Honouring Indian military contributions at the Ditsong National Museum

THE involvement of Indians in combat, dating back to the 1800s, has been documented and is on display at the Ditsong National Museum of Military History in Johannesburg.

The Indian military history museum project, which included historical research, fundraising as well as designing and implementing, was achieved thanks to the military veterans, their families, sponsors, and Friends of the South African Indian Legion (SAIL).

The South African Indian Legion (SAIL) of Military Veterans, is a non-profit company with the primary objective to research, document and promote South African Indian military history and its heritage.

Last year a plaque commemorating Indian soldiers who died in service during World Wars I and II was mounted at the Ditsong National Museum of Military History in Parktown, Johannesburg.

Vinesh Selvan, SAIL’s spokesperson, said the narrative by past historians was that Indians were not suitable for combat and were used for auxiliary purposes and as stretcher bearers.

"In World War II, Indians were also used as truck drivers and cooks. Warrant Officer Laren Krishna, the first and only Indian to qualify in the 80s for one of the most elite military units in the world, the South African Special Forces, also known as the Recces, was the first Indian to join the special forces and got involved in combat.

"Since last year we had been working on documenting the Indian military history to show that Indians were involved in all the wars, including the Anglo Boer War, World War I and II and the Anglo Bush War, since the early 1800s," said Selvan.

He said Indians participated in the battlefield, as well as in all arms of service that included airforce, navy, army and military medical health care.

Visitors to the museum will learn that the first recorded military involvement of Indians in South Africa was during the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879.

Indian soldiers, drawn from the Indian army, played a supporting role, primarily serving as sentries to safeguard garrisons and storage facilities in Natal.

During the Anglo Boer War, an Indian army contingent was deployed, accompanied by camp followers and the Indian stretcher bearer corps, which provided crucial medical support.

The museum will be open free to the public from May 18 to 25.

SUNDAY TRIBUNE