FOR KING AND ANOTHER COUNTRY
Shrabani Basu
Bloomsbury India
442 pages; Rs 599
One of the best-known war poets of English Literature, Wilfred Owen died in the trenches, aged 25, seven days before World War I ended. The lines of poetry that he carried in his notebook during the war were "When I go from hence, let this be my parting word, that what I have seen is unsurpassable" from Rabindranath Tagore's Gitanjali.
Shrabani Basu in her book For King and Another Country talks about how this fact often moved her. It was, however, much later that she realised that there was a deeper connection to India in World War I.
While the names of Indian soldiers who died fighting in World War I is commemorated on the India Gate, few in India know about the lives of these soldiers who crossed the Kala Pani for the first time, to die in foreign fields. Ms Basu notes, "There were Indians too fighting in those same trenches, shoulder to shoulder with their 'Sahibs' with unquestioning loyalty."
The Indian contribution to World War I cannot be underestimated. By the end of the war, nearly one and a half million Indians (including combatants and non-combatants) had gone to the frontline. Indians comprised the largest volunteer army from any of the colonies (even larger than the combined armies from Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland). By the end of the war, the dead and missing were almost 72,000, and many more were wounded and disabled.
Ms Basu explains what participation in the War meant for the different parties involved. For Britain, taking the Indian Army to war would send out a powerful message to the world. To its allies, France and Russia, it would portray the solidarity between Britain and its largest colony. To the Germans, the message would be that a large naval power could call upon the military might of its global empire. To the Indian political class, loyalty to the British Empire could gain "brownie points" in future negotiations for autonomy and eventual self-rule. To the soldiers, it was a chance to go to vilayat.
The book brings the war to life through six soldiers, three Maharajas, two airmen and a cleaner. Ms Basu details the roles of some of the British viceroys, generals, members of the Cabinet among others. Using the thousands of letters soldiers wrote home, Ms Basu notes their despair, anxiety and loyalty to the King and the British Empire. She also expounds on the camaraderie and racism they faced while fighting Britain's battles.
The book highlights fascinating facts about the logistics of the war - how Indian soldiers were looked after and their needs met by different sources. Comfort food items to cope in the trenches such as boiled sweets, gud, papad, and pickle often made their way. Coconut oil for the their hair was sourced from India. Copies of the Guru Granth Sahib for the Sikhs, and the miniature Quran (Pansuras) for Muslims were sent across. Establishing separate kitchens for Hindus and Muslims created a "logistical nightmare" for the British. Often orderlies were killed in crossfire while transporting food to the trenches. Ms Basu depicts how the Indian caste system seeped into the European battlefields, as an untouchable cleaner Sukha died of pneumonia in 1915, and neither the Muslim nor Hindu soldiers stepped up for his funeral. Finally, a church in Brockenhurst offered a space in the graveyard. "It tells a lot about our social system," Ms Basu concludes.
Letters Indian soldiers wrote home were first submitted to British censorship authorities. The outgoing letters were censored to ensure they did not contain information about the war, or portray English society in a negative view, which could impact future recruitment. So the Indians formed their own code, using "red pepper" to refer to the British and "black pepper" for Indian soldiers. The censors soon identified these codes and would come to understand the mood troops based on them. Newspapers such as Ghadar, Bande Mataram and The Indian Sociologist had to be confiscated before they instigated mutiny.
The book concludes with the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, which took place barely five months after the war. 400,000 people from Punjab had fought in the war, and this massacre was seen as "a cruel reward for their loyalty." Ms Basu looks at this incident through the eyes of one of the most prominent airmen of the War, Hardit Singh Malik. "Malik who had so proudly flown his Sopwith Camel aircraft over Belgium and France, risking his life for the allies, watched in horror as his colleagues from the RAF pounded his homeland with bombs killing innocent civilians." This was among the first time air power was used against non-combatants.
As seen in her previous books, Victoria and Abdul and A Spy Princess, Ms Basu has a knack for picking esoteric slices of history that are not adequately explored. At a time when nationality and nationalism are topics of debate, and history finds itself often divorced from facts and in the hands of interpretation, Ms. Basu's book adds a nuanced understanding of the Indian identity before independence. The books unwraps concepts of loyalty, patriotism, nationhood and analyses the motivations of the Indians for participating and dying in a foreign war.
