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A Trip4India > Monuments in India > India Gate, Delhi

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India Gate, Delhi

Built as a memorial to commemorate the 70,000 India soldiers killed in World War I, India Gate was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and completed in 1931.

Located on Rajpath, the road which leads to the magnificent Rashtrapati Bhawan, the gate is 160 feet high with an arch of 138 feet.

Built from sandstone, the arch also houses the Eternal Flame, a gesture in memory of the Indian soldiers who laid their lives in the 1971 war with Pakistan.

India Gate, a majestic structure, 42 metres high, is set at the end of Rajpath, perhaps the most beautiful area of New Delhi with plush green lawns in the backdrop. It is a popular picnic spot during the winters and equally popular as a relaxation area during the summer evenings.

Designed and built by Lutyens, it was originally called All India War Memorial in memory of the 90,000 Indian soldiers who died in the campaigns of World War I, the North-West Frontier operations of the same time and the 1919 Afghan Fiasco.On the walls of the structure are inscribed the names of all the soldiers.

An eternal flame called Amar Jawan Jyoti that runs on gas was lit in 1971 to honour the martyrs. During the night, it is intensely floodlit and the fountains nearby are lit up with coloured lights.Close by is the canopy which once became controversial and under whose red sandstone roof was the marble statue of King George V which has been shifted from there. The canopy was also designed and built by Lutyens

The most obvious Indian features of the architecture are the small kiosks or chhatris on the roof. The building is also noteworthy for its inlaid tile work, carving embodying both Indian and Persian decorative elements, and its carved stone screens.