Write information about the impact of World Wars on India –(a) First World War(b) Second World War

Answer:

(a) First World War (1914–18):

• Britain involved India in the war; over a million Indian soldiers fought in Europe, West Asia and Africa, and many died.
• India paid huge sums for the war; prices and taxes rose and people suffered, though some Indian industries grew as imports fell.
• The Home Rule movement of Tilak and Annie Besant (1916) and the Lucknow Pact (1916) strengthened the national movement; the Montagu Declaration (1917) promised responsible government.
• After the war came the Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre (1919), and Gandhiji emerged as the leader of the mass movement.

(b) Second World War (1939–45):

• The Viceroy declared India a party to the war without consulting Indians; the Congress ministries resigned in protest (1939).
• The Cripps Mission (1942) failed and the Quit India Movement began in August 1942.
• Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose organised the Azad Hind Sena with Japanese help to free India.
• War shortages led to high prices and the Bengal famine (1943).
• Britain was weakened by the war; the new Labour government sent the Cabinet Mission (1946), and India became independent in 1947.