Scotland’s First National British Indian Army (BIA) Memorial
Artists impression of Scotland’s First BIA Memorial Colourful Heritage, a charity based in Scotland were granted planning permission by Glasgow
Mohammed did fast-track medical training in Multan, in what is now Pakistan, during the late 1930s. When WWII broke out, he was a Captain Doctor with the British Indian Army working at a Red Cross hospital in Baluchistan.
Known as a dedicated doctor who did all he could to protect his patients during air raids, his compassion continued beyond the war during Partition. While stationed in Kashmir, Mohammed, a Muslim, gave shelter to a Sikh widow and her six children who had been displaced by the mass migration. He helped their mother to train as a nurse and paid for the children’s education – one of them became a surgeon under his guidance. The whole family became lifelong friends of Mohammed.
After Partition Mohammed left the Army and completed his Bachelor of Medicine degree at the King Edward Medical College. He received a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh and followed that with a Master’s degree in Orthopaedics in Liverpool, working in paediatrics alongside studying.
Mohammed was proud of his Indian heritage and stood alongside his fellow students to receive his degree in the traditional Pakistani sherwani. As soon as he was qualified, he returned home to build a hospital and became the first orthopaedic surgeon in the Punjab, then Professor of Orthopaedics at the Fatimah Jinnah College in Pakistan. He gained a reputation for brilliance in both western medicine and Shifa, the traditional Islamic art of healing.
Mohammed Ali is still remembered in Liverpool, where his married daughter settled many years later. Today his granddaughter Faryal continues her grandfather’s compassionate approach through her work as a diversity, equity and inclusion consultant.
Artists impression of Scotland’s First BIA Memorial Colourful Heritage, a charity based in Scotland were granted planning permission by Glasgow
The Lascars – thousands of seafarers from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world and Africa.
This year’s South Asian Heritage Month theme is powerfully reflected in the service of 2.5 million Indian soldiers who volunteered for the British Indian Army during the Second World War. As the largest volunteer force in history, they came from many faiths and ethnic backgrounds across the Indian subcontinent.
Sarojini Naidu was an early 20th century poet and prominent leader in India’s struggle for independence, as well as an advocate for social justice and women’s rights.
