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Indian National Congress
One of the first two groups to form work for the rights of Indians was organized. -
French Colonize Indochina
Vietnam was another Southeastern country Asian country controlled by a European. In the earty 1900s, the French gained control of an area of Southeast Asia known as Indochina. Later, this became the modern country of Vietnam. The French wanted control in Indochina because they used the seaports and the area was a rich source of agricultural products and natural resources. -
Muslim League
This was the second group to form work for the right of Indians. -
Rowlatt Act
In 1919, those who began to protest about being second-class citizens and not being able to work toward self-government were put arrested under the new Rowlatt Act. -
Amritsar Massacre in Indiaa
British authorities opened fire on a large gathering of Indians in the town of Amritsar, claiming they were gathering illegally. Over 400 people were killed and another 1200 wounded. This massacre made the Indians furious, and almost overnight they were united in a call for complete independence. -
Ho Chi Minh Begins to Work for Vietnamese Independence
A young man named Ho Chi Minh began to work for Vietnamese Independence from the French. He thought the Communist Party might be the best route to take because the communists were outspoken critics of European colonialism. -
Indochinese Communist Party
Ho Chi Minh organized an Indochinese Communist Party. They began to stage protests against French rule. His efforts landed his followers in jail and he had to leave the country to avoid a death penalty. -
Mohandas Gandhi Leads Indians to Independence
Gandhi began to urge Indians to refuse to cooperate with British laws they felt were unjust. He also urged them to be sure they did nothing violent in their protests. His goal was to show the world the injustice of British colonial rule in India. Gandhi's plan was what he called civil disobedience. -
Indians Get Offered Dominion Status
When World War II broke out, Great Britain offered India dominion status in the British Empire if they would help the war effort. -
The Vietminh League
When World War II began, Ho Chi Minh hoped it would mean the end of French rule in his country. He helped to found a new group, the Vietminh League, a group that had Vietnamese independence at its goal. Unfortunatly, when the war ended, the French moved to regain control of its colonial possession, which they still called French Indochina. -
Government of India Act
The British government gave up. Britain passed the Government of India Act that gave India some self-government. This was a start but not the independence most Indians wanted. -
Hindu India & East and West Pakistan
Feeling of nationalism in each group were more strongly influenced by religion than any of the other factors the people had in common. The country would be divided into three new countries. Hindu India would be in the center because there were many more Hindus than any other religion. The Muslims would be moved to smaller countries created in both east and west along the borders. The areas were to be named East and West Pakistan. Muslims living here would hve to move to the newly created India. -
The British Grant India Independence
When World War II ended, the British decided to grant India independence. However, by this time disputers had begun between Indian Hindus and Indian Muslims about how power in the new country should be organized. The British colonial leader decided that the only way to grant independence and avoid fighting was to divide the country into Hindu and Muslim sections. -
Conflict In India
Millions of people left homes they had lived in for generations to make the moves ordered by the creation of the new governments. There was a lot of fighting and many people lost their lives. In the end, the three new countries were created. -
Indian Independence
British rule in India came to an end and the independent countries of India, East Pakistan, and West Pakistan were created. Religion became the one factor that had the most important role in determining the nationalism of the people who chose to live in these new countries. -
The Geneva Conference
[April 26, 1954-July 20, 1954] At this conference, the US became alarmed at the prospect of Ho Chi Minh ruling Vietnam. The US saw him as a communist rather than a nationalist leader. The US feared that a communist Vietnam would lead other countries in the area to become communist as well. -
The Geneva Conference (Cont.)
The US used its influence to have Vietnam temporarily divided into two parts. Ho Chi Minh was in charge in the north and the US was in control in the south. The plan was to stabilize the country and then let people vote on what sort of government they wanted. -
The Geneva Conference (Cont.)
The Geneva Conference began the US' long involvement in the politics of Vietnam. Northern and southern zones were drawn into which opposing troops were to withdraw. The northern and southern parts were to be reunited after free elections to be held in July 1956. -
French Surrender Control
For the next nine years, Ho Chi Minh and his Vietminh fought with the French colonial forces. While the French were able to maintain control of most of the cities, particularly in the south, the people in the countryside worked with Ho Chi Minh. They wanted control of their own country. In 1954, the French decided to surrender control of the country to Ho Chi Minh. -
The Republic of Vietnam
After many years of fighting and the loss of many thousands of lives amoung the Vietnamese as well as the American soldiers, the US decided to withdraw its forces. The last American helicopters left Vietnam in April 1975. The forces of the North Vietnamese army took over the country. It was unified as the Republic of Vietnam. While the new country was communist, most of the other countries in the region did not become communist.