Peace Prize

An ex-naval officer's tribute to war heroes and terrorism victims borrows from history, says Adeline Bertin

It was built 400 years ago, but its symbolism is as potent as ever. That's why AKB Kumar, a 58-year old former naval officer, has chosen the Taj Mahal as the prototype. Except that his is not a monument to love, it's a monument to the love for peace.

Kumar, who began construction on the Shanthi Mahal (or Peace Palace) in the coastal Kerala city of Alapuzha in January 2008 (slated for completion in by New Year's Day, 2010), says this is a memorial for war heroes as well as the victims of terrorist attacks.

Kumar's Shanthi Mahal is a miniature model of the most famous monument to love in the world. Kumar wanted to erect a monument to those heroes of the army, navy, air force, as well as other paramilitary forces such as the Central Reserve Police Force or the Border Security Force, who have died in action. He also wanted that the ordinary victims of terrorism be remembered.

The four minarets at the corners will represent these forces and the central structure will represent the victims of terrorism. Names of war heroes and those who died in recent terror strikes will be engraved on the walls of the main structure.

This monument carries the following message: "You avoid arms; we provide peace, let us cuddle humanism and cut terrorism, let me embrace concord and expel discord."

Kumar participated in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. It was, however, the Kargil war in 1999 that made him decide to demolish his ancestral house and apply for a bank loan to erect a monument, since he could not help but remember the dead who laid down their lives for our country and the innocent people who lost their lives during various terrorists' attacks.

To help him spread this message of commemoration, a number of retired scholars, doctors, engineers and lawyers will provide help for the widows and poor families of ex-service men by conducting free tuition and providing medical aid.

Could the mini Taj ever become a chip off the old block? Considering its location, that's unlikely. But even if its popularity is only a fraction of the original, it will still be a tribute.