Cultural heritage & military might on display at R-Day
India’s military might and cultural heritage were on display at Rajpath on the 72nd Republic Day parade on Tuesday where the Rafale fighter aircraft featured for the first time. The show-stopped, it carried out the “Vertical Charlie” in a fitting finale of the Republic Day flypast.
The drastically scaled down ceremony in view of the Covid-19 pandemic began with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the nation in paying homage to the martyrs by laying a wreath at the National War Memorial. Defence minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Bipin Rawat, Army chief Gen. M.M. Naravane, Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh and IAF chief Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria were also present on the occasion.
The parade, commanded by Lt. Gen. Vijay Kumar Mishra, with Maj. Gen. Alok Kacker as the second-in-command, began with President Ram Nath Kovind taking the salute. The national flag was unfurled followed
by the national anthem, synchronised with a 21-gun salute.
Depicting the nation’s rich cultural heritage, 17 tableaux from states and Union Territories, and nine from different Union ministries and paramilitary forces took part in the celebrations.
The replica of the Ram temple planned at Ayodhya was part of the Uttar Pradesh tableau. As it rolled down Rajpath, many among the spectators, including ministers, stood up to applaud. The tableau had a giant statue of sage Valmiki and depicted various stories from Ramayana.
The tableaux of several
states depicted temples.
While India displayed its key assets from the Army, including T-90 tanks and BrahMos missile system, it was the newly inducted Rafale fighter aircraft that was the show-stopper. It also flew as part of the “Eklavya” formation with two Jaguar jets and two MiG-29 aircraft. A total of 38 IAF aircraft participated in the flypast.
Another first at the ceremony was a 122-member marching-cum-band contingent of the Bangladesh armed forces taking part in the parade. The Bangladeshi tri-services contingent was the first marching contingent to walk down the ceremonial boulevard.
Lt. Col. Abu Md Shahnoor Shawon of the Bangladesh army, who spearheaded the parading contingent said, "It was an honour for us to be part of this august ceremony of India, and that too in the 50th year of our Independence. And, India gave us the honour to lead the parade."
The Bangladeshi military band right behind the marching contingent played six tunes in all, including some of the iconic ones like war song Chal Chal Chal by poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, and Shono Ekti Mujiborer.
Known otherwise to witness huge bustling crowds across many age groups, the annual ceremonial event at Rajpath was scaled down this time in view of the coronavirus pandemic, with spectators' size drastically cut to 25,000 from about 1.25 lakh last year.
From members of contingents to spectators, everyone wore masks, audience maintained the mandated distance while sitting, and standing spectators were not allowed. The marching contingents' route was also curtailed and they stopped at the National Stadium this year instead of following the regular route all the way to the Red Fort.
The size of the marching contingents was also reduced from regular 144 to 96 so that they could maintain social distancing, a senior official said.
Six tableaux from the defence arm, including one each from the Indian Air Force and the Navy, were also part of the parade. Flt Lt Bhawana Kanth, the first woman pilot of the IAF was part of its tableau, which depicted scaled down models of Light Combat Aircraft, Light Combat Helicopter, Su-30 MKI and Rohini radar. The Navy's tableau displayed models of Indian naval ship (INS) Vikrant and naval operations that were conducted during the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
Young Union Territory of Ladakh made its debut in the extravaganza on Rajpath with a beautiful tableau depicting the iconic Thikse Monastery and its rich cultural heritage. The Union Territory of Ladakh was created in 2019 after the central government bifurcated the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The CPWD float paid tribute to the sacrifices made by heroes of the armed forces, with a special floral tableau, while Delhi tableau depicted the pedestrianisation project of Chandni Chowk.