Nearly 50,000 Indian soldiers died on the western front during World War I. Two
monuments were erected on British soil — one to mark the soldiers’ supreme sacrifice,
and the other to convey appreciation of people from India to the British for nursing
their countrymen, writes Chanan Singh Dhillon 

Known for its brilliant sunshine in summer, all northern Europeans in general and UK citizens in particular rush to Brighton city in south England to enjoy the weather at the advent of summer, and tan their skins. Diversity is the hallmark of Brighton. There is Brighton museum, art gallery and the newly opened Egyptian gallery. The marine parade opens into Brighton marina. The pavilion is at the sea front.

One can stroll along the Brighton pier, which jets into the sea up to 500 metres to enjoy the sea breeze. The pier is the sea life centre, which introduces visitors to fascinating sea life, including trudging turtles of different hues and shapes. One can also watch sharks in walk-through tunnels. In the lanes and side lanes, one comes across trendy shops on the narrow streets. As I mentioned, the thing about Brighton is its diversity, a mix of oriental, traditional and modern.

To reach the memorial called Chhatri, one of the memorials raised in memory of the Indian soldiers who were critically injured during hand-to-hand fights on the battlefront, or were suffering from frostbites on the western front in Galipoli during World War I, one has to traverse through fields to pay homage to the Indian warriors who fought shoulder to shoulder with British troops. The death toll of Indian soldiers on the western front in World War I was between 45,000 and 55,000 from among the roughly two million who sailed from Indian shores.

Here, in Brighton, 12,000 Indian soldiers were brought. They were suffering with serious injuries sustained at the battlefront, and quite a number were suffering from frostbites as Indian soldiers were inducted into trenches in snowy conditions, ill-equipped, ill-clothed and in canvas shoes in France and Belgium.

They were hospitalised around Brighton — at York School, the dome and the royal pavilion. A total of 72 Indians could not survive and passed away during the treatment. For the cremation of Sikhs and Hindus, a farmer offered a site at Sussex. The Muslims, totalling 19, were buried in the burial ground of the Shah Jehan mosque in Woking, which was already in place since 1889, the oldest mosque in north-west Europe.

After the victory the British Government recognised the contribution of the Indian Army as crucial, and in appreciation of the services rendered by the brave soldiers, two monuments were erected in their memory. The Chhatri memorial was erected to mark the ultimate sacrifice of the Indian soldiers. Here large granite slabs lie on the site where the soldiers were cremated, which denotes that they are in eternal asleep.

As poet Rosenburg writes in one of his poems: Wearily the sentry moves, muttering the word peace; give your gladness to earth’s keeping; so be glad when sleeping. The word sleeping has the undertone of death.

The inscription in English and Hindi reads thus: " To the memory of all the Indian soldiers, who gave their lives for the King Emperor in the great war, this monument, erected on the site of the funeral pyre of Sikhs and Hindus who died in hospitals in Brighton, is in grateful admiration and brotherly affection dedicated."

The second memorial commemorates the part played by inhabitants of Brighton, as a tribute to Dr Brighton where a gateway was erected to mark the appreciation of people from India who thanked the British for nursing their kinsmen. The Maharaja of Patiala donated a large amount of money for both the projects, and unveiled the southern gateway to the royal pavilion in 1921.

In return the then Brighton councillor raised the memorial of Chhatri, and presented the maharaja with a gold key, the copy of the original key to the royal pavilion. The gateway memorial reads: " This gateway is the gift of India in commemoration of her sons who, stricken in the great war, were tended in the pavilion in 1914-15, dedicated to use of inhabitants of Brighton. — B N Southhall, Mayor of Brighton."

The great World War I — 1914 to 1919 — has slipped into the remotest past, and the world fought another great war — World War II, 1939 to 1945 — and numerous local and small wars. India has fought four wars to protect its borders after it got Independence from the British. The role of the Indian Army had been crucial to enhance the advent of Independence, as well as to protect the unity and integrity of independent India.

Poet Rosenburg believed that army is the most detestable institution on this earth, and nobody but a soldier knows what it is to be a soldier. Poet Rupert Brook, who died due to poisoning while on a war ship to Galipoli, says in one of his poems: All the hills and vales along, earth is bursting into song, singers are chaps, who are going to die perhaps, so be merry to be dead.

A soldier, living in one piece, disabled or dead, and war widows and their families expect society at large, including politicians and administrators, to be reasonably helpful to them.

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