The End of Empires: Indian Independence, Vietnam, and the African Awakening

In a new section, we will look at the Indian independence movement and the Pakistan issue, which perhaps we are all somewhat familiar with. Muhammad Ali Jinnah's role in this process is highly important; he is the founder and the first Governor-General of independent Pakistan. With Britain's withdrawal from the region in 1947, the subcontinent was divided into two separate states: India and Pakistan.

Next, we move on to Vietnam. After France withdrew in 1954, Vietnam was divided into two. The US military intervention to support the South sparked a long and exhausting war. Following years of conflict, the US was forced to withdraw from the region, and Vietnam was ultimately unified.

Finally, we will briefly explain the events in Africa and conclude our article. After World War II, colonies in Africa rapidly began to gain their independence. To increase solidarity among themselves and act jointly against foreign interventions, these newly independent African states established the Organization of African Unity in 1963.

Gandhi leading his followers on the Salt March to abolish the British salt laws

Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian Independence Movement, initially adopted a peaceful philosophy of independence and resistance for the civil rights of the Indian community in South Africa. After returning to India from Africa, he organized poor farmers and labourers to protest against oppressive taxation policies and widespread discrimination. By assuming the leadership of the Indian National Congress, he led nationwide campaigns aimed at reducing poverty, liberating women, fostering brotherhood among different religious and ethnic groups, ending caste and untouchability discrimination, achieving economic self-sufficiency, and most importantly, attaining “Swaraj”, the liberation of India from foreign domination. Gandhi spearheaded his country's rebellion against Britain with his famous 400-kilometer “Gandhi Salt March” in 1930 against the British Salt Tax, and in 1942, he openly called on the British to leave India. Ultimately, having emerged quite exhausted from World War II, Britain could no longer resist the developments in the region and was forced to recognize India’s independence on August 14, 1947.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Mahatma Gandhi

The name “Pakistan” was actually first proposed in 1940 by Muslim students studying in England, and until 1940, the Muslim population of the subcontinent shared the same independence struggle as India. The turning point came at the Lahore Congress, where Jinnah led the decision to establish a separate Muslim state. However, the turning point occurred on March 23, 1940, at the Muslim League Congress held in Lahore under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. At this congress, the decision was made to partition India between Muslims and non-Muslims and to establish a completely separate State of Pakistan. The chief architect of this process and the leader of the Muslim Nationalist Movement, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, became the founder and the first governor-general (head of state) of Pakistan when the country gained its independence on August 14, 1947. Even after independence, Jinnah fought tirelessly for Pakistan's rights against India, particularly during the Kashmir Dispute, until he passed away on September 11, 1948.

American Huey helicopters inserting South Vietnamese ARVN troops, 1970

Let’s move on to Vietnam, the unhealing wound of Asia. In Vietnam, which became a French colony in the 19th century, France’s severe economic exploitation and political oppression naturally sparked a strong national resistance movement. The communists, who formed the strongest wing of this resistance, gained momentum in the 1930s and established the Vietnam Independence League, known as the Viet Minh, in 1941. When Japan, which had occupied the country during World War II, surrendered in 1945, Viet Minh forces seized power in Hanoi, and their leader Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam’s independence. However, France, unwilling to let go of its colony, managed to suppress this national movement in the south but attempted to re-establish its colonial regime in the north. This sparked the bloody Indochina Wars that lasted from 1946 to 1954. The war ultimately ended when France suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. Finally, under the decisions of the Geneva Accords signed on July 21, 1954, the country was temporarily divided into two separate states along the 17th Parallel: the communist-controlled Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the north and the Republic of Vietnam in the south.

Troops of the King's African Rifles on watch for Mau Mau rebels

Finally, we turn our attention to Africa. The devastating impacts of World War II shook colonial powers like Germany, Belgium, Portugal, and the Netherlands, alongside Britain and France. Meanwhile, rising economic strength and the strengthening of nationalism in African states began to bring an end to colonialism on the continent. The first bold step on this path was taken by Ghana, which gained its independence from Britain in 1957, and was quickly followed by Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Uganda, and Tanganyika.

In Kenya, things were a bit harsher; the rebellion launched by the “Mau Mau” secret society against Britain in 1952 culminated in independence in 1963. Moving on to the French front, the largest and bloodiest independence struggle occurred in Algeria. France had used Algeria as a resistance base during World War II in 1942, but when the war ended, they responded to the Algerians’ demands for independence or equal rights in return for their sacrifices with severe backlash and massacres. Even though France declared it “French territory” rather than a colony in 1948 to the outside world, they continued to rule it as a colony and denied the Algerian people equal rights.

Consequently, a massive armed struggle began in 1954 as the public organized under the leadership of the National Liberation Front and the Algerian National Movement. Although France recognized the independence of Morocco and Tunisia in 1956 just to hold onto Algeria, these two newly freed countries provided support to the Algerian resistance. Ultimately, the struggle succeeded, and independence was achieved with the signing of the Evian Accords in 1962, establishing the Democratic People's Republic of Algeria. While all this was happening in the north, foreign rule in Libya, which had been under Italian control since 1911, ended in 1951 with the help of the Allied powers. The Kingdom of Libya was formed, and it quickly joined the Arab League in 1953 and the UN in 1955.

OAU during its foundation

Organization of African Unity

The countries that gained their independence in Africa chose not to take part in any bloc in the polarized world of the Cold War. Instead, to collectively ensure economic development, they established the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on May 25, 1963, with its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The primary goals of this organization, which had 32 founding members, were to support the independence of African countries, to ensure unity and solidarity by preventing conflicts on the continent, and to improve international relations. Thus, the Africa file was closed with a sense of continental awakening and solidarity.

Thus, we have completed the great awakening, division, and independence processes in Asia and Africa under the shadow of the Cold War. As we conclude these historical events that rewrote the destinies of continents here, we are already starting our preparations for the next chapter. In our next article, we will turn our course back to our immediate geography and discuss those critical developments that occurred right around our borders and directly affected our history: the Balkan Alliance, the Syrian Crisis, and the Saadabad Pact.