RUNNING HEAD: INDIA

INDIA—REFLECTIVE REPORT

Mikayla Pitkin

SOCL1127

4221349

August 6th, 2019

INDIA

Earlier this year, April 20th-May 1st, I visited Delhi, Agra and Chandigarh, India.

Although our group of students and teachers from Niagara College Canada participating in

multiple tours of historical buildings and landmarks, there are still many events that have

happened in India to make it the country it is today. Upon my research, I learned that India was

not always an independent country and the partition of British India resulted in the death of over

a million people. I also learned of some other important events which happened, including the

Emergency in 1975 and the Bombay riots in 1992-1993. It is very interesting to see where the

country once was in regard to politics, society and the amount of violence which occurred

between Muslims and Hindus.

THE PARTITION—1947

The Partition of India occurred in the year 1947 where there was a literal parting of

British India, which included India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Burma. During the Second World

War, Muslims and Hindus began to turn on each other as a result of the chaos caused by the war.

From then on, violence began on the street and continued getting worse and worse between the

two religions. Mixed neighbourhoods began to separate, and the two religions segregated

themselves; regional political leaders continued to increase tensions during speeches and

provoked rioters with news articles. The partition eventually created two separate divisions,

Muslin-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India (Collins, 2019).

Britain decided after World War II that they no longer had resources and had to finally

part with India, leaving the country independent. This decision was made to exit from India, and

it was not done properly and the planning which went into this drastic change was rushed and

sloppy. Due to the decision of parting India and Pakistan being somewhat last minute and

rushed, it resulted in a horrendous outbreak of violence, genocide, arson, abductions, thousands

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of women taken to be raped and killed, and left one to two million people dead, including

Mahatma Gandhi (Collins, 2019). The Partition has been compared closely to the Holocaust in

regard to the unimaginable violence which took place.

THE EMERGENCY—1975

Indira Gandhi, formerly known as Indira Priyadarshini Nehru, was the first female Prime

Minister of India. She imposed an Emergency in India, which was declared by the President,

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, lasting 21 months. When a country goes into an Emergency, it means

that the members of their government is empowered to perform actions which they may not

normally be permitted to do. Elections and civil liberties were suspended during this time and

democracy was brought to a halt. The Emergency of 1975 was not imposed because the country

was in any sort of danger but because Indira Gandhi was in danger herself, which lead the nation

to be furious as this was a personal interest and nothing to do with the country as a whole

(Akbar, 2005). When the Emergency was reversed, it made this Constitutional provision

impotent, meaning government is no longer able to allow an Emergency to take effect within

India.

BOMBAY RIOTS, MUMBAI—1992

In December 1992-January 1993, left approximately 2,000 people injured and 900 people

dead due to rioting in Mumbai during large protests. There were two phases identified in regard

to the riots. The first is known for Muslims reacting to the Babri Masjid demolition, which

occurred at the beginning of December. The second was the Hindu people reacting to the killing

of many Hindu people being stabbed in Muslim-majority areas and burning six Hindu people.

During the Bombay Riots in Mumbai, many people fled from their homes, trying to escape the

chaos. It is said that the riots were planned and somehow the Hindu rioters were given personal

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information about Muslims and where their homes and businesses were located in order to attack

them. Eventually, police needed to step in during rioting to restrain both Muslims and Hindus,

but this only resulted in the police being attacked by mobs. Houses belonging to Hindu families

began to be set on fire or demolished and mosques also became damaged or destroyed.

POVERTY IN INDIA

The Indian subcontinent is one of the poorest in the world and nearly 70% of the

population struggle to survive on $1 to $2 per day, which is approximately 250 million people.

India is the second most populated country in the world, following China but is the seventh

largest country in size, meaning they are extremely over populated and that is why poverty is

such a huge issue in the country. Poverty in India is something many people expect to endure

during their life and grow up without sufficient water supply, garbage disposal or electricity in

many cases. Poverty in India has been known to effect families and people with many health

conditions and unfortunate living conditions such as: High infant mortality, malnutrition, child

labour, lack of education, child marriage, and HIV/AIDS. Unfortunately, India is not generating

enough employment opportunities as well as the population increasing rapidly, which will only

lead to the poverty issues worsening over time.

Overall, India has gone through many traumatic and devastating events, and still

continues to struggle with discrimination, political issues, corruption, and poverty. India is a

beautiful country, but it is very apparent that it is over populated and struggling with the above

issues. I learned a lot while traveling in India and have only learned a small fraction of why India

is how it is today.

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REFERENCES

Akbar, M. J. (2005, December 26). 1975 Emergency was imposed not because India was in

danger, but because Indira Gandhi was. Retrieved August 3, 2019, from

https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20051226-1975-emergency-was-

imposed-not-because-india-was-in-danger-but-because-indira-gandhi-was-786323-2005-

12-26

Bombay Riots. (n.d.). Retrieved August 3, 2019, from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombay_riots

Collins, K. A. (2019, August 05). The Great Divide. Retrieved August 6, 2019, from

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/29/the-great-divide-books-dalrymple