New Delhi: The flame of Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate has now been merged with the flame lit in the National War Memorial. It is here that light is already burning to pay homage to the jawans who have been martyred to protect the integrity and sovereignty of the country since 1947. Now both the lights are united. However, there is also a political uproar over this and the main opposition Congress is calling it an insult to the martyrs. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are clearly saying that the Modi government has extinguished the immortal jawan Jyoti. But, in the midst of this political turmoil, it becomes necessary to know what former PM Indira Gandhi, who founded Amar Jawan Jyoti, had thoughts about it.
In 1971, Indira Gandhi placed Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate. The light was lit in memory of about 4,000 Indian soldiers who were martyred during the Bangladesh war. But at that time, Indira Gandhi herself had also talked about building a permanent war memorial. Historical sources say that the place of Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate was a temporary arrangement. Indira Gandhi herself had emphasized the need to build a permanent memorial to honour the soldiers who were martyred for the country. Indira Gandhi had also talked about constructing a memorial in the name of Amar Jawan. Babu Jagjivan Ram, who was defence minister in Indira's government, had said in the Lok Sabha on September 1, 1972, that the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate is temporary and plans are to build a national war memorial in future.
Babu Jagjivan Ram had said in the Lok Sabha that "a temporary war memorial has been set up near India Gate with Amar Jawan Jyoti. A proposal to construct a permanent National War Memorial to honour the soldiers who have been martyred for the country since Independence is under consideration. The memorial will mark the names of soldiers martyred in all wars, including the 1971 war. At the same time, names of regiments and units that have participated in all military operations and wars since Independence will also be recorded. A decision in this regard will be taken at the appropriate time.''
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