We Tell Their Stories: South Asian Casualties

This South Asian Heritage Month, we take the time to look at the fascinating stories of South Asian casualties in Commonwealth War Graves' care.

We Tell Their Stories

South Asian casualties

The Indian Army in the World Wars

Image: Indian Army tankers shake hands with Italian children during the Liberation of Italy in World War Two (Wikimedia Commons)

Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinlek, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from 1942-45, said Britain “couldn’t have come through both World War One and Two if it hadn’t had the Indian Army.”

It goes without saying that the Indian Army, also known as the British Indian Army, served an important role in both World War victories.

The term Indian Army may seem like a blanket term but in the case of the World Wars it refers to the army raised in pre-Partition India while under the control of the British Empire. Likewise, the Royal Indian Navy and Royal Indian Air Force would be similar units.

Pre-Partition India describes the territory of India under the British Empire prior to 1947, incorporating present-day Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. 

Some 1.7 million men served with the Indian Army during World War One with more than a million sent overseas. They fought border skirmishes in northern India, took part in set-piece battles on the Western Front, and took part in the mobile warfare of the Middle East, as well as serving in other regions and theatres of conflict.

Two decades later, the Indian Army would fight once more as the world descended into warfare.

With 2.5 million men, the Indian Army of World War Two was the largest volunteer army in history, although some’s service was more voluntary than others.

During World War Two, the Indian Army fought across the globe, including in Italy, North Africa, and in particular Asia.
 
One such Asian theatre was Burma, just on India’s doorstep. The Imperial Japanese Army’s attempts to invade India via the Burmese border resulted in two titanic clashes at Kohima and Imphal, resulting in crushing defeats for the Japanese.

As Field Marshal Auchinlek said, it is difficult to imagine victory in both World Wars without the massive contribution of Indian armed forces.

Indian Army casualties of the World Wars

Image: Men of the 39th Garhwali Riflemen march past a ruined house in France during their time on the Western Front in World War One (Wikimedia Commons)

All the countries and territories that sent men overseas in the World Wars inevitably saw casualties and India was no different.

Today, Commonwealth War Graves commemorate over 161,000 casualties of the pre-Partition Indian armed forces and Merchant Marine on cemeteries and memorials around the world.

When split by conflict, Indian Army casualties of the World Wars stand at:

• 74,048 – First World War
• 87,026 – Second World War

These servicemen are commemorated at a wide variety of sites stretching the length and breadth of Commonwealth War Graves’ global reach. In total, we maintain some 530 locations holding Indian war graves or commemorating Indian soldiers around the world.

The locations differ from the monumental to the individual, incorporating massive memorials like the Delhi (India) Gate memorial to small single war graves in churchyards and cemeteries in the UK.

Of particular note is the Neuve-Chapelle Memorial in Northern France. 

Neueve-Chapelle commemorates just under 4,700 soldiers of the Indian Army who died on the Western Front but have no known grave. Its design bears many architectural homages to Indian aesthetics in tribute to the fallen listed on its extensive name panels.

Below, we look at the stories of some of the remarkable servicemen who served in the Indian Army during the World Wars.

Subedar Subramanian

Image: Subedar Subramanian

Subedar Subramanian was born in the village of Keezha Ottivakkam, near Kanchipuram, India on 18 December 1912. 

A married man, he enlisted in the Queen Victoria’s Own Madras Sappers and Miners on 15 October 1932.

Sappers are a form of military engineer and are often given incredibly dangerous jobs, being exposed to many life-threatening hazards in and out of combat. Their duties included activities like minesweeping and clearing, putting them in harm’s way.

In 1944, Subedar was serving with his unit in Italy. 

The Italian Campaign was initially conceived as a quick, decisive battle and it did open strongly in July 1943 with the Allied invasion and eventual capture of Sicily.

Following landings on mainland Italy in September 1943, progress stalled. Men like Subedar were soon caught up in a tough, grinding slog of a campaign. Italy had initially been thought of as a soft target. As 1943 turned into 1944, it had proved to be anything but.

Italy formally surrendered in September 1943 and soon re-entered the war on the Allied side, but Nazi Germany was swift in reinforcing the north of the country.

Italy’s geography featuring plunging valleys, soaring rocky mountain peaks, and swift coursing rivers, favoured the defence. The German Wehrmacht was well dug in and would prove difficult to dislodge. 

One of the key sticking points was Monte Cassino: a mountain town topped with a stunning medieval monastery.

The mountain commanded a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside. The Allies feared it could be a choice locale for Wehrmacht artillery spotters to rain carnage down on the advancing Allies.

Image: The Benedictine Monastery of Monte Cassino. Allied bombing raids would flatten the historic building, creating a rubble-strewn stronghold for German troops to defend (© IWM)

Whoever controlled Cassino essentially controlled the road to Rome, Italy’s capital.

On 24 February 1944, Subramanian was serving in Mignano, around ten miles southeast of Cassino.

His team were working their way through a minefield with mine detectors, clearing and marking a pathway for following troops when one of his comrades accidentally stepped on a mine they were marking.

Subramanian instantly threw himself onto the mine moments before it detonated, protecting the rest of his team from the blast.

His remains were recovered by his comrades and cremated in accordance with his faith. He is commemorated by name on the Sangro River Cremation Memorial. 

Subramanian was posthumously awarded the George Cross on 30 June 1944 – the first Indian serviceman to receive such an honour.
 
Subramanian's widow was presented with the medal at the Red Fort in Delhi by the Viceroy of India.

Gabar Singh Negi VC

Image: Gabar Singh Negi (Wikimedia Commons)

During the fighting on the Western Front, Indian soldiers showed incredible bravery and gallantry in the face of danger. This earned them many medals and decorations, including the Victoria Cross.

