National Liberation Movements In The Colonies

• Sun yat sen-- Nationalism, democracy and socialism

a) Sun yat sen (1866–1925) came from a poor and rural family background.

b) He experienced all the ill-effects of imperialism which was destroying China. Therefore his political view was based on the socialist ideology which saw “all men equal”.

c) Sun formed the formally organized political party called the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang), in 1912.

d) This party was based on his principles Nationalism, democracy and socialism as fundamental doctrines.

• Chiang Kai-Shek -- Militarised the nation.

a) Chiang founded a military academy at Whampoa, near Canton, in 1924 With Sun yet sen’s support.

b) He made up the Nationalist army, based on methods of Sun Yat-sen.

c) Chinese Communists began to clash with more conservative party elements after Sun’s death.

d) Chiang was Sun’s successor and led a successful military campaign against local warlords in northern China.

e) He expelled the Communists in a brutal coup in 1927 and combined control within his own party.

f) In 1928, he formed a new central government with himself as head of state to form a military nation in China.

• Mao Zedong -- Peasant revolution.

a) The peasants in Hunan Province in China rose spontaneously against their landlords.

b) The conditions were favorable for peasant revolt (1925-27) and Mao organized them.

c) The peasants were forced to pay their taxes years in advance and pay high rents and they were in high debt.

d) Peasants had a hard time surviving and were using "terror with fanfare" with the support of the communist party.

e) Mao wrote, “the peasants had accomplished in a few months what Sun Yat-sen had failed to accomplish in his forty-year effort at revolution”.

• Ken Saro wiwa -- Environmental movement

• Ken Saro-Wiwa worked for the environmental and human rights of Nigeria's Ogoni people

• The Ogoniland which was very oil-rich land had been exploited by multinational oil companies.

• He led a non-violent campaign and peaceful movement of the Ogoni people (ethnic minority in Nigeria)

• The Nigerian government executed Saro-Wiwa in 1995.

China can be divided into feudal, colonial, communist, semi-feudal, semi-colonial periods. The women, for no doubt, were inferior in all fields of life. Until the end of 19^th-century women-conditions were intolerable in social, economic, political and family life.

To trace the changes in the role of women in China, it is important to know the women status before and after the 19^th century.

Women in China- Before the 19^th century

a) "Women with bound feet" was a compulsory custom for the female gender in China.

b) Small bound feet were considered beautiful while large unbound feet were judged crude in China and girls went through severe pain both mentally and physically throughout the process.

c) Most of the women were preys in the systems of polygamy and prostitution

d) Majority of them were exposed to physical and mental torture, being harassed by family.

e) They had no social roles as they had no political rights.

f) They were not economically independent and had no source of income.

g) They had no right in property and inheritance

h) They totally depended upon father, brother, husband or sons throughout their life.

By the beginning of the 20^th century, the Chinese communist party started a democratic revolution in China. The autocratic monarchy that had ruled China for over 2,000 years was overthrown in 1911 and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The 1911 Revolution emancipated Chinese women.

Women in China- After the 19^th-century

a) Large-scale women's emancipation movement was launched.

b) This historic liberation of Chinese women won worldwide attention.

c) A succession of movements was launched for women's liberation.

d) Chinese women waged a fearless struggle that lasted for over a century.

e) A series of policies on sexual equality was implemented.

f) The Reform Movement of 1898 leads the way to ban feet binding and establish schools for women.

g) The 1911 Revolution helped to start a feminist movement which fixed on equal rights for men and women and participation by women in political affairs.

h) These movements promoted the awakening of Chinese women.

i) Nevertheless, they all failed to bring about a fundamental change in their miserable plight as victims of oppression and enslavement.

When compared to the life of women in Russia, Chinese women were not at all extroverts in their social lives.

a) the experiences of women in Russia are significantly different across ethnic, racial, religious, and social lines.

b) The life of an ethnic Russian woman can be very different from the life of an urban, semi-urban woman because Russia is a multicultural society.

c) Women of eighteenth-century Russia were luckier than their European counterparts.

d) By the mid-nineteenth century, European notions of equality took a role in Russian women.

e) The Russian revolution in 1917 made important changes in the status of women.

f) Women in Soviet Russia became a vital part of the recruitment into the workforce, education sector, personal development, and training by the 20^th century.

g) They were a vital part in the armed force in world war second.

h) The common historical and political context makes women in Russia more political beings, in general.

When compared to women in Germany, Chinese women share similar situations

a) German women struggled for economic independence and social equality even in the 20^th century

b) The German revolution in 1918-1919 helped in women liberation.

c) Industrialization resulted in an increase in the number of female workers.

d) Labour shortage in the second world allowed German female workers to break into previously male-only occupations like driving and metalworking

In short, The struggle for women to conquer their own group was part of a long historical process. The empowerment of women and their elevated social status were by revolutions and social reform movements in China, Germany, and Russia. It varies in a few prospects depending upon the cultural and geographical differences.

The Qing dynasty, (also known as the Manchu dynasty), ruled China from 1644–1912. The Xinhai Revolution is known as the Chinese Revolution or the Revolution of 1911. This revolution overthrew China's last imperial dynasty -the Qing dynasty and established the Republic of China (ROC). The Republic of China was formed in 1912 and became a constitutional republic. It marked an end to 4,000 years of Imperial rule.

The formation of regimes

a) RoCs founder leader was Sun Yat-Sun, and he was succeeded by Chiang Kai

b) The ROC was riven by internal conflict.

c) Chiang was associated with the West. Mao with the Soviets.

d) Chiang Kai Shek spent much of his time building up the Chinese army and struggling with other warlords and the Communists.

e) Much of the early years of ROC was spent fighting the various warlords.

f) the monarchy and Communist Party of China (CPC) were formed as two regimes.

