British Government Plans New Fund for Indian Soldiers of World Wars

A British MP has said that there are plans to introduce a new fund to provide support to Indian soldiers who fought for the British during the world wars but didn’t get pension or other benefits like their British counterparts.

According to a PTI report, Penny Mordaunt, UK International Development Secretary, said that the British government acknowledges that veterans from India and other Commonwealth nations faced injustice and now it wants to rectify that. She also said that kin of many of these veterans are leading a tough life in their respective countries.

Mordaunt said these while addressing people at the annual gala of Punjabi Society of the British Isles on Oct.31. She said that those veterans fought for a common cause but didn’t get their due. They were not given the pensions or the other benefits, due to which many are living in harsh conditions today.

The news agency quoted her as saying in the event, “These veterans were cast off, not taken care of and not given pensions and looked after. There are about 8,500 of these individuals and their widows around the world who are living on one meal a day and have no access to healthcare.”

Mordaunt further said that she will announce a new program which will look after these servicemen, veterans, and their widows throughout their lives. This program will be a collaborated effort of Royal British Legion, the UK’s armed forces charity, and the Department for International Development’s UK Aid initiative, reported All India Radio.

The program will be formally announced on Nov.11, which is Armistice Day as well as Remembrance Sunday this year. Armistice Day is to commemorate the Armistice treaty signed by Allies of the World War I and Germany in France. While Remembrance Sunday is held on the second Sunday of the November in the UK and Commonwealth nations to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts.

This year’s Armistice Day marks the centenary of the end of first world war and a khadi poppy has been launched to commemorate 74,000 Indian soldiers, who gave their lives in WW I. British PM Theresa May has also said that she would like to wear khadi poppy to honor Indian soldiers.