Indian soldiers during a parade on Kartavya Avenue in New Delhi on the occasion of the 74th Republic Day. Photo: Archyde.com
Before starting the call parade On Kartavya Avenue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to the National War Memorial to lay a wreath in memory of the fallen soldiers. Accompanying Prime Minister Modi were Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and senior Indian generals.
President, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces India Droupadi Murmu raised the flag to open India’s 74th Republic Day parade.
For the first time in history Republic Day of Indiathe British-era guns that had been used for decades to fire 21 salutes, have been replaced by Indian-made 105mm cannons.
This year, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was the main guest of this event. He became the first President of Egypt and the 5th leader from the Middle East to participate in the Republic Day celebrations as the main guest. An Egyptian contingent of 160 members also took part in the parade at Kartavya Avenue.
The Indian navy, land and air forces, along with the security forces, put on a spectacular display as they marched in front of President Murmu and other high-ranking domestic and foreign leaders and officials. 50 military aircraft participated in the demonstration, including Rafale, Mig-29, Su-30 MKI, transport aircraft C-130 Super Hercules and C-17. In addition, other indigenous weapons systems were also displayed in the parade, such as the Arjun MK-1 main battle tank, K-9 Vajra self-propelled howitzer, Akash, BrahMos and Nag missiles.
For the first time, female members of the Border Security Force’s camel warrior squad joined the parade on Kartavya Avenue. An all-female lineup of the Reserve Police Force (CRPF) attended the event. It is one of the largest paramilitary forces in the world. CRPF’s main mission is to assist state governments and law enforcement agencies in maintaining order and security, and can be mobilized for counter-terrorism missions in some areas.
In addition, attractive art performances selected through competitions across the country were performed at the parade. There were a total of 23 animations at the welcome event, including 17 from the union states and territories and 6 from different ministries and departments – depicting India’s vibrant cultural heritage as well as the economic and social progress of the South Asian nation. Women’s empowerment was the main theme of the scenes of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Tripura at the parade.
Security in the capital New Delhi was beefed up before and during the celebrations. About 6,000 security personnel have been deployed and a total of 24 areas have been set up in New Delhi for security checks. For the event, officials said, additional security checkpoints were deployed in border areas to ensure vandals did not enter the national capital.
