The Indian Contingent

Title: The Indian Contingent – The Forgotten Muslim Soldiers of the Battle of Dunkirk

Author: Ghee Bowman

Publisher: Macmillan, 2020 (First)

ISBN: 9789390742097

Pages: 310

 

The Indian army was constituted by the British more than a century ago and they widely used the troops in their battles around the world. The Indians excelled in warfare after it obtained modern training and lessons in discipline. The Indian contingent was effectively used in both world wars in many theatres of operation such as France, Italy, north and east Africa, Mesopotamia, Burma, Malaysia and Singapore. They fought on all roles like combat troops, transportation and medical corps. This book narrates the experiences of an Indian support contingent who operated in France and England. These transportation companies assisted frontline soldiers by carrying the war material on the back of mules. When the Allies buckled before the German onslaught in 1940, a large number of them were evacuated to Britain. A group surrendered to the Germans as prisoners of war. Some of them enrolled in Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army (INA) and fought on the Axis side. After the major thrust of the war was over, the troops were reunited in India but the country was just about to submerge into the partition horrors. Contrary to expectations of racism, the British people treated the Indian soldiers rather well and there were even some instances in which a few babies were left to the care of their mothers when the troops returned home! Ghee Bowman is a historian, teacher and story teller based in Exeter, England. This is his first book that sprang from research he undertook to explore Exeter’s multicultural history. His extensive study of the Indian military contingent took him to five countries and numerous reference sources.

 

Even though the soldiers under study were part of the transport company and only indirectly linked to combat, Bowman presents their important contribution to the war and how the British war effort would not have been complete without them. The sound of a lorry engine and its high profile would draw fire from enemy side. Mules were quieter and far less visible. So, they were used to carry barbed wire, sand bags, timber and ammunition to the frontline within the view of Germans. This book deals with men of the 25^th Animal Transport Company of the Royal Indian Armed Services Corps, also called Force K6 or simply, Indian Contingent. They handled the mules really well. Almost all of them were Muslims and joined the Pakistan army after partition. Only a small part of them were assigned forward duty, assisting the British Expeditionary Force tasked with holding a 15-mile frontage of the Allied Line. They carried the soul of their native land abroad. The company resembled a Punjabi village transplanted in European territory minus women and children, self-sufficient in every physical, medical and spiritual need. Deaths occurred were mainly due to disease or accident. The only member of Force K6 killed by a rifle during their time in Europe was shot by a colleague after a petty dispute.

 

Bowman provides a glimpse of how the British Indian army restricted its recruitment to specific groups of people called the ‘martial races’ such as Sikhs, Gurkhas and Punjabi Muslims. These people were short in stature, but believed to be warlike and obedient. This false theory was based on colonial pseudo-scientific discourse and established by Field Marshal Roberts in 1857. However, the real reason was that it was these groups that opposed the national rebellion in 1857 and fought alongside the British. The recruitment policy lasted till World War II when the Commander-in-Chief Claude Auchinleck started recruiting from all areas. For a long time, the Indian army was led by an exclusive cadre of white British officers. Indians were admitted into the officer cadre only from 1919 onwards. Even then, they were not treated on equal terms with white officers and not paid the same amount as their British counterparts. They were not permitted to serve in courts martial, most social clubs would not admit them as members and there was a general feeling that they were still on a lower level.

 

This book also points out the sectarian feelings in the army, sometimes encouraged by the British. There was no feeling of equality between men. Even though the Indian contingent – basically muleteers – were entirely Muslim, the sweepers who disposed human and animal excrement were untouchables who belonged to Hindu, Sikh and Christian communities. Theirs was a sad lot among the others and even now in Pakistan, such menial jobs are reserved for them as seen in employment notices on newspapers. And there was no national feeling. The Muslim soldiers fought for the British and then for their religion. It was only after Jinnah’s profession of Pakistan that these men thought about an alternate career other than serving the British. When the fleeing Indian troops were evacuated from Dunkirk in France, they were taken to Britain. These were the first companies that were ever posted in Britain for war duty. It is interesting to note the people who gathered to welcome them. They were received at the dock by a representative of the Muslim Working Mission and a smattering of British and Indian Muslims.

 

Surveying the overall picture described in the book, readers reach a conclusion that racism spread its wings on all avenues of life, not only in Britain but their enemies Germany as well. However well the British generally behaved, the author does not deny a strong undercurrent of colour prejudice. Discrimination extended also to civilian sailors of the merchant fleet. They worked longer hours than their European colleagues, slept in worse conditions, ate a cheaper diet and were generally exploited. Things were not better in the case of prisoners who fell to the Germans. Nazis practiced racial supremacy principles and black Africans, Russians, Jews and Romany Gypsies were very badly treated. The author claims that Indians fared comparatively better as Hitler believed that the origin of the German ‘master race’ was in north India and they were thought to be fellow Aryans in the Nazi racial hierarchy. Even with these disadvantages, conditions in Europe were far more comfortable to what they experienced at home and were in fact enjoyable. When they returned home, their commanders found that England had softened and weakened the soldiers and observed that they were making silly demands that were impossible. They were like spoilt children much indulged by their parents. With this remark, the author has unknowingly let the colonial paternalistic attitude slip out.

 

For the Indian prisoners of war, there was one more chapter to play out before the end of the war. This book handles this topic with some seriousness. Subhas Chandra Bose escaped from his house arrest in India and reached Germany by clandestine routes. He implored the Indian prisoners to join him and fight against the British for Indian freedom with German and Japanese assistance. Bose’s personality and conviction won him many men. The trickle of Indian POWs grew into a flood after the surrender in Crete. A good many people demurred to make the defection to the German side. Objections were raised against breaking their oath of allegiance to the British. Pragmatic religious teachers found ways to circumvent the moral dilemma. The Indian camp maulvi informed the prisoners that the Quran exempted a Muslim from an oath if he starved for three days (p.150)! Instead of separation by community, Muslims, Sikhs, Gurkhas and Hindus were mixed up in Bose’s army, going against the idea of segregation. This policy was initially strange to the men, but proved surprisingly successful.

 

Bowman has chosen the K6 contingent as it had been stationed in his home town of Exeter. Otherwise, the selection of this company would have been odd. Thousands of Indian soldiers had laid down their lives elsewhere in Europe in a war for which they were deployed as mercenaries. Tales of heroism abound in those warfronts. Instead, the author has selected a group of Pakistani troops whose sole job in the war was to transport material on mules. The book is neatly and pleasantly written that readers would find it difficult to believe that it is the author’s first work.

 

The book is recommended.

 

Rating: 3 Star