During World War II, 60,000 soldiers in the colonial Indian Army fought against Japan in the defence of Singapore in 1942. These men became prisoners of war (POWs) when Britain surrendered the island to Japan. The Japanese sent 17,000 Indian POWs to hard labour camps in Papua New Guinea. Only 7,000 of them survived. At our Online Talk #ForgottenSoldiers, researcher and author Gautam Hazarika tells us some of the stories of these soldiers, enriched by personal accounts and the hard truth, particularly that of Lt. Syed Amarat Shikoh, who spied against Japan from inside the radio station. His son Mohammad will join Gautam to tell us of their family memory and rediscovery.
About the speaker
Gautam Hazarika is a Singapore-based ex-banker who now researches lesser-known aspects of WWII in Southeast Asia such as the Indian army and the INA. He has spoken about them at museums, conferences, literary festivals and podcasts worldwide. He is also the author of “The Forgotten Indian Prisoners of World War II (Penguin India/Pen & Sword UK 2025).” It is his first book.
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