"I wish some Indians would win high military distinction in this war. It would help to build a bridge between English and the Indians." These words of World War II heroine, Princess Noor Inayat Khan, could not have been more prophetic.
Fifty years later at the "VE and VJ" days to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II, an astonishing fact came to light at the war roll call that it was Indians who outnumbered even the Britishers as the largest recipients of Victoria and George Cross Medals, the highest British awards for bravery.
The unsung sacrifice of Indian men and women who fought fascism in World War II is recalled by a new book published in Britain by an Indian-born historian Vidya Anand.
"Indian Heroes and Heroines of World War II" is the gripping account of the exploits of men and women who left their mark on world military history.
The book gives a graphic account of exploits ranging from Princess Noor Inayat Khan, first woman agent to be parachuted into France; to Umrao Singh, who made waves on VJ day here to catch attention of Prime Minster John Major and whose proud bearing was instrumental in raising the pension for Victoria Cross winners.
Noor worked for the British as an undercover agent with the French resistance for over a year evading the Gestapo and sending vital information to the British military intelligence for D-Day landings.
However, the young Anglo-Indian girl of the Hyderabad royal family, was betrayed and captured by the Germans. She was executed in 1944 at the infamous Dachau concentration camp.
Her valor was recognized immediately after the war, when the French decorated her posthumously with the "Croix de Guerre," a gold medal. Three years later, the British gave her the coveted George Medal.
From Noor Khan to the account of how Umrao Singh killed 10 Japanese soldiers in hand-to-hand fighting in Kaladan valley in Myanmar, the book gives description of all the 30 odd Indian Victoria Cross winners.
The author Vidya Anand says the book would invite the richly deserved recognition for India sailors and airmen, who have fought with the allies in every major war zone from Myanmar and North America to Europe, the Middle East and even the Battle of Britain.
However, he lamented that India and the subcontinent were poorly represented at this year's World War II celebrations.
He feels the feats of Indians in war had largely been forgotten by people in the United Kingdom and by the Asians settled here.
He said the book was to remind the Asians settled in London, the contributions their forefathers made for Britain and the world.
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