India showcases Russian weaponry for Putin at R-Day parade

India
India showcases Russian weaponry for Putin at R-Day parade
By Vishnu Makhijani, IANS, Jan 26, 2007 - 2:43:50 PM

New Delhi, Jan 26 - With Russian President Vladimir Putin the chief guest, India Friday showcased the cutting edge Russian weaponry in its arsenal as it celebrated its 58th Republic Day with a grand parade that seamlessly blended military might with an impressive display of cultural diversity.

It had the desired effect as Putin repeatedly nodded his as the jointly developed BrahMos supersonic cruise missile and the T-72 main battle tanks that have been purchased from Russia rolled down Rajpath during the two-hour parade.

In fact, such was the keenness with which Putin watched the proceedings that President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who took the salute, repeatedly turned to him to point out the finer points of the pageant - whether relating to weaponry, the uniforms of the marching contingents, or the diversity depicted through the many tableaux on view.

In the past, there has often been criticism that the Republic Day parade is not so much a display of India's military prowess but more of its foreign shopping list. It was just the opposite this time around, with the only foreign equipment on view, besides the T-72 tanks, being an unmanned aerial vehicle -.

Instead, the parade, commanded by Maj. Gen. P.C. Bhardwaj, featured a vast array of indigenously developed equipment like missiles, radars for locating hostile weapons and aircraft, bridge-laying tanks, a battlefield communication system based on cellular technology, a mobile decontamination facility for a nuclear, chemical and biological - environment, and an infantry combat vehicle -.

Much of all this has been contributed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation -, whose functioning is now being probed by a government panel after criticism that its projects were suffering from time and cost overruns.

Interspersed between the hardware were the marching contingents and bands of the three services and paramilitary forces, their precision marching competing for attention with their contrasting uniforms, matching headgear and their gleaming instruments.

But then, the bands did not only march - that of the paramilitary Border Security Force - was mounted on camels. This is the only such band in the world and has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the feat.

For the first time since India became a republic in 1950, a foreigner was given the honour of leading a unit of the army contingent. Captain Tunku Ismail Ibrahim, grandson of the Sultan of Johor Baru, a province in Malaysia, led the mounted column of the 61 Cavalry, the only horse cavalry regiment in the world.

After the 45-minute display of military might, the cultural element took centre stage with a series of colourful tableaux depicting the myriad facets of India, performances by schoolchildren and folk dances.

The Jammu and Kashmir tableau highlighted the prominent shrines of the main faiths of the state to focus on the harmonious coexistence of its people. The first part of its float was the shrine of Charar-e-Sharief with its unique wooden structure and depicted the Rishi cult of Kashmir. The Hemis monastery of Ladakh formed the second part of the tableau.

India's first freedom movement of 1857 was the theme of the Uttar Pradesh tableau, while the one from Jharkhand presented the Sarhul tribal festival.

The Maharashtra tableau showcased its traditional architecture, performing arts and artworks. The state's float displayed a hill temple complex coupled with colourful, rhythmic and robust dances and music.

Several ministries, including those of railways, home, tribal affairs, social justice and empowerment, culture, shipping, development of northeastern states and the Central Public Works Department, also displayed their achievements.

United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the three service chiefs and a host of ministers, bureaucrats and diplomats, were among those who witnessed the parade, which culminated with a flypast by 36 aircraft of the IAF.

Before the parade began, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh paid homage at the Amar Jawan Jyoti memorial to the unknown soldier which commemorates armed forces' personnel killed in action since World War I.

He then drove to the saluting base on Rajpath to receive Kalam and Putin, who arrived in a stately cavalcade accompanied by mounted riders of the President's Bodyguard.

As happens every year, the police and the security forces were on high alert to prevent any attacks in the run-up to and during the parade. The airspace over the capital was also closed to all traffic during the duration of the parade.

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