In Brief: The design is an architectural elaboration of the Dharmachakra, the wheel of duty, law and righteousness. This is a fundamental symbol in our national imagination, recast here as a dynamic form attuned to the geometries of its precinct.

The proposed monument aims to draw a grateful nation to reflect on the magnitude, ardour and timelessness of the ultimate sacrifice made by India's military martyrs.

Keywords: Dharma (Duty), Kala (Time), Dharti (Territory), Courage, Peace. Reflection

DHARMA CHAKRA

The eternally turning wheel of duty, law and righteousness is fundamental to lndic philosophies.

The 24-spoked Asokan Dharmachakra, represents the path to release from death and birth (nirvana in Sanskrit. nibanna in Pali). The official national emblem of India and central emblem on the national flag, it is a prominent feature of the Asokan Lion Capital.

Citta-santāna, literally “the stream of mind”, is the stream of succeeding moments of mind or awareness... It provides a continuity from one life to another, akin to the flame of a candle which may be passed from one candle to another...

Santāna (Sanskrit) holds the semantic field of “eternal”, “continuum”, “a series of momentary events” or “life­ stream” ... The mind stream (santāna) increases gradually by mental afflictions (kleśa) and by actions (karma), and goes again to the next world. In this way the circle of existence is without beginning…

DHARMA as Duty

The lndic concept of Dharma is complex and perhaps best revealed through the 24 dharmic qualities that replace the idea of the self with a notion of unity or oneness.

Ranging from bravery to empathy, these qualities are exemplified by a soldier’s ultimate sacrifice and engendered by an unflinching, patriotic devotion to Dharma.

KALA, Time

Associated ideas: Smaran, memory; Shraddha, homage; Smarak stambh, memorial column.

REFLECTION, AS A STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS...

Time is believed to be both cyclical and historical, to do with cosmological patterns and with human contingencies. Consciousness of time and it’s many intersections - the time of ancestors and our time, periods of peace and occasions of conflict - shapes our sense of being.

Memory and history are never fixed.

REMEMBRANCE. SHARED OVER LIFETIMES...

Our sense of time provides a shared horizon for reflection.

It is over time that we protect and project ideals that have been hard-won, and ideals that are continually negotiated.

Commemoration is a process.

INFINITE

Sheltering a circular ambulatory passage, a gently twisting Mobius canopy evokes continuity, timelessness. and constant change: a wheel of duty, law and righteousness.

IN PEACE + IN WAR

12 spokes with cascading water incline skyward, representing times of war. Mirroring them in the plan are 12 calm tanks reflecting the presence of the armed forces in peacetime.

FIRE WITHIN

In keeping with the eternal flame of the‘Amar Jawan Jyoti’ and the practice of installing smarak stambha as acts of remembrance. the memorial column and flame at the heart of the Dharmachakra marks the forces steadfast dedication and energy.

DHARTI

LAND, TERRITORY, WORLD. Derived from the same root ‘dhr, meaning to bear, to support, to uphold.

NATION AS LANDSCAPE

Evoking popular association with the landforms that define the territory of India, the memorial represents the nation as a landscape, rather than a territorial map.

The peaks of the Himalayas, rivers and waterfalls, the vast plains and dazzling desert dunes, blackstone plateaus of the Deccan - these are some key points of architectural reference.

Built close to the ground, the structure embodies humility and the deference owed to thousands who have sacrificed life and kin to the protection of this, their land.

GEOMETRY

Main axes + focal points as shown > Retaining major existing trees with additional planting, this creates a symmetrical affinity with prominent public fountains. Overall, a clear fit is achieved with the geometry of Lutyens’s heritage zone.

TWO MOMENTS, TWO MONUMENTS

The primary visual connection established from this new memorial is along the axis of India Gate, the century-old memorial dedicated to ‘the unknown soldier’.

We look back on this monumental landmark from a space of sacrifices we now know as an independent nation.

3 key sightlines are indicated (below), with their corresponding points of view at night.

