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Indian Rafales, marching squads take part in imposing French parade
The IAF’s Rafales and the tri-services contingents reached France a week ago to practice for the Bastille Day parade. Indian military contingents had led the parade in 2009 too when then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attended the ceremonial event as the guest of honour
The Indian Air Force’s Rafale fighter planes and tri-services marching contingents on Friday took part in the imposing Bastille Day parade in Paris, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the guest of honour at a time when India and France are commemorating the 25th anniversary of their strategic partnership.
Three IAF Rafales formed part of the spectacular multi-aircraft fly past over the iconic Paris landmark, Champs-Elysees, which set the stage for scores of military contingents to march down the boulevard, with French President Emmanuel Macron, Modi and other dignitaries watching the proceedings from a stage facing the war memorial Arc de Triomphe.
The Indian Army’s marching contingent, drawn from the Punjab Regiment, led the parade, followed by a military band from the Rajputana Rifles Regiment, the Indian Navy contingent and the Indian Air Force contingent. As many as 242 Indian military personnel were part of the marching contingents. French marching squads and mechanised columns came thereafter.
“Every Indian would be proud to see this,” Modi wrote on Twitter, captioning a video clip showing the Indian contingents marching down Champs-Elysees with the army band playing the tune of Saare Jahan Se Acha.
The IAF’s Rafales and the tri-services contingents reached France a week ago to practice for the Bastille Day parade. Indian military contingents had led the parade in 2009 too when then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attended the ceremonial event as the guest of honour.
The 68-member IAF contingent taking part in the parade was led by Squadron Leader Sindhu Reddy, a helicopter pilot who had commanded the 144-member IAF contingent at this year’s Republic Day parade in New Delhi.
The army contingent was led by Captain Aman Jagtap while the naval contingent was headed by Commander Vrat Baghel.
The Indian participation in the parade came seven years after a French army contingent took part in the Republic Day parade for the first time in 2016 when then President Francois Hollande was the chief guest at India’s biggest ceremonial event in Delhi.
Taking part in the Bastille Day parade was extra special for the contingent from the Punjab Regiment as soldiers from the regiment had fought alongside French troops in the two world wars.
“The troops of the Punjab regiment have participated in both the World Wars as well as the post-independence operations. In World War I, they were awarded 18 Battle and Theatre Honours. The gallant soldiers fought in Mesopotamia, Gallipoli, Palestine, Egypt, China, Hong Kong, Damascus and France. In France, they took part in an offensive near Neuve Chapelle in September 1915 earning the Battle Honours ‘Loos’ and ‘France and Flanders’. In World War II, they earned 16 Battle Honours and 14 Theatre Honours,” the army said in a statement in the run-up to the parade last week.
To commemorate the event, the navy has also deployed INS Chennai, an indigenously designed and constructed guided missile destroyer, to France from July 12 to July 16.
The IAF’s Rafales returned to France after taking part in a multi-nation exercise there three months ago. The fighter jets debuted in an overseas exercise, Exercise Orion, held at the Mont-de-Marsan airbase in France from April 17 to May 5, and involved the air forces of the host nation, the US, the UK, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, and Spain.
