'A hazardous experiment' : the First World War and changing British civilian and military attitudes to the people of India
This thesis extends the current scholarship of the social impact of the First World War by analysing the influence of the contribution of the Indian soldiers on the Western Front on civilian and military perceptions of Indian people and how this varied between those who encountered Indian soldiers in person and those who did not. The work sits on the historiographical boundary of the First World War, Empire and the social history of Britain in the post war years and makes use of newspapers, first person accounts and manuscript sources. The impact upon the civilian population is analysed by examining the manner in which Indian people were represented in the media in the years before the war and comparing this with later representations in the years during and after the war. The work of Porter and Mackenzie and the ongoing debate about the significance of the Empire to the British people is used to ground the argument. The thesis finds that, despite an increased awareness and interest in India and its people during the war, the public soon settled into a pre-war apathy towards its Empire. The military chapters briefly examine the history of the Indian Army and its time in France and the changes made by the British
Leenders, Karen
DA010.5 British Empire. Commonwealth of Nations. The Commonwealth
'A hazardous experiment' : the First World War and changing British civilian and military attitudes to the people of India. This thesis extends the current scholarship of the social impact of the First World War by analysing the influence of the contribution of the Indian soldiers on the Western Front on civilian and military perceptions of Indian people and how this varied between those who encountered Indian soldiers in person and those who did not. The work sits on the historiographical boundary of the First World War, Empire and the social history of Britain in the post war years and makes use of newspapers, first person accounts and manuscript sources. The impact upon the civilian population is analysed by examining the manner in which Indian people were represented in the media in the years before the war and comparing this with later representations in the years during and after the war. The work of Porter and Mackenzie and the ongoing debate about the significance of the Empire to the British people is used to ground the argument. The thesis finds that, despite an increased awareness and interest in India and its people during the war, the public soon settled into a pre-war apathy towards its Empire. The military chapters briefly examine the history of the Indian Army and its time in France and the changes made by the British
hazardous first_world_war change british civilian military attitude people india extends current_scholarship social impact first_world_war analyse influence indian soldier western_front civilian military perception indian people vary encountered indian soldier person not work sits historiographical boundary first_world_war empire social_history britain post_war year make_use newspaper first_person account manuscript source impact_upon civilian population analyse examine manner indian people represent medium year war compare war work ongoing_debate significance empire_british people use ground argument find despite increased awareness interest india people war public soon settle pre_war apathy towards empire military briefly_examine history indian_army time france change make british