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An exhibition about the men and women who shaped the First World War stories

Exhibition from 26 November 2016 – 15 January 2017, London.

Working in partnership, Wood Green-based organisations the Council of Asian People and Collage Arts present a new exhibition about the experiences of South Asians during the First World War. The exhibition has previously shown at the Royal Geographical Society and has been called “hugely moving”,”eye-opening”, “so so important” and “beautifully presented”.

The exhibition is the result of a London-wide research project, started in response to a need for more awareness about the role played by South Asians in the First World War. For more than a year, members of Indian, Pakistani, Nepalese and British communities across London have worked together to research and curate this exhibition for all, exploring the untold stories of South Asians in the First World War.

The exhibition challenges perceptions of the First World War as a European war, fought by white men in the trenches.

For how many people know that the First World War was fought in East Africa, in Iraq, and in Gaza? How many know that over 1.5 million South Asian men (from present day India, Pakistan and Nepal) served? How many know that hundreds of thousands of South Asian men went to war not as soldiers, but as construction teams, cooks, laundry-men, and stretcher bearers? And that some did not return home until years after the war had officially ended?

In a 2013 YouGov survey for British Futures, less than half of British people were aware of India’s contribution in the First World War. But when told, 80% agreed that it was important for integration today that all children are taught about the shared history of a multi-ethnic Britain.

Far from the Western Front presents the stories of eight men and women across the globe, using previously unseen images, digital media, and personal experiences uncovered from the archives.

Uncover a more diverse picture of the First World War and its global impact through the stories of:

• The Maharaja of Bikaner, as he charges on camel towards the enemy
• Stretcher-bearer Sisir Sarbadhikari, piecing together his diary after two years hiding the pages in his boots
• 14-year-old Satoori Devi, challenging the norm by learning to read her father’s letters
• Soldier Mohammad Aslam, shielding his eyes from scavenger birds in the Middle East

The project is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and is delivered by the Council of Asian People, in partnership with the Pak Cultural Society, the Gurkha Veterans Foundation, and Collage Arts.