What is Republic Day in India and how is it celebrated?
BORIS Johnson cancelled his visit to New Delhi as chief guest to mark the India’s Republic Day because of the UK's Covid crisis.
Although the Prime Minister missed the mammoth annual parade, in a special video message he congratulated India for celebrating the birth of its “extraordinary Constitution".
What is Republic Day in India?
Republic Day in India marks the annual anniversary of the adoption of the country’s Constitution.
It is celebrated on January 26 every year to remember the day that the Constitution of India came into effect after gaining independence from British rule following a very long freedom struggle.
When is India's Republic Day?
India won independence from British rule on August 15, 1947.
But it was not until January 26, 1950, that the nation declared itself a sovereign republic state with the adoption of its constitution.
On that day, Rajendra Prasad, India’s first president, unfurled the national flag.
Thus January 26 became a national holiday, Republic Day.
How is it celebrated?
The event begins with India's Prime Minister laying a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate, commemorating all the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country.
After a 21-gun salute is held, the President unfurls the flag and the national anthem is played, to mark the beginning of the parade.
India’s military forces go on full display during the two-hour parade in the heart of the capital, New Delhi.
Troops, rows of tanks, missiles and formations of horses and camels manoeuvre down the wide Rajpath (King’s Way) boulevard.
The grand parade winds its way from Raisina Hill near the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's House), along the Rajpath, past India Gate and on to the historic Red Fort.
During the event, bravery awards are given to military personnel, civilians and children for showing “courage in the face of adversity”.
"The important symbols of the festival include the exhibition of military equipment, the national flag and military equipment," explains .
Children ride past spectators on colourfully decorated elephants.
The Republic Day Parade is concluded by daredevil motor cycle riding and a flypast by Indian Air Force fighter jets.
The whole event is presided over by the President, commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
In January 2021, President Shri Ram Nath Kovind praised India's "Republic Day of the world’s largest and most vibrant democracy.
"This day has come to mean a lot to all Indians living within the country and abroad.
"Seventy-one years ago, on this very day, we the people of India adopted, enacted and gave to ourselves a unique Constitution.
"[Its] values – justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity – outlined in the Preamble of our Constitution are sacred to all of us."
Although the UK's Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was unable to attend the huge occasion in 2021, because of the coronavirus pandemic, he sent a message to India.
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In a video he lamented missing celebrations of the birth of an “extraordinary Constitution” that established India “as the biggest sovereign democracy in the world".
"Let me wish everyone in India as well as those celebrating here in Britain, a very happy Republic Day," he added.
