While people voted in a fifth round that will set the tone as this election rounds into the straight, and while Modi on the stump chews the cud of personal grievances and hackneyed promises that have long since passed their use-by date, there is a rogue wave rising -- what damage it will do, we will know 16 days from today, observes Prem Panicker.
'Every bit of the parade is important. Everything that is being executed, you have to be completely in it,' says Captain Tania Shergill, the first woman adjutant at a Republic Day parade.
Army Day is celebrated on January 15 very year in recognition of Lieutenant General (later Field Marshal) KM Cariappa taking over as the first Commander-in Chief of Indian Army from Sir Francis Butcher, the last British Commander this day in 1948.
Shelar demanded that Desai's death should not be treated just as a case of accidental death, but must be dealt with from a larger perspective.
Major Sheena Nayyar describes what it means for an Indian soldier to be part of the Republic Day parade.
Here are some of the best photos from around the world in the month gone by...
Thirty-six intrepid riders from the BSF Seema Bhawani All-Women Daredevil Motorcycle Team have set out on a pan-India journey with an important message -- there is nothing that can stop women from achieving their dreams.
French army soldiers on Tuesday created history by marching down the Rajpath during the Republic Day parade, becoming the first foreign military contingent to take part in the celebrations.
A workshop on the LGBTQ+ community throws light on challenges they face. Meghna Chadha reports.
The village in Maharashtra has continuously sent soldiers to the Army since World War I. Every other person you meet is a soldier or a retired soldier or is aspiring to be a soldier.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday strongly defended the three new agri laws saying their benefits have begun reaching 10 crore small farmers instantly, and condemned as 'very unfortunate' the Republic Day violence and 'dishonour' to the tricolour during the tractor parade by the protesting farm unions in New Delhi.
There is a deep-seated sense of rejection that the new generation Tamil youth have felt for a decade and more now, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Major Khushboo Kanwar, the daughter of a Rajasthani bus conductor, made history on Rajpath on Republic Day.
'Anglo-Indians have played a significant role at the forefront, meeting every challenge to the security of the motherland.' A fascinating excerpt from Barry O'Brien's The Anglo-Indians: A Portrait of a Community.
"Counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism matters are very important. Different countries can share some experience and one can draw lessons from another country because what happens somewhere can happen somewhere else also," he said.
A fascinating glimpse from Somak Ghoshal's 10 Indian Heroes Who Help People Live With Dignity.
Black Lives Matter protests and coronavirus rages across the pandemic and much more. Here are the top images from the month of June.
Major Beena Tiwari was the only woman in the 99-member medical team at the Indian Army's field hospital in earthquake-hit Turkey.
'I used to be scared because operating in Kashmir is always fraught with danger.' 'His absence will be felt lifelong.'
When Captain Divya Ajith leads the first all-women contingent of the Army this Republic Day, she will carry on her shoulders the hopes and aspirations of women officers to soon serve the nation in combat roles.
'We want to provide data, we want to provide consultation, but we don't want to lecture.' 'The consciousness about this issue in India is starting to get quite high and if we can help contribute to solving this air quality issue in a spirit of partnership with the Indians, it would be a big achievement.'
Modi said that unlike other parties that believe in keeping people weak so that their dependence on them never ends and their "crown" remains intact, the BJP believes in empowering them and making them independent.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal calling off the dharna being enacted outside the Rail Bhawan in a partial compromise with the Union government is being seen as a face-loss for him by many. Renu Mittal explains
'I know of at least one techie who quit his job to join the AAP in Delhi. Many others traveled to India to volunteer during the election. If you ask these volunteers why they were doing it when they can't even vote in India, they say, "We want a corruption-free India".' Ritu Jha looks back on the year that was; it was party time, she says, for news junkies like her.
"There is no issue of gender discrimination," Dhowan said responding to queries on alleged gender bias in Indian Navy.
Interacting with state chief ministers, Modi underscored the enormity of what he described as the world's biggest vaccination exercise, which begins from January 16, saying over 30 crore citizens will get the jabs in the next few months in India against only 2.5 crore people vaccinated so far in over 50 countries in around a month.
'Putting your life at stake defending your motherland is the best feeling you can get.'
At an online book release event, former vice president Hamid Ansari lays to rest the controversies surrounding his tenure.
Noted historians Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib and Amar Farooqi believe that banning the sale of a book by DU because it refers to Bhagat Singh as a "revolutionary terrorist".
We sorted through countless photographs taken around the world to come up with the top photos of 2019. Together these images tell the story of the year -- capturing moments of hope and heartbreak, triumph and tragedy.
'Soul might not win trophies. But, unlike trophies, soul actually matters,' says Shougat Dasgupta.
Marking the culmination of the 67th Republic Day celebrations, the military on Friday held the beating retreat ceremony at Vijay Chowk in Delhi with patriotic fervour.
Tunes by Indian musicians, foot-tapping drumbeats and calming chimes reverberated the air as the imposing Rashtrapati Bhavan lit up at sunset marking the end of the 66th Republic Day celebrations with 'Beating Retreat' ceremony at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi on Thursday.
'Our goal is to leave this relationship in a fundamentally different place than it was when President Obama took office and when Prime Minister Modi took office and we believe that we have a unique moment of opportunity to have that kind of breakthrough.'
Claude Arpi salutes Lieutenant General Zorawar Chand Bakshi, India's most decorated general, who passed into the ages recently.
Ami Bera is on cloud nine after being part of Obama's visit to India.
'I see you as a man who has split the nation into two. Vajpayee or even Advani would hold it together. One senses you cannot do this. To heal, to apologise, and to glue together a nation seems beyond you,' Shiv Visvanathan tells the BJP's prime ministerial candidate.
When Rediff.com's Archana Masih and Rajesh Karkera set course from the foothills of the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea, they could not think of a better place to begin their journey than the stately campus that has given India some of its greatest military heroes.
He pointed out that such a restriction is not prevalent in many Islamic countries.
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