Current affairs

In 72nd Republic Day, India sees many firsts: What's new and different this year?

By alagu, 26 January, 2021
India, Republic Day, COVID-19

With raging Coronavirus pandemic and incessant farmers' protests in the background, India celebrates the first of its kind republic day with unprecedented fashion and the celebration has become the first national event since the COVID-19 pandemic struck the country. India has marked it's 72nd Republic Day and besides the typical and potent marches in Rajpath to mark the celebration and to showcase the might of the military, defense mechanisms, and unique cultures of the states, the country would brace up for witnessing the events that would be pretty new to the nation. 

For the first time in 55 years, India is celebrating Republic Day without any Chief Guest for the Republic Day parade. Usually, the country would see a presence of a world leader during the parade as the Chief Guest, and last year, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro had attended the parade as the Chief Guest and for this time, India knocked on the doors of 10 Downing Street to invite British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as the Chief Guest of Republic Day 2021. 

Johnson had accepted the invitation to witness India's grand parade and India was also preparing to welcome a British Prime Minister for Republic Day for the first time in 28 years. However, the emergence of the new COVID-19 variant in the UK had pushed Johnson to cancel his visit and to stay within the territory to address the domestic health crisis. Though Johnson missed the event, he greeted India on Republic Day and said that the UK is working together with India to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the unanticipated events that unfolded when India was very close to the celebration, the government hasn't called any other world leaders to be the Chief Guest, making India witness the Republic Day parade without a Chief Guest for the first time in 55 years. The last time, it was in 1966, when there was no chief guest for the Republic Day parade as the then government hasn't sent any invitations due to the demise of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on January 11 in Tashkent. The new government led by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was sworn in on January 24, two days ahead of the Republic Day. 

Unfolding a different scale of celebrations with new and eerie events, India, for the first time, has witnessed the full and powerful display of Rafale fighter jets. These fighter jets, commonly described as a gamechanger, are the recent and potent fleet that got added to the Indian Air Force. Dubbed as a slayer of adversaries, India has made an agreement to procure 36 Rafale jets from France and eleven jets have arrived so far and these jets would make Republic Day very special and significant. 

As India still rages with the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has largely restricted the scale of the audience, which has made the Parade incomplete. Typically, the parades of uniformed men and women and tableaux of every state would be cheered and celebrated by a large number of people, who would occupy both sides of Rajpath. However, the government has this time minimized the crowd and in place of 1,50,000 people, India has permitted a maximum of 25,000 people to attend the parade, which is an overwhelming cut. 

In yet another first, the parade will witness the participation of a woman fighter pilot. Flight lieutenant Bhawna Kanth will be a part of the IAF's tableau which will show drills of the light combat aircraft, light combat helicopter, and Sukhoi-30 fighter jets. Bhawna's feat has become one of the remarkable events that 72nd Republic Day had presented to this republic. Along with Bhawna, Indian Air Force Flight Lieutenant Swati Rathore will be writing history by becoming the first woman to lead the flypast at the parade. Rathore has been in full of praises from people of all walks of life. In another first of its kind event, Bangladesh will become the third foreign country, after France and UAE, to participate in India's Republic Day Parade. 

Around 120 soldiers from Bangladesh's Armed Forces had arrived in India and took part in the parade that showcased a strong handshake from one of our crucial neighbors. Again, for the first time, there will be no veteran parade by ex-servicemen and women, motorcycle stunts by the Army and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel this year, and unlike previous years, the parade will go only till the National Stadium at the C-Hexagon of India Gate while tableaux will go until Red Fort. 

The parade will see Ram Temple as part of tableaux as Uttar Pradesh Government has decided to feature Ram Temple as part of its tableau during the parade. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and shared his Republic Day wishes. He wrote, "Wishing all the people of India a Happy #RepublicDay. Jai Hind!". In his message, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, "Today as India celebrates #RepublicDay and the birth of the extraordinary Constitution that established your nation as the biggest sovereign democracy in the world, I want to offer my sincere greetings to a country that is very close to my heart". 

 

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