INDIA IN WORLD WAR II 123
As part of the British Empire, India
had little choice but to join the war.
However, this was opposed by many
Indian Nationalists, who withdrew their
support from provincial governments
that the British had established in 1935.
There was also opposition from the “Quit
India” movement, which was launched
by Mahatma Gandhi in 1942 and called for
the British to leave at once. The loss of rice
imports from Burma after the Japanese
invaded the former British colony, as well
as the government’s failure to improve
food distribution, led in 1943 to a famine in
Bengal in which three million died. Some
Indians were so opposed to British rule
that they fought for the Axis powers—mainly 13,000 troops of Subhash
Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army raised from prisoners of war.Fighting for the British
Despite the opposition, the impact of Indians fighting for the Axis was
slight compared to the loyalist Indian army, which expanded greatly,
reaching 2.6 million members in 1945. Indian units were deployed
widely—in Iraq, Ethiopia, North Africa, and Italy—but their main
goals were to prevent the Japanese from crossing into India (1942–1944)
and to defend Burma against the Japanese—an attempt that failed in
spring 1942, but succeeded in 1944–1945, when they drove out the
Japanese together with other Allied forces (see pp.218–219).INDIA IN
WORLD WAR II
Although India fought in the war to defend the British
Empire, a Nationalist movement at home gained support,
with the aim of shaking off British rule. The nation aided
production of arms and raised 2.5 million volunteers,
who fought in Europe, North Africa, and Asia.
△ Recruitment campaign
The British government ran a
highly successful campaign to
encourage Indians to join the
army, raising the largest volunteer
force in history.THE VOICE OF OPPOSITION
Gandhi (center) professed
a nonviolence philosophy
that led him to oppose
India’s involvement in the
war, while other Nationalist
leaders thought helping the
British would achieve Indian
independence more
quickly. In 1942, his “Quit
India” movement organized
protests to encourage the
British to leave. He was
jailed for nearly two years.US_122-123_F_India_in_World_War_II.indd 123 04/03/19 10:47 AM