HISTORY CH-2 'NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDO-CHINA'

Q.1.      Write a short note on :
(i) What was meant by the ‘Civilising Mission’ of the colonisers.
(ii) Huynh Phu So.

Ans.     (i) The ‘Civilising Mission’ of colonisers meant the spread of western culture, thoughts, education, language, science and logic in the colonies. The French felt, like many Europeans, that imperialist expansion had a noble aspect too. They thought that it was the duty of the superior races to educate and civilize the people of Asia and Africa. Due to this, French established many schools in Vietnam, in which Science, Philosophy and French were taught. But this did not prove to be a successful idea and had adverse effect, as it spread western culture at the cost of local Vietnamese culture which was often laughed at by the colonisers.

(ii) Huynh Phu So was the leader of Hoa Hao Movement, which was an anti French religious movement of Vietnam. It began in 1939. Huynh criticised useless expenditure and opposed the sale of child brides, gambling and the use of alcohol and opium. As Huynh became popular, the French declared him mad and named him Mad Bonze. In 1941 he was exiled to Laos and his followers were sent to the concentration camps.

Q.2      Explain the following – Only one third of the students in Vietnam would pass the school leaving examinations. (N.C.E.R.T.)

Ans.     As regards their decision to impart French education to the Vietnamese, the French authorities were themselves in dilemma. One section wanted to introduce French so that they could generate some citizens who were followers of the French civilisation, while the others resisted this idea because they felt if the Vietnamese were educated in French, they would spoil the chances French in getting the top jobs there. So, the French followed a delibrate policy of failing the students in the final years so that they could not qualify for the better jobs. As many as two-thirds of the students were failed and only one-third were declared as passed. This is indeed one of the worst examples of the suppression under the colonisation.

Q3.      ‘The battle against French colonial education became part of the larger battle against colonialism and for independence’. Explain.

Ans.     The French wanted to strengthen their rule in Vietnam through the control of education. But the educated class wanted to use education as a means to fight against the colonial rule. The French, in order to stamp their superiority over the Vietnamese, tried to change the values, norms and perceptions of the people. Vietnamese intellectuals feared that Vietnam was losing not just control over its territory but also its very identity, its culture and customs. They thought that they were being devalued and the people were developing a master slave mentality.

 Q 4.     What was the impact of the Great Depression of 1929 on Vietnam?

Ans.     The Great Depression of the 1930s, which shattered most economies of the world, had a severe impact on Vietnam
1. The prices of rubber and rice fell, leading to rising rural debts, unemployment and rural uprisings, such as in the provinces of Nge An and Ha Tinh.
2. These provinces were amongst the poorest and had an old radical tradition, so much so they were called the electrical fuses of Vietnam. When the Great Depression started showing its impacts people started demonstrating against the colonial government.
3. The colonial government could not tolerate these uprisings and tried to stop them with great severity, even using planes to bomb demonstrators. Nationalist leaders were provided with a opportunity by the Great Depression and the brutally of the French against the workers and they grouped together

 Q 5.     How was education used as a weapon by the Vietnamese to fight against the colonialism?

Ans.     (i) The Vietnamese teachers and students did not follow the curriculum framed by the French blindly. At times there was open opposition and at other times, there was silent resistance. As the numbers of Vietnamese teachers increased in the lower classes they quietly modified the next and criticised what was stated.
(ii) When a Vietnamese girl was terminated from the school, they protested and forced the authorities to take her back. This was seen as a victory by the educated class and inspired them further.
(iii) There was a general conviction among the students, who inspired by patriotic feelings, that it was the duty of the educated to fight for the benefit of the society. They began to form parties like the Party of Young Annan. They also started publishing nationalist journals such as Annanese Student to awaken the general public against the colonial government.
(iv) In order to create an impression in the people’s mind that the French civilisation was superior to that of their own, the French tried to change the values, norms and perceptions of the people. On the other hand, Vietnamese intellectuals feared that Vietnam was losing not just control over its territory but its very identity ; its culture and customs and that the people were being devalued and were developing a master slave mentality.

Q 6.     What was the role of religious groups in the development of anti-national feelings in Vietnam ?

Ans.     Everywhere religion plays an important part over the social and cultural life of the people. At times, the imperialistic powers tried to use it in strengthening their control over their colonies. With this view in mind, they tried to thrust their religion on the local people so bluntly that instead of benefiting their cause, it created resistance and led to anti-imperialist feelings in Vietnam against the French imperialists. When the French authorities tried to convert the Vietnamese, who were mostly the followers of Buddhism and Confucianism to their own religion forcibly, it created a strong feeling against them. This led an open revolt against them in 1868 known as the Scholars Revolt.
Another such movement was the Hoa Hao, which was started by a man called Hynh Phu So. Though the French declared him mad and put him in a metal asylum and sent many of his followers in the concentration camps, they could not curb the tide of nationalism which had now deeply taken roots in the people’s minds.

