The All-India War Memorial Close-up of the Arch 1931 Delhi Photograph © Medha Malik Kudaisya -- may be used without prior permission for any educational or scholarly purpose.

The Memorial records the names of 13,516 officers who died fighting on the North-West frontier and in the Thirth Afghan War (1919). The arch, which rises to a height of 42 meters, is surmounted by a stone bowl to be filled with oil for with the plan to place an 'eternal flame' to burn in the dome on top of the arch. This was, however, never done. Today, a flame -- the Amar Jawan Jyoti ('Eternal Flame of the Immortal Soldier') -- burns below, just behind the three flags of the army, air force and navy which can be seen in the foreground.

References

Chaudhuri, Nirad C. Thy Hand Great Anarch : 1921-1952. London, 1987.

Dalrymple, W. City of Djinns -- A Year in Delhi. London, 1993.

Frykenberg, F R (ed). Delhi Through the Ages. Delhi, 1986.

Gupta, Narayani. "Kingsway to Rajpath : The Democratization of Lutyens' Central Vista". Asher, Catharine B and Metcalf, T R (eds). Perceptions of South Asia's Visual Past, pp. 257-269. Delhi, 1994.

Gupta, Narayani. Delhi Between two empires, 1803-1921. Delhi, 1986

Irving, R G. Indian Summer : Lutyens, Baker and Imperial Delhi. New Haven, 1981.

Metcalf, T R. An Imperial Vision. Indian Architecture and Britain's Raj. Berkeley, 1989.