Haifa — a century-old battle, the politics of memory

Battle of Haifa occupies a curious place in the intertwined histories of India, Israel, and Palestine. What was, in military terms, a small but tactically significant cavalry action in the final phase of the First World War has, over the past century, become a site of layered remembrance, celebrated, contested, reclaimed, and reinterpreted by different communities for different purposes. Remembering Haifa today requires navigating not only the battlefield itself but also the shifting terrain of postcolonial identity, diplomatic symbolism, and the moral ambiguities of imperial history.