New Delhi: The government is backlashed for the decision of merging Amar Jawan Jyoti at the India Gate with the one at the National War Memorial (NWM) after 50 years.
The ceremony’s details were shared by an Indian army official with news agency ANI who said, “Amar Jawan Jyoti flame at India Gate will be extinguished and merged with the flame at the National War Memorial on Friday in a ceremony.”
What Is Amar Jawan Jyoti?
Amar Jawan Jyoti (Flame of the immortal soldier) was built after the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 to commemorate the martyred and unknown soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces who martyred during the war, which resulted in the creation of Bangladesh. It was inaugurated on Republic Day 1972 by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
"Amar Jawan" is scripted in gold on all four sides of the cenotaph and on top, and L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle stands on its barrel with a helmet of the unknown soldier on top. The platform is bound by four urns, one of which holds a continuously burning fire.
The Old Custom
Since 1972, consistently on the Republic Day (before the parade), it had been customary for the President, Prime Minister, Chief of the Air Staff, Chief of the Naval Staff, Chief of the Army Staff, and dignitaries to put a wreath at Amar Jawan Jyoti and pay homage to the dead and unknown troopers.
Significance
Amar Jawan Jyoti commemorates the dead and unknown soldiers who lost their lives in the war. The burning flame is considered eternal.
The meaning of Amar Jawan Jyoti turned out to be wider when all the names of soldiers martyred in post Independence wars or different missions during their service, written in golden letters, went with at the War Memorial. Amar Jawan Jyoti at Amar Chakra is presently where citizens remember and pay tribute to fallen soldiers by reading their names at the concentric Tyag Chakra.