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DECOLONIZATION OF ASIA 269

5

Apr 28, 1952

Japan’s

sovereignty

is restored

and the Allied

occupation

officially ends.

DECOLONIZATION

OF ASIA

After the liberation of Japan’s Asian colonies, many more Asian

nations fought for independence. Anti-imperialist movements

began to gain widespread popular legitimacy, and as a result

many of the occupying powers were forced to reassess their

old colonial outposts.

Japan’s advance through Southeast Asia

during World War II exposed the fragile

hold that the Western powers had on

their colonies. Even though the Allied

powers emerged as victors in 1945, most

were unwilling or unable to restore their

colonial regimes.

A greatly weakened Britain was

disinclined to defend its empire. Indian

pressure for self-governance had grown

since the foundation of the Indian

National Congress in 1885, and for

many it seemed inevitable that Britain

would leave the subcontinent. Britain

aimed to avert conflict by granting self-

government, whereas the Netherlands

and France tried to revive their empires

in the East Indies and Indochina. This

approach plunged both countries into

wars that would prove to be unwinnable,

and served as a warning to any outside

power tempted to try to impose its will

on the region.

The pattern of decolonization in Asia

was affected not only by the countries

involved, but also by shifting ideologies.

Competing capitalist and Communist

visions of society in a post-war world

fueled the Cold War, which lasted for

most of the 20th century (see pp.264–

265). Fears surrounding Communist

expansionism ignited war in the Korean

peninsula in 1950, and would become a

defining feature of Asia in this era.

INDIAN INDEPENDENCE

The Indian National Congress (INC), the

most influential group in the campaign for

independence in India, was led by Mahatma

Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, both of

whom had studied law in London. Under

the leadership of Gandhi from 1921 to the

mid-1930s the INC changed from an elite

project to a mass movement of nonviolent

civil disobedience. Nehru, who succeeded

Gandhi as head of the party in 1929, rejected

Dominion status, instead demanding full

independence. He became India’s first

prime minister in 1947.

Nehru (left) and Gandhi meet in Bombay, India

“At the stroke of the midnight hour, while the world

sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.”

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU, 1947

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SINGAPORE
BRUNEI
CAMBODIA
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WEST PAPUA
PAPUA
NEW GUINEA
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TIBET
MALAYA
SARAWAK
Bandung
Dhaka
Yanam
Pondicherry
Karaikal
Daman
Goa
Qamdo
Srinagar
Dien Bien Phu
Hong Kong
Haiphong
Hanoi
Manila
New
Delhi
Karachi
Colombo
Diu
Mahé
Chandernagore
Panmunjom
Pyongyang
Rangoon
Saigon
Seoul
Tokyo
Inchon
1998
Macau
VIETNAM
1965
Maldives
1947
THE PARTITION OF INDIA
AUGUST 14/15, 1947–JULY 27, 1949
Growing tensions between India’s Hindu majority
and Muslim minority prompted the creation of two
separate dominions, India and Pakistan, which came
into effect at midnight on August 14, 1947. The British
government of India was dissolved. Muslims headed to
the newly formed independent East and West Pakistan,
while Hindus, Sikhs, and others went to India. Large-
scale violence broke out and millions became refugees.
The violent nature of the partition caused long-running
enmity between the two nations.
3
British India
before independence
Indian territory
after partition
UN cease-fire line, Jul 27, 1949
Disputed territory,
controlled by India
Disputed territory,
controlled by Pakistan
THE FRENCH RETURN TO VIETNAM
NOVEMBER 20, 1946–JULY 21, 1954
After World War II, France sent 35,000 troops to
South Vietnam in order to reassert its rule over its
former territory. It was opposed by the Communist-
dominated Vietnamese Nationalist movement (Viet
Minh). The French naval bombardment of Haiphong in
1946—an attempt to control the north—led to 6,000
Vietnamese casualties and an eight-year war with
the Nationalists. In 1954, Vietnam was divided into a
Communist north and a Western-aligned regime in
the south, run from Saigon.
Decisive Viet Minh
victory
French naval
bombardment
Demilitarized zone, Jul 21, 1954
MALAYAN INDEPENDENCE
FEBRUARY 1, 1948–AUGUST 31, 1957
The British reoccupied Malaya in 1945. Recognizing
its desire for self-government, they worked with
Nationalist groups to establish the Federation of
Malaya in February 1948. This was opposed by the
Communist Party of Malaya, who were supported
by the ethnic Chinese minority community. Together,
they launched a guerrilla insurgency known as “The
Emergency.” Commonwealth forces suppressed the
insurgency and Malaya gained independence in 1957,
but the Emergency was only declared over in 1960.
4
2
CAMBODIA AND LAOS
JANUARY 4, 1946–DECEMBER 24, 1954
In 1946, France reimposed its protectorates in
Cambodia and Laos. In Cambodia, it introduced a
constitution that allowed some political freedom: the
French supported the popular King Sihanouk, who
skillfully negotiated independence for the country in

1953. In 1950, Laos was granted semi-autonomy as an
      associated state in the French Union, and the country
      gained full independence four years later.

US_268-269_Decolonization_of_Asia.indd 269 22/03/19 2:40 PM