Similarities between CPC and the monarchy

a) Both had total power and authority

b) Both of them were not elected, they just took over the power.

c) Their contributions to bring unity to China was very massive.

China is an example of an agricultural country. In the organization of an agricultural nation, all the production, trade, commerce, and development is based on agriculture. Certain steps are to be taken to remain beneficial with agriculture. They are:

a) Proper and timely implementation of agricultural reforms ( this may include land reforms and bills which are favorable to farmers)

b) The accurate class classification of all the farmers and those who are totally dependent on agriculture

c) Elimination of the Landlord-tenant system

d) Equal distribution of profit to the agricultural laborers

e) To take steps to avoid debt and other difficulties of revenue.

Taking China as an example, these features are noted:

a) Inclusive land reforms were launched in 1950-1951 in China.

b) About 60% of the poor farmers got back their own land.

c) 43% of China’s cultivated land in rural areas were back into the hands of peasants.

d) The peasants benefited both economically and in living standards.

e) Vietnam which is famous for its beaches and rivers improved its irrigation system

f) The steps to make irrigation canals, marketing and export of rice etc were very effective.

g) The democratic republic of Vietnam came under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh in August 1945. Soon after the farmers got a reduction in land rents to about 25%.

There were changes in the administrative level also like:

1) Peasant council was organized

2) Discussions and solutions related to the agricultural sector were done with immediate action.

3) Laws were passed to redistribute the land among the working laborers.

4) The power of landlords was demolished.

COUNTRIES, COLONIES, POLICIES AND RESULTING CHANGES

COMPARING NATIONAL MOVEMENTS IN INDIA AND NIGERIA

The reasons for a stronger national movement in India compared to Nigeria are:

a) The cultural and ethnic diversity of India was lesser than Nigeria

b) India had a common national history

c) equal natural resource distribution

d) no promotion of regionalism over a strong central government

e) Lesser regional competition and violence.

Nigeria’s national movement and freedom struggles were unorganized. After independence, the Nigerian constituency went through similar situations of instability and disorganization. The major challenges were:

a) Nigeria had large ethnic diversity, and so making a constitution acceptable for all was a huge challenge.

b) The existing diversity in the social and economic status of the ethnic tribes.

c) The increasing tendencies of regionalism which often affects the unity.

d) The building up of the essential judiciary, parliamentary system, and leadership.

e) The corruption, even from the Government officials which affects the economy.

f) To compensate for the loss of 5-10 % of Nigerian mangrove ecosystem which had been wiped out during the clearing of oil spills

g) Over-dependence on oil trade (oil was discovered in the Niger Delta in 1970-s. Nigeria depends solely on oil trade as a source of revenue. They neglected agriculture.)

h) Non-saving culture, the country’s economy went into collapse after the drop in the price of crude oil.

The major challenges faced by India after independence:

a) Refugee problems

b) Partition issues

c) Kashmir issues

d) Reorganization of states

e) Naxal movements

India faced many problems after independence but was solved effectively by the Indian administrators. They could handle the crisis in a much easier way than in the case of Nigeria because the Indian constitution was well written and implemented effectively by 1950. The constitution written by Ambedkar was so fine that it brought unity among the cultural and socially diverse groups. The Indian bureaucracy had strong leadership, and it gripped the social situation very well.

Nigeria, India, and Vietnam were colonial countries. They definitely undergo severe social, cultural, economic and political exploitations during the colonial rule. India and Nigeria were ruled by the UK. Vietnam was under the control of France. Comparing with India and Vietnam; Nigeria had a less hard struggle for independence because:

1) Nigeria possessed territorial nationalism.

• By definition, “Territorial nationalism describes a form of nationalism based on the belief that all inhabitants of a particular territory should share a common national identity, regardless of their ethnic, linguistic, religious, cultural and other differences.”

• Ethnicity was so strong that it was superior to citizenship.

• The unity within the tribe was very intense.

2) The integrated struggle by ethnic groups

Nigeria possessed more than 250 ethnic groups. It was difficult to bring unity among them. But at the same time, it was easy to make unity within each group. The collaboration of the efforts from each ethnic group to the nationalist freedom movement was immense.

Schools are the social institution which is capable of making the social and cultural transformation of the whole generation. When a colonial country conquers another country, the whole education system falls into the hands of the superior country.

a) In the first phase of colonialism, the superior country took the necessary steps to suppress and exploit the whole population. Through schooling, they spread their religion, ideologies, and schemes.

b) But later in the second phase, the educated class came up, and they made the necessary changes in the school curriculum, with the help of nationalist leaders.

c) The educated class in the native country made the youth aware of the phase of their dependence on the colonial country also.

The role youth played in the national movement are:

1) The students became aware of the day-to-day social processes and united to form protests against colonialists.

2) They became members of nationalist movements and freedom revolts

3) The ideas of freedom, equality, democracy, etc made immense changes in their mindset.

4) The youth attended political party classes and became aware of the drawback of becoming a fake in the hands of colonial countries.

India, China, Vietnam and Nigeria, and many other countries which were the colonies of the colonial countries fought severe battles to win independence.

The impacts of wars were:

1) Loss of economic balance ( public debt and taxes increase)

2) Huge change in laws and policies (export and import vary)

3) Loss of human life

4) Natural resources decline

5) Social stability is lost (Death, mental illness, sexual violence, poverty, etc increase)