After vying for independence for several decades, both Africa and India were finally decolonized after World War II. India, known as the crown jewel of British colonialism, had been heavily modernized by its mother country and had a somewhat well developed infrastructure. However, India was also filled with post-colonial ethnic tensions between the dominant Hindus and oppressed Muslims. Ultimately, independence brought a more democratic style of government and higher standards of living, but with it corruption was also present. Africa, colonized by countries such as Great Britain, Belgium, and France, was generally worse off than India. The imperial powers that had colonized it had used it largely as a region from which to obtain cash crops and raw materials, and therefore it didnt have a good infrastructure and wasnt modernized, which set it up for economic trouble after independence. Ethnic tensions, like in India, also hurt Africa as country borders were not organically determined by indigenous tribal territories. Furthermore, without a background in democracy or a symbolic leader like Gandhi to endorse democratic movements, most areas of Africa fell into corrupt governments led by military strongmen. Overall, while both India and Africa had ethnic tensions, India remained much stabler economically and politically, largely as a result of their previous statuses as colonies.
Both India and Africa undoubtedly harbored ethnic tensions after decolonization. While India is traditionally Hindu, invasions in the 1000s by Arabs and Mongols encouraged the foundation of a minority group of Muslims. Fast forward several hundred years, and after Indias independence in the late 1940s, several tensions had arisen between the two religious groups as the Muslims felt they were being oppressed by Hindu majority. The epitome of this tension can be seen in the region of Kashmir, a rare part of India housing a Muslim majority that was annexed by India against the populations will. The Hindu/Muslim clash undoubtedly impacted, and still impacts, India today.
Explanation:
