Republic Day 2024: India's military might, women power on full display at R-Day parade

India ushered in its 75th Republic Day on Friday with a grand display of its women power and military might that included elite marching contingents missiles warplanes surveillance gadgets and lethal weapon systems with French President Emmanuel Macron gracing the occasion as the chief guestFor the first time an allwomen triservices contingent marched down the Kartavya Path reflecting the countrys growing Nari Shakti women powerIn another first the parade was heralded by over 100 women artistes playing Indian musical instruments such as sankh naadswaram and nagada instead of traditional military bands kickstarting the celebrationsThe parade commenced with President Droupadi Murmu taking the salute shortly after she and Macron flanked by the Indian presidents bodyguards arrived at the Kartavya Path in a traditional buggyPrime Minister Narendra Modi Defence Minister Rajnath Singh several other Union ministers the countrys top military brass foreign diplomats and senior officials were among the spectators at the biggest event on Kartavya Path the centrepiece boulevard of the national capitalThe first Army contingent leading the mechanised column was the 61 Cavalry which was raised in 1953 It was followed by 11 mechanised columns 12 marching contingents and a flypast by advanced light helicopters of the Army Aviation CorpsTank T90 Bhishma NAG missile systems infantry combat vehicles allterrain vehicles weapon locating radar system Swathi drone jammer system and mediumrange surfacetoair missile were among the key displays by the mechanised columnsThe allwomen triservice contingent led by Captain Sandhya of Army Military Police with three supernumerary officers Captain Sharanya Rao Sub Lieutenant Anshu Yadav and Flight Lieutenant Shrishti Rao drew huge applauseAnother allwomen Armed Forces Medical Services contingent headed by Major Srishti Khullar with Captain Amba Samant of the Army Dental Corps Surgeon Lieutenant Kanchana of the Indian Navy and Flight Lieutenant Dhivya Priya of the Indian Air Force also marched down the ceremonial boulevardThe Armys marching contingents included the Madras Regiment the Grenadiers the Rajputana Rifles the Sikh Regiment and the Kumaon RegimentThe Indian Navys contingent consisted of 144 men and women Agniveers led by Lt Prajwal M as contingent commander and Lt Mudita Goyal Lt Sharvani Supreiya and Lt Devika H as platoon commandersIt was followed by a naval tableau depicting the themes Nari Shakti and Sea Power Across the Oceans Through IndigenisationThe first part of the tableau showcased the women in the Indian Navy in all roles and ranks while the second part depicted the very first indigenous Carrier Battle Group comprising aircraft carrier INS Vikrant her highly capable escort ships Delhi Kolkata and Shivalik and the Kalvari class submarine and Rukmani satellite among othersThe Indian Air Force contingent comprised 144 airmen and four officers and it was led by Squadron Leader Rashmi Thakur Squadron Leaders Sumita Yadav and Pratiti Ahluwalia and Flight Lieutenant Kirti Rohil were the supernumerary officersThe IAF tableau was themed Bharatiya Vayu Sena Saksham Sashakt AatmanirbharThe tableau depicted LCA Tejas and Su30 flying over the Indian Ocean Region and a C295 transport aircraft being flown by women aircrew in the cockpitThe GSAT7A positioned on the tableau represented the IAFs incorporation of space technology in its operationsThe tableau showed that IAF has been at the forefront of rendering humanitarian aid both within and across bordersAnother highlight of the parade was the veterans tableau on the theme Rashtra Nirmaan Pehle Bhi Ab Bhi Aage Bhi aur Hamesha It showcased the bravery and sacrifices of the exservicemen towards the nationIn its tableau the Defence Research and Development Organisation DRDO displayed many homegrown critical systems and technologies developed by itThe tableau was based on the theme of women power in protecting the nation by providing the defence shield in all the five domains of land air sea cyber and spaceOutstanding scientist Sunita Devi Jena was the contingent commander with P Laxmi Madhavi J Sujana Choudhary and A Bhuvaneswari also present on the tableauThe tableau displayed a manportable antitank guided missile antisatellite missile Agni5 surfacetosurface ballistic missile very short range air defence system naval antiship missileshort range NASMSR and antitank guided missile HELINAQuick reaction surfacetoair missile QRSAM Astra Light Combat Aircraft Tejas Uttam active electronically scanned array radar AESAR advanced electronic warfare system and Shakti Cyber Security systems were also on displayThe themes of the celebrations were Viksit Bharat and Bharat Loktantra Ki Matruka IndiaMother of Democracy A 95member marching contingent and a 30member band contingent from France also took part in the paradeTwo Rafale fighters and an Airbus A330 multirole tanker transport aircraft of the French air force also featured in the celebrationsThe celebrations ended with a jawdropping flypast by 46 aircraft of the Indian Air ForceThe IAF fleet included 29 fighter jets seven transport aircraft nine helicopters and one heritage plane All these aircraft operated from six different basesFifteen women pilots including six from the fighter streams operated the IAF platforms during the flypastFor the first time indigenouslybuilt Tejas aircraft flew in a formation of four aircraftThere was a previous occasion of one Tejas jet being part of the Republic Day parade but this was the first time that the aircraft flew in a formationThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever