IT Correspondent
New Delhi, Jan 14:
School children from four Delhi schools and folk artists from East Zonal Cultural Centre, Kolkata, will take part in the cultural programme during the 72nd Republic Day Parade to be held at Rajpath on January 26, 2021.
The Ministry of Defence, the Directorate of Education and National Capital Territory (NCT), Delhi have selected 401 students and artists – 271 girls and 131 boys – from DTEA Senior Secondary School(DTEA), Delhi, Mount Abu Public School, Rohini, sector18, Delhi, Vidya Bharti School, Rohini, Delhi, Government Girls Senior Secondary School, B-2, Yamuna Vihar, Delhi and Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, Kolkata.
The school children will be presenting programs related to different themes. “Aatma Nirbhar Bharat: Vision for a Self Reliant India” is the theme of Mount Abu Public School and Vidya Bharti School, Delhi in which 38 boys and 54 girls will participate. 102 students of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Delhi will present a programme on the theme “Hum Fit toh India Fit” inspired by the “Fit India” movement launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on National Sports Day on August 29, 2019.
127 children from DTEA Senior Secondary School, Delhi will show case folk dances of Tamil Nadu in their traditional attires. Similarly 80 folk artists of Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, Kolkata will present the folk dance “Bajasal” from Kalahandi, Odisha.
During a press preview on Wednesday, the young participants expressed happiness to be part of Republic Day Parade. They said, they were overwhelmed with a sense of pride as they have got a chance to showcase their talent before important dignitaries on Rajpath.
The number of participating children and folk artists have been cut down to 400 this year, compared to more than 600 last year, in view of the Covid-19 restrictions.
In the back drop of COVID-19, R day celebration is expected to be a low key affair, with limited number of spectators, fewer marching contingents and shorter parade. Not more than 25,000 spectators will be allowed, compared to over 100,000 people who usually turn up for the parade that showcases India’s military might and cultural diversity. Children below the age of 15 will not be permitted at the parade. The replica of Ram Temple in Ayodhya is expected to be of special attention at the Red Fort.
The size of the marching contingents from the armed forces and the para-military will also be smaller. These squads will only have 96 participants compared to 144 in the ordinary course, officials said. For the first time in the history of R-Day, the parade will not culminate at the Red Fort. It will start from Vijay Chowk and end at the National Stadium. The distance of the parade has been cut down to half — from an earlier 8.2 kilometres to 3.3 kilometres now. The number of cultural programmes will also be fewer.
In addition to the National Security Guard (NSG)’s Black Cat commandos, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the country’s largest paramilitary force, will also present a tableau. Besides, the parade will see the marching band squads of Delhi Police and the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), as well as a distinguished camel-borne squad of the Border Security Force (BSF). Two contingents of the IAF have been selected for the parade and one of them will participate in it. A contingent of the Bangladesh armed forces, will also take part in the parade in view of the 50 th anniversary celebrations of the 1971 war of liberation.
