National War Memorial

The National War Memorial is a monument built by the Government of India on a 40 acre site at India Gate in New Delhi as a memorial to the Indian Defence Forces. The names of the martyrs(bravehearts) of the defence forces who died in various conflicts, including the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, the Goa annexation, the Indo-China War of 1962, the Indo Pakistani War of 1965 the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, and the Kargil War, are engraved on the walls of the memorial.

A global competition was held on how to build the memorial and the Chennai based design firm WeBe won this competition. Yogesh Chandrahasan, the firm’s chief architect, said, “The main idea of this design is that the memorial should not be a place to grieve the deaths of heroes, but to celebrate their lives and honor the sacrifices they made.” 

The Memorial has four concentric circles and a central pillar, at the bottom of which burns an ever burning flame representing the immortal soldier (amar jawan). The concentric circles are designed as a Chakravyuh, an ancient Indian war formation. The four chakras are Amar Chakra, Veerta Chakra, Tyag Chakra and Rakshak Chakra.

Significance

The National War museum will be constructed in the adjoining Princess Park area and will be connected to the memorial through an underground tunnel. This park is a 14 acres large area north of India Gate, with dormitory style accommodations built during World War II. Since 1972, every year on 26 January, Republic Day, it had been customary for the Prime Minister, Chief of the Air Staff, Chief of the Naval Staff, Chief of the Army Staff and dignitaries to place wreath(assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs or various materials to form a ring shape) at Amar Jawan Jyoti under India Gate.

On the occasion of 73rd Independence Day, the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind placed a wreath and observed 2 minutes of silence to pay tribute to soldiers at the National War memorial. Following the custom set by the President, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, for the first time placed a wreath at the National War Memorial on the occasion of Republic Day.

How To Reach:

Udyog Bhawan is the nearest bus stop from the Memorial at a distance of around 2.5 KM. You can reach the memorial by taking a local auto or bus from the bus stop.