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The Unheard Role of India in World War 2

The 20th century was tormented with two impactful wars that had a widespread effect on the world. The second world war involved a major section of the world including pre-independent India. The war was sparked off by the invasion of Poland by Germany. However, the efforts of the two parties ended in vain with the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which led to the partition of Poland into two parts.

The World War saw limitless contributions from the Indian soldiers who played an active role in the war. Inspite of being under British dominance beginning to end, the intelligence, prowess, and skill of our patriotic soldiers shined in land, air, and sea. However, their tireless hours of fighting have not received much recognition across the world.

Significant efforts of the Indian soldiers were also seen in the Middle East and Africa. The war began with the launching of Operation Compass. Indian soldiers conquered a great part of Libya and Cyrenia along with hundreds of tanks and artilleries. The success of the soldiers resulted in the reinforcement of North Africa. The following operations however, saw little to no success. Various divisions of the Indian Army also took part in operations against countries such as Iran, Persia, Syria and Lebanon.

The Indian soldiers also showed their expertise against militarily advanced countries such as Burma, Northern and Eastern Africa, Italy, Germany and the islands of Singapore and Malaysia.

The world also took examples from active air force pilots like MS Pujji and Prithpal Singh in terms of piloting feats. Close to 36,000 Indian soldiers lost their lives fighting courageously and 67,000 were taken prisoners of war. The British Indian army earned 17 Victoria Crosses, their highest piece of honour displayed under the British.

This war also had a great impact on Indian Independence. By the time the war concluded, the British army was bankrupt, unable to fund the maintenance of the British Empire in India. Subash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) comprising Indian volunteers and POWs of the Japanese in South East Asia limited the power of the British further. The war ended with the British planning the steps for their withdrawal from India. The modern and skilled British Indian army inspired Indian soldiers and served as the base for the current Indian Army.