Abdul Quddus Nagi was a fellow prisoner and the the civilian in charge of the 850 or so prisoners of Cage #1, camp #34 in Roorki, India. He was tall, fair, well-built and sported a long pony-tail. He was energetic and young, perhaps in his thirties.
Abdul Quddus was a sharp, astute and tactful young man, perhaps that is why the Indian Camp administrators selected him from among the prisoners to be their representative. Among his many responsibilities were to assign duties to fellow prisoners, arrange for distribution of food and essential supplies, intervene in cases of disputes and communicate the prisoner’s grievances to the Indian authorities. A job that he carried out with sincerity and distinction.
But his greatest achievement was to establish a good rapport with our Indian captors. He practiced diplomacy and reason when dealing with our jailors. Abdul Quddus, along with the other leaders of our cage worked hard to accomplish an amicable relationship with Colonel Harnam Singh and other Indian Army commanders in charge of our camp. Abdul Quddus was very tactful and obtained many concessions from Colonel Harnam Singh that were perhaps not available in other POW camps. Certainly, the living conditions in our camp were not as terrible as they were in some other POW camps around India. The harsh treatment of prisoners reported during the two years of imprisonment from other camps were rarely seen in our camp. The Boy refugee salutes Abdul Quddus Nagi for his selfless leadership and guidance during these two years.
