LIVE | R-Day: Grand parade showcases military firepower, cultural diversity

Andhra Pradesh Governor S Abdul Nazeer and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday extended greetings to people on the occasion of India's Republic Day.

The Governor hoisted the national flag at Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium in Vijayawada.

"On the occasion of the 76th Republic Day, I have great pleasure in conveying my Greetings to the people of Andhra Pradesh. Republic Day is a day of remembrance as well as of re-dedication. It is a day of re-dedication to the noble ideals of truth, non-violence, peace," Nazeer said in a post on X.

Naidu in a post greeting people said, "Let us work with the spirit of the Constitution towards achieving the goals of Viksit Bharat 2047 and Swarnandhra Vision 2047." YSRCP Chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy also called on the people to celebrate the strength of the country’s unity in diversity and to pledge to uphold and reinforce the Constitution that defines this great nation.

A bomb threat prompted a thorough search at the main Republic Day venue in Jammu, hours before the start of the function, officials said on Sunday.

However, the threat received through e-mail late Saturday, proved to be a hoax, the officials said.

The officials said the threat e-mail was sent from a username “Dise Lish” to the official mail accounts of various departments including secretary higher education and director higher education on Saturday night.

The e-mail prompted deployment of multiple teams of bomb disposal squad at the stadium which was thoroughly searched in presence of senior police officers throughout the night, the officials said, adding nothing incriminating was found during the searches.

They said a special team was also constituted to identify and arrest the culprits who have sent the e-mail.

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar has extended greetings on the 76th Republic Day, saying the time has come to work with determination to realise the goal of a developed India by 2047.

He urged people to nurture and blossom India's civilisational ethos of social harmony, family values, environmental protection, "Swadeshi" spirit and civic duties.

"Let our youth spearhead this transformative journey optimising prevalent spirit of hope and possibility," Dhankhar said in a post on X.

Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis extended good wishes to the people on the occasion of the 76th Republic Day on Sunday.

Fadnavis in a post on X said, "Greetings to everyone on Republic Day! Let’s celebrate the spirit of unity and democracy that makes our nation strong." The governor unfurled the national flag at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai and Fadnavis unfurled the tricolour at the CM's official residence 'Varsha' here to mark the occasion.

The Republic Day parade will be held at the Shivaji Park in Mumbai.

Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi unfurled the national flag here on Sunday on the 76th Republic Day and the celebrations were marked by a march past of the contingents of the Armed forces, state police units and vibrant cultural events that extolled the richness of Tamil language.

Chief Minister MK Stalin gave away awards under various categories, including for communal harmony and gallantry, to recipients. Governor Ravi accepted the ceremonial salute of contingents of the armed forces and the state police units from the venue of the celebrations, near the Marina beachfront and close to the Tamil Nadu Secretariat.

The tableaux included state of the art T-90 tank and the bullet proof Light Specialist Vehicles. Contingents of the Coast Guard, Central Armed Police Forces, units of the Tamil Nadu Police, took part in the ceremonial parade. Colourful cultural events by school and college students were broadly themed on celebrating the greatness of the Tamil language and culture and Tamizhe vazhga, Thaye Vazhga, (Long live Tamil language, long live mother Tamil) was the key concept song.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday greeted people on India's Republic Day, wishing that the occasion strengthens efforts towards preserving the ideals of the Constitution.

“Happy Republic Day. Today, we celebrate 75 glorious years of being a Republic. We bow to all the great women and men who made our Constitution and ensured that our journey is rooted in democracy, dignity and unity,” Modi said in a post on X.

“May this occasion strengthen our efforts towards preserving the ideals of our Constitution and working towards a stronger and prosperous India,” the prime minister said.

Huge tricolour-themed banners have been put up along the Kartavya Path while the theme for this year’s tableaux that would roll down the boulevard where the annual Republic Day celebrations take place is “Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas”, focusing on 75 years of the enactment of the Constitution.

However, the maiden celebrations marking the birth of the Republic of India were not held on Rajpath (now Kartavya Path), the historical avenue that has over time become synonymous with the ceremony. It was held in the 1930s-era Irwin Amphitheatre after the country got its first president.

