Republic Day 2024, Interesting Facts About 75th Republic Day of India

Republic Day 2024: India is ready to mark its 75th Republic Day 2024 on January 26. To clear any confusion, it’s important to note that Prime Minister Narendra Modi won’t be unfurling the flag on this special day. Instead, President Droupadi Murmu will be performing the ceremony. The Republic Day 2024 parade is scheduled to start at 10:30 am on January 26, proceeding along the route from Vijay Chowk to Kartavya Path.

As Republic Day approaches, New Delhi is getting ready for a big celebration with a mix of traditions, tight security, and cultural performances. This year’s Republic Day is special because President Emmanuel Macron of France is the Chief Guest. The day has a carefully planned schedule with patriotic ceremonies, a grand parade, and colourful displays of India’s diverse culture, making it a memorable celebration of unity, diversity, and progress in 2024.

Republic Day 2024

• India celebrates Republic Day on 26th January every year, and this time, it’s the 75th Republic Day falling on a Friday. The Republic Day parade on 26th January 2024 has a new timing.
• On this special day, the President of India speaks to the nation, showcasing our rich cultural heritage and military strength. It all began on 26th January 1950 when the Constitution of India came into effect, making this date our annual Republic Day.
• Every Indian takes pride in witnessing the National Flag unfurling on Republic Day. Approximately 2 lakh people attend the parade on January 26th every year. This year’s Republic Day celebration focuses on the “participation of the common people,” and the parade’s chief guest is Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the president of Egypt.
  
• Ensuring the parade’s smooth execution involves thousands of soldiers and various individuals. The Defense Ministry, with assistance from different organizations, holds the formal responsibility for organizing the parade.
• In the Republic Day parade on 26th January 2024, 12 states and Union territories, along with nine ministries and departments, will present their tableaux. These include Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

Interesting Facts about Republic Day 2024

The Constitution was adopted on 26 January 1950, making India a sovereign and a republic state. Each year, this day is celebrated as Republic Day throughout the country to commemorate India’s adoption of the Constitution. This year marks India’s 75th Republic Day celebration. Every year the day is observed with a parade at the Kartavya Path in New Delhi. Here is a look at interesting facts about the parade.

1. We all know that every year, the January 26th parade happens at Rajpath in New Delhi but it wasn’t always happened at Rajpath. From 1950 to 1954, the parade took place at different spots like Irwin Stadium, Kingsway, Red Fort, and Ramleela Maidan. It was only in 1955 that Rajpath became the permanent location for the January 26th parade. At that time, Rajpath was called ‘Kingsway,’ and now it’s known as Kartavyapath.
2. Every year, the Prime Minister or President from another country is invited to the January 26th parade. The first parade in 1950 had Indonesia’s President, Dr. Sukarno, as the guest. Then, in 1955, when the parade moved to Rajpath, the special guest was Malik Ghulam Mohammad, the Governor-General of Pakistan.
3. The main themes for this year’s women-centric parade will be ‘Viksit Bharat’ (Developed India) and ‘Loktantra ki Matrika’ (Mother of Democracy).
4. President of France, Emmanuel Macron, will be visiting India as the Chief Guest for the 75th Republic Day celebrations.
5. The January 26th parade starts when the President arrives. Initially, the President’s horseback guards salute the National Flag, and at the same time, the National Anthem plays while a 21 Guns Salute happens. But here’s a surprising fact: even though it’s called a 21 Guns Salute, it’s done with 7 cannons from the Indian army known as “25-Ponders,” fired in three rounds. What’s intriguing is that the timing of the gun salute matches the National Anthem. The first shot aligns with the beginning of the Anthem, and the last shot occurs just after 52 seconds. These cannons, made in 1941, play a role in all of the army’s formal events.
6. At 2 AM, everyone in the parade starts getting ready and reaches Rajpath by 3 AM. But the planning begins in July of the year before when participants are told they’ll be part of the parade. They practice at their centers until August and come to Delhi by December. Before the official performance on January 26th, they’ve already practiced for 600 hours.
7. A special camp near India Gate is set up for Tanks, Armored Vehicles, and modern military equipment to showcase India’s military strength. The examination and whitewashing process for each cannon usually involves 10 stages, although there might be some changes this time.
8. During the rehearsal for the January 26th parade, each group travels a distance of 12 kilometres. However, on the actual day of January 26th, they cover a distance of 9 kilometres. Judges are stationed along the entire parade route, evaluating each participating group on 200 criteria. The group that receives the highest overall judgment is awarded the title of the “best marching group.”
9. Everything in the January 26th parade is carefully planned, from the beginning to the end. So, any small mistake or delay, even by a few minutes, can be a big problem for the organizers.
10. Every soldier in the parade goes through four levels of checks. They also inspect their weapons closely to make sure they don’t have any live bullets.
11. The tableaux in the parade go at a slow speed of about 5 km/hr so that everyone can see them well. Surprisingly, the drivers of these vehicles navigate through a small window. In the Republic Day parade on January 26, 2022, they picked 12 states and Union territories, along with nine ministries and departments, to show off their special vehicles. These include places like Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
12. The most exciting part of the event is the “flypast.” The Western Airforce Command is in charge of the flypast, which includes around 41 aircraft. These planes take off from various Air Force centers and arrive at Rajpath at a scheduled time.
13. The song “Abide with Me” used to be played at every Republic Day parade because it was Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite. However, the central government has now decided to remove it.
14. The soldiers in the parade usually march with INSAS rifles made in India, while the Special Security Forces use Tavor rifles from Israel. However, this time there might be a change.
15. Malik Gulam Mohammed, the first governor-general of Pakistan, was the inaugural chief guest at the Rajpath parade in 1955, which marked the beginning of the Republic Day Parade.
16. The Beating Retreat ceremony takes place on January 29th at Vijay Chowk, featuring performances by the Indian Army, Air Force, and Navy bands. This event signifies the conclusion of Republic Day celebrations in India.

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