Paper on Earth, Nationalism & Partition
 (homework 25)

Length: 625 - 1000 words

Due dates:

First thesis: end of class on 12/06 after in class work on it

Second thesis and outline: due to writing tutor by digital drop box (details on drop box here) by start of class time on 12/18

Final Paper: Due by digital drop box (details on drop box here) by the start of class time on 12/23 (although there is no class that day)

NOTE: Professor Umbach can offer no help on this paper after 12/18!

1) This assignment, like ALL assignments in this class, must be typed. See handout on class expectations

2) You MUST use blackboards digital dropbox (details here) to submit this homework

(4) BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE FILE-NAMING CONVENTIONS FOR THIS COURSE.

All files should be saved on your computer as: your last name, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by the first two letters of your first name, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by the assignment number. So if a student named Saddam Hussein were to submit assignment number 25, the file name would be:

hussein_sa_25.doc

THIS IS ASSIGNMENT 25

This homework is due at the start of class and can NOT be turned in late
This homework can NOT be revised
This homework is worth 9.4% of you final semester grade, or 940 Fritz Points



In the United States, we often think that democracy and self-determination can produce only good outcomes.  Yet, the prospect and eventual arrival of independence, and self-rule in the British Colony of India (now the countries of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) ushered in violence on a massive scale.  As the Indian historian Nandini Gooptu writes:
Partition...not only involve(d) the institution of separate administrative and political structures for the two newly independent states, but also a momentous upheaval of population migration, as well as unanticipated bloodshed and brutality among Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs on a scale that it is still considered both unimaginable and inexplicable. 12 to 14 million people were caught up in this process of mass migration; over one million were killed in violent encounters, and an estimated 75,000 women were abducted and subjected to sexual violence. Not only those directly affected by this population movement in what became the border regions between India and Pakistan, but millions others in other parts of India were affected too. In 1946 and 1947, the subcontinent was torn by Hindu-Muslim riots in an atmosphere of religious hatred inflamed by the emerging reality of partition.

 

How and why did the ideology of nationalism and the prospect of democracy and self-rule lead to unprecedented violence directed against minorities, such as Hindus in what was to become Pakistan and Muslims in what was to become India.

Use the readings from BOTH 12/01 & 12/06 to answer this question.


Another way to think about this paper is to consider why the Gandhi's vision of India failed to win the day. Why -- when presented with the prospect of self-rule -- did so many nationalists push for an ethnically exclusive (rather than inclusive) vision of India?
  
Writing Tips:

1) Spend very little time retelling the history of Indian partition or summarizing the film; focus on an analysis that answers the question above.  In short, I should never feel as if I am reading a book report as I grade your paper. Keep, instead, your attention on the themes of nationalism, self-rule, and minority rights. Look to writing tip #7.

2) IMPORTANT: You must have (A) at least four pieces of evidence from the film (B) at least two pieces of evidence from each of the three readings and (C) 2 pieces of additional evidence from one or more of any of the readings -- which reading(s), however, are your choice

To summarize

(A) Film at least 4 pieces of evidence
(B) Textbook at least 2 pieces of evidence
(B) Indian Partition (pp.102 - 106)

at least 2 pieces of evidence

 

 
(B)"South Asia" (one paragraph)

at least 2 pieces of evidence

 
(C) any of the readings a total of 2 pieces above the required 2 pieces mentioned in (B) from one or more of the readings of your choice
total 12 pieces (4 + (2 * 3) + 2 )



 

 

 

 

 

 

 



3) Be sure organize your paper around a thesis – expressed near the start of your paper – that encapsulates your argument as a whole 

4) Be sure each claim has persuasive evidence that is RELEVANT to that claim and interpreted by a warrant that explains how the evidence supports your claim.

5) Be sure that you have made explicit the relationship between each of your sub-points and your over arching thesis.
 
6) Identify your Cl/EV/WA structures; papers do not that will likely lose points.

7) Use specifics – direct and accurate quotations from the film and evidence from the textbook – to support your argument. Specifics will make (or break) your paper.

8) Use no outside sources to write this paper; papers that do so will receive no credit and may jeopardize your grade for the semester.

Grading: The quality of your two thesis statements will constitute 20% of your grade for this paper. Failure to submit a revised outline and thesis or follow writing tip 2, or 6, or 8 will result in NO CREDIT for this paper.