#IndependenceDaySpl : Ten key moments in India’s Second World War

When the Second World War broke out India was still under British control. British India declared war on Germany on September 1939. Britain sent over 2.5 million volunteers as soldiers to fight for the Allies against the Axis powers.

Several autonomous Princely states also poured in serious money as hefty contributions to support the Allied camps. At the eve of India’s 69th Independence Day celebrations Business Insider looks back at the role India played in World War II.

(Yasmin Khan is a British historian who teaches history at the University of Oxford. She is on Twitter @OxfordYasmin)

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