Representative image.
Credit: iStock Photo
Bengaluru cantonment is home to many Tamil families with military lineages. With the British busy fighting wars, many Tamil youths, including my late grandfather, Lieutenant M Dharmalingam, migrated to the city and enlisted in the English Army to provide for their families. Over time, Bengaluru became their adopted home.
At just 16, he joined the army and became one of the first Viceroy-commissioned officers in the Corps of Royal Engineers. He wasn’t the only ‘boy soldier’ who fought alongside the English. Many underage cadets lied about their age and joined the British Army in their quest for military glory.
My grandfather fought in the searing sands of the Middle East during World War II. His war albums show how camels and mules helped the Allied Forces transport supplies. The soldiers developed affection toward these beasts of burden. Unfortunately, scores of them perished in the war.
One of the chilling accounts my grandfather shared was about the North African campaign. A pair of battleships sailed from the Madras port and headed towards the Suez Canal. A bomber belonging to the Axis forces swept overhead and sank a target. Fortunately, my grandfather was on another ship, and the seaborne troops arrived in Cairo unharmed. Worried family members swarmed the Records Office of the Madras Sappers in Bengaluru to gather news about him. However, the strict disclosure norms meant that his fate remained unknown until his return from the war.
In another battle marked by intense hand-to-hand combat, the Allied forces captured an Italian soldier. The soldiers from the Allied forces beheaded him and then proceeded to kick around the macabre trophy.
The weary yet triumphant soldiers received a grand welcome upon returning from the long-drawn war. Regimental bands played ceremonial music, and enthusiastic friends and family members crowded the Bengaluru Cantonment train station to greet their heroes and adorn them with garlands. The victory parade was a mix of joy and sorrow, as some heroes did not return.
My grandfather and his kin lived in the spacious regimental accommodation in Jalahalli (Hospital Town), close to the tent camps housing the Italian prisoners of war. The Subedar Major in charge of the prisoners ordered them to perform various tasks, including clearing paths, digging trenches, constructing buildings, bridges, and roads, and eliminating wild animals and reptiles that threatened life and limb. Besides, they tended to the kitchen, garden, pigs, and sheep. Hundreds of sports lovers turned up to watch the football matches at the Garrison Ground (now the Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw Parade Ground), where boot-clad Italian prisoners competed against barefoot locals.
Seventy-nine years have passed since the WWII, but the supreme sacrifices made by the brave hearts are still revered.