History
Forgotten Heroes of The Second World War
by MIRANDA WILSON
Squadron Leader Mohinder Singh Pujji is one of the two-and-a-half million servicemen who came from Punjab and the subcontinent, the largest volunteer army in history.
At 91 years of age, Mahinder Singh is the last remaining Sikh and Indian fighter pilot from World War Two. He, like many veterans, believes the contribution of Sikh soldiers has been largely ignored. There were no invitations for him to the dozens of events that have taken place across Britain to mark the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War Two this year, or any other year, he says.
'As far as I think, no one in authority remembers that we are here and we were a part of World War Two.'
Mohinder Singh remembers the start of the war vividly. Just a year after it had begun, at the height of the Battle of Britain, he decided to join the Royal Air Force (RAF). He was 22 years old and in search of adventure.
'I saw London being bombed, I saw what people were suffering and I knew what they were going through and how cruel the enemy was because they were throwing bombs on civilians. They were not fighting soldier to soldier and hundreds of people were being made homeless so that changed my perspective, then I was very keen to fight for the country, for this country where I had come to seek adventure really.'
Two or three pilots would be lost everyday and Mohinder almost became a casualty himself several times. 'From day one in every letter to my parents I said don't expect me back.'
On one occasion his plane nearly crashed into the English Channel after coming under enemy fire. He managed to land but was badly injured. 'I saw the white cliffs of Dover and thought, the first strip I see I'll go and land there. I crashed and the next thing I could hear was "He's still alive", "He's still alive" and they pulled me out. I could hear but I had my eyes closed because of the fire and when they pulled me out I put my hands on my turban, because the turban was always there with me, and my hands were full of blood.'
Remarkably, seven days later he was back in the air.
'During the first year of my operations we lost twelve pilots and I'm the only fighter pilot who's still alive today to give you an idea of the sort of life we had to go through.'
Mohinder Singh was then posted to the Middle East where he flew B51s and Hurricanes. 'It was there they realized I wasn't eating anything. You see, in the desert all we had to eat was bully beef. Now bully beef was something I could not eat, so I was left with biscuits. When the British officers realized I wasn't eating anything they were alarmed and told me if I wouldn't eat I would be sent back to India.'
Mohinder Singh did return to India but was then posted to Afghanistan where he was made Flight Commander. Then it was on to Burma where he undertook his most 'difficult and dangerous' missions, which led to him being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
As one of a handful of Sikh and Indian pilots during the Second World War, Mohinder was treated with respect. As a Sikh he refused to remove his turban in order to wear his flight headgear. 'I made a request to the commanding officer. They were so nice and everybody wanted to help us in one way or another and it was arranged for me to wear earphones over my turban. I was probably the only person in the world who flew throughout the war with a turban."
[Editor: There were actually several other turbaned Sikh airmen inj both World War I and II.]
After the war, he continued to fly, this time for an airline company. When he retired, he moved to Gravesend in Kent. Despite now being in his nineties he remains busy and gets up at 6 am every day. He continues to raise awareness of the role Commonwealth soldiers played in the war and is chairman of the Indian ex-Services Association.
'It's evident millions of people volunteered. They fought like anything, I mean they fought with their hearts. It's not just because they were employed, so many were killed and their bravery was accepted, soldiers got Victoria crosses, the highest honour in the world. But it was not mentioned after the war, I mean after the war people seemed to have completely ignored India. The war in Burma could not have been won without Indians.'
It is a view echoed by the majority of historians. Christopher Somerville, author of Our War, says, 'The war could not have been won without them. Five million of them volunteered as against six million Brits so that was 11 million people coming together under the same flag to fight this desperate evil of Nazism and fascism which had stained the world and if they hadn't volunteered and come, the war would have been lost.'
The lack of public recognition for this contribution means Mohinder Singh is part of a forgotten generation of servicemen who came from across India, Africa and the West Indies to fight for a country many of them had never even set foot in. His voice is now often a lone one but without it the wider sacrifice of the thousands who died and the millions who served might be lost forever.
[Courtesy: Institute of Race Relations]
January 15, 2010
Conversation about this article
1: Kuljit Kaur (Canada), January 15, 2010, 3:14 PM.
