JOIN USRepublic Day 2021 | All you need to know about the parade
India will celebrate its 72nd Republic Day today to display its military might in the annual parade and it is bound to be unique. Scores of new things have been added to the ceremony and many age-old traditions will be missing this year. With lesser crowds and a smaller parade, here’s what to expect from the grand Rajpath parade today.
Timings
On January 26, flag hoisting will take place at 8 am and the parade will begin at 9 am. The parade usually lasts till 11:30 am, but this year the timings could differ. The parade would be shorter than usual due to Covid-19.
Crowds attending the parade
This year’s parade is expected to be attended by 25,000 people, a sharp decline from last year’s 1,50,000, owing to Covid-19 related protocols. Children under the age of 15 are not allowed to attend the parade. Tickets for the general public are only 4,500 this year.
You can watch the parade at Rajpath strictly on invitation or after purchasing a ticket.
Where can you watch?
People can stream the Republic Day Parade live and rewatch the highlights on an app developed by the government called 'Republic Day Parade 2021' or 'RDP 2021'.
This app will give live updates on routes to get to the parade and information about parking.
The parade can also be watched on DD News TV channel and its official YouTube channel. Most private channels are expected to air the parade live.
No Chief Guest for the ceremony
For the first time in 55 years, the ceremony will not have a chief guest. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was invited to attend this year’s Parade but he cancelled his trip in light of the critical Covid-19 situation in Britain. Last year, Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro had attended as chief guest.
Social distancing
All the jawans participating in the parade will wear a mask and observe social distancing. Spectators will be required to do the same. The size of the marching contingents has been cut down from 144 to 96. There will also be no stunts by motorcycle riders in this year’s parade due to the same reason.
First woman fighter pilot to be in the parade
Flight lieutenant Bhawana Kanth, 28, is set to be the first woman fighter pilot to participate in the parade as part of the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) tableau.
Rafale’s Republic Day debut
The newly inducted Rafale fighter aircraft is set to perform the flypast in the ‘Vertical Charlie’ formation on Rajpath, one of the 38 IAF aircraft and four Indian Army planes marked for the event.
Bangladesh’s armed forces contingent to participate
To celebrate the 50 years of the 1971 Indo-Pak war, there would be a 122-member contingent from Bangladesh’s armed forces in the parade. This is the first time that a neighbouring country’s contingent is participating in a parade and the third time that India is hosting a foreign contingent. The first was from France in 2016, followed by UAE personnel in 2017.
Tableaux
During the parade, a total of 32 tableaux will be seen on Rajpath — 17 from various states and UTs, 9 from ministries and six from the defence arm.
Tableaux from Gujarat, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Delhi will be seen.
Farmers’ mega tractor rally
Farmers from all over India are reaching Delhi to take part in a scheduled tractor rally. Tractors from Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan have reached the Delhi border. The farmer union leaders have assured that the parade will be peaceful and will not impact the Rajpath parade.
Reports suggest that 30,000 tractors are at Singhu border alone and 50,000 tractors passed through Punjab and Haryana on Saturday.