Little did I know that when I was reading aloud to my 5 years son about World War One (WW1) from a children encyclopaedia, I will be hooked to the details of WW1. What caught our attention was the line from the encyclopaedia about WW1 - World War I ended at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month, 1918. And today it completes 100 years since peace was declared in the first global war. WW1 has always been etched in our memory as a European War. Indian connection in the WW1 was not something we were ever aware of. The “War to end all Wars” did not have a direct impact on the country, but surprisingly that did not stop Indians to travel from the remote villages in India to the harsh trenches of France and the deserts of Mesopotamia, East Africa, Gallipoli and Palestine, among others for a war they could not comprehend. They fought with great valour and went on to win the highest bravery awards. Khudadad Khan of 129th Baluchis was one of the first Indian from undivided India to win the Victoria Cross. It was not just the soldiers who went to the frontline. Indian princes namely, Maharaja of Bikaner, the Regent of Jodhpur, the Maharaja of Patiala and the Maharaja of Cooch Behar were among the Princes who not only funded but also left for the frontline. Of the 1.5 millions Indians recruited by England, 90,000 did not return.
Since the time I have shifted to Kharagpur early this year, I have been trying to know more about the involvement of Bengalis in all wakes of life. Be it food, music, history, literature … or their contribution to WW1. Bengalis contribution to WW1 is not easy to accept as Bengalis were unjustly labeled as “non-martial’ race and thats the reason we find no Bengali regiment in Indian Army before WW1. However, many would not be knowing that Bengali has its own contribution to the war and few had even received accolades for their role. These people had contributed not only as soldiers but also as paramedics, doctors and even as a young pilot barely out of school. Mentioned below are the list of names, units and memorials associated with the Bengalis in WW1.
Bengal Ambulance Corps: The ‘Bengal Ambulance Corps (BAC) Committee’, funded by the Bengali people was set up in 1914 to send paramedics to the war front in Mesopotamia. A group of alumni from Oriental Seminary joined the BAC in Mesopotamia. All except Yatindra Nath Mukherjee returned from the war. A plaque on the school wall marks the sacrifice made by this braveheart.
Kazi Nazrul Islam: Although most Bengalis were left with no option but to fight for the British Army, few like poet Kazi Nazrul Islam joined the British Army wilfully. In 1917, Nazrul joined the 49th Bengalee Regiment and was stationed at Karachi as a part of a reserve force. He was among the lowest rung personnel. however it was after returning from the war that his first book, Bandhan-hara was published in 1920.
Chandannagar Volunteers: Apart from helping the British Army, Bengalis also helped the French Army. Chandernagar, an ex-French colony in Bengal also volunteered 26 young men to fight for France. They were trained in Pondicherry and were then dispatched to France to serve the army. They fought in different battlefields of France, Morocco and Tunisia. One (failed to get the name of the volunteer) from this troop was given the Croix de Guerre for his bravery in the war.
Jogendra Nath Sen: He was then in England and joined the 15th West Yorkshire Regiment. He was considered to be the first Bengali to have died in WW1. Irrespective to his status of being one of the most learned men, he was given the post of a private. He was most loved in his regiment and was nick named Jon.
Indra Lal Roy: The Roy family were the Indians in Britain who supported the King. Laddie or Indra Lal Roy went on to become the first Indian flying ace during the WW1. Initially, rejected by the Royal Flying Corps due to a defective eyesight, Roy took a second opinion from a leading eye specialist and the decision was overturned. He joined RFC as a second lieutenant. His elder brother, later known for boxing also served in the war.
49th Bengalis: In 1916, Government announced the raising of an infantry regiment for Bengalis. It started with the formation of the Bengali Double Company (BDC), popularly known as the Bangali Polton. In March 1917, Government decided to upgrade the BDC to a regular infantry regiment, and it was officially formed at Karachi on 1st July 1917 as the ‘49th Bengal Infantry Regiment' and in short '49th Bengalis.’ The 49th Bengalis were sent to Mesopotamia for active service. The regiment was first sent to Aziziyeh, and then to KuK-el-Amara. On 29 October 1918, the regiment was ordered to move further backward to Tanuma, an extension of Basra city. The 49th Bengalis services ceased to exist by 31st August 1920.
The two most remarkable war memoir was Abhi Le Baghdad, a war diary by Sisir Sarbadhikari and Kalyan Pradeep, a compilation of letters written by Dr. Kalyan Mukherjee to his mother during the war. Both were published as books but are now out of print. In Abhi Le Baghdad, Sarbadhikary through his travel around Mesopotamia, Syria, Turkey and writes how he saved the pages of the diary from being discovered by enemies. The details of the war in this account are hair-raising and shares one of the best first hand accounts of the war. Unlike Abhi Le Baghdad, Kalyan Pradeep was written by Mokkhoda Devi, Mukherjee’s grand-mother. It gives reader a deep insight into the war front in Mesopotamia. It talked about how army men had to run on half rations for a long time and the death of soldiers due to hunger in the camps.
Installations commemorating WW1 heroes: The 49th Bengalee Regiment memorial stands tall in College Square. It pays tribute to the brave men of Bengal who joined 49th Bengalee Regiment. The Glorious dead Cenotaph near Eden Gardens, a sand stone structure was built in 1924 to commemorates British and Anglo-Indians from Calcutta who gave their lives during war. The third one sand witched between Navy House on Napier Road and the river on the other side. Lascars, the seamen, joined the British Army from Bengal, Assam and parts of Upper India. Around 896 died in WW1 and Calcutta paid tribute to the seamen by erecting the Lascar War Memorial. The contributions of these people were mostly forgotten. The installations and memorials were not given much importance, and were given a casual glance. Some historian believes that the reason for this collective amnesia maybe due to the stigma associated with fighting for the British, who ruled us for almost two centuries.
India considered the experience of Western warfare to be the turning point as a nation. The country’s educated elite began staking their claim for greater autonomy in return to their contribution to the war. The Indians had proved their worth and loyalty. But unfortunately there was no reward. Hardly five months ahead, General Dyer opened fire on a gathering of Sikh men, women and children on 13th April 1919. It was an act that alienated the nation. The poet Rabindranath Tagore returned the Knighthood in protest, the same person who had inspired Wilfred Owen during WW1 and also wrote to his friend, Charles F Andrews during the wars. The poem he wrote that night reflected his agony:
Look, there comes the all destroying.
The flood of agony spreads out in the sea of pain,
The thunder roars in the dark and the lightening flashes amid the blood-shot clouds-
A lunatic shaking with laughter in his sport of death.
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