Postcolonialism
"Our Own Nation"
This song chronicles Britain's colonization of India. India mourned its loss of freedom and Mahatma Ghandi became a symbol of independence and peace. India's fight for independence inspired similar movements in Africa, where Nelson Mandela fought against apartheid. He was imprisoned until 1990, and later became the president of South Africa.
BRITISH IMPERIALIST:
I say look at the elephants. I love India!
INDIAN NATIONALIST:
Of course you do.
BRITISH:
Would you put another ice cube in my gin and tonic, there?
Someone call for a Sepoy.
Hey hey hey. Colonizing Africa and India was brilliant.
We'll be here for the rest of our lives.
INDIAN:
No you won't.
I really miss our India.
I mean the one we had before the British came and took over,
And tried to make us some sort of colony.
What is a colony? We're our own nation.
We're big. And there's a lot of things going on,
A lot of disagreements sometimes.
But we are who we are. We are India.
Why won't the British just let us be?
They've been holding us down, now we want to be free.
Thought we had a shot at the Sepoy Mutiny,
But it failed, Britain prevailed.
Well, as you can see,
They don't want a revolution or to see us get more.
A million volunteers for the Great World War.
We still couldn't get the respect we asked for,
What's the best way for us to settle the score?
BRITISH:
Well, you ought to get involved with the government.
INDIAN:
We can't organize; I bet the British are loving it.
There's two groups with the same purpose,
BRITISH:
But their differences cause trouble beneath the surface.
It's religion, and when they disagree,
You can't work together so you can't get free.
INDIAN:
Well, one day we're going to be equal,
We've got this guy Gandhi...
BRITISH:
Ahhh what could he do?
INDIAN:
We are India - let us free!
We don't want to be another colony.
BRITISH:
We want your people, we want your gold.
INDIAN:
You cannot control land that you stole.
BRITISH:
We're going to take hold.
INDIAN:
No - we'll build our nations
And break from this imperialism we're facing.
So have patience.
'Cause we're going to break from this imperialism we're facing.
INDIAN:
Gandhi was our Mahatma.
BRITISH:
A problem.
INDIAN:
With non-violence he STILL got the job done.
BRITISH:
Well with those hunger strikes, he was starving.
INDIAN:
That was easy for him; making change was the hard thing.
BRITISH:
We'll put him in prison, we'll lock him in a vault.
INDIAN:
We'll walk to the ocean and make our own salt.
We'll do anything to gain independence;
After World War II your rule's finished!
BRITISH:
You and your civil disobedience.
INDIAN:
Your India? We'll quit, we don't believe in it.
BRITISH:
Fine, we'll split you up, according to belief,
You can be independent, but you're probably going to beef.
INDIAN:
Yeah, Pakistan's created but we're going to disagree,
Over who should get land and how to be free.
And in the midst of this going on,
We had the assassination of Gandhi.
INDIAN:
We are India - let us free!
We don't want to be another colony.
BRITISH:
We want your people, we want your gold.
INDIAN:
You cannot control land that you stole.
BRITISH:
We're going to take hold.
INDIAN:
No - we'll build our nations
And break from this imperialism we're facing.
So have patience.
'Cause we're going to break from this imperialism we're facing.
AFRICAN NATIONALIST:
And who are these people that came over to Africa,
And tried to just carve it up?
Use it for our people and our natural resources,
Get on out of here man. We're going to do our own thing.
It's time for Africa to claim independence,
The strain that we've had to maintain is tremendous.
IMPERIALIST:
First to step up?
AFRICAN:
Kwame Nkrumah.
IMPERIALIST:
I heard about his revolution,
But I thought it was a rumor.
But when our colony was turned into Ghana.
AFRICAN:
It's our land! Not the king's any longer,
And now its time to wear a new armor.
Revolution from Algeria to Uganda,
IMPERIALIST:
But in the Congo when Belgium left,
AFRICAN:
We dealt with lots of deaths & civil unrest,
But maybe nothing could equal the stress,
That our neighbors down south had to go through, yes.
