The First World War and its impact on British India, 1914-19

• India’s Response

  • Event - Immediate support from all political parties (Gandhi also advocated this) and was seen as a chance for self-rule.
  • Evidence - 827,000 Indians having enlisted by November 1918 and 28,500 Indian soldiers in the first Indian expeditionary force.
• India’s Military Contribution to the War

  • Evidence - 1.5 million troops by 1918.
  • Evidence - 184,350 animals given by India to aid the war effort.
  • Evidence - 15,000 troops were left in India maintaining law and order.
  • Evidence - Princely States provided a hospital ship called ‘Loyalty’ for the British.
  • Event - Indians partook in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in early 1915.
  • Event - Many fought in the Middle East (2 infantry divisions sent from France in December), against the Ottoman Turks.
• India’s Economic contributions to the War

  • £146 million contributed to the allied war effort by the end of war in 1918.
  • £73.5 million loans to Britain from India in 1917 to 1918.
• Economic impact on India

  • Event - Increase taxation, fuel shortages & rising prices.
  • Evidence - Price of grain increased by 93%.
  • Event - Famines and grain shortages due to drought
  • Evidence - Manufacturing expanded to replace imports (import costs up 190%, Indian goods = 60%).
  • Increase in revenue demands from India by the UK: 1916-17 = 16% and 1918-19 = 10%
  • Dividends made by cotton mills in Bombay in 1914 = 6% and in 1917 = 30%.
• Consequences of the Lucknow Pact

  • Strengthens Congress by healing divisions, but was only an agreement so could not be imposed by either organisation
  • Marked the high-water mark of Hindu-Muslim unity leading to a growing belief in British India that Home Rule (self-government) was a real possibility
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak


  Founder and editor of Kesari newspaper and Mahratta political journal
• Home Rule League


  Nationalist and grew rapidly
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak

  Deported to Burma in 1908 for 6 years. Came back a changed man
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak

  Helped bring about Lucknow Pact and supported Khilafat movement
• Long term reasons for Home Rule 1900-19

  • Transfer govt of India to Westminster = harder for Indians to exert any influence
  • Indian economy subjugated to British needs ~ cotton controls made development impossible
  • Administrative changes (since 1858) put power in British hands
  • Educated Indians little say in govt + administration ~ National Indian Congress founded 1885 as meeting place for English-speaking, educated middle class Indians
• 1905, Curzon announced Bengal split in 2
• 1905, Curzon announced Bengal split in 2


  Greeted with outrage by Hindus who believed East Bengal was dominated by Muslims
• Curzon

  High-handed, showed little interest in Indian opinion
• Simla deputation

  Urged Lord Minto (new viceroy) to safeguard interests of Muslims, guarantee special protection, particularly in elections
• Short term reasons for Home Rule 1900-1919
• Lord Minto agreed


  Moved to communalism (separate representation for Muslims & Hindus in Assemblies) – led to failure to create united + independent India
• Lord Minto agreed
• The Montagu Declaration

  • Context - Edwin Montagu, Sec. of State for India
  • Content - Implicitly committed by the British govt. To granting some sort of self-govt to India
  • Problems - No timescale
  • Consequences - Montagu found the Raj to be slow, complex & reluctant to accept reform, particularly critical of Micheal O’Dwyer, Governor of the Punjab
• Montagu-chelmsford Report, July 1918

  • The report stated that there was more room for Indian Participation within the government. This recommendation then became law in the 1919 Government of India Act.
• Recommendations of the Rowlett Report

  • Extension of the Act in Bengal
  • Extension of the Act in Bombay
  • Extension of the Act in Punjab
• Defence of India Act 1915

  Temporary measure designed to maintain order during WW1
• The Raj was seen as duplicitous
• Indian members of the Indian Legislative Council

  • Opposed the Rowlatt Acts
  • Out-voted
• Hunter Commision


  A commission established by the British Raj in 1919 to investigate the Amritsar Massacre
• Firing on the crowd

  • Fired 1600 bullets, 400 killed, 1500 wounded
• Jallianwala Bagh

  A public garden in Amritsar, Punjab, India
• Public opinion

  • Commons against Dyer
  • Lords supported Montagu launches the Hunter Commision finding no evidence of a conspiracy to overthrow the Raj
• The Hunter Commision report heavily criticises the Raj
• Physical evidence of the truth of the British Rule
• The report arouses anger among Indians
• The Government of India Act, 23rd December 1919

  • Content - Establishes a Dyarchy, Reserved seats for minorities in provincial assemblies and Aims to push power away from the centre and towards the provinces
  • Consequence - Doesn’t satisfy anyone, Commons (too conservative) vs Lords (too far), Congress unhappy about reserved seats, Some Indian nationalists were upset as there was a 4 year delay in implementing its recommendations when the Rowlatt Acts came into play instantly.
• Rejection of Government of India Act

  • By Dec 1919 – situation in India changed for worse
  • From 1917 – food prices rose
  • 1918-19 – poor harvests ~ inflation worse
  • Unrest broke out ~ particularly Bengal & Punjab
  • British govt became concerned might lose control of India bcos few British troops stationed there
  • 1918 – Rowlatt Commission + 1919 Rowlatt Acts passed
  • Acts extended wartime restrictions
  • Enabled govt of India to arrest & intern troublemakers w/o trial + allowed judges to try offenders w/o jury
  • Opposed by all Indian members of the Imperial Legislative council.