India launched a virtual memorial wall, to honouring the U.N. peacekeeping heroes who died in service, as the first attempt towards building a stable monument at the U.N. headquarters.
Permanent Representative, Asoke Kumar Mukerji unveiled the digital memorial wall, at a reception hosted by India, in recognition to the 125 recipients of the Dag Hammarskjold Medal, awarded posthumously to peacekeepers on the International Day of U.N. Peacekeepers.
Two Indians were also awarded the Dag Hammarskjold Medal at an earlier ceremony presided over by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the U.N; Raju Joseph, a civilian who died while working for the UN operation in South Sudan, and Lance Naik Nand Ram, who served in the U.N. mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The memorial wall has the names and details of 161 Indians who died in peacekeeping operations.
Ultimately, a U.N. Peacekeepers’ Memorial Wall is intended to be built at the headquarters with the names of the heroes engraved on it.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said, “India is justifiably proud of its own long and rich tradition of contribution to the UN peacekeeping operations towards the preservation of international peace and security.”
India has so far bequeathed over 180,000 troops to 44 U.N. missions. Currently, 8,112 Indian personnel drawn from the military, police and civilian ranks serve in seven U.N. operations.
Under Secretary-General for Field Operations, Atul Khare, paid tribute to the Indians who gave their lives for the U.N. “I am delighted with the virtual wall. The real wall will become a reality,” he said.
Asoke Kumar Mukerji stated that the South Asian countries have highly professional military leadership and the Council could use their expertise.
