Three Pakistani soldiers received commemoration plaques for their service in the First World War, as part of the UK government’s Centenary Programme. The Duke of Kent and Senior Foreign Office Minister Baroness Sayeeda Warsi unveiled commemoration plaques on Friday for the 175 men from 11 countries who won Britain’s highest military honour, the Victoria Cross, for service in the war.
The 11 bronze memorial plaques are inscribed with the names of the Victoria Cross holders and will be sent to the recipients’ home countries. The plaque remembering the three recipients from Pakistan – then the Indian subcontinent - of the Victoria Cross will be presented to the government in Islamabad later this year. Around 1.2 million troops from the Indian subcontinent took part in the war.
“It is important to remember this was a truly global war, one which pulled in people from every corner of the earth,” said Baroness Warsi, speaking at the event. “This year, we are marking our gratitude to 175 men from 11 countries, including Pakistan, who demonstrated the utmost bravery “in the face of the enemy” during the First World War.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 28th, 2014.
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@Zarb-E-Gullu: Maybe you don't know that Pakistan and India both didn't exist until after British left. Before that it was Mughal Empire for 800 years. Why don't we stop saying India and Pakistan and just say Mughal Empire. After all before India exists, there was Mughal Empire.
@pacer @Zarb-E-Gullu: Paksitan didnt exist before 1947 but its people did. They didnt just decend from the sky that particular year, they have a centuries old history and culture...
I dont think the people living in the sub continent were marauding raiders, looters, rapist and the infidel killing machine. There weren;t any arab, khajoor, palm trees or higher than ankle salwars. You are right! pakistanis didnt just decend from the sky that particular year, they came from the land of the sand, the arabia along with the martial race of the arabs muhamad gaznavi.
"The plaque remembering the three recipients from Pakistan – then the Indian subcontinent..."
I didn't know Pakistan was the Indian subcontinent during WWI. Has it shrunk since then? I recollect reading somewhere that students of Sind Board are taught that Pakistan came into being 700 years ago, expanded and reached its zenith under Aurangzeb, and then started shrinking because of various factors. I think the indoctrination is pretty much accomplished.