<P> The Muslim League supported the British war effort while the largest and most influential political party existing in India at the time, the Indian National Congress, demanded independence before it would help Britain . London refused, and when Congress announced a "Quit India" campaign in August 1942, tens of thousands of its leaders were imprisoned by the British for the duration . Meanwhile, under the leadership of Indian leader Subhas Chandra Bose, Japan set up an army of Indian POWs known as the Indian National Army, which fought against the British . A major famine in Bengal in 1943 led to millions of deaths by starvation, and remains a highly controversial issue regarding Churchill's reluctance to provide emergency food relief . </P> <P> Indian participation in the Allied campaign remained strong . The financial, industrial and military assistance of India formed a crucial component of the British campaign against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan . India's strategic location at the tip of the Indian Ocean, its large production of armaments, and its huge armed forces played a decisive role in halting the progress of Imperial Japan in the South - East Asian theatre . The Indian Army during World War II was one of the largest Allied forces contingents which took part in the North and East African Campaign, Western Desert Campaign . At the height of the World War, more than 2.5 million Indian troops were fighting Axis forces around the globe . After the end of the war, India's emerged as the world's fourth largest industrial power and its increased political, economic and military influence paved the way for its independence from the United Kingdom in 1947 . </P> <P> The Indian National Congress, led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Maulana Azad, denounced Nazi Germany but would not fight it or anyone else until India was independent . Congress launched the Quit India Movement in August 1942, refusing to co-operate in any way with the government until independence was granted . The government was ready for this move . It immediately arrested over 60,000 national and local Congress leaders, and then moved to suppress the violent reaction of Congress supporters . Key leaders were kept in prison until June 1945, although Gandhi was released in May 1944 because of his health . Congress, with its leaders incommunicado, played little role on the home front . The Muslim League rejected the Quit India movement and worked closely with the Raj authorities . </P> <P> Supporters of the British Raj argued that decolonisation was impossible in the middle of a great war . So, in 1939, the British Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow declared India's entry into the War without consulting prominent Indian Congress leaders who were just elected in previous elections . </P>

Impact of second world war on indian politics