National War Memorial, Pune – A Tour

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On our recent trip to Pune, we decided to visit the Southern Command Museum which was a great experience to us. The museum offered us a window into the past of the Southern Command Wing of the Indian Army and its history and achievements. There is so much to see and read here in terms of knowledge and trivia. However, when you are here you cannot skip the National War Memorial that captures your attention as well.

Technically, National War Memorial and Southern Command Museum both will get you to the same place on a map. Often You Tubers and bloggers speak and write of Southern Command Museum as the National War Museum. This can be confusing because you might think there are two museums, or that the memorial and the museum are the same thing.

The fact is that both National War Memorial and Southern Command Museum are in the Pune, Cantonment area. However, the area is divided into a memorial and a museum. So, when you are at the memorial you can also visit the museum, if you prefer.

National War Memorial History:

Before we take you on the tour of this place you must know a little bit about this place.

The National War Memorial is dedicated to soldiers, sailors and airmen who laid down their lives since Independence defending the country. It is the ONLY war memorial in South Asia erected by citizen’s contribution.

The memorial was conceived as a joint military – civilian effort in the year 1996. A year later on December 23, 1997, General V.P. Malik, PVSM, AVSM, ADC Chief of the Army Staff laid the foundation stone. On August 15, 1998, His Excellency the Governor of Maharashtra Dr. P.C. Alexander dedicated the memorial to the nation.

However, this war memorial mainly represented the army. A decade later in 2008, the National War Memorial undergo major renovation. It was then, that the Navy and Air Force symbols were introduced making it a ‘tri-services’ memorial.

National War Memorial Timings:

The war memorial and the Southern Command Museum timings are:

Morning: 0930 hours – 1230 hours

Evening: 1500 hours – 1900 hours

Tuesday Closed

Admission to Light and Sound Show: Fri/Sat/Sun at 1845 Hours (Free)

National War Memorial Tour:

The feeling of visiting this memorial is inexplicable. Even before we entered the space, the large tri-colour flag billowing in the distance filled us with a sense of pride. Of course, we have seen many such flags billowing on various events and places. However, the experience here was different probably because we were in the military area surrounded by hundreds of military personnel.

On reaching the gate of the National War Memorial, we were asked for our identification cards before entering the premises. We covered the Southern Command Museum first because we couldn’t resist stepping into the artillery section.

Take a video tour of the National War Memorial, click here.

The National War Memorial is dedicated to all the heroes of the post-independence wars. Hence, you will find a wide wall that has the names of all the brave men and women that made the supreme sacrifice. As we were walking by the wall, reading those names we realized how much goes into keeping the freedom we enjoy.

Right in the centre is a tall memorial tower along with the large tri-colour flag that captures your attention. Along with the Indian flag, you will find four flags that represent: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and the flag of the Southern Command Wing.

One thing that no one actually notices is that this National War Memorial is a tri-services memorial. Hence, the space is a triangle (indicating three sides) when you view it from the top. Furthermore, on all three sides of the memorial tower there’s something that represents the Army, Navy and the Air Force.

On the north side you get to see the Vijayanta (Victorious), Indian Army’s first main battle tank. This tanks is a prototype of the Britain’s Vickers MK-I tank. The first tanks rolled out of line in the year 1964 and entered service in 1965. The design of the tank also derives some features from the Centurion. However, it has the L7 tank gun that offers better power to kill before even going into range. It was later replaced with L7A2 tank gun.

To the left side, you see a replica of the now decommissioned frigate, INS Trishul. This Type 12 or Whitby-class frigate was used in the Indo-Pak War of 1971 and the Liberation of Goa (1961).  It was also used in Operation Pawan (1987 – 89). This particular INS Trishul served the Indian Navy for 32 years.

Over the right side, MiG-23 Bn aircraft of the Indian Air Force is parked. It is the last MiG-23 Bn to fly in the world. Wing Commander Tapan Ranjan Sahu was the last pilot to land the MiG-23 BN on March 26, 2009. The aircraft was used during Operation Meghdoot in 1984 and Operation Safed Sagar in 1999.

You can also witness the ceremonial parade here on Saturdays at 6 p.m. open to all citizens.

Conclusion

Exploring the National War Memorial won’t take you more than 40 minutes, but when you combine the tour with the Southern Command Museum it can offer you a great experience. The memorial will instill in you the sense of pride of being an Indian. On a personal level, it evoked in me many questions on the futility of the war and its necessity.

We definitely recommend the National War Memorial if you’re in Pune now, or in the future.