I’m taking an online ap course and my teacher is horrendous (he gives all my essays 100’s, which I guess is good for my grade but TERRIBLE for ap test preparation). Trying to get a better idea of what i need to imrove, so if someone could grade this essay according to the rubric, that would be very very appreciated. also not looking for grammatical/structural critiques, more thematic/analysis, as from what i’m seen that’s what matters on these essays. here’s the prompt:</p>
compare the results of decolonization in africa and india:</p>
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. Meanwhile, in Africa tensions arose post-independence because country borders did not correlate with historic African tribal borders. As new countries formed, Africans of different native groups found themselves in the presence of traditional enemies. Ethnic tensions, such as that between the Hutus and Tutsis, simply served to exacerbate the already difficult situation in Africa, and proved the downfall of many leaders.
An area in which India and African differed is that of modernization and economic prosperity. As one of the most important British colonies, India had largely been built up by its previous mother country. Transportation systems, educational systems, and cities provided a sound infrastructure on which to build a new government and economy. India capitalized on this, continuing to increase food production and cracking into new industries such as high technology. Contrastingly, as a continent that served primarily as a means for raw materials, Africa was very much lacking in industrialization and infrastructure. Although rich in natural resources, it didnt have the funds to take advantage of them. Overall, both Indias and Africas previous roles as colonies impacted the direction their economies would take post-independence.
Lastly, both India and Africa had less than perfect governments, although Africa was worse off than India. India, although democratic, was corrupt and inefficient in some ways. For example, Indijra Gandhi, one Indian prime minister, legalized sterilization to curb population growth. However, the Indian government also helped India as a nation in many ways, starting the Green Revolution to increase food production and playing a role in growing the economy, although poverty is still quite widespread. In Africa, although some nations like South Africa have come far in recent years to make government systems democratic, many are largely still plagued with military dictatorships. Places such as the Congo are filled with corruption, dictators executing political opponents, limiting freedoms, and often being overthrown by others simply so they can be authoritarian leaders themselves. Again, this African decolonization situation is largely a result of imperialist influence as lack of a good government example during colonial times had a negative impact.
While India and Africa both suffered, and still suffer, from ethnic tensions, India was able to develop a relatively stable government and economy. Africa, on the other hand, is in many areas unstable as, one after the other, dictators take over. Comparing situations in Africa and India simply go to show how much of an impact their role as colonies had on their development, or lack thereof, as modern day nations.</p>