India celebrated its 68th Republic Day on a grey and rainy Thursday morning. The parade in the Capital at Rajpath, as always, showcased India’s military arsenal along with a bevy of floats celebrating the unique heritage of each state of the Union. As always, liquor shops across the country were closed, eliciting some snark.
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, son of the founding president of the United Arab Emirates, was the chief guest for the occasion. As a tribute to the Indian Republic, the world’s tallest building located in Dubai, the Burj Khalifa was also lit up in the colours of the Indian flag on Wednesday. A contingent of the UAE armed forces marched with the Indian armed forces at the Republic Day parade.
While some braved the cold weather, rain and terror-threats to watch the parade at Rajpath, others preferred to tune into the state-owned channel, DD National, for R-Day updates, a channel, which according to social media humorists no one watches otherwise.
Even as nine low-intensity blasts were set off in North East India ahead of Republic Day celebrations, mobile phones and internet services were not barred in Jammu and Kashmir on Republic Day for a change.
Indian Twitter was full of nationalism, humour and highlights from the parade.
Twitter also had some suggestions to make the tableaus more current.
The Corps of Military Police displayed dare devil stunts on motorcycles, with little fear of flouting traffic norms.
At the ceremony, Havildar Hangpan Dada was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra by President Pranab Mukherjee. Dada died in Kupwara on May 27, 2016 after killing three terrorists. The President also presented gallantry awards to officers who carried out the surgical strikes against terrorists along the Indo-Pak border last year.
On Thursday, Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister, O Panneerselvam became the first chief minister to hoist the national flag on Republic day, at Chennai’s Marina beach. Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s portrait was featured prominently on Chennai’s float.
Twitter took the opportunity for a few potshots at other politicians.
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