India Gate is a war memorial constructed in the memory of the 90,000 soldiers who lost their lives in the First World War, located in the Rajpath in Delhi. No visitor of Delhi would go without visiting this national monument standing over a height of 42 meters. The real name of India Gate was All India War Memorial however people call this as India Gate. This important landmark was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and was built in the year 1931.

The Duke of Connaught laid the foundation stone for this magnificent structure in 1921. After it was completed in 1931, Lord Irwin the then viceroy dedicated this to the nation. It is tall structure having entrance on all four sides bearing the names of more than 13,516 soldiers of Britain and India. There is an empty canopy standing behind this. This is an umbrella shaped covering resembling the pavilion of Mahabalipuram.

Before the independence of India in the middle of the structure was situated a statue of George V, the then king of United Kingdom. This had been moved to the Coronation Park. Then there went lots of discussions about placing the statue of Mahatma Gandhi here. But this was not agreed upon by all the political parties and so this is not accomplished yet.

At the center of the India Gate, there is a shrine called Amar Jawan Jyoti. This is the flame of immortal soldier burning since the year 1971. This is attributed to the perished soldiers in the war between India and Pakistan in the year 1971. The shrine is nothing but the cenotaph made of black marble placed over a pedestal. On the top of the shrine you can find the rifle of the soldiers with a soldier’s cap on its top.

India Gate is a weekend retreat for people of Delhi and a magical realm for children having all sorts of stalls and vendors selling fruits, sweets, ice creams, chaats, candies and aerated drinks. You may watch children playing with soap bubbles and balloons and enjoying camel ride, horse ride and giant wheel game.

The visitors visiting the place pay homage to the soldiers who laid their lives for the cause of the nation. The Prime Minister of India visits this place on each Republic Day to pay homage to the soldiers. There would be a flag fluttering atop signifying the army, navy and air force of the Indian military services. A member of each division, army, navy and air force guards the gate and tomb all twenty four hours taking turns.

There is no entrance ticket to visit this monument and anyone can visit this 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you are taking metro rail service then you should get down at Central Secretariat station to reach the place. Buses, autos and cabs are available from anywhere in Delhi to India Gate.

Article Posted By : Sumazla  On January 16, 2012lView All Articles

Suhaina Mazhar is a freelance content writer and blogger and has written thousands of original articles. http://sumazla.blogspot.com is her blog.

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Keywords :
India Gate , war memorial , india gate Delhi