Module 6

5) How did India’s nationalist movement change over time?

The Indian National Congress (INC), one of the most important

political expressions of all-Indian identity, was established in

1885. This association consisted of English-educated Indians

such as lawyers, journalists, teachers, and businessmen.

The initial goal of the INC was to gain greater inclusion within

the political, military, and business life of British India.

By 1915, Gandhi was in a high position of leadership in the INC.

Instead of fighting for social revolution, he sought the moral

transformation of individuals. Gandhi wanted to raise the status

of India’s untouchables. He believed in gender equality and fought

to elevate the status of women in marriage and society.

Many thought that Gandhi was using his position in the INC

for the wrong reasons, since the ultimate goal was for India to gain

its independence from Britain.

7) What conflicts and differences divided India’s nationalist movement?

Although people seemed to be united within the INC there were differences

and conflicts that divided the association. One of the main differences was religion,

since the INC consisted of those from both Hindu and Muslim backgrounds.

Muslims were a minority in India and feared that their voices wouldn’t be heard

due to the dominant Hindu population. By the time Britain had declared their intention

to leave India, the Muslim League argued that the parts of India where Muslims

were the majority should have a separate political status. They called this region Pakistan,

which means “land of the pure.” This meant that India would not be a single nation like

Gandhi had argued. The leader of the Muslim League Muhammad Ali Jinnah stated that

Muslims and Hindus should not be living in the same areas or interact, since their religious

philosophies, customs, and literatures differed significantly from one another.

17) In what ways did cultural revolutions in Turkey and Iran reflect different

understandings of the role of Islam in modern societies?

In Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk sought to modernize the country, 

which meant they would have “to enter European civilization completely.”

 Islam was to be removed from public life and become a personal 

and private realm. Ataturk made Islam more accessible to his people by 

translating the Quran into Turkish and issuing the call to prayer in Turkish

 instead of Arabic. The old role of Sultan or ruler that was established during

 the Ottoman Empire was removed. Instead Turkey became a republic 

and Islam was no longer associated with politics. In addition, polygamy was 

abolished and women were granted equal rights in divorce, inheritance, and child

 custody. Women in Turkey were granted the right to vote and hold public 

office in 1934, which was a decade before French women gained these rights. 

After Ataturk’s death in 1938, some of the changes he had made returned to the

 way they had originally been. On the other hand, in Iran under the rule of 

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi many believed Iran had become more modernized.

 The Shah initiated a white-revolution where land was redistributed among 

impoverished peasants, women were granted the right to vote, investments in rural 

healthcare and education were made, industrial projects were initiated, and workers

 were offered a share in the profits of those industries.

 After Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s return from exile in France during

 1979 he took control of the country and started a cultural revolution. 

This revolution headed in the opposite direction from that of Turkey.

 The new government defined itself as an Islamic republic.