In a first, the Republic Day parade is all set to go through a major change, which will see participation from the veterans of Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army (INA). The Republic Day parade on January 26, will see four INA veterans marching down Rajpath in the parade.
The proposal was cleared by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, as reported by Times Now channel. As per the report, the veterans include the likes of Parmanand, Lalit Ram, Hira Singh and Bhagmal. These four are aged 95+.
This is the first time in history that INA veterans have been invited to participate in the Republic Day parade. It has been said that these four veterans gave absolutely everything for the nation as they fought World War II. These veterans will be seated comfortably in jeeps that will march past Rajpath during the Republic Day parade which is just a day away.
The new decision is being considered as Modi government’s interest to give due credit to the freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army. The comes days after PM Narendra Modi renamed three islands of Andaman and Nicobar after Subhas Chandra Bose.
The Ross Island was renamed as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, Neil Island was renamed as Shaheed Dweep. The Havelock Island, on the other end of the spectrum, was renamed as Swaraj Dweep.
“When it comes to the heroes of freedom struggle, we take Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s name with pride. The first prime minister of Azad Hind government Subhas Babu had made India’s independence resolution on the soil of Andaman,” Modi had said on the occasion on December 30.
(With inputs from Times Now)
