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Why Didn’t India Revolt Against Britain During The World Wars?
It seems like it would have been the perfect time to rebel
After centuries of British rule and domination, India finally received its independence and national unity in 1947. The independence movement gained steam and finally success after decades of struggle. After years of unsuccessful attempts at gaining independence, India finally achieved its goals in the wake of World War II. Great Britain emerged from World War II victorious but grievously wounded. After fighting in two titanic struggles and suffering ten hard years of fighting between 1914 and 1945, the British Empire was coming to grips with the fact that they could no longer hold together a global empire. Times were changing.
While India managed to wrest control away from Britain following World War II, the year 1947 raises an interesting question. Why didn’t India simply revolt during the World Wars? Britain was tied down in the Middle East, North Africa, Burma, and Western Europe for years and saw hundreds of thousands of soldiers die between the two world wars. With Britain’s armies engaged far from India, it seemed like it would be the perfect chance for India to finally rise up and break the British shackles that had kept them chained for centuries. But that never happened. The Indian independence movement was…
