Republic Day 2024: Interesting facts about the R-Day parade you must know

Republic Day 2024: Here are a few interesting facts about the Republic Day parade that we should know about.

Republic Day 2024: Every year, Republic Day is celebrated with a whole lot of pomp and grandeur all over the country. On this day in 1950, the Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly. The Constitution of India is the holy grail that is followed by every citizen of the country. It was drafted by a Drafting Committee that was headed by Dr BR Ambedkar. The Constitution of India declared the country as a republic and a democracy. Every year, Republic Day serves as a reminder of the values and ethics that we should follow from the Constitution of India and remember the freedom fighters of the country to whom we owe this independence.

Republic Day 2024: Interesting facts about the R-Day parade you must know (Photo by Sanjeev Verma/ Hindustan Times)

Every year, Republic Day is observed with a parade at Kartavya Path, New Delhi. As we gear up to celebrate the special day, here are a few facts about the Republic Day parade that we should know about.

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Every year, a Prime Minister or a President or a ruler of a nation is invited as the Chief Guest to witness the Republic Day parade. This year, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the President of Egypt is the Chief Guest on Republic Day.

The preparations for the R-Day parade begins in July, a year before. The participants are formally informed of their participation. On the day of the parade, they arrive on the venue by 3 AM. By then, they would have practiced for about 600 hours.

The gun salute firing matches the timing of the National anthem. The first gunshot is fired at the start of the anthem and the next one is fired after 52 seconds. The cannons from which the shots are made were made in 1941 and are involved in all formal programmes of the army.

This year, states and Union territories and nine ministries and departments have been selected to showcase their tableaux. The states and Union territories include Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.