>Speaking of Asia, who invented the idea of "Asia" anyway? Who thought that
>that Indians and Japanese had enough in common to be classified under that
During the Assembly of the Greater East Asiatic Nations convened in Tokyo during 1943, the Japanese attempted to enlist Indians and others as fellow Asians in the battle against Western imperialism (see Paul Gordon Lauren, Power and Prejudice: The Politics and Diplomacy of Racial Discrimination, p. 214). So the answer seems to be the Japanese imperialists.
Subhas Chandra Bose wanted to take advantage of inter-imperial division to throw the British out of India; Gandhi successfully fought his efforts. Bose died somewhat mysteriously in a plane crash over Japan. best, rakesh