World War II and the Remaking of South Asia

Catalog description

World War II fundamentally altered South Asia: After occupying Manchuria in 1931, Imperial Japan controlled Burma (Myanmar, today) by 1942—thus threatening British India. The Indian army became the largest volunteer force in the War consisting of 2.5 million men who fought for the Allied powers in multiple theaters, including Europe, as well as defending eastern India against encroaching Japan. The course explores how the War, which had been conducted on the moral ground of defending “the right of self-determination,” contributed to Indian independence, how three new nations emerged out of British India, and how South Asia, with India and Pakistan as nuclear powers, became a vital center for world order and peace.