On Friday 21st January, the 50-year-old Amar Jawan
Jyoti was merged to National War Memorial. Amar Jawan Jyoti is located under the
arch of India Gate. A part of the flame was taken and merged with the flame of the
National War Memorial, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in
2019 in the memory of soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country.
Amar Jawan Jyoti implies “Flame of the immortal soldier”. It was
constructed after the India-Pakistan war in 1971 to commemorate unknown
soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces who sacrificed their lives for the safety of
the country. The ceremony was completed by Air Marshal B R Krishna the chief of
integrated defense staff. He lighted the torch from the Amar Jawan Jyoti and merged
it in the memorial flame at National War Memorial. He was escorted by a tri-service
guard contingent of over 100 military personnel.
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National War Memorial is the national monument in honor of the
Indian Military who gave up their lives for independent India. The names of soldiers
fought in different battles are inscribed on the memorial walls in golden
letters including the war in Goa, 1961; the armed conflicts with Pakistan and China;
and several operations like Operation Rakshak, etc. According to the data
present, names of above 26,000 soldiers are inscribed on the ceremonial wall of
the National War Memorial.
The ceremony brought mixed opinions from different political leaders and military veterans. Many veterans supported the government’s decision of merging the flames. At the same time, different political leaders showed different opinions and stood against the decision of the government. The former Army Chief General stated it was a natural thing to merge because now National War Memorial is established its better to have all the ceremonies related to honoring of the soldiers there only.
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