(Wl-3322)-India, the Soviet Union, and Allied Victory in World War II

After 1945 the Western discourse on the Allied Victory during the Second World War (1939-45) has been conditioned by the antipathy of the West to the USSR. During the Victory in Europe (VE) Day (8, May) celebrations each year the leaders of the NATO countries pay rich tributes to the Allies which defeated Fascism and Nazism during the Second World War but fail to highlight the decisive role of the Red Army in the defeat of the Axis Powers between 1941-45. Also forgotten are the 27 million Soviet lives lost in this genocidal war. Since 1945 the USSR, later Russia, have celebrated May 9 as the Victory Day. Following the Cold War and the disintegration of the USSR this trend has continued. The Russians, on the other hand, hold their annual victory celebrations to underlined their heroic struggle against Nazi Germany and militaristic Japan. Another aspect of the Western victory discourse is the almost complete neglect of the role played by the Western colonies in ensuring the ultimate defeat of the Axis Powers. History proves that Great Britain would not have sustained itself through the Second World War without Indian resources and Allied Victories in North Africa and Burma would have been impossible without Indian resources, sacrifices and manpower.