Beating Retreat 2026 ditches colonial past, takes Swadeshi turn

Every year, India's Beating Retreat ceremony, held three days after the Republic Day celebrations to mark their conclusion, makes evident the pride of a post-colonial State that dumped the relics of the British colonial era nearly eight decades ago.

But not this time.

As the Narendra Modi government continues to stress Indianness and promote the indigenous culture across several forums — changing names of cities and landmarks and allegedly imposing Hindi on all nooks and corners of the country — the Beating Retreat ceremony of 2026 gave enough hint that even a State event is no more immune from the process of 'Indianisation' or rather 'indigenisation'.

The event, held at New Delhi's iconic Vijay Chowk on Thursday (January 29), was witness to special presentations staged by bands of the three branches of the armed forces that included stirring and foot-tapping notes, mesmerising the audience that included both high-profile and common viewers.

The event, which marked the culmination of the country's 77th Republic Day celebrations held on January 26, saw a charged-up patriotic ambience and nothing other than indigenous tunes, especially Hindi, and ideas (displayed through formations, sometimes even through Hindi words such as 'Sindoor') being used to convey the message.

Bands of the various branches of the armed forces performed timeless tunes, which have been identified with the ethos of the Indian nationhood from time to time, such as 'Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja', 'Vijay Bharat', ‘Aye Watan, Aye Watan’. 'Saare Jaha se Achcha' and several others, filling up the air with deeply nationalistic vibes.

The event also paid tributes to the National Song, “Vande Mataram”, which completed 150 years recently.

Hindi formations

The performing bands also came up with special formations during the event, most of which again represented the uniqueness of the Indian State and its designs, particularly Hindi. The Indian Air Force contingent band, for instance, came up with a special Gaganyaan and Sindoor formations to pay tributes to India's varied success, be it in the sphere of space or military missions against enemy countries.

The Hindi word/figure-formation presentations included, besides "Sindoor", "Vande", "Mataram", "150" to denote the centenary and half of the national song, among others.

Members of the Pipes and Drums Band also executed the Gaganyaan formation to showcase India's space-related achievements. They also formed ‘Amar Jawan’ to pay tribute to the bravery and sacrifice made by Indian Army jawans.

The IAF band also staged a MiG-21 formation, honouring the iconic fighter aircraft it had used over the decades and retired last year.

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The ceremony was presided over by President Droupadi Murmu, who reached the venue in a traditional buggy to the sound of bugles, a scene common with the Beating Retreat ceremony. Her ceremonial carriage was escorted by the President's Bodyguard, as per the tradition.

Music performance

The evening, illuminated by lights and colours, saw massed bands presenting march with the iconic 'Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja’. Melodious renditions from the Pipes and Drums band followed, including ‘Atulya Bharat’, ‘Veer Sainik’, ‘Mili Jhuli’, ‘Nritya Sarita’, ‘Marooni’ and ‘Jhelum’. Bands from the Central Armed Police Forces will present compositions such as ‘Vijay Bharat’, and 'Veer Seepahi’, among others.

The Indian Air Force band also enthralled the audience with tunes such as ‘Brave Warrior’, ‘Twilight’, and others while the Indian Navy band performed ‘Namaste’, ‘Sagar Pawan’, ‘Matribhumi’, ‘Tejasvi’ and ‘Jai Bharati’.

The Indian Army band also chipped in with powerful compositions including ‘Vijayee Bharat’, ‘Aye Watan, Aye Watan’, ‘Anand Math’, and others.

Massed bands played ‘Bharat Ke Shaan’, ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Drummers Call’, before the ceremony drew to a close with the evergreen patriotic tune ‘Sare Jahan Se Acha’, played by the Buglers.

One of the special features of this year's event was the seating enclosures at Vijay Chowk were named after Indian musical instruments, such as Bansuri, Damaru, Ektara, Esraj, Mridangam, Nagada, Veena, among others, another indication of turning the Beating Retreat into an indigenised event.

Top leaders in attendance

Vice President C P Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, and chief of the three service chiefs, were also present among other dignitaries who graced the occasion.

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Big screens were installed at the venue, beaming the event’s live images. Several people, including foreigners, remained witnesses to the colourful event and offered heartfelt applause.

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Before the ceremony, Modi shared a message in which he described the occasion as one that celebrates India’s enduring defence traditions. He said the Beating Retreat represents the strength and continuity of India’s military heritage and spoke about the valour of the armed forces, hailing them as central to the country’s security and sovereignty.

(With agency inputs)