>BrownHairedGirl at 12:09, 15 June 2019

2019-06-15T12:09:02Z

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The '''India Defence League''' was a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[pressure group]] founded in June 1933 dedicated to keeping [[India]] within the [[British Empire]].

It grew from the parliamentary India Defence Committee and was founded with the support of 10 [[Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council|Privy Councillors]], 28 [[peerage|peers]], 57 [[Member of Parliament|MP]]s, 2 former Governors and 3 former Lieutenant-Governors of Indian provinces and including members of the [[British Armed Forces|armed forces]] and the [[judiciary of the United Kingdom|judiciary]].<ref>Graham Stewart, ''Burying Caesar. Churchill, Chamberlain and the Battle for the Tory Party'' (Phoenix, 1999), p. 164.</ref> [[John Hamilton, 1st Viscount Sumner|Viscount Sumner]] was its Honorary President, with [[Edward Carson|Lord Carson]], [[Rudyard Kipling]], [[Winston Churchill]], Sir [[Henry Page-Croft]], the [[Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire|Marquess of Hartington]], and [[Edmund FitzAlan-Howard, 1st Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent|Viscount FitzAlan]] holding the Vice-Presidencies.<ref>Stewart, p. 164.</ref> It eventually had over 100 peers as members.<ref>Stewart, p. 183.</ref>

The IDL also helped [[Roger Keyes, 1st Baron Keyes|Admiral Keyes]] win the [[1934 Portsmouth North by-election|Portsmouth North by-election]] in 1934.<ref>Maurice Cowling, ''The Impact of Hitler. British Politics and British Policy. 1933–1940'' (Chicago University Press, 1977), p. 247.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Indian Empire Society]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:1933 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1933]]
[[Category:Political organisations based in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:History of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Indian independence movement]]

India Defence League - Revision history

>BrownHairedGirl at 12:09, 15 June 2019