When I was growing up in England in the 1960s and 70s, I had to sit through countless renderings in school of how the British had won the WWII; defeated the 'evil' Germans; and saved the world for which we should all be eternally grateful! Add to this the numerous WWII movies lauding the British and the Americans and you will get an idea how the message was projected. It was only in my late teens that I heard from my father about the participation of Sikh soldiers in the WWII. Whilst in Hyde Park, my father had been approached by a old Englishman, who seeing the sight of my dad's turban, wanted to know if he was Sikh? The Englishman enthused about seeing Sikh soldiers in Hyde Park when he was a little boy during WWII, how tall and handsome they were in their 'big' turbans. I have never seen a bigger smile on my dad's face than when he recounted this story to us and told me for the first time in my life that this was true. We had fought in the WWII and had the right to live in Britain as 'true Britons' since we had been instrumental in making it 'Great Britain'. For the first time in my life I felt that I was no longer an immigrant! What a shame that the rich history of the Sikhs defending the world has either been forgotten or re-written by others. Why do we not do a better job of preserving it and passing it on to our children? It helps build self-respect and high self esteem; provides role models and heroes for them to emulate ... all tools in the good-parenting tool-box!
2: Baljit Singh Rihal, J.P. (London, United Kingdom), January 16, 2010, 3:46 AM.
The contribution made by the Sikhs in the World Wars was tremendous. Brave men such as Mohinder Singh should be applauded and given the true recognition they deserve. It is these Sikhs who helped liberate Europe from the clutches of the evil Nazi regime. I sincerely hope that the history of the Sikh contribution in these Wars is recognized and taught in schools across the globe.
3: Gurmit Singh (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), January 16, 2010, 1:56 PM.
One of our 20th century heroes - WW2 fighter pilot, decorated war hero and Sardar. Sadly, he shed his Sikh identity late in life. Strange that he would turn his back on something he fought so dearly for. FYI, he had named his plane 'Amrit' - pilots were superstitious, so they named their planes for good luck.
4: Navneet Kaur (Philadelphia, U.S.A.), January 16, 2010, 7:48 PM.
Strange, really. He turned his back to his own life-long faith - and now he wonders why the British have turned their back to him. May have something to do with the fact that the Brits were very strict about Sikh soldiers observing the full discipline of Sikhi! Maybe that's why he isn't being invited to the World War veteran parties.
5: Dalbir (London, United Kingdom), January 17, 2010, 4:53 AM.
I doubt that, Navneet. Institutional racism isn't uncommon in the United Kingdom. Minorities are still seen as outsiders. That is probably why he hasn't been invited to the parties.
6: Jeevan Singh (United Kingdom), January 18, 2010, 3:09 PM.
I have decided not to wear another poppy on Remembrance Day until Sikh soldiers and other minorities are recognized for their contribution to WWI and WWII! Over 5 million minority soldiers (including 2 million Sikhs) participated in the WWII with 6 million Brits for a total of 11 million men fighting side by side ... it is time to re-write and correct the history books!
7: Roopinder Singh Bains (Surrey, British Columbia, Canada), January 18, 2010, 7:06 PM.
The contribution of the Anzac (Australian and New Zealand) troops was well depicted in the movie starring Mel Gibson, Galliopli. No mention was given to the Sikh troops who also fought in the Galliopli campaign in WWI. I wonder how many people in the Sikh community know that Sikh soldiers even fought in this campaign?
8: Chris Flack (Derby, United Kingdom), February 18, 2010, 11:19 AM.
More information regarding the Sikh heroism during WWI and WWII can be seen at the National Sikh Museum, here in Derby, United Kingdom. [www.nationalsikhmuseum.com] - Please feel free to come along and view our astonishing artifacts.
9: Charanjit.Kaur Rahi (New Zealand), July 27, 2010, 7:50 PM.
I am researching about the contribution of Sikhs in Gallipoli as my son, Manraj Singh - 10 years old - is planning for a speech competition - a medium through which he wants to bring awareness in his school as to what Sikhs did for New Zealand. If you can help with any information, it would be really appreciated. These stories need to be passed on to inform the world about Sikhi and the Sikhs.
10: H.S.B. (United Kingdom), September 29, 2010, 1:08 PM.
Just replying to Gurmeet's posted comment about the plane being named because of superstitious reasons. Well, I would like to correct Gurmeet, because the name "Amrit" is actualy Mohinder Singh's wife's name ... he had named his fighter after his wife.