A testimony to sacrifices of soldiers

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The calm and serene atmosphere at the Madras War Cemetery in Nandambakkam does not even give a hint of the ferocious battles the slain Commonwealth soldiers across the world fought.

However, the warm and aesthetically-maintained memorial is testimony to sacrifices made in the two world wars.

Inspector general Satya Prakash Sharma, regional commander, Indian Coast Guard Region (East), was impressed by the cemetery. “It is so well maintained.

The greenery looks excellent,” he told DC at a memorial ceremony held at the war cemetery to commemorate the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps Day.

Be it the flowers near the tombs or the grass in the lawn, the gardeners and the manager employed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) have kept them as pristine as possible.

“We make sure the place is clean, the grass is trimmed and flowers are nourished. We also show the visitors around the place and answer their questions,” said N. Rajarajan, manager, Madras War Cemetery.

Ironically, not many are aware of the existence of the cemetery and it hardly receives three to four visitors a month. “Annually about 10 foreigners visit the cemetery and they would be mostly Britishers,” he said.

There are 860 graves of soldiers from countries such as the UK, West Africa, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Burma, Malaya, Poland and India at the cemetery.

This apart, 1,039 names of those who died during the 1914 and 1918 war have also been engraved on the Madras Memorial pillar.

“Sadly, we have only one Anglo-Indian grave in this cemetery, while the rest of the graves mentioned under undivided India belongs to Britishers, who served in the Indian Army.

At the St Mary’s cemetery too, we have only one Indian grave, namely Sundari Subramanian, who served as a nurse during the Second World War,” said Rajarajan, who manages both the cemetery.

The lack of presence of Indian graves could well be the reason for poor patronage by the local government and public.

However, he noted that the Indians were observing Armistice Day, which signifies the end of the Second World War, on November 11 every year at the cemetery between 1996 and 2001, but the frequent flooding during rainy season led to cancellation of the annual event.

The memorial is open to public between 8 am and 5 pm.

Call to build memorial for Indian martyrs

The war veterans in Chennai feel the government should build a separate memorial for Indian war martyrs and also involve citizens in memorial services to increase awareness about defence services in the country. “We need to popularise the career opportunities in armed forces,” they noted.

“I feel, the country should perceive that the armed forces have done a great job, suffered for the nation when the country was in peace and laid down their lives when the country was at war.

To them, we should show our gratitude,’ said retired brigadier Mohan K. Barathan, adding that a military memorial in Chennai and modernising the existing war memorial would help cultivate awareness among the present generation.

While the Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains cemeteries at Nandambakkam and St Mary’s church, the country’s defence forces commemorate important occasions at the War Memorial near Marina Beach.

The national maritime foundation (NMF) also conducts an all faith memorial service in September.

“We conduct the service to commemorate uniformed personnel of Independent India, who laid down their lives, both at war and in peace,” said retired commodore S. Shekhar.

Also the president of NMF, commodore Shekhar said, such ceremonies not only pay homage and repay a debt of honour to those who were martyred in the cause of the motherland, but also help kindle the flame of patriotism in the participants, particularly the youth of the country.

Noting that today the youth of TN have no idea about our rich culture and heritage, commodore Shekhar said, the soldiers were respected and glorified in novels in ancient India.

“The novels have also captured the achievements of the Chola Navy that played a vital role in the expansion of the empire including conquest of Sri Lankan islands and SriVijaya,” he added.