- The British were met with instant loyalty and support from all sectors of Indian society; Princely States,which immediately put their imperial service troops up to the Viceroy's disposal, Congress and the Muslim League.
- In particular Bal Tilak, an extremist from Congress, declared "our sense of loyalty is inherit and unswerving"
- By 1918 827,000 Indians enlisted
- 64,499 died
The Western Front:
1914 - Troops urgently needed in France as German troops pushed through Belgium and with over 100,00 trained soldiers India were the obvious choice. Fought at the Battle of Ypres.
1915 - 2nd Battle of Ypres and then withdrawn to the Middle East. Arguably because of low morale and the harsh European winters but more probably just out of conveniance as it made sense to concentrate Indian troops in their ideal conditions where supplies could be delivered easily.
Religion:
- Religion only became an issue when Turkey entered the war as Muslims believed they were being forced to fight against a muslim power, putting them in a moral dilemma = mutinities & desertion.
Attitudes:
- Fighting was a well established tradition and they had no whims about fighting for their monarch/emperor.
- Few claimed to be fighting for India finding the Emperor (George V) a most viable justification, seeing it as an honour.
IMPACT ON INTERNAL CONTROL:
- Thousand of Indians left to fight along with thousands of British troops that had been station in India. Furthermore many of those men needed in the Indian Civil Service volunteered and so by 1915 there would have been no way to control any sort of uprising.
IMPACT ON INDIA'S EXPECTATIONS:
- After fighting side by side with British and other white colonial forces Indian self-esteem was high and they believed that this merely highlighted how they were indeed equals and should be given a bigger say in how their country was run, solidifying the argument of Indian politicians = SELF DETERMINATION
- They had shown great loyalty throughout the war and in turn believed they would recieve rewards for their contribution, which proved invaluable.
IMPACT ON ECONOMY:
(Negative) - India had pumped men and money into the war and had contributed a total of around £146 million.
- Even ordinary people were feeling the effects of war with taxation making food grains increase by over 90% and imported goods by 190% - all caused by dsirupted trading patterns.
- Failure of the monsoons in the following two years exacerbated the situation.
(Positive) - Indian manufacturing industries profited greatly in the vacuum created by imported goods such as cotton, iron and steel, sugar, engineering and chemicals. An example of such profit is AHMEDABAD, one cotton mill reported profits trebling.
The Viceroy therefore had to balance the DEMANDS of London for India's resources and the NEEDS of India and as prices in India spiralled upwards there became more and more reports of protest and violence. As stated before, with lack of military support left in India such riots put the Raj's position in great jepoardy. ECONOMY & POLITICS CLOSELY INTERTWINED.
IMPACT ON POLITICS:
(Congress & Muslim League) - 1915 Congress speaking openly about self-rule
- 1916 ML and Congress had buried their differences after the reversal of the Bengal Partition. ML believed that Britain no longer saw them as a worthy minority in need of seperate electoral treatment and so sought refuge in the Hindus.
- 1916 Lucknow Pact whereby agreed that Muslims would have a fixed proportion of seats.
(Montague Chelmsford & Government of India Act 1919) - Britain could not ignore the great sacrifice India had made and knew that the politicians were looking for a reward for their people. They also could not ignore their own beliefs in self-determination and freedom, particularly as that had been their supposed goal in taking a paternalistic ruling over India. However the overthow of authority in nearby Russia created paranoia for the British whom could feel their grip slipping.
- Viceroy advised by 6 civilians 3 HAD to be Indian
- Councils enlarged and given more responsibility
- British retained control of military, foreign and currency affairs
- Franchise & vote extended
- "Reserved Seats" for different religions
= DYARCHY: Government by 2 independent authortities India and Britain.
(Negative Reactions) - MP's divided in the House of Commons some fearing the loss of India and others feeling they hadn't done enough
- ICS felt they had been undermined
- "Reserved Seats" deemed undemocratic
- Indians hoping for Home Rule were dissappointed
- Congress rejectes the reform completely and boycotted elections
(Positive Reactions) - Montagu saw the Act as a step towards swaraj.
- Indians welcomed acts but wanted MORE.
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