Remembrance Day: Why India Must Remember the Sacrifices from the Trenches to Today

When the First World War broke out in 1914, the British Empire heavily relied on the manpower of the Indian subcontinent. India raised and deployed more than 1.3 million soldiers, making it one of the largest contributors to the Allied war effort. For a nation still under colonial rule, this scale of mobilisation was unprecedented. Yet the magnitude of India’s involvement remains largely absent from mainstream narratives.

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Indian soldiers fought thousands of kilometres away from home, in climates and terrains they had never experienced before. Their deployment spanned several major theatres:

Western Front (France and Belgium):

Indian infantry were among some of the non-European troops to enter the trenches. They fought in critical engagements such as the First Battle of Ypres (1914) and Neuve Chapelle (1915), sustaining severe casualties while holding key positions during the early, unstable months of the war.

Middle East and Mesopotamia (modern Iraq):

Indian divisions formed the backbone of the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force. They fought at Basra, Ctesiphon, and Kut, operating under extreme heat, disease, and logistical hardship.

Gallipoli and East Africa:

Indian units supported Allied operations in Gallipoli and conducted essential campaigns across East Africa, where they faced challenging conditions and guerrilla-style warfare.

Regiments such as the Sikh, Gurkha, Garhwal, Dogra, Rajput, Maratha, and Punjab units, along with several distinguished cavalry formations, were deployed across foreign battlefields under the British flag. These units became the backbone of major Allied operations in the Mesopotamian, Gallipoli, Sinai–Palestine, and East African campaigns.

Despite facing unfamiliar climates, harsh terrain, and severe logistical constraints, Indian regiments consistently demonstrated discipline, resilience, and combat effectiveness.

Two Indian soldiers—Naik Darwan Singh Negi of the 39th Garhwal Rifles and Sepoy Khudadad Khan of the 129th Baluchi Regiment—became one of the first Indians to be awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest gallantry award in the British Empire.

Indian soldiers earned 11 Victoria Crosses during the First World War, eight of them on the Western Front. These awards underscore the extraordinary bravery and central role of Indian regiments across multiple theatres of the war.

India’s role in the World Wars is not a peripheral detail in imperial history—it is a significant chapter in our own national and military legacy. The cost was immense. Over 74,000 Indian soldiers were killed, and more than 67,000 were wounded. But beyond these numbers were villages that lost their sons, families forever altered, and communities that quietly carried the emotional burden of a global conflict they did not choose.

Reclaiming this memory is not about glorifying service under the colonial empire; it is about honouring the Indians who fought, bled, and died far from home. It is about restoring their stories to our national consciousness and ensuring that their courage is not erased by time. Remembering them is an act of historical justice—one that brings their sacrifices back to the centre of India’s narrative, where they have always belonged.

If there is one act of remembrance Indians have truly made their own, it is the use of the marigold to honour those who never returned from the global trenches. While Commonwealth nations traditionally wear the red poppy to remember lives lost in the World Wars, India naturally gravitates toward the marigold—a flower woven into our rituals, our celebrations, and our farewells.

The marigold’s vibrant orange and gold carry a symbolism that feels deeply Indian: resilience, devotion, and the cycle of life. It reminds us that remembrance is not only about mourning the past but about carrying forward the light of those who served.

So remember them. Honour them. Wear a marigold or a poppy. And let the memory of those who fought in distant lands continue to live on in the nation’s collective heart!

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