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DPA
New Delhi
Military parades, as well as protests against a new citizenship law, marked India’s Republic Day celebrations on Sunday.
The parade with marching troops and military bands on Rajpath in New Delhi is the main event to mark the day the Indian constitution came into force on January 26, 1950.
President Ram Nath Kovind presided over the event with his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro as guest of honour.
The parade showcased tanks, missiles, and the Air Force’s new acquisitions - the Rafale fighter jet and Chinook and Apache helicopters.
Large crowds attended the parade with the biggest cheers for a display of motorcycle acrobatics by an all-women team of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force.
The parade also featured dance groups from various regions of India, gymnastics by students and colourful floats from several states.
Similar celebrations were held in state capitals across India with security especially tight in the federally-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
In north-eastern Assam state four blasts took place in quick succession, police said. A banned secessionist militant outfit that had called for a boycott of Republic Day celebrations has claimed responsibility. There were no casualties or damage to property, the state’s police chief Bhaskar Mahanta said.
Protests against India’s new citizenship law continued overnight and on Sunday, with the preamble to the constitution being read out at midnight at a main protest site in New Delhi and the Indian flag hoisted in the morning to cheers from the large gathering.
Similar ‘Save the constitution’ events were held at other sites in Delhi and in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Mumbai, Lucknow and other cities.
Muslim women and students were at the forefront of most of the peaceful protests.
Critics claim the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 goes against India’s secular constitution and is a step towards marginalising the country’s Muslim minority.
The new law omits Muslims from a list of religious groups from three neighbouring Muslim-majority countries who are entitled to fast-track citizenship.
New Delhi
Military parades, as well as protests against a new citizenship law, marked India’s Republic Day celebrations on Sunday.
The parade with marching troops and military bands on Rajpath in New Delhi is the main event to mark the day the Indian constitution came into force on January 26, 1950.
President Ram Nath Kovind presided over the event with his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro as guest of honour.
The parade showcased tanks, missiles, and the Air Force’s new acquisitions - the Rafale fighter jet and Chinook and Apache helicopters.
Large crowds attended the parade with the biggest cheers for a display of motorcycle acrobatics by an all-women team of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force.
The parade also featured dance groups from various regions of India, gymnastics by students and colourful floats from several states.
Similar celebrations were held in state capitals across India with security especially tight in the federally-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
In north-eastern Assam state four blasts took place in quick succession, police said. A banned secessionist militant outfit that had called for a boycott of Republic Day celebrations has claimed responsibility. There were no casualties or damage to property, the state’s police chief Bhaskar Mahanta said.
Protests against India’s new citizenship law continued overnight and on Sunday, with the preamble to the constitution being read out at midnight at a main protest site in New Delhi and the Indian flag hoisted in the morning to cheers from the large gathering.
Similar ‘Save the constitution’ events were held at other sites in Delhi and in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Mumbai, Lucknow and other cities.
Muslim women and students were at the forefront of most of the peaceful protests.
Critics claim the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 goes against India’s secular constitution and is a step towards marginalising the country’s Muslim minority.
The new law omits Muslims from a list of religious groups from three neighbouring Muslim-majority countries who are entitled to fast-track citizenship.
