Surgical Strike 2 brings Delhi to the War Memorial

One of the architects involved in the making of the National War Memorial was quoted as saying that “the memorial should be a place where we don’t mourn death, but celebrate the life of the soldiers and pay respect to their sacrifices.” This was quite evident on Tuesday when scores of people, Delhiites and tourists, made a beeline for the memorial, which was inaugurated on Monday.Emotions ran high as people waved the national flag, shouted slogans praising the Air Force, and clicked selfies with the memorial in the backdrop – all of them celebrating “Surgical Strike 2 on Pakistan”. Geeta Mukherji, a homemaker from Jangpura, said, “While I had come on the inaugural day, I am here again today because this day is special. The entire nation is celebrating and what better place to visit than the war memorial to pay tribute to our armed forces?”

The memorial honours the soldiers who laid down their lives for the country after independence in several wars and operations. Their names have been inscribed on the walls. For Jagdish Singh, a software professional, the place enabled him to “feel the sacrifices of the war heroes.” He said, “Once you are here, you get a sense of the number of lives we have lost in all these wars. Unlike India Gate, which is cordoned off after a point, War Memorial is where you can touch the walls and read each and every name clearly. I could actually feel the sacrifice of our soldiers.”

And then there were the ones who had specially come to the War Memorial after news about India’s action against Pakistan started pouring in. Said Manpreet Singh, a businessman from Chandigarh, “I drove from Chandigarh with my friends. We wanted to celebrate our victory by coming here. Aaj subah se news mein aa raha hai… jo bhi kaho, maza aa gaya. Yahan aa ke samajh aaya ki hamaari forces ka kitna bada role hota hai in ensuring that we live in peace.”

People danced to dhol beats and clicked selfies outside the memorial