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Nation showcases its military might
India is celebrating its 56th Republic Day amid tight security and revelry.
Sleek nuclear-capable missiles featured alongside colourful folk dances as India showcased its military might and cultural diversity at the Republic Day parade on Wednesday, watched among others by Bhutan King Jigme Singye Wangchuk.
The annual parade, an impressive exposition of the country's military spit and polish and brilliant cultural diversity, received its first makeover to make it more compact since it began in 1950 to commemorate India's emergence as a republic.
As a dense early morning fog that had gripped the city evaporated, thousands of people gathered in the pale winter sunshine to watch the parade along the grand Rajpath, the capital's magnificent central vista.
As the parade wound its way from Rajpath, President APJ Abdul Kalam, the supreme commander of India's armed forces, took the salute.
Kalam, and the other dignitaries sat behind a bulletproof screen on a raised platform.
Bhutan's Crown Price Dasho Jigme Gesar Namgyal Wangchuk was also present at the venue. The king, clad in the gho, a wraparound, coat-like knee-length garment, sat at Kalam's side through the extravaganza, flanked by Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and Leader of Opposition LK Advani.
The country's hi-tech military might was represented by nuclear capable Agni-I and Agni-II missiles, T-90 missile firing tanks, Tunguska air defence weapon systems, a mobile satellite communication vehicle, and the home-grown advanced light helicopter Dhruv.
