Istanbul commemorates fallen Indian soldiers of World War I
ISTANBUL

A large crowd gathered at a memorial in Istanbul on the 77th Indian Army Day to honor the Indian soldiers who lost their lives during the Gallipoli campaign in World War I.
Held at the Haydarpaşa Memorial, maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), the ceremony was attended by Indian Ambassador to Türkiye Muktesh Pardeshi, Indian Consul General Mijito Vinito, Defence Attaché Colonel Manuj Garg, CWGC Türkiye Director Burak Gündoğan, along with Indian citizens.
Participants offered floral tributes and paid homage to the 122 Indian soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the campaign.
"It is both a sad and a special day as we commemorate the sacrifices made by our soldiers throughout World War I and all the other conflicts,” Pardeshi said in his remarks.
More than 1.3 million Indian soldiers were deployed overseas during World War I, resulting in 74,000 casualties. As part of the British forces, around 15,000 Indian soldiers fought at Gallipoli, one of the strongholds during the war, and 1,723 soldiers lost their lives.
The memorial commemorates Indian soldiers who either perished in the campaign, were lost at sea, or have unknown final resting places.
The Gallipoli campaign took place on the Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire between April 25, 1915, and Jan. 9, 1916. The campaign was one of the greatest Ottoman victories during the war, forming the basis for the Turkish War of Independence and the founding of the Republic of Türkiye eight years later.