Write in brief
1. Write a note on:
a) What was meant by the ‘civilising mission’ of the colonisers
Answer: The colonizers thought it was the mission of the ‘advanced’ European nations to civilize the backward people. They thought their culture to be superior than the culture of the natives in the colonies. This process was called 'civilising mission'.
b) Huynh Phu So
Answer: Huynh Phu So was the founder of a nationalist movement called Hoa Hao. He performed miracles and helped the poor. He also opposed the sale of child brides, gambling and the use of alcohol and opium. The French declared him mad, called him the Mad Bonze, and put him in a mental asylum. But the doctor, who had to prove him mad, became his follower. Finally, he was exiled to Laos and many of his followers were sent to concentration camps.
2. Explain the following:
a) Only one-thirds of the students in Vietnam would pass the school level examinations.
Answer: Just about one-thirds of the students in Vietnam would pass the school examinations. This happened mainly as a well-planned policy was followed to fail the final year students. This meant they could never qualify for the white collar jobs.
b) The French began building canals and draining lands in the Mekong delta.
Answer: The French began building canals and draining lands in the Mekong delta. They did this to gain increase in cultivation especially of the rice crop. By doing this, they would be able to sell rice in the international market and earn a lot of money.
c) The Government made the Saigon Native Girls School take back the students it had expelled.
Answer: At Saigon Native Girls the School, a problem came up in 1926. A Vietnamese girl refused to vacate her front seat for a local French student. For this, she and later her supporting students were expelled from the school. Soon the agitation spread and protests began. When the situation became serious the French government forced the school authorities to reinstate the girls in the school.
d) Rats were most common in the modern, newly built areas of Hanoi.
Answer: The French modernised a part of Hanoi city with beautiful architecture and clean, wide roads. They planned a good sewage system for the area. But the other part of Hanoi was filthy and unattended to. The rats from the filthy areas soon reached the clean part of the city through sewage systems and soon modern Hanoi was suffering from rats everywhere and the accompanying plague.
3. Describe the ideas behind the Tonkin Free School. To what extent is it a typical example of colonial ideas in Vietnam?
Answer: The Tonkin Free School was opened to give Western education. The school taught Science, Hygiene and French, other than the common subjects. For these three subjects the students had to attend evening classes and also pay separately. The students were not only made to attend these classes but they were asked to sport modern looks too. A typical example of this was that Vietnamese were asked to cut off their long hair and adopt a short hair cut which was absolutely against their culture.
4. What was Phan Chu Trinh’s objective for Vietnam? How were his ideas different from those of Phan Boi Chau?
Answer: The objectives of the two nationalists, Phan Chu Trinh and Phan Boi Chau, were different from each other. Phan Chu Trinh (1871 - 1926) did not want to resist the French with the aid of monarchy. He was influenced by the Western idea of democracy and wanted to set up a democratic republic of Vietnam. Phan Boi Chau (1867 - 1940) went on to form a revolutionary society with Prince Cuong De. So, Phan Boi Chau favoured monarchy and Phan Chu Trinh favoured a republic.
Discuss
1. With reference to what you have read in this chapter, discuss the influence of China on Vietnam’s culture and life.
Answer: China was a large and close neighbour of Vietnam. It was obvious that the former would influence the latter. There were strong trade links due to sea trade as all trade between any part of Asia and China had to pass through Vietnamese ports. The two countries shared the same religious beliefs, namely Buddhism and Confucianism. When the trans-Indo-China rail and road network developed, the imperialist power wanted it as a link between North and South Vietnam and China. This brought the countries even more close. They were under imperialist rules for long making them share cultural, religious, historical and economic commoners.
2. What was the role of religious groups in the development of anti-colonial feelings in Vietnam?
Answer: Religion had always played a pivotal role in the lives of people in Vietnam. This fact was used well by the imperialists to aid in their control over the colonies. Thinking this, the imperialists imposed their religion on the Vietnamese locals. Thus anti-imperialist feelings arose in Vietnam against the French imperialist forces. Vietnam followed Buddhism and Confucianism. The French wanted to convert the Vietnamese to Christianity. The Vietnamese revolted against this French intention in 1868. This revolt was called the ‘Scholars Revolt’, which was followed by the killing of about one thousand Catholics.
3. Explain the causes of US involvement in the war in Vietnam. What effect did this involvement have on life within the US itself?
Answer: Many causes led the US to get involved in the Vietnam war. The US government was afraid that communism would find a stronghold in Vietnam. The US feared this would endanger the other capitalist countries. With these thoughts, the US was always ready to fight communist strongholds in any part of the world. The rise of communism in Vietnam was seen as a threat and US stepped in to intervene. Most of the people in the US were highly critical of the US involvement in Vietnam. Many contemporary thinkers were of the opinion that the US should not have involved itself in a war was impossible to win. A very high number of casualties for the US services personnel further turned the public mood against US occupation of Vietnam.
4. Write an evaluation of the Vietnamese war against the US from the point of view of a
a) porter on the Ho Chi Minh trail
Answer: From 1965 to 1972, the US-Vietnam War continued and caused losses to both US and Vietnam. The Vietnamese people suffered human and property losses, yet they never stopped their struggle for freedom. Here it is important to mention the role played by the porters in getting freedom and unity of Vietnam. The porters set out without fear on the Ho Chi Minh Trail which was a great expansive network of roads and footpaths. The porters carried as much as 25 kg to 70 kg of weight on their backs or bicycles. They did not fear that they might fall over in the deep valleys. They bravely walked on the narrow, dangerous roads that marked the treacherous routes. They also did not feel afraid of being shot down by aircraft guns. They put all their fears aside and walked on to maintain the supply line. This fact showed that the porters were heroic and patriotic
.
b) a woman soldier.
Answer: The Vietnamese women played an important role in the US-Vietnam War. They were both warriors and workers. As warriors and soldiers, the Vietnamese women constructed six air strips, they neutralised thousands of bombs and went on to shoot down fifteen planes. There were 1.5 million Vietnamese women in the regular army, the militia, the local forces and professional teams. The women workers were also engaged as porters, nurses and construction workers.
5.What was the role of women in the anti-imperialist struggle in Vietnam? Compare this with the role of women in the national struggle in India.
Answer: We have read that Vietnamese women contributed to the resistance movement as workers as well as warriors. It is difficult to imagine the state of the Vietnamese freedom struggle with the active role of Vietnamese women. In Vietnam women took active part in the anti-imperial struggle. While, women in India mainly restricted themselves to the supporting role. Congress took the services of women more for the symbolic value than for any real cause.
No comments:
Post a Comment