World War II and West African Soldiers in Asia, 1943–1947

Abstract

This chapter examines the lives of the 73,290 West Africans who fought in South Asia during World War II. Focusing on their daily lives and activities in Asia, it will outline the social, economic, and cultural encounters that shaped these men’s time in India. Eschewing any homogeneous interpretation of India’s influence on African servicemen, this chapter will instead defend the importance of quotidian encounters with Indians, and Africans’ discovery of new commodities. Highlighting the diversity of soldiers’ experiences, as well as the sheer geographical range apparent in their interactions with Indians, we will contend that the chaotically administered world of wartime India enabled African soldiers to challenge the strictures of British Army discipline, as well as the constraints of life in their home colonies. Engaging with recent accounts of African military service overseas, as well as of wartime India, this chapter underscores the importance of African soldiers’ service outside the boundaries of Africa and defends its significance as a unique moment of cross-cultural encounter in Africa’s colonial past.