What’s in a Flame?

India Gate is a War Memorial built in memory of the 83,000 Indian soldiers who laid down their lives during the First World War, and the British officers and soldiers killed in the North West Frontier Province in the Third Afghan War. The foundation stone of India Gate was laid by the Duke of Connaught in 1921.

The ‘Amar Jawan Jyoti’ was placed under India Gate after the Indo-Pak war of 1971 by Indira Gandhi to commemorate this great victory against Pakistan. The black marble structure has four corners where four eternal flames were lit. On this marble slab is placed an inverted rifle with a helmet on it. This eternal flame came to be related to all those soldiers ( army, air force and navy ) who laid down their lives during the 1971 war.

India’s campaign against East Pakistan ranks amongst the great campaigns in history, where India also took 93,000 prisoners. The last such victory took place in 305 BCE, when Chandragupta Maurya defeated Alexander’s general, Seleucus Nicator. Therefore, this war of 1971 has a special place in India’s military history and must be celebrated as a separate event, at the location of its memorial under India Gate, and not combined with the National War Memorial. The latter collectively relates to all the battles fought after independence and records the names of all those who laid down their lives in these battles.

Each great battle has its own place in the history of a nation and cannot be clubbed or merged with another. While the United States of America’s military fought many a successful battle during the Second World War and has a National War Memorial, yet annual celebrations at some other war memorials are annually held with full pomp and glory. Thus the site of the last great battle of the Civil War at Gettysburg has nearly 100 unit and formation memorials, with guns still in their battle locations. Half a million Americans assemble every year to celebrate this battle, where some of the actions of that battle at unit level are staged by the locals, wearing full military uniforms of that period.

While no one need be over-concerned about the shifting of Amar Jawan Jyoti from the 1971 War Memorial under India Gate and merging it with one at National War Memorial, this could have been avoided. After all, India Gate and the National War Memorial are more or less part of one complex, yet have different historical perspectives. There is little justification to denigrate India Gate as a relic of the British Empire as is being projected by some veterans, and thus not suitable for Amar Jawan Jyoti. It is to dishonour those eighty three thousand Indian soldiers who laid down their lives in this war. These soldiers were Indians and part of the Indian army.

Equally, where Bose’s statue is to be installed is also a relic of the British Empire and earlier King George V’s statue was under this very canopy.

British subjugation of India is part of our history and cannot be erased. We as Indians failed to hold out against foreign invasions and there is a lesson to learn from our failures by keeping alive these memories to ensure that we do not fall prey to those very failings once more.

Though the attendant ‘photo op’ of shifting the eternal flame from India Gate and linking it with political leaders could have been avoided. To justify this shifting, some overzealous commentators have gone to the extent of saying that this flame under India Gate was inappropriate, as this monument was built to honour mercenaries. Let us not forget that, during the Second World War, these very soldiers ( mercenaries according to some veterans ) beat back the Japanese at Imphal and Kohima in defence of India. They also formed the Indian National Army under the leadership of Subhash Chandra Bose and contributed to India’s independence. Finally, it was the mutinies in the Royal Indian Navy and Royal Indian Air Force in 1946, which hastened Britain’s departure from India.

War memorials are meant to honour soldiers and soldiering as such and commemorate great battles. Each battle has its own history and record of valour and sacrifice of troops and thus the related memorial has an element of inviolability. For constructing the Saraghari memorial at Ferozepur, stones were brought from the Saraghari Post on the Samana Ridge in North West Frontier. When the two guns at this memorial were shifted to the Flag Staff House, I called up the General Officer Commanding and pointed to him the inappropriateness of this step. He pleaded ignorance and told me that these will be put back at the memorial. Sometimes we forget the sanctity of these memorials.

For the Indian soldier, “Naam, Namak, Nishan” and oath have been the guiding principle and it matters little whose flag it was under which they fought. These memorials, besides honouring those who laid down their lives, also act as part of the history of an army/unit, and also inspire and motivate future generations of soldiers to live up to such gallant acts.

Militaries live and sacrifice themselves in keeping with certain traditions. A unit’s past performance and war record plays on the psyche of future generations Thus when the 4 Sikh advance party occupied the ‘Ladders’ feature in the 1962 War at Walong, the second-in-command of the battalion sent a signal back to the commanding officer, stating that at this defensive position we will be able to repeat the battle of Saragarhi. It may be recalled that Saragarhi, a world famous battle, was a last man, last round action where everyone on that post died fighting. If 4 Sikh was not able to replay Saraghari the fault lies elsewhere, as the battalion was ordered to withdraw, after it had beaten back two Chinese attacks.

In France there is a War Memorial at Neuve Chappelle built in memory of the Indian soldiers who laid down their lives defending France during the First World War. It is of Indian design and the central pillar has Gurmukhi lettering. To this day, annually a formal ceremony is held and attended by French veterans, serving soldiers and locals, to honour those Indian soldiers who laid down their lives defending France.

There are a large number of war memorials spread all over India, which relate to specific battles, conducted at formation and unit level. Regular ceremonies are held and wreaths laid at each of these, on specific dates.

Some senior veterans from the army, to align with the current political dispensation have been going overboard in denigrating those Indian officers and soldiers who took part in the First and Second World Wars, terming them mere mercenaries. Such utterances are no different from those of Kangna Ranaut, when she claims that what we got in 1947 was not freedom but alms. According to her, real freedom came only in 2014: with the coming of Mr Modi!

Veterans need to refrain from merging with the ideological, religious and divisive dispensation of some of the current political organisations. Public statements by these veterans could needlessly have an adverse spillover effect on the serving soldiers.

Lt General Harwant Singh is retired from the Indian Army.