The India Gate was part of the work of the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC), which came into existence in December 1917 under the British rule for building war graves and memorials to soldiers who were killed in the First World War. The foundation stone of the gate then called the All India War Memorial, was laid on 10 February 1921, at 16:30, by the visiting Duke of Connaught in a ceremony attended by officers and men of the Imperial Indian Army, Imperial Service Troops, the commander in chief, and Chelmsford, the viceroy.On the occasion, the viceroy is reported to have said, “The stirring tales of individual heroism, will live forever in the annals of this country”, and that the memorial which was a tribute to the memory of heroes, “known and unknown”, would inspire future generations to endure hardships with similar fortitude and “no less valor”.The Duke also read out a message by the King, which said, “On this spot, in the central vista of the Capital of India, there will stand a Memorial Archway, designed to keep”, in the thoughts of future generations, “the glorious sacrifice of the officers and men of the Indian Army who fought and fell”. During the ceremony, the Deccan Horse, 3rd Sappers and Miners, 6th Jat Light Infantry, 34th Sikh Pioneers, 39th Garhwal Rifles, 59th Scinde Rifles (Frontier Force), 117th Mahrattas, and 5th Gurkha Rifles. The land was owned by contractor Sir Sobha Singh who helped construct large tracts of New Delhi and was the primary contractor.The India Gate was part of the work of the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC), which came into existence in December 1917 under the British rule for building war graves and memorials to soldiers who were killed in the First World War.
