Belgians To Hold Akhand Path In Memory Of Punjab Sikh Soldiers Who Died In Wwi | Chandigarh News - Times of India

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Chandigarh: A three-day Akhand Path is being held from April 26 to 28 by Belgium's In Flanders Field Museum (Ypres) and Chandigarh's Sikhya Seekers in the memory of the

Sikh soldiers

from Punjab who died for the British Army in Belgium during the World Wars.

To mark the 325th anniversary of Khalsa Sajna Diwas, the museum will celebrate Baisakhi on its premises and at Gurdwara Shri Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib, Sector 34, Chandigarh, in gratitude for the brave souls.

In Flanders Fields Museum associate Sher Singh, n a virtual address to the media from Belgium at Chandigarh Press Club, said

Belgians

would always be grateful to those Sikhs "who bravely fought against the combined Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire in the First World War".

Their bravery saved Belgium from the German occupation and helped win WWI. "Ypres is a phase of Indian and Belgian history wherenearly 1.5 lakh

Punjabi soldiers

died in two big wars. This

Akhand Paath

is Belgium's tribute on the holy festival of Baisakhi," Singh said.

General KJ Singh (retd), GOC-in-chief, Western Command, talked about the role of Punjabi soldiers in the First World War and lauded their act of bravery that changed the course of world polity. War Veteran Brigadier GJ Singh also expressed concern over the indifference towards the soldiers in two different parts of the world — India & Europe. He recalled that last year, along with Domineik Dendooven, director, In Flanders Fields Museum, they visited Sultanwind near Amritsar and met the families of martyred Punjabi soldiers. He said thousands of families in the region were related to the First World War, and to cherish their memories, 'Yadgaari Melas' should be organised annually.

War Veteran Col Perminder Singh Randhawa, founder of Sikhya Seekars, said: "When Punjabi soldiers landed on foreign soil, they were called 'gentlemen from India', who could be the last hope of the Allied against German aggression. His grandfather, Surain Singh Randhawa, was among those troops.

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