The first Republic Day parade was held in the evening, not in the morning, know how different it was

January 26, 1950, the historic day when the first Republic day Celebrated. The constitution came into force and the first parade was taken out. The story of the first parade has also been interesting. The first parade took place at the British Stadium in front of the Old Fort in Delhi. The same stadium where the zoo and the National Stadium are now. as before the country President Dr. Rajendra Prasad Unfurled the tricolor, with that the parade started. Gun salute was given and the old fort echoed.

How was the first Republic Day parade, how was the enthusiasm among the people and how different it was from today.

route was changed

The first parade of Republic Day was not as grand as today, but it happened for the first time in 1950, so it was going to leave an indelible mark on the hearts of Indians. It was memorable for him. No tableaux took part in the first parade, but contingents of the Army, Air and Navy took part. At present, the Republic Day parade goes to the Red Fort via Rajpath, but this was not the case in the first parade.

The parade took place in the evening, not in the morning

Presently the parade starts in the morning, but the first parade started in the evening. On January 26, 1950, at 2.30 pm, the country’s first President Rajendra Prasad left Rashtrapati Bhavan in a carriage. Via Connaught Place, he reached the National Stadium at 3.45 pm. At that time the stadium was called Irwin Stadium.

The carriage in which President Dr. Rajendra Prasad was riding, was being pulled by 6 Australian horses. A 31-gun salute was given to the President in the evening at the parade site. In 1971, by ending the tradition of giving 31 gun salute, 21 gun salute to the President was started.

In the first parade, 3 thousand soldiers and 100 aircraft were made a part. The tradition of calling the chief guest on Republic Day started from the first parade itself. On 26 January 1950, Dr. Sukarno, the then President of Indonesia, was made the chief guest.

When the voice of the soldier created enthusiasm

There were no juggling jets or thunderbolts in the first parade. There were smaller aircraft like the Dakota and the Spitfire to do this. The Indian Army was commanded by General Field Marshal Cariappa, who was awarded many medals in the British-Indian Army.

He told a group of jawans, ‘Today we are also free, you are also free and our dog is also free’. His voice and these words created a different feeling of enthusiasm inside every person present there.

Confectioner had distributed sweets all over Chandni Chowk

There was such enthusiasm among the people for the first parade that in Chandni Chowk, Ghantewala Halwai had distributed sweets in the entire area. Ghantewala confectionery was started in the late 18th century during the reign of Shah Alam. The entire Chandni Chowk was decorated. From Lal Mandir to Fatehpuri Masjid, a crowd of people were standing ready with flowers, garlands and tricolor in their hands.

Flowers were showered on the shopkeepers of the flower market. congratulated each other. Sheesh Ganj Gurudwara Bhavya Langar KaOrganized. Poori-sabzi and halwa were also distributed in Gurudwara Bangla Sahib and Rakabganj.