[baking]

Also, reincarnation played a part in the American understanding. They were moving on to a new life and you wouldn't want to interfere.

I'm not saying that this was a sophisticated understanding. These were random American service men send to support the airlift to Burma. All I'm saying is that this was a common phenomena in the early 1940's in at least part of India and it's unlikely that it was the result of the British-Indian judicial system of the time.