As the nation celebrates 71st Republic Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid homage to the fallen soldiers at the newly-built National War Memorial (NWM) in New Delhi on the Republic Day for the first time instead of the Amar Jawan Jyoti beneath the India Gate arch.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the country the National War Memorial (NWM) at the India Gate on February 25 last year.

While Amar Jawan Jyoti is symbolised by an inverted bayonet and soldier’s helmet over it with an eternal flame burning beside it. It was built in 1972 underneath the India Gate arch to commemorate soldiers martyred in the Indo-Pak War of 1971.

Built by the Military Engineering Services (MES) in record time, the NWM is the first memorial dedicated to soldiers of all three services of the Indian armed forces who laid down their lives in defence of the motherland during the wars.

The memorial has 16 walls bearing the names of the 25,942 Indian soldiers who attained martyrdom in the wars since 1947, the United Nations peace-keeping missions, counter-insurgency operations, Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR) operations, and Low-Intensity Conflict Operations (LICO).

Commemorating the sacrifice of the soldiers and the concept of values of armed forces, the structure has been built in the form of four chakras with an eternal flame and obelisk located in the inner-most chakra.

The memorial is designed in the shape of four concentric circles – the ‘Amar Chakra’ or Circle of Immortality, ‘Virta Chakra’ or Circle of Bravery, ‘Tyag Chakra’ or Circle of Sacrifice and ‘Rakshak Chakra’ or Circle of Protection.

A tribute to the 21 winners of the Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is also a part of the memorial. A bust of each of the PVC winner along with information about them graces an area adjacent to the main memorial.

While the India Gate bears the names of the soldiers who died in the First World War, the Amar Jawan commemorates the sacrifice of the soldiers in the 1971 Indo-Pak War.

The NWM will be connected via a subway to the War Museum, which is coming up in the Princess Park area.