New Delhi: President of India, Droupadi Murmu will lead the Nation in celebrating the 75th Republic Day from Kartavya Path in New Delhi on January 26, 2024.
French President, Emmanuel Macron will be the Chief Guest at the parade, which is set to showcase India’s rich cultural diversity, unity & progress; its military prowess on the back of increasing indigenous capabilities, and the growing Nari Shakti.
Based on the twin themes of ‘Viksit Bharat’ and ‘Bharat – Loktantra ki Matruka’, this year’s parade will witness the participation of around 13,000 Special Guests – an initiative that will provide an opportunity to people from all walks of life to take part in the celebrations and encourage Jan Bhagidari in this national festival.
For the first time ever, the parade will be heralded by over 100 women artists playing Indian musical instruments. The parade would commence with the music of Sankh, Naadswaram, Nagada, etc. to be played by these women artists. It will also witness the maiden participation of an all-women Tri-Service contingent marching down the Kartavya Path. Women pilots will also enthrall the audience during the Fly-past, representing Nari Shakti. The contingents of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will also consist of only women personnel.
The Republic Day parade will commence at 1030 hrs and run for a duration of approx. 90 minutes. The ceremony will start with the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the National War Memorial, where he will lead the nation in paying solemn tributes to the fallen heroes by laying a wreath. Thereafter, the Prime Minister and other dignitaries will head to the saluting dais at Kartavya Path to witness the parade.
The arrival of the President of India and her French counterpart will be escorted by the President’s Bodyguard – ‘Rashtrapati Ke Angrakshak’. The President’s Bodyguard is the senior most Regiment of the Indian Army. This Republic Day is special for this elite Regiment as the ‘Angrakshak’ has completed 250 years of service since its raising in 1773. The two Presidents will arrive in the ‘Traditional Buggy’, the practice which is making a comeback after a gap of 40 years.
As per tradition, the National Flag will be unfurled followed by the National Anthem with a booming 21-gun salute given with indigenous gun system 105-mm Indian Field Guns. Four Mi-17 IV helicopters of the 105 Helicopter Unit will shower flower petals on the audience present at Kartavya Path. This will be followed by ‘Aavaahan’, a band performance by over 100 women artists playing various types of percussion instruments, symbolizing Nari Shakti.
The parade will then commence with the President taking the salute. The parade will be commanded by Parade Commander, Lieutenant General Bhavnish Kumar, General Officer Commanding, Delhi Area, a second-generation Army officer. Major General Sumit Mehta, Chief of Staff, HQ Delhi Area will be the Parade Second-in-Command.
The proud winners of the highest gallantry awards will follow. They include Param Vir Chakra winners Subedar Major (Honorary Captain) Yogendra Singh Yadav (Retd) & Subedar Major Sanjay Kumar (Retd), and Ashok Chakra winners Major General CA Pithawalla (Retd), Colonel D Sreeram Kumar and Lt Col Jas Ram Singh (Retd). The Param Vir Chakra is awarded for the most conspicuous act of bravery and self-sacrifice in the face of the enemy, while the Ashok Chakra is awarded for similar acts of valour and self-sacrifice but, other than, in the face of the enemy.
Kartavya Path will be witness to a march past by a combined Band and Marching contingent of the French Armed Forces. A 30-member band contingent will be headed by Captain Khourda, which will be followed by a 90-member marching contingent, led by Captain Noel. One Multi-Role Tanker Transport aircraft and two Rafale fighter jets of the French Air & Space Force will fly above the contingents while they march past the saluting dais.
The first Army contingent leading the Mechanised Column will be of 61 Cavalry, led by Major Yashdeep Ahlawat. Raised in 1953, the 61 Cavalry is the only serving active Horsed Cavalry Regiment in the world, with the amalgamation of all the ‘State Horsed Cavalry Units’.It will be followed by 11 Mechanised Columns, 12 marching contingents, and a fly-past by Advanced Light Helicopters of Army Aviation Corps.
Tank T-90 Bhishma, NAG Missile System, Infantry Combat Vehicle, All-Terrain Vehicle, Pinaka, Weapon Locating Radar System ‘Swathi’, Sarvatra Mobile Bridging System, Drone Jammer System, and Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile System among others will be the main attractions in the mechanized columns.
Marching down the Kartavya Path for the first time would be an all-women Tri-Service contingent, led by Captain Sandhya of Military Police, with three supernumerary officers Captain Sharanya Rao, Sub Lieutenant Anshu Yadav & Flight Lieutenant Shrishti Rao, and an all-women Armed Forces Medical Services contingent, headed by Major Srishti Khullar with Captain Amba Samant of Army Dental Corps, Surgeon Lieutenant Kanchana of Indian Navy & Flight Lieutenant Dhivya Priya of Indian Air Force.
The Army Marching Contingents will include The Madras Regiment, The Grenadiers, the Rajputana Rifles, the Sikh Regiment and the Kumaon Regiment.
The Indian Navy contingent will consist of 144 men and women Agniveers, led by Lt Prajwal M as Contingent Commander and Lt Mudita Goyal, Lt Sharvani Supriya & Lt Devika H as Platoon Commanders. It will be followed by the Naval Tableau, depicting the themes ‘Nari Shakti’ and ‘Sea Power Across the Oceans Through Indigenisation’.
The first part of the tableau showcases the women in the Indian Navy in All Roles and in All Ranks across the Navy while the second depicts the very first indigenous Carrier Battle Group, comprising the Aircraft Carrier Vikrant, her highly capable escort ships Delhi, Kolkata and Shivalik, the Light Combat Aircraft and Advanced Light Helicopter, the Kalvari Class Submarine and the GSAT-7, Rukmani Satellite.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) will comprise 144 airmen and four officers, led by Squadron Leader Rashmi Thakur. Squadron Leaders Sumita Yadav & Pratiti Ahluwalia and Flight Lieutenant Kirti Rohil will march past as supernumerary officers behind the Contingent Commander. The IAF tableau is on the theme ‘Bharatiya Vayu Sena: Saksham, Sashakt, Aatmanirbhar’.
The tableau depicts LCA Tejas and Su-30 flying over the IOR, and a C-295 transport aircraft being flown by women aircrew in the cockpit. The GSAT- 7A positioned on the tableau represents the IAF’s incorporation of space technology in its operations. The tableau shows that IAF has been at the forefront of rendering humanitarian aid, both within and across borders.
Besides, there will be Indian Coast Guard contingents, contingents of CAPF & Delhi Police, NCC and NSS contingents and tableaux of various states according to P.RO (Defence), Manipur, Nagaland
