How the Commonwealth War Graves Commission aims to correct some historical wrongs of World War II

This week, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission released a landmark, peer-reviewed report: Remembering the Dead of the British Empire, a review of commemorative activity during and after World War II. The report lays bare an uncomfortable truth: that not all who died for the Allied cause were commemorated equally.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission was established to honour the memory of those who fought and died in the two World Wars by maintaining their graves and memorials at 23,000 locations in over 150 countries. India is a member of the commission, along with the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

It is in the spirit of openness and accountability that the commission approached the World War II report, acknowledging both the realities of the past we should confront, and the important work being carried out by the commission to put this right.

This report continues the commission’s wider commitment – first made in April 2021 – to fully investigate potential omissions in the commemoration of fallen soldiers from the former British Empire who died in World War I, especially in Africa, India and the Middle East.

Since that report, an extensive programme, now in its fifth year, to correct, where possible, the errors of the past have...

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