As countries around the world observed the 96th anniversary of Armistice Day, which marked the end of the World War I on November 11, there has been a marked shift towards duly acknowledging the roles of erstwhile colonies and soldiers from outside Europe.
On Tuesday, Puducherry marked the special day with two exhibitions and a commemoration programme at the French War Memorial.
“I am confident that in the years to come, India will pay an official tribute to its 1.5 million sons, who fought and the 60,000 who laid their lives. They might have been wearing a British uniform, they were no less Indian,” said Olivier Litvine, Director, Alliance Francaise, at the inauguration of the exhibition, ‘Centenary of the Emden Spirit: 100 Years of Shared Military History between Australia and India’ being held at Maison Colombani.
His thoughts echoed what historians and academicians have in the past stated about need to recognise and appreciate the role of Indian soldiers in World War I.
“All French people owe an eternal debt of gratitude to those Australians and Indians who fought and died far from home in the defence of France, alongside the soldiers of other nations, Britain, Belgium, Italy, New Zealand, the United States, and colonial troops from Africa and Indochina,” said Mr. Litvine.
The exhibition, consisting of approximately 60 photographs, including many from The Hindu archives, looks at the bombardment of Madras by German cruiser Emden, and its defeat by the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney.
The warship Emden was also sighted off the coast of Puducherry, causing a wave of panic here, said Mr. Litvine.
The exhibition also looks at the lesser known shared military history between Australia and India, and the ongoing defence and security links.
“When we thought of the idea, we were not sure of how many photographs we would find, but we were surprised. We found many instances of Indians and Australians serving together in World War I,” said Sean Kelly, Australian Consul-General to South India, who presided over the inauguration.
The exhibition was earlier showcased in Chennai and is expected to travel to Visakhapatnam and Kochi.
Pondicherry’s role“This year has particular significance as it is the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I, a conflict which drew in people from around the world, including many Indian soldiers and of particular note here, soldiers from Pondicherry,” said Mr. Kelly.
Though Puducherry has had a long tradition of acknowledging the role of its people in both the world wars, as seen in the names on the French War Memorial on Goubert Avenue and war commemoration programmes, the younger generation of this town has missed out on the significant role this town has played.
On the request of French Consul General Philippe Janvier-Kamiyama, the students and teachers of Lycee Francais have put up an exhibition, ‘Pondicherry and French India in the First World War,’ at Foyer du soldat. The exhibition shows the enrolment of soldiers from Pondicherry and its enclaves through photographs, post cards, posters and enrolment forms of soldiers.
“This is the story of Pondicherry in 1914. My idea was to bring to the forefront this little known aspect of Pondicherry’s role in the First World War. The children, especially, do not know the history of this town or what their forefathers did. This exhibition had the students of Lycee Francais work alongside their teachers in putting this up. The result is beautiful,” said Mr. Kamiyama.
Ongoing workThe exhibition is an ongoing work, which will include more panels in the future and the lead up to 2018, the centenary of the end of the World War I, he said.
