A new website has been launched by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to highlight the contribution of the people of 'Undivided India' during the first and second world wars, a commission official said.

"Forever India" at www.cwgc.org/foreverindia tells the remarkable story of some of the millions of Indians who left their homes in order to fight for the Allied cause, he said.

The Forever India website is the result of a joint project between the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Indian government, which is one of six governments that fund the Commission's work.

"The Commission's new Forever India website tells a powerful story of which many people remain unaware," said Alan Pateman-Jones, Director General of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

"It will allow young people to explore Commonwealth history in a broader context and to uncover some personal accounts from the people of Undivided India who served and died, but whom the Commission continues to honour at memorials and cemeteries around the world," he added.

According to the website about 1,105,000 troops from Undivided India served overseas in the First World War. By the end of the second world war, Undivided India had provided the largest volunteer force in history, comprising over 2,500,000 servicemen and women.

Around 161,219 troops from Undivided India who sacrificed their lives in the two world wars are commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in fifty countries around the world, the website reveals.

Of the 161,219 troops who sacrificed their lives, 26,272 have their identified burials with their own headstones.

134,947 are commemorated on memorials - the names of those known to have died whose bodies have not been found or those who were cremated, according to their religious beliefs.

In the first world war, participants from the Indian subcontinent won 13,000 medals. Eleven of them were awarded Victoria Cross, including two who were awarded posthumously.

In second world war, Indian personnel received 4,000 awards for gallantry. 31 of them were bestowed with the Victoria Cross.