IMPERIALIST:
In South Africa, we see Apartheid,
The land was split up by race.
AFRICAN:
It was a dark time,
Until you met Mandela.
IMPERIALIST:
We put him in prison,
AFRICAN:
But we still stand together.
AFRICAN:
We are Africa - let us free!
We don't want to be another colony.
IMPERIALIST:
We want your people, we want your gold.
AFRICAN:
You cannot control land that you stole.
IMPERIALIST:
We're going to take hold.
AFRICAN:
No - we'll build our nations,
And break from the imperialism we're facing.
So have patience.
'Cause we're going to break from this imperialism we're facing.
Sepoys were Indian soldiers hired by the British East India Company to protect British interests.
After years of imperial rule, India and the nations of Africa were tired of imperialist offenses. They wanted to run their own countries. The colonized peoples responded with nonviolent, civil disobedience campaigns. But becoming free was actually the easy part. Once free, India and the postcolonial nations faced challenges of their own.
Learn more about the Sepoy Mutiny in our Imperialism song.
Indian soldiers during World War I
The beginning of the twentieth century was difficult for India. The Indians had tried to rebel against the British East India Company during the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857. They not only failed, they also inspired the British government to take over India. And Britain wanted complete control. The British did not want Indians to industrialize because they feared that industrialization might cause revolution. Then World War I hit India hard. Over a million Indian men volunteered for the Great War, with the hope that strong turnout would persuade the British to grant them independence. But that was not the case.
The first meeting of the Indian National Congress in 1885
Both the Indian National Congress and the All-India Muslim League were working to have more voice and power in the government. But they weren't working together—the Hindus of the Indian National Congress often disagreed, sometimes violently, with the Muslims of the All-India Muslim League. The British granted the Indians some rights, but not complete control. On top of political difficulties, the Spanish flu that ravaged the world in 1918 hit India the hardest. Around 50 million people were killed by the flu. Around 15 million died from the flu in India. These are numbers so big they’re almost impossible to wrap your head around.
Who was Gandhi, and why was he important?
For 20 years leading up to World War II, small and unorganized uprisings against the British took place. Some say that India would have waged a bloody war against Britain had it not been for the work and philosophies of a man named Mohandas Gandhi. He is also sometimes known as Mahatma Gandhi, or even more commonly, just Gandhi. (Mahatma is an honorary name meaning "great soul.")
So what did he do to earn a single-name claim to fame? Why was he the great soul? Gandhi was a Hindu intellectual. He started out as a lawyer, but became known for his beliefs in ahimsa, or nonviolence, and satyagraha, or the search for truth. His belief that you could fight for rights without actually fighting was revolutionary (and this nonviolent strategy would inspire Martin Luther King Jr. in the American battle for civil rights).
For 20 years leading up to World War II, small and unorganized uprisings against the British took place. Some say that India would have waged a bloody war against Britain had it not been for the work and philosophies of a man named Mohandas Gandhi. He is also sometimes known as Mahatma Gandhi, or even more commonly, just Gandhi. (Mahatma is an honorary name meaning "great soul.")
So what did he do to earn a single-name claim to fame? Why was he the great soul? Gandhi was a Hindu intellectual. He started out as a lawyer, but became known for his beliefs in ahimsa, or nonviolence, and satyagraha, or the search for truth. His belief that you could fight for rights without actually fighting was revolutionary (and this nonviolent strategy would inspire Martin Luther King Jr. in the American battle for civil rights).
Gandhi leading the Salt March
Britain did not want India to gain economic independence. Because if India didn't need Britain for its economy, Britain would have less of a claim to keeping power over India. To protest a British government tax on salt, Gandhi led a 200-mile walk to the sea so that people could use the seawater to make their own salt. Thousands joined in this symbolic journey. As a result of this nonviolent protest, the police responded violently. The British police killed hundreds of people and arrested over 60,000 more.
Mahatma is an honorary name meaning "great soul."
