Lydia Dumais

Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Harvey, David

Keywords

History, India, Green Revolution, Great Partition

Area of Concentration

History

Abstract

This thesis explores some of the administrative failings of the British Raj at the twilight of its reign, beginning at the close of World War II with the rising tide of Indian nationalism. After a century of British rule, the call for Indian independence was growing deafening. A discourse had began in India: What defined India, as a people and as a nation? In the struggle for independence from the British the question of national identity became intertwined with religious identity, causing a deep divide between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League. The road towards independence became a road towards partition, and two nations were birthed in 1947: India and Pakistan. Partition was a the end result of decades of frustration with the British, and the transfer of power was marked with bloodshed. Beyond these political and religious divides was the very real problem of famine and food insecurity, which affected all rural populations regardless of religious divisions. Under the British India's agricultural development had remained stagnant, and 30 million died of starvation under the Raj. With the development of a working democracy, Indians were able to undertake massive technological reforms that quadruple their grain output in what is called the Green Revolution. Self-governance has brought India to the forefront of economic development in the 21st century.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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