By Prasun Sonwalkar, IANS
London : Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher will lay wreaths at the Memorial Gates here Friday to honour the millions of soldiers of British India who fought for Britain in the first and second world wars.
Thatcher will participate in the annual event for the first time since the Memorial Gates were inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth in 2002. Key individuals behind the memorial include noted entrepreneur Karan Bilimoria and Baroness Shreela Flather. The gates are located on the Constitution Hill near Hyde Park.
During the First World War, one and a half million people from the estimated population of 315 million in British India participated in the hostilities. Of these, 140,000 saw active service on the Western Front in France and Belgium – 90,000 in the frontline Indian Corps and some 50,000 in auxiliary battalions.
Indian soldiers were in action on the Western Front within a month of the start of the war, at the First Battle of Ypres where Khudadad Khan became the first Indian to win a Victoria Cross, the supreme award for valour.
Participants from the Indian subcontinent won 13,000 medals, including 12 Victoria Crosses. By the end of the war, 47,746 Indians had been reported dead or missing; 65,126 were wounded.
Nearly 100,000 Gurkhas from Nepal also took part in fighting during the First World War. Two Victoria Crosses were won by Gurkhas.
During the Second World War, the Indian subcontinent contributed the largest volunteer army in history to the Allied cause. Out of a population of some 384 million, over 2.5 million servicemen and women joined the Allied forces.
Most of this number served in the Indian Army – 700,000 of them in the 14th Army in Burma, representing nearly three-quarters of its strength. Indians served in the North African campaign against the Germans, in Eritrea and Abyssinia against the Italians; in the Middle East, Iran and Iraq; in the Far East; in Italy, where they took part in some of the bloodiest fighting at the siege of Monte Cassino and elsewhere.
Hundreds of thousands of Indian women also took part, either as WRINS (Women’s Royal Indian Naval Service) or WACS (Women’s Auxiliary Corps: Indian), or as nurses, munitions workers and many other forms of service.
Of the Indian contingent, 36,092 were killed or reported missing; 64,354 were wounded and nearly 80,000 endured captivity as prisoners of war. As many as 30 Victoria Crosses were awarded to members of the Indian Army.
Around 112,000 Gurkhas from Nepal also fought with Allied troops during the Second World War.
The Memorial Gates were constructed in 2002 as a lasting symbol to recognise the contribution of soldiers from British India, Africa and the Caribbean.
Each of the four stone columns of The Gates is carved with the names of the countries that participated in the First and Second World Wars, and the dome of the Pavilion is adorned with the names of those who were awarded the Victoria Cross and the George Cross.
Two stone benches on either side of the Pavilion bear the names of the campaigns in which the volunteers participated.
Bilimoria, chairman of the Memorial Gates Committee, said: “The noble sacrifices of the five million men and women of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Africa and the Caribbean serve as an inspiration to us all and we will be forever grateful for their courage and fortitude. The memories of their courage will live forever through this incredible landmark.”
Baroness Flather added: “I believe the debt of honour which is owed to nearly 5 million ethnic minority volunteers in two World Wars must never be forgotten”.
The event Friday will also be attended by the Bishop of London, diplomats from the high commissions of India, Bangladesh, Bahamas and South Africa. Other guests include Field Marshal Sir John Chapple, Minister of State for the Armed Forces Bob Ainsworth, Baroness Amos, Baroness Uddin and Gulam Noon as well as veterans and cadets.