Tracing the road from Punjab’s villages to World War valour

The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Punjab, has undertaken a major project to map all villages that nurtured soldiers who fought in the World Wars.

In a recently held military and literary festival at Ferozepur, INTACH Punjab State Convener Maj Gen Balwinder Singh (retd), while speaking on “Preserving military heritage and legacy of participation of Punjab in the world”, said INTACH would gather village-level data pertaining to the participation of soldiers and volunteers in the World Wars.

Punjab has had one of the most influential military legacies in the country, wherein both World Wars are concerned: Within the British Indian Army, Punjabi soldiers were martyred in various European cities; and Sikh soldiers were the highest in number among Indians.

Maj Gen Balwinder Singh (retd) said Punjab’s military legacy needed archiving, and tracing this legacy across villages would be a way to do so.

Harpreet Bhatti, INTACH Gurdaspur Convener, shared methodologies for the

mapping at the village level.

“This effort is not merely about revisiting the past; it is a mission to restore identity, dignity, and recognition to generations of soldiers whose sacrifices transcended borders but faded within their own homeland. Several panchayats, and individuals, in Punjab have put up plaques to commemorate World War soldiers who hailed from their respective villages. But proper documentation remains missing,” he said.

During both World Wars, Punjab became the recruiting grounds for the British Indian Army, with its soldiers constituting almost 40 per cent of the over 1.3 million Indian soldiers in the body.

“Among them, 75,000 died and more than 65,000 were wounded in World War I. During World War II, the contribution of Punjabi soldiers expanded further as the Indian Army became one of the largest contributory forces in history. Despite their courage and resilience, the stories of these soldiers are often overshadowed by Eurocentric narratives of the wars. Now, their names, inscribed on scattered memorials across continents, rarely find a place in local histories, or collective consciousness back home,” said Maj Gen Balwinder Singh (retd). One of the most pressing challenges in preserving Punjab’s military heritage is the missing oral histories of the men who were sent to war.

“By highlighting the role of Punjabi soldiers in international conflicts, INTACH broadens the understanding of Punjab’s place in world history,” the Punjab Convener added.

INTACH said it advocated for the restoration of these sites as well as the establishment of new memorials at the village level, which would serve as physical reminders of sacrifice; educational resources for future generations; and spaces for community engagement.