India Gate Delhi – Monument History
The India Gate
The India Gate is the symbol of the sacrifice of thousands of Indian soldiers in various wars between 1914 to 1921. It is a war memorial located astride the Rajpath, New Delhi, India. The Indian Army participated in First World War and various wars in France, Mesopotamia, Persia, East Africa, Gallipoli, and Third Anglo-Afghan War. To restore peace in multiple countries, around 70,000 Soldiers lost their lives. Even the British Officers also sacrificed their lives on the battlefield. So then, the British Government in India wanted to build a war memorial in Memory of 70,000 soldiers of India.
Construction of The India Gate
In 1917 the Imperial War Graves Commission came to India, which looked after the construction of the war graves and memorials for soldiers killed on the battlefields. The Memory was designed by the famous architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. As the war memorial, The India Gate was built with a beautiful architectural style of the triumphal arch. The arch was carved in the style of ‘the Arch of Constantine in Rome and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. There is a lot of similarity to the Gateway of India in Mumbai. The names of the soldiers, including some officers from the United Kingdom, were carved on the walls of the India Gate. The terms inspire the present and future generations to sacrifice everything for the sake of our Mother Land.
The thoughts came into existence, and the foundation stone for the India Gate was laid on February 10 1921. At the time of the foundation ceremony then, the Indian Viceroy said, ‘The stirring tales of individual heroism will live forever in the annals of this country and that the memorial, which was a tribute to the memory of heroes, known and unknown” and also said the future generations to endure hardships with similar fortitude and no less value”.
Amar Jawan Jyoti
The construction was completed in ten years. On February 12, 1931, Viceroy Lord Irwin inaugurated the War Memorial. Since then, the Gate has stood as a symbol of the sacrifice of Indian Soldiers for the sake of restoring peace on Earth. During Bangladesh, Liberation was also Indian soldiers sacrificed their lives. So in 1971, the Indian government constructed a black marble plinth with a reversed rifle, capped by a war helmet bounded by four eternal flames at the memorial Archway. Since then, the structure calling Amar Jawan Jyoti. This is also another attraction at the India Gate.
Every evening the Memory illuminates from 7 to 9 P.M. It is a prominent tourist place, which visits Delhi never forget to visit this memorial. The Republic Day Parade also passes around the India Gate. This 42 – meter tall India Gate is occupied approximately 306,000 Sq. Metres in area and stands to the pride of the Indian Army.