The Amar Jawan Jyoti flame at India Gate will be extinguished after 50 years and merged with the flame at the National War Memorial in Delhi on Friday.
The Amar Jawan Jyoti was constructed as a memorial for Indian soldiers who were killed in action in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, which India won, leading to the creation of Bangladesh. It was inaugurated by the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, on January 26, 1972. Military officials said on Thursday that the flame of the Amar Jawan Jyoti will be extinguished on Friday afternoon and merged with the flame at the National War Memorial, which is just 400 metres away on the other side of India Gate.
Hindustan Times reported the ceremony to merge the two flames would begin at 3.30pm on Friday. “The flame will be moved in a torch to National War Memorial along with Guard Contingent and the two flames will be merged,” Hindustan Times reported. Air Marshal Balabadra Radha Krishna, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff, will merge the two flames at 3.54pm, Hindustan Times reported.
The move marks another step towards boosting the profile of the National War Memorial, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated in February 2019. The names of 25,942 soldiers have been inscribed in golden letters on granite tablets at the National War Memorial.
Given the symbolism and emotions associated with Amar Jawan Jyoti over the decades, the move to extinguish the eternal flame has not been well received by some political figures and veterans. Sharing a news article on the issue, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor tweeted, “This government has no respect for democratic tradition & established convention, whether in parliament or out of it. The sanctity acquired after fifty years of the Amar Jawan Jyoti is being lightly snuffed out: So everything must be reinvented post-2014?!”
The Twitter handle of the Congress Sevadal noted, “The decision of extinguishing Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate proves that the current regime has no respect for the bravehearts of this country who have sacrificed for the great nation. Neither they respect democratic tradition, nor soldiers. What next?”
Amrita Dhawan, chief of the Delhi Mahila Congress, tweeted, “Modi demolishing heritage & culture of India. Amar jawan jyoti at India Gate is every child's memory. A Tribute to our soldiers. This is unacceptable!”
Anil Duhoon, a retired Indian Army lieutenant-colonel, criticised the BJP with the hashtag 'fake patriotism'. He tweeted, Does “Does @BJP4India know 'Amar Jawan' is not a name of any soldier? Actually they were never for soldiers in the first place.”
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Sivaraman Sajan, a retired group captain of the Indian Air Force, argued the decision to extinguish the eternal flame was “sacrilege”, noting “Amar Jawan Jyoti symbolised something sacred.”
Retired IAF air vice marshal Manmohan Bahadur described the event as a “sad day”. He tweeted, “The Commonwealth Graves Commission maintains graves ALL OVER THE WORLD for soldiers who died in WW I and WW II -- and will continue to do so. It's a pity that OUR 'Eternal Flame' at the iconic India Gate is being extinguished. A generation grew up with it. Oh! What a sad day!”
