The quest for ancestral roots often leads individuals on a journey of discovery, but few travel the distance that Inderpal Singh Sandhu and his younger brother, Tejwinder Singh Sandhu, have ventured. The 64-year-old brothers embarked on a decades-long odyssey to uncover the fate of their great-grandfather, Hazara Singh, a soldier who went missing in action during World War I.
Their search, which began in their childhood with a mere curiosity about their family history, culminated in a poignant visit to France. After countless sleepless nights and a journey spanning thousands of miles, the Sandhu brothers succeeded in locating both the legacy and the monument dedicated to Hazara Singh.
Hazara Singh, a valiant soldier from Muchhal village in Amritsar, made the ultimate sacrifice while fighting against German forces in France. He fell in battle at the historic Battle of Cambrai on December 1, 1917. His great-grandsons’ extensive research led them to Villers-Guislain, a village near Cambrai, where a monument honors soldiers who perished in the conflict.
Inderpal Singh Sandhu, a retired Deputy Director of Agriculture, reflected on the significance of their discovery. “Our grandfather would have been heartbroken to recount tales of his father without knowing his final moments or even his face. Now we can say with certainty that Hazara Singh gave his life for a cause far from home,” he said.
Last month, the Sandhu brothers made a pilgrimage to Neuve Chapelle in France, where they paid their respects to their great-grandfather and other World War I martyrs. This site, while not holding specific graves for many Indian soldiers and laborers who perished, features a monument commemorating their sacrifice.
Their journey was supported by several key figures, including Dr. Dominiek Dendooven, a Professor of History at the University of Kent, and Parminder Singh Khehra from Brampton. “We are profoundly grateful to them for their invaluable assistance,” said Inderpal.
Despite their success, the brothers lamented the lack of recognition for these sacrifices at home. “It is disheartening that Punjab does not observe its own remembrance day for these martyrs,” they noted. While princely states once erected memorials to honor their troops, there has been no state-level initiative to commemorate the Punjabis, particularly Sikhs, who served in the World Wars.
Hazara Singh’s family, originally from Okara in what is now West Punjab, Pakistan, had to leave their home during the partition. They eventually settled near Tarn Taran and now reside in Samana, Patiala. The legacy of Hazara Singh, though rediscovered, underscores the ongoing need to remember and honor the sacrifices made by those who fought for freedom far from their homeland.