The first Indian soldier to receive the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest military honour, was Khudadad Khan of the 129th Duke of Connaught’s Own Baluchis for his actions at Hollebeke, Belgium in October 1914. 

Khudadad survived the war but many of the deeds of those who won the VC often sadly did not. One such Indian Army posthumous Victoria Cross winner Gabar Singh Negi.

Gabar, commemorated by Commonwealth War Graves as Gobar Sing Negi, was born on April 21, 1895, in Manjaur, a village near Chmaba in Uttarakhand in the foothills of the Himalayas.

Gabar was still a teenager when he joined the 2nd Battalion, Garhwal Rifles, in October 1913. He would not live to see 20.

Come August 1914 and the world had been plunged into the chaos of the First World War. Europe became a battlefield and Indian Army expeditionary forces were assembled to answer the call. 

The Garhwal Rifles were part of Indian Expeditionary Force A, which reached the Western Front in October 1914. 

Image: The regimental insignia of the Garhwal Rifles, the unit to which Gabar served with (Wikimedia Commons)

As part of the 7th (Meerut) Division, Gabar and the Garhwal Rifles were quickly in the thick of the action, taking part in the Battle of La Bassée between 10 October-2 November 1914.

In March 1915, the 7th (Meerut) Division was chosen to spearhead an attack on German lines outside the small town of Neueve Chapelle in the Pas-de-Calais. It was the division’s job to force a gap in the Imperial German lines to create space for a daring cavalry break out. 

On 10 March, Gabar was fighting with the 2nd Battalion on a stretch of line to the southwest of Neuve Chapelle. 

An artillery barrage preceding 2nd Battalion’s attack had failed to cause major damage. The section the Rifles were attacking, rather than being wrecked and ruined, was heavily defended. 

To dislodge the defenders and take the trench, a bombing party was assembled. Negi was selected to join the raiders.

While Negi and his comrades were hurling bombs and grenades at their opponents, their commander was killed, potentially throwing the raiding party into disarray. 

Acting quickly, Gabar took over, leading from the front and hurling bombs at their opponents. Thanks to Gabar’s quick thinking and leadership, 2nd Battalion took the trench. 

Unfortunately, Gabar was killed taking the trench. For his actions on 10 March 1915, Gabar was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. He was 19 when he was killed.

Gabar’s VC citation, published in the 28 April edition of the London Gazette, reads:

“For most conspicuous bravery on 10th March 1915, at Neuve Chapelle. 

During our attack on the German position he was one of a bayonet party with bombs who entered their main trench, and was the first man to go round each traverse, driving back the enemy until they were eventually forced to surrender. 

He was killed during this engagement.”

Gabar’s medal was posted to the India Office and forwarded to his wife Satoori Devi. However, the medal was acquired by Gabar’s regiment, and a replica was sent to Devi, alongside a letter of condolence from Queen Mary. 

The medal was an enormous source of pride for Devi who wore it until her own death in 1981.

As Gabar's body was never recovered, he is commemorated on the Neuve-Chapelle Memorial.

Abdul Hafiz VC

Image: Abdul Hafiz (Wikimedia Commons)

As we touched on earlier, India faced something of an existential crisis during the Second World War.

British possessions across Asia had been overrun by the Imperial Japanese expansion of early 1942. Singapore had been captured in February of that year and just one month later Rangoon, capital of Burma (present-day Myanmar), was in Imperial Japanese hands.

It would not be long until Burma was under total Japanese control.

In India, this caused something of a panic. The nation bordered Burma to the east. The threat of invasion was very real, with fears stoked by reports of atrocities committed by Imperial Japanese forces in China and Asia as a whole.

While the British tried numerous assaults and campaigns to dislodge the Imperial Japanese from Burma, their efforts met with little success. The impetus lay with the Japanese.

Come February 1944 the threat of an Imperial Japanese invasion of India turned from worry to reality. Operation U-Go was launched.

After a series of border clashes, a force of 85,000 Imperial Japanese soldiers crossed the Chindwin River out of Burma and into India.

By April, the marauding Japanese army had reached the town of Imphal. 

Imphal lies on a vast plain skirted by mountains and thick jungle. It was here that the British Fourteenth Army decided to make their stand in an attempt to halt the Japanese onslaught.

By the time of Imphal, Abdul Hafiz, then just 18 years old, was serving with the 9th Jat Regiment, which was part of the Fourteenth Army defenders preparing to take on the Imperial Japanese. 

Abdul was serving as a Naib Subedar with the Jats, essentially making him equivalent to a junior commissioned officer in the British Army. 

The Battle of Imphal is one of the most storied engagements of the Second World War and has gone down in legend in the annals of both the British and Indian armies. 

Image: Indian troops holding positions on the Burma-India border (© IWM)

Under the command of General William Slim, the Indian Army fought an incredibly determined defensive battle, weathering the storm of many attacks across April and May before the tide turned.

During the fighting, incredible acts of heroism were undertaken, not least by Abdul Hafiz.

On 6 April 1944, Abdul led a counterattack against a strongly held Japanese position. Although twice wounded leading the advance, he charged a machine gun, killing the crew. 

Abdul continued at the head of his men until finally collapsing. His last words were to encourage his soldiers on.

For his inspirational leadership and courage, Abdul was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for bravery. Abdul is also the youngest Indian recipient of the VC.

Tragically, Abdul left behind a widow, Juri Begum, and a three-month-old daughter. Abdul never saw the baby.

Today, Abdul rests alongside his comrades at Imphal Indian Army War Cemetery.

The Battle of Imphal would rage until June 1944 when British and Indian troops managed to defeat the Imperial Japanese after a series of ferocious counterattacks.

It is due to the sacrifice of men like Abdul Hafiz that the Japanese invasion of India was stopped dead in its tracks.

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