Honouring Indian soldiers for ANZAC Day

By Asia Samachar Team | NEW ZEALAND |

A New Zealand organisation is doing its ‘small’ part to honour and remember the Indians who were part of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC).

The Anzac Day is observed on 25 April in both New Zealand and Australia.

The day commemorates those killed in war and honours returned and serving servicemen and women.

Charitable organisation Ekta New Zealand Inc (Ekta NZ) has released a short video entitled Shradhanjali to mark the occasion.

The date marks the anniversary of the landing of Australian and New Zealand soldiers – the Anzacs – on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915. The aim was to capture the Dardanelles and open a sea route to the Bosphorus and the Black Sea. At the end of the campaign, Gallipoli was still held by its Ottoman Turkish defenders. Thousands lost their lives during the Gallipoli campaign, according to a website produced by the Research and Publishing Group of the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

“Amongst the ANZACs were Indian and Chinese soldiers of both New Zealand and Australia. In addition to the ANZACs, British and French troops in Gallipoli there were also Indian troops from India in that theatre,” according to Ekta NZ.

Last year Ekta NZ had written to the NZ defence minister to seek acknowledgment of the ‘Other ANZACs’.

“We were told that the Minister will revert in due course. Nothing has come to-date. We continue to pursue. We salute these men,” EKTA told Asia Samachar in an email.

In 2018, a first of its kind exhibition took place in New Zealand to provide an up close look at the role of Indian and Chinese New Zealanders in World War One (WW1).

The exhibition ‘Lest We Forget: The Other’ captured stories of marginalised communities contributing to the war effort despite sometimes intense and open racism.

Ekta NZ was one of the promoters of the event along with New Zealand Indian Central Association (Inc) and New Zealand Chinese Association.