Good to see. "The statue of the first Indian to fly as a pilot with the Royal Flying Corps - the precursor of the RAF - is to be created in Southampton city centre to mark the 'lost history' of ethnic minorities fighting for Britain and the allies. One Community Hampshire and Dorset (OCHD) and the Southampton Council of Gurdwaras has approved the design for the monument which will be created by West Midlands-based artist Luke Perry. It is planned to be installed by April 2023. Group Captain Hardit Singh Malik, an Indian civil servant and diplomat after becoming a pilot, became known as the 'Flying Hobgoblin' because he wore a specially designed helmet that fitted over his turban. By the end of the First World War, he was credited with two kills during aerial combat. Of the four Indians who flew with the RFC and RAF in the conflict, he was one of two who survived. He flew with 28 Squadron RFC and served on the Western Front in October 1917, flying a Sopwith Camel biplane on combat missions across France and Italy. Group Captain Malik was one of around 130,000 Sikhs who took part in the conflict, according to the Sikh Memorial Fund." www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9317425/First-Indian-fighter-pilot-Royal-Flying-Corps-World-War-One-immortalised-statue.html
Gurdwaras are Sikhs, and the Sikh community has erected quite a few memorials to the contribution made by Sikhs to Britain (and Belgium) in WW1. There are regular visits to Hollobeke where a Sikh was awarded a VC in 1914. There was a big Sikh contingent at the Menin Gate on the 11th Nov. There are all sorts of war memorials to different communities. It would be very wrong to dismiss this statue as mere political correctness. Possibly the most distinguished fighter pilot from the Indian subcontinent was Indra Lal Roy - 10 kills in thirteen days in July 1918 - but his family are now seen as from Bangladesh. Indra Lal Roy His older brother served in 1st Battalion HAC. Maybe we can get a second statue?
While it's good to see these guys being acknowledged, it does tend to open up a can of worms. We might have reached the age of generic statues to promote inclusiveness.