(T,H)
The iconic Amar Jawan Jyoti (AJJ), which was inaugurated after the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was removed on Friday, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the construction of a statue of Subhas Chandra Bose, restructuring the symbolism around the India Gate.
In the face of protests from the Congress and some veterans, the Centre said the AAJ was “not extinguished” and only “merged” with the flame at the National War Memorial (NWM). Mr. Modi saidafter independence new things were constructed only for a “few families” butnow they were building monuments of national importance.
At a ceremony presided over by Air Marshal B.R. Krishna, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC), a torch with the flame at the AJJ was carried with full military honours and merged with the NWM flame.
The NWM, inaugurated in February 2019, is located at the ‘C’ Hexagon near India Gate and was built in memory of the soldiers who laid down their lives for the country in the post-Independence period. It has the names of over 26,000 soldiers inscribed on it.
In a change of tradition since the unveiling of the NWM, before the commencement of the Republic Day parade in 2020, Mr. Modi paid homage to the fallen soldiers by laying a wreath at the flame of there, instead of at the AJJ.
Since the inauguration of the NWM, all homage ceremonies are being conducted only there. However, defence officials had stated that the AJJ would be kept burning and used for ceremonial occasions and official visits.
Downplaying the controversy that emerged on the issue, a government source said it was an odd thing to see that the flame at the AJJ paid homage to the martyrs of 1971 and other wars but none of their names were present. “The names of all Indian martyrs from all the wars, including 1971 and wars before and after it, are housed at the NWM. Hence it is a true ‘shraddhanjali’ to have the flame paying tribute to martyrs there,” the source stated.
