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India Gate
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== Canopy == [[File: Canopy behind India Gate.jpg|alt=Canopy behind India gate|thumb|Canopy in the vicinity of the gate]] About {{Convert|150|m|ft}} east of the gate, at a junction of six roads, is a {{Convert|73|ft|m}} [[cupola]], inspired by a sixth-century pavilion from [[Mahabalipuram]]. Lutyens used four [[Delhi Order]] columns to support the domed canopy and its ''[[chhajja]]''.<ref>{{cite book |title=Lutyens: The Work of the English Architect Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869–1944) |chapter=King George V Memorial, Princes' Place, New Delhi |last=Stamp |first=Gavin |author-link=Gavin Stamp |year=1981 |publisher=[[Arts Council of Great Britain]] |location=London |isbn=978-0-7287-0304-9 |page=180}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Gradidge|first=Roderick|title=Edwin Lutyens: Architect Laureate|publisher=George Allen and Unwin|year=1981|isbn=978-0-04-720023-6|location=London|page=151|author-link=Roderick Gradidge}}</ref> === Statue of King-Emperor George V === [[File:Statue av Kong Georg V av Storbritannia ved India Gate (1952) (16872147692).jpg|thumb|Canopy in 1952 with the George V statue still in place]] In the autumn of 1930, [[Jagatjit Singh]], the Maharaja of [[Kapurthala State]], organized an appeal amongst the Indian princely rulers to erect a statue of [[George V of the United Kingdom|King-Emperor George V]] in New Delhi to commemorate the sovereign's recent recovery from [[sepsis]].<ref>{{cite news|author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |date=4 October 1930 |title=The Indian Princes and the King-Emperor|work=The Times|page=9}}</ref> As originally conceived, the statue would have depicted the monarch in marble riding in a howdah atop a red stone elephant; a canopy was not then included in the design.<ref>{{cite news|author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |date=3 April 1932 |title=King-Emperor's Statue In Delhi|work=The Times|page=11}}</ref> The final concept, approved by George V before his death, dispensed with the elephant, instead incorporating a red stone canopy and pedestal, with the pedestal standing {{convert|34.5|ft|m|2}} tall.<ref name="statue_Times"/> An {{convert|18.75|ft|m|2}} tall marble statue of the King-Emperor wearing his [[Delhi Durbar]] coronation robes and [[Imperial State Crown]], bearing the British [[globus cruciger]] and sceptre, was placed atop the pedestal, which bore the Royal Coat of Arms and the inscription GEORGE V R I, the "R I" designating him as 'Rex Imperator' or 'King Emperor'.<ref name="statue_Times"/><ref name="British_monuments_in_India_post_1947"/> The combined height of the statue and pedestal was {{convert|53.25|ft|m|2}}; while the pedestal and canopy were designed by Lutyens, the statue was designed by [[Charles Sargeant Jagger]] of the [[Royal Academy of Arts]]. The canopy was topped by a gilded [[Tudor Crown (heraldry)|Tudor Crown]] and bore the Royal Cyphers of George V,<ref name="crown">{{cite news|author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |date=14 August 1958 |title=Crown over Delhi Statue Removed - George V Memorial|work=The Times|page=6}}</ref> with the completed monument intended to "mark the loyalty and attachment of the Ruling Princes and Chiefs of India to the Person and Throne of the King-Emperor."<ref name="statue_Times">{{cite news|author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |date=25 August 1934 |title=Delhi Statue Of King-Emperor|work=The Times|page=9}}</ref> Following the premature death of Jagger, the statue's head and crown were completed by one of his assistants in England and then shipped to India, while the remainder of the monument was carved in India.<ref name="statue_George">{{cite news|author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |date=21 January 1936 |title=Delhi Statue Of King George|work=The Times|page=14}}</ref> The statue's installation in the autumn of 1936,<ref name="statue_George"/> amidst the [[Indian independence movement]], made it a target for Independence activists; on the night of 3 January 1943, during the [[Quit India movement]], [[Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna]] and [[Manubhai Shah]] scaled the statue, smashed its nose and draped it with a large black cloth inscribed "Death to the Tyrant."<ref>{{cite book |last=Joshi |first=Naveen |title=Freedom Fighters Remember |year=1997 |publisher=Government of India |location=New Delhi |isbn=81-230-0575-X |page=76}}</ref> The statue remained standing at its original site for two decades following the nation's independence in 1947, but certain political factions increasingly objected to its continued presence in its central location, particularly after the tenth anniversary of Independence and the centennial of the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]].