This collection of essays explores a neglected area of 20th century South Asian history, the Indian experience in World War I. Societies often are changed significantly by War, and the Indian example in World War I casts light on the relationships between war and society, on the nature of early 20th century Indian society. Part of the purpose of the essays is to raise questions about these topics, while exploring some of them in detail.

The Impact of the War was very direct on the Indian Army and the Indian soldiers, and that impact is explored by the co-editors, Professors Ellinwood and Pradhan. It also had direct impact on the government, as revealed in the story of government censorship and propaganda as told by Professor Barrier, and on the economy as analysed by Professor Saini. Inevitably, it affected political life as well. Although much of political life was carried on as usual, the war increased the activities of the revolutionaries, whose failures are analysed so well by Professor Bose, it changed the bases of politics, as Professor Wolpert describes in the examination of the changing roles of Jinnah and Gandhi and as Professor Brown describes in the analysis of the background of the 1917 Montagu declaration on self-government. The main focus of this book is on the wartime period itself, to portray some of the direct experiences of that period. However, many of the essays also suggest the impact which the war had on postwar India, as in the ascendancy of Gandhi in the nationalist movement or the reorganization of the Indian Army.