#SaluteTheSoldier: Twitter marks Independence Day with special homage to the Indian Armed Forces

To mark the 74th Independence Day of India, Twitter India and the Ministry of Defence have come together to dedicate this year's celebrations to Indian soldiers. The service today unveiled a specially designed emoji to honour the Indian Armed Forces, which is a vibrant depiction of the National War Memorial - a monument near the India Gate in New Delhi. The design of the emoji represents the innermost structure of the Memorial, called the ‘Amar Chakra’ or the ‘Circle of Immortality’.

Twitter India is also supporting the Ministry of Defence’s special initiative #SaluteTheSoldier that pays respects to the lives of Indian soldiers. The Ministry on its part has launched a dedicated Twitter account for the National War Memorial (@salute2soldier). Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh), Defence Minister of India will be launching the emoji on the eve of Independence Day.

The emoji will be live until 18th August and will be available in English and several Indic languages, such as Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Kannada, Punjabi, Marathi, Malayalam, Bengali, Telugu, Gujarati, and Oriya. Indians across the globe will be able to participate in Independence Day conversations and celebrate with the emoji using the following hashtags

Mahima Kaul (@misskaul), Director, Public Policy, India and South Asia, Twitter said, “As India ushers into its 74th year of Independence, we at Twitter India, are proud to come together with the Ministry of Defence to mark this important event. We hope this emoji will not only add to the Independence Day celebrations, but will also encourage Indians across the world to learn more about, and pay respects to the lives of India’s brave soldiers.”

Twitter continues to observe Indian culture with celebratory initiatives and activations for Independence Day, Diwali, Republic Day, among other key indian milestones, events and festivals. Emojis inspire some of the most creative means of expression on Twitter, and are a brilliant way to fortify a feeling of solidarity, togetherness and joy on Twitter.

This is the sixth edition of the Independence Day emoji by Twitter India, having featured creative symbols for the Ashoka Chakra, Red Fort, the Indian National Flag during the previous years.