It is unfortunate that in this centennial year of remembrance we rarely remember the sufferings and sacrifice of the Indian soldiers who went to Europe to fight for the British Empire in the First World War. These Indian soldierswere trained soldiers, but they were not trained and equipped for the kind of warfare and climate they experienced in Europe. So in these combat zones they suffered immensely and the letters they wrote back home described vividly the kind of discomfort they endured.Their first encounter was with the bitter cold of France,and it was not a happy experience. Their sense of desperation was evident in the quotes given below from their letters:
1. The war is a calamity on three worlds and has caused me to cross the seas and live here. The cold is so great that it cannot be described. Snow falls day and night and covers the ground to a depth of two feet. We have not seen the sun for four months. Thus we are sacrificed. [A south Indian Muslim soldier to a friend]
2. It is bitterly cold and I only get three blankets which are no good as we have to sleep on the ground. I cannot write more than this because I do not want to worry you. If I told you everything you would be full of anxiety. [Shamboo (Jat) to Nathu]
3. Here it is very cold at present. It snows much. The … discomfort that we experience is due to cold and rain. [Bakhshish Singh to Sher Singh]
4. The regiments that came to this country – British and Indian – have gone to the rear. It is not known where they are going, but by the grace of God they are leaving France. Thanks be to God that he has heard the prayer of these sinners and rescued them from the cold of France. [Naiz Khan to Dhaman Khan]
But those who were transferred from France were not very lucky either, as they were redeployed in the Mesopotamian campaign in 1917. Here they had to endure long marches in the scorhing heat of the Middle East. And then there was the outbreak of scurvy and their distress was compounded by awful lack of medical facilities. And it was not just adverse climate and disease they were suffering from. Their normal life, religious practices, food habits and ritual restrictions were all being severely compromised. As one Muslim soldier wrote from France:
For the last two years I have abstained from everything unlawful. … I have not touched meat for two years… I have not eaten any baker’s bread nor have I drunk any milk. Send this letter to Moulvi Sahib, and ask what is laid down in the law. [SowarYakub Khan to Abdul Jabbar Khan]
We also have photographs showing Indian soldiers – both Hindus and Sikhs - cooking their own meals in the camp, after a long day at the trenches. And this was not the end of their story of privation. More about that later.