‘Indian Soldiers in World War I’ by Andrew T Jarboe: Curious case of imperial patriotism

Nearly 10 lakh Indians enrolled for the British army during the course of World War I, considerably less than the 25 lakh who enrolled during World War II. However, the participation of Indian soldiers in particular and of Indian society in general was much greater in the first than in the second war. Indian soldiers were sent to all theatres of the war — Western Europe, Middle East and North Africa. Indian casualties, too, were perhaps the highest for a country that was not a direct participant in the war. Many soldiers sent back letters, writing about the war, the hardships and calamities faced by them. These letters and other records form the basis for the book.

Indian soldiers played no small part in the maintenance and expansion of the British empire. They had fought in Burma, Russia and Afghanistan. The Indian soldiers were generally considered an extremely reliable bulwark in the preservation of the British empire. Some of this dependence was shaken during the Rebellion of 1857 when nearly one-third of the Indian army rebelled, along with other sections of the population, against the British. Fortunately for the British, some other battalions came to their defence. Those who helped put down the mutiny — Sikhs, Dogras, Pathans, Garhwalis — were considered martial races and began to be treated as preferred candidates for the army.

There was a great divergence between British and Indian thinkers on the extent to which the British should rely upon Indian soldiers for the maintenance of their global empire. Racist ideas and theories were quite dominant in 19th century Europe. There was a clear-cut, well-entrenched hierarchy of the races, with ‘whites’ at the top and ‘browns’ and ‘blacks’ much below. The racists were clearly against too much of Indian participation in sustaining the British empire. Racism was also a natural ally of imperialism and provided moral justification to it.

This was also the time when the ideology of nationalism began to develop in non-European countries. Just as racism was a natural and organic ally of imperialism, patriotism was an ally of nationalism. Indian patriotism, reflected in the writings of early nationalist leaders such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak, militated against the idea of providing any support to the British, either with men or with money.

However, between racist imperialism and patriotic nationalism, there also developed a curious and interesting idea of imperial patriotism — a great desire and determination by some Indians to participate in the British wars so as to prove to be worthy citizens of the empire. Gandhi, too, practised this idea in South Africa. Many early nationalists demanded equality with their British counterparts (and not separation from the British connection). They justified their demand by wanting to help the British, in return for recognition of their equal status in the British empire. Participation in the wars was seen as a major instrument to achieve this objective. Thus, India “rallied to the defence of the empire”.

The book argues that this strand of ‘imperial patriotism’ was easily the most dominant one and resulted in greater participation by Indians in World War I. The extent of the influence of this idea among Indians is quite debatable and the book may have exaggerated its role. What is, however, quite clear is that the scales had completely turned by the time of World War II. Even though the number of Indian soldiers was much higher, their involvement was completely professional and not motivated by a desire to defend the empire. The example of the Indian National Army under the leadership of Subhas Chandra Bose amply illustrates this point. Thousands of Indian soldiers who had been sent to fight for the British turned against them and decided to fight for Indian Independence instead, with the help of the Japanese and the Germans.

The book provides a detailed account of the battles fought by Indians during WW I and their experiences of the hardships. More soldiers died from diseases than fighting on the battlefront. But more than the activities of the Indian soldiers, the book sheds enough light on the principal ideas that were at work — racism, imperialism and an inherent European superiority.

Quite often, the strategic necessity of mobilising Indian soldiers for the war came into conflict with the ideologies of European superiority, which looked upon Indian participation with disdain and contempt. The two world wars played some role in diminishing the power these ideas exercised on the minds and hearts of many Europeans. However, these ideas have not gone completely extinct and still show up so often in international affairs.

— The writer is visiting faculty at BM Munjal University, Manesar

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