The Anzac story is bigger than we remember |
The Anzac tradition honours sacrifice, but the broader, global contribution to the war effort remains under-recognised in Australia’s national memory.
Each year on ANZAC Day, we honour Australians who served and died in war, remembering their courage, sacrifice, and the legacy forged in the Gallipoli campaign. It is one of the most important and emotional days in the national calendar, deeply tied to how Australians understand themselves.
Yet the way we remember ANZAC still tells only part of the story. Alongside Australian and New Zealand soldiers stood thousands of others from the Indian subcontinent, Africa, and First Nations Australia, whose contribution was essential but remains largely absent from public remembrance.
For more than a century, the ANZAC narrative has largely centred on Australian and New Zealand soldiers. What is often missing is the fact that they did not fight alone. They were part of a much larger global force that included soldiers and workers from across the world, many of whom played critical roles in sustaining the war effort.
At Gallipoli alone, around 15,000 to 16,000 troops from the Indian subcontinent served under the British Indian Army, with about 1,500 killed. These soldiers were drawn from across British India, including regions that are now India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, as well as Gurkha soldiers from Nepal.
These men represented extraordinary diversity in language, culture, and faith, including large numbers of Muslim soldiers from Bengal and Punjab, alongside Hindu and Sikh communities across British India. Their service reflected the complex realities of........