Question

How did students in Vietnam fight against the colonial government's efforts to prevent Vietnamese from qualifying for 'white collar jobs’? Explain.

Answer 1

The Vietnamese student lobby initiated a struggle to thwart the colonial government’s efforts to prevent the Vietnamese from qualifying for the ‘white collar jobs’. They were put into action by a feeling of collective responsibility as the educated elite and also by a sense of Vietnamese nationalism. This brought them into conflict with both the French colonial government as well as the old established elite who saw their position being subverted by the students. By the 1920s, students had formed many political parties. One amongst them was the famous ‘Party of Young Annan’. Also, nationalist journals were also published by the students. An example of this is the prominent journal named the ‘Annanese Student’.