Punjab soldiers too were at Dunkirk: Book

Sarika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 31

Four years ago, when Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’ released in India, there was a furore over the film ignoring Indian soldiers at the northern coast of France. While there were those who felt Indian soldiers’ “significant contribution” had been ignored, there were others who felt there wasn’t much to show in the first place. British historian Ghee Bowman’s book seeks to set the record straight and he says most of these soldiers were from United Punjab.

To be released today

To be released in India on September 1, ‘The Indian Contingent: The Forgotten Muslim Soldiers of Dunkirk’, published by Pan Macmillan, puts the spotlight on the Indian soldiers at the World War-II evacuation site in May 1940. Fighting for the British, there were around 600 Indians at Dunkirk in two companies — 25th Animal Transport Company and 32nd Animal Transport Company.

To be released in India on September 1, ‘The Indian Contingent: The Forgotten Muslim Soldiers of Dunkirk’, published by Pan Macmillan, puts the spotlight on the Indian soldiers at the World War II evacuation site in May 1940. Fighting for the British, there were around 600 Indians at Dunkirk in two companies — 25th Animal Transport Company and 32nd Animal Transport Company. They were part of a wider group known as Force K6, which was initially 1,723 strong, and eventually included over 4,000 men. Bowman says: “About 97 per cent of the men were Muslims and a chunk of them came from Northern Punjab, Jhelum and Rawalpindi to be precise. Some were from NWFP and Kashmir and some from other parts of India. Most of them would have become citizens of Pakistan in 1947.”

Bowman says the British army had no animal transport in 1939. When they sent the British Expeditionary Force to France in autumn that year, they relied on rail transport and lorries to transport the massive amount of food, ammunition and other supplies. “But they quickly realised they would need animals for two types of situation: Transport at railway stations and ports, and at the frontline where conditions were muddy, frozen, or when silence was needed. They looked to the Empire to fill the gap. The Indian Army had 36 animal transport companies; four of them were requested for France.” During the war, one company of 320 men was captured by the Germans. They were the first Indians to be taken prisoner by the Germans, and spent up to five years in POW camps. Around 10 escaped from the camps, 20 joined the German Army after Subhas Chandra Bose set up an Indian Legion from Indian POWs, but the majority waited in POW camps until the end of the war. However, the country’s contribution to WW II has remained unknown. Over 2.5 million Indian men and 11,500 Indian women had served in the war; 28 Victoria Crosses were awarded to Indians and Nepalis.

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