The First World War as a Turning Point in Britain’s Relations with India The First World War was a definite turning point in Britain’s relations with India. The worldwide conflict between 1914 and 1918 was widely regarded as a disaster for European civilisation, ten million men were killed and twice as many were wounded, it changed the political social and economic issues behind British politics in a way not seen since. To show that it was a turning point in Britain’s relation with India Britain’s relations with India before the war must first be explained. British occupation of India had seen the rise and fall of the East India Company, the Indian Mutiny revolting against the British Policy of Westernisation to be followed by the Policy of Appeasement; all this had led to the slow rise of Indian Nationalism. The Indian National Congress was set up in 1885 and rapidly attracted the support of educated Indians, all with criticisms of British rule they wished to voice and aims of eventual self-government of India. In 1906 the leaders of the Congress greeted the victory of the Liberals in the British general election with great enthusiasm. These leaders believed that this was a major step towards Indian Nationalism; although in reality this goal was almost half a century away Minto, the new liberal viceroy, did take Congress seriously and consulted it about the possibility of reform, something Curzon had never done. Minto continued to further his conservative predecessor by responding to the nationalist demand for greater involvement for Indians in the machinery of British rule, as a result the Liberal Government introduced mult… … middle of paper … …tunate areas. By 1919 some countries had however, acquired a large degree of independence, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa were now known as part of the Commonwealth rather than part of the Empire, the traditional balance of power had been destroyed. In this sense the First World War was a significant turning point in Britain’s relations with India, it strengthened the determination of Indian nationalists to press Britain for independence at a time of economic crisis in Britain in the interwar years and it was this that eventually led to Britain’s complete withdrawal from India. Bibliography ============ The British Empire 1815-1914 – Frank Mcdonough[1] End Of Empires: European Decolonisation 1919-80 – Gary Thorn www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk www.kamat.com/mmghandi/ghandi.htm
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