Memorial in France to mark India’s WWI contribution

Manimugdha.Sharma

How does a nation express its gratitude to another for fighting for its freedom a hundred years ago? It offers its soil for a memorial that would remind generations to come how the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity were defended in the killing fields of France and Flanders in World War I.

On December 2, a unique Indian Armed Forces Memorial will be inaugurated at Villiers Guislain, right at the spot where the Indian cavalry had resisted a German counterattack during the Battle of Cambrai in 1917. The Indian tricolour will be hoisted and French children will sing Jana Gana Mana. Besides cementing the historical bonds, the memorial will honour Indian servicemen who have remained a footnote of history for a century. “The land was a gift from the village of Villiers Guislain, and the mayor Gérard Alart has been one of the key factors,” said Squadron Leader Rana Chhina, who has been the driving force of this memorial from the Indian side.

Sunday Times was given an exclusive preview of the memorial at the studio of sculptor Anil Sutar in Sahibabad. It’s a lion capital made of bronze, to be flanked by two crossed cavalry lances with pennants on either side. A memorial plaque will also be installed there.

The memorial, Chhina clarified, isn’t confined to the Indian Army but is for all Indian sailors, airmen and non-combatants who sacrificed their lives in the war.

Though Indian infantry had been withdrawn in 1915-end, Indian cavalry had stayed on at the Western Front. The Battle of Cambrai had started with a British push towards the Hindenburg Line on November 20, 1917, with tanks. The Indian cavalry charged at German positions but the attack wasn’t very well coordinated so it didn’t achieve the desired impact, but the Indians suffered a lot of casualties.

Indians fought mounted and dismounted and won a Victoria Cross in the process. Indian fighter pilots flying with the Royal Flying Corps (became Royal Air Force in 1918) also saw action. “This is a memorial to all. We are thankful to the people of Villiers Guislain who donated this land and the municipality that landscaped it,” Chhina said.