Why it is in the news
23 September 2026 marks the 108th anniversary of the Battle of Haifa (1918), in which Indian cavalry from the princely states of Jodhpur and Mysore captured the port city of Haifa from Ottoman and German forces during the First World War. The anniversary, observed by the Indian Army as Haifa Day, is the subject of an essay in The Hindu by Shashi Tharoor that describes Haifa as "a site of contested memory" — celebrated in India and Israel, but seen differently by Palestinians.
The exam angle
Thesis: Haifa shows how colonial-era military history can be both a source of national pride and a reminder of the moral ambiguities of empire.