"The second world war gave a great stimulus to the process of decolonisation." Analyse the statement.

"The second world war gave a great stimulus to the process of decolonisation." Analyse the statement. 

(15 marks, 250 words) Answer:

The Second World War gave a great impetus to the demise of colonial powers. A number of countries like India, Sri Lanka, South East Asian counties like Indonesia, Malaysia and African countries won their independence. A number of factors after the Second World War contributed to this process:

•        Confidence to fight against the European powers: Japanese success in the early part of the war showed that it was possible for non-Europeans to defeat the European armies. The armies which fought for the Allied powers against the Axis powers in World war had no intention of accepting European rule again and resorted to guerrilla tactics and revolts to gain independence. This was seen in Indo- China, The Dutch East Indies, Malaya and Burma.

•        Social and Political awareness: Soldiers who had fought overseas, were appalled at the contrast between the primitive conditions in Africa and their respective colonies. Similarly, leaders who supported Allied powers like Japan gained experience to govern occupied areas. E.g. Dr Sukarno supported Japan against Dutch and governed parts of Indonesia during the war. Later he led the nationalist struggle and became the President of Indonesia.

•        Policies of Colonial power after the war: The colonial people were shocked when their demand of independence were rejected by the colonial powers even after full cooperation in the war. Further Atlantic Charter, which called for decolonisation after the war was misinterpreted as applying only to colonies of Allied powers. This shook the hopes of colonies and gave stimulus to struggle for independence.

•        Weakened European states post WWII: WWII led to immense financial and military loss to the colonial powers. They were not in a position to hold on to their empires. Eg British independence to India and later Gold coast.

•        External pressure: Post world war, colonial powers became weak and there was constant external pressure to give up the colonies. USA stressed on following Atlantic Charter for decolonisation and wanted its influence over colonies. United Nations, under US influence, came out firmly against imperialism and demanded a step by step programme for decolonisation. This encouraged the nationalist to intensify their campaign against colonisation.

•        Enhanced public sentiment: Immense devastation caused by WWII created an anti-war sentiment among the people. Many civil society groups and media believed imperialism as the key cause of war. Therefore, public pressure in home countries and media awareness also encouraged nationalist in colonies to strengthen their struggle for freedom.

Conclusion:

The role of Nationalist leaders and the long-fought struggle for decolonisation cannot be undermined. However, the conditions created after the war definitely provided confidence to the colonies and provided stimulus to the decolonisation campaign.