Honour South Asians who fought
Muslim, Hindu and Sikh soldiers all deserve gratitude, writes Fareed Khan.
Every year on Remembrance Day, we acknowledge the sacrifices made by soldiers who helped preserve freedom and democracy in Canada and other western nations, particularly during the First and Second World Wars. In the days leading up to Nov.
11, there is much said about what soldiers from Canada and other western democracies sacrificed to contribute to victory in Europe and the Pacific.
However, what we rarely hear is that those wars could not have been won without the significant contributions made by the non-white colonial troops from the British Empire. The immense role those soldiers played in helping the Allies seems to be ignored or forgotten.
The role of Canadian,
South African, Australian and New Zealand troops in the First World War is well documented, with more than 1.2 million soldiers from these British dominions fighting in The Great War. By comparison, the number of South Asian troops in the war was greater than these four nations combined.
More than 1.5 million men — Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs — from what are present-day India, Pakistan, Kashmir, Nepal and Bangladesh played a vital role in the victory in that war. Sadly, their service and sacrifice in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Far East are barely acknowledged. They earned awards for valour and gallantry in battles etched indelibly into history: Neuve Chappelle, Ypres, Somme, Flanders, Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele. But they are barely mentioned in the history we are taught, the news stories that are written or broadcast, or the films and television shows that are produced about that conflict.
When the First World War broke out on Aug. 4, 1914, the British were ill-prepared to take on the German army, which tore through the northwest of continental Europe. With losses mounting to the British Expeditionary Force, and an inability to replenish their forces with fresh troops, the British sent out a call to the colonies. The arrival of the British Indian Army during the early days of the war effectively contained the German advance, and prevented the loss of critical ports on the English Channel and North Sea.
Unlike its British, Canadian and Australian counterparts, the British Indian Army was a uniquely multi-ethnic and multi-religious force. According to historians, the army consisted of 700,000 Muslims, 150,000 Sikhs, and 650,000 Hindus and other South Asian religious groups.
The first British Indian Army regiment to land in France and enter the trenches was the all-muslim Punjabi and Pathan, Duke of Connaught's Regiment, which was the vanguard of South Asian troops fighting on the Western Front in Europe. When they left Europe after 12 months of service in the trenches, there were only nine officers and 20 soldiers remaining from the original contingent of 790. By the end of the war, more than 113,000 South Asians were reported dead, wounded or missing.
During the Second World War, more than 2.5 million South Asians served in the British Indian Army — in infantry, armour and air force battalions in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In the war against the Japanese, troops from Britain's South Asian colonies formed the largest military force ever deployed by the British Empire.
During crucial periods of both World Wars, when they were needed most,
South Asian soldiers were deployed to every theatre of the war in support of Allied efforts. Field Marshal Claude Auchinleck, commander-in-chief of British Indian Army from 1942, asserted that the British could not have come through the World Wars without the presence of the British Indian Army.
The neglect by Canada and other Allied nations to acknowledge the key role played by South Asians in both wars speaks to racial ignorance in the political and military leadership of western nations.
The contributions of South Asian Muslim, Sikh and Hindu soldiers in the two biggest wars in human history must be remembered. The magnitude of their sacrifice must be recognized by government and military leaders, and by journalists who tell the stories of these two periods in history. We must do this if we are to honour the freedom we all take for granted, paid for with their blood.