Resistance in Turkey and India Between World Wars - The early 20th century is often seen as the beginning of the end of the colonial era. While the victorious allied powers succeeded in breaking up the Ottoman Empire, Turkish nationalists, led by Mustafa Kemal Atäturk, were successful at maintaining a Turkish state regardless of the allies' intentions. Likewise, the non-violent protests of the Indian National Congress and Mahatma Gandhi fostered the growth of Indian nationalism and an aversion to strict British rule. Both such movements wanted to create self-governing countries both by and for the people who actually lived in the region.