US President Barack Obama and wife Michelle with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they arrive for the Republic Day parade
Four helicopters with the tricolour and the flags of the three services flew over a wet Rajpath as the Republic Day parade began this morning. Tanks, missiles and columns of soldiers marching in perfect precision followed, watched by US President Barack Obama, who is the chief guest at the parade now on.
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By his side sat Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a multicoloured bandhej safa. Before receiving President Obama and his wife Michelle at Rajpath, the PM paid homage to India's martyrs at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate.
A loud cheer went up as the US president alighted in the Delhi drizzle from his special car, called the beast. He is the first US president to be chief guest at India's Republic Day celebrations. Holding up umbrellas in the rain, President Obama and Michelle Obama watched the display of India's military might and cultural diversity along with PM Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee from a salute dais erected behind a special bullet-proof enclosure, amid unprecedented security.
Women's power or Nari Shakti is the theme of the 66th Republic Day celebrations and women led many of the marching contingents, including all-woman contingents of the three services.
"Impressive display by #India's all-women military contingent in the Republic Day parade," tweeted NSCPress, run by President Obama's National Security Council. "#India's amazing diversity is on full display at today's Republic Day parade," tweeted America's National Security Advisor Susan Rice.
A seven-layer ring of 50,000 security personnel, including 500 US Secret Service Agents, has been deployed. The Delhi Police, said sources, has been asked to check people wearing black caps and mufflers, after intelligence that Maoists might try to stage protests.
At Rajpath, there are 500 police officials trained in detecting suspicious movements in the public and among participants. They have been specifically trained to profile potential terrorists.
The Indian Air Force has said the flypast, a highlight of the parade, is still on, after concern that it might be cancelled due to bad weather. It has rained in Delhi all morning.
In the afternoon, the US President is expected to meet Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, with whom he is said to share a special rapport. He will later attend President Pranab Mukherjee's "At-home."
At 5.30 pm, the US President will attend the India-US CEO Forum meeting at the hotel Taj Palace. Another meeting with business delegations from the two countries -- India-US Business Summit - will take place later in the evening.
Mr Obama, the first US president to be chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations, arrived with his wife Michelle on a three-day visit yesterday. PM Modi broke protocol and received President Obama at the airport, greeting him with a hug.
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