Bell Response

Nationalism played a very important role in many

countries, especially in India and other parts of Asia. It is
also one of the factors that led to World War I, which
created a new economic and political situation.
Nationalism had occurred in India since 1800s and it had
led the Indians to a great revolution. Mohandas K. Ghandi,
an Indian leader, is very well known by the world for his
actions, beliefs, and battling strategies. He was named,
the Father of Indian nation, and Mahatma, meaning
the great soul. He fights with nonviolence strategies. At
that time, British was controlling India and they also took
advantage over Indian peoples so Ghandi decided to make
India to become independent by creating a campaign of
civil disobedience to weaken the British government that
was controlling India.

Amritsar Massacre was one of the events that

triggered the Indians to fight against British rule. Many
Indians joined Ghandi and it makes the group even
stronger. The Indians refused to buy British products,

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attend the British schools, or pay them taxes. They also

stopped buying British clothes and began to weave their
own. This lowered the income of British when Indians
banned their products. The Salt March is one of the
important events that make the British government goes
crazy. The British government had been selling salt for
Indians and receiving taxes from them, but when Indians
began making their own salt, they lose a huge amount of
money. After the Salt March events, the government was
so

angry

and

they

British

began

attacking

the

demonstration and arrested those peoples. In fact, the

British in Ghandi time were so brutal and they fought with
using weapons and fighting. I think it really surprised
British when Ghandi came up with a non-violent fighting
strategies or a peaceful revolution without using any
weapons like the British usually do.

This makes it harder for British to cope with the

situation that doesnt involve fighting or armies. Ghandis
non-violence protest won worldwide support and Indian
people finally gained greater political power and rights,

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even though they were no totally independent. The

Government of India Act creates tensions between two
groups, which is the Muslims and Hindus. Muslims and
Hindus divide because they have different religion and
believe. I think the partition of British India came from an
unorganized way of British rule. Even though, Muslims and
Hindus were separated, but it cant change the fact that
they were all Indians. Both countries faced conflicts and
economic problems and it makes the British believe that
they should be separated. The partition of British India led
to the creation of Pakistan. It occurred during 1947 and
the East Pakistan was also separated from the West and
later became Bangladesh. Religious and cultural
differences create problems for newly emerging nations
because when people have different beliefs, it is hard for
them to be unity and build trust.

Religion and culture acts like a bond that help

connect people together and make them a strong nation,
but if both of them are not balanced, the country will not
be powerful enough and create more chance of falling

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apart. For example, the Hindus and the Muslims, both

belong to the same state, but different religious groups
and cultures. A nation cant be a nation if peoples have
different values.

When the British left India, they agreed with the

leader of both Pakistan and India that every land must go
to India or Pakistan, which means that people who used to
live in India must choose whether they will join India or
Pakistan. India and Pakistan fought over Kashmir because
they would gain lots of benefits from it. Kashmir. They
were fighting over for Kashmir and without realizing how
many lives theyve lost in this. The tensions between both
countries have occurred for more than 50 years and never
seem to stop. Now, India gets to control two thirds of
Kashmir, while Pakistan control one third. The reason why
they cant let go of Kashmir might be because Kashmir is
the tourist attraction in South Asia and its land is best for
mining and agriculture and it will make lots of money to
their country. The border of Kashmir also was attached to
other countries, such as China and Afghanistan. I think the

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reason why this conflict is still concerned by the world

today is also because people are still worried about the
bombs and the nuclear weapons that the other have
because both Pakistan and India have nuclear powers.