Gandhi during a hunger strike, with Indira Gandhi, who would go on to be the Prime Minister of India
Gandhi famously went on hunger strikes to protest government violence. He would not eat for several days or several weeks. The idea was that he was willing to starve himself until his demands were met. And he did come close to dying a few times. Though the hunger strikes never killed him, during his roughly 30 years of influence, he was sent to prison many times. These extreme but peaceful measures made Gandhi a very popular cult figure. But really, his goal was to inspire everyone, from the peasants to the rich, to take part in the fight for Indian independence. And he succeeded in increasing the power of the movement.
How did Indians use civil disobedience to fight for independence?
Independence issues truly came to a head when World War II arrived. The Indian National Congress said that they would support the war if Britain agreed to grant India independence afterward. Britain would not agree to this. When a British viceroy (British leader in India) declared war for India without consulting the Indian citizens, Gandhi led Indians to massive protests. In fact, some Indians were so angry at the British that they actually enlisted with the Japanese during the war. The protests used civil disobedience, which is when you protest a law by not following it. However, the key is that you protest nonviolently and are willing to accept punishment. The new protest movement was called Quit India. From 1942 to the end of the war, things were bleak. Two million Indian people died in a famine. Gandhi was in jail. When the war ended, Britain finally agreed that it was time for Indian independence. But it wasn't so simple.
Independence issues truly came to a head when World War II arrived. The Indian National Congress said that they would support the war if Britain agreed to grant India independence afterward. Britain would not agree to this. When a British viceroy (British leader in India) declared war for India without consulting the Indian citizens, Gandhi led Indians to massive protests. In fact, some Indians were so angry at the British that they actually enlisted with the Japanese during the war. The protests used civil disobedience, which is when you protest a law by not following it. However, the key is that you protest nonviolently and are willing to accept punishment. The new protest movement was called Quit India. From 1942 to the end of the war, things were bleak. Two million Indian people died in a famine. Gandhi was in jail. When the war ended, Britain finally agreed that it was time for Indian independence. But it wasn't so simple.
Muslims fleeing to Pakistan, carrying an old woman
Though Indians were fighting for independence, they did not all agree on what a new, independent country would look like. Since 75 percent of Indians practiced the Hindu religion, Muslims feared that they would face discrimination under a new government. As tensions grew between the Muslims and Hindus, Britain decided that when they gave up control of the area, they would divide the area into two countries: India and Pakistan.
A Muslim refugee camp in India
India would be controlled by Hindus, and Pakistan would be controlled by Muslims. But this division actually caused extreme violence between the two religious groups. Hindus and Muslims had been living alongside each other—and generally peacefully—for years. But now that each religious group effectively had its own country, Hindus who ended up in Muslim Pakistan and Muslims who ended up in Hindu India were targets of violence. The violence was so bad that Gandhi refused to attend independence celebrations. Half a million people died. As the previously colonized nation became even more extreme, the people no longer had a peaceful, inspirational leader to turn to. As a true symbol of the strife of the times, a Hindu extremist assassinated Gandhi in 1948.
In addition to religious differences, India and Pakistan had different governments. India became democratic, while Pakistan has had a Muslim military dictatorship. With this painful beginning, it is not a surprise that India and Pakistan continued to argue and fight over land in the next century, with a nuclear standoff in 1998.
Time Magazine from 1947, depicting India hurting itself by splitting up
How was imperialist Africa similar to India?
India's successful fight for independence inspired independence movements in Africa. India and Africa had both suffered the indignities and difficulties of colonialism during the nineteenth century, and thousands of African soldiers had fought in World War II for their imperialist country. Like India, it was time for many African nations to claim independence.
India's successful fight for independence inspired independence movements in Africa. India and Africa had both suffered the indignities and difficulties of colonialism during the nineteenth century, and thousands of African soldiers had fought in World War II for their imperialist country. Like India, it was time for many African nations to claim independence.
