"As far as we are concerned, this (India Gate) is the place to have a war memorial. We are very clear," Antony said in reaction to chief minister Sheila Dikshit's opposition to the choice of location.
The memorial, dedicated to Indian soldiers killed in action during various conflicts, has been in the pipeline for decades. A group of ministers (GOM) established by the Prime Minister and the three Service chiefs finally decided on the India Gate complex in August this year. Dikshit then threw a spanner in the works.
She wrote to Antony, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde and urban development minister Kamal Nath, requesting them to find an alternative site. "We are not opposing the project; we are bringing their attention to the fact that Delhi will lose its one and only place where people gather in the evenings. This should be taken into account," Dikshit told TOI.
Antony, however, seemed to have made up his mind: "Before taking the proposal to the cabinet, the urban development ministry had written to all stakeholders to seek their comments and views. But I am sure we will be able to clinch the issue."
While supportive of such a memorial, heritage experts, architects and town-planners feel — like Dikshit and many others — that India Gate is best left alone. Renu Jain is a 42-year-old homemaker from Laxmi Nagar. "The government can find another spot for the memorial to honour the martyrs. We already have the Amar Jawan Jyoti here."
A G K Menon, convener, Intach, is concerned as the heritage body has been preparing the nomination dossier to pitch colonial (or Lutyens') Delhi as a World Heritage City and fears that the interference with its 'core' - the central vista - will jeopardize its chances.
"In a World Heritage City, any new development has to be done in a way that enhances the heritage value of the site. This is not another piece of real estate," he said. He also pointed out that there is "fantastic emotional pressure" attached to the issue. "If you say no, you are against the Services. But for all major development, especially in such public areas, there should be public debate," Menon added.
Frequent visitors already find their movement restricted for several months by the preparations for the Republic Day parade. "Already 90% movement is restricted around India Gate. I won't feel like coming if more parts are out of bounds," said Sandeep Kumar, a Walled City resident who brings his wife and daughter over for chana and candy floss every other week.
Heritage activist and Intach adviser O P Jain believes the location for the war memorial is as colossal a mistake as the police memorial. A PIL he had filed had resulted in the memorial being removed. "I am not against the project, but I wonder why it must be at India Gate. This is a prime historical place which we should not tinker with," he said. Jain considers other plots adjacent to India Gate more appropriate, except those are already earmarked for an auditorium (Princess Park) and a museum (Jodhpur Hostel). A network of tunnels will connect them.
These, too, bother experts. "The plan is short-sighted. Having a memorial in such a fashion and in that location is not appropriate. They are just extending the existing memorial which is not right," said architect and town-planner Kuldip Singh. He suggested a large site where "things can expand" and the other elements — museums and other exhibits — can be placed together. He said he also preferred a "symbolic memorial" — a soldier reclining on his weapon representing all the martyrs — to a "literal one". The proposed design involves names of soldiers inscribed on walls.
The people who gather there, Singh said, must be considered. Vijay Rajotiy, a 28-year-old businessman, comes to India Gate all the way from Karnal twice a month because his six-year-old daughter loves it. "It will be really sad if this place is closed for us," he said.
"The proposal has not yet come to us; and until it does, we cannot say anything," said Raj Rewal, chairperson, Delhi Urban Art Commission.
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