AHC Indian Uprising/Independence War during World War 1

Zurirach Adankar

I‘m planning a timeline in which I want to create as chaos as possible after World War 1.

The POD could be between 1900 and 1914. Optimal would be a POD short before the year 1905. But the POD shouldn’t change to much in Europe before 1914. The plan is to have at the beginning a similar WW1 where only some minor nations are on different sides and the USA never participated in the war. During and in the aftermath of WW1 most of the Great Powers should face chaos (Revolutions, Civil wars ....).

Now to India:
To bring the British Empire to chaos, India seems to be the key. A great uprising or rebellion in India during World War 1 could probably put the Empire under great stress. It could maybe lead or increase uprisings in other places (for example Egypt). The best date for such an uprising would be in 1917 or 1918. A chaotic independence as a result of such an uprising would be the preferred result. After that, you could make some suggestion, in which way this free India could be balkanized.

Additional Questions:
How many different countries could form in this India?
Could some of the principalities survive?
What is the effect on the rest of the empire?
Could the British maintain some enclaves?
How would these independent countries look like?
Would the Dominions supply the Empire with their resources and manpower in such an independence war, or would they try to increase their own independence?

Since I know nearly nothing about the this time in India, I ask you for help, how to create such a rebellion, which is able to end the British Rule in India.
 

riggerrob

You need a major famine to encourage earlier Indian Independence.
Humans only change when forced by catastrophes.
A few million deaths by famine often tips entire nations past the tipping point of revolution.
You would need a famine similar to the Bengal Famines of 1770 or 1943, or the Irish Potatoe Famine of 1848 or the American Dust Bowl during the 1930s to occurr around 1914 for Indians to lose faith in their British rulers.
The 1943 Begal Famine was definitely a tipping point in the drive towards Indian Independence.
It would also help tip (Indian Independence) if WW1 fighting threatened India.
 

Zurirach Adankar

riggerrob said:
You need a major famine to encourage earlier Indian Independence.
Humans only change when forced by catastrophes.
A few million deaths by famine often tips entire nations past the tipping point of revolution.
You would need a famine similar to the Bengal Famines of 1770 or 1943, or the Irish Potatoe Famine of 1848 or the American Dust Bowl during the 1930s to occurr around 1914 for Indians to lose faith in their British rulers.
The 1943 Begal Famine was definitely a tipping point in the drive towards Indian Independence.
It would also help tip (Indian Independence) if WW1 fighting threatened India.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your suggestions. This is not a nice way, to solve my problem, but could maybe work.
Fighting could threaten India, if Afghanistan would attack India (as it happened in OTL in 1919 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Anglo-Afghan_War); but I don't see other possibilities to threaten India without changing the alliances between the Great Powers of WW1.
So if we have a failure of railway transport, some small mutinies, and then a large famine combined with an attack of Afgahnistan, we could shock the British Rule?
 
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