an increase in essential goods, the introduction of a maximum land plot, etc. Right-wing leaders were arrested, a number of newspapers were closed. But Gandhi's government was not consistent. Along with the progressive measures that met with the support of the CPI, the INC took reactionary steps against the workers (banning strikes, which was in the hands of big business), against the CPI, allowed dictatorial measures on "family planning" in order to reduce population growth, etc.

The opposition to the Gandhi government rallied its forces, forming a bloc of parties and groups, the so-called Janata Party. As a result, in the elections in March 1977, the INC was defeated for the first time in the entire post-war period. The Janata Party bloc came to power. Indira Gandhi had to yield the post of head of government to the new Prime Minister M. Desai.

Foreign Policy of the Republic of India

India was the first country in the colonial world to embark on the path of non-alignment, that is, non-participation in aggressive blocs, a policy of peace and peaceful coexistence. This course in the history of international relations was born of the post-war situation associated with the defeat and strengthening of the forces of peace, democracy and socialism. The inspirer of this policy in India was J. Nehru. Even during the formation of the dominion government in August 1947, India established diplomatic relations with many states, in particular with, and in 1950 with the PRC. The anti-imperialist course of India's foreign policy was vividly manifested in the preparations in 1954 and the holding in 1955 of the anti-imperialist conference of Afroasiatic countries in Bandung.

From the first days of independence, India became the object of the neo-colonialist aspirations of the United States. However, the aggressive foreign policy of the United States aroused discontent and protest in India's political circles.

The situation was complicated by tense border relations between India and Pakistan, which had existed since 1947. This was aggravated after Pakistan's entry into the aggressive SEATO bloc (1955).

In 1964, after Nehru's death, the reaction made a bet on the disruption of his economic program. Tensions on the Indo-Pakistani border increased, resulting in a serious border conflict.

The Indian National Congress Party rejected the right of the authorities to carry out forceful actions, which was enshrined in those sections of the Law that concerned provincial governments.

The last years preceding the Second World War were relatively calm, but the course towards provincial autonomy aroused natural concern among national minorities. Muslim leader Mohammed Ali Jinnah demanded the creation of a commission to look into complaints that, in his opinion, testified to the oppression of members of the Islamic denomination in areas where the Hindu population was in the majority. The Second World War. In accordance with the Constitution, India automatically became a belligerent after the viceroy addressed the population with the statement that "war has begun between Great Britain and Germany." Soon the leaders of the Indian National Congress expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the decision on issues of war and peace was not provided for the participation of the Indians.

The British government was required to report on its intentions towards India at the end of the war. The Congress refused to support the war effort of the British administration, withdrawing its ministers from the provincial governments. The situation changed on January 10, 1940, when the Viceroy announced that the British authorities planned to grant India dominion status after the war. In March 1940, the Muslim League formulated proposals for the division of the country in a rigid manner.

In August 1940 the government put forward a new proposal. All parties were invited to take part in the work of the expanded Council under the Governor-General and the Advisory Military Council. Neither the Congress nor the Muslim League responded to this proposal, and in October 1940 the Congress launched a campaign of civil disobedience.

Cripps mission. The next attempt to overcome the impasse in the negotiation process was made in March 1942 by Richard Stafford Cripps, a member of the British military cabinet who arrived in India. The British government proposed to draw up a constitution for the country with the help of a special elected body formed in India immediately after the end of the war; agreed to India's withdrawal from the British Commonwealth if she so desired; gave the provinces the right to refuse to join the new Indian Union.

Readiness was expressed to hand over to Indian political circles the levers of governing the country in all spheres except defense. The proposals were rejected. Unrest began, which was soon suppressed. Gandhi and other leading figures of the Indian National Congress were arrested and imprisoned / Dyakov, 1952, p. 221/.

developments after the war. Viceroy of India Archibald Percival Wavell held a meeting with representatives of all parties in June 1945 in Shimla, but could not agree with the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League. Soon the general elections were held, and it became clear that the vast majority of Muslims insisted on the partition of India. The mission of the British government, sent in March 1946, failed on the main issue, but contributed to the adoption of two important decisions: on the election of a constituent assembly, which was entrusted with drafting the constitution of India, and on negotiations on the formation of a provisional government with the participation of members of Congress and the Muslim League.

