New Delhi: From the outset, India’s Republic Day parades have been a grand affair and a splendid spectacle, displaying the nation’s achievements, military might and cultural diversity through state-of-the-art warfare equipment, flypasts, stunts and the vivid, thematized floats around the country. On January 26, 1950, the first ever Republic Day parade was performed at the Irwin Amphitheater (now Major Dhyan Chand Stadium) where 3,000 officers of the armed forces, and more than 100 aircrafts participated, after India’s newly-sworn President Dr. Rajendra Prasad rode through the streets of Delhi to arrive at the venue.
The continuity of the parade lies in the expression of the nation’s military capability, now mostly in the form of sophisticated, modern weaponry, whereas in the initial years the regiments had been right out of the British Indian Army and there were many more animals — horses, camels, elephants and even mules — often in tribute to India’s ancient and historical military splendor. There were many more dancing crowds of children and the floats often featured agriculture-based themes, reflecting young India’s focus on its villages.
In the years that followed, the parade line-up tightened and the focus gradually shifted to a more consolidated, modernizing India.
India Tribune, as an English weekly newspaper, was launched in 1977 in Chicago by its publisher Prashant Shah with a lofty ideal to serve the Asian Indian community in the USA. Over the years, it has grown with all vigor, and now it is being published in three editions – Chicago, New York and Atlanta. India Tribune, a journal of its kind for the family in the USA, has been a household name for many Indians for over three decades with each issue commanding a readership of over 125,000.
