Key facts
- 9,909 British Indian Army servicemen's names are being added to the CWGC casualty database.
- The names were found in unique registers compiled in Punjab after World War One.
- This is the largest update to CWGC casualty records in over 80 years.
- Many of the newly recognised casualties died away from the battlefield and were previously not afforded war graves status.
- The inclusion aims to acknowledge the global reality of World War One and redress Euro-centric views.
Thousands of soldiers from pre-partition India who served and died in World War One are finally being recognised, marking the biggest update to casualty records in over 80 years. Researchers have uncovered the names of 9,909 British Indian Army servicemen, who will now be added to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) casualty database.
Volunteers spent years searching unique registers compiled in the state of Punjab shortly after World War One. These registers, many of which are fragile and housed in the Lahore Museum in Pakistan, contain the names and fates of servicemen from the region. The project to digitise and analyse these records was initiated by members of the UK Punjab Heritage Association.
For descendants like Sunney Palahey, a dentist from Leicester, this recognition brings a sense of closure. He had been searching for information about his great-grandfather, Kesar Singh, who had gone to war and never returned. Researchers contacted him to confirm his great-grandfather's name was among those found and would be formally added to official lists.
Jasmin Basra, a PhD student at the University of Greenwich, also found personal connections, discovering the names of two of her own relatives in the registers. She described the connection as emotional, providing a tangible link for second-generation British Punjabis.
The CWGC stated that most of the 9,909 men were casualties who died of injuries away from the battlefield and were previously not afforded war graves status due to rulings by the British Indian Government at the time. This decision has now been overturned. The commission also highlighted that the inclusion is part of a broader effort to redress Euro-centric views of World War One and reflect the conflict's full global reality. Approximately 25% of the newly recognised dead are Sikhs, 25% are Hindus, and around 40% are Muslim.