HELIOPOLIS MEMORIAL - INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
News: What
is the Heliopolis Memorial for Indian soldiers who fought in World War 1?
What's in the news?
● Prime
Minister Narendra Modi will pay his respects at the Heliopolis (Port Tewfik)
Memorial in the Heliopolis War Cemetery in Cairo,
Egypt, where the names of nearly 4,000 Indian soldiers who fought in World
War 1 in Egypt and Palestine are commemorated.
Key takeaways:
● The
Heliopolis Commonwealth War Graves
Cemetery also commemorates 1,700 Commonwealth soldiers who died in World
War 2.
Significance of Heliopolis (Port Tewfik) Memorial?
● The
Heliopolis (Port Tewfik) Memorial is part of the larger Heliopolis Commonwealth
War Graves Cemetery.
● This
memorial commemorates the memory of 3,727
Indian soldiers who died fighting in various campaigns in Egypt and
Palestine in the First World War.
Go back to basics:
What was the role of the Indian Army in West Asia in
the First World War?
● Indian
troops of the expeditionary forces sent from India played a major role in West
Asia in the First World War.
● The
Indian troops played a key role in securing
the Suez Canal in Egypt and in Palestine, where Indian cavalry participated
in the Battle of Haifa, commemorated
in New Delhi in a war memorial.
● Indian
soldiers also played a key role in Mesopotamia
in the First World War.