The 75th Republic Day March Past began on Kartavya Path with the proud winners of the highest gallantry awards, Param Vir Chakra and the Ashok Chakra, following Parade Commander Lieutenant General Bhavnish Kumar.
The winners include Param Vir Chakra recipients Subedar Major (Honorary Capt) Yogender Singh Yadav of the 18 GRENADIERS and Subedar Major Sanjay Kumar of the 13 JAK RIF (Jammu and Kashmir Rifles).
The Ashok Chakra recipients included Major General CA Pithawalla (reitred), Colonel D Sreeram Kumar and Lieutenant Colonel Jas Ram Singh.
The Param Vir Chakra is awarded for the most conspicuous act of bravery and self-sacrifice in the face of the enemy. The Ashok Chakra is awarded for similar acts of valour and self-sacrifice but, other than, in the face of the enemy.
Four Mi-17IV helicopters flew across the sky above the Kartavya Path in ‘Dhwaj’ formation.
French troops and aircraft also participated in the “Platinum Republic Day Parade’ at the Kartavya Path.
The French detachment that participated in the March Past is exclusively from the French Foreign Legion, a well-known and unique corps strong of about 10,000 men from all around the world, including India.
The French Foreign Legion music band, led by Captain Khourda, consisting of 30 musicians is marched first, playing the Legion’s anthem called “Le Boudin”.
Created in 1841, the music of the Foreign Legion is unique since its musician legionnaires come from the five continents and often from the most prestigious conservatories on the planet. Moreover, its repertoire is eclectic, mixing traditional marches and sounds from the opera. Finally, the band uses fifes and Chinese hats, instruments that date back to the medieval era.
The Music of the Foreign Legion has participated in nearly 70 services a year including about fifteen concerts as part of the outreach of the Foreign Legion and of the Army, bolstering the Army-Nation link, in France as well as internationally. It participates in the Bastille Day Parade in Paris every year.
Before being musicians, the members of the orchestra of the Foreign Legion are first and foremost soldiers, likely to be engaged in operations. Trained at the 4th Foreign Regiment in Castelnaudary, in the South of France, they regularly participate in the SENTINELLE operation against terrorism on the French territory.
The company behind the band was from the 2 Infantry Regiment of the French Foreign Legion. The marching contingent comprising of 90 legionnaires is led by Captain Noel. They have been deployed in several combat missions these past years, including Afghanistan, Mali, French overseas territories, and are to be deployed again in Africa in 2024.
The legionnaires wear the famous White Cap, which can be worn only by legionnaires who successfully went through 4 months of hard selection tests. The best legionnaires get promoted and wear the ‘Black Cap’ you can see in the first row.
Created in 1841 and engaged in all major operations carried out by the French Army since then, the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment distinguished itself notably during the 1903 battle of El-Moungar in Morocco, where over the course of which 113 legionnaires resisted more than 1000 Berbers. Susequently the regiment was engaged on numerous fronts in Indo China and Algeria. More recently it was engaged in Gulf war, recent operations in Africa and Middle East as well as missions in Estonia and Lebanon.
The 2 Foreign Infantry Regiment is part of the SCORPION program of the French Army’s land forces since late 2021 early 2022. It is equipped with the multirole armoured vehicle Griffon, which has replaced the infantry fighting armoured vehicle (VBCI) in 2022, and has switched to the SCORPION combat information system (SCI-S).
The regiment is also one of the very first to take possession of the medium-range (MMP) anti- tank missile of the new generation.