#TheSwarajSpy by Vijay Balan is an exciting historical spy thriller narrating the true story of the Indian freedom struggle, told through Kumar Nair, sent on a rescue mission as a spy. Out now, get your copy from amzn.to/3Ttd555 or from a bookstore nearby.

I wrote about one of the East India Company's two occupations of Kharg Island in my book Return of a King. The Company actually occupied Kharg twice: once from 1838-1842, on the orders of Lord Auckland (shown below) when they eventually withdrew in confusion after the disasterous Retreat from Kabul. Then the Company occupied Kharg for a second time from 1856-7. This time they pulled out again, due the outbreak of the Great Uprising of 1857, and the Highland regiments who had occupied it under Sir Jamew Outram were rushed eastwards to break the Siege of Lucknow. On both occasions, occupying Kharg seemed like a good idea at the time, but proved a strategic dead-end. It showed that the Company could project power into the heart of the Persian Gulf at will, but it also highlighted their inability to translate naval dominance into lasting political stability in the region. Shame our current leaders seem unable to learn the lessons of history...

The Sherdils (Lionhearted), 1/14 Punjab Reg, were among 67k Indian troops defending Malaya/Singapore when Japan invaded on 8Dec1941. Played a key role in the fate of the Indians before/after the surrender of Singapore on 15Feb1942. In this Pre-WW2 image, identified are, Standing- Captain Habib-ur Rehman in the middle and the Sikh Captain Vir Singh on the right. Sitting left Maj VD Anderson killed by the Japanese in the war, 2nd from right Maj LV Fitzpatrick C/O during the war. Pls let me know if you recognize the others. Captain Mohan Singh (not in picture) was in this unit & played a major role later in the war. Watch this space for more. Pic - Alan Macdonald #IndianArmy #IndianPOW #SingaporeWW2 #WW2

On This Day 79 Years Ago began the trial in Singapore of the Japanese who beheaded the Indian POW Sepoy Mohd Shafi January 21, 1946 – The first war crimes trial in Singapore after the end of World War II started on this day. Japanese soldiers were held accountable for atrocities against Indian POWs, including the beheading of Sepoy Mohd Shafi. The crimes occurred between 1943-1945, aboard a hellish ship journey, and later on Palau Island (the same one from which the Ikoma Maru sailed in my previous post). Of the 10 accused, 8 were convicted—the officer identified as No2 in the image was sentenced to be hanged for the beheading, the rest to 2-12 years in prison. 👉 NEVER AGAIN. Share this post to keep their memory alive. Source: ICC Legal Tools and Singapore war crimes sites #IndianArmy #IndianPOW #WW2History #SingaporeWW2 #NeverForget #HellShip