India historically underperforms in World Cup Qualifiers. Not only has the country of 1.4 billion people never played in a World Cup but it usually never comes close, many times falling behind real minnows.
Despite never participating in a World Cup, India did actually qualify to the 1950 edition in Brazil. India was drawn in a qualifying group with Myanmar, Indonesia and Philippines. All 3 of India's opponents withdrew from the matches and India was left alone as the qualified team from the Asian region.
In a decision that would be unimaginable today, India at the end declined its participation in the tournament. Officially the federation announced that the costs of traveling was too high, and they would rather concentrate on the 1952 Olympics. Unofficially, there were reports that India didn't participate due to FIFA declining their request to play barefoot.
Most Indian players had been playing barefoot up until that time and it wasn't specified in the rules yet that a player needed the equipment. Today, this version of the story is seen as a myth because it was simply a preference that the players had, but they certainly would've used cleats if they were told they had to.
Even though India was not a powerhouse and most likely would not have gone far in the World Cup, and the decision to not participate made sense in the context of the time, it is still frustrating to look back and know that India could have been part of soccer's biggest event.