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Republic Day celebrations |
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India celebrated Republic Day with fervour and enthusiasm and for the first time in 15 years, the celebrations went off peacefully in the Kashmir Valley. Not a single violent incident was reported in the Valley because of tight security.
Several eminent Indians were awarded national awards on the occasion. Those awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the nation’s second highest civilian award include Dr. Karan Singh, former Sadr-e-Riyasat of Jammu and Kashmir and former National Security Adviser J.N. Dixit. The Padma Bhushan awardees include William Mark Tully, former BBC correspondent in India. Those awarded Padma Shri include Gladys Staines for social work in the tribal areas of Orissa.
For the first time, the Beating Retreat ceremony, which marks the culmination of the Republic Day ceremonies was almost completely based on indigenous music and tunes. The massed hands made their entry down Raisina Hill to the beats of Sam Bahadur, composed by L.B. Gurung in honour of India’s best-loved soldier – Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.
“Over the years, we have been gradually trying to replace the foreign compositions with our own. This is the first time that military and massed bands will only be playing our tunes”, said Maj. R.K. Gurung, the Director of military Music at Army Headquarters, who has been associated with the ceremony for 34 years. But an exception has been made for Abide With Me – Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite hymn, which continued to be the high point of the ceremony.
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