President of Patriots Forum, D.C. Nath was superannuated in January, 1995, as the Special Director, Intelligence Bureau, D.C. Nath (IPS-1960) was associated with the International Institute of Security and Safety Management (IISSM), headquartered in New Delhi, for over 14 years, first as the Executive President & CEO and then as the President & Director General, between February, 1997 and March, 2011. The author of a highly acclaimed book, Intelligence Imperatives for India, Mr. Nath earned high plaudits from all around for two of his very significant presentations on: “Revisiting the Future of India” (2005, London) and “Lessons from India for the War On Terrorism” (2007, USA). He is the only one in the field, combining the experiences of a police officer with specialization in intelligence and strategic analysis and an industrial security expert par excellence. More Bio on D. C. Nath…
OPINION>>>>
July 7, 2016
Dear Friends,
Jai Hind!
Subject: Plus And Minuses Of The Second World War For India
Wars generally bring disaster and catastrophe of no mean order. Keeping in tune with this Salil Mishra, in his study, “Behind Enemy Line” in the Sunday Herald, writes, “No other War (WW II) fought by Indians has transformed India as much as this War”.
Mishra continues, “When the War ended in 1945 in a victory of allied forces against the menace of Fascism, the world had been propelled on a course of monumental changes, some of which appeared unthinkable before the War. In a decade’s time, most of the colonies of Asia and Africa were liberated from European imperialism. Fascism was politically eliminated as a serious contender for global domination.”
Should we add, forever.
Mishra continued, “India remained in the shadows of the War for a long time. The course of the War and the manner in which India was implicated in it heavily underpinned some of the major developments in independent India. For one, both the major events of 1947 — independence and partition — were connected to the politics of the War as it was played out. It was clear that even though England had won the War, it had lost its eminence in modern world would not be able to hold on to its colonial empire.”
This is what then happened. The Indian leaders wanted independence as the price for declaring India at war with Germany. That posed a great dilemma to the Britishers primarily because they were extremely reluctant to concede the Indian demand for Independence. Then, they tried all tricks of divide and rule, that included planning a grand alliance against the Congress which was then leading the freedom movement. The Britishers went all out to form a grand alliance against the Congress bribing forces that had nothing common among them, such as, the Muslim League Hindu Mahasabha, the ever greedy princely states.
Mishra rightly points out, “The War caused serious strain on forces of Indian nationalism. He further adds, “There is plenty of evidence to suggest that Jinnah had been encouraged by the Viceroy to make some ‘concrete proposal’ which would be accepted by the British. Muslim League stepped up its opposition to Congress and was rewarded for it in the form of Pakistan. The British struck at the roots of Indian nationalism by partitioning India. Indian nationalism in independent India has been haunted by the memory of the partition which has continued to determine its shape and outline in crucial ways.”
The WWII was not, however, was an unmixed curse all together. It brought in forces of capitalism. Industries flourished. New companies were formed. Salil Mishra has put it like this, “The trajectory of economic development in independent India was characterised by a mixed economy, important role of the State, and the major initiatives in the hands of a few industrialists. It is easy to see that this model owed itself to the experiences of the War in no small measure. The War made huge demands on Indian society and people. The colonial state was expected to ensure that these demands were fulfilled.”
Misra then concludes, “Apart from the class divide, the War also set up patterns of regional divide. The War brought enormous wealth to the Punjab countryside. Bengal, by contrast, experienced the worst famine of the 20th century which claimed over 3 million lives. The War heralded a significant contrast between a prosperous Punjab and a poor Bengal. These images have survived in independent India. The War made Indian society more and more inegalitarian both on a class (and by extension, caste) and also regional basis. Independent India has inherited this legacy.”
Well, Friend, so it seems the WW II was not a case of unmitigated disaster for India. It helped the cause of hastening the process of attaining independence as well.
This is our take.
Vandemataram,
Your sevak,
D.C. Nath
(Former Spl. Director, IB)
(President, Patriots’ Forum)
Copy forwarded for information:
· Cabinet Secretary
(Shri Pradeep Kumar Sinha)
· The Prime Minister’s Office
(Shri P.K. Mishra)
· The Prime Minister’s Office II
· The Minister for External Affairs,
(Sushama Swaraj)
· Foreign Secretary,
(Shri Subrahmanyam Jaishankar)
· The Union Home Minister,
(Shri Rajnath Singh)
· The Union Home Secretary
(Shri Rajiv Mehrishi)
· The National Security Advisor,
(Shri A K Doval)
Vandemataram,
Yours sincerely,
D.C. Nath
(Former Spl. Director, IB)
(President, Patriots’ Forum)
Source: Patriot Forum