Why Did Nationalist Movements Fail to Achieve Much Before World War Two?
Nationalist movements have been present since the start of colonial rule and the eminent failure of these nationalist movements before the onset of World War Two have not gone un-noticed by historians. ‘nationalism is linked with the idea of progress, a progress which man himself can induce or control.’ The firm control that the pre-WWII
Western colonial powers imposed on the territories that they governed ensure that the local people would not demand for the sovereignty of their state. However a select few revolutionaries formed nationalist movements in order to regain the independence of their states. Unfortunately, many of these nationalist movements failed to achieve much before the start of World War Two and it is in this essay that we will go into greater depth of the factors that influenced or affected the question of why nationalist movements failed to achieve much before the start of World War Two.
The first half of the essay details the anti-colonial aspect of the nationalist movements, both the radical anti-colonial and the traditional anti-colonial. The colonial powers were intolerant of the anti-colonial movements as these groups had the concept and ideas of getting rid of the colonial powers. Therefore the anti-colonial groups met with numerous setbacks due to the repression and suppression of the colonial powers.
The traditional anti-colonial group ceased to sustain its presence due to the suppression by the colonial powers before the movement could gain any momentum and ability to spread to the other parts of the country. Burma is the case study in question. There was a peasant rebellion that broke out in Tharrawaddy District in December 1930. ‘Its leader,
Hsaya San, was a former monk, a practitioner of indigenous mediine, and an active organizer for the most pro-peasant faction of the GCBA. Under its auspices, he had undertaken in 1927-1928 an extensive survey of agrarian conditions and peasant grievances against colonial
Western colonial powers imposed on the territories that they governed ensure that the local people would not demand for the sovereignty of their state. However a select few revolutionaries formed nationalist movements in order to regain the independence of their states. Unfortunately, many of these nationalist movements failed to achieve much before the start of World War Two and it is in this essay that we will go into greater depth of the factors that influenced or affected the question of why nationalist movements failed to achieve much before the start of World War Two.
The first half of the essay details the anti-colonial aspect of the nationalist movements, both the radical anti-colonial and the traditional anti-colonial. The colonial powers were intolerant of the anti-colonial movements as these groups had the concept and ideas of getting rid of the colonial powers. Therefore the anti-colonial groups met with numerous setbacks due to the repression and suppression of the colonial powers.
The traditional anti-colonial group ceased to sustain its presence due to the suppression by the colonial powers before the movement could gain any momentum and ability to spread to the other parts of the country. Burma is the case study in question. There was a peasant rebellion that broke out in Tharrawaddy District in December 1930. ‘Its leader,
Hsaya San, was a former monk, a practitioner of indigenous mediine, and an active organizer for the most pro-peasant faction of the GCBA. Under its auspices, he had undertaken in 1927-1928 an extensive survey of agrarian conditions and peasant grievances against colonial
Bibliography: 1. Rupert Emerson. An Analysis of Nationalism in Southeast Asia, Far Eastern Quarterly, Vol. 5, No.2 (Association for Asian Studies, 1946) 2. David J. Steinberg. In Search of Southeast Asia. A Modern History. ( Allen and Unwin, 1985)