India Gate

India Gate is the memorial arch at the eastern end of Kartavya Path, the ceremonial avenue that runs through the heart of New Delhi and was formerly known as Rajpath and, before that, Kingsway. Designed by Edwin Lutyens, it had its foundation stone laid by the Duke of Connaught on 10 February 1921 and was inaugurated by the Viceroy, Lord Irwin, on 12 February 1931. The arch stands 42 metres high.

It commemorates around 74,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army who died between 1914 and 1921, in the First World War and other campaigns. More than 13,000 names are carved into the stone, and reading a few of them gives a sense of how many men from across the subcontinent served.

For half a century the arch also sheltered the Amar Jawan Jyoti, an eternal flame for the unknown soldier added after the 1971 war and inaugurated on 26 January 1972. In January 2022 the flame was merged with the one at the nearby National War Memorial, which visitors can see a short walk away. In the same year a statue of Subhas Chandra Bose was installed beneath the canopy that stands about 150 metres east of the arch, a structure originally built for a statue of George V.

Visiting is simple: the area is open to the public and there is no ticket. The best times are early morning and early evening, when the air is cooler and the lawns are pleasant for a walk. Early morning is quieter and better for photographs without crowds. Allow 30 minutes to an hour, longer if you add the National War Memorial.

Visiting is easy at any time of day, and the paved paths and lawns around the arch are broad and largely flat, which suits pushchairs. Expect access to Kartavya Path to be restricted around national ceremonies such as Republic Day on 26 January.

The arch marks one end of the Central Vista, the axis of New Delhi's government quarter, and Connaught Place and Khan Market are each a short taxi ride away, which makes India Gate an easy stop to combine with a day in central New Delhi.