Fell unknown, remembered now with respect

An exhibition of photographs and battle-field paraphernalia honours the lives of 75,000 Indians who lost their lives in World War I

Around two years ago, as plans were kicking into gear all over Europe to commemorate the centenary of World War I, Pramod Kapoor, publisher of Roli Books, thought of working on a book about the Indian soldier's contributions to the Great War. The idea that started as a mere curiosity has now turned into a treasure trove of a significant, yet virtually ignored, part of India's history. Even the capital's protest centre, India Gate, a memorial built for the fallen soldiers of WWI, hardly attracts the history buff anymore. "We learnt that almost 75,000 of the 1.5 million Indian soldiers sent from here to the war were killed," says Kapoor. "They are all buried in different locations of the Great War."

Two acclaimed books (India and the First World War by Vedika Kant and Honour and Fidelity: India's Military Contribution to the Great War 1914 to 1918 by Amarinder Singh) and many more research hunts later, Roli Books, in association with the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and the Embassy of France in India, is presenting the exhibition "India and the First World War - Commemorating 100 years of the Great War 1914-1918". It will be a showcase of compelling photographs and objects used by the Indian troops in WWI. The exhibition attempts to shed light on the lives of these brave men who fought somebody else's battle in alien territories. The memorabilia at the exhibition includes military uniforms, medallions and items of personal use, as well as letters written home.

The exhibits - 60 objects and 100 pictures - have been collected from the Imperial War Museum, British Library London, French Military Archives, Flanders Museum Belgium, and private archives. Interestingly, the objects which will be on display, like the soldier's uniforms, their shoes, utensils, et cetera have been sourced from one single person: Dominique Faivre. The French collector has been hunting for these objects for the past 30 to 40 years. Silent movies and sound recordings of Indian soldiers that will be screened during the exhibition have been procured from the French military archives and from Germany's Hamburg University.

"Some of these photographs are very moving, some funny and some very pertinent," says Kapoor. A favourite of his is a picture of a French woman who is looking at a good-looking, strapping Sikh, the image conveying a kind of sexual tension. "Another interesting photograph shows Indian soldiers wearing gas masks for the first time," says Kapoor. A photograph of Sikh soldiers carrying the Guru Granth Sahib on their head tells a poignant tale of their struggles so far away from home.

Kapoor went all over Europe in search for material, and realised "in the Western Front, which is between Belgium and Northern France, the names of Indian soldiers are familiar, even when none of them are known in India." The Indian Memorial at Neuve Chapelle, near Lille and La Bassee in France, commemorates the lives of over 4,700 Indian soldiers and labourers who were killed on the Western Front and have no marked graves. Kapoor was astounded to find that the memorial is a replica of the Sanchi Stupa. On the lower part of the column, the words 'God is One, He is the Victory' are inscribed in English, Arabic, Hindi and Gurmukhi.

The exhibition will be on show at the Twin Art gallery, IGNCA, Janpath, New Delhi, from January 13 to February 10; 10.30 am to 6 pm