UK plans new fund for Indian soldiers who fought in World Wars

New Delhi: The UK government has unveiled plans to offer support to Indian soldiers who fought for Britain during the two World Wars but lost out on pensions and other benefits accrued to British armed forces personnel at the time.

UK International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said the government is keen to rectify the injustice faced by Indian and other Commonwealth war veterans, many of whose families are now living in harsh conditions in their countries of origin. Mordaunt, during her address at the Punjabi Society of the British Isles annual gala, said that there are about 8,500 of these individuals and their widows around the world who are living on one meal a day and have no access to healthcare.

Mordaunt said, she will announce a new programme that will take care of these servicemen and veterans and their widows for the rest of their lives. The new programme will be a partnership between the Royal British Legion, the UK’s armed forces charity, and the Department for International Development’s UK Aid initiative.

It is set to be formally announced in the lead up to Remembrance Sunday, held on November 11 every year as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It marks Armistice Day of November 11, 1918, when World War I finally came to an end.