LONDON: British families of Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi origin are being urged to safeguard the memories of war veterans in their family to highlight the sacrifice of Asian soldiers in the Second World War.
The appeal came as a survey showed half of the British public were unaware that Indian troops served in the war, The Guardian reported.
My Family Legacy, a project supported by the Royal British Legion, is constructing a digital archive of veterans’ experiences to highlight the shared stories and sacrifices of Britain’s Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi communities.
More than 2.5 million people from those countries, as well as Nepal and Sri Lanka, served in the Second World War.
My Family Legacy is a joint project by the British Future think tank and the British Asian newspaper Eastern Eye.
It is appealing to British Asian families to provide names, stories and pictures of veteran family members, in order to keep their memories alive.
Even among British Asian communities, only about 60 percent of people were aware of the sacrifice of Asian soldiers in the war, according to Focaldata polling.
On Nov. 4, a UK parliamentary memorial event hosted by Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP, chair of the House of Commons defense committee, was held to honor late war veterans.
The event honored Havildar Maj Rajinder Singh Dhatt MBE, who took part in the Battle of Kohima, which repelled a Japanese attack on India, and Sgt. Mohammad Hussain, who left home at 16 to enlist and fought in the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy.
Their stories are among the first to be added to My Family Legacy’s archive site.
Speaking at the memorial, Dhesi said that the sacrifice of Asian veterans must not be “airbrushed and ignored.”
Hussain’s grandson, Ejaz Hussain, said: “The shared history, as a united people fighting for one common cause in spite of their differences, serves as the ultimate metaphor for future generations on how we must remain united as a country. Only then can we overcome any and all challenges in an uncertain world.”
Dhatt’s granddaughter, Amrit Kaur Dhatt, said: “It is so important to capture stories of Commonwealth and ethnic minority soldiers, like my grandfather’s, because they were left out of mainstream history. I fear that today’s society clearly hasn’t learned enough from history.”
By helping to honor Britain’s Asian military veterans, the Royal British Legion hopes to make families feel included in remembrance, said Gail Walters, the charity’s director of network engagement.
Families providing details of their relatives’ service will help build a “fuller picture” of the “integral role” they played in British history, she added.
