Lesson 1: South and Southeast Asia

Lesson Focus

After WWII, many South and Southeast Asian states gained independence. This lesson explores how political change, like creating India and Pakistan, led to conflict and shaped their difficult path toward democracy and economic stability.

People to Know

Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Aung San Suu Kyi

Learning Objectives

• Explain how British India was partitioned into India and Pakistan, and the immediate conflicts that resulted.
• Describe the varied paths to independence for Southeast Asian nations, including their struggles with democracy and military rule.
• Analyze the political, social, and economic challenges faced by new nations, including India's policy of nonalignment.

Deep religious divisions between Hindus and Muslims made a unified country impossible after World War II.

On August 15, 1947, British India was partitioned into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. This caused millions to flee across the new borders, creating a massive refugee crisis.

The resulting violence killed over a million people. Mohandas Gandhi, a symbol of peace, was assassinated by a Hindu militant amidst the chaos, marking a tragic start for the new nations.

As India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru needed to establish a stable government and economy.

He implemented a moderate socialist system, where the state took control of major industries, and guided foreign policy with the principle of nonalignment, refusing to side with the U.S. or USSR.

This strategy helped India's industrial production nearly triple between 1950 and 1965 and established the nation as an independent power on the world stage.

After Nehru, India faced growing poverty and intense ethnic and religious strife.

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi used military force against Sikh militants in 1984, leading to her assassination. Her son, Rajiv Gandhi, then became prime minister and began to transfer state-run industries to private control to boost the economy.

This policy spurred the growth of a new middle class but did not end the violence, as Rajiv was also assassinated in 1991.

The original nation of Pakistan was divided into two separate regions, East and West. The government in West Pakistan was accused of ignoring the needs of East Pakistan.

In 1971, East Pakistan declared its independence, sparking a brief but decisive civil war.

This conflict resulted in the creation of the new nation of Bangladesh. Pay special attention: both nations have since struggled with poverty and political instability, often experiencing military takeovers.

After gaining independence, many Southeast Asian nations hoped to build democracies but were weakened by internal conflicts.

In Indonesia, President Achmed Sukarno’s “guided democracy” was overthrown by a military government. In Myanmar, the military refused to accept an election loss and put pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for years.

These events show how military and autocratic regimes often replaced fragile democratic governments across the region.

In the Philippines, the corrupt regime of President Ferdinand Marcos, in power since 1965, led to widespread public anger, especially after the murder of opposition leader Benigno Aquino.

His widow, Corazon Aquino, stepped into a leadership role and led a “people power” movement to challenge the dictator.

This movement successfully forced Marcos from power in 1986, and Aquino became president, beginning the difficult process of restoring democracy to the nation.