The Soldiers That Saved Britain

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Season 1

Summary

Mobeen Azhar uncovers the remarkable story of his grandfather, one of the 2.5 million men of the British Indian Army who volunteered and served in the fight against fascism in World War II

Episode 1: The Soldiers That Saved Britain

Summary

Mobeen Azhar uncovers the remarkable story of his grandfather, who served among the 2.5 million men of the British Indian Army during the Second World War. Mobeen considers why the full extent of the British Indian Army's role in the war is only now being fully appreciated, what his grandfather endured, and why a man from the Punjab was driven to fight for the colonial power occupying his homeland

Review

Jane Rackham

There are shades of Who Do You Think You Are about journalist and film-maker Mobeen Azhar’s investigation into his Punjabi grandfather Nawab Din, one of 2.5 million troops from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh who served in the British Indian Army during the Second World War. But his research isn’t purely personal, it also tells us a lot about a history that Azhar never learnt for his GCSE. “It was a European history — explicitly white,” he says.

Inevitably, there are deeply emotional and uncomfortable issues to address: his understanding of colonialism is that it was ugly, brutal and bloody, so he’s worried this film will anger him. However, after his explorations take him from Scotland to Egypt, he’s left wondering why these stories have been overlooked for so long and why there’s only one, underwhelming monument in London acknowledging their contribution.

How to watch

Next showing

There are no live broadcasts scheduled for this show. But it is available via the streaming provider below.

Streaming

Channel 4

Details

Languages

Formats

Colour

Credits

Crew

rolenamePresenterMobeen AzharDirectorLaura NashProducerLaura NashExecutive producerNarinder Minhas

All episodes

Episode 1

The Soldiers That Saved Britain

Summary

Mobeen Azhar uncovers the remarkable story of his grandfather, who served among the 2.5 million men of the British Indian Army during the Second World War. Mobeen considers why the full extent of the British Indian Army's role in the war is only now being fully appreciated, what his grandfather endured, and why a man from the Punjab was driven to fight for the colonial power occupying his homeland

Review

Jane Rackham

There are shades of Who Do You Think You Are about journalist and film-maker Mobeen Azhar’s investigation into his Punjabi grandfather Nawab Din, one of 2.5 million troops from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh who served in the British Indian Army during the Second World War. But his research isn’t purely personal, it also tells us a lot about a history that Azhar never learnt for his GCSE. “It was a European history — explicitly white,” he says.

Inevitably, there are deeply emotional and uncomfortable issues to address: his understanding of colonialism is that it was ugly, brutal and bloody, so he’s worried this film will anger him. However, after his explorations take him from Scotland to Egypt, he’s left wondering why these stories have been overlooked for so long and why there’s only one, underwhelming monument in London acknowledging their contribution.

How to watch

Next showing

There are no live broadcasts scheduled for this show. But it is available via the streaming provider below.

Streaming
- Channel 4
Details

Languages

Formats

Colour

Credits

Crew

rolenamePresenterMobeen AzharDirectorLaura NashProducerLaura NashExecutive producerNarinder Minhas