Indo-china

1 29 The Nationalist Movement in Indo-ChinaVietnam gained formal independence in 1945, before India, butit took another three decades of fighting before the Republicof Vietnam was formed. This chapter on Indo-china willintroduce you to one of the important states of the peninsula, namely,Vietnam. Nationalism in Indo-china developed in a colonial knitting together of a modern Vietnamese nation that broughtthe different communities together was in part the result ofcolonisation but, as importantly, it was shaped by the struggle againstcolonial you see the historical experience of Indo-china in relation to thatof India, you will discover important differences in the way colonialempires functioned and the anti-imperial movement developed. Bylooking at such differences and similarities you can understand thevariety of ways in which nationalism has developed and shaped thecontemporary Nationalist Movement in Indo-ChinaChapter IIThe Nationalist Movement Map of and the Contemporary World301 Emerging from the Shadow of ChinaIndo-China comprises the modern countries of Vietnam, Laos andCambodia (see Fig.)

2 1). Its early history shows many different groupsof people living in this area under the shadow of the powerfulempire of China. Even when an independent country was establishedin what is now northern and central Vietnam, its rulers continuedto maintain the Chinese system of government as well asChinese was also linked to what has been called the maritime silkroute that brought in goods, people and ideas. Other networks oftrade connected it to the hinterlands where non-Vietnamese peoplesuch as the Khmer Cambodians 2 The port of port was founded by Portuguese merchants. It was one ofthe ports used by European trading companies much before thenineteenth Colonial Domination and ResistanceThe colonisation of Vietnam by the French brought the people ofthe country into conflict with the colonisers in all areas of life.

3 Themost visible form of French control was military and economicdomination but the French also built a system that tried to reshapethe culture of the Vietnamese. Nationalism in Vietnam emergedthrough the efforts of different sections of society to fight againstthe French and all they Nationalist Movement in Indo-ChinaFig. 3 Francis Garnier, a French officer who ledan attack against the ruling Nguyen dynasty,being killed by soldiers of the was part of the French team that exploredthe Mekong river. In 1873 he was commissionedby the French to try and establish a Frenchcolony in Tonkin in the north. Garnier carried outan attack on Hanoi, the capital of Tonkin, but waskilled in the troops landed in Vietnam in 1858and by the mid-1880s they had establisheda firm grip over the northern the Franco-Chinese war theFrench assumed control of Tonkin andAnaam and, in 1887, French Indo-Chinawas formed.

4 In the following decadesthe French sought to consolidatetheir position, and people in Vietnambegan reflecting on the nature of theloss that Vietnam was suffering. Nationalistresistance developed out of this 4 The Mekong river, engraving by the French Exploratory Force, in which Garnier and mapping rivers was part of the colonial enterprise everywhere in the world. Colonisers wanted to knowthe route of the rivers, their origin, and the terrain they passed through. The rivers could then be properly used fortrade and transport. During these explorations innumerable pictures and maps were and the Contemporary World32 The famous blind poet Ngyuyen Dinh Chieu (1822-88) bemoanedwhat was happening to his country:I would rather face eternal darknessThan see the faces of would rather see no manThan encounter one man s would rather see nothingThan witness the dismembering of the countryin Why the French thought Colonies NecessaryColonies were considered essential to supply natural resources andother essential goods.

5 Like other Western nations, France also thoughtit was the mission of the advanced European countries to bringthe benefits of civilisation to backward French began by building canals and draining lands in the Mekongdelta to increase cultivation. The vast system of irrigation works canals and earthworks built mainly with forced labour, increasedrice production and allowed the export of rice to the internationalmarket. The area under rice cultivation went up from 274,000hectares in 1873 to million hectares in 1900 and million in1930. Vietnam exported two-thirds of its rice production and by1931 had become the third largest exporter of rice in the was followed by infrastructure projects to help transport goodsfor trade, move military garrisons and control the entire of a trans- Indo-china rail network that would linkthe northern and southern parts of Vietnam and China was final link with Yunan in China was completed by 1910.

6 Thesecond line was also built, linking Vietnam to Siam (as thailand wasthen called), via the Cambodian capital of Phnom the 1920s, to ensure higher levels of profit for their businesses,French business interests were pressurising the government in Vietnamto develop the infrastructure Should Colonies be Developed?Everyone agreed that colonies had to serve the interests of the mothercountry. But the question was how? Some like Paul Bernard, aninfluential writer and policy-maker, strongly believed that theImagine a conversation between a Frenchcoloniser and a Vietnamese labourer in thecanal project. The Frenchman believes he isbringing civilization to backward people andthe Vietnamese labourer argues against it. Inpairs act out the conversation they may havehad, using evidence from the Nationalist Movement in Indo-Chinaeconomy of the colonies needed to be developed.

7 He argued thatthe purpose of acquiring colonies was to make profits. If theeconomy was developed and the standard of living of the peopleimproved, they would buy more goods. The market wouldconsequently expand, leading to better profits for French suggested that there were several barriers to economicgrowth in Vietnam: high population levels, low agriculturalproductivity and extensive indebtedness amongst the peasants. Toreduce rural poverty and increase agricultural productivity it wasnecessary to carry out land reforms as the Japanese had done in the1890s. However, this could not ensure sufficient employment. Asthe experience of Japan showed, industrialisation would be essentialto create more colonial economy in Vietnam was, however, primarily basedon rice cultivation and rubber plantations owned by the French anda small Vietnamese elite.

8 Rail and port facilities were set up to servicethis sector. Indentured Vietnamese labour was widely used in therubber plantations. The French, contrary to what Bernard wouldhave liked, did little to industrialise the economy. In the rural areaslandlordism spread and the standard of living wordsIndentured labour A form of labour widelyused in the plantations from the mid-nineteenthcentury. Labourers worked on the basis ofcontracts that did not specify any rights oflabourers but gave immense power toemployers. Employers could bring criminalcharges against labourers and punish and jailthem for non-fulfilment of 5 A French weapons merchant, Jean Dupuis, in Vietnam in the latenineteenth like him explored the regions in the hope of making profits from trade.

9 He wasone of those who persuaded the French to try and establish a base in and the Contemporary World342 The Dilemma of Colonial EducationFrench colonisation was not based only on economic was also driven by the idea of a civilising mission . Like the Britishin India, the French claimed that they were bringing modern civilisationto the Vietnamese. They took for granted that Europe had developedthe most advanced civilisation. So it became the duty of theEuropeans to introduce these modern ideas to the colony even ifthis meant destroying local cultures, religions and traditions, becausethese were seen as outdated and prevented modern was seen as one way to civilise the native . But in orderto educate them, the French had to resolve a dilemma. How farwere the Vietnamese to be educated?

10 The French needed an educatedlocal labour force but they feared that education might createproblems. Once educated, the Vietnamese may begin to questioncolonial domination. Moreover, French citizens living in Vietnam(called colons) began fearing that they might lose their jobs asteachers, shopkeepers, policemen to the educated Vietnamese. Sothey opposed policies that would give the Vietnamese full access toFrench Talking ModernThe French were faced with yet another problem in the sphere ofeducation: the elites in Vietnam were powerfully influenced byChinese culture. To consolidate their power, the French had tocounter this Chinese influence. So they systematically dismantled thetraditional educational system and established French schools forthe Vietnamese. But this was not easy.