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[[File:Amara War Cemetery plan.jpg|thumb|Plan of the British cemetery with the Indian cemetery shown below.]]
[[File:Kut-el-Amara-map.jpg|thumb|Amara (bottom right) on a map dating from the First World War.]]
The '''Amara (Left Bank) Indian War Cemetery''' is a [[War grave|military cemetery]] in Amara, now known as [[Amarah]], southern Iraq, which contains the graves of more than 5,000 Indian soldiers who died during the First World War. It is the responsibility of the [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission]] (CWGC).

==Location==
The cemetery is located immediately to the south of one of the branches of the [[River Tigris]] where it splits at Amarah in an area that was seized by the [[Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force]] during the First World War.<ref>[http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/05/iraq-baghdad-british-american-occupation-grave-for-against.html# Reassessing consequences of occupation in Iraq.] Wassim Bassem, ''Al-Monitor'', 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2016.</ref> Amarah became a major hospital centre with medical detachments on both sides of the river and seven general hospitals. The Indian cemetery is immediately to the south of the British [[Amara War Cemetery]] and marked on the map of the British cemetery with the words "Muhammadan and Hindu Cemeteries".<ref name=cwgc>[http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/69100/AMARA%20WAR%20CEMETERY AMARA WAR CEMETERY.] Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 27 April 2016.</ref>

==Interments==
There are thought to be over 5,000 Indian soldiers interred at Amara, however, only 9 are identified,<ref>[http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/57302/AMARA%20%28LEFT%20BANK%29%20INDIAN%20WAR%20CEMETERY AMARA (LEFT BANK) INDIAN WAR CEMETERY.] Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 17 May 2016.</ref><ref>Chhina, Rana. (2014) [http://mea.gov.in/Uploads/PublicationDocs/23460_IWM_Book__11-06-2014_.pdf ''Last Post: Indian War Memorials Around the World''.] Delhi: Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, United Service Institution of India. p. 218. {{ISBN|978-81-902097-9-3}}</ref> all of whom were interred after the armistice. According to the CWGC, who are responsible for the cemetery, the records of interments were sent to the Army Adjutant General at Simla Headquarters in 1919 but have since been destroyed.<ref>[http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/510521/AMIR%20ALI AMIR ALI.] Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 17 May 2016.</ref>

A memorial was erected that read "In memory of the brave Muhammadans who sacrificed their lives in the Great War for their King and their country".

==Condition==
In April 2016, Martin Fletcher of ''[[The Times]]'' in Amarah, reported that the cemetery had been taken over by the Maysan Funfair who had installed [[Merry-go-round|merry-go-rounds]] and a [[ferris wheel]].<ref name=times>"British war graves left to crumble in the dust", Martin Fletcher, ''The Times'', 25 April 2016, pp. 14-15.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131110194200/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/britain-at-war/10438147/Iraq-cemetery-containing-graves-of-British-servicemen-is-destroyed.html Iraq cemetery containing graves of British servicemen is destroyed.] Colin Freeman, ''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]'', 10 November 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2016.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Indian Army during World War I]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{coord|31.8439|47.1604|type:landmark_region:IQ|display=title}}

[[Category:Cemeteries in Iraq]]
[[Category:Amarah]]
[[Category:India in World War I]]
[[Category:Muslim cemeteries]]
[[Category:Military cemeteries]]
[[Category:Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in Iraq]]
[[Category:India–Iraq relations]]

Amara (Left Bank) Indian War Cemetery - Revision history

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