Page 65 - Social Science.docx

The fall of the Raj
The British Empire is undeniably at fault for the stunted growth of the modern states within the Indian subcontinent. The British Empire's intense colonial policies and institutions that purposefully set an oppressive caste system for the native population made it incredibly difficult for the independent nations to modernize their societies. Along with this both India and Pakistan were newly created states by British delegations that had no desire to line their borders up with existing ethno-linguistic groups and solely created the Indian Pakistani border based on a vague concept of local religion. This resulted in the intense violence throughout the sub-continent as millions of people were forced to leave their homes and travel to either Pakistan or India because they were on the ” wrong side” of the Border. while it is not helpful to exclusively blame the modern British state it would have been beneficial to the millions of people living on the subcontinent if the partition was treated more seriously. Why there is no direct answer for how the partition could have worked utilizing local leaders and the newly founded Indian politicians could have bettered the situation.4
The subcontinent Nations today are not seen as prominent world powers even though India and Pakistan both have nuclear weapons. Many consider these countries to be almost third world as they have struggled greatly in their modernization attempts throughout the years. While India itself is the second most populated country on earth its economy struggles to keep up with its northern neighbor China. Centuries of colonial oppression throughout the colonies stripped them of valuables and created a societal structure of discrimination not easily broken out of. While the countries have had difficulty adapting the modern world they are improving. India while being
4 David Gilmartin, “The Historiography of India's Partition: Between Civilization and Modernity, The Journal of Asian Studies, February, 2015.
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