There is an annual service of remembrance at the Chhatri on the Brighton Downs, memorial to the Indian soldiers (India before partition in 1947 include Pakistan and Bangladesh) on the spot where the cremations took place. It was unveiled by the Prince of Wales in 1921 in the presence of the Maharajah of Patiala. The Muslims, first buried in the Memorial Garden were later reburied at the Brookwood Cemetery, near the Shah Jahan Mosque, the first Mosque built in Britain and opened by Begum Bhopal in 1889. In this centenary year of the war, and for the first time ever, on 11th December, a special service of remembrance also took place at the Memorial Gardens as well as the Brookwood Cemetery.
The historic event was organised by Zafar Iqbal, Senior Policy Officer of the Woking Borough Council, on behalf of the Woking and Horsell Common Preservation Society. Amongst those present, at the Memorial Gardens and later at the Cemetery, were representatives of various organisations, among them, Davinder Dhillon, Chairman of Chhatri Memorial Group, Cllr. M. Ilyas Raja of Woking Borough Council and the Mayor of Woking. After the welcome by Zafar Iqbal came the tributes to the Indian soldiers from the Mayor, the Imam of the Mosque, Dr. Syed Abbas Naqui, Major General Stuart Richard Skeates CBE, Commondant of Sandhurst Military Academy and Rt. Hon. Stephan Williams MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities who emphasised the need of teaching the Indian contribution to the war in the schools. The soldiers may have died a hundred years ago but their spirit of courage and sacrifice for the country not theirs was very much alive and will remain so for a thousand years. Their loyalty to the King George V and the regiments they served in, was supreme and sincere.
Until 1911, Indians were not eligible for the Victoria Cross. Of the 11 Victoria Crosses awarded in World War I, the first recipient was Khudadad Khan.
After a short visit to the Mosque, welcomed by Imam Hashmi, further tributes were paid at the graves of the fallen heroes, including a floral tribute by the Co-Chair and Founder of the Indo-British Heritage Trust, Kusoomben Vadgama. A two minute silence followed that concluded the special and the very first pilgrimage to the Cemetery.
The Memorial Garden, built in 1917, much neglected and vandalised, is in the process of being redesigned and renovated in Islamic style within the present wall structure.
The historic event was covered by the local media as well as the BBC for their regional documentary to be screened next year.
