India
gears up for 57th Republic Day celebrations
New
Delhi: Indians are looking forward to celebrating the
country's 57th Republic Day tomorrow. The parade will be
commanded by General Officer Commanding, Delhi Area Major
General PC Bhardwaj. Brigadier K M S Shergill will be the
parade's second-in-command. The parade, which will showcase
the country's military prowess, will see the Indian Army's
Maratha Light Infantry Regiment, the Rajputana Rifles Regiment,
the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment, the Garhwal Rifles Regiment,
the Kumaon Regiment, the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles and the
Territorial Army (SIKH) marching down Rajpath in front of
a distinguished gathering that will include the President
of India A P J Abdul Kalam, the Chief Guest and Saudi Arabia's
King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Prime Minister Dr.
Manmohan Singh, the chiefs of the three defence services
- Army, Navy and Air Force and others. The marching contingents
of Navy and the Air Force will consist of 144 soldiers and
four officers each. The para-military and other auxiliary
civil forces contingents will include the Border Security
Force, the Assam Rifles, the Coast Guard, the Central Reserve
Police Force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the Central
Industrial Security Force, the Sashastra Seema Bal, the
Railway Protection Force, the Delhi Police, National Cadet
Corps and the National Service Scheme. The Camel mounted
Band and Contingent of the BSF will also participate.
The function will commence with Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh leading the nation in paying homage to the country's
martyrs by laying a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India
Gate. An eternal flame burns at the Amar Jawan Jyoti to
commemorate the indomitable courage of our Armed Forces
personnel who have made the supreme sacrifice in the service
of the motherland. The Amar Jawan the immortal soldier,
is symbolised by a reversed rifle topped by a helmet. The
parade will commence at 9.50 am after President Kalam unfurls
the Indian tricolour and takes the salute. The country's
Armed Forces will also showcase the Brahmos Supersonic Cruise
Missiles, Agni-I, Agni-II and Prithvi II Surface-to-Surface
Missiles, MBT Arjun, 155/45 mm E1 Soltam Artillery guns,
Tunguska and Pinaka Multi Barrel Rocket Launching System,
AN/TPQ - 37 Weapon Locating Radars, Network Operations Centre,
Mobile Communication Node (ASCON), Bridge Layer Tank on
Arjun chassis, Amphibious Floating Bridge and Ferry System,
Hydrema demining vehicle, Mobile , Infantry Combat Vehicles
- BMP-II and BRDM - II (STRIKER), Armoured Engineer Reconnaissance
Vehicle (Tracked), INDRA MK-II (PC) Radars will be some
of the major attractions of this year's Republic Day Parade.
On
the cultural front, tableaux from 24 states and central
ministries will present the varied historical, architectural
and cultural heritage of the country. They will also showcase
country's progress in different fields. Seventeen children,
who have been selected for the National Bravery Award, 2006
will also participate in the parade riding atop caparisoned
elephants. In the children's pageant section, 1500 boys
and girls drawn from different schools of the country will
present dances and other programmes. The motorcycle display
by the Jaanbaz of the Border Security Force will be a major
attraction of the parade. With 124 Riders and 24 silver
Motor cycles will perform breathtaking stunts in a synchronised
and synergistic display of mind, body and machine coordination.
The grand finale of the parade will be a spectacular flypast
by the IL-78 Air-to-Air Refuellers and Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter
aircraft in Tanker formation, followed by series of Jaguar
and MIG 29 fighter aircraft in Arrowhead formation.
Security tightened along borders
by
Peter Alex Todd/Vipul Goyal/Bilal Butt
Guwahati/Siddarthnagar/Gorakhpur/Srinagar: India has
tightened security along all of its international borders,
including in several strife-torn northern and northeastern
states ahead of the 57th Republic Day celebrations to be
held on Thursday. In recent years, celebrations around the
country have been targeted by Islamic militants opposed
to Indian rule in Kashmir, Maoists rebels fighting a class
war in some poorer states, and separatist insurgents from
the troubled northeast. They have blown up railway lines,
attacked key economic infrastructure and raised tensions
across the country. A security ring has been thrown around
Assam capital Guwahati after four persons were grievously
wounded in an explosion on Tuesday. Police said that the
rebel United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) had killed
two policemen and blown oil and gas pipelines in the region
in the run up to the celebrations. The ULFA has called for
a general strike across the region to boycott Republic Day.
"In Guwahti city itself, we have divided the city into sectors
and sub sectors. All senior officers are on the street carrying
out intensive searches at suspected places. Other measures
have also been taken. We have decided to remove all unauthorized
vehicles (from roads) specially buses and other abandoned
vehicles," D.K.Bora, Inspector General of Police, Guwahati.
Sniffer dogs have been deployed in India's northern border
town of Siddharthnagar to check movements along the Indo-Nepal
Border. BSF personnel have been deployed in extra numbers
after recent reports that Maoists operating in the area
were planning attacks during the Republic Day celebrations.
"We have deployed extra troops along the international border
with Nepal. Along with this, we have involved the dog squad
for patrolling," H.S. Dev, Deputy Inspector General of Police,
Gorakhpur, said.
Meanwhile, the paramilitary Border Security Force is carrying
out intensive patrolling in Tripura capital Agartala and
along the state's international border with Bangladesh.
In Jammu and Kashmir, separatist groups observe the day
as a "Black Day" and normally busy streets are deserted
as a strike takes hold. Soldiers in the state's summer capital,
Srinagar, have stepped up identification checks, especially
outside the Bakshi stadium, which is venue of the Republic
Day celebrations. "Sometimes the threat perception is more
and sometimes it can be less. Currently, we percieve a very
high threat perception. So accordingly, we have deployed
more personnel to rule out any problems," Farooq Ahmed,
Deputy Inspector General of Jammu and Kashmir Police, said.
Adding to the jitters this year are "certain intelligence
inputs" about threats to the security of the ceremony's
chief guest, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, police said.
Security will be especially tight in New Delhi with one
of the worst terror strikes the capital still fresh in the
memory. On October 29, 2005, 66 people were killed in three
bombings, two at popular markets. The attacks were blamed
on a Pakistan-based militant group. Major airports in the
country have also been put on high alert. India gained independence
from Britain in 1947 and officially became a republic three
years later when the Constitution was ratified and its first
president sworn in.
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