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from The
Observer Sunday 12 March 2000
Indian veterans wounded by 'racist'
halt to parade
by Tracy McVeigh
 Remains
of plastic poppy wreaths and ribbon lie scattered amid the brambles that
almost reach the blue steps of a white marble temple. High on the slope of a
South Downs valley, the building could be mistaken for a landowner's folly
but is possibly Britain's only reminder of the 64,000 Indians who died
fighting in the First World War.
For more than 50 years British war
veterans have made an annual pilgrimage to the site, a mile out of Brighton,
but the 30ft memorial now seems condemned to fall into ruin.
This year, amid accusations of racism
and small-mindedness, the veterans have called a halt, saying members are
too old to trek across the field that separates the Chattri memorial from
the road.
The Royal British Legion has
organised the service, on the last Sunday in June, since 1943. Local and
national dignitaries are invited and the Undivided Indian Ex-Services
Association busses in veterans from around the country.
The legion decided to end the event
without consulting Asian veterans or community groups, provoking anger from
families whose fathers and grandfathers sacrificed their lives for a nation
they believe is now forgetting them.
The Chattri was built in 1921 and
unveiled by the then Prince of Wales. Two slabs of granite below its steps
cover the concrete where up to 20 Sikh and Hindu soldiers were burnt on
funeral pyres.
One was the father of 89-year-old
Colonel Assa Singh, a Second World War British Army veteran who has attended
the ceremony every year since 1943. Deeply upset that it is to be abandoned,
he said that to forget Chattri would be to forget the men who gave their
lives.
Indian soldiers wounded in France
were brought to Brighton and taken to a hospital set up at the King's
request at the Royal Pavilion. Muslims who died were taken to Woking for
burial, and Sikhs and Hindus were cre mated in the Sussex countryside.
The ending of the Chattri service is
seen as another blow to a community that feels ignored by history.
'It is straightforward racism,' said
Santush Kanwar of the Undivided Indian Ex-Services Association. 'There was
always a fuss over whether we should bring so many people. The British
Legion would be fussing about how they were going to make us all tea. For
goodness sake, it wasn't about tea!'
The father and grandfather of
Harmander Singh, an adviser to the British Asian Volunteer Action group,
fought in the British Army in two world wars but as Commonwealth soldiers
their war pensions were well below that of a white British soldier.
'Future generations need to be proud
to be British and to know our ancestors gave up their lives for this
country. This memorial may seem insignificant but it is very important.'
Many local Asians resent the fact
that it may now fall to them to look after Chattri. Singh said one woman had
told him: 'We have already given our lives, why should we dip into our
pockets too.'
Imam Sajid, secretary of the Brighton
Ethnic Minorities Representative Council, added: 'If the British Legion
cannot organise it, then they should have talked to us.'
Derek Bollom, branch secretary of the
British Legion at Patcham, was surprised by the outrage. 'We decided not to
do it this year because it is just too difficult to maintain, what with
trying to organise the tea afterwards.'
'It's not that we want to forget
them. We're getting old, our membership is shrinking.'
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