Interesting facts about Republic Day you should know

Republic Day and the Independence Day are the most important national festivals in India. The day is celebrated with full vigor and patriotism across the country. This year the Republic Day celebrations are starting a day earlier on January 23 instead of January 24, to bring Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary into the fold of the R-Day celebrations.

This year, the week-long celebrations will feature India’s largest drone show, a military tattoo and tribal dance festival, the parade, and the Beating Retreat ceremony.

Here are some interesting facts about the Republic day.

* Republic Day marks the occasion when the Constitution of India came into effect on January 26, 1950. The constitution was created and was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949.

* Since the India Constitution came into effect in 1950,

* The first Republic day parade was held 1950. It took place at the Irwin Amphitheater (now Major Dhyan Chand Stadium). Three thousand Indian military personnel and over 100 aircraft participated in the parade.

* In the initial first four years, the venues of these marches were Irwin Stadium, Red Fort, and Ramlila Grounds.

* The first parade at Rajpath was organised in 1955. Pakistan’s Governor General Malik Ghulam Muhammad attended the event as chief guest. It was the first of the only two times that a Pakistani leader was given the honour.

* The Beating Retreat ceremony, which takes place at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi on January 29 every year, traces its origin to a tradition from the 1600s. This tradition to announce the return of the troops began when King James II ordered his troops to beat drums, lower flags and organise a parade to declare the end of a day of combat.

* The first foreign military contingent, French Army soldiers, took part in Republic day Parade in 2018.