There are around 120 regional war memorials built by various formations of the Army across the country and the government was considering a proposal to construct a national war memorial in the country’s capital.
“Approximately, 120 regional war memorials, including individual memorials exist under various regional commands,” Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh said in reply to a written query in Rajya Sabha.
He said Amar Jawan Jyoti was built under the arch of India Gate in Delhi on January 26, 1972 as a tribute to those soldiers who laid down their lives in the 1971 war.
The 120 war memorials include the memorial for martyrs of Independence struggle like Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru at Hussainiwala in Punjab and 1857 war of independence hero Mangal Pandey’s memorial in Lucknow.
Meanwhile, answering another query, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said the Department of Finance has issued instructions “which envisage implementation of end-to-end procurement in respect of all procurements with estimated value of Rs 10 lakh or more by ministries and departments of all central government along with their attached and subordinate offices.”
Image: The Amar Jawan Jyoti war memorial under the arch of India Gate in Delhi.