<div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>In June 1944, a Japanese regiment found itself in a dire predicament—they found themselves with no food supplies, 7,000 casualties, and no choice but to retreat. This famously resilient army, known for its reluctance to surrender, was up against the small but formidable force of 1,500 British-Indian soldiers stationed on the border of Burma and India.</p><span></div><a href='null'><div><img height='400px' width='auto;' class='img_dynaPost' src='/BlitzMobiImages/consumers/company551995499/mediafiles/P54HsCY0497.tmp'/></div></a><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>Though less renowned, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55625447">the Battle of Kohima and Imphal</a> is hailed by historians and military scholars as <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/wwii-kohima-imphal-india-battle-intl-hnk/index.html">the first major defeat the Japanese faced</a> in World War II. With their homeland at risk, the indomitable spirit of Indian soldiers managed to repel the staunchly resilient Japanese forces, causing them to retreat after sustaining heavy losses and running out of food. According to military historian Robert Lyman, this battle shifted the war’s momentum in the Asian Theater, marking the first significant defeat for the Japanese. Yet many have not heard of this historic event. Much like this battle’s fading from history books, India’s overall contribution to the Western nations’ war effort, especially in bolstering Great Britain’s position, has largely vanished into obscurity. The resulting toll on India, both in human and material costs, has been largely forgotten—a debt long overdue for recognition.</p><span></div><a href='null'><div><img height='400px' width='auto;' class='img_dynaPost' src='/BlitzMobiImages/consumers/company551995499/mediafiles/43R5fNCY498.tmp'/></div></a><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>India not only fielded <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/01/magazine/the-forgotten-colonial-forces-of-world-war-ii.html">the largest volunteer army</a> during this period but also sacrificed countless resources and lives to support the war efforts of the ruling nation and its Allies, whose conflict they were pulled into. This article will showcase India’s remarkable achievements during World War II, as well as display Great Britain’s heavy hand in the disastrous effects the war had on the subcontinent.&nbsp;</p><span></div><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>The Largest Volunteer Army –&nbsp;</p><p>During World War II, India contributed <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/01/magazine/the-forgotten-colonial-forces-of-world-war-ii.html">the largest volunteer army of 2.5 million soldiers</a>, but they have received scant recognition, despite many of these soldiers fought valiantly across the globe in some of the most famous battles.</p><span></div><a href='null'><div><img height='400px' width='auto;' class='img_dynaPost' src='/BlitzMobiImages/consumers/company551995499/mediafiles/Cw8P6W6P499.tmp'/></div></a><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>Take, for instance, the celebrated Battle of Dunkirk. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5013056/">Christopher Nolan’s film</a>, while visually stunning and star-studded with actors like Harry Styles, conveniently omitted the thousands of Indian, African, and Arab soldiers who played crucial roles. In Dunkirk, when motorized vehicles were in short supply, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-58466527">Indian soldiers were brought in to handle mules</a>—an essential yet overlooked contribution. As winter approached, many soldiers faced a critically compromising situation, only to be saved by these resources brought and given by Indians, which allowed the regiments to save themselves from the harsh cold. (Ironically, and in sharp contrast to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-68374372">Islamophobia in today’s UK</a> and the resultant <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c84jjv7kp1wo">violence against this community</a>, a majority of the Indian soldiers were Muslim.)&nbsp; &nbsp;</p><span></div><a href='null'><div><img height='400px' width='auto;' class='img_dynaPost' src='/BlitzMobiImages/consumers/company551995499/mediafiles/FPxGKgHI500.tmp'/></div></a><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>As a result of Dunkirk and many other battles, numerous Indian soldiers were captured by Germans and held in prisoner-of-war camps across France, Germany, Italy, and Poland. Many did not survive these battles and are commemorated by the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100618081321/http:/www.cwgc.org/admin/files/cwgc_india.pdf">Commonwealth War Commission</a> in India, honoring the 62,000 casualties India suffered during WWII.