Amar Jawan Jyoti To Be Extinguished After 50 Years

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What’s happening?

After burning for 50 years, the eternal flame of Amar Jawan Jyoti at the India Gate lawns will be extinguished forever.
The torch will now be merged with the National War Memorial’s torch at a programme on Friday, days ahead of the Republic Day.
The ceremony — scheduled to begin at 3.30 pm– will be presided over by the Integrated Defence Staff chief, Air Marshal Balabadhra Radha Krishna, officials said.
In a ceremony on Friday afternoon, a part of the flame will be taken from India Gate to the flame at the National War Memorial, around 400 meters away.
After that, the flame at India Gate will be extinguished.

The 42 metre-high India Gate was built during British rule as the All India War Memorial Arch,
To honour soldiers who died in the First World War
(1914-1918) and the Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919).
The landmark has the names of soldiers inscribed on its surface.

In 1972, the Amar Jawan Jyoti was included as part of the India Gate memorial.
It has an inverted bayonet and soldier’s helmet with an eternal flame burning.
The flame of Amar Jawan Jyoti was established to pay tributes to the soldiers who had died (3,843) in the 1971 war.
It was inaugurated by PM Indira Gandhi on Republic Day 1972.

Earlier, service chiefs and visiting delegates used to pay respect at the Amar Jawan Jyoti.
On Republic Day, the prime minister would pay tribute at the site.
All national-level functions to pay homage to fallen soldiers, including the Republic Day and Independence Day, have been shifted from the Amar Jawan Jyoti to the NWM after it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2019.

In 2019, the National War Memorial was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It was built in memory of soldiers and unsung heroes who have laid down their lives for the nation since Independence.
The National War Memorial, built over a 40-acre area close to India Gate, has names of over 26,000 Indian soldiers who have died in the wars and conflicts of independent India.
At the War Memorial, the eternal flame is positioned below the central 15.5 m obelisk.
There are four concentric circles – the “Amar Chakra”, “Veerta Chakra”, “Tyag Chakra” and the “Rakshak Chakra”, where the names of soldiers are inscribed on granite tablets in golden letters.
Wreath-laying ceremonies on all designated days are now carried out here.

Official sources said that earlier, there was no war memorial to pay homage to all military personnel who had laid down their lives for the country in various wars and conflicts, which is why the flame was at India Gate.
Now that there is a dedicated museum, the flame will be merged with the one at the National War Memorial.
In 2019, it had been decided that the Amar Jawan Jyoti would continue in its place even as a new eternal flame was lit at the new memorial.
Sources said the decision was taken after it was found that the upkeep of two flames is becoming increasingly difficult.
It has also been argued that since the National War Memorial has already been built for the martyrs of the country, why a separate flame should be lit at the India Gate, army sources said.
The National War Memorial, army sources said, also has the names of the martyrs that are inscribed on the India Gate.
The National War Memorial also has the names of all the Indian defence personnel who have lost their lives in different operations — from the 1947-48 war with Pakistan to the clash with Chinese troops at Galwan valley.
The names of troops who lost lives in the counter-terrorist operations are also included on the walls of the memorial.