The design for the memorial is visualised within the context of the central vista and C-hexagon. Occupying Lawns II and Ill, the memorial is sunk into the landscape such that no part of the structure is more that 1.5m above the groundline.

Within the premises, Lutyens’s Central Axis, running East-West is reinforced by the primary spine of the design, marked in red sandstone, aligning the memorial column with the Chattri and India Gate beyond. West of the monument, a linear water cascade drops down toward the monument, and to its east is a pedestrian access plaza where flies the national flag.

Secondary cross visual axes are formed with the fountains on either side of India Gate. Commissioned sculptures are envisaged at the focal points located opposite them. Two curving broadwalks emerge from these focal points to connect an avenue encircling the monument to the parking on the roads running north and south of the Chattri.

Two tree-lined ramps drop down from the avenue to the memorial entrance where fly the colours of the three armed forces, and concentric lines of trees shade the circular ambulatory around the central sanctum.

The mobius canopy is held aloft by a toroidal earth berm that gradually flattens and dips towards the entrance.

Transplantations and fresh plantations of trees are envisaged along a narrow footpath at the periphery of Lawns II and III.

Visitor facilities and public conveniences are planned at the vertices of the C-Hexagon. An underground tunnel from the proposed National War Memorial is envisaged to open up within the monument from the North.

The design intends to articulate a strong material expression. One that is home in sandstone of Lutyens Delhi but draws on a more wide-ranging geographic and metaphoric materiality.

GABION + ASHLAR STONEWORK

A hexagrid-meshed gabion merges into crisp sandstone ashlar in a homage to the secular credentials of the defence services, who draw from India’s diversity to forge a uniform, disciplined fighting force.

ETCHED IN MEMORY

The names of martyred officers and jawans are engraved in the smooth marble of the radial walls.  Beginning just above the ground, the line of martyrs proceeds, in ever-higher rows along the angular perimeter of these 12 rising monoliths.

Illuminated by wall-washing uplights these forms are further delineated by slender floor channels, for water to flow along each edge.

EARTHWORKS + CANOPY

The gently turning, infinitely twisting canopy will be made with high-grade ferrocement. Undulations embossed by customised formwork evoke windswept desert dunes, while the continuous retaining wall under the canopy will be treated to represent the tremendous geological diversity of the country.

TREES, SEEDS, STONE + SOIL

Using materials contributed from India’s 36 states/union territories. the monument is a tangible materialisation of our federal polity. This will be a space built by many for many, an organic setting to engage a diverse public.

GUNMETAL RING

A large ring of gunmetal, inscribed with the mottos of the three services and encircling an eternal flame above the memorial column (stambha) is the cynosure of the memorial. It represents the passion and unflagging determination of our armed forces and pays homage to the great sanctity of their sacrifice.

RED STONELINE

Paved in distinctive tones of Agra sandstone, the long path along the main East-West axis suggests taking a long view of history, and the idea of courage in the line of duty.

7.1 CLIMATE

Shade is provided along the arc between Southwest and Northeast, as the Mobius shell forms a sheltering canopy.

East and west winds blow, from the entrance and the slit respectively, towards the water pools. Evaporative cooling helps create a comfortable environment through much of the year.

RAINWATER HARVEST

A system of water channels and storage sumps would collect rainwater and dew year round. Backed by modern technology, the system would draw functional and aesthetic strength from India’s traditions of water management.

The memorial draws the visitor through its swirling landscape into a reflective embrace. An infinite, tree-shaded ambulatory around the sanctum is marked at 24 points with stone-etched exemplars of dharmic qualities. The soaring rhombic monoliths bear, for posterity, the names of each individual sacrifice, and the spaces between them allow more intimate remembrance of the person. The visual centre of the memorial is an eternal flame, which also lies on an axis of time progressing from the monument to unknown sacrifices in the colonial era (Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate) to this, the memorial of known individuals martyred in the defence of an independent nation. The experience intends to impress upon each visitor the eternal landscape of a vibrant motherland from whose care emerged devoted soldiers - patriots whose fervour never waned, not even in the face of death.