</p><span></div><a href='null'><div><img height='400px' width='auto;' class='img_dynaPost' src='/BlitzMobiImages/consumers/company551995499/mediafiles/SHe2M52z501.tmp'/></div></a><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>Yet, throughout much of the Western world, these sacrifices remain largely unacknowledged. Despite their efforts, akin to the soldiers of Western countries, Indian soldiers fought not only for their native lands but for the preservation of democracy itself. Just as American soldiers who triumphed at the <a href="https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/battle-midway">Battle of Midway</a> are honored, shouldn’t the Indian soldiers who fought heroically at the Battles of Kohima and Imphal be revered as well?&nbsp;</p><p>With their homeland at risk, the indomitable spirit of Indian soldiers managed to repel the staunchly resilient Japanese forces, causing them to retreat after sustaining heavy losses and running out of food. According to <a href="https://www.nam.ac.uk/whats-on/kohima-britains-greatest-battle-0">military historian Robert Lyman</a>, this battle shifted the war’s momentum in the Asian Theater, marking the first significant defeat for the Japanese.</p><p>Despite these heroic efforts, the stories of these soldiers have long faded into the annals of history. This erasure began even during the war, as Indian soldiers often faced underpayment and mistreatment, especially when compared to their white counterparts. For example, a member of the ethnic Naga community who assisted British officers in their strategies against the Japanese was paid a mere single rupee a day, which equated to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55625447">1.5 shillings per day</a>. In comparison, white British officers made a generous <a href="https://www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk/docs-services-royal-army-pay-corps/">7 shillings per day</a>, able to support themselves and their families easily despite the war, at the cost of the undervalued members of the colonies.</p><span></div><a href='null'><div><img height='400px' width='auto;' class='img_dynaPost' src='/BlitzMobiImages/consumers/company551995499/mediafiles/eJbWwF85502.tmp'/></div></a><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>Given these circumstances, one may question why so many Indian men volunteered to fight, especially after the unequal treatment and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/noncooperation-movement">revolts against British rule following WWI</a>.</p><p>The answer lies in the rippling economics of the land, as a result of the imperialist ruler’s actions. During WWII, India faced widespread poor harvests. With the added burden of sending food to other Allies and a burgeoning population, India was grappling with a severe hunger crisis. Consequently, many Indians joined the military to feed themselves and their families. People from agricultural backgrounds, which constituted about 90% of the population, were drawn to military service as the agricultural industry was in a precarious position.</p><span></div><a href='null'><div><img height='400px' width='auto;' class='img_dynaPost' src='/BlitzMobiImages/consumers/company551995499/mediafiles/sYGqtGFQ503.tmp'/></div></a><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>The Bengal Famine –&nbsp;</p><p>The <a href="https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1943/oct/20/food-situation-in-india">low crop yield</a> in India during WWII did more than just swell the ranks of military volunteers. It drained labor away from agriculture at a crucial time, leading to the tragic deaths of 3 million people. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bengal-famine-of-1943">The Bengal Famine</a>, which began due to war rationing and was exacerbated by poor harvests, culminated in devastation following a <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47353715">cyclone in October 1942</a>.</p><span></div><a href='null'><div><img height='400px' width='auto;' class='img_dynaPost' src='/BlitzMobiImages/consumers/company551995499/mediafiles/7EzWQEei504.tmp'/></div></a><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span>There’s been much debate over whether British leadership should bear the brunt of the blame for the high death toll. It’s interesting to note that while Britain, and other wartime juggernauts like Germany, Japan, and the U.S., managed to <a href="https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/famines-wwii#:~:text=In%20Britain%2C%20Germany%2C%20and%20Japan,few%20literally%20died%20of%20hunger">sidestep famine</a>, India was not so fortunate. Though food availability dipped in these countries, few experienced the mass starvation that India did. To put it in perspective, the 3 million lives lost during this horrific event were more than <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-53405121">six times the British Empire’s total</a> casualties from WWII.