Forgotten stories of Indian soldiers during World War I
New Delhi: Heartwarming stories, including romantic ones, about Indian soldiers who fought in the First World War as part of the British Army, culled from archives and personal testimonies, feature in a new documentary.The upcoming
“Everybody remembers India's freedom struggle, but very few or in fact nobody would remember the contribution made by Indian soldiers during the World War I about the role played by Indian soldiers during the World War I,” says Singh.
The filmmaker attempts to show various tragicomic situations faced by the French and the British while feeding Indian soldiers according to their strict religious beliefs and the hospitality of French hostesses, which won the hearts of Indian soldiers during their convalescence in French barns.
With the initiative of the French government and embassy, Singh, says he has been successful in gathering testimonies from the archives and descendents, in France, India, Belgium and the UK of the brave soldiers out of which 10,000 did not even return home.
There are accounts of the soldiers who fell in love with French women during their stay in France and had children with them.
“In one such camp when the Indian soldiers were going to the battlefield, the French women carried placards which read — “Miss France in Tears”, says Singh explaining the title of his documentary.
The filmmaker attempts to show various tragicomic situations faced by the French and the British while feeding Indian soldiers according to their strict religious beliefs and the hospitality of French hostesses, which won the hearts of Indian soldiers during their convalescence in French barns.
With the initiative of the French government and embassy, Singh, says he has been successful in gathering testimonies from the archives and descendents, in France, India, Belgium and the UK of the brave soldiers out of which 10,000 did not even return home.
There are accounts of the soldiers who fell in love with French women during their stay in France and had children with them.
“In one such camp when the Indian soldiers were going to the battlefield, the French women carried placards which read — “Miss France in Tears”, says Singh explaining the title of his documentary.