The global community will mark the centenary of the end of the WWI later this year.
The Great War, which lasted for four years, ended in November 1918. It was decided that the ceasefire would be declared at 11:00 hours on the 11th day of the 11th month. After the declaration of ceasefire, the history, as well as the geography, of the world changed.
The world witnessed the fall of three empires – the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire (Tsar) – after the WWI. As a result, the maps of Europe and West Asia were redrawn.
Nearly 15 million Indian soldiers took part in the WWI. In fact, they fought in the battlefields on foreign soils for the first time and more than 72,000 Indians sacrificed their lives while fighting for Britain.

Indra Lal Roy

India is all set to mark the death centenary of Indra Lal Roy, the sole Indian WWI flying ace. Roy – who claimed 10 aerial victories, destroyed five aircraft (one shared) and five ‘down out of control’ (one shared) in just over 170 hours flying time while serving in the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force – died on July 22, 1918 at the age of 19.
Roy was killed over Carvin, France in a dog fight against the Fokker D.VIIs of Jagdstaffel 29. As per the British war documents, four German aircraft attacked Roy’s plane, and the first and only Indian flying ace of the WWI sacrificed his life.

The braveheart – nicknamed ‘Laddie’ – was fighting with courage. But his damaged plane fell straight to the ground near the German border and caught fire. Surprisingly, Roy shot down two German aircraft while falling from the sky. Later, he was buried at Estevelles Communal Cemetery in Pas-de-Calais, France. Roy was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and he was the first Indian to receive this military decoration.
“Lieutenant Indra Lal Roy was a very gallant and determined officer, who in 13 days accounted for nine enemy machines. In these several engagements, he has displayed remarkable skill and daring, on more than one occasion accounting for two machines in one patrol,” read his citation.

The Indian Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp in his honour on his 100th birth anniversary on December 2, 1998.
Roy’s nephew Subroto Mukerjee (March 5, 1911-November 8, 1960), too, served as a fighter pilot in WWII before becoming the first Indian Commander-in-Chief, as well as Chief of Air Staff of the Indian Air Force.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das