The Unremembered:The Indian Soldiers from WWII – Stories

A clip which includes footage of the installation

The UNREMEMBERED: Stories of the Indian Soldiers who fought in World War II

Two and a half million Indians volunteered to take up arms for their British colonial rulers and are barely acknowledged in South Asia or globally. This erasure is especially astonishing because WWII was truly global, with pivotal conflicts outside the European and Pacific theaters and critical battles in British India and across Asia. The story of these soldiers has left South Asia with a complex and incomplete narrative of what happened as we gained independence from British colonial rule.

These volunteers fought in the mountains of Burma, the hills of Italy, and the deserts of North Africa. They transported artillery, repaired jeeps, cooked, and, under enemy fire, carried the wounded from the battlefield to safety. Thirty of them won Victoria Crosses, England’s highest military honor, and more than eighty-seven thousand died. For this installation, I collected family photos and stories of these volunteers. The photographs and stories come from all quadrants of South Asia. Some are from middle-class families, from royalty, and others from low-income families. Some of these soldiers were swashbuckling young men who believed in “the cause.” Others joined out of poverty in search of a regular meal and salary, their hunger exacerbated by the famine (created by the British) that started in Bengal and spread to other parts of India. In this installation, the edited archival footage is from all three theaters of war. The video is projected through 3D lasercut crystals with portraits created from these family photos. The footage and stories in the soundscape reflect those who volunteered —many of whose families do not have photos. The work begs the question of who else is not acknowledged. Art can play a crucial role in shaping the politics of remembrance.

Click here to learn more about the people depicted.

(A collaboration with digital initiatives librarian Professor Julia Lovett at the University of Rhode Island’s University Libraries.)