Indian soldiers of 1st World War remembered on Army Day in Istanbul

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) - India’s Consulate General in Istanbul on Monday commemorated Indian soldiers who lost their lives during the First World War in Istanbul and Gallipoli in Türkiye.

Consul General Mijito Vinito and Defense Attache Col. Manuj Kumar Garg led a solemn ceremony on the occasion of the 76th Indian Army Day at the Haidar Pasha Memorial in Istanbul, which is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).

Floral tributes were offered and representatives from the Indian community in Türkiye joined and paid tribute to the Indian soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the Gallipoli campaign in 1919 and 1920 during the First World War.

“We commemorate the Indian soldiers all around the world. Here, in Gallipoli and Istanbul, a lot of Indian soldiers died in the First World War. We come here to remember their sacrifice and the professionalism for who they were during the war,” said Consul General Vinito.

More than 1.3 million Indian soldiers were deployed overseas during World War I, resulting in 74,000 casualties.

As part of the British forces, around 15,000 Indian soldiers fought at Gallipoli, one of the strongholds during the war, and 1,723 soldiers lost their lives.

The Haidar Pasha Memorial commemorates numerous Indian soldiers who either perished in the campaign, were lost at sea, or have unknown final resting places.