Reiterating his promise of getting a national war memorial erected, President A P J Abdul Kalam on Thursday inaugurated a monument in Chandigarh built through a people's initiative and dedicated to military personnel killed on duty since the country's independence in 1947.
Speaking after inaugurating the war memorial, the supreme commander of the armed forces said: "This is an important event, as we remember our gallant soldiers, who since our independence in 1947, had laid down their lives in 13 different operations of the army, navy and air force."
Noting that such a monument would be the country's way of expressing gratitude to her martyrs, Kalam said, "There is no doubt about the need for a National War Memorial and I shall work for it."
Appreciating the people's efforts in building the Chandigarh memorial, the President said a notable feature of the project was that a part of the funds raised for the monument will be used to refurbish schools
and hospitals in rural areas to which the martyrs belonged.
The Chandigarh War Memorial was built through a citizens' initiative led by
The Indian Express newspaper group at a cost of Rs 70 lakh in memory of 8,500 martyrs belonging to Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. The memorial is a semi-circular structure with a 22-foot central sculpture. Names of the martyrs have been etched on its black granite.
President Kalam also urged the people to resolve to make the nation prosperous and 'invulnerable forever to invasions across its borders.' The country has to be on guard always to prevent even 'soft aggression' by technology and market forces, he said.
"India had sown the seeds of tolerance and friendship among all peoples of the world for centuries. Over the ages, it has contributed to the world both in material and spiritual progress, emphasising the fundamental need of man -- to understand himself before attempting to understand others," he said.