Page 98 - 100 Events That Made History

Independent On August 15, 1947, Jawaharlal

Nehru became prime minister
of the newly independent India,
a country that had been under
India
British control for nearly 200 years.
Two NEW STATES are born At last! I’ve been calling independence.
from the jewel in the crown
By the way...
Nehru had been
of the British empire
head of the Indian
for Indian independence
government before

Peaceful protest for 30 years!
From the 1920s,
Mahatma Gandhi (left)
led the movement for
Indian independence.
He encouraged peaceful
protest, such as marching
against British laws, or
REFUSING TO OBEY them
altogether. Gandhi’s nonviolent
approach began to work, but
cracks started to appear among
the Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim
religious groups.

One state or two?
Britain promised to hand over
power after World War II. Indian
Hindus, including Gandhi, wanted
one single state, but MUSLIMS,
led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah,
wanted their own separate state.
The Brits agreed, after a Direct
Action Day of Muslim protests
ended in thousands of deaths.

Jinnah disagreed with Gandhi

What came before… over many things, including
nonviolent protest.

From 1757 to 1858, Britain’s
East India Company took
control of India, driving out In 1857, the Indians rebelled when
rival Portuguese and Dutch a rifle issued to Indians in the army
traders. Some states, such as offended Hindus and Muslims.
the TIPU SULTAN’s Mysore, put The British government took direct
up fierce resistance. control and the RAJ (empire) had begun.
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