Historic! Amar Jawan Jyoti Merged with Eternal Flame At National War Memorial

Earlier, government sources had refuted reports which said that the Amar Jawan Jyoti was being “extinguished”, and clarified that it was being merged with the one at the National War Memorial.

New Delhi: After 5 decades, the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate in Delhi was merged with the eternal flame at the National War Memorial (NWM) in the run-up to the Republic Day function this year. The ceremony was presided over by the Integrated Defence Staff chief Air Marshal Balabadhra Radha Krishna, who carried out the significant move of merging the two flames.

Earlier, government sources had refuted reports which said that the Amar Jawan Jyoti was being “extinguished”, and clarified that it was being merged with the one at the National War Memorial.

#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

On Friday, a battery of opposition party leader including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi questioned the Central Government’s intent in shutting the Eternal Flame at Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate. The Government sources on Friday said that a lot of misinformation is being spread with regards to the same and it clarified that the flame of the Amar Jawan Jyoti is not being extinguished. It is being merged with the flame at the National War Memorial, the sources said.

It said that the flame at Amar Jawan Jyoti paid tributes to the martyrs of 1971 and other wars however none of the names who made that supreme sacrifice for the country were present there.

“It was an odd thing to see that the flame at Amar Jawan Jyoti paid homage to the martyrs of the 1971 and other war heroes but none of their names are present there but now the names of all Indian martyrs from all the wars, including 1971 and wars before and after it are housed at the National War Memorial. This would be a true tribute to our fallen heroes,” the sources added.

Amar Jawan Jyoti: A brief history

The eternal flame known as Amar Jawan Jyoti was built in 1972 underneath the India Gate arch to commemorate the soldiers martyred in the Indo-Pak War of 1971. The black marble plinth pedestal with a reversed rifle, capped by a helmet, bounded by four eternal flames served as India’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The words ‘Amar Jawan’ are scripted in gold on the cenotaph. On important days, VIPs and top ranking military officials pay their respects at this monument.

The rifle and helmet at the Amar Jawan Jyoti memorial belong to an unknown soldier who fell in the Jessore sector during this war. The rifle is an L1A1 self-loading rifle and the four urns are each ignited with the permanent light (jyoti) from CNG flames. The Amar Jyoti Jawan memorial was inaugurated by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on January 27, 1979.