39th Garhwali Riflemen on the march in France.

Delhi exhibition to pay tribute to Indian soldiers of World War I

The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts has opened ‘India and the First World War – Commemorating 100 years of the Great War 1914-1918’, a photographic exhibition about Indian soldiers who fought for Britain in WWI.

The images have been sourced from all over the world, including from the Imperial War Museum, British Library, French Military Archives, Flanders Museum, and many other private collections internationally.

There will also be additional sections of the exhibition featuring sound recordings and silent movies of Indian soldiers made between 1914 and 1918, and showcasing the actual uniforms, turbans and other memorabilia worn 100 years ago.

Over one million soldiers from India served in the Indian Expeditionary Force, which saw fighting on the Western Front, in East Africa, the Middle East and in the Gallipoli campaign.

India, then part of the British Empire, also contributed supplies and funds to the war effort.

The organisers say the aim is to honour the sacrifice and courage of those who fought in the Great War.

The exhibition is a collaboration between publishers Roli Books, the French Embassy in India, and Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).

The exhibition will be open to the public from:

13 January-10 February, 2015
10:30 am to 6:00 pm.

Click here for more information.

Images public domain, courtesy of wikimedia commons and the IGNCA exhibition invitation

Posted by: Hannah Schneider, Centenary News