Indian War Memorials Around the World

242 Pages·2014·9 MB·English

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Indian War Memorials Around the World
Introduction • 1
Rana Chhina
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Indian War Memorials Around the World
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Last Post
Indian War Memorials Around the World
Rana T.S. Chhina
Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research
United Service Institution of India
2014
First published 2014
© United Service Institution of India
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
without prior permission of the author / publisher.
ISBN 978-81-902097-9-3
Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research
United Service Institution of India
Rao Tula Ram Marg,
Post Bag No. 8, Vasant Vihar PO
New Delhi 110057, India.
email: [email protected]
www.usiofindia.org
Printed by Aegean Offset Printers, Gr. Noida, India.

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Contents
Foreword ix
Introduction 1
Section I
The Two World Wars 15
Memorials around the World 47
Section II
The Wars since Independence 129
Memorials in India 161
Acknowledgements 206
Appendix A
Indian War Dead WW-I & II: Details by CWGC Memorial 208
Appendix B
CWGC Commitment Summary by Country 230
The Gift of India
Is there ought you need that my hands hold?
Rich gifts of raiment or grain or gold?
Lo! I have flung to the East and the West
Priceless treasures torn from my breast,
and yielded the sons of my stricken womb
to the drum-beats of duty, the sabers of doom.
Gathered like pearls in their alien graves
Silent they sleep by the Persian waves,
scattered like shells on Egyptian sands,
they lie with pale brows and brave, broken hands,
strewn like blossoms mowed down by chance
on the blood-brown meadows of Flanders and France.
Can ye measure the grief of the tears I weep
or compass the woe of the watch I keep?
Or the pride that thrills thro’ my heart’s despair
and the hope that comforts the anguish of prayer?
And the far, sad, glorious vision I see
or the torn red banners of victory?
when the terror and tumult of hate shall cease
and life be refashioned on anvils of peace,
and your love shall offer memorial thanks
to the comrades who fought on the dauntless ranks,
and you honour the deeds of the dauntless ones,
remember the blood of my martyred sons!
Sarojini Naidu
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Foreword
T
he Indian armed forces have a long tradition of unflinching loyalty, valour and sacrifice in the line
of duty. The driving force behind India’s military ethos for centuries has been Izzat, or Honour.
Indian soldiers have fought and died for this intangible value: be it the honour of their country,
their service, their unit, or their qaumor community. From time immemorial this concept has pervaded
the psyche of the Indian warrior and made his name a byword for chivalry and steadfast devotion to
duty. For the Indian officer, the Chetwode motto has formed the basis of his creed: “The safety, honour
and welfare of your country come first, always and every time. The honour, welfare and comfort of the
men you command come next. Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time.”
Battlefields around the world are replete with examples of this spirit of devotion unto death,
which have led Indian troops to stand their ground to the last man and the last bullet, even against
overwhelming odds.
From the hallowed ground of Saragarhi, where a small band of 21 soldiers fought to the last against
a 12000 strong tribal lashkar in 1897, to the fields of Flanders in 1914 where Jemadar Kapur Singh
preferred to shoot himself with his last cartridge rather than surrender after his company was overrun
by the Germans, to the heights of Rezang la where Major Shaitan Singh and his small band yielded
up their lives rather than yield even an inch of their motherland to the invading Chinese in 1962,
to Captain HND Mulla, who went down with his torpedoed ship in 1971, there are numerous such
examples, both before and since, which testify to the ‘death before dishonour’ ethos of the Indian
armed forces.
The numerous war memorials and cemeteries scattered around the globe bear mute testimony to
the enormous sacrifice made by Indian soldiers in the wars of the previous centuries. This book came
about as the result of a suggestion made by Ambassador Sujatha Singh whilst she was India’s High
Commissioner to Australia. It will serve both as a source of remembrance of the sacrifices made by
India in the cause of global peace throughout history, as well as a tribute to the memory of those of our
soldiers who fell in the line of duty in battlefields around the world.
It is hoped that this book will serve to remind the people of the world of the price India’s soldiers
have paid with their blood towards the establishment of the peace that the comity of nations enjoy
today.
My compliments to the author and his team for producing a fine record of Indian War Memorials
around the world. This work will be an everlasting tribute to the thousands of Indian servicemen who
died so that their country may live.

Lt Gen PK Singh (Retd)
Director USI
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