ties that bind - sep 11

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possession of your beautiful island with your many beautiful buildings. You will give all these, but neither your souls nor your minds. If these gentlemen choose to occupy your homes, you will vacate them. If they do not give you free passage out, you will allow yourself, man, woman and child to be slaughtered, but you will refuse to owe allegiance to them ... I am telling His Excellency the Viceroy that my services are at the disposal of His Majesty’s Government, should they consider them of any practical use in enhancing my appeal. 189 Copyright: Imperial War Museum (D_005154): A portrait of an Indian soldier outside Woking Mosque, following the Eid ul Fitr ceremony. Gandhi did not just oppose the war but also described those Indians who chose to fight as ‘mercenaries’, expressing his desire to see the Indian Army disbanded. 190 The Congress was estranged from the Raj, creating some problems for military recruiters during the early stages of the war. With the war in Europe proving more Muslims in the World Wars 189 Stanley Wolpert, Jinnah of Pakistan (Oxford, 1984) pp 187- 188 190 Military – Indian Army, L/I/1/1035, file no. 462/80E, p.178, IOR, BL, London. policyexchange.org.uk | 45
Ties that Bind 191 Judith Brown, Modern India: the origins of an Asian democracy (Oxford, 1992) p.324 46 | policyexchange.org.uk difficult than the government had expected – and worried also by Japanese military success – a committee was despatched from Whitehall to the subcontinent in the hope of enlisting greater Indian support for the war effort. Led by Sir Stafford Cripps, historians are divided over the precise terms of reference his mission was afforded and whether he was actually authorised to promise India Dominion status in return for its support. Such promises were not new. Many Congress leaders were wary and Gandhi reponded by offering the government an ultimatum – immediate-self rule in return for their support. When the government refused, Gandhi launched the Quit India movement, a renewed campaign of national civil disobedience. Meanwhile the Japanese Imperial Army had just triumphed in Singapore and was busy amassing troops on the Burmese border. The demise of the Raj seemed imminent, inspiring nationalist leaders Subhas Chandra Bose and Mohan Singh to create the Indian National Army – a paramilitary force known colloquially as the Azad Hind Fauj. Yet the government of India was ready for this. It swiftly crushed the Quit India movement by imprisoning Congress leaders from the outset, thereby cutting off the brains of the movement in the incipient phase of rebellion. It was not allowed to take root anywhere – in the way that previous campaigns such as Non-Cooperation and Salt Satyagraha had. This meant that Quit India was confined to localised disturbances and lacked national coordination. To ensure that trouble did not flare up anywhere, over fifty battalions of troops were also deployed to smother any trouble. Of course, there were some momentary losses of control; but given the pressures facing the Raj, a remarkable degree of grip was maintained. Indeed, the Viceroy grew so sure of his ability to manage any unrest that he told London, ‘the present regime could carry on quite comfortably till the end of the war...it was this knowledge and the fear that we should do so which was making the intellectuals so bitter’. 191 Recruiting for war and military modernisation Indian troops were not immediately called up following the outbreak of war, although Linlithgow had been quick to declare that India was ready to support British campaigns wherever necessary. It had seemed unimaginable to anyone in India that the subcontinent should become embroiled in yet another World War. When General Sir Robert Cassels, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, inquired what support the British government wanted from India in September 1939, the reply came that it was unlikely Indian troops would be needed at all during the conflict. Aside from three mule transport companies led by Punjabi Muslims which were shipped to France, there were no immediate plans to draft extra recruits or even to mobilise existing battalions. Neglect after the Great War meant that the Indian Army, though one of the most professional outside Europe, was drastically under-equipped by contemporary standards. In 1939 there were only 189,000 men enlisted in the Army, of whom 65,000 were not battle-ready. The fighting force consisted of 82 infantry battalions, coupled with a further 37 from the British Army. Two more were based in Hong Kong and another two in Singapore. A typical battalion consisted of 662 men, including 12 officers and 17 VCOs (Viceroy’s Commissioned Officer). Within each battalion was a central headquarters company which contained an
Page 1 and 2: Ties that Bind How the story of Bri
Page 3 and 4: 2 | policyexchange.org.uk About the
Page 5 and 6: 4 | policyexchange.org.uk Appendix
Page 7 and 8: 6 | policyexchange.org.uk Executive
Page 9 and 10: Ties that Bind 3 See: http://www.cp
Page 11 and 12: Ties that Bind 17 Stolen Valour: Ho
Page 13 and 14: Ties that Bind 12 | policyexchange.
Page 15 and 16: Ties that Bind 27 Omissi, The Sepoy
Page 17 and 18: Ties that Bind 16 | policyexchange.
Page 19 and 20: Ties that Bind 41 Ibid. p.28 42 Ibi
Page 21 and 22: Ties that Bind 47 Geoffrey Bennet,
Page 23 and 24: Ties that Bind 58 Ibid. Also see, M
Page 25 and 26: Ties that Bind 64 Punjabi Musalman
Page 27 and 28: Ties that Bind 74 Omissi, Sepoy and
Page 29 and 30: Ties that Bind 84 The Comrade, 7 No
Page 31 and 32: Ties that Bind 90 Ibid, p.5 91 Ibid
Page 33 and 34: Ties that Bind 107 Ibid. 108 Supple
Page 35 and 36: Ties that Bind 128 Ibid. 129 Ibid.
Page 37 and 38: Ties that Bind 146 Ibid., p.90 147
Page 39 and 40: Ties that Bind 159 Punjabi Mahomeda
Page 43 and 44: Ties that Bind 181 CAB/24/54, Natio
Page 45: Ties that Bind 187 India’s contri
Page 51 and 52: Ties that Bind 211 Ibid, p.55 212 I
Page 53 and 54: Ties that Bind 224 Omissi, Sepoy an
Page 55 and 56: Ties that Bind 238 Ibid, pp.70-72 2
Page 59 and 60: Ties that Bind 265 CAB/66/58/25, Na
Page 61 and 62: 270 The Gallup Coexist Index 2009:
Page 63 and 64: Ties that Bind 278 Note that Al-Muh
Page 65 and 66: Ties that Bind 286 http://www.times
Page 67 and 68: Ties that Bind 299 Hans Wehr, A Dic
Page 69 and 70: Ties that Bind 308 http://www.dohad
Page 71 and 72: Ties that Bind 315 http://web.archi
Page 75 and 76: Ties that Bind 329 http://www.indep
Page 77 and 78: Ties that Bind 340 Keynote Address
Page 79 and 80: Ties that Bind 350 http://www.publi
Page 81 and 82: Ties that Bind 364 Humayun Ansari,
Page 85 and 86: Ties that Bind 390 Ibid, p. 49. 391
Page 87 and 88: Ties that Bind 406 Policy Exchange
Page 89 and 90: Ties that Bind 419 http://www.musli
Page 95 and 96: 439 London Gazette, 3 July 1945, ht
Page 97 and 98:
96 | policyexchange.org.uk Bibliogr
Page 99 and 100:
Ties that Bind 98 | policyexchange.
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