HOMAGE TO THE FALLEN: Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee pays respects to the 16,000 soldiers who died in France during the First World War, at the Indian Memorial in Neuve Chapelle, France, on Sunday. — Photo: AFP

PARIS: Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee flew to Neuve Chapelle, some 300 km north of the French capital, to lay a wreath at a memorial for Indian soldiers who fought in the British colonial army in World War- I.

The memorial, in the shape of a circular enclosure, has a 15-metre high column, recalling, among other things, the Ashoka pillar, a note provided by the Indian Embassy said.

It was at Neuve Chapelle that the Indian Corps fought its first major battle from March 10-13, 1914, and lost one-fifth of its strength. To mark this and other deaths, the Imperial War Graves Commission erected the memorial in October 1927. The Commonwealth Graves Commission now maintains it.

Talking to correspondents before leaving for Neuve Chapelle, Mr. Mukherjee drew a distinction between the decision of the Indian National Congress to support Britain in World War-I and its opposition to World War-II.

"Gandhiji returned medal"

Pointing out that the Britain conferred "Kaisar-e-Hind," on Mahatma Gandhi for supporting its war efforts in 1914, he said the situation changed dramatically after the passage of the Rowlatt Act. The Mahatma returned the medal, and Rabindranath Tagore rejected his knighthood. "The Congress opposed the British decision to involve India in the [Second World] War."

Both the Congress and Netaji Subhas Bose opposed the Second World War.

However, the fact was that the British Indian Army participated in this campaign, and nobody could deny the "supreme sacrifices" made by Indian soldiers.

Memorial in Delhi

Asked what the Government was doing about honouring the soldiers who died after Independence, Mr. Mukherjee said a decision had been taken in principle to establish a War Memorial.

The Army wanted it near the India Gate in New Delhi, but the Urban Development Ministry was facing problems in providing land. A small group of experts had been set up to take a final view on where the memorial would be set up.

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