Defence
The Heliopolis Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery, honouring Indian soldiers of the First World War, is located in:
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Answer: Option B — Cairo, Egypt
Detailed Solution
The Heliopolis (Port Tewfik) Memorial and the Heliopolis War Cemetery are located in the Heliopolis district of Cairo, Egypt, and are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).
About the Heliopolis War Cemetery and Memorial:
The Heliopolis (Port Tewfik) Memorial commemorates nearly 4,000 Indian soldiers who died fighting in Egypt and Palestine during the First World War (1914-1918).
The original memorial was built at Port Tewfik, at the southern end of the Suez Canal, in 1926. It was destroyed during the Israeli-Egyptian conflicts of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the names were moved to a new memorial in the Heliopolis War Cemetery in 1980.
The cemetery also has graves of Commonwealth soldiers from the Second World War.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the cemetery in June 2023 during his state visit to Egypt and paid tribute to the Indian soldiers who sacrificed their lives.
During the same visit, he received Egypt's highest state honour, the "Order of the Nile".
Indian soldiers in the First World War:
- About 13 lakh Indian soldiers served overseas in the First World War, in France and Belgium, Gallipoli, Mesopotamia (Iraq), Egypt, Palestine and East Africa.
- About 74,000 Indian soldiers died.
- India Gate in New Delhi (completed in 1931, designed by Edwin Lutyens) was built as the "All India War Memorial" to honour Indian soldiers who died in the First World War and the Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919).
The "Battle of Haifa" (23 September 1918): Indian cavalry (Jodhpur, Mysore and Hyderabad Lancers) captured the city of Haifa (now in Israel) from the Ottoman forces. It is described as one of the last great cavalry charges in history. "Haifa Day" is observed by the Indian Army on 23 September, and "Teen Murti Chowk" in New Delhi was renamed "Teen Murti Haifa Chowk" in 2018.
India-Egypt relations:
- India and Egypt were founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement.
- President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt was the chief guest at India's Republic Day in 2023, and the relationship was raised to a "Strategic Partnership".
About the Commonwealth War Graves Commission:
- It was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Maidenhead, UK.
- It maintains the graves and memorials of Commonwealth soldiers who died in the two World Wars, in about 150 countries.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Haifa, Israel, has the Indian war cemetery and is linked to the Battle of Haifa (1918).
- ✗Baghdad, Iraq, has the North Gate War Cemetery from the Mesopotamian campaign.
- ✗Gallipoli, Turkey, has memorials to the Gallipoli campaign (1915).
Quick tip
Remember: Heliopolis Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery = Cairo, Egypt (Indian soldiers of WWI in Egypt and Palestine; PM Modi visited June 2023 and received the Order of the Nile); Battle of Haifa = 23 September 1918; India Gate = WWI memorial.
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Monuments & Religious Places — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Monuments & Religious Places, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers India's important monuments, temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras and pilgrimage sites, who built them and when, their architectural styles, and India's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Questions ask who built a monument, where it is located, or which dynasty or style it belongs to. For example, the Qutub Minar was begun by Qutbuddin Aibak, and the Sun Temple at Konark was built by the Eastern Ganga king Narasimhadeva I. Revise the UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a list, noting the most recent additions. Practise the monuments and religious places questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.