MEA | Photo Features : Photos

Delhi Memorial (INDIA GATE) (13,313 Commemorations, 12, 257 Indian) Situated in the heart of New Delhi, India Gate was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and unveiled in 1931. Originally known as All India War Memorial, it commemorates the soldiers of Indian Army who lost their lives while fighting as British allies in the First World War and the Third Anglo-Afghan War. Photocourtesy –http://www.cwgc.org/

Teen Murti Memorial, Delhi, India ‘Teen Murti’ (Three Statues) is the popular name for the Memorial of the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade that fought in the Middle East during the First World War. It today also serves as the Indian Cavalry Memorial and a memorial ceremony is held here annually on Cavalry Day. Photo Courtesy–http://www.cwgc.org/

49th Bengalis Memorial Kolkata, India The memorial pays tribute to a remarkable unit. The 49th Bengalis was the only army unit to be composed entirely of ethnic Bengalis. Raised in 1917 and disbanded in 1922 it was deployed on active service in Mesopotamia. Photo courtesy –http://www.cwgc.org/

Lascar Memorial Kolkata, India Although Indian Lascars had served aboard maritime vessels since the time of the East India Company, during World War 1 Lascars replaced British sailors recruited into the navy, with Indian seafarers making up 20 per cent of the British maritime force by the end of the war. Their contribution is recorded at the Tower Hill Memorial UK, which honours British merchant seamen who lost their lives in both world wars, and at the Kolkata Lascar Memorial. Photo courtesy –http://www.cwgc.org/

Patiala State Forces Memorial, India The memorial commemorates the dead of the military units of the erstwhile princely state of Patiala during the First World War 1914-1918. Photo courtesy –http://www.cwgc.org/

The Bombay (1914-1918) Memorial, Mumbai The Bombay (1914-1918) Memorial commemorates more than 2,000 sailors who died in the First World War and have no other grave than the sea. Sailors from India, Aden and East Africa are commemorated here, and with them, those Indian dead of the Royal Indian Marine who fell in the First World War and whose graves are in Eastern waters. A tablet erected in Bombay (St. Thomas) Cathedral records the names of Officers and Warrant Officers of the Royal Indian Marine who fell in the War. Photo courtesy –http://www.cwgc.org/

Kirkee 1914-1918 Memorial, India (1, 805 Commemorations, 134 Indian) The plaque beside the entrance also provides insight into India’s Armed Forces in the First World War. Here’s what’s written about it – “In both the First (1914 – 1918) and Second (1939 – 1945) World Wars the Indian Army, the second largest in the Commonwealth and the largest voluntary army in the world, took an important part. Expanded from its peacetime strength of under 2 lakhs to 15 lakhs in the First World War and 25 lakhs in the Second World War, it sent expeditionary forces to countries in three continents. Photo courtesy –http://www.cwgc.org/

Memorial In Tamil Nadu, India Great War Memorial Plaque installed in memory of soldiers from Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu State who took part in World War I. The plaque is placed in a clock tower located in Gandhi Market, a crowded vegetable market of the city. Memorial plaques were installed in towns and villages across the country at the end of the First World War. They record the number of men who went to war and the number that did not return. Photo courtesy –http://www.cwgc.org/

Victory War Memorial, Chennai, India The Victory Memorial is located near Fort Saint George close to Cupid’s bow, along the South Beach Road facing the Bay of Bengal. It was constructed by a committee of prominent and influential citizens of Madras with the objective of commemorating the victory of the allied armies during the Great War of 1914-18. The Memorial was completed in October 1933 and handed over to the Corporation of Madras on 27 February, 1937. Photo courtesy –http://www.cwgc.org/

Neuve Chapelle Memorial, France (4, 742 Indian Commemorations) The memorial was designed by Sir Herbert Baker, to honour India, its culture and traditions. The column recalls the pillars of Asoka, and on the top is a Lotus capital, the Star of India and the Imperial Crown. On either side, two carved tigers guard the memorial. Within the walls are two chattris (umbrellas). Photo courtesy -http://www.cwgc.org/

Mazargues War Cemetery, France (1, 765 Commemorations, 994 Indian) Mazargues War Cemetery contains 1,487 Commonwealth war graves from the First World War. Photo courtesy -http://www.cwgc.org/

Neuville-Sous-Montreuil Indian Cemetery, France (25 Commemorations) The cemetery contains 25 burials and commemorations of the First World War, including a memorial panel to three soldiers whose bodies were cremated in accordance with their faith. The cemetery covers an area of 239 square metres. Photo courtesy -http://www.cwgc.org/

Ayette Indian And Chinese Cemetery, France (70 commemorations, 35 Indian) The village of Ayette remained in British hands from March 1916 to the 27th March 1918, when it was captured by the Germans. The cemetery was begun in September, 1917 and used until the following April, and again in September and October 1918; and after the Armistice 43 graves were brought in from isolated position. Photo courtesy -http://www.cwgc.org/

Zehrensdorf Indian Cemetery, Germany (206 Commemorations) Zehrensdorf Indian Cemetery contains the graves of 206 soldiers and sailors of the forces of India who died during the First World War at a prisoner-of-war camp three miles away at Zossen. Photo courtesy -http://www.cwgc.org/

