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To The Memory Of Brave Men: The Imperial War Graves Commission And India's Missing Soldiers Of The First World War

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Date Issued:
2018
Abstract/Description:
This thesis examines the commemoration of Indian soldiers who died during the First World War by the Imperial War Graves Commission, Britain's official government body overseeing all imperial commemoration efforts. For the soldiers of the Indian Army their war experience was split between the Western Front in Europe and Mesopotamia in modern-day Iraq. They were also far more ethnically, religiously, and lingually diverse than their British and Dominion counterparts. In order to examine how geography, religion, and the imperial relationship affected Britain's commemoration of India's war dead, this study uses the Commission's own records to recreate how the IWGC created its policies regarding Indian soldiers. The result shows that while the Commission made nearly every effort to respect India's war dead, the complexity of their backgrounds hampered these efforts and forced compromises to be made. The geography of the war also forced a clear definition between the memories of Indian soldiers who died in Europe and those who fell in Mesopotamia.
Title: To The Memory Of Brave Men: The Imperial War Graves Commission And India's Missing Soldiers Of The First World War.
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Name(s): Sims, Roger, Author
Gannon, Barbara, Committee Chair
Lester, Connie, Committee Member
Zhang, Hong, Committee Member
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2018
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: This thesis examines the commemoration of Indian soldiers who died during the First World War by the Imperial War Graves Commission, Britain's official government body overseeing all imperial commemoration efforts. For the soldiers of the Indian Army their war experience was split between the Western Front in Europe and Mesopotamia in modern-day Iraq. They were also far more ethnically, religiously, and lingually diverse than their British and Dominion counterparts. In order to examine how geography, religion, and the imperial relationship affected Britain's commemoration of India's war dead, this study uses the Commission's own records to recreate how the IWGC created its policies regarding Indian soldiers. The result shows that while the Commission made nearly every effort to respect India's war dead, the complexity of their backgrounds hampered these efforts and forced compromises to be made. The geography of the war also forced a clear definition between the memories of Indian soldiers who died in Europe and those who fell in Mesopotamia.
Identifier: CFE0007098 (IID), ucf:51938 (fedora)
Note(s): 2018-05-01
M.A.
Arts and Humanities, History
Masters
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): British Empire -- India -- Indian Army -- War Memorials -- First World War -- World War I
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007098
Restrictions on Access: public 2018-05-15
Host Institution: UCF

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