Indian Independence

• The pathway to Indian independence started much earlier with peaceful protests from people like Mahatma Gandhi
• In 1857, there was a rebellion against the rule of the East India Company
• The rebellion in 1857 resulted in more rights for Indians and the opportunity to serve under British law
• The change in rights increased the Indian people's dissatisfaction when the British enforced other rules
• In the early 20th century, nationalism was on the rise in India, leading to movements for self-determination
• There were radicals who wanted full independence immediately, and there were moderates who wanted to work with the British to reform India from within
• The British partitioning of Bengal was viewed by the Indian people as a British attempt to divide groups and quash national unity
• World War I saw repercussions that pushed the needle forward in terms of Indian independence
• The Government of India Act of 1919 offered more freedoms and opportunities for self-government
• Gandhi's philosophy

  If the government was corrupt, it should be changed from within by those who are governed. Violence would not create the state that the people needed, and it was impractical to fight the entire might of the British Empire.
• The Government of India Act of 1935 was one of the last movements to establish a British government before the revolution
• The viceroy, without consulting the legislative body, declared that India would side with the British in World War II, leading to the Quit India movement
• Quit India movement

  Gandhi called for immediate Indian self-rule, a refusal to send Indian men to die in a British war, and for teachers to quit their government jobs to protest the lack of support for Indians to control their own policies
• The Quit India movement was centered on a commitment to nonviolence
• In 1947, the last British governor of India announced that India would be split into India and Pakistan, which was an unwise move in the eyes of many Indians
• Gandhi was an opponent of the move to split into a Hindu India and a Muslim Pakistan, believing it was like splitting up brothers
• Gandhi was assassinated in 1948 by a Hindu in his private garden
• The division of India and Pakistan based on religion led to violent clashes, an example of the mother country making poor decisions due to a misunderstanding of local cultural politics
• What was the result of splitting up India into two countries? (Choose all that apply.)

  It led to years of violence and bloodshed.

  Gandhi was assassinated.
• What was the Quit India movement?

  Gandhi's call for immediate self-rule in India.
• What led to the movements of self-determination in India?


  Nationalism
• Which of the following was a British fear about Indians serving in World War I?

  They would side with the Germans.
• Which of the following was the codification of Indian rights to self-government?

  Government of India Act of 1919
• Which were the two camps in the self-determination movements in India? (Choose all that apply.)

  Radicals wanting independence immediately

  Moderates wanting to work with the British