PM Narendra Modi inaugurates National War Memorial, dedicates to India's martyrs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the National War Memorial in New Delhi's India gate circle and dedicated it to the martyrs who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty. 

While addressing the event, Modi paid tribute to the brave soldiers who lost their lives in Pulwama attack and all those bravehearts who sacrifice themselves for protection of India.

“The demand for a National War Memorial has been there for many decades, in the last decade there were one or two attempts but nothing concrete could happen, with the help of your blessing we started the process in 2014”, he said.

“We are continuously working towards making the Army self-reliant, the decisions which were thought to be impossible earlier have now been made possible”.

The Prime Minister further stated “Contribution from all parts of society is necessary for security of the nation. Because of this ideology, for the first time women are getting the opportunity to become fighter pilots.

(The National War Memorial is a state-of-art monument spread over an area of approximately 40 acres and is a tribute to Indian soldiers.)

“Decisions are being taken to strengthen the participation of daughters in the forces," he said.

The memorial has been built in the memory of martyred soldiers who lost their lives protecting the nation during Indo-China War in 1962, Indo-Pak Wars in 1947, 1965 and 1971, Indian Peace Keeping Force Operations in Srilanka and the Kargil Conflict in 1999.

The entire project has been executed at a cost of Rs 176 crore and its design was selected through global competition. The Memorial has been built in the area of over 40 acres near the India Gate complex. Though the plan to construct such a memorial was going on since 1975, it was only on October 7, 2015, that the government approved its construction.

The names of 25,942 battle casualties have been inscribed across 16 walls that consist of granite pieces bearing the name, rank and regiment of the fallen heroes. It was built between February 2018 and February 2019, which is a "record time" to complete such a massive project.