100th Anniversary of Start of The World War I, Indian Sub Continent isforgetting

It is the 100^th anniversary of the start of the First World War, or of the “Great War” as it came to be called. This was the first truly global war, in which soldiers from different countries fought in arenas all over the world. Some 16 million military men and civilians died in that four years-long war. It was entirely a ground and sea war. Fighter planes only came into the picture right at the end of the war.

            Kanwar Bhan Khanna

My grand father (Nana Ji) Kanwar Bhan Khanna actually participated in the World War I in Europe and made a fortune for himself by bringing a box full of gold coins of which I still posses a couple my share in the hierarchy through my mother.

India Gate, World War I Memorial in New Delhi

The foundation-stone of the All-India War Memorial was laid on 10 February 1921, at 4:30 PM, by visiting  Duke of Connaught in a solemn soldierly ceremony attended by Officers and Men of the Indian Army, Imperial Service. Troops, the Commander in Chief, and Chelmsford, the Viceroy.

The Great War is being commemorated all over Europe with great solemnity and pomp, at which prime ministers, presidents and the monarchs that still exist have participated. But in New Delhi, Islamabad, Dhaka, and Kathmandu there has been complete official silence (though the media has been active). It is almost as if these countries played no role in the First World War, even though in New Delhi the imposing “India Gate” has engraved the names of all those who died in it.

Soldier being carried on an Ambulance

Maharaja Bhupinder Songh of Patiala

According to the authoritative Commonwealth War Graves Commission,  1,16,000 Indians died in that war and 13,000 won awards for gallantry, many posthumously. These included 12 Victoria Crosses, the highest award given by the British army for velour in battle.

Sikh soldiers were allowed to keep their religious signs and take Guru Granth Sahib in the battle field.

Sikhs doing Kirtan even in the war field

Take the example of Rifleman Gane Gurung, from a Gurkha regiment at Neuve Chappelle in France, where a crucial battle took place.The advance of the British troops was held up by a house in the middle of a village. The house had a strong contingent of German infantry. Without orders, Gurung ran across the open courtyard of the village, right into the front door of the house, to the shock and amazement of his fellow soldiers.

It was an act of stupidity, or foolhardy bravery, depending on which way you looked at it. Everybody expected him to be shot dead on entering the house. Instead, shooting and shouting was heard. Then, after a period of complete silence, out from the same front door emerged seven large Germans, their hands up in surrender, followed by the diminutive 5’ 2” Gurung with his rifle and bayonet!

Seven expeditionary forces were sent by the Indian army to serve abroad. The 138,000 men of Expeditionary Force A, comprising divisions from Lahore and Meerut, arrived just in time to strengthen and turn the tide at the crucial First Battle of Ypres in Belgium. As Baroness Warsi, a former British Cabinet Minister aptly put it: “Our boys weren’t just Tommies — they were Tariqs and Tajinders, too.”

They had mingled with and fought alongside Allied soldiers who told them that they were fighting to preserve liberty and political freedom. However, back home in India, there was little of the liberty or political freedom that Britons and Frenchmen, for instance, enjoyed in their own countries. Hence, new ideas of democracy and greater autonomy flowed into India, energising the freedom movement that eventually led to independence.

Shiv and me in early 1980s near India Gate

Now, India Gate is more known for family get togethers, small time snack venders and famous Ice cream. I happened to see Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi hanging arround here and enjoying their ice cream, when Rajiv Gandhi was serving as a Pilot with State-owned Indian Airlines.

The silence by the sub continent which played such a vital role in the decision of the war is really strange.

Excerpts have been taken from a recent article of 'The War That India Forgot' by Rahul Singh formerly of Reader's Digest &; Indian Express.

The 21 Sikhs of Saragarhi

Jaisal Singh September 13, 2014

A small body of Sikhs defended a vital North-West Frontier post against 10,000 Afridi and Orakzai attackers. Yesterday was the 117th anniversary of their heroic effort. Britain’s Parliament interrupted proceedings and rose to give a standing ovation on September 12, 1897 to 21 valorous soldiers — all of them Indians, all of them Sikhs — for what was undoubtedly a tremendous act of collective bravery, and one of the greatest ‘last-stands’ in military history, the Battle of Saragarhi.

The North-West Frontier of undivided India, now a part of Pakistan known as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, is a harsh place. Embroiled even today in bloody conflict, it has been home to a multitude of battle-hardened tribes for centuries. In this tumultuous region, between the forts of Gulistan and Lockhart, which were built by one of India’s most proficient military commanders, Maharajah Ranjit Singh, is where Saragarhi is situated. As there was no visual contact between the two forts, Saragarhi was created as a heliographic communication post to signal between them.

