Forgotten Blood : Indian Soldiers in Europe during World War I

‘Forgotten Blood’, Kamaljit Sood’s first play, highlights the enthusiasm with which Indian forces went to France to fight for the British Crown. The British rulers in India, however, reneged on their promises and resorted to repression of free speech and outright massacre.

The social conditions in Punjab at the outbreak of World War I in 1914 were rapidly improving and the locals were happy about the economic benefits that their farmers were reaping. When the British government sought manpower to fight their war against Germany in France Indians made themselves readily available. Within six weeks of the war breaking out, two divisions from Punjab were sent to France under the command of the British. There they fought bravely and stopped the German advance in France. After serving about 18 months in France, most of the forces were deployed in other spheres of war in the Eastern Mediterranean. Kamaljit Sood’s play ‘Forgotten Blood’ recounts the story of the war and the subsequent treatment of the Indians in India leading to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.