About India Gate
At the center of New Delhi stands the 42 m high India Gate, an “Arc-de-Triomphe” like archway in the middle of a crossroad. Almost similar to its French counterpart. It commemorates the 70,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the British Army during World War I. The memorial bears the names of more than 13,516 British and Indian soldiers. Who was killed in the Northwestern Frontier in the Afghan War of 1919.
History and Significance
The India Gate is the national monument of India. Sir Edwin Lutyens designed India Gate, situated in the heart of New Delhi. Inspired by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the structure was built in 1931. Originally known as the All India War Memorial. It is a prominent landmark in Delhi and commemorates the 90,000 soldiers of the Indian Army. Who lost their lives while fighting for the Indian Empire, or more correctly the British Raj, in World War I and the Third Anglo-Afghan War. Red and pale sandstone and granite compose it.
Design and Construction
Originally, a statue of George V of the United Kingdom stood under the now vacant canopy in front of the India Gate. They removed it to Coronation Park together with other statues. Following India’s independence, the India Gate became the site of the Indian Army’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, known as Amar Jawan Jyoti (“the flame of the immortal soldier”).
Post-Independence Era
Until the 1920s, the Old Delhi Railway Station served the entire city and the Agra-Delhi railway line cut right through. What is today called Lutyens’ Delhi? The site is earmarked for the hexagonal All-India War Memorial (India Gate), on Kingsway (Rajpath). The government opened the New Delhi Railway Station in 1926, preceding the inauguration of the city in 1931. The government opened the New Delhi Railway Station in 1926, preceding the inauguration of the city in 1931.
The 42-metre-tall India Gate sits in such a way that many important roads spread out from it. Due to terrorist threats, authorities closed the roads to the public, causing traffic to continuously pass around India Gate.
People throng the lawns around Rajpath during the evening when the India Gate is lit up. Ice cream and street food vendors come out during this time and it becomes a popular picnic venue for families.
The India Gate hexagon complex with a diameter of about 625m covers approximately 306000m² in area.
The Republic Day Parade starts from Rashtrapati Bhavan and passes through India Gate to reach the Red Fort.
Amar Jawan Jyoti
Burning in a shrine under the arch of India Gate since 1971 is the Amar Jawan Jyoti. Which marks the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The shrine erects a black marble cenotaph with a rifle standing on its barrel and a soldier’s helmet on top. Gold inscribes the words “Amar Jawan” (Immortal Warrior) on each face of the cenotaph.
Placed on a pedestal with four continuously burning torches on its corners, someone erected this cenotaph. It was unveiled in 1971. After the India-Pakistan war of 1971, the Prime Minister of India Mrs. Indira Gandhi paid homage on behalf of the whole nation on the eve of 23rd republic day (26 January 1972).
Today, it is customary for the President and the Prime Minister, as well as visiting Guests of State, to pay homage at the site.
Particularly on Republic Day, 26 January. The Prime Minister pays homage to the country’s fallen soldiers along with Heads of Armed Forces, before joining the annual parade at the Rajpath. It is noteworthy here that the President of India and the chief guest do not take part in this ceremony on this day.
The flags represent the 3 branches of the Indian armed forces (Army, Navy, and Air Force), and a member of each force guards the gate and tomb for 24 hours in rotation
Canopy
An empty canopy made out of sandstone, designed by Lutyens, stands behind the gate. An 18th-century Mahabalipuram pavilion inspires it. Until the Independence of India in 1947, it contained the statue of King George V. Which now stands in the Coronation Park, Delhi. There have been a number of plans and calls to have a seated or standing statue of Mahatma Gandhi installed here. Debate has not yet agreed upon the subjects.