Topic 1: The First World War and its Impact on British India (1914-1920) Flashcards
How many Indian sepoys fought in the First World War, and which Sepoy type was deemed most loyal to the British?
In the British Army, there were a total of 1.5 million Indian soldiers fighting in the First World War, a third of these were Sikhs. These were deemed the most useful to the war effort due to their disciplined mentality and determination to fight to the end.
Why was India so important to the British during the war?
Many Indian soldiers volunteered to fight under the British flag in the First World War, amounting to more than Scottish, Welsh and Irish volunteer forces combined. This was due to the belief that if they proved themselves to the British by helping them win the war, they would be granted dominion status, giving them a degree of self-governance, as other countries in the British Empire had been gifted such as New Zealand and Canada.
Why did India remain loyal to the British Empire, and continue to support the war?
Many Indian citizens were under the impression that the British may give them dominion status due to their continued loyalty and support of the British Raj through conflicts. Gandhi was among those who believed in co-operating with the British to secure dominion status and encouraged Indian people to volunteer in the hope of achieving this, as British and Indian soldiers were fighting alongside each other for the same cause. This convinced him along with many others that India should be rewarded for their efforts and be placed on equal footing with British soldiers.
What impact did the war have upon India?
Because of the joining of British and Indian soldiers on the battlefield, the self-esteem of Indian soldiers had lifted, and they believed now more than ever that they deserved a reward for their loyalty through the granting of dominion status. The First World War gave the people of India hope that they would be gifted self-governance and greater independence, but the British did not want to lose control of the economic prosperity that India provided British businesses.
Why were some Indian people discontent about India’s involvement in the First World War?
Some Indians disapproved of their fellow men volunteering for war because their country was not involved in any way with this conflict. However, others that originally supported the war in the hope that dominion status would be granted, like Mohandas Gandhi, were enraged when they were not rewarded despite the sacrifices of the many lives of Indian soldiers.
What were the Home Rule Leagues and how did they threaten the Raj?
The Home Rule Leagues were 2 nationalist organisations founded in 1916, one by Bal Tilak in west India and the other by notable Fabian activist Annie Besant. They spread the word of nationalism to such a degree that, after only one year, 60,000 people had joined their ranks, making nationalism accessible to the average Indian citizens. This also placed greater pressure on the British to give India more independence following the disappointment post-war.
Who was Bal Tilak, and why was he a problem to the British?
Bal Tilak was the founder of the All India Home Rule League and was also a member of the INC. He had previously been imprisoned by the British, earning him the nickname of ‘the awakener of India’ by nationalists and ‘the father of Indian unrest’ by the British government. Tilak also popularised nationalism. meaning that the British faced greater scrutiny and criticism from Indians.
What was the Defence of India Act and how did it impact upon India?
Passed in 1915, the Executive was granted with wide powers such as holding individuals without trial and the restriction of speech, writing and movement. The Act aimed to halt the rapid growth of nationalism in the midst of the First World War; however, it was met with disgust across India due to its repressive approach towards regulating political organisations. Despite this, the Defence of India Act led to the detainment of those refusing to co-operate with its enforcement.
Explain the specifics behind the Lucknow Pact and suggest how the signing of the Pact might have put pressure on the British.
The main signatories of the Lucknow Pact were the Indian National Congress, otherwise known as the INC, and the All-India Muslim League which united them against the British following its failure to satisfy both nationalist groups with the Partition of Bengal in 1905 and its annulment in 1911 to appease the larger Hindu population. The Pact guaranteed priority seats for the Muslims in a future Indian Government to ensure their voices as minorities would still be heard, as well as extra seats to compensate for their smaller population.
From a British perspective, seeing the two largest nationalist groups in India form a coalition would make them apprehensive about their impact on the rest of the nation, with nationalism spreading rapidly following its popularisation via the Home Rule Leagues. The INC and the Muslim League joining forces was therefore impossible to ignore as the population of India (280 million) was much greater than Britain at the time (38 million), sparking concerns over contending with a rebellion should the groups decide to.
Summarise the key message from the Montagu Declaration and assess the timing of the Declaration to suggest why Edwin Montagu made the announcement
Montagu, the Secretary of State for India from 1917 to 1922, was a liberal-minded politician with more progressive views on how Britain should responsibly govern India. Furthermore, he believed that there should be some form of self government in “every branch of administration” as stated in his address to Parliament which later became known as the Montagu Declaration. In this, he vowed to visit India, making him the first Secretary of State for the nation to do so,and speak to leading nationalists Mohandas Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Given that 1917 was in the thick of the First World War, during which Indians were sacrificing themselves by volunteering to be part of the British forces for a cause they did not believe, it became clear to the British government that the Indian people believed they were owed a reward for their support of the war in the form of dominion status. Therefore, this ever-growing demand for self-governance, coupled with the coalition of the INC and the Muslim League due to the Lucknow Pact, meant that the British needed to appease the nation’s citizens to guarantee co-operation with the on-going conflict and satisfy nationalists with the numbers to cause significant trouble in the country.
How would the Indians have interpreted the Montagu Declaration and what issues could arise from this?
The Indian people would have seen this as a huge victory for nationalism as the Secretary of State would be setting foot on Indian soil for the first time to hear from the ordinary citizens first-hand in order to gain insight into their experiences. This, in the eyes of the people at the time, would mark the start of India gaining dominion status and being rewarded for their continued, unrelenting support during the First World War in the form of volunteer soldiers and economic security.
Why was independence highly unlikely for India after the First World War?
Despite the general consensus in India that they deserved a reward for their contributions in the First World War, Britain needed to ensure that the British Empire remained strong with the increasing popularity of nationalism within India and also the collapse of other powerful empires such as the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, all eyes were on Britain’s grasp of power and territory and they were determined not to fall, particularly with President Wilson’s cry for self-determination across the world as part of his 14 Points following World War One.
What were the Rowlatt Acts?
The Rowlatt Acts were a follow-up of the Rowlatt Commission published in July 1918 to investigate why and where rebellious behaviour from nationalist unrest was occurring within the British Raj. When the findings were gathered and the Act passed in March 1919, it stated that anybody considered suspicious could be imprisoned without trial indefinitely and convicted without a jury. The Act also identified that Benegal, Bombay and Punjab were areas of high revolutionary activity, and placed wartime controls in said areas.
Why did Britain decide to incorporate the Rowlatt Acts, and were they necessary?
Britain was facing a recession along with the many other countires that participated in the First World War, along with Spanish flu killing millions of Indians and crop failure and famine devastating the country’s agricultural industry and resources. Such incidents lead to outbreaks of riots and unrest in India, which the British needed to quash, particularly with eyes on them following the collapse of the seemingly indomitable Ottoman Empire. However, this was not necessary as a form of appeasement would have ensured long-term compliance and less chaos in the region.
What did the people of India think of the acts, and how did they respond?
The people of India fiercely disagreed with the changes the Rowlett Acts would enforce, particularly in the Punjab, with a number of hartals organised. The First Satyagraha also occurred as a local, small-scale protest organised by Gandhi, who insisted that they were not violent but also non co-operative. The two opposing religious groups also came together, showing solidarity as they spoke out against their common enemy as part of the 1916 Lucknow Pact. A British doctor named Marcia Sherwood, on the other hand, was tragically beaten near to death as a result of protestors becoming agitated and violent despite Gandhi’s insistence on ‘ahimsa’.
