AFOVA New Letter 2 of Year 2021

Section 6 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 02 / 2021 Page 207 of 332 she pronounced the thought! Accordingly, she assumed that it would be ready by the next Republic Day – 26 January 1972. One should congratulate the mandarins of the government, to pull out some acceptable (to Ms G) solution. Once that was done, they were possibly sure that the matter would be given a quiet burial – particularly when they were not in the loop of decision making! Pleading paucity of time – as it was to be inaugurated in January 1972 – a mere month after her announcement, it was decided that the easiest option would be to convert the memorial built by the British at India Gate to Amar Jawan Jyoti – the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The financial wizards in the North Block were extremely happy that they had ‘saved’ money by not making another monument. The torches at the Shrine of the Amar Jawan Jyoti were lit on 26 Jan 1972 and continue to burn. It represents the flame of the immortal warrior that marks the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The shrine is made of black marble with a rifle placed on its barrel. This rifle is crested by a soldier's helmet. The words- "Amar Jawan" (Immortal Warrior) is inscribed in gold on each face of the cenotaph, which is placed on an edifice. It is customary for the President and the Prime Minister to pay homage at the site during State ceremonies. Guests from foreign nations, who visit the state, also visit India Gate and pay homage at the site. Let us now move southwards towards Madras – now renamed Chennai. There is a War Cemetery near St Thomas Mount. This Cemetery was established in the year 1952 as a testimonial to the valorous men and women who sacrificed their lives during the Second World War. It was the Imperial War Graves Commission who took responsibility to establish and maintain the Madras War Cemetery. The Cemetery is under the supervision of a body commonly recognized as the 'The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)’, which acts in concert with the Government of India. The Madras War Cemetery is the resting place of 857 valiant soldiers belonging to the Commonwealth Forces who embraced death in the dreaded Second World War that stretched from 1939 to 1945. The bodies belong to all different nationalities like United Kingdom, Canada, and West Africa, India prior to partition, New Zealand, Burma, Australia, Poland, South Rhodesia and Malaya. Though the landscape throughout the nation is dotted with the samadhis of various politicians, we had no national monument to honour the unknown soldier of post- independence India – as is prevalent in many of the other countries. Willy-nilly we as Indians do not take pride in honouring our soldiers who have sacrificed their lives in guarding the frontiers of the nation.