Editing History of Asia (section)

=== Indian Subcontinent ===
{{See also|South Asia#Contemporary era}}[[Image:Partition of India.PNG|thumb|Britain's holdings on the [[Indian subcontinent]] were granted independence in 1947 and 1948, becoming five new independent states: [[Dominion of India|India]], [[Post-independence Burma, 1948–1962|Burma]], [[Dominion of Ceylon|Ceylon]], [[Kingdom of Sikkim|Sikkim]], and [[Dominion of Pakistan|Pakistan]] (including [[East Bengal]], from 1971 [[Bangladesh]]).]]
From the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century, large regions of India were gradually annexed by the [[East India Company]], a chartered company acting as a sovereign power on behalf of the British government. Dissatisfaction with [[company rule in India]] led to the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]], which rocked parts of north and central India, and led to the dissolution of the company. India was afterwards ruled directly by the [[The Crown|British Crown]], in the [[British Raj]]. After [[World War I]], a nationwide struggle for independence was launched by the [[Indian National Congress]], led by [[Mahatma Gandhi]], and noted for [[nonviolent resistance|nonviolence]]. Later, the [[All-India Muslim League]] would advocate for a separate Muslim-majority [[nation state]].

In August 1947, the British Indian Empire was [[Partition of India|partitioned]] into the [[Dominion of India|Union of India]] and [[Dominion of Pakistan]]. In particular, the partition of [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]] and Bengal led to rioting between Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs in these provinces and spread to other nearby regions, leaving some 500,000 dead. The police and army units were largely ineffective. The British officers were gone, and the units were beginning to tolerate if not actually indulge in violence against their religious enemies.<ref>Philip Ziegler, ''Mountbatten''(1985) p. 401.</ref><ref name=symonds>{{cite book| last = Symonds | first = Richard | author-link=Richard Symonds (academic) | title = The Making of Pakistan | year = 1950 | publisher = Faber and Faber | location = London | oclc = 1462689 | page = 74| quote = At the lowest estimate, half a million people perished and twelve millions became homeless.}}</ref><ref name="Abid2014">{{cite web |last1=Abid |first1=Abdul Majeed |title=The forgotten massacre |url=https://nation.com.pk/29-Dec-2014/the-forgotten-massacre |website=The Nation |date=29 December 2014|quote=On the same dates [4 and 5 March 1947], Muslim League-led mobs fell with determination and full preparations on the helpless Hindus and Sikhs scattered in the villages of Multan, Rawalpindi, Campbellpur, Jhelum and Sargodha. The murderous mobs were well supplied with arms, such as daggers, swords, spears and fire-arms. (A former civil servant mentioned in his autobiography that weapon supplies had been sent from NWFP and money was supplied by Delhi-based politicians.)}}</ref> Also, this period saw one of the largest mass migrations anywhere in modern history, with a total of 12&nbsp;million Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims moving between the newly created nations of India and Pakistan (which gained independence on 15 and 14 August 1947 respectively).<ref name=symonds /> In 1971, [[Bangladesh]], formerly [[East Pakistan]] and [[East Bengal]], seceded from Pakistan<ref name="Raghavan2013">{{cite book|author=Srinath Raghavan|title=1971|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2S-wAQAAQBAJ|date=12 November 2013|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-73129-5}}</ref> through an [[Bangladesh Liberation War|armed conflict]] sparked by the rise of the [[Bengali nationalism|Bengali nationalist]] and [[self-determination]] movement.