<span></div><a href='null'><div><img height='400px' width='auto;' class='img_dynaPost' src='/BlitzMobiImages/consumers/company551995499/mediafiles/ESdcXkjY505.tmp'/></div></a><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>The famine, which spanned from March 1943 to the end of 1944, peaked in October 1943. Warning signs were glaringly obvious, such as a New York Times column from January 7, 1943, that bluntly stated, “Indian Cities Face Shortages of Food.” However, Britain didn’t respond until September 24 of that year, well after starvation had reached its zenith, by sending 200,000 tons of grain.</p><p>Bengal, bordering Burma, bore the brunt of the famine. The Japanese invasion of Burma cut off vital rice imports to the region, compounding the effects of their poor harvests. Britain, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-68311520">reluctant to intervene early on</a>, seemed to see an opportunity to weaken the Japanese even at the expense of Indian lives.</p><span></div><a href='null'><div><img height='400px' width='auto;' class='img_dynaPost' src='/BlitzMobiImages/consumers/company551995499/mediafiles/NkAYFygO506.tmp'/></div></a><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>This is evident from Britain’s reaction to inquiries from the <a href="https://history.columbia.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2016/06/Reiman-Julien-Thesis.pdf">United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration</a> (UNRRA), 30% funded by the United States, regarding the state of Bengal. The UNRRA, formed to aid war-torn regions, was effectively told to back off. At the time, the U.S. and U.K. had agreed to respect the right of all peoples to choose their form of government, yet the British Government of India was deemed untouchable. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, not wanting to strain his alliance with Britain, hesitated to push further.&nbsp;</p><p>The world did take notice, as seen in numerous <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/search?dropmab=false&amp;endDate=1945-01-01&amp;query=bengal%20famine&amp;sort=best&amp;startDate=1940-01-01">New York Times articles</a> chronicling the rising death toll. It was ultimately Eleanor Roosevelt who urged her husband to intervene. Only then did Winston Churchill, after initially claiming that the situation was manageable, authorize the use of <a href="https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1944v05/d281">Australian ships</a> to bring food to the starving region.</p><span></div><a href='null'><div><img height='400px' width='auto;' class='img_dynaPost' src='/BlitzMobiImages/consumers/company551995499/mediafiles/ZB4XyGHB507.tmp'/></div></a><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>Churchill’s inaction is well-documented, even by those in his inner circle. Archibald Percival Wavell, the Governor-General of India at the time, <a href="https://winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-hour-191/every-effort-must-be-made/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">cited not just the war and loss of rice imports but also British stockpiling </a>as factors that worsened the famine. Leo Amery, the Secretary of State for India, <a href="https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/in-the-media/churchill-in-the-news/without-churchill-indias-famine-would-have-been-worse/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">noted in his diary, an August 1944</a> conversation with Churchill where the Prime Minister disparagingly remarked that “relief would do no good because Indians ‘breed like rabbits.’” Churchill’s dismissive and pejorative attitude toward Indian starvation prompted his own Secretary of State, Amery, to question his sanity.</p><span></div><a href='null'><div><img height='400px' width='auto;' class='img_dynaPost' src='/BlitzMobiImages/consumers/company551995499/mediafiles/rfxjSQGn510.tmp'/></div></a><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>Amery’s diary captures the essence of Churchill’s “callously indifferent” stance, which was perhaps emblematic of the broader British approach to Indian lives. From 1765 to 1947, under British rule, India endured <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9735018/">12 major famines</a>, including the Bengal Famine. Churchill’s blaming of the rising population for the famine echoed such long-standing prejudices.</p><p>However, post-independence in 1947, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36339524">India has not faced a single famine</a> despite now having the largest population on Earth. Under its governance, India has managed to keep its people fed. While the war placed immense strain on resources, British officials themselves pointed to the British war effort, stockpiling, and inaction as the primary causes of the Bengal Famine’s unimaginable death toll.</p><span></div><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>Lasting Debt –&nbsp;</p><p>Churchill had plenty to say about India during his time, most of it dripping with disdain. Frustrated by the independence movement and the pressures of the famine, he often appeared exasperated by the responsibilities of ruling the subcontinent. His animosity, however, wasn’t a recent development; it dated back to his <a href="https://winstonchurchill.hillsdale.edu/churchill-on-india/">days as a young subaltern in the British Army </a>in the 1890s. At the time, he described India as a “tedious land” and boasted about Britain’s “high mission to rule these primitive but agreeable races for their welfare and our own.”