Indian amnesia? “Dunkirk, the War, and the Amnesia of the Empire,” by Yasmin Khan. New York Times, 2 August 2017.
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We should be grateful to Professor Yasmin Khan. Why? Because in deploring the absence of Indian troops in the new movie Dunkirk, and the tragic 1943 Bengal famine, she blames “the imperial state,” not the usual culprit, Winston Churchill:
At least three million Bengalis died in a catastrophic famine in 1943, a famine that is almost never discussed. The famine’s causes were a byproduct of the war, but as Madhusree Mukerjee has proved in her book Churchill’s Secret War, the imperial state also failed to deliver relief. Many soldiers signed up as volunteers to fill their belly.
Curiously, the link above is a semi-critique in Harpers, itself a mixture of truth and counterfactuals. For a balanced review of Churchill’s Secret War, see Arthur Herman, “Absent Churchill, India’s 1943 Famine Would Have Been Worse.” (Arthur Herman was nominated for a Pulitzer for his book Gandhi & Churchill—an elegant account of the two leaders. It captures both Churchill’s generosity of spirit and Gandhi’s greatness of soul.)
An endless supply of victims…
Yes, the film leaves out Indian troops at Dunkirk. But why stop there in the quest for victims? The film omits the Canadians. It doesn’t show one Belgian! Except for a couple of nurses, it leaves out women. (A gallant band of female telephonists of the Auxiliary Territorial Service were among the last off the beaches. Heroic women were in some of the rescue craft. Others worked 24/7 in Admiral Ramsay‘s Dover bunker, which directed the operation.)
If we are going to accuse Britons of amnesia over the Indian war effort, we ought at least to grasp the facts. Like Prof. Khan, we begin with the 1943 Bengal Famine. Arthur Herman was right: without Churchill and his cabinet, it would have been worse. See also the Indian historian Zareer Masani: “Last Word on the Bengal Famine,” 2021.
Churchill mined his resources for Indian food supplies—amidst global conflict, strained shipping, hostile U-boats, and shortages everywhere. He even tried to substitute Iraqi barley, which Indians wouldn’t eat. In vain he pleaded for help from Roosevelt. He got much from Australia. Not all of Australia’s grain ships bypassed India, as the author of Churchill’s Secret War has stated.
To tell the truth…
It is quite untrue that “the imperial state failed to deliver relief.” The opposite is the case. Vast supplies of grain reached Indian ports. There are other villains in the story. The Japanese seem always to escape blame—yet their inroads into Burma and India had much to do with the shortages. So did hoarding by Indian grain merchants. Before accusing “the Imperial state” of starving the Bengalis, one ought to consider more than one discredited book.
After the British left the government contained famines (1967, 1973, 1979, and 1987 in Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Gujarat respectively). That is greatly to India’s credit. Of course there was no global war going on. There were no Japanese submarines torpedoing cargo ships in the Bay of Bengal.
The famine is not “almost never discussed.” The evidence is there for any researcher to consider. See for example “Did Churchill Cause the Bengal Famine?” (Hillsdale College Churchill Project). Review the proof itself in Hillsdale’s The Churchill Documents, Volume 19 (scroll this link to “Bengal Famine”). Read Arthur Herman’s Finest Hour article. Consult “Churchill and the Bengal Famine” on this site. The record is clear. Again and again and again.
Churchill on Indian contributions
Since Prof. Khan is concerned about British “amnesia” over Indian contributions in the Second World War, perhaps this will enlighten her. Author Mukerjee often quotes Churchill’s postwar assertion: “India was carried through the struggle on the shoulders of our small island.” That quote is badly truncated. Pray consider the full context. (Chapter XII, The Hinge of Fate, 1951):
British Government officials in India were wont to consider it a point of honour to champion the particular interests of India against those of Great Britain whenever a divergence occurred…. Contracts were fixed in India at extravagant rates, and debts incurred in inflated rupees were converted into so-called “sterling balances” at the pre-war rate of exchange…. we were being charged nearly a million pounds a day for defending India from the miseries of invasion which so many other lands endured. We finished the war, from all the worst severities of which they were spared, owing them a debt almost as large as that on which we defaulted to the United States after the previous struggle.
Memorial to the Indian Army at St. Paul’s Cathedral. (Photo by Andrew Roberts)
It is worth adding that the Indian Army was professional and volunteer, made up of those who chose it as a career, unlike conscripts from Britain who had no choice.
In Victory, Magnanimity
Churchill’s magnanimity will out. Those who accuse him of racist disregard for the Indian people might look at what he writes next. Think about it:
But all this is only the background upon which the glorious heroism and martial qualities of the Indian troops who fought in the Middle East, who defended Egypt, who liberated Abyssinia, who played a grand part in Italy, and who, side by side with their British comrades, expelled the Japanese from Burma…. The loyalty of the Indian Army to the King-Emperor, the proud fidelity to their treaties of the Indian Princes, the unsurpassed bravery of Indian soldiers and officers, both Moslem and Hindu, shine for ever in the annals of war….
