Decolonization

Definition
Decolonization is a process by which colonies become independent of the colonizing
country. Decolonization was gradual and peaceful for some British colonies settled by
expatriates but violent for others, where native rebellions were energized by nationalism. The
initial countries to obtain independence from Great Britain in 1947 were Pakistan and India.
There were a few causes of this process: the Atlantic Charter (a document that implicated
the objectives of the allied powers if they must win World War Two). Another cause was the
consequence of World War Two or Aftermath (Britain and France had been in a war for the past
6 years, in which one of them was taken over -France and the other was being threatened to be
taken over since 1940-Britain). The third one was the fact that colonies were discontented after
World War Two (many of these colonies offered resources and manpower to their colonial
resources during this war). Another cause was colonial nationalism, because these colonies
wished to become independent.

Localization
The creation of so many new countries, some of which occupied strategic locations,
others of which possessed significant natural resources, and most of which were desperately
poor, altered the composition of the United Nations and political complexity of every region of
the globe. In the mid to late 19th century, the European powers colonized much of Africa and
Southeast Asia. During the decades of imperialism, the industrializing powers of Europe viewed
the African and Asian continents as reservoirs of raw materials, labor, and territory for future
settlement.

Historical landmarks
Events such as the Indonesian struggle for independence from the Netherlands (1945–
50), the Vietnamese war against France (1945–54), and the nationalist and professed socialist
takeovers of Egypt (1952) and Iran (1951) served to reinforce such fears, even if new
governments did not directly link themselves to the Soviet Union. In 1947, the British
government left India and the partition of India led to the establishment of a secular, but Hindu,
majority state of India and the Muslim, state of Pakistan.

Novel
Khushwant Singh (1915-2014) is the author of “Train to Pakistan” (published in 1956), is
one of India’s most famous and foremost writers, the editor of The Hindustan Times. He served
as a member of the Upper House of the Indian Parliament from 1980 to 1986.
The book is about a small village, Mano Majra, where Hindus and Sikhs and Muslims
lived. Hindus and Sikhs were forced to move to India and Muslims into Pakistan. The book is
divided into 4 parts: the first one is named “Dacoity” and it highlights the murder of Lala Ram
Lal, the moneylender of Mano Majra. He was killed by a group of 5 robbers, led by Malli. But
they were not convicted for his murder, but Jugga, son of dacoit Alam Singh, who was definitely
innocent. The second one is called “Kalyug” and it’s about the arrival of the ghost train and the
start of the war. The third part of the novel is entitled “Mano Majra” and it describes the
unwilling evacuation of the Muslims from their village. Horrendous scenes take place when the
soldiers instruct everyone to grab what they can and get inside the allined load full of trucks, that
would later take them to another land, an unknown place they must call „home”. Not knowing
what will happen with their lives and families, Nooran had to at least tell Juggut’s mother that
she is pregnant and then she left in the dark.
The ending part “Karma” of this gripping novel portrays the safeguard of the Muslims.
At first glance, the village is already inhabited by foreigners. Among them there is a group of
religious agitators, that are going to be troublemakers. They got inside the minds of the Sikh
settlers and spread hatred about the Muslims. As a result, they were successfully provoking the
Sikh villagers to wreak vengeance on the Muslims. A thought-provoking scene would be the
moment they have came up with the plan, to stop the train in which the Muslims were resettled
to Pakistan, and it was going to pass the village Mano Majra the following night. This evil
massacre reached out to the ears of Hukum Chand and he ordered the release of Juggut from the
lockup. This courageous character, Juggut Singh, returned to the village where his mother
advised him about his endangered child’s and mother’s lives, moment when he decides to save
them with his last breath. The last moment of the book shows it’s significance to the world
through its remarkable ending. As the immoral tactic was taking place, they’ve tied up a rope
along the railway so that the train would crash and stop and they could kill everyone. But the
saviour climbes up a bridge and cuts off the rope before the train gives signal to notify its
arriving into the station. He just wanted to make way for the train to pass freely, it didn’t matter
to him that his life was going to be taken by a religious agitator who shot him. The train to
Pakistan passed the station whistling by and everyone was saved. Another important scene in the
book is leaving the country because of the war, which is meeting today, unfortunately.
The story is definitely a touching one, because all the details in which we find out about
how people lived during the war or the painful situations they had to face, makes you think or
see things from another perspective.
The book is written in the third person by an omniscient narrator and we can call it art
for the way in which fiction and imagination combines each other, but also for the descriptive
episodes of the characters in relation to their lives, but also with the war.
The story portrays a real moment in life and time, it’s very touching because, based on
those catastrophic occurrences in which people were agonizingly racially discriminated, the good
has won. That should be a boost of hope and confidence for every individual dealing with racial
discrimination in our days. Good people make the world a better place.
 If we refer to the correlation between the title and the characters, the train has an
important significance and it is a special symbol in relation to the characters in the book. It is a
great possibility for the train to mean for Muslims the fear of the unknown or the journey itself.
However, there is also a great reversal of the train. If at first the trains had a positive
connotation, because they meant only a simple routine, or more than that, they meant the hope of
the people, along the way it becomes an opposite connotation, that is a negative one. And that's
just because death is the one that gives this negative meaning, the bodies of people being
transported in the so -called "ghost trains".

