NATIONAL WAR MEMORIAL: A TRIBUTE TO INDIA'S FALLEN SOLDIERS

                 NATIONAL WAR MEMORIAL: A TRIBUTE TO INDIA'S FALLEN SOLDIERS

           (The National War Memorial all lit up after the inauguration ceremony)

(Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday dedicated the National War Memorial to the nation in a solemn ceremonial function)



(The National War Memorial is pictured after its inauguration in New Delhi)

( Prime Minister Narendra Modi lights the eternal flame, to mark the dedication of the   National War Memorial in New Delhi)

(The PM penned emotional words honouring the soldiers' sacrifice in the guest book )

(Modi takes a look at one of the six murals, made by noted sculptor Ram Sutar. The murals depict famous battles fought by the army, air force and navy)

(Granite bricks with names of 25,942 heroes, their rank and regiment, etched in gold)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the National War Memorial near India Gate in New Delhi on Monday,25th February 2019 in a ceremonial function to commemorate its opening. The National War Memorial is a tribute to the soldiers who laid down their lives defending the nation post-independence during various wars and battles fought by the Indian Army.

The memorial pays tribute to those killed in the India-China War in 1962, India-Pak wars in 1947, 1965 and 1971, Indian Peace Keeping Force Operations in Sri Lanka and the Kargil conflict between India and Pakistan in 1999. It also commemorates those who died in the UN peacekeeping missions and during counter-insurgency operations.

It is made in the India Gate complex and spread over 40 acres in the heart of Delhi and was executed at a cost of Rs 176 crore. Its vision was laid down by Modi in 2014, who had promised the nation a state-of-the-art monument honouring the sacrifice and valour of the country's armed forces. 

Inspired by the 'chakravyuh' military formation mentioned in the Mahabharata, the National War Memorial has four concentric circles the tall obelisk standing at the centre that bears the eternal flame in the memory of the fallen soldiers of the country.

The four concentric circles have been named 'Amar Chakra' or the Circle of Immortality, 'Veerta Chakra' or Circle of Bravery, 'Tyag Chakra' or Circle of Sacrifice and 'Rakshak Chakra' or the Circle of Protection.

The memorial also has six bronze murals, made by ace sculptor Ram Sutar. These sculptures depict the famous battles fought by the Army, Air Force and Navy and have been put up in a gallery in the Veerta Chakra zone.

The sanction for the project was issued on December 18, 2015 and actual work on it started in February last year.

In the complex, 16 walls have been constructed in the Tyag Chakra 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 outermost circle - the Rakshak Chakra comprises of rows of more than 600 trees with each tree representing many soldiers who guard the territorial integrity of the nation round the clock.

The India Gate itself is a war memorial built during the British Raj as the All India War Memorial Arch to honour the soldiers who died in the First World War (1914-1918) and the Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919). The landmark has the names of soldiers inscribed on its surface.

While inaugurating the Memorial, Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the Congress for ignoring armed forces. Attacking the principal opposition party, Modi pointed out various cases of corruption in arms cases during the Congress regime as he made a reference to the Gandhi family saying "for some people it is family first and not India first".

Not India’s first war memorial 

The National War Memorial may be the grandest, but it isn’t the first war memorial in India. Pune Cantonment has the National War Memorial Southern Command, dedicated to martyrs of wars fought after Independence, built through citizen’s contributions. Chandigarh has a war memorial with names of  8,459 martyrs etched on it. Tawang, Bhopal, Visakhapatnam, Darjeeling and Drass are some of the other places where you can pay homage to India’s fallen soldiers. Not to forget the most famous of them all: India Gate in New Delhi, which is a tribute to 70,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army, who fell during various campaigns before Independence. 

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