National war memorial

This video provides us brief knowledge about the National War Memorial, Building Process, the monument, and its significance, four concentric circles such as Amar Chakra (Circle of Immortality), Veerta Chakra (Circle of Bravery), Tyag Chakra (Circle of Sacrifice), Rakshak Chakra (Circle of Protection) and also about Param Yodha Sthal.

To know more visit our youtube channel:
https://youtu.be/M5mg8c9_0LI

1. National War Memorial

2. Introduction The  National War Memorial  is a monument built by the Government of India near India Gate, New Delhi, to honour the Indian Armed Forces. The memorial is spread over 40 acres of land and is built around the existing  chhatri  (canopy) near India Gate. The names of armed forces personnel killed during the armed conflicts of Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, 1961 War in Goa, Sino-Indian War, Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, 1987 (Siachen), 1987-88 (Sri Lanka), 1999 (Kargil), and other operations such as Operation Rakshak, are inscribed on the memorial walls.

3. History Post Independence Era Sacrifices by Armed Forces: After our independence, Indian Armed Forces have been involved in many conflicts and participated in a number of operations. India continues to engage in counter-terrorism operations due to the Proxy War being waged from across the borders where a number of our soldiers have laid down their lives in the line of duty. The requirement to construct a National War Memorial had been under deliberation since 1961. After due deliberations the Union Cabinet on 07 October 2015 approved its construction. An area East of the India Gate, spread over 40 acres across three lawns of ‘C Hexagon’ in New Delhi was considered to be suitable for construction.

4. Building Process Global competition to select a design for the Memorial was held in 2016-17. Shri Yogesh Chandrahasan of WeBe Design Lab Chennai won the competition and was appointed Project Consultant. Necessary sanctions from statutory authorities were taken. A Detailed Project Report was prepared and M/s NCC Ltd was awarded the contract. The Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) steered the project on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

5. The monument and its significance War Memorial: A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or an edifice to celebrate a war or victory or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war. Significance: Since-Independence, more than 26,000 soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces have made the supreme sacrifice to defend the sovereignty and integrity of the country. The National War Memorial thus represents the gratitude of a nation to its Armed Forces. The Memorial will help strengthen the sense of belonging, high moral values, sacrifice and national pride in our citizens.

6. Concept The memorial has distinct scheme of concentric circles: Amar Chakra (Circle of Immortality) Tyag Chakra (Circle of Sacrifice) Rakshak Chakra (Circle of Protection) Veerta Chakra (Circle of Bravery) These four concentric circles are designed as a  Chakravyuh , an ancient Indian war formation.

7. Amar Chakra (Circle of Immortality) : This has an Obelisk with Eternal Flame. The flame symbolizes the immortality of the spirit of fallen soldiers with the assurance that the Nation will never forget their sacrifices.

8. Tyag Chakra (Circle of Sacrifice): The circular concentric walls of honour, which symbolize the ancient war formation ‘Chakravyuh’. The walls are clad with granite tablets where an independent granite tablet is dedicated to each soldier who has made the supreme sacrifice where his name is etched in golden letters.

9. Veerta Chakra (Circle of Bravery): A covered gallery that exhibits six murals crafted in bronze depicting valiant battles actions of our Armed Forces.

10. Rakshak Chakra (Circle of Protection): The row of trees in the Rakshak Chakra is a reassurance to the citizens of the country about their safety against any threat, with each tree representing the soldiers who ensure the territorial integrity of the Nation, round the clock.

11. Param Yodha Sthal The Param Yodha Sthal is dedicated to the nation’s highest gallantry award ‘Param Vir Chakra’ (PVC) recipients and designed with well laid out pathways, landscaping, individual busts in bronze of all 21 recipients till date.

12. Timeline 7 October 2015 - The Union Cabinet passes the proposal to build the war memorial. It also clears ₹500 crore for the memorial and museum, sanctioning ₹176 crore for the memorial alone. 30 August 2016 - A global design competition for the National War Memorial and Museum is launched on the MyGov.in web portal. April 2017 - The result of the global design competition is announced. Mumbai-based sP+a Studio's proposal wins for the design of the National War Museum.

13. 1 January 2019 - The National War Memorial's construction is complete (not of the museum). 25 February 2019 - The National War Memorial is inaugurated. On 26 January 2020, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi placed a wreath and observed 2 minutes silence to pay tribute to the soldiers before the start of the Republic Day Parade for the first time on Republic Day. Timeline