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Kargil heroes to feature in R-Day parade

The Republic Day parade on Rajpath on January 26 in the capital will for the first time feature three Param Vir Chakra winners, including two Kargil heroes.

The parade will be on the road running between Raisina Road and India Gate, as the top brass of India, along with foreign dignitaries, sit by Rajpath surrounded by a massive security blanket.

With a security threat to the parade being predicted, including suicide bombers to unmanned aerial vehicles, the city is in the grip of security arrangements that more often than not look absurd.

Havildar Sanjay Kumar and Yogender Singh Yadav, awarded PVC, the highest gallantry award, will march along with the only other living PVC winner, Subedar Major (honorary captain) Bana Singh.

The parade will be led by General Officer Commanding, Delhi area, Major General Vinod Bhanot, Vir Chakra.

"The parade provides an opportunity to our supreme commander, the President of India, to review the standard of smartness and discipline of the armed forces. In addition, the nation gets an opportunity to witness the potential of the armed forces, a wonderful display of cultural diversity and amazing progress of the country in various fields," Major General Bhanot said.

A cross section of the army will participate in the parade, besides representative contingents from various paramilitary forces, the National Cadet Corps, Delhi Police and others. There will also be several colourful tableaux from several states, representing the cultural diversity of the country.

Major General Bhanot said a mounted column, artillery, armoured, engineers and signals depicting equipment in service will be part of the army's component. There would be 14 military bands and 16 pipes and drums in the parade.

A total of 27 army officers, 8 junior commissioned officers, 2730 other ranks, and 59 ex-service men will take part in the parade as part of the army's component.

There will be 29 tableaux from states/public undertakings, he said.

"The parade will be of an hour and 50 minutes," Major General Bhanot said.

Among exhibits at the parade will be the Arjun main battle tank, the Prithvi missile, Reporter radar and others. The Arjun MBT, indigenously developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, has not met several demands of the army, but about 124 of them are being produced for induction.

The army already has a Prithvi missile, and it is India's best nuclear weapon carrier at this point of time, with a range of about 250 km.

The Agni II, which was recently test-fired and which has a range of about 2500 km, will not be part of the parade.

The parade will also feature the controversial Bofors guns, 155 mm FH 77B.

The guns, purchased through a controversial deal signed during Rajiv Gandhi's premiership, proved highly effective during Operation Vijay at Kargil last year.

The parade will feature three Param Vir Chakra winners and four Ashok Chakra winners. Besides, probably the only living Victoria Cross winner- Subedar Major (honourary captain) Bhandari Ram. The Victoria Cross winner has yet not reported for the parade, according to officials.

The Indian Navy will put up a special display at the International Fleet Review, in Bombay in February.

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