"Remembering the Ottoman Empire’s forgotten Indian Allies" Topic

"The government of India might want to invest more in history education for its students. A poll conducted by YouGov in 2014 found that one in four Indians believes India fought against the UK in World War I. Yet, during World War I over a million Indian Army soldiers from what is today India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Burma served the British Empire. The largest portion of this force some 700,000 would be sent to support the British invasion of "Mesopotamia". During the four years of World War One, over one million Indian troops served overseas of these some 62,000 died and another 67,000 were wounded. The India Gate one of the iconic structures which greets visitors to New Delhi was built to note their sacrifices.

While one in four Indians maybe wrong, their inclinations are not entirely incorrect. During World War I, scores of Indian Army soldiers mutinied against or deserted from the British military. Some did so out of a sense of nationalism and others out of disgust as being used as cannon fodder for a European war. For many South Asian Muslims the thought of going to war against the Ottoman Caliph was repulsive and lead some to defect to the Ottomans…"

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Armand

The numbers may be small and the reasons suggested are true in many cases but pure survival was also a reason especially after the surrender at Kut where many prisoners european and indian died on their own death march into captivity. the numbers were insignificant especially compared to the japanese backed INLA of ww2 and the smaller SS indian units.
if i recall correctly all the indian troops were volunteers and there is a memorial in northern france to those lost in ww1 on the western front.

Thanks.

Armand