ABSTRACT
On August 15, 1947 India achieved independence with the active support of the British government and without any opposition from the British army. The British had never been in India as anything but soldiers, traders, administrators and missionaries. There was therefore no equivalent to the French settlers whom the Fourth Republic had a duty to protect in Algeria. Great Britain had no money to finance a military campaign to keep what was seen as the brightest jewel in the imperial crown, and no desire to do so. By standing alone in 1940, it had made victory possible in the greatest and most important war in history. It could afford to be generous, and had already begun to prepare the native population for independence.
