Modi pays tribute to Indian soldiers slain in World War-I ,with shlokas from Gita

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid glowing tributes to the soldiers of the first world war and paid homage to Indian martyrs at the Neuve Chappelle Memorial in Lille town in Paris , France on the last leg of his visit to France.

Taking time out of his busy schedule, the Prime Minister after visiting the French Space Centre at Taluj and before returning to Paris , visited Lille and observed one minute silence in the memory of the brave soldiers. The national anthem of both India and France was played on the solemn occasion.

Mr Modi also took rounds of the memorial.

He presented the guardian  of the memorial a â€sign symbol†,  a replica of Garhwal Rifles and a book by the External Affairs Ministry of India.

Incidentally, Mr Modi is the first Prime minister to visit this memorial. Former Indian Defence minister George Fernandes was the first Indian public figure to having visited the place.President Pranab Mukherjee also has the distinction of having paid the tributes to martyred defence personnel at the memorial.

The Prime Minister, remembering the soldiers, had written that the world will not forget their sacrifice. He also interacted with the Indian community including children at Neuve Chapelle.The

Indian community even raised slogan of “shahidon amar raho†at the meet. – UNI