<ref name="British_monuments_in_India_post_1947">{{cite journal |last1=McGarr |first1=Paul |date=2015 |title=The Viceroys are Disappearing from the Roundabouts in Delhi: British symbols of power in post-colonial India |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=49 |issue=3 |pages=787–831 |doi= 10.1017/s0026749x14000080|doi-access=free }}</ref> On the night of 12–13 August 1958, the royal insignia of George V and the Tudor Crown atop the canopy were removed.<ref name="crown"/> With increasing pressure from Socialist members of Parliament, then-Deputy Minister Home Affairs [[Lalit Narayan Mishra]] stated in May 1964 that all British statuary would be removed from the national capital by 1966.<ref name="British_monuments_in_India_post_1947"/> Two days before [[Independence Day (India)|Independence Day]] in 1965, members of the [[Samyukta Socialist Party]] overpowered two constables guarding the site, covered the statue in tar and defaced its imperial crown, nose and one ear, also leaving a photo of [[Subhas Chandra Bose]] at the monument.<ref name="British_monuments_in_India_post_1947"/> Despite the resulting adverse publicity and the growing controversy over the situation, the matter of relocating the statue dragged on for several years.<ref name="British_monuments_in_India_post_1947"/> The British government rejected a proposal to repatriate the monument to the United Kingdom, citing the lack of an appropriate site and sufficient funds, while the British High Commission in New Delhi declined to have the statue relocated to their compound, due to limited space.<ref name="British_monuments_in_India_post_1947"/> Efforts to move the statue to a Delhi park were strongly opposed by the nationalist [[Bharatiya Jana Sangh]], which then held power in the city.<ref name="British_monuments_in_India_post_1947"/> Finally, in late 1968, the statue was removed from its position beneath the canopy and briefly placed in storage before being moved to Delhi's [[Coronation Park, Delhi|Coronation Park]], where it joined other British Raj-era statues.<ref name="British_monuments_in_India_post_1947"/> During and after the statue's removal, it was often suggested that a statue of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] be placed under the canopy.<ref name="British_monuments_in_India_post_1947" /> The suggestion was even discussed in the Indian Parliament.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}} In 1981, the government had in response to a question in the Parliament, confirmed that it was considering the installation of a Gandhi statue under the empty canopy, but nothing came of it.<ref name="PeopleSabha1903">{{cite book|author1=India. Parliament. House of the People|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xlI3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA197|title=Lok Sabha Debates|publisher=Lok Sabha Secretariat.|year=1981|pages=197–}}</ref> === Subhas Chandra Bose statue === {{main|Statue of Subhas Chandra Bose}} [[File:The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi unveils the statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate, during the inauguration of the ‘Kartavya Path’, in New Delhi on September 08, 2022 (1).jpg|thumb|Prime Minister [[Narendra Modi]] unveils the statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate, during the inauguration of the 'Kartavya Path', in New Delhi on 8 September 2022.]] On 21 January 2022, Prime Minister [[Narendra Modi]] announced that a statue of [[Subhas Chandra Bose]] would be installed in the canopy at India Gate. The announcement came two days before the 125th anniversary of his birth. A 28 feet high and 6 feet wide 3D [[Holography|holographic]]{{Clarify|date=April 2025}} statue of Bose was inaugurated at the site on 23 January 2022, celebrated as [[Netaji Jayanti|Parakram Diwas]] (Courage Day).<ref name=":02">{{Cite web|last=|date=2022-01-23|title=Netaji birth anniversary: PM Modi to unveil hologram statue today at India Gate|url=https://www.livemint.com/news/india/netaji-subash-chandra-bose-birth-anniversary-pm-modi-to-unveil-hologram-statue-today-at-india-gate-11642910983225.html|access-date=2022-01-23|website=Livemint}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=23 January 2021 |title=Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Jayanti: PM Modi to install hologram statue at India Gate today |url=https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/politics/story/netaji-subhas-chandra-bose-jayanti-pm-modi-to-install-hologram-statue-at-india-gate-today-320012-2022-01-23 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123045524/https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/politics/story/netaji-subhas-chandra-bose-jayanti-pm-modi-to-install-hologram-statue-at-india-gate-today-320012-2022-01-23 |archive-date=2022-01-23 |access-date=2022-01-23 |website=Business Today |language=en}}</ref> On this occasion, an award in the name of Bose was instituted for the exemplary work in disaster management. On 8 September 2022, Prime Minister [[Narendra Modi]] inaugurated the newly made statue of [[Subhas Chandra Bose|Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose]] near the India Gate.
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