This government was supposed to transfer power to Indian hands, without waiting for the completion of the measures connected with the adoption of the constitution. The leader of the Indian National Congress, Jawaharlal Nehru, headed the interim government, which was formed on August 24, 1946, and the leader of the Muslim League, Liaquat Ali Khan, took over as finance minister. However, intercommunal disputes have gone too far.

A bloody massacre took place in Calcutta immediately before the establishment of the provisional government, and a few months later similar tragic events occurred in the Punjab.

In February 1947, British Prime Minister Clement Richard Attlee declared in the British Parliament that power in India would be transferred to the central or regional governments no later than June 1948. At the same time, Great Britain reserved the right to decide who exactly would receive power. Attlee's remarks electrified the situation: the Hindus realized that the dismemberment of India was possible, and the Muslims realized that it was possible for them to live under a majority government in a new state. In March 1947, the new viceroy, Louis Mountbatten, arrived in India to carry out the decisions made.

In June 1947, a final agreement was reached that allowed the British Parliament to pass the Indian Independence Act, which came into force on August 15, 1947. This document set out the principles of the partition, according to which a number of areas were given the opportunity to decide whether to join the Indian Union or Pakistan and declared the right of everyone of these dominions to self-government with the right to secede from the Commonwealth. The suzerainty of the English monarchy over the Indian principalities, as well as the validity of the treaties concluded with them, also ceased. There was also a division of two provinces - Bengal and Punjab. The people of East Bengal and West Punjab opted for Pakistan, while the people of West Bengal and East Punjab voted for joining the Indian Union.

1. Two dominions are formed in India: the Indian Union and Pakistan.

2. The question of the division of Bengal and Punjab on religious grounds is decided by a separate vote of deputies from parts of the provinces with a predominance of Hindu and Muslim populations.

3. A referendum is being held in the North-West Frontier Province and the predominantly Muslim district of Sylhet (Assam).

5. The entry of principalities into one of the dominions constitutes the jurisdiction of their rulers.

6. The Constituent Assembly is divided into Constituent Assemblies of the two Dominions; they will determine the future status of both states.

The National Congress understood that the British - with the support of the League - would achieve the division of the country by any means, and, in order to prevent new bloodshed, agreed to the adoption of the "Mountbatten plan".

The session of the All India Congress Committee, which met in June 1947, adopted the British proposals by 157 votes to 61.

At the same time, the Council of the Muslim League issued an additional demand that all of Bengal and all of the Punjab be included in Pakistan.

During the voting in Punjab and Bengal, the deputies from the "Hindu" districts, following the decision of the Congress, voted for the division of the provinces, while the deputies from the "Muslim" districts voted for the preservation of undivided Bengal and Punjab.

The outcome of the vote in Sindh and the referendums in Sylhet and the North West Frontier Province predetermined their incorporation into Pakistan. At the same time, the viceroy rejected the demand of the leader of the Red Shirts, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, to include the question of the formation of an independent Pashtunistan in the referendum. He was supported by an overwhelming majority of the 15% of the provincial population who had the right to vote.

In August 1947, the Mountbatten Plan was approved by the British Parliament as the Indian Independence Act, which came into force on August 15 of that year.

On this day, Jawaharlal Nehru raised the national flag of India for the first time over the historic Red Fort in Delhi. The heroic struggle of several generations of Indian freedom fighters has successfully ended. With the victory of the national revolution in the history of India, a new period of independent development began.

Change of mood in India after comingto Labor power

British Labor government having won a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections, was determined to resolve all problems in India as soon as possible. Britain's strategy was set out in the government's declaration of September 19, 1945.

The head of the government, K. Attlee, sent three members of his cabinet to India in order to achieve an agreement between the Congress and the Muslim League before granting independence to the country. But during the war years, relations between these organizations deteriorated markedly, and the leader of the Muslim League, M. Ali Jinnah, believed that England was more disposed towards the Congress. Therefore, attempts by the British to reach an agreement between the INC and the League ended in failure.

