British India (HM6)

Internal divisions (provinces / princely states)

The "Red Ensign", official flag since 1880

"The Jewel in the British Crown", India (also known as British Raj) under viceroy Victor Alexander John Hope (2nd Marquess of Linlithgow) has to deal with various groups demanding independence - the strong Congress Party of Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru; the Muslim League of Muhammad Ali Jinnah which already dared to declare the independence of Pakistan in the Lahore Resolution; and the leftist All India Forward Bloc under Subhas Chandra Bose.

Still, in 1939 it was peaceful enough that a peacetime strength of 200,000 men seemed sufficient for the British Indian Army. In May 1940 however, agreement was reached between the British and Indian governments over the formation of another five infantry and one armoured divisions. These new divisions were intended to be used in the defence of Malaya and Iraq. Even before, in March, two divisions had been sent to Egypt.