Florence War Cemetery, Italy(1620 Commemorations, 142 Indian) ‘The two world wars were destructive beyond measure, and they spread right across the globe.Future historians must look back on the 3 decades between August 1914 and May 1945 as the era when Europe took leave of its senses.’ Norman Davies. Photo courtesy -http://www.cwgc.org/

Maktau Indian Cemetery, Kenya (15 Commemorations, 14 Indian) At Maktau a fortified camp, a reinforcement depot and an Indian clearing hospital were established in 1915. The cemetery was used from March 1915, to May 1916. Photo courtesy -http://www.cwgc.org/

Menin Gate In Leper, Belgium The site of the Menin Gate was chosen as a memorial because of the hundreds of thousands of men who passed through it on their way to the battlefields. It commemorates casualties from the forces of Australia, Canada, India, South Africa and United Kingdom who died in the battles of the Ypres Salient. Photo courtesy -http://www.cwgc.org/

Pieta Military Cemetery, Malta (2254 Commemorations, 28 Indian) From the spring of 1915, the hospitals and convalescent depots established on the islands of Malta and Gozo dealt with over 135,000 sick and wounded, chiefly from the campaigns in Gallipoli and Salonika. The commemorations in Pieta include 20 Indian servicemen who were cremated at Lazaretto Cemetery. Photo courtesy -http://www.cwgc.org/

Slobozia Military Cemetery, Romania (75 Commemorations, 70 Indian) Slobozia Military Cemetery was made in 1920 by the Rumanian Government for the reburial of those Indian soldiers, captured by the Germans and sent to work in Rumania, who died in captivity. Photo courtesy -http://www.cwgc.org/

Helles Memorial, Gallipoli, Turkey (20834 Commemorations, 1516 Indian) ‘The site has been so selected that this monument to our “missing” dead will be for all time a mark for ships sailing in these seas. It is the same height as was the Colossus of Rhodes.’Sir Fabian Ware 1924. Photo courtesy -http://www.cwgc.org/

Jakarta War Cemetery, Indonesia (954 Commemorations, 161 Indian) The graves of members of the forces of India lie on a terrace in the southern part of the cemetery. Here an Indian Forces monument has been set up; it is a stone pillar crowned by a sculptured wreath and bearing wreaths on two sides, with "INDIA" inscribed below one of them. Photo courtesy -http://www.cwgc.org/

Abbasiya Indian Cemetery,Egypt (75 COMMEMORATIONS) At the outbreak of the First World War, Cairo was the headquarters of the British Garrison in Egypt and it became the main base and hospital centre for operations in Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine. The cemetery at El Abbasiya was established in May 1918 and used until December 1920. Photo courtesy http://www.cwgc.org/

Beirut Maronite Cemetery, Lebanon (Indian Section)(43 Commemorations) Beirut was occupied by the 7th (Meerut) Division on the 8th October, 1918, when French warships were already in the harbour; and the 32nd and 15th Combined Clearing Hospitals were sent to the town. The majority of those buried in the cemetery died in October 1918. Photo courtesy -http://www.cwgc.org/

Haifa War Memorial, Israel The fortified town of Haifa fell to a cavalry charge by the Jodhpur Lancers of the 15th I.S. Cavalry Brigade on 23 Sep 1918. The event is taught to children in local schools. A commemorative service now held annually at the Memorial, attended by members of the diplomatic corps and representatives of the Indian Armed Force. Photo courtesy http://www.cwgc.org/

Commemoration In The Uk : Honouring Sikh and Hindu soldiers The Brighton Chattri is dedicated to Indian soldiers who died in the First World War. It bears an inscription saying “To the memory of all the Indian soldiers who gave their lives for their King-Emperor in the Great War, this monument, erected on the site of the funeral pyre where the Hindus and Sikhs who died in hospital at Brighton, passed through the fire, is in grateful admiration and brotherly affection dedicated.” Photo courtesy -http://www.cwgc.org/

Honouring Muslim soldiers Muslim soldiers who died in English hospitals also received burial rites according to their religion. Some were taken to Woking cemetery and others to Brook wood Military Cemetery where they their last rites were performed in a fusion of Muslim practices with British military traditions. Photo courtesy -http://www.cwgc.org/

The Memorial Gates Memorial Gates on Constitution Hill in London, UK, honours the five million men and women from India, Africa and the Caribbean who volunteered to serve with the Armed Forces during the First and Second World Wars .On the roof of the pavilion are inscribed the names of recipients of high military honours, many of whose stories are recorded in the Military Honours. Photo courtesy -http://www.cwgc.org/

The Gurkha Memorial The British memorial to the Gurkhas, on Horse Guards Avenue, London was unveiled by HM The Queen on 3rd December 1997 .The inscription is a quotation from Sir Ralph Turner, a former officer in the 3rd Gurkha Rifles." THE GURKHA SOLDIER" Bravest of the brave, most generous of the generous, never had country more faithful friends than you. Photo courtesy -http://www.cwgc.org/

Last Post –Indian War Memorials Around The World As a Public Diplomacy Initiative the Ministry of External Affairs is releasing a publication ‘ LAST POST –INDIAN WAR MEMORIALS AROUND THE WORLD’ authored by Rana T.S Chinna. This effort is in collaboration with the United Service Institution of India.