Revolving around the themes of ‘Viksit Bharat and Mother of Democracy’, the Republic Day celebrations on 26 January will showcase India’s rich cultural heritage and will have the maximum participation of women, Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane said Friday. In a first, the Republic Day parade will begin with 100 women artists playing Indian musical instruments such as Sankh, Naadswaram and Nagada, marking a shift from the past when this was done by military bands. Another first in the parade is the participation of two French Rafale fighter jets and a Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft in the flypast. A 95-member French marching contingent and a 33-member band contingent will also take part in the celebrations. French President Emmanuel Macron will be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations. The parade will also see the first-ever participation of a 144 personnel tri-service women contingent with 48 personnel from each service. Additionally, the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) contingents will have all-women contingents, the defence secretary said. Speaking to the media, Aramane said all the cultural performances in the R-Day celebrations will be by women. As many as 1,300 women will perform in the event, he said, adding that the aim is to take the number to 20,000 next year. Around 13,000 special guests, including Indian patent and copyright holders and those who excelled by making use of various government schemes have been invited to the parade. The seating capacity at Kartavya Path is 77,000, of which 42,000 is reserved for the general public. He said the objective of inviting special guests is to provide an opportunity to the people from all walks of life to take part in celebrations in line with the government’s vision of ‘Jan Bhagidari’. The special guests also include sarpanches of vibrant villages, women workers of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, electronic manufacturing sectors, central vista project, women ISRO scientists, yoga teachers, winners of international sports events and paralympic medalists. “Best self-help groups, farmers’ producer organisations, those who were referred in PM Mann Ki Baat programme, and ‘Super-100’ of Project Veer Gatha 3.0 and winners of national school band competition will also be present,” he said. Aramane said the tableaux of the states, Union Territories and ministries will showcase the country’s rich cultural diversity, unity and progress. A total of 25 tableaux from 16 States and UTs and nine ministries and departments will be participating in the celebrations. As reported by The Indian Express earlier, the Defence Ministry has come up with a three-year plan to ensure all states and UTs get an opportunity to present their tableaux over a period of three years. Another highlight will be Anant Sutra — an endless thread comprising nearly 1,900 sarees and drapes from every corner of the country. The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) C-295 medium transport aircraft, which was inducted in September last year, will fly over Kartavya Path for the first time as part of the flypast. A total of 51 aircraft comprising 29 fighters and eight transport aircraft of the IAF, 13 helicopters and one heritage aircraft would participate in the flypast. These include four helicopters of the Army and one P-8I maritime patrol aircraft of the Navy flying in separate formations. The IAF marching contingent of 144 personnel will be led by Squadron Leader Rashmi Thakur with Squadron Leader Sumita Yadav, Squadron Leader Pratiti Ahluwalia and Flight Lieutenant Kirti Rohil as supernumerary officers. The theme of the IAF tableau is ‘Bharatiya Vayu Sena: Saksham, Sashakt, Atmanirbhar’. Flight Lieutenant Ananya Sharma and Flying Officer Asma Sheikh, both Su-30 pilots, would be present on the tableau.
