1950 to 2000: Promises and Paradoxes
People's Republic of China (Mainland) and Republic of China (Taiwan) 1949 to present
Showa Period 1926 to 1989     Heisei Period
1989 to present
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North) and Republic of Korea (South) 1948 to present
North and South Vietnam, Vietnam War 1945 to 1975
Socialist Republic of Vietnam 1975 to present
Republic of India and Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1947 to present

SOUTH ASIA 1950-2000
SOUTH ASIA: HISTORY-ARCHAEOLOGY

Republic of India and Islamic Republic of Pakistan (1947 to present)

TimelineThe Story of India: Freedom [PBS]
Excellent annotated timeline with text, images, and video clips throughout.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, 1869-1948
Mahatma Gandhi [UCLA]
An in-depth look at the life and legacy of Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948), by UCLA professor of history Vinay Lal.

Independent India [UCLA]
An extensive look at the political history of India after its 1947 independence, by UCLA professor of history Vinay Lal.

Understanding Modern India [Asia Society]
"In this reading, the author introduces five themes that are central to understanding modern India... 1) its diversity, 2) the depth of culture, 3) a land of minorities, 4) its future depends on the interaction between two worlds: 5) in the cities and rural India, poverty, spirituality and modernity mix and coexist."

Pakistan: A Political History [Asia Society]
"When Pakistan became a country on August 14th, 1947, [it became] the largest Muslim state in the world. The creation of Pakistan was catalyst to the largest demographic movement in recorded history. Nearly seventeen million people-Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs-are reported to have moved in both directions between India and the two wings of Pakistan (the eastern wing is now Bangladesh)."

India-Pakistan Relations: A Fifty-Year History [Asia Society]
"Read about the turbulent fifty years between independence from the British Empire to present time, when the two great nations have nuclear arsenals pointed at each other. This essay also touches on Kashmir, U.S. and China's role in South Asia relations."

A Short History of Pakistan [South Asia Institute, Columbia University]
A series of podcasts recorded in 2011 by Visiting Professor S. Akbar Zaidi on Pakistan’s history, accompanied by timelines, resources and supplementary articles.

GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

Out of Place and Finding Home: Bhutanese-Nepali Refugees [PDF] [South Asia Institute, U of Texas/Austin]
This lesson examines the quest for social and political rights by Bhutanese-Nepali refugees by examining why and how people become displaced and how they rebuild their lives. The unit uses active learning exercises and primary source materials for students to examine the specific case of Bhutanese-Nepali refugees, who have lived as a "nation-less" people for decades, denied the rights of citizenship and confined to the resettlement camps. The activities, primary source materials and audiovisual content included in the lesson help students to better understand the processes of forced migration and how it relates to issues of human rights and social justice in a global society.

India's Democracy

India's Democracy: Illusion or Reality? [PDF] [Education About Asia, Association for Asian Studies]
"For the last sixty years, since it gained independence in 1947, India has claimed the position of the world’s largest democracy. For almost as long, skeptics have seen India’s democracy as an Indian rope trick, an illusion in which the superstructure of democratic government—a parliament and prime minister, periodic elections, constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms—hides the reality of on-the-ground authoritarian rule by local landlords, bureaucracy, and party bosses, buttressed by a culture of caste-based inequality, and sustained by India’s continuing desperate poverty."

ECONOMY, WORK, TRADE, FOREIGN RELATIONS

Outsourcing and the Rise of India in the Global Marketplace [PDF] [South Asia Institute, U of Texas/Austin]
This lesson...introduces students to the outsourcing industry, and uses outsourcing in India as a case study for understanding the effects of globalization. Through the lesson’s activities, students are encouraged to critically analyze the pros and cons of outsourcing from both Indian and US perspectives, and to understand how culture and identity are part of global trade and business. The lesson’s materials include various articles that analyze the effects of outsourcing, a PowerPoint presentation, and audiovisual content to understand the cultural stereotyping that has become part of popular notions of outsourcing.

Women in the Global Factory - The Garment Industry in Sri Lanka [PDF] [South Asia Institute, U of Texas/Austin]
This lesson will examine current issues and debates relating to globalization, with emphasis on how they affect women¹s lives in other parts of the world, specifically in Sri Lanka. The activities and materials are designed to address the following questions: What are the experiences of women in the global factory? What effects does women¹s participation in the global workforce have on local ideas of gender identity, notions of family, and understandings of women¹s place within the nation and the world? What are the advantages and disadvantages for women who work in global factories? How can primary source documents provide students additional perspectives on a contemporary issue?

The South Asian Diaspora

The Desi Diaspora [Asia Society]
"This essay describes the world events and many adversities that shaped overseas Indians' sense of unity and identity over the past two centuries."

Primary SourceEchoes of Freedom: South Asian Pioneers in California, 1899-1965 [The Library, University of California, Berkeley]
"The story of early Indian immigrants to California told through photographs, documents, and publications, drawn from the South/Southeast Asia Library's rich archive of material on South Asians in North America."

Sikh Community: Over 100 Years in the Pacific Northwest [The Wing Luke Asian Museum]
"Although Sikhs have been living in the United States and Canada for over a century, the general public understands little about the Sikh faith and the community's long-standing roots in the Pacific Northwest. The first Sikh immigrants arrived in this region in the late 1800s, working in lumber mills and constructing railroads." Five topics, with many images: 1) Sikhism (history); 2) Life in the Pacific Northwest; 3) Distinguished Community Leaders; 4) Mis-Identity; 5) Being Sikh in a Western World.

ART

Traditional Arts, Northern India

The Artists of Nathadwara [South Asia Center, University of Washington]
"The small town of Nathadwara lies in Rajasthan's Aravalli hills, on the banks of the Banas River. ... The town is typical of this region of north India. ... Although Nathadwara may look like other Rajasthani towns, it is set apart by its importance as a great pilgrimage centre and as the home of a large community of traditional artists."

Find more art-related resources for South Asia, 20th Century
at OMuRAA (Online Museum Resources on Asian Art)


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