INDIA’S EFFORT

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 184, 1 May 1940, Page 10

INDIA’S EFFORT

Impressive War Aid Summarized MEN AND MATERIALS (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, April 29. The scale of India’s war effort is most impressive when its many manifestations over the past eight months arc seen in perspective. Regular units of the Indian Army are now serving "overseas in I'rance, Malaya, Aden and Egypt. Indian territorials and men of the auxiliary forces are serving in India by the side of their professional comiadcs.

The army is being expanded in ail branches of tiie service, and. apa n, from tiie growth of the regular units eight new territorial battalions have been formed and more are contcmP Pilots and mechanics for the growing air force requirements are being systematically recruited and trained ii'i India, in addition to live new auxiliary volunteer flights winch base already been brought into being. Recruiting has been so successful that tiie authorities have had to slow up the rate of volunteers. Indian princes have been overwhelmingly generous, and. to quote but one instance, the Nizam of Hyderabad gave £lOO,OOO toward the cost of tiie R.A.F. squadron which bears his name. So many contributions m money or in kind from rich and poor alike have been sent to tlic Viceroy tliat be has found it necessary to open a war purposes fund, the total of which is approximately £600,000 Generous donations have also been made to the Indian Bed Cross, tiie St. John Ambulance Association, and other funds. In the industrial held, great ordnance factories are producing munitions at a speed and in a quantity which a few mouths ago would hardly have been contemplated. When tiie expansion schemes are complete, it is anticipated that India will become an important centre of munitions production, able not only to meet her own needs, but to an appreciable extent those of the Allied forces abroad.

ONE IMMEDIATE JOB

Concentrate On Victory (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, April 29. Commenting on the "excellent and promising” tone of the speech by the Minister of Shipping. Mr. Hudson, on Saturday, tiie "Manchester Guardian says: , “It was Hie speech of a mini who means business. Less and less do dis missions matter about whether all the Germans are solidly behind Hitler oi what we propose to do witli Germans of al! kinds after the war. As Mr. Hudson pointed out. our first affair, and the only one that' matters at present, is to win and win handsomely.”