A forgotten army

A Foreword by Yasmin Khan, author of the excellent The Raj at War, notes that this book is in the "vanguard of shaping new histories of the Second World War"

The Indian Contingent: The Forgotten Muslim Soldiers of the Battle of Dunkirk

Author: Ghee Bowman

Publisher: PanMacmillan

Pages: 310

Price: Rs 699

The endpapers of Peter Clarke’s monumental book The Last Thousand Days of the British Empire (Penguin, 2007) reproduce a colourful British propaganda poster. The artwork resembles that uniquely juvenile, muscular style immortalised by Soviet art and the text employs bracing language: “The British Commonwealth TOGETHER”. It portrays soldiers representing various nationalities of Empire, ramrod straight and iron-jawed, marching in lockstep for a common cause.

It’s a travesty. White soldiers — British and from the Dominions— occupy the first two rows. The last row is