American diplomacy and independence for India 1941-1945

Abstract

One of the main preoccupations of American diplomacy during the Second World War was the Indian independence movement. India occupied a strategic position for the United Nations war effort against the Axis powers. Geographically she stood at the center of the greater half of the British Empire, from the Cape to New Zealand. Strategically she formed the direct first reserve not only against the immediate threat to the United Nations position in the Middle East but against any threat in the Far East. The Japanese wave of conquest of Southeast Asia made her the only base to check the tide. The Americans rightly considered the Indian subcontinent vital for the United Nations war effort and sent troops and war material. The American strategy and war planning in this region could only succeed with the spontaneous and wholehearted cooperation of Indians. Against the Japanese propaganda "Asia for Asians" American policy makers could only pit the promise of independence. The championing of Indian independence was thus a military necessity. The State Department was quick to realize the need of the solution to the Indian independence problem. From the President down to the most junior official of the department, therefore became supporters of freedom for India. They impressed upon the British the necessity of solving the Indian problem to the satisfaction of Indians.