Google Provides Virtual Tour of India's Road to Independence

Internet giant Google on Friday said that it was providing a virtual tour of the Indian freedom struggle via the Google Cultural Institute division on the occasion of Independence Day.

The tour will include places like the Cellular Jail in Port Blair; Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar; the Aga Khan Palace in Pune; the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, as well as the Lahori Gate and other sites at the Red Fort in New Delhi. Also accessible is a special collection of images and artefacts from the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.

"The effort will enable people across the country a chance to reminisce India's historic moments and revisit the nation's road to independence with a virtual tour. The tour will take the users through some of the iconic landmarks that witnessed India's independence movement on Google Maps," Google Maps director Suren Ruhela said in a blog post.

"Trace the footsteps of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, from his oath at Parliament and speech on the country's 'Tryst with Destiny', to the Red Fort, where he unfurled the Tricolor on 15 August 1947; and where each year, subsequent Prime Ministers have followed the tradition of unfurling the national flag and delivering an address to the nation," said Ruhela.

"As we prepare to mark the anniversary of India's independence, there are a range of images, photos and virtual tours you can take with Google Maps and the Cultural Institute, including a special collection of images and artefacts from the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library," Ruhela added.

Written with inputs from IANS