The Republic Day parade this year will have many firsts to mark 75 years of Independence. People, who never get an opportunity to witness the event at Rajpath will get special invitations. They include auto-rickshaw drivers, safai karamcharis and construction labour to name a few.
But the pandemic has cast its shadow on the Republic Day parade. Only 5,000 to 7,000 visitors are allowed to be at Rajpath as against 25,000 last year.
At the same time, National Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets will visit the homes of 5,000 martyrs on January 26 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be paying homage to the brave hearts at the National War Memorial here before the parade commences.
The cadets will present a letter signed by the Prime Minister to the next of the kin of the martyrs whose names are etched at the National War Memorial, sources said here on Tuesday.
Announcing that henceforth, the Republic Day week will commence from January 23, the birth anniversary of Subhash Chandra Bose, they said the week will end on January 30, the martyrdom day of Mahatma Gandhi.
In another first, the Prime Minister will give away awards on January 23 evening at the India Gate to those engaged in disaster management. The award was instituted in 2018.
The Prime Minister will present awards to the winners for the years 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, sources said. It is the first award of its kind, they added.
In an effort to make the celebrations more broad-based to mark “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav,” the Government has also advised the States and Union Territories to invite participation from one or more other States for their Republic Day parade. These guest States may send their contingent for a Parade to promote engagement among people of different states so as to enhance mutual understanding and bonding in the spirit of “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.”
Similarly, the Governor’s “At Home” function should have a diverse set of invitees like Divyangjans, achievers in different fields, Next of Kins of martyrs, Olympics participants, exceptional educators, frontline health workers and children bravery awardees.
Apart from these initiatives, the visitors at the Rajpath for the parade will see huge paintings commemorating 75 years of progressive India and as a tribute to the unsung heroes of the country’s freedom movement.
Ten scrolls each of 75 metres in length and 15 feet in height will be erected near the spectator stands along the parade route, they said. These paintings were made by artists in two camps at Chandigarh and Bhubaneswar respectively.
For the first time, dancers who perform during the cultural programme at the Republic parade have been selected through a nation-wide competition “Vande Bharatam”, jointly organised by Ministries of Defence and Culture.
The competition that began at the district level with the participation of 3,870 dancers in 323 groups progressed to state and zonal levels over a period of two months in November and December. The zonal level competitions were organised in early December in Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Delhi.
More than 800 artists were shortlisted for the Grand Finale which was held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium - Auditorium in New Delhi on December 19. Finally, 600 dancers were selected. They will showcase their talent during the parade at Rajpath.
The objective of the “Vande Bharatam” competition was to select the top dancing talent from across the country and provide equal opportunity to all to perform during this mega event.
This year, the Republic Day parade will begin at 10.30 am instead of 10.00 am to provide better visibility to the parade and fly past. Also, the audience at Rajpath will be entertained by static band performance by the para-military forces before the parade starts.
Moreover, for a better viewing experience of spectators at the parade, 10 large LED screens - five on each side of Rajpath - will be installed.
Curated films combining footages of previous Republic Day Parades, short films on the Armed Forces and stories related to various events in the run-up to the RDC - 2022 will be screened before the Parade begins and thereafter the screens will show the live event.
Moreover, the Republic Day for the second consecutive year will also not have any chief guests from foreign country. India was keen to have heads of state of five Central Asian countries for the national event but the third wave of the pandemic has come as a dampener. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was the chief guest for 2021 parade. He called off the visit due to raging pandemic in his country.
India had invited the leaderships of the five Central Asian nations (CA-5) including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The invitation was extended to the leaders during the third meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his counterparts representing the CA-5 in December last year.
The leaders of these five countries are likely to hold summit with Modi on January 26 in the virtual mode, sources said here on Tuesday adding modalities were being worked out.
Giving details of the forthcoming celebrations, defence ministry sources said here on Tuesday, the number of visitors or invitees was “significantly curtailed” given the present situation in the national capital.
They said the Government was of the view that the Republic Day parade should not turn into a “super spreader” with the presence of a large number of people at the Rajpath.
People are encouraged to enjoy the spectacle on the television, sources said adding the invitees at the parade venue will have to go through the Covid protocol. It includes proof of double vaccination, strictly adhering to the social distancing of six feet, checking body temperature, and other related precautions, they said.
Meanwhile, days after West Bengal and Tamil Nadu alleged discrimination in rejecting the tableaux of their States for the Republic Day parade here, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday rejected the charge and said their tableaux were part of the parade for several years including last year.
This response in the form of letters by him to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin came after they wrote protest letters to Modi claiming bias.