Sanath Sha

Profile

I am a first year doctoral researcher working of the presence and influence of American military personnel in British India during the Second World War.

Born and brought up in India, I moved to Leeds after completing my schooling for my Undergraduate Degree in International History and Politics in 2021. Graduating with a BA (hons) in 2024, I specialised in Europe in the First and Second World War. My dissertation explored the British strategy in relation to the liberation of Norway from Nazi Occupation during the Second World War.

I subsequently completed my MA in International History at the University of Leeds in 2025. My dissertation earning a distinction, examined the formation and deployment of troops of the Nationalist Chinese Army that was placed in India for use in the China-Burma-India theatre of the Second World War.

I started my PhD in February of 2026 being funded by the BAME Scholarship of the School of History University of Leeds

Research interests

My thesis examines the presence of the American military in Colonial India during the Second World War and the impact such foreign militaries had in the climax of British rule in India. As Japanese forces swept across South-East Asia leading to the fall of Burma to the Axis forces. This caused a major hinderance for supplies to reach China in order to resist the fascist forces in Asia. Significant number of American GIs and troops from the Chinese National Army under the direction of American Generals were placed in India and later deployed for the recapture of Burma to open major supply routes. My project explores the complexities of housing such foreign militaries in 1940s British India. It uncovers an Anglo-American rift with respect to these troops and the impact they had on British Colonial structures in the run up to India’s independence. It details a significant but less explored theatre of the war (the China-Burma-India theatre) adding a new international component to the story of South Asian Decolonisation.

My wider research interests include: –

Second World War

South Asian History

Indian History

History of Decolonisation

Military History

Anglo-American Relations

Qualifications

• MA International History (University of Leeds 2025)
• BA (Hons) International History and Politics (University of Leeds, 2024)