Despite the terror threat, huge number of people attended the grand Republic Day parade at Rajpath to witness India's military might and cultural diversity.
Over 40,000 securitymen were deployed across Delhi to repel the terror threat looming over Republic Day celebrations. The national capital was enveloped in multi-layer security for the main event at Rajpath, which was attended by President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and the guest of the honour French President Francois Hollande. SEE PICS IRead highlights of the event
Despite the terror threat, huge number of people attended the grand Republic Day parade at Rajpath to witness India's military might and cultural diversity.
To make the event crispier and lessen the drag, the timing of the parade was reduced to 90 minutes from the previous 115 minutes.
Tanks, missiles, marchpast by various security forces, tableaux from states and ministries, daredevil show on motorcycles by men from Signal Corps and a flypast by some of killer machines of the Indian Air Force (IAF) were at display at the Rajpath. The fly past by fighter jets like the Jaguars, Sukhois, MiG29s, and the big aircrafts like the C-17 Globemaster of the IAF received huge applause from the crowd.
But what attracted more eyeballs was the marchpast of the army's dog squad. The contingent was at Rajpath on January 26 after a gap of 26 years. The Indian Army dog squad drawn from the Remount Veterinary Corps (RVC) took part in the parade along with their handlers. The last time an army dog squad had participated in Republic Day parade was in 1990 and before that in 1963.
The army dogs are no ordinary pets as their history is full of valiant tales and testifying the martial credential is the fact that Remount Veterinary Corps is decorated with a Shaurya Chakra and close to 150 commendation cards.
Another first at this year's parade was the participation of French military. This was for the first time in the history that men from a foreign military marched down the Rajpath during the Republic Day parade. The French contingent comprised of 56 personnel of 35th Infantry Regiment of 7th Armoured Brigade.
For the first time, a tableau by ex-servicemen was also at display in the parade where army veterans showcased their role in national unity.
In another break with tradition, the young recipients of the National Awards for Bravery came up towards the end.
There were tableaux, 23 of them, representing 17 states and six central ministries. Government's flagship Digital India and Swachh Bharat initiatives were also showcased during the parade.
The tableaux, presenting India's varied historical, architectural and cultural heritage showcased the country's progress in different spheres. What particularly caught the eye were floats from Goa, Gujarat, Odisha, West Bengal and Assam. Central Public Works Department's tableau fully fabricated out of flowers and depicting a variety of themes was another tableau which attracted people's appreciation.
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