Republic Day 2011 – A Curtain Raiser
A strong and resurgent India will be celebrating its 62nd Republic Day tomorrow. This year’s parade will highlight the nation’s achievements in various fields, the military prowess, scintillating display of air power as also country’s rich and diverse cultural heritage.
The highlight this year will be the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, participating in the Republic Day Parade on the Rajpath for the first time. The twin seater Trainer Version of the Tejas is being displayed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation. The DRDO equipment columns include an array of Naval Underwater Weapons such as torpedoes, Life Support Systems such as Submarine Escape Suit and the Long Range Solid State Active Phased Array Radar. The Indian Army will display its most advanced T-90 tank, Brahmos Launcher System, Pinaka Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher, Reporter Tactical Control Radar, NBC Recce Vehicle, Indigenous Pontoons Movable Section Brigade, Integrated Network Platform, Prahar-510 Armoured Troop Carrier and a flypast by the Army Aviation Corps’ Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv. While the Indian Navy will display scaled down models of the aircraft carrier INS Viraat, Talwar kilo class submarine and the Mig-29K, the 4th Generation fighter jet inducted last year, the Indian Air Force tableau will focus on Network Centric Operations based on the AFNET, the state-of-the-art gigabyte digital information grid, also dedicated to the nation last year. However, the IAF will not hold any static-display of any of its aircrafts.
The parade ceremony will commence at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate where the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will lead the nation in paying homage to the martyrs by laying wreath. 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, after unfurling of the National Flag, the National Anthem will be played. Thereafter the President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil will confer the Ashoka Chakra on Major Laishram Jyotin Singh (posthumous) of the Army Medical Corps.
The parade will then commence and the President will take the salute. This year’s Chief Guest in the parade will be Dr. Haji Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of the Republic of Indonesia.
The parade will be commanded by Major General Manvender Singh, General Officer Commanding, Delhi Area. Brig Kuldip Singh will be the parade Second-in-Command. Param Vir Chakra winners Subedar Major (Honorary Captain) Bana Singh (Retd), Lance Naik Sanjay Kumar, 13 JAK RIF and Naib Subedar Yogendra Singh Yadav, 18 Grenadiers and Ashoka Chakra Winners Lt Col Jas Ram Singh (Retd), Brigadier CA Pithawalla, BGS (Trg), HQ Southern Command, Major D. Sreeram Kumar, Instructor, IMA, Dehra Dun, Honorary Naib Subedar Chhering Mutup (Retd), Shri Hukum Singh and Shri Govind Singh, both of district Chhatarpur, MP and Shri Bhure Lal of district Guna, MP will follow the Deputy Parade Commander on Jeeps.
The marching contingents of Army will include the horse-mounted columns of the 61st Cavalry, Punjab Regiment, Grenadiers Regiment, Rajputana Rifles Regiment, Rajput Regiment, Sikh Light Infantry Regiment, Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, 3 Gorkha Rifles and the Territorial Army. The marching contingents of Navy comprising 144 men will be led by Lt. Commander Sushil Kumar and the Air Force contingent comprising 144 men will be led by Flight Lt. CP Deshpande.
Another interesting feature of the Parade will be the Ex-Servicemen Marching Contingent led by 87-year-old Flying Officer MM Shukla, a veteran of the 2nd World War.
The marching contingents of paramilitary and other auxiliary civil forces will include 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 BSF will be another major attraction.
Tableaux from 23 states and Central Ministries and Departments will present the varied historical, architectural and cultural heritage of the country. They will also showcase country’s progress in different fields.
Twenty-one of the 23 children selected for the National Bravery Award – 2010 will also participate in the parade. Two children have got the award posthumously.
In the children’s pageant section, 686 children of different schools from Delhi and Regional Cultural Centres will present a fiesta of the varied folk and modern dances. Participants include children from the NDMC Schools in Delhi, Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Amalwas, Jwalapuri, Delhi, besides the North-East Zone Cultural Centre, Dimapur, East Zone Cultural Centre, Kolkata and North Zone Cultural Centre, Patiala.
Dare Devils, the motorcycle display by the Army’s Corps of Signals, will perform breathtaking stunts under the leadership of Captain Ankur Deewan. They will perform in formations like Shatrujeet, Teevra Chaukas, Mercury’s Pride, Signal Rocket, Lotus, Human Pyramid and the Cluster of Flying Birds.
The grand finale of the parade will be as usual a spectacular flypast by the IAF, the Mi-25 attack helicopter participating for the first time. Three Mi-25 in Chakra formation will lead the flypast, followed by the Big Boy formation of one IL-78 refueller, flanked by two AN-32 and two Dornier. After this comes the fighter jets, with five Jaguars flying in Arrowhead formation, followed by five MiG-29s flying in Fulcrum formation. The flypast will conclude with the breathtaking Trishul formation as three Sukhoi Su-30 MKI will perform the Vertical Charlie manoeuvre in front of the Saluting Base.
The ceremony will culminate with the National Anthem and release of balloons.
PK/NN
(Release ID :69362)