26/01/2023
*12 Interesting Facts about the parade of 26th January*
1. As we all know every year, the organisation of the parade on 26th January is done at Rajpath situated in New Delhi,
but do you know that Rajpath was not the organizing centre for the parade from 1950 to 1954?
During these years, the 26th January parade was held at Irwin Stadium (now National Stadium), Kingsway, Red Fort, and Ramleela Maidan respectively.
Rajpath became the permanent venue for the parade of 26th January in AD 1955. Rajpath was known by the name ‘Kingsway’ at that time, now known as Kartavyapath.
2. Every year, the Prime Minister/ President/ or the ruler of any nation is invited as a guest for the 26th January parade.
The first parade was held on 26th January 1950, President of Indonesia Dr. Sukarno was invited as a guest. However, in 1955 when the first parade was held at Rajpath, The Governor-General of Pakistan Malik Ghulam Mohammad was invited.
3. The parade event on 26th January begins with the arrival of the President. First of all, the cavalier bodyguards of the President salute the National Flag, and during this time, the National Anthem is played and the 21 Guns Salute is also given. But do you know that firing is not done with 21 canons? Instead, 7- cannons of the Indian army, which are known as “25- Ponders” are used for firing in 3 rounds.
The interesting fact is that the time of the gun salute firing matches with the time at which the National Anthem is played. The first firing occurs at the start of the National Anthem and the last firing occurs right after 52 seconds. These cannons were made in 1941 and are involved in all the formal programs of the army.
4. All the participants of the parade get ready by 2 AM and arrive at the Rajpath by 3 AM. But the preparations for the parade begin in July of the previous year when all the participants are formally informed about their participation. Till August, they practice parade at their related regiment centers and reach Delhi by December. The participants have already practiced for 600 hours before performing on the 26th of January formally.
5. A special camp near the premises of the India Gate is organized for all the Tanks, Armored Vehicles, and modern equipment showing the military power of India. The investigation process for each Cannon and the work of whitewashing is performed in 10 stages mostly but this time maybe it will be different.
6. For rehearsal for the parade of 26th January, each group covers the distance of 12 Kilometres but on the day of 26th January, they cover the distance of 9 Kilometres only.
Judges are seated all through the way of the parade, and judge every participating group based on 200 parameters, and based on this judgment, the “best marching group” title is awarded.
7. Every activity performed on the 26th January parade event is pre-organized, right from the beginning till the end. Therefore, even the smallest error and delay by the fewest minutes could cost heavily to the organizers.
8. Each army personnel who participates in the event of parade has to pass through 4 levels of investigation. Besides this, their arms are thoroughly checked to ensure that their arms are not loaded with live bullets.
9. The tableaux involved in the parade move at a speed of about 5 km/hr, so that important people can watch them thoroughly. You will be surprised to know that the drivers of these tableaux drive them through a small window.
In the Republic Day parade on 26 January 2022, 12 states and Union territories and nine ministries and departments have been selected to showcase their tableaux. These include Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
10. The most fascinating part of the event is the “flypast”. Responsibility for “flypast” lies on the Western Airforce Command, which involves the participation of around 41 Aircraft. The aircraft involved in the parade take off from different centers of the Airforce and reach the Rajpath at a fixed time.
11. The song “Abide with me” is played at every Republic Day parade event as it was the favorite song of Mahatma Gandhi. But this year, it has been removed by the central government.
12. The army personnel participating in the parade march with indigenously made INSAS rifles, whereas personnel of Special Security Forces march with Tavor rifles made in Israel. This time maybe it is different.
