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.

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