Inayet Ali volunteered for the Indian Army aged 17 (Pictures: Channel 4)

A 99-year-old World War Two veteran has spoken of his sorrow at not being invited to British commemoration events.

Inayet Ali was just 17 when he volunteered for Britain via the Indian Army.

Speaking to Channel 4 News ahead of Armistice Day, he said: ‘When they have their march, when they celebrate on the day, the British Army, we just look on.

‘At that time I feel sad, why don’t they ask me to come?’


Mr Ali is among countless Muslims who volunteered to fight for the ‘mother country’ during the colonial era – but the Ali family say he has never been invited to any official Remembrance service.

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Yet the veteran smiles when he recalls how one white man approached him to express his gratitude, after learning about his service at a local art gallery.



The Nottingham-based veteran added: ‘He shook hands with me and said “thank you, you have saved my country”.’

Born to a family of farmers in Kashmir, Mr Ali explained that he served 16 years in the forces and won various medals.

He told Nottinghamshire Live that he served in the British Indian Army Parachute Regiment from 1941 to 1945.

Mr Ali says he has never received an official invitation to a commemoration event (Picture: Channel 4)

He says he served 16 years in the forces (Picture: Channel 4)

Mr Ali’s story is being told in an exhibition at a Nottingham art gallery (Picture: Channel 4)

The former British Railways cleaner added: ‘I have fond memories of my time in the army during the war and we were well respected by the British officers there.

‘A lot of events here for veterans do not see South-Asian soldiers invited, especially not Muslims, and so they are not recognised as British soldiers. They (are) called British Indian even though they fought the same war, for the same army.’

His story is part of an exhibition in the midlands city exploring the ‘forgotten’ Muslim soldiers of the two world wars.

It also details how many of the veterans later faced racism in Britain.

The New Art Exchange explained: ‘Nearly 4 million Indians were ‘volunteers’ in the British Army during the two World Wars. The Great Wars were truly global events, yet the process of public remembrance is often performed through the prism of national identity.

“When they have their march, we just look on. Why don’t they ask me to come?” Despite fighting for Britain in the Second World War, this 99-year-old veteran has never been invited to any official remembrance service because he served in the Indian – not British – army. pic.twitter.com/6PgIdlNsGv — Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) November 10, 2019

‘Working in collaboration with local Muslim families with connections to the Second World War, artists Jagdish Patel and Farida Makki have used personal memory and archival material to pose questions about the process of war memorialisation, empire and its interconnections to our present-day identities.’

Artist Mr Patel added: ‘At the beginning of the First World War, the notion of what is British would have included everyone from the colonies.

‘Certainly part of the reason why, after the Second World War, black soldiers and Asian soldiers are sort of not included in any war memorials or included in any war films is part of that narrowing of people’s imaginations of what is British.’

Mr Ali turns 100 in February.

A spokesperson from The Royal British Legion said: ‘Invitations to Remembrance events around the UK come from a wide variety of organisations including The Royal British Legion, the government and civic authorities. We are very sorry to hear that Mr Ali is disappointed at not being invited to an official Remembrance event.

‘The veteran community is widely dispersed around the UK and whilst we make every effort to promote events, it is a challenging task. We would urge anyone wishing to attend Legion organised Remembrance events to get in touch with us either via their local branch or our contact centre.’



‘The theme of this weekend’s Festival of Remembrance was the close relationships the British Armed Forces has with partners from around the world including the Indian Army and the wider Commonwealth.’

The organisation added that it had been helping different communities come together to commemorate their shared sacrifice.

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