India has the status of a national festival on 26 January. 26 January is also called Republic Day because the Constitution was implemented in our country on this day in 1950. On this day, about 2 lakh people come to watch the Republic Day parade. It is customary to give 21 gun salutes to the President during the parade. Do you know that this salute of 21 guns is given not with 21 guns, but with 7 guns of the Indian Army, which are called ’25 pounders’. The first salute is given as soon as the national anthem begins and the final salute is given exactly 52 seconds later.
A few days before the parade, India Gate and the surrounding area are converted into an impregnable fort. Apart from thousands of army personnel, many other people are also actively engaged to conduct the parade smoothly. The Ministry of Defense is formally responsible for organizing the parade in which at least 70 different organizations help it. In this article, we are giving details of 13 interesting facts related to the parade of 26 January.
13 interesting facts related to the parade of 26 January
- We all know that every year 26 January parade is held at Rajpath in New Delhi, but do you know that from 1950 to 1954 AD, the venue of the parade was not Rajpath? During these years, the 26 January parade was organized at Irwin Stadium (now National Stadium), Kingsway, Red Fort and Ramlila Ground respectively. From 1 955 AD, Rajpath became the permanent venue for the parade of 26 January. At that time Rajpath was known as “Kingsway”.
2. During the parade of 26 January, every year the Prime Minister / President / Ruler of some country is called as a guest. The President of Indonesia, Dr. Sukarno, was invited as a guest in the first parade held on 26 January 1950 . While the Governor of Pakistan General Malik Ghulam Mohammad was invited as a guest in the first parade held at Rajpath in 1955 .
3. The parade of 26 January begins with the arrival of the President. The tricolor is saluted first by the President’s mounted bodyguards, at the same time the national anthem is played and a 21-gun salute is given. But do you know that 21 cannons are not actually firing there? Rather , three rounds of firing are done by the Indian Army’s 7 cannons, called “25 pounders” .
The interesting thing is that the time of firing by the cannon matches the time of the national anthem. The first firing is done at the beginning of the national anthem, while the last firing is done exactly after 52 seconds. These guns were made in 1941 and are included in all formal military programs.
4. On parade day, all the parties participating in the parade get ready at 2 am and reach the Rajpath by 3 am. But preparation for the parade starts in July last year only when all parties are notified to participate in the parade. Till August they practice the parade at their respective regimental centers and come to Delhi in December. Till the formal participation in the parade of 26 January, various teams have practiced for about 600 hours .
5. A special camp is set up within the India Gate complex for tanks and armored vehicles participating in the parade and state-of-the-art equipment to showcase India’s strategic strength. The work of testing and painting of each weapon is done in 10 stages.
6. For the 26 January parade, each party covers a distance of 12 km during practice and during the full dress rehearsal, while each party covers a distance of 9 km on the day of the parade. On the way to the entire parade, judges are seated who closely monitor each party on the basis of 200 parameters, on the basis of which the “best marching party” is awarded.
7. Every activity from the beginning to the end of the parade of 26 January is planned. Therefore, a small mistake or a delay of a few minutes during the parade may result in heavy losses.
8. Every military personnel participating in the parade undergoes a four-level security check. Apart from this, a thorough investigation of the weapons brought by them is done to ensure that their weapons do not have live cartridges.
9. All the tableaux in the parade run at a speed of 5 km / h so that the dignitaries can see it well. You will be surprised to know that the drivers of these tableaux drive vehicles through a small window.
10. The most interesting part of the parade is the “flypast”. The responsibility of this flypast rests with the Western Air Force Command , in which 41 aircraft participate. Various aircraft participating in the parade fly from different air force centers and reach Rajpath on time.
Image Source: Festivals of India
11. In every Republic Day parade, the song ” मेरा साथ दो ( Stay with Me )” is definitely played as it was Mahatma Gandhi’s favorite song.
12. Army personnel participating in the parade carry indigenously manufactured “INSAS” rifles, while Special Security Force personnel carry ” Tavor “ rifles manufactured in Israel .
13. According to the information received from the RTI, about 320 crore rupees were spent in organizing the parade on 26 January in the year 2014 . Whereas in 2001 this expenditure was about 145 crores. Thus, during 2001 to 2014, there has been an increase of about 54.51% in the expenses of organizing the parade of 26 January.