-On the occasion of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s India visit, New Delhi’s’ iconic Teen Murti Chowk has been renamed after the historical city of Israel, ‘Haifa’.
-This Chowk will now be known as Teen Murti Haifa Chowk.
-According to the NDMC, ‘The Teen Murti Chowk will be renamed as Teen Murti Haifa Chowk, in the centenary year of the Battle for Haifa as a symbol of friendship between the people of India and Israel.’
-The idea of renaming Teen Murti road and chowk after Haifa was proposed in the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) council during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel in 2017. However latter it was deferred. But after a lot of considerations a proposal to renaming the chowk was given final approval in NDMC’s meeting. Teen Murti Road’ name hasn’t changed.
-The Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is the second Prime Minister from of Israel after Ariel Sharon to visit India in the last 25 years.
-In 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Became the first Prime Minister of India to visit Israel.
About Haifa War and City?
-The Israeli city of Haifa was liberated from Ottoman occupation of Turkey by Indian soldiers during World War I in the Battle of Haifa on 23 September, 1918.
-A large number of Indian soldiers of the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade, commanded by Jodhpur, Hyderabad and Mysore Lancers (three princely states), fought in that war and died during the battle. However their effort didn’t go in vain. This battle is important because it’s command was in the hand of Indian officers, and not in the British officers command.
-Every year September 23 is celebrated as ‘Haifa Day’ in India and Israel to mark of respect for the soldiers who lost their lives in the Haifa battle and to mark the end of 400 years of Turkish Ottoman Empire’s control over the city. A total of 44 Indian soldiers from the three princely states of Jodhpur, Hyderabad and Mysore, died during the liberation of Haifa
-A UNESCO World Heritage Site, ‘Baha’i World Centre is also located here.
About Teen Murti Chowk
-Teen Murti Chowk has a War Memorial with three life-size bronze statues representing the Hyderabad, Jodhpur and Mysore Lancers who participated in the Battle of Haifa in 1918.
-Teen Murti House was the residence of India’s first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru. This house now hosts Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.
– Teen Murti was designed by the British architect Robert Tor Russell, who also designed the Connaught Place.
