In a rich history of military conquests and accomplishments, one doesn’t often find the mention of those Indians who laid down their lives for an adopted identity of a Royal Army soldier, amidst the trials of the First World War or the Great War. As many as 18 members of the Indian Army were the recipients of the Victoria Cross, the prestigious military decoration of the British.
Perhaps in what can be best described as an attempt to revive their place in the pantheon of Indian military legends, Roli Books along with the Embassy of France in India and the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts, is holding an exhibition titled, “India and the First World War”, to showcase multiple facets of the War through a display of wartime memorabilia collected from eager locals and helpful authorities across Europe. The exhibition to be inaugurated by Ravindra Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Culture this Monday, will see French ambassador Francois Richier and Param Vir Chakra awardee Subedar Yogendra Singh Yadav of 18 Grenadiers in attendan
On being asked about the inspiration behind the exhibition, Pramod Gupta, the founder of Roli Books, breaks into an interesting anecdote, “The idea was conceived about three years ago when I was travelling in Europe, where I heard about publishers trying to work on books that commemorate a hundred years of the First World War. At this stage, I decided to explore the possibility of knowing the extent of participation of Indians in the First World War. To my astonishment, I uncovered some stark facts. The participation of India was on a large scale, yet it went unnoticed, in India as well as Europe.” Gupta “ decided to travel the Western front,” and to his astonishment, “the people of these areas knew Indian soldiers like Khudadad Khan, whose heroics were a part of their folklore and was richly preserved. I came across a gentleman who had been collecting articles used by the members of the Indian military such as khukris, pens, lighters and a whole host of other memorabilia. Our efforts in convincing people like him, through the dedicated assistance of the French Embassy bore fruit and the exhibition is a testimonial to that.”
Is the exhibition an effort to bring back the memories of our forgotten heroes, one questions.
“There is very little question of them being forgotten because they seldom were remembered. Pan India, very few people knew about their contribution. In Europe, we came across war cemeteries where tombstones had inscriptions in Gurmukhi. Herbert Baker the great architect has designed a memorial to these soldiers of the war in Neuve Chapelle, which looked exactly like a Sanchi Stupa!” Gupta insists that despite his moving on to other interesting works, he still shall carry a part of these stories with him and through the medium of the exhibition, he hopes that so shall all those who visit.
The exhibition opens for the public this Tuesday this Monday shall commence on Monday, 12January at the Twin Art Gallery, IGNCA, Janpath, New Delhi, and will continue till February 10. Timings: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
