1B. Contribution to WW1

Question 1

How was WW1 recieved in India?

Answer 1

Outbreak of war was met with instant declarations of loyalty and support for Britain from all sections of society.

For most Indian soldiers, going to war was part of a well-established tradition of obligation to the Emperor. Most cited in letters back home that they were fighting for the King or the Empire, not for India.

Question 2

How did Indian princes display their support for Britan?

Answer 2

27 of the largest princely states put their armies at the disposal of Britain and commissioned, fitted and provisioned the hospital ship, Loyalty.

Question 3

Which important figures also showed their support for WW1?

Answer 3

Bal Tilak
Mohandas Gandhi

Question 4

How many Indians had been recruited into combatant and non-combatant roles by November 1918?

Answer 4

1.5 million

Question 5

How many Indian soldiers enlisted into the army during the war?

Answer 5

By November 1918, 827,000 Indians had enlisted as combatants (in addition to those already serving in 1914 when war began)

Question 6

How many Indian soldiers were killed in WW1?

Answer 6

64,500

Question 7

In which particular battles were Indian forces significantly involved?

Answer 7

• Indian forces made up half the Allied fighting force at Neuve Chappelle (10-13th March 1915)
• The Lahore division took part in the counter-attack at the Second Battle of Ypres, April 1915.

Question 8

How much had Indian revenues contributed to the Allied war effort by the end of the war?

Answer 8

Over £146 million

Question 9

How significant were war loans in India’s revenue contributions to WW1?

Answer 9

About half of the over £146 million contributed was from war loans, which raised £35.5 million in 1917 and a further £38 million in 1918.

Question 10

How did revenue demands increase in India during the war?

Answer 10

Revenue demands increased by 16% from 1916-17 and 10% from 1918-19.

Question 11

How did prices increase as a consequence of war?

Answer 11

Prices of food grains rose by 93%, Indian-made goods by 60% and imported goods by 190%.

Question 12

Which factors reduced the government ability to control prices?

Answer 12

• Speculators and profiteers
• Failure of the 1918-19 monsoon rains and consequent grain shortages and famine.

Question 13

What were the economic benefits of WW1?

Answer 13

• Indian manufacturing industries, particularly cotton, iron, steel, sugar, engineering and chemicals expanded in order to replace goods normall imported.
• Shareholdeers in these industries saw their dividends rocket.

For example:

• In Bombay, dividends from cloth mills increased from 6% in 1914 to over 30% in 1917.