What were the consequences of the WW1 on India? (2024)

FAQs

What were the consequences of the WW1 on India? ›

The World War 1 of 1914 resulted in increased taxes, military expenditure, and deployment of Indians to fight in the war. The war created demand for Indian goods which helped the Indian industries in their revival.

India and Pakistan became independent, self-governing states, although they both still had a governor-general as representative of the British monarch. Both later became republics and members of the Commonwealth.

The First world war created a dramatically new situation for the Indian industries. i. With the British mills busy with war production to meet the needs of the army Manchester imports into India declined. ii Indian mills had a vast home market to supply.

The major impact was the introduction of the Government of India Act, 1858 which abolished the rule of the British East India Company and marked the beginning of the British Raj that bestowed powers in the hands of the British government to rule India directly through representatives.

India Gate commemorates the over 74,000 personnel from undivided India who died in the First World War as well as those that fell in operations on or beyond the North-West Frontier and in the Third Afghan War in 1919. However, only 13,516 names of the latter are inscribed on it.

The World War 1 of 1914 resulted in increased taxes, military expenditure, and deployment of Indians to fight in the war. The war created demand for Indian goods which helped the Indian industries in their revival.

WWI impacted life in various ways. Many cities and towns were destroyed. Many families were displaced and lost their homes. There were also around 20 million deaths, both military and civilian.

iv) During the war, Indian factories grew, and Indian business groups began to demand more growth opportunities. v) The war brought massive profits to business organizations. Note: The global economy started to deteriorate after the war ended.

Economic Impact of First World War on India

There was a significant increase in expenditure on defense. The colonial government of India fell. The focus on taxes shifted to personal and business profits. Taxes on business profits and personal income were increased.

It led to a huge increase in defence expenditure which was financed by war loans and increasing taxes: customs duties were raised and income tax introduced. Through the war years prices increased doubling between 1913 and 1918 leading to extreme hardship for the common people.

What was the main consequence of the First war? ›

The First World War 1 Consequences shattered empires, birthed a slew of modern nations, sparked independence movements throughout Europe's colonies, drove the United States to become a global power, and paved the way for Soviet communism and Hitler's ascent.

The financial crisis caused by the mutiny led to a reorganization of the Indian administration's finances on a modern basis. The Indian army was also extensively reorganized. Another significant result of the mutiny was the beginning of the policy of consultation with Indians.

The First World War was a truely global event that changed the course of history in many participating as well as non-participating countries. In East Asia, the war stimulated the further rise of Japan as the leading power in the region during the war, yet also its radicalization and social protests after 1918.

During the war years, there was a more concerted movement for self-rule in India than ever before, as leaders such as Annie Besant (1847-1933) and Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920) launched the Home Rule League in 1916 and used India's war contributions to demand self-government within the empire.

In 1919 the British government passed the Rowlatt Act, which made it legal for British forces to arrest and hold Indians without a trial. Many Indians hoped that, after World War One ended in 1918, India and Indian citizens would be given more freedoms. As a result, the Rowlatt Act was deeply unpopular.

During the Second World War (1939–1945), India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh were a part of the British Empire. British India officially declared war on Nazi Germany in September 1939. India, as a part of the Allied Nations, sent over two and a half million soldiers to fight under British command against the Axis powers.

On 2 June 1947, the last Viceroy of India, Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, announced that Britain had accepted that the country should be divided into a mainly Hindu India and a mainly Muslim Pakistan, encompassing the geographically separate territories of West Pakistan (now Pakistan) and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh ...

The British Raj (/rɑːdʒ/ RAHJ; from Hindi rāj, 'kingdom', 'realm', 'state', or 'empire') was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; it is also called Crown rule in India, or Direct rule in India, and lasted from 1858 to 1947.

The Indian independence movement first gained momentum at the beginning of the 20th century, and after World War I Gandhi organized the first of his many effective passive-resistance campaigns in protest of Britain's oppressive rule in India.