Thiruvananthapuram: The ‘Swarnim Vijay Mashaal’ (Victory Flame) will arrive in Thiruvananthapuram today, Saturday, to mark the 50th anniversary of India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war.
The Station Commander in Pangode Military Station will receive the flame at 5 p.m. Prime Minister Narendra Modi ignited the ‘Swarnim Vijay Mashaal’ from the everlasting flame of the National War Memorial in December, last year. After travelling roughly over 2,500 kilometres, the torch is arriving in Thiruvananthapuram to honour the heroes of the 1971 war and their families.
The torch will be carried to the residence of Captain Gopakumar Raman Pillai on Sunday to felicitate his wife Geetha Gopakumar. Captain Gopakumar was a Vir Chakra recipient who served the War in 1971. He died in 1982.
A wreath-laying ceremony will be conducted at Pangode Military Station’s War Memorial on Monday. On July 6, the Southern Air Command will receive the Victory Flame, followed by the Navy unit on July 7, the NCC Directorate on July 8, and the Coast Guard Station, Vizhinjam on July 9. On June 10, the flame will move on to Kanyakumari.
In conclusion of numerous ceremonies performed at the Southern Naval Command (SNC) over the previous three months, the Victory Flame was taken from the Kochi naval base to Thiruvananthapuram. The extraction ceremony of the flame was held at the War Memorial inside the naval base on Friday.
With a ceremonial guard, SNC Chief Vice Admiral A K Chawla waved farewell to the Victory Flame. The torch was presented to Capt Samuel Lalthanmawia of the 91 Infantry Brigade (Trivandrum) for its journey across Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The torch was brought to the homes of war gallantry winners in and around Kochi and was also carried to the homes of widows of war martyrs of the 1971 war.
An engagement with NCC cadets was also held as part of the ‘Swarnim Vijay Varsh’ event. It was also transported to two schools in Kochi, with an Army relay team and a Navy band accompanying it.
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