Indian Armed Forces Veterans welcome the decision to merge the flame of Amar Jawan Jyoti with National War Memorial
After 50 years, the eternal flame – ‘Amar Jawan Jyoti’ at India Gate will be merged with the flame at the adjoining National War Memorial (NWM), in the run-up to 73rd Republic Day.
The decision of merging the flame of Amar Jawan Jyoti with the National War Memorial has been welcomed by the veterans of the Indian Armed Forces.
“India Gate, war memorial was built by the British. National War Memorial is built in memory of soldiers who sacrificed their lives for nation from 1947 till today. Amar Jawan Jyoti will merge with National War Memorial,” said Brigadier (retd) Chitranjan Sawant
“Today is a great occasion, the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate is (being) merged with the National War Memorial. It’s a good decision. Time has come to shift the Amar Jawan Jyoti, to merge it with National War Memorial,” stated Lt. Gen. Vinod Bhatia (Retd.), Former Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of Indian Army
Lt General (Retd) of Indian Army Satish Dua asserted, “It gives me great satisfaction that the eternal flame of Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate is being merged with the National War Memorial(NWM). As someone who had steered the design selection & construction of NWM, I’d been of this view all along.”
He further added that, “India Gate is a memorial to the fallen heroes of First World War. The Amar Jawan Jyoti was added in 1972 as we did not have another memorial. National War Memorial pays homage to the fallen Bravehearts after independence. All homage ceremonies had shifted to NWM already.”
India Gate – The memorial has names of soldiers who paid the ultimate sacrifice in WW I. These names are also at the National War Memorial. Shifting of flame is a natural progression – from a temporary site to a permanent one, said former Army Veteran Sandeep Thapar
“India Gate was built (by the British) to pay homage to (84,000) soldiers who died in World War-I and earlier. The Amar Jawan Jyoti was later added as an ad hoc arrangement. Now that we have a proper NWM, it is appropriate to shift the eternal flame to the new location,” said former Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash (retd)
The significance of the National War Memorial
Inaugurated in January 2019, National War Memorial (NWM) is a testimony to the sacrifices made by the Indian Soldiers during various conflicts like United Nations Operations, Humanitarian Assistance, and Disaster Response Operations since Independence.
The memorial has inscribed the names of all the Indian soldiers, who led down their lives fighting for the motherland in different operations since 1947 to 2020 Galwan valley clash.
