The ‘Victory Flame’ of Swarnim Vijay Varsh was inducted at Eastern Naval Command (ENC), commemorating the 50th anniversary celebrations of India’s victory in the 1971 war by Home Minister M. Sucharitha and Vice-Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of ENC, during a ceremony held at the ‘Victory at Sea’ war memorial on the RK Beach on Friday.
The ceremony was held in the presence of naval veterans who participated in the 1971 war and senior officers of the Indian Navy and the State government. The induction ceremony commenced with the laying of wreath at the memorial by the ENC chief and the Home Minister.
A two-minute silence was observed as a mark of respect to the martyrs. Earlier in the day, the ‘Victory Flame’ was brought in ceremoniously by a contingent of the Indian Navy.
The ENC chief and Ms. Sucharitha also interacted with the veterans who took part in the 1971 war as the latter shared their experiences. The ‘Victory Flame’ for the southern cardinal was paraded through Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Kochi and Madurai and Chennai before reaching Visakhapatnam from Port Blair onboard INS Sumitra.
It will now travel to various schools in Visakhapatnam city before being shifted to Hyderabad after via Rajamahendravaram, Vijayawada and Nalgonda.
The ‘Victory Flame’ from various parts of the country will converge in New Delhi on December 16, where the final event will be organised.
