11 November 2018 marks the 100 year anniversary of end of World War I. Here’s a look at what was going on in India during the War. Mahatma Gandhi, who had returned to India from South Africa in January 1915, supported the war. Indian nationalists did not try to incite rebellions against the Empire during that time. Instead, they backed the British cause. There were no planned mutinies against the British rule during that time. However, political unrest continued in Punjab and Bengal. Mahatma Gandhi also launched the Champaran satyagraha in 1917 in defence of farmers forced to grow indigo. The Kheda satyagraha also took place during that time. But both were specific, issue-based protests and not a mass movement against the Empire as a whole.
