Headlines
Women's power, pomp, Obama at R-Day parade
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By Vishnu Makhijani New Delhi, Jan 26
If the annual Republic Day
parade is known for its pomp and splendour, the 66th edition will remain
etched in the memory for two other factors - the women's power
showcased during the two-hour event and the presence of US President
Barack Obama as the chief guest on the occasion.
Quite
appropriately, the honour of leading the marching contingents was given
to the one drawn from the three services, while the Indian Army, the
Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force also fielded all-women's
contingents.
A woman led the Indian Navy contingent while a
tableau depicted the success achieved by an all-women's team in scaling
the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest.
All this, coupled
with a woman leading the contingent that presented a guard of honour to
US President Barack Obama Sunday is reportedly Modi's way of showcasing
women's power in India - despite the many stories of atrocities on
women and the odds stacked against them socially.
The day began
cloudy and rainy and there were apprehensions that the flypast, one of
the most-eagerly awaited events at the parade, would be curtailed but,
in the end, the weather cleared sufficiently for this to take place
though the sky remained overcast.
Before the proceedings began,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, resplendent in a tricolour turban and for
whom it was his first Republic Day parade, drove to India Gate to lay a
wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti memorial to the unknown soldier.
He
later drove back to the saluting base at Rajpath to welcome Obama and
President Pranab Mukherjee, who took the salute at the two-hour parade.
Before
it commenced, Mukherjee handed over posthumous Ashok Chakras - the
nation's highest military award in peacetime - to the widows of Major
Mukund Vardarajan and Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh, who were killed in
counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
As in the
past, the marching contingents stole the show with their dazzling array
of ceremonial uniforms, leaving the audience in the jam-packed stands -
despite the cold - spoilt for choice: the blue and gold trimmed tunics
of the 61 Cavalry contrasting with the vivid red turbans of the Brigade
of the Guards, the red-gold turbans of the Jammu and Kashmir Light
Infantry and the green-blue turbans of a Territorial army unit attached
to the Punjab Regiment.
Most of the paramilitary and police
contingents were in regulation khaki but they too got a look-in, thanks
to their ceremonial cummerbunds, sashes and turbans.
Notably, the
mechanised columns were down to a minimum this time around - perhaps to
paper over the fact that 70 percent of the hardware with the armed
forces is imported, a situation that Modi's 'Make in India' initiative
hopes to reverse.
The music, as usual, made for considerable
patriotic fervour, what with rousing tunes like Sare Jahan Se Aacha,
Hanste Lushai, Kadam Kadam Badahe Ja and Sound Barrier, many of which
had Obama keeping time - which he also did when the tableaux came on
with their wealth of folk music.
This also made for a seamless
blend of military might and heritage as 25 tableaux - 16 from the states
and nine from various ministries - graphically displayed India's rich
cultural diversity.
Andhra Pradesh chose to do this through a
harvest festival; Madhya Pradesh highlighted the Bhagoria festival of
love and matchmaking; Uttarakhand through the pilgrimage to Kedarnath;
Sikkim through cardamom farming, Assam by re-creating Majuli, the
world's largest river island; Telangana by re-creating the Golconda fort
and Haryana with likeness of the Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary - quite
naturally, with twittering birds.
The 'Make in India' tableau by
the department of industrial policy and promotion depicted a mechanised
lion against the backdrop of a smart city. The campaign aims to promote
manufacturing in India.
Another pet project of the prime
minister, the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' programme, a campaign against
female foeticide which he launched from Panipat in Haryana Jan 22, was
also featured in a tableau.
And, as usual, the flower-bedecked
tableau of the Central Public Works Department drew loud applause. It
featured the source of the Ganga river high up in the Himalayas.
The
weather began to lift as the tableaux were rolling down Rajpath and
just as the schoolchildren had finished their routines, three Mi-35
attack helicopters of the IAF streamed in through the somewhat cloudy
sky.
Then, in quick succession came the newly acquired C-130J
Super Hercules medium-lift transport, the P8I maritime reconnaissance
aircraft escorted by MiG-29 combat jets (both of the Indian Navy), the
C-17 heavy-lift transport escorted by Sukhoi Su-30 MKI combat jets and
the Jaguars.
All this left most spectators with a feeling of “Yeh
dil maange moreâ€, but for that they'd have to wait a full year. It
would be a wait well worth it.
(Vishnu Makhijani can be contacted at [email protected])