Our gratitude and our pride Anzac Day 2019: Indian veterans march again in Melbourne

BY GAURAV MASAND

The atmosphere is electrifying. You can feel the pride and energy in the air – in young families and tourists included. People of all age groups are gathered at the sides. They are here to pay respect to martyrs and to show their solidarity to kith and kin. This is the iconic Anzac Day parade.

The parade starts from the corner of Swanston St and Flinders St down to St Kilda Road, to the Shrine of Remembrance. All along the parade there are members of the public who are cheering and clapping as the veterans march along.

This year Indian armed forces veterans participated in the parade for the eighth year. Next of kin of veterans also marched along with armed forces veterans of all countries.

The Indian contingent is made up of more than 35 veterans from various units of the Indian armed forces, commanded by Maj Gen Ranjit Nadkarni VSM. Speaking to Indian Link Radio’s Priyanka Tater as he prepares for the march, Maj Gen Nadkarni explains to the listeners the importance of ANZAC in the Indian context and the details about the supreme sacrifice by the soldiers from India at the ill-fated military campaign in 1915.

His words bring much gravitas to the special broadcast on Anzac Day.

25 April marks the anniversary of the first major military action by Australian and New Zealand forces during World War I. They fought as a part of the British Commonwealth in Gallipoli against the Turkish forces.

The first Anzac Day parade was held on 25 April 1916. Today, a dawn service ceremony marks the start of the day in all major cities around Australia. The timing of the dawn service is based on the time that the ANZAC forces began landing on the Gallipoli peninsula.

Indian troops also participated in the war as a part of the Commonwealth forces, as India was a British colony at that time. Hence, this remembrance is equally significant to India’s military history. Around 15000 Indian troops fought in the war, most of them Sikhs and Gurkhas. The Indian contingent at Gallipoli comprised the 7th Indian Mountain Artillery Brigade, 29th Indian Infantry Brigade, Indian Supply and Transport Corps, and the 108th Indian Field Ambulance, among others. They served there from late April 1915 until the final evacuation in December. Most of them were good friends with Aussie troops. They faced a lot of casualties as they suffered heavy firing. It is said around 1500 of our people died and 3500 were wounded. Unfortunately, today they are forgotten soldiers.

And this is where the significance of Anzac Day commemorations lies – to remember our fallen.

This is my seventh Anzac Day parade, spectator Arnit Roychowdhury says from the sidelines on Indian Link Radio. “I come to support my dad, who has been marching in Melbourne’s parade for some years now.”

His dad, (Ret’d) Col Samir Shankar Roychowdhury, has been instrumental in getting the Melbourne Indian contingent organised, and leads the group each year.

Ret’d Maj Gen Ranjit Nadkarni, who commands this year’s parade, tells Priyanka Tater, “This is our tribute to the people who served the nation, often giving the ultimate sacrifice: we march in their memory and to show our gratitude and pride.”

Meanwhile the chatty Arnit recounts fond memories of his own early life as an ‘Army kid’. “For our dads it was a strictly disciplined life and the discipline often distilled down to us kids. Of course we moved cities every few years, having to change schools and make new friends constantly… but it only made us more resilient. I’m sure many army kids will relate to what I’m saying, and to all those other aspects of army life such as the canteen and the mess and all of that!”

Both father and son reiterate that they would like other Melbournians of similar background to come out of the woods and join in the iconic parade.

“It is our duty to acknowledge the sacrifices of Armed forces personnel and their families,” Col. Samir Roychowdhury says.

After the completion of the Anzac Day parade, the participants attend a lunch that has traditionally been hosted for them by the Indian Consulate, in their own tribute to the Indian armed forces veterans.