Movie
The film „Gandhi”, directed by Richard Attenborough, cast: Ben Kingsley (Mahatma
Gandhi), Candice Bergen (Margaret Bourke-White), Edward Fox (General Dyer), John Gielgud
(Lord Irwin), Trevor Howard (Judge Broomfield). It has won 8 awards, 3 Oscar nominations, 5
Golden Globe awards, 5 awards and 10 BAFTA nominations and it was released in 1982. In a
1999 survey put together by the British Film Institute (BFI) the film was named the 34th best in a
list of 100 British films.
The movie represents the biography of the Indian political leader, Mahatma Gandhi,
whose courage inspired an entire nation. Gandhi steps in as a true innovator and it is he who will
ultimately succeed in liberating India from the British rule, using pacifying means, providing
hope and inspiration to future generations.
Returning from London in 1893, the young, dainty lawyer, Mahatma Gandhi seems
staggered when he hears the current laws in South Africa. Himself has dealt with racial
discrimination, henceforth he will not accept injustice as part of the natural or unnatural order in
South Africa. He would defend his dignity as an Indian and as a man. Forthwith, he establishes a
series of arrangements concerning the equal rights of the entire population. Gandhi believed that
“all through history, the way of truth and love has always won”. A first important scene from the
movie, would directly describe the antipathy of the new law. A congress is being held and Mr.
Gandhi has informed the public amiably about these preposterous acts. These were the
following: every Indian man or woman must be fingerprinted, no marriage other than a Christian
one is considered valid, if a policeman passes near an Indian dwelling, he may enter to verify the
identity of every Indian woman and man.
His speech was so encouraging that more and more people started to riot and they
followed Gandhi in this worthwhile cause. They called him “The Great Soul”. Mahatma Gandhi
was the man who brought back dignity to India and hope to the people of this country.
In the middle of this epic film there is a quiet, small scene that helps explain why
“Gandhi” is such a remarkable experience. Mahatma Gandhi, at the height of his power and his
fame, stands by the side of a lake with his wife of many years. Together, for the benefit of a
visitor from the West, they reenact their marriage vows. They do it with solemnity, quiet
warmth, and perhaps just a touch of shyness; they are simultaneously demonstrating an aspect of
Indian culture and touching on something very personal to them both. At the end of the
ceremony, Gandhi says: "We were thirteen at the time." He shrugs. The marriage had been
arranged. Gandhi and his wife had not been in love, had not been old enough for love, and yet
love had grown between them. But that is not really the point of the scene. The point, I think,
comes in the quiet smile with which Gandhi says the words. At that moment we believe that he is
fully and truly human, and at that moment, a turning point in the film, Gandhi declares that it is
not only a historical record but a breathing, living document.
Where there's injustice, I always believed in fight. But the question is, do you fight to
change things or do you fight to punish? Gandhi's peaceful ways were taking the nation in the
right direction. They were based upon conversation, persuasion, self-suffering and compassion
instead of hatred, ill-will, suspicion or vindictiveness. Another significant scene from the movie
demonstrates the resistance of the population towards the new British legislation. The Indian
Government made a call upon the nation on the 6th of April to make that a day of prayer and
fasting. Of course, no work would be done (no buses, no trains, no factories, no administration),
the country would freeze. The British would be terrified, being cut out from the world.
A very praiseworthy thing Mahatma used to do during any conflicts is that he would be
fasting until there would be peace between the Hindi and the Muslims. As they respected and
admired their lider, knowing that he is very weakened, they would stop fighting eachother. At
this point, Gandhi pushed even hander for home rule, encouraging boycotts of British goods and
organizing mass protests. In 1830 he started a massive movement against the British law that
forced Indians to buy British salt instead of producing it. Gandhi organized a 241-mile-long
protest march to the west coast of Gujarat, where he and his acolytes harvested salt on the shores
of the Arabian Sea. At the end of the three-hours-and-10-minutes (plus intermission) running
time, it's clear that this movie is uplifting, inspiring, enthralling, educational and entertaining.
This is the sort of rare epic film that spans the decades, that uses the proverbial cast of thousands,
and yet follows a human thread from beginning to end.
Decolonization took place through peaceful negotiations, aggressive revolts or non-
violent protests. If we are to refer to the present, even though there are more than 100
independent states today, it is considered that these states still lean on their former colonial rulers
dus to neocolonialism.
As a conclusion, we could say that we learn from mistakes, because this process was very
complicated, but the nations involved in this one have learnt a lot from their struggles. Despite
all this, decolonization led to the restriction of freedom if we think that a lot has changed
following this fact, freedom of speech is limited, or even non-existent. Also, this process led
many nations in several continents or regions including Africa, Asia, the Middle East and
Eastern Europe to experience new administrations and self-rule, changes in the economies and
social reorganization.
 Reference list
“Decolonization.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 15 Nov. 2022
https://www.britannica.com/topic/decolonization.
“Decolonization - Causes, Stages, Timelines & Challenges.” Testbook IAS Preparation, 15
Nov. 2022, https://testbook.com/ias-preparation/decolonisation/.
“Decolonization of Asia and Africa, 1945–1960.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of
State, 15 Nov. 2022, https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/asia-and-africa