Source: WIlliam Goodwin, India, Lucent Books, 2000. During World War II, Britain made its last demands on India as its colony. It took harsh police measures to preserve the Raj against increasing Indian nationalism while England used India as both a supply and operations base. Many Indians served in the British military forces, and India industry was expanded to supply the war effort. While some parts of Indian benefited from the increased industrial production, war-related factors combined with lack of rain led to food shortages that resulted in 2 million deaths by starvation in Bengal between 1942 and 1944. main idea
The main idea of the passage is that during World War II, Britain made demands on India as its colony, took harsh measures to preserve its control, and used India as a supply and operations base, which had both positive and negative impacts on India.
