Forgetting the saga of sacrifice
By Satyindra Singh

MANY old-timers would remember a very distinguished Punjabi and Indian from Lahore, Sir Ganga Ram. We had a school and hospital named after him in pre-Partition Lahore, and we have a hospital named after him in the Capital. Sir Ganga Ram, apart from being a leading engineer, was also a great philanthropist who did the country proud.

In the Capital a few weeks ago was his great grand-daughter, who was born in Lahore in pre-Partition India. The family moved to Delhi in 1947. She went to England to study law in the early 50s, did her LL.B. from University College, London, and was called to the Bar from the Inner Temple. She later taught English to Asian children there, and in 1976 was elected Conservative Councillor for the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, and in 1986 was elected a Mayor of the Royal Borough, being the first Asian woman to hold such an assignment. She was a British delegate to the Consultative Assembly, again being the first minority person to be a delegate to this Assembly from any member-state of the European Union. In 1990 she was elevated to the House of Lords, being the first Asian woman to be a member of the British Parliament. She now carries the title, Baroness Shreela Flather — a lady with a distinguished lineage and achievements and now in Delhi to sponsor a very worthy cause.

She met with a handful of Indian World War II veterans at the USI (United Service Institution of India), on September 14. Present were four former Chiefs of Staff: Admiral Nanda, Generals Omi Malhotra and V.N. Sharma and Air Chief Marshal Mehra. Also present were General Candeth and a couple of others. The Adjutant-General, Lieut-Gen. S.S. Grewal, was also there.

Baroness Flather mentioned that it was a sad fact that the enormous contribution made by the ‘Old Indian Armed Forces’ in both World Wars has never been fully appreciated or recognised in this country. There were nearly three million men from the Indian subcontinent who fought in the allied forces in Asia, North Africa and Europe. Everyone of these men was a volunteer — it was the largest volunteer army the world has ever known! And we have many of our own volumes by Indian authors, which categorically state that the Indian Army was never a mercenary army. General Thimayya, on his biography, Soldiers Life, records his conversation with Motilal Nehru when he was posted in Allahabad in the twenties and when the freedom movement was at its peak. Thimayya was a young Lieutenant at that time. In the wake of the frequent flag marches which Thimayya and his colleagues had to undertake at that time, they met Motilal Nehru and other leaders and told them that they were Indians first, and that to help the cause of Independence they were prepared to resign their commissions.

Motilal Nehru’s response was both wise and so relevant. Said he: "Gentlemen, you have my sympathy. In my opinion the contribution that you are making to the cause is a difficult one". The officers protested. What was their leisurely life of games and a bit of marching compared to the efforts made by the patriots. Motilal Nehru brushed this aside. "First", he said, "nothing will please the British more than your resignations. For 30 years we have fought for Army Indianisation. We are now winning the fight. If you give up, we shall have lost it." The officers were silent. "But that’s not the most important reason you must continue," he said. "We are going to win independence. Perhaps not this year or the next, but sooner than later the British will be driven out. When that happens, India will stand alone. We will have no one to protect us but ourselves. It is then that our survival will depend upon men like you". "You mean that we should stay on with the Army to learn as much as we can?" Thimayya asked. "Exactly", Motilal Nehru said!

In the wake of the Quit India Movement in August 1942, Gandhiji was detained at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune. Captain Prem Bhagat, our first Victoria Cross winner in World War II, accompanied by another engineer officer Arjan Singh, called on Gandhiji. Gandhiji responded quietly but firmly that they could best serve the country by continuing their chosen professions because when the country achieved Swaraj, it would need dedicated professional soldiers.

Baroness Flather said that she was saddened to see how little was done to commemorate the enormous contribution and sacrifice made by the people of the Indian subcontinent. Many people, however, recognised that this century could not be allowed to end without giving due recognition to this great Army. The Indian Army took part in some of the toughest fighting in the War in Burma, the western desert, Italy, and in particlar Monte Cassino. Of the 27 Victoria Crosses awarded in the Burma campaign no fewer than 20 were won by them. There were also cases of gallant action by the then Royal Indian Navy and the Royal Indian Air Force. In the case of the former the gallant action of HMIS Bengal, a small minesweeper of only 733 tonnes, sinking a 10,000-tonne Japanese raider in November 1942 is unparalleled. The second raider escaped but with considerable damage. Apart from the commander being awarded the DSO, two Indian sailors were awarded the IDSM and one Indian officer was awarded the IOM. It was truly like the Biblical story of David vanquishing Goliath with sling and stone!

The RIN also took active part in operations in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf, earning two Distinguished Service Cross Medals for outstanding gallantry.

Baroness Flather said that a site had been located in London for a suitable memorial for these heroes. It is to be the most prestigious location in London. The memorial will take the form of gates across Constitution Hill at Hyde Park Corner. This is an ambitious project as Constitution Hill has five lanes and it also provides the ceremonial way from Hyde Park through the Burton Arch on to Buckingham Palace. The gates, therefore, will be in three sections, double gates on each side for two lanes and another smaller double gate in the centre to provide for processions. It is estimated that this project will cost approximately £ 1.8 million. There will be four piers for the six gates and it is proposed to name each pier after one of the four countries of the sub-continent. She was happy to tell us — "in confidence" — that a source in the UKhad agreed to provide half the funds required. And she also mentioned that many others in the UK would willingly contribute their mite for this recognition of heroes. It is now our part to concretise the project to its finality before its scheduled completion at the end of 1999. The Baroness has already called on Gen. V.P. Malik and she told me that the Prime Minister has also agreed to meet her.

Baroness Flather stated that the debt to these soldiers is still due and must be acknowledged before memory faded for ever. It is a debt of honour and once these gates are completed and in place, they will be there for a long time to remind everyone, including the Asian children, what is owed by all of us to their ancestors. It will truly be a gateway from the past to the future!.