LONDON: UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in the Budget on Wednesday that £1 million (Rs 10 crore) of govt cash will be used to build a memorial to Muslims from India and elsewhere who fought for the British in the two world wars. Britain’s first such memorial to Muslims will be built by World Wars Muslim Memorial Trust.
In the two world wars, more than 750,000 Muslims served in the Indian and Allied armies, of whom approximately 147,000 were killed. The plans for the memorial are drawn up and planning permission has been obtained.
Opening his speech, Hunt said: “As we mourn the tragic loss of life in Israel and Gaza, the prime minister reminded us… of the need to fight extremism and heal divisions… I start today by remembering the Muslims who died in two world wars in the service of freedom and democracy. We need a memorial to honour them. I have decided to allocate £1 million towards the cost of building one.”
The memorial will be in the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire and will take the shape of a minaret, an integral part of Islamic architecture. A lowwall will be inscribed with stories of Muslim soldiers who fought for the crown.
“Our project coincides with the widespread re-evaluation of colonial history and the role Muslims play in a dynamic and changing modern Britain,” said Sir William Blackburne, the chair of the memorial trust.