Republic Day 2021: From Rafale's Debut To Bangladesh Contingent, The Many Firsts Of Decades’ First R-Day Parade

Republic Day 2021: One of the many ‘firsts’ of the decade’s first R-Day parade will be the newly-acquired Rafale fighter jets. A single Rafale aircraft of the Indian Air Force will fly in a ‘Vertical Charlie’ formation during the Republic Day flypast.

Republic Day 2021: India is celebrating the 72nd Republic Day on Tuesday amid the covid-19 pandemic restrictions which has forced many changes, including a shorter route for the parade and less public participation in the event. However, there are many firsts as well that will be witnessed in Republic-Day celebrations. The ceremonial parade will start as usual at 9:43am with the Presidential Guard escorting President Ram Nath Kovind from Rashtrapati Bhavan to the saluting dias.

Here is what to expect in the celebrations for the first time

Newly inducted Rafale fighter

One of the many ‘firsts’ of the decade’s first Republic Day parade on Tuesday will be the participation of the newly-acquired Rafale fighter jets. A single Rafale aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will put on a show on January 26, in what is a highly-anticipated display. During Tuesday’s flypast, the Rafale will fly in a “Vertical Charlie” formation. The aircraft flies at a low altitude, pulls up vertically and conducts a roll before stabilising at a higher altitude in the “Vertical Charlie” formation.

Besides Rafale, 41 other aircraft will be a part of different formations. These include 21 helicopters, 15 fighter jets, five transport aircraft and a vintage Dakota aircraft. The fighter jets include the Rafale, Sukhoi-30s and MiG-29s. Rafale will fly with two Jaguars and two MiG-29s in one of the formations, before performing another manoeuvre to wrap up the flypast.

Bangladesh Contingent to March

The 2021 Republic Day parade will starte with a 122-member contingent of the Bangladeshi armed forces led by Lieutenant Colonel Mohatsim Haider Chaudhary. By way of marching, Bangladeshi soldiers will be expressing respect to all those Indian military personnel who sacrificed their lives for the liberation of their country. The first six rows of the contingent will be Army, followed by two rows each of Navy and Air Force. "The Bangladesh contingent will carry the legacy of legendary Muktijoddhas, who... liberated Bangladesh in 1971," the Defence Ministry was quoted by news agency PTI. Each member of the contingent will be wearing a mask—as per the protocol laid down by the Indian government to prevent the transmission of covid-19.

For the first time in 2016, French participated in the Republic Day Parade and marched down the Rajpath. Since 1950, it was the first time a foreign army participated in Republic Day Parade.

 In a similar event that occurred in France on July 14, 2009, Indian troops drawn from the three services, i.e., the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force, marched down the Champs Elysees in Paris along with the French Army on the Bastille Day. In 2017, soldiers from UAE has participated.

First woman fighter pilot to be a part of the celebration

Flight lieutenant Bhawana Kanth will be a part of the Republic Day parade this year to become the first woman fighter pilot to take part in India's biggest ceremonial event on January 26. She will be a part of the Indian Air Force's (IAF's) tableau that will showcase mock-ups of the light combat aircraft, light combat helicopter and the Sukhoi-30 fighter plane.

Shorter duration

The Republic Day will be celebrated with a shortened programme - scheduled to start at 9 am and conclude after the traditional fly past 11.25 am. Apart from a reduced list of events, the parade will also have a shorter route, no chief guest, fewer spectators, no children under 15 in the annual parade, and fewer soldiers in the Army and Navy contingents.

No motorcycle stunts

Due to Covid-19 restrictions,  spectaular stunts by motorcycle-borne men which remains a major attraction for the crowd at Republic Day celebrations on the Rajpath, will be missing this year, while the spectator size too has been reduced to 25,000 from 1.25 lakh last year.

No parade of gallantry awardees:

The parade of gallantry awardees and children who have earned bravery awards will also not be there at the 72nd Republic Day event, on account of social distancing.

CRPF tableau

In another first, a tableau of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is also set to wow spectators during the Republic Day parade. "This year we will be having our own tableau and its theme will be combat skills of CRPF in conflict zones," RK Yadav, inspector general (training) has said, according to ANI.

No veterans to march this year

The veterans’ parade by ex-servicemen and women, too, has been knocked off the programme chart due to the pandemic, and so is the parade by recipients of the national bravery awards.

Schilika weapon system with woman commander

The upgraded Schilika weapon system will roll down in Rajpath for the first time this year in the Republic Day parade, led by the only woman contingent commander from the army.