Durban — A plaque commemorating Indian soldiers who died in service during World Wars I and II was mounted at the Johannesburg War Museum last week.
The South African Indian Legion (SAIL) of Military Veterans, a nonprofit company with the primary objective to research, document and promote South African Indian military history and its heritage raised funds and erected the plaque at the Ditsong National Museum of Military History in Parktown, Johannesburg.
An unveiling ceremony will officially take place to coincide with a Women’s Day event to honour women in the military with a special focus on Indian women.
Among the Indian servicemen whose names feature on the roll of honour are Dharamraj Aheer Goordeen, Sergeant Muhammad Ali Khan Darling, Ghulam Husain and brothers Frank and Donald Augustine.
Frank Augustine died on April 5, 1917, during World War I and his younger brother, Donald Augustine, died on December 11, 1940, during World War II.
Goordeen, whose family hailed from Dannhauser in KwaZulu-Natal, left South Africa for India to study medicine at the Grant Medical College in Bombay. At the start of World War II he volunteered for military service as an aviator in the Indian Royal Air Force. He was the first known Indian of South African origin to serve in the military as a pilot officer. He lost his life at the age of 24 after sustaining injuries when his aircraft crashed.
Jaywanth Muckerdhooj said Goordeen was his grandfather’s brother and he was buried in Kohat, a district in Pakistan, where his plane crashed.
“The Indian government has a memorial plaque in Delhi and Goordeen features on the honours roll. It is great that the names of the Indian soldiers are included in the local military museum and that they are remembered and recognised for their service,” said Muckerdhooj.
Sergeant Muhammad Ali Khan Darling, a navigator/gunner who served with 7 Squadron in the Royal Indian Air Force, died together with his pilot in an aircraft accident in 1944.
Founder of SAIL Vinesh Selvan said an incomplete list of Indian war veterans is at the Durban Cenotaph.
“We are currently engaging with the City to upgrade the site.,” he said.
SAIL will host a high tea on August 10 at Ditsong Museum in honour of women serving in the military.
Sunday Tribune