INDIA DURING AND AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR

India’s War Contributions

WHEN Britain declared war against Germany on 3rd September, 1939, India was automatically involved in what afterwards became a global war. Britian was naturally anxious to utilize India’s abundant resources for the prosecution of the war. Later, the proximity of the theatres of war to India’s borders increased her strategic importance.

For reasons to be noted later, the two great political parties in India, the Congress and the Muslim League, refused to cooperate with the Government in its war effort. The Indian Princes, however, stood solidly behind the Government, which had also no difficulty in securing sufficient recruits without any compulsion. It is unnecessary to describe in detail the course of the war. Suffice it to say that it took a calamitous turn for the Allies in the summer of 1940. First Norway and Denmark, and then Belgium, Holland, and France, quickly fell under enemy control. Britain’s own downfall seemed imminent, but the Royal Air Force heroically beat off the superior numbers of the German aircraft, and frustrated the plans for a German invasion of England. The entry of Italy into the war on the side of Germany was regarded as a serious menace to the Suez Canal, the “life-line” of the British Empire. It was thought possible that the enemy might be able to occupy Egypt and eventually make an attack upon India. In fact, the British Parliament passed in mid-June the India and Burma (Emergency, Provisions) Act authorizing the Governor-General, “in the event of a complete breakdown of communications with the United Kingdom,” to exercise some of the powers of the Secretary of State.

At this fateful and critical moment in the history of Great Britain, her war efforts were greatly reinforced by the man-power and material resources of India. Indian troops fought with their traditional bravery in Africa and the Middle East till the tide turned in favour of the Allies. The part they played in liquidating the Italian Empire in Africa was, as the Viceroy observed in December, 1941, “of the first significance and of the greatest value”. Indian troops also gave splendid assistance to the Allied cause throughout the struggle for the liberation of Europe till the final collapse of the Axis powers in that continent in May, 1945. India’s contributions towards the achievement of victory were both manifold and substantial, and earned the highest praise. Lieutenant-General Mark Clark, the American General in command of the Allied arms in Italy, paid the following tribute to the valour of Indian troops: “The achievements in combat of these Indian soldiers are noteworthy. They have carried on successfully in grim and bloody fighting against a tenacious enemy helped by terrain particularly favourable for defence. No obstacle has succeeded in delaying them for long or in lowering their high morale or fighting spirit… The Fourth, Eighth and Tenth Indian Divisions will for ever be associated with the fighting for Cassino, the capture of Rome, the Arno valley, the liberation of Florence and the breaking of the Gothic Line. I salute the brave soldiers of these three great Indian divisions.” General Leese, the commander of the 8th Army, and General Sir Claude Auchinleck, the Commander-in Chief in India, spoke in the same strain.