Sukarno, the first president of Indonesia, was the chief guest at India's first Republic Day celebrations in 1950. And 75 years later, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will be the chief guest at this year's ceremonial parade which will also see the participation of a marching contingent and a band contingent from that country.

Iconic public buildings, parks and railway stations dazzled with lights on the night of January 26, 1950, turning the capital city into a “fairyland”.

Fauji Akhbar (now Sainik Samachar), in its February 4 article Birth of a Republic, said, "At the most solemn ceremony, held in the brilliantly lit and high domes of Durbar Hall at Government House, India was declared a Sovereign Democratic Republic exactly at 18 minutes past 10 on the morning of Thursday, January 26, 1950. Six minutes later, Dr Rajendra Prasad was sworn in as president. The birth of the Indian Republic and the installation of its first president were announced by a salute of 31 guns shortly after 10:30 am.”

In an impressive swearing-in ceremony, retiring Governor-General C Rajagopalachari read out the proclamation of the Republic of "India, that is, Bharat".

"And whereas it has been declared by the said Constitution that India, that is, Bharat, shall be a Union of States comprising within the Union the territories which were hitherto the Governor's provinces, the Indian states and the Chief Commissioners' provinces," the military journal had quoted the last Governor-General's speech.

The president then took the oath and made a brief speech, first in Hindi and then in English.

"Today, for the first time in our long and chequered history we find the whole of this vast land from Kashmir in the north to Cape Comorin in the South, from Kathiawad and Kutch in the west to Coconada and Kamrup in the east, brought together under the jurisdiction of one Constitution and one Union, which takes over the responsibility for the welfare of more than 320 million men and women that inhabit it," President Prasad said in his historic speech.

The country erupted in celebration soon after Prasad was sworn in as India's first President.

The elegant exposed-brick structure of the Irwin Amphitheatre, topped with cupolas above its main facade, was later redeveloped into the National Stadium. Its front lawns served as the venue of a National School Band Competition held ahead of the 76th Republic Day celebrations on January 24-25. PTI visited this historic landmark ahead of this year's celebrations.

According to a marble plaque installed on its wall, the Irwin amphitheatre was built in 1933 as a gift from the then Maharaja of Bhavnagar who donated Rs 5 lakh for its construction and was opened by the then viceroy Lord Willingdon.

The amphitheatre was named after the former Viceroy of India, Lord Irwin, who had inaugurated the new British capital New Delhi in February 1931 during his viceroyalty.

Designed by Robert Torr Russell, also the architect of the iconic Connaught Place in central Delhi, the amphitheatre was renamed the National Stadium in 1951 just before the Asian Games was hosted.

According to another plaque installed in another portion of the building, the foundation stone of the National Sports Stadium was laid by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Prime Minister of India on January 19, 1950, just a week before the first Republic Day celebrations were held at the venue.

About the first Republic Day celebrations, the over 100-year-old Fauji Akhbar had said, "The president drove out of the Government House (now Rashtrapati Bhavan) in state exactly at 2.30 pm in a 35-year-old coach specially renovated for the occasion bearing the new emblem of Asoka's capital and drawn by six sturdy Australian horses, at a slow trot, escorted by the president's bodyguard." As the procession made its way through the Irwin Amphitheatre, chants of "jai" echoed through the streets with cheers of people perched on trees, building roofs and every possible vantage point. The people's president, as he would come to be known later in his office, responded to the joyous greetings of the gathered masses with warmth and folded hands.

"The drive ended exactly at 3:45 pm at the Irwin Amphitheatre where 3,000 officers and men of the three Armed Services of India and the police with massed bands had taken positions for the ceremonial parade," reported the article.

The amphitheatre, housing 15,000 people, witnessed one of the most magnificent military parades in India's recent history.

The venue was beautifully decked up and the stands were filled with people in their sartorial best. Seven massed bands, representing the three armed forces and the police regaled the spectators, while units of the forces and native contingents and regiments added colour and precision to the solemn occasion.