 Q 7.     How did France establish its imperialist control over Indo-China?

Ans.     The French wanted to spread their feet in Asia also. The rise of Germany in Europe compelled Britain and France to come to terms, and in this atmosphere of Anglo-French friendship they defeated the Chinese in 1860 A.D. Making the best use of the Chinese weakness as well as the British friendship, the French tried to carry out their imperialistic designs in Indo-China without any opposition. In 1883 – 85, they defeated China in the Sino-French War and occupied Anaam or the Central Vietnam and the Tonkin or Northern Vietnam, In 1887 A.D., they formed the Union of China comprising all these colonies. In 1893 A.D., France occupied Thailand and Laos as well and thus established a strong empire in Asia.

Q 8.     Describe the fight against foreign imperialism in Indo-China in the 19th and the 20th centuries.

Ans.     Indo-China became a part of the French Colonial Empire in 1886 A.D., and France exploited it fully. The masses suffered under heavy taxation and the wages for the labourers were miserly low. Ho-Chi-Minh organized the Communist Party and assumed the leadership of the freedom movement in Indo-China. France, naturally, could not tolerate it and crushed the national rebellion of 1930 A.D. ruthlessly.It was occupied by Japan in 1945 A.D. Ho-Chi-Minh seized Hanoi and declared the independence of Indo-China and named it as Vietnam. He became the first President of the Republic of Vietnam. The French tried their best to recapture it but failed and were forced to withdraw from the Indo-China according to the Geneva convention of 1954 A.D.

Q 9.     Describe the ideas behind the Tonkin Free School. To what extent was it a typical example of colonial ideas in Vietnam?

Ans.     Following were the ideas behind the Tonkin Free School:

1.     French colonial government decided to undertake reforms in Vietnam. For this, they decided to teach French and Science, philosophy and the western culture, in the French medium.

2.     It used biased textbooks that laughed at the Vietnamese culture.

3.      The French, through this ‘education’, portrayed the Vietnamese people as ‘Skilled Copyists’, one who have manual power rather than intellectual power.

4.      Tonkin Free School also promoted western culture by modern lifestyle as it was compulsory for every Vietnamese student to wear modern dress and have a short hair-cut. Thus, the Tonkin Free School was an extreme example of colonial ideas of Vietnam.

 Q 10.   Discuss the influence of China on Vietnam’s culture and life.

Ans.     Vietnam was ruled by Chinese dynasties for a long time before it was colonised by France and as such the Chinese culture had an immense influence on Vietnam’s culture and life.
1. Chinese religion Confucianism was practised in Vietnam alongwith Buddhism and other local religious practices.
2. In the ancient times also women heroes such as Trung sisters and Trieu Au fought against Chinese rule. Their deeds and actions inspired many nationalist of 20th century in Vietnam.
3. In the 20th century, Vietnamese nationalists were highly influenced by the success of communism in China. So much so, Ho Chi Minh, who was a great communist nationalist of Vietnam, based his freedom struggle against French on communism.
4. Later Ho Chi Minh established north Vietnam as a communist democratic republic, and his efforts of uniting north and south Vietnam also proved fruitful.

 Q11.    Who was Phan Boi Chau? Explain his role in arousing anti-imperialist sentiments.

Ans.     Phan Boi Chau was a pioneer of Vietnamese 25th century nationalism. In 1903, he formed the Revolutionary Society under the headship of Prince Cuong De. During 1905-1908, he lived in Japan where he met Chinese reformer Liag Qichao in Yokohama under whose influence and advice, he wrote his world famous book ‘The History of the Loss of Vietnam’. The book focuses on two connected themes: the loss of sovereignty and the severing of ties with China.The book became a widely acclaimed bestseller in Vietnam and China and was even made into a play.

Q12.    Explain the causes of the U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam. What effect did this involvement have on life within U.S. itself? (N.C.E.R.T.)

Ans.     The Vietnamese had to fight a long struggle – first against France, then against Japan and lastly against the U.S.A. The causes of the US involvement in Vietnam were as follows:
1. U.S. regarded the spread of communism a great danger to the capitalist countries and so it was ready to fight against the latter in any part of the world. So, when Communism showed its head in Vietnam, U.S. at once came forward to crush it in the very initial stage.
2. France, a capitalist country had to face insult in Vietnam. Being the champion of the capitalist country the U.S. wanted to crush Vietnam at all costs so as to save the prestige of the capitalist countries, especially France, which was in ally of U.S. in the Second World War.
3. When the Ho Chi Minh government in North Vietnam and National Liberation Front in South Vietnam tried to unify the two parts in violation of the Geneva Conference, US could not tolerate this and decided to intervene in Vietnam and within no time, a large number of US soldiers with latest war equipment, were sent to Vietnam. This was dragged on for many years (1965 – 1972).