March 15, 1946 India was granted status dominion, and in April, elections were held for provincial legislatures. In May 1946, the Viceroy published a plan: it was proposed to create a federation of three zones with very broad powers (North-West, East and Central). But the plan was again rejected by both the Muslim League and the INC.

In July 1946, elections to the Constituent Assembly were held (deputies were appointed from the Provincial Legislative Assemblies), and the Viceroy proposed D. Nehru to form a government. The Muslim League refused to enter the new government, and 10 august 1946 G. M. Ali Jinnah urged Muslims to openly fight for transportationannouncement of Pakistan.

In Bengal and in Sindh, where the governments of the Muslim League were in power, a universal hartal was declared. But when the League activists began to force the Hindus to close shops, shops and workshops, clashes broke out, which escalated into a bloody massacre in Calcutta on August 16 - about 20 thousand people were killed. On the same day, unrest spread to Benares, Allahabad, Dhaka and Delhi. Massacres and arsons took place everywhere, in 4 days, according to official figures, more than 6 thousand people were killed. With great difficulty M.K. Gandhi, using his personal authority, managed to suppress the clashes in Calcutta, but nevertheless the massacre was constantly renewed in one place or another.

September 2, 1946 Mr. D. Nehru finally formed government with the participation of Hindus, Parsis and Christians. On October 15, 1946, the Muslim League also formally entered the government, but it continued to boycott its work. The massacre did not stop, flows of refugees rushed to different parts of the country. Gandhi unsuccessfully threatened a hunger strike in an effort to end the unrest. These events instilled fear in people, many abandoned their homes and sought salvation in the areas where fellow believers lived.

The situation in India after the end of World War II

Immediately after the end of the war, in addition to sharp disagreements between religious communities, India faced a number of other problems.

First tied with officers of the former Indian National Armymissions (INA). S.Ch. himself Bose, shortly before the end of the war, died in a plane crash, but hundreds of officers were captured and in November 1945 lawsuits were launched against them. In India, many considered them patriots, they were treated with sympathy. In defense of the INA officers, mass demonstrations took place, for example, in November 1945, a general strike took place in Calcutta, then such actions were repeated several times.

Second the problem is related to use after the Indian wartroops in Indonesia and French Indochina. Since the autumn of 1945, a protest movement has developed in India against the use of Indian troops to suppress the national movement in other countries. The protesters demanded the return of Indian troops to their homeland and their speedy demobilization. The peak of the movement came in February 1946.

At this time, military pilots went on strike, demanding demobilization and protesting against racial discrimination against Indians; In Bombay, a strike of military sailors began, demanding the immediate withdrawal of troops from Indonesia. The performances of the sailors in Bombay were supported by a general strike announced on February 22, 1946. Only Vallabhai Patel managed to persuade the strikers to return to work - the conflict was resolved.

Third problem - peasant movement, which began in the principalities at the very end of the war. The most massive demonstrations were in the largest principality - Hyderabad (in Telingan), where the peasants opposed the fact that land was taken away from tenants. In 1946 this movement was also supported in the colony, especially in the Central Provinces. Unrest also took place in another principality - Kashmir. There, protests were directed against the despotism of the prince, satyagraha even took the form of refusing to pay taxes. The leaders of the INC and personally M.K. Gandhi repeatedly interfered in the affairs of Kashmir, demanding that the prince release the arrested activists of the National Conference, an organization that enjoyed great authority in Kashmir.

Fourth problem associated with the outbreak in India after the end of the war food crisis, turned into a real famine (according to some sources, a third of the population was covered by it).

Thus, India was torn apart by deep contradictions, many of which threatened to become unmanageable in the foreseeable future, which, of course, strengthened the desire of England to leave the region as soon as possible.

Completion of independence negotiations

On December 9, 1946, the Constituent Assembly finally opened. Rajendra Prasad was elected chairman. But the situation in the country was complicated: religious unrest continued in the winter of 1946/47.

In early 1947, Viceroy Wavell concluded that it was impossible to form a single central authority in India. He recommended that the British government either retain control of India for at least another 10 years, or grant independence gradually, province by province. The British government clearly did not like this option, and March 22, 1947 d. it appointed Lord Mountbatten's new viceroy, a man who spent the entire war in India as commander of the troops. It was announced that Britain would withdraw from India no later than June 1948.

Mountbatten got down to business very actively. He believed that even this date (June 1948) was too late, by which time the violence would be uncontrollable. The British government agreed with this conclusion. 3 July 1947 Mountbatten introduced planpartition of India. By that time, it became obvious that it would hardly be possible to maintain unity, and even such ardent opponents of the division as M.K. Gandhi agreed with this.

It was proposed to simultaneously grant the rights of dominions, dividing India into two states: India and Pakistan. Pakistan consisted of two parts - western and eastern. Western Pakistan was to include Sindh, Balochistan, the North-West Frontier Province and the Western Punjab (approximately 1 / 4 throughout the province). To the eastern part of Pakistan departed East Bengal (about 2 / 3 of the territory) and the Sylhet district of Assam, where a referendum was held.

Pakistan did not even represent a single whole: its western part was separated from the eastern strip of Indian territory in 1600 km. In itself, it was an absurd state formation, which united the most diverse peoples with a common religion.

Another part of Mountbatten's plan was devoted to Indian princegestures. There were about 600 of them, and formally they were not part of the English colony. According to Mountbatten's plan, all the principalities should be included either in India or in Pakistan - the rulers themselves had to decide this. But principalities could not declare themselves independent states.

While the top was only busy with the transfer of power, there was no time left for a thorough demarcation of the border in Punjab and Bengal. This was entrusted to a special demarcation commission chaired by Cyril Radcliffe. The commission worked for two months, but it was impossible in principle to draw boundaries that would suit everyone. Millions of people began to leave the areas that went to the neighboring state.

Many people died during this mass exodus. The roads filled with hundreds of thousands of refugees moving in opposite directions and occasionally trying to settle scores with each other. Sikhs attacked Muslims, Muslims attacked Hindus. Cruelty gave birth to cruelty, enmity engulfed vast territories. Nevertheless, over 45 million Muslims remained in India, which accounted for 12% of the population; the Hindu minority survived in Pakistan - about 30 million Hindus lived in East Bengal.

Many misunderstandings occurred in the division of finance, office work, administrative functions, and the armed forces. 90% of minerals and industrial potential turned out to be on the territory of India, and Pakistan concentrated the production of food and agricultural raw materials on its territory. The population of India was 320 million people, Pakistan - 71 million people.

AND yet On August 15, 1947, the independence of the twostates of India and Pakistan. D. Nehru became the prime minister of India, C. Rajagopalacharia became the governor-general, Liikat Alikhan headed the government of Pakistan, and M. Ali Jinnah became the governor-general.

The granting of independence to India and Pakistan had a huge impact on the neighboring English colonies. February 4, 1948 independence was proclaimed Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Then they gained state sovereignty Nepal and Burma. The long period of colonial dependence on England was coming to an end.

conclusions

/. The war that began in 1939 interrupted the gradual withdrawal of the British from India. In the outbreak of conflict with the colonial authorities, the INC tried to put pressure on England, using circumstances that were unfavorable for her. The leaders of the national movement in India were convincedthat the main thing is to achieve the departure of the British, and all other problems are resolvedwobble on their own.

The Muslim League, having adopted the Lahore Resolution on Pakistan in 1940, did not join the boycott of the British authorities. Filling the vacuum after the resignation of the governments formed by the INC, she began to propagate the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bdividing the country, in which she succeeded a lot.

India made a significant contribution to the victory of the anti-fascist coalition, becomingfor England the main supplier of food, raw materials and industrialgoods. During the war, the situation in the national economy changed for the better.nomy, the process of ousting British capital from it accelerated, the financial system of India and the position of local entrepreneurs strengthened.

After 1945, the continuously deteriorating situation in India forced the British to speed up the process of granting independence to the country. Massacre 1946-1947 finally convinced the public that the independence of the WHOonly if it is divided into two states: India and Pakistan.