AN APPEALING chance to travel, combined with the prospect of a regular pay packet, was enough to entice a sprightly
Khudadad Khan away from the gruelling farming lifestyle in his native Punjab and into the army.
When the 26-year-old came back home, he was thrust into the world of pomp, honour and glory. Little did Khan know
at the time that he had become the first Indian to be awarded the prestigious Victoria Cross medal by King George
V in honour of his courage on the frontline, fighting the Germans in the first world war.
In fact, Khan was one of approximately 1.2 million men enlisted to the Indian army to serve in the war.
However, a lesser-known fact is that initially, when Britain went to war against Germany and her allies on
August 4, 1914, the British Armed Forces maintained a colour bar blocking Asian and Afro-Carribean volunteers
from joining.
However, as casualties rose and forces expanded, the restriction was relaxed.
This year marks the centenary of the outbreak of the war, which would claim the lives of more than 16 million
people across the globe and have a profound impact on everyone involved. The war and its consequences shaped much
of the 20th century, and its impact can still be felt today.
There were no fewer than 80 countries that took up the call to arms by Great Britain, among them soldiers from
India, which then included Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Men were also enlisted from Nepal, and Caribbean troops were recruited into the British West Indies Regiment,
serving in the Western Front and in the Middle East.
The first world war, which lasted four years, was the first real instance of a conflict which pitted nations
against each other.
Millions of men fought on land, at sea and in the air, and modern weaponry caused mass casualties with civilian
populations suffering relentless hardships under the threat of enemy attack.
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