Harjinder Singh Kukreja takes his travelling to a new height when he reaches Gallipoli in Çanakkale province of Turkey to pay homage to the Sikh soldiers killed during World War I, as part of the four-year-long worldwide commemoration of their martyrdom. He urges Sikhs in Europe to do more and set up a befitting memorial to the Sikh soldiers in Gallipoli, as has been done by the Australian and New Zealand counterparts.

Acentury ago in April 1915, hundreds of Sikh soldiers reached Gallipoli as part of the British forces to take part in the World War I. They reached there without knowing the place and with very little knowledge of what they were in for. A little more than a century later, two days later, destiny took Sikh traveller and social activist Harjinder Singh Kukreja to Gallipoli, to pay homage to those who fell there under the most trying conditions.

Unfurling the Sikh flag -the Nishan Sahib, near the plaque which commemorates the 300 Sikh soldiers (out of the total of 600 Indian soldiers) killed in Gallipoli, speaking on the phone line from there, Harjinder Singh Kukreja told WSN, “I feel that it is not me who is doing this. It is God and Guru’s decision and choice that I go to these places where Sikh soldiers have laid down their lives.”

Recounting the moments spent at the memorial,“Holding the Nishan Sahib tightly in my hand to ward of the wind impact, with two city officials from the Çanakkale region, I was thinking,  “Jhoolte Nishan Rahe Panth Maharaj ke.” -May the flag of the Guru unfurl far and wide. Holding the flag, I was thinking that the Sikh soldiers in heavens would be feeling a great sense of satisfaction that the community still remembers them.”  

2018 marks the culmination of the four-year-long worldwide commemoration of the deeds of the soldiers of World War I, who travelled distances beyond their homelands, to fight a battle which was not theirs and died fighting.  Their remarkable story is being told by archivists and scholars. It is a story which has been kept alive by the Commonwealth Graves Commission, unearthing the trail and marking the graves of those killed across the erstwhile Commonwealth.

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Harjinder Singh Kukreja said, “During this year and the year before, destiny has taken me to the War Memorial in Forli, Italy, to the graves in Singapore and the War Memorial in Belgium. I have had the privilege of offering paintings and books relating to the sacrifices of Sikh soldiers to diplomats of European countries in New Delhi and to key officials at the memorials. I feel very proud of the Sikh soldiers and salute them.”

“I feel that it is not me who is doing this. It is God and Guru’s decision and choice that I go to these places where Sikh soldiers have laid down their lives.”

Harjinder Singh Kukreja

Invited by the Development Agency of South Marmara Region to promote the Çanakkale region of Turkey, known as the Home of Troy, of which Gallipoli is a part, Harjinder Singh represented India as an influencer in the 8-member team of 8 countries. Undoubtedly, he has made the Sikh community proud through the awareness about the remarkable contribution of Indian soldiers for freedom on the planet, that he has generated as a universally-acknowledged influencer.

A British and European Sikh delegation visited Gallipoli in 2015. Since then, perhaps Harjinder Singh is the one who again recalled the remarkable martial character and martyr tradition of the Sikhs through his visit.

Prof. Peter Stanley from the UK, who has extensively documented the role and contribution of Sikh soldiers through research in Europe, Britain, New Zealand, Australia and India has apprised us that the Helles Memorial in Gallipoli, has the names of all the 300 Sikh soldiers who were cremated there (see video). He has also shared how the Sikh soldiers used to interact with the Australian and New Zealand soldiers and share Punjabi food with them.

“Sikhs should also gear up and focus on the WWII commemoration and what more needs to be done to commemorate their role and contribution. Sikhs in Greece, other parts of Europe and United Kingdom need to play a bigger role.” Sikh historians and chroniclers also need to connect the dots and trace the families of the thousands of Sikh martyrs of the World Wars in the Punjab and India.”

Acknowledging all this, Harjinder Singh Kukreja says, “Sikhs should also gear up and focus on the WWII commemoration and what more needs to be done to commemorate their role and contribution. Sikhs in Greece, other parts of Europe and United Kingdom need to play a bigger role.” Sikh historians and chroniclers also need to connect the dots and trace the families of the thousands of Sikh martyrs of the World Wars in the Punjab and India.

The story of Gallipoli cannot be complete without the remarkable words of the founder of modern Turkey Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The allied forces of which Sikhs were a part fought the Turks, yet Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s quote on the plaque at the Helles memorial is a tribute to his huge heart. The plaque at Ari Burnu Memorial visited by Harjinder Singh Kukreja reads, “Those heroes that shed their blood in the territory of this country, you are in the soil of a friendly country here. Therefore, rest in peace. You are lying together with the Mehmets side. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in the bosom of ours. They are now in peace and will rest in peace here forever. After losing their lives on this land, they have become our sons as well.”

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At his humble best, Harjinder Singh Kukreja said, “I could not have ever imagined that I would visit places where Sikhs have fought in the World Wars. At Gallipoli, I reaffirmed that this is our history and we should be proud of it. I am pleased that Guru Sahib has afforded me an opportunity to visit these places.  All this is God’s will and I am the instrument chosen by the Almighty.”