Afridi and Orakzai tribesmen had started to revolt against British annexation of the area in the latter part of 1897, resulting in a multitude of attacks on both Gulistan and Lockhart, especially during the first week of September that year. Elements of the 36th Sikhs, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Haughton, had been moved to the area and had been successfully repelling attacks from the tough, hardy Pashtuns.

On September 12, the frustrated tribesmen changed strategy; they decided to cut off this vital communication link that was being guarded by a detachment of the Sikhs, having only been reinforced in the previous couple of days by Havildar Ishar Singh, and just 20 other ranks. At 9 am, no less than 10,000 tribesmen assembled to launch an assault on Saragarhi.

Haughton, who was based at Fort Gulistan, received a signal that Saragarhi was about to come under attack from a mammoth force. His reply couldn’t have been anything but demotivating for the defenders; he was unable to send any immediate relief. The Sikhs, however, resilient and undeterred, knew quick, hard decisions were required. Ishar Singh and his men decided that they would fight to the last man. This was not just bravado. The tactic could, if successful, delay an attack on the forts, giving the troops there more time to prepare and for reinforcements to arrive. Fierce fighting ensued once the assault began and the Sikhs fought a series of delay tactics to ensure the fighting continued for as long as possible.

So much so, that as the battle was prolonged, and Afghan casualties mounted, commanders of the assault force tried offering the defenders favourable terms of surrender. That wasn’t an option for the Sikhs. Attack after attack was repulsed. Ishar Singh and his men continued to stubbornly hold out, while inflicting a steady toll on the enemy, despite an acute shortage of ammunition which eventually ran out. The tribesmen made more than one attempt to rush the gates of Saragarhi, but this too was unsuccessful. Finally, a breach was made in one of the walls by a small body of tribesmen which was not visible to the Sikhs, having stealthily crept up using a blind spot and laboured at the wall for a while. By this time the battle had raged on for the better part of the sunlight hours.

One can only imagine the fierce and brutal hand-to-hand combat that ensued between these ridiculously lopsided forces once the wall was breached. A determined Ishar Singh ordered his troops to fall back into an inner layer of Saragarhi, while he distracted and held the attackers at bay — another classic delaying tactic. After he fell, the enemy managed to finally breach the inner layers, and except for Sepoy Gurmukh Singh, who was regularly communicating details of the battle to Haughton, his commander in Fort Gulistan, every defender had been killed. The determined Gurmukh asked his commander if he could now fix his bayonet, and an account describes him packing his equipment into a leather bag before doing so. The attackers decided to set fire to Saragarhi and according to Haughton’s account, engulfed in flames, Gurmukh’s last words were the Sikh battle cry: “Jo Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal (Victory belongs to those who recite the name of God with a true heart)”.

The courageous decision of Ishar Singh and his men had achieved the desired outcome. The battle had raged for over six hours and while there were a couple of patrols launched from Gulistan and Lockhart to distract the enemy, which reported there were around 14,000 attackers, the tribesmen had stayed focused on Saragarhi. The Sikhs, knowing very well what their fate would be, had held out against some of the most unfavourable odds for many hours, buying enough time for their comrades. Gulistan and Lockhart were saved from falling into Afghan hands and the lives of the vast majority of their regiment was saved too. For this extraordinary act of bravery and valour, all 21 Sikhs were awarded the Indian Order of Merit, which was the highest gallantry award given to Indians at the time. This remains the only instance when an entire body of troops has been given the highest award for the same battle.

When the relief party finally arrived at Saragarhi, there were over 600 dead Afghans and 21 soldiers of the 36th Sikhs along with one non-combatant — a camp follower and cook of the Sikhs who had been with them. Some of those enemy casualties are said to have been caused by artillery fire, after all the Sikhs had fallen; but in any event, for just 21 men to hold off the utterly overwhelming assault force of 10,000-14,000, this battle remains utterly remarkable and among the most heroic last-stands, ever — something akin to the Battle of Thermopylae fought between a Greek alliance and the Persian Empire in 480 BC.

The 36th Sikhs survive to this day. They were re-designated as the 4th Battalion of the Sikh Regiment — which is, unsurprisingly, the most highly decorated regiment of the Indian Army. Now 20 battalions strong, the entire regiment remembers the heroic and selfless sacrifice of these soldiers by commemorating Saragarhi Day as their Battle Honour Day each year.