Amar Jawan Jyoti row: Flame not being 'extinguished' but 'merged', says Centre

The BJP hit back at Congress, who had questioned the move, and clarified that the "Amar Jawan Jyoti is not being extinguished, but merged with the flames of the National War Memorial". Several Army veterans have also welcomed the decision to merge the flames.

Pic courtesy: ANI (file photo)

New Delhi: The decision to merge the flame of the Amar Jawan Jyoti with the flame at the National War Memorial has led to a political slugfest, with several leaders, especially from the Congress, slamming the BJP for this move. While Congress said it's a shame that "the immortal flame that used to burn for our brave soldiers will be extinguished today", the BJP hit back, clarifying that the "Amar Jawan Jyoti is not being extinguished, but merged with the National War Memorial (NMW)."

Several political leaders including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi have questioned the Central Government's intent in shutting the Eternal Flame at Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate in the national capital and instead of putting a permanent one at the National War Memorial. The Government sources on Friday said that a lot of misinformation is being spread with regards to the same and it clarified that the flame of the Amar Jawan Jyoti is not being extinguished. It is being merged with the flame at the National War Memorial, the sources said. It said that the flame at Amar Jawan Jyoti paid tributes to the martyrs of 1971 and other wars however none of the names who made that supreme sacrifice for the country were present there.

"It was an odd thing to see that the flame at Amar Jawan Jyoti paid homage to the martyrs of the 1971 and other war heroes but none of their names are present there but now the names of all Indian martyrs from all the wars, including 1971 and wars before and after it are housed at the National War Memorial. This would be a true tribute to our fallen heroes," the sources added.

The Central Government lashed out at the Congress party and said that though it was in power for close to 7 decades, it did not even think of making the iconic National War Memorial, something that present-day Prime Minister Narendra Modi did in his very first term in office in January 2019. NWM was inaugurated in February 2019.

Lt. Gen. Vinod Bhatia (Retd.), former DGMO Indian Army, also welcomed the move: "Today is a great occasion, the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate is (being) merged with the National War Memorial. It's a good decision. Time has come to shift the Amar Jawan Jyoti, to merge it with National War Memorial."

Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had slammed the Central Government over its decision to extinguish the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate.Taking to Twitter, the Congress MP said, "It is a matter of great sadness that the immortal flame that used to burn for our brave soldiers will be extinguished today. Some people cannot understand patriotism and sacrifice - never mind. We will once again light the Amar Jawan Jyoti for our soldiers."

Here's Rahul Gandhi's tweet, which is in Hindi:

बहुत दुख की बात है कि हमारे वीर जवानों के लिए जो अमर ज्योति जलती थी, उसे आज बुझा दिया जाएगा।

कुछ लोग देशप्रेम व बलिदान नहीं समझ सकते- कोई बात नहीं…
हम अपने सैनिकों के लिए अमर जवान ज्योति एक बार फिर जलाएँगे!

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 21, 2022

Congress MP Manish Tewari on Friday tweeted, "Extinguishing Amar Jawan Jyoti tantamounts to extinguishing history. For it commentates sacrifice of those 3,483 brave soldiers who cleaved Pakistan into 02 parts and redrew the map of South Asia post-partition It is ironical that in 50th year of liberation of Bangladesh, Government seems to be working overtime to erase India's finest hour in Post Independent History".

He said Amar Jawan Jyoti is imbued in the National Consciousness and a billion people have grown up venerating it. "Why can't India have two eternal flames - Amar Jawan Jyoti and National War Memorial," he questioned.  "Redeveloping the Central Vista was hubris enough but extinguishing the eternal flame at India gate is nothing short of a crime. I am surprised that the nation is silent as a national icon would be snuffed out in the project to re-write History," he added in the tweet.

Days ahead of Republic Day, today (Jan 21, 2022), the Amar Jawan Jyoti flame at the India Gate lawns is being merged with the flame at the National War Memorial. The India Gate memorial was built by the British government in memory of the British Indian Army soldiers who lost their lives between 1914-1921. However, the Amar Jawan Jyoti was included in the memorial structure in the 1970s after the massive victory of India over Pakistan in which 93,000 troops of the enemy country surrendered. 

After a long wait and multiple considerations, the National War Memorial was built in the India Gate complex by the Narendra Modi government and was inaugurated in 2019. After the inauguration of the building in War memorial, all military ceremonial events were shifted to it from the India Gate memorial.The National War Memorial has the names of all the Indian Defence personnel who have lost their lives in different operations from the 1947-48 war with Pakistan to the Galwan valley clash with Chinese troops. The names of troops who lost lives in the counter-terrorist operations are also included on the walls of the memorial. The existence of Amar Jawan Jyoti was questioned two years ago after the National War Memorial came into being and the nation got a new eternal flame there.