</p><span></div><a href='null'><div><img height='400px' width='auto;' class='img_dynaPost' src='/BlitzMobiImages/consumers/company551995499/mediafiles/JWDM9s4j512.tmp'/></div></a><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>Churchill’s visibly hostile attitude towards India was a looming presence throughout his career. He vehemently opposed the Government of India Act of 1935, which granted provincial autonomy to ministries elected directly by the population. Churchill argued that Hindu-Muslim tensions were too high and feared Hindu domination—a concern rooted in his religious intolerance. He<a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/churchill-and-india-manipulation-or-betrayal"> famously told Leo Amery</a>, his Secretary of State for India, “I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion.”</p><p><p>Churchill’s belief that India owed its peace and prosperity to British rule conveniently ignored the starvation, sacrifices, and revolts that marked the colonial era. <a href="https://winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-hour-191/every-effort-must-be-made/">He once claimed</a> that “it was only thanks to the beneficence and wisdom of British rule in India, free from any hint of war for a longer period than almost any other country in the world, that India had been able to increase and multiply to this astonishing extent.”</p></p><span></div><a href='null'><div><img height='400px' width='auto;' class='img_dynaPost' src='/BlitzMobiImages/consumers/company551995499/mediafiles/Jgcgb56B513.tmp'/></div></a><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>In a <a href="https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1948/jul/15/india-sterling-balances">UK Parliament meeting in 1948</a>, Churchill acknowledged that Britain “owed India approximately 1,200 million sterling,” a sum equivalent to 54.7 billion UK Pounds today. However, he dismissed this debt, arguing that the UK had “the right to put in a counterclaim for the immense services which we rendered in saving those 400 million people from being ravaged, pillaged and slaughtered as they would otherwise, to a large extent, have been.” This statement starkly disregarded the significant military support India provided to the British Army on the other hand and the devastating impact of the Bengal Famine.</p><p><a href="https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1951/jan/23/sterling-balances-india-pakistan-and#S5CV0483P0_19510123_HOC_239">By 1951</a>, the issue was addressed with an agreement of unrequited exports to India, Pakistan, and Ceylon from the United Kingdom, until the target export amount of 300 million sterling was reached. This amounted to just a quarter of the UK’s debt to India, a debt that remains unpaid to this day.</p><span></div><a href='null'><div><img height='400px' width='auto;' class='img_dynaPost' src='/BlitzMobiImages/consumers/company551995499/mediafiles/FnQmrDyj514.tmp'/></div></a><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>Conclusion –</p><p><a href="https://www.history.ox.ac.uk/people/dr-yasmin-khan">Yasmin Khan</a>, a historian at Oxford University and author of “The Raj at War,” astutely remarked, “Britain didn’t fight the Second World War, the British Empire did.” This succinctly encapsulates the reliance of Britain on its colonies and dominions for resources and manpower. Among these, India—frequently lauded in Western histories as the “jewel of the British Empire”—bore a significant brunt of the war’s devastation.</p><span></div><a href='null'><div><img height='400px' width='auto;' class='img_dynaPost' src='/BlitzMobiImages/consumers/company551995499/mediafiles/rJTdmM9W515.tmp'/></div></a><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>Another historian, Britain’s own Angus Maddison had estimated India’s contribution and domination of the world economy for a <a href="https://cgijeddah.gov.in/web_files/267622636-History-of-Indian-Economy.pdf">staggering one and a half millennia</a>, before its subjugation by Western forces, culminating in British rule.&nbsp; &nbsp;While the Allies flourished after WWII, and pulled ahead as economic powers, India, once an economic powerhouse had to rebuild its economy from the ground up, after being ravaged by the imperial overlords.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</p><span></div><a href='null'><div><img height='400px' width='auto;' class='img_dynaPost' src='/BlitzMobiImages/consumers/company551995499/mediafiles/5ggAfZYR516.tmp'/></div></a><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span>As India celebrates its 78th Independence Day this August 15th, unpaid debts and unrealized reparations notwithstanding, the nation marches on its journey to regain its place on the world stage as an economic powerhouse and an eternal beacon of a culture, both attracting and producing Global leaders<span></div>