April

“Last year, he [Hardit Singh Malik] was flying over German lines in the Western theatre of war when, superior enemy forces attacked him. His petrol tank was hit, and he was shot twice in the leg. But he managed to bring his machine back… Like all good Sikhs, he does not shear his hair or beard, and wears a turban on his head.

In making the way for himself, Lieutenant Malik blazed the trail for his compatriots.”

“It took Him [Mohan Singh] no time to get the pilot’s certificate, with which he crossed to this country in the hope of entering the British air service… but he found his brown skin a great handicap.”

“[Other Indians]…had influential friends who did all in their power to assist them. But they all found doors leading to the commissioned rank tightly shut at that time.”

(Extracts from an article about Indians in the Air Force)Source: The Graphic, 30th March 1918.