New Delhi-The light of the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate in Delhi was fused with the everlasting flame at the National War Memorial on Friday, in a process described by the national government as “historic” for India. A portion of the Amar Jawan Jyoti flame was taken and united with the flame at the NWM, which is 400 meters distant on the opposite side of India Gate, in a brief ceremony.
On Friday, the Amar Jawan Jyoti flame, often known as the “eternal flame,” at India Gate in Delhi will be fused with the light at the National War Memorial after 50 years. On the other side of India Gate, the Amar Jawan Jyoti is only 400 meters away. The event will be presided over by Air Marshal Balabadhra Radha Krishna, commander of the Integrated Defence Staff, who will unite the two flames at roughly 3:30 p.m. on Friday. The Amar Jawan Jyoti flame will be carried in a torch to the National War Memorial, where it will be fused with the Guard Contingent flame.
Several politicians, including Rahul Gandhi of the Congress, had previously questioned the national government’s decision to essentially shut down the Amar Jawan Jyoti flame and replace it with a permanent one at the National War Memorial. Government sources, on the other hand, denied that the Amar Jawan Jyoti was being “extinguished,” insisting that it was just being amalgamated with the one at the National War Memorial.
The flame at Amar Jawan Jyoti in the India Gate monument, according to the government, paid honour to the martyrs of 1971 and past conflicts, but none of the names of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the country were there.
The names of all Indian defence soldiers who have died in various actions, from the 1947-48 war with Pakistan to the Galwan valley confrontation with Chinese troops, are listed in the National War Memorial, which was unveiled in 2019 by the Narendra Modi administration in the India Gate complex. The names of personnel who died in counter-terrorist operations are also listed on the memorial’s walls.
The India Gate memorial, on the other hand, was erected by the British government to honor British Indian Army personnel who died between 1914 and 1921. The Amar Jawan Jyoti was finally added in the 1970s, following India’s overwhelming triumph over Pakistan, in which 93,000 Pakistani forces surrendered.
The names of 25,942 soldiers are listed on the National War Memorial, who died in various actions ranging from the 1947-48 war with Pakistan to the Galwan valley combat with Chinese troops. On granite tablets, the names of martyrs have been carved in gold lettering.
