Forgotten in India after fighting from world trenches

Source– The post is based on the article “Forgotten in India after fighting from world trenches” published in The Hindu on 10th November 2022.

Syllabus: GS1- Modern Indian history

News-  The article explains India’s contribution in two world wars.

What was the contribution of India in two world wars?

Almost 1.5 million men volunteered to fight in the Great War. Indians mobilised four days after Britain declared war on Germany, with the support of nationalist leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi.

India raised the largest ever volunteer army, of 2.5 million, for the Second World War.

It also provided material and money along with non-combatant labourers.

Why is India unwilling to acknowledge its contribution in two world wars?

It arises from the uneasy relationship between the Indian contribution to fighting fascism on a global stage and the nationalist movement for freedom at home.

It began with the betrayal of nationalist expectations of greater autonomy for India in return for support during the Great War. This was compounded by the bitterness of Viceroy Lord Linlithgow declaring war on Germany on India’s behalf in 1939 without consulting Indian leaders.

The prevailing impression remains that wars were fought for somebody else, somewhere else.