As tensions in the Persian Gulf area began to rise in 1914, the British authorities in London requested for Indian troops in mid-October to protect British oil installations and staff in the region. The Indian government (under British rule) mobilized the 6th Division of service. Between the years 1914 and 1918, the British forces, consisting mostly of Indian troops, fought against the Ottoman Turks in Mesopotamia. Due to bitter fighting, unexpected weather, and lack of hygiene, casualty rates were high. It is worth noting that Navigation Companies like the BI also took part in the war by helping to move troops and military stores over sea.
Atmajyoti, Sen’s second son, served as a captain in Mesopotamia and was fortunate enough to survive. Although Sen’s memoirs did not cover this event, it would be interesting to hear her opinions. Could fighting the English wars legitimize an Indian soldier’s claim to the Empire’s citizenship? Would any formulation of national identity emerge from such events of solidarity? Enlistment in Indian villages wasn’t coercive until 1918. What, then, did it mean for Atmajyoti to join a war continents away? Santanu Das points out that the WWI battlefields were places of encounter for marginal groups under British colonial rule: soldiers from Malawi might have fought side by side with soldiers from Punjab. In some sense, the war facilitated the most unlikely meetings by forcibly mobilizing colonial populations. It is from the records of these encounters that one can observe how the Western racial discourses were internalized and projected outwards.
Sources:
1. Das, Santanu. India, Empire, and First World War Culture: Writings, Images, and Songs, Cambridge University Press, 2019, pp. 3–36.
2. “Mesopotamia.” Indian Contribution at Mesopotamia during World War 1, INDIA 1914, www.india1914.com/mesopotamia.aspx.
3. “Mesopotamia Campaign.” National Army Museum, www.nam.ac.uk/explore/mesopotamia-campaign.