Post-War Independence Notes India/ South Africa
Thesis: The eras of post-war independence in India and South Africa have comprised of several political/ economic changes that have paralleled and contrasted each other. South Africa and India correspondingly experienced population bombs, ethnic conflicts, governmental instabilities, and other social transformations. However, considering the distinctiveness between the nations, Africa and India using diverse methods of organizing their post- war governments consisting of unique leaders, and comprising of different dates of total independence. Similarities: • Neo-colonialism • Cold-War rivalries • Delayed plans for economic and political development • Rise of feminism- promises of equal opportunities and rights in employment, property-ownership, and education made to active female protestors in previous independence movements. • Sexism continued.
Societies remained patriarchal using tradition/ religion to justify the degradation and strict societal roles of wives and mothers for women • Post- war ambition- promotion of economic enlargement • The Population Bomb- a result of decreased factors in war and starvation, importation of global products, and modern transportation. • Resistances to birth-control strategies to control population; male virility and child birth acted as signs of social status. • Due to increasing population rates- mass urban numbers, pollution, and increasingly delicate eco-systems • Ethnic conflicts as the consequence of European lined territories Differences: • 1947- India incised all colonial ties with British powers • 1990- The whole of Africa was free from European forces • Africa’s independence movement leader- Kwame Nkrumah • India’s leader- Jawaharlal Nehru • Charismatic Populists and One-Party Rule • South Africa: The Apartheid State and Its Demise • Africans turned to guerrilla resistance during the 1960s • All forms of African protest were illegal • India originally encompassed a large population before its growth boom, while Africa initially had a low populace, higher birth and mortality percentages produced a larger population. • Indian Alternative- reformation from socialism and state involvement World Historic Content: • India and Pakistan win their independence in 1947 • 1950- India launches a five-year economic development plan • Ghana (1966) Nkrumah is overthrown by a military coup. • 1975- End of the Vietnam War Analysis: Several tasks in the development of post-Independence civilizations. Both South Africa and India faced similar handicaps in their political and economic developments, such as communal strife, urban squalor, and inabilities in employment opportunities.
However, these resemblances did not take away the societies’ individualities, as India’s state tried to reform their governments through socialism, while the corrupted political rule in Africa led to illegal protests and a postponed total independence. Nevertheless, it can be concluded that both countries faced countless struggles and alterations as consequences of their movements towards achieving independence.
