commemorate the role of more than 1 million Indian soldiers who served in the British Army in World War 1, Shrabani Basu talks to Chris Finnigan about her book For King and Another Country (2015) and the role that Indian soldiers played 100 years ago

Basu, Shrabani

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“The	story	of	1.5	million	soldiers	that	served	in	WW1has	been	forgotten	over	the	years”	–	Shrabani	BasuAhead	of	speaking	at	the	LSE	at	the	launch	of	the	unique	Red	‘Khadi’	Poppy,	an	event	which	willcommemorate	the	role	of	more	than	1	million	Indian	soldiers	who	served	in	the	British	Army	in	WorldWar	1,	Shrabani	Basu	talks	to	Chris	Finnigan	about	her	book	For	King	and	Another	Country(2015)	and	the	role	that	Indian	soldiers	played	100	years	ago.In	Remembrance	|	Credit:	James	Harris,	UnsplashOver	1	million	people	from	the	sub-continent	volunteered	to	serve	for	the	British	Empire	in	the	First	WorldWar.	Where	were	these	people	from?They	were	mainly	from	Punjab,	the	North	West	Frontier,	Rajasthan	and	the	hills	of	Garhwal	and	Nepal.	They	werepicked	from	the	so-called	“martial	races”.	They	were	the	Sikhs,	the	Pathans,	the	Gurkhas,	the	Garhwalis	and	theDogras.	Apart	from	these,	there	were	the	Imperial	troops	belonging	to	the	Maharajas.How	did	the	British	present	the	idea	of	joining	the	war	effort	to	them?The	British	offered	the	Indians	a	regular	pay	of	11	rupees	a	month,	a	uniform	and	three	meals	a	day.	At	a	time	ofscarcity,	it	was	enough	to	attract	the	illiterate	peasants	and	tribals.	Moreover,	recruitment	was	done	at	village	level,so	there	was	the	incentive	of	loyalty	to	the	village	and	the	possibility	of	fame	if	they	won	bravery	awards.When	these	recruits	arrived	in	Europe	how	were	they	treated	by	their	British	counterparts?They	were	treated	very	well.	Every	effort	was	made	to	see	that	they	could	practise	their	religious	beliefs	and	eataccording	to	their	religious	requirement.	A	Comfort	Committee	was	set	up	and	the	soldiers	were	supplied	witheverything	they	needed	from	spices,	ghee	and	religious	books	to	neem	sticks	to	clean	their	teeth	and	water-proofturban	covers.	It	was	the	first	time	that	curries	were	cooked	close	to	the	trenches	and	the	first	halal	butchers	set	upshop	in	Brighton.South Asia @ LSE: “The story of 1.5 million soldiers that served in WW1 has been forgotten over the years” – Shrabani Basu Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-11-09Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/11/09/the-story-of-1-5-million-soldiers-that-served-in-ww1-has-been-forgotten-over-the-years-shrabani-basu/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/How	did	the	colonial	relationship	manifest	itself	inside	the	army	as	a	whole?	Were	these	soldiers	able	to	riseup	the	ranks	of	the	military?In	the	First	World	War,	Indians	were	not	allowed	to	be	officers.	They	were	not	allowed	to	train	at	Sandhurst.	Theyhad	some	Viceroys	Commissioned	Officers,	but	the	highest	Indian	officer	was	still	lower	than	a	low-ranked	Englishofficer.The	other	discriminatory	rule	was	that	white	English	nurses	could	not	treat	injured	Indian	soldiers.	Their	role	wassupervisory.	This	led	to	a	lot	of	discontentment,	as	soldiers	felt	they	were	good	enough	to	fight	but	not	good	enoughto	be	nursed.	White	English	women	were	not	allowed	to	visit	injured	Indian	soldiers.	The	British	did	not	want	anyrelationships	developing	between	lonely	Indian	soldiers	and	lonely	English	women.	This	changed	by	the	SecondWorld	War	and	there	were	many	Indian	officers.In	your	book	you	document	how	the	British	authorities	censored	theletters	soldiers	wrote	home	from	the	front	line.	Why	did	they	do	this?The	British	censored	the	letters	for	two	main	reasons:	one	to	see	that	nomilitary	secrets	or	locations	were	inadvertently	given	away.	