Mon mor megher shongi, The peacock that is my heart is a friend like the cloud. Ure chale dhigdhigantherra pane. It wanders to all the corners of the world. Nisheemo shunaeye, and in the dark universe shrabonobarshanesangite brings with it the season of the sraban month and with it the pitter patter sound of rain. Rimijhim rimijhim rimijhim. Mono mor hanshabalakar pakhai jai ure, My heart thus transformed into a swan has now taken flight. Kochito kochito chokito thorito-aloke. Lightning covering heaven and earth. Jhanmanjarir bajai jhanjha rudra anade. My heart sings and melts the broken hearted. Kalo-kalo kalomandre nirjharinee. Black hearts weep for redemption, Dak dey praloy-ahwabhane. That is what time demands Bayu bahe purbasamudra hothae See the winds shake oceans, Uchchalo chalo-chalo tatinitarange waves leaping hither and thither. Mono mor dhai thari matho prabahe, My heart is full and wants to share its riches with the world. Taal-tamalo-araneya, With tender renditions, Khuddha shakhar andolone speaks of Almighty God’s rule universally.
During the Second World War (1939–1945), India was controlled by the United Kingdom, with the British holding territories in India including over five hundred autonomous Princely States; British India officially declared war on Nazi Germany in September 1939. The British Raj, as part of the Allied Nations, sent over two and a half million soldiers to fight under British command against the Axis powers. The British government borrowed billions of pounds to help finance the war. India also provided the base for American operations in support of China in the China Burma India Theater. Indians fought with distinction throughout the world, including in the European theatre against Germany, in North Africa against Germany and Italy, in the South Asian region defending India against the Japanese and fighting the Japanese in Burma. Indians also aided in liberating British colonies such as Singapore and Hong Kong after the Japanese surrender in August 1945. Over 87,000 Indian soldiers (including those from modern day Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh) died in World War II. Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from 1942 asserted that the British “couldn’t have come through both wars [World War I and II] if they hadn’t had the Indian Army.” Indian participation in the Allied campaign remained strong. The financial, industrial and military assistance of India formed a crucial component of the British campaign against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.India’s strategic location at the tip of the Indian Ocean, its large production of armaments, and its huge armed forces played a decisive role in halting the progress of Imperial Japan in the South-East Asian theatre. The Indian Army during World War II was one of the largest Allied forces contingents which took part in the North and East African Campaign, Western Desert Campaign.