Post-War Economic Hardships
India contributed in men and money towards the British war efforts. Thousands of Indian men died in the war on various fronts. The food supplies and ammunition and the army’s keep came from the money raised by taxing Indians. When the war ended, all sections of the Indian population were experiencing hardships on various fronts.
Expectations of Political Gains for Cooperation in the War
The contribution of Indians to the British war effort was huge, though it has gone unacknowledged. Gandhi and most nationalists extended cooperation to the war effort and a huge number of Indian troops sacrificed their lives on the war fronts. So, after the war, there were high expectations of political gains from the British government and this too contributed towards the charged atmosphere in the country.
Impact of Russian Revolution
The Bolshevik Party of workers overthrew the Czarist regime and founded the first socialist state, the Soviet Union, under the leadership of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov or Lenin. The Soviet Union unilaterally renounced the Czarist imperialist rights in China and the rest of Asia, gave rights of self- determination to former Czarist colonies in Asia and gave equal status to the Asian nationalities within its borders.
Nationalist Disillusionment with Imperialism Worldwide
The Allied powers, to rally the colonies to their side during the war, had promised them an era of democracy and self- determination after the war. soon it became clear from the Paris Peace Conference and other peace treaties that the imperialist powers had no intention of loosening their hold over the colonies. As a result, the post-war period saw a resurgence of militant nationalist activity throughout Asia and Africa—in Turkey, Egypt, Ireland, Iran, Afghanistan, Burma, Malaya, the Philippines, Indonesia, Indo-China, China and Korea.