The Police Commemoration Day is annually observed across India on October 21st to remember and pay tribute to the police personnel who died in the line of duty. In 2020, Police Commemoration Day paid tribute to the personnel who lost their lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The day is also known as Police Martyrs Day.
Background:
i.In January 1960, the Annual Conference of Inspectors General of Police of States and Union Territories decided to observe the 21st October of every year as the Police Commemoration Day or Police Martyrs Day.
ii.The day was chosen to remember the sacrifice of the 10 police personnel who lost their lives on 21st October 1959 in Ladakh while fighting against the Chinese army.
During the conference, it was also decided to erect a memorial at Hot Springs.
Police Commemoration Day 2021:
The Police Commemoration Day 2021 observed on 21 October 2021, will be followed by 9 days of commemorative events which will be held from 22nd to 30th October 2021 at the National Police Memorial, New Delhi.
National Police Memorial:
i.In 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the National Police Memorial in New Delhi.
ii.The proposal for the police memorial was first made by the government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002.
iii.The names of all the police martyrs are etched and updated every year in stone on the Wall of Valour at the National Police Memorial.
Police Commemoration Day Parade:
i.Since 2012, the Police Commemoration Day Parade has been annually organised at the national level at the National Police Memorial Site, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.
ii.The Delhi Police, Central Reserve Police Force(CRPF), Border Security Force(BSF), Railway Protection Force(RPF), and National Security Guard(NSG), among other paramilitary forces, have participated in the Police Commemoration Day Parade.
