New Delhi, October 20: Tuesday morning will bring Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to the National Police Memorial in Chanakyapuri, where he’ll lead the nation in remembering a sacrifice that happened 66 years ago but still echoes through India’s security establishment.
October 21, 1959. Hot Springs, Ladakh. Ten Indian policemen on patrol duty found themselves facing heavily armed Chinese troops. None of them made it home.
That date has been etched into the calendar of every police force in India ever since. Tuesday marks Police Commemoration Day, when the country pauses to honor not just those ten men, but every police officer who’s died in the line of duty since Independence.
A Memorial Born from Sacrifice
The ceremony will unfold at a memorial that itself tells a story. Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the National Police Memorial to the nation in October 2018, seven years ago to the day. The timing wasn’t coincidental—it was meant to coincide with Police Commemoration Day, giving India’s police forces a permanent place to remember their fallen.
The memorial sits in Chanakyapuri, spread across carefully landscaped grounds that house three main elements. At the center stands a 30-foot granite monolith—a cenotaph representing the strength and resilience that defines police work. Surrounding it is the Wall of Valour, where the names of martyred officers are carved into stone. And there’s a museum, designed as an evolving exhibition on the history of policing in India.
It’s become something of a pilgrimage site. Police personnel visit to pay respects. Families of fallen officers come to see their loved ones’ names preserved in granite. Regular citizens drop by on weekends to watch the band displays and parade ceremonies that happen every Saturday and Sunday evening.
What Tuesday Will Look Like
Singh won’t be alone at the memorial. The event typically draws a crowd that reflects the breadth of India’s security apparatus—Union ministers with police backgrounds, heads of Central Armed Police Forces, senior officers from various agencies. This year’s ceremony will follow the established pattern.
There’ll be a joint parade featuring Central Armed Police Forces alongside Delhi Police. Wreaths will be laid at the memorial. Singh will address the gathering, speaking about the ongoing challenges in policing and the sacrifices officers continue to make.
The program concludes at a specific spot within the memorial grounds—an altar dedicated specifically to the Hot Springs martyrs, where Singh will lay a final wreath.
For those who can’t attend, Doordarshan will broadcast the ceremony live. Police websites will stream it as well. All India Radio will cover it. The government wants the message to reach as far as possible.
Beyond Tuesday
The remembrance doesn’t end when the ceremony wraps up. Starting October 22, the memorial becomes a hub for commemorative activities that stretch through the end of the month.
Families of police martyrs visit. Motorcycle rallies wind through the city. Blood donation camps set up. Schools hold essay and painting competitions for children, teaching the next generation about police sacrifice. Video films showcasing the service of police personnel play on loop.
Similar programs happen simultaneously across the country—every state, every police force organizing their own tributes during this ten-day period.
The Hot Springs Context
That 1959 incident in Ladakh wasn’t just a random skirmish. It happened during a tense period in India-China relations, years before the 1962 war that would redraw how India thought about border security.
Those ten policemen were part of a patrol in disputed territory. The Chinese ambush wasn’t unexpected in the sense that everyone knew the border was contested—but the scale and brutality shocked the nation. India lost ten trained officers in a single day, in terrain so remote that even getting the news out took time.
The decision to make October 21 a permanent day of remembrance wasn’t just about honoring those specific ten men. It was about acknowledging that police work in India often means facing danger in places most citizens never think about—remote borders, insurgency-affected regions, areas where the line between law enforcement and defending national integrity blurs.
A Living Memorial
The National Police Memorial isn’t just granite and names. It’s deliberately designed to be a living, evolving space. The museum updates regularly. New names get added to the Wall of Valour when officers fall in the line of duty. The weekend ceremonies keep the space active and accessible.
The memorial stays open to the public six days a week—closed only on Mondays. It’s meant to be visited, not just photographed. A reminder that the price of security isn’t abstract, but measured in individual lives.
Tuesday’s ceremony will draw the usual dignitaries and media attention. But the memorial’s real purpose plays out in quieter moments—when a child touches a name on the wall, when a retired officer stands silently remembering colleagues, when ordinary citizens stop by to acknowledge sacrifices made on their behalf.
Sixty-six years after Hot Springs, India still takes October 21 seriously. That says something about the country’s relationship with those who wear the uniform—complicated sometimes, imperfect often, but fundamentally rooted in recognition that some people put themselves in harm’s way so others don’t have to.
Singh’s presence Tuesday morning continues that tradition of recognition, one ceremony at a time.
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