Amid the improving US-India strategic relations, India Gate – a landmark memorial in the heart of New Delhi – has become an inspiration for President Donald Trump to build an arch of triumph in Washington D.C. Recently, Trump took fancy to India Gate, praised the monumental architecture, and announced his plans to build the world’s largest triumphal arch in the US capital. The proposed monument is expected to commemorate America’s 250th year of independence in 2026.
On Truth Social, a social media platform in the US, President Trump described India Gate as “beautiful triumphal arch”. His admiration quickly turned comparative when he added, “Ours will be the greatest of all.” He hinted at the absence of an arch-like war memorial in the US capital and proposed a new national monument. Needless to say, Americans went gaga over his plans. India Gate, a 138-foot-tall arch, commemorates 74,000 Indian soldiers who laid down their lives in the First World War.
Among the few Indian monuments inspired by foreign landmarks is Mayapur Chandrodaya Temple near Kolkata with its design modelled on the US Capitol building.
Reportedly, the proposed arch in Washington, D.C. could rise as high as 250 feet, aligning with the 250th anniversary of July 4, America’s Independence Day. Trump wants the 250-foot arch to be the biggest and tallest of all ceremonial arches in the world, surpassing the 220-foot Monumento a la Revolución in Mexico City (the tallest arch, at present).
To be named the Memorial Circle Arch or Independence Arch, the monument could be a landmark on Columbia Island in Washington, D.C. The memorial traffic circle near the Arlington Memorial Bridge across the Potomac River could be the potential site for the world’s biggest arch in D.C. It would enrich the architectural landscape where the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument stand tall.
The article titled “Washington Needs an Arch” that a publication carried in April 2025 made Americans feel the absence of a monumental arch in the national capital. In October 2025, President Trump floated his idea of the arch and showed a model to reporters in the Oval Office before the beauty and majesty of India Gate catalyzed Trump’s urge to build a triumphal arch as a gateway to Washington D.C.
Triumphal arches have long been symbolic of a nation’s power, victory, identity, and imperial ambitions. Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte, is often revered as the gold standard of ceremonial arches. Standing at about 164 feet, it remains an everlasting epitome of military glory and wartime history. It not only inspired the design of India Gate in New Delhi, but also Trump’s vision of Washington D.C. arch, “the biggest one of all” in the world.
The Washington D.C. Metro Area (DMV) is dotted with magnificent memorials honoring wars, presidents, and civil rights leaders. Yet, it does not have a traditional triumphal arch, unlike many global capitals. This is why Trump amplified the call to fill the long-standing gap in the nation’s capital with a 250-foot-tall arch that America, he said, waited 200 years for.