John F. Kennedy and Kwame Nkrumah
Like the Western-educated Gandhi in India, African independence revolutions found inspiration in their colonial education. Kwame Nkrumah, who had been educated in missionary schools and in the United States, led the movement for independence in what was known as the British Gold Coast colony. But after suffering colonization by first the Portuguese, then the Dutch, and then the British, Nkrumah and his followers wanted their own name. So the people of the country called their land Ghana. Through nonviolent protest and civil disobedience, Ghana gained freedom from Britain in 1957.
Which African nations gained independence first?
The success in Ghana inspired other nations. One of the first African nations to gain independence was Algeria. In Algeria, the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) fought successfully for independence from France. This war not only set up an independent Algeria, but also forced France to form a new government of its own. Independence movements marched forward. Guerilla fighters in Angola and Mozambique won independence from Portugal in the 1960s. In 1980, Rhodesia changed its name to Zimbabwe, to honor the name of a stone city built by Africans, rather than a diamond-loving imperialist.
The success in Ghana inspired other nations. One of the first African nations to gain independence was Algeria. In Algeria, the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) fought successfully for independence from France. This war not only set up an independent Algeria, but also forced France to form a new government of its own. Independence movements marched forward. Guerilla fighters in Angola and Mozambique won independence from Portugal in the 1960s. In 1980, Rhodesia changed its name to Zimbabwe, to honor the name of a stone city built by Africans, rather than a diamond-loving imperialist.
A refugee camp in Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Patrice Lumumba
Independence also led to some weak and dangerous governments. Up to half a million Ugandans died under the violent, oppressive rule of Idi Amin Dada. In the Belgian Congo, the situation was different. Belgium decided to leave even though there was not much protest from the native people. But still, their exit actually made life difficult. When the Congo became independent in 1960, there were only 16 African college graduates out of 13 million people! As a result, self-government was difficult and led to tragedy. Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba was assassinated within a year of freedom. The Congo faced years of unrest and violence. A war in the late 1990s caused the deaths of over 5 million people. Once called Zaire, the country is now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Congo is still plagued by violence and poverty today.
What was apartheid?
Perhaps no struggle in postcolonial Africa is as well known as the struggles in South Africa. South Africa became an independent country in 1961. But the issues of postcolonial South Africa were quite different from the other nations, and the problems had been broiling since the Boer War at the turn of the twentieth century. The Afrikaners, white people who had descended from early Dutch colonists, had a mostly racist attitude toward black Africans. The African National Congress formed to fight the racism, but it did not have as much power as the Afrikaners. The rise of the Afrikaner National Party in the 1930s and 1940s led to an increasingly racist government, even though the majority of people in South Africa were black.
By 1948, the country had an official policy of apartheid, or racial segregation. While white Afrikaners could lead the government and enjoy full rights, black South Africans had limited rights and could not vote. Even peaceful protest was illegal. And the white Afrikaners used organized violence to enforce apartheid.
Perhaps no struggle in postcolonial Africa is as well known as the struggles in South Africa. South Africa became an independent country in 1961. But the issues of postcolonial South Africa were quite different from the other nations, and the problems had been broiling since the Boer War at the turn of the twentieth century. The Afrikaners, white people who had descended from early Dutch colonists, had a mostly racist attitude toward black Africans. The African National Congress formed to fight the racism, but it did not have as much power as the Afrikaners. The rise of the Afrikaner National Party in the 1930s and 1940s led to an increasingly racist government, even though the majority of people in South Africa were black.
By 1948, the country had an official policy of apartheid, or racial segregation. While white Afrikaners could lead the government and enjoy full rights, black South Africans had limited rights and could not vote. Even peaceful protest was illegal. And the white Afrikaners used organized violence to enforce apartheid.
An apartheid-era sign in South Africa
Nelson Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist. After organizing a protest to end apartheid in the early 1960s, Mandela was put in prison. He was not freed until 1990. Finally, in 1994, when black South Africans were allowed to vote, apartheid came to an end. The African National Congress finally came to rule, and Nelson Mandela became the president of South Africa in 1994.
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