The Delhi Republic Day parade is the largest and most important of the parades marking the Republic Day celebrations in India. The parade takes place every year on 26 January at Kartavya Path, New Delhi. It is the main attraction of India's Republic Day celebrations, which last for three days. The first parade was held in 1950, and it has been held every year since. The cultural pageant is a symbol of a diverse but united India.^[2]

The parade marches from the Rashtrapati Bhavan on the Kartavya Path to India Gate and from there to Red Fort. It opens with the unfurling of the national flag by the President of India. This is followed by marching from several regiments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, along with their bands, and tableaux from various states signifying their cultures are displayed. A beating retreat ceremony signifies the end of the parade.

The first Republic Day Parade was held on 26 January 1950, led by then Brigadier Moti Sagar of the Gorkha Regiment, during which the President of Indonesia Sukarno was the chief guest. The flypast of that parade included aircraft such as Harvards, Consolidated B-24 Liberators, Dakotas, Hawker Tempest, Spitfires and jet planes comprising a total of more than a hundred aircraft.^[3] The venue was Irwin Amphitheater, now known as Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium. The parades are the legacy of the British Raj, as a showcase of power to the rival States. Since time immemorial the parades have been a show of strength, mystical prowess of the empires and nation-state, legacy of triumph, and inspiring loyalty to the State. The Prussian State was the pioneer of modern military parades. Indian leaders attached military parades to the Republic Day to commemorate the triumph of a new sovereign strong republic against the colonial power. Consequently, among many other innovations, the unique and grand cultural tableux was included as an integral part of the parade symbolising a strong and diverse republic, replete with symbols of a larger nationalism incorporating massive regional diversity. With time the colonial symbols have been systematically pushed away, and an indianisation has happened.^[4]

To mark the Republic Day, an annual parade is held in New Delhi, starting at the Rashtrapati Bhavan (the President's residence), and proceeding along the Kartavya Path, past the India Gate.^[5] Prior to its commencement, the Prime Minister lays a floral wreath at the National War Memorial (previously at the Amar Jawan Jyoti memorial) at one end of Kartavya Path, which is followed by two minutes silence in the memory of fallen soldiers. Thereafter he/she reaches the main dais at Kartavya Path to join other dignitaries. Subsequently, the President arrives along with the chief guest of the occasion. They are escorted on horseback by the President's Bodyguard.^{[citation needed]}

First, the president unfurls the National flag, as the National Anthem Jana Gana Mana is played, and a 21-gun salute is fired by the Indian Army Regiment of Artillery as the PBG renders the National Salute and its standard is dipped. Next, as the PBG trots off the dais, important awards like the Ashok Chakra and Param Vir Chakra are given away by the President. The President comes forward to award the medals of bravery to the people from the armed forces for their exceptional courage in the field and also the civilians, who have distinguished themselves by their different acts of valour in different situations, either in military, civilian or disaster scenarios. This is followed by the regiments of Armed Forces starting their march past, led by the parade commander and his second in command, followed by living receipents of gallantry medals of the Republic. Following the march past of the armed forces follows the march of personnel belonging to the federal security organizations and the Delhi Police, which marches also on behalf of all territorial, state, city and municipal police forces. Children who are recipients of the National Bravery Award ride past the spectators on colourfully decorated elephants or vehicles.^[6]

18 to 24 different regiments of the Indian Army in addition to the Navy, and Air Force (total nearly 55)) with their bands march past in all their finery and official decorations. The President of India who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces, takes the salute. Twelve contingents of various para-military forces of India and other civil forces also take part in this parade.^[7] One of the unique sights of the parade is the camel mounted Border Security Force contingent, which is the only camel mounted military force in the world.^{[citation needed]} The best NCC cadets, selected from all over the country consider it an honour to participate in this event, as do the school children from various schools in the capital. They spend many days preparing for the event and no expense is spared to see that every detail is taken care of, from their practice for the drills, the essential props and their uniforms. 22 to 30 floats exhibiting the cultures of the various states and union territories of India, including floats of union ministries and state enterprises are in the grand parade, which is broadcast nationwide on television and radio. These moving exhibits depict scenes of activities of people in those states and the music and songs of that particular state accompany each display. Each display brings out the diversity and richness of the culture of India and the whole show lends a festive air to the occasion.^[8] People from different parts of the country enjoy watching the representation of their state rolling along in the parade.^[2] Around 1200 schoolchildren present cultural dances as part of the parade.^[9] The 2016 Republic Day marked the return of K-9 Dog Squad to the parade after 26 years.^[10]

The parade traditionally ends with dare devil motor cycle riding display by motorcycle units of the Armed Forces and civil security services and a flypast by the Indian Air Force jets and helicopters.^[11] In 2019, the flypast included aircraft such as Su 30 MKI, Jaguar, Mig 29, C-17 Globemaster and HAL Rudra.^[12]

A full dress rehearsal parade is organised on 23 January every year.^[13]

To promote gender equality and women empowerment, in 2024, most of the contingents, including the motorcycle acrobat teams were comprised entirely of women.^[14][15]

In 2016, French Army soldiers and a French Army Band took part in the 67th Republic Day parade. This marked the first time since the beginning of the parade in 1950, that a foreign army contingent marched down the Rajpath during the Republic Day parade.^{[citation needed]}

More information Year, Country ...

Year	Country	Unit	Contingent Details	Photo
2016[22]	France	35th Infantry Regiment	76 soldiers 48-member band[23]
2017[24]	United Arab Emirates	United Arab Emirates Presidential Guard	149 soldiers 35-member band
2021[25]	Bangladesh	Bangladesh Armed Forces	122 soldiers [26]
2023[27]	Egypt	Egyptian Armed Forces	144 soldiers 12-member band
2024[28]	France	2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment	95-member marching contingent 33-member band

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1.^ On each of these occasions, Lady Edwina Mountbatten from United Kingdom was also the official guest for the parade.^[52][53]

2.^ Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip also accompanied Queen Elizabeth II during the parade.^[54]

3.^ Danish Prime Minister attended Republic Day in Madras (Chennai).^[55]

4.^ No invitations were sent out possibly due to the demise of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on 11 January 1966 in Tashkent. The new government headed by Indira Gandhi was sworn on 24 January 1966 (only two days before the Republic Day).^[56]

5.^ For the first time, the President of India (Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan) could not take the salute at the Republic Day parade due to ill-health.^[57] Zahir Shah arrived on 28 January.^[58]

6.^ Attended only the Beating Retreat^[59][60]