By Shahida Rahman
4th August 2014 marked the centenary anniversary of the First World War (1914-1918), also known as the Great War. It was the day when Britain joined the war. World leaders came together in the UK, France and Belgium to remember the fallen. The public were encouraged to join the switch-off starting at 22:00 and ending at 23:00 – the time Britain declared war on Germany in 1914.
Indian soldiers and sailors fought in this war as India sent over 1,300,000 soldiers to fight in Europe. By the eve of the First World War, there were over 50,000 South Asians in Britain. Most of them were Lascar sailors who had worked on British merchant ships. They replaced the British seamen who went to fight on the front line. Many had no choice but to contribute to the war effort. Their impressive stories of loyalty are particularly surprising, considering that these men were not fighting for their own countries but for a nation that did not embrace them except as a source of cheap labour.
These men often had to endure perilous conditions while engaging in military operations. The death toll amongst these men were high. It is estimated that about one-fifth of the 1500 deaths from the merchant navy were South Asian.
These untold stories have been forgotten. Many people are not aware of the South Asian contribution to the war. Almost four million of these men played a crucial role in Britain’s colourful history. I have given many talks about Lascars and I would say the majority of the audiences I had come across had no idea of who Lascars were and their role during the war. There is little mentioned of them in history books today.
BBC Two showed a two-part series called “World’s War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire”. Historian David Olusoga revealed stories from across the world of Indian, African and Asian troops. African American troops also fought on the front line. Men from China helped repair tanks. African men were forcibly taken from their homes to fight on the front line. It was a fascinating series. Racism was very much alive then as it is today. African American troops fought alongside with French troops – many returned home with French medals pinned to their uniforms. They survived the horrors of war but some were killed later by white racist lynch mobs.
It seems that at the end of the war, the services of these men were no longer required. The survivors went home – these men and their stories forgotten. They too suffered the horrors of war. Tens of thousands died. We should remember their sacrifices too.
The war commemorations are not the time to celebrate but to commemorate and to remember how terrible this war really was for all those who were a part of it. It is a time to revive and highlight this history. Only now, after a century later, are these stories being revived and written into history books.
“I believe that the war is being deliberately prolonged by those who have the power to end it. I believe that this war, upon which I entered as a war of defence and liberation, has now become a war of aggression and conquest.” Siegfried Sassoon, British soldier and poet.
