The Amar Jawan Jyoti flame at India Gate on Friday (January 21, 2022) was formally merged with the National War Memorial flame partially. In a solemn ceremony, the flame was merged and with this the system of two separate flames to honour the country’s fallen heroes came to an end.
It was merged by Air Marshal Balabadra Radha Krishna, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff.Today’s ceremony marked a transition in history of the memorial at India Gate. At this place the Amar Jawan Jyoti has been burning since 1971. The foundation stone of India Gate was laid almost 100 years ago by the Duke of Connaught.
This memorial was constructed to honour the Indian soldiers who laid down their lives during the Indo-Pak war of 1971. India had won the war and a new country Bangladesh was born.
This memorial is 50 years old. On January 26, 1972, the Amar Jawan Jyoti was inaugurated by the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi.
#WATCH | Delhi: Amar Jawan Jyoti flame at India Gate merged with the flame at the National War Memorial. pic.twitter.com/Nd1dnfvWYW
— ANI (@ANI) January 21, 2022
The National War Memorial which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 is located just about 400 metres away on the other side of India Gate. It was built at a cost of Rs 176 crore and across 40-acres.
At the memorial names of 25,942 soldiers have been inscribed in golden letters on granite tablets.
As has been reported in 2019, this memorial is dedicated to soldiers who were killed during various operations including Indo-Pak Wars of 1947, 1965 and 1971; Indo-China War 1962; Indian Peace Keeping Operation in Sri Lanka; other soldiers lost during Peacekeeping Operations under United Nations Flag; Kargil Conflict of 1999 and also of the soldiers who lost their lives in counter-terrorist operations.
At the memorial, the eternal flame is positioned below the central 15.5 m obelisk. And, there are four circles —”Veerta Chakra”, “Amar Chakra”, “Tyag Chakra” and the “Rakshak Chakra”.
