2024/25 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

HIST3235 Dividing India: The Road to Democracy in South Asia, 1939-1952

40 creditsClass Size: 16

Module manager: Professor William Gould
Email: W.R.Gould@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2024/25

Module replaces

HIST3230

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

Indian independence brought about the end of one of world history's most ambitious colonial projects and the beginning of the world's largest democracy. Behind the speaker's podium and beyond the assemblies, the rhetoric and power of the newly independent states that were carved out of colonial India, there was considerable confusion about what freedom from colonial rule would really mean. And there was equally great uncertainty about the chances that unitary states could be maintained against, on the one hand, a holocaust of violence and, on the other, a stand-off between two national rivals based in diametrically opposing political ideologies.Rooted in new, cutting edge research, this module examines how subjects of British India experienced the transition from colonial power to independence and democracy, via one of the most bloody and controversial partitions of modern times. In examining the world's largest and most participatory democratic experiment using primary sources, some of which (including oral interviews) are unique to the module leader we will explore what happens when a state and a society moves from authoritarian colonial system, to universal suffrage.With the outbreak of war in 1939, Britain sought to exploit Indian resources to the full and this had a dramatic effect on both the negotiations leading up to India's independence, and on the relationship between Indian society and the emerging post-colonial state. This was also an era of extreme violence: The module explores the controversial theme of ethnic and communal conflict in India, by examining how and why partition in 1947 was accompanied by so much violence, and its longer-term implications. - How did the final years of colonialism in India affect the nature of Indian and Pakistani independence? - What were the actual experiences of freedom for ordinary Indian and Pakistani subject-citizens? - How and why were India’s first democratic elections in 1952 so successful and why did Pakistan move more towards an authoritarian system? Based in new comparisons between India and Pakistan, this module will also explore the long-term significance of independence and partition in 1947 for the post-colonial societies of South Asia. Finally, it will equip students with historical knowledge and theoretical expertise, relevant to the problems of development and grassroots democracy in South Asia.

Objectives

On completion of this module, students will have acquired knowledge in the following areas:

1. The political and social history of India during the period of the Second World War, independence and partition, and (alongside Pakistan) in the immediate post-colonial period.
2. The latest research on the violence of India’s partition and its aftermath.
3. The application of theories about the state, democracy, corruption and ethnic mobilisation to South Asia in the period of post-colonial transition.
4. The nature of Indian and Pakistani citizenship.
5. Challenges to the integrity of the state, and regionalism in India and Pakistan since 1947.
6. The working of democracy in post-1947 India.
7. The nature of communal and ethnic conflict in India and Pakistan.
8. The changing politics of caste reservations in India.

Learning outcomes
On completion of this module, students should be able:
1. To comment critically on the primary sources they have studied.
2. To compare different kinds of historical sources and to discuss how historians have used them.
3. To develop a more profound understanding of political ideologies and processes, social organisation and religious ideas in South Asia.
4. To build a broad knowledge and understanding of the interaction between colonial power and Indian resistance in the era of decolonisation.
5. To critique existing historical approaches to the phase of decolonisation in India.
6. To engage with new research on the history of the post-colonial state and democracy in India and Pakistan.
7. To explore the theoretical literature dealing with the development of democracy and state power in South Asia.
8. To comment on the historiography surrounding India’s independence and partition, and its significance for Indian political culture.

Syllabus

Topics may include:
- India during the war I: Rebellion and repression
- India during the war II: The Bengal Famine
- The Congress-Muslim League-Raj negotiations, 1942-1946
- Mountbatten and the end of Empire, March - August 1947
- Partition and the anatomy of violence
- The immediate aftermath of independence: refugees and the state
- Crafting citizenship in India and Pakistan: Constitutions the working of politics
- Experiments in democracy: India’s first General Elections, 1951-2

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Workshop	4	1.00	4.00
Seminar	22	2.00	44.00
Private study hours			352.00
Total Contact hours			48.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			400.00

Private study

- Reading to prepare for seminars (120 hours)
- Further self-directed reading (66 hours)
- Preparing and researching essay, including formative elements (80 hours)
- Preparing and researching OTA including formative elements (80 hours)
- Reflection on feedback (6 hours)

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Since the module is rooted in the exploration of primary sources, and I have included gobbets in the online timed assessment (Exam), we will have two unassessed but marked gobbet exercises of 500 words each in Semester1. There will also be a group presentation in Semester 2. This will also be marked but will not make up part of the overall assessment.

In the course of the first half of the module (in semester 1) we will also have an opportunity for students to submit a draft essay introduction and plan, as a means of practicing for the 50% essay.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	4000 words	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		50.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Exams

Exam type	Exam duration	% of formal assessment
Online Time-Limited assessment	48 hr 00 mins	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Exams)		50.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 18/10/2024

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