The Amar Jawan Jyoti at the India Gate in New Delhi was merged with the eternal flame at the National War Memorial on January 21.

Amar Jawan Jyoti

• The Amar Jawan Jyoti was built after India’s victory against Pakistan in the 1971 war, as a memorial for Indian soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice, and was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on January 26, 1972.

• In these five decades, the flame and the inverted bayonet and a soldier’s helmet have become as much part of the Indian psyche as the India Gate itself.

• Since 1972, every year on Republic Day, it has been customary for the President, Prime Minister, chiefs of three services (Army, Navy and IAF) and other dignitaries to place a wreath at Amar Jawan Jyoti and pay homage to the fallen soldiers before the parade. Visiting foreign dignitaries begin their official engagements after a visit to the memorial as a mark of respect to martyrs.

• Designed by Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, India Gate, a prominent tourist attraction today, is a solemn memorial to the soldiers from India who died in action, and originally called the All-India War Memorial Arch.

• The monumental sandstone arch, often compared to the ‘Arc de Triomphe’ in Paris, was opened a decade after its foundation was laid by the Duke of Connaught over a century ago on February 10, 1921.

• The 42 m-high All India War Memorial Arch was built to honour the soldiers who died in the First World War (1914-1918) and the Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919). 

• Out of over 83,000 Indians who laid down their lives, India Gate bears 13,516 names, etched all over the monument.

National War Memorial

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the National War Memorial (NWM) to the nation on February 25, 2019.

• Built at a cost of Rs 176 crore, the main structure of the memorial is a 15.5-m obelisk, an eternal flame and six bronze murals depicting famous battles fought by the Indian Army, Air Force and the Navy in a covered gallery.

• In the complex, 16 walls have been constructed for paying homage to the 25,942 battle casualties and their names have been inscribed on granite tablets arranged in a circular pattern, symbolising the ancient Indian war formation Chakravyuh.

• The NWM pays tribute to soldiers who laid down their lives defending the nation during the India-China War in 1962, Indo-Pak Wars in 1947, 1965 and 1971 and the Kargil conflict of 1999. It also commemorates the soldiers who participated and made supreme sacrifice in UN Peacekeeping Missions, during Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Operations, counter-insurgency operations and Low-Intensity Capital Operations (LICO).

• The memorial has a layout comprising four concentric circles, namely the Amar Chakra (Circle of Immortality), Veerta Chakra (Circle of Bravery), Tyag Chakra (Circle of Sacrifice) and Rakshak Chakra (Circle of Protection).

• The outermost circle — Rakshak Chakra — comprises rows of more than 600 trees with each tree representing many soldiers who guard the territorial integrity of the nation round the clock.

• The memorial complex also comprises graphic panels and stone murals. Busts of the 21 awardees of Param Vir Chakra — India’s highest military honour — have been installed at Param Yodha Sthal.

Manorama Yearbook app is now available on Google Play Store and iOS App Store