Fact Check: List of number of freedom fighters of various communities whose names are inscribed on India Gate is false
A post that claims to show community-wise numbers of Indian freedom fighters whose names have been inscribed on the India Gate is going viral.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 18 April 2022 9:00 AM GMT
Hyderabad: A post that claims to show community-wise numbers of Indian freedom fighters whose names have been inscribed on the India Gate is going viral.
The post claims that the names of 95,300 freedom fighters are inscribed on the India Gate in New Delhi. Of these 61,395 are Muslims, 8,050 Sikh, 14,480 are from the backward classes, 10,777 are Dalits, and 598 are from the high caste. No freedom fighter from the RSS has their name on the India Gate, it further claims.
Fact Check:
The claim is false.
NewsMeter conducted a keyword search using the terms "India gate New Delhi background" and found the Delhi tourism website. According to the website, "At the centre of New Delhi stands the 42 m high India Gate, an "Arc-de-Triomphe" like archway in the middle of a crossroad. Almost similar to its French counterpart, it commemorates the 70,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the British Army during World War I. The memorial bears the names of more than 13,516 British and Indian soldiers killed in the Northwestern Frontier in the Afghan war of 1919."
Upon further research, we found that the database of the names inscribed on the India Gate is held by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). Their website mentions details such as the soldier's name, rank, service number, date of death, and age among others but there is no mention of their religion or caste.
In the "about" section of the website, it clearly states that the CWGC does not discriminate against the dead soldiers on grounds of their military rank, race, or creed.
Hence, the claim is false.
