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CWGC adds 9909 forgotten Punjab WWI soldiers to database
News18··6 Jul
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission on July 6, 2026, added 9,909 forgotten British Indian Army servicemen predominantly from Punjab to its official casualty database. This is the largest single revision of CWGC records since World War Two. The update corrects a century-old omission of South Asian colonial soldiers who died during World War I from injuries and illness.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Punjabi families worldwide can now locate ancestors in CWGC records.
- The update restores dignity to colonial soldiers denied war grave status.
- Historical research corrects Euro-centric narratives of World War I.
What's Happening
- CWGC added 9,909 Punjab soldiers to its casualty database on July 6.
- Registers were digitised from the Lahore Museum after years of research.
- This is the largest CWGC record revision since World War Two.
Historical Context
- Soldiers died from injuries and illness away from front lines.
- British Indian Government rulings had excluded them from war graves.
- Undivided Punjab was the primary British Indian Army recruitment hub.
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