Influenza epidemic in India"begun with the arrival of infected troopships at Bombay and Karachi in May and June. This triggered the milder, first wave of the epidemic, in which old people and children appeared especially at risk, but in which overall mortality rates remained low"

"In Bombay in late July it was confidently predicted that the epidemic was nearly over. Then a second, far more fatal, wave of influenza swept across India from September to early December"

"In this second phase, adults between the ages of twenty and forty were thought to be particularly susceptible, with more women than men dying from the disease." About 4% of Indian population (12-18 million) died because of influenza. And #COVID19 is far more deadlier/contagious!

Source: DEATH AND THE MODERN EMPIRE: THE INFLUENZA EPIDEMIC IN INDIA By David Arnold