History is alive and dynamic. It cannot be fabricated as per the whims and fancies of any select group of individuals. Any such attempt will amputate the parts of the living history which again is inseparable to our very own existence. The fact that Amar Jawan Jyoti was extinguished in a literal sense nullifies the element of eternity inherent in its name. Can any amount of coverup through wordplay can redo what is undone? Obviously not. Words like 'merged' can express or hide reality but cannot change it. The sacred souls of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives half a century ago for the noble cause of liberating one of our neighbours from the tyrannical clutches of the other neighbour, deserve paramount respect and adoration. It should be left upon the countrymen whether their commemoration has been dealt with the delicacy and caution it deserved. Was the decision too small to be made in a stroke of the moment? The government's act appears to be symbolic prima facie, which may bother some people and elude others. But there is more to it than what meets our eyes. The justifications given by the proponents of the 'merger' of the two flames are quite ambiguous and draw several lines of distinction that are very disturbing. Some of the sources have cited that India Gate is a colonial monument. It is indeed. But colonialism itself is a part of Indian history and is inseparable from our present-day influences. Materially, the monument was built by the Britishers in 1931 but it has the soul of India imbibed in it. Furthermore, such arguments get reduced to the stature of hypocrisy when we recall that we continue to follow a plethora of laws and conventions of the British period. Denouncing the legacy of India Gate would more be a disrespect to the soul of India than discounting the British act of erecting a material structure — that too in memory of Indian brave-hearts who lost their lives during the World War I fighting against the tyrannical axis powers. Some brazen arguments have been made in this regard as well. This highlights the second line of distinction that segregates the pre-independent Indian military forces and post-independent military forces. This is highly illogical. Indian Army is an apolitical entity and has earned the highest degree of veneration for its outstanding professional standards — both before and after independence. It would be insane to make such horrible distinctions. It only appears to denigrate the integrity of the Indian Army. Next line of distinction is more specific — between the National War Memorial and India Gate. The National War Memorial has undoubtedly been a magnificent outcome of the outstanding efforts of the current ruling dispensation. The memorial commands a high degree of respect as it delicately commemorates around 26,000 martyrs in one form or the other. But to see it as a substitute to India Gate may not be wise enough to demand appreciation. The National War Memorial is an addition to India's heritage but it cannot replace the existing ones. Its magnificence may outweigh that of India Gate but it cannot capture the essence of times that India Gate has been witness to. It won't be wrong to take the argument further to extrapolate that the essence of the moment when Amar Jawan Jyoti was originally lit at India Gate in 1972 was unparalleled and the recent attempts to dislocate the eternal flame fails to capture that particular essence. It may have a spirited essence within its own right but that would be different from the original one. It is unfortunate that we have been forced to enumerate and debate these distinctions as the government's move appears to be biased as it accords primacy to one thing over the other. India's past must be seen through a composite lens — as far as our imagination goes deep. Segregating the elements of Indian history through unwelcome distinctions would lead us to further division than chaos. It is up to us whether we choose the line of distinctions or the line of cultural and historical integration. The way we speak, the way we cloth and the way we live is shaped by the Modi era, the Indira era, the Nehru era, the colonial era, the Mughal era, the Mauryan era, the Vedic era and whatnot. Any selective opinion will curtail our own sense of existence. It must be remembered that history has chosen us, we can't choose our history!