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Some Notes on the treatment of Indians by the Japanese in Hong Kong, and on the living conditions of Indians in Hong Kong, by G.S. Kennedy-Skipton, 11.3.43.
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When the Japanese Army encountered Indian soldiers at North Point their first reaction was to treat them as traitors to their country and many of those captured were executed out of hand.
Soon, however, apparently on orders from above, their attitude changed and those captured received good treatment from their immediate captors in the hope they would disavow the British and welcome the Japanese as liberators. Later on many Indian Prisoners of War were employed to man sentry posts at various traffic control stations, receiving some liberty and a little pay for so doing. A few of these with whom I talked, however, told me that they received very little of either and were not allowed out of barracks in the interval between spells of duty.
This vacillation in the treatment of Indian soldiers was typical of the Japanese attitude to Indians in general. Taking the various committee separately:-
Most of the Sikhs and Mohammedans were very badly off economically after the surrender. Generally they were wage earners without capital. The declaration of the late Inspector-General of Police that all police at liberty might properly offer their services for police work enabled or encouraged many to get jobs in the police force. Salaries however were very low an Indian Sergeant-Major at Yaumati police station told me in November 42 that he received only ¥70 a month without rations, representin the cost of living of about 5 Chinese adults of the collie class and many told me they could not afford
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