The
Indian invasion of Mysore was a conflict during the
Indian Wars of Independence where the government of
India invaded the
Princely State of
Mysore, which had supported the
United Kingdom during India's independence war, which lasted until 1956. In many respects, the war became a symbol for Britain's final attempts to control portions of the
Indian subcontinent, and its conclusion cemented India's position as an
independent state. While Britain had been engaged in a war against the
Indian National Front since the early 1940s, only after the
Fall of Bengal in 1956 did Britain pull out of the majority of the country, conceding to its independence. The ongoing conflict in Mysore flared up, as Britain focused its efforts on defending the state, and had been able to enlist the assistance of several
European powers to prolong the fight.
Sri Lanka, then known as
Ceylon, also assisted in the fight in order to protect their own independence, an ongoing fear was that India would move forward to annex the territory, as well as going after
Burma. While fierce resistance by the European powers, which had mostly been limited to air support and supplies, had been able to keep the Indians stalled for several years, in late 1962 the Indians captured the vital port city of
Cochin, which contained the majority of European aid and aircraft. With this vital link cut off, British involvement ceased, and the rest of the territory was occupied by early December. The war was officially declared over on 10 December 1962 by an Act of the Lok Sabha.