A marigold in memory of martyrs

Indian Military Veterans

A grateful nation bade tearful adieu to Lance Naik Hanamanthappa and nine of his comrades from 19 Madras Regiment who died at Siachen. But barely a month later, nobody is talking about them anymore. Public memory can be notoriously short. So what can this nation do to make the memory of the soldier enduring?

The United Service Institution of India (USI) believes it has a solution - the National Remembrance Project, which aims to observe December 7 as a day of remembrance, with the marigold as its symbol.

December 7 is observed as Armed Forces Flag Day in India - a tradition that started in 1949 with the distribution of miniature copies of the Tricolour among civilians in exchange for a donation. The idea was to convey the message that caring for soldiers was a civilian responsibility, just like protecting the country from external, and sometimes internal, enemies was the soldier's duty.

Over the years, the event has lost its significance as most people aren't even aware of it. "And that's the reason why it's so important to have our own day of remembrance on Flag Day. Of course, this does not mean that we aren't supposed to observe Remembrance Sunday - observed internationally in the memory of all those who have died in every conflict since the First World War. But we feel, for all of us to honour our soldiers better, we need to tell our people what our soldiers did before and after Independence," said Squadron Leader Rana Chhina (Retd) of USI's Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, which is spearheading the project.

Interestingly, India also wants its own flower of remembrance, independent of the red poppy which is part of every Commonwealth commemoration. The marigold is sacred to both Hindus and Muslims, and has been traditionally offered in temples and at tombs of sufi seers and emperors like Akbar and Sher Shah Suri. "We believe this is the best possible floral symbol of Indian remembrance," said Major General Ian Cardozo (Retd). It was this Gurkha officer, famed for his legendary bravery in the 1971 war, who came up with the idea of the marigold.

The project will be supported by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which takes care of graves and memorials of Allied soldiers who died in the two world wars. The National Remembrance Project will include a new resource pack for schools, highlighting the role of Indian soldiers in the world wars and post-1947 conflicts. As a topic, India's role in the world wars is completely missing from the current syllabus. The project will also promote Indian war memorials worldwide.