AFOVA New Letter 2 of Year 2021

Section 6 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 02 / 2021 Page 206 of 332 17 Kargil Diwas at Chennai Brig V A Subramanyam Genre: Tributes for Martyrdom ince declaring ourselves a Republic, I do not recollect that we as a nation ever paid homage to those who perished in the various armed conflicts. Nonetheless towards the beginning of this century, a start was made at the Victory War memorial, which was built in Chennai by the British. This piece was written after one such occasion when something special happened in 2013. There's a light shining in him, moving him forward: the light of freedom. That's what draws all of us to follow, to take risks, to keep on fighting when we see our comrades fall beside us. But there's no light without shadow. - Juliet Marillier, Raven Flight On the other hand, the British decided to commemorate the valour and sacrifice of all those members of the erstwhile British Indian Army who were part of the Indian Empire during the Afghan Wars and World War I. The result was the memorial at India Gate located at the centre of Delhi, where the capital had moved from Calcutta. Edwin Lutyens designed the new city as well as the memorial, which is an architectural marvel. The shrine is made of black marble. Four torches burn on its four corners and are kept alive. The names of all those who made the supreme sacrifice are etched in gold lettering and are on each face of the cenotaph. The imposing memorial was completed in 1921 and was located in the centre of New Delhi opposite the Rashtrapati Bhawan – which was the mansion of the then Viceroy. The road between the two was then known as Kingsway, which has since been renamed as Raj Path. The colonial rule ended and we became an Independent nation on 15 August 1947. Within a year, Indian troops took part in the Kashmir operations in 1948, and again in 1962 and then in 1965. At that point – the political establishment did not even remotely think of honouring those who laid down their lives in the service of the nation – post Independence. However after the spectacular victory during December 1971, Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister felt that a fitting memorial should be built for those who sacrificed their all, so that the rest of the country could continue to live freely in post-Independence India. Shri BS Raghavan a well-known veteran bureaucrat would often mention that whenever government made an announcement, it was understood to mean an accomplishment – notwithstanding the time taken to translate the policy into action! More often than not, action was seldom taken after the proclamation! However Ms Indira was imperious and expected things to be completed no sooner had S