Sir: The largest voluntary recruitment for military service ever seen
occurred in India during the second world war. Two million men enlisted to fight for the Raj. The spearhead of Wave11's desert army was the 4th Indian Division, which smashed the Italian defences at Sidi Barrani and took a whole army prisoner. It then led the con- quest of Italian East Africa and the libera- tion of Abyssinia.
It was the Indian Army which supplied 700,000 out of the million men who fought and crushed the Japs in Burma. Douglas Gracey's 20th Indian Division was one of the finest units in that courageous and tri- umphant army.
The loyalty and heroism of the Indian Army should be remembered by those aca- demics who are seeking to rehabilitate the reputation of a few malcontents like the Cambridge-trained traitor, Subhas Chandra Bose. It is understandable that members of his family should seek to restore his reputa- tion to the sort of status he enjoyed before Gandhi kicked him out of Congress, but they must not be allowed to falsify the his- tory of India during the second world war.
Let your readers remember with grati- tude and respect that the Indian Army won more Victoria Crosses than any other branch of the forces. The steadfast loyalty and courage of our Indian friends should not be tarnished by the sort of nonsense published on 19 August in The Spectator.
Bryan Benjamin
54 Burlington Avenue, Kew Gardens, Richmond, Surrey
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