'Merging of Amar Jawan Jyoti with National War Memorial flame is a historical step ahead of R-Day'

New Delhi [India], January 21 (ANI): Ahead of Republic Day celebrations, Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant (retd), who has been the R-Day commentator for the past 49 years, on Friday said that Amar Jawan Jyoti will merge with National War Memorial flame.
"India Gate, war memorial built by the British. National War Memorial is built in memory of soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the nation from 1947 till today. Amar Jawan Jyoti will merge with National War Memorial flame," said Brig Chitranjan Sawant(retd).
In a historical step days before Republic Day, the Amar Jawan Jyoti at the India Gate lawns would be extinguished and merged with the flame at the National War Memorial on Friday.
"The Amar Jawan Jyoti flame at India Gate will be extinguished and merged with the flame at the National War Memorial on Friday at a ceremony," an Indian Army official told ANI.
The ceremony would be presided over by the Integrated Defence Staff Chief Air Marshal Balabadhra Radha Krishna who would merge the two flames, officials said.
The India Gate memorial was built by the British government in memory of the British Indian Army soldiers who lost their lives between 1914 and 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. (ANI)