Delhi Republic Day parade

History

The first Republic Day Parade was held on 26 January 1950, led by then Brigadier Moti Sagar of the Gorkha Regiment, during which the President of Indonesia Sukarno was the chief guest. The flypast of that parade included aircraft such as Harvards, Consolidated B-24 Liberators, Dakotas, Hawker Tempest, Spitfires and jet planes comprising a total of more than a hundred aircraft. The venue was Irwin Amphitheater, now known as Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium. The parades are the legacy of the British Raj, as a showcase of power to the rival States. Since time immemorial the parades have been a show of strength, mystical prowess of the empires and nation-state, legacy of triumph, and inspiring loyalty to the State. The Prussian State was the pioneer of modern military parades. Indian leaders attached military parades to the Republic Day to commemorate the triumph of a new sovereign strong republic against the colonial power. Consequently, among many other innovations, the unique and grand cultural tableaux were included as an integral part of the parade symbolising a strong and diverse republic, replete with symbols of a larger nationalism incorporating massive regional diversity. With time the colonial symbols have been systematically pushed away, and an indianisation has happened. The 75th Delhi Republic Day parade]in 2024 was celebrated as a Golden Jubilee milestone, marking a significant occasion in the history of the event.

Parade

To mark the Republic Day, an annual parade is held in New Delhi, starting at the Rashtrapati Bhavan (the President's residence), and proceeding along the Kartavya Path, past the India Gate. Prior to its commencement, the Prime Minister lays a floral wreath at the National War Memorial (previously at the Amar Jawan Jyoti memorial) at one end of Kartavya Path, which is followed by two minutes silence in the memory of fallen soldiers. Thereafter he/she reaches the main dais at Kartavya Path to join other dignitaries. Subsequently, the President arrives along with the chief guest of the occasion. They are escorted on horseback by the President's Bodyguard.

First, the president unfurls the National flag, as the National Anthem Jana Gana Mana is played, and a 21-gun salute is fired by the Indian Army Regiment of Artillery as the PBG renders the National Salute and its standard is dipped. Next, as the PBG trots off the dais, important awards like the Ashok Chakra and Param Vir Chakra are given away by the President. The President comes forward to award the medals of bravery to the people from the armed forces for their exceptional courage in the field and also the civilians, who have distinguished themselves by their different acts of valour in different situations, either in military, civilian or disaster scenarios. This is followed by the regiments of Armed Forces starting their march past, led by the parade commander and their second in command, followed by living recipients of gallantry medals of the Republic. Following the march past of the armed forces follows the march of personnel belonging to the federal security organizations and the Delhi Police, which marches also on behalf of all territorial, state, city and municipal police forces. Children who are recipients of the National Bravery Award ride past the spectators on colourfully decorated elephants(in the past) or vehicles.

18 to 24 different regiments of the Indian Army in addition to the Navy, and Air Force (total nearly 55)) with their bands march past in all their finery and official decorations. The President of India who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces, takes the salute. Twelve contingents of various para-military forces of India and other civil forces also take part in this parade. One of the unique sights of the parade is the camel mounted Border Security Force contingent, which is the only camel mounted military force in the world. The best NCC cadets, selected from all over the country consider it an honour to participate in this event, as do the school children from various schools in the capital. They spend many days preparing for the event and no expense is spared to see that every detail is taken care of, from their practice for the drills, the essential props and their uniforms. 22 to 30 floats exhibiting the cultures of the various states and union territories of India, including floats of union ministries and state enterprises are in the grand parade, which is broadcast nationwide on television and radio. These moving exhibits depict scenes of activities of people in those states and the music and songs of that particular state accompany each display. Each display brings out the diversity and richness of the culture of India and the whole show lends a festive air to the occasion. People from different parts of the country enjoy watching the representation of their state rolling along in the parade. Around 1200 schoolchildren present cultural dances as part of the parade. The 2016 Republic Day marked the return of K-9 Dog Squad to the parade after 26 years.

The parade traditionally ends with dare devil motor cycle riding display by motorcycle units of the Armed Forces and civil security services and a flypast by the Indian Air Force jets and helicopters. In 2019, the flypast included aircraft such as Su 30 MKI, Jaguar, Mig 29, C-17 Globemaster and HAL Rudra.

A full dress rehearsal parade is organised on 23 January every year.

To promote gender equality and women empowerment, in 2024, most of the contingents, including the motorcycle acrobat teams were composed entirely of women.

Tableaux

The selection process of the tableaux is conducted by the Ministry of Defence, which involves a number of guidelines. The ministry recommends that tableaux represent a historical event, heritage, culture, development programmes and environment. The tableaux must not carry any logos and should carry some animation and sound.

Proposals are invited from union ministries and departments of the union government of India, and from states and union territories of India within a fixed deadline. The proposals are examined by a committee of experts from arts fields. The examination process involves 2 rounds. The first round provides suggestions for modifications, after evaluating the sketches and designs. The second round evaluates three-dimensional models, after which a final judgement is passed by the committee. A system was introduced in 2024, which gives every state and union territory a chance to showcase their tableau during the Republic Day parade once every three years.

Beating Retreat

The Indian Beating Retreat ceremony officially denotes the end of Republic Day festivities. It is conducted on the evening of 29 January, the third day after the Republic Day. It is performed by the bands of the three wings of the military, the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force. The venue is Raisina Hill and an adjacent square, Vijay Chowk, flanked by the north and south block of the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's Palace) towards the end of Kartavya Path.

The Chief Guest of the function is the President of India who arrives escorted by the Presidential Body Guard (PBG), a cavalry unit. When the President arrives, the PBG commander asks the unit to give the National Salute, which is followed by playing of the Indian National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana, by the Army developed the ceremony of display by the massed bands in which Military Bands, Pipe and Drum Bands, Buglers and Trumpeters from various Army Regiments besides bands from the Navy and Air Force take part which play popular tunes like the National Song of India Vande Mataram, Mahatma Gandhi's favourite hymn Vaishnava Jana To, Saare Jahan Se Achcha, Abide With Me and Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo at the end.

Mostly, after Republic Day Celebrations Schools and Colleges Observe Holiday on 27 January.

Guest contingents

In 2016, French Army soldiers and a French Army Band took part in the 67th Republic Day parade. This marked the first time since the beginning of the parade in 1950, that a foreign army contingent marched down the Rajpath during the Republic Day parade.

Awards

Best marching contingents

Best three tableaux

Best tableaux among the Ministries/Departments

Popular Choice Awards

In 2022, for the first time, the public were allowed to vote for their favourite floats and marching contingents using the MyGov app. The floats with the most votes are declared the winners.

Notes

:1.On each of these occasions, Lady Edwina Mountbatten from United Kingdom was also the official guest for the parade. :2. Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip also accompanied Queen Elizabeth II during the parade. :3.Danish Prime Minister attended Republic Day in Madras (Chennai). :4.No invitations were sent out possibly due to the demise of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on 11 January 1966 in Tashkent. The new government headed by Indira Gandhi was sworn on 24 January 1966 (only two days before the Republic Day). :5.For the first time, the President of India (Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan) could not take the salute at the Republic Day parade due to ill-health. Zahir Shah arrived on 28 January. :6.Attended only the Beating Retreat :7.This marked the first time India invited the EU's top leadership jointly for this honour, signalling a major boost to the India-EU Strategic Partnership.

References

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