Brothers from Patiala trace their great-grandfather to World War I

Since childhood, the 64-year-old Inderpal Singh Sandhu and his younger brother Tejwinder Singh Sandhu were always inquisitive of their family roots and about their great-grandfather, who went missing around 1915. After spending hundreds of sleepless nights and travelling thousands of miles away from their village, the two brothers finally traced the legacy and the monument of their great grandfather in France.

Almost 107 years ago, Hazara Singh of Muchhal village in Amritsar gave supreme sacrifice while fighting against the Germans in France — his great-grandsons consulted many historians and families of World War I soldiers who died with their boots on to finally trace Singh to France.

“Our grandfather would be sad narrating about his father, as he never knew his last moments or recalled his face. Now we know that our great-grandfather Hazara Singh gave supreme sacrifice while fighting the Germans at the Battle of Cambrai in France on December 1, 1917. There is a monument dedicated to the soldiers who then received martyrdom at Villers-Guislain village near Cambrai,” says Inderpal Singh Sandhu, retired Deputy Director Agriculture.

Inderpal and his brother Tejwinder Singh Sandhu paid obeisance to their great-grandfather and other martyrs of World War I at Neuve Chapelle, France, last month. Many Indian soldiers and labourers of the Indian Corps died on the western front during the World War and have no known graves but a monument dedicated to

the soldiers.

The two brothers thanked a Professor of History at the University of Kent, Dr Dominiek Dendooven, and Parminder Singh Khehra from Brampton who made it possible for them. “We still do not have any picture of our great grandfather, so our search continues,” says Inderpal.

World War I was fought between 1914 and 1918. India being a colony of the British, Indian forces travelled to Europe and other parts of the world to fight for the British; in Europe they fought against the Germans.

“It is a pity that Punjab does not observe its own remembrance day in memory of these martyrs. Rulers of princely states built memorials to pay homage to their troops; however, no effort has been made by any government to raise a state-level monument to honour Punjabis, particularly Sikhs, who fought in the World Wars,” rue the Sandhu brothers.

Hazara Singh’s family was settled near Okara, now in West Punjab, Pakistan. They left Okara with few belongings during the partition and settled near Tarn Taran. They now live in Samana in Patiala.