Apart from the one million Indian troops that fought along side Britain, there were also huge number of Indians who volunteered to contribute in the war. The fact that number of volunteers were surprisingly higher than the number of conscripts, shows that the Indian’s were eager to support Britain in the war against the Axis Force. This is also shown in source three, “..out of a population of some 384 million...every one of them participated in his or her own choice...” To award India’s for its contributions, 30 Victoria Crosses- the highest award for bravery and devotion to duty, were awarded to members of the Indian Army. During the war, India also provided Britain with economic support. India lent Britain money which was used to finance the war and the loan summed up to GBP 1200 by the end of the war.
During the war, India was a vital base for operations in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. According to source four, it took part in Iraq, Syrian and Persian operations. When the Japan attacked India in 1941, it became a base for hostilities and played a major part in hindering and destroying their advance across the India Border. The most significant offensive was the Burma Campaign, where Indian had defeated and inflicted severe damages on the Japanese.
Despite the fact that there was an “Indian National Army”, which aimed at achieving India Independence by fighting along side the Axis Force against the Allied Force, India as a whole remain remained undoubtably loyal and supportive to the British Empire throughout the war. This is supported by source eight, where it says, “..many thousands of Indian POWS preferred torture and death to changing allegiance...”.
In conclusion, I believed that India’s military intervention and support for Britain played a vital role in winning the war against the Axis Force. Even though India had vast sums of economic wealth that could greatly help Britain’s economy, without India enormous man power, Japan would have easily defeated Britain.
