Israel's Haifa Honours Indian Soldiers, Updates Textbooks To Credit Their Role In WWI Liberation

The Israeli city of Haifa honoured slain Indian soldiers on Monday as the mayor announced that the city's school history textbooks would be updated to reflect the fact that Indian forces, not the British, were responsible for the city's liberation from Ottoman domination.

“I was born in this city and graduated from here. Constantly, we were told that this city was freed by the British till somebody from the Historical Society knocked at my door one day and said that they had done thorough research and found that it wasn’t the British. Still, the Indians who freed this city (from the Ottomans),” said Mayor of Haifa, Yona Yahav.

According to PTI, he made these remarks while speaking to an audience at the Indian cemetery of fallen soldiers at a ceremony honouring their valour.

“In every school, we are changing the texts and saying that it wasn’t the British but the Indians who liberated us,” Yahav said.

In what most war historians refer to as "the last great cavalry campaign in history," Indian cavalry battalions equipped with spears and swords drove Ottoman forces from the rocky slopes of Mount Carmel during World War I in order to liberate the city, he claimed.

At the inaugural ceremony held at the same location in 2009, Mayor Yahav declared that the tale of the northern coastal city's liberation by Indian forces would be included in history textbooks. Today, the city's youth are aware of this reality.

In honour of the three valiant Indian Cavalry Regiments—the Mysore, Hyderabad, and Jodhpur Lancers—that contributed to the liberation of Haifa after a daring cavalry charge by the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade on that date in 1918, the Indian Army observes September 23 as Haifa Day each year.

The Indian mission and the Haifa municipality also conduct an annual celebration at the Indian soldiers' grave to honour the valiant Indian warriors.

Reportedly, for their valour in this engagement, Captain Anop Singh and 2nd Lt Sagat Singh received the Military Cross (MC), while Captain Aman Singh Bahadur and Dafadar Jor Singh received the Indian Order of Merit (IOM).

For his valour, Major Dalpat Singh, known as the Hero of Haifa, received a military cross.

In the combat, the Jodhpur Lancers suffered 34 injuries and lost eight men.  However, they also took 17 field guns, 11 machine guns, and more than 700 captives.

India's ambassador to Israel, JP Singh, spoke at the celebration and characterised the conflict as "almost the only occasion when a fortified town was captured by cavalry on the gallop."

Indian troops were instrumental in the campaign, which led to the Ottoman forces in the area being routed.  Singh claimed that during World War I, more than 74,000 Indian soldiers lost their lives, including more than 4,000 in West Asia.

"It was one of the last classical cavalry actions in an era that saw large-scale mechanisation of war," the Indian Ambassador said.

"These fallen soldiers represented all major faiths and regions of our country. And this tribute shows that their courage and sacrifice will never be forgotten," he added.

There are monuments in Haifa, Jerusalem, and Ramle, Israel, honouring Indian soldiers, some of whom were Jewish.

In these Israeli cities, around 900 Indian soldiers are buried in cemeteries.

With the assistance of Israeli authorities, the Indian Embassy is establishing "The India Trail" throughout the Holy Land as a memorial to the valour of these warriors.

According to PTI, from third to fifth grade, the narrative of the Indian soldiers' liberation of Haifa is taught in Haifa history textbooks.  Over the past decade, the Haifa Historical Society has also been visiting local schools to share the tale with children.

During Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Delhi in January 2018, India renamed the famous Teen Murti Chowk, a memorial built in 1922 to honour this historic deed, as "Teen Murti Haifa Chowk" as a symbolic gesture of goodwill with Israel.

In his July 2017 trip to Israel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to the Indian cemetery in Haifa and dedicated a plaque honouring Major Dalpat Singh for his vital contribution to the city's liberation.

"I am deeply honoured to stand here today to salute the valiant Indian soldiers, who laid down their lives for the liberation of Haifa during WW I," Modi had written in the guest book.

The 61st cavalry, the name given to the unit created after the merger of the three cavalry units after independence, sent a contingent to Israel in 2018 to participate in the centenary celebrations, PTI reported.

The Israel Post had issued a commemorative stamp in 2018 in appreciation of the Indian soldiers' role in liberating the city.