Fighting an Alien War

To begin with a question from Indian history.
As part of their job who were the first Indians sent by their organisation to go to Europe to do their job onsite in large numbers ?
No, it weren't the software engineers. Much before the software boom happened, there was a large contingent of Indians sent to Europe. The organisation was the Indian Army and the work assigned was to fight in the World War 1 including the Western Front which was the most important theater of the war.
Well the working conditions exactly were not as good as one would like. Official figures of Indian soldiers death in WW1 were 64,449. More Indians volunteered to fight for British than the sum total from all the rest of Britain's colonies and dominions.

So what was the motivation for Indians to join the Army and fight for cause which was alien. It could not be patriotism. The soldiers were fighting an alien war. Well it could be the same which provokes the s/w professionals to seek opportunities outside India ie money. Though for the soldiers working conditions were not good and salary for infantrymen was a meager Rs 11 ,but it could be a incentive enough for poor and may be promotion could bring a decent increment. For some it was just a professional duty. WW1 was not the first war in which Indian Army fought for the British. But it was the first war the Indian soldiers served so far from India and in different climatic conditions (climate was much colder than in India).
About WW 1 it is said that it was a war fought 20th century weapons and 19th century strategies resulting in large number of casualties. For most Indian soldiers it was the first time they were participating in a modern war. For some it came as a shock. The soldiers in Western front spent a considerable time in trenches where life was very difficult. Soldiers in trenches not only died of enemy bullets but also of disease. It would have been more difficult for Indian soldiers who were not acclimiatised to cold weather to serve in trenches. As a result two Indian divisions were withdrawn form the Western front in Dec 1915 and sent to Mesopotamia (Iraq) to fight the Ottomon empire (which later on Muslim soldiers of Indian Army resented and some of them mutined. Well religion has always been a strong factor for Indians.) The pschycological effects of fighting in war lasted even years after the war ended . Many soldiers suffered form shell shock. Indian soldiers had the added stress of living so far away form home at a time when the only means of communication with home was through letters. Consequently many suffered from depression and low morale. The war lasted 4 years which was considerable long time to be away from home.

Even conditions in Mesopotamia were not much better. According to an entry in Wikipedia

"Some 11,800 British Empire soldiers, most of them Indians, became prisoners after the Siege of Kut, in Mesopotamia, in April 1916; 4,250 died in captivity. Although many were in very bad condition when captured, Ottoman officers forced them to march 1,100 kilometres (684 mi) to Anatolia. A survivor said: "we were driven along like beasts, to drop out was to die." The survivors were then forced to build a railway through the Taurus Mountains."

Muslim soldiers who refused to fight Turks were court martialled and were were imprisoned.

Similar to Indian National Army later on, some Indian revolutionaries tried to organise a force from Indian troops to fight British in India.

After the war British built the India Gate to commemmorate the soldiers who died fighting for British. In mainstream Indian history the Indian contribution to the British war effort for the 2 world wars is largely ignored.