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Amar Jawan Jyoti flame extinguished

Amar Jawan Jyoti flame to be extinguished, will be merged with National War Memorial torch

The ceremonial flame will be put out for the first time since it was lit in 1972 as a mark of honour for soldiers.

The ceremonial flame of the Amar Jawan Jyoti, a war memorial at the India Gate in Delhi, will be extinguished on 21 Jan 2022 for the first time since it was lit in 1972.

The flame will be merged with the torch at the National War Memorial, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 25 February 2019.

Air Marshal Balabhadra Radha Krishna, the chief of integrated defence staff, will carry out the merger at an event scheduled to begin at 3.30 pm on 21 Jan 2022. The flame will be moved in a torch from the Amar Jawan Jyoti memorial to the National War Memorial.

The flame at Amar Jawan Jyoti will be put out after lighting the one at the National War Memorial, situated less than a kilometre away from the India Gate.

About  Amar Jawan Jyothi

Amar Jawan Jyothi

Amar Jawan Jyoti (Flame of the immortal soldier) is an Indian memorial constructed after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 to commemorate the martyred and unknown soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces who died during the India-Pakistan war. Amar Jawan Jyoti consists of a marble pedestal on which a cenotaph is situated. “Amar Jawan” (Immortal Soldier) is scripted in gold on all four sides of the cenotaph and on top, a L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle stands on its barrel with a helmet of the Unknown Soldier on top. The pedestal is bound by four urns, one of which holds a continuously burning flame.

It was inaugurated on the Republic Day of 1972 by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Since 1972, every-year on the Republic Day (before the Republic Day parade), it had been customary for the President, Prime Minister, Chief of the Air Staff, Chief of the Naval Staff, Chief of the Army Staff and dignitaries to a place wreath at Amar Jawan Jyoti and pay homage to the dead and unknown soldiers. The burning flame is considered immortal

National War Memorial

National war memorial of India

The National War Memorial also has the names of all the Indian defence personnel who have lost their lives in different operations of Indian military who fought in armed conflicts of independent India from the 1947-48 war with Pakistan to the clash with Chinese troops at Galwan valley. The names of armed forces personnel killed during the armed conflicts with Pakistan and China as well as the 1961 War in Goa, Operation Pawan, and other operations such as Operation Rakshak are inscribed on the memorial walls in golden letters.

Amar Jawan Jyoti is also located at Amar Chakra of National War Memorial. The Memorial has four concentric circles and a central obelisk, at the bottom of which burns an ‘eternal flame’ representing the immortal soldier (amar jawan). The pedestal is bound by four urns, in which flame has been burning continuously, since the inauguration. The President and Prime Minister visit this memorial on National Days including but not limited to Republic Day and Independence Day. The Chief of Defence Staff , along with Army Chief, Navy Chief, and Air Force Chief also visits the monument on respective Service Days to pay tribute to the fallen Heroes of the Nation, post Independence.

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 25,942 soldiers are inscribed on granite tablets in golden letters.

The Param Yodha Sthal houses the busts of all the 21 recipients of the Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest military honour.

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