Producer: Peuli Bakshi
Contrary to popular belief, Republic Day is not the day the Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly. On January 26, 1950, the Constitution came into effect throughout the country.
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The first four Republic day parades did not take place at the Rajpath. The venues of these marches were Irwin Stadium, Red Fort, and Ramlila Grounds.
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The first R-Day parade, in 1950, took place at the Irwin Amphitheater (now Major Dhyan Chand Stadium). 3,000 Indian military personnel and over 100 aircraft participated in the parade.
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Pakistan’s then Governor General, Malik Ghulam Muhammad, attended the R-Day parade in 1955 as chief guest. It was the first of the only two times that a Pakistani leader was given the honour.
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The original handwritten 251-page manuscript of the Indian Constitution, is stored within a vault-like room in helium-filled cases in the Library of the Parliament of India in New Delhi.
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An expert committee directed by the Ministry of Defence is in charge of the tableaux selection process. Various states and union territories prepare designs for it months in advance.
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All participants in the parade are notified of their involvement in the iconic march in July every year. They all practice parades at their respective places till August and come to perform at the actual event in Delhi in December.
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The Beating Retreat ceremony, which takes place at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi on January 29 every year, originated from King James II's ordering his troops to beat drums to declare the end of a day of combat.
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The first time a foreign military contingent marched on the Rajpath was in 2018. The French Army soldiers took part in the parade then.
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2022 marked the first year when the celebrations began on January 23 instead of 24. This was done to bring Netaji’s birth anniversary into the fold of the R-Day celebrations.
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