Propaganda and India in World War II

One news sheet was titled the "Hamara Hindustan" and was a four-page weekly newspaper with stories of progress in the war in Europe and Asia, as well as maps and images.

Bose was a prominent Indian nationalist leader who had sought the help of the Axis powers during World War II in hopes of gaining independence from the British.

[10] The Japanese regarded India as a potential part of their Greater East-Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere, and planned from early in the war to subvert Indian troops.

They wanted a pro-Indian independence organisation in place by the time they attacked the United States, and aided in the creation of the Indian National Army (INA).

[13] A “Free India” radio station was installed in Saigon, encouraging the Indians to launch an anti-colonial revolution while the British were weak and occupied elsewhere.

[19] The Nazi authorities designed a number of propaganda leaflets targeting Indians troops which they dropped behind Allied lines during the war.

British propaganda regarding India in the United States was aimed at convincing President Franklin Delano Roosevelt that there was no viable alternative.

One outcome of the British propaganda campaign in the United States was a backlash against Britain following its suppression of the Gandhi-inspired Quit India movement.

[25] Indian nationalist leaders challenged Britain's propaganda regarding India in the United States primarily through the publication of pamphlets, magazines, articles in newspapers and events.

A full-page advertisement sponsored by the India League and placed in the Washington Post on May 19, 1943 stressed that “The Time For Mediation is NOW” and listed the names of influential Americans who supported Indian independence, and provided reasons for why it was important.

The pro-India movement also disseminated its ideas in various publications, primarily in the magazine, Voice of India, and through articles written by sympathetic journalists and academics.