India celebrates 57th Republic Day

     New Delhi: The 57th Republic Day was celebrated across the country on Thursday with ceremonial parades and cultural programmes in all major cities. The marchpast by the military, para-military forces and the National Cadet Corps followed by the cultural pageant which displayed the diverse culture of the country, was the highlight of the celebrations in the national capital New Delhi. President APJ Abdul Kalam took the salute at the traditional parade with troops marching from Vijay Chowk to India Gate in New Delhi, to haunting tunes played by the military bands. The march past concluded at the Red Fort.

    This year, Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud was the chief guest at the Republic Day. The country's military power was on display during the parade. The mechanised columns included "Arjun", the main battle tank, T- 72 tanks, 105 mm field guns and Tunguska multi-barrel rocket launcher. The nuclear-capable missiles- Prithvi, with a range of 150 km (93 miles), and longer range Agni-I and II- were displayed on mobile launchers. Brahmos, a supersonic cruise missile jointly developed with traditional defence partner Russia, was also on display. For the first time,155mm Soltam artillery Guns, ANTPQ 37 Radar Network Operating Centre (NOC) Vehicle along with Bridge Layer Tank and Amphibious Floating Bridge and Ferry System were also displayed. . Tableaux from 24 States and Union ministries and departments were part of the parade and seventeen children, selected for this year's National Bravery Award, rode on elephants.

   The parade commenced with helicopters spraying flowers along the Rajpath, and the rear was brought up by a spectacular fly past by the IL-78 Air-to-Air Refuellers and Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft in Tanker formation, followed by series of Jaguar and MIG 29 fighter aircraft in Arrowhead formation. Lavish parades were also held across other main cities of all the States with the respective Governors taking salute. Controversial Bihar Governor Buta Singh took salute at the parade in Patna, as announced by him two days ago, inspite of pressure on him to resign after the Supreme Court verdict on the Bihar assembly dissolution. Across the sprawling Capital New Delhi and the National Capital Region thousands of police were deployed to check vehicles and guard key buildings to thwart a possible strike by militants Security agencies also installed anti-aircraft guns on the top of high-rise buildings along the parade route as part of the security cover.

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