PUNE'S NATIONAL WAR MEMORIAL

Nazish Shaikh, FY BAMC

India celebrated its 75th Independence Day; everyone proudly heard and told the nostalgic tales of the bravery of our freedom fighters. While we are grateful and proud of the pre-independence heroes, we must not neglect the heroes and events that ensured India stayed independent post-1947.

Keeping the knowledge and history about all of the post-independence wars fought by India is a job best done by the national war memorial at southern command, Pune. The memorial offers knowledge about the weapons and martyrs of major post-independence wars through authentic weaponry and aircraft as well as models of battleships.

It proudly presents the nation's heroes with their stories in paintings, photographs, and letters engraved in steel. People who visit the memorial leave with their hearts racing to the tricolor and back. The memorial is open to all Indian citizens. It is the only war memorial in South Asia built by civilian contributions. Standing for 24 years, it was unveiled on Independence Day of 1998. It proudly celebrates its 24th anniversary with the nation through the Amrit Mahotsav.