Episode 32: India’s Involvement in World War II

The view of the World Wars are often through the western lens. World War historiography mostly glosses over the involvement of colonial armies, and other foreign and transnational armies, who played significant and often influential roles in turning the tide of the battle. The colonial armies in India during World War 1 were often marked by acute ethnic division, and the Indian soldiers in the British army had to suffer through food shortages and rise in taxes along with intensive recruitment involving the use of force. ​

This army was different from the force that fought in the First World War on several grounds, as the British had included more Indians in the officer corps, as a response to the nationalist demands. This process was bitterly opposed by many British Indian army officers and led to racial tensions among them. Most Indian officers faced discrimination at the hands of their fellow British officers and were often viewed as outcasts among the larger social club. They were also often paid less and had to endure harsher conditions than their British counterparts.

References

1. Basu, S., Bhattacharya, S., & Keys, R. (1999). The Second World War and South Asia: An Introduction.

2. Hotine, M., Lewis, C., Mason, K., Heaney, G., Mrs. Haley, Pape, C., & Mrs. Shaw. (1952). The Survey of India Since the Second World War: Discussion.

3. Redfern, N. (2004). British Communists, the British Empire and the Second World War. International Labor and Working-Class History

4. Roy, Kaushik (2013) Race and Recruitment in the Indian Army: 1880–1918, Modern Asian Studies Roy, Kaushik (2010) Expansion and Deployment of the Indian Army During World War II: 1939-45

5. Roy, Kaushik (2010) Discipline and Morale of the African, British and Indian Army Units in Burma and India During World War II: July 1943 to August 1945, Modern Asian Studies

6. Pradeep P. Barua, Gentlemen of the Raj. The Indian Army Officer Corps, 1817-1949

7. Mohammad Ayub Khan, Friends not Masters. A Political Autobiography (London 1967)

8. Johannes H. Voigt, India in the Second World War (New Delhi 1987), 21-3.

9. Quoted in Chandra et al., India’s Struggle for Independence, op. cit., 448.

10. Perry, The Commonwealth Armies, op. cit., 116. Oriental and India Office Collection

11. Department History, Expansion of the Armed Forces, September 1939-September 1943, Appendix A.

12. Bipan Chandra et al., India’s Struggle for Independence 1857-1947 (New Delhi 1989), chaps 12-13.