As a young man, Churchill spent 19 months in India with the 4th Hussars, arriving October 1896. He was stationed in Bangalore, where he led a leisurely life, including large amounts of polo playing.

In 1931, Churchill campaigned hard against Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin’s moves to grant India (then a British colony) limited autonomy. In doing so, Churchill revealed his instinctive conservatism and did damage to his own political career that would last several more years.