Memorial of the Immortal Soldier

Each year on January the 26th when India celebrates the Republic Day, the nation also comes together to honor the soldiers who fell defending the Union of India. In India Gate, apart from the names of the soldiers who fell while fighting for the British Crown, there are inscribed the names of the soldiers who fell while fighting the Kargil War(against Pakistan) of 1999.
This picture becomes immortal because the India will always remain indebted to the supreme sacrifice they made while defending the Union(of India) and will always come together to commemorate and celebrate them. We remember those Five hundred and twenty seven soldiers in this Republic Day edition of Black and White Thursdays.

The inscribed names of the Soldiers who fought defending the Union of India are depicted in this picture. The name of the regiment is given first and then the names of the soldiers are given in a vertical pattern.

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Begining from February we at Traveler Rohan's blog will start or resume our series over Sikkim, the north eastern Himalayan state of India and cover some of the most beautiful and historical destinations. Read it every Sunday and enjoy your February !

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India Gate

When Thursday 26th of January 2012 comes, India will rise and celebrate its 63rd Republic Day and display the world its strength at arms and diversity in culture. An integral part of the Republic Day Parade is the India Gate where the Amar Jawan Jyoti (Flame of the Immortal Soldier) is located. Every year the prime minister along with the Heads of the Armed Forces place a wreath over the tomb. After which they proceed to the Rajpath and the parade commences. The Parade starts from Rashtrapati Bhavan and passes through India Gate to the reach the Red Fort.

 India Gate in the evening. 

Observe the immortal flames of the Amar Jawan Jyoti(Flame of the immortal soldier) 

between the two pillars of the Gate.

The India Gate is a national monument of India. Situated in the center of New Delhi, the India Gate was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and was inspired by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It was built in 1931. Originally known as the All India War Memorial, it is an important landmark in Delhi and commemorates the 90,000 soldiers of the Indian Army who lost their lives while fighting for the British Indian Empire in World War I and the Third Anglo-Afghan War. The imposing structure has been built with red and pale sandstone and granite.

Inscriptions on the top of the Gate clearly indicate the gratitude of the British Empire for Indian soldiers who died fighting for the crown during World War 1 in Mesopotamia(Iraq), Gallipoli(Turkey), France, e.t.c. and also the Afghan wars of the 19th century

Until the 1920s, the Agra-Delhi railway line cut right through what is today called Lutyens' Delhi and the site earmarked for the hexagonal All India War Memorial (India Gate), on Kingsway (Rajpath). Eventually the line was shifted to run along the Yamuna river and when that route opened in 1924 construction of the memorial site could begin.

India Gate in the 1930s

Courtesy eBay, Columbia University and Wikipedia

The 42-metre tall India Gate is situated in such a way that many important roads spread out from it.

 Flags of the three wings 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.

Burning in a shrine under the arch of India Gate since 1971 is the Amar Jawan Jyoti (the flame of the immortal soldier) which marks the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The shrine itself is a black marble cenotaph surmounted by a rifle standing on its barrel and crested by a soldier's helmet. Each face of the cenotaph is inscribed in gold with the words "Amar Jawan" (Immortal Warrior).

This cenotaph is placed on a pedestal with four continuously burning torches on its corners. It was unveiled in 1971. After the India-Pakistan war of 1971, the then 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).


Standing behind the gate is an empty canopy made out of sandstone, also designed by Lutyens, and inspired by a 18th century Mahabalipuram pavilion. Until the Independence of India in 1947 it contained the statue of King George V which now stands in the Coronation Park, Delhi.

Empty Canopy which housed the statue of King George the Fifth (the emperor who declared the establishment of New Delhi) till the 1960s.

The statue of King George the Fifth which was housed in the canopy above and is now present in the Coronation Park, Burari, New Delhi.

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Begining from February we at Traveler Rohan's blog will start or resume our series over Sikkim, the north eastern Himalayan state of India and cover some of the most beautiful and historical destinations. Read it every Sunday and enjoy your February !

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Raj Path (Kings Way) - Black and White Thursdays

The Raj Path is a stretch of road in India which is the most significant because of the importance attached to it. The road stretches from the Rashtrapati Bhawan(Presidential Palace) to the India Gate (War Memorial to the Indian soldiers). It is over this road that the parade of Republic Day of India is held every year on 26th January. Before independence this road was known as the Kings Way.

People have congregated on this stretch of road to celebrate the Indian Republic and remember its freedom struggles and will continue to do so for generations to come. This makes the picture of Raj Path an immortal one, one that would never change for ages to come and thus becomes a part of Black and White Thursdays.

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Republic Day of India

The Republic Day of the 'Union of India' commemorates the date on which the Constitution of India came into force replacing the Government of India Act 1935 as the governing document of India on 26 January 1950. Every year on the 26th of January the annual parade to celebrate the event is held over the Raj Path and will continue to be held over the Raj Path for generations to come. In this edition of Delhi-iteful Tuesdays we visit this stretch of road which is used to display the strength and diversity of the Republic of India.

The 26th of January was chosen to honor the memory of the declaration of independence of 1930 by Jawaharlal Nehru (Purna Swaraj). It is one of the three national holidays in India. While the main parade takes place in the national capital New Delhi at the Raj path before the president, the anniversary is also celebrated with varying degrees of formality in state capitals and other centers.

Raj Path or the Kings Way is the road in New Delhi where the annual parade to celebrate the republic day is held. The road stretches from the Rashtrapati Bhawan to the India Gate.

While India became independent on 15th August 1947 the country did not have a constitution of its own. The country's laws were based over the modified colonial Government of India Act 1935, and the country was a Dominion, with George VI as head of state and Earl Mountbatten as the Governor General. On 28 August 1947, the Drafting Committee was appointed to draft a permanent constitution, with Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar as chairman. While India's Independence Day celebrates its freedom from British Rule, the Republic Day celebrates the coming into effect of its constitution.

A view of the Raj Path from the Rashtrapati Bhawan end. The road has been made extra tough to bear the weight of the multiple tanks which roll over it during the parade.

A draft constitution was prepared by the committee and submitted to the Assembly on 4 November 1947. The Assembly met, in sessions open to public, for 166 days, spread over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 18 days before adopting the Constitution. After many deliberations and some modifications, the 308 members of the Assembly signed two hand-written copies of the document (one each in Hindi and English). The Constitution of India was passed on 26 November 1949, 10.18 AM IST, signed by the members on 24th January and came into effect completely on 26 January 1950. Following elections on 21 January 1950, Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected as the president of India. The Indian National Congress and other parties had been celebrating 26 January as a symbol of Independence, even before India actually became independent. Thus, applying the constitution on 26 January, to mark and respect 26 January and the freedom struggle and the freedom fighters.

The Raj Path is bisected by four roads namely the Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Marg, Janpath, Mansingh Road and the India Gate C hexagon.

The Raj Path as seen in the night from the India Gate End. Observe the illuminated dome of the Rashtrapati Bhawan

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