Paris, February 12: On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accompanied by French President Emmanuel Macron, visited the historic Mazargues Cemetery in Marseille to honor Indian soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the Great War.
During a solemn ceremony, Modi laid a wreath decorated with tricolor-themed flowers, alongside another wreath from Macron.
With folded hands and a respectful bow at the significant site, which features an ‘Indian Memorial,’ Modi paid tribute to the soldiers who fought alongside their French counterparts in World War I.
A military band played on the lawns, adding to the solemnity of the event.
Following the ceremony, the leaders took a walk through the cemetery and laid roses on memorial tablets set within a stone pavilion.
This cemetery, cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), commemorates a large number of Indian soldiers.
Modi is on a three-day visit to France; he co-chaired the AI Action Summit with President Macron on Tuesday and addressed business leaders.
He arrived in Paris on February 10.
The First World War, often referred to as the Great War, spanned from 1914 to 1918, while the Second World War occurred from 1939 to 1945.
According to the CWGC website, “This site commemorates 1,487 casualties from 1914-18 and 267 from 1939-45, including 205 Indian casualties who were cremated and are honored on a memorial at the rear of the cemetery.”
The Mazargues Indian Memorial was inaugurated by Field Marshal Sir William Birdwood in July 1925.
Additionally, eight members of the Egyptian Labour Corps, whose graves were lost over time, are commemorated on a stone tablet at the cemetery’s left-hand wall.
The cemetery spans an area of 9,021 square meters, as noted by the CWGC.
Located in the 9th Arrondissement, Mazargues is a southern suburb about six kilometers from the center of Marseille.
Marseille served as the base for Indian troops during World War I. Throughout the war, the Royal Navy, Merchant Navy, British troops, and labor units operated in the port or passed through it, as highlighted by the CWGC.
Four local cemeteries primarily served for the burial of Commonwealth forces who died in Marseille. St. Pierre Cemetery, located on the east side, was where Hindu soldiers and laborers were cremated between 1914 and 1916.
The Le Canet Old and New Cemeteries, on the north side, became burial sites for Indian soldiers and Indian, Egyptian, and Chinese laborers from 1917 to 1919.
Although Mazargues Cemetery was used less during the war, it was expanded before the Armistice to relocate bodies and ashes from the several local cemeteries, per the CWGC documentation.
In April 2015, during a prior visit to France, PM Modi honored the World War I memorial in Neuve Chapelle, recognizing the courage of approximately 4,700 Indian soldiers who fell in battles across France and Belgium during the Great War.
“Our soldiers, who fought valiantly abroad during the Great War, have garnered global admiration for their dedication, loyalty, courage, and sacrifice. I salute them,” Modi recorded in the visitor’s book at the memorial. (Agencies)