Nearly three million Indians volunteered to serve in the forces, and by 1942 an Indian Army of one million was in being, and volunteers were coming in at the monthly rate of fifty thousand…. the response of the Indian peoples, no less than the conduct of their soldiers, makes a glorious final page in the story of our Indian Empire.
The Indian and other monuments at the Memorial Gates, London. See comments below, and https://memorialgates.org/. (Carcharoth, Creative Commons)
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6 thoughts on “Amnesia or Fantasy? The Indian Contribution in the Second World War”
Nor have Britons in any way neglected the contributions of Indians, from the Great Man himself to even Michael Heseltine. In his book Toward Resurgent India, Lt. Gen. M. M. Lakhera PVSM AVSM VSM writes:
I had gone to UK in 1995 as Deputy Leader of the Indian Delegation to take part in the 50th Anniversary celebrations of the victory in Europe during the Second World War. I, along with four other Army officers, had just stepped out after attending the inaugural session and were waiting on the roadside for the traffic to ease so as to walk across the road to the vehicle park. Among those with me was Honorary Captain Umrao Singh, a Victoria Cross winner. All of a sudden, a car moving on the road came to a halt in front of us and a well-dressed gentleman stepped out.
He approached Umrao Singh and said, “Sir, may I have the privilege of shaking hands with the Victoria Cross [winner]?” Evidently he had spotted Umrao Singh’s medal from his car and had stopped to pay his respect to a winner of Britain’s highest gallantry medal. Then he looked at me and said, “General, you are from the Indian Army.” When I replied in the affirmative, he gave out his name, saying that he was Michael Heseltine. I was absolutely astounded, as the recognition dawned on me that he was about to become Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister.
I was totally overawed by such courtesy shown by such a dignitary, and humbly thanked him for having invited our delegation for the VE-Day function. Again, his reply was typical of his sagacity: “General, it is we, the British, who should be grateful to your country and your Armed Forces, who had helped us win both the First and the Second World Wars. How could we be ever so ungrateful as to forget your country’s great contribution?’
Suddenly I became conscious that all the traffic behind his car had come to standstill. I hurried to thank him and politely requested him to move along to relieve the traffic hold-up. He stated, “Sir, how dare I drive off when [the] Victoria Cross has to cross the road?” Realizing his genuine feeling I and my colleagues quickly crossed the road. Reaching the other side I looked back and saw that Mr. Heseltine still standing, waiting for the Victoria Cross to be safely across.
Twenty-nine Victoria Crosses were awarded to Indians. Of these, 19 were awarded for valour in the presence of the enemy in the Second World War. Thirteen VCs were awarded to the Nepalese, nine for valour in the Second World War.
The truth remains that only a minority of Indians were against the British, and fewer still hated them as you imply. There’s a reason why Britons [women and children included] numbered no more than 0.06% of the subcontinent’s population. And also why, 250 of 395 articles in the Republic’s constitution were taken verbatim from the Government of India Act passed by the British Parliament in 1935.
Really? If Churchill and any of Britain were so appreciative, show me one monument in England to Indians who “fought” for Britain. Only someone deranged would “volunteer” to fight for the British who all the while were colonizing and daily impoverishing and treating Indians like dogs while enriching themselves. Show me one famine that occurred after the British left. Show me. Where ever the Brits went they enriched themselves and impoverished people and ruined the country, not to mention the wild life, etc. Churchill is a great hero only in the west, just like Mao is a great hero in China. He will always remain equal to or worse than Hitler in India. Same goes for all those Brits who went before him in ruining India. Unfortunately for Churchill and the Brits this thing called the internet came along to help us all correct the version of history written by the Brits. = Really: Thanks to “this thing called the Internet,” you don’t have to remain in staggering ignorance. St. Paul’s has memorialized the Indian Army since the First World War. A giant Memorial to Indian and Empire troops who fought in both World Wars is bang in the middle of London between Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park Corner. You can tell the monument to Indian troops because it has the word “India” on it. Five regions of the Indian subcontinent are honored: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri-Lanka. It’s on Constitution Hill opposite Apsley House in pride of place close to the Australia, New Zealand and Bomber Command monuments and not far from the Canadian, though it’s larger, taller and more distinctive than any of them. It was opened by HM the Queen in 2002. It is part of a Memorial honoring holders of the Victoria and George Crosses, including many Indians, whose images are rotated on the Memorial website: https://memorialgates.org/
Far from being deranged, nearly three million Indians volunteered to fight, the largest volunteer army in the history of mankind. They presumably knew better than you about which side to choose. —RML
The film “Dunkirk” was quite surreal in other ways. Any newsreel or photo of WW2 shows many soldiers with a cigarette hanging out of their mouths…and as for the pristine beaches! There are a few minutes of the Dunkirk beaches shown in the film “Atonement” (2007) which are far more realistic and capture the mood of despair over the whole shambles.
Thank you for your constant vigilance in protecting Winston Churchill’s good name from those who continually seek to besmirch it.
