Women's enlistment in the military has been a long and drawn-out process that has even necessitated court intervention. Women officers, who are still few in number, stole the show at the Republic Day procession on Rajpath.
While numerous female officers led marching contingents, the presence of the first female pilot of the newly inducted Rafale fighter aircraft was one of the parade's highlights.
As the IAF tableau drove past the saluting base, Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh of the No. 17 'Golden Arrows' Squadron in Ambala stood on the deck.
On the IAF tableau at the R-Day parade, Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh, India's first woman pilot to fly the Rafale. Praveen Khanna (Praveen Khanna).
Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth, who was on the IAF tableau last year, was the first woman fighter pilot to take part in the Republic Day parade.
Singh, a Varanasi native, joined the IAF in 2017 as part of the IAF's second batch of female fighter pilots. Singh was originally assigned to fly the MiG-21 Bison but underwent conversion training to fly the Rafale.
Lieutenant Commander Aanchal Sharma led the Navy marching contingent, which also featured Sub Lieutenant Avanthika Duraiswamy. The Indian Navy tableau was led by Lieutenant Preeti and her colleague Lt Mayank Bhagour.
Lieutenant Manisha Bohra headed the Army Ordnance Corps contingent, while Flight Lieutenant Impanashree KY led the IAF contingent.
Women from the Border Security Force's Seema Bhawani motorbike team performed acrobatics and carried a poster with the phrase Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao.
The two Assistant Commandants of the Sashastra Seema Bal's marching contingent were female officers.
The parade featured the largest flypast ever, with 75 planes from all three services flying overhead to commemorate India's 75th anniversary of independence. The pilot's view and cockpit view were telecast for the first time, giving viewers a taste of what the aircraft's pilots see.
The parade featured a total of 24 tableaux, including those from the military forces and the DRDO. The Navy tableau was the first to come down Rajpath, and it featured two main themes: one depicted the 1946 naval rebellion, and the other highlighted the Navy's "atmanirbharta," with a replica of the country's first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, which will be commissioned later this year.
Models of the MiG-21, Gnat – aircraft that played vital roles in the victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war – Light Combat Helicopter, Rafale, and the Aslesha radar were on display in the IAF tableau titled 'Indian Air Force, Transforming for the Future.'
The DRDO displayed its primary platforms for Navy submarines, including the 'Suite of Indigenously Developed Sensors, Weapons, and Electronic Warfare Systems for LCA Tejas' and the 'Air Independent Propulsion System'.
