Private Ganessa Singh is one of the many Australian soldiers of Indian origin who served the country in the world wars.
Private Ganessa Singh was an Indian Anzac who enlisted with the Australian Imperial Forces on 11/9/1916 in Waikerie (South Australia) and was assigned to the 10th Battalion. The Australian War Memorial site shows Ganessa Singh as embarking from Adelaide on 23 June 1917 as an Anzac.
He was bestowed with the British War Medal and Victory Medal for his services. The two medals have returned to Australia after being away for many years. Two Australian historians Mr Len Kenna and Ms Crystal Jordan have bought these medals by spending a substantial amount out of their superannuation.
Medals of Pvt Ganessa Singh Source: Supplied
“We have now brought Ganessa Singh’s medals back to Australia. We are in possession of them,” Ms Jordan told SBS Hindi.
The historian duo has worked on the History of Indians in Australia for over three decades. These medals hold an emotional valued for them.
“I got them from the person who had them. He was going to sell them to the highest bidder. We managed to get them. We put our hands in our superannuation money and purchased them for the Indian community,” says Ms Jordan, the president of Australian Indian Historical Society.
The duo plans to establish a museum in the future. “These medals will get a very special place in our museum,” says Mr Kenna, the author of ‘Are Indians an Ethnic Minority?’
