South Asia: Independence, Political Division, and Development

For Monday, please read Chapter 20 and be prepared to answer the following questions:

1. Over what issues did India and Pakistan divide in 1947? What were the roles of Nehru, Gandhi, and Mohammad Ali Jinnah in this partition? What is the legacy of the partition, relative to continuing disagreements between the two nation-states--as in the example of Kashmir?
2. Why and how did Bangladesh declare its independence from Pakistan in 1971? What has happened in Pakistan's political system since then? Why is the military so powerful in Pakistan--and how does this contribute to America's problems with neighboring Afghanistan? Why did the United States develop a close relationship to Pakistan's authoritarian governments rather than India's democracy?
3. What have been the major features of Sri Lanka and Nepal politics since the 1990s?
4. What have been the major transitions in Indian politics since its independence in 1947? What are the roles of caste and religion in contemporary Indian politics?
5. How do you explain India's remarkable economic growth since 1990? What problems persist in India? To what extent can India's rural sector share in the new prosperity?
6. Has India moved on the path that Mahatma Gandhi envisioned?
7. Why does the text conclude that "India will not break up into warring factions or regional conflict"? What contributes to this conclusion? What could be argued against it?

For Wednesday's class, please read Chapter 20 and be prepared to answer the following questions:

1. Since World War II, Asian nations have often been praised as the new economic forces in the world, especially post-1980. Is this a valid analysis?
2. What are the social, economic, political, cultural, and environmental problems still facing Asia? Address this question relative to the entire region as well as for individual countries.
3. Many Westerners think of Asia as a single homogeneous unit. Is this a valid representation?
4. What has been Asia's evolving relationship with the United States and the West in the post-Cold War era? What initiatives have Asians made to promote their own interactions and interdependencies as alternatives to those with the West?
5. How is the growing wealth and power of the People's Republic of China Affecting international relations in Asia?
6. In what parts of Asia has Islam played a prominent role in the post-WWII era?
7. How have historical legacies been used for nation-building in Asia in recent decades?