World War 2

[NihalK]

Re: World War 2

@Faris_Udeen

Oh no India had the potential to make serious changes both in the events of World War 2 and afterwards too, technically what happened in Indian subcontinent in both World Wars is very significant.

@mAd_ScIeNtIsT

Far from the truth. The 2.5 million Indian soldiers who volunteered for the war could be found almost everywhere where Britain fought. When you consider that Britain itself raised only 3 million soldiers by the war’s end, you realise the contribution that India made - for every British soldier committed to the war, there was an Indian soldier fighting too. Britain’s ability to fight a world war relied on having massive numbers of Indian soldiers.

Well there is no denying the fact that India contributed its manpower to the British Raj for the cause. Gallantry was in no less numbers. At the outbreak of World War II, the Indian army numbered 205,000 men. Later during World War II the Indian Army became the largest all-volunteer force in history, rising to over 2.5 million men in size. These forces included tank, artillery and airborne forces. Indian soldiers earned 30 Victoria Crosses during the Second World War.

When I talk about the insignificance of India with the War, we have to understand India played its role only with its own personal aim of ‘Swaraj’ from the British Raj. The war itself had no actual meaning to India but only for its own silent war with the British for its freedom. No doubt there were concerns of the War and voices raised from all quarters in India. Andaman and Nicobar islands were invaded and occupied and there was the battle of Kohima and Imphal.

‘The Indian National Congress, led by Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Maulana Azad, took a strong stance against Fascism and Nazism. Gandhi, in an open letter to Adolf Hitler, touted tolerance and viewed Nazism as a source of violence. Several other Indian leaders and politicians expressed concerns over the rise of Fascism and Nazism and supported the British cause.

However, Jawaharlal Nehru pointed out the inherent contradiction in the British argument of going to war with Nazi Germany for the sake of freedom, since India was denied that same freedom. He pointed out that Nazism and the British Raj represented the two core ideologies the Congress was fighting against — imperialism and racism. It was because of this perceived hypocrisy of the British Government, that the Congress refused to align with Britain’s fight against the Axis Powers until India was granted independence.

Supporters of the British Raj argued that Great Britain could not afford to have to go through the trouble of decolonisation at such a difficult time. It was believed that losing India, the most prized crown colony, would put tremendous pressure on Britain especially when it was facing war on all fronts. So, in 1939, the British Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow declared India’s entry into the War without consulting prominent Indian congress leaders who were just elected in previous elections.

Another school of thought led by Subhash Chandra Bose of the Indian National Army (INA) allied itself with the Axis based on the principle that “An enemy’s enemy is a friend”. Bose led the Indian National Army and the Provisional Government of Free India, a government-in-exile based in Singapore, that was recognized by the Axis powers.’