Effect:  The U.S. involvement in Vietnam had a tremendous effect on U.S. itself. Though America inflicted a great destruction in Vietnam, it also had to suffer a huge loss of men and money. It lost about 75,000 soldiers in the war by 1975 A.D. It evoked strong reactions in America. Various countries of the world strongly criticised the American intervention in the internal affairs of Vietnam. As a result, America was compelled to start the withdrawal of her troops in April 1975.

Q 13.   Write an evaluation of the Vietnamese war against the U.S. from the point of view of :
(a) A porter on the Ho Chi Minh trail
(b) A Woman Soldier.

Ans.     (a) Evaluation of the Vietnamese War from the Point of View of a Porter on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The US-Vietnamese War proved quite disastrous both for the US and Vietnam. The Vietnamese people had to suffer a lot. Many villages were destroyed and they were killed in thousands. But even then they did not give us and had the courage to carry on the struggle against US attacks. The porters played an important role in serving their nation. They used the Ho Chi Minh’s trail in the network of roads and footpaths most heroically. They heroically carried about 25 kilos weight on their backs or about 70 kilos on their bicycles even when there was a every risk of their falling in the deep valley as the routes were very narrow and highly dangerous. Moreover, there was the danger of being shot by aircraft guns. But still they maintained the supply line. They were fully convinced that in this war of truth and false, U.S. would face defeat.
(b) A Woman Soldier and the U.S. Vietnamese War. The Vietnamese women displayed indomitable courage during the US-Vietnamese War. They served as porters, nurses, construction workers and even as soldiers. They neutralized tens of thousands of bombs and shot down fifteen planes. They were undoubtedly of the view that the oppression of the U.S. Military force could not calm down their aspirations and they strongly believed that their victory over U.S. soldiers was certain.

Q 14.   What was the role of women in the anti-imperial struggle in Vietnam? Compare this with the role of women in the nationalist struggle in India.

Ans.     The women played a significant role in the anti-imperial struggle in Vietnam. The ancient legends of heroic Vietnamese women like Trung sister and Trieu Au inspired many 20th century Vietnamese nationalists. When the casualities of men increased, Vietnamese women involved themselves actively and recruited themselves into police, military, porters, transporters and professionals. The women warriors of Vietnam shot down jets, fought one-on-one battle and carried weapons in their hands. Indian women also did not lag behind in India’s National freedom struggle. Women like Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Aruna Asaf Ali, etc. played an important part in the fight against foreign imperialism. No one can forget the great heroism shown by a small girl of 13 named Rani Gaidinbiu. Rani Gaidinbiu was a brave heroine of Nagaland who at the age of 13 raised a standard of revolt against the foreign rule. She was captured in 1932 and was sentenced to life imprisonment. From 1932 – 1947, she spent her life in Assam jail. She was freed in 1947 when India became free. Women also actively participated in the Satyagrahas’ led by Mahatama Gandhi.

Q 15.    What was Phan Chu Trinh’s objective for Vietnam? How were his ideas different from those of Phan Boi Chau?

Ans.     Trinh was a nationalist who wanted to free Vietnam from France. He wanted all progressive activities, initiated by French, to continue in the democratic republic that he wished to establish.
On the other hand, Chau also wanted Vietnam to be freed from France but thought of establishing Chinese traditional rule in Vietnam. He wanted to win freedom with the help of monarchy and Vietnamese elite. He was against monarchy and opposed the help of monarchy or Vietnamese elite in the freedom struggle.

 Q 16.   Under that circumstances Vietnam was divided into north and south Vietnam?

Ans.     In 1940, Japan occupied Vietnam. To fight against the Japanese, Viet Minh was formed. Viet Minh recaptured Hanoi in 1945. The Democratic Republic of Viet Minh was formed and Ho Chi Minh became its Chairman. However, the new Republic faced a number of challenges. To restore its hold over Indo-China the French troops entered Vietnam and started fighting Viet Minh. They tried to regain control by using the emperor, Bao Dai, as their puppet. Faced with the French offensive, the Viet Minh were forced to retreat to the hills.The war had taken a new turn because it became a part of the cold war between the USA and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union and China gave support to Ho Chi Minh whereas USA and Britain supported France.In 1954, the Viet Minh surrounded 16,000 French troops and inflicted a crushing defeat upon them at the fortress of Dien Bien Phu. It forced the French government to initiate negotiations with the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. In July, 1954 an international conference was held at Geneva and the Geneva Agreement of 21st July, 1954 decided to divide Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam temporarily.