Secondly,	theywanted	to	keep	a	close	eye	on	any	potential	rebellions	or	discontent.		Manypublications	were	banned,	so	the	soldiers	could	not	receive	any	anti-warpropaganda.	If	the	soldiers	wrote	about	meeting	up	with	white	English	women,those	letters	would	not	be	sent.What	happened	to	those	soldiers	that	survived	the	war?Those	who	were	injured	limped	back,	never	able	to	work	in	their	fields	again,others	who	suffered	from	shell-shock	were	never	treated	for	their	mentalcondition.	Those	who	lost	their	eyes	in	the	artillery	shelling	had	to	travel	toBombay	for	treatment,	which	was	not	possible	for	most.	Many	villages	inPunjab	lost	their	men-folk.	Those	who	had	received	high	gallantry	awards	hada	marginally	better	life	with	better	pensions.Do	you	think	that	commemoration	and	remembrance	of	the	First	WorldWar	in	the	UK	has	become	an	act	of	exclusion?I	wouldn’t	say	it	was	a	deliberate	exclusion.	It	is	just	that	the	story	of	1.5	millionsoldiers	has	been	forgotten	over	the	years.	After	Independence,	India	had	its	own	heroes	(those	who	fought	forIndependence)	and	the	soldiers	who	fought	for	their	colonial	masters	were	not	important.	The	British,	too,	forgotabout	them,	as	they	became	India’s	problem	after	Independence.		But	the	greatest	disservice	to	the	soldiers	is	toforget	their	bravery	and	contribution.Do	you	think	your	book	and	other	books	have	made	a	difference	in	how	we	commemorate	and	recognisethose	who	served	or	do	you	think	there	is	still	a	way	to	go?I	think	my	book,	which	was	published	in	2015,	definitely	raised	a	lot	of	awareness.	I	told	the	human	story	of	the	war,focusing	on	some	of	the	soldiers,	following	their	journey	from	villages	in	India	to	the	western	front.	I	wrote	about	theyoung	Indian	pilots	in	the	First	World	War,	something	that	most	people	knew	nothing	about.	I	also	told	the	story	of	an“untouchable”	cleaner,	Sukha,	who	died	in	a	hospital	in	England,	and	how	no	one	would	cremate	or	bury	him.	Hisstory	has	now	gone	around	the	world.Of	course,	a	lot	has	still	to	be	done	to	remember	the	soldiers.	I	feel	that	the	first	step	would	be	for	both	India	andBritain	to	ensure	that	the	contribution	of	the	Indian	soldiers	is	studied	as	part	of	the	curriculum	in	both	countries.This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	the	South	Asia	@	LSE	blog,	nor	of	the	LondonSchool	of	Economics.	Please	read	our	comments	policy	before	posting.South Asia @ LSE: “The story of 1.5 million soldiers that served in WW1 has been forgotten over the years” – Shrabani Basu Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-11-09Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/11/09/the-story-of-1-5-million-soldiers-that-served-in-ww1-has-been-forgotten-over-the-years-shrabani-basu/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/Shrabani	Basu	is	the	author	of	Spy	Princess	The	life	of	Noor	Inayat	Khan	(2008),	Victoria	&	Abdul:	TheTrue	Story	of	the	Queen’s	Closest	Confidant	(2017)	and	For	King	and	Another	Country:	Indian	Soldierson	the	Western	Front	1914-18	(2015).	She	tweets	@shrabanibasu_		South Asia @ LSE: “The story of 1.5 million soldiers that served in WW1 has been forgotten over the years” – Shrabani Basu Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-11-09Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/11/09/the-story-of-1-5-million-soldiers-that-served-in-ww1-has-been-forgotten-over-the-years-shrabani-basu/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/

“The story of 1.5 million soldiers that served in WW1 has been forgotten over the years” – Shrabani Basu

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“The story of 1.5 million soldiers that served in WW1 has been forgotten over the years” – Shrabani Basu

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