India's military might and cultural heritage at 61st Republic Day
New Delhi: Though a blinding mist was a dampeer and an obstacle to the celebration of India's Republic Day on Tuesday, the people observed the event with patriotic fervour, gaiety and enthusiasm. The ceremony commenced with the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, leading the nation in paying homage to the martyrs by laying a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate at 9.25 am on
Tuesday morning. A tri-service contingent sounded the Last Post on the occasion.
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. As per tradition, the tricolour was unfurled and the
national anthem was played soon after the arrival of the dignitaries. Thereafter,
President Pratibha Devisingh Patil conferred the Ashok Chakra on Major D.
Sreeram
Kumar of 39 Assam Rifles, Major Mohit Sharma (posthumous) of 1st Battalion, The
Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) and Havildar Rajesh Kumar (posthumous) of
11th Battalion, The Rajputana Rifles. The parade commenced with the President
taking the salute. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was the chief guest at
this year's parade. Lt. General Kanwaljeet Singh Oberoi, the General Officer
Commanding,
Delhi Area, commanded the parade. Brigadier Kuldip Singh was the parade's
second-in-command.
Param Vir Chakra winners Subedar Major (Honorary captain) Bana Singh (retired),
Havildar Sanjay Kumar, 13 JAK RIF and Havildar Yogendra Singh Yadav, 18
Grenadiers
and Ashok Chakra Winners Lt Col Jas Ram Singh (retired), Brigadier CA
Pithawalla,
Cdr, HQ 3 Sect Rashtriya Rifles and Hony Naib subedar Chhering Mutup (retired)
followed in jeeps. The marching contingents of Army included the horse-mounted
columns of the 61st Cavalry, the Brigade of the Guards, Madras Regiment, Jat
Regiment,
Sikh Regiment, Dogra Regiment, Bihar Regiment, Gorkha Regiment and the
Territorial
Army. The naval contingents, comprising 144 men,m was led by Lt. Commander
Ajay
Verma, while the Air Force contingent, comprising 148 men, was led by Squadron
Leader. R. Katoch. The marching contingents of paramilitary and other auxiliary
civil forces included contingents from the Border Security Force, Assam Rifles,
Coast Guard, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Central
Industrial Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, Railway Protection Force, Delhi
Police, National Cadet Corps and National Service Scheme. The Camel-mounted
band
of the Border Security Force was another attraction. Tableaux from 21 states and
Central Ministries and Departments presented the varied historical, architectural
and cultural heritage of the country. They also showcased the country's progress
in different fields. Nineteen of the 21 children selected for the National Bravery
Award - 2009 participated in the parade. Two children have got the award
posthumously.
In the children's pageant section, 750 boys and girls drawn from various schools
presented dances and other programs. Jaanbaz, the motorcycle display by the
Border
Security Force saw 178 riders on 34 motorcycles performing the Border Man
Salute,
Back Riding, Ladder Balancing, Guldasta, Operation Tawar, Seema Chowki
Buland,
Seema Prahari and Flag March under the leadership of Inspector Gurpreet Singh.
They performed breathtaking stunts in a synchronized and synergetic display of
mind, body and machine coordination. The grand finale was provided in the form
of a spectacular fly-past by the IAF, with the AWACS participating in the Parade
for the first time. One IL-78, flanked by two AN-32 and two Dornier, flying in
Big Boy formation, will lead the fly-past. Among the major attractions of today's
parade was the Main Battle Tank Arjun, the Smerch Multiple Launch Rocket
System,
the Armoured Engineer Recce Vehicle, the Sarvatra Bridge , the Electronic Warfare
System, Samyukta, ICV BMP-II Sarath, Ambulance Tracked and ALH Dhruv.
Also on
view was the indigenous systems being developed by the DRDO, including the Light
Combat Aircraft Tejas, Agni-III Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile, Shourya
Surface-to-Surface Strategic Missile and the Rohini Radar. Since New Delhi is
hosting the Commonwealth Games in October this year, the Games mascot "Shera"
was the cynosure of all eyes along the eight-kilometer-long parade route. A bevy
of sportspersons, including boxer Vijender Singh, wrestler Sushil Kumar, weightlifter
K Malleshwari, athlete P T Usha, former hockey players Ajitpal Singh and Zafar
Iqbal, shooter Samresh Jung, badminton player Gopichand Pullela, swimmer Khajan
Singh and veteran Olympian Milkha Singh were the star attractions of the parade.
One AWACS, flanked by two Su-30 MKI, flying in Sentry formation. Five Jaguars
followed by five MiG-29 will fly in Arrowhead formation. The breathtaking Trishul
formation comprising three Su-30 MKI would fly over the Rajpath and once in front
of the saluting dais the Su-30MKI aircraft at the centre would carry out a Vertical
Charlie manoeuvre. The ceremony culminated with the National Anthem and release
of orange, white and green balloons.
