Chapter 8 — A Homage to Our Brave Soldiers

The two friends are Soumya, who lives in Jayanagar, Bengaluru, and Ananda, who lives in Chandigarh. Soumya writes the first letter dated 14 April 2022, and Ananda replies on 24 April 2022.

The National War Memorial is located near India Gate in New Delhi. It is spread over 40 acres of land.

Construction started in April 2018 and was completed in February 2019. It was envisioned and inaugurated by India's Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in February 2019.

More than 26,000 names of fallen soldiers have been etched on 29,000 tablets. Each brick of the memorial is called a tablet, and the names are inscribed in golden letters on granite walls.

The memorial commemorates soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice in wars from 1947 till date, including the Indo-China conflict of 1962, the Indo-Pakistan Wars of 1965 and 1971, and the Kargil War of 1999.

The four chakras are: (1) Amar Chakra — the 'Circle of Immortality', containing the 15-metre obelisk with the eternal Amar Jawan Jyoti flame; (2) Veerta Chakra — the 'Circle of Bravery', with a covered gallery exhibiting six bronze murals depicting battle actions; (3) Tyag Chakra — the 'Circle of Sacrifice', with granite walls of honour with individual tablets naming each fallen hero; (4) Raksha Chakra — the 'Circle of Protection', where a row of trees represents soldiers who guard the nation's territorial integrity.

The Amar Jawan Jyoti is an immortal flame kept burning all through the day and night to revere the sacrifices of soldiers. It was originally alighted under the arch of India Gate in January 1972 to commemorate India's victory in the India-Pakistan War of 1971. The flame is now housed in the obelisk at the National War Memorial; the old flame at India Gate was merged with the new flame during the inauguration.

India's highest wartime gallantry award is the Param Vir Chakra (PVC). Twenty-one bravehearts have been awarded it. Major Somnath Sharma was the first recipient, posthumously, for the Battle of Badgam in 1947.

During the 1971 war, at Gangasagar on the eastern front, Lance Naik Albert Ekka charged an enemy bunker, bayoneted two enemy soldiers, and silenced a Light Machine Gun despite being seriously wounded. He continued fighting, clearing bunker after bunker, and later scaled a building wall to bayonet an enemy operating a Medium Machine Gun, ensuring the success of the attack. He succumbed to his injuries after the capture of the objective and was posthumously awarded the PVC.

Major Padmapani Acharya of 2 Rajputana Rifles was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for his action on 28 June 1999 during Operation Vijay (Kargil). He led his reserve platoon through heavy artillery fire, crawled up to an enemy position despite serious injury, lobbed grenades, and ordered his men to charge before succumbing to his wounds. Before going into battle he wrote to his father that he was not afraid of losing his life while protecting the motherland, quoting a verse from the Bhagavad Gita.

Ananda shares the poem 'Pushp ki Abhilasha' (The Flower's Wish) written by Makhanlal Chaturvedi. She was reminded of it when recalling a visit to a war memorial in Chandigarh, where people were offering flowers as a mark of respect to soldiers.

Captain Anuj Nayyar of 17 Jat Regiment was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India's second highest gallantry award, for exemplary valour during the Kargil War of 1999. His mother, Meena Nayyar, wrote a memoir about him titled Tiger of Drass – Capt. Anuj Nayyar – 23 – Kargil Hero.

After the visit, the class divided into five groups and decided to make presentations on stories of valour of the brave soldiers they had learned about at the National War Memorial. They were also advised by their teacher to share the experience during the school assembly. Soumya chose to present the story of Major Padmapani Acharya, who fought in the 1999 Kargil War and was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra.

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