Shrabani Basu
Bloomsbury India
442 pages; Rs 599
One of the best-known war poets of English Literature, Wilfred Owen died in the trenches, aged 25, seven days before World War I ended. The lines of poetry that he carried in his notebook during the war were "When I go from hence, let this be my parting word, that what I have seen is unsurpassable" from Rabindranath Tagore's Gitanjali.
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Shrabani Basu in her book For King and Another Country talks about how this fact often moved her. It was, however, much later that she realised that there was a deeper connection to India in World War I.
While the names of Indian soldiers who died fighting in World War I is commemorated on the India Gate, few in India know about the lives of these soldiers who crossed the Kala Pani for the first time, to die in foreign fields. Ms Basu notes, "There were Indians too fighting in those same trenches, shoulder to shoulder with their 'Sahibs' with unquestioning loyalty."
The Indian contribution to World War I cannot be underestimated. By the end of the war, nearly one and a half million Indians (including combatants and non-combatants) had gone to the frontline. Indians comprised the largest volunteer army from any of the colonies (even larger than the combined armies from Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland). By the end of the war, the dead and missing were almost 72,000, and many more were wounded and disabled.
Ms Basu explains what participation in the War meant for the different parties involved. For Britain, taking the Indian Army to war would send out a powerful message to the world. To its allies, France and Russia, it would portray the solidarity between Britain and its largest colony. To the Germans, the message would be that a large naval power could call upon the military might of its global empire. To the Indian political class, loyalty to the British Empire could gain "brownie points" in future negotiations for autonomy and eventual self-rule. To the soldiers, it was a chance to go to vilayat.
The book brings the war to life through six soldiers, three Maharajas, two airmen and a cleaner. Ms Basu details the roles of some of the British viceroys, generals, members of the Cabinet among others. Using the thousands of letters soldiers wrote home, Ms Basu notes their despair, anxiety and loyalty to the King and the British Empire. She also expounds on the camaraderie and racism they faced while fighting Britain's battles.
The book highlights fascinating facts about the logistics of the war - how Indian soldiers were looked after and their needs met by different sources. Comfort food items to cope in the trenches such as boiled sweets, gud, papad, and pickle often made their way. Coconut oil for the their hair was sourced from India. Copies of the Guru Granth Sahib for the Sikhs, and the miniature Quran (Pansuras) for Muslims were sent across. Establishing separate kitchens for Hindus and Muslims created a "logistical nightmare" for the British. Often orderlies were killed in crossfire while transporting food to the trenches. Ms Basu depicts how the Indian caste system seeped into the European battlefields, as an untouchable cleaner Sukha died of pneumonia in 1915, and neither the Muslim nor Hindu soldiers stepped up for his funeral. Finally, a church in Brockenhurst offered a space in the graveyard. "It tells a lot about our social system," Ms Basu concludes.
Letters Indian soldiers wrote home were first submitted to British censorship authorities. The outgoing letters were censored to ensure they did not contain information about the war, or portray English society in a negative view, which could impact future recruitment. So the Indians formed their own code, using "red pepper" to refer to the British and "black pepper" for Indian soldiers. The censors soon identified these codes and would come to understand the mood troops based on them. Newspapers such as Ghadar, Bande Mataram and The Indian Sociologist had to be confiscated before they instigated mutiny.
The book concludes with the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, which took place barely five months after the war. 400,000 people from Punjab had fought in the war, and this massacre was seen as "a cruel reward for their loyalty." Ms Basu looks at this incident through the eyes of one of the most prominent airmen of the War, Hardit Singh Malik. "Malik who had so proudly flown his Sopwith Camel aircraft over Belgium and France, risking his life for the allies, watched in horror as his colleagues from the RAF pounded his homeland with bombs killing innocent civilians." This was among the first time air power was used against non-combatants.
As seen in her previous books, Victoria and Abdul and A Spy Princess, Ms Basu has a knack for picking esoteric slices of history that are not adequately explored. At a time when nationality and nationalism are topics of debate, and history finds itself often divorced from facts and in the hands of interpretation, Ms. Basu's book adds a nuanced understanding of the Indian identity before independence. The books unwraps concepts of loyalty, patriotism, nationhood and analyses the motivations of the Indians for participating and dying in a foreign war.