Anyone who fought against Nazi oppression is to be applauded. So many died to stop one man trying to change the world; imagine what it would have been like if he had achieved his ambition. But now we have new problems, which could solve all earthly matters by a catastrophic nuclear exchange, turning the earth into a burnt out planet hurtling away into oblivion. Been there done that. I am 93 years old and have peeped into the future. World War II was a picnic compare with what the next World War would be like.
My grandfather proudly served with the Dins in the 27th Division during the Great War, or Cogadh Mor as he called it. As noted, over a million Indian soldiers volunteered for WW1 and over two million for WW2. In the latter, most fought in Africa and later Sicily and Italy and the Far East. During WW1, Indian troops fought in the Balkans, Egypt, Palestine and Mesopotamia. Churchill never forgot this vast contribution. The majority were Sikhs and the Sikh and Gurkha regiments, as respected and trusted as the best Highland or Canadian regiments. My grandfather was of the opinion that Britain would have lost the First World War without Indian support before the entry of the USA.
6 thoughts on “Amnesia or Fantasy? The Indian Contribution in the Second World War”
@Pravin Wilson: In addition to the St. Paul’s Memorial and Memorial Gates pictured in the article, Britain has a memorial for Indian soldiers, the Chattri in Brighton, that is more than a century old.
Nor have Britons in any way neglected the contributions of Indians, from the Great Man himself to even Michael Heseltine. In his book Toward Resurgent India, Lt. Gen. M. M. Lakhera PVSM AVSM VSM writes:
Twenty-nine Victoria Crosses were awarded to Indians. Of these, 19 were awarded for valour in the presence of the enemy in the Second World War. Thirteen VCs were awarded to the Nepalese, nine for valour in the Second World War.
The truth remains that only a minority of Indians were against the British, and fewer still hated them as you imply. There’s a reason why Britons [women and children included] numbered no more than 0.06% of the subcontinent’s population. And also why, 250 of 395 articles in the Republic’s constitution were taken verbatim from the Government of India Act passed by the British Parliament in 1935.
Really? If Churchill and any of Britain were so appreciative, show me one monument in England to Indians who “fought” for Britain. Only someone deranged would “volunteer” to fight for the British who all the while were colonizing and daily impoverishing and treating Indians like dogs while enriching themselves. Show me one famine that occurred after the British left. Show me. Where ever the Brits went they enriched themselves and impoverished people and ruined the country, not to mention the wild life, etc. Churchill is a great hero only in the west, just like Mao is a great hero in China. He will always remain equal to or worse than Hitler in India. Same goes for all those Brits who went before him in ruining India. Unfortunately for Churchill and the Brits this thing called the internet came along to help us all correct the version of history written by the Brits.
=
Really: Thanks to “this thing called the Internet,” you don’t have to remain in staggering ignorance. St. Paul’s has memorialized the Indian Army since the First World War. A giant Memorial to Indian and Empire troops who fought in both World Wars is bang in the middle of London between Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park Corner. You can tell the monument to Indian troops because it has the word “India” on it. Five regions of the Indian subcontinent are honored: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri-Lanka. It’s on Constitution Hill opposite Apsley House in pride of place close to the Australia, New Zealand and Bomber Command monuments and not far from the Canadian, though it’s larger, taller and more distinctive than any of them. It was opened by HM the Queen in 2002. It is part of a Memorial honoring holders of the Victoria and George Crosses, including many Indians, whose images are rotated on the Memorial website: https://memorialgates.org/
Far from being deranged, nearly three million Indians volunteered to fight, the largest volunteer army in the history of mankind. They presumably knew better than you about which side to choose. —RML
The film “Dunkirk” was quite surreal in other ways. Any newsreel or photo of WW2 shows many soldiers with a cigarette hanging out of their mouths…and as for the pristine beaches! There are a few minutes of the Dunkirk beaches shown in the film “Atonement” (2007) which are far more realistic and capture the mood of despair over the whole shambles.
Thank you for your constant vigilance in protecting Winston Churchill’s good name from those who continually seek to besmirch it.
Anyone who fought against Nazi oppression is to be applauded. So many died to stop one man trying to change the world; imagine what it would have been like if he had achieved his ambition. But now we have new problems, which could solve all earthly matters by a catastrophic nuclear exchange, turning the earth into a burnt out planet hurtling away into oblivion. Been there done that. I am 93 years old and have peeped into the future. World War II was a picnic compare with what the next World War would be like.
My grandfather proudly served with the Dins in the 27th Division during the Great War, or Cogadh Mor as he called it. As noted, over a million Indian soldiers volunteered for WW1 and over two million for WW2. In the latter, most fought in Africa and later Sicily and Italy and the Far East. During WW1, Indian troops fought in the Balkans, Egypt, Palestine and Mesopotamia. Churchill never forgot this vast contribution. The majority were Sikhs and the Sikh and Gurkha regiments, as respected and trusted as the best Highland or Canadian regiments. My grandfather was of the opinion that Britain would have lost the First World War without Indian support before the entry of the USA.