India’s 67th Republic Day with Unique Traits

Today India commemorated and honoured the 67^th birth anniversary of its Constitution as Republic day. The main Republic Day celebration was held at the Rajpath in New Delhi. Along with ceremonious parades as a tribute to India, there was something different to this year’s republic day.

Here are the Unique Features of 67^th Republic Day 2016

• French President Francois Hollande was the chief guest of 67th Republic Day – This is President Hollande’s 2^nd State Visit to India and for the 5^th time (earlier 1976, 1980, 1998 and 2008) French Head of State has been invited as the Chief Guest on India’s Republic Day celebrations.

• French Marching Contingent – 76 member French Army contingent led by a French military band comprised 48 musicians marched on Rajpath and presented a ceremonial salute to the President of India.

• Army Dog Squad – After 26 long years, the Army had selected 36 dogs aged 2-5 years, out of total 1,200 Labradors and German Shepherds for the event.

• All Women Stunt Contingent – For the first time, a women only stunt contingent demonstrated their motorcycle riding skills. The contingent named “Women Daredevils CRPF” was comprised of 120 soldiers.

• Shorter time – The celebration this year was 25 minute shorter than usual. The duration was brought down to 90 minutes from 115 minutes, but the format remained the same.

• Couple from the Bonda Tribe – For the first time, Dhabalu Sisa (41) and Samari Sisa (46) a couple from the Bonda community in Odisha attended the Republic Day function as PM Narendra Modi’s guests. The Bondas are categorised as vulnerable tribal community with only 7,000 of them alive.

• Ex-servicemen tableau – For the first time, the parade saw an ex-servicemen tableau where Army veterans showcased their role in nation building.

• Air Force tableau – IAF tableau, with the theme “Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Operations by IAF: In Service of the Nation and Beyond” showcased models of C-17 Globemaster, C-130 Hercules and MI-17V5 aircraft, emphasizing its use in the Force’s rescue and relief operations in Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Yemen and Nepal.

• Indian Navy’s Tableau – Theme “Empowering India through Maritime security and Indigenisation” , tableau displayed flight deck operations on the new aircraft carrier “Vikrant” under construction at the Kochi Shipyard Ltd and the indigenously constructed submarine “Kalvari” by Mazagaon Dock Ltd, Mumbai, having a “Made in India” tag on them.

• Bharat Parv – To showcase India’s rich heritage, government has organised a “Bharat Parv” at Red Fort from January 26-29. It has been exhibited so that people can see them more closely.