Thousands of forgotten World War I Indian soldiers commemorated in UK

More than a century after World War I (1914-19) ended, 9,909 Indian soldiers whose deaths were never officially recorded have finally been added to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's (CWGC) casualty database, correcting what the organisation described as a long-standing historical omission.

The soldiers, all from pre-Partition India and serving in the British Indian Army, had been left out of official commemorations because of colonial-era administrative decisions. Their names have now been restored through the Punjab Registers project, a five-year collaboration between the CWGC, the UK Punjab Heritage Association and the University of Greenwich.

"Over a century after the end of the first World War, our mission endures, ensuring all those who died in the service of the Commonwealth receive the commemoration they deserve," CWGC director-general Claire Horton said .

"The Punjab Registers project is a landmark moment in that mission. The recovery of every one of these 9,909 names helps restore missing chapters in family and world histories. It stands as a constant, timeless reminder that commemoration is not only about the past — it is about personal identity, family legacy and recognising the human cost of war," she said.

Horton said the CWGC remained committed to providing "meaningful physical commemoration" and would continue working with Commonwealth governments on plans for a memorial that honours the soldiers "with the dignity and respect they so rightly deserve".

The breakthrough followed years of painstaking research involving the digitisation and analysis of fragile recruitment registers preserved at the Lahore Museum. The documents contain the names and service records of around 320,000 Punjabi recruits who served during the war.

Researchers compared more than 15,900 recorded deaths with 74,000 existing CWGC Indian Army records. Supported by computer-assisted analysis and expert verification, the exercise established that 9,909 casualties had never been included in the commission's records.

The CWGC said most of the missing soldiers had died in non-operational areas within India during the war and were excluded because of rulings made by the British Indian government at the time, which denied them war graves status.

"Due to rulings made by the British Indian government at the time, these men were not afforded war graves status, and so their names were never shared with the commission. This project has overturned that decision," the commission said.

For descendants, the recognition has brought long-awaited closure. Leicester-based dentist Dr Inder Singh Palahey said years of searching for information about his great-grandfather Kesar Singh had finally yielded answers. "From just hearsay to now discovering the facts about my great-grandfather's ultimate military sacrifice, in particular the regiment he served in, has been incredibly poignant," he said.

"Upon his death, he left a widow and two young children in poverty. So, the fact that he will now be remembered in perpetuity within global history ensures the whole family's sacrifice is recognised: which simply means everything to us."

Former England rugby player Manjinder Nagra also discovered that her maternal great-grandfather Jagat Singh was among the soldiers whose names had been omitted. "When I attended the annual Chattri Memorial Service in Brighton, held in honour of soldiers from Undivided India who gave their lives during the first World War, I never expected to receive such momentous news," she said.

"Learning... that my maternal great-grandfather will now be officially recognised on the CWGC casualty database was incredibly moving and overwhelming. To know that his service and sacrifice are finally being properly acknowledged means so much to our family over 100 years on. In the present difficult times, this recognition feels especially significant. After all these years, he is finally being given the honour, dignity and remembrance he always deserved," she added.

More than 1.4 million men from the British Indian Army served across major theatres of World War I between 1914 and 1918. Roughly one in six soldiers fighting for Britain came from pre-Partition India, with nearly half-a-million recruited from Punjab, including Sikh, Muslim, Hindu and Christian servicemen.

Despite their contribution, many Indian soldiers remained absent from mainstream histories and official records. Historian and author Amandeep Madra, chair of the UK Punjab Heritage Association, said the project had corrected a historical injustice.

"Not because they didn't serve, but because a decision made a century ago excluded their sacrifice from the record. Putting that right means giving families around the world their history back, and properly and equally commemorating the men who died," he said.

Gavin Rand, professor of history at the University of Greenwich, said the project had helped reconnect families with a shared past. "This project has not only helped to redress an historical injustice, it has also enabled families and communities in Britain and across the world to connect with and better understand their shared history and heritage. The Punjab Registers project shows why research matters."

The initiative is part of the CWGC's Non-Commemoration Programme, launched in 2021 to identify and address historical inequalities in war commemoration. The programme has so far identified more than 20,000 previously unrecognised casualties for official remembrance.

With PTI inputs