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India celebrates 66th Republic Day with Barrack Obama as Chief Guest

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New Delhi: New Delhi: More than the pomp, this year’s Republic Day parade Monday will be remembered for women’s power showcased during the two-hour event and the presence of US President Barack Obama as the chief guest on the occasion.

Quite appropriately, the honour of leading the marching contingents was given to the one drawn from the three services, while the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force also fielded all-women’s contingents.

The day began cloudy and rainy and there were apprehensions that the flypast, one of the most eagerly awaited events at the parade, would be curtailed but in the end the weather cleared sufficiently for this to take place.

The marching contingents stole the show with their dazzling array of ceremonial uniforms, leaving the audience in the jam packed stands spoilt for choice: the blue and gold trimmed tunics of the 61 Cavalry contrasting with the vivid red turbans of the Brigade of the Guards, the red-gold turbans of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry and the green-blue turbans of a Territorial army unit attached to the Punjab Regiment.

Most of the paramilitary and police contingents were in regulation khakhi but they too got a look-in thanks to their dazzling kamarbands, sashes and turbans.

Notably, the mechanised columns were down to a minimum this time around – perhaps to paper over the fact that 70 percent of the hardware with the armed forces is imported, a situation that Modi’s Make in India initiative hopes to reverse.

The music, as usual, made for considerable patriotic fervour, what with rousing tunes like Sare Jahan Se Accha, Hanste Lushai, Kadam Kadam Badahe Ja and Sound Barrier, many of which had Obama keeping time – which he also did when the tableaux came on with their wealth of folk music.

This also made for a seamless blend of military might and heritage as 25 tableaux – 16 from the states and nine from various ministries – graphically displayed India’s rich cultural diversity.

Andhra Pradesh chose to do this through a harvest festival; Madhya Pradesh highlighted the Bhagoria festival of love and matchmaking; Uttarakhand through the pilgrimage to Kedarnath; Sikkim through cardamom farming, Assam by re-creating Majauli, the world’s largest river island; Telangana by re-creating the Golconda fort and Haryana with a likeness of the Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary – quite naturally, with twittering birds.

The ‘Make in India’ tableau by the department of industrial policy and promotion depicted a mechanised lion against the backdrop of a smart city. The campaign aims to promote manufacturing in India.

Another pet project of the prime minister, the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ programme, a campaign against female foeticide which he launched from Panipat in Haryana Jan 22, was also featured in a tableau.

And, as usual, the flower-bedecked tableau of the Central Public Works Department drew loud applause. It featured the source of the Ganga river high up in the Himalayas.

The weather began to lift as the tableaux were rolling down Rajpath and just as the schoolchildren had finished their routines, three Mi-35 attack helicopters of the IAF streamed in through the somewhat cloudy sky.

Then, in quick succession came the newly acquired C-130J Super Hercules medium-lift transport, the P8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft escorted by MiG-29 combat jets (both of the Indian Navy, the C-17 heavy-lift transport escorted by Sukhoi Su-30 MKI combat jets and the Jaguars.

All this left most spectators with a feeling of “Yeh dil maange more” but for that they’d have to wait a full year. It would be a wait well worth it.

 

Earlier Report: India celebrated its 66th Republic Day, showcasing before US President Barack Obama, the chief guest, its military might and cultural diversity.

The Republic Day parade ceremony commenced at Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate where Modi led the nation in paying homage to the martyrs by laying a wreath. As per tradition, after unfurling of the Tricolour, the National Anthem played with 21-gun salute. The parade then commenced with President Pranab Mukherjee taking the salute the showering of petals by IAF helicopters, which displayed the tricolour and flags of Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Major Mukund Varadarajan and Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh were conferred the prestigious Ashok Chakra award osthumously by President Pranab Mukherjee on the 66th Republic Day. The Ashok Chakra award is conferred for the ‘most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent valour or self-sacrifice’ other than in the face of the enemy.

Earlier Report: US President Barack Obama reached  Rajpath  to witness India’s celebrations of its 66th Republic Day. He is the chief guest at the event.

The US president was joined by President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajpath at 10 am.

Mr Obama, the first US president to be chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations, arrived with his wife Michelle on a three-day visit yesterday.(Namasthe Obama: US President lands in India)

According to TV reports, the Indian Air Force flypast, a highlight of the parade, which was cancelled because of the weather. However, the Indian Air Force has clarified that the flypast will take place.

With 50,000 security personnel, including 500 US Secret Service Agents, New Delhi is fortified with unprecedented security.The police officials trained in detecting suspicious movements in the public and among  participants. They have been specifically trained to profile potential terrorists.

The highlight of this year’s parade will be the indigenously developed surface-to-air Akash medium range missiles and weapon locating radar. The long-range advanced MiG-29K fighter will be seen for the first time.

Three all-women marching contingents of the Army, Navy and the Air Force represent the theme of the parade, “Nari Shakti (woman power)”. Also, a display on the PM’s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Save the daughter and educate her) campaign will lead the Republic Day floats.

In the afternoon, the US President is expected to meet Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, with whom he is said to share a special rapport. He will later attend President Pranab Mukherjee’s “At-home.”

At 5.30 pm, the US President will attend the India-US CEO Forum meeting at the hotel Taj Palace. Another meeting with business delegations from the two countries – India-US Business Summit – will take place later in the evening.

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