Indian independence movement
Further information:
Third Anglo-Afghan War and
Hindu-German Conspiracy
Bengal and
Punjab remained hotbeds of
anti-colonial activities.
Terrorism in Bengal, increasingly closely linked with the unrest in Punjab, was significant enough to nearly paralyse the regional administration. Also from the beginning of the war, expatriate Indian population, notably in Germany, United States and Canada, headed by the Indian Independence Committee and the Ghadar Party respectively, attempted to trigger insurrections in India on the lines of the 1857 uprising with Irish Republican, German and Turkish help in a great conspiracy that has since become known as the Hindu German conspiracy. The conspiracy
also made attempts to rally the Amir of Afghanistan against British India, starting a political process in that country that culminated three years later in the assassination of Amir Habibullah and precipitation of the Third Anglo-Afghan war.
A number of failed attempts at mutiny were made in India, of which the February mutiny plan and the Singapore mutiny remain most notable. This movement was suppressed by means of a vast international counter intelligence operation and draconian political acts (including the
Defence of India act 1915) that lasted nearly ten years.
[66][67][68]
The Ghadarites also attempted to organise incursions from the western border of India, recruiting Indian prisoners of war from Turkey, Germany, Mesopotamia. Ghadarite rebels, led by
Sufi Amba Prasad, fought along with Turkish forces in Iran and in Turkey. Plans were made in
Constantinopole to organise a campaign from Persia, through
Baluchistan, to Punjab. These forces were involved skirmishes that captured the frontier city of Karman, taking into custody the British consul.
Percy Sykes's campaign in Persia was directed mostly against these composite forces. It was at this time that the
Aga Khan and his brother were recruited into the British War effort. However, the Aga Khan's brother was captured and shot dead by the rebels, who also successfully harassed British Forces in
Sistan in Afghanistan, confining British forces to
Karamshir in Baluchistan, later moving towards
Karachi. They were able to take control of the coastal towns of Gawador and Dawar. The Baluchi chief of Bampur, having declared his independence from the British rule, also joined the Ghadarite forces. It was not before the war in Europe turned for the worse for Turkey and
Baghdad was captured by the British forces that the Ghadarite forces, their supply lines starved, were finally dislodged. They retreated to regroup at
Shiraz, where they were finally defeated after a siege. Amba Prasad Sufi was killed in this battle.
The Ghadarites carried on guerilla warfare along with the Iranian partisans till 191.[69][70][71][72]
Although the conflict in India was not explicitly a part of the First World War, it was part of the wider strategic context. The British attempt to subjugate the rebelling tribal leaders drew away much needed troops from other theatres, in particular, of course, the Western Front, where the real decisive victory would be made.
The reason some Indian and Afghani tribes rose up simply came down to years of discontent which erupted, probably not coincidentally, during the First World War. It is likely that the tribal leaders were aware that Britain would not be able to field the required men, in terms of either number or quality, but underestimated the strategic importance of India to the British. Despite being far from the epicentre of the conflict, India provided a bounty of men for the fronts. Its produce was also needed for the British war effort and many trade routes running to other profitable areas of the Empire ran through India.
Therefore, although the British were not able to send the men that they wanted, they were able to send enough to mount a gradual but effective counter-guerilla war against the tribesmen. The fighting continued into 1919 and in some areas lasted even longer.
