Liberals do not need any reason to cry their noses off. If there is any good news, liberals cry. If there is anything bad, they obviously cry. And if it comes to appreciating the government’s efforts, then it does not even take a microsecond for them to cry. Well, this has happened again. The liberals, now, are having a major breakdown as the flame of the Amar Jawan Jyoti at the India Gate in Delhi has been merged with the eternal flame at the National War Memorial.
Amar Jawan Jyoti merged with Eternal Flame of National War Memorial
In what comes as a water-shedding moment for every Indian, on Friday, a part of the Amar Jawan Jyoti flame was taken and merged with the flame at the National War Memorial, which is 400 meters away on the other side of India Gate.
“The flame of the Amar Jawan Jyoti is not being extinguished. It is being merged with the flame at the National War Memorial,” government sources said.
The ceremony was attended by the Integrated Defence Staff chief Air Marshal Balabadhra Radha Krishna, who carried out the significant move of merging the two flames.
As per the government, “The flame of the Amar Jawan Jyoti is not being extinguished. It is being merged with the flame at the National War Memorial. It was an odd thing to see that the flame at Amar Jawan Jyoti paid homage to the martyrs of the 1971 & other wars but none of their names is present there.”
Government goes berserk over the decision
The opposition, however, began attacking the government for its historical decision.
The first we have on the list is man-child Rahul Gandhi, a Congress leader, who stated that “some people cannot understand patriotism”.
Deeply ‘saddened’ by the decision, Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to display his patriotic side, “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!”
https://twitter.com/RahulGandhi/status/1484361901580558336?s=20
Human Thesaurus Shashi Tharoor also stated, “This government has no respect for democratic tradition & established convention, whether in parliament or out of it. The sanctity acquired after fifty years of the Amar Jawan Jyoti is being lightly snuffed out… So everything must be reinvented post-2014?!”
https://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor/status/1484329588612562946?s=20
Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress leader Manish Tewari also made a ‘cute’ attempt to slam the BJP government. “The RSS in principle doesn’t consider martyrdom as ideal but a fatal flaw. Here, excerpts from Golwalkar’s “Bunch of Thoughts”, which has now been taken down from their website. This explains why the Modi Govt is extinguishing Amar Jawan Jyoti today, after half a century,” tweeted Kharge.
Tewari said, “Whatever is being done is a national tragedy and an attempt to rewrite history. Merging Amar Jawan Jyoti with War Memorial Torch means erasing history. BJP has built the National War Memorial, that does not mean they can extinguish the Amar Jawan Jyoti.”
Government pins down the opposition
The incompetent opposition, however, has been shown the mirror. Refuting the ridiculous claims made by the opposition, the government reverted saying that “It was ironic that people who did not make a National War Memorial for seven decades were now “making a hue and cry when a permanent and fitting tribute is being made to our martyrs.”
“The names inscribed on the India Gate are of only some martyrs who fought for the British in World War 1 & the Anglo-Afghan War & thus is a symbol of our colonial past. 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. Hence, it is a true shraddhanjali to have the flame paying tribute to martyrs there,” they added.
Retd General Ashok Mehta also appreciated the decision and said, “The Congress will obviously oppose (the decision) because the Amar Jawan Jyoti came up during their time. But with the War Memorial now in place, it does not make sense to have two separate flames to commemorate soldiers. It is the right choice to merge the flames and have only one place for it. The (BJP) government has taken a political call to see it (Amar Jawan Jyoti) as a colonial structure, otherwise, they could have built a memorial around it as well.”
Why the merger is a good decision?
The National War Memorial built in the India Gate complex by the Narendra Modi government was inaugurated in 2019. It has the names inscribed of all the Indian defence personnel who have lost their lives in different operations ever since 1947-48 war with Pakistan till the Galwan valley clash with Chinese troops.
Read More: India salutes its fallen heroes: PM Modi to inaugurate National War Memorial today
The India Gate memorial, on the contrary, was built by the British government to pay tribute to the British Indian Army soldiers who lost their lives between 1914-1921. The Amar Jawan Jyoti, in India Gate memorial, was only included in the 1970s massive victory of India over Pakistan in which 93,000 troops of the enemy country surrendered.
Thus, the decision hammers the colonial mindset and is a dedicated tribute to all martyrs who died fighting for India.