Editing India Gate (section)

== History ==
[[File: India Gate in 1930s.jpg|thumb|left|Armoured cars passing through the gate, in the 1930s]]
The India Gate was part of the work of the [[Imperial War Graves Commission]], which came into existence in December 1917 under the British rule for building war graves and memorials to soldiers who were killed in the First World War.<ref>{{cite journal |last=David A. Johnson |author2=Nicole F. Gilbertson |title=Commemorations of Imperial Sacrifice at Home and Abroad: British Memorials of the Great War |journal=The History Teacher |date=4 August 2010 |volume=43 |series=4 |pages=564–584 |url=http://www.societyforhistoryeducation.org/pdfs/Johnson_and_Gilbertson.pdf|access-date=9 April 2014}}</ref> The foundation stone of the Gate, then called the All India War Memorial, was laid on 10 February 1921, at 16:30 hrs, by the visiting [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|Duke of Connaught]] in a ceremony attended by officers and men of the Imperial Indian Army, [[Imperial Service Troops]], the Commander-in-Chief, and [[Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford|Lord Chelmsford]], the Viceroy.<ref name="Duke, war memorial">{{cite book|last=Connaught, Duke of|first=Arthur|title=His Royal Highness The Duke of Connaught in India 1921 Being a Collection of the Speeches Delivered by His Royal Highness.|year=1921|publisher=Superintendent Government Printing|location=Calcutta|pages=69–71|ol=17945606M}}</ref> On the occasion, the Viceroy is reported to have said, "The stirring tales of individual heroism, will live forever in the annals of this country", and that the memorial which was a tribute to the memory of heroes, "known and unknown", would inspire [[future generations]] to endure hardships with similar fortitude and "no less valor".<ref name="Duke, war memorial"/> The Duke also read out a message from the King, which said, "On this spot, in the central vista of the Capital of India, there will stand a Memorial Archway, designed to keep", in the thoughts of future generations, "the glorious sacrifice of the officers and men of the Indian Army who fought and fell". During the ceremony, the [[Deccan Horse]], 3rd Sappers and Miners, [[6th Jat Light Infantry]], [[34th Sikh Pioneers]], [[39th Garhwal Rifles]], [[59th Scinde Rifles (Frontier Force)]], [[117th Mahrattas]], and [[5th Gurkha Rifles]]. The land was owned by contractor [[Sir Sobha Singh]] who helped construct large tracts of New Delhi and was the primary contractor.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rahman |first=Nadia |date=2013-01-27 |title=Khushwant Singh: An Unequivocal Spokesman of Politics in &lt;i&gt;Truth, Love & a Little Malice: An Autobiography&lt;/i&gt; |journal=Stamford Journal of English |volume=4 |pages=111–123 |doi=10.3329/sje.v4i0.13492 |issn=2408-8838|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Tiwari |first=Rajiv |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FBRYCgAAQBAJ&dq=%22sir+sobha+singh%22+%22india+gate%22&pg=PT21 |title=Delhi A Travel Guide |date=2020 |publisher=Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd |isbn=9798128819703 |language=en}}</ref> 
[[File:India Gate from Rajpath.jpg|thumb|right|India gate, as seen from Kartavya Path]]

Ten years after the foundation stone's laying on 12 February 1931, the memorial was inaugurated by [[Lord Irwin]], who, on the occasion, said "those who after us shall look upon this monument may learn in pondering its purpose something of that sacrifice and service which the names upon its walls record."<ref name="Metcalf, India gate">{{cite journal|last=Metcalf|first=Thomas R.|author-link=Thomas R. Metcalf|date=31 March 2014|title=WW I: India's Great War Dulce Et Decorum Est India Gate, our WW-I cenotaph, now stands for an abstracted ideal|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?289882|url-status=dead|journal=Outlook|issue=31 March 2014|access-date=8 April 2014|archive-date=9 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409002957/http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?289882}}</ref> In the decade between the laying of foundation stone of the memorial and its inauguration, the rail-line was shifted to run along the [[Yamuna River]], and the [[New Delhi Railway Station]] was opened in 1926.<ref name=htlux>{{cite news|title=A fine balance of luxury and care |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/chunk-ht-ui-newdelhi100years-topstories/A-fine-balance-of-luxury-and-care/Article1-723880.aspx |work=[[Hindustan Times]] |date=21 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127160500/http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/chunk-ht-ui-newdelhi100years-topstories/A-fine-balance-of-luxury-and-care/Article1-723880.aspx |archive-date=27 November 2011 }}</ref>

The Gate, which is illuminated every evening from 19:00 hrs to 21:30 hrs, today serves as one of Delhi's most important tourist attractions. Cars used to travel through the gate until it was closed to traffic.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}} The Republic Day Parade starts from [[Rashtrapati Bhavan]] and passes around the India Gate.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}} India gate is often a location for civil society protests, including demonstrations in response to the [[2011 Indian anti-corruption movement|2011 anti-corruption movement]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Dutta|first=Aesha|date=23 December 2012|title=India Gate turns war zone as protests swell|work=The Hindu BusinessLine Online|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/india-gate-turns-war-zone-as-protests-swell/article20543914.ece1|access-date=4 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/limit-public-access-to-india-gate-delhi-police/articleshow/15863509.cms?from=mdr |title=Limit public access to India Gate: Delhi Police |last=Ghosh |first=Dwaipayan |date=28 August 2012 |work=Economic Times |access-date=4 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/protest-held-at-india-gate-to-demand-justice-for-unnao-rape-survivor-1574997-2019-07-29 |title=Protest held at India Gate to demand justice for Unnao rape survivor |author=PTI |date=29 July 2019 |work=India Today|access-date=4 September 2019}}</ref>

In 2017, the India Gate was [[Sister city|twinned]] with the [[Arch of Remembrance]] in [[Leicester]], England, another Lutyens war memorial, following a very similar design but on a smaller scale. In a ceremony, India's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom laid a wreath at the arch in Leicester and the British High Commissioner to India laid one at the India Gate.<ref>{{cite news|date=25 May 2017|title=Leicester and New Delhi war memorials links ceremonies|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-40045122|access-date=19 December 2018}}</ref>