Some Indians in the army, however also changed sides throughout the war. Subhas Chandra Bhose believed that if Britain loses the war, India would get its independence. He then organized an INA (Indian National Army) to fight for the Japanese. The Japanese forced thousands of Indians to join the INA and some died because of rejecting the offer. The survivors of the INA were captured by the British after the surrender of the Axis. The members captured were charged with treason by the British government. This decision did not impress the local Indians since Bhose and other members of the INA fought for an independent India. The reason was approved and the survivors were sent home.
India played an important role in the Second World War. Without India, the outcome of the war might be unthinkable. The contribution from the country could never be replaced. Many thousands were killed or injured in the bloody battles. Their deaths would remind us the significance of India’s part in the Second World War.
2) The Second World War had a very large impact on the world. One thing it changed was the relationship between the British government and other Indian political parties.
Two main political parties had their relationship with the British government changed after the Second World War. They are the Congress Party and the Muslim League. The Congress Party was set up during the 19th century. The organizers were mainly rich and wealthy people who wanted to put some pressure on the British government. The Congress Party did not have any mass support in the beginning but were slowly growing into a national party.
Gandhi and other members of the Congress believe that India should get its independence as a reward for helping the British to fight against its enemies in World War One. The Indians showed how loyal and brave they are in the battles between the French. Gandhi held peaceful strikes and allowed his members and himself to be arrested by the police forces.
In 1919, General Dyer, a British army commander arrived Amritsar and banned all meetings. A group of Sikhs however, gathered for a festival in the Jallian Bagh, an open square. General Dyer then blocked all the exits of the square and ordered his troops to fire without any kind of warning. 371 were killed and over a thousand people were wounded. After the incident, more Indians believe that the British could not be trusted and joined Gandhi and the Congress, demanding independence.
When the Second World War broke out, the Congress Party refused to aid the British since nothing was rewarded when India contributed so much in the First World War. British declared war on India’s behalf without getting any consulting from the people. Many leaders held disobedience campaigns and were imprisoned.
The other major party was the Muslim league. It was founded in 1906 with most of its members being Muslims that were uncomfortable with Hindu domination over the country. Many of the Muslim league members were also members of the Congress. Both parties combined in 1916 to attempt demanding independence but after 1927, the parties started to divide.
In 1934, Muhammed Ali Jinnah became the Leagues leader and quit the Congress, disagreeing with Gandhi’s non violence, slow actions. The Muslim league had very few representatives in the Congress which claims to represent the whole India. In 1935, Jinnah rejected the government act since most of the Muslim provinces did not have control over the area. He then became very annoyed with the Congress and decided to start a new campaign in 1937, demanding a separate Muslim state.
When the Second World War broke out in 1939, the Muslim league reacted in the opposite of what the Congress (Hindus) did. The party supported British, sent troops to aid and provided supplies and goods. In March 1940, Jinnah officially demanded a separate Muslim state – Pakistan, the land of pure.
The two parties’ relationship with Britain changed significantly and the different reactions resulted a partitioned India. On the North West side of India is Pakistan, where most of the Muslims live. The other side becomes the home to many Hindus.
3) India was partitioned into 2 different countries in 1947. Muslims live in Pakistan (North West of India) and Hindus live in India. There are many reasons to why the country was partitioned. They can be divided into two groups.
The first group of reasons are short term reasons. One of the short term reasons for partition is that there were serious conflicts between Muslims and Hindus. Violent battles between both religions could be seen everywhere. Muslims set fire on Hindu temples while Hindus set fire on Muslim temples. Lord Louis Mountbatten, Jinnah and Jawarhal Nehru figured out that an independent whole India was impossible. Gandhi only realized that until 1946 when he saw the conflict with his own eyes.
Another short term reason is the fixed date set for India’s independence by Lord Louis Mountbatten. It would take much more time to resolve the conflict and produce a united India. Breaking the promise of independence before 1948 would lead to chaos and disorder all over the country. Partition was the best solution to the problem
The second group of reasons is long term reasons. The war has put India into a terrible state where men were wounded with a lot of the country’s capital wasted on military. The country would take a lot of time to recover and dividing it into two states could speed up the recovery rate. Another long term reason is that the difference between Muslims and Hindus became so great that the two groups of people acted like two races and could not live together. Jinnah, the leader of the Muslims also insisted a separate Muslim state. Hindus has a higher population then Muslims and if they live in the same country, Muslims would always lose to votes. Jinnah has also stated and ordered an independent Pakistan that changing the option would disappoint millions of Muslims, which could lead to many other violent conflicts.
Even Gandhi, the man with the original belief of one independent India gave up the thought after looking at the different religions. This diminished the final hopes of one united and independent India.
The partition of India in 1947 was inevitable. The key members and leaders involved in the incident could not do anything else to stop the division. Partition was after all a better solution over a united independent India with a lot of violence and fights happening everyday in the country. Dividing India into two might have caused problems, but has also prevented thousands of innocent deaths.