Indian Memorial at Neuve-Chapelle in France
19 July 2010

A memorial service to pay tribute to the contribution of the Indian soldiers in the First World War was held at the Neuve-Chapelle Indian Memorial, France, on 19 July 2010. The Hindu delegation, led by Major(Retired) Suryaparsad Upadhya with two other gurkha soldiers, felt honoured to be able to stand in places where Sikh, Hindus, Gurkhas and Muslim soldiers had fought in the Great War as Indian Corps troops during period 10 to 13 March 1915. The invitation to the memorial services was from His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales to the Hindu Council delegation.

The spectacular Indian Memorial, a palace like structure, has walls that are inscribed with the names of many Hindu Indians, Sikhs, Muslims and gurkhas whose lives were cut short in the muddy battlefields of Northern Europe.