Memorial unveiled in UK to honour Sikh soldiers who took part in WWI
Tuesday, 03/11/2015
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LONDON: A memorial to honour 1,30,000 Sikh soldiers who fought during World War I was unveiled at the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) in Staffordshire, west Midlands, on Sunday. A spokeswoman for the NMA said: “Despite being only 1% of the Indian population at the time, they constituted 20% of the British Indian Army and were represented in over a third of the regiments at the time.”
Jay Singh-Sohal, chairman of the WWI Sikh Memorial Fund, said: “It is a tremendous achievement for Sikhs to be able to finally have a national monument in honour of the bravery and sacrifice of our forebears”.
He added: “For far too long the contribution of those from India to the war effort has been overlooked. But now young people have a symbol of remembrance that will inspire people from all backgrounds well into the future.” The memorial depicts a Sikh soldiers with a large turban, long flowing beard, reflecting the image from that period.
